#and if the worst should happen: there is a space here in Austria

[lenzimanot]

I kept thinking about wether to post anything, but I’ve been doomscrolling, my anxiety is high & I need to let it out somewhere. As a German, as a former history student & as a child raised by parents who grew up in a dictatorship- I am f-ing scared. I‘ve learned from a young age how it all starts, what to look out for & seeing what is happening in the us? it‘s exactly that. & knowing how much the us influences the rest of the world just has me terrified for all of us ngl.

[marieshyperf1xations]

The FIA just (a few days ago actually but I only now got around to making this post) put out a leaflet/information campaign about head injuries and more specifically concussions in motorsport, which I found really interesting and helpful, not just for those in motorsport but life in general

The tl;dr of it is: you don’t necessarily have to have hit your head in order to get a concussion, the warning signs are especially headaches, nausea and dizziness; if in doubt go see a doctor.

Now for the slightly longer/nerdy ramble under the cut:

Concussions are a mild form of traumatic brain injury (also called mTBI), that are most commonly associated with (motor vehicle) accidents, but can happen in a variety of different ways, basically any time sudden deceleration of the head happens.

The brain isn’t “attached” to anything in the skull strictly speaking, it sits in its cavity, protected by layers of skin and a fluid called “cerebrospinal fluid”. I’ve put a diagram below where you can see the layout of the head/skull/meninges. The cerebrospinal fluid isn’t labelled in the image, but it fills the spongey-looking space between the arachnoid and pia mater.

That fluid is meant to protect the brain from mild trauma, but it can only absorb so much force. When you experience rapid deceleration of any kind (so whether you directly hit your head or “just” suddenly stop) your brain can hit the inside of your skull, if it’s too much for the cerebrospinal fluid to buffer.

When the brain hits the inside of the skull in the worst case scenario it can bruise like any other part of the body, but since the cavity of the skull is closed off, there’s no way for the pressure to escape and it can seriously and permanently damage the brain, which is part of the reason why head injuries need to be so carefully watched.

As seen above the most common symptoms are headaches, dizziness, nausea, disorientation, memory issues, changes in character/behaviour and coordination issues, but that list is non-exhaustive. Apart from the risk of a more serious TBI being overlooked, in motorsport there’s also the effects of the symptoms that can lead to accidents. I don’t think I need to go into too much detail how dizziness spells or problems with vision impact racing drivers going wheel-to-wheel with each other at 300+kph, but I want to stress that this also goes for “normal” people in road cars or other every day situations. Cue the motto of the FIA’s campaign “If in doubt, sit out”.

As for first aid, the things you can do are rather limited, but the most important thing is to get somebody with a suspected brain injury to a hospital or medical centre as quickly as possible. Since patients with concussions will oftentimes vomit, it’s good to be prepared for that when taking someone to the hospital and with unconscious patients it’s even more likely and therefore important than usual to limit the risk of them choking on their own sick by putting them into recovery position (image below, but also brush up on your first aid course if you don’t know/remember this) or (if you’re trained and have the materials) otherwise protect their airways.

For some reason tumblr won’t let me link the pdf or the article, so I’ll just put it at the end here.

(Legal stuff:) Disclaimer that while I’m a paramedic and not just talking out of my arse on this, I’m not a medical authority, and this isn’t legal medical advice or anything of that nature, I’m just trying to raise awareness for brain injuries, concussions and the FIAs campaign and you should always contact medical personnel over things like this and call your local emergency number when you witness a medical emergency of any nature (144 in Austria, 112 generally in Europe, 999 in the UK and 911 in the US as far as I’m aware)

Link: https://www.fia.com/news/concussion-awareness-campaign

[admiral-alby]

bob fic recs galore

here’s the fruits of my labour. a working fic rec master-post containing multiple bob ships and many, many amazing fics. the writers in this fandom are absolutely incredible and their talent astounds me every time I read a new fic. all the kudos to y’all. keep on keeping on!

this is a long post. recs and some general notes are under the cut :)

(04/13/21) I’ll do my best to keep this list updated... or I’ll make a part 2 depending on length. if anyone has any recs that are not already listed in this post, please please message me! this is no way an exhaustive list and I’m sure I missed some fantastic fics out there - to get started I mostly just plucked from my bookmarks. I’d be happy to add on new fics for ANY pairing, rare-pairs included. I don’t really have much for rare-pairs in this rec because I haven’t read much yet but that will change soon when I have some more time on my hands to get into them  :)

if you are an author on this list and you would like your work removed from it, please just message me. no explanation necessary I will take it off asap.

I’ll make the disclaimer that while I tried to include some general information about each fic, I did not include tags/warnings. so if you choose a fic, read the tags and proceed at your own discretion.

 @capsparkyspeirs   you’re a lovely human being and this is probably not what you were imagining when I said I’d be happy to rec some fics for you. I admit it got a little out of hand but there’s so many great fics out there I couldn’t stand to choose just a couple to send your way... so you get them all! you inspired me to do this, so this is for you and anyone else who wants to read some great fics but doesn’t know where to start <3

WINNIX (RICHARD WINTERS/LEWIS NIXON)

Long Ago and Far Away (Canon Winnix) by churchkey (Series) Rated T-E / Canon Era / 18013 Words (Total) / 4 Parts / Not Complete

Summary: “A few scenes exploring how Dick and Lew became the timeless cosmic lovers they were born to be.“

*Each part can be read as a stand-alone!

It Happened One Night by raquelelpillo Rated M / Groundhog Day AU / 7704 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Nixon gets the chance to do the day before the big jump over and over and over (or, Every Fandom Needs Groundhog's Day Fic).”

Finding Our Way in the Dark by rilla Rated E / Canon Era / Soulmate AU / 8477 Words / Complete

Summary: “After Dick and Lew share their first kiss in Austria, they open their eyes to find a golden thread binding their wrists together.“

Mutual by miss_grey Rated G / Canon Era / 2105 Words / Complete

Summary: “Dick couldn’t help wondering to himself when exactly Nix had decided that Dick’s personal space had become their mutual space.“

Let Me Be Close by armyofbees  Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 8679 Words / Complete

Summary: “Five things Nix loves about Dick, and one thing Dick loves about Nix.Or,The thing about Nix, Dick is beginning to learn, is that he doesn’t love in halves. Nix loves with everything in him, and sometimes that means moving to the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania for Dick. Sometimes it means making spaghetti with him because Dick came to New Jersey and planted tomatoes, of all things. Sometimes it means telling without saying.”

Let’s Start the New Year Right by slightlytookish Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 10523 Words / Complete

Summary: “Nix had always been able to pick Dick out of a crowd, even when he was lying on his belly in the dirt two hundred yards away, squinting through binoculars at an entire company of men wearing identical uniforms. It was easier to spot him in the crush of people inside Penn Station, even out of the familiar uniform: the same tall figure, the same bright hair, the same way he always seemed to find Nix just as easily and turn towards him, like an arrow on a compass.”

Lancaster County by raquelelpillo Rated T / AU / 31500 Words / 17 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “Nix is born later. Dick is there. (AU). Set in the summer of 1942 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”

**It is part of a series with the other works being small ‘extras’ set through the story. This is the main work. It ends a bit ambiguously.

SPEIRTON (RONALD SPEIRS/CARWOOD LIPTON)

The Desolate House by Howling_Harpy Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 26672 Words / Complete

Summary: “It's been fifteen years since Carwood has last seen or spoken to Speirs when they reunite suddenly at an Easy Company reunion and have both recently relocated back to the US. Carwood has promised to his mother to finish packing and cleaning the family's boarding house that's about to be put up for sale, and on a whim invites Speirs to help him. He didn't expect him to actually show up.”

and you on my mind by seabright Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 11081 Words / Complete

Summary: “’You say that you don’t want any of Easy to know that you’re in Boston but you give me your address.’  Following a relationship through the end of the war and beyond.”

Of Soldiers and Secrets by nanuk_dain Rated E / Canon Era / 62988 Words / 26 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “A series of moments in the life of the Easy men, from Foy until after the war, focussing on the development of the relationship of Carwood Lipton and Ronald Speirs.”

Erasure by Howling_Harpy Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 15255 Words / Complete

Summary: “Carwood takes time off from work to visit his mother to get away from his lonely life in Boston. Ron is deployed to Korea and has been for a long while, and after spending a year alone and even longer lying to everyone, Carwood is not sure he wants to live like this anymore.”

Fluences by masongirl (Series) Rated T-M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 12818 Words (Total) / 5 Works / Complete

Summary: “ Soulmate AU in which soulmates can sense each other's emotions if they are close enough.”

**Mainly Speirton centric. Part 2 is Winnix & Part 3 is Shifty/Tab.

A Thousand Kisses by Arwen88 Rated T / Canon Era / 1993 Words / Complete

Summary: “ A late night in Hardigny brings Carwood to the room where Ron is dealing with paperwork, but even with a comfortable bed, he can’t find his peace. Late night chats have Ron showing a side of himself that Carwood had not expected.”

stop the world by languageofthebirds Rated T / Canon Era / 3001 Words / Complete

Summary: “The way his hair fell in mussed waves over his forehead made Carwood want to reach out and run his fingers through it. He was sin personified, in that moment.”

**Did I throw in a shameless self promo? Sure did.

WEBGOTT (JOSEPH LIEBGOTT/DAVID WEBSTER)

rivers always reach the sea by bitchbutter (Series) Rated E / Canon Era / 40790 Words (Total) / 2 Works / Not Complete / Last Updated March 17, 2021

Part 1 Summary: “Joe breaks things off with Web in Austria. Of course, nothing with them is ever that simple.“

Part 2 Summary: “The end of the war could be the end of a lot of things. If Joe could let it be.“

if i know you at all, i know you’ve gone too far by starblessed Rated T / Canon Era / 2654 Words / Complete

Summary: “How many stars d’you think there are, Web?” Joe asks after a moment.David has no damned clue. “A lot,” he answers confidently. “Millions.”“Millions,” echoes Joe. The glittering stars are reflected in his eyes, like black pits sending each beam of light back outward. It’s almost hypnotizing, the way they flicker. If he stares too long, David knows he will get lost in them...  and that doesn't seem like the worst way to go.”

Teller of Tales; Song of Songs by thedastardly Rated E / Canon Era (Post War) / 8352 Words / Complete

Summary: “He hopes that he dreams about the mountaintop tonight. He isn’t in the mood to dream of the water, the shore, the everything after, again.”

the only noise beating out is ours by lakehymn Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 3470 Words / Complete

Summary: “Over the next couple weeks, Webster realizes that Liebgott has effortlessly invaded every corner of his life. Even on the days when he barely sees Liebgott at all, he can always find comic books or packs of cigarettes lying around somewhere. It’s almost disconcerting how ordinary it’s beginning to feel to stumble upon someone else’s belongings in his own house.”

push and pull by LT_Aldo_Raine

Rated T / Modern AU / 4115 Words / Complete

Summary: ““got hands like an ocean, push you out, pull you back in” And David Webster never could resist the ocean. OR: Webster snorted, a sardonic sound that echoed across the hotel room. “You don’t know the first thing about what I need.””

hang in there, baby by rilla Rated M / Modern AU / 3116 Words / Complete

Summary: “Written for the Kisstober prompt 'upside down Spiderman kisses'. '“I don’t know what I was expecting when I asked you what your top fantasy is,” Web says, “but it wasn’t this."'”

In His Wildest Dreams by Impala_Chick Rated E / Canon Era / Dream Sharing AU / 3891 Words / Complete

Summary: “While David is in the hospital, he starts sharing dreams with Liebgott.“

Black Ink on Some Blue Lines by thelastfig Rated E / Canon Era & Post War / 10185 Words / Complete

Summary: “It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs. In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.”

LUZTOYE (GEORGE LUZ/JOSEPH TOYE)

The best laid plans by masongirl (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 52652 Words (Total) / 15 Parts / Complete

Summary: “Modern AU in which Joe and George find each other as college students and build a life together.“

each and every day (of the year) by bruce_the_shark Rated M / Modern AU / 21630 Words / 2 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “Joe grins, lifts his hand from George’s hip to grip him by the chin, twists his face around to catch his lips in a bruising kiss. George relishes in it, likes how the taste of Joe’s preferred brand of liquor mixes with the taste of his own on his tongue. He grins against Joe’s lips, knows it’s going to be a good year.”

Babysitting and Other Rationales by aces_low Rated T / Modern AU / 3267 Words / Complete

Summary: “George Luz is a god damn saint, or at least some kind of kid whisperer. And Joe's just trying to keep his head on straight.”

who let the dogs in? by starblessed Rated T / Modern AU / 1869 Words / Complete

Summary: ““And he heard me shouting and I guess it inspired him or something, cause he full-on charged at me, Joe, and before I could even slam the door, he was just —“ George cuts off with an incoherent noise, gesturing grandly to their front door. “In! And then he was running, and sniffing everything, and exploring our shit, and he peed —““Not on my damn couch,” Joe growls.“No, on the nice carpet. Marking his territory, y’know? Except it’s our territory, but I guess it’s his now, because he won’t freakin’ leave.”

BABEROE (EDWARD HEFFRON/EUGENE ROE)

Call me sweetheart, please? by mariamegale (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 95865 Words (Total) / 12 Works / Complete

Summary: “A not-relationship in the making.”

**Each part could be read as a standalone I suppose... But it’s so worth it to read the whole series!

between the walls by CountlessStars Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 2275 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Eugene decides to paint his living room. It should be easy, it really should, but it doesn't go as planned (in more ways than one).”

Walking Wounded by papersky_pencilstars Rated G / Canon Era / Magic AU / 3501 Words / Complete

Summary: “Prompt: Canon-era; Either Gene or Babe have magic, or both. Maybe magic is known or maybe they need to hide it.”

JOHNNY MARTIN/BULL RANDLEMAN

they don’t know about the up all nights (they don’t know I’ve waited all my life) by PotofCoffee Rated T / Canon Era / 22010 Words / 3 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “ Johnny and Bull throughout the war, in a slow meandering dance you might just call love.”

All My Love to Give by Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 8852 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Johnny wants to screw around to pass the time. Bull wants to show Johnny how he feels without having to risk saying it”

The Red String by Arwen88 Rated M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 1834 Words / Complete

Summary: “He had to wrench his gaze away from the sickening sight, from the machine that was probably moments away from killing his soulmate. He would’ve thrown himself under that tank if that meant saving his lover, but he couldn’t do it. He had to take care of his men, and so he forced himself to stop looking, to order his men to retreat, to see that they did what he was screaming at them.“

Over Where You Began Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 2949 Words / Complete

Summary: “ The way Bull saw it, Johnny was mad at him now, and Bull had no idea what he'd done wrong. Maybe it was better to just let it lie, let Johnny come out of whatever angry mood he was in on his own, instead of kicking an ant's nest.”

Simple as a Glass of Chocolate by ThrillingDetectiveTales Rated E / Canon Era / 2600 Words / Complete

Summary: ““It was supposed to be syrup,” Johnny muttered darkly. “Says right there on the can!”“Reckon it started out that way,” Bull shrugged, biting his lip against a smile when Johnny narrowed a glare over his shoulder.(In which Johnny and Bull try to sweeten up their sex life and it doesn't go exactly as planned.)”

CHUCK GRANT/RONALD SPEIRS

to Babel, in ruins by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era (Post-War) / 5114 Words / Complete

Summary: “Chuck knows recovery isn't a linear event. Knows there are times when words will leave him and the night will place him back beneath the dirt. Knows there are things he just can't speak about.Captain Speirs hears him anyway.”

pulse by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era  / 4706 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Ron Speirs knows how to kill. Knows how to hurt, how to twist, how to maim. He doesn't think he's figured out how to love, not really, not where it counts the most, but the touches he reserves for Chuck Grant beg to differ.. “

AUTHORS

there are so many authors on this list that have written tons of amazing works for one or multiple pairings. as much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t rec all of their works... I had a hard enough time keeping it down to 3 or less works from the same author! similar to fics, I’ve only linked authors that I am familiar with/know have written multiple fics, so feel free to send me more people to add to the list :)

churchkey - is a sweetheart. has multiple amazing winnix works. she has recently gotten into super rarepair toye/malarkey. godspeed I’ll see you there when I read those fics.

ThrillingDetectiveTales - writes for multiple pairings. all of their works are fantastic! every time I see their name as the author I go !! and know it’s going to be good.

Howling_Harpy - has written so many fics. many different pairings. lots of speirton. they’ve ripped my heart out and made me cry but then gently kissed my forehead and put my heart back. I think that’s praise of the highest order.

masongirl - another fantastic author who has written so many amazing fics. tons of speirton and other ships too. also has made me cry and then quietly wiped my tears away.

mariamegale - baberoe queen. that’s all I have to say. I was tempted to just rec all her baberoe fics. check them out!

Muccamukk - another multi ship, multi works writer. i had a hard time only choosing a few of their fics to rec. they’ve got so much to offer!

Impala_Chick - writes lots of great webgott and other pairings too!

captainkilly - if i could rec all her fics I would. there’s some rarepair pieces that are fantastic. I didn’t list it here because it’s more of a character centric piece with an OFC and a little bit of ron/chuck dashed in mostly at the end, but read her form & void series. seriously. read it. I have nothing else to say because her work speaks for itself.

Arwen88 - another writer for multiple pairings with multiple works! love to see it. some great rarepair stuff and also fantastic popular pairings.

LT_Aldo_Raine - love their work! they write for multiple pairings.

[x-lipstickstain-x]

Reappearance – George Russell

“You can’t just reappear after a month and act like nothing has happened!”

Hiya! This is one little dramatic and sappy George one shot, but I’m getting back into writing which makes me so happy! If it all goes well I’m hoping to start a little book with F1 one shots on wattpad eventually. Enjoy!! 

A month had passed, possibly being one of the toughest months of my life. I couldn’t explain how much I hated to admit, it was all caused by my own doing. I could have simply explained my worries to George that day, though as soon as he tried to change my mind, the panic made me blurt out words which still rang on repeat in my head to this day. 

“I’ve found someone else.” 

The words made him leave with a heartbreakingly hurt expression,which I had not yet seen beforehand. He was confused, shattered, it couldn’t even be compared to when he would underperform in one of the races. All of this was because I couldn’t cope with the emotions I was feeling. 

The issue was that I had never been in a serious relationship before George, I never even let it get to that point as it scared the hell out of me. How could I just let myself get attached to someone, open up to another human and trust them not to hurt me. As much as I believed George would always try his best to never do anything which could hurt our relationship, or me, there was never 100% certainty and relying purely on trust was something I was yet to learn. 

The insecurity and the overwhelming feelings for him made me act the way I did back then. When I tried to tell George that we needed space, he immediately tried to find the problem so he could help to resolve it, he wanted the two of us to work, but I didn’t want him to convince me to stay. No. I needed to get myself out of the situation, which is why I lied to his face and destroyed our three year relationship.

I really fooled myself thinking I would be better off without him, that I could simply move on and live my life as if he was never in it. I couldn’t.

Just over a month later, I found myself standing outside the circuit in Austria, praying that my pass had not yet been blocked off, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if that was the case, after all I deserved it. My hands shook as I brought the laminated card up to the scanner, a small relief washing over my body as the light turned green, the barrier opening up shortly after. 

The anxiety started rising once again as I realised I couldn’t remember which way to go, this place was huge and usually I would just follow George’s lead. I could always ask someone, though I didn’t really want to bring any unnecessary attention, since I wasn’t even supposed to be here. 

I followed signs which brought me even more confusion than in the first place. I halted, almost running into someone, the girl looked at me, clearly recognising my face faster than I could remember her name. She worked for Williams, I knew that. 

“Uhm Hi.” I spoke awkwardly. “Where can I find George?”

She stared at me for a brief moment, as if she was debating what she should tell me. “He’s in a conference right now…” 

I quickly nodded in response, biting the skin off my lip, of course getting to him wasn’t going to go as smoothly as I had hoped.

“He said you wouldn’t be joining?” The girl questioned, as I finally remembered her name as Amie. She looked rather displeased and before I could even manage to answer, she quickly shook her head. “I’ll bring him to you after, I’m in a rush.” Amie rushed off, leaving me lost once again, and possibly even more nervous for how George would react to me being here. Thankfully, I had a smart idea to check the direction from which Amie came from, eventually leading me to where I needed to be.

I was stopped at the entrance to get my pass double checked which was no surprise as not many people were allowed past this area, especially during preparation for a race. My arms automatically folded over my chest as I entered, attempting to comfort myself and creating a shield from all the judgmental looks I was already receiving. I did my best to avoid making eye contact with anyone, unluckily though when I looked ahead to see where I was going, my eyes met Alex’s. He immediately put his conversation on hold and he was already walking towards me, not giving me any time to think where I could disappear off to. 

He reached the spot where I was now standing as if my feet had been glued to the floor and my face was full of shame. “Y/n? Long-time no see, huh?” Alex tried to smile, though it turned out more as a sad smile. I didn’t only cut off George, but also the people who I had been friends with for years thanks to him, it seemed like that was the only way to truly remove him from my life. 

“What are you doing here?” Albon asked when the silence between us started to grow uncomfortable. 

I swallowed back the lump in my throat. “Just trying to fix things…” Alex wasn’t an intimidating person at all, though I knew how much he cared for his best friend, which explained why his jaw tightened while his eyes narrowed down at me. I had to prepare myself, constantly telling myself I deserved what was coming.

“You can’t just fix something like that.” He breathed out, clearly disappointed. “You really hurt him, Y/n.” 

I broke the eye contact and I bit down on the inside of my cheek, nodding my head. “I know I did, but it really isn’t what you all think.” I quickly explained, pulling the sleeves of my hoodie over my sweaty palms. “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologise to me.” He shrugged as if my apology was nothing to him. “You need to apologise to George, but after all that I’m not sure he will want to speak to you.”

“I was so stupid Alex, you don’t even understand.” I had to laugh in order to stop myself from breaking down. “I care about him and I care about you all, I just needed space and I lied to him, there was never anyone else.” When the words left my mouth, I realised how unconvincing it all sounded. 

Alex placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, turning his head away for a moment as his team called for his return. He gave them a quick nod before turning his attention back to me. “You know I’m disappointed, though I’m not the one to judge you, but if you really care for him then show him.” With that, the Red Bull driver disappeared. 

***

The door to the driver’s room opened and I could feel my heart stop and in turn pick up incredible speed as I watched all colour drain from Russell’s face when his eyes landed on me. The top part of his racing suit dropped from his hands and it was left hanging on his hips, his shoulders visibly tensed up. He was told someone was waiting for him in the drivers room, but I was most likely the last person he expected to see. 

“What are you doing here?” He closed the door behind him, his eyes not leaving me for a second, I was almost sure he didn’t even blink.

Before I could overthink the situation even more than I already have on the way here, I quickly pushed myself off of the wall I was leaning on so that I was standing in front of him. His face was pale, making the darker circles under his eyes more evident. I tried to reach for his hand, but he backed away, a pained expression on his face, which mine shortly matched. 

“You were gone for a month, Y/n.” He spoke bitterly, his tone shaky. “You can’t just reappear after a month and act like nothing has happened!” His head shook frantically and he turned, ready to run out the door. 

“I love you George.” Harshly, I bit down onto my bottom lip, partially because I was about to break down into tears and partially because I painfully needed him to turn back around. Luckily for me, he paused, his head resting against the cold surface of the door. “I love you so much it made me feel more than I could deal with.” I whispered, swallowing back the tears. There was nothing, but frustrating tension and silence. I tried to approach him once again, this time placing my hand gently on his back. 

I jumped as his fist slammed into the door where his head was leaning on just a second ago, his sadness suddenly turning into rage. “You can’t say that!” He yelled, finally finding the courage to turn to face me again, a single tear running down his cheek, showing just how much heartbreak I had unnecessarily caused him. “You love me so much you went out and found someone to replace me?!” 

I began slowly shaking my head, I had to pick my words wisely. “I lied, there was never anyone but you George.” His eyes softened, though he was quick to close them. He didn’t want me to see how much he was debating whether to believe me.

“You’re lying.” 

“No…” I trailed off, my face quickly becoming a mess from the tears. “I was scared of all my feelings for you, you’re gone so often and my head just races with all the worst things that could happen.”

“So, you just didn’t trust me? His eyes begged me for an honest answer. “Did I ever give you a reason not to trust me?”

I shook my head in response. ”No, never…” George remained silent as he watched me in anticipation, waiting for me to explain. “So many things could just go wrong in a relationship and I’m scared.” 

“Why didn’t you just talk to me?” His tone was a bit softer now. “I would have done anything to put you at ease, I asked you to come to the races with me but you were the one to refuse.”

“I didn’t want to be clingy.”

“So you preferred to throw me out your life like I was nothing instead?” I struggled for a response. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“I know that now… It was the worst month of my life.” I let myself slide down to rest on the floor with my back against the wall. “You have to believe me…” I continued, practically begging him, but once again George turned away from me. I hid my face in my knees, my arms wrapping around myself as I couldn't handle this atmosphere. 

“I made such a mess and I can’t explain how truly sorry I am for hurting you like this, but I need you to know that it was always just you.”

“I trust you...” I suddenly felt his presence beside me on the floor, making me look up, only to have him take my hand into his own, giving it a squeeze as his arm hesitantly wrapped around me. “But if you don’t trust me then how would we make this work?” 

I used my free hand to wipe the single tear on his cheek, my thumb lingering on his cheekbone. “I want to work on it, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but you never know what might happen, maybe one day you’ll wake up and realise you don’t love me anymore.”

“Y/n, you left me for a whole month, not one of those days did I ever think that I no longer loved you.” He breathed out with a small laugh, making me realise how ridiculous I was being. “I tried to hate you, I couldn’t stop thinking about who the other guy was… It hurt like mad but I couldn’t just throw my feelings for you away.” 

“I’m so sorry George, I’ll never forgive myself for being so stupid.” I began to cry again when he pulled me into his chest. “Do you think we could maybe start again?”

Once again, nothing but silence. My heart was sinking deeper and deeper until I felt his lips on the top of my head. “Only if you promise to always be honest with me, you can talk to me about anything that’s worrying you Y/n.” 

“I promise.” I pulled back only a little to look into his eyes. “I don’t deserve you.”

A faint smile made its way onto his face. “I’ll love you regardless.”

[howlingmoonrise]

Thoughts on Petshop of Horrors: Wandering Ark volume 3

(crossposted from dreamwidth)

me realizing a whole-ass 25 pages of the last volume of the papa series are just sensei's travel logs:

what did i do to deserve this, honestly? sensei i love you and all but THERE WERE SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO COVER ABOUT PAPA. AND YOU DIDN'T TOUCH THEM. AT ALL.

To start with, there's only two actual chapters in the volume, keeping in line with the previous volumes. A whooping total of 103 pages out of a 128 page manga - except, a good portion of one of them is pretty much just rehashing the events of the last volume of the original manga, so it's not exactly like they're overflowing with juicy new content. Vesca and Victor fans will be pleased at a new glimpse of them both though, with emphasis on Vesca. 

Oh, you wanted an explanation for the ark? For why Papa was going around supposedly through "space and time", with a reason other than "well, I wanted to draw stuff from other eras but I don't want to write a whole new manga with a D from back then"? There's none. N-O-N-E. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Niente. Nothing about his relationship with Sofu (though they do briefly meet on Victor's funeral - and wow, am I surprised Sofu deigned to show considering how much he loves humankind), nothing about D or Papa's relationship with him beyond an outsider's point of view on the events of the last manga, nothing about the D species in general or glimpses at previous Ds that were likely alive before our D came into being.

Another bad point: what the hell was up with the cover art? 

The top portion of it is fine, but why does the rest of it look like whoever painted it forgot how to shade things? Look at that belt. Look at those sleeves. That's all I have to say on this subject.

On to the chapters themselves!

--

First chapter:

Papa D helps with The Bachelor. No, really. It's literally a Bachelor-style show, recorded for TV, with one single man and twenty ladies competing to become his wife. Trigger warning for almost-rape in this chapter.

I'll be honest, I liked the main character for this chapter. She's a go-getter, and a survivalist, and prefers stuffing her face with food instead of flirting away the night. Honestly? Mood. I really liked the butler too. I was going on a "oh, is he going to be the actual love interest?" line of thought since he looked interesting, and then went "nah, they're not focusing on him at all beyond that one (1) scene where they were dancing, guess he's just a side character after all", only for him to actually turn out to be the final love interest. That was. Hm. To say that it was majorly underdeveloped is to put it lightly, but the "prince" wasn't great either. The attempted rape felt as if it was shoved in because they were running out of pages though, since the rest of what we saw from his personality seemed a lot mellower than that.  

The ?prostitutes? were an unexpected bright spot, even though they only showed up for a couple of panels, but it was nice that they gave her food (however dismissively) and tried to get the other guy to leave her alone, and that they were simply described as "beautiful" instead of anything else.

OH BUT. Papa hitting the would-be rapist over the head with an oar was great, it actually gave a bit more dimension to him since the Ds are usually so unwilling to dirty their own hands when it comes to violent business: at most they would usually let their pets do the work for them.

Which actually brings me to another question.

I've already said before that Papa is at most a side character on his own series, and that he actually barely gets involved at all apart from a few nudges here and there - but it's kind of jarring that he almost never "sells" a pet in this series. On all volumes including this one, there are only two chapters where he gives away a pet that was already with him and that didn't initially belong to someone else that he was just returning: the dogs from the Austria chapter, and the bird from Empress one (who was actually said to be given by Sofu, but I'm calling bullshit since he had long hair and this is supposedly a time-travelling ark). It's definitely a weird choice for a manga whose title is, quite literally, "Petshop of Horrors".

Also, for a FLYING ark there sure seem to be a lot of water-related incidents.

Thoughts on the family thing down on the general thoughts section. Also, WHY IS IT AN OAR AGAIN? WHERE DID THE BUTLER FIND AN OAR, SINCE IT SEEMED LIKE IT WASN'T PAPA LENDING IT TO HIM? I can't say the penguin thing was a huge twist considering previous chapters, but it makes me wonder that so many of Papa's stories are directly about either humans or animals, but rarely the conjunction of both apart from brief exceptions. 

--

Second chapter: Nice callback to the original PSoH on the first page: I'm extremely fond of that description of the Ds, and it's fitting for a final chapter of a PSoH series. 

This chapter is a cameo for Victor (from the Sofu series which I haven't read yet but know some things about), and a full appearance for Vesca. Victor seems to have chosen the same path as Leon, though arguably he'd actually have the money for it since he's a baron. Travelling the world following rumours and sightings, in search of someone they considered to be dear to them? Sign all three of these blonds up, because it seems to be a tradition at this point. The Ds really have a type, huh? Truth be told, from what I heard of Victor I didn't think he'd be the adventure-seeking sort, so this was a bit of a surprise. He looks cute and happy piloting planes and running from rhinos so I guess that's all that matters though.

BUT WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE POOR. He looks like a huge cinnamon roll so I feel super bad for him, I bet they all resented the money he spent trying to chase Sofu D across the globe once the Great Depression hit :/  

And then, bam! Sofu cameo. This is the chapter where EVERYONE gets a cameo, copy-paste of the last chapter of OG PSoH or otherwise. He's cryptic as usual, and I REALLY didn't expect him to remember Victor's name, much less show up to his funeral. Not that he even looks like he's grieving; he pretty much only speaks of Hitler and Eva Braun's kirin, to Papa's seemingly frowning disapproval (I haven't complained about the round art style on this volume's commentary yet so consider this to be it: the only reason why Papa even looks put out is because he has a Very Clear Frowny Line, because otherwise he just looks normal... and round). 

And then finally, some actual Papa content! Or, er, Vesca content. Both. Let's go with both. I don't want to make myself sad thinking about how little we saw of Papa on his own series. Here we see once again mentions of extinction and of resurrecting species, and finally a throwback to why the ark is an ark: "Noah's Ark". It took me RNS' translations of OG PSoH to understand the reference back on the original, because on Tokyopop's mangled translation the ark is merely a flying boat. 

It's nice to see that Vesca has a strong sense of justice similar to my dear boy Leon Orcot, since it was a bit iffy on the original manga. He's righteous (and right!) about the other Professor using Papa's research, and how Papa should have the benefits of it for himself since he was the one doing the studies. Papa, however, cares little about money or glory: even now his focus is on recovering the blind bird species from their trip to Greece (see: Shin PSoH), and here we see once again his hopeful view that one day he may be able to help them see again. Parallel to his own family much? Honestly, I feel for him.

WHAT IS IT WITH PEOPLE SHOOTING PAPA? At this point he's trying to reach for Leon's record - and failing, because Leon gets shot and mauled a frankly unholy amount of times during the original PSoH, so no one else can ever really compare. What really breaks my heart here is that he actually asks why. Sofu and D would both have simply taken it for granted, but Papa (seemingly, up until this point) doesn't automatically assume the worst of every human being he comes across. That pained why kills me a little bit, here, and soon after he grows cold and allows the more murderous side of that contract to go loose.

That page with Vesca going into the FBI really throws me back to the panels on the original PSoH right before/right when Leon decides to chase after D. Part of the background is blank, the other part a faint image of the city and Chinatown, with a sense of detachment associated with them. I could probably take the time to place them side by side and compare fully, but uh. I may or may not be stretching my workday bedtime a little too much to finish writing this, oops.

Also, an echo to the original PSoH with Papa's death, called back with him nearly being shot in the middle of the forehead. The actual event is brought in shortly after Vesca gets to mind-rant about the Ds and his search for a few pages, and then flashback flashforward time! A whole six pages which are just portions of OG PSoH's last chapter redrawn from another angle. It's implied that Vesca was able to board the ark like Leon did due to a similar scene with lying in the clouds and sighting the ship amidst them, though whether he was able to stay or not is a whole new story. This is where the actual story ends.

--

Sensei's travel logs: I'm not going to bother going into these. It was nice to see some glimpses of my son (forever a Leon stan here!) and a cameo for Taizuu also showed up a little later on if you're one of the people who liked him (personally, I would trade Taizuu in for a cornchip and a ball of lint). I'm going to make the executive choice of pretending that the D/Leon bits are what's actually happening right now after Leon caught up to D. It's lovely to see them on vacations, and Leon has mellowed out a little bit while D seems extremely comfortable and content with his favourite ex-detective's presence =v=

--

General thoughts: All the series so far seem to have some sort of theme, which kind of ties into the main character of it and their own arc. The original PSoH, for one, was focused a lot on family and greed and love and desire: our D, similarly, had plenty of unresolved issues surrounding his bloodline and things that he wanted but that he couldn't/was not allowed to have because of that very blood.

You'll have to forgive me if my interpretation of Shin is spotty since I only read around half of it (online scans only went up to volume 6 or so, physical versions of the Tokyopop translations were discontinued, and ruthlessnightsscans started scanlating it after I’d already read the available chapters for Shin), but from what I remember of it it seemed to bring in softer, more loving and lighthearted stories, usually tied around romance and being kept apart from things they want/love. The two non-Leon chapters that immediately spring to mind are the Romeo and Juliet Mafia AU, and the one where the lady got pregnant from her dead husband and was able to live on due to that renewed hope. D himself seems to have turned a new page: he hangs around humans on his leisure time (bless those drag queens), takes a vested interest in happy endings for others even if not for himself, and seems overall less inclined towards gruesome murder.

(You'll have to forgive me, but I actually haven't read the Sofu series at all yet so I can't analyse that one. I wasn't even aware RNS had scanlated it until recently, but then again I hold a lot of rage against that slimy bastard (Sofu, not RNS, RNS are baby) and so I'm putting it off indefinitely. Oops?)

And then there's this one. It's probably no coincidence that so many of the stories are about reproduction and birth and continuing a dying species: this is something that chases Papa all the way from his college days not even considering his childhood, which we don't actually don't know about but can make an educated guess at down to his issues with his son and the faint madness of his last years. Even his death plays into this theme, with it ultimately working as an way to keep the D line alive. It makes me think that Papa being kept from his position as a main character in his own series might actually be somewhat purposeful, though the decaying quality of the latest PSoH mangas makes me think this is not the case. I'll have to read the Sofu series to make a better judgement on this, depending on whether or not Sofu is or is not treated similarly. 

Another theme: being haunted by the dead. I think this is actually present on almost every chapter of the Wandering Ark series, though we may disagree on the levels on which it was shown and how easily it is or is not divorced by my previous point. A reader that reads this series on its own will likely find Papa a very bland character and will not grasp onto the nuances of these themes and how they are connected to him, IMO. These conclusions and these hypothesis are drawn by virtue of the first manga alone; it's because of it that we're aware of how Papa himself lives for the species who are long gone, his own kind included. Most of the characters on Wandering Ark push through the suffering and the sorrow of their dead to go beyond their limits and become greater and independent, which is another parallel to Papa since he's the only one of the Ds who has an objective beyond simple (and inefficient) vengeance.

Overall, there's little else I can say that I haven't said already, either here or on my previous post for the first two volumes of the Wandering Ark series. There's a real sense of isolation and detachment on Papa's side (though he seems more benevolent than the other two Ds were), but as I said I'm not sure if it's meant to be purposeful or not, though Sensei's choice to not give him an actual companion thorough his series is also telling. The pacing was also better than in the first chapters of this series, though there was that issue with the ending of the first chapter of this volume. I also still can't say this enough, but it's really strange that Papa is such a side character on his own series??

Final thoughts: we were robbed.

At least Sensei hinted that her journey with the Ds might not be over yet, though if we get another Sofu manga I can and I will riot.

[maxielxy]

Max’s highlights at 2019 press conferences

Australia Thursday

Q：Max, you said some things could have been better. What could have been better?

MV: Some things. I cannot go into detail, can I? No, I can’t.

Q：What was the nicest, funniest or weirdest thing you’ve done in the winter of 2018/2019?

MV：Some more exciting things happened, some less exciting things happened but should I share them? I don’t think so.

Spain Sunday

Q：What are the strengths of your car? What are the good characteristics?

MV: I think at the moment we’re not really better in any corner than Mercedes.

Monaco Wednesday

Q: Now, with many people saying you are in the best moment as a driver, does it disturb you, to think to enjoy your moment, to change your history in this grand prix?

MV: I’ve done four, hopefully I’ll do another 20, so I have a lot of chances to do a good result.

Q:  They always say ‘after that, he became more mature.’ How do you see that yourself?

MV：Well, I think not only after that, I think in general, it’s life. I’m getting older, general life experience but yes, sometimes you have to make mistakes to become a better driver and so this was one of them.

Monaco Saturday

Q: What was the target, what was realistic and are you satisfied with third place?

MV：I think this is my first qualifying here but I’ve only done three now.

Austria Thursday

Q: Just tell us a little bit about the performance of the car？

MV: Great!

Q：How would you like a race on London streets – or would you rather stay at Silverstone if it was one or the other?

MV: Silverstone is a great track, so, if they want a street circuit it needs to be an extra grand prix then.

Q: How do you like the idea to have only ex-Formula One drivers as stewards?

MV: For me, I think it’s not good to have the same stewards all the time – because it’s the same in football: if you have a referee who doesn’t like you, and you always have to play with that same referee, I don’t think it’s a lot of fun.

Q：As drivers, do you feel the sport’s in crisis?

CL: As Checo said, already from having a closer field would help, cars that can follow closer to each other will help also for overtaking and these are done by a few things and these other points agreed inside the… FDA!? No?!

MV: Ferrari driver academy?

CL: … the GPDA

MV： At the end of the day, even with the new rules coming at the moment, everybody is just speaking for their own advantage. Maybe it’s just better to leave out all the teams from the discussions and just say these are the rules and you deal with it.

Q:   Is it more skewed to qualifying than the race and is it still that balance of car and engine that’s holding you back?

MV: I think I explained that in the beginning of the press conference where I see I’m losing, compared to Mercedes and Ferrari. Probably somebody recorded it so you can look back at it.

Austria Saturday

Q: Yesterday Helmut Marko confirmed there is an escape clause in your contract. Can you tell the details about it?

MV: What do you think, my friend? Of course not! Why would I? I know, but I don’t care.

Austria Sunday

Q:Juan Pablo Montoya said yesterday that he wanted to be a race steward,  are you happy with that? 

MV: I think he was quite a hard racer himself so I would definitely support him being a steward. I think he would be my mate.

Germany Sunday

Q: How does it compare to the other six wins?

MV: Are you going to keep asking me that question: ‘how does it feel compared to the other ones’? I don’t know. It’s always different.  I mean now, after the race, I can say I did that 360 for the crowd, but at the time it was a bit tricky out there with the medium tyre, very low grip.

Q: Seb, do you consider this second place almost as a victory from what happened yesterday, from what happened today?

SV：For us it’s dull, as drivers so I think we rather enjoy here, close to the Netherlands with a lot of Dutch people coming…

MV: It was a bit tricky today because it was orange against red, you know those colours don’t really match.

SV: Well, they’re similar. I was taking the orange as well on my side.

MV: When they were going up, right?

Hungary Saturday

Q: Lewis, seven years ago you were here the winner but 2012 we had six champions in the peloton and you were only a one-time champion. Today we have only three champions in the peloton and you are a five-time champion.

MV: I didn’t know we had a peloton…

Q：Max is the top scorer in the last four races?

MV: You need to be the top scorer over the whole season, that’s what counts.

Q:  Max, throughout your career so far you’ve held the majority of records for being the youngest driver to hit certain achievements. This is one of the few things you’ve missed out on. Do you care much for those kind of accolades and records – or not really?

MV: No. I don't’ know, I can make it a long story but it’s not so. It’s nice but it doesn’t make me sleep better, or anything.

Q: Renault claims that the engine is now at 1000bhp. What about Honda and Mercedes engines in this case? And an engineer said it’s impossible right now in this state to break this, also for Ferrari.

MV: Well, if they claim to have a thousand horsepower they have a really bad car! I think it’s better to do the talking on the track than in the media anyway.

Hungary Sunday

Q: How do you feel close with nine championship titles.

MV: I don’t know what to say! I have none! I don’t know what to comment on this! I still have a few years, hopefully in F1, so hopefully one day I can add one. Yeah. That’s it, I think.

Belgium Thursday

Q:We know you for five seasons already and every time we are writing ‘Max is a very good young driver’. What do you think? How long can you be a young driver?

MV: Until I’m old. Is it 30 that you get old? Thirty. OK. Well, I guess there’s eight and a half more years.

Japan Thursday

Q: Do you want to be consulted when it comes to deciding whether it goes ahead on Saturday?

MV: I’ve got my speedboat on standby so I’m ready to go for Saturday.

United States Thursday

Q:Lewis had some comments to say about you after the last race. Said he affords you more space than other drivers in fear of being torpedoed. And I think Seb also said that he copy-and-pasted what Lewis had to say. I was wondering what your feeling is about those two comments?

MV: From my side, yeah, it was a bit of a silly comment to make. I think I’m always a hard racer but fair. I think it’s just not correct – but of course it’s easy to have a dig at someone. From my side, it’s fine. It’s always positive when the talk about you. That means you’re in their head, So, for my side, I just focus on my driving and I think that’s enough said.

Q: Do you think that you’re getting dug out by Lewis, by Sebastian? They don’t seem to dig anyone else out, it just seems to be you; you seem to be the centre of attention a lot of time.

MV: I think from my side it only shows that I’m in their heads and I guess that’s a good thing but from my side I don’t need to dig in to other people in the press conferences because first of all I think it’s a bit disrespectful as well and I prefer to fight on track which I love to do and of course I like to fight hard but on the edge. Otherwise, if they want me to stay behind, it’s also better to stay at home. I really want to take the fight to them because that’s what we are here for. We are racers, we in Formula One, I think we are the best out there and we do fight for victories because that’s what I live for.

Abu Dhabi Thursday

Q: Max, you’d like to offer your worst of the season?

MV: Er, no – save the time.

Q:  If you were the director of the Drive to Survive documentary on Netflix, what moment of the season would you definitely put in?

MV: Hockenheim.

Q: Do you every focus yourself like looking at Lewis, maybe winning six?

MV: I was thinking about ten.

Abu Dhabi Sunday

Q: Were you surprised by your dominance today, because you were 13 seconds ahead of Max after 20 laps?

LH: Yeah, I definitely wasn’t expecting to haver the pace advantage to that extent.

MV: You could have slowed down!

[thefinishedarticle]

The Disgrace of London?

The Disgrace of Gijón, they called it. This was the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and Germany and Austria were gearing up to play their last group game. The standings were as follows:

A win for Germany, by one or two goals, would be enough to see both teams through to the knockout stages, at Algeria’s expense. Germany scored early on, and both teams then spent the rest of the match passing the ball amongst themselves, missing any chances and largely waiting for the final whistle on a 1-0 result. 

Why risk anything more? Germany were in the weaker position, but the better team. If they pushed it, a draw would see them eliminated. If Austria did, they could miss out at the wrong end of a 3-0 defeat. There was no incentive for either team to ask for more, and risk losing what they had.

The incident led to FIFA changing the rules, so that the last two group games are always played at the same time. Never again would the World Cup be disgraced by teams with an incentive to fix the results of their matches, because every team would always need to win to be safe.

But that’s before you take the tie into account.

In the 2018 World Cup, England were put in an interesting position. Their group was all but decided going into the final game against Belgium: both teams had won their early games, so they were both on 6 points whilst Panama and Tunisia had none. They both knew that they were going through.

But the winner of the group would enter one side of the knockout bracket, whilst the runner-up would enter the other. Both Round of 16 ties were straight-forward enough, but then a quarter final against Brazil or Mexico looked more daunting than one against Sweden or Switzerland, especially when followed by a semi-final against France, Argentina, Uruguay or Portugal compared to Spain, Russia, Croatia or Denmark.

It was suggested that England would be better off losing the game to Belgium, and winning an easier run to the final. So it proved, and they traded Brazil and France for Sweden and Croatia. They did ultimately lose to Croatia, but they still had more of a chance than they did against eventual victors France. There was no suggestion that England threw the game against Belgium, but both teams fielded heavily weakened teams, and the incentive was widely discussed.

For Euro 2020, or 2021, the incentive is even closer, hitting in the first knockout round. England are in Group D, and their options are as follows:

The winner of Group D plays the runner-up of Group F. Group F: France, Portugal, Germany, Hungary. The runner up of Group D plays the runner-up of Group E. Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia.

According to the FIFA rankings, France are currently the 2nd best team in the tournament, whilst Portugal are 4th and Germany 9th. Spain are the 5th best team in the tournament, whilst Poland are 13th and Sweden 14th. There is a massive discrepancy between the two groups.

The winners of Groups B, C, E, and F will all play a third-placed team from one of the other groups. The reward for winning Group D is to face potentially the second best side in the tournament, and certainly one of the best. 

It may genuinely make tactical sense for England to drop points in their final group game. If they are top of the group going into that game (against Czechia), do they just roll over? That obviously undermines the integrity of the competition, just like in 2018. Except here it’s even more obvious, because a) it’s immediate, determining the next game, and b) Czechia aren’t likely to be the other favourites for the group. That means that unlike the Belgium game, they don’t both have the same incentive. Czechia may need to win, whilst England don’t. 

That puts us back into Gijón territory. If England are first and Czechia third, they might be happy to lose 1-0 and progress as runners-up in place of Croatia. It makes a joke of the whole competition. The draw is imbalanced from the start (1st and 2nd shouldn't both play a 2nd placed team, otherwise there is no incentive), but the group of death ending up on the wrong end of that makes it twice as bad.

For an idea of how imbalanced it is, compare with Wales in Group A:

If all games follow the world rankings: If England (4th) win their group, they play Portugal (5th) then Spain (6th). If they come second, they play Poland (19th), then France (2nd). If Wales (18th) come second in their group, they play Denmark (12th) then the Netherlands (14th).

Not only are England potentially better-off coming second (and avoiding the humiliation of a first round defeat), they are worse-off than Wales in either case. In fact, most second-placed teams will be better off, as in every group except for A and D they play a third-placed team, whereas England play Portugal. Surely the whole point of seedings is to make these things more balanced?

Currently the top four ranked teams are Belgium, France, England and Portugal. Two of those are in the same group. That should not happen. It’s similar to the 2014 World Cup, where England were placed in the same group as Italy and Uruguay, three of the top ranked nations in the world, despite there being eight groups of four teams designed to space the top teams out. It shouldn’t happen, but it keeps happening.

Part of the issue is that the draw should also be made closer to the tournament (in this case the Covid-19 delay made it worse), because the rankings change. The pot system is also flawed, because it splits teams into tiers of six based on quality, but there are no such divisions and so best team in Pot B is usually closer to the worst team in Pot A than it is to the worst team in Pot B. 

In this case, France (best team in Pot B) and Portugal (best team in Pot C) were drawn into the same group. There need to be checks to stop this happening, to make sure that all groups have roughly the same composition (e.g. an average ranking), and to do the same for different sides of the knockout bracket. If the best team in Pot B is drawn into a group, they should have one of the weaker sides in Pot C to compensate. Otherwise this imbalance will happen every time.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

What if Star Wars had tanked?

May 1977, 20th Century Fox distributes a really WEIRD movie.  It’s a science fiction fantasy story about medieval knight samurais in space with laser swords and fighter pilots.  Nobody expected it to be a hit, it seemed to be such a niche movie, one that would garner a small cult following then be swept under the rug by the other summer tent poles like “Smokey and the Bandit” or “The Spy Who Loved Me.”  To everyone’s surprise, it became an instant success, rocketing no name George Lucas from a no-name bush-league indie director into the echelon of A-list Blockbusters.  His idea for a decade spanning six part saga (two sequels, three prequels) was greenlit then and there, and the budget for Star Wars 2, now called Star Wars 5, was double what he was given for the original.  Star Wars 1, nor 4, was given the subtitle “A New Hope” to let audiences know it was just the beginning of a series, and the rest is history.

But in 1977, George Lucas was not as confident in his vision as he would soon become.  He figured, as every producer did, that his film would be a flash in the pan genre piece, something that would play in theaters just long enough to make it’s budget back, then disappear into obscurity.  In 1976, he planned for the worst.

Star Wars, like many other films of the day, was being given a novelization.  Before home media became ubiquitous, the only way people could experience the film was to see it in theaters or buy the book version.  Lucas hired a ghostwriter, Alan Dean Foster, to write the novelization of Star Wars 1, AND to create a tentative Star Wars 2 that could be adapted to the screen if the original film failed to meet his high expectations.  Star Wars 2, titled “Splinter of the Minds Eye,” was written to be as low budget as possible; no big set pieces, and for that matter no big sets.  Every scene had to take place in a set that the studio already owned, and couldn’t include any major space battles because there was no guarantee that the special effects would fit into the budget.  On top of that, it meant that none of the characters played by big name actors would be included; no Harrison Ford, no Alec Guinness.  Splinter was a bare bones story set entirely on what would essentially become Dagobah, and would have taken the franchise in an entirely different direction.  None of the story elements from Lucas’ dream sequel were included, and none of the plot twists either; there is no connection between “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” and “Empire Strikes Back,” and in fact, once Empire was released, Splinter was relegated to secondary canon because the official sequel had overidden it so the story no longer made sense.

But if Star Wars 1 had flopped, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye would have been made into the official sequel, and the story would have had to pick up where it left off; Lucas didn’t plot out a low budget version of Star Wars 3, so we can only speculate as to what may have happened.

In Splinter, Luke and Leia are going on a diplomatic mission to convince some neutral star systems to join the rebellion.  Their ship crash lands on a backwater swamp planet (called Mimban, a name eventually used for the World War I trench planet in the Disney movie Solo), which is roughly analogous to the Dagobah we saw in Empire.  Stranded on the swamp planet, Luke and Leia find their way to an imperial mining colony, get into a scuffle, and escape with the help of a Jedi witch named Halla.  The titular “splinter of the mind’s eye” is a broken fragment of a magical crystal, because this was the 1970s and crystals were a big thing in fantasy (the splinter was called the kaiburr crystal; this name would later be re-purposed in canon as the crystals used for lightsaber and Death Star laser construction).  The splinter is said to focus the force, allowing the wielder to become more powerful or something; it’s a MacGuffin, the book is vague as to what it actually physically does.  After a confrontation with locals, and a duel with none other than Darth Vader (in which Leia wields a lightsaber and Luke cuts off Vader’s whole arm), Halla takes over the role of Luke’s mentor to train him in the ways of the Force.

At this point in the series, Luke and Leia were never intended to be brother and sister.  It was clearly supposed to be a chivalric romance between a knight errant and his courtly love.  He is the royal bodyguard to the Queen of Alderaan (the entire Royal Family was destroyed in Star Wars 1, so Princess Leia should by all rights have been coronated as Queen Leia).  George Lucas added the twist that they were brother and sister well into production of Empire; in fact, in Empire he shot two scenes of Leia kissing Luke (one was to make Han jealous, the other was near the end, right after she rescued Luke from cloud city; I’m glad they cut the second one, because it undermines the fact that she literally just told Han that she loves him).  Han Solo himself is mentioned in passing, not even by name, just as some pirate Luke used to know who took his reward money from the first movie and went to pay off some debts.  If this movie had been made instead of Empire, there’s no guarantee that a Star Wars 3 would even be greenlit.

But if it had been, here’s what would have happened.

Darth Vader is not Luke’s father in this version; that too was a twist Lucas invented after the series took off.  So, in this version of Star wars 3, which I will call “Revenge of the Jedi,” Luke goes on a quest to slay the evil Emperor.  It’s a fantasy movie, in any other setting the point of the franchise would be to kill the main bad guy; imagine if Lord of the Rings had ended without the heroes destroying the ring and defeating Sauron, that would have made no sense.  In this version of the story, Darth Vader is just the archetypal Black Knight; tying back into the Japanese influence on the series, he is an evil Shogun, appointed by the Emperor to be the military dictator.  There would be more emphasis on fight choreography in this version, drawing influence from the works of Akira Kurosawa.  The word Jedi comes from the word for the Japanese film genre Jidaigeki, meaning ‘period piece,’ featuring samuri and ronin (for western audiences, “Ronin” are nomadic heroes, like Clint Eastwood’s man with no name, or the Road Warrior).

Revenge of the Jedi would end with a climactic fight scene in the Emperor’s palace, with Luke battling his way through the many levels, defeating wave after wave of imperial soldiers and those red guards fans love to care about even though they do literally nothing on screen.  The prequels we got in canon were bogged down with boring politics about trade federations and unions and guilds and alliances, but politics can be interesting if done well (and written by someone who isn’t George Lucas; the original trilogy we got was good DESPITE him, not BECAUSE of him).  Revenge of the Jedi would see Leia building an army, the rebellion becoming an actual superpower in the galaxy; the New Republic wouldn’t just be restored after the Empire was defeated, it would be restored during the war with the express intent of rallying neutral systems behind an actual government body against the Emperor.

Darth Vader betrayed and murdered Luke’s father, but more importantly he committed genocide against Leia’s people, the survivors of which now live in diaspora.  Sound familiar?  “The Rebellion” isn’t a great name, but “the Alliance” is perfect because it evokes the Allies of World War II and shows that it is a galaxy-wide phenomena, not just a single splinter cell as depicted in the films in our timeline.  Luke wants to avenge his father, but if you’re insistent that the good guy isn’t allowed to kill the bad guy, you could have Vader go out the way he did in “Return of the Jedi,” turning back to the light side and sacrificing his life to kill the Emperor.  Everyone loves a redemption story, but Darth Vader really was a piece of shit and didn’t deserve to just get a free pass into Jedi Ghost Heaven because he decided to stop being evil five minutes before he died.

Maybe in this version of Star Wars 3, Harrison Ford returns for a cameo as a favor to George Lucas.  If so, he dies; Ford wanted Han to die in “Return of the Jedi,” and only agreed to do “The Force Awakens” if they finally killed him off then.  If he returns for “Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Jedi,” he will sacrifice himself for the Alliance, going out as a hero.  After the Emperor is defeated, the threat doesn’t just go away; suddenly there’s a power vacuum, with all the admirals and regional governor’s vying to replace him.  In both pre- and post-Disney Star Wars, the Emperor had a son (Triclops in Legends continuity, and Rey’s dad in Canon), so he would be heir to his father’s throne; perhaps he is propped up as a puppet for the military leaders, or maybe he surrenders to the Alliance and allows his Empire to be balkanized into dozens of independent powers, as with the fall of every great Empire; Rome (East and West), Mongolia, China, Austria-Hungary, Britain, the USSR, the list goes on.

This Star Wars trilogy would not be the enormous franchise we know today, it would still be a very niche series with a cult following.  It would be a step up from the Planet of the Apes series; sure, people have heard of it, and there have been attempts to revive it in the modern day, but it’s not even close to being a tent pole of the modern cultural zeitgeist.  Nobody looks forward to the new Planet of the Apes movie every year, it’s not a multi-billion dollar multi-media enterprise, there’s no dedicated “Planet of the Apes Celebration,” no cartoons, no streaming service shows that everyone geeks out about online, no triple-a video games, nothing.  This version of Star Wars would be just another weird artifact of the 1970s.  Maybe there would be a push to release a sequel, Star Wars 4, in like 2007, but that would be closer to Rambo IV or Superman Returns or Tron Legacy.

There are dedicated fans, but it’s not the biggest movie of the year.

Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars 2: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye (1979)

Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Jedi (1982)

Star Wars: Journal of the Whills (2011, a prequel set during the Clone Wars mentioned in the first movie)

[borisbubbles]

01. LITHUANIA

Ieva Zasimauskaite - “When we’re old” 12th place

After six, long arduous months, this ranking somehow outlived the entire Almaia relationship, and that alone should be reason enough to finish the ranking immediately, but the the upcoming ban of all nfsw stuff (/porn) from this website will also cause a homosexual exodus (homosexodus? 🤔), sooooo, definitely time to finish this ranking before I lose 85% of my current audience. 

Look, listen OKAY, just like how I naturally gravitate towards Lea Sirk’s sass and Elina’s pristineness and DoReDoS’s hilarious whateverthatwas, I was simply never *not* going to like a Lithuanian frumpy space princess and annointed HINDU with a voice more brittle than Theresa May’s position in the House of Commons, whose meditation rites include drinking a cup of boiling water (without the tea! just water) on a daily basis to *purify* her mind and soul. Okay the last MAY be an exaggeration on the behalf of the Flemish commentator (Peter Van de Veire is a known jokester), but then again, I can totally see Ieva telling this to random bystanders in her hotel lobby? Such oblivious, but well-meaning wackiness is just so Ieva SassyMouseKyte. 

Naturally, one MASSIVE part of my Ieva stanning is JUST her personality, which is both intensely kooky and disarmingly innocent, see above. Another example: Ieva serenly sliding off the stage during the semifinal, only to find the nearest camera and exclaim  ”I FELT THE PRESENCE OF *GODS* ON THE STAGE WHILE I WAS SINGING ^__^ I FEEL *ENLIGHTENED* 🤗🤗” llke she was Siddharta Gautama under the Bodhi tree <3 I am no a religious man but if Ieva said the stage was brightened with a non-descript Eastern Deity’s presence during the performance, who am I to refute it? 😁 

Gods or no gods, I will say that it took a *serious* amount of dharma to give us *the most unexpected gift* we’ve ever could’ve been granted, which is a COMPETENT EUROVISION ENTRY FOR LITHUANIA. In terms of Eurovision, Lithuania are amongst of the objective *worst* on a  terrifyingly consistent basis and here you have a fairly pleasant Ellie Goulding-inspired, frumpolicious Hindu cleric bringing a ballad about the inevitability of high medieval alliance pacts. Let’s Sing The Song That She Wrote:

Actually that’s selling the act a bit short, because for a brief moment, Ieva managed to transform her moment during the sheer INSANITY that was this year’s finale (well the sheer insanity streaked with horrifying, terrible, machinal dullness, not naming any names but *cough*austriaandaustralia*cough), into an oasis of *pure show-stopping sentiment* and that’s a powerful feat to accomplish for a Eurovision entry. Normally, you think such an entry would Blackbird itself into oblivion but as Ieva had prophetically declared, GOD WAS ON HER SIDE, AMEN, so nope, think again Christerifer Morningstar 😈

Speaking of, praise Hallellujah, Oh Glory and Mazzel-Motherfucking-Tov that Ieva qualified under the hilarity that is the current combined voting system (to those who still hate it, AISEL would’ve qualified under the old system despite being 12th in both jury and televote 🙃 Granted this would be funny if this had happened to Sennek or Ari or Eye Cue or basically anyone other than Aisel, but it didn’t so The Old System remains CANCELLED, s/n/s) because not only is Ieva an Elyon Goddess Moste High, and has the unique quality of being a Good Entry from Lithuania, “When We’re Old” is also... fucking awesome in itself?

 “When we’re old” is *not* your typical BorisBubbles fave on the surface (lol as if I can expect you to know what a typical Boris fave is after only two full rankings  on tumblr 😬), but it totally is? Ieva hits that personal sweet spot for me that I require from my faves: Quirky, but not overbearingly weird. Well-liked, but not liked *enough* to top every post-show list. Sentimental, but because her emotions are *real*, not because of some forced commercialized acting gig. (such as, um, fucking Rona Nishliu and her fake-as-fuck dry sobbing ugh die bitch! (k not literally, just musically, 5ever)). Also, this song makes me want to sing along like the soft ass fag that I am. “When Weeeeeeeeee’re OWLED Hooooooooooooooo!!!” All of this cements Ieva as a dark horse, an underdog and an eternal outsider and these are  the *specific*  type of entries that I started this blog for.   

I guess I should write a bit more, with more *sass and pizzazz*, but that’s basically my Ieva love in a nutshell! I think she’s an utter gem, both as a human and a Eurovision participant, “When We’re Old” *still* remains the only entry this year to give me *emotional attachment* in the form of shivers and near-tears and bad impromptu karaoke.  If you don’t think she’s all that, well that’s your loss, not sorry! She made the final through the good graces of Hare Krishna and did better than Jessi*can’t* and *No*lexander ! If I get a relationship, I want it be precisely like Ieva and her Hubbo’s. GET A LIFE!!

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF EUROVISION 2018

Thank you for reading this ranking, it’s been a blast! See you on the 1st of April 2019 for the #TelAviv2019 preshow ranking. God bless you and shalom! 

EUROVISION 2018 - POST SHOW

01. Lithuania (Ieva Zasimauskaite - “When we’re old”) 02. Moldova (DoReDoS - “My Lucky Day”)

03. Estonia (Elina Nechayeva - “La Forza”)

04. Slovenia (Lea Sirk - “Hvala, ne!”)

05. Switzerland (ZiBBZ - “Stones”)

06. Germany (Michael Schulte - “You let me walk alone”)

07. Albania (Eugent Bushpepa - “Mall”)

08. France (Madame Monsieur - “Mercy”)

09. Hungary (AWS - “Viszlát nyár”)

10. Finland (Saara Aalto - “Monsters”)

11. Bulgaria (EQUINOX - “Bones”)

12. Denmark (Rasmussen - “Higher ground”)

13. Malta (Christabelle - “Taboo”)

14. Cyprus (Eleni Foureira - “Fuego”)

15. United Kingdom (SuRie - “Storm”)

16. Serbia (Balkanika - “Nova Deca”)

17. Portugal (Cláudia Pascoal - “O jardim”)

18. The Netherlands (Waylon - “Outlaw in ‘em”)

19. Ukraine (MÉLOVIN - “Under the ladder”)

20. Macedonia (Eye Cue - “Lost and Found”)

21. San Marino (Jessika ft. Jenifer Brening - “Who We Are”)

22. Sweden (Benjamin Ingrosso - “Dance You Off”)

23. Austria (Cesár Sampson - “Nobody but you”)

24. Latvia (Laura Rizzotto - “Funny girl”)

25. Azerbaijan (AISEL - “X my heart”)

26. Israel (Netta - “Toy”)

27. Norway (Alexander Rybak  - “That’s how you write a song”)

28. Montenegro (Vanja Radovanovic - “Inje”)

29. Armenia (Sevak Khanagyan - “Qami”)

30. Poland (Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer - “Light me up”)

31. Greece (Yianna Terzi - “Oniro mou”)

32. Georgia (Iriao - “For you”)

33. Belgium (Sennek - “A matter of time”)

34. Italy (Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - “Non mi avete fatto niente”)

35. Romania (The Humans - “Goodbye”)

36. Ireland (Ryan O'Shaughnessy - “Together”)

37. Croatia (Franka - “Crazy”)

38. Belarus (ALEKSEEV - “Forever”)

39. Russia (Julia Samoylova - “I Won’t Break”)

40. Spain (Amaia & Alfred - “Tu canción”)

41. Iceland (Ari Ólafsson - “Our choice”)

42. Australia (Jessica Mauboy - “We got love”)

43. Czech Republic (Mikolas Jozef - “Lie to me”)

HALL OF BORIS BUBBLES EUROVISION FAVES (1972-2018) 1972: the Netherlands (Sandra & Andres - “Als het om de liefde gaat”) 1973: United Kingdom (Cliff Richard - “Power to all our friends”) 1974: Sweden (ABBA - “Waterloo”) (ed: totally by default btw. Shit year.) 1975: Germany (Joy Fleming - “Ein Lied kann Eine Brücke Sein” )  1976: Luxembourg (Jürgen Marcus - “Chansons pour ceux qui s’aiment”) (😂) 1977: Belgium (Dream Express - “A million in 1-2-3″) (ed.: top five ESC year) 1978: Israel (Izhar Cohen & Alfabeta - “A Ba Ni Bi”) 1979: Germany (Dschinghis Khan - “Dschinghis Khan”) 1980: Luxembourg (Sofie & Magaly - “Papa Pingouïn”) 1981: Belgium - (Emly Starr - “Samson”) 1982: Germany - (Nicole - “Ein Bißchen Frieden”) 1983: Israel (Ofra Haza - “Hi”) 1984: Ireland (Linda Martin - “Terminal 3″) 1985: Turkey (MFÖ - “Didai, Didai, Dai”) 1986: Belgium (Sandra Kim - ”J’aime la vie”) (même si c’est une folie!) 1987: Belgium (Liliane St. Pierre - “Soldiers of Love”) (ed.: top Five esc entry) 1988: Switzerland (Céline Dion - “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi”) 1989: Denmark ( Birthe Kjær -  "Vi maler byen rød") 1990: Yugoslavia/Croatia (Tajci - “Hajde, da ludujemo) 1991: Sweden (Carola -  “ Fångad av en stormvind”) (ed.: top five ESC entry) 1992: Denmark (Lotte Nilsson & Kenny Lübcke - “Allting som ingen ser”) 1993: the Netherlands (Ruth Jacott - “Vrede”) 1994: Germany (MeKaDo  - “Wir geben ‘ne Party”) 1995: Cyprus (Alexandros Panayi - “Sti fotia”) 1996:  Croatia (Maja Blagdan - “Sveta ljubav”) 1997: Poland (Anne-Marie Jopek - “Ale jestem”) (ed.: Top five ESC year) 1998: the Netherlands (Edsilia Rombley - “Hemel en aarde”) (I think???? lol 😬) 1999: Croatia (Doris Dragovic - “MARIJA MAGDALENAAAAAAA”) 2000: Latvia (Brainstorm - “My Star”) (ed.: top five ESC entry) 2001: France (Natasha St. Pier - “Je n’ai que mon âme”) (but also, nobody) 2002: Spain (Rosa - “Yooropz leebin a selebrayshun”) (ed.: this trashfest <3) 2003: Germany (Lou - “Let’s get happy”) (and let’s be GAY!) 2004: Albania (Anjeza Shahini - “Image of you”) 2005: Romania (Luminita Anghel and Sistem - “Let me try”) (Ed.: top five year) 2006: Iceland (Silvia Night - “Congratulations”) (ed.: 2006 SF > 2006 GF 😬)   2007: Georgia (Sopho - “Visionary Dream”) (ed.: i have about 9 absofaves from this year though lol) 2008: Iceland (Euroband - “This is my life) 2009: Iceland (Yohanna - “Is it true?”) (ed.: top five ESC entry) 2010: Albania (Juliana Pasha - “It’s all about you”) 2011: Germany (Lena - “Taken by a stranger) (ed.: top 5 entry, bottom 5 year >_<) 2012: Sweden (Loreen - “Euphoria”) (ed.: as with ABBA Loreen wins my ranking by default because this year is mostly rubbish.) 2013: Greece (Koza Mostra - “Alcohol is free”) (ed.: personal fave ESC year :)) 2014: Slovenia (Tinkara Kovac ft. Lea Sirk - “Round and round) (ed.: top five ESC year) 2015: Latvia (Aminata - “Love Injected”)  2016: Armenia (Iveta Mukuchyan - “LoveWave) 2017: Belgium (Blanche - “City Lights”) 2018: Lithuania (Ieva Zasimauskaite - “When we’re old”) (ooooohhhhhhhh)

[crystal-siren]

Knowledge (Dad!Tony x Reader + Loki x Reader) Pt. 6

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

@dovies666  @mymourningtea  @parkerrpeterr  @desdestiny @blackmaylovesfries @m4shtyx @bry-97  @1800-fight-me @sapphire1727 @twerkinglucifer

I’ve never known a joy more elegant or effortless than the one I have found with you. Our energy is infectious, the chemistry is wild, and your crazy and my crazy are perfectly aligned. I am positively convinced we were written in the stars, and if not, I will carve our names into the sky myself. ~ Beau Taplin // In The Stars

It got worse at night.

Many times he had wished for a dreamless sleep. For nights when her limp form would not float suspended before his eyes. At night she spoke. She spoke of things that had never happened and could never be. Her fragile mortality had made sure of that.

He wished he did not know what her voice sounded like. Or the colour of her eyes and how they lit up when she smiled, or even the artificial colour of her hair. Everything that made her who she was. Everything that made her unique and different from the others of her race. Her acceptance of him and her willingness to let him prove himself.

He wished he had never met her, or laid eyes on her. That she had never spoken to him. That she had not been so curious. He wished for once, that she had followed the rules. 

He knew that all the wishing in the universe would not change the way things had gone. Even with his magic, as powerful as it was, he could not change the past.

The pain that came from being denied his birthright was dulled in comparison to this. The loneliness and isolation was only magnified by the knowledge that he would never see her again. That he would never again be greeted by that warm smile that spoke of second chances and forgiveness. None of which he had earned, not in the least.

Nights were the worst.

He had not laid eyes on the moon or the stars for two years now. The same moon and stars she would have looked at each night. Now he only saw them in his dreams.

The promise she had made. The promise to find him. It would haunt him for the rest of his miserable life. She had condemned herself when she made that promise.

“I didn’t know I had a heart,” he murmured, “at least, not until I lost you.” Looking up, he saw her standing right in front of him. She reached out and gently lay a hand on his cheek. Her touch was a light as the ghost she had become.

~ ~ ~

Blood splattered on the stone as she held it. The amount that came whenever she coughed had only increased.

With clammy hands, Y/N clutched the stone. It was even more beautiful than all those authors and scholars had described it. Smiling slightly, she wiped the blood off the smooth surface, “I’ve finally found you,” she murmured. “Now I just need to figure out how to use you.”

Nikolas had left a hour before to find a doctor that would be willing to treat her. Y/N had read about this illness in the past and she knew what awaited her should no help come. She prayed to whomever might be listening that her cousin would find someone.

Pushing herself up into a standing position, Y/N moved to stand by the window and leaned against the cold stone of the window-frame. Her tired eyes were reflected in the glass. As they looked back at her, they changed from the e/c of her eyes, to the emerald green of his. Her purple, trembling lips morphed into his. Reaching out with a trembling hand, she lay her hand on the cold glass, “not long now,” she murmured before closing her weary eyes.

That was how Nikolas found her.

Panic coursed through him. Rushing to her side, Nikolas immediately felt for a pulse and thanked the stars when he found one. A weak one, but one nonetheless. Pulling her close, he lifted her away from the window. “Come on, let’s get you warm.” He seated her by the fire and draped a blanket around her still form.

The doctor he had brought approached her and knelt before her.

“Well?” Nikolas questioned, eager to know whether or not his suspicions were about to be proved correct or false. He hoped it was the latter.

After examining her pulse and lungs, the doctor stood and faced the young man. “I am afraid it is what you feared.” He glanced back at Y/N, who’s eyes were still closed, her breathing shallow. “Your friend has Pneumonia.”

This was one the few times that Nikolas had hoped he was wrong. “Is it very serious?” His blue eyes darted over the doctor’s features, silently begging. He needed to know as much as possible.

The doctor nodded gravely. “Your friend has a very advanced stage of the illness.”

“Advanced?” Nikolas hoped he wasn’t hearing what he thought he was. “Will she die?”

“Under constant care,” the doctor explained, “she has a very high chance of surviving. But I do believe it would be better if she were to be admitted to a hospital. There she would receive all the right treatments and care.”

Nikolas shook his head. “I tried convincing her, but she is too stubborn. She will not let me take her.”

The doctor was confused. “But surely she is aware of her situation?”

Her cousin nodded. “She knew before I did.”

“Then why?” The doctor pressed.

“Because,” Nikolas paused, thinking of how best to phrase it. “She is uncomfortable with public spaces.” That was one way to put it. Nikolas wasn’t entirely sure whether or not the doctor knew who his cousin was. “Can she be treated here?”

The doctor paused before answering. “It is possible, but the chances of her survival may be reduced.”

“Nevertheless,” Nikolas said, “it is possible. Anything that I need to do to ensure her well being, I will happily do it.”

The doctor nodded thoughtfully. “She cannot be allowed to lie down and she must drunk plenty of fluids.”

Nikolas nodded thoughtfully. “Why isn’t she allowed to lie down? Surely she needs rest?”

“Yes,” the doctor explained, “she does. But if she were to lie down, the fluid that is in her lungs will pool and she will drown.”

Her cousin nodded in understanding.

“I admire your efforts and determination, young man,” the doctor continued, “but I would still recommend admitting her. As I mentioned before, the illness is very advanced. If we are not careful and vigilant in our care, she will die.”

That was a reality that Nikolas did not want to face. “I will not allow that to happen. I can promise you that.”

~ ~ ~ 

“Any word?” Tony asked Natasha as soon as he entered the room.

The Russian shook her head, “not yet. But we’ll find her, Tony. I assure you.”

Nodding wordlessly, he walked over to one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows and sighed heavily. Endless possibilities ran through his mind. Numerous situations that she could be in.

“Do you have any ideas of where they might have gone?” Clint’s question broke through his train of thought.

Tony shook his head. “Y/N never really traveled before she went to college. Home was always her favourite place. She stayed there as much as she could.” A small smile accompanied the fond memories.

“This Nikolas, does he travel often?”

Tony thought for a while before nodding. “He never really stays in one place for too long. Except when he’s in the Capital, then he’s there for often months at a time. He stays with his mother.”

The two agents nodded and glanced at each other thoughtfully. So far the FSB had hit the same dead-ends as they had.

Silence stretched between the group as they each thought of where the pair could possibly be. This silence was interrupted by the Director.

“Y’all gonna want to see this,” he stated, walking into the room with an analyst trailing after him.

Curious, the group assembled around him. In turn, Fury held up a folder. “We’ve got her.” Was all he said. They all noticed, however, that his tone was not as triumphant as it should have been.

“Well?” Steve questioned, confused. “This is good news isn’t it?”

The Director nodded and glanced at Tony. “It is and it isn’t.”

“Why are you looking at me like that for?”

“Because,” Fury paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “We found her through the medical system.”

Now it was Tony’s turn to be confused. “The medical system? Y/N’s not even on it.”

Fury nodded. “Now she is. A doctor was called out by her cousin to diagnose her.”

“Diagnose her?” Tony repeated in shock, “with what?”

This was the part that the Director had been dreading. “Pneumonia.”

At this, Tony felt all the blood drain from his face. “I’m sorry, what?” He didn’t want to believe what he had just heard.

“How serious is it?” Bruce asked, curious and shocked, as were the rest of the Avengers.

“Very,” Fury explained. “The doctor spoke to our contact. She is at a very advanced stage. Apparently she refused to be treated at a hospital.”

“She didn’t want us to find her,” Tony finished the sentence in a whisper. This couldn’t be happening.

“I wonder why she hasn’t used the stone yet,” Clint wondered out-loud and Natasha nodded in agreement.

“The important thing is that she hasn’t yet,” Steve replied and glanced at Tony, then at the Director. “Do we know where she is?”

Fury nodded, “these photographs were taken just a few days ago.” He opened the folder and laid out a number of photos taken from security footage.

Nikolas could clearly be seen in each of them, but there was no sign of Y/N.

Tony did not recognise any of the surroundings, but it seemed that Clint did.

“Austria,” he stated. “Just outside of Vienna.”

“How far?” Steve asked.

“About three hours,” Clint replied, “there is a small town. Although, if she were to be taken to a hospital, it’d be the Capital.”

~ ~ ~

“Your Majesty!”

Frigga stopped just outside the entrance to the dungeons and turned around. “Yes?”

“The Allfather wishes to speak with you.”

Of course he does, Frigga thought to herself. To the servant, she replied with a smile, “I will be there presently.”

She turned to continue down the stairs to the entrance when the servant once again stopped her. “He requested your immediate presence, Your Majesty. I’m sorry.”

Facing the servant, the Queen nodded. “It is not your fault. But I suppose not even his wife can keep him waiting.” Casting a glance behind her, Frigga followed the servant to the throne room.

Odin waited for her and turned towards her as she entered. “You were visiting the prisoner?”

Frigga lifted her chin and nodded. “I was about to visit our son, yes.”

“He does not deserve your kindness.”

“On the contrary,” Frigga replied, “he needs it now more than ever before.”

“Why do you say that?” Odin questioned. Whether he was genuinely curious or not, she would never know.

“He has suffered a great loss,” the Queen explained. “It is my duty as a mother to comfort and support him.”

“You are not his mother,” Odin reminded her.

Frigga nodded stiffly. “Of that, I am aware. I know I did not birth him. But I am more his mother than the one that did. He was abandoned and left to die, as you well know. But need I remind you that it was you who brought him here? We are as much to blame for his mistakes as he is.”

Odin did not reply right away. His wife did not challenge him often, but when she did, she became a formidable opponent. Her love for their younger son was evident in the way she defended him, even now, after everything he had done.

“What is this loss you speak of?”

Frigga wasn’t sure whether or not she should answer that. In the end, she answered with the truth. “He lost the one he loved.” She decided then and there that she would not reveal the whole truth to him, even if he was the Allfather.

~ ~ ~

When Y/N woke, she was greeted with the sight of her cousin fast asleep on the ground beside her.

Smiling, she reached down and gently patted his head. “Nikolas?” Her voice was a little hoarse and her throat was very dry. When he didn’t respond, she hugged the blanket closer and pushed herself off the chair and walked on shaky legs to where she had left a bottle of water.

Feeling the cold liquid roll down her throat was one of the best feelings and she sighed happily and didn’t stop drinking until the bottle was empty. Setting the bottle down, she walked back her chair and eased herself down. Looking around, she saw the stone lying on the mantle.

Taking a series of deep breaths despite the pain, she got up and retrieved the stone. Feeling a coughing fit coming on, she covered her mouth with her bandaged hand. Not wanting to wake her cousin, Y/N tried to internalise the coughing and minimise the sound.

This resulted in a difficulty breathing.

Nikolas woke to the sounds of her gasping for breath while covering her mouth with her bandaged hand. The blood from the coughs had seeped through onto the material that covered her hand. Y/N’s shoulders were heaving with the effort.

“Y/N?”

The sound of her name drew her eyes to the concerned ones of her cousin. Dropping her hand, Y/N forced a smile, a small trace of blood on her purple lips. “Yes?”

“What were you trying to do?”

“I had to cough, but I didn’t want to wake you,” a weak smile followed her words.

Nikolas was taken aback by her statement. Even now, as sick as she was, she was still thinking of others. “I see you found the stone?” He smirked and looked at the object in her hands.

Y/N nodded. “I want to use it, Nikolas. But I do not exactly know how.”

“You don’t know?” Her cousin exclaimed, surprised. “You went all this way, did all that research but you don’t know how it works?”

“I know how it works,” she admitted, “just not how I’ll get it to work. Do I just ask it to open a portal to a realm of my choosing ?” She shrugged her now-thin shoulders, “or do I have to do some incantation of some kind? I have no idea.”

“You know,” Nikolas knelt down in front of her and took both of her hands in his. “Sometimes it is the simplest option that is the correct one.”

“You really think so?”

Nikolas nodded and made to answer when there was a knock on the door. Casting a confused glance at his cousin, he got up and went to see who it was. The doctor wasn’t due for another few days.

Upon opening the door, he was greeted with faces he wished he didn’t know. “Hello uncle.”

His words startled Y/N. Mustering enough strength to stand, she joined her cousin. Sure enough, her father and his companions stood on the other side.

Tony was shocked to see her. She had changed so much. Her once rosy cheeks were pale and sunken and her lips were a deep shade of purple. Even her beautiful e/c eyes weren’t as clear as they used to be.

“Dad?” Even her voice sounded different. “Wh- what are you doing here?” A slight breeze made her hug the blanket just a little tighter around her shoulders.

“I’ve come to take you home, sweetie.” Tony stepped forward but stopped when he saw the blood on her lips and the blue tinge of her nailbeds.

Y/N shook her head. “I’m no- not going anywhere with you.” Holding up the stone, she smiled as best she could despite the pain in her chest. “I have the stone, you all know what it do-does.”

Tony nodded wordlessly.

“I don’t wanna fight with you Dad,” she smiled sadly and coughed, covering her mouth with her bandaged hand. Recovering, she met his worried gaze.

“Please don’t do this Y/N,” Tony tried to reason with her as gently as he could. “You’re not well and in no fit state to travel.”

A spark of determination lit up her eyes. “You’re ri- right, I’m not well. But I’ll be damned if that stops me from keeping the promise I made.”

“You could die!” Tony all but shouted, desperate for her to understand her situation.

“I know,” she murmured, “but if I see him before that happens, I will die a happy woman.”

Tony could not believe what he was hearing. He watched in confused silence as Y/N passed the stone to her cousin and nodded to him.

“The simplest option,” she whispered to him. Nikolas nodded. He knew enough to know where she wanted to go.

To be continued...

Part 7

[ukdamo]

Grub First, Then Ethics

WH Auden

Should the shade of Plato Visit us, anxious to know how anthropos is, we could say to him: "Well, we can read to ourselves, our use of holy numbers would shock you, and a poet may lament—'Where is Telford whose bridged canals are still a Shropshire glory where Muir who on a Douglas Spruce rode out a storm and called an earthquake noble, where Mr. Vynyian Board, thanks to whose life-long fuss the hunted whale now suffers a quicker death?'—without being called an idiot, though none of them bore arms or made a public splash," then "Look!" we would point, for a dig at Athens, "Here is the place where we cook." Though built in Lower Austria do-it-yourself America prophetically blueprinted this palace kitchen for kingdoms where royalty would be incognito, for an age when Courtesy might think: "From your voice and the back of your neck I know we shall get on but cannot tell from your thumbs who is to give the orders." The right note is harder to hear than in the Age of Poise when She talked shamelessly to her maid and sang noble lies with Him, but struck it can be still in New Knossos where if I am banned by a shrug it is my fault, not Father's, as it is my taste whom I put below the salt. The prehistoric hearthstone, round as a birthday-button and sacred to Granny, is as old stuff as the bowel-loosening nasal war cry, but this all-electric room where ghosts would feel uneasy, a witch at a loss, is numinous and again the centre of a dwelling not, as lately it was, an abhorrent dungeon where the warm unlaundered meiny belched their comic prose and from a dream of which chaste Milady awoke blushing. House-proud, deploring labour, extolling work, these engines politely insist that banausics can be liberals, a cook a pure artist who moves Everyman at a deeper level than Mozart, for the subject of the verb to-hunger is never a name: dear Adam and Eve had different bottoms, but the neotene who marches upright and can subtract reveals a belly like a serpent's with the same vulnerable look. Jew, Gentile, or Pigmy, he must get his calories before he can consider her profile or his own, attack you or play chess, and take what there is however hard to get down: then surely those in whose creed God is edible may call a fine omelette a Christian deed. The sin of Gluttony is ranked among the Deadly Seven, but in murder mysteries one can be sure the gourmet didn't do it: children, brave warriors out of a job, can weigh pounds more than they should and one can dislike having to kiss them yet, compared with the thin-lipped, they are seldom detestable. Some waiter grieves for the worst dead bore to be a good trencherman, and no wonder chefs mature into choleric types, doomed to observe Beauty peck at a master-dish, their one reward to behold the mutually hostile mouth and eyes of a sinner married at the first bite of a smile. The houses of our City are real enough but they lie haphazardly scattered over the earth, and Her vagabond forum is any space where two of us happen to meet who can spot a citizen without papers. So, too, can her foes. Where the power lies remains to be seen, the force, though, is clearly with them: perhaps only by falling can She become Her own Vision, but we have sworn under four eyes to keep Her up—all we ask for, should the night come when comets blaze and meres break, is a good dinner, that we may march in high fettle, left foot first, to hold her Thermopylae.

[tomorrowpreppers]

The World Of Free Energy

By Peter Lindemann, D.Sc. (Originally written March 1, 2001)

In the late 1880’s, trade journals in the electrical sciences were predicting “free electricity” in the near future. Incredible discoveries about the nature of electricity were becoming common place. Nikola Tesla was demonstrating “wireless lighting” and other wonders associated with high frequency currents. There was an excitement about the future like never before.

Within 20 years, there would be automobiles, airplanes, movies, recorded music, telephones, radio, and practical cameras. The Victorian Age was giving way to something totally new. For the first time in history, common people were encouraged to envision a utopian future, filled with abundant modern transportation and communication, as well as jobs, housing and food for everyone. Disease would be conquered, and so would poverty. Life was getting better, and this time, everyone was going to get “a piece of the pie.” So, what happened? In the midst of this technological explosion, where did the energy breakthroughs go? Was all of this excitement about “free electricity”, which happened just before the beginning of the last century, all just wishful thinking that “real science” eventually disproved?

Current State of Technology

Actually, the answer to that question is NO. In fact, the opposite is true. Spectacular energy technologies were developed right along with the other breakthroughs. Since that time, multiple methods for producing vast amounts of energy at extremely low cost have been developed. None of these technologies have made it to the “open” consumer market as an article of commerce, however. Exactly why this is true will be discussed shortly. But first, I would like to describe to you a short list of “free energy” technologies that I am currently aware of, and that are proven beyond all reasonable doubt. The common feature connecting all of these discoveries, is that they use a small amount of one form of energy to control or release a large amount of a different kind of energy. Many of them tap the underlying Æther field in some way; a source of energy conveniently ignored by “modern” science.

1)

Radiant Energy.

Nikola Tesla’s Magnifying Transmitter, T. Henry Moray’s Radiant Energy Device, Edwin Gray’s EMA Motor, and Paul Baumann’s Testatika Machine all run on Radiant Energy. This natural energy form can be gathered directly from the environment (mistakenly called “static” electricity) or extracted from ordinary electricity by the method called “fractionation.” Radiant Energy can perform the same wonders as ordinary electricity, at less than 1% of the cost. It does not behave exactly like electricity, however, which has contributed to the scientific community’s misunderstanding of it. The Methernitha Community in Switzerland currently has 5 or 6 working models of fuelless, self-running devices that tap this energy.

2)

Permanent Magnets

. Dr. Robert Adams (NZ) has developed astounding designs of electric motors, generators and heaters that run on permanent magnets. One such device draws 100 watts of electricity from the source, generates 100 watts to recharge the source, and produces over 140 BTU’s of heat in two minutes! Dr. Tom Bearden (USA) has two working models of a permanent magnet powered electrical transformer. It uses a 6-watt electrical input to control the path of a magnetic field coming out of a permanent magnet. By channeling the magnetic field, first to one output coil and then a second output coil, and by doing this repeatedly and rapidly in a “Ping-Pong” fashion, the device can produce a 96-watt electrical output with no moving parts. Bearden calls his device a Motionless Electromagnetic Generator, or MEG. Jean-Louis Naudin has duplicated Bearden’s device in France. The principles for this type of device were first disclosed by Frank Richardson (USA) in 1978. Troy Reed (USA) has working models of a special magnetized fan that heats up as it spins. It takes exactly the same amount of energy to spin the fan whether it is generating heat or not. Beyond these developments, multiple inventors have identified working mechanisms that produce motor torque from permanent magnets alone.

3)

Mechanical Heaters

. There are two classes of machines that transform a small amount of mechanical energy into a large amount of heat. The best of these purely mechanical designs are the rotating cylinder systems designed by Frenette (USA) and Perkins (USA). In these machines, one cylinder is rotated within another cylinder with about an eighth of an inch of clearance between them. The space between the cylinders is filled with a liquid such as water or oil, and it is this “working fluid” that heats up as the inner cylinder spins. Another method uses magnets mounted on a wheel to produce large eddy currents in a plate of aluminum, causing the aluminum to heat up rapidly. These magnetic heaters have been demonstrated by Muller (Canada), Adams (NZ) and Reed (USA). All of these systems can produce ten times more heat than standard methods using the same energy input.

4)

Super-Efficient Electrolysis

. Water can be broken into Hydrogen and Oxygen using electricity. Standard chemistry books claim that this process requires more energy than can be recovered when the gases are recombined. This is true only under the worst case scenario. When water is hit with its own molecular resonant frequency, using a system developed by Stan Meyers (USA) and again recently by Xogen Power, Inc., it collapses into Hydrogen and Oxygen gas with very little electrical input. Also, using different electrolytes (additives that make the water conduct electricity better) changes the efficiency of the process dramatically. It is also known that certain geometric structures and surface textures work better than others do. The implication is that unlimited amounts of Hydrogen fuel can be made to drive engines (like in your car) for the cost of water. Even more amazing is the fact that a special metal alloy was patented by Freedman (USA) in 1957 that spontaneously breaks water into Hydrogen and Oxygen with no outside electrical input and without causing any chemical changes in the metal itself. This means that this special metal alloy can make Hydrogen from water for free, forever.

5)

Implosion/Vortex

. All major industrial engines use the release of heat to cause expansion and pressure to produce work, like in your car engine. Nature uses the opposite process of cooling to cause suction and vacuum to produce work, like in a tornado. Viktor Schauberger (Austria) was the first to build working models of Implosion Engines in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Since that time, Callum Coats has published extensively on Schauberger’s work in his book

Living Energies

and subsequently, a number of researchers have built working models of Implosion Turbine Engines. These are fuelless engines that produce mechanical work from energy accessed from a vacuum. There are also much simpler designs that use vortex motions to tap a combination of gravity and centrifugal force to produce a continuous motion in fluids.

6)

Cold Fusion

. In March 1989, two Chemists from the University of Utah (USA) announced that they had produced atomic fusion reactions in a simple tabletop device. The claims were “debunked” within 6 months and the public lost interest. Nevertheless, Cold Fusion is very real. Not only has excess heat production been repeatedly documented, but also low energy atomic element transmutation has been catalogued, involving dozens of different reactions! This technology definitely can produce low cost energy and scores of other important industrial processes.

7)

Solar Assisted Heat Pumps

. The refrigerator in your kitchen is the only “free energy machine” you currently own. It’s an electrically operated heat pump. It uses one amount of energy (electricity) to move three amounts of energy (heat). This gives it a “co-efficient of performance” (COP) of about 3. Your refrigerator uses one amount of electricity to pump three amounts of heat from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside of the refrigerator. This is its typical use, but it is the worst possible way to use the technology. Here’s why. A heat pump pumps heat from the “source” of heat to the “sink” or place that absorbs the heat. The “source” of heat should obviously be HOT and the “sink” for heat should obviously be COLD for this process to work the best. In your refrigerator, it’s exactly the opposite. The “source” of heat is inside the box, which is COLD, and the “sink” for heat is the room temperature air of your kitchen, which is warmer than the source. This is why the COP remains low for your kitchen refrigerator. But this is not true for all heat pumps. COP’s of 8 to 10 are easily attained with solar assisted heat pumps. In such a device, a heat pump draws heat from a solar collector and dumps the heat into a large underground absorber, which remains at 55° F, and mechanical energy is extracted in the transfer. This process is equivalent to a steam engine that extracts mechanical energy between the boiler and the condenser, except that it uses a fluid that “boils” at a much lower temperature than water. One such system that was tested in the 1970’s produced 350 hp, measured on a Dynamometer, in a specially designed engine from just 100-sq. ft. of solar collector. (This is NOT the system promoted by Dennis Lee.) The amount of energy it took to run the compressor (input) was less than 20 hp, so this system produced more than 17 times more energy than it took to keep it going! It could power a small neighborhood from the roof of a hot tub gazebo, using exactly the same technology that keeps the food cold in your kitchen. Currently, there is an industrial scale heat pump system just north of Kona, Hawaii that generates electricity from temperature differences in ocean water.

There are dozens of other systems that I have not mentioned, many of them are as viable and well tested as the ones I have just recounted. But this short list is sufficient to make my point: free energy technology is here, now. It offers the world pollution-free, energy abundance for everyone, everywhere. It is now possible to stop the production of “greenhouse gases” and shut down all of the nuclear power plants. We can now desalinate unlimited amounts of seawater at an affordable price, and bring adequate fresh water to even the most remote habitats. Transportation costs and the production costs for just about everything can drop dramatically. Food can even be grown in heated greenhouses in the winter, anywhere. All of these wonderful benefits that can make life on this planet so much easier and better for everyone have been postponed for decades. Why? Whose purposes are served by this postponement?

The Invisible Enemy

There are four gigantic forces that have worked together to create this situation. To say that there is and has been a “conspiracy” to suppress this technology only leads to a superficial understanding of the world, and it places the blame for this completely outside of ourselves. Our willingness to remain ignorant and actionless in the face of this situation has always been interpreted by two of these forces as “implied consent.” So, besides a “non-demanding public,” what are the other three forces that are impeding the availability of free energy technology?

1st Force - The Money Monopoly In standard economic theory, there are three classes of Industry. These are Capital, Goods, and Services. Within the first class, Capital, there are also three sub-classes. These are: 1) Natural Capital. This relates to raw materials (such as a gold mine) and sources of energy (such as a hydroelectric dam or an oil well). 2) Currency. This relates to the printing of paper “money” and the minting of coins. These functions are usually the job of Government. And 3) Credit. This relates to the loaning of money for interest and its extension of economic value through deposit loan accounts. From this, it is easy to see, that energy functions in the economy in the same way as gold, the printing of money by the Government, or the issuing of credit by a bank.

In the United States, and in most other countries around the world, there is a “money monopoly” in place. I am “free” to earn as much “money” as I want, but I will only be paid in Federal Reserve Notes. There is nothing I can do to be paid in Gold Certificates, or some other form of “money.” This money monopoly is solely in the hands of a small number of private stock banks, and these banks are owned by the Wealthiest Families in the world. Their plan is to eventually control 100% of all of the Capital resources of the world, and thereby control everyone’s life through the availability (or non-availability) of all goods and services. An independent source of wealth (free energy device) in the hands of each and every person in the world, ruins their plans for world domination, permanently. Why this is true is easy to see. Currently, a nation’s economy can be either slowed down or sped up by the raising or lowering of interest rates. But if an independent source of capital (energy) were present in the economy, and any business or person could raise more capital without borrowing it from a bank, this centralized throttling action on interest rates would simply not have the same effect. Free energy technology changes the value of money. The Wealthiest Families and the Issuers of Credit do not want any competition. It’s that simple. They want to maintain their current monopoly control of the money supply. For them, free energy technology is not just something to suppress, it must be PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN!

So, the Wealthiest Families and their Central Banking institutions are the First Force operating to postpone the public availability of free energy technology. Their motivations are the imagined “divine right to rule”, greed, and their insatiable need to control everything except themselves. The weapons they have used to enforce this postponement include intimidation, “expert” debunkers, buying and shelving of technology, murder and attempted murder of the inventors, character assassination, arson, and a wide variety of financial incentives and disincentives to manipulate possible supporters. They have also promoted the general acceptance of a scientific theory that states that free energy is impossible (Laws of Thermodynamics).

2nd Force - National Governments The Second Force operating to postpone the public availability of free energy technology is National Governments. The problem here is not so much related to competition in the printing of currency, but in the maintenance of National Security. The fact is, the world out there is a jungle, and humans can be counted upon to be very cruel, dishonest, and sneaky. It is Government’s job to “provide for the common defense.” For this, “police powers” are delegated by the Executive Branch of Government to enforce “the rule of law.” Most of us who consent to the rule of law do so because we believe it is the right thing to do, for our own benefit. There are always a few individuals, however, that believe that their own benefit is best served by behavior that does not voluntarily conform to the generally agreed upon social order. These people choose to operate outside of “the rule of law” and are considered outlaws, criminals, subversives, traitors, revolutionaries, or terrorists.

Most National Governments have discovered, by trial and error, that the only Foreign Policy that really works, over time, is a policy called “Tit for Tat.” What this means to you and me is, that governments treat each other the way they are being treated. There is a constant “jockeying” for position and influence in world affairs, and the STRONGEST party wins! In economics, it’s the Golden Rule, which states: “The one with the Gold makes the Rules.” So it is with politics also, but its appearance is more Darwinian. It’s simply “survival of the fittest.” In politics, however, the “fittest” has come to mean the strongest party who is also willing to fight the dirtiest. Absolutely every means available is used to maintain an advantage over the “adversary”, and everyone else is the “adversary” regardless of whether they are considered friend or foe. This includes outrageous psychological posturing, lying, cheating, spying, stealing, assassination of world leaders, proxy wars, alliances and shifting alliances, treaties, foreign aid, and the presence of military forces wherever possible. Like it or not, this IS the psychological and actual arena National Governments operate in. No National Government will ever do anything that simply gives an adversary an advantage for free. NEVER! It’s national suicide. Any activity by any individual, inside or outside the country, that is interpreted as giving an adversary an edge or advantage, in any way, will be deemed a threat to “National Security.” ALWAYS!

Free energy technology is a National Government’s worst nightmare! Openly acknowledged, free energy technology sparks an unlimited arms race by all governments in a final attempt to gain absolute advantage and domination. Think about it. Do you think Japan will not feel intimidated if China gets free energy? Do you think Israel will sit by quietly as Iraq acquires free energy? Do you think India will allow Pakistan to develop free energy? Do you think the USA would not try to stop Osama bin Laden from getting free energy? Unlimited energy available to the current state of affairs on this planet leads to an inevitable reshuffling of the “balance of power.” This could become an all-out war to prevent “the other” from having the advantage of unlimited wealth and power. Everybody will want it, and at the same time, want to prevent everyone else from getting it.

So, National Governments are the Second Force operating to postpone the public availability of free energy technology. Their motivations are “self-preservation.” This self-preservation operates on three levels. First, by not giving undue advantage to an external enemy. Second, by preventing individualized action capable of effectively challenging official police powers (anarchy) within the country. And third, by preserving income streams derived from taxing energy sources currently in use. Their weapons include the preventing of the issuance of patents based on National Security grounds, the legal and illegal harassment of inventors with criminal charges, tax audits, threats, phone taps, arrest, arson, theft of property during shipment, and a host of other intimidations which make the business of building and marketing a free energy machine impossible.

3rd Force - Delusion and Dishonesty in the FE Movement The Third Force operating to postpone the public availability of free energy technology consists of the group of deluded inventors and out right charlatans and con men. On the periphery of the extraordinary scientific breakthroughs that constitute the real free energy technologies, lies a shadow world of unexplained anomalies, marginal inventions and unscrupulous promoters. The first two Forces have constantly used the media to promote the worst examples of this group, to distract the public’s attention and to discredit the real breakthroughs by associating them with the obvious frauds.

Over the last hundred years, dozens of stories have surfaced about unusual inventions. Some of these ideas have so captivated the public’s imagination that a mythology about these systems continues to this day. Names like Keely, Hubbard, Coler, and Henderschott immediately come to mind. There may be real technologies behind these names, but there simply isn’t enough technical data available in the public domain to make a determination. These names remain associated with a free energy mythology, however, and are sited by debunkers as examples of fraud.

The idea of free energy taps very deeply into the human subconscious mind. A few inventors with marginal technologies that demonstrate useful anomalies have mistakenly exaggerated the importance of their inventions. Some of these inventors also have mistakenly exaggerated the importance of THEMSELVES for having invented it. A combination of “gold fever” and/or a “messiah complex” appears, wholly distorting any future contribution they may make. While the research thread they are following may hold great promise, they begin to trade enthusiasm for facts, and the value of the scientific work from that point on suffers greatly. There is a powerful, yet subtle seduction that can warp a personality if they believe that “the world rests on their shoulders” or that they are the world’s “savior.” Strange things also happen to people when they think they are about to become extremely rich. It takes a tremendous spiritual discipline to remain objective and humble in the presence of a working free energy machine. Many inventors’ psyches become unstable just BELIEVING they have a free energy machine. As the quality of the science deteriorates, some inventors also develop a “persecution complex” that makes them very defensive and unapproachable. This process precludes them from ever really developing a free energy machine, and fuels the fraud mythologies tremendously.

Then there are the out right con men. In the last 15 years, there is one person in the USA who has raised the free energy con to a professional art. He has raised more than $100,000,000, has been barred from doing business in the State of Washington, has been jailed in California, and he’s still at it. He always talks about a variation of one of the real free energy systems, sells people on the idea that they will get one of these systems soon, but ultimately sells them only promotional information which gives no real data about the energy system itself. He has mercilessly preyed upon the Christian Community and the Patriot Community in the USA, and is still going strong. His current scam involves signing up hundreds of thousands of people as locations where he will install a free energy machine. In exchange for letting him put the FE generator in their home, they will get free electricity for life, and his company will sell the excess energy back to the local utility company. After becoming convinced that they will receive free electricity for life, with no out-front expenses, they gladly buy a video that helps draw their friends into the scam as well. Once you understand the power and motivations of the first two Forces I have discussed, its obvious that this person’s current “business plan” cannot be implemented. This one person has probably done more harm to the free energy movement in the USA than any other Force, by destroying people’s trust in the technology.

So, the Third Force postponing the public availability of free energy technology is delusion and dishonesty within the movement itself. The motivations are self-aggrandizement, greed, want of power over others, and a false sense of self-importance. The weapons used are lying, cheating, the “bait and switch” con, self-delusion and arrogance combined with lousy science.

4th Force - A Non-Demanding Public The Fourth Force operating to postpone the public availability of free energy technology is all of the rest of us. It may be easy to see how narrow and despicable the motivations of the other Forces are, but actually, these motivations are still very much alive in each of us as well. Like the Wealthiest Families, don’t we each secretly harbor illusions of false superiority, and the want to control others instead of ourselves? Also, wouldn’t you “sell out” if the price were high enough, say, take $1 million dollars, cash, today? Or like the Governments, don’t we each want to ensure our own survival? If caught in the middle of a full, burning theater, do you panic and push all of the weaker people out of the way in a mad, scramble for the door? Or like the deluded inventor, don’t we trade a comfortable illusion once in a while for an uncomfortable fact? And don’t we like to think more of ourselves than others give us credit for? Or don’t we still fear the unknown, even if it promises a great reward?

You see, really, all Four Forces are just different aspects of the same process, operating at different levels in the society. There is really only ONE FORCE preventing the public availability of free energy technology, and that is the unspiritually motivated behavior of the human animals. In the last analysis, free energy technology is an outward manifestation of Divine Abundance. It is the engine of the economy of an enlightened society, where people voluntarily behave in a respectful and civil manner toward each other. Where each member of the society has everything they need, and do not covet what their neighbor has. Where war and physical violence has become socially unacceptable behavior and people’s differences are at least tolerated, if not enjoyed.

The appearance of free energy technology in the public domain is the dawning of a truly civilized age. It is an epochal event in human history. Nobody can “take credit” for it. Nobody can “get rich” on it. Nobody can “rule the world” with it. It is simply, a Gift from God. It forces us all to take responsibility for our own actions and for our own self-disciplined self-restraint when needed. The world as it is currently ordered, cannot have free energy technology without being totally transformed by it into something else. This “civilization” has reached the pinnacle of its development, because it has birthed the seeds of its own transformation. The unspiritualized human animals cannot be trusted with free energy. They will only do what they have always done, which is take merciless advantage of each other, or kill each other and themselves in the process.

If you go back and read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged or the Club of Rome Report, it becomes obvious that the Wealthiest Families have understood this for decades. Their plan is to live in The World of Free Energy, but permanently freeze the rest of us out. But this is not new. Royalty has always considered the general population (us) to be their subjects. What is new, is that you and I can communicate with each other now better than at anytime in the past. The Internet offers us, the Fourth Force, an opportunity to overcome the combined efforts of the other Forces preventing free energy technology from spreading.

The Opportunity for a Just Society

What is starting to happen is that inventors are publishing their work, instead of patenting it and keeping it secret. More and more, people are “giving away” information on these technologies in books, videos and websites. While there is still a great deal of useless information about free energy on the Internet, the availability of good information is rising rapidly. Check out the list of websites and other resources at the end of this article.

It is imperative that you begin to gather all of the information you can on real free energy systems. The reason for this is simple. The first two Forces will never allow an inventor or a company to build and sell a free energy machine to you! The only way you will ever get one is if you, or a friend, build it yourself. This is exactly what thousands of people are already quietly starting to do. You may feel wholly inadequate to the task, but start gathering information now. You may be just a link in the chain of events for the benefit of others. Focus on what you can do now, not on how much there still is to be done. Small, private research groups are working out the details as you read this. Many are committed to publishing their results on the Internet.

All of us constitute the Fourth Force. If we stand up and refuse to remain ignorant and action-less, we can change the course of history. It is the aggregate of our combined action that can make a difference. Only the mass action that represents our consensus can create the world we want. The other three Forces WILL NOT help us put a fuelless power plant in our basements. They will not help us be free from their manipulations. Nevertheless, free energy technology is here. It is real, and it will change everything about the way we live, work and relate to each other. In the last analysis, free energy technology obsoletes greed and the fear for survival. But like all exercises of Spiritual Faith, we must first manifest the generosity and trust in our own lives.

The Source of Free Energy is INSIDE of us. It is that excitement of expressing ourselves freely. It is our Spiritually guided intuition expressing itself without distraction, intimidation or manipulation. It is our open-heartedness. Ideally, the free energy technologies underpin a just society where everyone has enough food, clothing, shelter, self-worth, and the leisure time to contemplate the higher Spiritual meanings of Life. Do we not owe it to each other, to face down our fears, and take action to create this future for our children’s children? Perhaps I am not the only one waiting for me to act on a greater Truth.

Free energy technology is here. It has been here for decades. Communications technology and the Internet have torn the veil of secrecy off of this remarkable fact. People all over the world are starting to build free energy devices for their own use. The Bankers and the Governments do not want this to happen, but cannot stop it. Tremendous economic instabilities and wars will be used in the near future to distract people from joining the free energy movement. There will be essentially no major media coverage of this aspect of what is going on. It will simply be reported as wars and civil wars erupting everywhere, leading to UN “Peace Keeper” occupation in more and more countries.

Western Society is spiraling down toward self-destruction, due to the accumulated effects of long-term greed and corruption. The general availability of free energy technology cannot stop this trend. It can only reinforce it. If, however, you have a free energy device, you may be better positioned to survive the political/social/economic transition that is underway. No National Government will survive this process. The question is, who will ultimately control the emerging World Government, the First Force, or the Fourth Force?

The last Great War is almost upon us. The seeds are planted. After this will come the beginning of a real Civilization. Some of us who refuse to fight will survive to see the dawn of the World of Free Energy. I challenge you to be among the ones who try.

LIST OF RESOURCES:

Books: Living Energies by Callum Coats The Free Energy Secrets of Cold Electricity by Peter Lindemann, D.Sc. Applied Modern 20th Century Aether Science by Dr. Robert Adams Physics Without Einstein by Dr. Harold Aspden Secrets of Cold War Technology by Gerry Vassilatos The Coming Energy Revolution by Jeane Manning

For a quick, seven minute overview of the current situation, watch this VIDEO link from YouTube.

Also, for a short, more humorous take on this issue, watch this VIDEO link from YouTube.

For links to other recommended sites, see the our Links Page.

[pilferingapples]

FINAL EUROVISION LIVEBLOG

--There's a whoooole lot of Intro and News Commentary from SVT; most of it I'm skipping because I don't understand it, but fans are singing adorably now, awwww. 

--OMG DANIEL DIGES IN THE PREVIEW SEGMENT I AM WELL REWARDED FOR MY MINOR AMOUNT OF PATIENCE wow he's beautiful 

--...now the channel's like...gone to cut screen but they don't have their wiring worked out?

--NOW

--..okay the bead thing sort of explains the Artistic Theme happening, to the extent I think anything about Eurovision can or should be explained

-this host looks like he should be in a Marvel movie and should be named Chris

-I genuinely love the Walk of Glory intro of all the main performers!

-...Oh here come the people who are too cool to have to compete in the semifinals! I don't know them.

-EXCEPT MANEL HI MANEL 

-Buglaria is a precious child and I hope he has fun

-..literally I am old enough to be his mother it's terrible ANYWAY

-The Host Dudes are Very Sparkly now , and again I am grateful for the SVT commenters talking over them in a language I cannot understand , save me from the Bantr(tm)

-omg awkward junior high pics 

-Gonna say at the start here,  DISCO RAP YODELING TEAM has my heart, but there are a LOT of acts here I love.

-....and a lot of ballads. Why did so many ballads get in. Who voted for the ballads. 

-...how does voting for this work?

-GOOD FOR YOU ISRAEL THAT WAS FUN 

- omg audience member has the star hat cosplay 

- ...oh gad was this a ballad one 

-oh gad it was  -Poland I love and support you as a nation but WHY A BALLAD

-...doves are flying out of her armpits though so points for that

-SHE'S A GOOD SINGER I just cannot muster up caring about this song

-SPACE DOLPHIN for REASONS 

-...Freedom?

- BELARUS I LOVE YOU BOTH 

-THEY'RE ON A BOAT -I want this song as MP3, it's just so happy!

-WOAH  GET A ROOM 

(no I'm happy for them)

-OMG ADORABLE CHILD INTRO SEGMENT  -Austria! Is like the theme to an 80s/early 90s slice of life show 

- Plus: happy song, not really a ballad , Cons: nothing is on fire,minimal discoing

-ARMENIAAAA  continues to be dressed like a TOS Klingon and I love it  -the Netherlands trio reminds me hardcore of Wilson Phillips, because I am Old. That's fine! I liked WP. But it's very a Thing  It doesn't help that W-P had an album called Light and Shadow either, I mean it'-s not a Super Unique name but >_<

-THEIR FANS HAVE SHIRTS <3

-HI MAXIMILIEN, FAN FROM AUSTRIA 

-...Volare was a Eurovision song? 

-OMG IMPROMPTU KICKITY DANCE  - I am briefly overwhelmed by Emotion about all these people from all these countries coming together for Music and Fun?? TEAR BREAK -OKAY I'M OKAY AND IT'S TIME FOR MOLDOVA WHICH HAS A  GREAT ACT 

-SUNSTROKE PROJECT:D 

-I like this stage act much more than the video for this , really 

HMMM I think the Army Of Thems works okay here, though it's not my favorite visuals 

- THE DRESSES THOUGH :D 

-XYLOPHONE JACKET HUNGARY 

-I don't know how to describe what he's doing with his voice but I love it 

DISCO MILKJUG CONTINUES  and I Approve ,

- in any other setting I would question the dancing girl, but it's Eurovision, so I only question why she's not wearing more glitter

-I really love the folk art motifs in the background, and also the JETS OF FIRE

-ITALY  ...have we seen Italy? Did I forget Italy or is this a "we weren't in the semifinals"thing?

-GORILLA I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT GORILLA

-..okay the song is slightly boring pop but AT LEAST IT'S NOT A BALLAD and I like the background visuals

- And I am again wondering how the backgrounds are chosen! Who gets to decide? Do the singers get a say? 

-...did the Italy fans have a cow

-BLONDE WOMAN SINGLE SINGER  SIGNS OF THE BALLADOCALYPSE 

DENMARRRRK ...is exactly what I thought, yeah okay 

-drinks time

-PORTUGAL HI

- it's a sweet sounding song and he does the Awkward Cute very very well but there is a tragic lack of general fabness 

-oh god host banter nooooo

-AZERBAIJAN YESSSS

-HORSEHEAD LADDER BOYFRIEND -BADBOY  -EXTREME SKELETON  - this isn't really my Kind of song but I admire the Extraness of the performance and setup , like there  is no need for this horsehead guy at ALL but also he is ESSENTIAL THANK YOU

-Croatia! I never thought I'd actually hear someone do Agnes Nitt's trick of singing duets with herself, but here we are. 

- AUSTRALIA is a Child! I am very uncomfortable about this. 

-Wait is this the first for Belarus?  

- THE FIRST ROMA FOR HUNGARY YAAAY

-GREECE oh no it's a Single Singing Woman this Bodes Ballads  - GREECE I TAKE IT BACK AND I LOVE YOU ​​​​​​​

-OH RIGHT THIS IS HER  WITH THE WATER FEATURE AND THE NAKED GUYS DANCING AT HER FEET  - SHIRTLESS BUT WHATEVER 

-...are the guys the couple the song is about?? if so AWESOME 

- HI MANEL , YOU'RE A FACECAST FOR A WEIRD FANDOM 

-good grief he's pretty , I have Hair Envy

-OOOF voice crack 

-okay not the most amazing song but AT LEAST IT WASN'T  A FRIGGING BALLAD

-NORWAY ! With the..mask..thing!

-KILL THAT VOICE IN MY HEAD ! I REMEMBER YOU. 

-...oh god there's more Bantr. An extended Host Bantr segment, noooo

-LUCY JONES I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DOING  DON'T BE A BALLAD UK 

-...damn it, UK. 

-...will you dance through this storm to this song? Because I don't see how. 

DRINK BREAK 

-CYPRUS  SAVE ME FROM THE BALLADS 

-...threatening to be Gravity at me is the worst come on possible though

-RO  -MA

-NIA !!!

ROMANIA ROMANIA ROMANIA 

YODEL PARTY  I LOVE YOU BOTH  OWN THIS JOINT 

LOOK AT THE WOODEN SOLDIER MARCH  SING IT HE SAYS  AND THEY LEAD THE CROWD IN A YODEL 

DISCO LIGHT CANNON THIS IS THE BEST THING 

-Germany!

..oh no it's a blonde woman alone DOES A BALLAD LOOM

- why do people show up to Eurovision in Nice Neutral Clothing , why would anyone waste this opportunity to be more glam than otherwise humanly possible

-...pop ballad. SIGH. 

UKRAINE I HAVE HOPES FOR YOU  QUARTET?? QUARTET  ...oh. It's the giant head band!  -this is so hilariously different from the other acts, good for you, Germany! 

-Young Jotunheim invades Asgard's Got Talent 

- Belgium, I'm sure you're lovely , but I KNOW this is a ballad, so it's another Drink Break 

-SWEDEN who is...I guess? someone famous?  I DO remember this song at least, it's not Yet Another Ballad 

-BULGARIA CHILD

-FRANCE  -I am sure I haven't seen France! 

-oh no not another ballad  -...yes another ballad THERE'S STILL HOPE IT COULD ENERGIZE IN THE CHORUS??

-YES THANK YOU

-...is the background High Speed Paris Cityscape??

-...wait that was the last one?? wow 

-VERKA OMG   - I feel Honored to see this 

LIGHT IT UP, EUROPE 

I still love Romania and Belarus acts most I think but man I seriously love Hungary's voice and act and everything too 

aagh there are too many I actually like a lot! 

GET TO THE VOTES DARN IT 

THIS ACT IS GREAT BUT AAAH 

PRECIOUS BABY EUROVISION GIRL

HER DRESS IS A FLOWER I LOVE HER PLEASE PROTECT HER

oh god another ballad  

...WAIT WAS THAT AN ILLICIT MOON  IS THAT TRADITIONAL FOR THIS I DON'T EVEN KNOW NOW

OKAY VOTING 

...oh this is gonna take a while isn't it

...wow Portugal is cleaning up??

...I don't understand this voting? There are two many countermanding numbers on this display 

ALSO I HATE THIS TENSION I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO WON I HATE COMPETITIONS 

..Okay so Portugal's gonna crush it, right? I'm told it's not about the music, but Very Complicated Politics, but I think Portugal was  pretty good though

...Wait MORE points? WHAT IS HAPPENING HOW MANY LAYERS OF VOTING ARE THERE Eurovision I'm sorry but this is baffling and thus boring 

...GEEZUS HOW LONG DOES THIS GO ON THIS IS MINDNUMBING 

...has it been an HOUR?

SORRY EUROVISION I FAST FORWARDED THROUGH A LOT OF THE VOTING 

WHOOO PORTUGAL GOOD FOR YOU  ANYWAY THAT WAS CERTAINLY GLITTERY 

Needs More Yodelrap and Fewer Ballads 

GOOD FOR YOU PORTUGAL  I'm glad I saw it but next time I'll just let Tumblr tell me who won !

THANK YOU SVT 

[mastcomm]

Your Tuesday Briefing – The New York Times

Coronavirus’s toll includes economies

China on Tuesday reported 72,436 total cases of coronavirus infections, while the death toll now stands at 1,868. Here are the latest updates and maps of where the virus has spread.

In Europe, where wealthy Chinese tourists have become mainstays of hotels, shops and cultural destinations, the outbreak has dealt a blow to businesses after Beijing banned overseas group tours and many countries restricted or barred entry to people from China.

Flight and hotel bookings have been canceled over fears of the virus, and there has also been a drop in tourists from other nations who want to avoid crowded spaces. Apple cut its sales forecast Monday, as both production and demand for its products have been slowed in China because of the outbreak.

The latest: Australia, South Korea and other countries are preparing to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which has been quarantined in Japan for almost two weeks. Fourteen evacuated Americans were found to have the virus shortly before they boarded chartered flights to the U.S.

Political fallout over floods in Britain

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain came under fire after his office said on Monday that he had no plans to visit areas with severe flooding after a storm that battered the country over the weekend.

Storm Dennis, classified as a “weather bomb” by the national weather service, slammed areas that were still recovering from heavy rains and strong winds brought by another storm last week. At least one person has died, while hundreds of others have been forced to leave their homes.

The response: Despite more rain predicted on Wednesday, Mr. Johnson has not called a meeting of the government’s emergencies committee to discuss the situation.

Background: Britain is experiencing more frequent and serious flooding because of global warming, experts say. Mohammad Heidarzadeh, a coastal engineering academic, said floods that were once seen every 15 to 20 years are now occurring every two to five years and that the country’s flood defense systems are “not fit to address the current climate situation.”

Another angle: The pressure is piling up on Mr. Johnson after his office appointed an aide who once said black people have lower I.Q.s than white people. The adviser, Andrew Sabisky, quit on Monday after the ensuing uproar, complaining of “media hysteria.”

U.S. efforts to thwart Huawei in Europe fall short

Germany appears poised to follow Britain in allowing Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, to build next-generation 5G networks, despite warnings from the United States.

U.S. officials have lobbied their allies to ban the company out of fear that its equipment could be used by China to spy on or control European and American communication networks. But as those countries are forced to choose between the U.S., a key intelligence ally, and China, a critical trading partner, some like Britain have taken the risk and cooperated with Huawei.

Context: The Huawei issue is part of a broader fight between the U.S. and China as they vie to dominate advanced technologies. The U.S. is now shifting its approach by looking to cut off Huawei from access to American technology and trying to build a credible competitor — but its officials have often contradicted each other’s ideas.

Quote of note: “Many of us in Europe agree that there are significant dangers with Huawei, and the U.S. for at least a year has been telling us, do not use Huawei. Are you offering an alternative?” asked Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Estonia’s former president. “What is it that we should do other than not use Huawei?”

How China tracked Xinjiang detainees

Going on religious pilgrimages, praying, attending funerals, wearing a beard, having too many children.

These are all acts, among other signs of piety, that would have been flagged by the Chinese government and warranted monitoring or even detention for Uighurs living in the western Xinjiang region, according to a leaked government document that was shared with several news media organizations, including The Times.

The document, one of numerous files kept on more than one million people who have been detained, illuminates another piece of the Chinese government’s coercive crackdown on ethnic minorities and what Beijing considers to be wayward thinking.

Follow-up: Three-fourths of the detainees listed have been released, according to an expert who studied the document. But it also shows that many of those released were later assigned work in tightly controlled industrial parks.

If you have 5 minutes, this is worth it

Too much of a cute thing?

Adorable characters like Hello Kitty are used to sell everything in Japan, and fading towns have long used mascots to lure visitors and investment. Above, Sanomaru, a dog with a ramen bowl on its head, represents the city of Sano.

But as their tax bases dwindle along with their populations, communities are increasingly questioning whether the whimsy is worth the expense.

Here’s what else is happening

Libya arms: The European Union said it would launch a naval and air mission to stop arms from reaching Libya, currently embroiled in civil war. Austria and Hungary had initially objected out of concern that ships could enable more migrants to reach Europe.

Burkina Faso shooting: A gunman attacked a church during Sunday Mass and killed at least 24 people in the country’s northwest, security sources said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible, but jihadist groups have been seeking control over rural areas of the country.

Caroline Flack: Fans of the “Love Island” host, who died by suicide over the weekend, are calling for a new law to stop British tabloids from publishing articles that reveal “private information that is detrimental to a celebrity, their mental health and those around them.”

Snapshot: Above, Michael Bloomberg on the campaign trail. He has risen in the polls after entering the race for the U.S. Democratic presidential candidacy, raising the pressure on political reporters employed by his news media outlet.

Artificial intelligence: Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, met with European Union officials on Monday as the E.U. prepares to release a draft of an artificial intelligence policy. That will have important consequences for tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google.

What we’re reading: This collection of letters. “British newspapers’ letters pages are a peculiar sort of joy,” writes Peter Robins, an editor in our London newsroom. “Recently, readers of The Guardian have been debating how old you have to be before it’s eccentric to keep boiling up your annual 18-pound batch of homemade marmalade. Bidding started at 77 and has escalated rapidly.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: Cheesy baked pasta with sausage and ricotta is faster to make than lasagna. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)

Read: “Apeirogon,” the latest novel from Colum McCann, delves into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of two grieving fathers. “I think people wouldn’t have trusted it as much if it wasn’t real,” he said.

Watch: It may feel as if Zoë Kravitz has always been famous, but you can now watch her in her first lead role, as the heartbroken Rob in Hulu’s TV adaptation of “High Fidelity.” She spoke with our reporter about her acting and her life.

Smarter Living: We collected a few items that will help you make the most of an off-season getaway.

And now for the Back Story on …

Somalia’s future

Abdi Latif Dahir is The Times’s East Africa correspondent. A Kenyan of Somali descent, he reports in and about some dozen countries. We reached him in Nairobi, to talk about his latest story, about the young Somalis who are filling in the gaps their government can’t.

This is such a powerful story of resilience and hope. How did you find it?

Late last year, there was a big attack in Mogadishu, the worst by Al Shabab in two years. And one thing stood out. Almost all the news stories mentioned that a lot of university students had died, young people who wanted to be doctors or were studying other specialties that would help the country.

On Jan. 1, I flew to Mogadishu, to follow up on the attack and to write about these students and what they mean to Somalia.

My first story was about that, but also on how things had been getting so much better in Mogadishu — and it was all these young people doing it.

What else inspired you?

I went to this crisis center. They were collecting the names of the victims and reaching out to their families. I wanted to sit amongst them and see what it was like. They were checking in, asking the families, how are you today?

And maybe they’d hear that the hospital bill had been paid so that was OK, but the family hadn’t eaten breakfast that day. So they would corral someone to get food over to them.

I wanted to write about the chutzpah to invent these systems, to stay strong with all that was happening.

People could rattle off all these names of people they’ve known who’ve been killed. But then they would say, we want to stay here and be the ones to fix this country. They’re creating tech hubs, and restaurants and delivery services that are thriving. Because of the attacks on hotels and restaurants, it’s safer to stay home, have friends over and order a meal.

How is it being the East Africa correspondent?

I’ve had the job since November. It’s incredible. This is a dynamic, evolving region that’s changing socially, geopolitically, economically. It’s a great place to be a journalist. Honestly, you could write a story every hour.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Sofia

Thank you To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Andrea Kannapell, the briefings editor, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • “The Daily” was off for the U.S. Presidents’ Day holiday. But try our “Modern Love” podcast. This week’s is titled “When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist.” • Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Sound made with two fingers (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Last week, we told you that our Visual Investigations team would be answering reader questions. Here’s the YouTube video of them doing just that.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/event/your-tuesday-briefing-the-new-york-times-19/

[theolivechickken]

Spring Break pt. 3

March 14

Paris (I left you at the Staaaation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q665OdfXHZM

Probably running on adrenaline (with >3 hours of sleep) but managed to stuff my backpack and rush out the door before being charged for a late check-out. Goodbye smelly room in Barcelona!

I really wanted to try and make it out to the beach before we hit the train but logistically it wasn't possible and probably more stressful since we would be cutting it close on time. So we stopped in a bakery to pick up some chocolate and cream pastries and went to the La Rambla street markets to pick up some seafood paella for the road (sorry everyone on the train who had to smell it or watch me eat this messy dish). Thank god we showed up to the train station when we did. So far this has been the only station where there's a security check (like TSA airport level). The line to board was also very long since passports and tickets were being checked for every individual. Our guy seriously questioned our Eurail since it was stamped that we left on March 2nd when in reality we left Berlin on March 3rd (the day we wrote down in our Eurail log). I guess it's human error and eventually he understood that, but it was still slightly stressful that we might not have been able to board.

Breezy train ride once we were on though. We arrived in Paris in the evening and tried to book our train tickets back to Salzburg, but had to come back the next day since the office was closed. We took the metro to our janky Peace and Love Hostel and climbed a tower of stairs to the 5th and 7th floors where we were staying. I don't think 3-person bunk beds should be a thing. You're either basically sleeping on the floor, have an inch of space before your nose hits the ceiling, or you're sandwiched in-between the two beds. I took the middle bunk (sorry Raine and Aubree but first come first dibs). Poor tall and lanky Patrick was on the top floor and top bunk, and his roommates were already sound asleep.

We decided it would probably be a good idea to get some food in our bellies. I'm horrible at giving directions (but also never said I was great at giving them. I'm directionally aware for myself but can't help others for the life of me) but happened to be the only one with access to the maps. We got turned around a couple times and walked down a sketchy street since we forgot our turn to cross the Seine river. Eventually we found Street Bangkok Local Food (which google lied about it being cheap but it was definitely filling and you got free water and your money's worth in my opinion). I had some grilled chicken skewers covered in peanut sauce, topped with cucumbers and red peppers, and served over a helping of white rice. Patrick ordered spicy beef pho.

At one point in the night, I looked out the window and saw a dog walking with his owner. Which lead to the conversation about animal intelligence, the food chain, and how we measure intelligence. We decided that leisure time correlates to intelligence because having more leisure time allows you to spend less time focusing on survival and more time doing self-fulfilling exercises or expanding your knowledge in different ways. Such a random/deep/fun/thoughtful conversation.

March 15

After sorting out train ticket shenanigans, Patrick and I met up with Aubree and Raine at a cafe near the Louvre. We ordered little baguette sandwiches for brunch and sat huddled near the outdoor heaters (trying not to get blown away by the cold wind). Yay again for free water and REFILLS.

We crossed the street, saw the beautiful glass pyramids calling our names, and dashed to them. We didn't (have the time to) see the actual inside of the museum, but we were able to take in the amazing architecture of the Louvre. From there, we walked through the hedges to the Carrousel Arc de Triomphe and continued wandering around the city.

Pat and I found an underground rail system and took it to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Such a completely different vibe from La Sagrada Familia. It was so dark inside, but also interesting to see this style of stained glass and architecture. There was also a service going on in the middle of the day.

We took the underground rail service thing again but somehow got lost trying to navigate where to go. Also, my phone was confused about my location because we were underground and the service was patchy. Eventually, we made it out and found the actual Arc de Triomphe. They really like their arcs here. We could see the Eiffel Tower peeping through the buildings, and made our way over to her.

She’s a beauty. Such a pretty sight both up close and personal, and from a distance. She stands tall and proud, glistens gold, and twinkles in the evening. For dinner, Pat, Aubree, Raine, and I had a janky little picnic on a patch of grass under the Eiffel Tower. The idea was cute, but the food was a little sus. The baguettes were packaged and not fresh, and the cheese was DEFINITELY expired. Both smelly and did not taste right at all. On the bright side, the salami, grapes, and wine we shared were bomb. I also wished that there weren’t so many salesmen approaching us every 5 seconds to try and sell souvenirs to us. Please make like a tree and LEAF. Later we tried to find a Jazz club but there was a birthday party happening inside and we didn’t want to crash it so we hung out at a little bar/restaurant and got french fries to end the night.

March 16

Couldn't really sleep since I was worried we might miss our train (also concerned that Pat wouldn't wake up in time since he didn't have a phone or alarm clock). Once again, adrenaline got me going in the morning. And a little ham and cheese croissant with a cup of coffee brought me to a functioning state of mind. Boarded the train from Paris to Mannheim, and then changed trains from Mannheim to Munich. I guess we got off the train too soon in Munich-Pasing (instead of at the München Hauptbahnhof) but before we could hop back on, the train departed from the stop. I guess it was a blessing in disguise that led us to the giant mall behind the stop. The signs were super confusing to find the restrooms, but eventually we found where they were hidden. We also stopped to get Five Guys for our train ride back home to Salzburg. Back on the platform, we were waiting for the right train to come along. Patrick and I made conversation with a girl who was also waiting for the same train as us. She's from a little village town in Austria and was completely awestruck to be talking to Americans. She never dreamed that she would ever meet people from the US and was so enthusiastic to learn about us. We also enjoyed getting to know her and invited her to sit with us on the train. She was telling us about her job and studies as a carpenter and also shared stories of her dog :) Such a ray of sunshine.

I think the worst part of traveling back home is knowing that you’re so close yet so far. You finally arrive at the train station or airport, but then there’s the ride back to your house. That part kills me. Being on the bus for that 15 minute bus and then climbing the thousand steps up the Mönchsberg was a beast. Finally plopped into my bed. HOME SWEET HOME.

March 17

Schleeep. And Chinese take-out. And going out to Murphy's Law and Shamrock's to reunite the Salzburg Fam, share spring break stories (or tragedies), and celebrate St. Patty's Day.

[gyrlversion]

Little girl, three, dies after suffering a seizure at the airport

A three-year-old girl died after suffering a seizure at an airport at the end of a dream family holiday in the Maldives because of a condition which only two other children in the wold have not recovered from. 

Ava Akers, three, was rushed to hospital, fell into a coma and had to be transferred to Bangkok after her undiagnosed Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV) caused the seizure.

The family, who live in Shropshire, made a traumatic 24 hour journey back to the UK on a medical plane and Ava ended up on the high dependency unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Three-year-old Ava Akers became one of only three children in the world to die from Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV)

There, doctors gave the Akers family the devastating news that the ‘Ava they knew was gone’ as she was severely brain damaged. 

She died at home.

Her parents, Phill and Helen Akers, decided to launch a charity called Ava’s Angels in her memory, taking food and essential items into Birmingham Children’s Hospital to support families in their greatest time of need.

Today, Mr Akers, who works for a global digital IT firm, told the family’s heart-wrenching story.

He said: ‘Ava was a perfectly healthy three-year-old, enjoying ballet, swimming, pre-school, and looking forward to starting school in September.

‘We’re keen travellers and had taken her to Dubai, Abu Dabi, Switzerland, Italy, Cyprus and Barbados among other places. She loved travelling.

‘We’d had a brilliant holiday in the Maldives in March 2017, catching a sea plane to the island we were staying on, watching stingrays being fed, catching hermit crabs on the beach and snorkelling, which she took to straight away.

‘We were at the airport on the mainland about to get our flight back to Dubai and then onto Birmingham when we asked her if she’d like to choose something from the gift shop as a souvenir.

‘She dropped it, which was unlike Ava as she was never clumsy.

‘Then she dropped onto the floor having an atonic seizure. Her eyes rolled back, her arms went straight and her whole body was shaking.

‘Helen caught her and I picked her up and ran around the airport asking for help.

Ava had a seizure in the airport on the family’s way back from the Maldives. Her father Mr Akers said: ‘She was choking, I’d never seen a child have a seizure before, it was so scary’

After Ava spent a week in hospital she seemed completely normal and continued singing, dancing, eating and watching the Trolls film but that afternoon she began to feel unwell and hallucinate 

‘She was choking, I’d never seen a child have a seizure before, it was so scary, I thought she was going to die.

‘It was traumatic but once they started, the staff did everything they could and she got better.

‘We were transferred to a larger hospital and spent a week there. She went back to normal, singing, dancing, eating and watching the Trolls movie on the iPad – she loved that film.

‘The doctors thought she’d had a throat infection and urine infection. The compound effect can cause seizures in under-fives but they said she would be fine.

‘We felt so lucky that she was going to be OK.

‘We spoke to the chief medical officer from our insurance company to arrange a flight home.

‘But that afternoon Ava felt really unwell, began hallucinating and started to cry a lot. 

Mr Akers said: ‘They showed me the MRI and I could see it was dreadful. There were two white large areas that showed swelling happening in Ava’s brain’

Ava was flown to one of the best private hospitals in the world, in Bangkok. Mr Akers said: ”It was here that she was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV), a form of glandular fever, which, in a minutia of cases penetrates the blood in the brain, causing it to slow down and resulting in catastrophic damage in a matter of hours’

‘She lost her balance and was unable to walk. The doctors did an MRI scan and lumbar puncture to look at the cerebral spinal fluid in her head to check it wasn’t meningitis.

‘They showed me the MRI and I could see it was dreadful. There were two white large areas that showed swelling happening in Ava’s brain.

‘They said we’d got to get her to another hospital and at this point she fell into a coma.

‘The insurance company arranged a Learjet 45 medical evacuation with a doctor and a nurse on board, which flew us to one of the best private hospitals in the world, in Bangkok.

‘Ava had further tests and was put on a life support machine. Her responsive rate was one which meant for every minute, she was only taking one breath.

‘It was here that she was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV), a form of glandular fever, which, in a minutia of cases penetrates the blood in the brain, causing it to slow down and resulting in catastrophic damage in a matter of hours.

‘Ava was given immunoglobulin treatment – lots of antibodies to boost her immune system and steroids to her brain too.

‘It’s very rare in under-fives, there have only been about 20 children globally to have it, and 18 fully recovered.

‘They said Ava would be one of the ones to recover and filled us with hope that everything was going to be OK.

EBV is very rare in under-fives, there have only been about 20 children globally to have it, and 18 fully recovered

Ava was transferred back to the UK on a medical plane journey which took 24 hours while she was still in a coma. The Akers family thought that the rehabilitation she would get once she was home would cure her

‘Even though Ava was in a coma, they said we should transfer back to the UK. It was a massive relief to be coming home – we thought she’d have rehab and all this would be one hell of a story for when she was older.

He continued: ‘After three weeks in Bangkok, we were evacuated back to the UK on a medical plane. 

‘There was only space for one of us to be there to make a decision if anything happened mid-flight. Helen said I should go and she would fly back separately.

‘It took 24 hours as we had to stop to refuel in India, Russia and Austria.

‘Ava’s temperature rose rapidly during the flight but the medics managed to stabilise her. We spent the whole journey on tenterhooks that it was going to trigger a seizure.

‘An ambulance was waiting for us at the terminal at Birmingham Airport and we were rushed to an intensive care unit at Stoke as Birmingham was full.

‘Ava spent three days there and was taken off the life support machine as she began to breathe for herself. It was fantastic.

‘But she never opened her eyes.

‘She was transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s high dependency unit and we spent three-and-a-half months there in recovery.

‘But she remained dystonic throughout (a neurological movement disorder causing tremors). Her muscles began wasting away, her eyes opened but she couldn’t blink. 

‘She couldn’t swallow because her jaw was locked and she couldn’t move her head.

‘The doctors sat us down and said: “Ava will not recover from this, she will never lead a normal life. The Ava you know has gone”.

‘We heard that sometimes being in a hyperbaric oxygen treatment pressurised container can help so we tried that four days a week for six weeks but it didn’t help her.

‘We said that, maybe if we took her home it could help. They said it was worth a try as sometimes, if you get a child back in their home surroundings, it can help them to rehabilitate.

‘But we didn’t realise at that time that she was blind and deaf from brain damage. 

‘Her eyes were perfect but her brain couldn’t compute the signals.

We were taught how to feed her and give her medications and muscle relaxants to give her some comfort so we could bring her home at weekends and then take her back into hospital. It was good to have her home.

‘After four months as inpatients in the hospital, the doctors asked us if we wanted to start palliative care or if we wanted the life support machine to keep her alive.

‘We decided to start on palliative care because we felt it was the kindest thing we could possibly do when you have a child who is so severely poorly.

‘She had no quality of life.

‘We continued to bring her home and, it was at home, on July 29, that our beautiful girl Ava passed away.

‘Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis affecting children is so rare that none of the consultants we met from the UK and overseas have ever seen a patient with this condition, and cannot explain why this happened, which is very difficult for us to understand.

‘The same vicar led her christening and her funeral and he said he’d led services for people who were 80 who had not travelled to as many places as Ava.

The Akers family decided to set up the charity Ava’s Angels because they know first hand how easy it can be to forget to eat and drink while you are in hospital with a sick child

‘She loved travelling and we’re glad she experienced such a lot in her short lifetime.

‘She was so fun, loving and full of personality. She made us so proud.’

The Akers family decided to set up Ava’s Angels because they know first hand how easy it can be to forget to eat and drink while you are in hospital with a sick child. 

Mr Akes said: ‘While we lived at the hospital bedside with Ava, we were extremely lucky to have family and friends who supported us, bringing us food, supplies and emotional support in what was the worst time of our lives.

‘When you’re doing this you forget to eat and drink and look after yourself.

‘Inspired by Ava and seeing the importance of support while caring for a poorly child, we launched Ava’s Angels in March 2018 to provide support to families of sick children during hospital stays.

‘We recognise not all families have this support and we want to help them by growing our network of supporters, volunteers and sponsors.

‘We have recently been working with Birmingham Children’s Hospital and will have an official launch on Saturday April 6.

‘We’ve been doing lots to raise money already – golf days, marathons and sports events and more.

‘Helen, who works as an accountant, was heavily involved with Dudley Leisure Netball Club and the wider netball community has done lots to support us.

‘It’s all so we can arrange for volunteers to get lunch orders for families and take them the essentials, helping them to spend more time caring for their child when they need to the most.’ 

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