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thepeterfuckinparker · 5 years

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miss. thompson — peter parker smut

Summary: Miss. Y/N Thompson is Flash’s step-sister, one of the queen bees and a popular girl around the school. One day, she’s feeling bold when Peter Parker is her chemistry partner.

Notes: ive had this idea for such a long time, but like a fanfic for it on wattpad (FOLLOW ME ON WATTPAD: @/angryfangirl) bUt im a dirty girl so i turned it into smut oops,, i GOT SOME CUTE ASS LINGERIE ON, GOT SUM DICK TODAY, THOUGHT ID UPLOAD THIS LOLOL

Warnings: very smutty, rubbing, boners, wet things, annoying flash, kinda sex-in-school!!!

pt. 2

“Miss. Thompson,” Your head shot up, meeting eyes with the irritated teacher in front of you. You smiled, laughing nervously as you raised your eyebrows. “Do you know the answer to number fifteen?”

Before you could answer, the bell rang causing you to spring up and grab your things. The class chuckled in amusement while you smirked, holding your books against your chest as you waltzed out of the classroom. There was thankfully one class period left, Chemistry Honors, you loved it. Well, not the subject specifically. You took your time walking down the hallways, greeting peers as they waved at you. It wasn’t hard to explain, you were pretty popular around the school, you could blame that on your step-brother, Flash Thompson. You were the nicer sibling, sweeter and smarter, definitely the favorite. Flash’s father would easily choose you over his son, you were just that good of a kid. Flash, on the other hand, was a known troublemaker, stuck-up rich kid, and quite the bully. You were nothing alike despite your years of growing up with each other, your parents married when you both were eight, it was a love-hate relationship between you both. Something that was a bit similar between you and Flash was reputation, you were somewhat serious about yours, never associating with the wrong people, it was a flaw of yours. You didn’t hang out with the Gaming Club, you found yourself a bit closer to Liz Allan and the cheerleading team.

“Today, we will be doing a Mole project. You will be making stuffed Moles! Get it? — Mole?” The chemistry teacher announced the moment students began to enter the room. He held up a little stuffed rodent that he had made himself.

You rolled your eyes, looking around for available seats at the working tables. Your eyes landed on Flash, instantly scoffing and shaking your head. You refused to work with him, he was already a pain in the ass at home. You continued to scan the tables before finding all the seats used up, you gasped at the sight of a free chair and table, rushing over, you jumped to seat yourself. You glared at the back of Flash’s head as he was seated in front of you, the seat beside you screeched.

“Can you not talk so obnoxiously loud?” You flicked your step-brother’s ear causing him to flip you off in return.

He began to think of a snarky remark before he focused on the person who sat beside you, “Penis Parker!” Flash laughed.

You turned your head and raised your eyebrows at Peter, he kept his head low in attempt to ignore your step-brother. You slapped the back of Flash’s head and muttered for him to be quiet. After a few seconds, you turned to Peter and smiled. “Sorry about him. He’s an ass.” The boy looked up and laughed quietly.

You bit your lip as he gazed away, paying attention to the directions being given. You couldn’t help but stare at him, Peter Parker was handsome, an old crush since middle school that died down by the beginning of junior year. He was interested in your best friend, Liz Allan, everyone was pretty sure of that, but as soon as she had moved away, his interests were unclear. You found yourself biting your pencil, your eyes still studying his face. Peter had a strong jaw, soft skin, these cute brown eyes that were either very focused or sometimes incredibly lost. You were brought back into reality when Peter looked at you, you straightened yourself up. He scooted his seat closer to you, settling the worksheet in between you both. Peter Parker was a low status at school, typically, he was someone you didn’t really associate with. It was bitchy, but that’s how it was. People would probably laugh at you if they were knew how you felt about the boy. You watched him scribble his name on the top of the paper. It was senior year now, things were different, what was the point of still trying to fit in when school was going to be over soon anyways? He passed the paper over to you, waiting for you to write your name.

‘Y/N Thompson’ You write neatly, moving your seat closer to start working. His clothed knee touched your bare thigh, he cleared his throat nervously. “Um- okay, did you want to do the stitching while I completed the work problems?” He suggested.

You raised your eyebrows in amusement, “Why do I have to do the lady work?” You passed him the sewing kit with a smirk while you grabbed the calculator. Peter’s cheeks turned a bright pink before he stammered nervously. “We’ll switch off, okay?” You started off with number one, easily figuring out equations and scribbling down the answers.

Peter sat beside you, starting to stitch the fabric to build your stuffed mole. You found yourself tearing your gaze away from the paper to look over at him. He was focused, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. You bit down on your lip again, taking an attempt at question number two before you moved your thigh. His knee continued to brush on your skin, your arms touching. You cleared your throat, pushing the paper closer to him before thinking of what to say.

“Um, I don’t think I get this one.” You said softly, you did understand the question, you just wanted his attention.

“Oh okay, I-I can explain it.” Peter nodded, You furrowed your eyebrows.

“Can you talk louder? I can’t hear you.” You lied, the classroom had gotten rowdy but not to the point where you couldn’t hear.

He leaned closer to you, his lips close to your ear as he began to explain the question. You moved your leg, goosebumps running across your skin as he spoke to you. Your hand slipped underneath the table, landing onto his left thigh. Peter froze, his words choking up. You stroked his leg gently with a soft smile playing on your face. He stared at you, unsure of what to say. You looked around the classroom, no one had been paying attention.

“A- W-What are you doing?” Peter asked quietly, continuing the stitching while you used your free hand to play with the pencil on the desk.

“Do you want me to stop?” You asked, all he needed to say was yes or no, you would oblige. It was bold move, completely unexpected. Peter never thought you would try something like this on him, Y/N Thompson trying to seduce Peter Parker? It had to be a cruel joke.

He was scared to respond before he gulped, “No.”

“Then I won’t.” Your whispered into his ear, your hand continuing to stroke his thigh.

Peter shuttered beside you, his hands slightly shaking as he ran the needle through the fabric. He wasn’t very good at stitching but now he was doing even worse. Your touch was making him sweat, your soft hand on him was getting him hard. You noticed, occasionally looking from the worksheet to the boy’s face to his stitching to his lap. You smirked slightly as your hand led to his hard-on, you palmed him through his pants. He let out a small gasp, whipping his head up to glance at the teacher. You looked over at Flash who hadn’t noticed anything, you don’t know how he would react. You focused back to Peter, the pants leaving his mouth were leaving you wet. You cleared your throat, opening your legs wider and slipping down your hand to your soaked panties. He glanced over, eyes widening even further, if they grew any bigger they’d probably fall out of his head.

“We always have tomorrow if you don’t finish today! We will be presenting these, they need to be unique, make them a name. They can even be based-off of your favorite character!” The teacher exclaimed, Peter flinched each time.

You watched him attempt to stitch with one hand, the other grazing up and down your thigh. He clearly hadn’t done this before. You leaned closer to him, your lips lingering along his ear. Peter inhaled sharply, as your breath hit his skin. “Touch me.” You almost moaned quietly, he did as told, nodding as you sat back and continued to watch his lap with hooded eyes. Your hand worked back to the worksheet, while your other was handling palming him through his black jeans. His fingers pushed away your panties, he instantly collected the wetness between your slits, the pad of his index finger placed on your throbbing clit. You groaned lowly at the feeling, he didn’t really need your help, he somewhat knew what he was doing. Peter Parker has never been with a girl, especially in this way - he must’ve learned from videos, it felt good so that’s what you assumed. You clutched his hard cock through his jeans, biting down your lip as he rubbed circles on your sensitive bud. You looked up, on look-out once again before you met Flash’s eyes.

“What?” You snapped, “Sorry that our mole is gonna look better than y-yours.” You stuttered during the last word as Peter’s fingers pressed down on your clit harder than before, you rubbed him quicker.

“You wish!” Flash scoffed, turning his head and paying attention to his work, nudging his partner to work faster.

You quickened your pace with the palming of his cock, resisting the urge to accidentally drop your materials and get on your knees for Peter right there. His breathing was heavy, his fingers were quicker on your clit, he was close. You could see it in the way Peter was twitching, the way he occasionally shut his eyes and shuddered in pleasure. You leaned towards him again, a smile on your sweet face. “Cum for me, Parker.” You said softly, he instantly groaned but quickly covered it up with a cough - no one noticed. You continued to palm him until he grabbed your hand, it rested there for a second until you felt a wet spot on his black jeans. Peter was lucky he had worn them. You pulled away from him, a shit-eating grin on your face. You looked over at him and admired the post-orgasm look on his face, he was red, a bit sweaty from the pleasure. With confidence, you picked up his hand and raised it to his mouth. Peter took the hint, taking the fingers he had played with you and cleaning them up. He smiled back, leaning closer to you, “You taste so good.” Peter’s comment was low, it made you squeeze your thighs together in surprise.

“See? Look at mine, fuckers!” You both tore away, looking over at Flash who set down his mole. It was a stuffed animal in what looked like a makeshift Spider-Man suit. You snorted, your step-brother was obsessed with the superhero. Peter’s eyes widened at the sight, awkwardly coughing and focusing on your own project.

“It looks fucking stupid.” You laughed, snatching the Spider-Man mole in chucking it across the room. Flash smacked your arm, immediately protesting and shouting.

“Miss. Thompson!”

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365daysofsasuhina · 4 years

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[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Sixty-Four: What You See ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina, vulgarity, death, smoking ] [ Verse: Oil and Blood ] [ AO3 Link ]

Appearances can be deceiving.

For instance...Hinata had a teacher back in middle school who, for all intents and purposes, seemed a nice enough man. An active part of the community, well-liked by his students, and a staple part of the school in which he taught. He was lenient with those who needed it, and tough on those who he knew could do better.

But during her last year, when she was no longer in his class, a rather startling discovery was made.

On the run from another province, he was accused of murdering several middle school girls at his previous school. But with the help of underground cosmetic mods, he had his face changed enough to escape notice, starting a new life on the other side of the country where he could once again begin stalking students.

Thankfully he never had the chance - he was caught when a substitute for another teacher managed to recognize him despite the mods. He was arrested, and later imprisoned for his crimes.

From then on, Hinata knew better than to trust what face people put forward. What you see isn’t always true.

Which is what makes her newest...friend? so intriguing.

Since stumbling upon the half-dead man in an alleyway, Hinata has been unable to escape one Uchiha Sasuke: a member of the infamous yakuza currently overseen by his father. Having been beaten and stripped of his (rather expensive) mods, it was Hinata who, on an insomnia walk, hefted him from the refuse and took him to a doctor she knew.

And that was only the beginning of a bond that saw her kidnapped, nearly involved in a gunfight, and then marked as a target by the Uchiha group’s biggest rivals: the Senju.

Since then, it’s been Sasuke’s self-imposed mission to keep the woman safe as repayment for her kindness, and also for his failing to protect her when he first attempted to fulfill his debt to her.

Which means that outside work and her time spent at home...Hinata has been stuck with a rather interesting bodyguard.

Sasuke doesn’t hide what he is. Be it his mods, his tattoos, his smoking or his sometimes coarse language, he doesn’t shy from his title of gangster. He knows that what his family does is unlawful. Dangerous and harmful, even. But he does have at least one code of conduct: repay his debts.

Having someone like him in the presence of someone like Hinata makes a very strange pair indeed.

You see, Hinata’s father runs the largest Japan-based medical mod company. She was once heiress...before daring to call out his hypocrisy. She now lives in a tiny apartment in a rather...questionable part of town. Which is how she found Sasuke. And she works for a mod insurance claim company. Which, admittedly, she hates. But she does do her part of under-the-table dealing to help those who truly need it find underground care.

Hence her knowing the good doctor.

But it goes without saying that the pair of them going, well...anywhere together tends to draw some very confused gazes. After all, most wonder what on earth such a sweet looking young woman could ever be doing running around with someone like him.

Sure, Hinata hasn’t ever hurt anyone - in fact she herself has been the victim of violence more than once. But she does technically break the law rather often, given her redirection of insurance claims to illegal operations that go beneath the government radar. Sure, she does so for morally-just reasons...but it’s still illegal.

She wonders what people would think if they knew: that such a sweet, trustworthy, likeable face has been lying to her employer and her government for years now, costing them mountains of money with every customer or patient she reroutes into the less-than-legal channels.

Sure, it’s nothing compared to Sasuke’s repsheet, but...still, worse than most would assume just looking at her.

And the same, she feels, goes for Sasuke.

During their time together, she’s observed him as carefully as she can, not wanting to be caught snooping. It’s something she’s always been rather good at. Her eyes are pale enough that most people don’t notice them slid to their corners to watch them. Sasuke, so often, just seems so...normal. He drinks coffee with heavy cream (but no sugar - he doesn’t like bitter, but nor can he stand sweet). He’s taken to feeding the stray cats around her apartment building. She saw him completely interrupt traffic to help an elderly neighbor of hers cross to the proper street from her window on his way to see her once.

Sure, he might do bad things...but he isn’t a bad person.

After all, he’s doing what he’s doing for her out of a sense of honor. He could just flip her the bird and leave her to defend herself from the Senju, helpless. Maybe it’s wholly for himself, for upholding his code of ethics...but it doesn’t feel that shallow.

He doesn’t just stand around looking tough. He talks to her, argues with her, and even jokes with her...though his humor is bone dry. There’s been many a moment when she’s forgotten why he’s around. They bicker and banter like...friends.

...she’s almost forgotten what it’s like to have friends. High school was rather lonely, and her shuffle right into a dead-end job and a micro apartment didn’t really lend itself to making them. Sure, she and the doctor get on fairly well, but...they’ve only ever seen one another for business. Technically that’s the reason Sasuke’s around, but...it just feels...different.

...so maybe she’s not as annoyed by his playing knight as she was when it all first started.

“Now what are you doing?”

“Hm?”

Chin in a hand, Sasuke juts it slightly toward her. “You’ve been staring at your HUD for like fifteen minutes. I can’t see it, but I can tell.”

At his accusation, Hinata goes a light pink. “...uh…”

“Watching porn in public?”

“W-w-what?! No!” Her voice jumps several octaves, drawing the glances of other patrons. They’re currently seated in an outdoor section at the front of a cafe having coffee. Sasuke insisted he needed to refuel, and she never minds a cup herself.

He gives a cheeky, lazy grin, posture still lax. “Then what are you doing?”

“I’m...playing a game.”

“Oh? A game that involves staring at your HUD?”

“It’s...not the most interactive, sure. It’s more of a daily click sort of...t-thing.”

“Ah, gotcha. So you’re not really a gamer girl.”

At that, her lips purse in a pout. “Hey, I play games at home. This is just more...maintenance.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“It’s...cute. You collect cats.”

Immediately, something lightens in his expression, and his posture becomes a bit more attentive. “...oh yeah?”

She doesn’t miss all that, but suppresses a smile, not wanting to drive him off the subject. “Mhm. It’s an older game, Neko Atsume. People used to play it on their phones.”

Sasuke hums in acknowledgement...and something tells her he’s already on his HUD looking it up. She knows already how fond he is of cats. See the above mentioned strays he’s pseudo-adopted. “Sounds...boring, but cats are all right, I guess.”

“Like I said, it’s mostly a daily click sort of thing. You check to see what cats are around, w-what they’ve left you, if they took treats…”

His eyes flicker, and though she can’t see his HUD herself, she already knows what he’s looking at. “...huh.”

“Want to play?”

“I might. If I get bored enough.”

She just gently rolls her eyes.

...a week later, he approaches her with a scowl, and she actually braces herself for some kind of argument.

“What have you done?”

“I...w-what?”

“That stupid...cat game!”

She blinks.

“The whole damn syndicate is playing it now! I can’t stop checking it! We almost missed a raid because the wrong people got distracted!”

Before Hinata can stop it, a snort escapes her, both hands coming to cover her nose and mouth. Eyes go wide. “I...I’m sorry…?”

“I can’t believe this…”

“Sasuke-san, I...I didn’t mean to -?”

“I know,” he snaps, cutting her off...which she’s gotten used to. “...don’t introduce me to any more games. Got it?”

“O...okay.”

“Wasting all my goddamn time,” he mutters, lighting a cigarette and taking a frustrated drag. He gives her a halfhearted glare when she can no longer suppress her giggles. “If the Uchiha Yakuza falls it’s all gonna be your fault, I hope you know that. You and your damn cats.”

“I’m sorryyy!”

“No you’re not!”

“Yes I am!”

“Then why’re you laughing?”

She can’t reply, too caught up in her amusement.

To anyone looking on, they’d see a scowling, tattooed, heavily-modded man they’d immediately peg as a bad guy.

But Hinata knows better.

.oOo.

More of the cyberpunk AU! Not really anything plot-drive this time: more introspection about appearance, which DOES play a fairly big role in both their characters, and their world at large. With the ability to modify your looks, you can really put any face forward - literally. While neither of them have any real appearance mods (though Sasuke does have his eye mods), they still have traits that don't match their exterior! ...I'd...say more but it's very late. And ohhh man...just one more day to go. I hope y'all are ready for me to get super sappy on you tomorrow xD But for now, it's bedtime. Thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #vulgarity //#death //#smoking //#oil and blood [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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gigikiwiandco · 4 years

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Soulvengers, Part 1

[It starts at the Monster Alliance’s house. Frisk and Chara are talking with Asriel in Frisk’s room.]

Asriel: So, anyway, I heard the next mission is your guys’ official first one.

Chara: Yeah, I mean, we helped with a few robberies, but those were coincidences.

Frisk: Yeah, I am so ready!

Toriel: [walks in] I’m sorry to interrupt, my children. But I think Mettaton has a mission ready for you.

[Frisk and Chara follow Toriel to the living room where Mettaton is.]

Frisk: [ready for it] Mettaton, Queen Mom said you have a mission for us.

Chara: [ready for it] What’s the situation, bot-man?

Mettaton: Well, there’s been an accident at a local nuclear power plant. Apparently, there was a school field trip there involving four different grades and it seems that some of the students went missing. Considering how dangerous the place could be, I think you two must get there as soon as possible and see if you can locate the six of them. Please do be careful, darlings.

Chara: [worried] Oh, geez. Well, don’t you all worry. We’ll be careful.

Frisk: [worried] Yeah, I’d know what nuclear science does to people.

Toriel: Good luck, and do be safe.

Frisk: [worried] Oh, Chara, that does not sound good. For all we know, they could get split up or stuck in a room with toxic gases.

Chara: [worried] We better hurry before they do. To the bikes!

[After a few minutes, Frisk and Chara arrive at the power plant with their superhero suits on. The head scientist of the place and the four teachers are with the rest of the students through the front door waiting for them. The classes are 2nd graders, 5th graders, 6th graders, and 7th graders.]

Frisk: Well, this looks like the place. [she and Chara walk into the facility] Oh, hello, everyone. I’m Mega Passion and this is Rebellia. [she and Chara turn to the head scientist and teachers] You guys must the teachers and the head scientist.

Chara: We came here as fast as we could when we heard there were kids missing from these classes, so what’s going on?

Head Scientist: Oh, the famous new child heroes! Why, what an honor to meet you, friends. My name is Dr. Maria Heinrich, I am head of this nuclear facility. And today, I’ve granted permission for the students, a bit mischievous I might add, to come and look at my plant, but it appears that three girls and three boys who appear to have similar nicknames have gone missing. Not good at all.

Chara: What do these guys look like?

Female Teacher 1: Well, one of them is a girl from my class. Her name is Gracie Bleu, but the children call her “Blue.” She’s wearing blue pants with a matching jacket, a green-ish shirt, and a pink tutu with ballet shoes.

Male Teacher 1: Two of them are a boy and a girl from my class. The girl’s name is Clara-Lynn Prior and the boy’s name is Leon Bearden, but the children call her “Cyan” and him “Orange.” Clara-Lynn’s wearing pale green-ish shorts with a matching dress, an ocean blue sweater with striped sleeves, and a red ribbon holding up her hair. Leon’s wearing pink gloves, reddish pants, a white tank top, and an orange bandanna around his neck.

Male Teacher 2: Two of them are a couple of boys from my class. One’s name is Wren Ravens and the other’s name is Oliver Galen, but the children call them “Purple” and “Green.” Wren’s wearing beige pants, a pale purple shirt, a violet jacket, and a pair of round glasses. Oliver’s wearing green overalls, a pink shirt, and an apron with a heart on it.

Female Teacher 2: The last one is a girl from my class. Her name is Amanda Lewis, but the children call her “Yellow.” She’s wearing blue pants with a brown jacket that matches her boots, a white shirt, and a cowboy hat. They are some of our school’s best students, I don’t know why they would do this. Please find them.

Dr. Heinrich: [points them to a room] There is a CC-TV in that room, you could use it to try and locate them.

Frisk: Rebellia, you got all that?

Chara: Yep!

Frisk: Good, so do I. Don’t worry, we’re on it! [she and Chara go into the room and check the CC-TV] Okay, now all we have to is watch the footage from a little while ago and...

[They do just that and click through a few rooms of the facility until they check the outside camera and see the six who match the descriptions they were given walking past some weird liquids. They then curiously walked up to a giant silo of nuclear waste and climbed up the ladder to get a closer look, but the platform they were on soon gave out and they all fell into it.]

Frisk: [panicking] *gasp* Oh, no! We need to act fast! [turns to an axe, a shovel, and hazmat suits] Ah, we could probably use those!

Chara: [panicking] Great idea, we might need to drain that vat!

[Frisk and Chara put on the two hazmat suits and grab the shovel and the axe before running to the silo and climbing up the ladder, only to see the Six struggling to get out and sinking back down each time.]

Frisk: Don’t worry, guys! We’ll get you out of there! Rebellia, dig a hole for it to go into! We’re draining this thing!

Chara: I’m on it!

[Chara quickly digs a big hole deep enough for the waste to pour into with the shovel and Frisk cuts a big enough hole in side of the vat to get the stuff out using the axe, causing most of the waste to pour into the hole and only leaving a thin layer of the stuff in the silo. The Six are temporarily unconscious laying down, Frisk opens up the hole more so that she and Chara could easily get in and bring them out. Cyan and Yellow are covered in second degree burns, Orange seems weaker than normal, Purple can only hear ringing in his ears, Blue sees things really blurry, and Green’s throat seems to be really sore.]

Frisk: [panicking] Oh, dear. [the Six slowly wake up] Oh, thank goodness they’re alive! [she and Chara run over to the Six] Um, not to worry, we’re Mega Passion and Rebellia.

Chara: [panicking] We saved you from drowning in the nuclear waste as quick as we could, are you all okay?

Orange: [feeling weak] I think so.

Yellow: But I think y’all better take us to the hospital and fast.

Cyan: Yeah, who knows what this stuff is doing to us?

Green: [trying to speak but is completely silent] *cough* *cough*

Blue: [panicking] Um, guys? I-I can’t see any of you, my vision is really blurry. I’m scared!

Purple: [panicking] Blue, w-were you speaking? I... I can barely even hear anyone! W-What’s going on?!

Chara: [panicking] Oh, no. [whispering to Frisk] Frisk, it’s worse than we thought. Green can’t speak, Blue’s gone blind, and Purple’s gone deaf.

Frisk: [panicking] [whispering to Chara] I know, Chara. And the other three don’t look too well, either. Orange seems to be feeling really weak, and Cyan and Yellow have burns all over them too. [she and Chara stop whispering] Don’t worry, guys! Help is on the way!

Chara: [panicking] [puts some of the toxic waste into a vile] I’m grabbing some of the waste in case we need a sample!

Frisk: [panicking] Good thinking, R! I have a feeling we just might! Let’s do this, Soulvengers!

#tswfby #frisk #chara #cyan #orange #blue #purple #green #yellow #superhero au

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hiyo-silver · 6 years

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Storytime - Richie's Nostalgia

Summary: Richie tries to tell a story about he and Bill when they were younger before he gets carried away and has to delete the footage because it reveals too much personal information on Bill.

Chap 1 + Chap 2 + Chap 3 + AO3 + My Masterlist

Taglist: @fuckboykaspbrak @thesquidliesthuman @starboystan @rachi0964 @ahoybyeler @beepbeep-losers @bigbilliamdenbro @jalenrose1122 @sleepygaybrough @itandstrangerthingsfanfic @boopboopbichie @peachywyatt @aizeninlefox @sockwantstodie

Richie sits in front of the camera, plopping on the couch in such a fashion that makes the springs in the cushions creak loudly under his weight. He grins to himself, adjusting his glasses as he goes to flip open the viewfinder and click the on button green

He lays back on the back of the couch, getting comfortable, even "man spreading" as Beverly calls it when he does, she always opens her legs wider than he does. He doesn't seem to mind, she's more dominant than he is anyways.

He smiles lazily at the camera in his lowering high, a couple bong hits an hour ago leaves him feeling much smoother than he really is. "Hello, viewers, friends, subscribers," he starts with the grin, leaning forward now with his elbows on his knees.

"Today, boy do I have a story for you," he says, shaking his head with a grin wider than ever. "We're talking about me and Billy Boy in highschool," he says with an eyebrow waggle that goes as long and has far as to make his forehead a bit sore.

"We were fifteen at the time, good times, good times..." He trails off into the story.

Bill slams his locker shut, huffing deeply and jumping when he sees Richie standing straight in front of him in the near empty hallway. He's leaving early because he had an anxiety attack in class over the upcoming geometry presentation he has to do. It doesn't even make sense, why would I need to talk in front of the class about numbers, that's what the teacher is for.

"Heya Billiam, you need someone to go with you? I know your folks probably won't do you any good," Richie offers, his voice losing the normal kick it usually has in favor of something soft and soothing and actually careful, cautious of how Bill may be feeling.

Bill hesitates for a moment, knowing that means Richie will be absent for the day too and he'd feel awful if he got in trouble for it. Richie cares more about his friends than he cares for himself, leaving him in constant trouble with the adults in Derry. He especially speaks out much too much, leaving many people upset with him.

"Sure, R-r-rich, I th-think I'd like that," he says softly, hugging his composition notebook tight to his chest for comfort. He decides he doesn't want to be alone all day, having only made it to the first hour of school, since geometry is set as his second.

Richie nods with a small smile, only letting the corners of his lips tilting up in his normal smirk. He tries to act normal as he takes Bill's hand to drag him off to the front entrance, carrying Bill's backpack and his own.

"Silver doing you good still, Big Bill?" Richie asks, trying to start a conversation that would build Bill up instead of making him feel any worse than he already does.

Bill nods, "She's th-the most p-p-powerful steed," he says surely, still basing much of his pride in his bike, the very one he'd bought for himself after Georgie's death.

"I believe you, Billy," Richie says proudly, climbing on to his own rickety bike, the seat too low for his legs that had shot out like beanstalks once his middle school growth spurt hit.

Bill only smiles softly as he clambers on Silver, her mighty self still proving too tall for even Bill's current height, taller than even Richie's.

They share a look before both starting to pedal at the same pace, taking different amounts of strength to go the same speed due to the difference in bike sides.

Eventually they hit the park, Richie looking to Bill for some sort of direction, "We going to yours or mine?" He asks, looking down at his feet, kicking at the dirt path so dust bubbles up into the air.

"M-mine sounds good, I l-love your mom but I d-don't wanna w-worry her," Bill says, already obviously sure in his decision, his response coming almost immediately.

Richie only nods, bringing his foot back up to the pedal. He starts a bit too slow, wobbling to the side a little, catching himself by kicking his foot to the ground before bringing it back up to speed after Bill who got farther while Richie was struggling with his pedals.

They both smile devilishly at each other, speeding forward at each other to try and be the faster one, every ride is an unspoken race when it's just the two of them.

Once they arrive at the Denbrough residence (Bill pulled into the driveway first but Richie refuses to accept it) Bill lets them in with the key under the garden gnome on his front porch.

He walks in, dropping his backpack immediately to the floor with a thump. He sighs to himself, rubbing his hands over his face and sighing, running his hands through his ginger hair. He truly just wants to calm himself, but that means letting the rest of the pent up anxiety out before it can feel better.

Bill lets a few tears stream down in salty orbs that represent how he's feeling, obviously pretty awful if he's allowing himself to cry around another person. As fast as the tears started, they stop abruptly, he quickly swipes them away with long sweatshirt sleeves that cover his hands like little paws.

In this moment he looks nothing to Richie but a younger version of the Bill everyone knows. Seeming small, nearly fragile and like he could fall apart further if Richie missteps.

Richie can't help but drop his bag as well to wrap his lanky arms around Bill clumsily, holding him for a few moments as the boy shudders slightly under his touch. "You're okay, Bill, I can leave if you need me to," Richie offers, feeling Bill shake his head quickly against his neck.

Bill finally pulls away, looking Richie square in the eye, "C-can you get the bl-blue blanket from my bed? I'll m-make us tea, think it'll c-calm me down," he says, slowly making a plan in his head for the two of them.

Richie nods in response, looking a bit bewildered about how the leader in Bill had immediately come back in that moment, a pop up of the version he often sees.

Richie trudges his way up the creaky wooden steps to the upstairs bedroom. He opens Bill's closed door, stepping into the room. He feels wrong entering alone, it's always with Bill and he feels as if he's intruding now.

Bill's room is the epitome of the room that belongs to a creative but sad person, in other words, it's an absolute disaster. He has a way of organizing, he just never seems to use his method of organization after he's started it.

Richie pulls the fuzzy blue throw blanket from atop the comforter that lays all wrinkled on the sheets. He folds it neatly enough, hugging it to his chest as he goes to the door, closing it behind him only lightly, not wanting to disturb anything.

He makes his way downstairs to where tea is steeping on the counter but no signs of Bill's presence in the kitchen. Then, suddenly, Bill pops out from the dining room, his phone timer still going off until he clicks it off hastily to pull the tea bags out of the mugs, wincing a bit at the hot water that runs up his arms as he walks them to the trash can.

"T-tea's ready," Bill says sheepishly, wiping his arms down with a paper towel, knowing he'll probably feel sticky until the next shower, though he realizes that he really just doesn't care.

"I see that, I can carry them?" Richie offers, grabbing Bill a second paper towel, looking down at his own hoodie and back at Bill's wet sleeves, "And do you want my hoodie? I know you get cold," Richie tests carefully.

Bill nods hesitantly, starting to pull off his own sweatshirt to take up Richie's offer. He's a bit shy, a few stray marks on his arms where he picked at his skin in the strong state of anxiety he'd been in earlier.

Richie quickly pulls off his hoodie, still warm so when Bill pulls it on it feels almost like it's fresh out of the dryer, just as he likes it.

Richie grabs the mugs, a blue one and a yellow one, knowing Bill almost always uses the yellow one, the blue one is his second choice, which definitely makes Richie feel honored. "Where we goin', chief?" He asks with a playful smile.

"I'll l-lead you," Bill says, his tone telling Richie just to be patient, Bill is obviously in one of those moods, and chances are that his surprise won't be negative, knowing him. He's a careful leader and fears nothing more than losing people he loves, which means that he would be especially upset if he scared them off by mistake.

Richie just nods, letting Bill carry the blanket. He watches carefully as Bill drapes it around his shoulders, making himself into a walking human burrito as he walks the two of them towards the room nobody ever seems to open, not for years at least.

Bill opens the door, filling their eyes with yellow and blue and plush toys, an intact Lego turtle sitting neatly on the bedside table just as it should, becoming the first thing seen whenever someone goes in.

Bill crawls right into the small bed, obviously little as it was meant for a boy as young as the age of six. He pats the side next to him, slipping off his shoes and letting them tumble to the floor, better there than on the bed. He'd wash the sheets if he dirtied them but maybe then they'd feel less like Georgie's.

Richie takes off his shoes before sitting in next to Bill, carefully sliding the tea onto the bedside table without touching the turtle. It's not his to touch and he knows that both he and Bill know that.

"It j-just hurts a lot," Bill says softly, whenever he falls apart everything seems to rush back, he's not gotten enough closure on the situation, he truly wishes that it had all ended differently so he could feel differently.

Richie sighs, looking down at his fidgety hands that he holds in his lap so he wouldn't feel so annoying. "I know, Billy, you deserve better," he says quietly, reaching one of said hands over to Bill's shoulder to rub it comfortingly until he feels the other boy quiver with tears again.

"I'm s-sorry," is all the usually stoic boy says in a near whine, unable to get the words out properly.

Richie's heart melts for him, leaning over to hug him, brushing the tears away with his thumb, looking into Bill's watery eyes. "I'm always here for you, I love you," Richie reminds, leaning in to press a peck to Bill's lips, something out of the ordinary for them but Bill doesn't seem to mind.

Richie snaps from his storytelling, looking into the camera and shaking his head to himself, "God, I can't post that," he reminds himself, reaching forward to shut off the camera, taking the SD card to wipe the filming session from it as if he hadn't gotten teary and nostalgic about that story for the past half an hour.

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dangan-happy · 3 years

Note

(Makoto, stop eating all of the four-leaf clovers) To my three: I got my answer. There is no future between us. Should’ve seen it coming. She’s lost interest, wants to focus on school, so. With this, I thank you three + Akane for the help… but this is the end of me with asking for help unless someone new comes around. I think my heart just broke. -Ryo

O-Oh no... Ryo... I'm honestly at a loss of words at how heart-breaking this is. It hurts to hear that, b-but I cannot even begin to imagine how you feel. W-Well... I'm at least glad that you got your answer, a-and that you can start to officially move on. Still, words cannot express how sorry I am to hear this...

You're welcome though. It was really nice getting to help you with this while it lasted. I-I know you said this is the end unless someone new comes around, but please... if you ever need to vent about anything, or if you need a hug or anything, just keep in mind that we'll always be here for you, okay? Please try to take care of yourself, Ryo... we'll be here if you need us again for anything.

Uwwaaahhhh, this breaks my heart to hear, Ryo. But unlike my heart, your heart is in much worse condition. Uwah, this brings so many tears to my beady black eyes... I had so much hope about this, but sadly, the string of hope just wasn't meant to withstand forever. Still, I rather you know now than never, if that makes any sense. Uwah... s-sorry, I'll calm myself down here for you.

J-Just like Komaru said, f-feel free to come back whenever you need to, even if it's for something entirely different and not related to love! As your teacher, it's only right to help my students through thick and think, no matter what. You're very welcome though, and I shall cherish our times, even the bad ones! Why? Well, because you're a great person, Ryo. You really are, and I enjoyed getting to know you throughout all of this. So just know that your teacher is always available if you need 'em! Just... don't forget to save frequently, okay? I'll let Celeste finish this off now, heh.

Oh my dear, I am ever so sorry to hear that. Do not blame yourself for this at all. I can and will send my cat after you if you do. These things happen, and I'm truly sorry you are currently in so much pain. Please Ryo, you don't have to thank us. I'm sorry that I could not provide more for you. Someone new will come, I assure you of that. You're one relationship closer to the right one.

It has been an honor to be one of your main three. Should you ever choose to send another ask, I'll happily answer. Do be kind to yourself. Do what you need to begin healing your heart, as long as it is safe and healthy. You are a wonderful person, and while this chapter of your life has ended in sadness, I am very happy that I've gotten to watch you grow and change so much as a person. I wish you nothing but the best my dear. I hope that many wonderful, positive things come your way soon.

#danganronpa #danganronpa ask blog #ask #komaru naegi #monomi #celestia ludenberg #mod hajime #mod celeste

0 notes

abbzworld · 6 years

Text

Warmth

The Doctor and the Master are forced to share a bed to keep warm in a cold dungeon. No smut, just fluff.

Also found on:

AO3 | FF.net

Here’s some Third Doctor/Delgado Master fluff for you, which is also my first story involving these two. :)

And as you hopefully read in the summary, if you’re looking for smut, this isn’t the place! This is JUST them sharing a bed and being fluffy.

Well anyways, let’s get on with the story.

“Well then, isn’t this just perfect...” The Doctor growled to himself.

Not only was he now stuck inside a dungeon cell deep in the Himalayan mountain region after a rescue mission gone wrong, but no one knew he was down here, he was going to be executed tomorrow morning and the worst thing was the fact that he was sharing this cell with-

“I’m not sure what you’re complaining about, Doctor. It’s your own fault for getting us into this mess!”

The Doctor sighed before turning to face the Master, who was standing in the corner.

“Excuse me, but whose idea was it to get the Frillion’s involved on this UNIT rescue mission? It certainly wasn’t mine!”

“Maybe so, but I seem to recall that it was your idea to blatantly disobey one of their strictest laws.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know they disliked vegetables?!”

The Master gave him a deadpan look with the tiniest of smirks. “You honestly didn’t know that they’re one of the biggest carnivorous alien species in the galaxy? Even I knew that!”

The Doctor glared at him in response. “But they’re honestly going to execute me just because I was eating some celery?! That’s ridiculous! I was hungry!”

The Master chuckled. “It wasn’t just that, Doctor. You also kissed the governor’s wife-”

“I thought she was his daughter! And besides, it wasn’t even on the lips!”

“-you destroyed their ship-”

“It had weapons on it and they were pointed at us!”

“-and to top it all off, you decided to be a show off and engage their most honored warrior in a fight. And you beat him in a very humiliating way.”

At this, the Doctor smiled. “Well, I may not look like a spring chicken but I can fight just as well as the rest of them!”

The Master only smirked. “You did it using a spoon.”

The Doctor shrugged in response. “What can I say? I have a creative mind.”

The Master chuckled. “Meanwhile, all I did was deceive them into attacking Earth. Something which, I must add, they’ve been planning for a while.”

The Doctor went back to glaring at him. “This is incredibly unfair!”

The Master shook his head. “Not really.”

The Doctor sighed and rubbed his forehead. “So how on Earth are we supposed to get out?”

The Master shrugged. “Not sure. But if I were you, I’d get started now. After all, I’m not the one that’s going to be executed tomorrow.”

He chuckled as the Doctor glared at him before he sighed and looking around their cell. So far as he could tell, there wasn’t a way out as there was only one high up window, there wasn’t anything he could use to open the cell door and there didn’t appear to be any weaknesses or cracks in the wall.

“What’s the matter, Doctor?” The Master taunted him. “Can’t figure it out for once?”

“Oh, do shut up!” The Doctor snapped, moving to a wall. “I need to concentrate!”

The Master just shrugged, still smiling, before he sat down.

Several hours later

Day had turned into night and the Doctor hadn’t quite figured out how to escape from the cell. He did have a plan, but it was a rather vague and tricky one.

However, the Doctor knew that he’d have to wait until morning before he could attempt anything as it was too dark right now.

It was getting colder, too.

The Doctor and even the Master were shivering as the temperature inside the cell dropped considerably as their breath formed clouds in the chilly air.

“My word, it’s cold...” The Doctor mumbled.

“Well, considering the fact that it’s nighttime now, we’re in one of the coldest mountain regions on this planet and we’re in a prison cell, that’s not surprising.” The Master commented, smiling even as he rubbed his arms to try to keep warm.

The Doctor only sighed, deciding not to bother gracing him with a response.

Eventually, fatigue began catching up to them. With all the excitement that had happened that day and how long they’d managed to stay awake for, it was no surprise that they were getting tired now.

The Doctor had tried his best to stay awake but he couldn’t ignore it much longer. So he yawned and shuffled over to the bed.

As he sat down, he couldn’t help but notice how the Master was beginning to shiver. The Doctor frowned, knowing it was too cold for him to sleep without a blanket. And the only blanket in the cell was on the bed. It was small and thin but it was still better than nothing.

However, he also knew that the Master was too stubborn and prideful to admit that he was cold, so he lay down on the hard mattress and tried to get comfortable. This proved to be a rather difficult task seeing as how the pillow was also hard.

As he lay there, cold and uncomfortable, he tried to ignore his nagging conscious that was scolding him for not helping the Master. He tried to reason with himself that he wouldn’t want to be kept warm even in these cold temperatures and besides, the Master deserved to be cold.

However, this only made his conscious worse.

Let it never be known that the Doctor isn’t compassionate; even towards his worst enemies.

After ten minutes of this inner turmoil, he finally sighed and looked up; seeing that the Master was still shivering, leaned up against the wall.

“Master?” He called out.

“Hm?”

He paused, before swallowing and saying, “I think we should share a bed.”

The Master stared incredulously at him. “What?!”

“I don’t mean in a crude way. But it’s obviously too cold for the both of us so I just feel that if we-”

“No.”

The Doctor frowned. “I didn’t even-”

“No.” The Master firmly interrupted him. “I would much rather freeze to death than have to huddle together with you just to keep warm.”

The Doctor glared at him before sighing and lying down again.

Oh well. He had tried and it was a stupid idea anyway.

“Suit yourself.”

But it was probably about an hour later that the Doctor - after somehow being able to drift off - woke up, both out of the cold and because he couldn’t help but hear how cold the Master was, as well.

The Master appeared to be in a fetal position, shivering so badly that his teeth were chattering.

The Doctor sighed and got up. Even though the Master was probably his worst enemy at this point in time, both his hearts still held compassion for him. Thus, he felt that he had to do something about how cold they both were; the Master’s stubbornness be damned.

“Master?”

No response.

“Master.”

“Ugh... W-What do you w-want, Doctor?”

The Doctor just stared him down. “Look, it’s obvious that the both of us are too cold to get a proper night’s sleep, and if we’re going to survive tomorrow, we need to be well rested! So would you just swallow your damn pride already and let me keep you warm?!”

“......No...”

“Master...”

“No! I... I don’t need your h-help!”

“I beg to differ.”

The Master still refused to move, avoiding eye contact with the Doctor.

“Look.” The Doctor finally growled, fed up with the Master’s stubborn pride. “I will go over there and drag you over here if you don’t smarten up!”

The Master glared at him in response.

To make his point clear, the Doctor then got up and marched over to where the Master was.

“Don’t touch me!” He snapped when the Doctor reached down.

“Fine then.” He replied before sitting down beside the Master. “But I still don’t intend to allow either of us to freeze to death in here!”

“You stubborn old goat...” The Master muttered.

“It takes one to know one.” The Doctor countered.

They both sat there in silence after that, with the Master continuing to silently shudder as the Doctor struggled to think of a way to get through to him.

At first, nothing came to mind and the Doctor could feel the fatigue and the chilly temperature beginning to get to him again.

And then he was suddenly reminded of a similar situation from his childhood, he smiled wistfully and began to speak.

“Y’know, this situation rather reminds me of a time back on Gallifrey when we lived at the academy.”

The Master said nothing as the Doctor continued.

“I can remember one particularly harsh winter when the temperature in our shared dorm was cold; too cold for either of us to be able to sleep or concentrate on our work.”

The Master sighed, still silent. And so the Doctor kept talking.

“And I can recall that it was your brilliant idea to...” The Doctor suddenly chuckled, fondly remembering what had happened. “To start a fire using some candles to raise the temperature so we might be more comfortable.”

“However, it naturally went wrong and we almost got caught when the curtains suddenly went aflame. And I can recall...” The Doctor sputtered out a laugh. “I can recall... you... you panicking when it first happened and started running around the room.” He stammered as he continued to laugh, fond childhood nostalgia taking over his thoughts as the Master was looking at him now.

“Thankfully, we were able to put it out but the curtains were still damaged. And so we... we had to sneak out and find replacements even though it was past curfew.”

The Doctor smiled, remembering the events as if they’d happened only yesterday.

“And yet somehow, even with how awful we were at sneaking around, the teachers patrolling the hallways and how close we came to getting caught several times, we were able to find replacements and sneak back to our room without anyone finding us.”

“And even all these years later, no one knows what happened except for us.”

He sighed. “But it was still too cold so we had to share a bed in order to keep warm.”

He then turned to look at the Master. “Rather reminds you of something, doesn’t it?”

Silence fell between them for a few minutes as they both sat there, still tired and cold before the Master suddenly chuckled.

“You know Doctor; I seem to recall you doing nothing to stop me from starting the fire that set the curtains ablaze.”

The Doctor furrowed his brow as the Master continued. “Yes, it was my idea but the only protest you uttered was ‘are you sure that’s a good idea’.”

The Doctor nodded, chuckling as he remembered. “Yes, that’s right. Just goes to show how cold it was.”

Silence once again descended between them though instead of being tense or awkward, it was surprisingly... comfortable.

The Doctor eventually sighed. “Do you ever wish that things could just go back to the way they once were? You know, before we became renegades and ran away from Gallifrey?”

At first, the Master was quiet and the Doctor couldn’t tell if he was contemplating his words or just being stubborn again. However, he eventually spoke.

“I’m perfectly content with my life the way it is.”

The Doctor frowned. “That wasn’t my question.”

He once again fell silent for a few minutes before he eventually, in a very soft voice, spoke again.

“Yes...”

The Doctor was content with his answer and so he didn’t say anything else, just nodding.

Surprisingly, the Master continued.

“I mean, things were so much simpler in those days. We weren’t running from anyone or anything, just...” He sighed. “Just to each other.”

Then, with an almost pained expression on his face, the Master looked at the Doctor.

“What happened?”

The Doctor swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as he fought to think of a response.

“I’m not sure...” He finally told him. “Life, our different ambitions or our families... Any one of those factors could’ve been the cause for our falling out.”

The Master sighed, obviously dissatisfied with his answer but he didn’t say anything else.

And so the Doctor spoke again.

“I really miss you sometimes, you know? Like, whenever I get a new companion or assistant or whatever, I know I’ll inevitably lose them... It breaks my hearts but as a result, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to take on someone who’s my equal in basically every sense; physically, emotionally and intellectually.”

“And, despite how foolish I know this line of thinking is, I sometimes wish that you... you had joined me instead of going on your own.

“...Really?”

The Doctor nodded before silence fell again.

After a while, the Master spoke again. “Doctor...”

“Hm?”

“If... If I were to share a bed with you...” He paused before continuing. “There are some stipulations first.”

The Doctor nodded, trying not to appear too proud or hopeful that their shared childhood memories might’ve gotten through to the Master.

“First, nothing crude happens!”

“Of course.”

“And secondly, nothing about what happened in this cell - what with the words we spoke and the things we’ll do - is to be told to anyone else!”

“Agreed. We’ll keep it a secret between ourselves. It’s not like it’ll be the first or only one so far.”

The Master smiled a little at that before they both got up and shuffled over to the bed.

The Doctor laid down first, getting somewhat comfortable and then watching as the Master - after briefly hesitating - laid down beside him, his back to him.

The blanket still wasn’t very big, but it was able to cover the both of them. The Doctor could feel how tense the Master was; as it had been centuries since they’d shared a bed, and so, without really thinking, he wrapped an arm around the Master’s waist; pulling him close.

He sighed in response to this, obviously uncomfortable, but he didn’t voice any complaints.

“Shh... Just go to sleep.” The Doctor murmured near his ear.

The Master could only listen to him, slowly closing his eyes.

The Doctor could feel that the tension in his body was fading away and soon, he could hear the Master’s gentle breathing as he slept.

The Doctor then smiled, feeling very pleased with himself for actually winning a battle of wits against the Master. However, his fatigue was again catching up to him and so closed his eyes.

Oddly enough, he felt almost like the Master’s presence, despite the fact that they’re bitter enemies and would most likely continue to be so even after this strange night, was actually helping him to fall asleep so quickly and easily.

And as he listened to the Master’s rhythmic breathing, his naturally cooler body temperature nonetheless warm and welcome in the cold cell, he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning came and all too quickly, the Doctor and Master were enemies again.

The entire mess was eventually sorted out, with the well-timed appearance of UNIT recruits - including Jo Grant and the Brigadier - and the Doctor’s fast wits and reflexes. He was able to get away from his execution at the last minute and then regroup with his friends and allies and help save the Earth yet again.

Unfortunately, the Master escaped too, having given the Frillion’s the slip. UNIT knew that they couldn’t waste time and resources searching for him in such extreme conditions and so they returned to the UK, hoping that he’d show up again soon.

And true to his word, the Doctor never told anyone about what had happened between him and the Master in the cell. Sometimes, he’d think about it a little too hard and someone, usually Jo (who was getting almost annoyingly perceptive), would ask him what was wrong.

His response was usually, “Nothing to worry about. I was just thinking of different ways to upgrade Bessie.”

He never let anyone find out the truth. It wouldn’t do to have any crude or inappropriate rumors circulating UNIT HQ, after all.

AN-I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did, I’d love it if you left a review! Go ahead and tell me what I did right and what I could improve on. I’d love the feedback! :)

#fluff #delgado master #third doctor #master x doctor #classic doctor who #doctor who #no smut #fanfiction #archive of our own #fanfiction.net

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hellstate--rp-blog · 7 years

Photo

↪ b a s i c s ;

N A M E: Luciano “Luca” Santoro A G E: 33 P L A C E O F O R I G I N: Sicily, Italy G R O U P: V. A. Medical Center O C C U P A T I O N: Trader F C: Justin Baldoni

❝ There is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average human being to supply any given army on any given day. ❞

↪ p e r s o n a l i t y ;

P O S I T I V E T R A I T S: dutiful ; cunning N E G A T I V E T R A I T S: reticent ; greedy

↪ b i o g r a p h y ;

L I F E B E F O R E T H E O U T B R E A K:

Nearly seventy years ago, the streets of Sicily were ruled by two rival gangs: the Marcellos and the Costas. The two had been against each other for decades, fighting an endless battle for a prize that neither of them would ever get. Territory, drugs, money, fame. All of this sparked greed within their hearts, clouding their morals and sense of compassion. For many, this had become a spectacle. Like watching a brawl on television and betting on who would win. Many had placed their faith and futures into the hands of the Costa empire. Out of the two, they seemed to be the one with more power and unlike their rival, also had a passion for the working class and making Sicily a safe place for its natives. The Marcellos, on the other hand, seemed to put their main focus on the distribution of drugs, not really caring who they hurt in the process or what may come of the city if it became even more dangerous than it already was. Soon enough, the city had become split as many people chose their sides and proceeded with confidence. Antonio Santoro, who was a working man, had unknowingly picked the side of recklessness. It had started as a simple job taken up by a simple man. The young Santoro boy was to tend to the delicate plants that were tucked away in an abandoned warehouse right outside of the city, and in turn, Marcello was willing to pay him handsomely. But like any other job, a good production eventually meant raises and the inevitable promotion that accompanied it. With this, the door to the ‘company’ finally began to open up and Antonio saw it for what it truly was: an abomination. Becoming the delivery boy also included collecting money and when that could not be delivered, he was told to use force if necessary. This quickly turned dark as blood began to cover his hands and the nightmares began to worsen. The man was growing sick of it and eventually, the Costas began to pick up on this. A meeting was quickly arranged and before he knew it, Antonio had become a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He was playing the fields, working for Marcello as a front so he could collect and gather information from the Costas.

Years passed and the bloody feud had grown worse. With the news of a mole surfacing in the Marcello side, a witch hunt began to unfold. It didn’t take long before they realized that Antonio Santoro, the man whom they had grown to trust, was also the man who betrayed them. Loyalty was one thing that was heavily emphasized and it was also the one thing that Antonio could not deliver to them. He said goodbye to his wife, Eleanora, and told her to seek shelter with the Costas. Then, Antonio awaited the fate that he had brought upon himself. News of the murder of the rat who betrayed the Marcellos quickly spread and his wife soon became grief stricken. The Costas had shown a surprising amount of regret for Eleanora received news that she was pregnant. They graciously took her in, promising to take good care of her and avenge the loss that she had suffered. Reluctantly, she agreed and nine months later, she gave birth to Stefano. Life for Stefano had been sheltered, but with the environment that he was raised in, was not boring. Each day brought something new. A quote unknown, a lesson unspoken, a song unheard. There was always something to be learned and with this, came the interest in Sicily, his hometown. Everything that had attributed to its history became something that Stefano studied until he knew it like the back of his hand, including the death of his father. Upon learning about this, an indignant feeling quickly consumed him as he relayed the past decade of his life and thought about what could have been different had his father not been murdered. He took this problem to the head of the Costa family, Alessio, and began to strategize the downfall of the Marcellos. At first, Costa took this as nothing more than a phase, but as time went on, he saw the fire that grew in Stefano’s eyes and knew that this would be a lasting hatred. Together, they began to plot out exactly how to overcome the Marcellos once and for all. Despite his mother’s pleas, Stefano decided to take an active role in this. Eventually, the two succeeded and the Marcello name was just another part of Sicily’s rich history.

Stefano Santoro’s heart never did become free from his rage. Instead, it consumed him even more, provoking something deep within him. Even with the love of another, he was unable to shake the feeling. Despite this, he married Alessio Costa’s daughter, Adriana and started a family of his own. Luciano Santoro was instantly brought into this world that was filled with anguish and greed. Despite his father’s best efforts, he couldn’t hide this from Luciano. The need for more had encased his heart, making him unreachable. He Imagined a world in which he was on top with his wife by his side, despite the fact that Adriana was a Costa before she was a Santoro. Luciano’s father knew that as long as Alessio Costa was alive, this dream would not come true. Desperate to rise above himself, he began his long plan to overtake the Costa empire and rule Sicily according to how he wanted it. This betrayal wasn’t something that Alessio had not foreseen and because of this, he had kept a close eye on his son-in-law. Seeing how passionate he was, Alessio knew that he would not be able to win this fight. With the majority of his men turning on him to join Stefano, he knew what had to be done. In order to prevent certain death, he fled to America in hopes that this would suffice as a surrender. Now, Stefano stood before Sicily with more power in his pinkie than both Marcello and Costa combined. His wife soon became fearful of her husband and his capabilities and she decided to follow her father’s steps. Without a word, she packed her bags and took Luciano away from the toxic environment that had been created. Together, they lived alone in the projects based in Los Angeles, California.

With this second chance at life, his mother began to seek comfort in the church and Catholicism soon became a part of daily life. Luciano, however, with the strong resilience that was passed down from his father to him, sought comfort in academic success. Starting in preschool, Luciano began to study as if his life depended on it. For him, it was more than just school. He attached his mother’s sacrifices and his father’s mistakes to success, wanting to rise above the crime, while still attaining enough money to support his mother. Using this as fuel, he began to accelerate in his studies. Luciano was able to skip his kindergarten class and move forward into first grade. From then on, teachers began to notice how gifted he truly was and in order to help him with his goal for academic success, they started giving him more advanced assignments. As the years passed, his mother met another and moved on from his father. Their love seemed to be something that surpassed everything else and they quickly got engaged. Before they could get married, however, it was discovered that Adriana was pregnant. The wedding got moved up so that they could begin their new family ‘the right way.’ Nearly two months earlier than the estimated delivery date, his mother gave birth to a girl. As soon as Luciano’s eyes watched her, he fell in love. Holding her in his arms, he promised to never let anyone hurt her and to protect her until he was no longer alive. This promise, as cheesy as it may have been, heavily impacted the way his life continued. Months passed and his mother began showing troubling behaviors which were quickly diagnosed as postpartum depression. Despite the fact that he was no longer the ‘man of the house,’ Luciano took responsibility for both his mother and his sister’s wellbeing, not yet ready to pass the role on to his stepfather. He spent late nights changing his sister’s diapers and early mornings making breakfast and coffee for his mother. At a young age, he was being depended upon by his whole family and their delicate ecosystem.

Luciano moved into high school and his sister began to grow up, releasing some of the stress that had consumed him in grade school. He walked his sister to her school each day and walked her home. Together, they would find joy in the little things. Counting how many red cars they saw, competing to see who can run to the corner the fastest. It was these small moments in his day that kept him grounded, but as honors classes turned into AP classes, he found himself growing stressed again. As a result of this, Luciano decided to join the school soccer team. Though he had never played it as an organized sport, he was able to make the varsity team. This alleviated some of the stress that he felt and also provided an outlet for any anger or negative emotions that he encountered. The next three years of school seemed to pass with ease and luckily, all of his hard work paid off. Luciano was named the Valedictorian of his class and was accepted into Harvard University with a generous scholarship. Though leaving Los Angeles also meant leaving his family, Luciano now trusted his stepfather with their lives. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he moved on to Harvard Law and soon after, became an intern for a law firm. Just as his father and his father before him, Luciano started from the very bottom. Getting coffee and making sure the office was stocked with doughnuts, while tedious, was not satisfying for him. He began to plan his way up the ladder, making connections with his boss and learning information from other lawyers. Before he knew it, Luciano had become a lawyer. Case after case, he was successful and many looked toward him with both jealousy and admiration. At a young age, he was surpassing his elders and getting clients that were well off in terms of money. This career was rewarding and with a lot of hard work and dedication, he was able to buy his mother her own house and support his family.

L I F E D U R I N G T H E O U T B R E A K:

Cheyenne, Wyoming was nothing special for Luciano. As a favor for a friend that he had met in college, he took on an easy case for a low amount of money. Upon landing and leaving the airport, strange things began to occur. People had become sick at an alarming rate, but Luciano thought little of it. He called his little sister, letting her know that he had reached the city safely and that he was healthy. However, as he was speaking with her, he began to hear the terrified screams of another. Hanging up on his sister, he immediately rushed over. He watched as a sickly young woman let out unearthly groans of anguish and began to attack innocent people. Everywhere he looked, the images of the vicious and feral attacks haunted him. Gore covered the city and Luciano was beyond terrified. He had worked with criminals before and defended their cases, but when it came down to it, he simply didn’t have to stomach to deal with this. The moral part of him tried to help those who were sick or hurt, hoping that he would be able to save them. Each time, however, he was unable to do so. It took him a while to accept, but finally, Luciano began to come to terms with the fact that this was the end of the world as he knew it and a new chapter was beginning.

Violence had become widespread and this was the difficult part for him. Even though he knew what he had to do in order to survive, he found it hard to commit these sins. For the first few months, he managed to live in the city without killing anyone or anything. But as the outbreak worsened and the population fell apart, Luciano found that crime was now something that was necessary to his survival. Many times, he tried to venture past the city to find his sister, mother, and stepfather. Each attempt, however, ended in failure. With killing and stealing now becoming a part of who he was, he found himself seeking comfort in the Bible and praying to God. While most people lost their faith, Luciano seemed to strengthen it. Finally, he worked up enough confidence to find his family. Packing up his bags, he worked his way down to his childhood home. His mother and stepfather were found in the living room, laying in pools of blood, but his sister was nowhere to be found. Pictures around the house were taken out of their frames, giving Luciano enough evidence to believe that she was still out there. There was no time to waste and he immediately began his desperate search for his sister. He worked his way back to Cheyenne, knowing that if she were still alive, she’d be on her way to the city that Luciano had been in when the outbreak first became a reality. He meticulously searched the country as he made his way back to Cheyenne, but unfortunately, his sister was nowhere to be found.

L I F E A F T E R T H E O U T B R E A K:

The loss of his sister was difficult to deal with, but not impossible. He knew that wherever she was, she would want him to continue living and not give up. This served as fuel for him and he became determined to succeed, even when he did not want to. Even when he could no longer see her or speak with her, he was still wrapped around his little sister’s finger. Using his charming personality, and cutthroat lawyer traits, Luciano was able to survive. He managed to live while minimizing his kill count, choosing to solve his problems diplomatically. It took a while, but he finally began to feel secure enough in the city to join a survivor group. Though many of them looked nice and inviting, the V.A Medical Center seemed to attract him more due to the spacious outlay of the building. While he enjoyed being and living with other people, he also found that growing attached to people meant getting hurt. This also impacted his decision to become a trader as it allowed him the freedom he needed and prevented him from growing restless.

As a child, he had prayed with his mother. However, as he did so, never believed that there was a God out there. He was a firm believer in science and evolution, finding that to be a more realistic view. But as things worsened and his emotional well being was put on the line, he found himself connecting with this part of his mother and began to pray. While he does not bring up religion or faith to others, he is also not shy about his beliefs. Spending time in the local churches and carrying a worn out copy of the Bible became essential to his psyche. For him, repenting for his sins and asking for forgiveness is the only way he can continue surviving. The killing, whether warranted or not, fill his dreams and evoke regret within him, making it impossible to live a life without hatred. This feeling, however, does not typically extend out toward anyone. Instead, it festers within him and creates a strong self-loathing for himself. To him, it reaches further than the idea of death and sin. It shatters the very image he had worked so hard to create for himself and all of the efforts he’s put in so that he can separate himself from his father. Now, however, his actions have put him head-to-head with his father.

Luciano, while seemingly level-headed, faces a war within himself. On one side, he wants to survive. But on the other, he does not want to turn into his father. This causes a great amount of emotional turmoil for him and though he is living successfully now, he feels as though the path of destruction has already been taken. No matter how much he prays and confesses his sins, he feels as though it’s not enough. All of the pain and suffering that he has brought onto others makes it difficult for him to live with himself and since his image has already been ruined, he’s tempted to follow his father’s lead. His whole life, he’s taken the harder route and persevered in areas where he should have failed. Now, it feels as though the failure is inevitable and that no matter what he does, he will not fall far from the tree. Luciano is just clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, his spirit is not beyond the path of salvation.

#justin baldoni #rp #rpg #city rp #city rpg #a.#m.#30 #v.a.#astra.#luciano santoro.

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somewhatfiltered · 7 years

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kind of a diary entry?

today was an interesting day:

i went to the dentist and the optometrist, all by myself, to appointments that i had made myself. this made me feel like an Adult.

dad and i grabbed lunch at a new shanghai cuisine place, and in trying to make conversation i learned a lot of things like: my mom was a working woman who didn’t want any kids. my grandmother tried to drown herself when she was a teenager. my other grandmother’s mother remarried when she was little, and having one child by blood and one that is not makes a big difference when you don’t have enough food. my great-grandfather slept around when my grandfather was growing up, and my great-grandmother was so infuriated by this that she died. when she passed, she’d taken my grandfather to go begging several counties over, and they’d walked for days and days, and he walked the days and days back by himself. my dad and my mom fought a lot before i was born, and they still fight a lot, mostly about how much money my dad still sends to my grandmother in china, because my mom thinks we should be keeping more for ourselves. it’s not her fault, dad said, it’s because we grew up poor, so you want to save what you have, and anyway it’s not her mother. “everything is a tragedy,” he said sagely as we blew over our hot soup dumplings to cool them off.

one of my aunts and my uncle on my dad’s side are still farmers; my uncle also holds some sort of leadership position in the--village? district? which my grandfather also held; my two other aunts work as clerks; my cousins do blue-collar work. two of them work as elevator repairmen in the city. one of them is in the army. a couple might be in the farming business? i don’t remember. my mom’s sister is a preschool teacher, and from what i understand, my mom’s sister’s husband is an uneducated bum and doesn’t have a stable income, which drives my grandma nuts.

my uncle just got married. he brought over his new wife a couple of days ago and my parents tried to make her feel at home but it was awkward, and she spent a large part of her time staring at her phone.

i asked my dad if they were going to have kids. my uncle’s in his late forties and my new aunt is in her thirties. dad looked surprised. “of course! that’s what your uncle has been aiming for.”

i guess when you become an adult and feel the slow but crushing onset of age, “i want kids” becomes a justifiable reason for getting married.

it seems like my uncle’s had a string of relationships, all of them failed--he was even married before at one point, but they divorced in the end. my parents say my uncle isn’t an easy person to live with, because he’s stubborn. at around this time, i had discovered r/relationships on reddit, and suggested half-jokingly that he post his problems on there to get some perspective.

how do you preserve things so that they’ll never be lost or thrown away? i’ve always started a ton of notebooks but stopped writing after the first few pages.

i asked dad what it’ll be like for my kids--it seems inevitable that i’ll have kids, though i haven’t decided if i really want to, yet. but i said it like it was something inevitable. i asked whether they would know their family in china. i asked what the future looked like for a family tree that had effectively been split into two. he looked at me and said, “do you feel like you want to know your cousins?”

“no,” i said, startled. “not really.”

he nodded sagely. “then it’ll be like that for your children,” he said, scooping up another wonton. “it’ll be just like that. if they forget, so what? that’s how the world goes.”

after my appointments i took the public rail to the city, a process that always makes me feel more like an adult--sophisticated? knowledgeable? but also makes me feel smaller. i am wary on the train, a little tense, a little anxious, never relaxed. i eye people here and there, wondering about them--curious about their lives, but also with my mother’s warnings ringing in my head: be aware of your surroundings. never let down your guard. the city is dangerous. bad people are out there. does it make me a worse human being, to be cautious? have i lost anything in the process?

my boyfriend and i are on a date in the city. at night, on the way back to the station, we pass a street that is always full of homeless men.

“should we--cross the street?” i whisper. he glances down at me.

“do you want to?”

i eye the woman in front of us. alone, in a dark sweatshirt with the hood up, she walks fearlessly forward, putting one foot in front of the other with purpose. i wonder whether she’s really speeding up, or if it’s just my imagination.

“well, i guess, if she’s doing it--”

we walk straight through it. what am i trying to prove? am i afraid that turning away will make me look childish, petty, judgmental? cowardly? i accidentally kick one man’s hat as we walk by, and walk on to keep pace with my boyfriend but turn back to glance at it, a half-formed, “wait, i should...” on my lips.

on the way there during the day we had passed dozens of homeless people, begging or singing or just lying on the ground, exhausted by something i’ll probably never comprehend. one of them pleaded as we walked down into the underground station: “please, please, please...” one of them was young--maybe in her 20s or 30s--sitting next to a sign: PREGNANT AND HOMELESS. i made an involuntary whimper in my throat when i saw her and her distended stomach, wanting to help, not sure if i was allowed to, not sure how.

if that makes me sound pathetic, it’s probably because i am.

i rode the rail home by myself and happened to sit down right behind some old high school classmates. classmates and neighbors--we grew up together, played on the streets in the afternoons, carpooled to get to school. one of them, m, was on the student council and as a result her house was used to prepare for the senior homecoming skit on the night before; almost-not-teens-and-not-quite-adults blasted hip-hop music until early in the morning, and noise complaints came from the whole neighborhood.

once, on the longest day of summer, all the kids came out after dinner, as if on some unspoken signal, and we played tag until the sun finally went down. i remember that day: the red-and-orange glow, the cooling heat, the sudden realization that i couldn’t see my hands anymore.

after about two seconds of hesitation i make the decision not to say anything, because the ride is an hour long and i don’t want to spend the majority of it trying to make small talk over the roar of the train. i stare at the back of their heads, wondering: did they notice me? are they texting each other about me, or just looking through their phones? is this a date? (the theory is quickly discarded when i notice m is falling asleep, but doesn’t feel comfortable leaning against w as she does.) is w going bald, or has his hair always been this thin?

at this time my friend sends me her creative writing honors thesis. it is, coincidentally enough, about high school. i read the short story that preceded and sort of seeded this, so i know vaguely what emotions to expect. it is full of her very unique snark and chinese poetry and idioms and references to people i know who are just different enough to be characters but not really.

it feels a little like drowning. which is exactly what high school felt like: drowning. i wonder if that’s what she meant to convey.

after that i didn’t really know what to do, so i sat down and typed all this up.

#personal

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bisiji3 · 5 years

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【筆記】Education as the First Priority

Interfaith Forum

Intercultural and Interfaith Peace Dialogue:

Overcoming Crises through Education

Dharma Lecture: Education as the First Priority

Venerable Master Chin Kung

President, Pure Land Learning College Association Inc.

“The Fu Xi class” given by Teacher Wu

4 Nov 2012 Manelwatta Temple, Sri Lanka

Master Chin Kung：

Distinguished Dharma masters, ambassadors, guests, and fellow practitioners, Ven. Chandima Thero asked me to confer the Three Refuges before my talk. The oath is not long. Please repeat after me:

I take refuge in the Buddha, the most honored one, Perfect and complete in wisdom and good fortune; I take refuge in the Dharma, the best way to eliminate craving; I take refuge in the Sangha, the most deserving of respect of all communities.

We need to say this three times.

The highest guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Three Refuges. When the ancients taught, they would first point out the objective of their teaching so that the students would have a goal and direction. When we learn Buddhism, what exactly do we learn? What kind of achievement do we wish to seek so that we will be contented? The Three Refuges tell us the answer “Taking refuge” means returning to and relying on. Taking refuge in Buddha is returning to and relying on the Buddha in the true nature. The Triple Jewels has many definitions, and the most ultimate one is the Buddha of the true nature. “Buddha” means enlightenment. That is, a Buddhist practitioner must be awakened and not be deluded. First, we must turn away from delusion and rely on enlightenment in the true nature. This is truly taking refuge in the Buddha. Second, “Taking refuge in the Dharma.” Dharma means the proper understanding of the true nature. Have proper views, not deviated ones. We turn away from deviated thoughts and views and rely on proper thoughts and views. Proper thoughts and views are wisdom innate in the true nature. The meaning is very profound. We should rely on innate wisdom in the true nature. Wisdom is not gained from without. That which is learned from without is knowledge, not wisdom. Wisdom requires awakening, which is called great enlightenment, or enlightening the mind and seeing the true nature. This is wisdom. Wisdom can understand and know the truth of everything in this world and beyond. Only attaining enlightenment is real. Therefore, the Buddha taught us to be enlightened and to attain the truth of life and the universe. There is not the slightest delusion in Buddhism. Third, when we learn and practice, we need to rely on the Sangha. In a Sangha, purity is foremost. Taking refuge in the Sangha means turning away from all pollutions and relying on a pure mind and pure behavior. This is truly taking the Three Refuges. The Buddha taught us in daily life, our thoughts, words, and behaviors should not deviate from this standard. Deviating from this standard is deviating from the Buddha’s teaching, and then we are not students of the Buddha. A student of a Buddha must constantly remember these three highest guiding principles for learning and practice. This is the Triple Jewels of the True Nature. This is truly taking refuge. We do not take refuge in a Buddha image. We have a Buddha image here. A Buddha image is the Buddha Jewel; the sutras are the Dharma Jewel; monastics are the Sangha Jewel. These three are the Three Jewels for dwelling in and upholding. The Buddha has left us and is no longer in this world. In commemoration of him, we make images of him. Seeing a Buddha image is liking seeing the Buddha himself. This gives rise to admiration and respect for the Buddha and inspires us to learn from the Buddha. This is what it means. We need to know this. The Dharma refers to the sutras, which are the Buddha’s teachings. When the Buddha was in this world, he taught by giving lectures. After his parinirvana, his teachings were written down. Seeing the teachings in words is like seeing Sakyamuni Buddha in front of us. Reading the sutras is listening to the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha. That is what it means. We must truly understand the Buddha’s teachings. What exactly did he teach? Understanding is not an easy thing. In Chinese Buddhism, at the beginning of the sutras is the Opening Verse, which was written by Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty. It was very well written. She wrote, “The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma is extremely difficult to encounter in countless kalpas. Today I get to see, hear, receive, and uphold it; I wish to understand the true meaning of Tathagata’s words.” The last sentence is very important. How do we understand the the true meaning of Tathagata’s words? If we misunderstand or misinterpret Tathagata’s true meaning, the offense is very grave. The most important thing in understanding Tathagata’s true meaning is to be close to a wise teacher. In other words, we need to learn from a good teacher. What is the criteria for a good teacher? This teacher has truly obtained awakening from the sutras. This is a truly good, wise teacher. Not only are there not many, there are probably none these days. Why is this so? The reason lies entirely in sincerity and respect. Do we have a sincere and respectful mind for the Buddha? Without the slightest doubt, and with a pure, sincere, and respectful mind, we listen to lectures on the sutras or recite the sutras. This way, we will be able to understand Tathagata’s true meaning. But this sincerity has to be of the utmost. As it is said, “The utmost sincerely can bring forth a response.” We use this method. It worked for the ancients and it will also work for people today. But people today are influenced by science, which advocates questioning. If we question the Buddhist sutras or doubt Sakyamuni Buddha, we will not be able to learn Buddhism. What has become of our learning and listening to the sutras? What we learn will be knowledge, not wisdom. Wisdom is Tathagata’s true meaning; knowledge is not. What is knowledge? It is our own interpretation. We are ordinary beings, so our views are still those of an ordinary being, not that of the Buddha. We must know this. I accepted the invitation of the President to come to Sri Lanka, where I never expected to come. I was very surprised to find that the people here to be very down-to earth and honest. I have never seen such esteem for Buddhism in other places. Is this esteem the same as the having no doubt, sincerity, and respect as taught in the sutras? We can say that it is replete with these three requirements. Does it meet the Buddha’s standard? As the ancients said: “I wish to understand Tathagata’s true meaning.” The standards, I cannot say. But compare with other places, Sri Lanka very much deserves our respect. It is a small country and not very well known. Yesterday, I had a long talk with the Minister of Education. We had already met at the president’s office. I learned that there are over 10,000 schools in Sri Lanka. Students do not pay tuition to go to primary school, secondary school, or university. In other words, the government takes care of educational expenses. I was very moved.

I was reminded that in my youth, because my family was poor and could not afford the tuition, I had to miss school. Therefore, after age 14 I did not go to school. At that time, I thought about this everyday, “I loved studying. Why can’t I go to school?” Because my family was poor. I tried to come up with a solution that would allow children throughout the world not to miss school due to poor family circumstances and allow them to complete the education in primary school, secondary school, and university. Where does the money come from? The government. How does the government get the money? By levying a tax for education. Regardless how much money one makes. The government collects a tax of 10% from what one earns. If one makes ten dollars, one pays one dollar for the educational tax. The fund should be designated for this purpose only, nothing else. Maybe this solution would work. Unexpectedly, seventy years later, I found it here. You do not know how happy I am. It is such a rare situation! I realize that this government places great importance on education. Education, not armaments, is placed first in government expenditures. Generally a country wants to develop the military and armaments. But not this country. Instead it promotes education. I hope that every country in the world learns from Sri Lanka. We do not want to spend money on the military, which is not worth it. Money should be spent on education. Protecting a country does not require a military, especially in modern times. Many people know that military forces cannot solve problems. The U.S. started a war in Iraq. Three months before the war broke out, I wrote a letter to President George W. Bush. I urged him to use a peaceful method, not military forces, to solve problems. Unfortunately, the war still broke out. President Bush also realized that the war was a mistake. Why? Because it was easy to start a war but hard to end it. The problem was not resolved even after he left office. During the fall, there were little or no American fatalities. But during the occupation, local riots led to the death of several thousand Americans. It was not worth it. Therefore, it is a very good lesson, telling people that war will only make a disaster worse and will not resolve a problem. 9/11 led to a war against terrorists. This is extremely terrible. Society changed. Things became different. Before the attacks, I lived in the U.S. for more than a decade. The U.S. is indeed democratic and free. When I travelled, there were hardly any security checks at the airports. My friends in the U.S. could meet me at the arrival gate. As soon as I got off the plane, I saw them. When they saw me to the airport, they would see me to the boarding gate and make sure my carry-on was arranged before they left. But it is now different in the U.S. The security check is extremely strict. They even ask you to remove jackets and coats for the security check. So I do not want to go there anymore. I met President Bush once at a huge event. The security check there was more than ten times stricter than that at the airport. I saw about sixty or seventy security guards protecting the event venue. They were all armed with submachine guns as if they were facing formidable enemies. This did not look like they had won the war. So I felt very deeply about this. I hope there will be no more wars in the world. Wars bring endless disastrous consequences. Reprisals breed reprisals. Buddhists and some religious people know about samsara. Transmigration within the Six Paths was first taught by Brahmanism and was proven later. Anyone who cultivates the four kinds of meditation and the eight degrees of concentration can see this clearly. Reprisal breeds reprisal. It is cyclical and never ending. Why incur this enmity? It is not worth it. The root cause of chaos in today’s society lies in education. Education today is well implemented. There are many schools. Although schools are many, the direction in education has deviated. Schools focus mainly on teaching science and technology. There is hardly any humanities. In other words, a person knows how to produce machines and operate them, but he does not know how to be a good person. People care only about themselves, not others. The East has discarded the traditional heritages. China threw away her tradition 200 years ago. The West threw away their religious education. Social chaos and abnormal disasters today are thus the result. We must know this. When I lived in Australia, the Chancellor of the University of Queensland invited me to dine with him. We were accompanied by the Dean of Social Science and several professors. The dean told me that before WWII, some European experts and scholars had earnestly researched why three of the world’s four earliest civilizations disappeared, but Chinese civilization still exists? They spent a long time researching this topic and got an answer. He said, “It could be because the Chinese paid much importance to family education.” When I heard this, I told him that this conclusion was completely correct. Indeed, Chinese ancients understood education. They were wise in education. They had educational concepts, methods, and experiences, and good results from education. The _Book of Rites_ says: “Education is essential in building a country and in guiding its people.” It has been about 4500 years since the creation of Chinese written characters. We cannot say that there was no civilization before the creation of written characters. Civilization existed even earlier than that. A Hindu elder told me that his religion has existed for at least 13,000 years. I believe him. I also have reason to believe that Chinese traditional culture has also existed for at least 13,000 years. The dean truly grasped the core value of education, so he understood. Question: How did education come about? That is, what is the root of education? Why is education necessary? Before Buddhism was introduced to China, the Chinese ancients knew that human nature is originally good. In ancient China, when young children aged 4 or 5 started school, they were taught the _Three Character Classic_. The very first sentence in this text is “All people are innately good.” This is the same as the Three Refuges in Buddhist teaching. The same idea is expressed in different ways. Human nature is originally good. What does “originally good” mean? “Good” is Buddha. The first thing the Buddha taught in the Mahayana sutras is “All beings are Buddhas in nature.” See, the Buddha told us the goal: we are Buddhas in nature. What is the goal of our learning? It is to attain Buddhahood. Once we become a Buddha, we are no different from Sakyamuni Buddha or Amitabha Buddha. What does attaining Buddhahood mean? It means attaining ultimate, perfect wisdom, perfect virtues and abilities, and perfect auspicious marks. Do you want these? Do you want wisdom? Only when you have wisdom will you be able to completely understand the truth of all the phenomena in the universe. You will be all knowing and be capable of everything. Do you want this? Do you want to have moral integrity, like the virtues, capabilities, and auspicious marks of a sage? How about good health and longevity, never growing weak or old? Everybody wants these. You should know what I just said is the content of Buddhism. These are what Buddhism teaches us. If we do not learn these, it will be such a pity! Look at the Buddhist teachings. Life span is infinite in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Life never ends and people never become old. Can we achieve this? Scientists today tell us that we can. Quantum physicists have discovered that human thoughts can control physical phenomena. What have they discovered? Human thoughts can control material phenomena. The body is a physical phenomenon. If you have good thoughts, you will be healthy physically and mentally. You will never get sick. This is the first benefit of learning Buddhism. Our mental health has not reached the level of that of a Buddha. If it does, we will stay 18 years old every year, never getting old or getting sick. Look at a bodhisattva. How perfect his appearance is! Can we create such an appearance? We cannot. His appearance is so auspicious that we make cannot even match 1% of that appearance. This is a benefit of learning Buddhism. Once we truly understand this is what we want, we will be able to let go of all worldly things. The Buddha taught us to attain Buddhahood, like him. Buddhahood, bodhisattvahood and arhatship are titles of degrees of achievement in learning Buddhism. When we learn Buddhism, the first goal is attaining arhatship. Arhatship is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. When we get this degree, we move to a higher level. The second degree is bodhisattvahood, and the highest degree is Buddhahood. These are achievement degrees. We cannot treat Buddhas and bodhisattvas as deities. If we do, then we are wrong. Deities include heavenly gods, ghosts and spirits. The Buddha is not a heavenly god, a ghost or a spirit. Only a Buddha can truly understand the truth of life and the universe. The Buddha said that all beings are Buddhas in nature. Celestial beings are also beings and are also Buddhas in nature. But they are now celestial beings. Ghosts and spirits are also Buddhas. They are also Buddhas in nature, but they are now ghosts and spirits. We are all Buddhas in nature, but we are now humans. We saw an elephant today. The elephant is an animal. It is a Buddha in nature but it is now an elephant. The Buddha wanted us to restore our original image. Our original image is Buddha. This is such a great and sacred goal. We must be clear why we learn Buddhism I mentioned earlier that the Three Refuges are wonderful. The Buddha urged us to abide by them throughout our lives. We take refuge in the Buddha. The Buddha is perfect in wisdom and good fortune- the honored one complete and perfect in two. “Two” refers to wisdom and good fortune. He was perfectly replete with both. When complete and perfect, this person attains Buddhahood. Not wanting Buddha [enlightenment] is not wanting wisdom. Not wanting wisdom is ignorance; having no good fortune is poverty and lowliness. Do you like to be poor and lowly? Do you like to be ignorant? Nobody does. If so, then we must want Buddha. We cannot abandon Buddha. If we have Buddha [enlightenment], we have wisdom. If we have Buddha [enlightenment], we have good fortune. This is for sure. When we truly understand this, our belief will not be blind belief. There are many Buddhist practitioners today, but few are truly clear about Buddhism. When I was young, I was antagonistic towards Buddhism. I did not believe it. I thought it taught delusion. I had some very close friends and classmates. Some of them were Christians and others were Muslims. I went to their mosques and churches. I really liked them. Why? Because they taught and lectured on their religious texts. I never heard that there were lectures on Buddhist sutras. Even when I attended a lecture, I could not understand it. And thus did not benefit from it. So I lost interest. I started to learn Buddhism at 26 when I was in Taiwan. I learned philosophy from Mr. Fang Dongmei, a famous philosopher. He taught me not at school but in the small living room at his home. I was the only student. He taught me _Introduction to Philosophy_. The last unit was “Buddhist Philosophy.” I was very surprised. I had said that Buddhism was a religion and taught delusion. How could it have philosophy? My teacher told me that I was young and did not understand. He said, “Sakyamuni Buddha was the greatest philosopher in the whole world. Buddhism is the pinnacle of all philosophies in the world. Learning Buddhism is the ultimate enjoyment of life.” I learned this last unit. And then I truly realized that such a good thing did exist in this world. I have learned Buddhism for 61 years, and I am very grateful to Mr. Fang. You can see his picture hanging behind me. Mr. Fang is constantly on my mind. He gave me wisdom and brought me happiness. This is true. I got to know what Buddhism really is. This is how I entered into the door of Buddhism. My second teacher was Zhangjia Living Buddha, who was a true Buddhist practitioner. My first teacher was a professor and a philosopher. Zhangjia Living Buddha encouraged me to become a monk. He urged me to learn from Sakyamuni Buddha and told me to read _Geneology of Sakyamuni_ and _Reports on the Spread of Buddhism in the Regions_ to get to know Sakyamuni Buddha first. When you learn Buddhism, if you do not know anything about the Buddha, you may take a detour or a side road. That will be a pity. I learned from Mr. Fang for three years before he entered parinirvana. It was Zhangjia Living Buddha who helped me lay the foundation for learning Buddhism. Without any of my three teachers, I cannot attain achievement. My last teacher was Mr. Li Bingnan, a lay practitioner. He was a master of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It is very rare. I followed him for 10 years. He taught me how to lecture on the sutras. I learned about Sakyamuni Buddha’s life. He left home at 19, leaving affliction behind to engage in cultivation and learning. After 12 years of learning, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. After 12 years, he completed his learning and let go of hindrances from the attachment to knowledge. He was showing us with his conduct. After attaining enlightenment, he started teaching. He taught the five bhiksus at Deer Park. His teaching started here. He entered parinirvana at 79. He taught for 49 years without taking one day off. He slept under a tree and took one meal a day before noon. How good his constitution was. If we slept under a tree for one night, we would probably be in the intensive care unit the next day! We cannot compare with him. His body was indestructible like a diamond. The Buddha could do this because he had a healthy body. We cannot. But now we understand, we can do it too. Why could the Buddha do it? He was pure physically and mentally. He had no afflictions or desire, so he had no obstacles. Our bodies are ruined by ourselves. By what exactly? By our minds. What mind? A mind of selfishness, The mind of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Such a mind is not good. It ruins the body. Master Zhiyi of the Sui dynasty, a patriarch of the Tiantai school, told us in _Mahayana Method of Cessation and Contemplation_ that there are six causes for ordinary people to get ill. The first cause is disharmony of the four elements. One does not look after one’s body properly, so one gets sick. The second cause is one’s diet. The food nowadays has many problems. Our planet is badly polluted, especially by pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Food for our vegetarian diet is also polluted. If we vegetarians want to eat clean and unpolluted food, we have to grow our own vegetables. Therefore, I bought a large tract of farmland in Australia. We plant grains, vegetables, and fruits to provide food for ourselves. We are forced into doing this. The size of the land is more than one thousand acres. We feel much safer when eating what we grow. We actively advocate and promote no pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our produce is much better than those grown with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our quality is much better. We do not know how to farm, so we hire farmers. They work eight hours a day, and we pay them. When we harvest, after we keep what we need, there is still plenty left that can be sold in the market. We provide our own food. After selling the harvest, we pay the farmers but still have a lot of money left. It is the main financial source for our centre. Therefore, our centre does not depend on the donations from our followers. We were self-sufficient. This is a good method. This way, our minds are at peace. When our minds are at peace, we will realize the truth. This is the healthiest food. The third cause is sitting in meditation. There are principles for sitting in meditation to regulate the mind and the body. When one does not know the principles, It will result in illness. This is also one cause. The fourth cause is ghosts and spirits. Indeed, one may be possessed by a ghost or a spirit and become sick. It is very troublesome. They are karmic creditors. Many people nowadays have this kind of illness. Both men and women have all kinds of strange illnesses. The cause is mostly abortion. Abortion is homicide. One kills one’s child. Once you kill the baby, its spirit will possess you. The purpose is to take your life or torture you. It is really troublesome. I have seen many such cases. Reconcile with them using Buddhist methods. If they accept, they will leave and the illness will be cured. If they refuse to leave, it will be very troublesome. But most of them were willing to leave. The fifth cause is Mara. This has nothing to do with that person. It is Mara. But there is a link between that person and Mara. Because one practices diligently, Mara comes to torture one. This is also one cause. The last cause is evil karmas. One has done too many bad deeds. Let me give a few examples of bad deeds. Buddhism teaches the Five Precepts, which are the fundamental precepts. The first is killing. If one likes killing animals and enjoys eating meat, one is susceptible to liver illnesses or eye diseases. One’s eyes are bad. These are the two kinds of illnesses one may have. The second is stealing. One craves others’ money, status, and beautiful women, and obtains them using illegal means, harming others to benefit oneself. This is stealing. Stealing can easily illnesses related to lungs. The illnesses of the lungs, which is one of the five viscera. Externally, nose problems, such as sinusitis, are also caused by stealing. The third is sexual desires. Excessive sexual desires leads to kidney or ear problems. One will be hard of hearing. One cannot hear. Lying causes spleen or tongue illnesses. If one drinks excessively, one will have heart or oral illnesses. This is killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol. If you do not control yourself and go all out to indulge in enjoyments, you will have physical and mental problems afterwards. Therefore, the Buddha said that breaking the Five Precepts will result in the illnesses of the five viscera and the five sense organs. You will be unhealthy both physically and mentally. There is another cause. Even if one keeps the precepts, one can also get sick. This illness is caused by grave offenses that one had committed before one learnt Buddhism. It might have been committed in a previous life, not the present. One committed very grave offenses in past lifetimes and should have fallen into the hells. Getting sick is a minor retribution for the grave offenses. The bad karma is thus eliminated. Therefore, it is a good thing, not a bad one. Once the bad karma is eliminated, one will recover. In sum, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt are the causes of all illnesses. Holding grudges, hatred, annoyance, fury, and impatience are the conditions of all illnesses. With the presence of a cause and a condition, one will be ill. Illnesses of the five viscera and the six hollow organs mean that our bodies are sick. Externally, our living environment will have a lot of disasters. These disasters are effected by us; they are not natural disasters. Nature is of the utmost beauty and health. How can nature harm people? It is our evil thoughts and deeds that bring about these disasters. Illnesses, a short life span, and natural disasters are retributions. They are our retributions. Evil thoughts bring about bad responses externally- our living environment. The Buddha told us that if people in an area are very greedy, there will be disasters such as floods, tsunamis, rising sea levels, and flooding rivers. Anger and hatred will bring about fire. They will cause the eruption of volcanoes. Do not think that losing one’s temper is no big deal. It will cause the eruption of volcanoes and an increase in global temperature. It is the fire of anger and hatred. Ignorance causes wind disasters. Arrogance causes earthquakes. As to doubt, we now see landslides and sudden cave-ins. They are brought about by doubt. When we know this, we will understand why the Buddha taught us to practice the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Karmas. This is for our physical and mental well-being. We should truly fulfill the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Karmas, The basic virtues that the ancient Chinese taught are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. We should fulfill these five benevolence is no killing; righteousness is no stealing; propriety is no sexual misconduct; wisdom is no ignorance; trustworthiness is keeping one’s words-no lying. They carry the same meaning as the Five Precepts. Therefore, we should fulfill these five, If we cultivate the Five Precepts, the Ten Virtuous Karmas, and the Six Harmonies, and chant the Buddha name, we will never be sick physically or mentally. There will be no need to buy medical or life insurance. No need at all. We can use that money on good causes. This way, our minds will be at ease. This is the Buddha’s teaching on how to look after our health. We will enjoy physical and mental well-being, never getting old. Chinese traditional culture consists of four subjects. One of them is the Five Cardinal Relationships. The Five Cardinal Relationships refer to human relationships. The teaching of relationships in Mahayana Buddhism has reached the utmost level. Mahayana Buddhism affirms that all the beings in the whole universe and oneself are one entity. This definition of relationships is so well explained. Why did the Buddha love and care about us so much? Because we and the Buddha are one entity and are even closer than father and son. Father and son are two entities, not one. We and the Buddha are one entity. We and all beings are one entity. This kind of love is the core of the universe. It is the core of the true nature. The foremost virtue in the true nature is love. After we see the true nature, this virtue will naturally come forth. Thus, Buddhas and bodhisattvas all love people. It is impossible that they have the thought of harming people. Absolutely impossible! You know in traditional Chinese culture, that there are three schools of thought: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Chinese emperors used all of them. Therefore, these emperors were very wise and not confused. They used Confucianism to govern the country. They used Buddhism to educate people. People received Buddhist teachings, and everyone was a good person. As everyone was a good person, all deeds were good deeds. At that time, of all occupations, which occupation did everyone want to engage in? Government officials. Everybody envied government officials. They studied hard so as to get a governmental post. Why did they choose this occupation? Because with this occupation, they would have social status. They would be respected by the populace wherever they went. They were also paid well. They had little to do. Why? Because everyone was a good person, and all deeds were good deeds. There were no criminal cases to handle. But if there were three or five cases required to be handled in a month, people would ask how come there were so many cases in this place. Therefore, everybody wanted to be a governmental official. Yesterday, I presented to the President a set of _Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature_ as well as a set of _Selections from the Four Branches of Literature._ These two sets contain the wisdom of the ancient Chinese sages of thousands of years ago. Their wisdom, concepts, experiences, and methods of cultivating oneself, putting one’s family in order and properly governing the country are all contained in these books. Dr. Toynbee once said that the world was in chaos, and in order to resolve the social problems of the twenty-first century, we must rely on the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and on Mahayana Buddhism. He was right. He knew China had this valuable treasure, which is the ultimate wisdom of Chinese ancestors. So far there is nothing that can compare with the creation of the classical Chinese language. Why is this method good? Though time changes, these books will never change. In other words, it transcends space and time. No matter where one is in time, as long as one has learnt the written characters, one will have this treasure. This creation [of classical Chinese language] is ten times, even a hundred times, more brilliant than any scientific invention today. It allows you to preserve things. Hundreds of thousands of years later, you can still use it anywhere. It will not change. These concepts, methods, and wisdom transcend time and space. It is not difficult to learn the characters. I purposely asked an American college student who studied Chinese, “How long did it take for you to learn classical Chinese?” “Three years.” In 2006, I attended a big event initiated by UNESCO in Paris. They also invited me to co-host the event. On the way there, I stopped by the UK to visit schools. I went there once before. This second time, I purposely visited the sinology departments at Oxford, Cambridge, and London University. I had exchanges with the students as well as a symposium with the professors. I asked the students the same question. Their answer was also three years. It is not difficult! In three years, you’ll get the key [to the treasure]. The _Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature_ becomes your own wisdom and property. The ancestors gave it to you. For culture, there are no boundaries of country, of ethnic group, or of religion. Whoever has the key, the treasure becomes his. It really can bring ever-lasting peace and stability to the world. It can also bring us a lifetime of happiness. If we are willing to practice according to the teachings, every one of us can become a Buddha. Every one of us can become a sage. Chinese education is the teachings of the sages, not a teaching that helps you get promotions or obtain wealth. The idea of getting promotions or obtaining wealth is wrong. You may get them now, but you cannot enjoy them for long. Your illnesses will come forth. The illnesses of the five viscera and the six hollow organs that I mentioned earlier will all come forth. At that time, you will suffer and be pitiable. So it is better to emulate sages. It is even better to emulate Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Regarding the education problems today, in Malaysia, I gave a talk to the headmasters and teachers of Malaysian Chinese schools. There are more than 1,000 Chinese primary schools and 61 Chinese secondary schools in Malaysia. There is a union for the headmasters and teachers. I talked to them, hoping that they would aspire to pass down traditional Chinese teachings. We should learn from the sages, not from the rich or those of high social status. We should emulate sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas. This is good. We can save ourselves, our country, our people, the whole world, and all beings. At that time, I proposed ten “Educational is essential” statements. We should know this. Filial piety is the root of Chinese culture. Respect is the foundation of Chinese culture. These two are the root and foundation. To fulfill filial piety and respect, one must be filial to one’s parents and respect one’s teachers. The sutras also place them first. We read the Three Conditions taught in the _Visualization Sutra._ The first is being filial to and providing for parents. The second is being respectful to and serving teachers. These two are exactly the same as Chinese traditional teaching. We should know that culture is the soul of a nation, and education is the lifeline of culture. So, “In settling down and establishing oneself, ” if we wish to lead a peaceful life, “education is essential.” We must receive education. In the past, Chinese education was not meant for getting promotions or obtaining wealth. “In pursuing a career and putting one’s family in order ” – this family concept in China no longer exists. Talking about this always brings tears to my eyes. The “family concept” still existed during the Sino-Japanese War. After the war, there was no more “family concept.” Today, when we talk about putting one’s family in order, there is a need for a new definition. What is family? It is an organization. An enterprise is an organization. Thus, an entrepreneur in Chinese is called “enterprise family.” A family in ancient China was a large household, not a small one. A normal family had over three hundred members, with five generations living under the same roof. Brothers did not split up family property or move out. Therefore, a large household was like a community. When one was born, one had the thought that one came to serve the family, not to live for oneself. Everything that one did was to bring honor to one’s ancestors and to bring glory to one’s family. One’s efforts throughout one’s life was to make the family prosper, to make one’s ancestors be known to future generations, and to win people’s respect. This was one’s goal. Living for oneself was not. Education is also essential in pursuing a career and putting one’s family in order. “Education is essential in building a country and in guiding its people.” In any dynasty in China, once an emperor gained political power, a system of proprieties and music would be set up within five years. Society would settle down and become stable. This is because he knew education was essential. He placed great emphasis on education. Chinese people placed great importance in education. This is true, not false. How much importance did they place on education? A mother started nurturing the fetus from pregnancy. She started teaching the child before it was born. Why? She knew that her every thought would influence the baby while it was still in the womb. Her speech and actions would also affect it. Thus, during the ten months of pregnancy, a mother had to observe the rules of pregnancy. She must have pure and correct thoughts; she must not have evil thoughts. The baby was enveloped in this proper energy, without the slightest bad energy. The mother paid attention to this. Thus, the mother does not watch anything that she should not or that is not beneficial, She would not listen to anything that was not proper to hear, she would not say anything that was not proper. She spoke little and let her mind be calm. This way, after the baby was born, teaching it would be easy and it would listen to its mother’s words. So Chinese education started with prenatal education. After a child was born, the whole family had to observe proprieties and behave properly, not allowing the baby to see anything discourteous. If it did, it would learn by imitating. Children learn fast. After they are born, as soon as they open their eyes, they can see and hear. It is hard to teach children today. Why? Because parents do not know this. Before a child turns 3, he has already learned bad behaviors. It becomes difficult to teach the child. If a child is hard to discipline, it is because the mother has not done her duty. If the mother knows to implement prenatal education, the mother is a sage. The child will become a sage, a Buddha, or a bodhisattva in the future. Buddhas and bodhisattvas were taught to become so. Who taught them? Their mothers. How great mothers are! Now fewer and fewer people know this. There are truly problems in schools today. Let me finish the rest of the statements before I continue.

Education is essential in having a country of propriety and righteousness.

Education is essential in achieving stability and harmony.

Education is essential in having an affluent country and peaceful people.

Education is essential in achieving times of peace and prosperity.

Education is essential in achieving everlasting stability and peace.

Education is essential in all the Buddha’s lands of rewards.

Education is essential in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

I have great respect for the President of Sri Lanka. Why? Because he understands education. He puts education first in his administration of the country. What he does is exactly the same as what ancient Chinese emperors had done. Chinese emperors of every dynasty put education first. Of the ministries under the prime minister, the Ministry of Education was the foremost. When the prime minister could not fulfill his duties, the Minister of Education would do so for him. The Ministry of Education was the most important ministry of all. In other words, all the facilities of the country were responsible for and supported education. Only when people are taught to become good people, will society be stable and the world be peaceful. How to teach people is an immense subject. What teaching materials should we use? What methods should we adopt? We have considered these for many years and done a lot of presentations. But what I said were empty words. Why? Because there was no implementation. I once did an experiment in Tangchi. I implemented Chinese traditional culture in a small town and used it as an example. I was motivated into doing it by my friends in UNESCO. I gave a presentation at UNESCO. Everybody liked it and applauded. But afterwards, they said, “Venerable Master, your lecture was great, but it is just an ideal. It cannot be achieved.” These words were a blow to me. Then I realized what the real problem was. It was the lack of confidence. We have no confidence in what our ancient sages passed down, in ancient teaching materials, or in ancient methods. Actually, the ancient teaching materials and methods passed down by the sages are forever unchanging. We must not look down on them. Today I brought a few photos which I picked myself. These are African children. I have never been to Africa but when I saw these photos, I wanted to visit it. These African children are all orphans. A Taiwanese monk has adopted three thousand orphans. He teaches them traditional Chinese culture and has them memorize Chinese classics. These children can recite fluently from memory and they did so in front of me. They recited from the _Four Books_ and the _Five Classics._ _Guidelines for Being a Good Person_, and _Accounts of Request and Response._ I said, “This is great! It is precious!” There are inheritors of Chinese traditional culture. These African children are the inheritors. These African children will become sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas in the future. They can save the world. I was very delighted. Thus I sing their praises wherever I go. W should give them support. Their living conditions are very tough. Therefore, I will try to find time and go to visit them. As I mentioned earlier, we should use the ancient curricula and teaching methods. We cannot use the contemporary ones. The new teaching method is teaching subjects concurrently. Many subjects are taught at schools. The first hour is language class; the second hour is math class. Before the students remember anything about language, they switch to a new subject. The third hour is history class. The subject is changed again. The subjects keep changing, and their minds are totally messed up and confused. How can they learn well? Ancient Chinese teaching method was never like this. “In teaching, focused learning is of utmost importance.” “Delve deeply into one method and immerse in it for a long time.” What is the purpose? The purpose is to help them attain awakening. Chinese teaching did not place emphasis on studying or memorizing. The emphasis is on attaining awakening. If one attains meditative concentration, one will attain awakening. When one delves deeply into on method, one’s mind is focused. Look at today’s students! Even university students and graduate students are restless and impatient. I feel sad when I see them thus. They have no concentration. In ancient China, teenagers already had concentration. They looked very sedate and poised. They were different. Teenagers today cannot compare with them. Therefore, the ancient teaching methods are better. Years ago when I studied under Mr. Fang Dongmei, he once asked me, “Do you trust Western medicine or Chinese medicine?” he said, “Western medicine has 300 years of history, and Chinese medicine has 5,000 years of history.” I said, “Of course I trust the one with 5,000 years of history! It has stood the test of 5,000 years. The one with 300 years of history is still not reliable.” Old things are better. The older the better. New things may have a lot of interesting features but they also have many problems. We have to be cautious. Now I would like to invite a teacher onstage. He uses these teaching methods and content. He teaches from the first grade to the sixth grade in primary school. He has a special class called “Fu Xi class.” He teaches these students from the first grade all the way to the sixth grade. He has succeeded in his teaching. The result is very marvelous. But he cannot teach them after that. Therefore, I think about establishing a school providing the classes of all levels of school. When the students are ready to enter secondary school, I will start classes for them. When they are ready to enter university, I will start a university. When they are ready to enter graduate school, I will provide graduate courses. I let the students move upward from primary school. This is the teaching of the sages. What about academic degrees? I will discuss with the Ministry of Education of the country, I will discuss with the Ministry of Education of the country, asking the government to give a test to these students and confer a sage’s degree, not a doctoral degree. A doctoral degree is not enough, as these students are higher than PhDs. So I pay special attention to this. Now please allow me to present Teacher Wu.

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wordswithwayman · 7 years

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Interview w/ Poet Bethany Moore

Recently, I got a chance to interview Bethany Moore about her works of poetry. Bethany is a Denver based poet who recently published two books of poetry. Hope you enjoy this format, and be sure to let us know what you think of it, on Twitter and Facebook @wordswithwayman

1. When did you get your start in poetry and how did you find it? I’ve been writing poetry since I was a really young child, and thankfully I feel I’ve improved in my style and technique over the years! It was one of the ways I entertained myself as an only child, in addition to writing and singing songs and dancing and other theatrics. I’ve always been one of those expressive types. I remember writing little stories in Kindergarten, and later being strongly encouraged by my 5th grade teacher in Southern Maryland of Hollywood Elementary School, Ms. Betty Brady, to pursue seriously writing poetry. As a teacher and member of the community, she was a great leader for literary programs like poetry festivals in our school. I was so impacted by her encouragement in elementary school that I remember her influence all these years later, and I included her in my dedications in my second poetry book, “Weather Magick”. Thanks to the magic of Facebook, we’ve been able to stay in contact after all these years (I was her student in 1992-1993) and she was so pleased to hear I’m still writing and that I’ve published some of my work. I sent her a copy in the mail recently, too, and it was a nice feeling to see that kind of positive influence come full circle in a way after, oh, twenty-five years. Throughout high school, I was all about the after-school poetry club, which we all referred to as “The Writer’s Society” - and yes, we were certainly a crew of eccentrics and misfits. Then, in my early twenties, I participated in open-mic poetry events in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., for many years. I lived in Portland, Oregon, for a stint in 2009-2011 and enjoyed checking out open-mic readings and even hosted a couple of “Retro Speakeasy”-style poetry and jazz events during my time there. For the last three years here in Denver, Colorado, I sometimes hit the mic on Sunday evenings at the Mercury Cafe and other venues like Mutiny Information Cafe. Poetry has always manifested as a quintessential part of who I am in my identity all along, to be honest.

2. You’ve released two books of poetry lately “The Cicada and the Firefly” and “Weather Magick", how did these books come about and why now? It was always my intention to publish my collection of poetry from throughout the years I’ve been writing, at least since I was an adult. Last year, in January, I finally set a goal to publish my first collection on or before my birthday in late September. So I researched online self-publishing tools and settled on Amazon’s CreateSpace platform and began going through my collections and formatting the pages. It was the end of March last year in 2016 when I got very sad news about a close friend of mine that I’d known since I was fourteen years old. His name was Benjamin Johnson, Benny, and he was very influential on my life as a kind of soulmate. Unfortunately, he struggled with demons such as drug addiction, and met his untimely death last spring when he was struck by a car. Honestly, this was the first time someone close to me had passed away, and I grieved deeply for quite awhile. During the grieving process, I dug up every poem and journal entry I could find that referenced my feelings for Benny, or our experiences together, over many years, dating back to when I was a teenager. I compiled them and formatted them into their own collection as a way to honor him and our relationship together. It was important to me to prioritize this collection first. I published by mid September. My soul had to release it out to the universe. Because of the nature of how he came in and out of my life, which you can read about intimately, you’ll understand the reference to insects in “The Cicada and the Firefly: a study of love and insects” when you read through the storyline in real-time poetry and prose. As for second book published on October 31, 2016, titled, “Weather Magick: a collection of poetry and witchcraft”, it is a selection of 31 poems from my general collection, which you’ll find references to nature, both serene and disastrous, and the emotional turmoil involved in growing up and maturing in a world of life, love, and spiritual journey. I reference ritual and alchemy, and other Pagan concepts are easy to find in my writing if you’re an adept. As this writing is an outlet that helps with my spiritual and mental balance, it’s just as important to share this writing with others as it is to produce it for my own catharsis to begin with. I hope and wish that this display of my journey, the joy and pain and everything between, provides a realm of understanding and language for others seeking to know that they’re not alone in this world.

3. Who are your poetic influences? My quick three responses are Emily Dickensen, Sylvia Plath, and Dorothy Parker. I also find myself inspired by Margaret Atwood, and then a dive back into the works of the Sufi poet Rumi. When I was younger, back in Ms. Brady’s fifth grade class, I remember being greatly inspired by the work of Langston Hughes.

4. How do you write? Do you have a time of the day that you are most productive or do you wait till it comes to you? It’s difficult for me to write at home, actually, so I find myself at coffee shops and local brew pubs to get that time out of my daily routine and usual pattern of function in order to get the headspace to reflect and write in my handwritten journals. So, weekday evenings at pubs, for sure, and weekends give me more flexibility for the coffee shop writing sessions. Bonus if the weather is nice and I can sit outside for the writing process.

5. How does being a witch influence your poetry? Being a witch influences my writing more and more as I accept it as not only a part of who I am, fully embracing this part of me while being brave against a world that may not understand me, and also allowing my poetry to channel the voice of the witch without fear or perhaps concern that the symbolism or concepts won’t translate to the general public. I’d like to think that those who gather Pagan spiritual concepts will recognize those patterns and references in my writing, but also that those who aren’t adept in such practices will still be moved and perhaps intrigued by the archetypes and metaphors presented enough to find inspiration.

6. How do poets look at the world differently from other people? I can’t speak for other poets, but for me, I know I feel this world, every experience, every insecurity, every possibility, every dynamic, more intensely than most in this world. For those of us who need to express ourselves and be heard, to bear witness to the complicated suffering of this world; words, prose, and poetry is our gospel to the universe.

7. How did you find and begin to practice paganism as a child? The short answer is that I was an odd child who found the cool part of the bookstore in Barnes and Noble at an early age. I was easily interested in subjects like astrology and faery lore and animal magic by the age of ten or so. By age twelve, I was reading books on more intermediate subjects like Celtic magic and crystal healing and the Tarot, mostly a self-taught solitary student, though by age fourteen, I started working and studying at the local Wiccan shop in my small rural town that opened up called ‘Keepers of the Moon Garden’, and there I was mentored under the wing of the shop owner, Theresa, and thus began my more formal and serious study of Paganism by a state-recognized circle. My parents were, thankfully, very supportive. My father does woodworking as a skilled hobby and even built my spiritual altar which has a dark-wood inlay of a pentacle on the surface. I am blessed to have had such support when so many of my peers were being rejected by their families and loved ones for their ideas and beliefs along the Pagan path.

8. What do you want your books to do for people? This is a great question to consider. Somewhere between the exhibitionist expressive artist, and the confessional, sometimes commanding mystic, I suppose I simply wish to share my experience as fully and wholly as I can with anyone who seeks to commiserate or feel they are not alone in this complex human existence. Perhaps to learn from my pain and my experience, so that others can maybe suffer a little less.

9. Have you ever performed your poetry in front of people? And if so, how did it feel to perform words you wrote to an audience? Yes, many times, in many capacities, and I still feel that nervous reaction each time I begin, blushing cheeks and quivered-voice, worry of sounding ridiculous or worse, but I’ve continued to be brave and follow my truly fiery inner need to share my words with the world, so I power through, sweaty forehead and all. The reward begins with the release, and then anyone who relates to you therein gives you reassurance on occasion. The most important part, however, is that you are brave and give your voice the volume of sound it deserves.d

10. Denver is getting more and more expensive, is it hard to be a creative person there these days? Are you full-time poetry or do you work a day job? Yeah, definitely, I think about it often and it’s difficult to know where the benefits of the rental versus ownership market lands for most of us here. I proudly and very gratefully have been a full-time employee of the National Cannabis Industry Association since January of 2014 where I do communications, media, and public relations projects. It’s a non-profit trade association, so I don’t make big corporate bucks, but I do make a decent living and love working hard in an industry where I have roots in the activist movement before it even really became an industry. There are good people shaping the roots of the cannabis industry, and as a healer and activist, doing this work is greatly rewarding in my path. I enjoy multimedia production, managing website content, managing and hosting our weekly podcast, and working with video content, so that allows me a path of creative expressiveness in my routine work, which is pretty exciting. My career in non-profit political and social justice issues as well as my personal activism and artistic endeavors have kept me busy through the years, and I certainly prefer it that way. “Idle hands…” and so on, perhaps. So I do my best to make time to show up at open-mic nights when I can, and I am planning more opportunities to reach out to various venues and book stores to share my work. It’s so cool to see the culture of Denver in particular with the cornerstone neighborhood bookstores that create welcoming environments for local authors to participate in the literary economy. So I’m selling poetry books independently as an artistic revenue income stream in my spare time. I self-publish through Amazon’s CreateSpace. Through that platform, the revenue percentages that I see are about half the retail price the author or creator assigns. Author’s copies can be ordered for a reasonable charge which allows for direct personal sales, though shipping charges apply. There’s math involved, and it basically comes down to an occasional flux in a boost of sales which gives me a nice few dollars of sales here and there. But I’m also issued tax-related forms from these sales which are accounted for when I file my yearly taxes. But there you are, marketing yourself, responsible for all your sales and taxes when ordered online. It’s just one avenue to get one’s art out there, knowing the risks and losses and work involved. But I just couldn’t wait anymore. It was time for me to publish. It was overdue, so I made a resolution to do it, and I did. I set out to publish one book of poems, and as it turned out, I published two. And it feels right.

11. Five years from now, best case scenario, what does your life look like? I appreciate the gravity and hopefulness of this question so much. I’ve been blessed to have on my resume several roles throughout the years as I grew at companies and organizations that have facilitated great change and impact on our society in America, and perhaps beyond. And in my growth as a person and spiritual being, advocate, activist, artist, and whatever else I think I am, I just hope to continue to find roles and opportunities where I can have an impact for the greater good. I know I’m an odd duck, a strange bird, but I think most people by this time in my life understand what I stand for and what kind of help and strength and offerings I have to give. I just want a role in five years where I can give all my best talents and skills and strengths into some greater good. I’d also like to see more progress toward my goals of “house, hound, husband, and happiness.”

12. Where can people find your stuff on the internet? Well, I’m active on most social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and I’ve also created a Facebook author page specific to my poetry publications. I’m very active, I always have been, on social media and I do post about my professional role in the cannabis industry as well as my Pagan-centric spirituality. It’s in my nature as a communications and media person, as well as an artist and activist through the years. So, to find me on most social media platforms, I go by ‘Beatnik Betty’. And I love to connect with friendly like-minded artists and activists.

Twitter: @BeatnikBetty Facebook: /BeatnikBetty Facebook: /BethanyMoorePoet Instagram: bqatnikbetty

I’d also love if folks interested in supporting my poetry by purchasing my publications would please find them on Amazon.com.

Weather Magick: a collection of poetry and witchcraft

The Cicada and the Firefly: a study of love and insects Thanks so much for allowing me to share my work with your audience. My message is that there are many of us out here that want to create a better world, who wish for healing and transformation, and you are not alone. Just as I seek my particular flavor of love and purpose, I hold sacred space, and know of many who hold sacred space at this time as well, with all pointing toward a greater reality. Now is the time when we must find each other and connect and share now more than ever before.

Be well, and Blessed

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