#thanks to op for giving permission to post it separate!

[snacc-noir]

Unseal and Reveal

You may remember @jattendschaton‘s amazing idea for Chat and Lb writing their identities in envelopes for emergency reasons, then I added, what if Nathalie finds it hidden in Adrien’s room and assumes it was attached to a romantic gift, leading them to think Marinette was his girlfriend and confronting Adrien about it-

and yes it was a while ago and yes it’s been written but I couldn’t not write a dramatic addition myself, so now with permission from the idea op, i will present basically the crack version 

( @hermionemonica @lady-charinette @aremmen @laadychat y’all got it but you’re getting it again)

-

Her idea sounds affable at the start.

Notice: her idea.

Ladybug’s.

(He’s just putting that out there before anything starts.)

The new guardian is pacing on rooftops, pen smartly rolling between fingers even though she’s focussed on nothing of it. She’s mulling, debating, as if they hadn’t agreed to this lawed debauchery five minutes ago. It’s not even bad, he knows, and although the thrill has set a kind of buzz under his skin, Chat’s not exactly worried.  

He never is, is he?

The paper smiles at him where he’s relaxing, the paper that will soon have her name. There’s an odd temptation to put the untouched stack in his mouth. Maybe he’s tired of waiting, or maybe he just really wants the paper. Maybe it’s a cat thing.  

“And we can’t let anyone see the envelopes.”

“Well, duh,” he says, as if he’s sure that’s not going to happen.

“Hide it. Keep it safe, don’t, uh, don’t open it unless—”

“You trust me, right M’lady?”

Her hand crunches the pen. A sigh. “More than anyone.”

She’s nervous, of course; no one is supposed to know either of their identities, and here they are planning to materialise them. But it’s for the best, they reason, with her being guardian and having no one to know who she is in case of a dire emergency.

Emergency, he reminds himself. Only in an emergency. In fact, it’s likely for nothing. He doesn’t want there to be an emergency, and he doesn’t want that to be how he finds her identity, but he also doesn’t want to never know the name sealed in the scarlet envelope.

When she finally sits, she scribbles on the pink paper, guarding even the movement of her hands by hiked knees. Chat takes time writing his message, dotting smiles and pictures when she’s already up to licking the paper as if the more salvia guarantees more seal.

Reluctantly, she passes it.

-

The first week, Adrien glances at the spot behind his CD rack at least twice a day.

Three months, then four, and he’s slim to completely forgetting he has access to the love of his life’s identity – the best superhero in Paris, the most beautiful and competent woman in the world, the—

“Adrien. Your father requests a serious discussion in the atrium.”

And her identity is especially forgotten the afternoon he realises his may be on the line.

-

Nathalie finds a red letter in the masked cabinet of Adrien’s CD shelf two minutes after believing this whole “catch why Adrien’s disappearing” thing would uncover nothing. When designing the Agreste mansion, it seems Gabriel’s request for secretive spots in his future offspring’s room to catch them hiding admonishments in later years succeeded in the very end.  

Because this is far too suspicious not to take back.

A pink note inside, a scrawl of a feminine name within hearts. Addressed, “to the best partner ever”, and alarmingly cryptic. No other message. Possibly, it could’ve attached to a romantic gift.  

Gabriel Agreste knows exactly what it means.

-

“Adrien.”

His voice is ice as always. His face is unreadable as always – though Adrien’s found guessing “disappointed” proves correct eighty percent of the time. So although the poor boy is dying for some indication that his father has not found out he is Chat Noir, there is nothing to pick up from the scene: Gabriel’s passive, and Nathalie, as always, stands a bit off with a face almost the same – like a sibling that’s ratted another out and is mirroring the scolding authority, even to the way her arms are behind her.  

Adrien swallows.

“Fathe—”

“How long did you believe you could keep your impractical relationship with Marinette Dupain-Cheng from members of this household?”

Uh…

…

Um.

Frankly, Adrien’s never been more confused in his life.

Excuse him,

But what?!

Adrien’s alarmed, squinting, and even the hounding worries pause to make sure they’ve heard right as Nathalie pulls her hand into view.

Marinette. Relationship. Him. No mention of Chat Noir.

Yeah… what?

“What do y—”

His eyes leap. Nathalie’s hand.

The envelope.

The envelope.

Red, unsealed, and far too familiar.

Adrien stills.

“I don’t tolerate this insulting feign ignorance. Explain this immediately.”

“Explain…”

How his mouth even does that baffles him – not like he could physically be any more baffled, but if he could, any words that could manage out his gaping face would’ve increased his puzzlement.

Marinette.

Marinette.

Marinette.

The Dupain-Cheng Marinette.

Her name was already bouncing in his head the second his father phrased an incredulous question that implied he’s dating her—his sweet and adorable and talented good friend—but you know, now—

Now.

Well, now he kind of wishes he is.

Identity. Ladybug. Envelope. Marinette.

The card is faced so he can read the confirmation of his last suspicions. He’s too close to pretend it’s too blurry to read, even to himself, so the startlement of his eyes catch every, single, scribble – every word, every letter, every heart.

‘To the best partner ever.’

And beside a dash, trying to look like the smallest signage ever, is franticly scrawled,

‘Marinette Dupain-Cheng.’

Oh no.

“Why do you appear happy?”

Happy? Uh, no, no! This is awful.

“I’m not happy.”  

“You’re clearly smiling.”

He totally isn’t.

“I’m not!”

“Adrien, you seem on the verge of tears.”

He stifles a fist on his mouth. “What?”

“You seem like you’re about to burst,” Nathalie probes.

His father runs him over with a cold look. “Amused, Adrien? Is this matter pleasing you?”

No way! This– This is terrible.  

Atrocious even! He knows Ladybug’s identity!  

“I’m devastated,” he says, eyes wet and grin hurting.

Ladybug’s identity.

His fist hurts his mouth. A small noise fissures behind his hands.

“Did you– Did you just squeal?”

“Absolutely not!”  

This is, truly, the worst news.

“Enough of these games, Adrien! You have disobeyed your authorities with all this tomfoolery and damaged how you excel in your extracurriculars. This secret affair is to be terminated, unless you can explain. If you can even recover this, that i—are you crying?”

To be fair, he didn’t mean to break down in sobs, but you know he feels no one can blame him understanding all that is happening right now. Plus, it’s more a dignified silent weeping (if you ignore how he’s practically vibrating) amongst muted chokes.

“I’m not, Father.” He wipes his face, hoping it takes his grin off too. (It doesn’t. Nothing can.) “Continue.”

Gabriel clears his throat. Nathalie’s still holding the note, not sure what to do with Adrien, whether it be… no, comforting’s never been an option.  

“Can you reason this affiliation?”

“That I’m dating Marinette?”

Gabriel nods, his face souring.

Adrien realises that, although there’s technically many things he can do and say, he doesn’t have a clue what. His options seem… pretty inexistent. So he narrows his criteria down:

1. He has to say he’s dating Marinette.

(Pretty easy, that wishful lie is already established.)

2. He must make sure he stays dating Marinette.

But then he realises he’s freaking Chat Noir and lying to save identities is pretty much most of job.  

“She tutors me. Ever since you were disappointed in my A- in Maths, she’s helped me in most subjects so I wouldn’t drop grades in them as well, so we started hanging out more and, well one thing lead to another…” He rubs his neck. “She makes me happy, Father. I was falling behind because I haven’t been too happy since Mum left, and Marinette, she, well,”

He beams, shiny-eyed and damp-cheeked. “She’s made me feel happy again.”

Ha, not even his Grinch-of-a-dad can say no to that.

Reason, sentiment, hitting the soft spot with mum? – yeah, that was good.

His father’s gaze is calculating, and if emotion ever touches him, it may have flickered in his eyebrows, but it smooths like steal.  

Nathalie glances at her boss.

“Is that so?” Gabriel muses. “I… can see what even the mention of her can bring you to. This must have been… some gift attached.” The way he gives him a once-over should make Adrien feel embarrassed, not chuffed, but it does.  

Gabriel thinks for seconds longer. The space in the Agreste atrium burns with tense anticipation that stretches Adrien’s sense of time.  

His father steps down and places a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Continue to the tutoring if it picks up your grades. But monitor how much you sneak around, and try not to let schoolwork distract you from extracurriculars too much.”

And just like that, Gabriel Agreste is—

“One more thing. Nathalie, book me an appointment. I see it that Marinette Dupain-Cheng will soon be attending a dinner.”

–Causing Adrien more problems.

Thaaaat’s right. Proving the lie. With Marinette.

With Ladybug.

With Marinette!

“Eeep!”

Nathalie jolts her gaze to him, panic set in her flamed eyes as he stares back awkwardly.  

“I’ll– I’ll go call her.”

After he screams a million times, of course.  

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #identity reveal #adrienette #ladynoir #em writes #thanks to op for giving permission to post it separate!

[foundthe8wing]

Okay, doing this over here because my main tumblr is usually a place for me to vibe and I don’t want all the bullshit tied to that account, but basically: I’m really angry and disappointed with the dndads cast for how they’ve put a lot of the minors in their fanbase in danger. Everything below is a repost from twitter (with permission from the OP, crypticjoy), and I’ll link the thread in a reblog. 

Under a cut because it’s long and potentially triggering (content warnings for grooming, sexualizing minors, and sexual assault)

[OP tagged the relevant cast accounts; I added slashes here bc I’m not sure if those same urls exist on tumblr and I don’t want to be randomly tagging people over here]

5:49 PM Sep 5, 2020

“I don’t usually do this, but: the way that the cast of @/dungeonsanddads engages with their audience is actively dangerous to minors, and they need to get it together. (cw for discussion of grooming, sexualizing minors, sexual assault)

First off, there are some iffy jokes and situations in the podcast itself. I’m not going to get into all of it right here, but have a google doc: [doc will also be linked in reblog]

Yes, the kids in #dndads are fictional, but that doesn’t mean this stuff doesn’t affect real kids listening. a. it normalizes talking/joking about kids in that way and b. There’s a lot of inconsistancy and confusion on the lines they draw--

Paeden saying “baby” is weird but Ron sitting in Terry Jr’s lap isn’t? I’m confused. You know who the fuck relies on that type of confusion and unclarity? Fucking predators

And I’m not saying every in-character decision has to be perfectly moral or acceptable, but the way the cast, out of character, discuss what’s weird and what’s not sends a lot of mixed messages. And that’s legitimately dangerous.

So then you take all of this, and you add a patron discord server that lets nsfw discussions run virtually unchecked--you create a fandom space that allows adults to discuss kinks, and porn searches, and just, all this other stuff, with teenagers...

... and it becomes a breeding ground for grooming and abuse.

The creators aren’t responsible for babysitting their fanbase or for how people engage with their content outside of their spaces (though, again, I’d urge them to be very careful about what kind of messages they’re sending)

But  they ARE responsible for taking basic steps to keep the spaces that THEY create and engage with safe.

“But the rules for the server say 18+!” The rules say you have to be 18 *or have parental permission.* They also say to keep things PG-13. That’s vastly different than establishing something as an adult-only/nsfw space.

“Minors shouldn’t be joining/listening anyway!” The cast can’t control who listens and neither can I, but there’s a difference between knowing teens are listening to you discuss sex with your adult friends vs facilitating conversations between teens and adults on those topics.

“If people are uncomfortable they can just leave.” First off, this situation isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s unSAFE. Second: fuck that. It’s not on minors to set and maintain boundaries about this stuff; a lot of them literally do not know how

Not because they’re stupid, but because they’re young and inexperienced. It’s the responsibility of adults to set and enforce healthy boundaries around sexual discussions, and this particular group of adults has done a fucking terrible job

(Maybe don’t encourage listeners to DM you about kinks! Maybe especially don’t do that when you’ve communicated, intentionally or not, that making and escalating sexual jokes is a really good way to get a reaction from you guys)

I get that they didn’t expect to have so many young listeners, but to be aware of that fact and make no adjustments whatsoever is irresponsible and it WILL lead to someone getting hurt. Does their “young, thirsty, female” audience only exist to them when they can laugh about it?

And let’s be absolutely 1000% clear: this isn’t an issue they’re unaware of. The stuff I’m talking about is an ongoing problem with how their server is run, but it came to a head with one specific situation very recently:

They released a bonus, patron-exclusive episode about the dads taking the bdsm test. Given the general state of the server, I was worried about where those discussions might lead, so before it dropped, I reached out to @/anthony_burch to express my concern

He told me he raised the issue with @/fwong and Ashley, meaning at least three members of the dndads team were aware of the situation, and decided it didn’t warrant any type of preemptive action on their part

(alternatively, it means Anthony lied, which would be a whole separate issue)

[Image ID: a discord DM conversation from Sep 1, 2020, between a crossed out username and reverendanthony. It reads: 

OP: heyyyyy have you guys considered that releasing an episode focused on the bdsm test is almost inevitably going to lead to a bunch of 15 year olds sharing their results in your server because you might want to get ahead of that before someone gets hurt

reverendanthony: oh holy shit, really good idea

OP: thanks, I know it's easy to veer into that territory just because of the nature of your show but I wanted to bring it to your attention because I figured you don't want to create a situation that's like, actively dangerous (and for the record I'm willing to discuss what I think would make it safer but I'm also not going to assume you want/need my input, obviously you can handle it however you see fit)

reverendanthony: No, thank you for bring it up, I really appreciate it -- I just raised the issue with Freddie and Ashley

OP: Good to know, thank you /End ID]

I’m not overreacting. I have seen this shit happen, to my friends and to myself, and watching the dndads cast take absolutely no meaningful action to prevent situations like that from occurring directly under their noses makes me fucking livid

I can guarantee that the #dungeonsanddaddies fanbase includes both predators and survivors of abuse, grooming, etc (including those currently living through it), and I need them to think very, very hard about which group they’re prioritizing.

And I need that choice to be evident through more than just their words, because it doesn’t fucking matter how much you “really appreciate” that I brought up my concerns if you do fuck-all to address them.

It doesn’t matter how many times you say the word “consent” if apparently everyone was okay that “Darryl gets sexually assaulted” was almost a plot point played for laughs.

(His dare from Scam  would have been rape, straight up. Just because no one said the word doesn’t mean it wasn’t coercive and gross).

I’d like to think the @/dungeonsanddads cast isn’t intentionally encouraging abuse, but they’re sure as hell enabling it, and they needed to get their shit together ages ago, because they’re not the ones their negligence hurts.”

Quote retweet by OP 6:51 PM Sep 7, 2020

“So, they updated the rules for the patron server, but I want to be really clear that from my perspective, it’s way too little, way too late. 

The new rules don’t adequately address the core issues and they certainly don’t absolve the cast of the harm they’ve already caused. 

[Tweet includes 2 screenshots: one of a bot asking people to click thumbs up to confirm they’re 18+ (or have a parent’s permission) and agree to the rules, and one that includes two of the rules. It reads: 

“This is an 18+ space. Them’s the rules: per Patreon’s policy, you must be 18+ or have parental permission.

Use language as if you’re at your parents dinner table. Don’t get people in trouble because of your SPICY POSTS. Keep conversation polite. NSFW content is not allowed!”]

(and before anyone says I should bring up my concerns privately, a quick refresher on how well that went last time I did it:) 

[links back to the “(alternatively, it means Anthony lied . . .)” tweet from the original thread]

So hey, @/fwong, some thoughts:

1.The rules are vague and unclear: what /exactly/ do you mean when you say “NSFW content is not allowed!” when the content of your show itself is so often nsfw? And how are you planning to enforce this?

Does it mean you’ll shut down the MBIC conversation that is literally just kink discussion? I need you to be clear on where the line is, because, again, predators rely on that confusion. Don’t give them a gray area to play in. 

For an example of a more clear policy, it’s pretty easy to say, “yep, ‘Henry gets pegged’ sure is a sentence we said on our show and you don’t have to pretend it’s not, but if you’d like to discuss it in any more detail at all, you need to move”

2. Remember how I said I needed to be clear on whether you’re prioritizing survivors or predators? While I doubt it was intentional, the language you’re using here is prioritizing predators.

It’s not “don’t get people in trouble,” it’s “don’t make people uncomfortable.” It’s “we all have a responsibility to make sure this space is safe for everyone, especially the younger members of the community.”

You’re setting people up to be afraid of expressing concerns for fear of “getting people in trouble” or “inciting unnecessary drama.” Even if it’s not what YOU meant, it’s very easy for those words to be manipulated, so +

You absolutely have to be explicitly clear that if someone expresses their discomfort, you’ve got their back. Being safe is more important than being polite. 

3. I need every cast member to take responsibility for their own actions. I’ve gotten no indication from any of you that you understand the ways in which the in-show things I brought up were harmful.

Acknowledging that harm is important not just because of the immediate effects of that content, but also because it implicitly sets an example for how similar complaints should be dealt with going forward.

When someone says “hey, I was uncomfortable that you seem fine with the Glennary ship, because she reads as very young to me,” I don’t need a dissertation on how the perception of characters can evolve due to your improvisational nature

I need to hear “oh, I interpreted her differently, but you’re right, we should have been more clear, and I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.” Because your responses to your own mistakes set the tone for any other situations like that going forward.

How comfortable is someone going to be with coming to you, or Ash, or any of the mods about someone making them uncomfortable if they’ve seen that when people call YOU out, they’re argued with and shut down?

Don’t tell people you’ve “made it clear that you won’t go there” when they tell you that you ARE there. Listen to them and do better. 

Set the expectation that people will be respected when they raise their concerns. “If you want to come at me you have to bring the heat” is not an appropriate response on a subject that made people genuinely uncomfortable. 

In essence: set people up to be supported and protected, not dismissed. 

[It’s like a matriosche of tweets over here. This one links to another thread, also by crypticjoy. That thread reads:

A non-comprehensive guide to keeping discord servers safe for minors:

1. Make designated channels for nsfw/18+ discussion. Generally speaking, this is a lot more effective than banning those discussions altogether, because it’s a lot easier to say “hey, can you move this conversation?” than “hey, I need you to stop”

In fandom spaces, it’s usually a good idea to have separate channels for talking about nsfw fiction vs discussing your personal sex lives.

2. Give everyone minor/adult roles; make sure your 18+ channels are locked to people who don’t have an adult role. It’s important that there’s more of a barrier there than just checking a box.

3. NSFW channels shouldn’t necessarily be a free-for-all; be aware of people’s boundaries and respect them (for example, r*pe jokes aren’t funny or okay, even if you’re not making them around kids)

4. Explicitly state in your rules that people should feel free to come to mods if anyone is making them uncomfortable. Actually listen to people and resolve the situation if they do approach you.

5. Make it clear that creepy behavior via DMs or other means is also not tolerated--you can’t control what people do outside your server, but you can make the choice to not allow people like that in your space

6. Make sure mods are on top of things BEFORE people have to say anything; sometimes being a mod means being willing to be the “asshole” who shuts things down before they get out of hand, even if they’re not asked.

Be generally aware of signals that people are uncomfortable or that things are escalating too far, and address those situations sooner rather than later.

*It should be noted that safety involves a lot of components beyond just containing nsfw discussions; this thread just happens to be focused on that one specific element.

oh also! It's a good idea to provide resources on grooming so people know what to look out for [links to some resources; again, this’ll be in the reblog]]

So, @/dungeonsanddads, if you’re interested in anything beyond just having a flimsy excuse you can point to to cover your own ass, I’m gonna need you to try again.

Sorry I can’t be nicer about it, but I’ve given so many benefits of the doubt I could be running a successful charity, and this isn’t an issue I’m willing to drop. 

10:02 PM

Thought I was done but actually I've got a few more questions: to what extent were @/HeyBethMay, @/WillBCampos, and @/mattLarnold included in conversations about this issue/the new rules? Is this something your whole team is involved in?

Have you discussed what you're doing on a team and individual basis to keep your fan interactions safe, and are you on the same page about how much it matters? Are you holding each other accountable? Is everyone okay with where this ended up?”

#dungeons and daddies #dndads #cw grooming #cw SA #8wing

[seeaddywrite]

stars, hide your fires: chapter five

this chapter is a lot more schmoop than plot, but still important to the overall story. as usual, thanks to @soberqueerinthewild for motivation & listening to me whine & stopping me from repeating myself every other sentence.  

chapter warnings: this doesn’t quite hit explicit territory, i don’t think, but it does come close, so please proceed with caution.

AO3 LINK

chapter index: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 

Michael’s up to his shoulders in the guts of an ancient Volkswagen when Alex pulls into the gravel drive of the junkyard. He’s either so engrossed in his repairs that he doesn’t hear Alex’s approach, or he’s just ignoring it  under the assumption that Alex is just another customer trying to get repairs done even though business hours are over. Guerin’s the best mechanic in town, and though the people of Roswell are quick to dismiss him as the town drunk, they’re just as fast to forget that when their cars start acting up. It’s the sort of double standard Roswell loves: those people will beat a man until he bleeds and come back for a second round, but as soon as they need something, they’ll still expect their victim to bend over backwards for them.

It’s easier to relax now that Alex has Michael in his line of sight, and he exhales slowly as he slides out of the driver’s side of his of his SUV. His eyes linger for a moment on the way Michael’s body fills out the worn denim of his oil-streaked jeans, because he’d have to be dead before he stopped appreciating Guerin’s physique, but he’s not only looking for that, tonight. Sex is fucking fantastic, but he needs to fill a need more basic than that. He needs to feel settled in his skin, to be reminded of the man that he is now, rather than the kid he used to be.

Guerin can’t give him those things; Alex needs to do it himself, and he knows that. But for ten years, Michael’s arms have been the only place Alex has felt safe. While enlisted, he’d been afraid to replay those memories too often for fear he’d wear them out and forget completely, so he’d only allowed himself to think of Michael on the worst days, when he couldn’t pull himself together on his own, and even Michael’s imaginary presence was better the inescapable sense of isolation that came from being the only one who seemed to realize that military action was just another name for evil.

“Alex?” Michael’s in front of him, frowning in a way that suggests he’s been trying to get Alex’s attention for a while. “What’s wrong?” He wipes his palms on the bottom of his t-shirt, and for a moment, it looks like he’s going to reach out, but his hands find their way into the pockets of his jeans instead. “The meeting with your brother go bad?” The question is calm, but Alex is too good at reading the other man to miss the way his eyes immediately scan the horizon, as if expecting an army of MPs to descend upon them at any moment.

Alex shakes his head quickly, not wanting to cause any unnecessary fear. “No, no. It went --” He grapples for the right word, and gives up. “Charlie bought the story. He’s reaching out to Flint and Hunter as we speak, so I should have access to the Project within a week, as long as Hunter’s on base and not off comms.” The information comes quick and succinct, a post-op briefing, and Alex looks away afterward. Michael’s not his commanding officer, and Alex knows that, but asking for what he actually wants is harder than it should be now that he’s standing so close to it.

“Okay,” Guerin drawls, batting a rogue curl away from his forehead. “You wanna come inside? I need to change. And probably shower.” He glances down at himself, as if just noticing the mess of oil and sweat masquerading as clothing. “Or you can head to Max’s, and I’ll meet you in an hour -- Isobel’s staying there until all this blows over, and Liz has basically been living there since we brought him back, so dinner’s pretty much an open invitation for a while. You can fill us in, and we can keep planning, maybe come up with some contingencies in case shit goes sideways.”

Normally, the promise of sitting down to dinner with their friends would be a good way to end a shitty day, but right now, Alex wants to have Michael to himself for a while. “Do you think we could go over later?” he asks, squinting into the sun in an effort to meet the other man’s eyes. “I want to go, I just -”

Guerin looks at Alex for a long moment after the sentence trails off, then takes a slow, uncertain step forward. “It seems like you’re asking me for something,” he says finally, his voice quiet and eyes searching. Beneath his gaze, Alex feels like his every insecurity and anxiety is written on his face; no one’s ever seen him like Guerin has, and it used to terrify him that someone could look at him and see the man he is beneath the surface. It’s taken Alex a long, long time to accept himself for the man he is, rather than constantly judging himself against others -- in fact, it’s still a work in progress. But he knows he’s made some, because now, Alex looks at Michael and revels in the fact that someone can know him like that and want to stick around anyway.

“But I don’t know what it is, Alex. You gotta tell me what you want. I’m not the mind-reader, remember?”  

It’s fair. Alex is pretty sure Michael has a pretty good idea of what he wants, or at least a reasonable guess, but they said that they’d talk about the two of them after the mission was complete. Right now, the mission’s barely started, no one is really safe, and they haven’t talked about anything. It’s probably wrong for Alex to do this, to show up here looking for refuge without any explanation or attempt to ask permission, but he can’t bring himself to leave, either. So instead, he swallows, and closes the short distance remaining between their bodies.

His palms land on either side of Michael’s face, and Alex tilts his head to rest their foreheads together. Guerin’s skin is tacky against his own, damp with sweat, but Alex barely notices. He just holds Michael there for a minute, wishing, for once, that he could just reach into Alex’s mind and take the explanation from his thoughts. Michael turns to granite against him, still and rigid, but he doesn’t pull away. That’s all the permission Alex needs.

“I spent all day pretending to be someone I’m not,” Alex says with Michael’s breath against his cheek. “And Charlie -- I think he was trying to protect me, and I was manipulating him. And I have to work out how I feel about that, and what comes next, and I just wanted to be somewhere safe to figure all of that out.” The explanation is disjointed, and the emotions connected to it are too, even for Alex; he can feel, but everything is separate, confusing, like images twisted in a kaleidoscope.

“You wanted to be somewhere safe,” Michael repeats, a strange vulnerability in the words that Alex doesn’t understand. “And you came to me?”

Alex blinks, and steps back enough that he can see Michael’s face, but his hands linger on broad shoulders that have suddenly gone tense beneath his touch. “Should I -- not have?” he asks warily, trying to figure out what he’d said to cause this reaction. He’s fairly sure it wasn’t the touching. Guerin seemed fine with that. But how is admitting that he’s always been Alex’s safe place to land a bad thing? Surely he already knew that? “Do you want me to leave?”

“What? No! No, I --” Alex watches as Guerin’s throat works, trying to ignore the way his stomach twists in uncertainty. “I just meant that I haven’t given you any reason to feel safe around me, lately,” Michael says finally, the words blunt and forceful. Again, Alex is left floundering, trying to figure out how the hell they got here when only moments ago, Michael had seemed calm. But now, his expression is shuttered, closing Alex out of his thoughts and leaving him guessing. This isn’t what he’d been expecting when he came here, and part of him wants to shove his fingers in his ears and tell Guerin to stop talking, to leave it until after the mission like they’d agreed, but he knows he can’t. Not unless he’s prepared to turn around and leave, and Alex knows he won’t be able to do that. Walking away from Michael has always been too damn hard, and now, with no good reason, Alex knows it’ll be all but impossible.

“Fuck, Alex, the last time you wanted to talk, I stood you up and went to Maria,” Michael continues, his voice a raw strain of vocal cords. “I lost my shit after Caulfield, and what happened to Max, and you kept bailing me out, and got dragged into all of it -- and now you’re lying to your brother and feeling shitty about it because of me. Don’t you ever think about how much easier your life would be if you just told me to fuck off for good?”

Alex can’t look at Michael anymore, not when he’s talking like that. This day has already worn on him more than he wants to think about, and this conversation is fraught with pitfalls and potential missteps, and Alex knows that he’s not going to be able to navigate it safely. But there’s no way to avoid it now, not without allowing Michael to believe the things he’s saying, and he’s literally sick to his stomach at the thought of it.

“No,” he says bluntly, his fingers digging into Guerin’s shoulders in a pathetic effort to keep the other man close. They’ve talked about Maria and the thought processes that led to Michael in her bed, and Alex doesn’t think they need to discuss it further -- certainly not today, when the thought of the other man with someone would sound far too much like another rejection. So he skips over that, choosing to focus instead on the rest of it.

“I don’t, because easy doesn’t mean shit to me, Michael. Nothing in my life has ever been easy. So if I have to fight for the things that make me happy, then fine. I’ve been fighting other people’s wars for what feels like my entire life. At least I chose to fight for you. And I’m going to keep choosing this fight, whether it makes me feel like I’m losing myself or not, because it’s the right thing to do.”

Alex’s hands slide down Michael’s shoulders to his hands, and he squeezes tightly as he tries to explain himself.  “With them, with Charlie and Flint and everyone on base, I have to play a part. I have to act like a Manes, take orders, and keep my head down, and I’m going to have to do things that I hate. That’s what I signed up for. No one made me do that, and I’m not changing my mind.” He forces a fierce decisiveness into that statement, though it’s not clear whether he’s directing it toward himself or Michael. “I was just really hoping you’d be willing to help remind me who I really am, afterward.”

Allowing himself to be vulnerable isn’t something Alex is particularly good at, but there’s a waver in his voice that he can’t hide, and there’s no uniform or mission talk to hide behind, now. All of his cards are on the table -- what he wants, what he’s going to have to do, why he’s here -- and it’s up to Michael to call or draw.

There’s an achingly long moment in which Alex is sure Michael’s going to brush him off, to pull that damned devil-may-care smirk out of his back pocket and secure it over the naked longing on his face, but he doesn’t. Alex’s eyes slide closed in relief as Michael just nods, and curls a possessive hand around the back of his neck to pull him in. “Sorry,” he mutters, as Alex presses his face into the damp skin of his neck, relief like a cool breeze down his spine. “Max kicked me out of his place earlier because I couldn’t relax and was putting everyone else on edge. I kept thinking about you alone with someone who might hurt you, and --” he shrugs, trailing off with a bitter twist of his lips.

Alex sighs, and presses an open-mouthed kiss to the warm skin beneath his lips. “I’m okay,” he promises quietly.

Michael’s explanation puts his earlier reaction into new perspective, and Alex feels guilty for not understanding sooner. The other man had been against the plan from the beginning, and had only ever agreed because Alex made it clear that no one could stop him. He’s been worried for Alex’s well-being from the start; Max and Liz and the others might know that his family was messed up and hurt him, but Michael knows the details. He understands exactly what this mission could do to Alex, and he wasn’t even allowed to come provide back-up from a distance for the meeting this morning, though he’d lobbied to do so. Of course he’s anxious today, just as Alex would be in his place.

“If we can go inside, I’ll let you check for yourself, if you want,” Alex offers, and wonders how long they’ll last before their clothes are scattered across the small floor of the trailer and their bodies are tangled together. They’ve never been good at spending time alone together in confined spaces without something escalating; the electricity between them is hard to ignore in a room full of people, but once the only eyes on them are that of the walls surrounding them, it’s all but impossible. Sometimes that energy manifests in wandering hands and slick skin-on-skin,  and sometimes, on bad days, it turns into shouting matches and barbed words aimed where they hurt most.

Michael huffs an amused sound against the top of Alex’s head and pulls back, just to join their hands and lead them back toward the trailer. Alex follows easily, and as soon as the door has closed behind them, allows himself to be drawn back into a heated kiss. He gasps into Michael’s mouth in surprise, then finds himself shoved back against the door with hands rucking his shirt up past his stomach before he can get his hands on the other man at all. When he catches up, they land in Michael’s hair, using the grip to angle his mouth better against his own.

Warm, calloused palms move from his abdomen up his chest, and when Alex’s shirt disappears over his head, he tries to follow suit with Michael’s -- but he stops him with a gentle grip on his wrists. It takes him a moment to realize in the fever of the moment that Michael is taking him at his word, checking every inch of exposed skin with his free hand for injury. Alex tips his head back against the wall with a hollow thud and gives himself over to the inspection, trying to catch his breath.

“I told you,” he manages, biting back a moan when Michael’s searching touch slips below the waistband of his pants. “He didn't hurt me, Guerin. I’m okay. I’m here with you, and I’m okay.” Alex’s eyelids slam shut as the fly of his pants is undone, and despite his best effort to calm himself down, he knows exactly what Michael looks like on his knees, and he can’t help but picture it when he hears limbs hit the tin floor. The low-lidded, heavy look in his eyes, the flush that spreads across his cheeks when Alex is naked in front of him, the enthusiasm with which he leans in--

“You’re not gonna stop me?” Michael asks roughly, his breath hot and humid against Alex’s skin.

Alex draws a shuddering breath and opens his eyes, then dips his chin to look at Michael. The image is exactly like he’d pictured it, and lust hits him hard in the stomach. He tamps down on it immediately, and forces himself to ask, “Do you want me to?”  

Guerin shakes his head forcefully enough that his curls fall in his eyes, fingers curling into Alex’s thighs for balance. “I want this,” he says raggedly, pressing a kiss against one exposed hipbone. “I want you, and I’m tired of waiting.”

This isn’t what they had planned, but Alex doesn’t give a shit anymore. Maria and all of the reasons they hadn’t managed to make this work before seem small and far away in comparison to the threat of what they face now -- Alex wants things solidified with Michael, wants to move them from the amorphous something they’d been for the last year to partners in every sense of the word, and if it’s selfish, he’s not sure he cares anymore. If he’s going to survive running with his brothers for any length of time and involving himself in their dirty work with his soul intact, then he needs Michael’s anchoring presence. And maybe it’s hubris, but he’d like to think that need goes both ways.

“No more waiting,” Alex promises, and they lose themselves in the refuge of one another.

It’s hours later, as they’re getting dressed to head to Max’s for dinner, that Alex has to destroy the contented silence between them with painful, gory reality. “Charlie told me I needed to think of a way to prove myself to Flint and Hunter,” he says quietly, pausing in the middle of securing his prosthetic over the stump of his leg. “It’s going to have to be something big, if I want to convince Flint. He told Charlie about Caulfield, that I blew it up on purpose to fuck Dad over or something.”

Michael’s foggy, post-sex look disappears as soon Alex starts talking, and the sharp, intelligent expression that replaces it reminds Alex that while Guerin is usually happy to let others talk over him and consider him the town drunk, there isn’t anyone in Roswell that can match his IQ. “Sounds like you already have a plan,” he says, sliding a clean button-up shirt on over his bare chest. As usual, Michael leaves way too many of the buttons undone, revealing a wide swath of skin.

Alex bites at his lower lip and finishes with his leg before answering. “You’re not going to like it, and Isobel is probably really going to hate me for suggesting it, but I can’t see any other way. Obviously I’m not giving them any of you, and I have to be careful what information I let on that I have, in case it leads back to you.”

A calloused hand cups his chin, forcing Alex to look up at Michael. “Alex. Just tell me what you’re thinking, and we’ll figure it out,” he says firmly, and there’s not an inch of give in the words. Like it’s just that easy. Like it isn’t going to dredge up all sorts of painful memories for everyone involved, like it isn’t disgusting and disrespectful and in direct conflict with every moral that Alex has left.

But Alex has already committed to moving forward with this operation, and unless Michael or one of the others has a better idea, this is all they’ve got. So he drags in a deep breath, rests his palm over the back of Michael’s hand, and asks, “Do you remember where you buried Noah’s body?”

#stars hide your fires #multi-chap #my fic #malex fic

[doctortreklock]

Sign Here - September 11, 2019

Part of my Resolution19. Read it on AO3.

Prompt: "It would take me less than an hour to get at least several hundred signatures of people who think you’re sexy as hell." (”Overcoming Static” by msraven)

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Words: 1354

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Clint had never imagined dating Phil Coulson would be like this. Yeah, Coulson had been one of his best friends for the better part of a decade, and yes, he'd been in love with him for the better part of that, but even when he'd allowed himself to daydream about the mythical day when he might date Phil Coulson...it had never looked like this.

Phil slid neatly into the Avengers' communal kitchen one Tuesday morning, already crisp and put together and looking nothing like the sleep-ruffled man who had reluctantly peeled himself out of Clint's arms two hours earlier.

"Good morning," he greeted everyone, a thin stack of folders in his hands. "After your last collective attempt at destroying the Port of New York, the powers that be have determined that a little positive PR is in order." Groans from the whole room met his pronouncement. Phil ignored them.

"Stark, Rogers, you get the late-night circuit. Romanov, Vogue called, they'd like a six-page spread on women who save the world. Banner, I have a list of primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools that would like a moment of your time. Thor, People wants to talk, especially about Jane. Barton--" Phil turned to him last of all, a small smile lurking around his mouth "--TradArchers' World would like to talk with you about improvised archery equipment."

"Yes!" Clint's hiss of joy was drowned out by a sea of "C'mon, seriously, Agent? Why does he get the cushy spots?" and "If they ask me about my hair, I will stab someone" and "I look forward to the days I may spend telling the tales of my Lady Jane" and "Whatever you need, sir" and "If they're sure they want me, I'd love to see them."

Phil, naturally, gave no reaction to any of their comments, save his typical bland smile. Clint had noticed that his smiles reached his eyes much more often since he'd started working the Avengers and even more often now that he and Clint were together.

"I have a packet of information for each of your detailing each scheduled appearance," Phil told them. Stark was the first one to break, clutching his coffee thermos tightly and muttering something about oxidation as he tore the packet from Phil's fingers with a scowl. Steve was professional enough to cover up his disappointment with his lot in life when he took his packet, and Thor and Bruce were positively jovial about their assignments.

Natasha waited in front of Phil for a moment before taking the packet he extended to her. Clint wasn't in the right spot to actually see the conversation happening, but he knew the pair were exchanging a silent communication, probably about the level of lethality Nat was authorized for if make-up tips were mentioned.

Once Nat vanished without a trace, the room was empty of nosy neighbors and Clint was free to give Phil the very enthusiastic good morning he'd missed earlier.

"Did you seriously get me an interview with TradArcher?" Clint's excitement bubbled over as soon as they separated.

The thin smile lines around Phil's eyes crinkled deeper at his partner's enthusiasm. "It didn't take much. I barely had to mention your name before they were tripping over themselves with interview dates. Speaking of which," Phil trailed off, holding the last packet of papers higher. "This is for you."

"Thanks, babe," Clint said. "But can I pick that up later? I was going to go shooting with Kris this morning."

As quickly as they had appeared, the crinkles on the edges of Phil's eyes disappeared. "That'll be fine," he said. Agent Coulson wouldn't do anything as obvious as hold the papers up as a shield, but Clint could see Phil's fingers tighten on the folder.

Before Clint could say anything, Phil dropped a kiss on the corner of his mouth before slipping away and heading for the door. "I'll have these ready for you whenever you'd like to stop by." Then he was gone.

Clint spent a solid two minutes staring at where Phil had disappeared, trying to figure out what he'd said wrong. Then he belatedly remembered the morning they’d first gotten together, after one of Tony's parties where Phil had drunk himself almost under the table in defense of Clint’s sobriety. Phil had confessed his deep-seated insecurities, particularly where his age or the younger sniper Kris Henderson were concerned. They'd been working on it, but those sorts of anxieties didn't disappear overnight.

Clint also remembered his own response to Phil’s confession and abruptly changed his schedule for the day. He had something much more important to do than shoot targets with Kris or pick up a PR packet.

--

"Oi!" Clint yelled from his spot half-standing on a table, his hands cupped around his mouth for volume.

The SHIELD cafeteria fell silent. He could see agents glance at each other across tables and eye the exits. It was never a good thing when a Level 7 agent needed your attention. Hill and Sitwell were eyeing him suspiciously from their corner of the room.

Beside him, still sitting in his seat, Kris groaned softly and stuck his face in his hands. "I can't believe you're actually--"

"Show of hands," Clint shouted. "How many of you will attest that Senior Agent Phillip Coulson is sexy as hell?"

For a long moment, no one moved. Hill had gone back to her sandwich and Sitwell's shoulders were shaking with laughter. Slowly, Junior Agent Velazquez raised her hand.

Clint grinned.

A moment later, two other women raised their hands, then a couple guys from ops. Within a minute, over two-thirds of the cafeteria had a hand in the air.

"I think I'm going to need your help with this, Kris."

--

Phil buried his face in his hands, but Clint could still see the tips of his ears, which were bright red.

Clint's smile was fading now into concern. "Babe?" he questioned. "You okay?" Clint tentatively placed a hand on Phil's arm. This wasn't how he'd thought the two of them would end the day.

He'd thought that Phil would like the half-dozen sheets of paper he'd brought with hundreds of signatures on them. He'd thought the two of them could curl up together in bed and laugh at some of the comments left by the more intrepid agents. He'd hoped the list would be meaningful to Phil.

He hadn't anticipated Phil's complete and abject mortification, though.

"I'm sorry, Phil," Clint said miserably, rubbing his thumb reassuringly along Phil's arm. In hindsight, it was obvious. Phil was the kind of person who very strongly valued his privacy. The pages now scattered on the bedspread around them served as glaring reminders of his oversight.

Phil took a deep breath and lowered his hands to his knees. His face was still flushed, but the tell-tale scarlet was leaving his ears. "I can't believe you did that," he said softly.

"I know," Clint said, dropping his eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-- I'm sorry."

"No, no," Phil said quickly, grabbing one of Clint's hands and holding it tightly. "You misunderstand me, Clint. I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to do this. That wasn't my intent this morning. I just--" Phil's mouth twisted in self-deprecation.

Clint broke in before he could finish. "I wanted to." Phil's expression softened and Clint continued, the words bubbling out of him. "You're amazing, Phil. You're the most amazing person I know. You're smart and funny and kind and the best man I've ever met. You're also smoking hot," he added frankly. "And I work with a lot of very attractive people."

Clint had enough material to keep going all night, but Phil cut him off with a kiss before he could get that far.

"Thank you," Phil said quietly, the two of them still close together, breathing the same air.

"Anytime," Clint said breezily. "But Phil?" Phil hummed in acknowledgement. "Just because you've got this list of names now," Clint warned, a smile creeping into his voice. "Don't take that as permission. You're mine."

Phil laughed. "Yours," he confirmed with a smile.

#Resolution19 #Marvel #mcu #C/C #Phlint #Insecure!Phil

[nalyra-dreaming]

  So I always post a recap, mostly for myself 🙂 (for later^^), but I hope you will enjoy as well! (Got a kiss from Will there and Hannibal didn’t kill me!  – Win win!!) 🙂

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon this time, planning on working on Ravage stuff that evening with Romina, but we ended up with Electra and room service instead, which was awesome. (Thank you soooo much for the little firefly man dear!!!)

Thursday was Ravage ToDos then and London – going by Fuller’s on the way

getting my daughter a Harry Potter „Hedwig“ (as requested^^)

and dinner at the Michelin-star „Aquavit“ (Skandinavian Restaurant – the Blood Pudding was DELICIOUS!)

  and then Pinter’s Theatre, watching Martin Freeman’s performance.

    (We tried to catch him at the Stage Door, but he came out after 2h(?) and we left after 1h in the snow, because you know, Mads and Richard wouldn’t go so well with pneumonia^^).

Friday I spent a LOT of time trying to catch all the Fannibals I saw, say hi and invite them to sign „my Mads“ – bought back then for the German Comic Con 2016 (when he canceled) this has now been utterly filled up with Fannibal love from all over the place! (And Evalie brought her Will! It’s the same one from the meme photo you might have seen btw^^)

(And I had him sign it, too :))) Picked up lots of beautiful things from the con, but they’re mostly in the big package still and on their way home.

Opening ceremony had standing ovations, driving home the fact, that these people were actually there!

  Truly amazing.

Meet and greet was fun but short, they only did a few minutes each.

  Still enough time to realize a few interesting things about them, Scott being really aware of what we put on the table for example and interested in Radiance (looking through it ) and trying the Hannigram smarties that @TheCakeIsPeople brought, Aaron loving that people liked the Go-Getters and his other projects so much, Jeremy very unsure at that point still (Twitter feed later showed he always said the same things^^) but very deep and elaborate answers already, Richard interested in where everybody was from and commenting when he knew the place, Mads on beer 4 (afaik) at our table and a bit brisk, recognizing fans he met before, talking swedish with the Fannibals there and refusing to put on the bite mask we had laid out (as decoration) on sight^^^^. Darn. 😛

  On Saturday I had 5 (!) photo ops, group with Romina, Aaron & Scott, 2 Mads and a Mads and Richard one. I took the cardboard to the photo op with Mads and we had to redo the photo 4 times, because of the glare :))) (Starfury put them all up for digital download, wohooo) and he was amazed by all the signatures on it!! Also – really life size 😛

The other was with something for the Kickstarter, I can’t show you yet^^.

Richard didn’t really pose that day, he was very stiff, hands in his pockets, standing to the side – we wondered if he maybe had a bad con experience before. (That was different day 2, yeah, good job Fannibals!!). Unfortunately you cannot see the “I’m fine” on my shirt, that’s what I was pointing at^^

Panels from noon, with Aaron and Scott being their usual hilarious selfs, Mads kind and witty (even though some of the questions were really… ugh. Disgraceful – someone asked him if he got „excited“ in the sex scenes for Polar(!) and someone else told him he didn’t have a fashion sense (like what the actual fuck?)).

Richard had an introduction interview with Sean on the first day, with only a few audience questions. Again, I think he was a bit … IDK, careful. On Sunday he did an open panel and was way more relaxed there as well! And he is SO WITTY and intelligent! And much more good looking in person than on screen somehow. Like really. A bit scary. :))

  Mads is very nice, smelling lightly of cigarettes (well, duh^^), it was funny to watch/experience the poses he switches through for photos^^. Very easy to ask and stand next to. My hands were shaking nonetheless^^.

Aaron and Scott gave me one of the best hugs ever, I already had my pose with them from last time and told them so, just wanting a hug 🙂

Signing was fun, Mads and Richard, with Mads signing my three books (not showing you Ravage yet!), and I showed him the scene with the illustration of „Will pushing Hannibal in a wheelchair, at Bedelia’s dinner“ – because he had said in his panel that Will would have really enjoyed having the upper hand in S4, pushing Hannibal around in a wheelchair(!!). AND I FUCKING WROTE THAT. (Not actually in „A blackish red hue“ (at least the Ao3 version! (The book version has that scene)) but the image has created for a scene EXACTLY of that (and then adapted into the book, with permission of the artist(!)). I just…. I WANT TO SEE THAT, DAMMIT!! He said „Very good call“ :))) And then personalized it to me <33

  Also, at that point he knew about the cardboard cutout being from the GCC, so they must’ve talked about it backstage! And I asked him to sign it all over his own face which he did, grinning. 

And he’s finally on the LA Times ad, completing it.

AND on the sword sheath, checking all the signatures and commenting on them. He wanted to know where it was from and I explained and he was amazed. (Since he and Richard signed so small (in comparison to Eddie Izzard^^), I was able to put Scott, Aaron and Jeremy on it as well – you can’t see Scott here because he didn’t press that hard, his signature is above Aaron’s).

Oh, and Mads didn’t know that Hannibal got an Emmy nom that year we put up the ad in the LA Times – he was surprised and asked me which ones and of COURSE I’d had forgotten. Hope his team relays him the info via the tag on Twitter^^.

Richard just grinned a bit when I told him that the book is my S4-8 and that it starts at the Motel. He had an interesting expression on his face, I can’t really describe it, maybe a „would’ve sported dimples if he actually had them“, you know. Amusement-tinged. Also very interested in the signatures on the sword sheath!

Life goals. :)))

I had dinner in the bar late afternoon (the London Pride ale is very good imho^^), and then the cosplay contest was on and Noah won, yay, as flaming Chilton!!! They put up the incredible Wendigo-Cake there, from KitchenConjurer – it was cut up the next day, because Mads wasn’t at the cosplay contest.

Don’t remember what I did after the cosplay, lol. Ahem. 🙂 I think I went to my room because I was exhausted. ^^ All the nerves shot from the photo shoots and signings^^.

Next morning were more photos – another with Richard (and a little red dragon by PersephoneSiren!!!!!), who was so much more relaxed that day, and one with Jeremy – who was a bit bewildered by my ask to give me Bunny Ears – and THEN went and did the same expression Hugh Dancy and Joe Anderson did!!!!!! ROFL. Amazing!

  Incredible panels followed – I would invite everyone who hasn’t to read through the Twitter transcript tweets – Aaron and Scott gave Mads a run for his money – aka he never stood a chance :))))

And then they went and cut the ear and nose/chin off the Wendigo cake and Scott kissed Aaron with its lips and you should have seen Mads’ face :))))) Hilarious! ❤

  Jeremy is a panel revelation(!), I would pay REAL money to have him, Richard and Hugh on one stage, talking. These three must be so extraordinary together. (They already are separately, just saying… that would be like an intellectual orgasm).

Had to queue early and so I went and got my autos from Aaron and Scott and Jeremy then, who were soooo sweet and appreciative. And Aaron smiled when he saw the Go-Getters DVD, gave the DVD inside a little pet and signed it to me with a very sweet personalization.

Can’t wait for his new film btw, because the Go-Getters is hilarious and you should definitely watch it!!!!!

Another bar visit for food and ale and then the closing ceremony. Already.

It’s been almost 5 days and yet the time flew.

I cried.

And then I went to my room and packed up everything, creating an impromptu bubblewrap-suitcase. Went through fine, fortunately.

It’s been incredible and I will gladly come back no matter the guests (though these were incredible of course!), who knows maybe I can go to FFT3 if/when it happens as well, and I hope I manage some meat-ups. I met more people than I can remember, spent some very precious times in deep discussions on not so easy subjects, which I love and which is so, so, SO important.

If you’re reading this – thank you for doing so!

And if I met you there – thank you for making my weekend. Because the guests is one thing, but meeting you guys…. that is incredible.

I hope you enjoyed this 🙂

Feel free to ask if you have questions!

Personal RDC5 recap So I always post a recap, mostly for myself 🙂 (for later^^), but I hope you will enjoy as well!

#fannibals #hannibal #london #personal #pictures #rdc5 #recap #mads mikkelsen #richard armitage #aaron abrams #scott thompson #jeremy davies

[yoshi4sushi]

(purupurupuru) (purupurupuru) (click!) (coo!) (coo!)

 HOWDY-HO, NAKAMAS! Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a good weekend. Before we start off, there’s terrifying news about the 5.2 quake magnitude in Osaka so due to that, all places are closed until further notice so if you’re heading there for visit, please keep yourself updated of travel safety news. W/o further notice, let’s get down to business. We have loads and loads of news to share with you so know the drill. First off, last week’s chapter calmed down a bit. Princess Mansherry was kind enough to heal Shirahoshi’s injuries so all is good. King Neptune thanked Myosgard for saving her life so he’s willing to make peace with this meet. Myosgard assured him that he will support him in any way he can and even allowed Leo and his crew that they’re given permission to beat up anyway celestial dragon with his permission. Well said chum! The paramedics arrived and took Saint Charlos to get his injury treated. His scum dad showed to see him hurt. He got a new slave, and sadly, it was Kuma. He get stabbed and beat up by the scumbag w/o begging for help. There’s an unexpected guest that snuck in Mariejois. It was Bonney in disguised as a royal member. What could she planning to do? Meanwhile in a secret underground tunnel, Sabo and the rest of the revolutionary commanders are lying in wait. Sabo is impatient and wants to rescue Kuma from the scumbag, but Karasu and Betty told him that it’s better to wait until the right time comes. It was revealed that Kuma was once a king of his own country before he gave into the control of the world gov’t. What a shocker! A king? At the end, the five elders were talking about the kingdoms and that Vivi’s family are the only ones that w/drew from being celestial dragons so fears that they could be a threat. They arrived at the empty throne only to see someone is sitting on it. The mysterious figure that had Luffy’s bounty poster. The elders kneel before this figure and called him or her, Im-san. Who is this high royal figure? Is this highest authority person above the elders? Guess we’ll know more next week. No chapter this week so be patient and wait. Next, this past weekend’s episode was SCARY! One after another keeps going after Ceasar and Bege, but Germa are doing their best to keep them away from so they can escape over the wall. Suddenly, Luffy and Sanji appeared and saved Reiju from Big Mom’s attack. As they try to escape, Big Mom provokes Luffy for being a coward of running from the fight so he couldn’t handle her taunting and attacked her in full power with gear 4th, but ran out of steam. At the end, the boys are down and in a tight situation. Next time, Luffy, Sanji, and Germa are down for the county until the castle starts tumbling down from an unknown explosion. What caused it? Guess we’ll see this week. Don’t miss it! Now on with the goods! Look who dropped by for a quick visit! Yup, it’s our fellow tower mascot, Tongari-san! What’s the buzz, my friend? Tongari-san says that lots of awesome stuff is gonna happen next month for the summer pirates festival! First off, they’ll have 3 fun games. Each play is 800 yen. If you succeed to win the games, you’ll be given an official Straw Hat water smartphone pouch that keeps your phone safe. For snack, they’ll be selling a bucket of cotton candy with many flavors such as blue raspberry, yellow lemon, pink peach, green apple, purple grape, white candy, and red strawberry. Loads of yummy flavors. It costs 600 yen. The tower will also be inviting the Straw Hats, Sabo, Law & Bepo, Ann, the clown duo, Buggy and Puggy for a photo greet. At night, they’ll pair Luffy with Sabo or Law as well. You have to be given a ticket if you want get your photo. It’s first come first serve so you have to be at the tower early if you wanna get your ticket before they run out. For July, they’ll have the Straw Hats, Sabo, and Law. Their schedule has been posted on the website. In August, they’ll have Ann, Buggy, and Puggy. Their schedule will be posted later on. Next, shopping goods! They’ll be selling official summer goods such as buttons, acrylic charms/figurines, a candy bag, a ticket holder, and a folder. So much awesome goods! The 3rd floor have also re-stocked more of the character goody bags that comes with a long towel, glow in the dark bracelet, and button set. You have to be inside the tower to purchase them. They have it at the Tongari Island Store. You can’t miss it. Next, prizes! Loads of prizes! The new Ichiban Kuji will be released on OP day which is on July 22nd. Prize A through E are figurines of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Law, and Ace. Prize are mugs, prize G are picture boards of any characters, the special board prize are Luffy & the boys. Prize H are mini plates. They’ll have it available at Straw Hat Stores, Tokyo Tower, and hobby stores. Next, Gashapon machines will be stocking these figurines of Pudding, Nami, and Hancock in their bikinis. It will be released early August. Next, arcades will stock this new Flag & Diamond Ship of Reiju in her alluring black leather outfit. YOWZA! Get those coins ready to win this diva! Moving on, NEW, MUGI MUGI PLUSHIES! This time, they’ll have Sanji and Pudding in their wedding outfits, and the Germa siblings! They’ll be released in early Aug. I believe. Next, Straw Hat stores will be selling these authentic summer kimonos outfits and wooden sandals that are worn by Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, & Chopper in the colorspread for boys and girls. Each are sold separately. Next, guess whose b-day is approaching next month? I’ll give you a hint: she’s expensive, gorgeous, and feisty. You got it, it’s none other than cute cat burglar, Nami-swan! Her b-day is on July 3rd. To celebrate her b-day, Straw Hat Stores will be selling her birthday button and bromide frame pic. If you purchase over 1000 yen, you’ll get a free bromide card of her enjoying pampering from the cats. Next, awesome JUMP goods have been released such as this t-shirt of chibi Straw Hats in the front and back, and this colorful shirt of the Straw Hats & other characters in kid versions. Stores are also selling this small pin of Luffy that Bartolomeo was trying to sell to some local from the chapter stories. It’s so small as the size of a one yen coin. Very cute! Next, Straw Hat stores will be selling these fun summer straps of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Nami playing with their water guns. They’re also selling this fan of the gang in their army outfits. Last week, the stores released this stylish hard notebook of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Law. Good for writing notes. Next, stores are also selling this neat tote purse of Lucci as an addition of his birthday merch. Tokyo Tower will also have it as well. Moving on, Hong Kong will be having an OP Summer Park as well. Details will be revealed later but it will start next month until last day of Aug. Next, Shimamura Music Store will be selling Brook’s pricey shark guitar. Everything is exactly the same from the anime. You must live w/in the country to have it shipped. You can also purchase it and have it mailed to a friend or relative that lives in Japan. ROCK ON! Next, FC Tokyo Team will be having an OP event from the upcoming special episode of Skypiea. The team will face off against the Yokohama F Marines. They’ll release a special video message from Luffy at the soccer game. They’ll also have a quiz game for kids and student to enjoy. The game will be held at Ajinomoto stadium at Chofu, Tokyo area. You can check out their official page. It’s also in English and has info on access. Also, Chopper will joining the event & will have a meet and greet event. GAME ON! Ticket reservations will start this Friday. Look into their Japanese page for the info. Next, this Wednesday, Tondoco brand will be having an OP collaboration so they’ll release merch they’ll be selling at the store. You can follow their Twitter page. Next, last week, new LINE stickers have released of the Straw Hats and in-motion with cute phrases. It’s available in English as well so you can purchase it. Last, but not least, here’s the new cover of vol.11 of Whole Cake Island arc that has Brook rocking his soul!!! You can order the DVD on the Japanese site of Amazon. PHEW! I think that’s about everything. Tune in next week for more news and goods. Special thanks to Tongari-san. Come again, nakama. Kikko! Momon! Outstanding job! Let’s call it in.

 Guitar: http://store.shimamura.co.jp/shop/g/gmt0048322/

#one piece #merchandise #event

[lawrenceop]

Further thoughts on Scorsese’s ‘Silence’

My first post (not really a review as such) was just a few initial impressions hurriedly typed up as soon as I returned from watching Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ on Tuesday. I was rather overwhelmed, therefore, by the positive response to it – almost 900 shares on social media so far. Thank you! 

Once again, in what follows, there will be ‘spoilers’ so do not read on if this bothers you.

Since then I’ve had a chance to talk to my Dominican brothers about it, have a few online discussions, and in between working on my STL thesis I’ve had time to reflect a bit more. Part of what I really enjoyed about this movie is that it engenders lots of discussion and it’s of sufficient complexity to warrant several interpretations of its themes and ideas over a multitude of disciplines. A friend of mine, an anthropologist who I met in Oxford, made a particularly astute observation which I’ve since developed a little bit, and I thought it might resonate with other people’s observations of the film perhaps.

This time my focus is on the main character of the story, Padre Rodrigues, who is the antihero of this movie for me but his story highlights an area of Christian spirituality and moral theology that is seldom talked about. It seems to me that the story of Rodrigues could be seen as a parable of God’s pedagogy; a story that tells of how in the mystery of divine Providence one is led through sin by grace from vice towards virtue. 

St Thomas Aquinas in his Commentary of 2 Corinthians notes that “pride, properly called, separates from God and is the root of all vices and the worst of them”. And we see how Padre Rodrigues was in danger of falling deeply into this vice. Firstly, a certain arrogance led him to Japan – he was very sure of himself and confident that he would be able to rescue Padre Ferreira. He was also very sure of his faith and his fortitude. But faith is a gift from God, and fortitude even to the point of suffering martyrdom is an infused virtue. In other words, these virtues do not come from our own efforts but are received in humility from God. Pride, however, as St Thomas says is “an inordinate desire for one’s own excellence” and if one seeks such excellence independently of God, then, St Thomas says, “he can even fall into other vices, such as ambition, avarice, vainglory and the like”. Hence, for example, Rodrigues exhibited ambition – he longed for the glory of finding Ferreira – as well as vainglory – he loved too much, perhaps, to be revered and be indispensable to the villagers and so he easily succumbed to being lured out of hiding because he believed he was needed. I grant that he may not have acted out of these vices but as a priest I recognise how subtle and prevalent these spiritual vices are for us. 

Certainly, Padre Rodrigues’ vice of pride becomes evident in his contempt for Kichijiro. As an aside, let me observe that Kichijiro is presented as a somewhat comical figure but, as I think about it, he is an interesting figure of the habitual sinner and I can recognise myself in him. Through weakness and habit, many will fall into the same sins repeatedly, and each time we go to confession with regret and contrition. However, if we step back and look at ourselves, I think we will also recognise something comic in this. And the ability to laugh at oneself and one’s stupidity when falling again and again into the same sin can be a good thing. It can lead to a certain humility for it is said that the Devil never laughs because he takes himself too seriously; he’s too full of pride and self-regard. 

In any case, as Kichijiro comes to the priest for confession yet another time after having stamped on the image of Christ again, we hear Rodrigues’ interior monologue. Shockingly, just before giving absolution to Kichijiro, Rodrigues expresses his prideful disdain for the Japanese apostate. And yet, humility would remind us that any good we do comes about because of God’s grace, including our avoidance of sin and preservation in virtue. His grace prompts, sustains and brings to perfection every good work, and we are co-operators but without Christ we can do nothing (see John 15:5). Therefore, St Paul says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). It is in this moment that we see the height of pride that grips Padre Rodrigues. And so begins the divine pedagogy in which God applies a remedy against pride.

As we say, “pride comes before a fall”, and so, Padre Rodrigues falls into apostasy. Many people have commented on the apostasy of the priests in ‘Silence’ but I do not think that the movie encourages it, even though it might provide an apologia for it. Rather, it seems to me that Padre Rodrigues is allowed to fall into the sin of apostasy - for which he had once held Kichijiro in such disdain - and they become, as it were, kindred spirits. Indeed, they become friends and companions. Padre Rodrigues is thus humbled by his fall into apostasy and in taking on this sin, he begins to empathise with the tragicomic figure of Kichijiro. And empathy is the first step towards friendship. 

Now I say that God allows Rodrigues to fall into this sin because it is by God’s permissive will that we sin. God doesn’t directly will that we sin, of course, but because he desires that we have free will and so learn to love the good and the true, so, in his Providence, he permits sin. Moreover, God desires that we learn to love and so there is an intriguing thread of Christian spirituality that recognises that sin is part of the divine pedagogy because we learn from our mistakes, so to speak. I first came across this idea as a novice and it has stayed with me. In ‘The Way of the Preacher’, Simon Tugwell OP observes that “sin itself is a form of suffering, which, paradoxically, purifies a man”. This teaching he traces to St Irenaeus, “for whom sin is an important aspect of divine pedagogy – not that God actually instigated sin directly, but he set up the world in such a way that sin was extremely likely to take place, and could be treated as one possible way of making Adam realise his dependence on God. It comes to be fairly standard doctrine that God permits people to fall into the more obvious kinds of carnal sin as an antidote to pride”. Hence, St John Damascene says in ‘De fide orthodoxa’ that in God’s Providence, a man might be “allowed to fall at times into some act of baseness in order that another worse fault may be thus corrected, as for instance when God allows a man who takes pride in his virtue and righteousness to fall away into fornication in order that he may be brought through this fall into the perception of his own weakness and be humbled and approach and make confession to the Lord.”

So, too, St Thomas in his Commentary on 2 Corinthians says that “God sometimes permits his elect to be prevented by something on their part, eg: infirmity or some other defect, or sometimes even mortal sin, from obtaining such a good, in order that they be so humbled on this account that they will not take pride in it, and that being thus humiliated, they may recognize that they cannot stand by their own powers”.

It seems to me that Rodrigues is definitely humiliated and humbled by his sin of apostasy. For he effectively loses his priesthood, and as a notorious apostate he becomes something of a freak show for Japanese and Europeans alike, whose only friends are his fellow apostates. From the moment of his apostasy, we see him in a bit of a daze, practically speechless, and totally dispirited; unenthusiastic and robotic in his censorship of imported Christian materials. It seems he descends into a death-like silence and in this silence perhaps he finds the One who he once accused of being silent. This idea of the kenosis of Christ whereby he encounters the sinner in the depths, in any event, is proposed by the theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, who had been a Jesuit.

It is from the depths of this nothingness, it seems then, that Rodrigues can learn to depend once more on God and his grace. This is what his clinging to the little Crucifix appears to symbolise. In the end, finding himself to be weak and undependable, he depends totally on the Crucified One, or at least, clings to him for mercy. And, if we think about it, isn’t that the one great spiritual lesson each one of us has to learn? For as St Benedict said: “we descend by self-exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus set up is our life in the world, which the Lord raises up to heaven if our heart is humbled”.

#humility #divine pedagogy #sin #pride #humbling #Silence #review #spirituality #moral theology #vices #virtues #Providence

[baileylisa]

6 Breathtaking Islands You’ve Probably Missed So Far

Always dream higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean.

It’s the achieving moment of your life you simply can’t forget, no doubt. But what makes everything so beautiful around you?

What makes it more astounding is the fact that the world has lots of surprises in its pocket that are unraveled only when we decide to look upon it.

Travelling takes you to new destinations that are ultimate miracles of nature. Who could have thought that Sahara could be such a great camping trip? Who can think that climbing K2 can be a thrilling experience? Unless you decide to do it you can’t know for sure.

Discovering famous cities, streets, shops are always exciting, right? You get to meet lovely people and sometimes not so lovely people, but the food, hotels, the overall experience is worth spending your time on.

Beach Flings

It’s always more exciting to go to a beach doesn’t matter from which country you are from; the coastlines are attuned to the special phenomenon that you simply can’t help but unveil it all by yourself. the sunny side up and downs and most importantly the cozy feeling of relaxation is enough to make you go on a beach holiday around the world using Airport Limo particularly in Toronto.

For this sole purpose we have listed down the 6 most breathtaking islands you probably have missed so far, so now is the chance to redeem yourself by visiting those destinations.

ILES PURPURAIRES

Never thought of Africa as one for an island attraction? Believe it with your naked eye. Morocco home to the cultural cities and sites is quite famous also the food is unforgettably tasty but why not an island to visit there?

Just off the coast of the mystical Essaouira is the small series of islands, ILES PURPURAIRES, which adds to the mystery of Essaouira. Famous for its purple dye thanks to the Romans, little should you know, this island is breeding ground for falcons, and tourists are not allowed to go there (that’s a real shame though) but with high command permission, you can be accompanied there. It’s a haven for the wildlife of birds. Although the falcons migrate to Madagascar in winters it’s a common breeding ground during the summer.

Morocco Holidays seems to be incomplete for the explorers who want to be part of discoveries.

SPICE ISLANDS

You probably would have heard about it in your history lessons. How British, French and Portuguese fought over it for the trade. Well now, we are not fighting over it but yes visiting is one option we simply can’t ignore.

One of the underrated islands in the world, Grenada a.k.a Spice Islands has contributed its share of beauty attractions for nature and tourists alike. Indonesia being home to spices makes this island all more filled with the aromas of spice plantations all over it.

The picturesque town of St. George is just on the other side of the islands. Hitchhiking on the mountains and reaching the top makes it all too glorious view which is more than appreciable.

NOSY BE

How about taking a trip back to Africa? The most famous Madagascar (not the movie but the island although the movie was fun to watch!) is comprised of different islands. It’s not a surprise that it recruits a natural hidden gem from the rest of the world. Initially meaning “Big Island” it has been busiest resort areas for tourists.

Although lynching tends to be uncertain in this part of the region the natural wonder attracts more tourists than ever. It’s home to many of the wildlife animals like a black lemur and not to forget the fact that it’s a volcanic island (another surprise).

But with its tropical monsoon climate, humid summer and short dry season make it all year round available.

POM POM ISLAND

We say Malaysia is truly Asia. It’s a tropical paradise for the honeymooners or for someone who loves exploring the islands and mysteries surrounding it. This coral reed island is not as large but what makes it astounding is its beauty and the marine life that is the major reason for scuba divers. Quite popular for scuba diving it’s a refreshing coolness to feel the eccentric vibrating colors of corals and aquatic organisms down there.

If you are lucky enough you can encounter the turtles coming to the sandy shores and laying eggs, it’s fascinating to experience such a sighting.

The gorgeous white sands and crystalline waters make it a whole different package for a holiday destination.

PAWALAN

What is it that attracts us to the Philippines? Its gorgeous mane of islands!

Palawan is the largest of the provinces and lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. With its irregular coastlines makes it quite happening fit for wildlife and wreck diving.

Scuba diving is quite popular in this part of the island as well as there is an amazing diversity of aquatic life underwater and water is just the right temperature. Besides that, you can go snorkeling too and that too is a thrilling experience, especially for the teenagers. Ziplining is a fun way of trekking from the op on Ugnong Rock, quite exhilarating experience it is and you can have an incredible view from the top of the green life around you. Relaxing on the beachside you can do fishing as well, fathers will love this place for fishing sport.

LAMU ISLAND

And yet we have another of the unexpected destination in Africa in our minds, Kenya. Lamu Island is a small size and yet UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it’s coral stone and mangrove buildings giving it a unique emphasis over the landmark itself.

The best thing you will find is that its vehicle-free area! You have to use your legs to take you wherever you want to go.

Not that much of a tourist spot attraction comparatively to other destinations mentioned above, but it certainly reserves the charms for an escapade. It’s a small fish town separate from all the prying eyes.  It’s something to see when in Kenya.

Had your fill or looking for more? I’m sure you want more because quenching the thirst of discovery lasts as long as two minutes. The wandering souls are always on an outlook for new best adventures. Which one will be yours?

The post 6 Breathtaking Islands You’ve Probably Missed So Far appeared first on Airport Limo Toronto.

from Airport Limo Toronto https://www.airportlimotoronto.com/6-breathtaking-islands-youve-probably-missed-so-far/

from Airport Limo Toronto https://airportlimotoronto3.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/6-breathtaking-islands-youve-probably-missed-so-far/

[arieljenna3]

6 Breathtaking Islands You’ve Probably Missed So Far

Always dream higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean.

It’s the achieving moment of your life you simply can’t forget, no doubt. But what makes everything so beautiful around you?

What makes it more astounding is the fact that the world has lots of surprises in its pocket that are unraveled only when we decide to look upon it.

Travelling takes you to new destinations that are ultimate miracles of nature. Who could have thought that Sahara could be such a great camping trip? Who can think that climbing K2 can be a thrilling experience? Unless you decide to do it you can’t know for sure.

Discovering famous cities, streets, shops are always exciting, right? You get to meet lovely people and sometimes not so lovely people, but the food, hotels, the overall experience is worth spending your time on.

Beach Flings

It’s always more exciting to go to a beach doesn’t matter from which country you are from; the coastlines are attuned to the special phenomenon that you simply can’t help but unveil it all by yourself. the sunny side up and downs and most importantly the cozy feeling of relaxation is enough to make you go on a beach holiday around the world using Airport Limo particularly in Toronto.

For this sole purpose we have listed down the 6 most breathtaking islands you probably have missed so far, so now is the chance to redeem yourself by visiting those destinations.

ILES PURPURAIRES

Never thought of Africa as one for an island attraction? Believe it with your naked eye. Morocco home to the cultural cities and sites is quite famous also the food is unforgettably tasty but why not an island to visit there?

Just off the coast of the mystical Essaouira is the small series of islands, ILES PURPURAIRES, which adds to the mystery of Essaouira. Famous for its purple dye thanks to the Romans, little should you know, this island is breeding ground for falcons, and tourists are not allowed to go there (that’s a real shame though) but with high command permission, you can be accompanied there. It’s a haven for the wildlife of birds. Although the falcons migrate to Madagascar in winters it’s a common breeding ground during the summer.

Morocco Holidays seems to be incomplete for the explorers who want to be part of discoveries.

SPICE ISLANDS

You probably would have heard about it in your history lessons. How British, French and Portuguese fought over it for the trade. Well now, we are not fighting over it but yes visiting is one option we simply can’t ignore.

One of the underrated islands in the world, Grenada a.k.a Spice Islands has contributed its share of beauty attractions for nature and tourists alike. Indonesia being home to spices makes this island all more filled with the aromas of spice plantations all over it.

The picturesque town of St. George is just on the other side of the islands. Hitchhiking on the mountains and reaching the top makes it all too glorious view which is more than appreciable.

NOSY BE

How about taking a trip back to Africa? The most famous Madagascar (not the movie but the island although the movie was fun to watch!) is comprised of different islands. It’s not a surprise that it recruits a natural hidden gem from the rest of the world. Initially meaning “Big Island” it has been busiest resort areas for tourists.

Although lynching tends to be uncertain in this part of the region the natural wonder attracts more tourists than ever. It’s home to many of the wildlife animals like a black lemur and not to forget the fact that it’s a volcanic island (another surprise).

But with its tropical monsoon climate, humid summer and short dry season make it all year round available.

POM POM ISLAND

We say Malaysia is truly Asia. It’s a tropical paradise for the honeymooners or for someone who loves exploring the islands and mysteries surrounding it. This coral reed island is not as large but what makes it astounding is its beauty and the marine life that is the major reason for scuba divers. Quite popular for scuba diving it’s a refreshing coolness to feel the eccentric vibrating colors of corals and aquatic organisms down there.

If you are lucky enough you can encounter the turtles coming to the sandy shores and laying eggs, it’s fascinating to experience such a sighting.

The gorgeous white sands and crystalline waters make it a whole different package for a holiday destination.

PAWALAN

What is it that attracts us to the Philippines? Its gorgeous mane of islands!

Palawan is the largest of the provinces and lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. With its irregular coastlines makes it quite happening fit for wildlife and wreck diving.

Scuba diving is quite popular in this part of the island as well as there is an amazing diversity of aquatic life underwater and water is just the right temperature. Besides that, you can go snorkeling too and that too is a thrilling experience, especially for the teenagers. Ziplining is a fun way of trekking from the op on Ugnong Rock, quite exhilarating experience it is and you can have an incredible view from the top of the green life around you. Relaxing on the beachside you can do fishing as well, fathers will love this place for fishing sport.

LAMU ISLAND

And yet we have another of the unexpected destination in Africa in our minds, Kenya. Lamu Island is a small size and yet UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it’s coral stone and mangrove buildings giving it a unique emphasis over the landmark itself.

The best thing you will find is that its vehicle-free area! You have to use your legs to take you wherever you want to go.

Not that much of a tourist spot attraction comparatively to other destinations mentioned above, but it certainly reserves the charms for an escapade. It’s a small fish town separate from all the prying eyes.  It’s something to see when in Kenya.

Had your fill or looking for more? I’m sure you want more because quenching the thirst of discovery lasts as long as two minutes. The wandering souls are always on an outlook for new best adventures. Which one will be yours?

The post 6 Breathtaking Islands You’ve Probably Missed So Far appeared first on Airport Limo Toronto.

from Airport Limo Toronto https://www.airportlimotoronto.com/6-breathtaking-islands-youve-probably-missed-so-far/ from Airport Limo Toronto https://airportlimotoronto3.tumblr.com/post/186790809835

[sierramolly]

6 Breathtaking Islands Youve Probably Missed So Far

Always dream higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean.

It’s the achieving moment of your life you simply can’t forget, no doubt. But what makes everything so beautiful around you?

What makes it more astounding is the fact that the world has lots of surprises in its pocket that are unraveled only when we decide to look upon it.

Travelling takes you to new destinations that are ultimate miracles of nature. Who could have thought that Sahara could be such a great camping trip? Who can think that climbing K2 can be a thrilling experience? Unless you decide to do it you can’t know for sure.

Discovering famous cities, streets, shops are always exciting, right? You get to meet lovely people and sometimes not so lovely people, but the food, hotels, the overall experience is worth spending your time on.

Beach Flings

It’s always more exciting to go to a beach doesn’t matter from which country you are from; the coastlines are attuned to the special phenomenon that you simply can’t help but unveil it all by yourself. the sunny side up and downs and most importantly the cozy feeling of relaxation is enough to make you go on a beach holiday around the world using Airport Limo particularly in Toronto.

For this sole purpose we have listed down the 6 most breathtaking islands you probably have missed so far, so now is the chance to redeem yourself by visiting those destinations.

ILES PURPURAIRES

Never thought of Africa as one for an island attraction? Believe it with your naked eye. Morocco home to the cultural cities and sites is quite famous also the food is unforgettably tasty but why not an island to visit there?

Just off the coast of the mystical Essaouira is the small series of islands, ILES PURPURAIRES, which adds to the mystery of Essaouira. Famous for its purple dye thanks to the Romans, little should you know, this island is breeding ground for falcons, and tourists are not allowed to go there (that’s a real shame though) but with high command permission, you can be accompanied there. It’s a haven for the wildlife of birds. Although the falcons migrate to Madagascar in winters it’s a common breeding ground during the summer.

Morocco Holidays seems to be incomplete for the explorers who want to be part of discoveries.

SPICE ISLANDS

You probably would have heard about it in your history lessons. How British, French and Portuguese fought over it for the trade. Well now, we are not fighting over it but yes visiting is one option we simply can’t ignore.

One of the underrated islands in the world, Grenada a.k.a Spice Islands has contributed its share of beauty attractions for nature and tourists alike. Indonesia being home to spices makes this island all more filled with the aromas of spice plantations all over it.

The picturesque town of St. George is just on the other side of the islands. Hitchhiking on the mountains and reaching the top makes it all too glorious view which is more than appreciable.

NOSY BE

How about taking a trip back to Africa? The most famous Madagascar (not the movie but the island although the movie was fun to watch!) is comprised of different islands. It’s not a surprise that it recruits a natural hidden gem from the rest of the world. Initially meaning “Big Island” it has been busiest resort areas for tourists.

Although lynching tends to be uncertain in this part of the region the natural wonder attracts more tourists than ever. It’s home to many of the wildlife animals like a black lemur and not to forget the fact that it’s a volcanic island (another surprise).

But with its tropical monsoon climate, humid summer and short dry season make it all year round available.

POM POM ISLAND

We say Malaysia is truly Asia. It’s a tropical paradise for the honeymooners or for someone who loves exploring the islands and mysteries surrounding it. This coral reed island is not as large but what makes it astounding is its beauty and the marine life that is the major reason for scuba divers. Quite popular for scuba diving it’s a refreshing coolness to feel the eccentric vibrating colors of corals and aquatic organisms down there.

If you are lucky enough you can encounter the turtles coming to the sandy shores and laying eggs, it’s fascinating to experience such a sighting.

The gorgeous white sands and crystalline waters make it a whole different package for a holiday destination.

PAWALAN

What is it that attracts us to the Philippines? Its gorgeous mane of islands!

Palawan is the largest of the provinces and lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. With its irregular coastlines makes it quite happening fit for wildlife and wreck diving.

Scuba diving is quite popular in this part of the island as well as there is an amazing diversity of aquatic life underwater and water is just the right temperature. Besides that, you can go snorkeling too and that too is a thrilling experience, especially for the teenagers. Ziplining is a fun way of trekking from the op on Ugnong Rock, quite exhilarating experience it is and you can have an incredible view from the top of the green life around you. Relaxing on the beachside you can do fishing as well, fathers will love this place for fishing sport.

LAMU ISLAND

And yet we have another of the unexpected destination in Africa in our minds, Kenya. Lamu Island is a small size and yet UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it’s coral stone and mangrove buildings giving it a unique emphasis over the landmark itself.

The best thing you will find is that its vehicle-free area! You have to use your legs to take you wherever you want to go.

Not that much of a tourist spot attraction comparatively to other destinations mentioned above, but it certainly reserves the charms for an escapade. It’s a small fish town separate from all the prying eyes.  It’s something to see when in Kenya.

Had your fill or looking for more? I’m sure you want more because quenching the thirst of discovery lasts as long as two minutes. The wandering souls are always on an outlook for new best adventures. Which one will be yours?

The post 6 Breathtaking Islands You’ve Probably Missed So Far appeared first on Airport Limo Toronto.

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Dr. Ashkan Ghavami is a board-certified plastic surgeon who has performed procedures on celebrities like Iggy Azalea, Amber Rose, Blac Chyna, and Tori Spelling. He is also one of the most followed plastic surgeons on Instagram, where he shares videos that are variously graphic, educational, and sexy with his 347,000 followers. In September, Ghavami published a paper in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery discussing the ethics of using social media to document procedures and their outcomes.

I called him up to chat about butts, fake followers, and the changing attitudes about social media in the medical profession. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What was it like for plastic surgeons when you got on Instagram in 2012? What were your colleagues’ reactions?

I started off by just posting some personal stuff, like most people do. Then I started putting some before-and-afters and bringing my business into it. Nobody else was on Instagram, as far as I remember, not even [now-Instagram-famous surgeon] Dr. Miami. I just knew that it was gonna be an original medium. What we do is all visual. It’s not like we’re fixing blood pressure; with plastic surgery, it’s in front of your eyes and it either looks good or it doesn’t. There’s nothing better than a visual marketing tool like that.

But at that time, nobody even knew enough about it to form an opinion. Some of the higher-ups — you know, the gray-haired, older surgeons — they were kind of jokingly criticizing it. Within a year or two, they were asking me, “How do you do it?” I have surgeons that are close to retirement that are just starting their Instagram pages now.

What kind of official guidelines exist regarding the use of social media and surgery?

You cannot post anything that a patient has not given you permission for. That’s number one; that goes without saying. You have to be careful about things like a patient chart in the background, because someone can take a screenshot and zoom in on a name. But then, as number two, the focus should always be on patient care, safety, and education — and that’s where the gray zone starts. The point is of having an Instagram page is to educate people, but when it comes to medicine and surgery, we have to work hard to keep their interest. Some of my most educational posts have the least views because the cover photo isn’t some girl’s butt.

So now if I have an important message — if I went to a meeting, or if I was doing an academy talk — I’ll insert a picture of a butt that I worked on as the cover photo. Then at least people will click to see what it is.

So it’s really about finding the right balance between entertainment, education, and advertising?

Yeah. I sometimes use the example of an airline safety video. There’s nothing more serious than death from an airplane crash, but to get the passengers’ attention, the airlines have to use entertainment, dancing videos, rap, cartoons, etc. We have to be entertaining to get our message across, but some doctors can really take this out of whack. Like that one surgeon who wore sunglasses and took a good five to 10 minutes to choreograph a video with someone asleep under anesthesia. She wasn’t even a plastic surgeon; she was just a dermatologist. Those kinds of things are going happen.

What other kinds of unethical behaviors have you seen from surgeons on social media?

There are a lot of ethical problems when it comes to portraying honest descriptions of work. Some surgeons are photoshopping their before-and-afters, or using Facetune, or showing the same patients over and over. It’s horrendous what’s going on. I try to give a complete and accurate picture by showing a lot of pre-op and post-op videos. After three months, six months, one year, how does it look? I guess, in a way, it’s considered promotion or advertising, but really it’s just about people seeing the consistency and quality of my work.

Are you finding that, over time, more patients actually want to be featured on your account?

Yes, it’s very interesting. Iggy Azalea was one of the first big celebs I had that was actually open about surgery. She admitted on Ellen and in Vogue that she had her nose and breasts done, and then she invited me over to her house for Thanksgiving and sang to me on social media. I didn’t even ask her to do it. She just wished me a happy birthday and said, “Thank for my new nose and breasts!” Sometimes now people will just tag me in their photos because they’re so happy and proud [of their surgical outcomes]. It’s like how people tag Gucci because they’re loving how their shoes look.

But with most celebs, there’s still a stigma around plastic surgery.

There’s still a stigma, especially with people in the entertainment industry. They want to keep people guessing. I actually trademarked that: “Keep Them Guessing.” If I was a celebrity, I’d wanna keep ’em guessing too. It keeps you more relevant if people are like, “Wait, is her butt real? Is it fake? What’s going on?” Once they know 100 percent for sure, the discussion is over; there’s nothing else for them to talk about. So it’s good to keep a mystery. But obviously, if you have a huge nose, and then all of a sudden it’s this cute nose, you can’t keep ’em guessing too much with that.

Social media celebs are a little more open to posting about their surgeries, but I kind of consider myself to be the bastard child of Instagram. There are so many celebrities I’ve worked on and not a single one follows me. They’re not hitting the like or follow button because they don’t want their friends and family to see that they’re liking plastic surgery content. Right now, I have close to 360,000 followers, but I’d bet it’s closer to a million if you count the people that regularly go to my page but don’t follow.

I don’t blame them for not wanting to admit they know me. That’s why I started a separate non-surgical page, where I’m letting people know I do lip fillers, Botox, and facials. With that side of my practice, [mainstream] celebs are a little more open to posting about their procedures.

Is there anything else you think people should know about plastic surgeons and Instagram?

They just need to be careful, because anybody can try to have a cool, sexy Instagram page. Research the surgeon independent of Instagram. Make sure that they’re board-certified by the proper board, and that they’ve been around for a little while. There are doctors who have been out of residency training for only two years, and they pay to get 200,000 followers so they can look bigger and more experienced than they are. It’s dangerous, and it makes it much for harder for the consumer to figure out who’s legit and who’s faking it.

Medicine is still a sacred thing, but surgeons and doctors are human too. Just because they went to med school and took an oath doesn’t mean they’re a good human being. I see it as a privilege for someone to put their body in my hands to alter. Nothing in art is more sacred than the medium of the human body. I love what I do more than I love money. If that ever changes, I’m gonna retire and do something else.

Original Source -> Fake butts, fake followers: an Instagram-famous plastic surgeon talks medical ethics

via The Conservative Brief

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[cryptnus-blog]

Economist Nouriel Roubini: Blockchain and bitcoin are the world’s biggest scams

New Post has been published on https://cryptnus.com/2018/10/economist-nouriel-roubini-blockchain-and-bitcoin-are-the-worlds-biggest-scams/

Economist Nouriel Roubini: Blockchain and bitcoin are the world’s biggest scams

New York University professor and global economist Nouriel Roubini testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking last week, saying cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are the mother of all scams and bubbles.

He followed that assertion up by calling blockchain, the technology unpinning bitcoin, “the most over-hyped — and least useful — technology in human history.”

Today, Roubini doubled down on his claims in a column published on CNBC.com in which he said blockchain has promised to cure the world’s ills through decentralization but is “just a ruse to separate retail investors from their hard-earned real money.”

Blockchain, which can be used to create a decentralized, permissioned electronic ledger for all kinds of business transactions, “has not even improved upon the standard electronic spreadsheet, which was invented in 1979,” Roubini wrote in the  op-ed column.

“There is no institution under the sun – bank, corporation, non-governmental organization, or government agency – that would put its balance sheet or register of transactions, trades, and interactions with clients and suppliers on public decentralized peer-to-peer permissionless ledgers,” Roubini wrote. “There is no good reason why such proprietary and highly valuable information should be recorded publicly.”

Roubini is known for having been one of the few economists who predicted the 2008 financial crisis. Yet, after witnessing bitcoin’s fall in value over the past year, Roubini said it and other cryptocurrencies represent the mother of all market bubbles, enticing investors, “especially folks with zero financial literacy – individuals who could not tell the difference between stocks and bonds” – into a frenzy of bitcoin and crypto buying.

Does Roubini understand cryptocurrency and blockchain?

Roubini’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee was “certainly entertaining and will get lot of media attention,” said Vipul Goyal, an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). “However, it’s unclear to me if he is really a technology expert and understands the world of crypto,” he added.

Forrester Research

Goyal pointed to leading tech vendors such as Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Oracle who are investing heavily in blockchain and have rolled out blockchain-as-a-service offerings (BaaS) that let businesses use the cloud to create permissioned blockchains for business partners to use.

Prior to becoming a professor at CMU, Goyal worked as a Microsoft researcher for seven years. He noted that while he was employed there, Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, spoke multiple times about his vision for blockchain.

“Surely, these are not naive gullible people which Roubini talked about,” Goyal said.

Created in 2009, a single bitcoin’s value as a universal digital currency skyrocketed in 2017 and early 2018, reaching $19,666 at its apex last year. Over the past nine months, however, bitcoin’s value has tumbled more than 65% to about $6,500 today. Roubini called the collapse the “crypto-apocalypse.”

At the same time bitcoin’s value was plummeting, the technology underpinning it was growing in popularity as a business transaction tool, enabling a “permissioned” or private electronic ledger that is both immutable and transparent to anyone authorized to view it in a group.

Blockchain has been piloted and rolled out for cross-border financial transactions, as a platform for supply chain management and as the basis for a new “trust economy.” Even healthcare facilities are investigating the technology as a way to securely exchange patient healthcare information.

In some ways, blockchain is a victim of its own success, Goyal said, noting that blockchain was taken “public” too soon.

“Wall Street and financial investors started tracking it on a daily basis and that became the measure of success rather than how the underlying technology was developing,” Goyal said.

Any disruptive technology takes several years to play out, become mature and find its place in the world, he said. The internet, Goyal noted, needed a decade to gain traction, and AI took even more time. Even cloud computing took several years to catch on, he said.

“I think one should be patient and give [blockchain] time to mature rather than pass a sweeping judgement without any technical understanding just based on the price of cryptocurrencies,” Goyal said.

Martha Bennett, a principal analyst at Forrester Research, said that while blockchain is not unique in its ability to securely exchange data among disparate parties, other technologies lack key blockchain attributes.

For example, blockchain-based architectures provide the basis for exchanging data and automating processes in a shared infrastructure, without any single party being in charge, Bennett noted.

“This, combined with the innovation opportunities inherent in the tokenization of digital and physical assets, means that we can build new business and trust models,” Bennett said via email. “However, we need to design these first; evidence to date suggests that this is going to be the hardest part.”

FinTech is the real revolution

Roubini was adamant, however, arguing that the real revolution in financial services is FinTech – and it has nothing to do with Blockchain or crypto.

“It is a revolution built on artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things,” he said.

Thousands of businesses such as PayPal, Venmo and Square use FinTech to disrupt every aspect of financial intermediation involving hundreds of millions of daily users in the US. Around the globe, billions more use similar low-cost, efficient digital payment systems such as Alypay and WeChat Pay in China; UPI-based systems in India; and M-Pesa in Kenya and Africa, according to Roubini.

Maersk

A blockchain solution from IBM and Maersk can help manage and track the paper trail of tens of millions of shipping containers across the world by digitizing the supply chain process.

“And financial institutions are making precise lending decisions in seconds rather than weeks, thanks to a wealth of online data on individuals and firms,” Roubini said. “With time, such data-driven improvements in credit allocation could even eliminate cyclical credit driven booms and busts.”

James Wester, IDC’s research director Worldwide Blockchain Strategies, said he read all 37 pages of Roubini’s Senate testimony and while some of his criticisms are “slightly overstated,” they’re not off-base – especially the ones concerning bitcoin, blockchain and financial services.

Blockchain and other cryptocurrencies are currently less efficient than existing solutions for clearing and settling a high volume of transactions, Wester noted.

For example, Roubini accurately pointed out that because its proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism requires nodes (servers) to complete a complicated mathematical problem as a way of authenticating new data entries, bitcoin only allows for five to seven transactions a second.

“It is secure – so far – but at the cost of no scalability,” Roubini told legislators. “And since its mining is now massively centralized – as an oligopoly of miners now control its mining – its security is at risk.”

IBM

After piloting a blockchain-based supply chain tracking system, Walmart and Sam’s Club are telling suppliers to get their product data into the system so they can begin tracking produce from farm to store. The deadline: September 2019.

Industry groups, including the Ethereum Foundation, have taken on the challenge of increasing the scalability and performance of blockchains.

“But, he [Roubini] insists on using a very narrow definition of ‘blockchain’ that discounts implementations and use cases that are already seeing some traction and success,” Wester said via email. “For instance, he says private permissioned blockchains are ‘not truly a ‘blockchain.'”

Wester took the biggest exception to Roubini’s implication that everyone involved in blockchain is a charlatan.

“There are certainly people who are selling blockchain as a panacea for just about everything that plagues humanity, but even within the community of technology providers, programmers and more who are involved in blockchain projects – those people are not taken seriously,” Wester said.

“There are also plenty of thoughtful, smart people involved in blockchain across multiple industries who are looking to apply the technology – even as Professor Roubini defines it – to solve some interesting problems,” he continued. “It might be more fruitful to engage them in good faith.”