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liverpolitics · 3 years

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Liverpool’s Metro Mayor Candidates 2021: All you need to Know.

Tomorrow, on Thursday the 6th of May, the Liverpolitan people will be travelling in droves to their nearest polling station to vote on the future of the Liverpool City Region.

Yes, the 2021 Local Elections are almost upon us and the residents of Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St. Helens and Halton boroughs will all be able to vote for the councillors who they want to see represent them in their local ward. This year, Liverpolitans will also be provided with a ballot that will allow them to vote for their preferred candidate for the region’s metro mayor.

The metro mayor was a role first established in 2016 under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act and is a title that has only ever been held by Labour’s Steve Rotherham since 2017. Now while the Liverpool Metro Mayor does not hold the same powers as a First Minister or the Mayor of London, they do have a number of important roles vital to the cities development. The Metro Mayor is responsible for uniting Liverpool’s six boroughs and encouraging them to work collectively to better Liverpool’s economic and political position. Furthermore, the Metro Mayor has a duty, to the best of their ability, to attract investment and economic prosperity across the region. They also hold certain powers, such as the management of cross-borough services, like public transport. Hence, while they are limited in what they can do in comparison to other devolved positions, the metro mayor is instrumental for our region’s future development, whether that be economical, environmental or political.

This blog is intended to provide information on the Metro Mayor candidates to help voters make a more informed decision on who they want to see as the face and voice of the Liverpool City Region. Note: I do not intend to influence how the reader will vote, but I will be asserting my own opinions on the candidates, their policies, and the parties they represent. Furthermore, the policy information included has been taken from an LCR Mayoral Election 2021 guide in order to help readers gain a better perspective of the candidates.

Jade Marsden (Conservative Party)

Now being a Conservative candidate in Liverpool already puts Marsden at a significant setback. There has and still remains a long held stigma against the Tories dating back to Margaret Thatcher, as captured in the sentiment that “Scousers Hate Tories”. Though while one would seek to disregard Marsden from the get go, I must please ask you to hear what she has to offer to Liverpool before jumping to a conclusion.

Mrs. Marsden is a current resident of South Liverpool and formerly stood as the parliamentary candidates for both Bootle and Sefton Central respectively. According the Sefton Central Conservatives, Marsden’s “wealth” of experience of local politics would be beneficial in her ability to be a strong “Fresh Voice” for the Liverpool City Region.

Marsden strongly believes that it has been under Labour’s leadership that the LCR has been let down. As a result, we have missed out on key investment, transport improvements and well-paid jobs. Thus, the LCR needs a vision that delivers for future generations, offers a solution to air pollution and secures jobs and future investment. Marsden intends to offer this to Liverpool.

Is a Blue Liverpool the way forward?

Marsden, if victorious, intends to cooperate with Westminster to “get things done”. If she was to be elected, she would:

Not charge the Metro Mayoral Precept, part of the council tax that funds city region-wide services that the Metro Mayor is responsible for.

Ensure spending is widespread and not just focused on central Liverpool.

Lobby the government to make the region an urban national park to protect Liverpolitan green spaces and the coastline.

Work to end homelessness as we recover from the pandemic, as well as improve social housing that contains dangerous living conditions.

Improve regional transport connections.

Attract new investment to help out small businesses and the high street, in order to ensure that local people have good quality jobs.

Now while this may sound ideal, I do hold certain critiques of Marsden’s policy agenda.

First of all, the Mayoral Precept, as mentioned, is responsible for funding city region-wide services. Not charging it may allow tax payers to keep more money in their pocket, a possible benefit due to the impact of the pandemic. However, a cut to the Mayoral Precept will come at a cost for local services. Public transport, for instance, would lose out on funding as a result. This somewhat contradicts her pledge to improve regional transport connections.

Secondly, while the “urban national park” label may sound good on the surface, I cannot help but think this would put the LCR at a setback. Liverpool has beautiful natural scenery, the likes of Thurstaston Beach or Sefton Park is proof of this. Liverpool thrives on its green spaces. These spaces should be protected under law. However, I believe an “urban national park” status will put the city at a disadvantage. It is not clear whether Marsden’s urban national park intends to prevent development on disused docks in Liverpool or Birkenhead. Furthermore, there are well needed transport connections that would be vital for moving cargo to or from the Port of Liverpool. Liverpool’s urban development and economic prosperity cannot be jeopardised if Marsden seeks to attract new investment and create new jobs.

Yet there are key issues that I do agree with Marsden on. While the Liverpool name is the regional “brand”, investment has been too focused on central Liverpool. The city centre is thriving while town centres in Bootle, Birkenhead, Widnes, etc. are awaiting significant investment. However, Rotherham has only been in office for 4 years. Given time, he too could secure funding for locations beyond Liverpool City Centre.

Other things to Remember:

Above, I have chosen to insert an image of Southport town centre. Southport in the 2019 General Election was the only Liverpolitan constituency to vote Conservative, represented by MP Damien Moore since 2017.

Recently, Southport was awarded £37.5 Million in government funding to help in regenerating the town. This was one of the largest town deals that the government has agreed to. This money would allow the town to invest in existing attractions and all-weather attractions across the seafront, as well as attract new businesses to the area. It is believed that the masterplan will create 1,000 new jobs and it is predicted that Southport will enjoy a 1 Million increase in visitors per year.

This goes to show that there may be possible perks of having a Conservative representative for the region at a time where the Tory’s dominate Westminster. This may be something worth considering when casting your vote tomorrow. A vote for Marsden, may be a vote for an increase in Liverpool’s funding.

David Newman (Liberal Democrats Party)

Until recently, Southport local David Newman was not supposed to be the Lib Dem candidate for the Metro Mayor role. Newman “stepped forward” after the former candidate, Wirral councillor Andy Corkhill, was forced to withdraw because of his serious battle with cancer.

Newman understands that unlike other city region residents, he and his partner are fortunate to have a young family, work, own his own home and live a happy, healthy life. He identifies that others in our region are being left behind and he seeks to offer Liverpolitans a way to “Step Forward”.

Newman is offering voters to join him in creating real leadership in Liverpool and providing a real direction. Newman also seeks to tackle the climate emergency, fix the region’s broken transport system and provide hope for businesses effected by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Are you ready to Step Forward?

Like all residents of the city region, Newman is aware of how our region has been tarnished by the actions of the city’s ‘political bosses’. It is the next Metro Mayor’s job to repair the damaged reputation caused by a handful of greedy politicians and ‘cowboy’ developers. Newman seeks to ‘clean up’ local politics and ensure that he is held accountable to the citizens of Liverpool.

Newman seeks to ensure that our region is welcoming, ensuring that all investments are ethical. He also seeks to launch a green recovery plan to tackle the current climate crisis. This would help in fixing the city’s reputation that Labour predecessors exploited for their own ends.

Newman also seeks to ensure no one in Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley, St. Helens or Halton are left behind. To do so, Newman intends to launch the UK’s first trial of Universal Basic Income (UBI) to put an end to the poverty that has plagued local communities. Newman also seeks to open up Liverpool to European and Global investment so that the city can once again be placed at the ‘Heart of the Globe’.

So what are Newman’s policies? For the purpose of this, I have divided his policies into four categories: Post Covid-19 Recovery, The Climate Emergency, Transport; A Global Region.

Post Covid-19 Recovery

Newman intends to deliver a new economic deal to create jobs, allow businesses to thrive and help out those in our community who have been left behind. He seeks to do this by:

Trialling UBI in Liverpool. Newman wishes to initiate a scheme that would make it so citizens would no longer have to rely on government welfare or the goodwill of landlords. Having UBI would make it so money is no longer an issue, it would allow people to learn new skills and bring an end to regional poverty.

Reinventing the High Street by introducing a number of services that people want and need, this includes child care and an expansion of hospitality.

Creating new jobs and allow for residents to develop new skills and undergo new training.

Supporting Small Businesses and the Self-Employed by fighting for a rent relief fund for small businesses in debt and relief payments for self-employed without property.

The Climate Emergency

Newman believes that Liverpool has an opportunity to become a beacon for national and international governments on how to tackle the climate emergency. He seeks to do this by:

Creating a Green Recovery Plan which would ensure that all infrastructure plans and investments are in line with what is needed to address the climate emergency. Newman also intends to create a clear carbon budget and carbon reduction pathway.

Ensuring that all parks and green spaces across the region are legally protected to prevent future development on the land.

Investing in Clean, Renewable Energy by advancing tidal power and investing into more wind farms.

Ensuring the Port of Liverpool in Net Zero Carbon by finding a suitable, sustainable way of moving freight (not by road) and advocating for the halting of the importation of industrial-scale North American biomass.

Transport

Newman wishes to make regional public transport more accessible by reducing ticket fairs and increasing services to locations currently underserved. His transport ideas also go hand in hand with his desire for tackling the climate emergency. Newman would improve transport by:

Fixing the broken bus network and delivering on Steve Rotherham’s failed promise to introduce Bus Franchising. As well as Introduce more flexible season passes and tickets so journey’s that involve more than one bus are easier to make.

Improving the Merseyrail network by reopening lines that currently lack passenger services, building new station and making existing ones more accessible to disabled passengers. Newman also intends to push for further electrification of the local rail network and reuse the Wapping Tunnel to give Merseyrail access to the City Line.

Investing into more cycle paths and walking opportunities.

A Global Region

Newman seeks to cooperate with European and International partners to allow Liverpool to be a major player on the world stage. Newman intends to:

Work with Greater Manchester and Stormont to create embassies in European and Global cities to assist with the development of trade, industry, university links, etc.

Encourage London- based High Commissions and Embassies to create Honorary Ambassadors to Liverpool.

Work with our international football clubs and use events like the Grand National and Southport Open to showcase the region and seek new opportunities.

I must say, Newman has a lot of policies. The question is, can he realistically deliver them? Trialling UBI, further electrification of the rail network; building tidal and wind energy farms, etc. are all very costly projects. It is possible that Newman will struggle to accomplish his ideas given the financial restraint placed upon the city region.

Furthermore, his global city policies tend to be very Eurocentric, describing Liverpool as a “proud European region”. The Lib Dems should know by now that alienating Brexiteers tends not to work out very well for them. I believe that there should be a focus not simply on Brussels, but also on countries beyond Europe, such as Canada, the U.S.A., Japan, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

However, despite this, I am quite fond of Newman and what he stands for. I was particularly excited those for his transport policies as I for a long time have advocated for the reopening of the likes of the Wapping tunnel. It felt good to know that a metro mayor candidate shared this interest in disused lines. If you wish to read more of his policies, please visit: https://www.davidnewman.org.uk/

Gary Cargill (Green Party)

Actor Gary Cargill, known for his roles in Hollyoaks (2010-11,2013) and Peterloo (2018), is standing to be a Green Mayor (”For Everyone”) in the LCR. Cargill, Liverpool born and Runcorn raised, seeks to ‘turn the city region green’ and ‘inspire real long lasting change’.

His policies centre on the current climate emergency, thus prioritising environmental policies and protecting the most vulnerable suffering in our communities.

As a Green Mayor, Cargill promises the Liverpolitan people that he will:

Create new skilled jobs in Green Energy and Technology.

Build a clean, affordable transport system.

Invest in developing skills and training for young people.

Protect green spaces for future generations.

Establish a ‘People’s Assembly’ to ensure the Metro Mayor is completely accountable.

While all this sounds pretty generic and similar to previous candidates, Cargill goes a step further. Unlike his adversaries, Cargill discusses what he would do for each borough individually. This admittedly impressed me as he seems not to be focused on Liverpool collectively.

#GARY4HALTON - Cargill promises to push for an improved City Region-wide air monitoring system, particularly around sources of pollution.

#GARY4KNOWSLEY - Cargill wants to put Knowsley borough back on the map by making sure that local towns receive a fair share of regional investment and support.

#GARY4LIVERPOOL - Cargill will work towards having more safer and accessible walking and cycling networks. He also wants to develop cheaper and cleaner public transport.

#GARY4SEFTON - Cargill promises to protect Sefton’s green spaces from development and road building. He also wants to invest into more renewable energy along the Sefton coast, a valuable resource for wind a solar.

#GARY4ST.HELENS - Cargill wants to make sure that the Green Belt in St. Helens is protected. He wishes to stop local councils from building warehouses in Haydock, Bold and Newton which risk “destroying our natural environment”.

GARY4WIRRAL - Cargill insists that due to the climate emergency, the Liverpool region’s economic growth is not as important and cannot remain constant. However, Cargill wants to take advantage of regeneration opportunities, like Wirral Waters, to invest in a circular economy that provides Green Jobs in renewable energy and housing.

It is clear that Cargill, as expected from a Green candidate, is passionate about the Liverpool region’s environment. Of all of his ideas, my favourite is his idea for making use of the Sefton coastline’s valuable resources for solar and wind energy.

However, I personally I see more flaws in Cargill’s policies than I see sensible ideas. Cargill has made clear that the climate emergency is the number one priority for Liverpool, even our regional economy is expendable for the sake of the environment. Environmental issues are undoubtedly important, but how does Cargill hope to fund his policies if he is willing to sacrifice Liverpool’s economic recovery?

This was also reinforced during his debate with Steve Rotherham where he openly condemned Liverpool’s free port status as a “Thatcherite race to the bottom”. Despite the opportunities for job creation and investment the free port could bring to Liverpool, he wishes to scrap it. As Rotherham commented, without this status, industries and opportunities will be exported to the North East. Liverpool cannot afford to pass up on investments like the Free Port.

From what I can gather, based on the policies I have seen and his appearance on the Granada Reports debate, the Greens are too one policy focused. This could be extremely detrimental for our region. Yet I could be biased, is a ‘Green Mayor’ the way forward?

Steve Rotherham (Labour Party)

The final candidate running for the Metro Mayor position is none other than Steve Rotherham who, tomorrow, is up for re-election.

Having held the metro mayor title since 2017, Rotherham promises to ensure that if he was to be elected once again, there will be ‘No One Left Behind’. Rotherham promises that he will ‘stand up for everyone’ across the Liverpool region, but how has his track record been so far?

During his time as metro mayor:

Liverpool (pre-Covid) became the fastest growing economy in the UK. Rotherham also points out his management to attain another £232 Million to fund transport, skills and tackling homelessness.

Public Transport saw Improvement. Northern’s stripped franchise aside, during Rotherham’s time as mayor, Merseyrail opened its first station in 20 years and claimed to have taken steps to take control of the region’s buses and rail infrastructure.

Young People were Helped. £48 Million was invested into upgrading school/college facilities.

He ‘Fought Injustice’ through spending £8 million to develop a Housing First pilot to tackle homelessness. He also supported 1,300 families into work.

He lowered the toll for the Mersey tunnels to the lowest it has ever been.

Was this enough for a first term? I argue no.

In terms of transport, the new Merseyrail Class-777 trains are yet to appear on our lines. Whether or not their launch has been delayed due to Covid-19 or not, the metro mayor should have already launched the service to prove his commitment to a “London Style Transport System”. Furthermore, only opening one Merseyrail station in your first term is not an achievement. Maghull North was opened to the public in 2018, yet it took Rotherham until 2020 (his last year in office) to begin working on Headbolt Lane? I also have heard little about the supposed reopening of St. James Street. I don’t think this is good enough.

Also, as Newman pointed out, Rotherham has completely failed to deliver improved and nationalised bus services. In fact we are now “9 months behind Manchester” according to Rotherham himself. To put it simply, he failed to deliver on his promise that will Liverpool will be the first city outside of London to have a nationalised transport infrastructure. In fact, he has allowed Liverpool’s closest rival, Manchester, to get ahead in the fight for better public transport.

Speaking of Manchester, in 2020 the Republic of Ireland declared it would be opening a consulate in the North in order to “Strengthen our Bonds”. The contenders for this consulate were Liverpool and Manchester. You would think that Liverpool, given its history and much closer association with the Irish people would be chosen for the consulate. Yet, this is not what happened. Rotherham allowed, with seemingly little fight, for the consulate to go to our neighbour. One could argue that Andy Burnham has become the Mayor of Manchester and Liverpool.

How has he allowed for Liverpool to be outcompeted by our closest rival?

Now onto his response to Covid-19...

Rotherham claimed that during 2020, he took on Boris Johnson and Westminster to win more money to funding for testing, vaccinations and furlough. Though, I would have to argue that it was Andy Burnham who stood up for the people of the North. Rotherham was in fact nowhere to be seen. His track record is definitely something to be made aware of when voting for Metro Mayor.

No One Left Behind

However, while he may not be the ideal candidate based on his track record, it is still worth considering his policies before casting a final decision.

Rotherham, if re-elected, has promised to deliver:

A £150 million Covid Recovery Fund, double the number of Green Jobs and would work towards a more locally controlled London-style transport network.

A Guarantee to Young People that a job, apprenticeship or training opportunities will be made available for all school leavers within 6 months of becoming unemployed.

Greater control of the transport system with the new trains coming into service and tap-in tap-out ticketing being introduced. Rotherham also promises a cycle revolution.

A Green New Deal that will ensure that Liverpool leads the Green Industrial Revolution. He will double the number of green jobs, harness the power of the Mersey (invest into renewable energy) and ensure our region is on track to be net zero by 2040.

A Digitally Connected Region, achieved through the deliverance of ultrafast broadband infrastructure across the entire region. This would make Liverpool the most connected region in the country.

Now Rotherham does have some good policies. The question is can he deliver them?

However, it should be noted that Rotherham may not have to worry about re-election. As a twitter user put it, ‘Hitler could be a labour mayor and win’. The Liverpool region, despite years of neglect and being overlooked, is a Labour stronghold. This gives Rotherham a boost in his effort to be re-elected.

Closing Thoughts

I hope this article has allowed you to understand all the candidates in greater depth. The Metro Mayor is an important figure for our region and we must ensure that the right person gets the job. So, make sure you find the time to go out and vote tomorrow!

Best of luck to all the candidates!

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midlifemusingsfromthemidwest · 4 years

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Charlatans, Liars, and Frauds

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, and this is one of those times. I have long been an avid reader of the trashy British tabloid that masquerades as a newspaper, The Daily Mail. Every morning for years, I have enjoyed reading the DM as I drink my morning coffee. I read the stories and laugh at the acerbic comments, as the Brits do have a way with words. When Meghan Markle arrived upon the scene while dating Prince Harry, suddenly every story was about them. As an American, I was amused by their painting of her as a star and well-known actress, because no one, and I mean no one, outside her immediate family and friends, had ever heard of this chick. Not only that, no one I have ever talked to watched the show Suits, where she played a supporting role. Suddenly, Meghan Markle was everywhere, and quickly I came to the conclusion that she was a complete social climber who was dating poor dumb Harry to advance her desire for fame. In the comments of the Daily Mail, someone mentioned a Facebook group devoted to shared dislike for Meghan, and on a lark, I joined it. The group was known as Meghan Markle The Charlatan Duchess, often shortened to MMTCD. I'll be honest, the group was a lot of fun as women from all over the world dished and bitched about what a fraud Meghan Markle was. We laughed at her horrific wigs and her clothes that cost millions, yet were always ill-fitting. We chuckled over how dim Harry was, and we guessed how long it would be before the divorce proceedings were started. Some of the women believed more outlandish tales such as that Meghan was born a man, that she wore a moonbump and was never pregnant, and that Archie (I am still scratching my head over that choice of name…Archie????) was, in fact, a doll, and not a real boy. Maybe Meghan should have named him Pinocchio instead of Archie. All in all, it was good fun…not nice, yet good fun.

Now, the interesting part of the story is that the founder of the group was a woman who referred to herself as "Lady L”. Lady L claimed she was a high-ranking member of the British aristocracy with strong ties to the British Royal Family. She wrote in flowery prose about how she felt compelled to start a facebook group to help expose Meghan Markle as a fraud and charlatan. She was single-handedly going to save the British monarchy from the grubby clutches of the American interloper. Lady L claimed her grandmother had been a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and that she had a huge ancestral home outside of Edinburgh. In fact, she often wrote that once Meghan and Harry divorced, she was going to host a huge party for the group in her ancestral pile in Scotland, oooh la la! Sadly, some women in the group actually started saving money for the trip so they would be able to afford to go. Seriously, shame on her for that. She wove the tale that she was a successful antique shoppe owner (notice the British spelling, which meant it had to be true), and that she came to the United States every year to buy antiques for her stores and shipped them back to the UK. Um, what? Why in the world would someone come from the UK, where antiques simply had to be older and more valuable, to the United States to buy antiques that were generally far less old and far less valuable. How odd, and the first red flag that made me think the Lady wasn't all she proclaimed herself to be.

After some time, Lady L introduced us to her cousin, Lilly Beth, whom she had recruited to help run the group, as Lady L simply couldn't keep up with it all by her little old blue-blooded self. Shortly after that, Lilly Beth became the self-appointed Queen of the group with every member hanging on her every post, all while competing for her attention. Lady L rarely posted in the group once Lilly Beth was brought on board to run the place. Occasionally when the group members became unruly, Lady L would pop in and shout at everyone to stop whatever they were doing to anger her, post a giant red angry emoji, and then "feck off" back from whence she had come. Lilly Beth claimed that her husband, fondly known as “Mister”, worked for the Crown and that she had "grown up with Wills and Harry." Hmmmm….ok then, it seemed somewhat implausible, but I was game to play along on the off chance it was true. Maybe she was just some rich bored British aristocrat hiding behind a laptop. I had been a member for just a few weeks when the group was rocked by a Daily Mail article that doxed or exposed, several anti-Meghan private citizens in a story that shared the pictures, names, and even twitter names of several women who happened to be members of the group. I still believe that Meghan Markle's people were behind the doxing, and it made me dislike her even more. The members of MMTCD panicked, and most of us then created fake facebook profile identities and rejoined the group under nom de plums. It might seem like an overreaction, but many of the women in the group whom I had become friends with were successful professionals. They didn't want to see their faces and names publicly shamed on the Daily Mail for having the audacity to dislike Meghan Markle. Not only that, but it was quickly become the modus operandi of Meghan and her band of flying monkeys, I mean supporters, to harass, defame, dox, and call every person who didn't like her a racist. Despite the influx of anonymous Facebook profiles, the group MMTCD flourished.

Over the next year, Lilly Beth became increasingly over the top, and she was an incessant braggart. She claimed that her husband, Mister, not only supposedly worked for the Crown, but that he also was a member of the House of Commons, owned a village, and that he had even surprised her with a mansion in upper New York where they would summer, amidst the ungodly heat and humidity. Who in their right mind would summer in New York where it is 100-plus degrees when one could be in much more temperate UK? Mmmhmm…sure. As time went on, Lilly Beth bragged more and more and more. She claimed she brought their entire household staff with them to the United States to the new mansion. She bragged that her daughter Violet was friends with Prince George and that there was a possibility she could even marry him someday. My goodness, was it possible that our humble Lilly Beth could someday be the mother-in-law to a future King? Would we all get invitations to the wedding? Should I start saving for a bespoke dress? She bragged that she was invited by the Queen herself to an upcoming ceremony—and that the queen had insisted that she attend. Well, goodness me, wasn't Lilly Beth becoming more and more important with every passing day? She would regale the breathless fans of hers in the group with tales of how Cook would whip up ten-course meals, and how she was ordering bespoke gowns. She tooted her own horn more than Meghan Markle, and that is no easy feat. Lilly Beth kept us up to date on her pregnancy and her newborn, "Master Jack" and even shared pictures of him and his sister little Violet with bright auburn hair and vivid green eyes, clearly photoshopped and poorly at that. The list of Lilly Beth's tall tales was vast. They included that she had met Kate several times, Mister was a RAF pilot, Cook make enough stew for their entire village of shut-ins, Mister waved rent for the entire village because of covid, she was a barrister, she was a buyer for an auction house, she was a violinist, she could sing beautifully, she was a muse for a famous artist, she got her ice cold milk straight from the village dairy (insert eye roll here), and on and on.

A monster was born. The more attention Lilly Beth got, the more she loved it, and the bigger the tales got. Not only that, but she also started getting sloppy. Her use of British words began to slip, her photoshopping skills were appalling, and her tales were becoming increasingly unbelievable. With each embellishment, I became even more convinced that Lilly Beth was a con artist who was no more a British aristocract than I was. During this time, Lilly Beth also set up a second group where she and other group members would verbally duke it out with Meghan Markle fans and then try to recruit members to come to their defense. It was like watching an episode of Jenny Jones show when it devolved into a fistfight amongst the guests. I got to the point where I posted less often, and I would go days or weeks without visiting the group. When I did, I would post and fly out of there. The entire group became like primary school kids trying to outdo each other to attract Lilly Beth's attention with their tricks. Watch this, Lilly Beth…No, watch me, Lilly Beth…Look at this Lilly Beth. A few times, I knew Lilly Beth was lying and full of "shite" as she would put it. Once, she said her husband, Mister, had been at a wine-tasting with Harry and that Harry had come in "knackered." I asked why Harry was tired, and she said, Nooooo, knackered means he was drunk. Hmmm…while I don't pretend to be British, I do have Brits as friends and have only heard of knackered meaning tired. As usual, when questioned, she slithered away and stayed gone for several days.

Finally, the beginning of the end happened one day when two former members who were booted from the group—something that happened on a weekly basis for one offense or another— blogged on tumbler some of Lilly's supposed "tea." Tea was the term the group used for inside information. The supposed inside information was a bit like the overly vague guesses of a carnival psychic. If the “tea” was specific, then it was usually a rewording of a DM or other tabloid story. Then, shortly after the Tumblr brouhaha, Lilly Beth posted that someone on twitter was saying she lived in Alaska and that Lady L lived in Arizona and how hilarious it was that someone was making such crazy accusations. She laughed maniacally about it…LOLOLOLOL!!!!! This was her trademark over the top response to anything even mildly humorous. Then, the balloon popped, the air escaped from the overstretched bladder in a split second with a whoosh. When members tried to access the site all that was there was a message that the group been archived. Like the carnies they were, the frauds scurried off into the shadows leaving behind hundreds of confused and incredulous former members. It turned out that Lady L and Lilly Beth were no more connected to the British Royal Family than am I. In fact, they were a mother and at least one of her daughters, posing as British aristocrats all the while living in the United States. For a year and a half, they had perpetrated a gigantic fraud on hundreds of unsuspecting, and some suspecting like myself, women from nearly every continent and country on the planet. Former members quickly found other groups to join to maintain the friendships formed within MMTCD. Everyone wondered, why would these women have gone to such lengths to fabricate such intricate and detailed lies? What was their end game? Were they setting the group up for financial fraud, were they data-mining for identity theft, were they just stroking their egos, or were they creating an alternative reality vastly more interesting than their mundane, sad lives? I doubt we will never know, but how very ironic that two complete charlatans and frauds created a group dedicated to uncovering another charlatan and fraud. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

#MMTCD #Charlatans

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japanessie · 4 years

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MY FIRST STORY & Saitama Super Arena capacity

I received this question on Twitter regarding the attendance at MFS TamaAri Tour Final. I think it would be interesting to share with my readers especially for those who might aspire to enter the showbiz.

Disclaimer: Answers were based on my personal observations as a longtime music fan. Also, I used ONE OK ROCK as a comparison because that's what my readers are familiar with. Peace everyone 😊

Question:

So I just read that MFS TamaAri was 18000 tickets? Normally I know the venue has a much larger capacity, so why is that? Are they taking it safely? And do you know what’s more important to secure bigger venues? Is it to sold out or the number of tickets you had there? Just trying to understand if this was necessary to get to Tokyo Dome. It just kinda makes me sad because they deserve so much!

I always just assumed that it’s 37000, didn’t know there was two modes, any idea on what’s the difference and why they went with arena mode instead of stadium.

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MFS held an “arena" tour NOT “stadium" tour

First of all, from the start, MFS had declared their Kobe World Hall & Saitama Super Arena dates as “ARENA Tour". They never said “stadium". So, it only made sense that they booked Saitama Super Arena in its arena mode.

Based on MFS' proposed seating plan, they were honest from the start that they were NOT aiming for >30000 capacity. Just look at how small the space they allocated for standing spectators. The rest were all seated. They were pretty realistic about their crowd attracting capability & current limitations. They knew they were not OOR who could easily dedicate the entire floor area for standing spectators.

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Saitama Super Arena was designed to be mechanically multi-sized to suit multiple purposes

Look at the “Stadium vs Arena” diagrams from the venue's official website.

Saitama Super Arena does have TWO modes i.e "stadium" and "arena". It is a multi-purpose venue which means it can be used for concerts, sports events, exhibitions, death memorials (if you want) etc. Thus, to serve the different functions, it was designed in such a manner.

What is meant with max capacity of 37000 pax is the entire fixed seats taken up PLUS the maximum additional seating that the floor area can take, which is more suited for sports events where a smaller space for the athletes/performers is needed e.g. boxing, wrestling etc. For sports such as soccer or baseball, the floor area obviously will not be used for seatings.

Stadium vs Arena configuration

Stadium = the full length space with seats all around facing the centre.

Arena = the space is partially blocked off reducing the seats & floor area.

Stadium Mode

Let's look at a typical concert stage end side configuration.

1. A chunk of the space is already taken up by the stage. Meaning the seated area behind the stage is already unusable for the spectators. Then, some artists have a runway or even multiple runways extending into the floor area. To my eyes, at least 1/4 or even 1/3 of the space is already reduced. Then, when you put designated seats on the arena floor, the number of people will be reduced even more because chairs take up more floor space per person than a free-standing area.

Arena Mode

How about centre stage configuration to maximize the viewing?

Here is an example of a centre stage from KOBUKURO LIVE TOUR 2015 at Saitama Super Arena. Even with this configuration and a more packed crowd than MY FIRST STORY, this only packed in 21000 spectators.

http://music.emtg.jp/liveReport/20150806213e27519

For safety reason, you can’t pack in more people than the officially declared maximum capacity

I'm not sure how the Law is in Japan or what legal obligations that the management of Saitama Super Arena needs to comply. However, generally, it concerns evacuating people safely and quickly in the case of fire or any disaster.

--------------------------------------------------

However, it looked like MFS didn't quite reach the number they were originally aiming for.

Got to be honest, there was a big block of unused seats at the end of the arena. The staff covered it with a huge piece of cloth. There was also some rather generous spaces around the floor seating area. They are not yet at OOR level who can easily attract >30000 crowd. But overall, it was good enough and not disastrous like the Shanghai show (unwise choice of venue that one... sorry my boys).

Photo by Taka Tallman

The difference of the Final outcome compared to the Original plan based on the official photo.

Why was it announced as "Sold Out"?

1. Logistics reason.

They needed to finalize the layout of the seatings and the number of chairs they actually needed. If they kept the ticket sales open to the performance day, it would be difficult for the staff to arrange the overall seated / standing areas. Notice how they often announced on-the-day tickets (toujitsuken) for their free standing Livehouse shows but not for Halls and Arenas. It's easy to squeeze in free standing audience as long as it is safe enough.

2. They very likely had already reached the sales target to cover the cost of the concert.

If you already sold out the quantity you needed to make profits, then it's not a lie to declare it that way. "Yeah, we sold out!". MFS is blessed to be an indie band because the money they earn mainly goes to them. Well, looking at the luxuries MFS members pampered themselves with (a huge rehearsal studio, holidays abroad, head-to-toe designer fashion etc), these guys made A LOT.

Despite playing to smaller crowds and playing less shows per year, MFS members are able to live comfortably at a more leisurely pace. Compare that to the major-label-and-talent-agency-tied OOR who certainly sell more in quantity but is being worked to death by their management with every Tour to make $$$!

3. In showbiz, image is everything.

Notice how once an actor won an Oscar, his publicity promo will always attach the term “Oscar winner (insert name)" with almost every appearance? Because it gives “value" to his name! Even if you only got nominated, being known as “Oscar-nominated actor" elevates your status.

It's the same with music artists. Saying “the band held a Sold-Out show at (insert a place)" gives “value" to your resume. The general public rarely ask the numbers or even question it.

Not only MFS, even OOR plays the same publicity game. For example, their Nagisaen show has always been hailed as attracting >100000 people. What is being downplayed is it was >100000 people over TWO days. Meaning >50000 pax per day and many of them actually went to BOTH days. But still, saying >100000 sounds better and it's not like they're lying. It's technically correct. So MFS saying, “Thank you. We sold out!" is technically true if they had passed their profit threshold. Anything extra is a bonus 😊.

Why still went for such a huge venue even though their fanbase still has not reached that level?

Just a basic management strategy no matter what field you’re in. Once you set a big target, you need to measure your achievement from time to time. They want to do Tokyo Dome. So, they need to see how far they can reach and what to plan to achieve it. With the Nippon Budokan, they knew that they could do 12000 pax. With Makuhari Messe and Yokohama Arena, they knew that 18000 figure was in their hands. With Saitama Super Arena, they very likely wanted to see if they could reach more than 20000. Now that MFS knew 20000 is a figure they need to still work on, they can plan from now what to do next. My prediction, there is a HUGE chance that the Tokyo Dome show would be fully or mostly seated.

What’s more important to secure bigger venues? Is it to be sold out or the number of tickets?

Strictly from the economic point of view, the number of tickets you can sell is more important. You'd want to earn enough to recoup your investment first & foremost. The venues don't care if your event is sold out or not. They just want their money. Being “sold out" is more for the artist's image.

Every artist has their own sales threshold of what they can call “sold out". MFS put limited standing tickets from the start which means they have a lower “sold out" threshold compared to a bigger band like OOR who allocates a lot more standing tickets.

The bigger your name, the higher the stake. I still remember when the late King of Pop Michael Jackson was deemed a failure for selling “only" around 45000 tickets for a stadium concert in the UK back in the late 90s.

So, was MFS playing it safe with Saitama Super Arena?

Nope.

On the contrary, they were daring themselves to take the risk in order to know where they are at. But hey, ANY indie artist in the world would KILL to have 18000 people per night. It’s awesome that MFS could reach that number as an independent band.

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My 2 cents

Why did MFS struggle a bit to fill up Saitama Super Arena?

To me it still boils down to one thing. Their archrival ONE OK ROCK.

This had been the first time ever that MFS was doing a major Tour head to head against OOR. They even had a few clashing dates!

* (Remember that Summer Sonic Tokyo (MFS) vs Osaka (OOR) incident? A small crowd in Tokyo vs a packed crowd in Osaka?）

OOR by Julen Photo

For the most part, getting the majority of their fans from OOR fandom has been a huge blessing for MFS. But we must take note that many of them still keep OOR as their main band and thus, are more likely to spend their money on the OOR Tour instead. Not to mention that OOR ticket & merch prices are higher.

MFS hardcore fans are still way smaller and probably will never top OOR, which is fine to me (seriously, I don’t want MFS to compromise their music like OOR did 😑 ). However, I do believe that the day will come when MFS can attract 30000 crowd in one show but it will take more time for that to happen.

But comparing it to OOR, it wasn’t too bad even though it is still a long way to go :-)

Someday MFS will be able to pack in fully standing crowds on the floor 😃 !

What MFS needs to do?

1. Keep on with their current strategy of reaching out and expanding to fans outside of the OOR crowd. Keep on collaborating, guys!

2. I personally hope that the little darling Hiroki can continue being careful with anything that comes out of his mouth so as not to make another faux pas e.g that misunderstood MC at Summer Sonic (OOR fans accused him of jealousy towards Taka again because of it... oops 🙈), that "kiddy tantrum" at Storyteller Tour Osaka (your warped sense of humour may not necessarily work outside of your band & crew, Hiro 😑). Watching him in the later part of 2019, I do feel Hiro had learned a bit from it all though.

3. Continue strengthening the bond with the existing fans. It’s important to cherish their loyalty. I had talked before about the benefit of keeping your core fans. Thankfully, MFS is doing it right in this area. Bringing awareness to ALS, dedicating their songs to special selected fans and helping in realizing their dreams. After all, support is a two-way street.

4. Connecting with the younger crowd like they did during the ALONE era with the “university tour” might be a good idea too 🤔. I still remember photos of the members walking through the crowd among the stalls at students’ fairs 😃. That was an exciting time 😊

-----------------------------------------------

So, what do you all think 😃?

#reply #my first story #maifasu #マイファス #one ok rock #oor

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arcticdementor · 3 years

Quote

I used to catalog historically dependent explanatory just-so stories in a similar vein to these. They all did the same thing when trying shed light on the plight and woes of blacks around the globe. It created something I labeled The Grand Theory of Evil Whitey. In order to understand the Grand Theory of Evil Whitey you need to look at all of these anti-white explanatory mechanisms and contextualize them with one another. It's then that you have to ask yourself a question: How can it be that for every single notable historical instance of black 'failure' there is an evil whitey looming about as a causal mechanism of explanation for said 'failure'? (Failure is defined as not being like indigenous Scandinavians). To give examples: The reason for why Africa is how it is? White colonialism and modern day neo-imperialism. And countries that weren't colonized, like Ethiopia? Suffered due to white colonialism by proxy of not having developed neighbors. Rwandan genocide? White colonialism, since the Belgians gave the Huti and Tutsi their ethno-distinctive labels and privileged one over the other, which laid the foundations for the conflict. Any African war, for that matter, has its roots in white colonialism, since it was the white colonialists who drew up border lines for their own convenience rather than with a regard to ethno-tribal relations within Africa, which lead to conflict. High black crime rate in US? Pick your favorite white racist system theory. High black crime in the UK? Pick your favorite white racist system theory. Low educational attainment? Same thing. Why did blacks not adopt this socially adaptive cultural norm rather than this maladaptive one? White racism and exclusionary culture. I mean, just look at the Tulsa Race Massacre! This story goes for every single instance of black 'failure' as previously defined. I am not aware of a single one that is not in some way or another the fault of evil whitey. Not only that, they also share a very similar rhetorical style and framework: As can be seen in this thread, the theory presented by ExtraBurdensomeCount seems not only robust and believable, but also respectable. The same is true for all of them. The rhetorical frame of these theories is generally emotionally detached language from the standpoint of being an observer of historical and social forces that bide by the rules of cause and effect. The evil whitey narrative is then constructed via ahistorical examples of evil whitey igniting a causal chain of events, normally through doing morally reprehensible (by today's standards) evil whitey things. Occasionally with a minority of "good whitey" thrown in so the true believer reader can self insert himself as a morally just character in the story. (Oh, how he would show evil whitey just how wrong he is!) The rhetorical style has, as a consequence, this built in moral framework that narrates blacks as hapless victims without any hope or agency. And evil whitey as master and commander of death, insanity and oppression with no regard for the sanctity of life. This relationship dynamic is treated like a law of physics on top of the moral imperative embedded therein. Such a clear and open moral position is of course generally not stated explicitly. But it is the most easily derived logical conclusion from consuming the narrative. Illustrated plainly with the phenomenon of how nigh everyone who earnestly reads and believes these stories ends up believing in a historical worldview of such a moral flavor, and imbues it with their own moral condemnation of the actions of evil whitey. It also follows from such a strong moral position that anyone who questions these narratives gets treated as an evil repugnant pariah in dire need of otherization and excommunication. I mean, why would anyone question the story of evil whitey in the Congo or anywhere else? They must have a sinister ulterior motive. Like everyone who ever threatens a strongly held moral belief system. Now, taking a step back for a second and looking at the issue from a wider lens, how plausible is it that white people caused every single malfunction and maladaption in blacks? To reiterate: There exists not a single line of division regarding any metric of difference between blacks and whites that does not in one form or another lay the blame at the hands of white people. Following from how we learned about that we know that every single on of those narratives is also an ironclad fool proof historical truth of fact. That no one of morally sound character would question it. By definition, if you do question it, you are morally suspect. I think that's a good point to help us snap back to reality, if just a little bit and look at what is actually available for belief on this subject. There are three proposed explanatory theories for the gaps and differences between blacks and whites: The hereditarian one, which is banned. The egalitarian one, which exists only in theory. And finally the Grand Theory of Evil Whitey. Which, as it stands, is the logical consequence of believing the egalitarian theory whilst still having to answer why the gaps between blacks and white exist or existed, now or ever, if we are all of roughly equal 'genetic potential'. Now, you might say that there exists no explicit logical reason that would necessitate that a believer in the egalitarian hypothesis would have to come to conclusions that align them the the Grand Theory of Evil whitey. But where are those believers? What innocuous explanatory mechanisms exist relating to the topic of the black/white gaps that don't in one form or another, directly or indirectly, blame whitey? Is it even possible to posit such a theory and not have evil whitey eventually take center stage as a culprit? I know you can contextualize history with hereditarianism without morally condemning whitey as evil, but egalitarianism? Why didn't whitey just educate and elevate the blacks? I want to raise awareness of the Grand Theory of Evil Whitey since I am sick and tired of watching people go from context to context and accept the evil whitey explanatory mechanisms with no regard to what that actually looks like when you tie all of those explanatory instances together. Because, just like with hereditarianism and egalitarianism, you can't really combine them with one another or accept them piecemeal. They are mutually exclusive, all encompassing and complete explanatory systems. The same is true for the theory of evil whitey. You can't pick and choose where whitey did bad and was at fault. If you accept the methodology of one instance you are inclined to accept it in the others. If evil whitey did it here he also did it there or caused it to happen by something he did somewhere else. To close this off: I think it's safe to say that dismissing these pocket theories out of hand is warranted until a general full scale theory of explanation is introduced that isn't just a backpedal towards egalitarianism. Primary reason for this being that the viewpoints that are necessitated, if you accept these kind of stories, are generally absurd pathologically driven group biased fiction that requires you to fully disregard something like hereditarianism out of hand.

hanikrummihundursvin

#quote #reddit #the motte

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shamehill56-blog · 5 years

Text

Pongal celebration, Pongal shopping list

What is Pongal festival? Pongal festival is celebrated widely among Tamil nadu people, devoted to Sun god. It is also celebrated in the places where ever Tamil people are living - like Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Sri Lanka, US, UK etc;.

Wishing all my reader and follower friends a Happy Pongal! I am not going to write the basic details about pongal festival, please check wikipedia if you want to know about the basics of the festival. Even Though it is celebrated by all the tamils, it's not the same way it is celebrated by every family. Each family, each household have different way, traditions that is followed. I did not even realize my in-laws family had a different way of celebrating from the way at my mom's place.

After I got married, I haven't been there to celebrate pongal with them. So every year, my mami ask me to visit them when it's pongal. But usually Aj will have cyclic test and won't be able to make it. Last time when they visited, I requested them to come here to Singapore to celebrate the festival. So last year (2018), my mama, mami came here for celebration along with my two other brothers-in-law family🙂. Last year, I could learn a bit from my mami what is our custom and traditions to be followed. First I was little nervous on how I would manage all the things, Vj gave me confidence and told since many people are there, they will all do their part and no need to worry. As he said, While I concentrated only in the cooking part, I got all the help from my co-sisters, mami to prepare for the poojai. I just concentrated on cooking for the entire family along with pongal keeping. Before I go through the way we celebrate pongal, if you are looking for pongal recipes, click here for the pongal recipes. Disclaimer: This is just how we celebrate pongal festival at our household. Please check with your respective family elders to follow your traditions. I just wanted to share and keep a record of how we celebrate pongal festival. Though the customs and traditions are changing according to our convenience, availability, I just wanted to keep it written for my future reference. Let me also share the pongal shopping list/ checklist.

Shopping list for pongal:

Poojai items

Kungumam

Sandal

Flowers

wick (thiri nool)

Betel leaves, nuts

Banana

Agarbathi, sambrani

Camphor

Sesame oil/ vilakku yennai

Mango leaves/ maavilai

Kaapu kattu if applicable / available (kind of a bouquet with white flowers and yellow flower sarakkondrai, etc,)

Vegetables:

Fresh ginger

Fresh turmeric

Sugarcane

Mochai

Broad beans

Raw banana/ plantain

White pumpkin

Yellow pumpkin

Sweet potato

Colocasia/ arbi/ seppankizhangu

Karunai kizhangu/ yam

Banana leaf

Coconut

Grocery checklist

Moong dal

Raw rice

Jaggery (preferably paagu vellam)

Ghee

Oil

Cashews

Cardamom

Nutmeg, edible camphor

Milk

Let's start with how we celebrate pongal. First and foremost, they figure out when is the Tamil month 'Thai' exactly born, by referring panjangam. We use paambu panjangam (பாம்பு பஞ்சாங்கம்) for referring all such timings for festivals etc. Whenever the month is born, my FIL or MIL takes bath and lit's lamp. The lamp is also not the usual ones, its called madakku (மடக்கு) - large lamp made out of mud. So let me start how we celebrate pongal festival: Soak 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup raw rice, grind to a smooth paste in liquid form to draw maakolam (மாக்கோலம்). Draw a kolam at entrance of the house. You can refer my parents blog learnkolam.net for pongal kolams. Here's what my mami drew last year.

Draw kolam as shown below in three places. One at the regular pooja place, one for veetu deivam and one for Surya bagavan. So total three places. My mami drew these kolams last year.

Here are the lamps cleaned and kept ready for the poojai. The brass vilakku is my paati's and the other are respective from our mom's house.

In the pooja place wall, using avarai ilai (broad beans leaf or pungai ilai) crush and make a rectangle using the dye from the leaf. 7 rows of 7 dots are kept each in one different item and colour.

Black - kan mai (kaajal) or sago saandhu

Red - kum kum

White - kola maavu (rice we ground)

Green - Same leaf but darker shade

Viboodhi

Sandhanam

Manjal

We use cardboard to do as we do not have white wall at pooja place. So either we can keep the cardboard for the upcoming festivals or can also create new ones. I already tried to check with my family why we do it and the reason behind to understand better, but there's no much information available. So I have to check with other elders when I visit India and enlighten myself.

This setup is for two places- one at regular pooja place and one for veetu deivam. Last year, my co-sister helped me drawing this and cleaning pooja vessels with me. Prepare one wooden plank - wash and dry. Draw kolam over it too and let all kolams dry. A big agal vilakku (madakku - large lamp made out of mud) is tied around decoratively with a white thread. It is called thaai vilakku (தாய் விளக்கு) Which represents the late daughter-in-law of the house (here, my father-in-law's mom).

In the wooden plank, raw rice is spread preferably new fresh harvest rice (புது அரிசி). Keep the thaai vilakku in the middle. Keep one lamp (brought by the daughters-in-law during their marriage) each for the daughters-in-law around the thaai vilakku. So here, one for my mom-in-law, one for me, two more - one each for my co-sisters, as I have two co-sisters. So total 5. After my Mom-in-law, I have to take all these traditions and follow it. That time, the thaai vilakku will be for my Mom-in-law. And the tradition goes on.

The wick (thiri nool) for these vilakku is not the regular cotton wick we use. There is a thread called ''paavu thiri" (பாவு திரி) and we have to count in 50s or 100s. Take required length of the thread and cut. first tied a knot on the top. Then like we plait our hair, divide into three and make a plait. End it and tie a knot to secure. This is used same way for all the lamps. My grandfather used to run this thread 108 times in Padi, and it is then taken out, plaited to wick. But my father-in-law takes counts of thread, measures length and plaits the wick as these days padi is not available at homes as well as madakku. So this wooden plank is kept in front of the regular pooja place, over the kolam we drawn earlier. In front of this arrangement, a thalai vazhai ilai (Full banana leaf) is spread. Over which, 5 or 7 betel nuts & leaves, coconut, flower on top of the leaf, vegetables like raw banana, broad beans, sweet potato, arbi (seppankizhangu), yam (pidi karanai) are kept in sets, the same count as above.

So once the lamp is lit by the eldest in the family (take bath and lit with wet veshti/ towel), Make ready the pongal pot by decorating it. Viboodhi pattai, kunguma pottu is kept. Manjal and ginger is tied around the neck of the brass pot (vengala panai). One panai, each for sweet pongal and ven pongal. The pongal pot should be full, so buy the pot accordingly. My mom in law used a thread and inserted a piece of manjal and ginger in it, tied around the pot. So you might not see much. Seems she does this usually to avoid the leaves catching fire while cooking.

The stove should be clean and can be decorated with kolam. The whole day, everyone in the family should do fasting. Only after pongal, we can have food. Menu to be cooked :

Payatham paruppu (South Indian style moong dal)

A thayir pachadi

A sweet pachadi

2 poriyals - I made vazhakkai poriyal, avarakkai poriyal

7 kari kootu

Pongal sambar with payatham paruppu (moong dal)

Apart from ven pongal (to be consumed instead of regular rice) and sweet pongal.

All the menu prepared uses fresh turmeric, fresh ground spices and no onion or tomato, using only the 7 vegetables.

After the above cooking part is done, including the pongals, we start poojai. At each place (3 places) - a pair of kuthu vilakku is lit. In front of it, over the kolam drawn, keep a plate with a pair of vethalai, paaku, coconut, a pair of banana.

In front of main pooja place, 5 banana leaves (One thalai vazhai ilai and 4 edu) is spread. Usually 7 is done, but now a days, we cannot consume all these as the family is smaller than the earlier days. So we did 3 at each place according to the number of family members.

In each leaf, ven pongal, sweet pongal are kept, patted using water and made dent in the middle. Add a slice of banana, a small piece of jaggery over it. Pour a tsp of ghee.

Keep all the cooked items too in order.

First the regular place is done with poojai. Later, veetu deivam and surya bahavan should be offered at the same time, so me and Mom in law did together simultaneously.

Once the pooja is done, offered to crow, we all enjoy the food. We all sat on the floor and had food together. It was great experience last year and I was just imagining how the festival would have been celebrated those days earlier in our households where they had their own cultivation lands, cattles, cows and a very large (joint) family😃.

Source: https://www.rakskitchen.net/2019/01/pongal-celebration-pongal-shopping-list.html

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alittlepronetopanic · 5 years

Text

Safety Bubble

A/N: My writing inspiration just isn’t really here at all, but I did manage to write this yesterday.

(gif is mine)

Prompt(s): None

Pairing: Matt x Reader

Warning(s): Strong domestic abuse theme, mentions of violence and mention of rape.

Word Count: 1560

Hope you enjoy it! And as always, feedback is appreciated. :)

You always made a promise you would leave your personal life out of work but you had nowhere else to go. Stumbling into M.I.U, you came to look for Matt, Ronnie or even the DCI but before you made it past the vending machines, you collapsed by the wall. Blood poured from your head, but it was already like that before grasping the wall.

Nobody heard you but you had no energy or fight to shout so you waited. Eventually Matt came out of the team room and immediately saw you, “Oh my, God. Ronnie!” he said allowed before rushing to you, crouching in front and holding your head.

There wasn't just a large cut to your head, red marks and bruises covered your face and body. “I'm not safe.” you mumbled out, “He can't know I'm here, he'll kill me.”

Ronnie frowned, but Matt always had an instinct about your boyfriend, Tom. “He did this to you?” Matt fumed, but his voice was as calm as he could manage. He always had a good judge of character; he met him once at the pub and you weren't allowed to speak to anyone that night. Matt picked you up and took you to one of the rooms they use for less formal interviews and set you down on one of the soft chairs. Following closely behind was Ronnie with a first aid kit and passed it to his partner.

Like you always did, you had a reflex to hide the evidence of Tom's beatings but you knew it was no use now. Matt stood over you and carefully moved the strands of your hair, checking the deep wound in your head.

He got a large piece of dressing and pressed it to it, “I think that might need stitches. What did he do to you?” he asked and you took a deep, shaking breath before looking up to him and bursting into tears at his kind face. Putting the medical things in his hand down, he crouched slightly and hugged you carefully, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Tell me when you're ready, okay?”

You nodded as he broke away and took the wipe from it's packaging and moved the other chair next to you. After a little silence, you had to fill it with something, and you ha to tell someone what has been happening, and you trusted Matt and Ronnie more than anyone. “Tom was always controlling, but when I started working here, he got violent. He used to say that because I was a Police Officer, I wouldn't tell anyone about what was happening. He would manipulate me, telling me I'd lose my job.”

Matt briefly stopped with a little frown but allowed you to speak, “Turn your head, sweetheart.” he requested first.

You turned it with a little wince and he placed his hand to your jaw to steady his own up and your face, “I was late getting back from here and he seems convinced that I have someone else. But why would he when he won't let me leave.” your voice broke as you looked at Matt who had finished cleaning the blood from your face.

He was reluctant to move his hand from your jawline as his eyes searched your face. He was angry, you knew that; but he would've been for anyone, even if it wasn't you, so you didn't read anything into it. “Listen to me, you are safe, he won't hurt you any more. Right, Ron, we're gonna get him, aren't we?”

Ronnie nodded, leaving his head lowered to the ground as he walked a few steps forward, “Of course, but you need to give us a statement, tell us everything.”

After Matt had to take evidence pictures of all the bruises you had but had to bring a female doctor in to take a look at some of your bruises that were in a more private place. Then you were taken to a proper interview room, which Matt had tried to argue against, worried it was too much and too formal for you.

It was strange to be the other side of the table but you relaxed when Matty walked in on his own and sat on the other side of the table. He tried to present himself less as a police officer than he usually would and you were grateful for that. Matt liked to write things down, despite it being on tape and video; he just always needed his handwriting - that nobody else could even read - in front of him even referring back to cases. Giving a little gesture with his head, you knew he was ready to listen so you took another big shaky breath.

"Tom has always been controlling. We met 5 years ago on a case; he was a paramedic. Tom was the kind of guy that believed woman shouldn't be bringing in the money, they should be at home, cleaning or cooking; he was a sexist pig." you recalled and then waited for Matt to finish scribbling on the page.

He looked up, the room making the blue irises of his eyes pop and licked his lips sadly. You could tell that he didn't want to be the one doing this, but had no choice, "What happened tonight?" he asked after clearing his throat.

You cleared your own and grabbed the cup of water. Until then, you were unaware of how shaky you actually were as the cup violently wobbled in your hand, "The DCI assigned me an open and shut case, all I had to do was charge them and do the paperwork. I was almost done and didn't see the point in leaving it so I stayed to finish and I got home late. Tom hated it, thought I had stopped off to meet a guy or something so he beat me until he felt like stopping."

Matt didn't want to hear no more, but he had to, he didn't want anyone else to be doing this, "You, er, have bruising in other places. Why?" he questioned, hating himself, but fuming with Tom more than anything.

There was a lump in your throat, sickened by the thoughts, "He would force me to have sex with him to prove I still loved him. He was rough about it because he was angry. It would hurt, Matt and I couldn't stop it because he would think that I was getting it somewhere else if I didn't do it."

"He raped you?"

You shook your head, "He never saw it as rape. He always used to say that you couldn't rape your own girlfriend. I would scream no and he would cover my mouth with his hand, he took pleasure in it because I was his." your voice broke but you quickly tried to compose yourself while Matt wasn't looking.

He had finished writing on the page but hesitated to look back to you. Matt was the kindest person you knew and it was empathetic, feeling the pain others did and you could tell that he was feeling it more than ever right now.

Matt turned off the tape, unable to hear anymore and stood from his chair. Gesturing you to stand with a quick upwards flick of his hand, you did so before he wrapped you up in a warm, safe hug that almost felt like a bubble had been put around you for protection. Matt Devlin was that bubble.

"Guess what?" his voice mumbled. Breaking away, tears began to escape your eyes and Matt pressed his hand to your cheek before wiping your tears away with his finger, "We're gonna charge Tom with GBH, assault and rape."

"Seriously?" you wept, wanting to burst into tears.

Matt nodded with a little smile, "He's being brought in now. Neighbours have heard a lot of what's gone on. Given statements." he confessed and this time you did burst into tears which made Matt hug you again. "You're free. He can't hurt you now."

"What if he can? Send people after me?" you panicked.

His palm returned to your cheek, "I won't let that happen, I will protect you. Always." he said and you wanted his little safety bubble forever but Matt thought it was best to get out of the room. As you did, Tom came through, handcuffed as he was man handled by two officers.

"[Y/N], what have you done?!" he screamed angrily and you suddenly didn't feel safe again and Matt and Ronnie could both tell that so placed a comforting touch to you.

Ronnie looked ahead as Tom was dragged out of shot, "You're safe now." he assures you before walking off to talk to Tom.

Matt tried to lunge forward, seething at seeing Tom trying to blame you. "Matty, no! Just don't." you begged him and he stopped and looked back to you. Your pleaded eyes were enough to make him step back to you and he looked into your eyes. "Take me home?"

"You're not going back to yours. You're coming to mine, Luciano will keep you just as safe as I will." he smiled after a shake of his head. Holding out his hand, he encouraged you to take it so you took the moment in a second and immediately felt safe again.

#Law & Order: UK Fanfiction #Law & Order UK Fanfiction #Law & Order: UK Fanfic #Law & Order UK Fanfic #Law & Order: UK One Shot #Law & Order: UK Reader Insert #Law & Order UK One Shot #Law & Order UK Reader Insert #Matt Devlin X Reader #Reader X Matt Devlin #Matt Devlin #Fanfiction

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divorceyourring · 6 years

Text

Wife may lose property after husband convicted of fraud

In the first case of its kind, a wife has failed to have an “Unexplained Wealth Order” (‘UWO”) discharged.

OK, I realise that that may not mean much to many readers (it would not have meant much to me before I read up for this post), so a little explanation is required.

The story begins with the little known (well, to me at least) Criminal Finances Act 2017. That Act inserted into the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 a provision empowering the High Court to make a UWO in respect of any property worth more than £50,000 if (amongst other things) it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the known sources of the owner’s lawfully obtained income would have been insufficient for the purposes of enabling them to obtain the property, and the owner, or anyone connected to them, is suspected of being involved in serious crime. The provision came into force on the 31st of January this year.

The effect of a UWO is to require the property owner to explain how they obtained the property. The court making the UWO can also make a freezing order, preventing the owner from dealing with the property.

If the owner does not comply with the UWO within a specified time limit or if they do not give a satisfactory explanation as to how they obtained the property, then the property could ultimately be seized.

The very first UWO was made against Mrs Zamira Hajiyeva, a foreign national, on the 27th of February, on the application of the National Crime Agency (‘NCA’), and in respect of a property purchased in 2009 for £11.5 million, via a company in the British Virgin Islands. The property is now apparently worth £22 million.

Briefly, the circumstances surrounding the application for the UWO were as follows. In 2015 Mrs Hajiyeva applied for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. In her application she informed the Home Office that she was the owner of the Virgin Islands company. However, the Virgin Islands Financial Investigation Agency informed the NCA that the owner of the company was her husband, Mr Hajiyev. In December 2015 Mr Hajiyev was arrested in his home country and charged with various offences including misappropriation, abuse of office, large-scale fraud and embezzlement in connection with a bank of which he was the chairman. In 2016 he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. In addition he was ordered to pay the bank a sum of approximately $39 million.

There was also evidence that Mrs Hajiyeva spent some £16 million at Harrods over a ten year period, using credit cards that had been issued by the husband’s bank.

Mrs Hajiyeva applied to the court to have the UWA discharged. The application was heard in the High Court by Mr Justice Supperstone. I will not go into the technical details of the grounds of the application (this is, after all, a family law blog, not a criminal law blog!), but suffice to say that Mr Justice Supperstone found that none of the grounds advanced for discharging the UWO were made out. Accordingly, the application was dismissed.

Responding to the judgment Donald Toon, the NCA Director for Economic Crime, commented:

“I am very pleased that the court dismissed the respondent’s arguments. This demonstrates that the NCA is absolutely right to ask probing questions about the funds used to purchase prime property. We will continue with this case and seek to quickly move others to the High Court. We are determined to use the powers available to us to their fullest extent where we have concerns that we cannot determine legitimate sources of wealth.”

It will be interesting to find out whether the wife does, indeed, lose the property. Whatever, the case will surely act as a warning to anyone whose spouse has been involved in serious crime: not only will they will not be able to hold on to assets acquired using the proceeds of that crime, they may not be able to hold on to assets if they cannot provide a satisfactory explanation as to how they obtained them.

You can read the full judgment of Mr Justice Supperstone here. Warning: as indicated above, the judgment goes into the technical details of UWAs, which the reader may find difficult to follow (I know I did!).

Source link

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source https://divorceyourring.com/top-posts/wife-may-lose-property-after-husband-convicted-of-fraud/

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kingmindint · 6 years

Text

Azteco: The easiest way to buy Bitcoin

The image featured above is a mural from the beginning of the film Idiocracy.

The image sums up the difference between the Azteco/Ethical Bitcoin world and the computer illiterate world of KYC/AML: the “Idiocracy World”. Our world on the other hand is a future of monorails, prosperity and fantastic technology. The KYC/AML future is Brawndo.

Akin Fernandez AKA “Beautyon”

Crypto Insider once again welcomes Akin Fernandez (also known as Beautyon). This time we discuss his current project that is aiming to feed hyperbitcoinization – Azteco and all things related to it, including the concept of “Ethical Bitcoin” and the relationship between State and Bitcoin. Our previous conversation with Akin was on net neutrality and can be read here.

* * *

For the readers, can you sum up how Azteco works?

You go to your local supermarket phone or corner store, and buy an Azteco Voucher, in the same way that you buy a “Top Up” voucher for your “Pay as You Go” mobile phone. You put the 16 digit voucher number on the voucher into the Azteco website, along with the address you want the Bitcoin sent to, and then seconds later, the Bitcoin arrives. Everyone who tries Azteco gasps when they realise how simple it is, and they ask, “Why can’t everything be as simple as this?”. Every time we hear this, we know we’re on the right path.

This delivery model is correct, and Azteco services a billion dollar addressable market. Around 70% of phone customers in Western Europe and China use prepaid SIMs with the figure rising to over 90% for customers in India and Africa. 23% of cellphone users in the United States were using prepaid service as of 2011, a share that’s expected to rise to 29% by 2016. Each one of these 350 million users is a natural Azteco user; they do not have bank accounts or credit cards, are used to mobile top ups by voucher or refill card, and all of them use remittance services to send and receive money. They will have no problem understanding Azteco, and we will serve them all, opening the world of Bitcoin powered e-commerce to them. All they need is Samourai Wallet to send the Bitcoin to and they are instantly onboarded.

How would you sell someone on the voucher concept over, say, an ATM/p2p transfer approach?

We know this model is superior to the ATM model for several reasons. First, from the vendor perspective, we don’t have to manufacture ATMs and deliver them. We can set up new vendors in minutes, anywhere on Earth, and the vendors can use existing POS systems to issue our vouchers. Furthermore, if our vendors have multiple outlets, they can use our Sub Vendor system to turn each of their stores into outlets at zero extra cost.

If a vendor with ten stores wants to sell Bitcoin with ATMs he has to buy 10 ATMS. With Azteco, he doesn’t even have to buy one, and can sell Bitcoin through all of them. Azteco vouchers can redeem to any Bitcoin address, and you don’t have to physically appear in front of a machine to buy a voucher. All of the advantages and ease of use with Pay As You Go Top Ups transfer 1:1 with Azteco.

We are the easiest, most frictionless of all Bitcoin services. Compared to LocalBitcoins, that has very large volumes, Azteco is very easy, and has a consistent UX. We will easily be able to match Local Bitcoin’s volume, and create a high level of brand loyalty. Very soon, micropayments are going to be widespread with Lightning, The vast majority of Bitcoin users will be buying small amounts of “Disposable Bitcoin” for day to day use in services on line, in the same way that they top up phones as and when needed.

I understand you’re London-based. Have you faced any challenges from UK financial authorities regarding the transmission of Bitcoin?

Britain has many Bitcoin companies operating in it, including Blockchain.info. It is a country full of expertise and great connectivity. We don’t treat Bitcoin as money, but instead, correctly treat it like a phone top-up. We don’t have custodial accounts and so we are not subject to the rules required for custodial businesses. It is very important to characterise Bitcoin correctly. When you make a Bitcoin transaction, you don’t transmit anything; you make a digital signature on the Bitcoin database, that is verified by others who check that the signature is valid. This is in no way similar to transmission of anything, and Bitcoin is not money, it is a database. Thankfully the understanding of this is spreading, and we’re finding we don’t have to do as much explaining as we used to.

Everyone should try to use the correct terms when attempting to describe how Bitcoin works, and avoid analogies, because it’s poor analogies that spread confusion. There is no such thing as “transmission of Bitcoin”, and companies that use Bitcoin are not “Money Transmitters”. Most importantly, Bitcoin is not money (even two judges in the USA have determined this in separate jurisdictions), and it isn’t ever transmitted. As I’ve said several times, the country that accepts the reality of Bitcoin will be set to make a fortune and secure the prize of being the centre of global Bitcoin development and entrepreneurialism — the alternative is to signal that Britain doesn’t want anything to do with the most significant innovation since the internet headquartered in London.

Complaining that all tech companies are in Silicon Valley is meaningless. Britain has the chance to capture Bitcoin and secure it’s global leadership position for decades, or they can cede this to another country. It is entirely up to them. Either way, Bitcoin is going to happen and totally dominate, and somewhere is going to be the centre where all the brains and money — and revenues — are concentrated.

Are you able to comment on a roadmap?

I can say that once we start rolling out, our spread will be solid and constant. Our outlets will spread quickly, as each vendor can open sub vendors. We’re very excited because we will not only sell a lot of Bitcoin, but in doing so, we will help change and correct the perception of Bitcoin. This is very important, because a correct perception will accelerate Bitcoin’s spread.

You’re well-known on Twitter for somewhat anti-statist views. Can you see Azteco rolling out without too much interference from governmental bodies?

I am anti-illogic. It is not logical to claim that Bitcoin is money and should be subject to new laws or the existing laws to do with money, but the in game monies used for decades are not. Bitcoin is identical to the FarmBucks in FarmVille, and all the arguments people mount to claim that it is different are all prosaic, in the form of run on sentences, and avoid any mention of the actual truth, which is Bitcoin is a database containing text.

You can’t claim to be running a free country where you have guaranteed rights, but then say that publishing random numbers on databases requires special permission. This is part of what makes Bitcoin so fascinating; it manages to insert its utility into the protected space reserved for speech, where it cannot be touched without completely invalidating the rights guaranteed in all properly run countries.

Now, if you are unfortunate enough to live in an improperly run country where you have no legal protection of your inalienable rights, then the State can literally “ban” anything; there is no pretence of rights or the rule of law. However in countries where there is a pretence of the rule of law, they can’t make an exception for Bitcoin where your rights are suspended. Certainly in the USA (and the process that leads inexorably to this conclusion has already started) the Supreme Court will rule on this matter, and there is no way the Court can find that Bitcoin is money and maintain that the Constitution is in force as intended; the two are mutually exclusive.

Early in Bitcoin’s history, a small group of misguided people insisted that Bitcoin needed “legitimacy” (one of several things they claimed it needed; adoption, legitimacy, liquidity and other things). In order to confer this illusory “legitimacy” to Bitcoin, some very foolish people in the USA mistakenly believed that registering with FinCEN would confer legitimacy to their start-up, which no longer exists, despite having 11,000 outlets (another example of why outlet counts are meaningless).

I argued then that this was a huge mistake, and that Bitcoin was not money at all, and that they should concentrate on offering a good service, rather than trying to signal to people that they were virtuous. Had these naïve people acted properly, Bitcoin (in New York) would not have suffered the BitLicense or the catastrophic misdirection of perception that has caused many people problems. We now know that this position is 100% correct; look at how the Token industry has gone out of its way to characterise what it sells as nothing to do with money or securities. They are very careful not to conflate what they do with financial services, and not a single Token has registered with the SEC. They now understand that registration does not confer legitimacy, and is the kiss of death.

It is the experience of BitLicense that educated everyone not to run to the State for legitimacy, but instead provide a service people want. This is not to say that services (especially Etherium Tokens) will all succeed — what is important is the principle. The SEC will never guarantee or reimburse any token holder if the project fails to deliver, and so their involvement is literally worthless. They don’t have the technical expertise to validate any software project and so they can’t even verify claims that are directly provable in the source code (where it even exists). The state slows down the rate of iteration; we now know that The Token Frenzy was just that; a frenzy where most of the offerings were and are junk.

These experiments will not be run again, because the market has been immunized against them. The cost of discovering all of this is far less than it would have been had the SEC slowed down the process of launching and experimenting, and charging millions per token project in registration “TokenLicenses” and other worthless nonsense.

Azteco and other correctly designed businesses on the other hand, are very simple and do only one thing. We don’t promise returns, hold anyone’s Bitcoins, or do anything related to investment or banking. We simply write to the public database in return for a fee. It is exactly the same as mobile phone companies selling access to the GSM phone network, where you can push voice or text data to any other number on the network. The Pay As You Go GSM vouchers you buy from mobile operators are not usable outside of the mobile operators network GSM network; exactly as Azteco vouchers are not usable outside of our service, and Bitcoin is not usable anywhere but inside Bitcoin. Once you start thinking about Bitcoin in the correct way, and with precision, everything becomes clear, and the business models, obvious. Now with Lightning on the way, our model will become even more obvious.

Finally, everyone is going berserk about how much information Facebook and Google stores on it’s users; it is pure Doublethink for anyone to ask (quite wrongly and irrationally) for KYC/AML in Bitcoin, but rail against Facebook and Google for storing personal information. Anyone who is for KYC/AML whilst simultaneously complaining that Facebook and Google “know too much” is very irrational; they are asking for information to be stored and for information to not be stored in services that serve only data.

Think about it. Bitcoin micropayments are now here. People will be paying for every conceivable small purchase from single articles in newspapers to cans of CocaCola to bus tickets. There is no way that the anti Facebook/Google brigade would want that intimate shopping and reading information to be known and stored by anyone, therefore, they should be for Ethical Bitcoin, that prevents exactly that correlation and data mining of individuals through analysis of the block chain and who controls what addresses. The illogic of the hysterical anti-Bitcoin misdefiners, is easy to tear down, and in the long run we will win this argument because they have no rational, logical answers.

What are your favourite projects in Bitcoin?

Samourai Wallet

Bitcoin Core

Lightning (and associated projects)

Eclair

OpenDime

Ledger

Blockstream Satellite

OXT

The Elements Project

BitID ← (super interesting)

and others…

All of these projects (and some I did not mention) are all classifiable as “Ethical Bitcoin”. They all approach Bitcoin correctly, make the correct assumptions, don’t abuse their users and are beneficial. A voluntary association modelled on Underwriter’s Laboratory will be very useful going forward as a standard bearer and resource for people working in Bitcoin or using it, encouraging best practices and other good things that benefit everyone.

As successful companies coalesce on best practices, the market will be seen to be orderly, protective of consumers and non threatening; Bitcoin is not a threat; it is an unprecedented opportunity to help billions of people and solve many problems, simplifying processes, eliminating payer fraud, facilitating the inclusion of billions of people, all of which will have cumulative effects that we can scarcely imagine. Thanks to one publicly shared database that can fit on a desk. Astonishing!

La entrada Azteco: The easiest way to buy Bitcoin aparece primero en Crypto Insider.

Source

The post Azteco: The easiest way to buy Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin Geek.

via Kingmind Azteco: The easiest way to buy Bitcoin

#Kingmind #Kingmind International

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bestwatchesreview-blog · 7 years

Text

New Post has been published on Best led tv shop

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Sipolar New Product 20 Port usb Charge Hub with 20V 4.5A Power Adapter

Sipolar New Product 20 Port usb Charge Hub with 20V 4.5A Power Adapter Apply to mobile software in bulk download, Scanner, Digital camera, DVC (digital video camera, audio systems, monitor, input devices, internet bar LAN, Game Pad etc.; Widely used in law enforcement recorder data acquisition station.

1. Super 20 USB ports and industry level with USB 2.0 USB HUB. Industrial quality

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Over-current,Over-voltage,Short circuit protection

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Windows xp/ Vista/7/8 and Mac OS X, Linux etc.

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Support

1. 20 PORT USB HUB*1

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alittlepronetopanic · 5 years

Text

Christmas Countdown - Day 5

Decorations

(gif is mine)

Fandom: Law & Order: UK

Pairing: Matt Devlin x Reader

Word Count: 511 (I got carried away, sorry)

Matt started to go through the tower of boxes that you had both accumulated in your life. It was your first Christmas together, in your new home after getting together last New Year and you hadn’t had the chance to go through all of them.

“We have enough tinsel to fill a warehouse here.“ he noted as he let another piece fall to the pile he had made on the floor. You had started to go through one of Matt’s boxes; any excuse to see if any childhood art had snuck in.

Towards the bottom of the box, a tree ornament had caught your attention; a distant shape of an angel, barely coloured but it was clear what it was. You turned it over and saw ‘Matthew, aged 4′ scrawled in childlike handwriting.

A smile widened on your face, “You did this?” you asked and he turned away from the box he was sorting through and walked over, standing behind you.

Taking the ornament out of your hands, he examined it and chuckled, “I thought my mum broke this.” he admitted and looked at it more carefully, “She glued it up, I can see the breakage.” he continued and hung the ornament on the bare tree.

He walked back to the box he was looking through and reached the bottom, another piece of tinsel was pulled out - gold in colour - before he wrapped it around his neck. One last thing remained; a piece of mistletoe that had been slightly flattened. As you distributed the different decoration to separate piles, he quietly came back up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing his head to your shoulder, resting his chin on it.

This caused the tinsel he had donned to brush against your cheek a little, making you flinch a little. “Look what I found.” he grinned, holding the mistletoe in front of you both and lifting his arm in the air a little higher.

You turned your head a little, pecking him on the cheek but he rolled his eyes.

“No, that’s not good enough, come here.” Matt said, pulling your waist so he could turn you towards him. He didn’t waist any time to pull you closer for a more passionate, deep kiss with the mistletoe above you both.

The kiss broke away, and you grinned at each other, “Right, we’ll be here all day if we hang about kissing each other.”

“I can’t help it, you’re far too irresistible.” he replied and you looked back at him; your eyebrows slightly raised and he sighed, “But, you’re right, this needs to be done before Christmas, and not after.”

He reluctantly let go of you, but neither of you wanted to. There were so many decorations you had to finish going through and it was slowly getting late, “Are you going to take that tinsel off?” you asked as he returned to the box he was looking through. He only shook his head in response with his big, childlike grin.

#Christmas Countdown Drabbles #Law & Order: UK Fanfic #Law & Order UK Fanfic #Law & Order: UK Fanfiction #Law & Order UK Fanfiction #Law & Order: UK Drabble #Law & Order UK Drabble #Law & Order: UK Reader Insert #Law & Order UK Reader Insert #Matt Devlin x Reader #Reader x Matt Devlin #matt devlin #fanfiction

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alittlepronetopanic · 6 years

Text

Matt’s Plus One

(gif is mine)

Prompt(s): "You can be wearing a binbag, and I’d still want you.”

Pairing: Matt x Reader

Word Count: 661

Hope you enjoy it! And as always, feedback is appreciated. :)

When you first picked out the outfit you had chosen to wear, it looked a lot better than you felt it did now. You were unable to zip up the back and after you finished fixing yourself up, you joined Matt in the spare room and he turned suddenly at your arrival. Matt stood with his mouth gaped open in his suit, a flower affixed to his buttonhole.

“Wow, I – You look beautiful.” he stuttered which you responded with shy, embarrassed smile as your cheeks started to redden. Matt tilted his head with a cheeky grin as he managed to find a way to close his mouth and grinned uncontrollably back.

“Matt, are you sure you want me to come with you? I'm sure you would much prefer Alesha.” you said as you stood in front of him with your back to him.

He took a moment to scan his eyes over the bare skin of your back ahead of him before grasping the zip at the bottom of your spine and slowly dragging it up the length of your back. “Why would you think that? I asked you for a reason.” he replied. You turned slightly back to him and handed him a necklace which he brought around the front of you and fastened it at the back. “There's nobody else I would rather take.”

Once the necklace was in place you turned around to face Matt and he noticed the uncertainty in your face as you looked back down to your outfit, still deciding whether it's what you wanted to wear. As you looked down, Matt slowly brushed some hair that had fallen down back behind your ears and kept his hand on your skin, lifting your head by his hand, “Are you sure this looks okay? I don't want to come with you to your sister's wedding looking like a state.”

“Listen to me, you can be wearing a binbag, and I’d still want you.” he admitted and your cheeks flushed a warm sensation while you tried to hide the smile that started to form on your face. “I'd always want you no matter what, no matter where.” He picked up the other small flower that he had placed on the bed and pinned it to your clothing. You noticed that Matt's tie was slightly out of place so you tightened it a little more as you straightened it for him, but he stopped you by taking your hands in his and he placed a kiss to them.

“You can still take Alesha if you wanted, you know.”

“Why do you seem to think that I don't want you?” Matt sighed, “I'm in love with you, since the moment I first met you. I've known Alesha much longer, if I wanted her, I wouldn't have chosen to be with you right now.” he admitted and you lowered you head shyly again but Matt wanted to look into your eyes so he lightly held your chin before lifting it up so your eyes could meet once again.

The softness of his skin still to yours made you feel as if the safety net around you both tightened as you got more comfortable as he started to slowly move his thumb over the skin of your cheek.

Leaning his head forward he hesitated but soon laced his lips to yours, “You're the only one that I want, and I'll be more than honoured when you meet my family today. They're going to love you as much as I do.” he said as he grabbed his coat and scarf that he had draped over the bed and put them on. He held out his hand and looked at you, “You ready?” he asked and you gave a single nod before grabbing hold of his hand and you accompanied him to his sister’s wedding – though you still weren't convinced that he wouldn't have preferred Alesha.

#Law & Order: UK Fanfiction #Law & Order UK Fanfiction #Law & Order: UK Fanfic #Law & Order UK Fanfic #Law & Order: UK One Shot #Law & Order: UK Reader Insert #Law & Order UK One Shot #Law & Order UK Reader Insert #Matt Devlin x Reader #Reader x Matt Devlin #Matt Devlin #Fanfiction

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alittlepronetopanic · 6 years

Text

Can't Stop The Bleeding (Deal - Canon Divergence AU)

A/N: I leep thinking about this moment and I couldn't help myself. Set literally just before Matt is shot in ‘Deal’. Also, I'm no medical expert, Google doesn't have all the answers I needed but I tried to do my best with the medical side of things. I’m sorry if any of it is wrong.

I'm the worst person for writing this, I know, I'm sorry.

(gif is mine)

Prompt(s): "I can’t stop the bleeding."

Pairing: Matt x Reader

Word Count: 5,761 (Sorry, it got VERY out of hand.)

Warning(s): A shit ton of angst, a little fluff.

Hope you enjoy it! And as always, feedback is appreciated. :)

Leaving the courtroom after winning a case was always satisfying, and tomorrow would just be another day at the office. You walked down the road with Matt, Alesha and young Kaden Blake who you'd been helping for the case, and Matt had identified with him more than any young adult you had worked with.

Matt stops in his tracks, and takes a moment to talk to Kaden, leaving both you and Alesha stood a few feet away. What happened next was just like the movies, you expected it go fast like a blur, but it didn't. You didn't know why Matt pushed Kaden out of the way, you expected it to be for a silly reason like a bug or something. But that theory was almost immediately shattered when two gunshots came and Matt hit the deck after having both of them inserted into his chest, now him pushing Kaden out of the way made a lot more sense.

“Matty!” you screamed, feeling you throat get sore just by screaming so loud.

Everyone surrounding the court crouched to the deck in fear, you looked towards where the gunshots came from but the car had already gone. You rushed straight over to Matt not thinking of your own safety, you knew the gunman could still be on the loose, but you had to help him. You took off your coat, despite it being your favourite one, and immediately apply pressure to his gunshot wound. There were two, so you tried your hardest to apply the same amount strength to both gunshots, “No, no, no, no.” you panicked as blood starting escaping from his mouth. “Alesha, call an ambulance.” you tell her, she didn't respond, frozen in shock. “Alesha. Ambulance.” you reiterated, snapping her back into the real world and her shaking hands took out her phone and called the emergency services.

You saw Ronnie rushing forward out the corner of your eye, all of your strength was on the wounds but the bleeding wouldn't stop, “I can't stop the bleeding, Ron.” you sob but your hands didn't move. His chest was still moving up and down, but you knew his breathing wasn't normal, it was laboured and he was struggling more with each breath. Ronnie moved one of your hands away helping you try and stem the bleeding, “Don't you dare give up. Don't die on us.” you pleaded, your voice was almost garbled due to the fact that you couldn't stop crying. You had no idea where the ambulance was and you was starting to get frustrated that they weren't getting here quicker to help Matt.

Matt's eyes closed, and his breathing slowed, his chest was barely moving as opposed to the breathing his was doing moments earlier. “No no, come on Matty, you gotta keep those eyes open.” Ronnie instructed him, you could barely see him with the tears clouding your vision but you had to let these bout of tears fall just to clear your eyesight.

Seeing his eyes close just made the tears fall from your eyes even more. You felt the pulse in his neck, it was there, but incredibly weak. He needed medical attention and fast, and you knew that you and Ronnie wasn't providing it. “Matt.” you spoke, he didn't respond causing you to look at Ronnie. You wanted to scream louder than probably humanly possible but you couldn't, “Matt, please. Come on.” Ronnie tried to find his pulse and though he could also find it, it was still horribly weak; and it was getting weaker by the second and you knew he probably didn't have long left. The ambulance needed to get here.

The ambulance had arrived a few minutes after Matt closed his eyes, arriving at the hospital was touch and go. They managed to get him breathe with help but he was far from out of the woods, and he was likely going to need a blood transfusion too, not to mention surgery to remove the bullets in his chest.

The blood still covered your hands, the coat you used to stop the bleeding was still draped over your arm but you couldn't hold it any more; it was just a reminder of what happened, a reminder of what could still happen. It wasn't a certainty that he was going to make it. You dropped the coat to the floor and something clanged to the ground, a silver chain poked out from underneath the coat. Picking it up, you knew it was Matt's St Christopher necklace, despite the fact the medal was covered in his blood. You felt the tears pool in your eyes, people wear them to keep them safe, and now Matt was in such danger, more danger than you could bear. You tried to wipe some of the blood off but a lot of it had dried and set within intricate design of the medal; just like the blood had begun to dry on your hands, caked in the lined crevices and around the fingernails.

Your whole body slumped to the floor against the wall and Ronnie rushed over. Ronnie seemed more composed than you were, but inside, he was just as broken. Matt was like a son to him, a son that wanted to be a part of his life, unlike his daughters who decided to keep their distance. Your cheeks were covered in the moisture from your tears, tears that wouldn't stop falling. Ronnie joined you on the floor, groaning in his advancing age. He didn't say anything, he knew nothing would make you or him feel better and empty promises wouldn't do anyone any good. Your hands sat in your lap, one hand tightly squeezing Matt's necklace and your free hand was soon taken by Ronnie and he just held it comfortingly.

You didn't know how much time had passed, it felt like hours and it probably was that long. The doors at the end of the corridor opened. A single nurse came out and you both stood up, you couldn't speak, it was still like a bad dream, “He made it through surgery.” she informs you both and you breathe a sigh of relief and the tears started to fall again as you sat yourself down on the bench. “He's not out of the woods yet. We've removed both of the bullets from him and we've also had to carry out a blood transfusion due to the amount of blood he lost.”

The door opens again and bed is wheeled through with Matt on. You knew you weren't able to see him yet, but seeing him that way was horrible. He looked pale and wires came from many different places; he was hooked up to a ventilator with a tube escaping from his mouth to help him breathe overnight, a chest tube was insert to try and make sure that blood, fluid and air didn't surround his heart and lungs. Not only that, IV drips were placed in his arm.. The panic set in, seeing him that way made it more certain that his chances weren't looking good, “What are his chances?” you asked, squeezing his necklace even tighter making the chain leave an imprint on you palm.

“It's very hard to say at this stage. I wouldn't like to guess.”

“What about in the long term?” Ronnie questioned the nurse.

“Again, it's very hard to say until he's woken and we can monitor his condition more thoroughly. While he's in the condition he's in, it's incredibly difficult to even speculate any long term damage.”

You had stopped taking things in once Ronnie asked the question; you could see Matt through the doorway, another nurse tending to him. But you noticed when she stopped talking, “Can we see him?”

“Of course.” the nurse nodded. You didn't mean to appear rude when you pushed past the helpful woman, but as soon as you were able, you wanted to get to Matt; you wanted to hold his hand, hoping he knew you and Ronnie were there.

As soon as you reached Matt's bedside, you took his hand in yours and placed his St Christopher in between your hands. Matt wore it constantly, so you thought it would be nice for him to have it back. You looked at him, at least he looked peaceful being able to sleep despite what he's going through. All of a sudden, all of the memories you have with Matt came flooding to you. Your desk was opposite his at MIU and you remembered all the fun times you had together and you couldn't imagine never having them again, there was so much life he had and it's almost being snatched away. “What if he doesn't make it, Ron? What am I – I mean 'we' gonna do without him?”

Ronnie came behind you and placed a hand on your shoulder, “He's a fighter, our Matty. We just gotta wait just like the nurse said.”

“Yeah,” you mumbled. “I just... It's just... Seeing him like this...” you sighed. Your eyelids felt heavy as the time approached 3am, you didn't want to sleep, you couldn't. Ronnie goes to another chair as you stay in the position you've barely moved from. You didn't want to let go of his hand, but you knew nothing was going to happen tonight; he wasn't going to wake up, and you just had to pray nothing else happened. You shuffled the chair closer, and made sure your fingertips still touched Matt's skin and you allowed yourself to sleep for a little while.

The smell of coffee made it's way up your nostrils and you immediately woke up. You followed the arm attached to the cup, and Ronnie smiled, “Thank you.” you said, wiping the sleep out of your eyes. Hospital coffee wasn't the greatest you had tasted, but it will do for now.

You hoped that yesterday was some kind of horrible nightmare that you just hadn't woken from but once you had woken up and you reassessed your surroundings, it was obvious that it was very much real. Looking over to Matt, his ventilator was still doing the breathing for him and wires still attached to him like he was some kind of piece of electrical technology. You had remembered that the ventilator was only for overnight use and they were later going to try and take him off of it; it worried you. Not just because it might not work but in some ways, it worried you that it would; not knowing the long term damage that he could have suffered by the shooting.

Matt's St Christopher shined in the sunlight that burst through the window. It was draped over his hand that sat palm down by his side, and the medal kept sliding off the plastic clip on his finger that measure the oxygen in his blood. His breathing was more normal but you knew it wasn't really him doing the work, the machine was doing it for him but at least it was an improvement on before. Sitting at Matt's bedside made time feel like it was much slower than usual, and there wasn't much you could do but just sit and wait.

“Come on, Matt. We need you back.” you spoke softly grabbing his hand once more. Ronnie watched as you spoke to Matt, watching for any movements he might make. It was the same thing he did almost every waking moment, “What are we going to do without you, eh? I'm gonna need to back opposite my desk; making jokes about Ronnie's eating habits, moaning about whatever it is you moan about – which is more than you realise you do.”

Ronnie scanned Matt's body, he thought that him being spoken to might provoke some kind of reaction from him. The nurse had said that he could hear. A twitch came from Matt's finger as you spoke, but Ronnie wasn't sure if he was imagining it, so he waited.

“But I also want you back because I lo --” his finger moved again, more so this time.

“[Y/N]!” Ronnie interrupted, almost yelling. Your head turned abruptly, looking at him worryingly. “His finger moved.”

“What?!”

“Talk to him again. Tell him how really feel about him.” Ronnie tells you. You frowned, and turned to Ronnie again, “Come on, you really think I didn't know?” he paused and looked at you, the same way your dad did whenever you were upset. Ronnie could see the hurt in your eyes whenever you looked at Matt, even when they weren't it was like a constant pain that Ronnie could see. “He knows too. Tell him. Even if you don't tell him that, say something to him.”

Your eyes lowered back to Matt's hand and you draped his St Christopher back over it, “Remember when we first met? The first time I walked into MIU as a DC on transfer. One of the first people I saw was you. You were talking to the DCI about some case, and I was introduced into your office and the only empty desk was the one opposite you. So that's where I sat, where I still sit. The way you kept looking at me was in a way nobody has ever looked at me before. You know, the first case that you had when I joined, I solved and you looked at me when you realised I was right; you looked at me with such awe that I could solve the case. It was like you were surprised, but --”

Matt's finger moved again, followed by another quick movement and this time you saw it. Ronnie knew this time he had to get someone, so he rushed out, finding the nearest nurse he could. He rushed in, followed by the nurse on duty on the desk. “It could just be an involuntary muscle movement.” she states as she checks his eyes. “But seeing as we plan to take him off the ventilator today. We could try and do it now.”

The nurse left and brought two doctors with her and you and Ronnie moved to the corner of the room. You almost wanted to shout at them to stop, you couldn't help but worry that he'd stop breathing all together. The nurse made her way over to you, she could see both you and Ronnie were worried, “What if he stops breathing altogether?”

“Mr Devlin was put on a ventilator overnight with sedation and we've been gradually withdrawing it overnight without any problems. The majority of breathing he's been doing over the last hour or so has most likely begun to be his own work. We also managed to perform a few checks on while you've been out of the room or asleep. We believe he's ready.”

You were unaware that Matt had been getting weaned off the ventilator, it must've been happening while you weren't totally with it. It gave you a bit of peace of mind that Matt shouldn't have any problems but you couldn't help but cling to Ronnie like a small child as they started to fuss around him. You wished you could just hold his hand while it was happening, but neither of you wanted to get in the way.

You could hear the two doctors performing checks once again to make sure Matt was ready to be taken off the machine. Eventually you saw them remove the tube from Matt's mouth that had been down his throat and they fixed a nasal cannula instead. They also moved his bed so he was sat up more rather than being lay down flat. “How long until he wakes up?” you asked.

“Could be anything from 10 minutes to 10 hours or more.”

“Thank you.” Both you and Ronnie said with a smile. Now it was just a case of waiting for Matt to wake up. You sat by his bed and grabbed his hand once more. Ronnie sat on the other side and you both watched Matt like a hawk. Your eyes barely moved off him making sure that his chest was moving with each breath, the only times your eyes did move was when you checked the screen of machine next to him making sure that his heart beat was normal.

Your head had found it's way on to the bed as you were uncomfortably bent over in your chair. A tickling sensation brushed against your cheek that woke you up, you thought it was a strand of your own hair or part of the cover that was over Matt. But it wasn't, Matt's finger had slowly been caressing your cheek.

Sitting back up in your chair, you looked over at Matt whose eyes where slightly opened and he smiled at you. “Matt?” you beamed. Ronnie jumped up from his own sleep and immediately leaned forward.

“Hello.” he rasped in a light whisper but he still managed a little smile. His voice sounded like he hadn't had a drink in weeks, and it made you feel a little sad. It was nice to see him awake, and that little smile made it even more worth it.

“Hey.” you grinned back, squeezing his hand. He squeezed it back for the first time since you held it whilst you've been at the hospital. “I would ask how you're feeling but I think I can guess.”

Matt chuckles and quickly grimaces when he realised it was a bad idea. “Well...” he begins as he attempts to shuffle in the bed. You stand up, and try to carefully help him sit more comfortably, but you knew you had to be careful. “Ouch. I feel like I've gone many rounds in a boxing ring and gone out for drinks with the lads from football all at the same.” he laughed again, but it was hushed, barely any sound escaped his mouth. “So, what happened then?”

“You don't remember?” Ronnie asked.

“I remember leaving the court with [Y/N], Alesha and Kaden. Then nothing.” Matt wasn't wearing a shirt as several bandages covered the majority of his chest. “I'm guessing this has something to do with it.” he continued as he tugged gently at the bandage.

“You were shot. Twice in the chest.” you told him and Matt's face turned to shock. He looked as if he honestly had no idea that is what had happened.

“So that's why it feels like the world's strongest man has used my chest as a trampoline?” It was encouraging that Matt still felt able to have a joke. Matt directed his attention to Ronnie, “Shouldn't you be going to see you daughter?”

“Daughter? Is she okay?” you asked, looking back up to Ronnie.

“Yeah, she's fine.”

“She had a baby, Ron. I remember you telling me that.” Matt says.

“Well, why didn't you say anything? You could've gone to see her. ” you told him. Ronnie slightly shook his head. “Go. Now.”

Ronnie looked at you, before looking over at Matt who smiled wearily, “I'll be alright, Ron. Go.” his hushed voice rasped. “Besides, I'm hardly going to be here totally on my own am I?” he said before turning and smiling back at you.

He looked hesitant to leave. He knew that Matt was in the best place possible and that Matt would be glad to have you there with him but he still didn't want to leave the room. Ronnie grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and made his way out of the room, giving you a kiss on your head and shaking Matt's hand as he left. “Don't let him get up to any mischief, will ya?”

“Oh, yeah, I'll be running riot through the halls before you know it.” he jokes. He winces in pain and again attempts to shuffle in his position to make himself more comfortable. Ronnie gave another small smile before leaving the room and going to see his daughter and new grandchild.

Ronnie hadn't long left and you thought he'd be tired enough to sleep, but if he was, he wasn't going to take that opportunity this time, “Was it really bad?” he asked. You didn't want to answer, you didn't want to relive it, and you didn't want Matt to remember any of it. You looked down and Matt moved his hand, directing you to take hold of it which you did.

Your thumb caressed Matt's hand as you held it. You didn't know what to say but the silence was worse. “We almost lost you, Matt. It was – It was horrible.” your voice almost broke by the end of the sentence and Matt could see that it distressed you. He didn't realise how much you had seen, how much anyone had. Upsetting you by bringing it up was the last thing he wanted but a part of him needed to know what exactly happened, though he was willing to wait for the answers.

You remembered Matt's necklace was now in your pocket, “I have something of yours.” you told him as you took the necklace out and passed it to him. You didn't want him to see the blood on it so you cleaned it up earlier before giving it to him.

He took it off you and looked at it, “These are supposed to keep you safe.” he scoffed. Matt's comment made you feel sad; he was right, they were, that's why people wore them and he was the one hurt. He didn't put it back on, instead he just put it on the table next to his bed. You couldn't help but look at it as it sluggishly was placed on the desk. The fact that he didn't even feel like wearing it anymore when he had wore it for longer than you have known him; and the fact the didn't feel like it could keep him safe any longer when it had just failed him.

“But you are safe. You're here.” you said with a quiver in your voice. You had to try and keep the emotions hidden. It didn't matter when he was asleep, he couldn't see how you felt. It wasn't just the sadness of what had happened to your friend, but to you, he was more than that; you loved him.

Matt's eyes lowered, and his jaw jerked; a little tick you noticed he does when he was sad. He licked his lips, another nervous, sad tick of his, “You said I almost died, [Y/N].” You hated hearing Matt talk like this. He was right, you did somewhat say that, but you weren't going to lie to him.

“Yeah, but I – I wasn't going to lie to you, Matty.”

Matt's head lowered to his lap once again, “I know.” he mumbled. Raising his eyes back up to you, he licked his lips again to try and return some normality to his voice, “I'm glad you told me.” he smiled slightly.

Whenever Matt tried to move, the discomfort and pain became unbearable, but whenever he stayed in the same position for too long, the stiffness he started to feel was even worse. Shuffling again, a few groans escaped his mouth and you got back up to help him move around in the bed. Despite the pain relief, he still felt the soreness from the surgery he had; it was throbbing through him like several drummers pounding around his wounds.

He finally managed to feel comfortable again and after a few deep breaths to help get through the pain, he settled back down. “What were you going to tell me anyway?” he asked before taking large gulp trying to take away some of the dryness in his throat from the ventilator.

“What? When?” you asked.

“I don't know. I'm just sure I heard your voice. But I don't remember when.”

Matt saw you when you frowned but he waited for you to speak before he said anything, “I was speaking to you earlier but you were still unconscious. You heard that?”

Matt shook his head and shrugged lightly, “I dunno, maybe.” he whispered, but not by choice; it was only the dry throat from the ventilator that was still making his speaking sound rough. “What did you say?”

You didn't know whether you wanted to tell him what you planned to say but you wasn't sure what to tell him either. “I was just reminding you of when we first met. Ronnie thought it might provoke a reaction from you.”

“Oh, yeah.” Matt chuckled, “Ow.” he said immediately after, realising again that laughing was a bad mistake. “I was making my way back from interviewing a suspect with Ronnie, and I stopped to talk to the DCI. You were waiting to be assigned on transfer and they – unfortunately for you – sat you in front of me. You stole our thunder and solved the case.” his voice rasped.

You laughed in disbelief, “I stole your thunder?” you scoffed. “You should be lucky I was there.”

Looking back at Matt, he smiled at you and used his thumb to weakly stroke your fingers as your hand was still in his. After a few moments of looking at each other, “We were very lucky.” he smiled. Matt turned away and lowered his head sadly, “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, course.” you replied with a little smile.

“Who was there? When it happened?”

Your little smile quickly faltered and you , not wanting to remember what had happened, but you also didn't want to lie to him. “Me, Alesha and Kaden. Ronnie was talking to another officer and he was walking out when the gun went off.”

“Then what?”

“You pushed Kaden out of the way, got hit. I ran over, took off my coat and used it to try and stop the bleeding, but I couldn't. Ronnie came over too and helped but it still wouldn't stop. Then the ambulance arrived.”

Matt frowned, his head tilted slightly, “So... I'm still alive because of you two?”

“I kept checking your pulse. I wasn't – I couldn't let you go.” your voice cracked through the emotion and Matt could see the tears gather in your eyes. “But, the hospital did all the work. They're miracle workers.”

He slowly grabbed your hand and squeezed it lightly and even managing a little smile - it was always something Matt did – especially when he knew you needed it the most. This time it was his little way of apologising for making you upset; he knew that it must've been a horrible thing for you to witness and he would've felt the same way if he had just watched anyone he cared about being shot.

“Come up here with me.” Matt requested as he shuffled closer to you as he sat in the bed and you were next to it in the chair.

You let out a little chuckle, “What? I can't.” you replied, not knowing if he was being serious.

“Why?”

“There's quite a few wires for starters.”

“Don't be silly. I'll move more this way, you come on this side, there's less here.” Matt tried to move a little bit more, being careful of his injuries but he did grimace a couple of times when the pain ached through his chest.

You eventually agreed to Matt's request and you made your way around to the other side of his bed and you climbed up to lie next to him on his right. You weren't really sure the best place to put your hands but Matt soon took hold of the one closest to him and lifted it up and you did the rest, allowing him to carefully snuggle next to you. The hand closest to you slowly made it's way to sit on your thigh; the back of the hand was covered in medical tape that held the IV line needle in place. Matt was quiet and he barely spoke, and only hummed when you asked him questions. It was a little unusual to hear him so quiet; he'd usually have some kind of joke to crack or some sarky comment about something but since you joined him on the bed, you could only hear the distant chirping of the birds outside the window, and looking down at him briefly, you saw the sadness in his expression.

His fingers bent slightly as he moves the tips slowly and caressed the material of your trousers in small circular motions. The feel of his body slowly rising and falling against yours was calming but his silence was speaking volumes. You moved your hand over to his and your own fingertips gradually ran across his free knuckles and towards his own fingers and your interlocked yours loosely with his. Matt was sat lower than you, his head settled on your shoulder facing towards your chest. As you lowered your head towards his hair, you placed your lips through it and planted a kiss on his head.

You heard him let out a shaky breath and his fingers moved loosely through yours, being careful of his IV. Asking him if he was okay felt futile, you knew he wasn't and you wished you could make it better but you hoped that simply being there was enough for him to feel a little less scared a lonely. Matt started to move a little in the bed and sat more upright instead of being slouched towards you, “Sorry.” you said.

“No, no, it's not you. I just can't sit like that for long it seems.” he responded. His eyes met yours and the sea blue colour of his irises seemed brighter than usual, and his eyes shined in the glassy appearance of them and you knew he had been trying to stop himself from letting his emotion show too much. The look lingered and you chuckled nervously as you looked away. Matt lifted his hand carefully and used his finger to lightly turn your face back to him before his finger moved slowly to your cheek and he caressed it.

It was a rather calming feeling. The way the palm of his hand cupped your jawline as his fingers glided over the skin of your cheek. You were lost in the moment, being able to briefly forget everything that had happened, even if it was just for a moment. Lifting up your own hand, you allowed it to meet him. Your own fingers settled on his collarbone briefly before travelling upwards and you ran them along his own jawline, it seemed less refined than usual but you just allowed your fingertips to slide up and down his jaw and neck.

“You asked me earlier what I said to you when you weren't awake.” you started, and Matt stopped caressing your skin and frowned instead, “Before Ronnie cut me off, I was trying to – I was – I was going to say that... That I love you.” you blurted out, almost as if you weren't in control of what the words.

Matt took a few moments while he just looked at you, making you immediately regret your brain's decision to blurt it out. A smile soon slowly began to form on the detective's face and his hand moved to caress your cheek once more. After a few light strokes of your cheek from the gentle skin of his hand, he leaned his face closer and your lips met, pressed together for a passionate kiss. “Thank god.” he said after breaking it off, “I thought it'll be up to me to say it first.” You both chuckled and it was the first time since this happened that he seemed to give a genuine smile of happiness.

You both mutually leaned closer for another kiss, though it was cut short when the door started to open. Alesha came through the door and she saw a glimpse of the kiss, smiling to herself. “Look who I found outside.” she announced as she held the door open and James walked into the room.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” James asked Matt as he placed his coat at the end of his bed.

“I'm not too bad, despite the two bullet holes in my chest. But, I've had decent company the whole time so I guess it's been worth it.” he responded, flashing a smirk your way.

While Ronnie was spending some precious time with his Grandson, James and Alesha stayed for a few hours before leaving. When they left, Matt tried to encourage you to go home and sleep in a proper bed, but you refused. He made you join him back on the bed again, and when you did, you looked at him and the corners of your mouth turned upwards as you began to smile. “Well, if you're not going to go home, you could at least let me offer you half of a bed.”

“Okay, I can accept that.” you grinned.

You both sat like you were before, hands together, fingers interlocking and his head on your chest. As you were just about to speak, you realised the quietness between you both, and when you looked down at Matt, his eyes were closed and his chest gentle went up and down as he slept peacefully. You were glad he was finally getting the sleep he needed; he must've felt exhausted and you just wanted him to heal as much as he could. Seeing Matt sleep so calmly made your need to sleep greater and soon, you too had drifted to sleep; Matt's hair brushing lightly over the skin on your upper arm and the warmth of him making sleep much easier.

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