#funeral services victoria

[victoriafuneralsblog]

Funeral Arrangements

Choosing funeral arrangements Melbourne can be a very tough task. There are so many different types of services available. You may need to consider a traditional service or one that is more personalised. You may also want to consider burial or cremation. You may also want to consider the type of flowers you choose.

Prepaid funerals are becoming popular. These funeral arrangements are more cost effective and convenient. These funerals are prepaid and can be paid in advance. The cost is lower than traditional funeral homes and you can choose from various packages. The price is fixed for the duration of the contract.

These funeral arrangements Melbourne services are affordable and help families celebrate the life of a loved one. Prepaid funerals are a good option because they help families save money and relieve them of the responsibility of making these arrangements.

If you're thinking about prepaid funeral arrangements, contact your preferred funeral provider. They can give you information about what to expect and answer any questions you may have.

The family business has been serving Melbourne families for over forty years. Ian Allison sets himself apart from other funeral directors with his integrity and honesty. He follows the standards set by his family's 150-year tradition of funeral services.

Tomorrow Funerals specialise in creating meaningful memorial ceremonies. These ceremonies do not require casket flowers or coffin arrangements. They can be held in a family's home or in a venue that reflects the life of the person being celebrated.

[thepaleys]

The Grand Duke, after this voyage, returned abroad every autumn. (...) In the autumn of that same year, 1894, Grand Duke Paul was to go to England, accompanied by Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich. The reason for the voyage was the arranged marriage of Grand Duke Paul to one of the English Royal Princesses. The preparations for the journey had already been made, the bags and trunks all packed, when a dispatch from Livadia arrived, announcing the worsening of Emperor Alexander III's illness. We immediately repacked the contents of our trunks and left for the Crimea.

We stayed a week at Livadia. We found the Emperor dying. (...) On the morning of October 20, Grand Duke Paul came back from the Emperor's bedroom, and told me and then the other servants that it was all over. We asked the Grand Duke if we could go make our farewells to the departed Emperor. He responded that we could. One after another we sadly went into the Emperor's bedroom, where he was no longer sleeping in the bed, but was now sitting in a large armchair, dressed in his bed robe, exactly as death had taken him. Next to him was Empress Marie Feodorovna, who kissed him. We bowed and kissed the deceased Emperor's hand and saluted the Empress. That same evening we attended the funeral services for the repose of the soul of Alexander III. After that, we then swore our oath to the new Emperor, Nicholas II, and the following morning left Livadia.

We spent the summer months abroad that following year, 1895, and stayed in the home of the elderly Queen Victoria at Windsor Palace. Grand Duke Paul passed the days in a strictly familial setting. (...) As I already said, the reason for the journey to England was the eventual marriage of Grand Duke Paul to one of the English princesses. However, that plan was never realized; the Grand Duke and the Princess, it was said, were not able to find "mutual affinity in their characters." We returned to Petersburg at the beginning of autumn.

Upon our return to Petersburg, life quickly regained its usual pace. The Grand Duke, as always, avoided noisy distractions and was always at work in the Horse Guard Regiment. This occupation kept away the sad thoughts of his destroyed family life and calmed his nerves. He exactly followed the exercises of the Regiment and took an active part in his men's lives. In addition to the obligatory presence at the regular parties of the Regiment, Grand Duke Paul also regularly attended the officers' dinner once a week.

MEMORIES OF ALEXEI VOLKOV Personal Valet to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna 1910 - 1918

[scotianostra]

June 22nd 1861 saw the death of Edinburgh firefighter James Braidwood.

Braidwood was born in Edinburgh and educated at the Royal High School. His father was a builder and after leaving school, Braidwood joined the company as an apprentice. Here he learned about construction methods and took a particular interest in the way fires spread in buildings.

In the early 19th century people were leaving Edinburgh’s Old Town for the more comfortable surroundings of the New Town. The old buildings became slums and fire-traps. Edinburgh had very limited fire services and, following a series of deadly fires, which culminated in the Great Fire of Edinburgh of 1824, Braidwood persuaded the authorities and insurance company brigades to work together. He formed the world’s first municipal fire brigade, organising men and machines.

He was the first to promote entering burning buildings to fight the seat of a fire. He trained his men at night to get them used to dark conditions and instructed them to carry rope to escape from burning buildings, practising their climbing skills on Edinburgh’s North Bridge.

Braidwood became the first Superintendent of the new London Fire Brigade in 1833, with a team of 80 full-time firefighters at 13 stations. In this capacity, he carried out fire prevention surveys places like the Royal Naval Dockyards and Buckingham Palace. Braidwood’s manual on fire-fighting included many basic principles which are still quoted during fire training today. He also invented one of the first forms of breathing apparatus to be used by firemen.

On June 22nd 1861 Braidwood was killed by a collapsing wall while fighting the infamous Tooley Street Warehouse fire on the south bank of the River Thames. Queen Victoria was particularly concerned about the event and the fate of James Braidwood and in her diary she wrote ‘poor Mr Braidwood … had been killed … and the fire was still raging. It made one very sad.’ the second pic is his statue in Edinburgh’s Parliament Square , close to the site of his first fire station.

James Braidwood was buried at Abney Park Cemetery on 29 June 1861. The funeral procession was a mile and a half long and shops were closed with crowds lining the route. As a mark of respect every church in the city of London rang its bells.

[rileychester]

I'm guessing that John had messed up relationships with his mom and whoever his stepdad was.

Because he said old man, not father or dad. And then never mentioned him again. So any stepfather or partner of his mom ever made an impression. Not inspiring John to go looking for Jack at all.

Regarding his mother, he referred to her as a battleaxe. Was avoiding people offering (fake) sympathy, and didn't shed a tear. He left the burial to the vicar, didn't go to the wake, and was going to sail off into the sunset right away. He was literally about to hand his mom's funeral service information for Victoria to write on when she asked for a piece of paper.

I do think that John did love his mother, but I also think he had a LOT of complicated feelings about her too.

[duchessoflennox]

PRINCESS ELIZABETH OF HESSE & PRINCE EDWARD OF YORK 🥺💗🤍

During the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901, Princess Elisabeth of hesse sat next to her second cousin Prince Edward of York.

"Sweet little David behaved so well during the service," wrote his aunt princess Maud, "and was supported by the little Hesse girl who took him under her protection and held him most of the time round his neck. They looked such a delightful little couple."

[world-of-wales]

─ •✧ WILLIAM'S YEAR IN REVIEW : NOVEMBER ✧• ─

1 NOVEMBER - The Prince of Wales held an Investiture at Windsor Castle. He gave a video message at Emergency Responders Mental Health Symposium. 2 NOVEMBER - The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay visited at Burghead Primary School and Brodieshill Farm. Subsequently they visited Day1 in Inverness. 4 NOVEMBER - William departed from Heathrow Airport for Singapore. He appeared in the BBC Earthshot Prize Trailer. He appeared in a video message to support the Stand Up To Cancer Campaign. 5 NOVEMBER - William arrived at Singapore Changi Airport and was received by the British High Commissioner to the Republic of Singapore. Afterwards, he attended a Welcome to Singapore event at the Jewel and was received by the Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. 6 NOVEMBER - William visited PAssion Wave @Marina Bay and joined in a Dragon Boat Race. He was received by The President of Singapore at the Istana. Subsequently, William called upon the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore. He attended the United for Wildlife Global Summit. 7 NOVEMBER - William held Meeting with Finalists of the 2023 Earthshot Awards. Afterwards, he attended a Founding Partners' Lunch. He attended the Earthshot Prize rehearsals. He later visited EcoLabs. He attended the Earthshot Prize Awards. Subsequently he attended an Earthshot Prize Thank You Reception. 8 NOVEMBER - William visited TreeTop Walk at Central Catchment Nature Reserve. He attended the Earthshot+ Summit. He visited Centre for Wildlife Forensics. William attended a Meeting with UK Defence Advisers at the British High Commission. He attended a Reception for the Earthshot Prize. Finally, he departed from Singapore Changi Airport for the UK. William gave appeared in an Earthshot Q&A video. 9 NOVEMBER - He arrived at Heathrow Airport. 10 NOVEMBER - William appeared in BTS Earthshot Prize Portraits. 11 NOVEMBER - Will and Cat attended the RBL Festival of Remembrance. 12 NOVEMBER - The Prince of Wales along with The Princess attended the Remembrance Day Service of Remembrance and laid a wreath at the Cenotaph. The broadcast of the 2023 Earthshot Awards, featured a video of William and Catherine snorkelling with Coral Vita. 13 NOVEMBER - William received Lieutenant General Ian Cave & Brigadier Peter Dennis (Colonel & Secretary, Mercian Regiment) at Windsor Castle. Later, he attended the Funeral of Sir Robert Charlton. 14 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine attended The King's Birthday Party. 15 NOVEMBER - The Prince of Wales was represented by Miss Helen Asprey at the Service of Thanksgiving for the late Earl of Airlie KT. 16 NOVEMBER - William visited the Hideaway Youth Project in Manchester. Later, he visited Keeping It Real at Moss Side Millennium Powerhouse. Subsequently, he visited Jessie's Wall. 17 NOVEMBER - William appeared in a 'This or That' session video for Earthshot. 21 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine welcomed The President of the Republic of Korea and Mrs Kim Keon Hee at their Hotel. They then accompanied the Presidential Couple to Horse Guards and were met by The King and Queen. Afterwards, they viewed an Exhibition of the Royal Collection items relating to the Republic of Korea. Finally, they attended the State Dinner at Buckingham Palace. 22 NOVEMBER - Will and Cat held a Reception at Windsor Castle. 23 NOVEMBER - The Prince of Wales received Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown and Prince Radu of Romania. Later, he visited The Mercian Regiment on Salisbury Plain. 24 NOVEMBER - He received The Crown Prince of the Sultanate of Oman. 27 NOVEMBER - William held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. Later, he attended the Tusk Conservation Awards. 28 NOVEMBER - William received Lieutenant Colonel Guy Bartle-Jones (Regimental Adjutant, Welsh Guards). Afterwards, he received submariners. He awrote a letter to Dr. Alex George. 30 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine received Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel of Sweden at Windsor Castle. Afterwards, they were we're joined by Victoria and Daniel for the Royal Variety Show.

[ginandoldlace]

The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn photographed in the uniform of Colonel of the Scots Guards, an appointment he held from 1883 to 1904.

The Prince Arthur was born on this day in 1850 at Buckingham Palace to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

As the third son and seventh child, Prince Arthur had the freedom to enjoy a long military career. The Duke served in the British Army for over 40 years and saw service in multiple parts of the British Empire, serving with the Royal Engineers, the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Rifle Brigade.

During his lifetime, he also served as the Governor General of Canada and as Commander in Chief of the British Army in Ireland and during the Second World War, Prince Arthur maintained his affiliation with the British Army by motivating troops.

The Duke died at Bagshot Park. His funeral service was held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. He was buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore.

He was the last surviving son of Queen Victoria.

[houseofbrat]

Timeline of events, Part 2

[part 1]

01 MARCH 2024: Prince William ignores a “How’s Catherine?” question from someone at Wrexham during his St. David’s Day visit to Wales.

Thomas Kingston’s death revealed to be “catastrophic head injury” due to gunshot, i.e. suicide.

Victoria Murphy writes in Town & Countryabout the UK’s Editor’s Code of Practice prohibiting writing about the lack of information available to the public regarding The Princess of Wales’s condition.

02 MARCH 2024: Roya Nikkhah reports Queen Camilla’s annual March time-off as a sudden vacation instead of a regularly scheduled annual break she always takes at this time of year.

04 MARCH 2024: TMZ & Backgrid establish proof of life of The Princess of Wales and her mother.

UK media is pressured by Kensington Palace to *NOT* publish the photographs in the UK, even though everyone else in the world can see them online.

05 MARCH 2024: Richard Palmer notes that there is no legal reason why the pictures of Carole and Kate cannot be published due to them being on a public road.

The British Army is forced by Kensington Palace to amend their Trooping the Colour once the UK media started circulating stories about Kate’s appearance in June, which is two months after Easter.

Dominic Ponsford in the (UK) Press Gazette wrote about the media blackout regarding Carole & Kate’s driving pictures.

Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith briefly comments on the lack of Kate information on Celebrity Big Brother.

06 MARCH 2024: King Charles has a meeting with the Canadian PM and officially greets two ambassadors.

Kensington Palace “spokesman” to (US) People magazine: “His focus is on his work and not on social media,” a spokesman says.

Normal people on reddit notice this bullshit and comment on it.

Emily Andrews comments on the “invisible contract” between UK media and Kensington Palace, e.g. the "huge pressure" to not publish the photo of Kate & Carole.

London’s Air Ambulance Charity, whose gala benefit William attended on 07 February 2024, announced they did not receive enough government support.

08 MARCH 2024: King Charles photographed in a car on Windsor Castle grounds.

Prince William demonstrates proof of life when he visits The Oval in support of for-profit company, Notpla, and seaweed.

10 MARCH 2024: A Mother's Day photo is published and released to news agencies of Kate with George, Charlotte, and Louis.

Later that day, the Associated Press (AP), Agence-France Presse (AFP), Reuters, and Getty all "killed" the photo due to "manipulation."

11 MARCH 2024: Kate "apologized" for the photo manipulation on Twitter saying: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C"

Kate is photographed next to William in a car leaving Windsor Castle.

Prince William attends The Commonwealth Day service with Queen Camilla and other members of the BRF while King Charles spoke to the service via pre-recorded video message.

International media goes wild with the revelation that Kensington Palace released a photo that was "manipulated" and rejected by major, international news outlets.

12 MARCH 2024: William attends the private funeral service for Thomas Kingston at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.

14 MARCH 2024: William visits WEST Youth Zone in White City, London.

Meghan Markle launches a lifestyle brand, American Orchard Riviera," on Instagram.

AFP Global News Director, Phil Chetwynd, states that Kensington Palace is no longer a "trusted" news source.

William attends The Diana Legacy Awards in London in the evening.

Jessica Reed Kraus, aka HouseInHabit, publishes a "source" saying Kate had "surgery on her bowel," yet the "source" did not know that that kind of surgery could be classified as "abdominal."

17 MARCH 2024: Forbes publishes an article with the rumor that the BBC has been told to be on alert for an announcement from the Royal Family regarding Kate's health.

Roya Nikkhah for The Sunday Times published an article whereupon a "royal source" said, "I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.”

Matt Wilkinson of The Sun publishes an exclusive that Kate was seen "out and about" in Windsor.

18 MARCH 2024: Video of Will & Kate shopping at the Windsor Farm Shop circulates on TMZ and The Sun. Kensington Palace doesn't complain about it publicly.

Russell Myers of The Mirror publishes an "exclusive" report regarding Kate's "return to public life."

The royal.uk website has some minor changes regarding The Duke of York and The Duke & Duchess of Sussex.

19 MARCH 2024: William visits Sheffield, England, as part of his Homewards program.

Russell Myers of The Mirror publishes an "exclusive" regarding allegations of Kate's medical records being breached at The London Clinic.

Kate Mansey of The Times publishes an article about how William does not collaborate or work with his father.

20 MARCH 2024: The London Clinic responds to the allegations of Kate's medical records being breached after 29 January 2024.

Daily Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle: Kate was unable to attend the Irish Guards' St Patrick's Day parade... But put £2,000 behind the bar for them instead

Daily Mail's Rebecca English's EXCLUSIVE: What William really thinks about the Kate conspiracy theories. And why it's been so heartbreaking for him to see her reputation trashed in the same way as Diana's

Prince William visits the Welsh Guards at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, where the photos were taken by the Ministry of Defence/Welsh Guards.

21 MARCH 2024: Hannah Furness of The Telegraph publishes an article stating: "The Princess of Wales has been working from home on her early years project to improve the lives of babies, as she eases back into normal life after her abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace confirmed that she had been kept up to date with her campaign and the “overwhelmingly positive” results of a study she inspired."

Tatler magazine publishes a cover story on Prince William by Wesley Kerr. "The burden of leadership is falling upon Prince William - but as former BBC Royal Correspondent, Wesley Kerr OBE, explains in Tatler’s May cover story, the future king is taking charge."

Daily Mail: Kate Middleton has been working from home on her early years project considered her 'life's work' as she recovers from abdominal surgery - amid hopes she will return to public life by Easter

People magazine repeats the Kate paid the bar tab story.

Jackie Annett, The Mirror: "Kate Middleton spotted out in Windsor again - this time with George, Charlotte and Louis" “…[Kate] comes here quite a lot, it’s on her doorstep and Adelaide Cottage is a couple of 100 yrds away. They were at the tennis on Sunday-my friend plays there & Kate was watching the children, they’re there all the time”

22 MARCH 2024: Kate announces she is undergoing "preventative chemotherapy" for cancer.

Lambrook's Lent 2024 term ends. School on break until summer term starts on 17 April 2024.

24 MARCH 2024: People magazine: Kate "wrote every word herself,” a palace source confirms to PEOPLE of the Princess of Wales' video speech, which was released on Friday and filmed two days prior in the gardens of Windsor Castle. A family friend adds, “She wrote the words herself, delivered it personally and wanted to decide when the time was right to hit the world with this news.”

28 MARCH 2024: Valentine Low says it's not clear when William pulled out of Constantine's memorial service--some say day of, others say two weeks prior to the service.

31 MARCH 2024: King Charles & Queen Camilla attended the Easter Mattins service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

01 APRIL 2024: Daily Mail: "Princess of Wales was FORCED to reveal her cancer diagnosis after news threatened to leak: Sources reveal Kensington Palace was contacted about Kate's illness and needed to get ahead of the story… so who revealed her secrets?"

02 APRIL 2024: Natasha Anderson & Emily Jane Davies's story about Kate being "FORCED to reveal her cancer diagnosis" is deleted from the Daily Mail website.

[mytastessuck]

The Residents: Commercial Album

Objectively one of the greatest works of art on the planet, The Commercial Album's development is almost as interesting as the music itself. The whole thing is another dig at Top 40 radio but with a twist: Every song is around one minute as a commercial jingle. As a stunt, the band purchased 40 minutes worth of advertising space on San Francisco's most popular radio station at the time, KFRC, to play the album's songs over and over again for three days. Art or advertising? Who cares when these lucky bastards got to listen to Margaret Freeman on their morning commute?!

Easter Woman

Yes, the perfect ad for a grieving service for your dead spouses! Excellent and ominous!

9/10

2. Perfect Love

Steady thumping beats about whatever you choose to be affectionate with. Perfect for a cock ring commercial.

7/10

3. Picnic Boy

Perfect for an anti-fat shaming PSA...or a chain of restaurants called Picnic Boy.

9/10

4. End Of Home

Eerie and sounds like an approaching intruder...perfect for a security alarm system!

8/10

5. Amber

Got a good western theme to it. Perfect for a cowboy-themed diaper commercial!

8/10

6. Japanese Watercolor

Vaguely far eastern. Perfect to advertise an art gallery!

8/10

7. Secrets

An almost childish melody to accentuate the anxiety of keeping a personal matter (interesting if you know Hardy Fox was gay). Perfect for an antivirus ad!

10/10

8. Die In Terror

Literally horrifying. Perfect tune to advertise any horror movie with. Even Hobgoblins.

10/10

9. Red Rider

Another western themed one. This is perfect to advertise a dude ranch with!

8/10

10. My Second Wife

A bouncy tune that's perfect for any spouse to enjoy! Perfect for advertising a divorce office.

7/10

11. Floyd

Probably the most Residents song on the album with heavy synth and poppiness used to drown out the odd lyrics. Perfect for advertising Taco Bell!

8/10

12. Suburban Bathers

A nice creepy tune about watching others...probably. Perfect for advertising real estate.

9/10

13. Dimples And Toes

A tune that calls to mind horses galloping. Perfect for the defunct chain store Toys R Us!

7/10

14. The Nameless Souls

A nice jingle that feels more like gossip than a song. Perfect for advertising a dating service!

8/10

15. Love Leaks Out

The group gets factory sex on us with machines imitated through their instruments. Perfect for advertising Pep Boys!

8/10

16. The Act Of Being Polite

Absolutely a path through madness. Perfect for advertising therapy services.

10/10

17. Medicine Man

Pounding basses (think that's what they are) accentuate a harmful jingle. Perfect for advertising hospitals!

8/10

18. Tragic Bells

Sounds like a dirge played after a wedding. Perfect for advertising funeral homes!

8/10

19. Loss Of Innocence

The reverb really helps the vocals on this one. Perfect for advertising the phone book!

9/10

20. The Simple Song

A song simple enough that kids can sing it to you while you try to sleep! Perfect for advertising Lionel's Coin Bank!

7/10

21. Up And Downs

Alternating pitches in the vocals really helps the sell the song's titles. Perfect for advertising Chutes And Ladders!

8/10

22. Possessions

A steady tune that never stops picking up throughout the song. Perfect to advertise Dasani to!

7/10

23. Give It To Someone Else

Fretful and anxious, definitely the song you want to pass to another ear like a hot potato. Perfect for advertising condoms!

9/10

24. Phantom

Creeping and threatening, like it was composed by Erik himself. Perfect for advertising Broadway!

7/10

25. Less Not More

Bubbly and fun. Perfect for advertising champagne!

8/10

26. My Work Is So Behind

A bunch of sudden stings make the horror in this song apparent. Perfect for advertising Staples!

9/10

27. Birds In The Trees

Is that a sitar? Sounds like it. Anyway, this is perfect for advertising a botanical garden!

9/10

28. Handful Of Desire

Plinky and sounds like something mice would compose in the church. Perfect for advertising Victoria's Secret!

8/10

29. Moisture

Nice and slippery, as befitting the title. Perfect for advertising Ikea.

9/10

30. Love Is...

You need the drums to have the ladies sing. You just do. This is perfect for advertising a bridal gown shop.

7/10

31. Troubled Man

A surprisingly stringent theme for a troubled song. Perfect for advertising adoption services!

8/10

32. La La

Still hearing a bit of the Western in this one. Did I mention I just left a farm? Anyway, this is perfect for advertising Woody's solo film.

7/10

33. Loneliness

Don't let the loudness fool you. This song encapsulates the melancholy perfectly. Perfect for advertising League Of Legends!

10/10

34. Nice Old Man

Creeping and jarring, like every old man! Perfect for advertising retirement homes!

8/10

35. The Talk Of Creatures

Mumbling of creatures inside you...the obvious advertisement choice for a vet!

9/10

36. Fingertips

Such gallantry that you expect from knighthood. Perfect for advertising Renaissance Faires!

7/10

37. And Between Dreams

Definitely what you hear before you go to sleep. Perfect for advertising a mattress store!

7/10

38. Margaret Freeman

My favorite song from the album so expect no bias when I say it's Andy Patridge's (Sally Sandwich's) best work and should be preserved for future generations to discover. Perfect for advertising Bailey's Ice Cream.

100/10

39. The Coming Of The Crow

Practically getting into metal at this point. Perfect for advertising a Ford truck.

10/10

40. When We Were Young

A perfect way to send you off...and perfect for advertising Power 99 FM.

8/10

Album score: 105/100

Next album is Mark Of The Mole. Hopefully the band will make it through it.

[lizzie-is-here]

like the dawn

part xix- the endgame

“just because you are soft doesn’t mean you are not a force. honey and wildfire are both the color gold.” - victoria erickson

summary: you’re in the endgame now, and you’re making it out alive. even if you have to take on an army.

wordcount: 4.2k

warnings: violence, cussing, angst, endgame events, um idk what else

taglist: @whelvedfeelingsstuff @sebsgirl71479 @rebloggingmyrecs @babyblublossom @local-mr-frog @thenyxsky @capsiclesdoll @moonlightreader649 @saranghaey @almosttoopizza @itsprashimusic @yourfavunsub

a/n: one more part left! i’ve really enjoyed writing this series and i’m very sad to see it end, but i’m excited to see what’s next. hope you all enjoy, and i love u so much 🫶

previous part | series masterlist | next part

When everyone arrives back on the platform and safely in 2023, you’re more than excited.

You haven’t been so close to your boys in five years. But now there’s a glowing cube in your hand that you haven’t seen since the 40s and everyone’s here-

“Where’s Natasha?” you ask, watching Clint fall to his knees.

He says nothing, staring into the ground.

And that’s answer enough.

———————————————————————

The funeral is the next day. Just you, Tony, Thor, Bruce, and Clint.

Tony is just more determined to bring everyone back. Thor’s convinced you can bring her back. Bruce is… angry in a way that’s more human than Hulk.

Barton is heartbroken.

The grief rolls away from him in waves, and it’s impossible to ignore.

After the service at the compound lake, you head back to your old room, sitting down and staring at the blank walls.

A knock comes from the door.

The archer himself, still in the outfit from the funeral and tear stains still streaking down his face.

He sits next to you, looking around the room. The bed that’s larger than needed, the three pillows. The way you keep glancing at the walls for pictures that don’t hang there anymore.

Or maybe you’re looking around for people. For ghosts.

“How do you do it?” he asks. Live with the ghosts, he means.

“You’ve been doing it, too.”

Clint knows you’re right. He lost his entire family, and now his best friend. But he had Nat for those five years, and even then he went berserk.

He killed with no morals, just crude vigilantism for five long years. All over the world, he left dead bodies and power vacuums waiting to be filled by the next person corrupt enough to take on the role. He was a plague, sweeping through gangs and mobs and cutting them off at the knees with bloody tactics better left in foggy memory.

You hid in a cabin in Romania and adopted chickens.

And you were completely alone.

You shrug, mouth opening and closing a few times as you struggle for the words.

Swallowing, you take a deep breath. “I don’t. The pain hasn’t gone away.” He nods. “I think of them every second, every day. Even if I don’t want to admit it.”

“Do you know I dream of them?”

Clint pauses. “What do you mean?”

“Of our life before the war. Sometimes it’s memories, sometimes it’s all made up.” You chuckle a bit. “I dreamt that we were back- back then, one time. And I woke up convinced I was back in that little apartment.”

He can’t relate. Clint wishes he could have dreamt of his family, but he never saw them other than in pictures.

“I think those dreams were worse than the nightmares,” you finally say.

The hole Natasha Romanoff is leaving proves to be bigger than can ever be filled. For now, it feels bottomless. But one day, the hole won’t be so deep. Until then, you have to keep your head above water, even if you’re barely treading.

The two of you sit in silence, waiting for something that doesn’t come.

———————————————————————

“All right, the glove’s ready.”

Tony and Rocket carefully lift the new gauntlet. It’s Stark tech, hot-rod red as usual.

“Question is, who’s gonna snap their freakin’ fingers?” the raccoon asks. You go to speak, but Thor beats you to it.

“I’ll do it,” he says, hands shaking. In one hand, he’s clinging to Mjolnir, retrieved from the past. You’ve never touched the weapon. Ever since you learned how the hammer works, you’ve avoided it. You don’t need Asgardian magic to remind you of your crimes.

Despite Thor’s gumption, it’s clear to everyone that he’s in no state to even be awake, much less wielding the most powerful things in the universe.

“It’s okay.”

He hurries towards the glove, but you and Tony stop him before he can snatch it up.

“Thor, just wait,” you say. “We haven’t decided who’s gonna put the glove on yet.” The god laughs.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What, we’re all just sitting around and waiting for the right opportunity?”

“We should at least discuss it,” Scott agrees. Thor doesn’t relent, growing desperate as he rambles.

“I’m the strongest Avenger, okay?” he says. “So, this responsibility falls upon me. It’s my duty.”

When Tony steps in to talk him down, you turn your gaze back to the gauntlet. Just like in Wakanda, power flows off of it in waves. Without a wielder, however, its power is more of an ambient thrum than an overwhelming force.

If anyone else snaps, they’d be left with permanent damage. It could kill someone. Another friend, gone. Just like that.

The gauntlet is in your hands faster than you can blink.

“(Y/N)?” Tony’s voice is muffled.

You know that your healing would save you from any injuries.

You could bring everyone back.

Your boys.

“What are you talking about?” Scott asks. You didn’t even realize you were talking out loud.

Tony carefully grabs the gauntlet. “(Y/N), put the glove down.”

And you snap out of it, letting him take the stones away. Your fingertips pulse with power.

“I would survive,” you mutter. “I’d heal faster than I’d die.”

“Healing isn’t gonna do much for you,” Bruce says before nodding to Thor. “And neither will lightning. It’s gotta be me.”

“You saw what those stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him,” he continues. “The radiation coming off the stones is mostly gamma, though. It’s like… I was made for this.”

Everyone glances at each other. He makes a good point. Finally, Tony sighs and relents.

With everyone in place, Bruce picks up the gauntlet.

“Good to go, yeah?” Tony asks. When Bruce nods, the genius finalizes the plan. “Remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago, you’re just bringing them back to now, today. Don’t change anything from the last five years.”

“Got it.”

The room begins to go on lockdown, and you summon a shield of light in one hand, while readying your healing with the other.

“Everyone comes home.”

The glove expands to fit Bruce’s hand, and as soon as it’s locked on, that endless power returns. The doctor screams in pain, falling to one knee as his skin starts singeing under the heat.

“Take it off! Take it off!” Thor shouts, but you hold a hand out.

“Bruce, are you okay?” you ask. Eventually, he nods, lifting his hand.

And he snaps.

…then immediately collapses on the floor.

You start healing his arm as soon as possible, struggling to contain the damage. There are so many burnt nerves, so many blisters.

It takes a few minutes, and even then he’s still passed out.

You stand up as the team hovers around him, watching the doors open again. Your heart feels lighter.

Clint’s phone starts ringing, and everything starts to feel right again. From the windows, Scott pipes up.

“Guys… I think it worked.”

You smile, before the hairs on your neck rise.

A quick glance up is all you need to spot Thanos’s ship, giant and covering the compound.

You barely manage to throw a shield over yourself when the missile hits. When the rubble stops, you’re the only one atop the ruined building.

Flinging a hand to your earpiece, you take a shaky gasp. “Guys? Anyone, please. Are you all okay?”

All you get in response is vague screaming, so you huff, shake out your hands, and get ready for the fight of your life.

From your hiding spot, you watch Nebula, definitely not your Nebula, head towards a returned Thanos. Whatever happened on her excursion to the past, it brought them here.

The Mad Titan sits, sword planted in the ground, and waits.

Rage boils under your skin as you watch him. He’s nonchalant, calm, and confident. Maybe he’s not the same Thanos, but he took the loves of your life. You want nothing more than to kill him again.

However, as far as your rage will carry you, you know you’ll need help.

You take your place on a hill, shortly followed by Tony and Thor.

“What’s he been doing?” the former asks.

Thor shakes his head. “Absolutely nothing.”

“And the stones?” you ask. Tony points to the ground.

“Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn’t have ‘em.”

When you suggest fighting him, the god of Thunder sighs again. “You know it’s a trap, right?”

“Yeah. I just don’t care all that much.”

“Good. As long as we’re all in agreement.”

Thunder crackles as the clouds begin to spiral and Thor reaches out each hand. With the lightning come Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, flying into his hands. He doesn’t even flinch as the electricity dances across his body.

“Let’s kill him properly this time.”

The three of you descend, slowly approaching Thanos.

“You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you?” He nods, smirking. “Back to me.”

“I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that that’s impossible. As long as there are those who remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

“We certainly will,” you say.

“I’m thankful. Because now I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then, with the stones you’ve collected for me… create a new one, teeming with life, that knows not of what it has lost but only what it has been given.” He grabs his sword. “A grateful universe.”

You shrug your bow into your hands. “Born out of blood.”

“They’ll never know it. Because you won’t be alive to tell them.”

You, Tony, and Thor all strike at once. Flashes of electricity, light, and repulsors flicker in time to clangs of metal.

Even if Thanos is huge, the three of you are nimble. You dart and weave around his blade, firing at weak spots as the other two sink everything into their strikes.

Thor charges up Tony, who attacks and in turn gives you an opening. But then Tony’s knocked out and tossed to the rubble. The god rushes in to help, but gets pinned and Thanos starts sinking Thor’s own axe into his chest.

You have to hold the line.

Tossing the bow to the side, you charge the titan. A flash of light in his eyes distracts him, and something pulls your hand.

An instinct? No, that’s not the right word. The action isn’t familiar, or a usual response.

It’s an intuition.

The unfamiliar tug extends your palm, and something comes flying to your outstretched hand. Closer, closer, until you don’t have to look over to know what lands in your grip.

Mjolnir.

The hammer crackles to life and you feel like you’ve just been injected with pure caffeine. It’s a high like no other. Absolutely euphoric.

In the reflection of the weapon, you can see your eyes glowing in gold and blue.

The rest of the universe falls away. It feels selfish to admit, but you don’t give a damn right now about what happens to the rest of the galaxies. You’re doing this for Earth. For your friends.

For Natasha. For Wanda, and Sam, and T’Challa. For Steven Grant Rogers and James Bucky Barnes.

You fly up, watching Thanos ready his sword. Your powers combined with Thor’s are too much to even contain, and residual energy starts escaping your hands and seeping into the hammer.

You bring down Mjolnir on Thanos with such force that it knocks his sword from his hands and drives him into the dirt.

With a twirl of the wrist, you strike him across the jaw, flipping away as he jumps up.

It’s a careful dance as you fight the man destined on destroying this entire universe. Not just you, not just the Avengers. Everyone. And you’re standing between him and his goal.

Gold light and light blue electricity dance around your body as you move, radiating from you like a deadly whirlwind.

With a flying blow that knocks him onto his back again, you set a foot on his chest.

“I killed you once. I dragged it out that time.” You shoot a pulse of electricity through your planted foot that you can feel shock his nerves. “That was before I had five years to think about it. Alone,” you snap.

“I won’t take so long this time.” When you flash a smirk, you think you can see a bit of fear in his eyes.

One hand flies down to Thanos’s forehead and you unleash the pent-up energy.

His head starts overheating and he screams, clawing at your hand. It doesn’t do much, seeing as every time his fingers touch you, lighting burns his hands. But then he manages to grab his sword and slam it against you, sending you flying back.

Your wings take the brunt of the landing, but you stand anyway. It’s not like you have any other option.

Now that Thanos has his sword again, you’re on even footing. Blows are parried and your hands are lightning-quick, literally and figuratively.

But you’re human beneath everything.

And you’re tiring.

He sneaks in a blow that cuts your arm and lays you out in the dirt yards away, Mjolnir flying from your hands as you cough.

You gasp for air as he slowly stalks toward you. Fighting to get up proves harder than ever.

So instead, you roll onto your side, healing the gushing wound.

“In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter… it was never personal.”

You lift your head to glare at the titan.

“But I’ll tell you now, what I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet? I’m gonna enjoy it very, very much.”

Behind him, an army descends from his ships. Thousands of soldiers.

Tony isn’t getting up. Neither is Thor. For all you know, the rest of the team is dead under your feet.

You rise, reaching your freshly-healed arm down to your side and feeling the familiar thrum of your powers.

You extend your wings to their full reach, casting a soft shadow behind you. For once, you appreciate their darkness.

The neverending enemy in front of you is an omen of death.

But so are you.

For once, the Angel of Death doesn’t seem like such a horrible title.

You only hope your boys will be okay when you’re gone.

With a long-suffering sigh, you slowly start your way towards the enemy line, when the silent comm in your ear crackles to life.

“I thought you knew better than to do anything stupid until we got back?”

When you whip your head back to where a soft glow is growing, that adrenaline rush is back all over again.

The first to emerge from the portal are T’Challa, Shuri, and Okoye. The king nods to you, and you can spot the full Wakandan army behind them.

Sam flies out as dozens more portals emerge, dotting the sky.

Dr. Strange, the family of Rocket. Peter’s with them, smiling as if he’d never died.

You watch in awe. Some of the people emerging from the rings, you don’t even recognize. But you’re all here for the same reason. You held the line.

And then you see them.

Up until that point, you’d stayed calm. You’re tired, bruised, and relieved beyond imagination.

But as soon as you make eye contact with Steve and Bucky you’re running towards them.

When you finally reach them, they catch you with open arms.

“Welcome back,” you whisper, clinging on and never intending on letting go. You pull away anyway.

“I’m sorry,” Steve asks. Bucky agrees, still holding your hand.

You laugh, tears spilling over. “What for? Your back!”

“We’re sorry you had to be alone,” Bucky presses. Nodding, you turn back to the army that you quite honestly forgot was there.

“All that matters now is that you’re here,” you conclude, reaching out a hand. That same tug, and Mjolnir returns just like before.

You gesture to Steve, who’s gaping at the weapon in your grasp.

“Go on. You do it better anyways.”

He nods, shouting over the noises of both sides.

“Avengers…”

“…assemble.”

Everyone surges forward at once, the two sides colliding in a mess of yelling and blasts. You spot Tony and Pepper in complimentary suits, destroying Thanos’s smaller ships.

Thor takes out waves of aliens with lightning strikes, and the Dora Milaje take down enemies with strategic precision.

You join the god, catching his ax when it comes towards you instead of the hammer.

He frowns. “No, no, give me that. You have the little one.” You oblige, swapping weapons and taking to the sky as lightning trails behind you.

A Leviathan veers in your direction, sharp teeth glinting as you speed up. You toss Mjolnir down its throat, conjuring lightning that explodes the whole creature from the inside.

You reach out for the hammer to return to your hand, but just as it reaches you, it flies away.

“Dammit, I was using that, Thor,” you mutter, watching it sail to his hand.

You summon an arrow, tossing it into the fray and manipulating it from the ground. It cuts through the air faster than energy blasts, and you send it straight through a larger ship that crashes to the ground.

“You need to keep up with this, it’s vintage.” You whirl around to see Steve holding up your bow. He smiles. “C’mon, I’m more of a shield guy, myself.”

You roll your eyes, smirking and taking it.

“We’re vintage, Stevie. Where is Buck, anyway?”

The blond points a bit away, where your other lover is furiously struggling to tie his hair up in a half-bun.

“Cap!” Clint shouts over comms. “What do you want me to do with this damn thing?” The glove.

You block an alien charging you two, holding it off as Steve responds.

“Get those stones as far away as possible!”

You fire a blast down its throat as Bruce yells from nearby.

“No! We need to get ‘em back where they came from,” he says.

You grunt, shoving more enemies back. “We can’t do that. Thanos destroyed the machine.”

“Hold on!” Scott towers above the battlefield, but shrinks down as soon as he talks. “That wasn’t our only time machine.”

A distant melody plays.

You press your earpiece. “Anyone see an ugly brown van out here?”

An unfamiliar voice responds. “Yes, but you’re not gonna like where it’s parked!”

Scott and Tony start talking, hashing out a plan to reactivate the tunnel. Meanwhile, you hurry towards Bucky.

He ducks long enough for you to shoot an arrow at a hoverbike flying at you both.

“You’re bleeding,” you scold. He willingly offers up his flesh arm, letting you mend the skin with ease.

“You look the same,” he whispers. You glance up in confusion. “Everyone else looks older. Stark. Barton.”

In the midst of the battlefield, he kisses your forehead.

“You haven’t changed one bit.”

You shrug. “Well, at least that serum’s worth something.”

Across the field, you see a red glow. Thanos rises in the air by Wanda’s magic, and he starts screaming in pain almost immediately.

He shouts out, and you can see the main ship above readying its guns.

“Steve!” you yell, beckoning the blond over. You throw up a shield just as fire rains down on both sides, explosions racking the ground.

Suddenly, the guns turn to the sky.

A beam of lights shoots through the main ship, exploding the inside.

A saving grace.

“Danvers,” you pant into the comm. “Welcome back.”

“Good to be back, Agent.”

Steve and Bucky both raise an eyebrow.

“‘Agent’?” the former teases. You push him, running to where Carol landed.

You gently help Peter to his feet as he passes the gauntlet off to the veteran, healing his scratches.

“I don’t know how you’re gonna get through all of that.” He winces as you heal his nose.

“Don’t worry,” Wanda says as she lands beside him. On a winged horse, a woman descends as well.

“She’s got help,” Okoye finishes. Along comes Pepper, Hope, and Shuri. You grin and turn back to the teen.

“Stay safe, okay? You’ve done a great job, now let us finish this up,” you tell him as he nods. “Steve and Buck are over there, keep an eye on them for me?”

He dutifully runs off and you tap your earpiece to speak just to your boys.

“I sent Peter over to you two. Keep an eye on him, please.”

They respond in the affirmative, and you return your focus on the task at hand.

As the group charges forward at the titan, you all attack at once. You and Wanda sling twin blasts, gold and scarlet colliding against the enemy line before Gamora and Okoye go in with a sword and spear.

The valkyrie slices down the side of a leviathan as Carol blasts through the explosions. She collided with Thanos, and the resulting explosion rocks the ground.

The gauntlet is on the ground. Tony and Thanos both run for it, and when the genius is tossed to the side, Thor takes his place. Even the god is shrugged off.

Steve and Bucky are beside you in an instant. The shield, the gun, the bow.

Just like before.

You don’t have to speak to move in tandem.

Steve tosses the shield and you blast it forward. Bucky throws a knife that you retrieve. Steve distracts Thanos long enough for Bucky to kick the gauntlet further away.

It’s a triad of blows, and you manage to fight the titan to a standstill for a while.

But the moment you slip up, he takes the advantage again. Bucky is tossed at least 20 feet, and Steve is punted into the ground and punched in the face.

With a swing of the arm, you push the titan back before shooting out a hand.

Alien anatomy may be strange, but it’s not hard to locate a knee.

You focus your powers on the bone, and you pull.

The bone pops out of the socket with a sickening pop, and Thanos screams. Before you can give the other knee the same treatment, he grabs one of your wings and throws you.

You shout out as you hit the ground, rolling to a stop a few feet away. Cussing and groaning under your breath, you try to blink away the tears.

As you lay on the ground, you fire random bursts of light in hope to keep the gauntlet away from Thanos.

Tony takes over when you can’t anymore. You watch the man, more human than any of the rest of you, wrestle with the titan. He gets flung away, but you see him cradling something in his hands.

Thanos raises his arm, but you can see the back of his hand. The stones are missing.

“I am inevitable,” he hisses.

When he snaps, all that comes is an empty clang.

Tony sits up, and the Infinity Stones take their places on his hand in a gauntlet of his own.

“And I…” he pauses to gasp for breath. “…Am Iron Man.”

All around you, Thanos’s army starts dissolving to dust, just as half of the universe did five years ago. The titan sits down, but your focus is on the billionaire.

He stumbles towards you and you guide him to a nearby rock. Tony sits down, or rather, collapses on the ground as you kneel beside him.

You’re tired, but you push through the fatigue.

“What’re you doing, kid?” he whispers. If not for your enhanced hearing, you wouldn’t have been able to make out the words.

“You saved me.” You wince as your wing, still broken, twinges. “So I’m saving you.”

The damage on his right arm is too much. You can heal the worst of the injuries, but the damage in the arm is too great to save. And he’s too human.

The burns on his face are healing, and his pulse is weak, but you’re confident that it’s not stopping any time soon.

“Tony? Oh, thank fuck.” Rhodey, Pepper, and Peter come running as you step away, stumbling slightly.

You turn around to meet the gaze of Steve and Bucky. It’s a sigh of relief every time you see them. They both pull you into a hug, pausing when you wince.

“Are you hurt?” the former asks.

You nod, head resting against this chest. “Big purple bitch broke my wing.” It's fully healed by now, but the soreness will last.

The brunet chuckles, carefully running a hand up and down your back.

“You poor thing,” he chides.

You shrug. “I’ll be alright. Plus, I’m going to be using it to get breakfast in bed for at least two weeks.”

“You were alone for so long,” Steve says, tone growing serious before he laughs. “I think breakfast in bed is guaranteed for the next two months.”

You both slyly glance at Bucky, who’s still fussing over your non-injured wing.

“I’ll make as many pancakes as you two want,” he says.

Thor and Rhodey help Tony limp to a jet, and the rest of the massive army disperses in kind. Peter waves to you three from the quinjet.

“Come on! We’re gonna head to the tower.”

You and your boys link pinkies, and head towards the jet.

Hand in hand, heading home.

[engineer-gunzelpunk]

Locomotive Rights In Australia (Victoria): Part 2

To celebrate Traintober generally, I am gonna add part two to my Locomotive Rights article that I posted last year, inspired by @joezworld's Locomotive Rights series.

Part One is here.

***

A Funereal Digression

Perversion of An Old Rite

VR S301 Sir Thomas Mitchell being broken up at Newport, Oct 1953

In the days before the Twilight, every engine on the Victorian Railways system knew that in the end at some point, they would be scrapped. It would be extremely fortunate if a loco was kept for preservation, or if they were sold to a private industrial railway for other purposes. They all knew the end would come at the end of a cutting torch should they get too old, too broken or out of date. Barring a few exceptions, very very few of the pre-Clapp old guard survived past the Twilight; the formidable Lady Sovereign Hill Y112, the very oldest of the preserved VR locos, Flicka F172, the venerable Spirit of Ballarat D3 639, among others.

The rite of Final Firing seems to have been a universal custom, in which the loco was put to rest as painlessly as possible, either through the removal and destruction of the smokebox door prior to cutting or more usually, the administration of a substance called Aqua Negra.

A popular locomotive custom appendaged to the Final Firing was the Last Service. When the engine was finally put to rest, the driver of the loco would announce to the others the engine’s passing and they would acknowledge for a few minutes such a passing…, with an explicit utterance that their parts would provide repair to their friends or make up the parts for the next generation of locos to come.

Though they may have been beasts of burden, it behooved the enginemen to at least put their iron-hided friends out with at least a bit of quiet dignity. If they couldn’t be saved, at least an acknowledgement that they lived and worked and that their parts could be Useful, providing some kind of connection or lineage.

All of this was forgotten in the Twilight.

In the frantic urge to end the Steam Age, no rites were administered. Locomotives were instead withdrawn and placed on the scraproads at locomotive depots... or in sidings to rust before they were cut to pieces. The railway administration saw no need to follow the old custom for mere machinery, a cruelty reckoned on by their general belief the engines were just things…

At Newport, dozens and dozens of engines would lie waiting for scrapping in plain view of the locomotives still in service, in front of the West and East Block sheds. This was meant to serve as a humiliation and a warning to the steam engines of their inevitable fate. When their time was at hand, some were taken to the now ironically named Erecting Shops to be cut to pieces bit by bit… or were broken up where they stood.

Heavy Harry sat on the scraplines in front of the old sawmill from 1958 to 1961 while being unofficially idle on those same scraplines for two years previous after his last freight run in 1956. This terrible experience stripped away all of his naivety regarding human caprice and rendered him bitter.

Other engines were left to rust in depots all over Victoria, some engines merely being purchased a decade to 15 years earlier in the case of the Scottish Rs, the Lancastrian Js and the most recent batch of N classes imported from Scotland.

A particularly gut wrenching report from the scrapyard  recounts the fate of two X-classes, X29 “Boofhead” and X36 “Greyhound”. Coupled together on the scrapline, Boofhead was slowly cut to pieces over a period of months in front of his sister, Greyhound. She was saved at the 11th hour by engineman, Gerald.A Dee, for whom she is now named; but she has been left substantially traumatised… which counted for her militancy in the “scrapbreaker” guerrilla war waged by Harry and his group of humans and humanoid locos during the late 60s and 70s.

But the case that shocked engines and humans the most was the unceremonial scrapping of the S-class Pacifics.

As soon as the B- and S- class diesels had arrived on the scene, the four S-class “Blues” knew that the end of their careers was coming, as did the preservationists. What they didn’t bank on was the locos being snatched away and scrapped before they were even given a chance to be saved. S301 Sir Thomas Mitchell had been scrapped in late 1953, but that was accepted grudgingly as he had been particularly worn out, his parts distributed to his brothers as was the custom. (Allegedly, tears had been shed by the scrappers as they worked to cut the loco up).

The real shock set in when the rest of them were scrapped in short succession without ceremony and more outrageously, without any attempt to set them aside for preservation, seemingly out of spite on the part of the VR; the last one to be scrapped was the eldest of the four, S300 Matthew Flinders in late 1954. 

The lack of the Last Service for them and the presence of a mysterious hill on the grounds of Newport Workshops fuelled an erroneous belief among the locomotives and some humans that one of them was buried in that hill, and that the engine’s body could be retrieved.

Among the locos, a common belief sprung up that this engine, if he was retrieved and fired, could bring back the glory of steam and drive away the baleful new diesels that were tramping about the place, like some kind of steam-powered King Arthur returning from death. Their un-repainted tendertanks being used for weed spraying added fuel to this belief. This belief was brutally crushed when the scrappings ramped up without this engine King Arthur returning, and the preservationists could not find this phantom loco beneath “Mount Newport”.

When it finally sunk in that they would never return, the steam engines were sunk in grief and terror. Bigger changes were coming, and they were shrouded under the deceptively optimistic name of “Operation Phoenix”. The scrapping-murder of the S-classes were the one of the first salvos in what was eventually known as the Lokodammerung or the Twilight of The Locomotives.

It also sowed the seeds for future preservation and resistance.

[beardedmrbean]

The brother responsible for killing his three siblings and a niece before turning the gun on himself may "panicked" over the family's plan to sell the Long Island home he had lived in his entire life, police said a day after all five family members were found shot to death.

Police spent 10 hours Sunday combing the quiet Syosset cul-de-sac where Joseph DeLucia Jr., is believed to have killed the four victims in the rear of the home before stepping out into the front lawn and shooting himself in the chest, Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick explained Monday.

The victims were identified as Joanne Kearns, 69, of Tampa, Florida; Frank DeLucia, 64, of Durham, North Carolina; Tina Hammond, 64, of East Patchogue, New York; and her daughter, Victoria Hammond, 30, also of East Patchogue.

The family home on Wyoming Court was one of the most "horrific" scenes ever seen by Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, who spent a press briefing Monday pleading with the public to come forward when concerned about someone's mental well-being.

Neighbors, he explained, shared accounts after Sunday's murder-suicide of the man allegedly warning of a shooting. The commissioner said DeLucia had told neighbors, "If you hear gunshots, don't bother calling 911 it'll be too late." Ryder stressed that police had not yet been able to verify those accounts.

A neighbor called 911 around 12 p.m. after the 59-year-old had already fired the lethal rounds in what police believe was a perceived dispute over the home. DeLucia had lived in the home his entire life and did not wish to leave.

"The perception of Joseph Jr. is that he was being cut out of the will," said Fitzpatrick, who also confirmed the man had "past mental issues."

According to police, there was a documented welfare check on the address back in 2022, but the man "was not displaying any signs of anything that we would take action." He also had a prior arrest in 1983 for impaired driving.

Neighbors and police have confirmed that one week ago, the siblings' mother, 95-year-old Theresa DeLucia, had passed away. Several of her children had flown in from out of state to attend services and attend to her will.

Police officials said the siblings had gathered Sunday at the home to meet with a realtor to discuss plans to sell the property. They believe DeLucia Jr., upset about the idea of moving, was driven to fatal measures. According to Ryder, surviving family members assured police that the man was not being cut out of the will, but he was going to be moved out of the home and relocated.

A 12-gauge pump action shotgun was recovered at the residence, police said. The firearm was legally purchased by the gunman, they explained.

Wendy Paisner lives across the street and saw the woman's children at the house the past few days, including one that traveled in from North Carolina.

"I just saw that they pulled in and they were there to be there for the mother's funeral, and then to pay respects and then to sell the house," she told News 4.

Paisner said DeLucia lived at the home with one of her adult sons who had mental health issues.

"I think the mother looked after him," she said. "He really needed support, emotional support."

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

anon: if Harry were to die of suicide due to mental health issues, do you think he’ll get a state funeral? Or if not a state funeral, one on the same scale as Diana’s?

State funerals tend to be reserved for monarchs and figures of national importance such as Prime Ministers; the last PM and non-royal to rate a state funeral was Churchill in 1965.

Diana received a ceremonial funeral as a future monarch’s spouse because of the tragic circumstances as well as public sentiment whipped up by Tony Blair; Prince Philip and the Queen Mother, as monarch’s spouses, each had a ceremonial funeral. Princess Margaret as a monarch's sibling had a private rather than ceremonial funeral. And in the previous generation, the only sibling of King George VI to have a ceremonial funeral was his brother the Duke of Gloucester who served in WWII and then was Governor General of Australia. Their younger brother, the Duke of Kent who died in an air crash in WWII, had a private funeral as did all the other siblings (including the Duke of Windsor).

The only royal family ceremonial funerals since 1900 have been for: Duke of Teck, who was King George V’s father-in-law (1900), Duke of Cambridge (1904), The Marquess of Milford Haven (1921), Queen Alexandra (1925), Queen Mary (1953), Duke of Gloucester (1974), Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1979), Diana (1997), Queen Mother (2002), Richard III (2015), Prince Philip (2021). Of that list, those who weren’t a monarch or a monarch’s spouse had distinguished military careers.

This document from the House of Commons is helpful,

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06600/SN06600.pdf

Some points from the document,

:: “State funerals are relatively rare, and are sometimes mixed in the popular imagination with other funerals of senior royal figures, which are held in public with ceremonial features but do not constitute state funerals in a formal sense. Typically, in either type of funeral, there is a military procession carrying the coffin to Westminster Hall, a period of lying in state, and a service at Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral.”

:: “A state funeral is defined by the Royal Encyclopedia as “generally limited to Sovereigns, but may, by order of the reigning monarch and by a vote of Parliament providing the fund, be extended to exceptionally distinguished persons.” Examples of people other than monarchs who have been given a state funeral include Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Palmerston and Sir Winston Churchill. A state funeral is commonly held to differ from a ceremonial funeral in two respects: a parliamentary motion authorises it, and the gun carriage bearing the coffin to the lying in state has, since the funeral of Queen Victoria, been drawn by Royal Navy sailors rather than by horses.”

:: “A ceremonial royal funeral is “for those members of the Royal Family who hold high military rank, for the consort of the Sovereign and heir to the throne”. The Queen Mother was given a ceremonial royal funeral, and Princess Diana’s funeral was also a ceremonial rather than state funeral.

Thank you so much!

[dannymillerfansite]

Emmerdale 07.08.24 Part 1

Aaron is with Paddy and Victoria in the café, Vic has decided to take Aaron's advice and is preparing to try and force Jai to give her job back using blackmail, Aaron wishes her luck and asks to be told how it goes as he heads out.

As Aaron is on his way out, his mate Mackenzie asks if he fancies knocking off work early and to go for a pint but Aaron tells him he can't he has 'a thing', Mackenzie asks if the 'thing' has a name, as they exchange their usual brand of flirty banter.

As Eric Pollard has brought his car in hoping for a quick service before tomorrow as he has a funeral to go to, Aaron arrives hoping to borrow a car, he's lost his car keys somewhere and he has a hookup to get to! Under pressure Mackenzie reluctantly lends him Eric's car.

[the-romantic-lady]

My thoughts on the Coronation Dress Code

Alright so I am just chiming in all the drama about the flower crown. A journalist on CTV said that they expect more information this week including the dress code.

1- Don’t blame Catherine

On their anniversary yesterday, I rewatched William and Catherine’s wedding and it is traditional and almost historical in how it was executed. The vows, the dresses, the service, etc. The woman who made the cake talked about how involved Catherine was and her interest in history and art history in the iconography of the cake. Also take a look at Catherine’s bday photos:

They are literally the old world of royal photographs. She has always been a traditionalist in her approach. I 100% believe that William and Catherine’s coronation will be far more traditional and better than Charles and Camilla. Because William is the more “modern monarchy” type of guy but I think he doesn't care enough to involve himself in the coronation. I think like Philip, Catherine will organize it and take care of the history and aesthetics. 

2- Charles is cringe

If this flower thing goes through then it is a Charles aesthetic. Someone on Twitter analyzed the Carolean aesthetic and flowers and plants is his main thing.  Like that screen instead of the gorgeous canopy. The dress code is part of the plan of Charles to make his coronation look cheap honestly. And I wouldn't put it past him to make sure that all eyes are on Camilla. I got hate for saying this but Camilla truly is dull. This coronation is all Charles and she got nothing. Catherine will not be like that for her coronation. I don't blame the Earl Marshal because these days there is hardly any respect for these positions. I bet he has to say yes to what Charles says and there is no other option. The funerals organized by him were well done because the Queen and Prince Philip had laid out the plans and they had a good sense unlike their son. 

3- Hope

I still think there is some hope for the dress. These are the ladies in waiting at Queen Victoria’s coronation: 

Catherine might go for a similar aesthetic. A small tiara (the halo one) and then flowers in the hair. Interestingly, robes are not worn by everyone either. I wonder if Queen Victoria’s coronation might be the inspiration. 

@helenaaurellia​ Can you provide more analysis regarding Victoria’s coronation and Charles’? 

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Death and Funerals

"Although many Catholics were willing to leave the church for the sake of fraternal bonds, their efforts to combine the two pointed to the importance of their faith and a very real fear of dying without priestly absolution. In the mines and other workplaces, sudden death was an ever-present danger. Even nominally Protestant men who absented themselves from church except for an occasional fraternal parade sought its rituals when they died. Most wanted a minister to officiate at their funerals. Bishop Hills of Victoria grumbled in his diary about the frequency with which he was asked to officiate at the burials of people of “doubtful morals” who had never attended church. In February 1890, he recorded that

today was the funeral at the Cathedral of a Mr. Roller, a German keeper of a Theatre of not good reputation. It is difficult to refuse these applications for Burial Rites over those who not only have never belonged to us but are of a disreputable character. There was a large attendance of a class of persons who are never seen in a place of worship.

Reverend Grice-Hutchinson was also asked to bury men who had never attended his services. The Slavic Catholic layman who asked Bishop Dontenwill to send a Slavic priest to Fernie remarked that less than a third of his compatriots normally attended church but that at funerals you may “see church crowded with Slavonians up to door.” In 1895, the Anglican bishop of New Westminster was asked to bury a miner near New Denver and recorded that his workmates

seemed grateful out of all proportion to the service I had done, but I understood it. However reckless their lives, they hate the idea of being buried ‘like a dog.’

A small minority, generally the most committed atheists, left directions that no “sky pilots,” a slang term for ministers, were to officiate at their funerals. Other non-Christians were equally clear, such as the ex-mayor of Victoria, a spiritualist, who instructed that “no other Service should be said over his body but the form used by the Odd Fellows.” Most people who barred ministers from their funerals had no desire to be buried “like a dog.” Some were interred with due ceremony by the local fraternal order to which they belonged, and some received the “obsequies” delivered by a miners’ union, which was involved in many Kootenay funerals. However, even these funerals often had one or more local clergymen officiating. An examination of three Kootenay newspapers reveals that a minister presided at most funerals in these communities. In some cases, this may have reflected the wishes of the more pious spouses, mothers, or other relatives of the deceased, but given the large number of BC men whose families lived elsewhere, it seems likely that, except for committed atheists, they tacitly accepted the value and legitimacy of having a minister preside at their funeral. Particularly in the Kootenays, most of these men would not have been church members, and many probably never went to church. John Houston is a quintessential example: though he spent his career criticizing Christianity and meddling moralistic churchmen, he was buried by a Presbyterian minister. Clearly, churchgoing was not part of their sense of manhood. Churchgoers could be everything that manly men were not: feminine; craven hypocrites who supported oppressive employers; effete easterners who attacked working men’s right to their few enjoyments and who worried more about saving the souls of Asian immigrants than about preventing them from stealing the jobs of white workers. However, it seems that for most, some basic elements of Christianity itself were not antithetical to their sense of masculinity. Christian hymns could provide an emotional link to faraway families, and practical Christianity could serve as the moral basis for relationships in homosocial culture. And for the majority, receiving a proper Christian burial was integral to a sense of decent manhood, or indeed of their very humanity. The fact that the funeral could end with a “drunken orgy,” as more than one appalled minister testified, made perfect sense among working-class men in British Columbia."

- Lynne Marks, Infidels and the Damn Churches: Irreligion and Religion in Settler British Columbia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2017. p. 96-98.

Image is taken from the book, captioned: Funeral at Atlin, 1899, probably held near a mining or logging camp. Note the absence of women | BC Archives, D-01507