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spiritualgateway · 4 years

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The crisis virus

written by Steven Black:

While you look around and get the impression that the whole world has gone crazy and is going nuts, you have to realize: This is all perfectly normal and has happened over and over again. With the pest plague, the cholera and the Spanish flu – people reacted with unreasonableness, resentment and rebellion, against ordered measures.

With the plague, people selectively believed that bad winds, an unfavorable constellation of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn or the contaminated water were to blame because the Jews were poisoning the wells. As a logical consequence of such thinking, persecution of Jews throughout Europe occurred. Entire Jewish quarters were burned down and their inhabitants murdered.

Oh yes, a punishment by God was also possible. Even then, in the early 14th century, quarantine and isolation were ordered – as a very late measure.

In the case of cholera, 1831, quarantine and isolation were also applied. From the chronicle of the german city Stettin of this time, one learns:

„The burial of the deceased, buried in a special newly built churchyard […] aroused fear and horror, especially among the lower classes of the inhabitants. These precautions were made even worse by the complete blockade of traffic, which deprived a large part of the inhabitants of their livelihoods and probably also their means of subsistence. The lower classes could not bear this state of affairs and, believing the most absurd rumors, saw in the precautions taken only the means to their perdition.

„The prolonged duration of the cordoning off increased the bitterness, the excitement grew with each passing day, so that the workers most affected were finally inclined to use force to overturn the hated coercive rules.

„…because the agitated crowd, misled by some troublemakers, was under the delusion that cholera and security measures were only being used „to exterminate the common rabble.

The Spanish Flu, 1918 – 1919, rolled over the globe in three successive waves and claimed millions of lives. Conjecture and conspiracy theories arose among the most diverse peoples. Some saw the disease as the devil’s work of German agents, and Germany was suspected of either using insidious biological weapons or poisoning aspirin tablets from the pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer in order to win the world war. Another theory, widespread at the time, was that the flu had been imported from Spain in tins, which had been poisoned by the Germans who had brought the Spanish canneries under their control. Or it was oraculated that the cause was consequential damages of the war by poison gas missions, which were caused by the exhalations from the mountains of corpses of the battlefields. And of course there was also the evergreen that it was a punishment from God …

First with the second wave, the danger was really recognized and flu alarm systems were introduced, quarantines were imposed over ports and railroad stations, isolation stations in hospitals were set up. „Social Distancing“ was ordered, mass gatherings were prohibited. Schools, theaters, markets and churches were closed. The use of face masks and disinfectants was recommended and in some areas made mandatory by law.

Those who refused to wear face masks were fined. By the way, later studies proved that the prohibition of mass events and the requirement to wear a mouth-and-nose mask reduced the death rate in American cities by up to 50 percent. Where it was not prescribed by law, i.e. only announced as a recommendation, there were many more deaths. The same thing is currently happening in Sweden.

The Corona Virus – today

100 years after the Spanish flu, a new medical crisis is entering the global stage. And just as with the plague, cholera and Spanish flu, where fear and uncertainty accompanied the daily events, the most colorful rumors and theories are flourishing. There seems to be a lid for every pot.

Some political party sees the Corona virus as an obvious foreigner epidemic. Logically, migrants must be to blame for it too. Within the extreme right groups the old perennial argument is active that the Jews are to blame for Corona.

Many vaccination critics freak out at the name Bill Gates, who allegedly wants to decimate humanity and enslave it with microchips. He has the WHO, the media and Angela Merkel personally in his pocket. Then there are people who believe that the new 5 G technology is the real cause of the Corona virus. The Qanon community believes that the virus is merely an excuse for Donald Trump to free thousands of poor, tortured children from underground tunnels.

There are an ever increasing number of people who believe that the virus is nothing more than a normal flu. There is also the idea that this Corona virus does not exist – it would all be just an excuse to get rid of cash and have a controlled financial crash. The usual suspects also know exactly from whom and why – of course to enforce the infamous New World Order, either by the „Deep State“, the „Kabale“ or the „Illuminati“.

A few fundamentalist church officials also took up the same cause:

In a text entitled „A Call for the Church and for the World – to Catholics and all people of good will“, signed among others by the German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller and initiated by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former Pontifical Ambassador to the USA, the Corona measures were sharply criticized. The signatories had previously spoken out against bans on worship because of the corona virus and they are all arch-conservative opponents of the current pope. The text stated: „It is a fact that under the pretext of the Covid 19 epidemic, in many cases inalienable rights of citizens have been violated and their fundamental freedoms have been disproportionately and unjustifiably restricted, including the right to freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of movement.

It was further stated that there is reason to believe „that there are forces that are interested in creating panic among the population. Their goal is to permanently enforce „forms of unacceptable restriction of freedom and the associated control over persons and the persecution of all their movements“. „These illiberal attempts at control are the disturbing prelude to the creation of a world government that eludes all control“.

Personal note: By the way – dear church idiots: What about the „forms of unacceptable restriction of freedom“ of my mind, by your religious doctrine? Or „the associated control over persons“, where you let people slide around on their knees and establish a sense of sacrifice by having a figure nailed to a cross worshiped? But a „God’s world government“ would be all right with you, wouldn’t it?

Anyway, I don’t really expect an answer to that. But what else you should know – the signatories represent an arch-conservative, right-wing current within the Catholic Church. They fervently hate the current pope because he accepts homosexuality and divorce as facts of life and is open to pro-migration and capitalism-critical positions. It is also no coincidence that these clerics of all people are waving their fear of a „new world order“ around. The whole thing is organized by a notorious ultra-right-wing populist – namely Steve Bannon. The man who brought Donald Trump to power through tons of fake news and conspiracy theories.

By the way, there are strong indications that the art product „QAnon“, a fictitious Internet personality, is a product of Steve Bannon. He is the thinking head and mastermind of the so-called new right.

The American government, led by Donald Trump, sees itself as the victim of a Chinese conspiracy initiated either by a mysterious „Deep State“ or preferably by the Democrats – which is one and the same thing in his case. Evangelical clerics see the Corona virus as a punishment from God for homosexuality. A handful of doctors contradict the official statements and believe that the Corona virus is little more than a common flu. The population would get scared over nothing and wearing masks would be very unhealthy. And in the chest tone of conviction, many an empathy-free idiot rambles that it would only affect pre-existing patients who would have died soon anyway. You know, just collateral damage …

In the USA, the president himself is the main accelerator of emotional states. There were protests against the curfews in several US cities and about 3000 demonstrators, some of them armed and wearing Trump campaign caps and flags, took to the streets in Michigan. Encouraged by Donald, who tweeted „Free Michigan,“ dozens of gunmen entered the parliament building in the city of Lansing.

In Germany and Austria, people suddenly took to the streets and demonstrated against the corona measures of their government. Against an alleged panic-mongering, against an allegedly intended compulsory vaccination, against the curtailment of their basic rights, against an allegedly threatened freedom of opinion, against the obligation to wear masks, against an alleged „Corona dictatorship“, against a „New World Order“ by Bill Gates and much more. What one would not have thought possible before, happened now:

People who call themselves „leftists“, right-wing conservatives, neo-Nazis, people of the freeman movement, spiritual people, and also people who had never been involved with any of the groups mentioned before, stood together in a public square and chanted „We are the people“. And of course they did not wear masks, and of course they did not keep a „minimum distance“. With righteous indignation they held flyers in their hands where „The Basic Law“ is written on them and lamented a loss of it. Although the basic right to personal liberties was only limited due to the situation and receded into the background in favor of the basic right to personal integrity of EVERYONE, suddenly not only the Corona virus seemed to mutate.

A wide range of people suddenly mutated into virus specialists and health experts, legal luminaries and political insiders. It was not at all helpful if individual physicians and virologists publicly held different views, which are not in accordance with the scientific consensus. These people were suddenly elevated to „heroes of „truth“ and made anti-witnesses of the establishment.

Like moths to a flame, all the discontented, angry opponents of the system, critics of capitalism, right-wing populists pouring oil on the fire, bawling bald-headed people and „Merkel must go“ yellers flocked together and mingled with yoga practitioners, meditators, as well as people who simply wanted a „better system“. Emotional fire accelerators like KenFM, Sven Liebich, Lügenstöckl, NPD offshoots and various AFD supporters moderated the „happening“ and it did not take long until this situation led to the foundation of a new party – called „Resistance 2020“. Founded by Victoria Hamm, the Sinsheim swindle doctor Bodo Schiffmann and the Leipzig lawyer Ralf Ludwig.

The appeal of „Resistance 2020“ continued as long as Covid 19 and the restrictions imposed by governments were highly active. In the meantime this has abated. First the chairwoman Victoria Hamm stepped down from the party (because of internal differences of opinion), her replacement, the chairwoman of the supervisory board of „Humanimity“, Sandra Wesolek, also threw in the towel soon after. And now also the founder and vice-chairman of the party, Bodo Schiffmann, has left Resistance 2020. Only Ralf Ludwig remains, who keeps the coma patient „Resistance 2020“ alive.

In conclusion – it will not yet be completely silent about the topic Covid – 19, but it slowly fades in its importance. At least for the moment. If we are lucky and there will be no 2nd or third wave, it will stay that way.

Crisis intensification

Another topic has now captured the attention of the world, people and media – a topic that has never been completely absent: racism and police brutality in the USA.

The violent death of the African-American George Floyd, after a police operation, was followed by peaceful protests in the USA, but there were also riots and looting. And as in dealing with the corona virus, Donald Trump shifts to denial of the structural problem, puts the blame on others and does just about anything to pour even more fire into the heated atmosphere.

Under the hashtag #blackllivesmatter, which has been known since 2013 and is a name for an African-American civil rights movement, people are gathering again to demonstrate against state arbitrariness, police brutality and unfair treatment of dark-skinned people. Previous slogans of the movement, such as „Hands up, don’t shoot“, „White silence is violence“, „No justice, no peace“, „Is my son next?“ are being used again, including the now popular „I can’t breathe“ and „BlackOutTuesday“.

It is no longer just a movement of the „black community“. Within just a few days, numerous politicians, celebrities and large companies have raised their voices and spoken out in favor of the BlackLivesMatter movement. More and more representatives of the video game industry are also joining in. Sony, for example, has refrained from presenting the new Playstation 5 due to the current situation. But also companies like Microsoft, Activision, EA, Massive Entertainment, Square Enix, Bethesda, Naughty Dog, Disney, Marvel, Warner Bros, and many other global big players made clear statements against racism and expressed their solidarity. Over 50 influential companies have donated large sums of money to the movement.

Yes, Soros‘ Open Society Foundation is one of them (about $33 million), but is rather outdone by all others, especially FORD Foundation and Borealis Philanthropy (about $100 million). Also worthy of mention are the Hill-Snowden Foundation, Solidaire, the NoVo Foundation, the Association of Black Foundation Executives, the Neighborhood Funders Group-Funders for Justice, Anonymous Donors, and many more.

It is already becoming apparent that this issue could potentially break Donald Trump’s neck and prevent his re-election. „Poor Donald“, after his mismanagement in the Corona crisis became visible to everyone, now police brutality and racism challenge him. And here again he reacts headlessly and impulse-driven instead of showing presidential leadership. Instead he meets the problem in the familiar perpetrator-victim reversal tactic.

Incidentally, the same thing happens as in the Covid 19 demonstrations in Austria and Germany – extreme right-wing „withe supremacy“ agitators mingle with the demonstrators. They incite people and loot, start brawls and set fire to buildings. Incited by Donald Trump, who simply claimed that it was „the ANTIFA“ that was firing up the demonstrations, his followers do everything in their power to discredit the movement and make it look bad in the eyes of the public.

In a series of messages, a Twitter account called „Antifa US“ had called on protesters to march into neighborhoods and „take what is ours“. Twitter itself had cleared up the fact that behind this account „American Identity Movement“ is the extreme right-wing formerly known as „Identity Evropa“, that was behind the protest and deleted the account.

Blacklivesmatter is a movement that I wholeheartedly endorse. What I find less good about it is that this conglomeration of people is happening on the streets while the corona virus is still highly active in the world. There is also no question of keeping a distance, a large majority can be seen wearing masks during the protests, but not all of them. I fear that this will have some unpleasant consequences. But the German demonstrations against a „Corona dictatorship“ and against police arbitrariness and brutality by blacklivesmatter could not be more different.

The sense of demonstrating against a world domination by Bill Gates and an alleged forced chippings or because one is forced to wear a mask temporarily stinks against blacklivesmatter. This is about addressing really important issues of the human species. The core statement of „Blacklivesmatter“ is – “ stop treating us like shit!“

It did not take long, of course, for the rumor mill to start bubbling on this topic as well and the „usual suspects“ went peddling „THE truth“ about it to everyone. You know, from „it’s all a government diversion“ to George Floyd wouldn’t be dead. It would all be a false flag operation and George Soros would be behind the protests. Xavier Naidoo also tells his followers about it and although the man from Mannheim had his own experiences with racism, he is not too stupid to devalue the blacklivesmatter movement. He described the demonstrators who are now taking to the streets against racism and police violence as hypocrites. And ends with a whataboutism rant – „anyone who comes up with an organization called Black lives matter is a divider“.

Naidoo justified his statement by saying that for him all lives count. Sounds plausible on the surface but clearly demonstrates that he did not understand the fundamental problem at all. Naidoo parrots something he has probably read or heard from Alex Jones or another opponent from the disinformation movement. The blacklivesmatter movement has been struggling with such whataboutism arguments from the beginning, since 2013. Not surprisingly, „All Lives Matter“ is often used as a counter-argument by the racist „white supremacy“ groups.

Barack Obama found good words for this: „I think the reason why the organizers use the term „Black Lives Matter“ was not because they wanted to imply that other lives do not matter. They are saying that there is a specific problem in the African American community that does not exist in other communities. This is a legitimate problem that we need to address.

Sounds logical, right? It is. Let’s say you broke your arm and you go to the doctor. He won’t tell you – „all bones count“, but will turn to the current problem. The bone that is just broken. If your house is on fire, the fire department will not tell you “ all houses caunt“ – they will simply put out the fire.

If you come to blacklivesmatter with alllivesmatter, you are part of the problem not the solution. This tries to ignore or disguise the problem by directing the criticism behind it to another topic.

It is definitely crisis – and virus time

A virus form that is completely unknown to most people is going around and is at least as infectious as Covid 19. They are mental and emotional viruses. Positive, negative, destructive and constructive viruses of all kinds. Created by humans every day and they influence all humans, more or less.

We are usually not used to accept the idea that our thoughts as well as our feelings and the words we utter have substantial meanings. Substantial is literally meant here – both thoughts, emotions and words contain substances that act as carriers of their expression. Through which the respective content of thoughts, feelings/emotions and words is transported, which always involves an „inaudible“, complex bundling of frequencies and takes on form, sound and tones. We do not „just think“, we generate a thought form for it, depending on the intensity of our respective thoughts – a kind of „pale being“.

And we do not „just feel“, we generate emotional signatures that can be perceived, „read“, felt and recognized by other people, consciously or unconsciously. We do not „just talk“, our words always convey a large context of mental and emotional content. Whoever listens carefully can often discover contradictions in the words, because the transported feelings are not in harmony with them.

As the person we are, we resemble a piano. We are a musical instrument with many keys and tones, with which the most diverse vibration frequencies can be expressed. Depending on how well we have learned to handle our instrument and how the individual tones are tuned, it will decide how harmonious or disharmonious our personal sound, our own melody, is. Everything we think, feel, say or do sounds through us and creates sounds that are received by others.

The more sensitive a person is or the better he can listen, the more contents of his counterpart he will be able to perceive. How aware someone is or is not of these levels, however, is basically irrelevant. The thought forms, emotional content, sounds and frequencies of other people are also perceived unconsciously. Basically, we all speak through individualized codes – the spoken or written words mean nothing in themselves. The linear arrangement of symbols (letters) that form words has a meaning for us because they are charged with emotional and mental sounds that form a kind of overall picture. We all encode such images on a daily basis and send them out from us. And we all decode every day a huge accumulation of sent consciousness images – which we have either seen, heard or read.

How much we are influenced by the opinions of other people or media – their generated images – depends to a large extent on our own identity structure. And on the respective topics that are founded in it.

Our exchange of information and images becomes a virus – either constructive or destructive – when it spreads in wide circles and becomes more and more emotionally charged. Our thoughts, emotions and the words we speak not only influence ourselves, but also other people. This means we infect other people with our ideas. And other people infect us with their ideas. If an idea or assertion fascinates, impresses, captivates or outrages us, it can go so far that we forget the origin and, spurred on by the charge of an idea, run amok with it.

All of us together are embedded in a collective frequency field, which is reflected in personal, national and global situations. None of us is virtually „an island“, we all manipulate and influence each other. We can hardly escape this, unless we have no contact to other people anymore. But even then it would probably be difficult to escape the collective astral field.

The collective field contains positive, negative, destructive and constructive viruses of all kinds. We encounter emotional and mental viruses all the time, but nowhere in such a concentrated form as in the „social media“. In this respect, the Internet is a single, gigantic virus slingshot. And all of us who make use of it cannot get away with it.

The opinion of others

The technical development of the Internet has made it possible for us to be exposed to a storm of opinions and views on a daily basis in a way that has never been possible before. About 22,510 GB of data are fed into the Internet every second. That is about 2 billion GB per day (exactly 1,944,864.00 GB [2015]). YouTube has a monthly data volume of about 16 Exabyte (Exabyte = 1018 Byte). About 3 million videos per hour are consumed on YouTube. There are 1. 012 315 000 websites on the net. About 16 million of these websites are hacked annually.

About 4 million new blog entries are written every day, 80 million photos are uploaded to Instagram, 618 million „tweets“ are posted – that is 7130 tweets per second. Facebook processes 2.5 billion pieces of content, 2.7 billion likes and 300 million photos every day. All in all, this adds up to a daily data volume of more than 500 terabytes, just for FB alone. About 4 billion search queries are made daily via Google and 10 billion videos are viewed on YouTube. And these numbers will increase, the rush on our inner senses will become more and more intense.

One drama after the other is being chased through the internet every day. An ever-increasing number of bloggers and websites vie for our daily attention. And hardly anybody takes the time to ask themselves, is it really true what I hear or read? What is it really about? And what would be even more important: Does it really have anything to do with ME? Is this really MINE? Or did I just get infected with an emotional virus that is related to a personal topic?

Although we humans generally assume that we have reasonable opinions and justifiable arguments, or that we see the world with clear eyes – this is rarely the case. Each of us lives in our own reality and we all believe that the world is as we secretly assume it to be. The perspective of how we see the world is largely based on the filter of our own beliefs.

One of the effects that has come through the Internet is the amazing development that many people have become aware of how the mainstream press often reports manipulatively or at least with omission – and sometimes doesn’t present the whole picture. By the way, this is not the fault of the press. Nobody can cover all sides of a story, and certainly not in a single article. If you want to know halfway exactly what’s going on, you have to make an effort yourself and look at different perspectives. But the same people then believe every shit that somebody says on YouTube. Actually, many people today don’t believe anything anymore.

But „alternative facts“ to the corona crisis, you believe them. Doctors who are not virologists or virologists who have not been up to date in this field for a long time, we listen to them more than to the top specialists.

We believe that a statesman who uses victim reversal as a means of perpetration. People who lament with a chest sound of the conviction that the Basic Law is in danger – we let ourselves be influenced by that. We reject a black civil rights movement because we allow ourselves to be persuaded that this means that not all lives count. One encounters „BlackLivesMatter“ with WhiteLivesMatter or „AllLivesMatter. Or if someone once again complains – „you’re not allowed to say all this anymore“ – we agree with indignation. Not realizing that he/she has just said it on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, blogs, etc. Which of course leads the statement ad absurdum, but somehow we don’t really notice it anymore.

A youth movement for environmental awareness, „Friday for future“, is met with „Friday for poverty in old age“. Renewable forms of energy, such as wind turbines that generate renewable electricity, are met with „but they kill innocent insects“. If you read somewhere, in any newspaper, that right-wing extremist violence has increased again in the last year, you don’t have to wait long for someone to comment „hey, what about left-wing violence? A women’s movement for sexual abuse and violence is countered with the argument that there is also abuse of women against men. An African-American movement against police brutality and structural racism is countered with „and what about racism against whites? Particularly deep-seated – „what about racism against Germans?

What is actually wrong with us?

Why do we let „whataboutism arguments“ manipulate us? Why can’t we see through the transparency of such cheap maneuvers and recognize that they distract us from the actual core of a situation or a justified criticism and divert our attention to another area?

Besides all the positive and constructive things the Internet stands for, there is also a dark side to it. Among other things it is misused for a modern form of witch hunts and witch burning. Angela Merkel, Greta Thunberg, Barack Obama, George Soros, Bill Gates, the Rothschilds, Rockefeller and many other public figures are burned at some Internet stake every day, applauded and cheered. And this comes not only from the right, but from all sides. If you look at the comments on such postings, you can observe the violent reactions, where a storm of indignation, anger and hatred is unleashed, which is then projected onto the designated persons.

The art of differentiation seems to have become a lost art.

There is such a variety of information and opinions, often colored by interests, sometimes just imaginatively lied about and only partially true, that it would basically take some time and energy to separate the facts from rumors and lies. A personal effort that hardly anyone is willing to put in, or perhaps doesn’t have the time.

But that is what we all have to learn.

Media competence

Without media competence, we run the risk of drowning in the flood of information. Not only reading texts, but also watching YouTube videos or films today requires more and more critical discernment. The critical filtering of information, comments, text content and the images offered in addition, is proving to be an ever increasing challenge. Today, for every x any topic, completely different and often contradictory opinions are in circulation. And we are experiencing the phenomenon that people often only read the headlines of articles and not the whole article. The attention threshold has become extremely low for some people. Headlines alone can lead to emotional convulsions …

It is important that we learn to understand how communication works and how information affects us. When we read or hear words, we don’t just sort the meaning of the words and sum them up in a particular context. We also record all the unsaid, the energetic, mental and emotional signatures that the speaker or writer gives to their words. It is already scientifically known that in communications, brains are synchronized. To a synchronization of brain waves that goes beyond mere speech processing. It will not be long before we discover that this synchronization does not only occur in spoken communication, but in any kind of communication, even when the information is transported via screens.

If we identify with what someone writes or says because something within us resonates with it, then synchronization occurs with the mental, intellectual and emotional content that is presented to us. Emotional content of all kinds affects the heart field, the glands and the electrochemical energies of the body, i.e. the energetic environment in the body, which causes either an increase or decrease of the personal energy level.

The question that arises is, what do I focus my personal attention on? And can I think for myself or do I simply take over every piece of information offered to me, which includes concepts and perspectives from other people that I usually don’t even know? If we take over everything that strangers prepare for us, we are condemned to walk around with concepts that are not our own.

But the only person who has a responsibility here, what kind of information he lets into his system, is me. The only person who is able to differentiate between the information and my personal feeling about it is me. The only one who can learn to check the opinions of others is me. Nobody will do that for me.

Nevertheless, it is also true that constant effort, investigation, checking and research is no guarantee for a secure knowledge – sometimes you are simply confronted with the fact that you cannot know at the moment! But you can learn to endure that.

What we see is in my eyes, in many respects, an expression of a massive crisis of orientation and a resulting upheaval. Humanity is beginning to define itself anew, once again. We are moving from an age where people were rather „prisoners of their consciousness“ and their experience, to an epoch where people understand that they are NOT their consciousness. But that his consciousness is an attribute, a quality, his very own being and his creative power. And how this is expressed, lies in his very personal responsibility.

The old psychological self of humanity, which accepted oppression of the weak, predator capitalism, perpetrator-victim conversion, wars, exploitation of earth and humanity, will be replaced. But this old energy is struggling for survival. Hard and fierce. We are far from being through this.

One thing can be sure – the next crisis is waiting. And again it will be driven through the Internet village in an over-dramatized way. Where will you stand then? To which side will you then give your spiritual support? What will you be guided by? Your reason and your own views after you have dealt with the situation to some extent or will you follow the emotional pull that was triggered by the opinions of others?

What kind of sound will you add to the overall melody?

Until next time same station

DISCLAIMER: Nothing you read here is THE truth. It is my truth. My perception and how I see things – now, in this moment.

THE INFORMATION SPACE

#crisis #virus #consciousness

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ave-aria · 4 years

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ROTG Hope Week

Happy Easter, everybody! This was written for Hope Week, in response to these darker days we’re going through. Who can’t use a little extra hope?

Day 1: Hope Wordcount: 3,305 Tw: Coronavirus, Covid 19 Pairings: Jack/Bunnymund

Kudos to Chaos Incarnate for giving me the idea for the title. ;)

Can I Offer You A Nice Egg In These Trying Times?

"Whaddya mean, Easter's cancelled?"

Bunnymund's voice rang through the Warren, scattering the herds of unpainted eggs at his feet. Jack, however, remained unmoved. He crouched atop his staff, toes curling into the wood as he stared down at the Easter Bunny before him.

"Hey, it's not my fault," he raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just letting you know. This Coronavirus is shaping up to be some pretty nasty stuff."

"The—what virus?"

Jack narrowed his eyes at Bunny.

"Coronavirus. Covid-19." He said. "You have been keeping up on the news, haven't you?"

Bunnymund, caught with his head in the ground, sputtered. "Look, I am not the shut-in I used t' be, ok!" which was true; the Guardians had made great strides in getting out of their comfort zones in the past eight years. The attack by Pitch made them all realize how isolated they'd become. But… well. Old habits die hard. "So what if I missed a bulletin or two?"

"Bunny," Jack huffed, exasperated. "It's a worldwide pandemic."

Frustrated, Bunny threw his hands in the air. "It's less than a month till Easter! Whaddya want from me!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "A little less denial would be nice."

Fuming, Bunnymund threw his paintbrush to the ground and stormed towards his tunnels.

Sighing, and deciding to take pity on the Pooka, Jack hopped off his staff and followed him across the grassy field. Eggs parted to let him pass. There were dozens of them, hundreds, all waiting to be painted; more were due to hatch from the Eggplants in waves as the month rolled on. The fruits of long labor. Bunny'd put a lot of work into this year's Easter, like he did every year, and it was a shame to see it all go to waste.

Bunny beelined for the European tunnels, ducking into one that Jack knew well. Bunny always seemed to be using this path. It led to a little suburb in England, the very same place where he'd been walked through on that fateful failed Easter years ago. The Pooka never said as much, but Jack suspected; England and Australia seemed to be Bunnymund's Burgess.

So when the lagomorphs hopped down on all fours and darted out of sight, Jack didn't worry. He knew where Bunny was going.

After a few minutes of picking his way through the tunnels, Jack emerged into cool air and cloudy, overcast skies. The tunnel opened up in the narrow space between two long rows of houses, with a park visible down the road. The ground was clear of snow; Jack hadn't been active here lately, but looking at the green grass springing up between the pavestones, he thought he ought to change that soon.

Bunny, to his surprise, was not darting from bush to bush as usual. When Jack arrived, the Pooka was standing smack dab in the middle of the paved streets, subtlety be damned. He turned in circles, a bewildered look creeping onto his face.

Upon spying Jack, he threw his arms out. "Crikey, Jack, it's a ghost town out here! Where is everybody!"

Jack pointed at the long rows of houses. "Inside," he explained. "…Or they better be."

Bunny did another 360, scanning the streets. It was so empty out here, a tumbleweed wouldn't be out of place. "Mate, this—this seems bad," he admitted at last. "I've never seen this place so quiet."

Jack shook his head. "No kidding. You should see the cities."

Bunnymund froze. "The cities?"

"If you think this place is a ghost town, wait till you see London," Jack said. "Paris, Tokyo, Dubai— Venice is so empty the waterways are clear for the first time in ages."

Bunnymund warily scanned the neighborhood again. The lack of people, mid-day, was eerie. He held perfectly still, holding his breath. His ears pricked forward, waiting for sound, eyes on the empty space - as if he expected someone to jump out and yell "boo!" - but nothing came. Slowly, he took a wary step forward, eyes scanning the streets.

Jack stepped forward, reaching out. "…Bunny," he started.

Bunny's whiskers twitched. "So this Coronavirus," he said. "It caused this?"

Jack held up a hand. "They're self-quarantining, for the most part. To help slow the strain on the hospitals. Practically everything is shutting down, everywhere."

"Must be some virus." Bunny replied. "…Takin' out kids and the elderly, I assume?"

"Mostly the elderly. And people with underlying health conditions. It's like the flu on steroids, with a ridiculous incubation period." Jack drew up to his side.

"How many dead?"

Jack winced. "It's… not clear—"

"Give it to me straight."

"…Over four thousand deaths in Italy so far." Jack said, reluctantly. "And more to come. China's not far behind. The US—well." He shrugged. "With the state of healthcare there? Bound to be ten times worse."

It felt different saying it aloud. Four thousand deaths.

A chill ran down his spine.

Jack cast a worried glance at Bunny. He seemed… withdrawn, and Jack hated that. Good news—if he could just think of good news— "Kids though! They seem largely unaffected, thankfully. Gotta catch some breaks, right?"

Bunny looked at least a little relieved at that. Jack went on. "But—the kids're taking it home and giving it to their parents, their grandparents… a lot of places are talking about closing down schools." He slung his staff over his shoulders. "Which, I might add, is totally unfair. I mean, I drop three feet of snow on Burgess and Jamie's highschool might close for, what, a day? Two at most? And then one little pandemic comes along and completely wipes out my record by a mile."

Bunnymund snorted at that. "You're full of yourself."

"I try."

"So," Bunny said. A pause, and his shoulders slumped. "…No Easter this year."

Looking at Bunny's crestfallen face, knots twisted Jack's gut. "Hey, that was the Pope. He cancelled Easter. But I'm sure your status as the Easter Bunny outweighs his authority."

Not even a smile at the comment. "Quarantining means no egg hunts," Bunny said. His ears drooped further. "No egg hunts means no Easter."

Jack took a deep breath and let it out slow. "…Yeah."

They stood silent for a long minute.

"S'not even about the egg hunts, really," Bunnymund said at last. "What worries me is skipping Easter—at a time when the world needs hope the most."

Jack bit his lip. "You could still—I mean, not to bring up North's method, but—pop inside the houses, leave eggs around the house?"

"I already do that, some places," Bunnymund told him. "But if I get the virus on me fur, or me googies, and take 'em inta a clean house—"

Jack sighed. "…Right. Kinda destroys the point of quarantining." He said. Still, he cats about for options, something to lift Bunnymund's spirits. "…Maybe if you disinfect between each place—"

That, oddly, drew a laugh from the Pooka's lips. Bunnymund ruffled Jack's hair, messing it up even worse than it already was. Jack ducked under the noogie, squinting up at Bunny.

"Appreciate it, really," said the Pooka. "But… you're right. Unless somethin' changes, fast, there's - there's just no Easter this year."

Jack straightened, frowning. Giving up wasn't Bunny's MO. He'd thought - he knew the news would hit hard, if he hadn't already caught wind of it, but he thought for sure Bunny would come at this swinging. Maybe try to brainstorm some solutions to the problem, or pull out an unexpected ace hidden up his sleeve.

But just giving up? "Hey now—"

"It's for the best." Bunny cut him off. Apparently it was written all over his face. "In the grand scheme of things - a couple of googies is a small sacrifice to pay fer a safe community."

Jack's frown twisted. Sure but… still.

Bunny gave Jack a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I'm headin' back. Better find somethin' to do with my newfound free time." He added, in a mutter. Turning back to Jack, he asked, "Need a lift anywhere?"

Jack's eyes lingered on Bunny for a long moment. At last, he shook his head.

Bunny's hand dropped from his arm, and it felt like defeat. "Ta, mate," Bunny said, giving a halfhearted salute. In two taps of a paw, a tunnel opened up, and he was gone.

Jack watched him go, wishing, for the life of him, that he could find a way to fix this.

Staring down at the bare earth where the tunnel disappeared, a cold resolve settled in Jack's heart.

He had to find a way to fix this.

—

It was three days and as many consecutive sleepless nights later that Jack came knocking again. The tunnel opened reluctantly, Bunnymund's magic sluggish to match its owners mood, and the rabbit didn't meet him in the field. When Jack arrived, the Pooka was still curled up in his Burrow, slumped at the kitchen chair with a hot tea and sweets littering the table.

"Go 'way," he moaned when Jack's silhouette darkened the doorway. "Let me mourn my holiday in peace." A couple of eggs, unpainted, butted at Bunnymund's heels; the rabbit hadn't had the heart to get rid of them.

Aha, Jack thought, triumphant. Bunny wasn't as satisfied with giving up as he'd pretended to be.

"Pick up your paintbrush and get back to work," Jack told him, eyes gleaming. "Easter's still on."

"Jack," Bunny groaned. "We already talked about this—"

"No egg hunts," Jack flapped a dismissive hand. "We're doing this the old fashioned way."

Bunny sat a bit straighter at that, raising a curious ear. "And what would that be?"

Jack's eyes sparkled, glimmering with hope.

"Baskets," he said, and that was that.

—

Egg hunts hadn't always been the center of the holiday.

In Jack's time, rumor was that if you left a basket - or a hat, upended like a basket - on your doorstep, the Easter Bunny would drop by and fill it to the brim with goodies galore. The practice died out slowly as Bunnymund realized that encouraging folks to go out and seek for the good things in life was a more effective method at garnering Hope; but this year, it was coming back full force.

"Wicker. Ribbons. Paint." Bunnymund dumped another armload of supplies on the grass, and dusted off his paws. "Who's on weaving duty?"

"On it," Jack called, sandwiched between two yetis. He'd all but kidnapped them from North as it became apparent that Bunny's basket production needed to skyrocket, fast. North readily obliged, and even donated some holiday gift baskets he had sitting in the warehouse, unused.

Bunnymund eyed the donated baskets; "…as long as they're not painted red, they'll do."

Over the next few weeks, they emptied Bunny's storage and wove baskets until their fingers fell off. Some were simple affairs, others were elaborate, oversized displays, reserved for houses with large families. In addition to painting eggs, Bunny quickly doubled his output of chocolate, peeps, and hard candies.

Sandy had an eye for basket-arranging, easily assembling multiple at once with the aid of his dreamsand. After Tooth disinfected each finished basket, her Mini fairies carried them off to a cooler and semi-refrigerated room of the Warren that Jack had helped set up. They would remain in isolation until Easter.

They worked at a steady pace, some coming and going, everyone pitching in. When the wicker ran out, Bunny went and found more. North donated plastic baskets as he churned them out. One night, Tooth and Sandy disappeared with a sack of quarters and came back with a truckload of baskets, procured in bulk from closed dollar-tree stores.

"Technically they're paid for!" Tooth insisted when Bunny hemmed and hawed over the gift.

At last, he accepted them. A month was a short time to make millions of baskets, even with everyone helping out. He wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You know," Bunny remarked, a few days before Easter Sunday, as he and Jack wove a handful more baskets to put them over the top. "This just might work."

"Might?" Jack echoed, offended. He flexed his overworked fingers, scowling. "Don't sell this short. Of course it'll work. It's brilliant."

Bunnymund chuckled. "Aye," he said. "But you do realize there's one tiny problem with yer plan?"

Jack paused. "Problem?"

"Quarantine," Bunnymund said. "Most o' these people haven't left their houses in weeks. What makes you think they'll notice the baskets on their doorstep before the eggs start to stink?"

Hm. That was a valid point. Jack set down his half-woven basket and leaned on a hand, thinking.

"We knock," he said at last.

Bunny huffed, amused. "That's your brilliant plan? Knock?" he, too, set his basket down. "Mate, even if it were that simple, I can't. They'd see me."

"Ignoring the fact that being seen isn't as dreadful as you make it out to be," Jack flapped a hand, "I'm not dumb. I wouldn't have you knock." When Bunny cast a confused glance at him, clearly not understanding, Jack said; "I'll have you know I'm a master at ding-dong-ditch."

Bunny studied Jack's face for a long moment, then cracked a smile.

"So you're inviting yourself on my run, huh. You think you can keep up with me?"

Jack laced his fingers and turned his palms outwards, stretching. "I know I can, cottontail. In fact, I'd say I'll knock this one out of the park."

Bunnymund groaned. "No. No puns."

"Hey," Jack laughed. "Hey—knock knock!"

A resigned sigh. "Who's there?"

"Boo," Jack said.

"…Boo who?"

"Why are you crying?" Jack asked. "Easter isn't canceled anymore."

The smile Bunny sent Jack was the most genuine one he'd seen all month.

—

Operation Ring-Every-Doorbell-In-The-World was a go.

"Finished with China," Bunny's voice said through Jack's earbud. "Headin' down to Oz. Catch up, slowpoke!"

"Ohhhh you're dead when I get down there," Jack shot back, flitting from house to house.

So this was a biiit tougher than he thought it'd be. Jack wasn't well-known worldwide yet, so no one had spotted him, and all he had to do was press a button at each station, an easier task than carting whole armfuls of baskets to the surface. He was running into unexpected walls, however, when he realized to truly make this work, he had to ring doorbells in a certain order.

Apartments, Jack decided, were the worst. He had to ring every doorbell in each hall before anyone answered their door; if he didn't, those who'd emerged would realize their neighbors' doorbells were ringing of their own accord. But he couldn't be too quick about it, either, since people exiting their houses en-mass was also, in a way, counterproductive to the quarantine.

But he managed, staying just a step or two behind Bunnymund at all times. Ring and knock; flit to the next target.

Doors opened as he passed, with surprised folks drifting out into the street. He saw dozens of people in pajamas, more who sorely needed haircuts, and a handful who were apparently sitting around their house in Wedding Dresses and Dinosaur Costumes. Quarantine fashion - an interesting trend. The delighted gasps and laughs that echoed in his wake were well enough to spur him on.

They caught their breath over the atlantic ocean, ("Good news! Right now, Greenland's virus-free!") before diving back in to work on the Americas. By the time they hit Alaska, Jack was about ready to drop.

"How do you do this?" Jack wheezed as they drew up to the final house on their stop. Bunnymund was waiting, tweaking the ribbons and eggs that had shifted in transit. "Every year?"

Bunny smirked. "Stamina, mate. It's a marathon, not a race."

"I hate that you're not even winded," Jack groused back.

Satisfied with the presentation, Bunnymund stepped back. "Care to do the honors, mate?" he motioned to the doorbell.

Jack stole an extra minute longer, leaning on his staff for support. Then, with one last deep breath, he raised a hand - no doorbell on this house it seemed - and knocked.

A rustling inside the house. "Mama!" called a young voice inside. "Mama who knocked? Is it the pizza man? Did you order pizza on Easter?!"

Quick as a blink, the two retreated a safe distance back. The front door opened seconds later; a young girl, six years old, stuck her head out.

Her eyes landed on the basket and, all at once, lit up. "Mama!" she screeched in delight. She gathered up the basket—nearly as tall as herself—and waddled back inside, leaving the door hang open. "Mama, he came! You said he wouldn't be here but look, he came!"

"What?" a bewildered voice called from inside the house. Bunnymund and Jack traded a sly look, and a snicker.

The mother stuck her head out of the doorway, glancing this way and that for the culprit. Bunny made sure to flatten his ears and duck down low to avoid detection.

"Huh," said the woman, to herself. "I guess someone in the community is looking out for us after all."

After the door closed, Jack went ahead and dramatically collapsed on the ground before them. "Tell me we're done," he said, though he knew full well they were.

"Righto," Bunny knelt at his side, amusement in his smirk. "Need a lift back t' the Warren?"

"Why would I run to the Warren when I'm perfectly content to die right here?"

Bunnymund chuckled. "Always with the dramas," he said, and scooped Jack up in his arms.

"H-hey!" Jack balked, blushing deeply. "I can walk!"

"Can ye now?"

"Yes!" Jack squirmed out of Bunny's hold and skittered away, then raised his chin defiance. "Though I reserve the right to complain the whole time."

"As ye wish." He tapped twice and summoned a tunnel, motioning Jack in first.

Jack paused at the lip, but just before jumping down, caught Bunnymund staring back at their last house. He turned to look, too, companionable in their silence.

"We did pretty good, huh?" Jack said. "Considering."

Bunny gave a nod. "The world's doing pretty good right now, considering." He remarked. "A couple 'o baskets might not be much, but hopefully, it's something."

"It's the little things," Jack agreed.

"…It really is."

Bunnymund broke his gaze with the house to rest his paw on Jack's shoulder, and this one, in a sharper mirror of the same gesture a month prior, felt like sun on the skin. Bunny smiled at Jack, shining with soft gratitude.

"Thanks fer bein' here, Jack," he said. "Couldn't've done it without ya."

Jack smiled back. "Happy Easter."

Bunny nodded at the tunnel. "Now c'mon," he said, tossing something to Jack which the winter spirit just barely caught; "We've got a disinfecting bath and a nap waitin' fer us in the Warren."

Jack paused, unfolding his hands to inspect what he'd caught: an Easter Egg, painted a vivid blue, speckled with snowflakes and a golden scrawl that read Thank You.

Jack beamed at the egg, holding it gently in his hands, then turned the smile up at Bunny.

Bunny's own grin turned wicked. "—Race ya," he said, diving into the tunnel.

"What!" Jack stiffened, sore muscles seizing. Any protest he might utter fell away at the sound of Bunnymund's bright, ringing laughter.

Pocketing the egg, Jack dove in after him, his center bursting with joy and hope.

#ROTG #Rise of the Guardians #ROTG Hope Week #Hope Week #Jackrabbit #Jackrabbit Week #sorry for the length #fanfic #fanfiction #writing

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furiousstarfishphilosopher · 4 years

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americanbio · 4 years

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felipeandletizia · 4 years

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Pandemic days in La Zarzuela

Jesus Rodriguez - May 23, 2020 (Source)

This is the chronicle of how the crisis of covid-19 has been lived in the Headquarters of the State, of the challenge of being King in exceptional times. And also two and a half months of home confinement for a married couple with two daughters.

This April has been one of the rainiest in Madrid. Nature is in all its splendor. The path that leads from the first security control of La Zarzuela to the palace appears bordered by splendid vegetation and by deer that pass slowly. Here apparently nothing ever changes. But at the entrance of the Headquarters of the State it is already detected that it is not the same. The circumspect civil guards are covered with masks and black latex gloves. The identification is given to the agent with the arm to the maximum of its extension to maintain social distance. The gray hybrid car that transports you from that surveillance point to the heart of the royal complex, hidden in the immense mount of El Pardo, owned by National Heritage, incorporates methacrylate partition walls. The quiet, uniformed driver who doesn't open his mouth at the slightest attempt at a chat, wears his mask tight, almost to the point of cutting his breath.

We circulate slowly and alone in an environment that produces drowsiness. Four kilometers later, almost at the end of the route, you can see the tiles of the King and Queen's house hanging on a promontory one kilometer from the palace between the tops of the trees. It is the most invisible property within the invisibility that prevails in this place. The most hermetic place in La Zarzuela. It is never used for official acts. Just for some timid recording of their daily life. It is intended to be a home in which a family of four lives. Even more so in times of pandemic. They assure in this place that its inhabitants "are very respectful of the recommendations of the authorities, and in this case that means that grandparents, cousins and other family members stay each in their own homes."

A family that has been confined since March 13 with minimal and well-considered official departures (only ten, of which five have been carried out by the King alone until May 20 and one by the Queen alone, to the Red Cross). That gets up at 7.30 and eats after two in the afternoon. And where each of its members faces in this strange time the mission entrusted to them, whether by the Constitution, by life or by their age: meeting with the Prime Minister (today is Tuesday, meeting day, and they will meet through videoconference, as usual during the entire crisis); support, by the Queen through videoconference with a brain damage foundation or, in the case of their teenage daughters, carry out their education with the school closed since March 11, but connecting with it from the first hours of the morning. Without any extra school help, but with their parents trying to help them out on English homework, a text commentary, or a story presentation. And a mother who ensures that they are not hooked to the tablet all day and read books and even immerse themselves in the kitchen. Something that the youngest daughter, Sofía, loves.

It is a family that talks a lot, goes to bed early and, if there are no setbacks, ends the day with a movie. Every night one of its members chooses the title. It is a battle between movie fans: a daughter bets on the sagas of Marvel and Star Wars; another, for dramas and science fiction; the father, for the action and the thrillers. And the mother plays the role of intellectual trying to suggest more cultural titles. It is not always imposed.

Someone who knows them recounts their state of mind during this time of pandemic and isolation: “Like all families in this country, in these two long months they have been (and are) closer together than ever. Father, mother and daughters. Alone. With the same feeling that is being experienced in all the houses of this country: of greater union, of being a team, of moving forward. And the same uneasiness as the rest, given the circumstances that were lived during these 10 weeks."

Especially sad moments have passed, such as when the dramatic situation of the elderly in some residences came to light: “It left them with deep despondency and sadness. That bitter sensation and that lump in their throats lasted a long time.” Those were the days, at the beginning of April, when more than 900 deaths were counted each day. And many hospital directors from all over Spain explained to them day and night by videoconference, on the field, in real time, that they were having a hard time, that they had a thousand daily incomes; they were overwhelmed. And yet, they say in La Zarzuela, these people talked to them with integrity and the best of their spirits. And they asked them to fight for "primary care" in the future.

During this time, the King and Queen have spoken with more than 50 hospitals in all the autonomous communities. Long talks that have provided them with a very precise map of the evolution of the pandemic by time and territory. And without filters. The King, the Queen, their interlocutors and a notebook. None of those calls have been recorded.

Before reaching our destination, we cross a stone bridge over the almost overflowed by the Trofa stream. Here is another checkpoint. This time, in charge of the Royal Guard. There are far fewer guards than at other times. Much of its 1,500 troops no longer honor each ceremonial step of the King; they are on the street, disinfecting residences and fighting coronavirus in Operation Balmis as decided by Felipe VI on March 23 during an interview with Defense Minister Margarita Robles. And a few days later he did the same with the members of the Security Service of the Headquarters of the State, composed according to various sources (because the King's House does not provide data) of more than 300 escorts, police and civil guards.

When the King sent his guard and bodyguards to work against the virus, he tried to send a message of solidarity within the framework of the policy of gestures with which the Spanish Monarchy communicates, an institution that rarely issues statements and hardly ever claims or denies. The Jemad, General of the Air Miguel Ángel Villarroya, declared in a martial tone on March 23 that with that act "the King proved to be the first soldier in Spain." He was wrong. What Felipe VI was trying to demonstrate with that decision, as with all of these months of crisis (people he has seen, words he has uttered, world political and economic leaders with whom he has interviewed, hospitals he has called, consultations that he has made to scientists, requests that he has communicated to businessmen), is that he is next to the people. His great concern is the "day after"; the problems that this pandemic is going to cause among the most disadvantaged citizens when it all ends.

A source from his environment explains: "He has analyzed a thousand and one times how it could be valued what so many entities are doing in the face of the impoverishment of thousands of people who were already very vulnerable and will see their ability to get ahead even more hindered. And see what he could do as Head of State in the face of the tragedy of those self-employed who did not receive their full salary in March, nor have they received in April and are waiting for May. And all those who await their ERTE.” As someone who knows the King well says: “From the moment he opens his eyes until he closes them, he doesn't stop thinking and scheming how, with the tools he has, he can make things go better for the Spanish. And it does not do so for personal or political interest. But out of a sense of duty. It is his job. It is his life ”.

The final destination of the tour of this immense farm where La Zarzuela is located ends in the Magnolias building, a 2,600-square-meter brick construction that was designed in 1987. Here is the structure of direct support for the head of state, connected to the palace by a tunnel and a staircase. The King's office is three minutes away. Magnolias is like the Semillas at La Moncloa, which houses the President's Cabinet, its nervous system. In La Zarzuela there are a hundred people, many career officials, and with an abundance of military and civil guards, who manage their agenda, write their speeches, prepare their visits, answer their mail, attend to the media, inform, advise and help make the most serious decisions. And, above all, they work on the relationship between La Zarzuela and La Moncloa. Two constitutional legitimacies forced to understand each other. They are the most hermetic officials of the Spanish Administration. They measure their words to the millimeter. At the head of this team is the harsh 64-year-old State lawyer Jaime Alfonsín, who has been working with Don Felipe since the now King was in his twenties. The average age of that team is 61 years old. Most have done their entire careers here.

The Magnolias building is quieter than ever. At the entrance, two gatekeepers in white jackets and military shoes as mirrors solicitously open the doors. Beyond, a cold semi-darkness of empty rooms, a pretentious decoration of Madrid's upper class and a sepulchral silence. No voices or footsteps are heard. Less than a third of the King's team is in place. The rest have been teleworking since March 13. La Zarzuela is in the box.

However, the head of the House, the secretary general and the six most involved directors (among them, Protocol, Coordination and Communication) are here. They arrive at eight in the morning. At nine they have the first meeting. And with the digital press summary prepared by the House already read. This daily meeting is a novelty, before it was only done on Fridays.

Their boardroom is quirky: a huge room with chandeliers and marble flooring with enough space to stay within the statutory social distance. They sit in a circle on uncomfortable Empire-style chairs. The agenda of the previous day is analyzed, the current one is reviewed and the following one is prepared. They eat from the machine. Not everyone sees the King daily. Alfonsín is the only one who dispatches with him every morning. He's the link with the director of the President's Cabinet and the secretary general of the Presidency. It is in La Moncloa where all the words of the King and Queen are given the go-ahead or "edited", however harmless they may seem, because "it cannot be forgotten that this is the Head of State." In the case of Felipe's message during the referendum crisis in Catalonia on October 3, 2017 nobody touched a comma in the La Moncloa from the Rajoy era.

On March 13, at 15:15, President Pedro Sánchez addressed an audience of 18 million spectators with these words: “Today, I have just communicated to the Head of State the celebration, tomorrow, of a Council of Extraordinary ministers to decree the state of alarm throughout our country”. There were 120 dead.

That afternoon the alarms went off in La Zarzuela. The situation was complex. There had been no national crisis of this magnitude since the Civil War. There was no road map. How should a Head of State who reigns but does not govern face a health, economic and social crisis of such magnitude? What should be his agenda? Should he go out? Should he address the Spaniards? Should he preside over the Councils of Ministers? Should he be involved in any activity? Does he have to intrude? Who does he have to talk to and who does he not? Does he need to appear with his family? Does his consort have to show up making cookies with their daughters? How would each action he takes be politically and socially interpreted? How does he get no one to complain? How to achieve a territorial, sectoral, political, cultural and opportunity balance in all of his actions, initiatives and audiences?

On March 13, the King's House (and the King himself) lacked an instruction manual. And it was not the best time for the Spanish Monarchy either. For years it had been hanging over Felipe VI and the institution the finances of his father, the King Emeritus, Juan Carlos de Borbón, 82 years old. For a long time, the relationship between father and son has not been the best possible. The last time they saw each other in public was during the funeral of the Infanta Pilar, on January 28, in El Escorial. They were in mourning. His greeting was protocol. And the old King looked out of the corner of his eye, his head down, lost, as his son, the Head of the State, walked away from him coldly.

The week before the declaration of the state of alarm, just when the dripping of infected people and deaths began and the situation began to be out of control for the Government, the King and Queen did not stop. Especially, the Queen. Reviewing the images of those days knowing what we know today about the COVID-19 causes amazement. Not an act was removed from their schedule. Not even a trip to Paris on March 11 that the French president, Emmanuel Macron (the couple's personal friend), did not want to suspend: at the gates of the Elysée, they greeted each other without handshakes or kisses. All the King and Queen's appearances that week were massive. An act with the ambassadors of the Marca España in the old palace of El Pardo; a women's soccer final riddled with screams and sweat in a packed sports hall in Salamanca (the same day as the questioned feminist 8-M demonstration); a meeting overflowing with attendees with the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases ... And all trying to photograph, touch and hug them. The usual landscape.

But it was March 6 that gave the most. And lit the wick of the following events in La Zarzuela. Doña Letizia met that morning in the Uned classrooms, in the heart of the Lavapiés neighborhood, in Madrid, with the professionals of the Association for the Prevention, Reintegration and Attention to Prostituted Women (Apramp), an NGO which she had already called to La Zarzuela in June 2018 and with whom she maintains close contact.

That morning riddled with photographers had an added morbid: its "minister of the day" was Irene Montero, holder since January of the Ministry of Equality and leader of Podemos, a party very critical of the Monarchy. Would there be blood? Would there be a photo? The working meeting was held behind closed doors with Montero side by side with the Queen. It was long. Everything flowed. When they left, according to someone who was there, “they said goodbye with the usual kiss that the Queen gives in cases similar to the ministers, secretaries of state or general directors who attend. It had begun to be suggested in official media that perhaps it would be good to avoid kisses and handshakes (that day there were already five deceased), but neither of them dared to stop doing it, because it was going to be interpreted as an unpleasant gesture by one to the other and vice versa. Something that did not happen and has never happened between the King and Queen and the ministers, no matter the sector or the party they are. Everything always happens within the constitutional correction. It is their job. And then behind the cameras there may be more or less cordiality, but always absolute correction, starting with Podemos,” they assure.

Six days later, on Thursday, March 12, the bomb exploded. La Moncloa announced early in the morning that Minister Irene Montero had tested positive for the coronavirus. And the most difficult days of Felipe VI's reign began. In just six years, he has had to deal with four general elections (two of them repeated), eight rounds of consultations with political leaders, the motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy, a weak coalition government with one of its partners resistant to the Monarchy and the endless secessionist process in Catalonia. Without forgetting the trial and prison of his brother-in-law Iñaki Urdangarinand the continuous information on his father's activities, with private accounts in tax havens and income of dubious origin. These two more personal matters, Felipe de Borbón would be forced to face them as Head of State and not as a member of a family.

In January 2015, six months after his proclamation, he had already drafted a rigid regulation on the gifts that members of the royal family could receive, which stated in its article 6: “They will not accept loans without interest or with interest lower than the normal market, or gifts of money. In the latter case, it will be returned or donated to a non-profit entity that pursues purposes of general interest." From that moment the estrangement would come with his sister Cristina (to whom he revoked the title of Duchess of Palma in June 2015) and from his own father.

It has not been an easy reign for Felipe de Borbón. And nobody anticipates that things will improve. Journalists investigating the finances of the King Emeritus in Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom confirm that things will continue to come to light. They also have it very clear in that home in La Zarzuela. And that any action by Felipe VI as Head of State will be overshadowed by that judicial situation.

On the same morning that Montero was positive, the military doctor from La Zarzuela performed the test for the new coronavirus on the King and Queen. They did not have the results until early on March 13. Neither of them tested positive. However, it was decided that the Queen would keep two weeks of quarantine at her home, not isolated, but without leaving home or interacting with anyone from outside for two weeks, until the 26th, in case it was a false negative. She fulfilled it to the letter. During that time, she did not even go down to her official office in La Zarzuela, where she arrives every morning at nine. It is in an adjoining room, bright, white and minimalist, where she holds the videoconferences. By mid-May, she had already completed more than 60 within what she calls her specialization: culture, society, dependency, sexist violence, cancer, rare diseases, food and childhood. They last around an hour. "There is no protocol required in them other than politeness."

But between March 12 and 16 there was not a single event on the King and Queen's schedule. The King also did not leave the limits of the El Pardo mountain until his surprise visit, with no press called, to the field hospital of Ifema on May 26th. However, on the 13th he had already put himself in “virus mode”, started to make calls and was totally immersed in the crisis, a state of mind from which he has not escaped. “He keeps in constant contact with all kinds of people linked to the management of the pandemic, wherever they are. Today, at home, the virus is talked about at all hours. They are the only conversations their daughters listen to.”

On March 14 Spain closed. And also appeared published in the British press, in The Telegraph, the exclusive that Felipe VI was beneficiary of one of the foundations created in tax havens by his father with a patrimony of 65 million euros, apparently from Saudi Arabia. His team at La Zarzuela knew that information was about to come out. This was confirmed by journalists from The Telegraph and EL PAÍS (who had been months behind the subject) by email; they wanted to know the King's answer. But La Zarzuela did not answer. Why? "Because it was a judicial matter that we could not enter. And because there was no documentary evidence; not a bank paper, income or account to confirm it. They preferred to wait”. At La Zarzuela they always take their time. They say that its rhythm is more like that of the Vatican than that of the White House. Even if it is in theoretically banal matters. For example, the decision that the Princess of Asturias and her sister, the Infanta Sofia, briefly read passages from Don Quixote on camera on April 23 to commemorate Book Day took five weeks.

That Saturday of breaking news, March 14, La Zarzuela's team had to change plans on the fly and write an extensive and harsh statement that same afternoon of four pages that would be released to the public on the afternoon of Sunday 15 (the second day of confinement and when 288 deceased were already counted), in which Felipe VI disassociated himself from the activities of his father (who he claimed to be unaware of), resigned to his economic inheritance (also in the name of his daughter), placed the King Emeritus outside the administrative and legal umbrella of the Royal House and withdrew the official allocation of 194,232 euros per year. The statement concluded with this statement by don Juan Carlos: "That of the two foundations previously mentioned at no time did he provide information to HM the King." The elaborate formal and legal drafting of the text indicated that it had been prepared in sufficient time. For about a year, La Zarzuela had been aware of what was coming through the mouth of the British lawyers of Corinna Larsen, the old friend of Don Juan Carlos.

Why was this statement issued coinciding with the start of the confinement and on a Sunday? "As soon as we had documentary evidence of the accusations of the British newspaper, we could not leave for a second the slightest doubt that Felipe VI was the beneficiary of these accounts; it was necessary to act without delay; there could be no shadow on his conduct; that news could not be for a second on the internet without a response from the King”, explain his collaborators. "Why did we get it out that day and not a year earlier? Because until that weekend we did not have the documentary certainty of those accusations, a year before we lacked that documentary confirmation”.

That Saturday the King made the decision to publicly disassociate himself from any matter that related him to his father and that could be questioned, as he had already done privately a year earlier, on March 12, 2019, before a Madrid notary, exposing his intention to renounce the inheritance of Juan Carlos de Borbón at the time he passed away (now legally he cannot). Those dubious financial actions do not enter the head of Felipe VI. They go against his vision of the world and the “Monarchy renewed for a new time” that he has tried to build since his proclamation on June 2014.

On Wednesday, March 18, there were 598 deaths. At five in the afternoon a meeting of the King with the President began in the audience room of La Zarzuela; the ministers of Health, Defense, Interior and Transport and their deputies, the Coronavirus Technical Management Committee. It was intense. It lasted until after 7:30 p.m. The King concluded it with just enough time to run down to the Magnolias room and, without changing his tie, record a message to the nation, with no time to repeat, that would be broadcast at nine at night. The Queen and her daughters did not accompany him on this occasion. They were confined.

It was not the King's best speech. Not even gestually. It was witnessed by 14.6 million people. He and his team thought about referring in the text to the affairs of his father, Don Juan Carlos. They decided not to. There was not the slightest mention, to the perplexity of many citizens. "There was no attempt to hide anything," responds a member of the Casa del Rey, "but there was no point in talking about the King Emeritus in the context of a terrible health emergency, especially when he had done so immediately, extensively and firmly in the statement three days before. There was not anymore to say. And even more so when it is a judicial matter. On March 18, the Head of State talked to the country to give his encouragement against the pandemic and to tell the Spaniards that he was by their side. Not to talk about his father's problems."

The total activation of La Zarzuela in times of crisis did not arrive until March 26. That day the King went to Ifema, the Queen began her video conferences and a complex agenda of contacts and initiatives was launched. Dozens of calls and videoconferences with all sectors. Absolutely everyone. And meetings with 16 ministers (although it took more than a month to receive the first of Podemos, Manuel Castells, in La Zarzuela). Always with the idea of having their own and direct information about what was happening in Spain and sharpen the shot. The utility of those actions of the King is difficult to specify. You never know if they are of any use. Because it is, as a person in his environment explains, “a job that involves being a link, generating trust, mediating, cooperating and weaving complicities to solve the problems of 48 million people. And to do it with a rectitude and exemplary that for this King is not negotiable”.

According to another person in his environment, "this work has a lot of soft power”. A parallel diplomacy that consists of having quick and direct access to the most powerful on the planet, Amancio Ortega, Jack Ma (the Chinese millionaire owner of Alibaba Group), the president of Huawei or Microsoft. And also to all the monarchs in the world (they have spoken with the majority, from the Queen of England to the Emperor of Japan or the sovereign of Morocco). Or to chat with Donald and Melania Trump in a long and intense conversation on April 1 in which the President of the United States did not stop questioning the King and Queen about the confinement and closure of economic activity; between maintaining business and the need to avoid spreading the virus. It was his concern. And, by the way, it unlocked the sale to Spain of a hundred respirators, at a time when there were already 4,500 deaths from covid-19 in the United States and they could be needed there.

Not everything is based on planetary relationships with ministers and statesmen. One of the great concerns of the King and Queen is, at this time with the curve of contagions and deaths in free fall, "the sustainability of the groups that work with the most disadvantaged and help them to have something of quality in their lives, for example, in matters of gender violence. If the subsidies and aid and the talks with the autonomous communities of the organizations of the third sector are interrupted, what will become of them? ”They ask themselves in the surroundings of the Queen. That is their job. Be helpful. Although they may not always have it easy.

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