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seriouslyhooked · 4 years ago

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Feels Like This (Part 13)

Emma Swan is a once lost girl who is now making good. She has made a way in the world for her and her young son, Henry, and after years of hard work, Emma is in her last stretch of schooling for the career she’s always wanted. Unexpectedly, she finds herself in a tiny nation no one’s ever heard of for her last year of study. She knows nothing about the place except that it’s beautiful, has a world-renowned child life program, and is filled with possibility. Meanwhile, Prince Killian is hardly happy with the title he received at birth. As the second in line for the crown, Killian has long tried shaking his royal duties. He built a career in the royal navy, and has stayed out of the limelight, but his ship has been called to port indefinitely at the request of his brother, the King. Fate (in her many forms) brings Emma and Killian together and the resulting fic is a cute, fluffy, trope filled romp featuring heart felt moments, a healthy dose of insta-love and an assured happily ever after. Story rated M and will have 12 parts. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12. Available on FF Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: Hey everyone! I am so excited to be back with this story after the month I spent away, and I find it so wild that in that past month so much happened with royals in the actual world. I wouldn’t say it inspired this chapter at all, but it was cathartic to write a story where the Prince and Princess get a much healthier, more healing reception. I know how many of you love this fic, and it definitely has a special place in my heart as well. It’s been so important to me that I do the ending of this story justice, and so it took a bit of time to get my thoughts organized. This is one of the final chapters, and I only anticipate one more actual story installment and then maybe, someday far off in the future, an epilogue or two. That being said, this is a long-awaited milestone for CS and I have attempted to infuse all of my usual cuteness and romance. I hope that you all enjoy, I would love to hear what you think, and thank you all so much for reading!

Gazing out upon the overlook as the sun rose over the tree line in the Montenarran morning, Killian was comforted once more by the vastness of the world and the beauty that danced before him. The light shone with a color and vibrancy he’d come to know and love, but this morning the air hummed with languid layers of anticipation. Maybe it was Killian’s excitement and nerves, but he didn’t think so. No, if anything the world seemed to shimmer today, a sign from above that the timing was right and that he was ready to take this next big step.

The next time I visit this place, I’ll have Emma by my side, he thought to himself, soaking in the comfort of such a plan.

This was on his list of places to share with his Swan, but he reasoned that he had all the time in the world for such gifts. Today, though, he was planning to make that assumption a reality. For finally, after nearly three days of being parted from his love, he was planning to propose, in a way befitting a woman of Emma’s caliber.

Instinctively, Killian’s hand moved to his pocket, drawing out a small black box which held a ring inside. The ring was beautiful and ornate, an overt and ostentatious display of love, but one with inherent meaning. This was the ring his grandfather had given his Gran, a ring forged for the purpose of real and lasting love. It was not exchanged at their wedding, but instead in a private ceremony the two of them shared some weeks later. Their wedding had been arranged, but still they’d found real love. This ring was a gift, however, given at the turning point where Killian’s grandfather knew that his love for his new Queen was more than mere arrangement – it was true and totally transformative.

“Your brother, as reigning monarch, has full claim to your grandfather and my wedding bands, and he will make good use of them with his Elsa, I am utterly assured,” Gran had claimed some weeks back when she stole Killian for a private moment. On that night, she was serious and sincere, most of her deeply playful nature tucked aside for a brief window of time. She glanced at her the matrimonial ring she still wore, years after the death of her dearly departed husband before looking back to Killian with conviction and calm. “The love between them grows each day, and is befitting of what me and your grandfather shared. But this ring I’m giving you, Killy… this ring is something else altogether. This is magic made metal. This is perfectly genuine affection forged into precious gems.”

“It is gorgeous, Gran,” Killian agreed when she presented the ring to him. “But I can’t take something like this from you. Not when it means so much.”

“That’s why you must have it, Killy. If your Grandfather were here, he would say the same. This ring bound us in life, but now we are bound through so much more.”

For the first time in years, likely since the death of his grandfather himself, Killian watched as tears trickled down his Gran’s face. It instantly pierced his heart, for this was a woman who always showed strength. Even when he was on deployment and gone for years on end, his Gran persevered. She may grow misty eyed or get choked up, but tears were a whole different story. Only the memory of her husband could prompt them, and Killian thought to himself not for the first time that she had been so strong for so long, going on without him.

“Our love is forever, living, thriving, singing its song for now and for always. I miss him, every day, every moment, I wish that he was here, but someday we will have each other again. And in the meantime, this ring deserves another union. It was made to be passed through generations. I will confess that I wondered if anyone should ever be worthy of it, if love like ours would find its way here again. But I needn’t have doubted. You and Emma are made for each other, and it would be my honor for Emma to wear this.”

Killian agreed whole heartedly with his Grandmother’s explanation, and he knew no more beautiful stone could be found the world over. This ring bore a remarkable yellow diamond, encircled with smaller stones of the same rare hue. The exact shade sparkled in the sunlight, but almost seemed dipped in the golden glow of a summer’s afternoon. It was pristine and poetic, warm and well beyond the pale, reminding Killian of the highlights in Emma’s hair and the lilt of her laughter. Her joy was precious, more precious than any stone, but as he gazed upon the rock, it felt quintessentially designed for his Swan. It was happy and bright, bold and beautiful, and he knew, despite its flair and size, that Emma would love it.

The only thing left to do is ask her.

The thought breathed new life into Killian, even more so than the Montenarran morning, and he walked back through the forest paths towards the palace once more, energized and ready for the day ahead. He had everything planned and had been working on this for some time. There were many moving pieces, but he’d squared them all away. In the end he would see to it that this was perfect, for that was exactly what his Swan deserved.

Arriving at the palace just after the sunrise, Killian moved with purpose and precision. He had only a little bit of time, and much to accomplish.

“The last of the parcels have been delivered, Your Grace,” one attendant announced as Killian walked through the palace doors. “The bulk of them are here, as you see, though some are in the green house for obvious reasons.”

“Excellent, Jacque. Thank you.”

“I beg your pardon, Sir, it’s just… are you certain you don’t need help arranging things? It’s a significant amount of work here. The staff is happy to assist.”

“I appreciate that offer, Jacque, but I’ve got things well in hand. I’ve been planning this for some time.”

A thoughtful smile appeared at the older man’s face, one that broke the traditional polite protocol and spoke to how long he had known Killian and the royal family. “Of course, Sir. Well, in that case, best of luck.”

Killian took the well wishes to heart, knowing he had a massive task before him. Perhaps he could have given himself more time to bring all of these pieces together, but to him, it already felt like too much time had been wasted. He was more than ready for this next step with Emma, and after three days spent apart, not seeing each other in person, or sharing much more than a few texts and facetimes, he was particularly desirous to see this through. He had been strategizing on how to get this right for quite a while, and by now he knew each assignment down to the letter.

“I assume that your dismissal of Jacques offer goes for us as well?”

Killian glanced up, finding his mother on the stairwell. From here she was stately and elegant, a poised dowager Queen with refinement and grace, but as she descended, she became more herself, and by the time she was in front of Killian, taking his hand in hers, she was no more and no less than a wonderful mother. His greatest support for many years, and someone who he knew would give anything she could to make this moment special.

“It does, at least for this. But with the children arriving in a few hours’ time -,”

“Not to worry on that front,” his mother said cheerily, her own happiness at the thought of all the Institute’s residents coming to the palace for a special premiere outing. “Your Grandmother and I have all in hand, and Liam and Elsa are set to help us. It’ll be a day to remember.”

“Good,” Killian said, looking around and finding his Gran already in full form, instructing the staff as to the desires she had for the outdoor space. Through the glass of the palace’s wall of windows, her words were muddled, but the humor was clear as day. This woman, frail and aged from outward appearance, was a firecracker, ruling over the days designs with an iron fist. “Surprising that Liam is giving Gran such a wide berth.”

“Well how could he not? He’s yet to come down for the day. Hard to give orders from a distance.”

Killian let out a whistle, and laughed as his mother swatted his arm and ‘tutted’ his boyish actions. Knowing when enough was enough, he left unsaid the clear reason that his brother would choose to stay abed so late in the morning. Killian would stake his life on the fact that a certain guest was here within the palace, and that she likely made a visit of the overnight variety.

“What are the chances that Gran doesn’t know?” Killian asked and his mother shook her head.

“Zero.”

“And the likelihood that she will say something?”

“That’s still to be determined.” Killian was shocked at his mother’s genuine opinion. He, for one, thought it undoubtable that Gran would make mention of this moment, gleefully commenting on the need for royal heirs or some such outlandish claim. “Eleanor is direct and prone to speaking her mind, but she is also strategic. If the calculated risk of such a comment is too high, she will deny herself. She would never do anything to jeopardize your brother’s prospects.”

“You really think a smart comment from an old woman is enough to keep them apart?” Killian asked, thinking back on the few weeks that Liam and Elsa had shared since finding each other again. They had been as close to inseparable as the schedule of a King would allow. It was clear that they were both entirely invested, so much so that a royal announcement would be made in the coming days announcing their relationship.

“Not for a second.”

“So, if you know that, and I know that… surely Gran must know that.”

At that exact moment a maid was walking back into the house, opening the glass doors. From the outside they could hear his grandmother calling out to Liam and to Elsa, who had been discovered somewhere in the backyard. They no doubt were trying to be more discrete, but Gran seemed to have no interest in allowing them that privacy.

“Oh Lord, it’s time,” Meera said with a mix of worry and also amusement. Her eyes were alight with the humor of the moment, but also the very real awkwardness that may soon transpire. “I best get out there and spare them from what I can.”

Killian nodded, but wasn’t ready for the impact of his mother’s arms around him squeezing tight. It was not in any way part of the royal protocol, but his family never paid much mind to that. Still, this was a big hug, one that was obviously filled with tremendous meaning.

“I’m so proud of you, my darling. You’ll give her everything she deserves, and the two of you will be happy. So wonderfully, beautifully happy.”

“Thanks, Mum. Love you,” he whispered, accepting her soft kiss on his cheek and her shared words of love in kind before she dashed off to help his elder brother. A Queen should never move so quickly, but then again, Gran could do quite a bit of damage in the seconds it would take to get from here to there. For his part, Killian only chuckled to himself before heading to the side of the palace towards the gardens for the day.

The next few hours were defined by attention to detail and purposeful precision. Before meeting Emma, Killian could safely say he never imagined the lengths and planning required for a proper proposal. The idea was so intangible, so unnecessary in his estimations, that he never dwelled on even the possibility. It seemed unlikely that his heart would ever be touched in that way. He assumed he’d go through life a bachelor, or worse yet, that he’d cave to eventual pressure and say yes to something arranged and designed without feeling or passion. Luckily for him he had escaped such a fate, and instead had been steered through the grace of all things good towards a woman who was far and away the most remarkable he’d ever met.

Emma was rare and extraordinary. He had known it from their first meeting, and he continued to hold onto this truth every day they were together. There was never a moment when he didn’t realize his good fortune, or when he took her presence in his life for granted. Emma had revived him. She anchored him into the goodness of the world, and she showed him what could be. She expanded his horizons, even brought with her a son, another key part of a growing family, and by her side, Killian felt like he was capable of anything.

He only hoped that the elements he’d gathered today would translate as he imagined they could. This was a memory in the making that could only be shared once. Killian wanted to be sure that it was what Emma wanted and deserved. Luckily, he’d had help and more than a little bit of intel, mostly provided by Henry and from a few other insiders who knew Emma best of all.

“Are all systems a go, Captain?”

As if he’d conjured Henry with the grateful thought of all the boy had done for him, he turned now to find Emma’s son in the garden. Killian watched as the lad took in their surroundings, his eyes growing wide, and his whispered ‘this is so cool’ a welcome sign that Killian’s efforts had not been for nothing. He stood from where he’d been bent down, tidying up the last of his efforts, and when he gazed upon it himself, he had to say he was happy with the outcome.

“Aye, Lieutenant. All the necessary components are accounted for.”

“Good. She’s going to lose it. In a good way though,” Henry said with a smile which burned bright.

“Is everyone arrived then?” Killian asked and Henry shook his head.

“Soon, but not just yet. Anna and I have been here for a while now. Gran needed help with the game set up, but I asked if I could see you first.”

The look of wonder and happiness that had clung to Henry since arriving colored to something a bit more pensive. The shift gave Killian some pause for the first time all day. “Everything all right, lad?”

“Everything’s great, I just – well I was wondering – I mean if Mom says yes – or rather when she says yes, because she’ll totally say yes, it’s just that, well I – I was wondering…”

“No need to be worried, Henry,” Killian said, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Whatever you have to ask me, I’m here to help. You have my word I will make it right.”

“I know. And you’ll love Mom forever, right?”

“Aye, lad. Forever and then some.”

“And you love me too,” Killian’s heart clenched as he automatically nodded.

“Yes, Henry. I love you both, undoubtedly.”

“And we’re going to be a family.”

Killian didn’t know what to say. Down to his bones he knew that they would be. He was confident in this union between him and Emma. They had made promises already, declarations of love. He would give anything to be her husband, and he knew that someday he would be, but to say it aloud to her son when Emma herself hadn’t had a chance to even be asked was something else entirely. In the end, he decided to just go with his gut.

“In my heart, we already are.” Henry beamed up at him, the worry of the moment melting away. Still, Killian never imagined what he’d say next.

“Well then I was hoping that maybe, when you and Mom are married, maybe I could call you Dad?”

Killian was overwhelmed with the request. It was something he had wished for, but didn’t want to press. He knew Henry had no memories of his biological father, but he never wanted to assume. It was a massive move for a young man to ask such a question, but Killian’s answer to the query was instant and heartfelt.

“I would be honored, lad.”

“Cool,” Henry said happily, brimming with the excitement he’d had since Killian first told him about his plan to propose to Emma.

Henry moved forward, hugging Killian with the affection of an earnest hearted ten-year-old, and Killian savored it, knowing he would always see Henry as his son. He may not be his blood, but he lay claim to a large piece of Killian’s heart. He silently swore to always do right by Henry. To protect him and to teach him what he could. But mostly he would support him, and show love to Henry and his mother all the days of his life. Before Killian could speak to more of that, the sound of busses pulling up, and happy children streaming onto palace grounds wafted through the air. The time had come. This was the moment.

“You know the plan, son?” Killian asked, the word slipping off his tongue so easily, and bringing real joy to Henry’s eyes.

“Aye, aye, Captain. I’ll have Mom to you in five minutes. You can time me.”

Killian might have laughed at the fervor and excitement Henry shared, but unfortunately, five minutes waiting in a moment like this felt like a lifetime away. The only thing that got him through were the last-minute adjustments, and the journey that was needed from where he was, to where they’d start their memorable afternoon. Finally, the moment came where Killian was waiting at the start of the hedgerow, even further from the festivities and he could hear the woman he loved, unaware of his being here.

“Henry, seriously, what’s going on? The party’s only just starting. We have time for a tour later. We can go with the others.”

“Trust me Mom, this can’t wait.”

“What is it Henwy?” a tiny voice Killian would know anywhere asked. Cecelia was with them, another sign from above that his plans were moving the way he wanted.

“Something magical,” Henry said and Killian could hear the sharp trill of an excited little girl.

“Like fairies?”

“Just wait, you’ll see.”

“Something magical, huh?” Emma parroted, but at that moment they all stepped into view.

Three days may be but a blip in time to some, but to Killian it had felt like an eternity. The peace he now experienced at seeing his Swan again was profound, and somehow she was even more stunning than when he’d left her. The day’s light shone in her hair and in her smile. She was gorgeous and relaxed, dressed in a delicate pink sun dress designed to tease and torment. Her radiance outshone every flower in this garden, and in the moments before she saw him, he soaked in the sight of her. God she was beautiful, too beautiful to properly behold. His heart skipped and his muscles tightened, and then her eyes landed on him and he was whole. The world was righted once more, and all because Emma saw him and felt the same pull he felt emanating from his chest. The surprise in her eyes was evident, followed immediately by relief, and joy, and love, and all of it was too sweet a call to resist. He moved towards her and the children, sending up one last prayer in this critical moment.

Please let her be mine. I swear I’ll deserve her. Whatever it takes. For I am hers, body and soul, and I always will be.

………………

God he’s gorgeous, Emma thought instinctively upon finding Killian at the far end of the garden hedge. That thought was followed closely by, Wait, what is he doing here?

“Killy!” Cecelia cried out happily, letting go of Emma and Henry’s hands and sprinting towards him. Emma watched as Killian crouched down, accepting the hug from the little girl who effortlessly stole their hearts. He closed his eyes momentarily, soaking in the moment, and then he pulled back and pushed some of her wayward curls from Cecelia’s eyes, smiling at her with genuine affection.

“Good morning, little love. How are you finding the palace?” Emma’s heart clenched in her chest in the best way. He was just so sweet with her. He always had been.

“It’s so so good,” Cecelia replied, bringing a laugh out of all of them.

At the little girl’s enthusiastic endorsement, Killian thanked Cecelia and then stood once more, looking at Emma with those captivating blue eyes and that charming smile that always took her breath away. She was still trying to fathom his presence here. They had spent the last few days apart, days she found so much more difficult to manage than she expected, but he wasn’t set to return for a few more days. Liam had sent him on state business. She didn’t press for details, assuming it was confidential, but now, she was curious as to this wonderful turn of events. Before she could ask though, he walked over to her, taking her into his arms and kissing her surely. She leaned into this embrace, loathed to let him go, but he seemed to remember they were in the presence of little eyes. It was a fleeting kiss, but still invigorating all the same.

“I don’t understand. You’re supposed to be away the rest of the week.”

“I hope you’ll forgive my brother for that white lie,” Killian said, his hand coming up to scratch at his ear in that subtle show of bashfulness she’d witnessed a time or two. “If you’ll recall I never actually confirmed an itinerary, having sworn never to lie to you again.”

“So, you weren’t on a… huh, let’s see, how did Liam put it? A ‘mission for the future of the nation’ then?”

“Not exactly. But then again, in some ways, that’s exactly where I was. Do you trust me, love?”

Emma nodded, and watched as his smile grew warmer. She knew that it meant to him to have her trust, but in her eyes, he had earned it ten times over. Killian was a good man – the best man she knew – and he made her feel safe. Of course she trusted him. She had never trusted anyone this much before.

“In that case, I’ve some things to show you. Henry, you’ll be sure to hold down the fort in the meantime?”

Emma looked over to her son, and only now realized that this was all planned somehow. Her boy looked pleased as punch, and even sent a salute Killian’s way. “Yes sir. And Cecelia will help, wont’ you Ceci?” The little girl nodded, joyously, thrilled at the prospect of helping. “We’ll see you both soon.”

Killian nodded, leading Emma in the direction of the garden. The further they moved into the hedgerow, the quieter it became, until the only songs around them were those of birds and breeze. Emma was amazed at all of this, but she was also still wrapped up in his return. It felt so good to be back with her hand in his, the glow of his presence enveloping her. She’d never missed someone like she had the past few days, never ached this way to be reunited with someone. It was a testament to all she felt for him and how much she’d come to love him. Quietly she stopped walking, pulling Killian’s attention. With a quick glance behind them, she saw no one had followed. They were totally alone and so she made her move. Pulling him down for another kiss, she said a proper hello, and shivered in delight at his reaction.

His hands were on her, seemingly everywhere, holding her close as they tasted each other. She felt his soft dark hair between her fingers, where she ran them through by the nape of his neck. She arched in closer, feeling the friction of their bodies together, and sighing in pleasure when they pulled apart. It couldn’t go further than that, but Emma felt more secure having shown him even in a small way how happy she was to see him.

“Hell of a welcome home, love,” he growled out, words low and throaty from his own swirling emotion. “If leaving wasn’t torture in itself, I’d consider more trips just for this.”

“No need to leave for these,” she whispered to him, leaning in for another kiss but then nipping him gently instead and stepping back out of his grasp. She smiled at his evident frustration, and laughed when he groaned in defeat. He knew he was had, but from the way he pulled her back into his arms, running his hand along the small of her back and looking at her adoringly, he didn’t seem to mind.

“You are a marvel, love. Have I mentioned that yet?”

“Maybe once or twice,” she teased, looking back to where they’d been walking and giving him silent permission to lead to their destination once more. “It’s beautiful out here.”

Beautiful was an understatement. In truth, Emma had never seen such intricate floral designs or such an array of colors and flower species. She had to imagine it was more than a palace garden. This had to be one of the most beautiful botanical spaces in all of Europe.

“Much of that is my mother’s doing. Her passion project, so to speak. She brought us out here when we were boys. Showed us bits and bobs. But this has always been hallowed grounds. Special, and perhaps, as Henry hinted, a little magical as well.”

Emma was poised to reply, but at that moment they turned a corner and things changed. They were still in a garden, but this time – oh lord it was difficult to describe. Magnificent was the first word that came to mind, and ethereal came soon after. For where there were blossoms and buds before, now there even more, hanging from pergolas above and winding through ivy vines on every hedge. Some were clearly naturally placed, but Emma noticed pieces woven into this area that she’d seen before, half a world away.

“Windchimes,” she murmured, looking at the gorgeous displays that reminded her of home.

There was a storefront, totally discrete from the street view and far off of the beaten path, deep in the heart of Chinatown, that she and Henry had found when he was younger. It was filled with artisan chimes and motifs and mobiles made from natural items and glass and more. The owners were amazing and known in crafting circles around the globe. The first day Emma and Henry visited taking refuge from a sudden winter chill, the couple who owned the store had taken the time to walk her son through their work. They’d then spent hours in the studio, and though Emma had very little by way of money for a purchase, they’d showed her and Henry nothing but the utmost kindness. She’d always found the pieces beautiful, comprised of shells and flecks of crystal or silver and gold, swirled into constellations that evoked a night sky or sense of wonder.

Over the years she and Henry returned to the studio many times, and even bought a few pieces when she could save enough to treat herself to something precious. There was so much beauty crafted in each piece. Emma always found herself wanting more, and she loved their trips back over and over again. The style of this artwork was one of a kind. Emma had never seen other pieces like these, but here, in this patch of the garden, there had to be a hundred intricate, delicate, interrelated art pieces dancing in the wind.

“How is this possible?”

“Henry may have mentioned something. Do you like it?”

“It’s gorgeous. God, the time it must have taken to put this all together…”

“Was time well spent, believe me, love.” Emma looked to him and she could have sworn from the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice that he was the one who had done this. But that was crazy. How could he have possibly had time for all this?

“But how did it all even get here?”

“I brought it.”

“You brought it?” Emma asked, stunned, her fingertips grazing the smoothed lines of one art piece dripping in sea glass. “You were in New York.”

“Aye.”

“But why?”

“Patience, love. There’s more to see.”

Emma had no idea how there could possibly be more, but she tucked her arm through Killian’s and walked with him to the next section of gardens. Here there was a sudden burst of purples and whites, and a scent she’d been missing without even realizing it. Lilacs, but none of them in season. Oh God, look at all of them.

“Killian,” she whispered, looking at what must have been thousands of bouquets of her favorite flower. It was unbelievable, but it was real, and she moved forward, seeing them all set up and displayed prominently in the midst of a garden with white roses. It was gorgeous and surreal. And now she was utterly dazed and more than a little confused.

“You and Henry are well known at the Brooklyn gardens love, as I’m sure you are well aware. I had it on good authority from a woman named Ella that lilacs are your particular favorite.”

“These can’t all be from there,” Emma said and Killian shook his head.

“No, these are admittedly sourced from a few specialty purveyors across the continent. But this,” he pulled out a polaroid of a small lilac tree that was recently planted. Looking at the surroundings, Emma realized that was outside Killian’s home here in Montenarro. “This is directly from the gardens. The same family and strain, all the way from New York.”

Emma was too shocked to speak, and felt the tears welling in her eyes. He had done so much for her, and she knew it was for one reason. He wanted to bring part of her home, part of a place that meant so much to Henry and her, here to his home. It was so thoughtful she felt tongue tied. What could she say? This was all so much.

Unbelievably there was even more, and over the next few minutes he took her through three more break away gardens, each filled with other staples of her one-time home. Food and culture and memories and more. This man had managed to find all of the best parts of her time in New York and he had brought them here. Some of them were things completely out of the realm of possibility.

“I can’t believe you found this,” Emma said, holding onto a years-old piece of construction paper that had been forgotten to time.

This picture was one of so many projects that her son had made in life, but Emma cherished the memories that went with it. Another example of the city’s serendipity, this painting chronicled a day of adventure for Emma and Henry. They’d wandered all through the city, and ended up in Queens for a special summer program for kids. She was always looking for magic moments for Henry, especially ones designed for a budgeting single Mom, and this one had delivered. There were story times and games, crafts and activities, and Henry had been thrilled. He made this picture of the two of them, and though it looked nothing like Emma, it had captured her heart. It also caught the eye of the librarians working that day and they’d selected it to put on the wall in the Children’s wing. Henry was oh so proud, his four-year-old heart filled with joy at getting to hang his art somewhere aside from their refrigerator door. It meant something to Emma, another example of her doing her best by her boy, and giving him all that she’d never had.

“There was a picture of you and Henry and this particular masterpiece in the Saturday Times.”

“Okay now how could you possibly know that?”

“Your neighbor, Mrs. Hubbard. She was very forthcoming, and she’d saved the article. Has it framed and everything.”

“You spoke to Mrs. H?” Emma asked completely bewildered, and Killian nodded. “And the library had it all this time?”

“Aye. In the archives. Nothing a few strategically planned favors couldn’t procure.”

“I don’t deserve this,” Emma said, letting the tears finally fall. This was all too much, but she was immediately comforted by the feel of Killian’s strong arms. His hand came to cup her cheek, his thumb wiping some of the tears as he shook his head, his eyes full of earnest feeling and emotion.

“That’s where you’re wrong, love. You deserve every good thing the world over. I know it’s presumptuous for a man like me to ask for such a treasure, but I swear to you I’ll spend my life giving everything I can.”

“I already have everything. I have you, and Henry,” Emma said. “This is beautiful, but it’s nothing to you.”

Killian hummed out a sigh of contentment, but where Emma expected a kiss, she watched instead as he pulled back, reaching for something in his pocket. “I was hoping you’d feel this way. Makes this next part a bit less nerve wracking.”

In a smooth gesture, he pulled out a small black box and lowered to the ground. Watching Killian drop down to one knee here in the gardens, Emma felt totally adrift from all cares of the world. She was stunned and yet deeply aware that this had all been a long time coming. There was no doubt in her heart that she loved Killian, and she held no fear over taking this next step. This man had shown her for months that he genuinely cared for her and her son. He would move mountains for them, if only for a possibility of their happiness. He was selfless and loyal and true, and he made her brave, emboldening her to believe that the risk was worth it. Love was worth it. Still, it was shocking, to be adored so deeply, and to know that someone truly felt the world began and ended with her.

“Emma, I realize that this is perhaps soon by some standards, but believe me when I say that I have been aching to ask you this question since the moment we met.”

More tears formed in her eyes, thinking back on that day. Her world had truly shifted in the span of one morning. There was a time before Killian, before romantic love that ever made her hopeful, and then there was more. It all started at the center, but it built well beyond those four walls. Knowing what she did now, she had to call their encounter what it had been – love at first sight. Maybe she hadn’t admitted it then, and surely she hadn’t said it aloud, but that is what transpired. She took one look at this man, this extraordinary, incredible man, and she was hooked, plain and simple.

“You amazed me then, that first day at the Institute. I didn’t realize anyone like you could truly be real, or that I was capable of forming an attachment with such strength. I had seen too much, I reasoned, knew the darkness of the world in ways that may leave me lacking for the rest of my days. I thought such chances at something halfway near normal were beyond me, but those first sparks between us proved me wrong. I was totally ensnared, caught in a web you couldn’t help for making, and still, that immediate response can’t compare to all I feel now. Knowing you – loving you – I am more certain each and every day that you hold my heart in your hand. I am yours, Emma. I have been yours, and I will remain yours all the days of my life.”

There was absolutely no chance at stopping from crying now, but the sensation was one of happiness. She was actually living a fairytale. Her, the once lost girl who never had a nickel to her name, or a friend to keep her going. She had survived the cruelest affairs of the heart. She had been so terribly and tragically alone, but she persisted, and she learned, through the grace of her son, and the courage of her convictions, to live. Now with Killian she was starting anew, building up the small life she’d shared with Henry into something much bigger. To say she was exited at the prospect was an understatement.

“Emma Swan, will you -,”

“I want to adopt Cecelia!” Emma said abruptly, blurting out a seemingly unrelated fact in the middle of what had been the most beautiful proposal. She was mortified, but only for a moment. Because the smile on Killian’s face calmed the storm inside her.

“Ah, right. You see, I had anticipated that, though in the interest of full disclosure I envisioned this part of the conversation after your reply to the proposal. Regardless, I offer you this, love.”

Emma watched as he juggled the ring and instinctively she took it, holding the box and sparing another glance at the absolutely beautiful band. Her fingers itched to put it on now, but she knew it would be so much better to let Killian do the honors. She then watched in amazement as he pulled out a series of papers from inside his jacket. He opened the file containing them all and showed her an application for adoption. The child in question was Cecelia, and the forms listed both Emma and Killian as petitioning guardians. Now she was completely overwhelmed. He knew every single part of her. Every hope. Every dream. He was perfect.

“Family is so much more than blood, Swan, as we both know, and I think we’ve known for sometimes that Cecelia will always be our princess.”

“Yes,” Emma whispered. Yes to everything, yes to all of it.

“I’ve also spoken to Henry, not intentionally per se, wanting to speak with you first, but it would mean the world to adopt him as well. I don’t know how you’d feel about that, but I-,”

“Yes,” she said again, this time with even more conviction.

“Yes?” he asked with a hopeful grin and she nodded. “Well in that case. May I, love?”

She handed him the papers which he put down beside them with care. Emma watched as he took the ring box back from her other hand. He settled down on bended knee again, preparing himself for another attempt at asking her to marry him. It took everything in her to bite her tongue and let him actually get the request out.

“Emma Swan, love of my life, light of my spirit, and queen of my heart, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

“Yes.”

Everything from there went quickly as he slipped the ring on her finger, tossing the box without care to the group. Killian was up at full height in mere moments, pulling her in for a scorching kiss and Emma was complete. It may not have been a totally according to plan proposal, but Emma believed what they had was even better, because it was real and true and filled with so much love. She could think of no better way to start a beautiful forever, and when they pulled back, resting their foreheads against each other and soaking in the moment, Emma let out a sigh of sheer relief. This was what they meant when they said happily ever after, and it was so very worth the wait.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy,” Emma murmured aloud.

“Neither have I,” an emotional voice said – only it wasn’t Killian. The voice continued. “Truly beautiful.”

“Gran,” Killian muttered shaking his head. Emma bit her lip and covered her mouth. They had absolutely just been caught out here, but when they both turned to see their unexpected audience, consisting of Killian’s family, Elsa and Anna, and Henry and Cecelia, a different person outside of all the rest, was revealed to be the culprit.

“You take that back, Killian, for you know better than that,” Gran said, standing beside a dressed up and dazzling looking Mrs. Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard was there too, his hand on Henry’s shoulder and his leg being held onto by a very friendly Cecelia. Emma never expected to see her dear, sweet neighbors. Their appearance here in Montenarro left her floored.

“My new friends are a treat, believe me,” Gran continued, walking forward, and seemingly giving everyone else the silent permission to do the same. “But their spying skills need work. I would never speak through such a moment, nor rustle these hedges with quite so much gusto. Not to worry though, they’ll learn.”

Everyone descended in that moment to wish them all well, but the most important reactions came from Henry and from Cecelia. The happiness of both of these kids – their kids – gave Emma tremendous joy and satisfaction. She was also thrilled to share this with their blended family, and with the friends who had become such strong bonds in her new life. After much congratulations, everyone returned to the party, and an announcement was made. If Emma believed the reaction to be enthusiastic from her loved ones, it was even bolder from all of the children at the center. Indeed, the happiness and infectious sense of hope made for the best party any of them had ever been to, and created an afternoon like none she’d ever experienced.

Hours later, Emma was still reeling from the high, and loving the fact that she and Killian had stayed together all day. He’d never let her go after her saying yes, always beside her, supporting her, adoring her, and loving her endlessly. She was so happy with him, but as the day drew to a close, her spirits dampened slightly. In his usual form, Killian caught on immediately.

“What’s the matter, love?” he asked, sure that no one else was listening, even though they were still amidst the party.

“Nothing,” Emma said automatically, though that was only half true. “This is one of the best days of my life. It’s just… the waiting…”

“Aye, I’ve considered that too. But I think I’ve arrived at a workable solution.” Emma looked at him curiously. “I will submit for a special license from the crown. The King and I are on decent terms you see.”

“Decent, huh?” Emma teased, looking over at Liam and finding him swaying with Elsa on a makeshift dance floor. There wasn’t even any music playing, but to this happy couple, and to the children dancing nearby, that didn’t matter in the slightest.

“He’s been in better spirits of late, as you might imagine.”

“Seems to be going around.”

“Mmm,” Killian hummed out, running his hand along her cheek and looking at her with sincerity and bliss. “We can have everything arranged in a week. It’ll be quite the undertaking, but the staff is up to the challenge.”

“A week?” Emma said, not believing it. Surely it must take longer than that, but she loved the idea. In truth, she’d marry him right now if she could. “Can we really do that?”

“Just say the word, Emma.”

“Yes,” she said nodding. “It’s crazy. Actually it’s totally insane, but yes, please, yes.”

“As you wish,” he replied kissing her again under the party lights and lighting her aflame once more. “In the meantime, I’ve no wish to be apart. We should be together, love, as long as that’s what you want.”

“I do.”

“Everything’s ready. I’ve been working for weeks on it. The rooms for Henry, for Cecelia, all of it. It’s merely a matter of moving your things in, all of which can be done tonight.”

“You’re serious?” Emma asked and he nodded.

“A magistrate’s already granted temporary custody for Cecelia. You can take her home now while the process continues. Please, love, say you’ll all come home to me.”

Emma looked over to Henry and to Cecelia, who were dancing together on the floor. Emma watched as her son already took so well to his new sister, and as if she’d conjured his attention, Henry glanced her way. He waved, a sign that Emma returned. Drawing attention to them set Cecelia in motion, and soon the little girl was dragging Henry across the party. Soon enough they were back together, the four of them a new but undoubtedly permanent unit. Cecelia jumped into Killian’s arms, and Henry came to Emma’s side looking up with his knowing expression.

“What’s up, Mom?” he asked and Emma smiled, unable to resist pulling him and pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

“How would you feel about moving to Killian’s house -,”

“Our house,” Killian stressed and Emma chuckled.

“Sorry, our house, tonight?”

“That would be awesome!” Henry said excitedly. “Can we do that?”

“Aye.”

“And me too?” Cecelia asked hopefully.

“Yes, honey, you too,” Emma said, brushing a stray curl from Cecelia’s face. The kids made their feelings known. They were in, totally and completely. “Well I guess we have our answer then.”

“Aye, love. The best of answers, all around.”

And so, later that night, when the festivities of the day had ended, and the children all departed, Emma and Killian, Henry and Cecelia all headed home together, enjoying their first night in a place that would always be theirs. And though Emma knew they were in for a crazy week of planning and party design, and wedding wildness, she was truly joyful. For this was a life beyond her wildest dreams, and she knew, deep down to her core, that it was going to be breathtaking.

Post-Note: So… what did you think? Personally, I found it SO cathartic to write this scene. It’s been such a long time coming and I have pictured this outcome for Emma and for Killian even before writing the first word of this story. Almost a year ago to the day this story came to me, and my hope is to write out the final chapter by the one year anniversary in early May. Hopefully it won’t take quite so long, but please know that it has been a joy to write this and share with all of you. I hope this chapter and this fic have brought some brightness to your world and some magic to your moment. This has been an insane time, but I’ve been grateful to share it with all of you. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and I’d love to hear what your hopes for the end of this story are. Until next time, wishing you all well and healthy and safe! xE.

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blouisparadise · 5 years ago

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Upon request, here is part two of our mpreg Louis fic rec list. The first part of this rec list was done a while ago and can be found here. Happy reading!

1) Always Coming Back To You | Explicit | 4749 words

Harry's been missing Louis for eight days, and eight days without his Omega feels like decades in his pre-rut state.

Louis happens to come back to him earlier than planned.

2) Through The Storm | Mature | 6497 words

Note: This fic has no smut, but it is MPreg Louis so we included it.

Harry and Louis' marriage has hit a rough patch. A much needed week vacation in Jamaica just may be the second chance their relationship needs. What could possibly go wrong?

The answer?

Everything.

3) You Can Show Me Your Heart | Explicit | 6935 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Everyone knows about the unsinkable Titanic, which tragically did just that in April of 1912. However, not many people know the story of the Carpathia - the ship that raced to rescue and aid the survivors of the Titanic when the distress call came through. This is the story of the events leading up to the luxury liner crashing into an iceberg on that fateful spring night. More than that, this is the story of how two of Carpathia’s passengers - Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - met, fell in love and helped over 700 people in the cold Atlantic water.

4) Cooking with Styles | Explicit | 9119 words

Anyone can cook— or so they say.

5) Something To Prove | Explicit | 9425 words

Louis is the first and only omega to work at Red Valley Medical Center. Despite being more than qualified, he still faces prejudice for his career choice everyday. From patients refusing his treatment to condescending alpha doctors intervening with his work, practicing medicine in Boston is more challenging than Louis had ever thought it would be.

6) We Will Get Through This | Explicit | 11219 words

Because of quarantine, Louis has to stay home with his roommate, Harry, who he's never really hung out with before. He's a sweet alpha who seems to really care and that annoys the hell out of Louis. But as he gets to know the alpha, he realizes it might not be dislike that he's feeling.

7) Easily | Explicit | 13588 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

Years later, Harry and Louis are as strong as ever and more than ready to take the next step in the story of their lives. It gets a little weird, a little confusing, but at the end of the day, it is as easy as can be.

8) Baby Honey | Explicit | 14744 words

Note: The pairing in this fic is Alex/Louis.

When the next great war strikes, all alphas have to ship out. Alex leaves a little more behind than some of the others.

9) The Post-War BP | Explicit | 17732 words

The eight year war has left the country's birthrate severely stunted with a lack of virile alphas left to bring it back up. To ensure the survival of the country, the government opens The Breeding Program where young omegas can apply to carry an alpha's child in exchange for benefits. Louis' family is struggling and the BP is one of the only ways to secure a roof over their heads. Harry was drafted at the age of eighteen and spent six years of his life defending a country he doesn't recognize when he returns home. The government made the bed but it's Harry that has to lie in it.

10) Souls; Plural, Parallel | Teen & Up | 19679 words

Note: This fic has no smut, but it is MPreg Louis so we included it.

Soulmates are rare, the sort of rare that means everyone has a story about a friend's sister's coworker or a brother's roommate's cousin. But the fact of the matter is that most people never meet theirs. It's unfortunate then, that Louis finds out the hard way that he met his soulmate in a club, and the guy never texted him back.

11) Be Mine, Dear | Not Rated | 20104 words

It really wasn’t fair. He was the oldest of all of them. He’s the one who dreamed about being bonded his whole life, while Liam laughed at the idea, until he met Sophia. Niall had always been indifferent, but when he met Heather six months ago, everything changed for him. He quickly went from being the only omega around two alpha’s, to the odd omega out. And it really wasn’t fair, because Liam and Niall both still protected him just as much as the did before, just as much they do their new mates now, but he was still bitter about it, so he’d pity himself as much as he wanted.

12) Oops, Baby, I Love You (In That Order) | Explicit | 25344 words

The minute Louis Tomlinson decides he don’t need no man to start a family, Harry Styles literally falls into his arms.

13) I’m Having Your Baby (It's None of Your Business) | Mature | 26383 words

A bet can cost you a lot. Harry learns this in the weirdest of ways.

Louis just wanted a baby, and he got so much more.

14) The Things I'd Do To Wake Up Next To You | Mature | 36109 words

AU. Harry wakes up to a pregnant Louis Tomlinson and a wedding band on his finger.

15) If I Stay | Mature | 37226 words

Harry and Louis agree to a temporary arrangement that Harry can't seem to walk away from no matter how many times he tries.

16) You Put the Sun in Sunday | Mature | 42319 words

Louis is a love-brainwashed-teenager of hope drenched in dreams, clad in oversized clothes damaged with holes, and standing waist-high in novels. Harry is a selfish closeted football captain with a head too big for his heart, and a bad habit of not thinking before he opens his mouth. No one ever said love was easy, Louis learned the hard way.

17) Flash Forward (We’re Taking On The World Together) | Explicit | 44273 words

In which Omega Louis and Alpha Harry are absolutely perfect for each other and say I love you too much.

18) Every Story Has Its Scars, Ours Is A Brand New Start | Mature | 62859 words

Life as a devoted husband and an amazing father turned out to be a little different than Louis had expected. Everyone tells him it doesn't have to be that way; that he's worth more and that he's so much stronger than any one person trying to keep him down. It's all just words though until he meets the one person who makes him truly believe it.

19) Such Good Luck | Explicit | 66205 words

An Edwardian AU where Harry is a young aristocratic lord and Louis is a working class dairy farmer. Secrets are a necessary part of their relationship, but Louis has one that could topple their whole world.

20) Things I Can't | Not Rated | 67495 words

Louis has a plan for his life. He’s going to be the first in his family to finish college. He’s going to be a doctor - the best damn doctor in the country. And he’s going to work his ass off to make sure his younger siblings never have to wonder whether they have the means to pursue their dreams.

He doesn’t have space in his plan for a relationship with an effortlessly alluring musician, and certainly not for the child that unexpectedly results from that union. Louis is at a crossroads he never thought to plan for, and now he must make a decision: between what he wants now, and what he wants most.

21) I’m Still Learning To Love | General Audiences | 74695 words

Note: This fic has no smut, but it is MPreg Louis so we included it.

An AU where Harry has almost everything in the world except for the will to move on.

22) I Want You So Much (But I Hate Your Guts) | Mature | 83648 words

AU in which Louis gets accepted to play for the Manchester University Alpha-Beta Football Team. The only problem: Louis is actually an Omega. He is determined to make it big in the football world, though, and he can't do that bound to an Omega team. With the help of a faked doctor's certificate and some pretty strong suppressants he is ready to fight for his dream.

That Harry Styles (Alpha, second year and youngest football captain of the A-B team in ages) doesn't seem to like him complicates matters, though.

23) Fucking Animals | Explicit | 116688 words

Louis is the frontman of an equal rights-movement, author of a book about beta-omega marriage and the struggles of being born and boxed into a personality you don’t necessarily feel you fit. The notion that an omega must want to be with an alpha or else he or she’s just settling for less, is bullshit.

But, fucking hell.

24) Be My Omega | Mature | 138372 words

It all started when the alpha laid eyes on the short curvy omega and he knew at that moment that his life would never be the same, in a good way of course.

25) Cold Little Heart | Teen & Up | 194600 words

Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child. A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.

In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham. Louis really could use the help.

26) Love Me Until The End | Mature | 207130 words

AU where Louis, an Omega, is the head nurse of the hospital in charge of running the nursing staff. Harry, an Alpha, is a highly respected surgeon working at the same hospital. They also happen to fall in love.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#fic recs #mpreg #bottom louis #top harry #mpreg louis #blp fic recs #blp #larry

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tailorvizsla · 5 years ago

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A Proper Mandalorian Courtship - Chapter 1

Title: The Armorer and an Introduction Word Count: ~2350 Pairing: Paz x Reader Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Cursing, canon-typical violence, crack humor that’s also serious Summary:

Mandalorian courtship is very simple: declare your interest in someone, spend time together if they reciprocate, and get married after a year or so. Getting married is even easier – simply swap the vows and announce it a few days later to the Tribe so you can all celebrate the happy news. Then spend the next few months fending off the nosy Elders (who all want to know when they can expect to hear more little feet on the ground). At the end of it all, Mandalorians court the same way the rest of the galaxy does.

Except for Paz Vizla. Despite his Traditionalist background, he goes about this courtship and marriage business in a very nontraditional way...a very, very, very nontraditional way. This can also be found at AO3. Chapters: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

📚 My Master List 📚 Author’s Notes:

This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter story in a very long time.

I’ve been working on this since February. It’s been finished for a few weeks now, but I’ve been procrastinating in posting because I have had such a hard time justifying why Paz behaves the way he does even though we only see him for like 3 seconds in the series. I’m not sure if anyone else does this, but I like having a reason to write a story, even if it’s just to get the fluff out. For this, I wanted to flesh out Paz’s character for future works, but I have had such a hard time figuring out the words for it that I just...didn’t post. It felt wrong to continue forward without being able to explain to myself why he does what he does. Something that @plexflexico said in one of their responses to a review I left resonated with me and finally inspired me to post this publicly.

“Paz might have had less than a minute of screen time, but that time was VERY enlightening because both scenes were at moments of great tension and high emotion. I felt that any man who could succinctly put his people’s plight into words, and was so angry over this betrayal by someone who should have known better that there was no way this was simply a brute. This is a man who thinks and feels, deeply.”

This. This is exactly what I couldn’t find the words for. This, to me, is Paz Vizla. I have seen stories/HCs that portray him as a brute in an attempt to show him as a strong, confident, and masculine character. I am not fond of that portrayal because it lacks depth. I don't see that from a man whose culture embraces competency and skill before gender or sex. For those of you who have not read Asterism, go do it now, I promise you will love every single word. @plexflexico perfectly captures every emotion and thought of each scene just perfectly. This is Grade Amazing Super Plus Rank writing and Plex deserves an award for their work. And also for the inspiration because her Paz is the man everyone who wants a man deserves to have in their life.

The Foundry is the most sacred place for any Tribe blessed enough to have one of its own. It is the physical manifestation of the Resol'nare: education and armor, self-defense, the tribe, the language, and the leader. Here, children and new recruits receive their first set of beskar'gam and swear their oaths to follow the path, making the Foundry the spiritual birthplace of every member of the Tribe.

At night, when the work is finished, and the flames are dimmed, the young and old gather within so they may learn from and educate one another. Most importantly, this is where most individuals begin their first lessons in Mando'a, under the guidance of the Elders. The foundry is where the armaments are made and dispensed for the protection of each person and the Tribe as a whole. When a hunter returns with their offerings, they return to the Foundry, and disperse it to those who depend upon them for sustenance and care. Finally, the Foundry serves as a place for the leadership to gather.

Armorer has had the distinct honor and privilege of being both armorer and leader to her people for many years, though she is now only the armorer for the tribe. Upon joining with tribe Marell, she relinquished her role as the Alor. However, the respect and authority she commands is not diminished in any capacity. Should Alor Dezha not be available to decide on a course of action, the Tribe will come to her, and her decision will be both supported and respected. Dezha respects her a great deal, and he will often seek her opinion if his path is unclear. Despite the differences in their interpretations of the Oath, they have come to live in harmony with one another. They strengthen what is weak in each other, and that is how it should be in a flourishing Tribe.

Tonight, she once more has the honor of being part of a marriage ceremony. Lifting her heavy hammer, Armorer brings it down onto the glowing ingot of metal, watching as it flattens and spreads under her blow. She continues to strike the metal with slow, methodical precision until it reaches the proper thickness. Then the Armorer takes it back to the flame, where she allows it to glow blazing white. It only takes a few moments, and she returns it to the anvil. The steady clang clang of her hammer is punctuated only by the occasional trip to the flames.

The union of two Mandalorians in marriage is – and always has been – a joyous occasion, for that union brings forth stability for the children and the Tribe. Traditionally, the parents take turns hunting, or if the Tribe has the numbers, both parents will hunt together, and leave their children in the care of the rest of the family. Having that one trusted person, the one who knows their every strength and weakness by their side, leads to success, both in the field and at home.

She pauses once more to check the ingot. When she sees it is properly folded, she divides it in half, and begins to form each blade precisely with her smaller hammer. Two Mandalorians, forged into one soul and body by marriage, whether they are together, or they are apart. Two blades, made from a single piece of steel, to symbolize that union. When they are formed to her satisfaction, she takes the blades to the oil vat and quenches them, a satisfying hiss escaping the bubbling liquid.

Then she returns to the forge, narrowing one of the flames to begin the differential tempering process. Here, the tang and the edges of the blades will be hardened to resist shattering, yet the spines will remain flexible, so that they may flex as needed. Once joined, the couple hardens themselves to outsiders; instead, they will turn their affection and respect inward, so they may grow together. Where one is brittle, the other is flexible, and together, they become stronger than they would be individually. She withdraws the first blade from the flame just as the pale amber color creeps to the edges of the blade and plunges it directly into the water bath to cool.

It takes hours to sharpen the ceremonial blades on the grinding belts, but she works steadily and carefully, honing the edges with precision. The hilts are left bare; they will be wrapped by the parties entering the marriage. When they speak their vows, they will exchange blades, so they may carry a piece of the other with them when they are physically parted. She nestles the blades into separate boxes lined with soft fabric. When she delivers the blades tonight, the newlyweds will handle the rest on their own. Armorer lowers the heat of the flame before she returns to her quarters. There she draws the curtain across her living space. Exhaling, she takes a seat at her low table with a pot of hot tea to await being summoned by the Elders to acknowledge the vows. Her shoulders are tense and tight. It is a good sign of hard work.

It has been many years since she has witnessed a proper Mandalorian courtship unfold and blossom into marriage. The Armorer has known from the start that Paz would be the one to fully embrace the traditional ways. Now, he has chosen to make himself an example to the younger Mandalorians and enter the bonds of matrimony. Her heart swells with pride as she imagines the future progeny they will gift to the Tribe, whether they are born or found. However, she takes the time to close her eyes and pray to the spirits. The newlyweds will need guidance.

Hopefully, the wedding night will not result in nearly as much structural damage as the courtship had.

The first time Paz ever laid eyes upon you was shortly after the Armorer had finished negotiations to join with yours. It took nearly three weeks of negotiations, but your Tribe had ultimately yielded. No sane alor would turn away a dozen Hunters and their children, anyway. Paz admits that he did not find you all that impressive at first. You were – and still are - pretty average. Your armor at the time consisted of a bes’kar helmet and a steel chestplate that looked like the Armorer’s. Everything else was made of leather.

Tradesperson, he thought to himself, and he put you out of his mind.

As time went on, Paz came to like you, and even enjoy spending a few minutes with you here and there as his duties allowed. Even though you openly admitted that were an average warrior (at best), you did your job freakishly well. You had made your desire for a large family vocal, and that, combined with your skills, had caught the attention of several Hunters visiting to deliver the latest news. According to the Elders, the offers of marriage had come flooding in the instant you completed your first hunt, even though you hadn’t completed it until your twenty-third birthday.

When the average Mandalorian completed their first hunt by their nineteenth.

And Paz completed his on his seventeenth.

It didn’t take long for him to understand how you earned the loving-yet-frighteningly-accurate nickname shu’shika from the Tribe – you truly are a tiny disaster. You are dearly loved by your Tribe, but there is a tendency for things to break while you are around.

You are stubborn to a fault. That Paz can deal with. Over the past thirty or so years, he has had plenty of practice to out-stubborn his subordinates, and he always wins. The same holds true with his bounties. With you? There have been a few situations where he has come dangerously close to cracking and losing his temper. It is only your terrible self-defense skills and his affection for you that keep him from simply putting you in a headlock until you submit.

Paz sometimes wonders if you provoke him on purpose because you know he will not throw fists with someone who lacks proper training. He takes no pleasure in winning a fight if it was never a true fight to begin with.

Far too often, you get mouthy with him, to the point where he sometimes wants to grab you around the waist and launch you straight into the lake for being such a brat. You are never truly disrespectful, but you have no problem telling him what you think. Even when he does not ask for your opinion. He does, however, appreciate your honesty with him, since others are usually too intimidated by him to be as direct as you.

You’re kriffing fearless, to the point of recklessness. His threats to launch you into the lake have gone from true threats to playful teasing, and it always earns a laugh from you.

Your forgetfulness…it is truly obnoxious. At this point, he has stopped reminding you to pick up your shit. He has grown used to simply picking up your things off the floor (or the couch, or the tables, or the showers), stuffing them in a bag, and dumping it all on your table in the workshop. Just like everyone else in the Tribe does for you. Or, if he wants to see you, he will pocket your datapad until you come wandering into the common areas, and hand it over without a word. It never ceases to amaze you that Paz somehow seems to know exactly what you are looking for.

Paz has no doubts that if you ever set your bucket down, you will lose it. He kind of finds it endearing. But only from you. He has no problems holding armor, weapons, or personal property for ransom if some idiot leaves it unattended.

If there is even a single power cable in a wide-open room, you will invariably find it and trip over it. Stairs have to be clearly marked with vibrant tape to remind you of their existence even though they’ve been there for ten kriffing years. Your navigational skills are nonexistent. It is all Paz can do to refrain from simply attaching a tracker to your backside to keep you from getting lost whenever someone takes you to the market.

The first time he had taken you to the market, he lost you within forty-eight seconds. He panicked the entire time he looked for you. Fortunately, he found you trying to dig enough money out of your bag to buy some ice cream, with no regards as to how you were going to eat the kriffing ice cream with a damn bucket on your head.

Sometimes, Paz feels like his relationship with you is going to give him a full head of grey hair before his fiftieth birthday. But he thinks you are the most beautiful disaster he has ever seen in his life.

You get his dumb jokes and laugh at his silly puns. You let him steal the end pieces of the bread when you bake. You try so damn hard to improve your hand-to-hand combat skills, even when Doctor Shen threatens to tie you to a bed to keep you from hurting yourself. You turn to him first when you want to learn a new technique. You play hunters-and-prey with the children for hours, like you don’t care that the others are grumbling about you spoiling the kids. You listen to him ramble about whatever random topic he has picked up that week, and while you may not know anything about it, you ask questions and take the time to learn more about what makes him happy. You even offer to share your tiingilar with him, even when you only have a quarter ration of it.

He has spent most of his forty-four years alone in life. His eight-year relationship had ended exactly ten years ago when his partner chose to commit adultery. He was on the verge of proposing marriage when he caught them in his bed. Neither had been wearing their helmet. It was a privilege his partner had never granted him, even after nearly a decade together. After that gut-wrenching betrayal, something had shattered in him. Paz invested himself in his work fervently, his bitterness turning him away from the possibility of a long-term relationship. Now that he is older and wiser, he feels a sort of emptiness to his days. Like his successes mean nothing without having someone to share them with. He wants someone there to encourage and support him in his hunts. Someone who is not as cynical and burnt out from the constant threat of death and war. Someone who still has that shereshoya – that Mandalorian lust for each new day and every experience that it brings. That brightness in your soul draws him to you like a moth to the flame. It is your hidden gentility that has him so happily trapped in your orbit.

He wants to make you strong where you are weak.

He wants you to make him strong where he is weak.

Seeing you waiting for him at the shooting range brings a spring to his step. Hearing your laughter at one of his awful jokes makes him glad he wears a helmet so no one can see the ridiculous grin on his face. Smelling the sweet, flowery soap that you use makes his knees go all wobbly, though he’s not sure if it’s from affection or just from age. Just feeling your hand brush up against his makes him turn into a sweaty, flushed mess.

Paz Vizla feels like he’s strapped to the wing of a TIE fighter spinning out of control as it plummets to the ground below, or something like a fully-grown rath’tar has wrapped itself around his heart to squeeze. His belly is jam-packed with spice-crazed minochs and his heart is pounding wildly. When he thinks about kissing you one day, maybe just gently pressing his helmet against yours, his heart gets so full he can barely breathe.

You make him Feel Things he has never felt before.

Paz Vizla turns into a hot kriffing mess under his armor when he is around you, and he wants off this malfunctioning jetpack.

Feel free to leave comments, concerns, or critiques. I love all sorts of feedback <3

#star wars #the mandalorian #paz vizla #paz vizla x reader #paz vizsla x reader #romance #humor #the armorer #din djarin #original characters #tailor's world #tv: the mandalorian #paz vizsla x f!reader #paz vizla x f!reader #tailor writes #series: a proper mandalorian courtship

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96thdayofrage · 4 years ago

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The deadly shootings of unarmed Black men and women by police officers in the U.S. have increasingly garnered worldwide attention over the last few years. The 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., sparked a week of protests that catapulted the Black Lives Matter movement into the national spotlight. Since then, tens of thousands of people across the country have taken to the streets to protest police brutality of Blacks by mostly white officers.

Since 2015, police officers have fatally shot at least 135 unarmed Black men and women nationwide, an NPR investigation has found. NPR reviewed police, court and other records to examine the details of the cases. At least 75% of the officers were white. The latest one happened this month in Killeen, Texas, when Patrick Warren Sr., 52, was fatally shot by an officer responding to a mental health call.

For at least 15 of the officers, such as McMahon, the shootings were not their first — or their last, NPR found. They have been involved in two — sometimes three or more — shootings, often deadly and without consequences.

Those who study deadly force by police say it's unusual for officers to be involved in any shootings.

"Many officers will go their entire career without shooting — sometimes without pulling their gun out at all," said Peter Scharf, a criminologist and professor in the School of Public Health at Louisiana State University and co-author of The Badge and the Bullet: Police Use of Deadly Force. "It's rare."

Not every law enforcement agency releases detailed information about police shootings. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, for example, refused to release specifics such as officer names or their race, citing open investigations.

Still, NPR reviewed thousands of pages of job applications, personnel records, use-of-force reports, citizen complaints, court records, lawsuits, news releases, witness statements and local and state police investigative reports to examine the backgrounds of the officers and analyze details of each shooting. We also interviewed use of force experts, criminologists, police, lawyers, prosecutors and relatives of victims.

Among NPR's other findings:

• At least six officers had troubled pasts before being hired onto police departments, including drug use and domestic violence. One officer had been fired from another law enforcement agency, and at least two others were forced out.

• Several officers were convicted of crimes while on the force, such as battery, and resisting and obstructing, but kept their jobs. In one instance, officials in a tiny Louisiana parish repeatedly fired and rehired a deputy who got into trouble with the law: three times over 30 years, records show.

• More than two dozen officers have racked up citizen complaints or use-of-force incidents. A Fort Lauderdale, Fla., police officer had 82 reviews over use-of-force incidents but was never found in violation; a Vineland, N.J., officer had more than three dozen use-of-force incidents over a five-year period.

• Several officers have violated their department policies and been cited for ethics violations, including a Hollywood, Fla., officer accused of trying to steer business to his company, and an Arizona state trooper accused of misuse of state property.

• Nineteen of the officers involved in deadly shootings were rookies, with less than a year on the force. One was on the job for four hours, another for four days. More than a quarter of the killings occurred during traffic stops, and 24 of the dead — 18% — suffered from mental illness. The youngest person shot was a 15-year-old Balch Springs, Texas, high school freshman who played on the football team. The oldest was a 62-year-old man killed in his Los Angeles County home. Nearly 60% of the shootings occurred in the South, with more than a quarter in Texas, Georgia and Louisiana, NPR found.

The killings have led to at least 30 judgments and settlements totaling more than $142 million, records show. Dozens of lawsuits and claims are pending.

An examination of individual cases reveals the myriad ways that law enforcement agencies fail to hold officers accountable and allow them to be in a position to shoot again. In many instances, the criminal justice system refuses to prosecute, often resulting in departments putting officers back on the street instead of desk jobs where they have little contact with the public. Other times, police unions protect officers from accountability. And sometimes, departments are so desperate to recruit officers that they ignore warning signs such as an officer's troubled past and hire them anyway.

"Why do they get passes on killing people?" asked Paula McGowan, Foster's mother. "If the system was right ... they would hold these people accountable."

"Unnecessary and unreasonable"

Nathaniel Pickett II was walking back to his $18-a-night room at the El Rancho, a seen-better-days bungalow motel along historic Route 66 in Barstow, Calif. It was shortly after 9 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2015, and Nate, as his family called him, often took evening walks. As the 29-year-old former engineering student crossed the street, he caught the eye of Kyle Woods, a San Bernardino sheriff's deputy. Woods made a U-turn into the motel parking lot, jumped out of his cruiser and approached Pickett, police records show.

He demanded Pickett's name and birthdate. Pickett complied. In fact, he did everything Woods asked of him, including taking his hands out of his pockets. When Woods asked him if he lived at the motel and where he was from, Pickett said he didn't know. When Pickett asked if he had done something wrong, the deputy said he just wanted to talk to him.

"What's the problem?" Pickett asked Woods nine times as the deputy peppered him with questions about whether he had ever been arrested (yes), if he had lived in Barstow all of his life and where he was going.

"There is no problem," Woods responded.

Pickett asked if he could go to his room where he had lived since moving to Barstow seven weeks earlier. Woods would later admit under oath that he knew he had no probable cause to arrest him and that Pickett had the right to walk away. But when he tried, Woods grabbed him and told him to "stop resisting." Woods threatened to use a Taser on him. Pickett put his arms up and was running toward his room — Room 45 — when he tripped and fell in the breezeway. As he scooted backward from Woods, the deputy caught him. The two scuffled while a male citizen volunteer on patrol with Woods watched from a few feet away. Woods punched Pickett 15 to 20 times before pulling out his service weapon and threatening to shoot him. He fired, hitting Pickett twice in the chest — once with the barrel of the gun pressed against the man's chest.

"Ow," Pickett moaned. One of the bullets pierced his heart and left lung. Pickett was pronounced dead at the scene.

Woods, on the force for two years at the time but on the street for just a few months, said he shot him because he feared for his life.

Woods, who is Black, didn't give a statement to police about the incident for 28 days. And when he did, he said that he stopped Pickett after seeing him hop the motel fence. He thought Pickett was trespassing, and he was fidgety, like he might be under the influence, Woods said. Pickett had marijuana in his system, and his blood alcohol level was 0.01%, far below the level to be considered legally impaired, records show.

The deputy never faced criminal charges in Pickett's death, but the victim's family filed civil charges. And when he testified under oath at the civil trial, Woods told a different story: He said he never saw Pickett jump over the fence and that the gate actually was open. He also said it never occurred to him that Pickett could be mentally ill. Pickett was diagnosed with mental illness during his freshman year at Hampton University in Virginia and had been treated through the Mental Health Court in San Bernardino in 2012 after a conviction for resisting a peace officer and "false personation," records show.

Scott DeFoe, who spent two decades with the Los Angeles Police Department, testified as an expert witness at the civil trial. He said that Woods' use of force was "unnecessary and unreasonable."

"This is probably one of the worst cases I have looked at because of the mental health component," DeFoe testified. "There was no crime. ... He ran as he had a lawful right to do."

The jury in the civil trial was unanimous. Jurors agreed that Woods had no right to detain Pickett; used unreasonable or excessive force against him, which caused his death; and delayed getting him medical care. They awarded Pickett's family $33.5 million, one of the largest amounts ever in an officer-involved shooting case.

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trh-thesussexes · 5 years ago

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Inside Duchess Meghan’s Emotional Farewell to Royal Life at a Private Engagement

It was supposed to be a quiet day off in the countryside until my phone went berserk—the staccato buzz I set for palace correspondence almost sending it off the table. “His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle,” the November 27, 2017, email read, followed by a note inviting royal correspondents to join the couple for a special photo call to mark the occasion. A few road rules may have been bent to make the 80-ish mile drive from Oxfordshire to Kensington Palace—in traffic—but it was worth it. Standing by the lily-covered Sunken Pond as Harry shared his joy at finally finding his teammate, it was the perfect start to a chapter that would finally bring the royal family into the 21st century. Over the months and years that followed, I closely shadowed the work of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, getting to know the couple better through their humanitarian endeavors, engagements, and overseas visits. Their high-energy work ethic and passion for social justice attracted a new, more diverse demographic of royal watcher to the scene. As a young(ish), biracial royal correspondent, the change was exciting. And as their popularity grew around the world, so did a new golden era for the House of Windsor. Never did I expect that less than two and half years later I would be standing in one of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace as the Duchess of Sussex emotionally bids much-loved aides farewell, with her flight “home” to Canada leaving in a matter of hours. But then, neither did the couple. After starting the year with a formal proposal to move into part-time working royal roles, and bring some much-needed privacy and safety to their family life, Harry and Meghan’s hopes were quickly dashed by an institution seemingly unable to accept change as a viable option (even though some royals across Europe—and even other members of the British royal family—have succeeded in balancing duties to the crown and individual careers). To say they were crushed is an understatement. It’s a decision that the couple still feel wasn’t necessary, but also wasn’t a surprise, given the lack of support they received as they were relentlessly attacked by sections of the British press with almost daily mistruths and hateful commentary. While recent tabloid coverage has made it seem like the Sussexes’ half-in-half-out bid was about wanting it all, the reality was a couple who were left with no other choice but to create their own change after being left to fend for themselves against impossible circumstances—even during her pregnancy. They knew something had to change, but they also didn’t want to stop supporting the queen. One can’t help but wonder if things might have been different if a family member or two had stood up for them during the darkest times. Despite the pain and difficulties behind the scenes, work has continued to be a priority for the duchess, who is excited to be carrying over her four royal patronages into the Sussexes’ new chapter. It’s also the reason why I was at Buckingham Palace's 1844 Room on Monday, having been invited alongside two other journalists to cover Meghan’s final engagement as a senior working royal: meeting 22 students who have received scholarships from the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). As their royal patron—a role she took over from the queen in 2019—Meghan will continue to prioritize the organization even after officially stepping back on March 31, especially given her position as the vice president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and a former scholarship student herself. In fact, Meghan’s time at Illinois’s prestigious Northwestern University, where she majored in international relations and theater, is what drew her to the ACU in the first place. “The value and importance of higher education is why it should be accessible to everyone, no matter your background,” she says. For Commonwealth Day, March 9, the ACU brought together some of their brightest minds for a private meeting with the duchess, ahead of their attendance at Westminster Abbey’s Commonwealth Service, where some would bear the flags of their countries. The students are all studying masters or PhDs in the U.K. after receiving scholarships from the ACU’s three programs—Commonwealth Scholars, Chevening Scholars, and the ACU Blue Charter Fellow. “That’s what so powerful,” says Meghan, a long-time champion of the importance of universal access to higher education. “This incredible union and the ability to gain so much knowledge and to be able to take that back home.” Chatting with the scholars, the duchess is eager to hear more about how their studies will contribute to tackling the many challenges our world faces today. As she talks with the students, it becomes clear that she’s already done her research on why each guest was invited. It’s inspiring to seeing someone so prepared for these types of engagements, as opposed to just showing up for the photographs. But Meghan doesn’t know any other way of doing it. “I think it’s so important to actually engage with people,”she explains.“I care about these things!” The ACU has seen over 90,000 scholars come through their administered programs, and those invited to Monday’s meeting represent 11 Commonwealth countries in total. Halima Ali, a lawyer from Kenya who is currently studying for her masters in energy and natural resources law at London’s Queen Mary University, says Meghan’s role as patron is hugely important. “For Commonwealth and also Africa countries,” she says,“to see her, her interest, her participation, means a lot to us.” Meghan seems particularly impressed as she chats with Archana Kaliyaraj Selva Kumar, a chemistry student at Oxford University, who has devoted much of her time to using her research to create a new sustainable energy-storing battery that can help communities back in India without wired power. She is also an advocate for helping more women get into science. “What an incredible role model you are,” Meghan tells her. “And seeing is believing. Others see you and ... seeing someone in that space is so inspiring.” During a conversation with a female PhD student from Kenya, Meghan’s eyes light up when the subject of sustainable travel comes up. “That’s something my husband is incredibly passionate about,” she tells the Sheffield Hallam University student. “During our travels to Botswana and different parts of Africa, we’ve seen the link between tourism and how much money is going outside of the country instead of back to communities. There has to be a symbiotic relationship.” For her own travels with Harry, Meghan prefers to move around in a way that allows them to integrate with the locals. “When we go to Botswana, we grab a backpack and pitch a tent!” Meghan laughs. “It’s not much, but that’s how we like it!” Standing at the side of the room, I spot Secretary General of the ACU Joanna Newman looking on proudly. She came to know the duchess well from their numerous ACU engagements and meetings together, and is excited about their relationship continuing long into the future. “She has been a fantastic amplifier of ACU messages to much broader audiences for us,” she tells me, adding that her patronage has given the ACU coverage in places they could have never reached before, including Harper's BAZAAR. She calls Meghan a powerful spokesperson, recalling how she started public conversations about the lack of Black professors and even period poverty.>“The headlines haven’t been about what our patron is wearing or the official engagement started at this time and ended at that time and there was a cup of tea in the middle, it’s about why we are doing what we do and why ACU exists. She’s been a real champion of the work that universities do.” The ACU meeting came at the end of what Sussex aides have nicknamed a “farewell tour” for Harry and Meghan—a chance to tie up loose ends at the palace while taking on a slew of final royal engagements. The itinerary has been packed, starting when I joined the Duke of Sussex in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 26 as his sustainable travel initiative, Travalyst, entered its next development phase. The ambitious project will be a key component of the Sussexes’ philanthropic portfolio, and it’s become extremely clear just how important the cause is to Harry, who regularly takes part in meetings behind the scenes. Chatting with him one-on-one recently, I was struck by how knowledgeable he has become in this field; his many trips to Botswana inspired the beginnings of the initiative more than a year ago. As one of the attendees at the Edinburgh work summit whispered to me after his speech, “He’s about to change the game for good.” Reuniting after five days apart, Harry and Meghan’s showstopping arrival at the Endeavour Fund Awards served as a reminder of their ability to command the world’s attention. “Nothing to see here, just Meghan Markle showing the fuck out during her final round of royal duties,” wrote a Twitter user, as the pictures of the couple beaming under their umbrella went viral around the world. Inside the ceremony, the focus was firmly on the veterans being honored, all speaking highly of the duke, or Captain Wales, as he’s better known in the veteran community. It’s that mission to support servicemen and servicewomen that has seen Harry pledge to continue to support the community in his new non-working royal life, not just in the United Kingdom but also in North America too. The first task? Bringing the work of the Endeavour Fund and Invictus Games, both of which he helped establish, closer together. Harry’s lifelong commitment is why Saturday’s Mountbatten Festival of Music was a particularly difficult moment, wearing his Captain General of the Royal Marines uniform for the last time. Giving up his royal duties has resulted in his military honors coming to an end—a particularly tough pill to swallow and something that has been just as difficult for his wife to witness. It is, a source close to the couple tells me, a wound that will take time to heal for Harry. Meghan’s surprise appearance at an East London school for International Women’s Day and more traditional royal engagements such as Harry opening an immersive British motorsport museum alongside Lewis Hamilton (“There's nothing better than officially opening a building that is very much open,” the duke joked about the Silverstone Experience, which first opened its doors in October 2019) that rounded out what has been a roller coaster of a farewell visit for the Sussexes. Getting on with the work has always been what it’s been about for Harry and Meghan, but behind the smiles of the photos has been a vulnerable couple who are still very much hurting. Back at Buckingham Palace, the ACU students now en route to Westminster Abbey and Harry quietly slipping through the door to say hello, the reality—and the emotions—finally set in as I give Meghan a goodbye hug. She’s flying back to Canada on the last commercial flight of the day, eager to be back in Vancouver Island to be there when Archie wakes up. For a couple who only ever wanted to focus on their work and bring good to the world, it seems like an unnecessarily cruel ending to their royal lives. Forced to give up roles they’re incredibly proud of after sacrificing so much to get there. At this point, the grand Drawing Room is almost empty and tears that the duchess had been bravely holding back are free to flow among familiar faces. As she embraces some of the loyal staff she will most likely not see again, I can’t help but feel sad for the dedicated team members whose tireless efforts—to promote the couple’s work, launch landmark projects, and deal with the near-daily crises brought on by tabloid lies—have come to an abrupt end. Compared to other royal households, it was a smaller operation, with less resources than the more sophisticated offices at Clarence House and Kensington Palace, but in the short space of a year since setting up, Team Sussex had become like a family, looking out for the couple as much as they could. While the weeks and months ahead will no doubt present new challenges for the Sussexes, the couple genuinely feel a sense of excitement about what’s to come, which includes the freedom to work at a pace that suits them, no longer weighed down by protocol or threatened by toxic agendas. And while much has been (incorrectly) speculated about specific commercial endeavors they might be taking on, both Harry and Meghan are eager to get stuck into their work, which will still revolve around their humanitarian efforts and helping amplify the voices of young people around the world on a wide gamut of issues. “The terrain may be a little different but their priorities are exactly the same as before,” a well-placed source tells me. “Keeping the family, most importantly Archie, safe is what will make all of this worth it.” (x)

#this made me cry :(#They deserved so much better #Duchess of Sussex #Duke of Sussex #Meghan Markle #Prince Harry #article #ACU20 #amazing piece by omid

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qqueenofhades · 5 years ago

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I saw your post on the partisan lines drawn in the Trump impeachment case. Has congress always been this dysfunctional or is this a relatively new thing? Things feel very hopeless.

Aha. Aha. Ahaaaa. Hah.

I’ll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue, or in this case, American political dysfunction. As with many tales of recent American political dysfunction, this one starts with… Ronald Reagan!

(Man, Hilary, do you really hate Ronald Reagan that much? Answer: Yes, yes I do. Especially since public opinion has moved to ranking him as one of the greatest presidents ever, even Democrats tiptoe around criticizing him, and he is responsible for so much of the shit we are presently in! So much!)

For the younglings amongst us, Reagan was Trump before Trump was Trump: a popular actor who dodged out of service in WWII by making heroic propaganda films, found politics, ran as a Republican and almost swiped the nomination out from Ford in 1976, then ran again in 1980 and beat Jimmy Carter in a landslide. Reagan was, as we’ve discussed, a huge fan of voodoo economics, deregulation, ignoring the AIDS crisis, and massively pumping up the American military mythos and dangerously aggravating the Cold War. In the early 1980s, as the Soviet Union was collapsing from within and could barely feed its own citizens, Reagan was out there hyping it up as the most Terrible and Evil foe that America had ever faced anywhere, which therefore justified a giant surge in military spending and preparation for apparently imminent doomsday. Reagan was positive the commies were everywhere, especially in Central America, and had to be defeated. They were apparently particularly in Grenada (see the 1983 invasion of Grenada) and Nicaragua (the Sandinistas; remember them, they will be important.) The US/CIA has been absolutely shamefully imperialist and interventionist in Latin America for decades, but these were just a few of Ronald’s favorite things. All of this may sound like a diversion just to bag on him some more, because fuck that guy, but I promise, there’s a point.

See, the key difference between Reagan and Trump was that Reagan was nicknamed the “Great Communicator.” Unlike the barely literate Orange One, the Gipper sure could tell a great story, and by golly, he did not let the facts get in the way. He was also a huge advocate of untrammeled power for the executive branch. One thing that Reagan was not a fan of was informing Congress in any measure of what he was doing. The Iran-Contra scandal, which really should have destroyed Reagan’s administration in any just world and also gotten him impeached, was the revelation that he was running friggin’ illegal arms sales to Iran (in the name of freeing exactly seven American hostages who Iran never had any intention of releasing), arming right-wing anti-communist paramilitaries in Nicaragua with the proceeds, and had told Congress about exactly jack shit of any of this! Reagan was basically running his own private empire/byzantine weapons deals/fiefdom/whatever the goddamn hell he wanted, he was a big believer in the president never having to explain himself to anyone or ask permission for anything, while conducting illegal private wars, lying constantly, wrecking the economy, giving tax breaks to billionaires, constantly running off at the mouth about a mostly fictional enemy, and getting credit for ending the Cold War after he nearly single-handedly turned it hot. Sound familiar?

It may help to explain the extended nightmare of the last several Republican administrations if you remember that they were/are basically one mutated Frankenadministration. Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and others – aka all the later major players under George Bushes Sr. and Jr. – were all high-level Cabinet members of Reagan’s administration. This was all just part of one policy put into place by the same people at every chance they got when they were in power, and that was focused on making the (Republican) president basically able to do whatever he wanted. That checks and balances stuff, man, who needs that? As a result, Congress was deliberately designed to be either totally minimized/outright ignored (if held by the opposing party) or a slavish organ of lockstep devotion (if held by the Republicans). This was not always the case. When the Republicans won it back under Reagan in the 1980s, the Senate had been under Democratic control for almost 30 years. There were bumps, obviously, but there was still some sense that the legislative and the executive branches were both vital for government and should work together.

…yeah, so. Reagan junked all that, basically. When W. got to the White House, he then had 9/11 barely 9 months into his presidency, which meant that for a while, he also could do pretty much whatever and no one in either the House or Senate, regardless of party, really dared to oppose him for fear of looking anti-American. This was concurrent with the Republican Party abandoning even a pretense that they were interested in anyone besides rich white (nominally) Christian men. (The religious right also acquired its modern connotations/voting force under, you guessed it, Reagan!) Hence, they were absolutely furious when a brown Democrat with the middle name Hussein won the election in 2008. Mitch McConnell then decided before Obama was even sworn in that the congressional Republicans just flat-out weren’t going to cooperate with anything he did. Didn’t matter what. They were going to obstruct anything and everything, so Obama wouldn’t be able to deliver on his flagship campaign promises and the blame would fall on him. The Republicans were dead-set on making Obama a one-term president, again, before he had even set foot in the White House. Democrats also controlled the House and Senate for the first two years of Obama’s presidency, so this didn’t immediately matter. But then came 2010 and the Tea Party wave, and now the Republicans had a majority, and they did exactly as promised. They blocked everything. Consistently. No matter what.

We mentioned Merrick Garland before. I’m still mad about Merrick Garland. Mitch McConnell outright refused to hold any hearings to confirm Obama’s perfectly legitimate Supreme Court pick for almost eighteen months, betting on a Republican to win the 2016 election and do so instead, and he got away with it. That is why we have Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavarapist on the court right now. The Republicans have proven that they don’t give a damn about public welfare or any pretense of public morality or…. well, anything whatsoever except making themselves richer and more powerful. As bad as Trump is, he could still be out if the congressional GOP had any morals, backbone, willingness to go against their toxic lockstep ideology for the good of the country, or anything. Except… they don’t. They have voted time and again to enable him, shield him from prosecution, and support his plans, because as long as he’s in office, they’re doing well off the gravy train. I really cannot overstate how sociopathic and cowardly these people are. And half the country is still willing to vote for them!

So…. yes. The answer is, Congress, especially the Republican Congress, has been deliberately designed to act exactly like this since the 1980s, and it’s doing exactly what it means to. As to whether that is going to change, you, me, and the rest of America are the only ones who can decide that, and do that, you absolutely must, MUST vote, and not for them.

#politics for ts #fuck ronald reagan #should really be a tag i have #anonymous #ask

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hellzyeahwebwielingessays · 5 years ago

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There is so much to say about this. Much of it is obvious. It’s gross. It’s spiteful on Slott’s part. But the thing I want to talk about is how it was one of countless examples of plot over character. Of contrivance over logic. Of MJ being written like a dumbass so she wouldn’t realise Peter is not right.

When has Peter ever spoken to MJ that exact way?

Never.

And yet someone I used to respect on Spider-Man matters actually defended this moment.

The crux of their argument was that MJ wouldn’t have suspected anything about ‘Peter’ because of the situation.

As in, to MJ the stress and danger of his the Sinister Six going directly after him and his loved ones is what caused Peter to talk to her this way.

Let’s unpack that idea.

First of all, outside of jest (and even then only like occasionally at best), Peter has never called MJ ‘woman’ before.

Second of all Peter has never insulted MJ in this way outside of the following situations.

ASM #122. This is perhaps when Peter was at his nastiest with MJ. I’m sure I need not spell out the context but for the record I’ll do it anyway. MJ’s friend, Peter’s would-be fiancée has just died. Murdered by the Green Goblin. Peter has come home to find MJ there. At this point MJ has seemed nothing more than a carefree party girl to Peter, someone who from his POV played with Harry’s heart and put the moves on him in spite of knowing about how Harry felt about her and how he and Gwen felt about one another.

He lashes out at her and viciously insults her, demanding she leave.

For the sake of argument let’s ignore later retcons about MJ’s past and knowledge of Peter’s identity.

In this situation Peter’s attitude is perfectly understandable and MJ was always aware of that. From MJ’s POV perhaps she has been out of line, but even if you disagree with that she’d know that Peter is emotionally devastated in this moment. He’s grieving from a immense wound that’s only a few hours old.

That is not the context for ASM #700. In ASM #700 he’s not grieving. From MJ’s POV he might be scared and stressed but it’s a million miles from being as bad as Gwen’s death.

Also this was when they were both much younger and when they had yet to have a serious romance. Before they shared a lifetime of trauma and tragedy that bonded them together and made them closer. That is surely a factor worth considering his actions in ASM #700.

Later in the same run we have ASM #127 when Peter chastised her for not turning in evidence after witnessing a murder. Peter in this instance was trying to deliberately provoke MJ so she’d get over her fear, get better protection for herself and ultimately do the right thing.

MJ herself might not have been aware specifically of what Peter was doing here. But the context was still starkly different to ASM #700.

Here it is MJ who is stressed ad scared, not Peter. From her POV Peter’s insults are coming from a place of moral outrage not frustration or fear. With hindsight MJ would also know that Peter was Spider-Man at this time and so was looking out for her, someone very capable of handling the Vulture. His moral outrage would also make more sense in hindsight as MJ is in effect replicating his own mistake from AF #15.

So again, not a comparable situation.

How about ASM #318? This was when they were married. In this story an unemployed MJ has spent yet another night partying. Peter gets passive aggressive when he calls her out on this and they have a brief argument.

First of all, this instance is very different to Peter’s insults in ASM #700. He wasn’t being passive aggressive there at all and much more hurtful. Additionally MJ was running away from her problems and in the wrong in this instance. That is not the same thing as Peter being stressed and scared and lashing out.

Next up we have Spec #199 and #200 where Peter and MJ have two blazing arguments.

Noticeably here Peter isn’t insulting MJ all that much if at all. The context here is somewhat similar to ASm #700’s because he’s afraid Harry as the Green Goblin will target his loved ones.

However, Peter’s stress here is the result of weeks of psychological warfare on Harry’s part. He sent Aunt May an intimidating present back in Spec #189 and ordered the Rhino to threaten the Parkers in Spec #190. He admits to this strategy in Spec #200

There had also been lots of other mentally taxing things going on around that time too, like Peter’s first encounter with Carnage, Venom’s renewed vendetta against him and Calypso using voodoo magic to torture him.

This was a Spider-Man who hadn’t just snapped into stress mode because of this one situation but had his mental resiliency pushed very far already.

Let’s also consider this wasn’t just some super villains targeting his loved ones, but an Osborn as the Green Goblin doing it. The Goblin/Norman Osborn hurt Peter in the most devastating way since his uncle died. For him to know his secret identity and to be using it to hurt Peter’s loved ones is going to hit harder than just any villains in general doing that.

MJ would know that not just because of her shared life experiences with Peter but because she studied goddam psychology!

The last time I can recall Peter being this scathing towards MJ was in Spec #211. Here he delivers perhaps an even more vicious insult to MJ than in ASM #122. He accuses MJ of knowing nothing about pain or sacrifice, merely running away from her pain.. He then equally scathingly suggests she go out dancing as she is want to do when she flees her concerns.

What makes these insults extra vicious is that they weren’t said by a younger Peter who’d never been with MJ seriously before. A Peter who didn’t know of her painful past. It was uttered by an older and married Peter who was fully aware of his wife’s childhood.

Again though, context is key.

This was set during the ‘Pursuit’ story arc. Months prior Peter had discovered his parents were alive and had been in a Soviet prison until the (then recent) collapse of the Soviet Union. Over time he’d accepted them back into his life and even revealed his secret to them. However, they were merely artificial imposters created to resemble his parents by the Chameleon. After they were destroyed Peter vowed to make Chammy pay and relentlessly went on the hunt for him.

So this moment from Spec #211 is yet another time Peter is grieving from a very fresh and very emotionally devastating wound. To lose your parents once is awful. To do it at a young age worse. To spend your whole life accepting that difficult. To find out all that grief and struggle was pointless because your parents were alive and abruptly back in your life? Well that’s emotionally confusing at best, if not a major gut punch at worst. To then put the work in to build a relationship with them, to learn to trust them, to let them in and open up about your most intimate secret? That’s a big step. That would’ve taken immense emotional strength to make yourself so vulnerable.

To then be betrayed after that, by your parents no less, to discover it’s all been a sham. That the work you put in was a cruel joke and to then lose your parents all over again.

It’s an emotional/mental scar the likes of which many people might never have recovered from.

Peter is not simply angry. He is incensed! He is very close to being in a murderous rage.

Is it any wonder he lashes out so cruelly and so unfairly against MJ in this moment?

Of course not. He’s not in the right but obviously it’s forgivable given the circumstances.

Again though, his stress is born from grief and pain. No fear or concern.

So as we can see, past precedent shoots down the idea that Peter would talk to MJ this way even if he was stressed and so on. And MJ knows that.

Shit, he didn’t talk to MJ this way during ‘Civil War’ when the Parker family were fugitives and Peter’s identity was public knowledge. There, as stressed and concerned as he was, he was often soft spoken and even romantic with MJ.

Not to mention what on Earth is there to even be fearful or stressed about?

MJ’s dialogue claims Peter is scared, worried for his loved ones. Concerned that he’s not up to the challenge of protecting them.

But like…it’s Trapster, Scorpion, Hydro-Man and a dying Doc Ock.

Not exactly the A-Team are they?

Trapster is a loser C-lister Peter 9/10 can very easily handle and has handled in the past.

Hydro-Man is technically more powerful but you zap him with some electricity and he’s out. He’s really not that difficult to defeat even for a low tech Spider-Man, let alone a Spidey with access to advanced tech and assistance from HORIZON labs scientists.

Scorpion is in some ways the most deadly of these three but he’s also way easier to beat. You don’t have to worry about his malleable body or his sticky traps. He’s basically all about brute force and Spider-Man was able to clean his clock even as an inexperienced teenager.

And when he wasn’t holding back as an adult it was really no contest.

Normally Doc Ock would be the most formidable opponent here but he’s literally hours away from dying. This a very far cry from the Doc Ock who was powerful enough to manhandle teen Spidey in ASM #3

Or who outright intimidated Spidey when he was like 23 years old.

Spidey routinely beat Ock when he wasn’t backed up by gadgetry and HORIZON labs. Now he has AND he’s got time to prepare himself for battle AND Otto is on his last legs. As far as Ock battles go, this is an unfair fight. The cards are in Spider-Man’s favour.

Yes they are ganging up on him but Spider-Man actually fares better against groups of opponents because of his acrobatic abilities and spider sense. He is actually able to turn his opponents against one another if anything.

Again, MJ knows all this.

I’m not saying this situation wouldn’t be cause for concern but it wouldn’t be emotionally destabilizing Peter to nearly the same extent as many of the instances I spoke of above.

So MJ would be absolutely aware that Peter is acting very out of the ordinary here.

So the guy who claimed the situation justifies her blindness is full of shit.

P.S. Also, frankly MJ looks weak for saying she loves Peter after he chews her out.

#Spider-Man #Superior Spider-Man #mjwatsonedit #mary jane watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #MJ Watson #Peter Parker #otto octavius #Doc Ock #Doctor Octopus #clone saga #Dan Slott

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shivanshublog · 4 years ago

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Numerology

Numerology is an amazing companion to astrology.

The numerology most widely practiced today is based on the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras. Pythagoras was a brilliant mathematician, but he wasn't only interested in quantitative solutions. He believed that the physical world was made up of the energetic vibrations of numbers and developed a system that compared letters with whole numbers. His practice was an investigation into numerical interconnectivity. to know your free report open https://www.envoshop.com/test/

Numerology is about getting to the stem number. To do this, simply reduce the digits to a single digit, with the exception of 11 and 22, which are considered main numbers (more on this later). That single digit is your individual life path number.

The life path number is similar to your astrological sun sign - it shows your higher purpose, including strengths, weaknesses, talents and ambitions. Your life path number also sets the tone of your experiences and why past, present, and future events occur. In short, it is the madness method.

For example, suppose your birthday is on December 15, 1992. To calculate your life path number, reduce each component of this date to a single digit:

Acquaintance Photos by Josephine Baker, Lucille Ball, Frida Kahlo WELLNESS The unique personality traits of each zodiac sign

BY ALIZA KELLY FARAGHER

alongside Kaavia James Wade, who washes her hair at the 2019 Kids Choice Awards, and she and her mother, Gabrielle Union HAIR Kaavia James Union Wade is doing her own laundry day, ThankYouVeryMuch

BY GABI THORNE

Jacinda Pender with her hair in neon and black braids and the plain liner in primary color FORM Uni-liner is the coolest new eyeliner look that you should try

BY DEVON ABELMAN

COMMERCIALLY

Month 12 is reduced to 1 + 2 = 3.

The date 14 is reduced to 1 + 5 = 6.

The year 1992 is reduced to 1 + 9 + 9 + 2. This is equal to 21. Then 21 is reduced to 2 + 1 = 3.

Then we add the reduced number of month, date and year (3 + 6 + 3) and come to 12. Finally we add 1 + 2 and come to 3. If you were born on December 15, 1992, your life path is. is 3. It may seem daunting at first, but when you see everything written this way it becomes a lot less intimidating, doesn't it?

Main numbers As mentioned above, the only time you cannot reduce the final number is pressing 11 or 22. These are considered major numbers and produce a more intense version of their root numbers (2 or 4). Master's numbers indicate a high level of learning, achievement, or achievement, but likely in a more stressful or high-pressure environment.

For example, Sir Paul McCartney, perhaps the most famous twin in England, was born on June 18, 1942. When this date is reduced (month = 6, day = 9, year = 7) the total is 22 instead of simplifying it to a single digit (resulting in 4) the number 22 reflects the master number - the iteration With a higher octane rating of 4 that reveals McCartney's powerful "life mission".

You can also use numerology to derive the number of roots of names or words - this is where our old friend Pythagoras helps. According to his theories, some letters have certain numerical values, which are as follows:

1 = A, J, S.

2 = B, K, T.

3 = C, L, U.

4 = D, M, V.

5 = E, N, W.

6 = F, O, X.

7 = G, P, Y.

8 = H, Q, Z.

9 = I, R.

With this technique, it is easy to find the stem number associated with names that numerologists call your destiny number. To find your destiny number, calculate the root number of your full name (first, second, last) by reducing each name to a single digit and adding the sum.

number interpretations Now that you've calculated your life path number and destination number, it's time to find out what these digits actually mean. Let's dwell on that in more detail.

Number 1 (1/10, 19/1)

Just as Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, is about action and initiation, the 1 in numerology is associated with progression. 1 symbolizes pioneering spirit, independence and innate leadership qualities. On a bad day, I can be a little bossy or boastful and hide any uncertainty behind overdeveloped self-meaning. I have to remember that while it is the first, it can become the loneliest number very quickly. Even the most autonomous need the support of their friends, family and lovers.

Issue 2 (11/2, 2/20)

2 is associated with sensitivity, balance and harmony. In numerology, Vibration 2 takes on the role of mediator and creates harmony by bringing dissonant forces together through compassion, empathy and kindness. 2 is associated with psychic ability and intuition, and when this number appears as a life path or destiny number the individual is astute about subtle fluctuations in energy and emotional overtones. Because 2 is so sensitive, he is very conflict-averse and may feel underestimated or not recognized. 2 must avoid seeking external validation and instead recognize that the necessary perfect balance is already in place.

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eraserdude6226 · 4 years ago

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Go out and get involved!!

I have been here taking in all of the posts with people talking about how President Trump is the real president and I wish everyone would wake up and take note of a few things.

To begin with, I am both a conservative AND die-hard President Trump fan. No questions asked – hands down – he was one of the best presidents in a loonnnnnggg time (and I’ve been around in the political field for over 40 years and seen a long line of presidents in my years on earth) and I’ve got to tell you – I was very disheartened with the ease and way that this election was stolen from the American people. As a matter of fact, this election is going to be studied for a long time by political scientists and academics.

I worked to get the President re-elected. As a matter of fact, the little town where I live went red for the first time since 72 election – almost 40 YEARS OF BLUE CONTROL. Day after day of working with the campaign, knocking on doors, attending events, voter registration drives. President Trump took Ohio, with the only exceptions being the large urban centers of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo. Even the Mahoning Valley, largely a blue stronghold due a strong union presence, went red this election. I even helped in the formation of several Republican social groups in order to help the election.

What did I learn from this? Involvement is the key.

Well Big Whoopidie Doo, right? Involvement is the same speech that I give at least once or twice a month!

Each party has a state and local organization that you can join. Become INVOVLED in the process, red or blue. I tell the people where I work that if you are disillusioned in the political process, feel that you don’t mean a thing in the “big picture”, or just want to do something then get involved. Here are just a couple of ways:

· Start out at the county level and become a member of your county parties Central Committee. These are the real decision makers for your local party.

· Volunteer to help out a candidate in your community Candidates never have enough people to go and knock on doors and hand out literature.

· Contribute financially to support your candidates. Believe me, a $5 donation is just as important to a local candidate as a $100 or $1000 one.

· Don’t be afraid to call yourself whatever political affiliation you are! Wear that title with pride and if you are that ashamed of your politics, then just go and sit in the corner and cry when your party loses the election.

In my opinion, you want to know what the real reason the vote was stolen in those 7 key states? Lack of people to watch the counting going on. Regardless of the size of your local party, they always need help at election time because everyone is going off in so many directions. Imagine what the results would have been if in Michigan or Wisconsin both parties had representatives that stayed in the vote counting rooms and watched the ballots. I bet that no one would have thought to try to sneak extra ballots in then!! But the problem was that there was not enough people to watch the vote counters and what happened, happened.

So now we have to live with the status quo for at least the next two years. In 2022, Republicans get another chance to take back the House (only 9 shy of a majority now) and Senate (where its 50/50) and I think that they will, given history. Historically, the House flips during a President’s mid-term elections, so now would be a great time to get involved and help out the candidate of your choice!

Let’s not let the Democrats think they can repeat this in 2024. Get out and get involved if nothing else to make sure that Justice can be served, albeit 4 years later!!!

#Red Wave 2022 #getinvolved

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sporclerhejman · 4 years ago

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Notes on ‘Hoping this Finds You...’

Every slide in ‘Hoping this Finds You’ contains at least three clues- the ‘hoping this finds you’ tagline, the author of the note, and at least one thing in the note itself. But many of them contain 4, 5, 6+ clues, some of which are less obvious, and which may be buried in the text, intentional spelling modifications, capitalized words, or even the choice of the background paper. I thought it might be fun to outline where all those Easter eggs are hidden.

Slide #1: Abe Lincoln

Text Clues: ‘Appomattox Courthouse’- site of the final major battle of the Civil War, April 1865; ‘Passage of the Amendment’- a reference to the late January 1865 passage of the 13th Amendment by the House of Representatives (and a nod to the movie ‘Lincoln’); ‘I am sorry that I can’t join you in the district tonight’- Grant was originally supposed to be with Lincoln at Ford’s Theater on April 14th, but decided, instead, to travel to New Jersey to visit family; ‘Give my best to Tad and Mary’- Lincoln’s son and wife.

Hoping this finds you reference: Lincoln, a big fan of the theater, was assassinated at a showing of ‘My American Cousin’ on April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater.

Signatory- General Ulysses Grant, Lincoln’s commander of the Union Army.

Slide #2: Mikhail Gorbachev

Background clue: White House letterhead

Text clues: ‘what I hold Helmut Kohl’- Kohl was German Chancellor from 1982 to 1998; ‘strain on our relations for more than two decades’- the Berlin Wall stood from 1961 to 1989; ‘making the speech at the Brandenburg’- Reagan’s famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech was made with the Brandenburg Gate in the background; ‘tie this issue to the disarmament talks’- The Reykjavík Summit was held in October 1986, just a few months before the ‘tear down this wall’ speech; ‘Schulz will see that Congress back me on that’- George Schulz was Reagan’s Secretary of State from 1982-1989; ‘party commissariat’- the term ‘commissariat’ had actually been replaced with the word ‘ministry’ by the 1980s, but being a term uniquely connected to the Soviet governmental structure, it made for a better clue.

Hoping this finds you reference: A direct reference to the 1987 ‘tear down this wall’ speech.

Signatory: Reagan, who was called ‘Ronnie’ by his wife Nancy and closest friends.

Slide #3: Marie Curie

Background clue: A lab notebook! (Probably a bit modern for the Curies)

Text clues: ‘contamination with barium’- The late 1890s attempts by Marie and Pierre Curie to isolate radium were complicated because attempts to separate radium from pitchblende often resulted in barium contamination; ‘salt form may be isolated by differential crystallization’- the Curies eventually settled on the difficult and slow process of using differential crystallization to separate pure radium, but got only one tenth of a gram of pure radium from two thousand pounds of pitchblende; ‘Becquerel agrees’- I have no idea what Henri Becquerel thought about this process, or if he even knew, but he shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with the Curies, based on his early work on radioactivity, and this was a chance to include him as a clue to narrow the focus on Pierre and Marie; ‘do not think the half-life of polonium will allow for a similar method’- The Curies were never able to isolate pure polonium because it has a half-life of only about four months; ‘something Irene and Eve both enjoy’- The names of the Curie’s daughters; ‘lovely night for a stroll on the Rue Dauphine’- This is a bit dark, and actually made me choke up a bit doing it, but Pierre Curie was killed when struck by a carriage on the Rue Daupine in April, 1906.

Hoping this finds you reference: Curie won two Nobel Prizes and is known for her work in radioactivity. She died as a result of aplastic anemia from radiation exposure.

Signatory: Her husband, and fellow Nobel winner, Pierre.

Slide #4: Julius Caesar

Text clues: ‘display at the Circus Maximus’- The Roman chariot racing stadium; ‘this new calendar’- The Julian calendar was proposed and adopted by Caesar in 45 BC; ‘dictator in perpetuity’- Shortly after the adoption of that calendar, Caesar was granted the status of dictator in perpetuity; ‘war against the Parthians’- Parthia was a kingdom near the Caspian Sea in present day Iran. Caesar was planning an assault there at the time of his assassination; ‘set up a time with Brutus’- Merely a reference to Brutus and to Caesar’s famous line ‘Et tu, Brute’ from Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’; ‘Looking forward to seeing you at the Senate this evening’- Caesar was killed at the Senate on March 15, 44 BC.

Hoping this finds you reference: As noted, above, Caesar was killed on the Ides of March, thus the famous saying, ‘Beware the Ides of March’.

Signatory: Mark Antony, one of Caesar’s generals and political allies, who commanded the eventual war against Parthia. I chose him, specifically, so that I could use him as a double signatory for the Cleopatra slide as well.

Slide #5: Amelia Earhart

Text clues: ‘Fred would never let you down or lead you astray’- Fred Noonan was Earhart’s navigator on her fateful last flight; ‘have looked for you all the way along your Pacific route’- a reference to the search for Earhart after her disappearance; ‘searching around Howland Island’- A designated refueling stop on her flight, but a location which she never reached.

Hoping this finds you reference: Simply a note that Earhart has never been found.

Signatory: Her husband, George.

Slide #6: The Wright Brothers

Text clues: ‘Thrilled to hear the news from Kitty Hawk’- The Wright Brothers’ first successful powered flight came on the beaches at Kitty Hawk, NC; ‘The bike shop is holding up’- The brothers operated a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, which still stands today and is open to tourists; ‘regular contact with the Air Corps’- The Brothers sold technology, and entire aircraft, to the Army Air Corps.

Hoping this finds you reference: The Brothers had just completed their first successful powered flight and were constantly attempting longer and higher flights (which were generally successful).

Signatory: Hart O. Berg, the Wright Brothers’ business manager in Europe, and his wife, Edith, who also managed European business for them, was the first American woman to fly in a plane. (Odd historical note, Sarah Van Deman, the daughter-in-law of John Van Deman, who built my house, and lived in it from 1878-1921, was the first woman to fly in a plane in the United States. John’s son, Ralph, was an Army Captain.)

Slide #7: Napoleon Bonaparte

Text clues: ‘he may rule France in the future’- This text snippet (meant to insinuate that this is a segment of the note) is a reference to Napoleon’s son; ‘Reports from Borodino’- The Battle of Borodino, September 7, 1812, was the deadliest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, but also a tactical victory for the French; ‘that traitor, Alexander’- Tsar Alexander had been an ally of the French, but relations broke down, leading to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia; ‘Perhaps Moscow can be our capital in the east’- French forces, following the Battle of Borodino, were mounting their assault on Moscow.

Hoping this finds you reference: Napoleon did not enjoy the French winter.

Signatory: Marie Louise, Napoleon’s 2nd wife.

Slide #8: Ferdinand Magellan

Background clue: An old naval map

Text clues: ‘that idiot Manuel’- A reference to the King of Portugal, who declined the opportunity to fund Magellan’s attempt to find a westward route for the spice trade; ‘There is move afoot to name the strait after you’- Of course, this wouldn’t happen until much later, but the passage around S. America is now known as the ‘Straight of Magellan’; ‘converting the Cebu’- Magellan and his men had successfully converted the Cebu tribe to Christianity; ‘similar success with the Mactan’- Magellan would definitely not have similar success with the Mactan’ ‘circumnavigation and the spice trade’- I couldn’t really make Magellan any more obvious than this.

Hoping this finds you reference: Magellan’s attempts to convert the Mactan led to battle, during which he was killed with a spear, thus ‘in good spear-its’.

Signatory: King Carlos I of Spain, benefactor of Magellan’s circumnavigation.

Slide #9: Lady Godvia

Text clues: ‘I have reduced the taxes’- The legend of Lady Godiva, almost certainly apocryphal, is that she was angry at her husband for overtaxing the poor and he made a bet with her that if she rode naked, on horseback, through the town, he would reduce the taxes. According to the legend, she did; ‘you may donate as much of our wealth as you like to the churches’- She was also famously a benefactor of local religious institutions; ‘I have even freed the peeping tailor’- The legend also provides that Godiva made an edict before her ride requiring all of the townspeople to stay inside with their shutters closed. A tailor named ‘Tom’ was the only one to break the rule. This is where we get the phrase ‘peeping Tom’ from; ‘do not embarrass the Earldom of Mercia’- Godiva’s husband was the Earl of Mercia.

Hoping this finds your reference: The Earl would, of course, want Godiva off the horse and wearing some clothing.

Signatory: Leofric, Godiva’s husband, and the Earl of Mercia.

Slide #10: William Howard Taft

Text clues: ‘agree with you about the income tax’- Taft was opposed to the institution of a national income tax, believing it unconstitutional; ‘ratification of the 16th A. has certainly settled the issue’- To address the claim of unconstitutionality, Congress adopted, and the states ratified, the 16th Amendment in 1913; ‘trade agreement with Canada’- Taft was, at that time, working on a free trade agreement with Canada; ‘dream of a Supreme Court appointment- Taft is most famous for being the only person to be both U.S. President and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hoping this finds you reference: The story is apocryphal, but Taft is also known for his girth, and thus the legend that he got stuck in the White House bathtub. There is no indication that it ever actually happened.

Signatory: Philander Knox, Taft’s Secretary of State.

Slide #11: Cleopatra

Text clues: ‘do not think is wise to have Herod visit again’- Herod famously visited Egypt in 40 BC, then traveled on to Rome. He and Cleopatra had competing claims to territory; ‘Octavian is quite pleased with the invasion of Armenia’- Octavian was heir to the Roman throne, and would have been quite pleased with the 34 BC invasion of Armenia, which Cleopatra funded; ‘call on your aid to support the cost of our armies’- see previous note about the Armenian invasion; ‘Ptolemaic Dynasty’- Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemaic leaders before direct Roman rule; ‘Your story is Taylor made’- Cleopatra has frequently been the subject of modern artistic depictions, most famously the 1963 film starring Elizabeth Taylor.

Hoping this finds you reference: Cleopatra committed suicide (likely by poison), essentially ending the Hellenistic period.

Signatory: Mark Antony, Cleopatra’s third and final spouse.

Slide #12: Neil Armstrong

Background clue: NASA Space Task Group letterhead, in use from 1958-1962, and again for the Apollo program beginning in 1969.

Text clues: ‘leap mankind’- A reference to ‘one giant leap for mankind’, Armstrong’s famous words when first setting foot on the moon; ‘you and Buzz will be successful’- Buzz Aldrin was the command module pilot on Apollo 11, and the 2nd man to walk on the moon; ‘Langley to Houston to Canaveral’- All of the space command locations in 1969.

Hoping this finds you reference: Neil was certainly ‘Out of this world’ when landing on the moon.

Signatory: Deke Slayton, Air Force pilot, Mercury 7 astronaut, Chief of the Astronaut Office, Director of Flight Crew Operations, and Apollo-Soyuz astronaut.

Slide #13: Al Gore

Text clues: ‘campaigned long and hard’- Immediately narrows to a politician; ‘been such a loyal and true VP’- further narrows to Vice-Presidents; ‘CNN has just called Florida’- Most news networks originally called Florida for Gore on election night 2000, before backtracking, leading most people to think Gore had won; ‘So much for the Bush dynasty’- George W. Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush, was Gore’s opponent; ‘beginning of eight more years’- Gore had been VP from 1993-2001; ‘Tennessee should be proud’- Gore was from Tennessee and had been a U.S. Senator representing that state; ‘Give Tipper my best, Hil says ‘hi’- A reference to Tipper Gore and Hillary Clinton.

Hoping this finds you reference: Gore never got to make a victory speech.

Signatory: Bill Clinton, President when Gore was VP.

Slide #14: Bill Gates

Background clue: Dot matrix printer paper!

Text clues: ‘insisting that software developers are paid’ and ‘Who cares what those computer hobbyists think’- Gates and Allen’s early work on Altair BASIC was widely pirated by early computer hobbyists. Gates insisted on copyright claims, angering some of those computer builders. ‘meeting next week with IBM’- The July, 1980 contract between IBM and Microsoft set up at IBM as the major player in computer hardware and Microsoft in the same position on software. ‘Excelling’ and ‘Word’- Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word are two of the company’s flagship products.

Hoping this finds you reference: Microsoft Windows is the key product powering the company.

Signatory: Paul Allen is co-founder of Microsoft.

Slide #15: Margaret Thatcher

Background clue: Buckingham Palace letterhead.

Text clues: ‘brave men and women in the Falklands’- Thatcher was PM during the UK-Argentina Falklands War; ‘handling of the Hong Kong negotiations’- Thatcher negotiated the terms of the Hong Kong transfer to China at the end of the agreement for British control of the city; ‘Sending you, Dennis, and the children all my best’- A reference to Thatcher’s husband and their kids.

Hoping this finds you reference: Thatcher was famously known as the ‘Iron Lady’.

Signatory: Queen Elizabeth II. I was unsure how she would sign her name in such a note, but found several example of letters to political figures that she signed simply, ‘Elizabeth’.

Slide #16: Pete Best

Text clues: ‘Epstein thinks’- Brian Epstein was the Beatles manager’ ‘great chance at Decca’- The Beatles breakthrough recording session came at Decca’s recording studios, but it was also the end of Best’s tenure with the band; ‘My Bonny’- One of the Beatles early recordings was a cover of ‘My Bonny’ and it gained them some attention at Decca; ‘George is working on some new stuff’- A passing reference to George Harrison; ‘The drummer is always key’- Best was the drummer, and his perceived shortcomings in that key role led to his dismissal; ‘You’re the...’- Just a play on words on Best’s name; ‘sure that you’ll be a Starr’- Best’s replacement was Ringo Starr.

Hoping this finds you reference: Best would not remain a member of the band.

Signatories: John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Slide #17: George Lucas

Background clue: Stephen Spielberg formed Amblin Entertainment in the early 1980s shortly before the release of E.T.

Text clues: ‘take on directing the second part of your space opera’- Lucas had decided not to direct after A New Hope. There were some discussions with Spielberg, but the latter never directed a Star Wars film; ‘two pending sci-fi projects of my own’- E.T. and Poltergeist; ‘and the Indy sequel’- Temple of Doom was released in 1984; ‘Kershner or Marquand’- the eventual directors of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi; ‘Crichton and I are discussing a project that we might need ILM on’- Spielberg directed the movie version of Crichton’s ‘Jurassic Park’ in 1993 and ILM did the special effects. In reality, they would not discuss the novel until October 1989, shortly before its release; ‘Tell Harrison not to hurt himself’ and ‘behind the whip again’- References to Ford starring in in both Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Hoping this finds you reference: The Force was with Lucas to the tune of a $4 billion sale to Disney.

Signatory: Steven Spielberg

Slide #18: Mary Shelley

Text references: ‘1 July 1822′- The date of Percy’s death; ‘news from London is good- Victor is a hit’- Mary’s novel ‘Frankenstein’ was released in 1822 to much acclaim; ‘Byron says he can’t wait to see what you produce next’- The poet Byron was a close friend of the Shelleys; ‘The Don Juan is ready to sail’- Percy’s ill-fated boat was named the ‘Don Juan’; ‘Williams and I plan to take her out’ and ‘I’m sure it will go well’- Percy and his friend Edward Wiliams launched the boat on July 1, 1822. It sank and they were both killed as was a young deckhand they brought with them.

Hoping this finds you reference: Frankenstein was monstrously good.

Signatory: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary’s husband.

Slide #19: David Livingstone:

Text clues: ‘dispatched by the New York Herald’- Stanley’s expedition to find Livingstone was funded by the New York paper; ‘sail to Zanzibar in March’ and ‘try to locate you near Lake Tanganyika’- This was Stanley’s route; ‘anxioiusly await the Herald’s funding’- Stanley was delayed by slow funding from the paper.

Hoping this finds you reference: Livingstone was in Ujiji when Stanley found him.

Signatory: Henry Morton Stanley, speaker of the famous line, ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’

Slide #20: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Background clue: Attorney General Letterhead

General note: I was hesitant about this one. King and Bobby Kennedy were not close friends, and subsequent to their deaths have been described as ‘arms-length’ and ‘quiet rivals’. I was careful to try not to suggest a closer relationship between them than actually existed.

Text clues: ‘Jack how good it was to see you in the Rose Garden’- This should immediately give the timeline as 1961-1963 and MLK was actually in the Rose Garden on June 22, 1963; seeking intervention for the SNCC’- President Kennedy was asked to intervene on behalf of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; ‘reached out to John Lewis’- A young Lewis was the SNCC leader and this clue should further help with timeline and subject matter; ‘formal proposal for the Civil Rights Act’- That proposal was in June 1963, contemporaneous to King’s Rose Garden visit; ‘southern trips- Miami, Tampa, Dallas’- JFK made those exact trips in November 1963, culminating with his assassination in Dallas, though they were more campaign stops than trips in support of the Civil Rights Act; ‘Washington March next month’- King’s legendary ‘I Have a Dream’ speech was made in August of 1963 during that march; ‘everything that you are dreaming of’- A reference to that speech.

Hoping this finds you reference: A nod to King’s ‘Been to the Mountaintop’ speech, delivered the night before his assassination in 1968.

Signatory: Robert Kennedy, then U.S. Attorney General

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nomolosk · 4 years ago

Text

Snapshots (AU Yeah August 2020)

read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655623/chapters/62678428

Day 9- University

Gabriel looked up as his atelier melted away until he was standing in the center of the Dean’s office at ESMOD. He recognized the office, it was even decorated the same as when he had attended- which likely meant the akuma- he had named her Universal- was taking the easy way and creating her landscape from the memories and imaginings of the people affected. Given the setting, she had probably thrust everyone in Paris into some kind of University life. Apparently, he was to be the stern and forbidding Dean whom all the students feared.

He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He hadn’t really counted on this akuma being so… quiet. It had been nearly two full days already and there was still no indication that Ladybug or Chat Noir had caught on that something was going on. Of course, that was probably due to the powerset he’d given her- the ability to rewrite the memories of everyone affected to reflect their current reality. Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn’t spend all their time transformed, just as he couldn’t. In fact, he was counting on that a little, since her given task was to try and discover who they were in their normal everyday lives if possible.

In a way it was a personal victory- he’d finally hit on something that could trip them up… if only they would betray themselves. Sighing again, he went in search of Nathalie. He’d made them both immune to the akuma’s memory-changing power, so both of them remembered everything so far, including the rather odd transformation of his own powers during that elemental-magic setting. Not that he had complained at the time- it had made it possible for an additional attack to occur while his original akuma was still in play.

Yes, Universal was having a great time, but perhaps it was time for Mayura to come out to play and tempt the young heroes out into the open again. Perhaps Universal would catch the power surge when they transformed. Adrien was tucked safely away at that Small Business Convention- which had probably been transformed into a Student Union, or something similar. Yes. He’d be having the time of his life, and he’d be safe from the coming fight.

----

One moment Nathalie was scheduling phone calls with suppliers and meetings with Gabriel’s design team, and the next she found herself in an office she didn’t recognize, staring at a distraught young man as he sobbed to her about how he’d been framed, and it hadn’t really been him that was caught sabotaging someone else’s project.

It was times like this that Nathalie cursed Hawkmoth. Sure, he’d assured her that he and she were both protected from the mind-bending powers of his latest akuma, but that also meant that she currently had no clue what her current role was. She fell back on professional coldness. The fact that this individual was in an office that was hers, begging for mercy and trying to shift blame onto someone- anyone- else, meant that she was likely either the enforcer of rules, or the precursor to the enforcer of rules. So… not all that different from her actual real life job, though she was thankfully no longer so involved in Adrien’s schedule.

She glanced down at her desk, hoping to see a report on a tablet, or even a stack of papers with the complaint to review. She was in luck. No tablet, but there were three pages and the topmost was a single sheet detailing the complaint and the evidence against the young man in front of her. An eyebrow twitched when among the evidence listed was “security video footage.” The recommendation at the bottom of the page was to kick it up to the Dean. Also helpfully listed was the name of the individual.

“I’ve heard enough,” she finally said, in her usual expressionless voice. “There is plenty of evidence against you Mr. Virago. I’m saddened that once again ambition, or perhaps envy or spite, has misled someone talented enough to gain entry to this institution into ruining their chances. However, integrity is something we demand from all our students. You should expect a meeting with the Dean, although given what is listed here, it’s quite possible he’ll merely review the evidence and come to a conclusion in your absence.”

If the Dean were Gabriel Agreste, he certainly would, but unfortunately the Dean’s name wasn’t listed. Naturally, Nathalie would be expected to already know it. Mr. Virago collapsed into incoherent tears, and Nathalie grimaced in distaste. Artists were so very temperamental. Well, except for Gabriel. And even he has his moments, she thought, remembering quite a few overheard villain monologues, not to mention his sudden and inexplicable need to compose a rap song of all things to serve as his own personal theme a few months ago.

Nathalie sighed and pushed the button on her old-fashioned office phone that was the most likely candidate for an intercom. “Please have security come and escort Mr. Virago out, thank you,” she said to the person on the other end.

A few moments later, there was a knock on her office door, and two uniformed women escorted the limp and cooperative (likely former) student out of her presence. A moment later there was another knock, and Gabriel walked in.

“I’m the Dean, who are you?” he asked, with no preamble whatsoever, but Nathalie was used to that. Except in moments of extreme stress or worry, Gabriel was nothing if not to the point.

“Someone just under the Dean, I believe. That young man you saw exiting a moment ago won’t be a student here for much longer if the evidence against him holds up.”

“That’s assuming he was ever a student here in the first place, and Universal didn’t make up a scenario he is being forced to play out, or simply transfer his misconduct from one place to another. Perhaps he always dreamed of being a student here, yet his life went another direction.”

Nathalie rubbed her temples. “This akuma is giving me a headache.”

“Don’t think about it too much, then. His life is his own, and unless Universal grants me another universe in which I’m able to create another akuma apart from her, his current mental anguish is irrelevant.”

A small voice in the back of Nathalie’s mind whispered traitorously: when did Gabriel become so cold? Surely he used to care more about the feelings of others… now he seems to see them as nothing more than opportunities to exploit.

“Of course, sir.”

“Meanwhile, since the heroes have yet to show themselves, perhaps Mayura ought to make an appearance.”

That brought a malicious smile to her face. Since Gabriel had succeeded in repairing the peacock miraculous a few years ago, her pulmonary issues had almost cleared up, and she was much stronger and faster in a fight. Of course, it seemed Ladybug and Chat Noir had finally reached whatever threshold it had been that kept them from using their powers more than once before being forced out of their transformations, and as a result they were also much more formidable opponents. Privately, Nathalie was starting to wonder if they would ever reach their ultimate goal, but she enjoyed being Mayura and flying about the city. As Mayura she could take out some of her frustrations with a reasonable assumption that they would be just fine in the end. She was loathe to give that up.

“I’ll have to check my schedule as soon as I can find it,” she said, “but I’m sure I can find some spare time somewhere. Will you be doing any designing while we’re stuck here?”

“No, it would be pointless. My own schedule is packed with meetings, or so my secretary- who is not nearly as competent as you- tells me. I had to beg for the few minutes it would take to walk from my office to yours as it is.”

“Then you should get going. Oh, by the by… have you run into anyone you recognize yet?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “No one, but the day is young.”

Nathalie returned the smirk. “It seems my current score stands, then.”

“I never agreed to this, you know.”

“And yet, you were so triumphant yesterday when you briefly surpassed my score.”

“You sound like you think this little wager of yours is going to change things.”

“I know you still miss Emilie,” Nathalie said, her tone softening. “But you really need to get out more, and not just as a hologram. You weren’t there all those years when Adrien’s expression would go flat every time you refused to show up for some event. And now that he is grown and out of the house, he is more distant than ever. If you don’t want to lose him entirely, something needs to change.”

Gabriel sighed. “Yes, but… oh, if only I could be as self-centered as Audrey Bourgeois, and simply attempt to fire anyone who annoys me.”

“Everyone feels that way, Gabriel,” Nathalie stated firmly. “Consider the fact that most of the people you meet are feeling exactly the same way you are… and strive to treat them with the same consideration and respect you would demand for yourself.”

Gabriel made a skeptical noise. “If you say so. But it does seem pointless to bother at this point when we’re so close.” He sighed. “I really must get back. Try to inform me of when you’re going out, please?”

“Of course sir,” Nathalie said, and started pulling out the drawers of her desk looking for a schedule even as he left the room.

@auyeahaugust

#mlauyeahaugust #auyeah2020 #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #university au #gabriel agreste #nathalie sancoeur #different povs??

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lozza-85 · 4 years ago

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The Most Unique Strike In History

THE MOST UNIQUE STRIKE IN HISTORY? In December 2020, the GMB union balloted British Gas field engineers for the right to strike against the Fire and Re Hire the Senior Management have been threatening us with since June2020. 89% of ballot returns voted in favour of industrial action. That is around 5,000 engineers. The company is leading people to believe that over 80% of its employees have already signed up to its new conditions so there is nothing wrong with them. The details they have not included is that the ones who have are Office staff and Contract employees on completely different contracts then the field staff. A good majority of these are receiving small improvements and only the long-term employees that are the minority are losing out. What makes this vote unique is that we are not asking for anything extra from the company. All we want is for them to remove S188 Fire and Re Hire and continue negotiations with the Union. The company have point blankly said they will not engage in any further talks and the clock is ticking until a legally approved final date is issued. So far it has been moved from January 2021 and we believe they will be issuing our new contract to sign on the 31st March2021 with two options. Sign the contract or leave the business. No redundancy as the role is and has been understaffed for years. A huge number of these engineers have only ever worked as an engineer for BG since leaving school and have always envisaged it to be a job for life. Two years ago, the company managed to get through a change to our Final salary pension seeing it cut in half moving forward. Yes, it was a good pension in today’s market, but this was one of the major factors in people staying with the company as it had already been removed to new entrants years ago. I believe they got the numbers required in the vote on this due to a £8k one of payment before tax and NI. Personally, it has reduced my pension by around £11k a year so not great. Unfortunately, many had already become disillusioned with the way the company was going and could not foresee staying until retirement. Senior Management must have seen this as a huge win and I believe this started the wheels in motion for what we are being faced with today, after working through the biggest pandemic in centuries, constantly entering and working in people’s houses and even ones who had tested positive. As a leaked clip recently shows a Senior manager is in tears early on in this pandemic because of what the company is asking us to do for its customers. This has been followed by another leaked clip of various senior managers gloating over the fact that the pandemic and recent events in America have managed to keep the strike almost completely out of the mainstream media. Just Before Christmas 2020 they constantly contacted us which some have seen as bullying and intimidation to pre sign a copy of intent to sign the contract in February. For this you got a sweetener or as they called it a transition payment of either £1k or £2k depending what part of field services you worked in. Also enhanced benefits of extra holiday that was being taken away under the new terms and enhanced bonus scheme that has not even been trailed yet to show if fit for purpose. Those receiving London Weighting or those set to lose it under the new agreement also got this for a few extra years, for some up to £5k. I will now try and summarise the changes I have managed to understand under the new contract for a service and repair engineer. I am still yet to find a single positive for the employee. 1. The average engineer will be losing 4 days annual leave and around 10 rest days. 2. Those who receive London weighting (up to £5.2k) will either loose it completely or see it dramatically reduced. 3. We have been told we earn above market average for our role so will receive no pay rise for a minimum of 3 years guaranteed and could be between 5-10 years without a rise. 4. Our 37-hour week will increase to 40 hours, you will not see an increase in your base pay for these hours so will be effectively taking a pay cut as your hourly rate will reduce. The companies new bonus scheme (CTAP) could if you exceed targets pay for these hours. 5. CTAP the new bonus scheme has not been trailed or tested to see if it is fit for purpose. 6. The sharesave scheme will no longer be available. 7. Being forced to pay for private health insurance otherwise you will only receive statutory sick pay. Also 6 months full and 6 months half pay will change to 3 months at 100% and 9 months at 66% 8. Core hours will change Currently Summer Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm. Winter Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm. Saturday 8am to 6pm and Sunday 8am to 5pm. All days will be 7am to 9pm. 9. No caps on weekend working, Sundays are currently 1 in 6 max. 10. No weekend payment currently around £26 Saturday and £40 Sunday. Depending on roster frequency a loss of just over £1k 11. Start time, at present need to be at collection point or on patch en route to 1st job. New contract you will need to be on your 1stjob at start time and should be within 30mins from home. So technically 30 mins of unpaid hours. You will be told by the system when to collect your parts and allocated the travel time for this. 12. Overtime rates will all be at 1.33% of hourly rate. Currently from 1.25 upto 200% 13. EA (Emergency call out throughout the evening and night) is the biggest hit as going from 200% to 1.33%. 14. Will now be rostered to work on bank holidays and apart from Christmas, Boxing day and NYD will attract no extra payments. 15. Current 6 monthly roster will change to 6 weeks rolling roster making planning your outside time a lot harder. Also, any holiday booked outside the 6-week window will be at 40 hours regardless of what that future shift time will be. 16. Loss of 28/45 hour summer and winter shifts replaced with 32/44 min and max depending on workloads and not summer and winter. 17. Our managers will remain on a 37-hour week and these extra hours will I assume only be covered by a duty manager if they decide to answer the phone. Good luck at 7am and up to 9pm 18. Loss of 3-day weeks in summer when work loads are low. Minimum will be a 4-day week. 19. Work systems are old, and the company have stated that these needs updating to accommodate todays demands. New contract relies on these but no commitment or time scales as to when these will be updated. 20. If an engineer’s performance is below the required new untested target, then a new untested performance management will be used and could result in dismissal within 3 months. 21. Overtime will only be paid once your CTAP balance is positive so could be doing OT just to balance the books. 22. No confirmed details to say if consolidating London weighting will affect pension cap. 23. You will only receive time credits whilst working or if waiting for a job. So, if you have 20mins left on shift and do not want a job then you loose 20mins from CTAP. Also, if you request a job in this time anything could come down and you will be forced to take it and work OT or loose the wait time. 24. QDOS will be no longer so no more payments for selling products and upgrades. You will be allocated a set time into CTAP for this. 25. No commitment to stop contractors picking the best jobs and travel plans. All the company have committed to is looking at this later. Means they get better pay and we lose out n CTAP. 26. Job Recall time currently at 10 days will change to 28 days even if it unrelated. 27. No travel time will be credited if you need to pick up parts from another engineer. So, you will be penalised for doing the right thing for our customer. 28. No more quarterly bonus. 29. Rest day working will only be paid if you have a positive balance in CTAP 30. Business have agreed some long duration time takes a lot longer than the time allocated. Again, no change of this and hopefully something they will look at later. 31. All Training roles have gone and manager/CDMs will coach engineers even though many have been off the tools for ages. 32. If you log a lead and that goes ahead you will still get a recall if we need to go back within 28days. Even if the installer is at fault and not the engineer. 33. CTAP is not in your Terms and Conditions so no collective agreement for the future of this. 34. Some current work tasks will not be left to an engineer’s judgement rather than credit the relevant time to these and protect safety. 35. No longer be able to carry over or sell holiday entitlement. 36. April 2019 the company made a commitment in the pay agreement to 400 new apprentices by 2023, only 48 so far to date. Half the time gone and only 10% of this has been fulfilled.

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ministraight · 5 years ago

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My Journey To Making $100/day On Twitter

I’ve been earning a decent income on Instagram using different methods for close to 4 years now, but as the years go by, Instagram continues to make changes that have continuously made it difficult for small businesses on a budget to make a decent living working on their platform.

We’ve had to make changes as they do, and have almost always adapted well to the challenges but the recent follow/unfollow limits that were enforced sometime around June are just impossible to get around. There once was a time when you could follow more than 1000 users/day on Instagram without encountering any issues.

Today, the limit for the entire month falls at under 6000 total, which means you can only follow around 180 users/day.

It can be very scary to watch your source of livelihood gradually dwindle with time.

So, for the past few weeks, I have been towing with the idea of shifting focus from Instagram to Twitter. Twitter is a lot more lenient than Instagram in terms of the number of actions you’re allowed to take within a certain timeframe.

Unlike Instagram, they’ve even made it public that you can follow up to 400 users/day.

Why I’m I making my Twitter journey public? First, I’d like to hold myself accountable. By having to update this post on a continuous basis I will have little room to procrastinate knowing there are people out there following along.

It is also a good reason to push myself to succeed. I’d hate to have the world witness what a colossal failure this journey turned out to be.

And lastly, I know there are people out there struggling to make a decent living. By documenting my journey, some will be able to borrow ideas from this and hopefully, I will have helped someone out.

This is the part I have to remind you to bookmark this post because I really need you to hold me accountable.

So, what tools do I need for this journey?

Tools of trade An automation tool for Twitter. I have Jarvee for this Twitter accounts . I’m starting slow with just a handful of accounts and will gradually add more A proxy for each account . Proxies make accounts less suspicious by giving each a unique IP address AD network . I picked the adult niche for this journey and will be promoting links from ADVerten . There are other equally good ad networks, like iMonetizeIt , but I will stick with Adverten unless I find it necessary to switch networks. The strategy It’s simple:

Drive traffic from multiple ‘female’ Twitter accounts to a SmartLink given to you by the ad network. The basic concept is, depending on the country from which a Twitter user clicks on your SmartLink, they will be redirected to an adult website where should they register on there, the ad network will add money to your account.

The amount paid to you per registration will depend on a number of factors among which, the country of residence the registered user lives matters. For instance, you can expect to make more money when a user from either the US or a country from the European Union registers.

I will be having my Twitter accounts follow, like and message users that are following Twitter accounts of adult female entertainers. I will also target those liking and retweeting posts of these entertainers.

On the face of it, it might sound like a lot of work but since I will be using an automation tool, once the setup is complete, there will be nothing else to do but to watch the money roll in.

The initial setup shouldn’t actually take more than an hour.

I have created a Telegram group where you can discuss your own journey with everyone else and get notified on new updates from this post.

Watch out for the next update.

Update 22/08/2019

The amount in the screenshot shown as INCOME was not made on this journey. It’s what was left over when I did this with Instagram accounts that later got deleted.

What I’ve done so far:

Collected about 50 Twitter usernames of female adult entertainers. I’ve added these usernames as follow sources in Jarvee (I obviously need to add more usernames). Created and profiled 2 Twitter accounts. They’re already set up on Jarvee and have started following slowly. Ordered 10 Twitter accounts from a source that sells them. As soon as I receive them I’ll get them set up on Jarvee. It’s now a waiting game.

I need to have about 20 Twitter accounts running on this tool before I can start optimizing for better conversions.

See you in the next update!

Update 25/08/2019 The 10 Twitter accounts that I ordered took quite some time to arrive, so I wasn’t able to get things moving quickly enough. Nonetheless, I received them yesterday and started warming them up by having them perform a few activities.

On the positive side, we’ve just had our first conversion (2 leads)!

This week, my plan is to order and set up at least 30 more Twitter accounts.

Look out for the next update!

Update 11/09/2019 I added 20 more accounts to my Jarvee campaigns and was playing around with Jarvee’s settings trying to optimize the activities of my Twitter accounts. My settings turned out to be a little aggressive and I lost 6 accounts before I slowed them down a bit.

I also noticed that my conversions on Adverten weren’t exactly close to what I was aiming for, and so as soon as I hit the payment threshhold I switched to iMonetizeIt.

So while my conversions on iMonetizeIt aren’t perfect yet, I have to admit that I’m very pleased with the way things have begun taking shape. The day is still young and expecting a few more conversions before the end of the day.

From now moving forward, the only thing I will be doing to scale up this campaign is to add more accounts and watch the money roll in.

What I have done next Upgraded my copy of Jarvee to accommodate 150 social media accounts Placed an order for 70 Twitter accounts Bought 50 proxies and added them to Jarvee while I wait to receive the accounts I ordered. Look out for the next update.

Update 17/09/2019

On the 12th of September, my automation tool had closed and it took almost 2 days before I discovered it and restarted it. I’ve been a little busy with my other online ventures and haven’t been able to do much for this journey, but I’m pleased that the earnings are improving gradually. It’s about 10 AM here and we’re sitting at $4.76 so far.

Oops… I think I wrote too quickly. There’s been an update in the last 30 seconds. The balance hasn’t even updated …

I should be able to cross $20/day before the end of this week.

This is all on autopilot! So you can go about your day doing other things while your money here grows.

Look out for the next update!

Update 18/09/2019 I was hopeful that yesterday would end better than the previous day but that didn’t happen. Still, it didn’t end too bad and the earning closed at $13.14. I haven’t touched my settings yet but I’m looking at what could be improved before Friday the 20th. This far my automation on Jarvee is running well without a hitch.

I’m glad that I shared this journey publicly because some people have reached out to me for help with their own journeys and in some of these discussions one guy who’s currently doing really well with this method mentioned the CPA network Crakrevenue . Apparently, their offers convert way better than those on other networks.

I’ll continue to promote on iMonetizeIt until Friday and will switch over to Crakrevenue on Saturday.

It’s 9 AM here so we still have the rest of the day to look forward to but here are the results so far …

Until next time!

Update 21/10/2019 There hasn’t been much lately to write an update about. I decided to switch back to Adverten and did so for the whole of last week and it looks like there some notable improvements.

The plan now moving forward is to create my own Twitter accounts and add them to my automation system. The quality of Twitter accounts I have been buying is really not that good. In most cases, you’ll find that the text used in the bio does not make sense and the accounts look utterly fake .

So, for this reason, I will be creating my own accounts.

Here’s how last week went on Adverten:

Remember, this is all on autopilot and I did have to do anything.

If you’d like to create a similar system for yourself you can join our CPA Telegram group where you’re to ask questions and get answers.

Until next time!

https://socialtipster.co/make-money-twitter-journey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=make-money-twitter-journey

#entrepreneurship #smm #smallbusiness #graphicdesign #seo

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hogtown-socialist-alternative · 5 years ago

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East Germany 1989: The Berlin Wall Comes Down as Power Lay in the Streets

By Ingmar Meinecke -November 9, 2019

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall was pulled down in dramatic scenes. In the latest of our series marking the events of 1989 in Eastern Europe, Ingmar Meinecke of SAV (German section of the CWI-majority), who as a teenager participated in these events, explains what happened.

“Dear friends, fellow citizens, it is as if one has opened the windows after all the years of stagnation, of spiritual, economic, political stagnation, the years of dullness and stale air, of phrase-mongering and bureaucratic arbitrariness, of official blindness and deafness. What a change!”

With these words the socialist writer Stefan Heym began his speech on November 4, 1989 in front of more than half a million people on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin. Just one year lay between the mass demonstrations in the former East Germany (German Democratic Republic -GDR) at the beginning of October 1989 and the unification of the GDR with the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3 1990. In this short time, the GDR’s government was overthrown, the Berlin Wall that had been erected in 1961 by GDR’s Stalinist rulers and had since served as a barrier between the two systems was opened and the then West German currency, the Deutsche Mark was introduced to the East.

Initially, it seemed the whole GDR population was passionately demonstrating, with the aim of creating a new society based on real socialism. Yet just a few months later, a new government led by the conservative CDU set off down the road of capitalist restoration and the GDR disappeared from the map. How was it possible that the train of revolution was diverted off of the tracks into the direction of capitalist restoration?

Growing discontent

Following the defeat of Germany in the Second World War and the division of the country by the occupying powers, a new regime was formed in the East in 1949. Although the GDR rejected the capitalist form of economy, the state itself was modeled on the Stalinist bureaucratic dictatorship in the USSR. Calling itself socialist, it was far from being a socialist democracy, run instead by a group of elite bureaucrats. Their real nature was demonstrated by the brutal suppression of the heroic workers’ uprising in 1953. Even after 1953, society in the GDR was never completely calm. Yet the ruling elite did all they could to maintain control.

By the mid-1980s, there had been mass strikes in Poland, led by the trade union Solidarność. In the USSR itself, the new rhetoric of Perestroika and Glasnost had begun to appear and the news fell on fertile ground in the GDR. The GDR’s ‘communist’ leadership tried to stop this: when the Soviet magazine “Sputnik” criticized the pre-war Communist Party of Germany’s approval of the pre-war Hitler-Stalin Pact, it was banned in the GDR without further ado.

But three events in 1989 fueled the growing mood of discontent. It was widely disbelieved, when in May, the GDR’s ruling party the “Socialist Unity Party” (SED) claimed that 98.5% of the population had supported it in local elections. But people became angry when party leaders justified the brutal suppression of the workers and students protesting in China’s Tiananmen Square. And then, following the example of the Czechoslovak and Hungarian people, there was an accelerating wave of people fleeing the GDR. By the end of September, 25,000 had already left the country.

This wave of refugees started a discussion: why are so many people leaving? What kind of country is it that people just run away from, leaving their belongings, friends and family behind? The official reaction of “not shedding one tear for these people” disgusted many.

The opposition is formed

On Monday September 4, 1200 people gathered outside the Nikolai-church in Leipzig after the weekly “prayer for peace” for a demonstration. Their slogans were: “We want out” and “We want a new government”. Security forces intervened. This was repeated the next Monday. By September 25 there were already 8000 people and their slogan “We want out!” was replaced by “We stay here”!

In September the first opposition groups were formed. The New Forum issued an appeal, which 4500 people signed within the first fortnight, with the demand for a democratic dialogue in society. By mid-November, 200,000 signatures had been collected. But party leader Erich Honecker and the SED leadership did not want a dialogue. The demands of the New Forum were rejected. But that made the group even more popular.

The masses out on the street

When sealed trains of refugees from Prague travelled through Dresden to the West in October, there were serious clashes between demonstrators and the police at the station. On the evening of October 7, the 40th anniversary of the GDR, several hundred young people gathered on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, before moving towards the Palace of the Republic, where Honecker and Co. were celebrating. Two to three thousand people chanted “Gorbi, Gorbi!” (referring to Gorbachev) and “We are the people”! By midnight, special units of the People’s Police and the State Security had started to attack, arresting over 500.

This raised the temperature. Two days later, on Monday October 9, all eyes were on Leipzig. Would the GDR experience its own ‘Tiananmen Square’? Three days earlier, a threat had appeared in the Leipziger Volkszeitung: “We are ready and willing (…) to stop these counterrevolutionary actions finally and effectively. If necessary, with weapons.”

But cracks appeared in the state power. Three secretaries of the Leipzig SED district leadership took part in a call for de-escalation, which was broadcast in the afternoon on city radio. As a result, Leipzig experienced the largest demonstration to date with 70,000 people. The call “We are the people” sounded powerfully over the Georgi Ring. The Internationale was also sung. On the same evening 7000 people demonstrated in Berlin and another 60.000 in other parts of the country.

Now there was no stopping the acceleration of the protests. The demonstrations continued throughout the week: 20,000 in Halle and as many again in Plauen, 10,000 in Magdeburg, 4000 in Berlin. The next Monday brought a new record: 120,000 in Leipzig alone! Now even the official GDR state newspapers started, for the first time, reporting objectively about the demonstrators, who, just a week earlier they had called ‘rioters, hooligans and counter-revolutionaries’. On the same day, employees of the “Teltower Geräte und Reglerwerk” company resigned from the FDGB, the official state trade union federation and announced the formation of the independent trade union “Reform”, calling for others to follow their example. They demanded “the right to strike, the right to demonstrate, freedom of the press, the end of travel restrictions and official privileges”.

Erich Honecker resigned as General Secretary of the SED on October 18 and was succeeded by Egon Krenz. But this did nothing to calm the masses, rather they took to the streets in larger and larger numbers. Krenz was met with suspicion by the masses. On the Monday demonstration in Leipzig on October 23, attended by 250,000 people, the slogans were “Egon, who asked our opinion?”, “Free elections”, “Visa-free to Hawaii!” or “A leading role for the people”! But these were no longer just demonstrations. At the riot police barracks in Magdeburg, the conscripts elected a soldiers’ council. Pupils acted to annul disciplinary notes on behavior and timekeeping and abolished Saturday lessons.

The breakthrough

The demonstrations in Leipzig continued to grow – 20,000 on October 2, 70,000 on October 9, 120,000 on October 16, 250,000 on October 23, 300,000 on October 30 and finally 400,000 on November 6. There was also a demonstration of more than 500,000 (some say up to one million) in East Berlin on November 4. By the end of October, the protests had swept the whole country: in the North and South, large and small towns involving workers and intellectuals. The main demands included free travel, an investigation into the state violence of October 7/8, protection of the environment, an end to the privileges and monopoly on power of the SED. The government finally resigned on November 7. On November 8, the entire Politburo followed.

On the evening of the November 9, politburo member Günter Schabowski spoke to the press. Shortly before the end of his speech, at exactly 19:07, he announced that the GDR had opened the borders. Excitement spread. He explained that from eight o’clock the next day everyone could collect a visa. People, however, did not wait for visas, but began to besiege the border crossings to West Berlin. The border guards were surprised. By midnight, individual commanders were opening the crossings in the face of pressure from the masses. The Wall fell. Over the next few weeks the entire country travelled west.

The ‘Tug of war’ and the opposition’s hesitancy

Now a tug-of-war broke out between the masses on the streets, the opposition groups and the state bureaucracy. The question that nobody really dared to say out aloud, but which hovered over everything, was “who has the power?” The state and party apparatus increasingly lost influence, but the opposition groups did not take up the reins of power. At first, the masses expected that the leaders of the opposition groups, often accidental figures who ended up at the centre of attention, as well as some SED reformers, like the new head of government Hans Modrow, and well-known artists and intellectuals would do this.

When the full extent of corruption was revealed in early December, workers were more determined than ever to get rid of the whole of the old establishment. They had just seen how, in Czechoslovakia, a two-hour general strike quickly brought the Communist Party there to see reason. Now the New Forum in Karl-Marx-Stadt also demanded a one-day nationwide general strike on December 6. Immediately this call was condemned in unison by the FDGB, the official opposition parties and Bärbel Bohley, one of the national leaders of the New Forum. They were all afraid, that the situation could get out of hand. The call was withdrawn. Nevertheless, a two-hour political warning strike of workers in several companies in Plauen did take place on December 6 accompanied by independent strike actions in other places.

The Modrow government now tried to involve the opposition in order to stabilize the situation. On November 22, the Politburo of the SED spoke in favor of organizing a “round table” with the opposition. It met for the first time on December 7, issuing a statement which stated: “Although the ‘Round Table’ does not exercise any parliamentary or governmental function, it intends to address the public with proposals for overcoming the crisis. (…) It sees itself as a component of public control in our country.”

But control is not the same as governing. Surprised by the pace of developments, the opposition groups wanted to continue a dialogue with the SED and the state authorities instead of taking power themselves. Rolf Henrich, co-founder of the New Forum, said in an interview with the newspaper “Der Morgen” on the October 28 that for the time being the movement could do without a comprehensive program. Instead he advocated a topic-related dialogue that would no longer take place on the street alone.

This half-heartedness and indecision by the opposition evolved out of their failure to answer two fundamental questions. Firstly: how could the old top and the bureaucracy really be driven out of power? Secondly: what should the new society look like, especially its economic system, and what would be the role for the other part of Germany, the capitalist West-Germany? These questions were now permanently on the agenda and not always clearly defined, but interwoven.

Until November, the GDR revolution was clearly pro-socialist. This could be seen in the statements of almost all opposition groups, the banners, chants and speeches at the demonstrations. The writer Christa Wolf said on November 4: “Imagine a socialist society where nobody runs away” and got a huge applause for it. “Unlimited power to the councils” was written on a banner. But how was this “better socialism” or council rule to be achieved? There were no answers. Power lay on the streets. But the opposition of autumn 1989 left it there until it was finally picked up by the West-German Premier Helmut Kohl and Co., opening the way to capitalist reunification.

The economic situation proved to be decisive. From December, reports about the ailing state of the GDR economy began to accumulate. From then on, secret figures and facts about the country’s low productivity and indebtedness became known. Visits to the West made the GDR workers aware of the higher standard of living there. Social divisions in West Germany faded into the background. The mood grew against starting another ‘experiment’ after the ‘GDR experiment’. The self-confidence of the working class was severely weakened by the poor condition of the state-owned enterprises. Added to this was the lack of leadership as described above.

From December, the Federal government and the capitalist class in West Germany made a turn. Until then, they had been cautious about going too brashly in the direction of reunification. They had considered a slow transition of the GDR towards capitalism to be less dangerous. But it gradually became clear to them that a GDR with open borders could destabilize the Federal Republic. At the same time, they recognized the weakness of both the crumbling SED bureaucracy and the GDR opposition and saw an opportunity to enter this vacuum, integrating the entire GDR into the Federal Republic, and thus opening up a new market.

The majority of GDR workers did not want any more experiments in 1990. But then they were exposed to the experiment of capitalist counterrevolution, the smashing of a state economy that led to millions of unemployed as a result of factory closures, privatization and the devaluation of the currency. This has become an almost permanent state of affairs, in which the East is still disadvantaged in many respects in comparison to the West.

The missed opportunity

Until November 1989 and even after, many elements of the political revolution that the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky considered necessary to implement against Stalinism, this bureaucratic distortion of socialism were to be seen in these events. But in the end, the other outcome that Trotsky had considered possible developed: capitalist restoration. The decisive factor was that no opposition force had developed strong roots among the workers and employees that could point the way to a viable concrete and truly socialist society.

Stefan Heym summarized this missed opportunity a few years later: “Don’t forget, there was no group, no organized group that wanted to take power. (…) There were only individuals who had come together and formed a forum or a group or something like that, but nothing you need to make a revolution. There was no such thing. And so it all imploded and there was no one to take power except the West. (…) Imagine that we had the time and opportunity to develop a new socialism in the GDR, a socialism with a human face, a democratic socialism. This could have been an example for West Germany and the development could have been different.”

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