#Father who may not see or speak to his children for 70 years

[bumblingbabooshka]

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[lonelycowgirls]

Leather Bomb

I read Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid last year and much like pretty much everyone else on the planet, I loved it. The concept really inspired me and I've had this piece saved to my laptop for months, so I got home today and thought, "why not post it, we'll see what people think."

This is a little taster for it, I'm not 100% on a name for the series, I just wanted to test the waters. Of course, this is a work of fiction, so it's not tied to real-life events and timelines. It's just a bit of fun.

Enjoy, like and reblog.

Nel xo

~

Warnings: None

Word count: 1.7k

Interviewer: Veronica Styles… thanks so much for joining us.  I think I speak for everyone when I tell you how much of an honour it is for you to agree to a chat with us.

Veronica: The pleasure is all mine.  You have my rider… Styles gives me a wink from across the coffee table between us.

Interviewer: I’d love to go back to the beginning.  Your story is so fascinatingly illusive it seems almost a crime to not delve into the origins.  You’ve had an almost Priscilla Presley level of intrigue present in your life, tell me about how you dealt with that when you first met Harry.

Veronica: Well, it’s quite funny actually… to be here talking with you about this in this format.  It definitely makes me feel old.  Harry always used to say, ‘I’ll open up about our life when I’m old and grey and all this is a memory.’  She gestures to her white hair, as curly as it was when she was in her 20s.  Her husband famously said he would retire from the spotlight at 50 years old.  The musician has since recently released his 30th album at the age of 72.  It’s your lucky day, darling.  I suppose I can see how you would get to that comparison but it feels very strange to connect myself with Priscilla.  Elvis is an icon and was a real change of pace for pop culture in the 60s.  She pauses and then a cat-like smile slides itself across her face.  I suppose Harry was, is, very similar.  I know it’s reductive to think of him as simply a husband and a father but that is who he is to me, it’s difficult to see him as anything else.  To acknowledge your question, I simply didn’t deal with it.  It was very much a head stuck in the sand situation for me.  Harry was not an easy person to deal with in those days.  He’s mellowed out a lot now, granted he’s in his 70s and, if anything, more stubborn than ever.  But you see, Harry was a package deal.  To love him, was to love his lifestyle, his job, his fame, his manager, his publicist, and his fanbase.  She chuckles fondly, reminiscence present on her features.  We used to joke about how we were one step away from having his personal assistant in bed with us…  I dealt with that in my own way, and I suppose I have regrets when it comes to that.  I was very young… She answers coyly and open-ended; a Styles trademark.  I have a feeling I may have touched a slightly exposed nerve with my question.

Interviewer: You were 17 years old when you and Harry met.  Can you remember what your first thoughts were during that meeting?  People often talk about a shift when they meet significant people.

Veronica: I think I have a slightly tainted point of view on that sentiment.  It’s almost…  artificial.  Because, when we met it did feel very significant because everyone was telling me how significant it was.  So, while I absolutely agree that I knew I’d met someone special, it’s because I truly had.  I’d met someone that was incredibly famous, successful and who was culturally disruptive.  I suppose it wasn’t until later on that I realised it was a different kind of special.  A special that was going to have a personal effect on my life.

Interviewer: You couldn’t possibly have known at that time that you would marry this man and have children with him.  Did you have any inkling in yourself that you would even meet him again?

Veronica: I hoped that I would.  I used to always laugh when reading about people who fall in love with their future partners at the first meeting because I just didn’t think that was possible.  Harry and I were electric, we didn’t realise it at the time, but looking back it was truly a match of souls, as lovey-dovey as that sounds.  When you’re young, everything feels colossal in terms of importance.  Because as bad as it sounds, your world revolves around you.  And, I don’t know, hormones are raging and in abundance.  So, your reactions to things are super-powered.  I thought of nothing else after I’d met Harry.  He’s an old man now, but you have to understand the level of sexual magnetism he held, the charisma.  He was incredibly wanted and lusted after.  He was everything young girls wanted and dreamed of.  I was never immune to that, the usual trope is, ‘I liked her because she was different, she didn't fawn over me’.  I’m not admitting that I fawned, but I didn't have the cool girl demeanour people often attach to me.  I was very aware and receptive to his effect on me as a young woman.  So, yeah, I was desperate to meet him again once I had.  But more in the way of a teenager wanting to see her crush again; it was natural.

Interviewer: Can you remind us of that first meeting?

Veronica: Oh, gosh.  Okay, so Harry’s story is always different, to be honest, I don’t think he even remembers fully because parts of it change every time he tells it.  I laugh as she rolls her eyes.  All I know is he took a liking to me when we first met, but he didn't make much of an effort to follow up on that.  At that point, women were queuing up to offer him anything he wanted, and he didn't have time to pursue someone he didn't know or who wasn’t game for it, if you know what I mean.  His time was taken up, let's just say that.  So, anyway, we met at an arena; my friend and I had signed up for agency work at a hospitality company and we’d been sent out to Manchester International Arena, and they were hosting the Brits there.  So, we’d been put on VIP drinks service, Harry at that time, was not at VIP level, he’d get there eventually as we know.  But it was an odd time because he was very famous and beloved within his fanbase, but the general public were taking time to, kind of, catch up to that.  But his friend, Ed Sheeran, was enjoying the VIP experience and took Harry as a sort of unofficial plus one, I say unofficial but he was never kicked out so I don’t think anyone had a problem with him being there.  I was working the bar and I saw him standing around a tall table, chatting and laughing.  But he has this nervous tick, where he scratches the back of his neck and when he had long hair he’d toss it all forward, ruffle it up and then flick his head, kind of, off to the side and smooth it through his fingers.  He did that A LOT.  And I remember thinking, ‘this guy is gonna get a crick in his neck if he does that anymore tonight’.  But he did, and each time he did it he’d glance around him and then try to look interested in the conversation he was supposed to be having.  I only learned this was a nervous tick when I noticed his hands were shaking.  And I mean, shaking.  Anyway, I think I must have watched him do that about seven times before he looked around and caught my eyes.  I was very shy so I looked away immediately, I was so embarrassed but I couldn’t help but glance back and I saw him still looking with a smirk on his face.  But he also had this quizzical look in his eyes.  I always say to him, you looked at me like I was a crossword and you just couldn’t wait to get the last clue to complete it.  Very whimsical of me, I know.  She laughs again and fiddles with the ends of her hair, shaking her head thoughtfully.  She hasn’t made much eye contact with me by this time, choosing to glance just past me.   He didn't speak to me until the very end of the VIP service.  He came up and asked for my name.  I told him and he drew it out long in his accent, but not like my accent, I knew immediately he was from Cheshire.  It’s like a posh version of a proper northerner, he hates when I say that, so definitely put that in.  I bet you can’t believe how much I remember.  It’s sad, isn’t it?

Interviewer: Absolutely not, this is gold.  I don’t suppose you remember what he said to you?

Veronica: Not completely.  Probably something smug ‘cause he’s a cocky git when he wants to be.  She properly laughs.  I just know that I felt warmth when he was close.  He was very attentive and very easy to talk to… but very hard to actually draw anything significant from, you probably remember that from his interviews.  Before he left he decided to down his drink, not very impressively, and he stared at me while he did it.  He slammed his glass down on the bar, gave me a nod and then he was gone.

Interviewer: Okay, so you meet Harry at 17.  Then most people will be shocked to hear that you didn't meet him again until much later, is that accurate?

Veronica: Yes, a lot of people think that we are somewhat childhood sweethearts.  It was nice at the time for people to believe that.  Harry doesn’t like to talk about relationships at all in the public sphere, that’s why I’ve never actually spoken much to the media before now.  We didn't start actually seeing each other romantically until I was about… 23, I think?  So, he was 25, he’d left his band and gone out on his own.  Height of fame and success, he was seeing Camille Rowe, yeah… all that good stuff.  She seems uneasy again but shakes it off with a smile in my direction.  I’d just completed my degree and I was training as a nurse.  So… She pauses for a long time, almost a minute, staring and thinking.  This is a story that I don’t think anyone has heard before… it’s going to be odd telling it.  All I’ll say to preface it is that it is and was a real source of emotional turmoil for everyone involved.  I nod and try to ensure her that as a journalist, I personally cannot in good conscience take on a story that she doesn’t want to tell.  She reassures me.  I’m not getting any younger, it’ll be somewhat... freeing to finally open up about it.

Let me know what you think!

[animegirlspongebob]

okay earliglow family introduction post aaaaaa i have been plagued by them for ages please help me someone

so there’s Mr Earliglow! he’s the father of Tristar, Allstar, and Chandler, and he’s the ringmaster of the strawberry circus (not an official name: just something it’s called by a lot of people). He’s a stoic old man who’s quite strict on his business: but he does love his family. Even if it pains him….he’s 70, also.

then there’s Mr Earliglow’s wife! she’s [REDACTED]

so moving on to the eldest child, there’s Tristar! Tristar is an awful person. But, he’s a good clown, so his family are forced to aid him in his misdeeds and clean up his messes so he stays in business….and believe me, it gets messy. he’s an extremely violent man, and his violence is only worse when he gets angry- and he gets angry easily! he also really, really likes meat. he’s 51.

then there’s Allstar! Allstar is the second child, although that title doesn’t exactly make sense, because he’s a twin. Allstar is not only a clown, but also a cowboy! He likely is that way because of his cowgirl wife. He’s energetic, and honestly a bit violent himself, but he truly does love his family, and is trying his absolute best. He works as a weapon thrower. he’s 50.

finally, there’s Chandler! as previously mentioned, he’s Allstar’s twin, and rather disliked by the family. He spends most of his time smoking, and accidentally revealing way too much about the family if asked. he works as a juggler. he’s 50.

now, let’s move onto their kids!

Tristar has a kid, and that kid is Sparkle! although, Sparkle is adopted, unlike the rest of the Earliglow kids. He’s also the one you’ll see the most of, since he’s kind of a persona (and pretty story relevant!!!)! Tristar was best friends with biological dad, but one night he visited their house, only to find them dead. So, he took it upon himself to raise little Sparkle! However as you can guess by his description, he’s not good at being a father at all. The other Earliglows expected a lot from him, since his parents are (WERE in the case of his birth parents) extremely talented performers, so he was forced into learning a lot of acts. Sparkle is an incredibly anxious person, likely because of all the above. He ended up running away when he was 19, and aside from a few incidents after then, he’s now, at 20, doing much better!

then there’s Allstar’s children. His eldest is Albion, the circus’ target boy. Albion is 31, making him the oldest, and incredibly mean. He bullied Sparkle relentlessly all throughout his childhood, which he says was “just teasing”. He’s also incredibly violent, especially when thing don’t go his way. As soon as Sparkle left and he had no one to bully, he moved on to his younger sister.

Speaking of, Allstar’s second child is Jewel!!! Jewel is 16 years old, and was the fire swallower at the circus! following an incident with Albion however, she now lives in the same town as Sparkle. She’s an energetic, excitable girl, but also extremely clumsy. Luckily for her, she’s very confident! The only thing she worries a bit about is her physical appearance. She’s really into a doctors, which may be because she spent a good part of her childhood in hospital! But she returned better then ever! It was almost like she was an entirely different person…

FINALLY finally, there’s Chandler’s kid, Ozark! Ozark is 30, and best friends with his cousin Albion, who he’s often mistaken to be twins with! Because of this, he’s a bit mean too, but not to the degree that Albion is. In fact, some of Albion’s actions would disgust them if they ever found out about them. He works as an animal tamer.

so that’s the Earliglows!!!! PLEASE ASK ABOIT THEM THEYVE BEEN DRVING ME UO THR WALL

[pastortomsteers]

THE DAY OF PENTECOST

May 19, 2024

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

 

OPENING HYMN:  500  “Creator Spirit by Whose Aid”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC5GOv0i0R0

 THE SERMON

Brothers and sisters, peace, grace and mercy be to you through God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

It’s been fifty days since we gathered to proclaim the Resurrection on Easter morning.

The name Pentecost means fiftieth.

In the Jewish calendar, seven weeks after the Feast of Passover, they were invited to return to the temple for the festival of Weeks, or Shavuot.

It was a harvest festival.

And today, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see the Bible’s description of the great harvest of God’s people, Christians, into the Church.

In our Old Testament text, we hear from the prophet Ezekiel who was active during the 70 years of the Babylonian exile.

Ezekiel is conveying hope to a people in despair.

They felt they’d gotten a raw deal from God: their fathers sinned and they are being punished.

They feel like corpses, a people who are dying without any chance of restoration.

As God quotes their complaint here, “our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are indeed cut off.”

What makes these words important for today is the way God conducts this re-creative act

Ezekiel preaches to dry, lifeless bones.

And then God’s Word creates the hearers themselves.

Bones can’t hear what we say, but when the Word is proclaimed, the breath of life is given.

The Hebrew word, ruach, is important.

This is the very breath God gave Adam at the creation moment in Genesis, Chapter 2.

In Hebrew, and in its Greek counterpart, the word ruach can be translated three ways: Wind, Spirit, or Breath.

Jesus will use this very word in John, Chapter 2, when He speaks to Nicodemus.

Ezekiel prophecies to the “wind,” the winds blow, the corpses then have “breath,”

and in them is the “spirit” of life.

God asks Ezekiel if all these bones can live and Ezekiel does a really wise thing.

He says, God, you alone know the answer.

The prophet is confessing that God is the Almighty, and that as a man, he is not.

At the Lord’s command, Ezekiel preaches to dead bones.

It looks hopeless, but the Word Ezekiel preaches is God’s.

It has divine power.

It created the universe.

There’s a rattling sound.

The bones assemble themselves, ligaments and muscles, then skin, but the corpses do not yet live. 

Again, Ezekiel is commanded to prophecy, this time to the ‘wind,’ ‘breath.’ ‘spirit.’

That Spirit comes, and the corpses live, standing on their feet.

What had been a graveyard, is now a great gathering.

When we apply this to ourselves, the message is profound.

We can look at the world around us, and see lifeless non-believers, destined for eternal separation from God.

And yet, there is the Word that has the power to transform and bring alive, now, and to life eternal.

God’s Word, preached and taught in His true Church, and Christ’s Sacraments, that He instituted and commanded.

The Sacrament of Baptism, for adults as well as children, because it is the Lord’s work, not our prideful ‘obedience.’

The Lord’s Supper, that is Christ’s true Body and Blood given and shed for us, just as Jesus told us in the Bible.

It is through these means of grace that the Spirit works.

God raises dead people, then, and now.

He gives purpose to the meaningless life; He gives eternal hope to the lost.

In the incarnation of His only Son, He was a carpenter.

Jesus knew hard work.

And He had compassion enough to use the wood of the cross as an instrument

to pay for the sins of the world.

It is the Spirit that works faith in that atoning act within us.

The Spirit uses the Word, that brings the benefit of that ultimate sacrifice to those who accept the free gift of God in Jesus.

What shall we make of the description of the Apostle’s Pentecost experience in the Book of Acts?

Some have pointed to the tower of Babel being undone in these verses.

Yet we need to notice the order of events.

First, they heard, then they saw.

We often want to reverse that order and have God show us before we’ll start to listen to Him.

On this day, there were Jewish people in Jerusalem from all around the ancient world.

Yet those present heard the disciples speaking in their own languages, not senseless babble.

Some wouldn’t believe what was happening, they scoffed, even accusing the Apostles of drunkenness.

Others, though, are genuinely wondering what this all means.

Peter stands up.

The disciple, who, a few short weeks before had denied, even knowing Christ

three times, speaks up.

He confronts the people with a sermon.

With words inspired by the Holy Spirit, taken from the account of Christ, God on earth.

This Word cuts the crowd to the heart, and changes them.

Notice the Word is given as both Law and Gospel.

Peter confronts them with their sins, then shows them their Saviour.

The Apostle says Old Testament prophets foretold this day.

Notice the Spirit is poured out on all flesh.

Also note that after preaching God’s Word, the ones who repent and receive their Redeemer shall be saved.

The coming of the Spirit means salvation is not just for some, but for all who accept Christ’s free gift of salvation.

The proclamation that the Spirit poured out that day is still being preached, now, throughout the world.

It’s an on-going, not a one-time event.

The Spirit still makes alive, calls, gathers, enlightens.

He sanctifies His whole Christian Church on earth.

Our Gospel text is also rich in teaching about the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is called the Helper whom Jesus sends, and who remains with us.

The Spirit is all about witnessing to Jesus.

That is what He does through Christ’s Church, and those who are part of it.

He reveals Jesus, and enables our witness.

The presence of the Spirit is actually better than when Jesus limited Himself

to space and time while on earth.

Now the Spirit can point to our Saviour throughout the world, in all times.

If Christ had not ascended, the Helper would not have come to us.

Now Jesus is with us in every true Church, in His Word, in His absolution, in every Baptism, in every celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

The Spirit not only reveals Jesus.

He also convicts the world.

Regarding sin.

Regarding the righteousness of Christ.

And regarding judgment all people will face one day at the end of time.

Then sin will only be a problem for the sinner who doesn’t believe in Jesus.

For repentant believers, no sentence is passed.

Final judgment, however, has already been handed down on satan and all who follow him.

Remember, though, that if we focus on, or worship the Spirit without the Son, we’ve missed the whole point.

We live a world that’s largely discounted spiritual reality, or misunderstood that this reality is Christ.

It’s a world too busy making money and chasing pleasure.

Yet in every hour, of every day, there is Jesus, and it is the Spirit who brings us Christ Himself.

Our whole life, in every decade, whether young or old, has been redeemed by His blood, sanctified by His Spirit.

Christians are a precious treasure to Christ, worth more than all the universe.

Jesus, by turning sadness into joy, allows us to see life, and our neighbour, differently.

Our sorrows and trials are transformed by the joyous presence of Christ.

And that allows us to endure a dark world with confidence.

Our lives are illuminated by the light of Jesus.

And He will remain with us into eternity.

Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT                Page 194

                                                                                                                (Our Communion Hymn is 627 “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Saviour”)

Communion Collect  (Left-hand column)    Page 201 

CLOSING HYMN:  504  “Father Most Holy”

[selfwriting-sugarquills]

70 Fred Weasley headcanons in celebration of 700 followers:

(plus an extra one, for the heck of it lmao) 

You guys, thank you so much for 700 followers! I appreciate every single one of you and writing for the twins has been such a blast so far, much to the thanks of all of you <3 

Find the 70 George Headcanons: Here

Fred has always been really good at sleight of hand stuff, as a kid, he could do card tricks with ease, steal baked goods from his mother’s kitchen and later on since his allowance wasn’t exactly anything to brag about, he’d steal sweets from honeydukes' on Hogsmeade trips, with the help of George, he’s not proud of it but in his defence, he was a stupid teenage boy at the time. 

Fred is incredibly competitive and will hold onto anything you challenge him to for way longer than you might think. He’s definitely the type to “race you” anytime you’re headed to herbology, care against magical creatures or Hogsmeade together.

As the man himself said in the deathly hallows, Fred doesn’t like the idea of a big grandiose wedding ceremony, he’d prefer something more low-key and simple, where the focus is more on having fun and celebrating instead of neat seating plans and meticulously chosen decorations. Some flowers and booze will do, he’ll provide the fireworks - In essence, he only needs his S/O and the rest he couldn’t care less about. 

George may be better at cooking, but Fred makes a damn good pancake and he will forever pride himself on that. 

Fred is the more jealous, overprotective twin. He’s aware of this and tries his best not to let it go to his head but he can’t help it. 

Fred snores, I’m pretty sure it’s canon that both twins snore, but Fred is louder and, as mentioned in my last headcanon post, a very heavy sleeper meaning it’s more difficult to get him to wake up so he can stop, your best shot is trying (and probably failing) to turn him over. 

Fred is also a very restless sleeper, he’ll toss and turn, and occasionally dream about quidditch. I’m saying you might want to be aware that he might confuse you for a bludger in his sleep, don’t worry though, he’ll always apologise profusely and make it up to you with a lot of kisses (and maybe a bit more than that, if you’re keen ;)) 

Fred has an extensive caffeine addiction, which is unfortunate cause he’s quite hyper already but he can’t function properly until he gets his coffee in the morning, and then again in between lessons/at lunch and then again late in the afternoon. Sometimes, if he needed to write an essay that was due, he’d drink coffee at like nine pm. He knows he won’t be able to sleep because of it, please, Y/n, he’s accepted his fate. 

I personally always imagined the twins as having ADHD, idk why it just fits their characters. Fred is for sure the more outwardly fidgety and intrusive, this gets less and less with age, as it does for a lot of ADHD people, his inability to focus remains the same though. 

Fred loves being outside, he’s the first of the Weasley siblings to suggest a game of quidditch or just going outside for walks, hide and seek in the woods near their house. He absolutely loves taking his dates on walks in parks or at the beach and when he has kids he plays with them in their yard, building snowmen etc. 

Fred probably suggests at some point that the whole family should go camping, and he’s actually really fun to camp with. He’ll tell the best scary stories by the campfire. 

In regards to children, Fred wants a lot of kids. Like at least three but would be willing to have more if his s/o wants to. He just really likes the dynamic of a large family since that’s what he’s used to. 

Fred’s favourite flavour of sweets is anything sour, the sourer the better, because of this he can handle it really well and he loves handing people some of his ridiculously sour candy and watching them squirm. 

He also really likes spicy food, he’s a bit of a daredevil so don’t challenge him to eat anything because he will eat a whole chilli and nearly die. 

 You know he’d be really casual about it too, lol, like sweating and crying but just leaning on the counter like “*pant* what? hot? no not at all *deeeeep breath* I can ha-aw-rdly taste it!” 

One thing about Fred is that he’s oddly squeamish, like seeing his brother’s ear blown off isn’t so bad (if you don’t take into account the emotional trauma that is), but a needle for a blood sample or a vaccine? oooh, he’s gonna need a big juice box and a cookie and his s/o’s hand to hold if he’s gonna make it through. He also has a thing about leeches. One time at Hogwarts they were mentioned in a lesson and he thought he was going to faint the entire time. 

Fred’s broken five bones over the years, four are from quidditch: his left arm and two ribs, and then the other arm from trying to do an elaborate stunt on the stairs in the burrow and falling down two flights. 

Fred loves to sing karaoke (because I cannot get that damn clip of James singing karaoke out of my head) though he particularly enjoys doing a very poor job on purpose. 

Fred is such a good liar that on several occasions he’s given presentations in school and gotten good marks for them despite having bullshat his way through the entire thing. 

Like seriously, he’s that guy in the group project who only looks at the slides like five minutes before the presentation and then just turns on a full charming newscaster voice on the professor to the point of them being genuinely convinced (albeit a little confused) that what Fred’s saying is true. 

This is also why Fred loves playing card games like poker: he’s really good at bluffing. 

Speaking of poker-face, he’s really quite good at teasing in public (if you’re into that sort of thing *wink*) because no matter the dirty deeds he might get up to under a table, his face remains as regular as always (safe for a little smirk to his lover every now and then) 

Fred always wanted to learn an instrument, he thought it’d make him cooler when he was a teenager, as an adult, he just really wants to recreate that clip of the trombone-playing dad with the sunglasses, or maybe serenade some cows with jazz or something. 

Fred was never a big fan of the uniform thing, so he always tried to make it his own, whether that be tying the tie differently, or having his sleeves rolled up; it’s not much but you gotta take what you can get when you’re literally dressed the same as everyone else. 

Fred might make fun of his dad’s interest in muggle things but secretly he loves it too. He has spent a lot of hours in the shed with Arthur, assuring everyone that it was just to have some quality time with his dad but he would still pay close attention when Arthur explained things to him. 

Fred had a whole business of selling candy from Honeydukes’ and joke products from Zonko’s to second and first years before he and George started dabbling with their own products, he could get you a butterbeer too but it’ll cost you an extra three galleons. 

Fred really likes glitter, George has a thing for lace, anything that glitters on his s/o makes Fred weak. If you want to get your way just put on some glittery eyeshadow or lipgloss and watch him spin. 

Since he loves things that glitter and gleam he loves buying his s/o jewellery, he loves seeing them wearing them as little tokens of their relationship. 

Did someone say slight possession kink? oops not me

Fred is incredible with numbers, this is pretty much canon and has been explored but I’m just amazed at this boy’s wit AND intellect. I have a slight headcanon that if he ever goes on a proper first date with someone where a bill is involved, he impresses his date by calculating the tip after just a glance.

Even if Fred has a longstanding reputation of not caring about school, when he has kids he does want to help them with any coursework over the summer and Christmas breaks, he’ll even study up on his old books just to be able to help out in any classes he didn’t take/didn’t pay attention in. 

Fred would, in general, be an amazing father. He’s goofy and playful most of the time, though he’s serious and incredibly caring whenever his kids are in a bad mood or have problems. He knows that he’s not the most outwardly emotional of the twins but he makes sure his kids know they can always talk to him about anything. 

Fred is incredibly messy. His room is usually a cry for help and he only cleans it when it gets to the point where it distracts him from focusing on work. 

No worries though, his S/O doesn’t have to do all the housework for him, he’ll do it. He just needs to be reminded that he needs to every once in a while. 

Fred has a really bad temper, he doesn’t know where he gets it from but he tends to get angry easier than George, though Fred is better at letting it out so it doesn’t continue to bother him. 

His bad temper does mean that he used to brawl more with siblings as a kid, and it wasn’t unusual to see him with scrapes and bruises as a kid, much to Molly’s dismay. Fred didn’t mind though, he thought it made him look tough. 

Fred is more likely to get caught sneaking around because of his brash nature, he tends to forget just how quiet you have to be to avoid Mrs Norris in the corridors. 

Fred is certainly not an early bird but his favourite time of day is, in fact, the morning when the sun’s coming up. He only knows this because of Wood’s ridiculously early quidditch practices but there’s something about the way the world looks when it’s bathed in soft golden light that just hits different to Fred. 

Fred is a great team player, as much as he seems like he’s more selfish than George, if it’s regarding a team activity (like quidditch or a battle of sorts) he’ll completely lose all focus on himself and only try to ensure other’s safety and victory. This is also why he plays as a beater, he’s not afraid of getting hit at all when he’s focused on getting the bludgers away from his teammates. 

So if his s/o ever needs it, he’ll be there to help with anything: Needs to take a day off from work to take care of his sick s/o? no problem. Needs to stay up with his small child because his s/o is exhausted and needs rest? On it. Something as small as carrying groceries or books, making a cup of tea when the other is busy or doing the dishes is all on the list of things that Fred will happily do for his s/o, and often without having to be asked, he’ll just do it. 

Fred’s boggart is seeing his family members and/or his s/o hurt beyond what he can save. Essentially his worst fear is being helpless when he needs it most. 

One of those times was when George lost his ear. The first night when George was lying practically unconscious on the couch with blood everywhere was the worst night of Fred’s life, he truly felt so anxious and helpless and angry that he vomited and ended up passing out next to the couch after staying up till sunrise watching his brother like a hawk. 

He didn’t just sleepwalk when he was younger, he also often experienced nightmares, it’s only George, Molly and Arthur who remembers anything about this. 

They got less and less the older he got and he assumed that he’d never be bothered by them again until after the second wizarding war and the battle of Hogwarts. 

I don’t like to headcanon that he dies cause he didn’t and that’s final lol. I do, however, headcanon that Fred still gets hurt, since everyone in the explosion beside him seemed to sustain minor injuries, I just think that to even out with George losing his ear, he hurts his leg and needs a lot of retraining/a walking stick. I think that’d be a more fair/unfair ending for Fred who’s always full of energy having to have to adjust to living slowly for a little while (not permanently, I couldn’t do that to my boy). 

The boy has anxiety sometimes, ok. (just let me project for a second)

He didn’t know how much tension he usually holds in his body until he drank alcohol for the first time and felt his entire body loosen up and was like “huh this is new.” 

He doesn’t use alcohol to deal with it though, he prefers just talking to George about whenever he feels is stressing him out and that helps. A massage from his s/o to loosen him up doesn’t hurt either. 

Fred prefers to talk to his dad about his problems more than he prefers to talk to Molly, generally. 

His favourite body parts on his s/o: Shoulders, hips, hands. 

He loves to kiss, just in general, but he also loves kissing his s/o’s nose, forehead, neck, shoulder, etc. as little gestures of affection. 

He def. has a bit of a size kink, he loves being taller than his s/o. 

If Fred could have any pet he wanted, he’d probably want a dog, the bigger the better. He doesn’t think he has the time for a pet though. 

It was his idea to start breeding pygmy puffs, it’s the closest he’ll get to having a pet. 

I don’t know why but I feel like when Fred and his s/o are expecting and his s/o goes into labour he just panics. loses it, drops the binkie as we say in Denmark: Freaks the fuck out, if you will. He’s definitely the pacing and wringing his hands together type, though he probably tries his best to keep himself composed and chill during the whole thing whilst simultaneously hyperventilating. 

Fred doesn’t cry often but he sure as hell wept with pride when he held all his kids for the first time. 

Despite the notion that the twins often slip in a joke version of a sweet treat or something similar amongst the snacks at parties, Fred is strongly against tampering with drinks. He knows the connotations it holds and he doesn’t want anyone to be afraid they’d put something in it. If he wants you to test out their truth serum or a love potion, he’ll just ask you flat out and if you don’t want to, he’s not going to continue asking. 

Most of the detentions Fred has gotten from Snape come from times he’s spoken back to him when Snape’s been giving another student a rough time. He doesn’t regret it one bit. 

 If you ask Fred what his proudest accomplishment is, he’ll probably say that it’s having had enough restraint to not punch Umbridge in the face every time he saw her. 

On the note of Umbridge. It wasn’t her detentions with him that got his blood boiling, it was when she punished little kids (a la Nigel) for doing practically nothing, he understands that to an extent and by comparison, setting off a bunch of fireworks inside a building would harbour a harsher punishment, but making twelve-year-olds bleed for running in the halls or playing music or just doing things that twelve-year-olds will inevitably do, is something Fred doesn’t understand. That year pretty much any kid younger than him, or anyone who was too afraid to stand up for themselves, became Fred and George’s little siblings, and they’re very protective older brothers. Umbridge can vouch for that. 

He struggles with a lot of insecurity in his relationships, he always puts on a front of being extra funny and outgoing when he’s in a new relationship because he’s secretly afraid that the way he is isn’t good enough and that eventually, his s/o will see through him and leave because they don’t like the softer, more serious side of him. 

Fred is the godfather of all of George’s kids but is also the godparent of Hugo, Lily and Lucy. 

Fred loves business meetings, he sees them as a good challenge to practice his smooth talk. 

Fred spent his first salary from the shop on the most expensive bottle of champagne he could find and a new suit. 

Fred tried to get into whiskey, feeling like it’d make him a cool business owner type of man, so, with his second salary, he went out and bought a fancy-schmancy bottle of whiskey and the whole getup with a bottle and some cool glasses, and then invited Lee over to try it with him and George. 

They did not like it. Fred thought it tasted like what he imagined gasoline tastes like so they mostly used it as decorations, not having the heart to mix it with something. 

Fred doesn’t necessarily like PDA, it depends on what you mean. He likes being secretive. Pulling his s/o into an empty classroom, nook, hallway, secret pathway etc where anyone could wander in at any time and snogging her senseless is one of his favourite things to do. 

Fred knows how good he looks in his quidditch uniform and will absolutely use it against his s/o. (they’re gonna get spicy from here on so read with caution if you're in public)

Fred prefers giving more than receiving oral. 

He has a lot of energy, did you not think that would rub off (no pun intended) on his sex drive? He can go pretty much any time and place, and typically last at least two rounds. 

Also, his favourite position is having you on top. Okay, I'm gonna stop now. 

[knives-out20]

The Impact Of The Intergalactic - David Bowie Opinion Essay - by Beck S.

This is an essay I wrote about the span of David Bowie's career. I wrote it for a summer school course I took last year (August 2021) for a course called History of Rock & Roll.

My teacher gave nice feedback after he marked it, talking about how it was an "Excellent paper. It charts Bowie's progress throughout his career well, and includes significant detail. I could really feel the passion you have about him throughout. In fact, there is *too much* detail! The paper was supposed to be 3 pages max, double-spaced. Still, this is a good problem to have; better too much than too little."

So...enjoy!!

From his early works like Hunky Dory, to Black Tie White Noise in the 1990’s and stretching over to Blackstar as his final album, David Bowie has rarely had a bad album or song- in my opinion. His career has had ups and downs, his musical creations ranging in the way he would pitch his voice and what instruments he would use, the people he would produce with, and the wild things he would say. Charting David Bowie’s development over time is in fact an interesting journey.

Early on in his dreamy career, Bowie would have done nearly anything- or in fact, anyone- to grow in the music world. Hopping from band to band (like The Velvet Underground), producer to producer, doing whatever he could do to get ‘in’ in the industry. His early albums weren’t taken very highly in their times- especially with the ‘man-dress’ he wore on the British release of his The Man Who Sold The World album. Although, this dress was only the start of the androgynous appearance he would soon be known for, over the course of his 5-decade-spanning career.

The 1970’s were strange, to say the least. He married Angela Bowie at the start of the decade, then welcomed their son Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones a year later. Bowie went on to be hopped up on cocaine. David donned the look of one of his famous personas, The Thin White Duke. The same persona with slicked-back ginger hair, a white button-up under a black waistcoat and paired with black dress pants. The same Duke who called Adolf Hitler one of the first ‘rock stars’ and gave off a lot of faschist energy. He said many statements he’d later apologize for and grow as a better man from, which is good- it’s better than standing by then, or even backing himself up and supporting them. David Bowie called that period the darkest days of his life, and blamed the crazy statements on his horrid addiction and deteriorating mental state. The late 1970’s were more favorable, seeing as it gave the world what was dubbed the Berlin Trilogy alongside Brian Eno and David’s personal friend, Iggy Pop. Made up of three of his albums: Low and Heroes (both in 1977) and Lodger (1978). He moved from Los Angeles to Switzerland, then to Berlin as a further decision to escape his addiction (the reason he moved away from LA in the first place). It was in Berlin, of course, where he wrote his famous song Heroes, about two lovers, one from East Berlin and one from West.

Speaking of Berlin, David Bowie performed near the west of the Berlin Wall in 1987; he played so loud that crowds gathered on the east to listen. At this time, Bowie had no idea he would be the beginning of the city’s soon-coming unifying. After his death in 2016, the German government thanked him for bringing the wall down and unifying a divided Germany.

Music isn’t all he is known for, though it is a majority. He also starred in movies from time to time. Being the titular man in The Man Who Fell To Earth in 1976, Jareth the moody goblin king in Jim Henson’s 1986 Labyrinth film (what is most likely his most famous role), Monte the barman in the 1991 movie The Linguini Incident, cameoing as himself in Zoolander (2001), Nikola Tesla in the 2006 movie The Prestige, and even Lord Royal Highness in Spongebob Squarepants’ Atlantis Squarepantis in 2007, among a few others. David Bowie dabbled in the art of acting, and was not that bad at it. He was good enough to gain a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, too. Sometimes it bends my mind that my first introduction to my all-time favourite musician was in a Spongebob Squarepants movie, back before I knew who he was, but David Bowie was never one to shy away from foreshadowing. At least one song from many of his albums would hint at the direction he’d go in for his next release. For example, his track Queen Bitch on Hunky Dory foreshadowed his soon-coming Ziggy Stardust. And the Diamond Dogs track 1984 actually hinted at the Philadelphian soul of Young Americans, which is a more famous song of his, which he went on to perform on The Cher Show with its host.

The 1990’s were certainly an experimental time for David Bowie. But to my knowledge, I think the 1990’s was a time for everyone. He married supermodel Iman some days after performing at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and released the album I named earlier, Black Tie White Noise. It is known to have had a prominent use of electronic instruments, as was his other 1990’s album, Earthling. The early 1990’s greeted David’s first real band since the Spiders From Mars, dubbed Tin Machine. They recorded three guitar-driven albums which received mixed reviews from the masses, but Bowie looks back at this period- as do I- with a certain fondness; “a glorious disaster” he called it, when talking to journalist Mick Brown. Tin Machine is a period I don’t listen to often, compared to his solo stuff, but I don’t press the skip button when it comes on.

Alas, the starman’s career drew to a close as the 2000s rolled in. David Bowie greeted the 2000’s with the birth of his and Iman’s daughter, the beautiful Alexandria Zahra Jones. After suffering a- strange, as it were- heart attack symptoms mid-song during a concert in 2004, he took a hiatus from his career. I say strange because given what I know, he was trying his best to stay healthy at the time. According to my special Rolling Stone edition magazine about David Bowie (released at the start of this year), he was on tour and performing in a really hot arena. But Bowie was sober, and had quit smoking. He was taking medication to lower his cholesterol, and worked out with a trainer. Bowie looked great, and yet he felt a pain in his shoulder and chest, along with a shortness for breath. A bodyguard rushed onstage to usher Bowie off of it, cutting the concert short. He only performed live once or twice after that point, but was set on never going live ever again. And he kept his word on that, unfortunately but also fortunately. Unfortunately, because David Bowie live would have been quite the experience- I wouldn’t know, personally. But fortunately, because I do not believe anyone needs a repeat of the 2004 Reality scare.

I am actually not too fond of speaking of his final years. Nobody really likes to speak of the last years of their idols’ life before their death, so it’s no surprise. Blackstar was David Bowie’s 25th and final album, recorded entirely in secret in New York alongside his long-time producer, Tony Visconti. The album's central theme lyrically is mortality, and seeing as Bowie was undergoing chemotherapy for his cancer at the time, I see it as his way of coping with his incoming death. His producer Tony Visconti called him a ‘canny bastard’, when he realized Bowie was essentially writing a farewell album. Every song on the album is what is considered a swan song, a swan song in question being a phrase for a final gesture of some sort before retirement or death. In this case, death. Over the course of recording the album, David Bowie’s chemotherapy had actually been working and he had an eerie optimism while recording. But by the time they shot the two music videos Blackstar and Lazarus, where he showed off the definite passage of time and cruelty of chemotherapy through sparse and gray hair with sagging skin, he knew his condition was terminal and that this would be a battle he would lose. Blackstar wasn’t the first album to have been made by a musician succumbing to a fatal illness, but in my opinion it is in fact the most beautiful. It’s jazzy, and elegant, showing how at peace he had become with dying.

Blackstar the album was released on January 8th, 2016. Also known as David Bowie’s 69th birthday. Two days later, David Bowie died at his Lafayette Street home on January 10th after living with liver cancer for up to 18 months. Beforehand, he had let it be known he did not want a funeral nor a burial, but rather that his body be cremated and the ashes to be scattered in Bali by his loved ones. His wish was received, and planet Earth was very much bluer and quieter without his colour and wonderful noise.

As I said earlier on, David Bowie’s career came with ups and downs. His mysteriously close relationship with Mick Jagger, his cross with famous underage groupie Lori Maddox, the births of his two talented children, his faschist bender in the 70’s, and final bang of Blackstar in his final year on earth. Through the highs and lows, his career and his music meant a lot to the quote-unquote misfits and freaks of the world, myself included. David Bowie turned and faced the strange, shouted “you’re not alone!” To those who felt the loneliest, he surely spent his career helping those who needed to be themselves, feel more freer and braver in doing so, no matter what they may be when they are themselves. He never went boring, he never went stale, he sang what he wanted and dressed how he pleased, and kept to his word on how much more to life there is when you’re just that; yourself. A year after David Bowie’s untimely passing, his son Duncan Jones accepted an award for British album of the year that was won by Blackstar at the 37th annual Brit Awards. When he accepted it, he made a speech about his father that I will leave here, and never forget. Seeing as it perfectly encapsulates David Bowie’ legacy, and the true meaning of his extraordinary career.

“I lost my dad last year, but I also became a dad. And, uhm, I was spending a lot of time- after getting over the shock- of trying to work out what would I want my son to know about his granddad? And I think it would be the same thing that most of my dad's fans have taken over the last 50 years. That he’s always been there supporting people who think they’re a little bit weird or a little bit strange, a little bit different, and he’s always been there for them. So...this award is for all the kooks, and all the people who make the kooks. Thanks, Brits, and thanks to his fans.” - Duncan Z. H. Jones (February 22 2017, at The O2 Arena in London.)

[alice-in-wonderart]

I have found your blog and I love it!! Good look with it! Can you do headcanons for pregnancy and post-delivery for the juniors? (I see you write about them, and I don't know which other characters you are comfortable to write for). Thnkx~

I write for right about all characters! The Nies, the Jiangs, the Wens, the Lans, even all of the Jins (except Jin Zixun he can go be mean somewhere else) + Yi City power characters are all characters I write for ✌️ (I may have missed a few names) That aside, thank you so much for reading my stuff! I'm glad you enjoy them ❤️❤️ Aside from having 0 time management skills, running such a blog is so much fun! Here is your request about the Juniors being...well- themselves.

Ouyang Zizhen

You're what now?

OYZZ.exe stopped working.

Then he realised three fundamental truths at the exact same time. (if u get the reference, bless ✌️ )

Once the realization of the situation hit, his eyes watered and a loud, yet emotional whail escaped his lips, before engulfing you in a big hug. He was going to be a dad! You two were going to have a baby. And then realization hit him again.

Shit. He was going to be a father. A father to a baby - his baby. That was a lot of responsibility he was about to take. A lot of work, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of time and energy. Babies are hard.

And then realization hit him a third time. He was going to have an actual family with you. And you were the mother to his child. YOUR child. He almost couldn't believe it.

Cue OYZZ becoming 70 times more affectionate and careful. You want to go outside? By all means, but let your gentle lover accompany you. Just in case, y'know. You want something sweet? By all means, what kind of sweets does the queen desire? You need new clothes because of the baby bump? By all means, what kind of silk do you want? Colour? Pattern? Style? You want to sleep? 3, 5 or 50 pillows?

OYZZ is a walking panic bomb when it comes to your pregnancy. Conveniently, he also knows how to mostly hide said panic. But you being in pain, having morning sickness and and in general feeling off is not something he signed up for. So, he will dote over you as much as humanly possible.

But then judgement day arrived. And he was out of it. He somehow never considered the fact, that you were going to one day have to give birth to that baby.

You have never seen a more distressed looking man than OYZZ when he finally got the permission to see you. His eyes were puffy, his lips were quivering and he was so pale, he could easily pass for a corpse. It seemed as if he was the one giving birth, not you.

And he immediately dropped to his knees next to your bed, gently taking your hand in his. You were alive. You were alive and argueably healthy and that was what he needed to hear.

But then! In comes the medic, holding your child in pure white blankets, gently letting you take it. And the moment his eyes landed on that baby he knew, that his heart was stolen once more.

"Congratualtions! It's a girl."

Guess who is about to become "Daddy's little princess".

Jin Ling

"Hahahahahhahha. Funny. Oh wait, you're serious?!"

PaniK

What do you mean you're pregnant? When did that happen? When did you learn? How were you sure? Wait, you were how many months in?!

Give him time. It's not, that he isn't happy. He's just panicking like crazy. Of course, once the initial mental breakdown™️ wears off, he'd come up to you and give you the most emotional hug you've ever experienced. He'd hide his face in your hair, as he mumbled into you how incredibly grateful he actually is.

Now, as the Lanling Jin Sect's leader, of course it was expected of him to have an heir, so such news travelled quickly. Immediately this became the gossip of every household and ultimately led to you receiving a metric ton of gifts from all over the place. Jin Ling would also make sure you were living the most lavish, yet healthy lifestyle possible.

The truth is, he was utterly terrified. After all, he grew up without parents, lived only with his uncle and as a result was quite hot-tempered. More than anything, he wanted to be the best dad possible. He wanted his children to grow up in a loving family, with their parents next to them, with a mother to care for them and a father to teach them. And he was afraid whether he was capable of even being a good father. But of course, you knew he was going to be the best father in the world.

Now, speaking of hot-tempered, Jin Ling honestly would throw more hissy fits than you. In fact, he'd get more mood swings than you too. In fact, even when pregnant, you're the calm one. Because if you think he's snappy and over-protective of you usually, wait 'till you see him once he learns you're pregnant. Hoo boy.

He was at work, dealing with the pressures of leading a sect when one of Lanling's servants hurriedly burst into the room, giving him the news that made his tough guy act crumble in seconds - his wife was giving birth.

At the time, he was surrounded by now Sect Leader Lan Sizhui, (idk it's a hc), Nie Huaisang and of course - his uncle, who all ushered him to go see you. Thus, he stormed out, running towards the nursery like his life depended on it.

"What do you mean I can't enter yet, my WIFE is in there." You haven't seen scary until you've seen Jin Ling, amidst an utter mental breakdown, being held down by a few nurses, trying desperately to stop him from going in.

Once they DID let him in, he'd be by your side in 0.001 seconds, only to see you holding not one, but two babies.

"A-Ling, look. They're twins. Say hello to papa, little ones." For once, Jin Ling didn't mind the tears that began falling from his eyes, as he gently held one of his two sons in his embrace. Perhaps, being a father wouldn't be that bad after all. Not with you by his side.

Lan Jingyi

*dramatic gasp*

For once the loud, wild Jingyi was left speechless, unmoving, utterly starstruck by the news. He'd never admit it, but for a while he'd been dreaming of having a family with you. So, when you told him the news, his heart skipped a beat. His dream was coming true.

And then, with the biggest smile on his face, he'd lift you up, carrying you to your now shared room, stating how you shouldn't strain yourself and how he'd take care of everything you need.

"Er-gege, I'm only 3 months in, it's barely noticeable yet, I can take care of myself."

Denial.

Lan Jingyi will be there for you at the cost of right about everything, even if it meant breaking Lan's rules, much to yours and everybody's dismay. Macho man™️ will protect his darling flower. What he wasn't ready for was how complicated pregnancy actually is.

Whenever you're more moody, he'd be quick to anger as well, so small and pointless arguments wouldn't be uncommon. But for every little argument, there is also a sleepless night where he'd cuddle you, whenever your stomach would hurt, or you'd feel uncomfortable.

Now Lan Jingyi is a cool dad. He is a cool dad before he is officially a dad. Whenever you two are alone, lying in bed, he'd lean in to rest a hand on your stomach. And he'd always give a happy yelp whenever he felt his little one move. And gosh, how much he'd talk to the baby. He'd tell your stomach stories of his great adventures, he'd joke around and believe me, he's planned every family outing for next 10 years.

Absolutely everybody thought it was going to be a boy. Ouyang Zizhen and Jin Ling even bet on it, OYZZ being ABSOLUTELY sure it would be a boy.

Giving birth was a whole new adventure. He'd wake up much too early for his liking with you frantically shaking him awake.

"The baby is coming." "Who's coming?" "The baby." "THE BABY?!"

Cue, Lan Jingyi losing his damn mind. He'd be up and running in a blink of an eye, casually scaring the medics and waking up the entire Cloud Recess in his hurry. Don't run in Cloud Recess? He's not running. He's SPRINTING. Do not shout in Cloud Recess? He's not shouting, he's SCREECHING. Do not speak out of turn? FOR GOD'S SAKE MY BABY IS COMING. And he'd be like that the entire time, until he's allowed to see you. He'll write the rules a thousand times if he has to later. He won't, Lan aren't heartless.

Seeing his healthy little baby, he was right about ready to pass out. He almost didn't hear you joking how your little girl was a loud crier and was about to be just as wild as her dad.

" Wait. It's a girl? We have a little girl!" Cue Ouyang Zizhen screaming in misery, as Jin Ling victoriously smirks his way.

Lan Jingyi on the other hand couldn't have been happier.

Lan Sizhui

QWQ

"This is the best day of my life, I can't believe we're going to have our own family!"

With a bright smile, he'd pull you in for a sweet kiss, shaking with excitement. Honestly, he'd have the best reaction out of all the Juniors. He's a family guy, who gets to witness true love everyday around his fathers, so having a child of his own with you was one of his long-term goals. He was old enough and wise enough to be absolutely ready to embark on an adventure through fatherhood.

Lan Sizhui would be so loving and gentle with you. You'd have him wrapped around your finger, he'd respond to your every beg and call. He'd minimize any work-related travelling to make sure he could be as close to you as possible.

When he wasn't there, he'd assign his cultivation partner and trusty bestie Lan Jingyi to take care of you and look after you. Did you necessarily need it? No. But you understood his worry, so you let him be.

He'd be there for you when you were feeling down, through your mood swings, morning sickness. He never complained, never fought with you, never gave you anything short of his unconditional love.

In fact, he was so SO compassionate, that he'd get pregnancy cravings WITH you. Nothing like the two of you, sitting awake at 2 am, (uncommon for him) eating chocolate-covered cucumbers and apricots.

Similarly to Lan Jingyi, everybody were already 100% sure the two of you would have a little girl. With Sizhui's sweet soft-spoken behavior and big warm heart, having a little gentle flower to spoil rotten seemed like the obvious outcome.

Lan Sizhui, on the other hand, refused to give into all of those "what ifs". Only time could tell. Besides, he'd be just as happy and proud no matter what gender the baby would be.

With his careful planning and skillful avoidance of any travelling, thankfully he was there when the due date was up. On the outside, he remained as calm as physically possible, but oh, on the inside it was a storm. Few could see through his façade, but by the trembling of his fingers, discreet chewing on the inside of his lip and eyes darting all around him, his true feelings came to light.

And when he finally got to see you, you've never seen him more unlike himself. With a worried expression and hasty movements he'd make his way to you, trembling hand reaching out to cup your face. He'd leave a gentle kiss on your forehead, before turning to the newborn in your hands.

"Sizhui. Say hi to your son."

A single tear rolled down his face, carrying the weight of all of his love in it. One look at his child and his heart was pierced by a million arrows. At that very moment he vowed, that he'd protect this child with all he's got, teach him all he knows and love him with all of his heart.

Thank you for reading~

[thecrownnet]

Queen enters 'twilight' of reign after farewell to Philip

Now that the Royal Family has said farewell to Prince Philip, attention will turn to Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday on Wednesday and, in coming months, the celebrations marking her 70 years on the throne

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press April 20, 2021

Photo: The Associated Press FILE - In this Monday, March 12, 2018 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leaves after attending the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in London. Now that the Royal Family has said farewell to Prince Philip, attention will turn to Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 and, in coming months, the celebrations marking her 70 years on the throne. This combination of events is reminding the United Kingdom that the reign of the queen, the only monarch most of her subjects have ever known, is finite. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

LONDON -- Now that the Royal Family has said farewell to Prince Philip, attention will turn to Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday on Wednesday and, in coming months, the celebrations marking her 70 years on the throne.

This combination of events is reminding the United Kingdom that the reign of the queen, the only monarch most of her subjects have ever known, is finite. That has triggered speculation about how long she will remain on the throne, what the monarchy will look like in the future and, for some, even whether it should continue to exist.

“The queen is certainly moving now into the twilight of her reign and a new phase of her reign,’’ said Anna Whitelock, director of the Centre for the Study of Modern Monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London. “She now is a widow, and it remains to be seen how she’s going to respond to that.’’

While most observers say the queen is unlikely to abdicate given her lifelong commitment to public service, she has already started to turn over more responsibilities to Prince Charles, 72, her eldest son. That process is likely to accelerate following Philip’s death.

Charles’ increased role began gradually, when the queen began cutting back on long-haul flights, resulting in Charles taking her place at a 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka.

Then in 2017, he represented the queen at the annual Remembrance Day ceremony marking the end of World War I, laying the monarch’s wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph in London. It was the first time the queen hadn’t performed the solemn ritual, other than when she was pregnant or out of the country.

Since then, Charles has taken on an increasing number of public engagements and been named the queen’s designated successor as head of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 54 nations with links to the British Empire.

“Symbolically, the transition towards the succession is already underway,” said Ed Owens, a historian and author of “The Family Firm, Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-53.”

“I anticipate that we’re going to see a lot more of Prince Charles in the next couple of years so that we, as a people, start to see him in his future role as king.”

For now, the longest serving monarch in British history continues to reign. But she will do so without Philip, the man the queen called her “strength and stay,” a source of emotional support in her often lonely job.

Her loss was underscored by Saturday’s funeral at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where the figure of a widow in black sitting alone offered a glimpse of the next solitary phase of the queen’s reign.

“Constitutionally, Prince Philip’s death doesn’t change anything. But, of course, at a time when the queen is approaching her 95th birthday, she’s vulnerable and aging,’’ Whitelock said. “Clearly, Prince Philip’s death has begun this transition to the future and the beginning of the end of this phase of monarchy.”

Questions about the end of the queen’s reign will also fuel the debate over the long-term future of the monarchy, seen by many as a symbol of national unity but by others as an obsolete vestige of the nation’s feudal history.

The BBC received more than 100,000 complaints about its decision to pre-empt popular TV programs for round-the-clock coverage of Prince Philip’s death, the most it has ever received about a single programming decision.

And while there is enormous respect for the queen, the same isn’t necessarily true for Charles and other members of the royal family, said Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, which campaigns to replace the monarchy with an elected head of state.

Philip’s death “serves as a reminder to an awful lot of people, who on the whole don’t think much about the monarchy from one day to the next, that change is coming,” Smith told the Express newspaper.

The queen’s reign began with the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952. She was formally crowned on June 2, 1953.

During that ceremony, televised around the world, the queen promised to govern the United Kingdom and her other realms. Six years earlier, in a speech in South Africa, then-Princess Elizabeth made clear that her commitment was for life.

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she said.

That is a pledge the queen intends to keep, said Robert Hardman, author of “Queen of the World,” which chronicles the monarch’s influence and stature around the globe.

Even as she mourned last week, the queen attended a ceremony marking the retirement of her Lord Chamberlain, who organizes all ceremonial events for the palace, and continued to hold conversations with Commonwealth leaders.

That shows she has no intention of emulating Queen Victoria, who retreated from public life when her husband, Prince Albert, died unexpectedly at the age of 42, Hardman told the BBC.

“The signal she’s been putting out during the last week is that this is going to be business as usual, that duty comes before self,” Hardman said. “She will continue with all her duties because … she took a coronation oath and she’s sticking to it.”

But she won’t be alone.

While her popular grandson, Prince Harry, has stepped away from royal duties, the rest of the royals, backed by professional staff and advisers, are likely to rally round the queen and take on more tasks. Sustaining the institution will be the bedrock popularity of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who have a reliable ability to connect with the public.

The queen may also be helped by technology.

During the pandemic, Elizabeth has connected with the public through a series of Zoom calls. The appearances, released by the palace and posted on social media, have allowed people to see the queen speaking to schoolchildren, volunteers and health service officials — smiling, joking and making canny observations in a more personal way than the scripted speeches that have dominated her public life.

Last month, for example, she held a Zoom call with a group of children and scientists where she was asked about her meeting with the first man in space, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The monarch, who invited Gagarin to Buckingham Palace shortly after his historic flight in 1961, was asked what the pioneering spaceman was like.

“Russian,” she replied with a smile. The audience chuckled.

Just another day of working from home.

“There’ll be a lot of emphasis as soon as the funeral is done on a return to normalcy. (For) the Royal Family, it will be the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On' sort of model, which they’ve been so good at promoting over the last 70, 80 years,'' Owens said, referring to the World War II-era adage.

“They’ll want a quick return to the normal program of royal service.”

[lils-of-the-valley]

I posted 6,856 times in 2021

70 posts created (1%)

6786 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 96.9 posts.

I added 2,434 tags in 2021

#ml - 758 posts

#sk8 - 300 posts

#renga - 225 posts

#pokemon - 222 posts

#ace attorney - 193 posts

#loz - 168 posts

#writing - 156 posts

#laugh rule - 150 posts

#<3 - 137 posts

#lovestruck - 125 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#ou sinon je veux travailler pour arrêter de stresser mais là le stress fait que je veux pas travailler so genre... cercle vicieux de stress

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

You know what time it it! ML reaction! Because these are fun to do

I'm very excited to see something revolving around Shanghai and China. I always loved ML because it was the first time I got to see my own heritage in a show (French and Chinese) so now I'm excited for the China part!

Already digging the prologue part of this

I thought it was Mari speaking at first, but nope

I'm both happy and disappointed in the hair stripe on the girl (Fei??)

Oh no! I just got Wu Shifu and he's already dead???

Poor baby, she's already got it so rough.....

Guardian Bug!

Summer vacation for the kids!!

Hawkmoth not being active is hella sus.... And Mari knows it too

"I'm going to be late, something came up" "why am I not even surprised?" Is so fucking funny to me???

Also the animation is beautiful here, just wanted to point it out

Adrien was shipped off to Shanghai?? Oh no, Mari, no, don't look at your package like that....

As we know, Gorilla does not like flying, but he seems so much calmer than in the NY special

"besides, I'm happy to spend time with you, father" BABY PLEASE! NO! YOUR FRIENDS ARE BETTER THAN THAT ASSHOLE

BITCH GAB JUST DITCHED HIS KID WHEN HE JUST SAID HE WANTS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU

Nooroo, I don't think you understand. This man is psycho

Started 15 years ago??? What the fuck Gab???

Mari, I don't think you can--- you know what, go off. I respect your efforts

Tom wtf

Aw, Sabine and Tom are so happy and excited. That's so cute

Uncle is so happy but also so sad omg... He's so sweet

Gab is an asshole, again.

Wait, did he just tell his 15 y/o kid to go explore Shanghai alone? (I know Gorilla will be there, but still)

So I'm guessing the Cheng's speak Mandarin because I don't recognize the words

I really like that they included the fact that Sabine changed names when she immigrated.

Mari really said I will explore this unknown city all alone and find Adrien

Props to the person who did the subs. "[he may know how to speak Chinese - but I don't]" has got to be the funniest thing I've ever seen

CN merch and NY hero merch! I forgot Gorilla collects those

Soft Adrien! He loves Gorilla so so much!

Every time I see Gabriel Agreste, I want to punch him in the face

Master of disguises guardian girl!

Of course Gab cancelled on his kid

Oh Mari, you managed to spit him

Oh shit, Mari just got pick pocketed (which sadly is not uncommon in China...)

Aww, Adrien making dumplings! This kid needs a loving family

Mari, that's a shitty drawing of earnings.

Adrien is such a sweetie who wants to surprise Mari

200 yuan, that's like... 30$ no?

This is manipulation at its finest

Plagg's got a point, how is Chat gonna explain that he's in Shanghai?

Mari is really not great at disguises

I still can't believe they let 2 kids run along through Shanghai all alone

I really wish I knew Mandarin...

On one hand, I get Mari. On the other, this girl is a pro pickpocket

Chaton loves Mari si much 🥺🥺🥺

Ok, so is Wu Shifu not dead?

Honestly fuck Gabriel Agreste.

Does no one hear Hawkmoth's monologue?

SOFT LB! YOU CAN'T TELL ME SHE DOESN'T LOVE HER KITTY

Jfc Hawkmoth, stop yeeting children

I really dint like this Akuma. His face creeps me out

Other miracle box?

She a teddy bear who named herself LadyBear

Longg? There's two of them?

Oh shit, she almost punched him in the balls

KITTY!!!!

Lol Hawkmoth's dead

KITTY NO!!!!

Like I feel bad for Fei, but Kitty hurts

Also she doesn't live by the hide your identity philosophy it seems

I kinda wanna look up the meaning of the names now...

Here's my kitty????

Fuck Hawkmoth is back

MEISHI IS SO CUTE HOLY SHIT BABY LION

Curious: how old is Sabine? If Uncle is 60?

Also, Uncle is an Adrinette shipper

So he raised Sabine? That's actually so cute

Wait, what the fuck did Mari say? I'm sorry, I never learned Chinese!

My final rating: again, I really liked it. I think I preferred the NY one, but might just because it was gayer and got really excited over that? And I'm more accustomed with American culture, but I really liked the Shanghai special. It brought up a lot of memories of when I went to China which was fun. Also I loved the animation. Just wished Gabriel stayed dead....

31 notes • Posted 2021-04-05 19:20:31 GMT

#4

Sorry y'all, I know I'm late, but I didn't have time yesterday. So HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS REGARDING GUILT TRIP LETS GO!

Why am I not surprised that Rose had an imaginary friend that was a unicorn in 6th grade?

And she's so small, I want to hug her

She's so positive, I need that in my life

Juleka is so worried about her girlfriend :(((

Oop-- Mari, maybe that wasn't a good idea

Juleka, no, baby.....

I know I say this every time, but fuck Hawkmoth

The heart vision, I feel like it's been so long

I love how Mari can just turn off her nervousness because her friend's wellbeing is more important than her crush

What the fuck is that sketch place they're going in

The fuck is that portal thing???

Adrien is so kind and sweet, I love him

Oh, it's a boiler room

I know they're all worried about this chronic illness and that they are teenagers, but breath kids, deep breaths, you're all going to panic and I don't know who it will hurt more: yourself or already devastated Jules

Kim is such a dork, I love him

I love all the kids, that's no secret and I will never hide it

The class is so tight-knit, that's so sweet. They all care so much about each other, I wish we were like that growing up

HA HA GET FUCKED HAWKMOTH

Juleka is freaking out and I get it because they said they wouldn't treat Rose any different, but baby, I need you to breathe. I'm sure Rose loves to hear this, it's honestly really nice to be told that people care about you

See, she's so happy

Ok guys, maybe y'all are laying it a little thick here

MARC!!!!! BABY I MISSED YOUUUU

An apple a day keeps the doctor away?

Ok, Rose's like squinty "You're hiding something from me" is really cute

Aww, we stan an honest girlfriend

We really didn't have enough Rose content until now. I love her so much??? I love how positive she is about what she's going through and how she's not having any of the class's overprotective shit, all while not telling them off

The group hug!!!!

The fucking panic at a sneeze.....

I feel so bad for Juleka. It's not your fault, baby

"betraying a best friend" I think you mean girlfriend, sir (I know, I know, they won't make it canon...)

Can they not become new akumas? Because honestly, I do not like Reflecta

Miss Meldieve (idk how to spell her name) being sucked into the blackhole should not make me laugh so hard

There's something unsettling about the goob balls being spit out and I really don't like it. Makes me a little uncomfy

Yeah, the goobs makes me very uncomfortable. Should I talk to my therapist about this?

What Chaton gonna self destruct???

Rose to the rescue!!!

She doesn't have the magic of a magical girl wand, she has the power of positivity!

THE LADYNOIR FLIRTING!!!

Did LB's suit power up?? I really like this new suit. Highkey wanna make a new LB cosplay with that design now

THE POWER OF JOYYYY

Daizzi is so cute, omg

ROSE HAS THE CUTEST MIRACULOUS HOLDER OUTFIT!!!!! I WANT IT!!!

That was so simple, we need more than those

Well shit, there's angry amoks

Ok, this episode had a simple solution to things. That's a nice change.

Wait, LB has that power now to give protective charms?? That's amazing

Aw, the class is back to normal

Ok, so final thoughts. I actually really enjoyed the simplicity of the episode, no big physical fights. I like the mental/emotional battle of the episode! And positivity always wins! So, remember y'all! You're awesome and I love you!! You might be feeling down, but don't give up! Positivity isn't always easy, but you can manage it, even if it's a little thing! I believe in you and so does Rose! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

43 notes • Posted 2021-05-06 03:32:52 GMT

#3

Gang of secrets reaction time! I've been avoiding tumblr all day for this, so let's goooo!!!!

Forgetting the pound it? That's sad.....

Lol, Chat bringing Ladybug to see a movie

Uuuhhh, hey Ladybug? Are you projecting by any chance? Are you thinking about your Luka/Adrien (and maybe Chat) situation?

Oh, baby, you're heart broken because if your Luka and Adrien thing.....

I still don't get it why Juleka mumbles

Oof, no one knew about the break up until Luka (who looks devastated) told his sister about it

Alya baby.... At least she's not mad about it. Alya is such a good best friend!

THEIR HANDSHAKE OMG

The girl squad is so cute omg, I love them so much

Trixx is trying so hard to cheer Mari up

Aww, the bracelet idea is so cute

Alix really does not want to put up with this love affair bullshit, but she's also so understanding

Mari, baby, no, you can't live your life as Ladybug

Oof, Mari, that's a little harsh. I know you're hurt and hiding a secret, but girl. But like... I can't think of what she could have said.... Because I know if Mari said she wanted to be alone, they wouldn't have left bc they'd be worried, but also....

I'm honestly saddest for Alya because Mari was her first friend and her best friend

I liked that multi Akuma shot

SEASON 1 AKUMAS

Oh look, Juleka can talk

I love learning about what happens when kwamis use their powers without holders

The fuck did Trixx do? Oh-- lol, the Eiffel Tower

Plagg "hey it wasn't me this time!" The kwami

Mari is so sad :((( she knows she's to blame, that she was the one who provoked this, but like, what could she do

Alya and LB heart to heart 💖💖💖

ALYA BABY YESS BREAK IT BREAK THE AKUMA HOLY FUCK YES

IM SO PROUD OF ALYA

I missed Rena so fucking much

Chat and Rena working together!!!

I love the team work

Bye bye little butterfly~~

Triple pound it

I still hate Hawkmoth

Aww, LB and Alya hug

Awww Mari saying she loves her friends and confiding in her friends about her heart break

Alya reminding Mari that she's her best friend

That hand grab!

Mari's mental break down is breaking me omg

Alya is so supportive, she's the best best friend

HOLY FUCK SHE DID IT

I DIDNT THINK SHE WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO SAY IT

I SAW THE SPOILERS BUT I DIDNT THINK IT WAS CANON

So final thoughts, HOLY FUCK. OMG. I don't even know where to start. The episode was great to build the girls' friendships, especially between Alya and Marinette (I've been missing them) but like, HOLY FUCK. I'm gonna need a few days to process this 1000000/10, best one so far

58 notes • Posted 2021-04-17 21:22:59 GMT

#2

All I know of Miraculous now days is that Luka should legally be allowed to say fuck

78 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 14:36:05 GMT

#1

It's been 24 hours and I'm still thinking about Gang of Secrets. I'm mostly thinking of what this will do to Alya and Marinette's friendship. And I know Mari was super worried that it would change everything, make things bad between them, but I think this will be great for their friendship.

We know that Alya has been super invested in LB since the beginning (see the LadyBlog being a thing) but now she'll have all this back scoop on the whole situation. And I'm not saying she's going to use it to her advantage, but in a way she can. Because now she can go to Mari/LB and ask her directly if publishing something is okay with her and if it's correct. I don't know what it's like running a blog on a celebrity, but I don't think Alya ever wanted to make LB uncomfortable, so now she can get Mari to proofread what she publishes to make sure it 1) doesn't compromise her secret (sometimes you can slip up without meaning to or even realizing you did), 2) doesn't make Mari uncomfortable.

And I want to talk about the LadyBlog a bit more.

Now that Alya knows, she will have to pretend that she doesn't know who LB is because she has to continue the LadyBlog (it would be sus if she shut it down just like that). Do y'all realize the shenanigans the girls can do with this now? Alya, knowing who LB is, putting out conspiracy theories like "What if Ladybug is actually [insert super famous celebrity]? What if the magic makes whoever is under the mask seem like a teenager just to cover up who they really are? Is it even possible for teenagers to be that strong and still manage class work? Thoughts?" and both girls crying at how dumb that sounds. They could fuck with Paris so easily and have so much fun with it (And y'all can't convince me that there isn't a dumb conspiracy theory page in the LadyBlog)

And the gossip column of the blog. We all know that Alya is a big LadyNoir shipper. Now that she knows that Mari is LB, she 100% will tease Mari about Chat, but she also will respect Mari's boundaries and not push that agenda onto her. If Mari says she doesn't like Chat, then that's that. But in the LadyBlog? Again, Mari will be there with her. Can y'all imagine the "Mari, look at how he's looking at you. And that boop you did! Can I please publish this?" "Only if you let me write the article that goes with it and I stay anonymous" and cue Mari writing this really shitty LadyNoir fanfic that half of Paris reads and love because "The characterization is amazing!" (Also, Adrien reads it every night because it feels so real)

The girls will have so much power after this, so much chaotic potential. I'm living for it

Also, more on the practical side, but Alya can totally help cover for Mari. In the past seasons, Mari has seemed like a shitty friend to her friends for being late and missing hangouts and all that, but now Alya will know why and can totally cover up for her. I know that everyone just goes "Well, it's Mari, of course she's late/not here" but after a while, it feels like shit, but with Alya being able to cover? It will make things a bit better. There's still going to be the whole "well, you know Mari, probably lost track of time," but she can also totally pull things like "Oh, shit, I'm so sorry! I forgot to tell you guys that Mari is going to be late! Her parents need her at the bakery for a little longer, so sorry I forgot to tell you guys!" so the burden is a little less on Mari. And that will lessen Mari's stress by a bit, at least. Having someone in her corner will help her so much

And this is just the girls in their day to day life. This isn't even taking in account what will happen with Alya helping out Mari as the guardian or as Ladybug. I just.... I love their friendship so much and I'm so happy Mari told Alya. I'm just... so happy.

176 notes • Posted 2021-04-18 19:57:31 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[myraelvira]

Where Is Robert Sands?

Robert Lewis (or Louis) Sands was born sometime around 1926. He is described as having been around 5’8” to 5’10” and anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds. He had brown hair, though his eye color and other details are not listed on his profile on namus. His case is the oldest one listed in the state of Tennessee on the website.

Robert went missing around August 24th, 1960 from Friendship, Tennessee. At the time, he was 34 years old. On namus,  the date of last known contact is stated as also being unknown, so it seems that the August 24th date is more approximate than accurate. It also states that his mother lost contact with him in the early 60’s. There are not any comparisons to his case on namus.

The circumstances of his disappearance are unknown. A google search for any information on him is even harder. The only real post I came across on the internet about him, was a facebook post by  the ‘Tennessee Missing and Unsolved’, which went a bit more into his background.

It states:

“Robert Sands is the oldest missing person's case listed on Namus for the state of Tennessee.

Some of you may recall that we shared his story on here in October, 2017. That post stayed pretty quiet until August 2018, when we were contacted by a lady saying that she was looking for her Grandfather by the same name and similar timeline.

After comparing pictures and birth certificates of both Daughters, it was determined that these two women were without a doubt looking for the same man. Neither of them knew a whole lot about Robert as he had left both of them while they were very young and neither were left with anyone to really tell them much about him.

It was decided that both of these sweet Ladies would do Ancestry DNA in hopes of finding more family members that could help provide answers as to what happened to their Father. The results shocked us all! We learned that their DNA did not match. They both went on to find that neither of them was biological daughters of Robert Sands.

Yes, Robert Sands was married to both of their Mothers and not only was he listed on both birth certificates, they both have pictures of Robert Sands.

Unfortunately, this also means that the DNA namus has on file for Mr. Robert Sands is not accurate. Yes, the case manager has now been notified.

Though his Daughters are not biological children of his, they both wish to learn about who he was and what happened to him. He was the only daddy either knew.

We have learned a few details about his life prior to his disappearance, I am hoping that something here will "ring a bell" with someone that may have known him.

Robert Sands had lived in Utah where he was married to Karen Sands, their daughter was born in 1956. Robert and Karen separated, that is when Robert left Utah for good. Their Daughter's birth certificate has his name spelled "Robert Louis Sands". According to the information he provided, he was born in Los Angeles, California. His age is listed as 29 years old, and his profession on there was listed as a cook. Karen Sands was later murdered in Salt Lake City, Utah while she was 8 months pregnant by her boyfriend. Nobody knows if Robert ever received the news of Karen's death as he never returned for his daughter.

In 1957 Robert Sands married Lavenia Sue Weeks, their daughter was born in 1958 at St. Mary's hospital for women, in Madison, Wisconsin. When they separated Lavenia later moved to TN with their daughter. The daughter does recall Robert coming to visit and her Mother acting as if she was fearful that Robert would take her away. The last visit the daughter remembers ended with her being sent to her room while Robert and Lavenia had what seemed to her as a serious conversation. The last visit would have occurred in the early 60's, the daughter never saw Robert again. Lavenia eventually made a post in the newspaper that ran around 6 weeks so that she could obtain a divorce from Robert Sands. This same Daughter continued to ask questions and look for her father for years. Her Maternal Grandmother told her that her daddy always loved her very much. Lavenia was not supportive of the Daughter's search for answers but she never told her that Robert was not her Father. Lavenia did once tell their daughter that Robert Sands was not his real name, she said that she could not recall his real name because it was very hard to pronounce, whether this is true or not is unknown.

The Daughter of Lavenia and Robert would go on searching for answers. She contacted the Crockett Co Sheriff's Office in TN, to have him officially reported missing. Robert was entered into Namus and a DNA sample from this daughter was collected. The Crockett County Sheriff's Office told her this year that Robert was never officially entered as missing. She also went to the Social Security Office in hopes of finding information, they wouldn't give her much to go on but they did say that his social had not been used for work since the 60's.

The known places of work for Robert Sands are as follows. "The Hoffman Brothers" which was either located in Madison Wisconsin or Rockford Illinois. "The Madison Club" located in Madison Wisconsin, which is where the picture in the chef hat with the cake was took. "The Holiday Inn" in Memphis, TN.

Over the years many thoughts have come to mind.

Could Robert Sands have had ties to the Mob? A daughter recalls a vague memory of being told that their phone was tapped among other things. The other daughter says her Grandmother referred to him as a horse thief.

Could Robert Sands have been in service? The daughter was told that he was going blind from a war injury. It is unknown if this was just an answer given by her Grandmother to help ease her after his disappearance.

Did he know neither Daughter was biologically his? They both have pictures of them holding them and appearing to be a happy Father but one does have to question the chances of the same man unknowingly marrying two pregnant women within such a short period of time.

The only thing certain at this point is that both Daughters still want answers about Robert's identity and disappearance.

Can you help solve this mystery? If you have any knowledge of Robert Sands, please reach out and let us know.

We can be contacted here Tennessee Missing and Unsolved. You may also reach us by email at TennesseeMissingandUnsolved@gmail.com. If you prefer to call or text we are available anytime at 615-556-0534. “

Beyond that, there is next to no information on Robert Sands.  I did my own investigating, and at first didn’t seem to come across anything. I looked on family search for any sort of census records, but I wasn’t sure if all of the people named ‘Robert Sands’ that popped up were him. So I went over to my favorite website, Find a Grave. There, I looked up people named Robert Sands, and came across over 300 results. Having read the facebook post, I thought about how his social security number hadn’t been used since the 60’s. So I checked for every Robert Sands that would have died in America, sometime in the 60’s, and really only had a few results. Even still, I was unsure.

The facebook post had three interesting points that I wanted to search upon. First, was the fact that he potentially had a war injury, as one of the girls’ grandmother stated that he was going blind. This may have actually been true, because if Robert had been 34 years old at the time of his disappearance, then he would have been born in 1926. If this was true, then that would mean he very likely fought in WWII. Having had grandparents born in that 20’s that fought in the war, it doesn’t seem unlikely at all.

The second point that I wanted to look into, was the fact that his name, or rather his real name, was described as having been hard to pronounce. One of the things that I thought of when first reading the case, was that perhaps he changed his name. Perhaps, “Robert Sands” was an Americanized version of some sort of European name. I once again speak from experience, having had ancestors that changed their Polish last name to something way more easy to pronounce. I figured perhaps he had a very Slavic or even Italian name.

Third, I wanted to look up any sort of information on his first wife that died. The post on facebook stated that Karen Sands died not long after her relationship with Robert. I was curious if there was any information or news articles on her supposed murder.

While doing my investigating, I wanted to leave no stone unturned, of course. I wanted to look up as many “Robert Sand”s from that time period as I could. Just to make sure that he did or did not keep that name for the rest of his life. I was assuming that any public information about him, would of course be from before the 60’s, probably from the 40’s at best since the US Census doesn’t release census records until over 70 years later (which is incredibly unhelpful for missing persons cases).

While looking on family search, I came across a “Robert Clyde Sands” that had allegedly died in 1964. He was buried in Lynnville, TN, at the Lynnville Cemetery. The little snippet stated that he was born on October 2nd, 1926 and had died on June 2nd, 1964. The small bio stated that there was information listed about this person on find a grave, though when I clicked the link, it stated that the profile had been deleted. I am unsure why, and not sure if maybe this was even a real person.

I then searched for any Robert that would have died between 1960-1969, seeing that his social security number hadn’t been used since the 60’s. There was a listing for a Robert Sands that passed away in a California death index, though it doesn’t state how he died. Just that it was on September 25th, 1965. It is unknown how old this Robert was either. There was a similar California listing with a Robert Sands that died on December 10th, 1964. There were multiple Robert Sands that died in the 60’s, though I didn’t always get a birth year. It is hard to delineate who was who because one person could have been 25, and another 55.

When I looked on find a grave, I came across two Robert Sands that died in the 60’s, who I thought were of interest. One was Robert Sands that passed away on September 25th, 1965. I assume this must be the same Robert that was listed in that California death index. Robert was born in 1919 though, so the age doesn’t really match up. He was a corporal in the military, during WWII, and had been married to a woman named Virginia Sands, who has also passed away. Even though close, because of the military affiliation, I didn’t think he was it.

The second Robert Sands on find a grave was one born on April 28th, 1924. He died at the age of 38 on November 25th, 1962. This Robert was buried in Athens County Memory Gardens in Ohio. He also served in the military during WWII, and was a Tec 4 (a now defunct rank) in the 216 Medical Battalion. Even though this Robert has his parents and a child linked to his find a grave profile, there is no spouse listed. I am unsure if this would be the right Robert.

I looked up Robert's first wife, Karen Sands on find a grave. She was one of the first results to pop up.   Karen had been born on December 20th, 1933 in Salt Late City, Utah. She died on March 11th, 1959 in Marray, Utah, from shock and internal hemorrhage during childbirth. Unlike the facebook post that stated she was murdered for some reason, Karen died in the hospital, and the child was stillborn. He was buried with Karen in the same coffin.

Interestingly, Karen’s bio on find a grave lists Robert Sands as having been her husband. And in quotations next to his name, it states (aka Louis Rogato).

Taking this lead, I typed in ‘Louis Rogato’ into find a grave. There was only 1 entry. The man named Louis J. Rogato was born on July 1st, 1926. He died on January 2nd, 2017 at the age of 90. He is buried at Delano Cemetery in Delano, Minnesota. There are no relatives listed in his profile. No description in his bio. The one and only picture of his grave states that he was in the Army during WWII.

I went back to family search, and tried to find anything with the Louis Rogato name. When I entered in the birth year of 1926, almost all of the results seemed to be of the same person. There was information about his military history, that stated he had been born in Alabama, completed 4 years of high school, was a private first class in the army, and served in the medical department. The ‘event place’ happened in Ft. Lewis, Washington, and he was enlisted for the ‘Hawaiian Department’. Interestingly, this record also states that he was married at the time. This marriage is what I assume to be to a person named ‘Billie Louise Keller’, where it is stated that they got married on December 2nd, 1944. At some point, the two divorced, as Billie’s family tree shows another husband, and Louis Rogato’s shows more wives in his records.

In the marriage license to Billie, it states that both the bride and groom were 20 years old, in 1944. So Louis’ birth date would really be 1924. The certificate also stated that his father was from Italy, which confirms the Italian last name, which may have been hard to pronounce for some people back then. If he wasn’t lying back then too.

Louis Rogato married multiple times, with a divorce record from November 2nd, 1970 stating that he had split up with his ex wife Arlene R Lindstrom. Arlene seemed to be quite younger than him, as she was born in 1940, and 30 at the time of the divorce, while Louis was 44 years old. Unfortunately, this record does not state when the marriage initially took place and how long it lasted.

There is another marriage record that states that Louis married a woman named Pearl Marie Brown in 1948, in Thurston, Washington. The marriage is dated as January 17th, 1948. It is unknown how long this marriage lasted, and when it ended in divorce.

One divorce in particular that I find perplexing, is one from January 12th, 1971. This records states that Louis had been married to a Rosemarie Sands, who had been born in 1933. Even though his age is estimated to have been 41 at the time, I think that this is a piece of information that we can’t ignore. If this woman was named “Rosemarie Sands”, perhaps this is the ‘Robert Sands’ that we’re looking for? Now, a similar record states that Rosemarie Sands died on March 1st, 2001. But when I searched for her on find a grave, I couldn’t find her. I’m unsure if she took another name later on in life.

According to records, on July 2nd, 1971, Louis got married to a Suzanne M Weiland. She was 24 years old at the time, having been born in 1947. This would have made him about 45. The two were married in Ramsey, Minnesota.

Beyond this, there is no other information that I can find about Robert Sands or Louis Rogato. Personally, I think that these two people were the same person, even more so that despite Rogato’s death in 2017, there is no obituary for him. At least, no one that I can find online. His multiple marriages as Louis Rogato alone reminds me a lot of Donald Lee Laisure. I’m not sure why some people turn into serial daters, but Rogato was one of them. What is most interesting and slightly disturbing to me, is how Rogato would constantly get married to girls a lot younger than him.

Karen and Rosemarie Sands were born in 1933. This would have made Robert/Rogato 7 years older than them. Arlene Lindstrom was born in 1940. Rogato would have been 14 years older than her. Suzanne was born in 1947. Rogato was 21 years older than her.

Despite all of the marriage information, and even proof of death through his find a grave, there is not one picture of Louis Rogato. There is no obituary. This prompts me to think that he was a person that did not want to be found. It might sound crazy that an elderly person at the ago of 90 was still potentially avoiding people. But you never know. There is so much that we don’t know, that we can only leave things up to speculation.

If Robert Sands was Louis Rogato, then why did he leave his children behind? What prompted him to get married to two women that didn’t even have his children? Though anecdotal, I think a part of it was because of our culture at the time. It was extremely bad for a woman to have a child out of wedlock. I don’t know anything about Karen Sands’ character, and I don’t want to detract from it. But maybe she got pregnant by another man and married Robert to essentially save face. According to her obituary, she was a mormon, which are well known for strict traditional practices. As to why both daughters had the surname by him, if I understand correctly, during the midcentury when a woman married another man, the children would take the last name of the step father. I am only speaking from what I have read, and an example of this would actually be Joe Walsh of the Eagles, whose mother did the same thing after his biological father passed away.

Some people might be wondering what Robert Sands was running from. What did he leave for? Well, if he was really Louis Rogato, perhaps he got bored. It seems that he constantly went from relationship to relationship, and couldn’t ever settle down. Perhaps he had a few children along the way, and might have went back to using his original name of Louis Rogato, so that he could avoid child support. I don’t know. This is all speculation.

I didn’t think that this missing persons case would turn into something like this. I really thought that it would just be something short and an unfortunate low information mystery. But the more I researched it, the more it reminded me of my own grandfather. Who was never in my life, and just about non existent in my dad’s. A person that is still alive to this day, even though elderly, but refuses to contact any of his family. But this is detracting from the main point at hand.

At the end of the day, we don’t know what happened to Robert Sands. And we’ll never know. We’ll never know the true story. Many of the people that would remember him are not here today. If Robert really was this Louis Rogato from Minnesota, he seemed to have done a very good job at making himself unknown. Even if they aren’t the same people, I can’t help but wonder why Louis Rogato lived his life that way. It’s even more curious to me that a person could live to 90, and not even have an obituary about it. No family, no friends to at least say something about it online.

Robert seemed to be like some sort of drifter. Nobody seems to know where they were going, and nobody knows where Robert went.

[POST SCRIPT]

I decided to look for the graves of Louis Rogato's father, who is named as "Russell Rogato" on the marriage license to Billie from 1944. It seems that Russell does have a profile on find a grave, though his spouse is not linked. I am unsure of where Louis' mother may be buried. If this is the right Rogato, perhaps the only way to check if he and Louis Rogato from Minnesota are related would be exhuming the bodies. Not that I advocate for this, since I know nothing about either of these people, and their potential living family members today. It is simply just an idea.

While editing my video, it also clicked that Robert Sands' middle name was Louis. Perhaps an homage to his legal name of Louis Rogato? It seems all too likely that these people have similar names.

[SOURCES]

https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/17201?nav

https://www.crimewatchers.net/threads/robert-lewis-sands-missing-from-friendship-tn-24-aug-1960-age-34.998/

https://www.facebook.com/TNMissingUnsolved/posts/1761834383923310

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/nevada/military/ww2/enlistment/armyenli110gmt.txt

[yoshidas-girl-forever]

Freddie Mercury 

The Great Showman

Our paper will be about the flamboyant frontman, songwriter, and singer for Queen, Freddie Mercury. He was born as Farrokh Bulsara on September 5th, 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar which is now in Tanzania. Freddie was born with four hyperdontia  incisors which Mercury attributed to his vocal range and why he never got them fixed later in life.

Mercury was born to Parsi parents, Jer and Bomi Bulsara who were originally from India but they immigrated to Zanzibar because of Bomi’s job with the British Colonial Service. Freddie has a younger sister named Kashmira Bulsara who was born around the time he started his boarding school. The family practiced Zoroastrianism which Freddie never held a strong belief in.

Freddie spent most of his childhood in India and took piano lessons at age seven while living with family and at the age of eight he was sent off to study at St. Peter’s School in Panchgani. It was at St. Peter’s that Freddie started to call himself “Freddie”. At the age of twelve, he started a band called “The Hectics”. A friend recalled that Freddie had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano". In 1963 he moved back in with his parents and the following year in 1964 they fled to England from the Zanzibar Revolution.

Mercury studied art and graphic design at Ealing Art College he most likely graduated with a diploma in  the year 1969 but it could be possible 1968 as well. With his skills Freddie would later go on to design his band, Queen’s, logo. Following graduation he would join a series of bands as he worked in Kensington Market selling second hand Edwardian clothes and scarfs alongside future band mate Roger Taylor. 

In early 1970, Tim Staffell would leave Roger Taylor and Brian May’s band Smile and in April of that same year Freddie would join Smile and become their lead singer. A year later in 1971 bassist John Deacon would join the band completing it. Mercury chose the name “Queen” for the band ignoring the warnings from his band mates and studio. Freddie later said about the name Queen, 

“"It's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. “I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."” (Mercury, Freddie, 1970)

Also around this time Freddie Bulsara legally changed his name to Freddie Mercury. 

So Freddie’s speaking tone was in the baritone range which means it's between bass and tenor, most of his songs were in the tenor range. Mercury’s range extended from bass low F to soprano high F, also could belt up to tenor high F.

A quote from Donna Soto-Morettini book “Popular Singing: A Practical Guide To: Pop, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Country and Gospel, A & C Black” says this about Freddie’s vocals, 

“His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sang with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from one register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word.” (Soto-Morettini, Donna, book not available for preview)

In 2003 Mercury was posthumously put into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 05 all four Queen members were awarded a Ivor Novello Award and that was for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

Now while Queen is a classic rock band they didn’t just write rock they wrote a wide variety of music genres including but not limited to: rockabilly, gospel, disco, heavy metal, and progressive rock. 

In a 1986 interview Mercury said, “I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things.” (Mercury, Freddie, 1986)

And Mercury did extravagant performances on stage for his audience; he even got them to join in vocal warmups with him. It was like a different personality came out on stage and he was this energetic guy who lit up the whole room. Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts with Queen. Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on August 9th, 1986 at Knebworth Park in England which drew an attendance estimated as high as 200,000. With the British national anthem  playing at the end of the concert, Freddie’s final act on stage saw him draped in a robe, holding a golden crown above his head, as he bid farewell to the crowd one last time.

Besides Queen, Freddie did have a small solo career.  He had two full solo albums, “Mr. Bad Guy” released in 1985  and “Barcelona” released in 1988.

In the early 70s, he dated Mary Austin but the relationship grew cold when Freddie had an affair with David Minns in the mid-70s. Mary remained close with Mercury until he passed. In the 80s, Freddie settled down with hairdresser Jim Hutton and the two got “married” even if same sex marriage wasn’t legalized until the 2000s in England. He wore the ring Jim gave him forever, it was even cremated with him. 

In either 1985 or 1987,  Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS which was a death sentence back then, proper medications and treatment for it wasn’t really there yet. A few years later Jim was diagnosed with HIV in 1990. On November 24th, 1991 Mercury passed away from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS, he was just 45. He died with his husband at his bedside. Funeral services were held on the 27th and he was cremated shortly after. His ashes whereabouts are unknown and never to be told. There is a memorial plaque with his birth name on it at Kensal Green Cemetery in London England.

Even though Freddie never fathered children he was the godfather to Mary’s oldest son Richard. And he fathered many cats in his lifetime, having somewhat over a dozen cats in his life. Even a black cat showed up at his funeral. This concludes the short long lived life of Freddie Mercury

I ADORE THIS!!!!!!! The writing was perfect,the wording amazing and it was just a great essay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That teacher damn sure should've gave you a 100/100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it,thank you very much Bestie for sharing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <33333333333

[didanawisgi]

Note that views expressed in this opinion article are the writer’s personal views and not necessarily those of TrialSite

I always get vaccinated. I have been fully vaccinated with the Moderna COVID vaccine. My three daughters have all been vaccinated.

I recently learned that these vaccines have likely killed over 25,800 Americans (which I confirmed 3 different ways) and disabled at least 1,000,000 more. And we’re only halfway to the finish line. We need to PAUSE these vaccines NOW before more people are killed.

The CDC, FDA, and NIH aren’t disclosing how many people have been killed or disabled from the COVID vaccines. The mainstream media isn’t asking any questions; they are playing along. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and others are all censoring content that goes against the “perfectly safe” narrative so nobody is the wiser. Tony Fauci, the “father of COVID,” is still in his job even though all of this is his fault. Cliff Lane, who reports to Tony, is still sandbagging early treatments so that people will falsely believe that the vaccine is the only option. The Democrats are still asleep at the wheel by refusing to request Fauci’s unredacted emails from the NIH which will prove he covered up the fact he created the virus in the first place. Biden is clueless urging Americans to vaccinate their kids with a deadly vaccine that has likely killed more than 25,000 Americans so far. Academics in the medical community are nearly all clueless, urging people to get the safe and effective vaccine. When I tried to bring this to the attention of leading academics they told me I was wrong and not to contact them ever again. Sound too hard to believe? I don’t blame you. But there is a reason that this article is the most popular article that has ever been on TrialSiteNews with over 1M views so far. It’s because everything I’ve said is true. And nobody will debate me live about it. They all refuse.

Based on what I now know about the miniscule vaccine benefits (less than a .5% reduction in absolute risk), side effects (including death), current COVID rates, and the success rate of early treatment protocols, the answer I would give today to anyone asking me for advice as to whether to take any of the current vaccines would be, “Just say NO.”Waiting for Novavax (and other traditional vaccines) is a much safer option. If you get COVID in the meantime, treating with early treatment protocols that incorporate fluvoxamine and ivermectin is vastly superior to getting the most dangerous vaccine in the last 30 years.

Vaccines are particularly contraindicated if you have already been infected with COVID or are under age 20. For these people, I would say “NO! NO! NO!”

In this article, I will explain what I have learned since I was vaccinated that totally changed my mind. You will learn how these vaccines work and the shortcuts that led to the mistakes that were made. You will understand why there are so many side effects and why these are so varied and why they usually happen within 30 days of vaccination. You will understand why kids are having heart issues (for which there is no treatment), and temporarily losing their sight, and ability to talk. You will understand why as many as 3% may be severely disabled by the vaccine. You will understand why doctors aren’t reporting these as vaccine-related.

What I find deeply disturbing is the lack of transparency on how dangerous the current COVID vaccines are. Healthy people could end up dead or permanently disabled at a rate that is “off the charts” compared with any other vaccine in our history. Look at the death report in our government’s official Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) summarized in the tweet below. This is the most deadly vaccine we’ve ever made by a long shot. That’s why they have to give you incentives to get vaccinated. They need to vaccinate everyone BEFORE people read this article or watch this video of Dr. Peter McCullough explaining clearly why the current COVID vaccines are unsafe and completely unnecessary for our children.

The stopping condition of a typical vaccine is 25-50 deaths. But there isn’t a stopping condition for this vaccine! It appears we’ve killed over 25,800 people (based on CDC “unexplained deaths”) and nobody is batting an eye. The CDC is focused on how to vaccinate more people. Clinics today report as high as a 10:1 ratio of vaccine-related cases to COVID cases. So now we have a new health emergency: deaths and disability from the vaccines.

But this is just the beginning of our story. We have a lot of ground to cover. I’ll talk about Fauci, NIAID, CDC, Congress, academia, Cliff Lane, and more. I will close with action items you can take and how to treat vaccine victims.

Before we jump into the details, here are some key points:

At least 25,000 deaths from the vaccine. The OpenVAERS team think it is over 20,000 due to under reporting. But we looked at the CMS database and it appears VAERS is under-reporting by 5X. And the CDC excess unexplained deaths are 25,000 as well. It matches up.

NOBODY will debate me. People resort to personal attacks because they can’t attack the facts. But nobody who counts (e.g., over 10K Twitter followers) will debate me. I’ve tried everything. People are too afraid I’ll win. If you have at least 10K Twitter followers and agree to a recorded live Zoom debate, just say so in the comments below.

Biodistribution data shows massive accumulation in ovaries of the LNP (which instructs cells in ovaries to sprout toxic spike protein). Whoops. That was never supposed to be leaked out. We obtained it via FOIA request. The CDC never told you about that one, did they? Of course not!

82% miscarriage rate in first 20 weeks (10% is the normal rate). It is baffling that the CDC says the vaccine is safe for pregnant women when it is so clear that this is not the case. For example, one of our family friends is a victim of this. She miscarried at 25 weeks and is having a D&C on 6/9/21. She had her first shot 7 weeks ago, and her second shot 4 weeks ago. The baby had severe bleeding of the brain and other disfigurements. Her gynecologist had never seen anything like that before in her life. They called in a specialist who said it was probably a genetic defect (because everyone buys into the narrative that the vaccine is safe it is always ruled out as a possible cause). No VAERS report. No CDC report. Yet the doctors I’ve talked to say that it is over 99% certain it was the vaccine. The family doesn’t want an autopsy for fear that their daughter will find out it was the vaccine. This is a perfect example of how these horrible side effects just never get reported anywhere.

25X the possibility of myocarditis for teen boys (can lead to heart failure and death)

Kids already have natural immunity (Science Magazine article), so there is no benefit to vaccination, only risk. Have you ever seen the risk / benefit analysis by the CDC?? Ask for it before you consent.

No point vaccinating those who’ve had COVID-19: Findings of Cleveland Clinic study. No benefit, only risk.

Doctors who attribute adverse events to the vaccine are punished (such as Dr. Hoffe). So under reporting is incentivized.

The CDC refuses to say how many people have died and is “still investigating” heart damage in kids even though it is obvious why (free spike protein causing clotting and inflammation). A 25X increase when the only “new” thing is the vaccine isn’t hard to figure out. Ask the CDC for their current top 5 hypotheses for the cause. It will be more than amusing to see what they say. If it isn’t the vaccine, heads should roll.

The CDC is deliberately misleading the American people. Check out the side effects page. Death, disability, excessive miscarriage rates, heart attacks, stroke, inability to walk, talk, or see, Bell’s Palsy, persistent pain, Parkinson’s like symptoms, re-activation of shingles, blood clots, etc. are all missing.

>500X more deadly than the flu vaccine

COVID vaccines have generated more adverse reports in the last 6 months than all 70 vaccines over the past 30 years combined. They missed that one.

Defective virus design (s1 was never supposed to be free, inclusion of PEG was unnecessary and allows LNP to be widely distributed)

Strong opposition to vaccination by extremely credible voices like Malone, Geert Vanden Bossche, others

NIAID (Cliff Lane) is improperly manipulating the COVID Treatment Guidelines to make it appear these drugs do not work, thus giving the world the false impression that the vaccine, even if imperfect, is the only way out. Ivermectin and fluvoxamine have been confirmed in Phase 3 trials. Ivermectin has a very high quality systematic review, the highest possible level in Evidence Based Medicine. Repurposed drugs are safer and more effective than the current vaccines. In general, early treatment with an effective protocols reduce your risk of dying by more than 100X so instead of 600,000 deaths, we’d have fewer than 6,000 deaths. NOTE: The vaccine has already killed over 6,000 people and that’s from the vaccine alone (and doesn’t count any breakthrough deaths).

Vaccines skipped proper toxicology studies in order to bring to market faster. We don’t know what we don’t know.

The unpredictable and horrifying side effects of this vaccine on heathy kids, such as the 16 year old girl who was unable to speak and see just 48 hours after being vaccinated

Debilitating side effects can happen at any time because vaccine victims are very similar to COVID long haulers (Dr. Bruce Patterson has discovered this) and we all know that long haul can start at any time (even when the disease is asymptomatic) and could be incurable.

Because the vaccine is not perfectly safe, the government is required by law to warn people of the death and disability risks caused by the vaccine and to obtain informed consent. Always be sure to ask for the 50 most serious side effects and how often they happen. And find out whether they will compensate you if you are disabled for life from the vaccine. This is important because the blood clots can form anywhere with this very unsafe vaccine....

[gstqaobc]

CBC THE ROYAL FASCINATOR

Friday, April 09, 2021

Hello, royal watchers and all those intrigued by what’s going on inside the House of Windsor. This is your biweekly dose of royal news and analysis. Reading this online? Sign up here to get this delivered to your inbox.

Janet DavisonRoyal Expert

Prince Philip’s life of duty

(Adrian Dennis/Getty Images)

For so many years, Prince Philip was at Queen Elizabeth’s side — or walking just behind — deeply devoted in his duty as consort to the woman who is now the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

But the Duke of Edinburgh, who died this morning aged 99 at Windsor Castle, was seen by many as having his own role in helping an institution steeped in tradition try to find its way toward the future.

Much of that began nearly 70 years ago, after the former sailor who gave up a successful naval career saw his wife ascend the throne.

“What Prince Philip did was help modernize the monarchy in the 1950s,” Michael Jackson, president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada, said in an interview this morning.

“It was still a very tradition-bound institution…. We can credit Prince Philip, with the Queen’s full support, of course, with modernizing [its] finances, protocols, how Buckingham Palace was run … its outreach to the Commonwealth.”

Philip pushed to have Elizabeth’s coronation televised in 1953, an idea she did not wholeheartedly welcome at first.

“He was the modern person,” John Fraser, author of The Secret of the Crown: Canada’s Affair with Royalty, said in an interview this morning. “He was in touch with real people, non-royal people, and so he always had the instinct to reach out. He understood both the dark side of the media presence as well as the necessity of it.”

Fraser credits Philip’s profoundly unsettled early years, after he was “born in poverty and insecurity,” with how he looked toward the future of the Royal Family, and the monarchy.

“I do think those early years were the single biggest factor in his life and how he approached life,” said Fraser. “I think he never assumed things would last forever because he didn’t make any assumptions like that, and I think he certainly assumed the monarchy wouldn’t survive if it didn’t reach out more to the constituency that it had to serve.”

Fraser met Philip, and recalled him as a man who would revel in asking questions and challenging others.

“He was — charming is not the word I would use — but he was an invigorating person to speak to.”

Jackson, who was Saskatchewan’s chief of protocol from 1980 until 2005, met Philip during four visits to the province — three with the Queen and one on his own — and remembered a man with “a great sense of humour.”

“Sometimes people found him a bit abrasive, a bit abrupt, but that’s the way he was,” said Jackson.

“He was a straight shooter and he complemented the Queen beautifully because the Queen is a very soft-spoken, more laid-back person. Prince Philip really spoke his mind and occasionally made jokes and … put everyone at ease. I found him very refreshing, good to work with.”

With Philip’s death, there is an inevitable sadness for the Queen, and inevitable concern for how she will cope with the passing of her husband of more than 73 years.

Both Fraser and Jackson say the Queen will carry on, with Jackson noting “That’s the way she is. She’s a very strong person” with a deep religious faith that will sustain her.

“She’ll do her duty,” said Fraser. “And I think that’s the big lesson of him. He did his duty.”

For a full obituary of Prince Philip, click here.

For photos from Prince Philip's royal career, click here.

Family dysfunction

When Philip Mountbatten married Princess Elizabeth in 1947, the family he was joining was in marked contrast to the fractured one he had known in his youth. His parents' marriage broke down and offered him nothing like the nuclear family arrangement (mom, dad and two kids) that Elizabeth had known throughout her childhood. "In marrying the Queen, [Philip] gained that sort of stable home life that he didn't have when he was younger," royal author and historian Carolyn Harris has said in an interview. Philip's parents were Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Philip was born a prince of both Greece and Denmark on June 10, 1921, on the dining room table at Mon Repos, a villa that was the summer home for the Greek royals on the island of Corfu. He was the last of five children — his four older siblings were all girls. At the time, he was sixth in line to the Greek throne. But life in Greece didn't last long. His father, a professional soldier, was exiled from Greece in 1922 as his uncle, King Constantine I, was forced to abdicate. Philip's family fled, with the story being that Philip was nestled into an orange box as the family was evacuated from Greece on a Royal Navy ship. They eventually made their way to Paris. Philip's childhood took a "dysfunctional turn," author Sally Bedell Smith wrote in her book, Elizabeth The Queen, when he was sent by his parents at the age of eight to England for boarding school. The family eventually broke down. Philip's mother, who was born deaf, was ill periodically, diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in a sanitarium in Switzerland. His father went off with his mistress to Monte Carlo, where he died in 1944. Philip was left to be brought up in the U.K. by his mother's family, shuffled among various relatives and boarding schools throughout his youth. He didn't see or have any word from his mother between the summer of 1932 and the spring of 1937. "It's simply what happened," Philip said matter-of-factly in an excerpt from a book by Philip Eade, Young Prince Philip, Turbulent Early Years, published in the Telegraph. "The family broke up. My mother was ill, my sisters were married, my father was in the south of France. I just had to get on with it. You do. One does." As life went on, there really was no father to guide, consult or do anything else a father can do for his child. Several other close relatives died in his early years, including his favourite sister, Cecile, and her family in a plane crash in 1937. The following year, the 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, his uncle and guardian, died of bone cancer. That left the marquess's younger brother, Louis Mountbatten, to bring up Philip. His family ties also extended into Germany. Three of his sisters were married to German princes involved in the Nazi party. Cecile and her husband, Don, had just joined the Nazi party before they died. Those family alliances had a visible repercussion when Philip and Elizabeth were married in 1947. "His sisters were not invited to the wedding as they were married to German princes who had been involved in the Nazi party during World War Two," Harris said. Philip's mother, Princess Alice, however, was at the wedding, and in her later years, came to live at Buckingham Palace. Alice had her own moment in the cultural conscience in 2019, as an episode during the third season of the Netflix drama, The Crown, focused on her. "She's just the most extraordinary character," Crown creator Peter Morgan told Vanity Fair. She set up charities for Greek refugees and later established a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns. During the Second World War, while her son was serving with the Royal Navy and her German sons-in-law fought for the Nazis, she was hiding Jews in Athens. As much as there was the distance between Philip and his mother in his younger years, there was a closeness later. Alice came to live at Buckingham Palace in 1967. Alice died at the palace in 1969 and was interred in the royal crypt at Windsor Castle. In 1988, her remains were transferred, as she had wished, to the church of St. Mary Magdalene in east Jerusalem. In a 1994 visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Philip planted a tree in his mother's honour and visited her gravesite. "I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special," Philip said during his visit. "She was a person with deep religious faith and she would have considered it to be a totally human action to fellow human beings in distress."

No stranger to Canada

(Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

Prince Philip's last visit to Canada was a short one in 2013 — on his own, without the Queen — to present a ceremonial flag to the Royal Canadian Regiment's 3rd Battalion. It came as something of a surprise. Philip had experienced a few health scares in the 18 months prior. So overseas travel was not necessarily a given for the Duke of Edinburgh at the time. But given Philip's feisty personality, dedication to his role and some of the interests he showed over the years, his return to Canada — he made more than 70 visits or stopovers between 1950 and 2013 — may not really have been a complete surprise. The 2013 trip was billed as a private working visit and was only a few days long. But while he was here, he was finally able to pick up the insignias he had been awarded as companion of the Order of Canada and commander of the Order of Military Merit from David Johnston, then Canada's governor general.

To read more about Philip’s time in Canada, click here.

Royally quotable

“He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”

— Queen Elizabeth, publicly acknowledging Prince Philip’s importance to her during a speech on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.

To read more on what Philip meant to the Queen, click here.

Remembering Prince Philip

Royal Fascinator readers are welcome to share their thoughts on the passing of Prince Philip, and any memories they may have of meeting him over the years. We’ll include some in the next edition of the newsletter.

I’m always happy to hear from you. Send your ideas, comments, feedback and notes to

royalfascinator@cbc.ca

. Problems with the newsletter? Please let me know about any typos, errors or glitches.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

[rataltouille]

HOUSE PLANTS, UPDATE 1

this has been long overdue. typical, really. [novel intro found here.]

the story is currently eight chapters in but it's also a very strange eight chapters. i’m not really happy with half of these words because they're unnecessary ™ and dull ™ and serve no purpose whatsoever ™. i’m simply choosing to ignore that i need to cut them out. :’] here’s a note i made that perfectly captures my feelings so far:

before we go into the excerpts, i want to talk a bit about how house plants is structured because the format is whack. each chapter ranges from 3000-4000 words. A few vignettes, around 500 words, are sprinkled between these chapters. the chapters narrate events from the fictive past, while the vignettes are snippets into the fictive present [the point from where lilith is retelling the story]. additionally, an important plot thread is told entirely in the form of an epistolary [through letters] and so there's a bit more of confusion to navigate through. fun times.

and now for the excerpts. they're from the first three chapters and are very weird out of context. i think that each update will feature excerpts from three consequent chapters, but that may change as we get closer to spoiler land.

excerpts:

chapter one

the novel kicks off with an odd vignette featuring an unhinged willow and an innocent lilith. chronologically, this is set way back, the earliest scene ever, around when lilith was ten or eleven. it’s meant to establish a sense of unease and to thread the unsettling undertone i’m going for. it's also major foreshadowing but we don't talk about that here. i’m not giving away much because there's not many excerpts to scrape out from a dialogue-heavy vignette like this.

”Here, let me help, mother.”

I tried guiding your palms to the rim of the pot, but you moved them away. From the brief touch, my fingers came away with moisture. On second glance, your knuckles were bathed in sweat. Your veins pulsed and your hands shivered. You gave me a wide-eyed glance, dumped the plant atop the brown, and stood up. You wiped the dirt away on your jeans. From below, with sunlight teetering over your golden hair, you were a personification of God. But were you, really? Does God fear their children? Does God volunteer to garden? I didn't know what God truly meant. I don't now either. But I’m certain it wasn't you.

”Sorry, Lilith. My pollen allergy is acting up.”

It's stunning how it ran in our blood, lying effortlessly.

chapter two

immediately after this we’re pulled off into the linear non-vignette chapter thing, aka the second chapter. [god what am i doing with this structure]. it starts with a soft little reminiscent bit about juniper?? i’m exploiting the tense a lot but it's been fun. (:

The first time she smiled at me is knit into me, like I’m not myself without it. I’m not. She breathed change and I ran with it. Whenever she gazed at me, with sunset dripping behind her head, or with rain clouds dotting her hairline, she’d smile. It was the sound of a ukulele in a winter draft, the kiss of dew on my favourite hemlock, the fond mythical curl of my father’s arms around me. There’s a phantom of love everywhere, and I almost caught it sneaking around her. Even now, Juniper dozes so soundly; she’s replaced everything I wanted you to be and everything you never were. You’d know, of course. You always have.

willow is officially introduced soon after, and so is one of the major plot threads, i.e. lilith’s correspondence with her dad. this excerpt is to show how the family feel about each other became, like i mentioned, there’s a lot of tea to be split here. not gonna lie, this paragraph reads as kinds pure.

You— the town called you Wistful Willow, but they did so behind your back and on postcards to neighbours— had a special lilt in your tone every time you spoke his name. ”Isac,” your lips would curl, almost a smile, and I’d smile back. You loved it, the sound of his name. It had become a ritual for us, pouring our sorrow and joy and unrest and comfort into those two syllables. A fallback plan, I suppose; there was always father to rely on amidst chaos.

willow is constantly at home and she’s probably not seen the outside world in a million years. she either cooks, reads, sits in a bathtub, or does everything at the same time. not odd at all.

The bathroom door, thick oak painted ivory, was right across where I stood. The house was large and empty, and I had three places— study, bedroom, garden— to myself. I lived only with you, so it was mostly quiet, except on Saturdays when we got father’s mail and watched TV together. That Saturday we had seen an old movie from the 70s, a random romance that neither of us cared for, but watched out of duty.

The door was shut. From it came the sound of pages rustling, not unlike a delicate breeze playing with the fronds of croton plants. I knocked softly.

”Come in, ” you said, a splash of water punctuating your voice.

I entered to find you half-immersed in the bathtub, one hand holding a novel, the other limp across the rim. There lingered the scent of soapy water, rose-tinted, and all over the tiled walls was the water’s reflection, a glow of opulence. You were half-naked, your garments drifting like algae. Your habit of reading in the bathtub had been increasing lately. You looked at me, questioning.

there’s also the introduction of lilith’s best friends marcy and faun, where they lay down in the middle of a field after a tiring cricket match and banter all through the evening. i’m really enjoying the trio’s friendship; it's both fun to write and they’re just so pure.

”If you insult Henry one more time, Marce...”

”He actually named the butterfly.” Her eyes were wide and amused; she dug up mud with her nails and flicked it upwards, glanced at me. ”Lilith. He named his fucking butterfly.”

”Faun, it's dead. You keep it in a box, ” I said.

”The dead don't magically lose their names, ” he countered.

Our laughter drafted into town. I don't think it heard.

chapter three

this is kind of uneventful but it sets up some major subplots. i might push it to later in the book, but i’m happy with where it it's right now. lilith randomly keeps reminiscing throughout so that’s convenient. this excerpt is about willow and thus is unreliable as hell. willow ain't good and lilith ain't 100% sincere narrating this right now, so don't let its pureness fool you.

People in town, I’d hear, found you odd and unsociable, cold and distant. I always scoffed when they told me so. They only knew the Willow who never attended community gatherings, who’d gaze out absentmindedly from the porch, who’d more so see than observe, hear than listen. They didn't know the Willow who was my mother, who hated loud noises, who loved her novels with a passion, who spoke so serenely— and rarely— that you hung onto her every word. Only I saw this side of you, and that suited me just fine.

there’s a scene where lilith [accidentally] spies on marcy and another guy. their conversation makes lilith tangent off in her head.

Marcy spoke detachedly, like she was speaking through a filter of not caring. I worried for her and her charade. It didn't help that scented letters confessing love often found their way to her locker, or that roses were shoved in her face as if her admirers loved her so much that they forgot she was allergic to them. Idolisation and adoration took extreme forms; she was stalked for a month and sent death threats. She would put on a disguise of indifference and seem unbothered, but at night she’d soak her pillow and lose sleep, then inform us the next day about her insomnia so casually that we almost forgot how easily she hurt.

i’m not going to lie, the last line in this excerpt was just me indulging myself with the knowledge of the climax. i need to stop slipping in random tone changes like this lol.

My walk home finished quick, though my feet expressed exhaustion. I was right on time, too; you were sitting by your coffee table, glasses crooked upon your nose, a new novel— this one a bright red sky, gold print, gauzy— resting beside warm coffee. You barely smiled, but that was because you were daydreaming. I was familiar with every tell: your eyes would tilt towards my forehead, your lips would stretch, your fingers would drum on whatever you were holding. I’d always let you be when you drowned into your head. Did you ever notice that, Mother? Have you ventured out of your mind to witness my efforts?

and finally some food for thought. yes, that pun was intended. i’ll see myself out.

”Dinner’s ready, dear,” you called. I groaned out my fatigue and left my room, hoping to abandon my unflattering thoughts. In the kitchen, I helped you set the table. Soon we were both sipping hot carrot soup with a side of breadsticks. You were already invested in the novel. I held the spoon, the heat barely registering, and watched you drift through fiction and reality like a will o’ the wisp. Maybe I could read for escapism, too. It would do me good.

that’s all for today! thanks for reading so far; support is, as always, appreciated. hope you liked these excerpts ✨

[allthingsfundie]

Hey! I’ve been sitting on this a bit, but here goes. I am part of a family who did not really condone the child abuser.

I’ve never met my maternal grandfather (and am glad for that) but some of my cousins see him regularly. It’s bizarre, since I have his nose.

He fathered 7 kids in a Catholic marriage with my grandmother in the 60s/70s. (One didn’t just “divorce”) He was extremely abusive towards all of the kids and my grandmother. There is also a less-spoken-about sexual abuse aspect.

My grandmother stayed with this man until one of his flings with an “other woman” turned into a relationship that produced kids. Then she filed for an annulment and left. Her kids were all grown/in high school by then (my mom was the oldest - she was out of the house at that point).

None of the kids blame their mother for not leaving until they were gone, and have some form of a relationship with her to this day. She only remarried after the Vatican granted an annulment. She is still extremely religious. Today, there is a mix among the family as to “he should never be allowed back into our lives, and will never know my kids” and “blood and redemption are thicker than water (and child abuse/philandering)”

But...when my mom and her siblings drink? Some bitterness comes out. My cousins and I (we range from being in our 20s-40s) basically see their generation as a massive web of confusion and hurt. A lot of us have put distance there.

And it trickles down. My mother was abusive, I haven’t spoken to her in 9 years. I speak to her mother once a year. I like only one of my mother’s 6 siblings.

Anna might leave. Tomorrow, or in ten years. She’s only human and her reaction isn’t something we can ever predict. But even if she does leave, it doesn’t mean anything will change for their kids, necessarily. They will grow up with confusion and hurt, and without any useful tools for coping. They will “figure it out” in different ways, and there may be another little Josh in the mix. They will be able to read through all the terrible things on tumblr, Reddit, and every tabloid. They will not know how to deal. This is the reality of the situation. And it sucks.

Wow, thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I am so sorry that you have had to go through all that you have. You and I sound like we come from very similar backgrounds and my family has very similar struggles, my heart really goes out to you. I read a book last year about family trauma and how it is passed down through generations that I found brought me a lot of comfort and helped me cope. Message me if you want the title, I’d love to share. 

I agree with you that even if Anna leaves Josh, it does not mean the damage hasn't been done and they will grow up with hurt regardless. The reality of the situation is devastating, even if Anna does everything we think she is supposed to, and I think that is important to remember.  I genuinely feel so sorry for all of the children involved in the situation. Just heartbreaking all around. 

[seizethecringeofproduction]

New Years - Saints Row Fanfic

Featuring: @kiyumiakuji @shuyaakuji @hirokiakuji & @tomoyukiakuji

Is a Ronin Centric Fic; Contains a bit of trolling at the start

2008/1/1 | 8:30 AM

The cool winter breeze flowed gently through the streets of Tokyo throughout New Years’ Day 2008, the first day of January as well as the new year. Even though the sun was just now rising over the western horizon, the city had never been asleep for a second - traffic was still bumper to bumper while the streets themselves were littered with crowds of people walking here and there, be it to their place of work or just to some hangout spots. True that some spots were not as busy as others, but no matter where one went it was still Tokyo. Flashing signs and billboards littered the streets and the sides of the various tall buildings - from high rises to skyscrapers, delivering advertisements to viewers which ranged from the mundane to the far more known wacky if not eccentric type; especially popular were those for that new game show, the one with that pink cat professor that was taking the country by storm.

However, it wasn’t fun, games and heavy traffic for everyone in Tokyo that morning. Case in point being the rather dull boardroom of Tatsubishi - a conglomerate based in the metropolis that is best known internationally for their automobile manufacturing and distribution; ranging from SUVs, Trucks, Cars, Motorcycles and extending even to the likes of helicopters, airplanes and more, it was a name that plenty of people throughout the world would have least heard one time in their lives. What may not be as widely known about it however was the fact that the entire corporation had a rather insidious darker side - seeing as how it was the front for the dreaded Yakuza Oyabun known as Kazuo Akuji. The man was known and feared throughout all of Japan as not only one of the most ruthless businessmen, but also one of the most brutal Yakuza leaders. The crimes which are alleged to be traced back to him are among the most horrifying in Japan’s history, many bodies mysteriously found in rivers throughout Honshu are said to be of those who wronged him. That is, if there’s even a body at all. With a decade spanning career in both the business and criminal worlds, Kazuo is as respected as he is feared. His name instills both honor and dread into those who hear it, as one most certainly does not want to hear it outside of a positive context. 

Though it was no secret that the man was not getting any younger. Many debated just how old he was, but regardless of the specific age he was old. Most knew only that he was at least late 70’s or early 80’s.  While most of his body, hidden beneath his blazer suit, was littered with innumerous tattoos befitting an oyabun of his caliber, the parts of him that were visible to the naked eye were still very much wrinkled. He seemed to look both perpetually irritable as well as tired - and to be fair, much of the time that would be considered an accurate description of his mood. His hair, long ago a rich shade of black was long since greyed. He still had a full head of it, but it had receded some since the bloom of his youth. While most of his body had seemingly taken a withered and somewhat frail appearance, he was still nevertheless considered to be a mighty swordsman - more than capable of defeating even a much younger man in battle even in spite of the fact his joints would very likely give him hell not long afterwards. 

Point was though, he was in the evening of his life. Soon, would be the eternal night. The only surprise left for a man his age. Sitting at the head of the board room with all of his underbosses sprawled about before him, all he saw were men who a few decades ago were introduced to him as the young sons of those who sat before them. Granted, these men themselves were not spring chickens either - most of them were at least in their 30’s or 40’s and at most in their 60’s, but all of them had in common the fact their one and only oyabun during their lives was none other than Kazuo - the man sitting before them on that very day. 

Thinking over this fact with a contemplative sigh, he realized one thing that had been on his mind for the past 18 years. That the day he had long since been waiting for had finally arrived. It was time for his own next in line.

As he stood up, he didn’t need to make any sound at all. The entire room of underbosses and bodyguards fell entirely silent - all eyes instinctively turning to Kazuo himself as he moved, his eyes scanning the entire room to ensure their attention before he even began speaking. Not even a cough was made, nor a sip of tea. Any such disrespect would have been grounds for very swift ‘discipline’. Cupping his hands behind his back once the silence of the room was truly deafening, only then did the old man finally speak what was on his mind:

“Gentleman, this has been a very pleasant meeting. I am very proud of the work you have all done over the previous year - the clan has grown ever more honored as it is feared throughout Japan. I have been the oyabun of this organization for longer than most others of my rank have been alive; let alone operating free of imprisonment. I have seen as many of you and your fathers go as I have the winter change into spring, and spring into fall. I have fought in wars, I have married, I have had three children and three grandchildren. I have turned my clan into one of the most powerful and influential not only in our corporate world - but in our criminal world as well.” he then had a particular pause as he finally arrived to the true point of his speech, “However…” he said, “I have come to the decision that there will be more changes this year than simply the succession of my subordinates; I myself will be stepping down as your oyabun.”

His words elicited many wide eyes from all of his underbosses, as well as chills echoing down their spines. Even the famed - and bald - swordsman Jyunichi, standing right behind the old man, was surprised to hear the words. While none of them said anything, they looked at each other in bewilderment, their discussions being as silent as the room itself when Kazuo wasn’t talking. Only when he began speaking again did their attention sharply turn back to him.

“I know that this change is most unprecedented, but after many months - years even, of rumination over it, I have come to the conclusion that it is for the best. My retirement shall be effective as of the first of this April, giving you the next four months to become adjusted to my chosen successor; my son.”

With one of Kazuo’s hands now gesturing towards the double doors used to enter the room, all eyes were promptly on said doors as they - as if on cue, flung open for just a few seconds as another figure entered the room. It was, of course, a young man. A very much younger man than Kazuo, though. In fact, the man was no older than 18 - just barely an adult.

Actually, he was technically 17, though only until April. That was not a coincidence.

His face was completely devoid of wrinkles, and his hair was entirely jet black and slicked back in a ‘respectful’ style. His body was slender - toned well by regular exercise. Even as he stood there dressed in a black blazer suit complete with black power tie that featured a golden dragon etched onto it’s ‘tongue’, while he vaguely looked like his father one would not have guessed their actual relation in a million years. Yet this baby faced, smooth skinned boy was in fact the oyabun’s son. All of the underbosses stood from the seats and promptly gave this late teenager his due respect by bowing in his presence as he walked to be right beside Kazuo - the son exchanging a respectful bow of his own to Kazuo, his father saying to him;

“My son, you have little idea of how long I have waited for this day to come. Counting only the years since you have been born, it has been only eighteen. But counting the years before, it has been since I first became oyabun.”

Looking to his father with the utmost respect, the son returned his sentiments:

“It is an honor to be your successor, father” he bowed again, “I will continue leading the clan to greatness, just as you have before me.”

“I know you will,” the old man replied, “I am the one who trained you. Now..” he then gestured towards one of the open chairs directly to the side of his own, “Let us sit and endure the rest of this meeting, my son.”

2008/1/1  | 1:55 PM

“So how’d it go?”

“Well, I’m going to be the oyabun as of April. Aside from that, most of it was uneventful; talking about finances and operations.”

“Hold on, you’re going to be the oyabun? That’s your birthday gift this year? All he ever gets me is money, literally just money!”

“Don’t worry, Shogo, you know you’re basically going to be my right hand man once I’m in that seat.”

“I know, Hiro, but still! You’re going to be the boss of the entire Akuji Clan!”

“I know, it’s a big responsibility, and an honor. That’s why he’s waiting until April to step down, he wants me to see how he handles things up close before making the switch completely. After that, I won’t have any training wheels.”

The two young men speaking along the side of a kinokuniya international shopping center, and in fact leaning against the walls of said store, were identical twin brothers Hiroki and Shogo Akuji - the sons of Kazuo. Hiroki being the one introduced as his successor mere hours before, though no longer dressed as prim and proper as he was before. He now had a pair of black jeans on rather than silk slacks, with his pants held up by a black leather belt with a dragon styled buckle. Over his smooth body was a yellow polo with a popped collar and white undershirt - and his hair was no longer slicked back but now worn down in a more spiked and ruffled style. His shoes were even exchanged for a pair of black tennis shoes, and around his neck was a golden ‘lucky’ 5 yen coin; all of these clothes and features were copied fully by his brother Shogo save for one - resting on Hiroki’s forehead was a pair of yellow designer sunglasses with black lenses, while on Shogo’s rested a pair of the same brand colored white. 

The two brothers stood in that parking lot in the early afternoon, leaning with their backs and one foot each on the wall of the store, the other feet on the concrete ground beneath them as they enjoyed this most casual conversation - the day around them being quite beautiful. The breeze was still very much a cooled winter wind, and the sky was cleared of clouds; it’s blue color joined with the light of the sun to illuminate the entire city of Tokyo in a vibrant and joyous form of brightness.

“Honestly, Hiro” Shogo spoke plainly to Hiroki, “I don’t think you even need those training wheels.”

Smirking, Hiroki gave Shogo a certain cocky look as he retorted:

“I see you’re already brown nosing.”

“No, I’m being serious,” Shogo answered back in a quick yet blunt tone, “You’re totally ready to handle the family business on your own. I mean, it’s basically what he prepared you for the entirety of your life..” and for a moment, Shogo bowed his head in a moment of sudden melancholy that his brother quickly noticed even as the younger twin muttered beneath his breath “Unlike me…”

Placing a hand onto Shogo’s shoulders, Hiroki spoke to his brother in a serious tone of his own:

“Shogo, you’re going to be my-”

“No, I’m not” Shogo interrupted Hiroki, walking away from the store wall, hands in his pockets before he took a deep breath and faced his twin again, “I’m leaving Japan after our birthday this year.”

“What?”

“I’m heading to America” the younger Akuji elaborated, “There’s this place that’s going through total anarchy right now after one of their previous gangs died off, I heard about it from eavesdropping this morning on one of father’s calls. It’s that place those people he wanted to buy parts from come from, I did some research and it’s prime real estate for gangs right now.”

“And you’re thinking of setting up your own gang there?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Wow” Hiroki bounced his brows a bit, remarking “And you did this all without consulting me? What happened to us doing everything together, brother?”

“Well, I hatched this plan during you and father’s meeting today and was gonna bring you into it like always, but…”

“It’ll be difficult while I am the oyabun.”

“Yeah….it would....”

The two brothers then shared deep breaths, sighs. The realization that things were changing between them wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, often Hiroki was all Shogo had through his youth - seeing as how Kazuo would often leave Shogo alone while he spent time with Hiroki, and their sister being a teen girl at the time was not interested in giving her younger brothers much company. After their mother died, Shogo came to cherish the times when Hiroki was with him, allowing him to escape from the fact that Kazuo all but neglected his existence save for when it was time to be mad at him or berate his lifestyle choices. Yet now the brothers were growing up, and while Shogo would love to rule the family organization at his brother’s side - he also wanted to spread his own wings and make a name for himself,rather than only live in Hiroki’s shadow. Perhaps in time, their father would be proud of both of his sons rather than only his first.

Yet still, they were brothers. Though it hurt both of them to an extent, they both understood each other’s needs and desires - though it was hard for him to fully understand, Hiroki understood without being told what Shogo desired more than anything else. Approaching him and placing a hand to his shoulder, the older twin said:

“Well, brother, I look forward to working with you and your gang, even from a few thousand miles away.”

Smiling at his brother giving his approval and nodding as he patted Hiroki on the shoulder as well:

“Thanks, Hiro.”

“Of course, Sho” Hiroki replied, “Besides, lord knows we both need to move out of that crazy house.”

“Speak yourself” Shogo answered before replying with a rejuvenated cocky tone, “If I were, I’d tell Kiyumi to buy her own place and kick her ass out as soon as I get the chance. That place is pretty bitching.”

Smirking and even nodding as he genuinely imagined the scenario which his brother planted into his head, Hiroki’s only response was an agreeing:

“That is also an idea.”

The two brothers then shared a laugh with each other at that moment as they both looked out to the streets surrounding them, as well as all of the people walking and driving about who paid them no mind at all. Shogo couldn’t help but remark:

“To think” he quipped, “You can become the oyabun, but you take an hour on Pumpkin Hill.”

“Oh shut up, ‘How was I supposed to know about the air necklace’.”

“Well, at least we both kinda suck at Yakuza, I guess,” Shogo laughinly confessed, “Though I’m pretty sure I beat the first game before you did.”

“Only because we shared a save file and it happened to be your turn at the time, Sho!”

“Fair enough, but you know one thing I know for a fact you can’t beat me at?”

“What?”

“Getting back on my bike first!” Having been looking right towards him and his brother’s parked kanedas right by the sidewalk on the other side of the avenue road facing them - right in front of a building they liked to refer to as ‘MaxMara’ due to the sign on the front of it. Shogo then darted right towards his - the one that was silver colored with etched in dragon decals and accents of glowing yellow lights throughout it’s form. Hiroki’s was of course, golden colored. 

Accepting his brother’s offer for a race, Hiroki soon darted right after him:

“Alright, but you know that getting on is only the first leg of the race!”

“You’re on!”

Managing to quickly break into a sprint as he crossed the street, Hiroki was able to catch up to Shogo in a surprising amount of time as they ran through the parking lot with youthful vigor, Hiroki’s last words before he would have overtaken Shogo being:

“I’m catching up to you, Shogo!”

“Not anymore, Hiro-”

BAM

All it took was a single moment

The loud echoing sound of a gunshot from a tall building located just across the street from the store could be heard from some feet away, though the form of the gunman could only be seen fleeing the rooftop for but a fraction of a second. By the time he had actually heard the shot itself, Shogo had just planted his body down onto his kaneda - and excitedly proclaimed victory:

“Ha!” he laughed, “I won leg 1! Get ready to….Hiro?” the first thing Shogo noticed was that his brother was neither on his bike, nor standing behind him. Instead, much to the younger brother’s horror, he was laying on the ground - a pool of blood forming on the concrete just beneath his head. The left side of Hiroki’s head was marred by what looked like a line of flesh and hair torn right open, with the tip of his left ear being blasted clean off. Blood was absolutely covering the entire left side of his head, though also along the ground were chunks of what was no doubt his skull bone. Despite the occasional twitch, it was clear that Hiroki was not conscious by any stretch of the word - and just looking at the scene, Shogo feared the absolute worst.

“Hiroki!” Without any hesitation at all, Shogo ran towards his brother and almost tripped onto the ground once he knelt down close to him at the speed he had been going. With one hand he scooped up his brother’s head while the other tried to shake Hiroki’s head, desperately trying to just get his brother’s eyes to open; “Hiroki! Wake up! Wake the fuck up, Hiroki!” he couldn’t help but then lash out at the crowd forming around him, “What are you looking at?! Why are you just standing there?! Someone call the fucking ambulence!”

Looking at Hiroki’s face at this moment, in broad daylight, Shogo could see not only the coat of blood dripping from the side of his own brother’s head, but also the heartbreaking fact that his brother was not making any response at all. Whatever he was, he was not asleep. Tears formed from Shogo’s eyes as he realization was striking him oh so hard:

“Don’t die on me, Hiroki” he said while trying and failing to hold his tears back, “Don’t you fucking die on me, Hiro!”

Shogo was able to overcome his tears for long enough to call medical professionals himself, though he shook as he dialed the number - cursing every time he accidentally dialed them incorrectly. He wasted very little time in yelling the moment he had the operator on the line:

“Get the fuck over here! My brother was fucking shot in the head by some, by some fucking assassin or hitman or something! Get over here now, he’s bleeding to fucking death!”

“Okay, okay, sir, I need you to tell me where-”

“I’m, we’re, by the curb on Aoyama-dori Avenue!” Shogo tried to speak more calmly, though he still was in an incredibly frantic tone, “Right in front of that building with the MaxMara sign on it, you know, the Mar’s building! Just, get here fucking quick before he dies!”

“Okay, sir, we have ambulances heading for your location right now, but I need you to please try to remain calm-”

“Remain calm?! My brother is dying in my arms right now!”

“I understand sir, but it will be best for both of you in this situation. I suggest please finding some kind of tourniquet to slow or stop the bleeding-”

Before the lady on the other end even finished, Shogo quickly gasped as he realized he had completely forgotten that. Without even thinking he removed his polo shirt, leaving his body dressed only in the white sleeveless shirt he had underneath. He didn’t care about any of that though, how he looked for once was last on his priorities list - instead he just tied his polo tightly as he could around his brother’s head, desperately trying to do anything he could to slow down the bleeding. He could see the deep stains forming across the fabric even while still tying and tightening it - and it was a hard sight for him to look at. He was no stranger nor fearful of blood, but he was also not ready to watch his brother die. Just beginning to hear the sirens approaching, he looked in their direction with a renewed sense of relief as he said to Hiroki:

“It’s alright, Hiro, I’m not gonna let you die. They’re gonna have you up and walking in no time, I know they will. They have to...you’re gonna wake up...you hear me? You’re gonna wake up…”

Please wake up….

F-Father!

Shogo? Why are you calling me. How much do you need me to pay to get you out of your problem now?

This isn’t anything to do with me, father!

Then what is it Shogo?

It’s Hiroki...he’s in...he was...he’s in the hospital right now!

….

Which hospital?

2008/1/1 11:30 PM

 There was a most uncomfortable silence in the hospital room on the night of January 1st, the day of the fateful gunshot. Hiroki now had proper bandages across his head, a respiratory mask across his mouth and IV’s in his veins to keep him alive - though his eyes remained closed in what only looked like the purest and most silent of sleeps. Kazuo himself sat in a chair right beside his bed, gazing at Hiroki’s motionless form with a look that had innumerous emotions running through it at once. The chief among them being shock, grief and utter rage. From the moment he had finally gotten it out of Shogo what happened, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind what had happened - he knew exactly who did this. Who would target his heir in broad daylight like this, killing him in one of the most dishonorable ways imaginable; on a holiday no less. 

He repeated the name many times in his head…

Wong.

Wong was the only person Kazuo could think of who not only had a motive, but also the willingness to strike that which Kazuo prized the most. As much as the oyabun understood very well why Hiroki was targeted, he had neither sympathy nor tolerance for it. Watching solemnly as Hiroki fought with all he could to stay alive, it was a sight that no father wished to see in their lives. It was a sight that made Kazuo’s blood boil knowing in his heart and mind who was responsible, wanting nothing more now than to see Wong be put into the ground for this transgression. 

With every beeping of Hiroki’s heart monitor, Kazuo’s rage grew beyond his own expectations. Put bluntly, it would be within Wong’s best interests - if one were to ask Kazuo, if Hiroki made a full recovery. 

So far however, none of the doctors or nurses were confident in the chances of that happening.

Seated across from Kazuo in the room, the scene was not much different. Shogo waited, covered across his arms and torso in the now dried blood of Hiroki from earlier. His eyes were wide in fear, and body shaking. He could hear the beeping of the heart monitor on account of the door being opened, and was deathly afraid that any moment soon he would hear it flatline. Only by a miracle did that not happen yet. Sitting next to him was the rest of the immediate family - that is to say his older sister and her children. Jyunichi was standing guard by the open door.

As for the sister sitting next to Shogo, Kiyumi was a 25 - going on 26 in February, year old woman. She has been described before as the spitting image of her late mother, though very unlike her in personality. Her hair was long and straightened, and her slender, figured and beautiful young body was dressed in a golden dress - with matching heels and a black designer leather jacket to cover herself in the winter cold. She only looked so fashionable and had makeup one because she was out shopping at the time of Kazuo furiously calling her. Sleeping on either side of her lap were her youngest children, Tomoyuki and Mitsuko. A boy and girl respectively, twins of four years old, to be five in June. On the far side of the bench, next to his younger sister, was Kiyumi's first born - her 9 year old son Shuya, though he will be 10 come November. While not asleep like his siblings, he still sat there surprisingly quietly; largely on account of being bored and increasingly tired. 

Speaking of which, that was a reason why eventually Kiyumi quietly stood up - waking up her younger kids and prompting them to softly whine and rub their eyes as she walked towards Kazuo, softly whispering to her father:

“I mean no disrespect father, but my children should be returning home now; it’s getting late and school starts up again as soon as next monday.”

Kazuo first responded with a sigh, looking to Hiroki one last time before looking to his daughter;

“Go. I am not forcing you or them to stay. Just leave me in peace.”

Giving her father a respectful bow, she then turned back to her kids as she began walking towards the door - gesturing for them to follow her. Shuya got up first, followed by the younger two. However, it wasn’t long before Tomoyuki with another whine said to his mother:

“Mother, I have to pee, can I go before we leave?”

Followed not very long afterwards by his sister in a very similar manner:

“I have to pee too, mother!” she whined. Shuya rolled his eyes in annoyance, while Kazuo was too fixated on Hiroki. As such, Kiyumi centered her gaze onto Shogo as she spoke up just enough to grab his attention:

“Shogo” she said, he was at first startled because of his own mindful gaze being locked on Hiroki, though calmed once he realized it was his sister speaking to him as she continued with “Can you take Tomo to the bathroom while I handle Mitsu?”

At first, Shogo tried to deflect the order;

“Why don’t you just ask Jyunichi like you did a few hours ago?”

“Because Jyunichi is in the bathroom of his room right now” Kiyumi said, gesturing to the small room offered within the patient room itself. The door was currently closed. “He’s napping in it, since he needs to have as much energy as possible - father having assigned him to guard Hiroki 24/7, remember?”

“Oh...right…”

“Mother!” Tomoyuki whined again, this time a bit louder, “I really have to go!”

“Okay, okay” Shogo responded, standing up and taking the five year old’s hand, “I’ll take him.”

Leaving the room wasn’t easy for Shogo though, even with the preschooler basically leading him out. He still gave his brother one last look before he was back out in the hall, leading his nephew towards where he remembers the bathroom was. It must have been very weird for those few others in the hall at this hour to see a teenager with so much blood on him walking down the hall with a four year old in hand, let alone the mother so casually holding her daughter not far behind them, the eldest child trailing behind. Nevertheless, nobody said a thing about the sight. 

Upon reaching the bathrooms, Kiyumi led Mitsuko right inside of the ‘ladies’ bathroom - and Shogo did much the same in regards to the ‘men’s. There wasn’t really much to it, being a public restroom and all. The room was tiled from the floor to the walls, and while it attempted to match with the white and sterile look the rest of the building had - albeit with a bit more blue, it being a bathroom used by men it had its share of grime and dinginess. On one side of the room was a line of stalls followed immediately by urinals - opposite to the row of sinks on the other side, as well as mirrors.

“Alright, so, you do know how to use a urinal, right Tomo?”

“Mmhm!” Tomo nodded, not even having to be told to walk on over to any urinal and begin fidgeting with his pants. Shogo decided to let him handle his business on his own, and turned away towards the sinks. It was then that he was staring right back at himself in the mirror. At his brown eyes, still looking as though they were in shock - and sporting dark circles beneath themselves from how tired they were. The fact he only had his  white tank top on, with it being covered in blood - just as his hands and arms were. Normally, he would take pride in that - but knowing this was the blood of his own brother, he couldn’t help but freeze at the sight. Memories of just a few hours ago flashed again in his mind - cradling Hiroki’s head in his hand, wrapping his polo around Hiroki’s head to stop his bleeding, even the ride to the hospital in the back of the ambulance; staying at Hiroki’s side right up to this very moment. He could picture it all as if it was happening in that moment right before his eyes.

Taking a breath, Shogo approached one of the sinks and decided to at least wash the blood off of his arms and hands to the best of his ability. It wasn’t hard to do, but it was hard to look at. Seeing the blood flow off of his limbs with the knowledge of who it all belonged to, it made him stare not at the mirror but instead at his hands as if in a trance. Shogo was not normally like this, if this was anyone else he wouldn’t even be here - but this was his brother. Not some ordinary person, and not some clan member who happened to get bumped off in front of him. This was someone he actually cared about, and one of the only people in his entire family who he felt truly was there for him these past 17-18 years. Not only did he feel lost, but he also couldn’t help but to feel even colder than he actually was as he looked after his now cleaned hands, tuning out even the sound of the sink’s running water as he just silently gazed down onto his palms - in this moment unsure of what to do anymore. 

THUD

That sound, followed by the whine and cry of a small child, quickly diverted his attention. What he saw was something to no surprise, but too much irritation. Tomoyuki was on the ground, having been shoved into the wall of one of the stalls by none other than Shuya. Letting out a very irritated sigh, Shogo walked in between of the brothers - at which point Tomoyuki did manage to get up and hid behind Shogo’s legs for protection.

“Stop” Shogo said as firmly as he could, not having the patience for this right now, “Just, stop.”

Shuya was completely unmoved by Shogo’s tone of voice, and the words he said only egged his uncle on even more:

“He brought it on himself, he was taking too long to finish!”

“Kid, you can’t control how long you have to go” Shogo said, looking down at the petulant brat, “I get you’re tired and wanna go home, but have some fucking patience.”

“You mean like you did, waiting until this moment to become the next in line?” Shuya callously remarked with a smirk across his face as he watched Shogo’s reaction turn from annoyance into full anger, “I guess once we leave you’ll be sucking up to grandfather to seal the deal in?”

Shogo didn’t say anything. In fact, he didn’t even think. He only acted. His face now red with anger, his hands curled into a fist before he punched Shuya in the face. Shogo himself wasn’t the strongest person by any means, but Shuya being so smaller and even less of a fighter than him meant that the young boy was sent back - letting out a high pitched squeal as he fell to the floor, holding his eye in shock. Tomoyuki flinched at seeing the contact, having peered from behind Shogo’s leg. His mouth was actually agape as the reality of what Shogo did came over him; he froze, not knowing what to do in this situation. Shogo just looked down on Shuya with a face of silent rage, not feeling any regret at all for what he did - in fact, if anything he felt satisfaction over it.

Shuya, starting to immediately tear up as he held a hand over his now sore eye, sobbingly whined:

“I’m...I’m telling mother!” and with that, Shuya immediately ran out of the room - the door slamming behind him in his hurry. Only after it closed did Shogo realize what would likely happen now after what he just did, and let out a sigh. He then turned to Tomoyuki though, who had still been behind him up to this point - the boy flinched a little, but then Shogo in a softer tone asked him;

“You okay? No serious damage or anything?”

Shaking his head, the four year old replied “Nu-uh...I’m okay....”

“Okay” Shogo nodded, “Good.”

After a brief pause, and a bit of twiddling his fingers, Tomoyuki asked in a soft though concerned tone:

“Is….is Uncle Hiroki going to be okay?”

That was not a question Shogo was at all prepared to answer. He looked down at those big, innocent young eyes of his nephew for what felt like a while, desperately wanting to tell him ‘yes, duh’ yet knowing that he had no idea at all whether that was going to be the truth or not. Gulping and kneeling down to be level with Tomoyuki’s eyes, Shogo said the most truthful answer that he could:

“I hope so, Tomo. I really hope so.”

Tomoyuki without saying anything more than gave Shogo a hug, something which Shogo was not expecting - but he couldn’t help but feel a bit better. As ‘badass’ he wanted to pretend to be, he couldn’t deny that this sweet little moment made him feel at least the smallest bit better. Smiling for just a bit, he even patted the young boy on the back. It was a shame that this moment didn’t last longer than it did, because it was just as that face of his broke into that smile when it came crashing down.

Shouting from outside in the hall was the booming voice of his father:

“Shogo!” he yelled, “Attacking your own nephew?! Are you demented?! Must you shame me everywhere we go?! Get out here immediately!”

Shogo could only sigh.