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achliegh · 3 years

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Golden

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THANK :)

Yeehaw Leo… it's all because this song came on one day (I don’t even really listen to country anymore so it really is fate). Leo is based off that song, each chapter is going to be based off a yeehaw song too.

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Beta: @the-most-slyterin-hufflepuff & @punkkkboi

TW/CW: Smut, terrible yeehaw sayings and jokes, injuries, mentions of past death/suicide, minor character death, underage drinking, mentions of past arrests, cringe

Chapter Songs (listening in order is recommended):

Chapter 13:

Anchors Away

Clay was bored, wandering around the mall with nothing to do. Thomas was at practice, Noelle was at work at the aquarium. He was alone again and he really didn’t like it. Leo was busy cleaning the apartment for his mom who is showing up later tonight and Reg was hanging out at the rink.

Clay thought about going to the rink but everytime he goes for longer than 20 minutes he gets a head cold. He was walking past a recently closed store and heard faint music coming from inside. He walked in and noticed a small table set up with two men who were jokingly singing along to the song.

Clay took note of all the posters around the small store.

‘Feeling like you need a purpose in life?’ Yeah, he does. Everyone around him is doing actual things with their lives. Reg has started going to art school for errotic photography and portraits. Leo has been selling horses over video calls with rich clients and helping his mother set up times for the clients to go down and visit the horses at the ranch. Obviously, the hockey boys are playing hockey. Noelle is a year away from graduating and was recently promoted, and Clay just kind of existed…

Leo jokingly called him a houseboy when he mentioned how he just stays at home and cleans, now that's all he is ever called by Leo and Reg and it really makes Clay feel worthless. He knows they don’t mean anything by it but…. It still stings.

He moves on to the next poster. “Want financial benefits, healthcare, and more?”

That would be nice, to make his own money for once instead of his parents randomly filling his account with too much money. Something he knows he shouldn’t complain about but he wants to make a name for himself.

‘Join the U.S Navy.’ He paused, he doesn’t know a lot about his birth family, but he does know they were in the military. He has no clue which branch and he knows if he asked his parents they would help him in a heartbeat. But maybe this was a way to find out on his own.

He left the mall feeling lighter, a pep in his step.

He just enlisted in the navy. He was going to make something of himself and maybe even feel like he isn’t just watching his friends and partners pass him by.

Then it hit him, the one thing Leo and him promised each other they would never do is join the military. Because they both know how it fucks people up. Leo lost his uncle, and Clay’s dad lost his own father to PTSD from not having proper care after. Maybe he just screwed up…. But there was no going back now. He wouldn’t.

Walking in the house, Noelle was looking beautiful. She was wearing a pair of sweats rolled up twice at the waist and one of Clay’s old ratty t-shirts. Her curly hair was in her normal ponytail and she was putting on her sneakers. She looked tired from work.

Earlier in the week when Clay and Leo announced Eloise was coming to visit for a few days Noelle started stressing immediately. She has always worried about meeting parents because they always seem to dislike her when they first lay eyes on her, she blames it on her chronic RBF. Clay reassured her that Eloise would love her and actually already loves her from all the stories Clay has told her on her weekly calls.

Eloise was coming tonight, fuck! It was his birthday today and he forgot to mention it! Oops...

Thomas was sitting next to her, freshly showered in his own sweats and t-shirt looking relaxed, he was wearing some socks with little hamsters on them that Clay found for him a while ago. It made his heart jump and he felt his face stretch into a smile. He was scrolling through his phone and Thomas’ whole face opened up in a bright smile as soon as he saw Clay. He made Clay feel so special in a specific way, a way that is so different from how Noelle does and he loves them both.

He needs to tell them that.

“I have something to tell you guys… honestly, I don’t know how you will react but what's done is done.” He puts his hands in his jean pockets and taps the hell of his boots to the toe of his other boot. He was fidgeting and knew the other two noticed. It made him even more nervous.

“That doesn’t sound like good news.” Thomas looks at him a bit worried. His smile was still there but it fell slightly and Clay just wanted to fix it. He noticed Noelle had paused stomping on her shoes, oddly similar to Logan, it made him want to stop what he was going to say but… communication is important!

“Well, I first need you guys to promise me something, then I will make Finn and Logan promise the same thing when we see them because I know I will have to tell them.” He has to tell them, so they are ready for Leo just, not being okay.

And it was all gonna be Clay’s fault.

“What's the promise?” Noelle finishes putting on her shoe and looks up at him. She is trying her best to keep her face neutral but he could tell the wheels were turning in her brain.

“Do not tell Leo, I need to be the one to tell him… and I know he isn’t going to react well. Same goes for Reg but I will probably tell him a lot sooner than Leo.” He keeps on switching his feet that he is tapping and finally looks at them.

It’s now or never.

“I enlisted in the navy today.”

“Okay, Reg and I are going to pick up Ma and then we will be right back!” Leo has been all smiles all day. Finn knew he was close to his mom but this is just adorable.

“Drive safe!” Leo and Reg wave as they leave the apartment and as soon as the door closes Clay is standing in front of Finn and Logan who are snuggled together on the couch. Logan was wrapped up in Leo’s favorite blanket that his grandpa made for him before he passed away. It was a woven blanket with an image of Peanut on it. That blanket has seen Leo and Clay in their worst moments.

He was surprised Logan wasn’t scared of it given his fear of horses.

“Alright you two, I need to tell you something and it needs to be kept secret from Leo and Reg, if you so much as tell them a peep I will never forgive you. That will make family reunions super awkward.” Finn looks up from his phone where he and Logan were reading the comments on their latest tiktok on their joined account.

“Don’t look at me.” Finn raises his hand on surrender and looks at Logan who rolls his eyes annoyed and snatches Finn’s phone away to keep reading the comments.

“I enlisted in the navy-” Clay didn’t even get the full sentence out before Logan had thrown the phone down on the cushion next to him and Finn covered his mouth with his hand looking shocked.

“YOU DID WHAT?”

“Mama!” Leo hugs Eloise tightly as she drops her bags to hug him back. “How was the flight?” He squeezes her tightly before noticing her new hearing aid is flashing is three blinks then a pause and three more blinks. “I think your hearing aid is dying. Make sure to charge them when we get home.” She either ignores him or doesn’t hear him even though she can normally hear him this close.

“Rick was a great pilot as always, even let me bring y’all some moonshine he made. It's watermelon and raspberry!.” Eloise pulls away after one last squeeze and sees Reg and her smile widens. “Reg! I’m so happy you’re here!” She waits for him to open his arms as an invitation to hug him so she knows he is comfortable with her touching him and she does as soon as he opens his arms. Tighter than she did Leo. “Have you been eating well? How about sleeping? Did you ever enroll in college?”

“Yes, yes and yes.” Reg can’t help but laugh when she picks him up still hugging him and sways him around. He isn’t used to this much affection from a mother figure but… they love it.

“I’m so proud of you for following your dream.” She pulls away and smiles at him with a sincere smile and brushes his hair back. “Your hair looks nice by the way.”

“Thank you.” Reg and Leo help her with her bags and pack them into the truck and drive the short way back to the apartment. Talking about everything and anything. The door man sends a wink Eloise’s way and she holds up her left hand where her wedding ring is. Letting him know she is taken. Walking up to the apartment they smell an odd smell through the door and everyone shares a look.

“I promise it doesn't normally smell this way unless… oh no.”

“What does that mean!?” She leans over to Reg to whisper as Leo fiddles with his key in the lock.

“It means Finn and Logan tried to cook something.” Reg whispers to Eloise as Leo opens the door, Clay was the first to greet them, smiling his million dollar smile he hugs Elosie so tight it surprises her.

“Hello Bluebell! I was surprised I didn’t see you at the airport. How are you doing sweetheart! Twenty years old today! You’re all growing up so fast.” She kisses his forehead and they pull apart. “You look good. Your mother wants you to call her later tonight so she can sing happy birthday.”

“It's your birthday!” Noelle pipes up and looks at Clay offended. “And you didn’t tell us!” He cringes before turning to her.

“Oh, I guess I forgot.” He walks over to her and kisses her cheek while Eloise puts her hand on her chest from just how cute they are.

“Seems like that should have been the first thing you told us this morning instead of, ‘ I feel like a jellyfish’.” Thomas laughs a little and kisses both Noelle and Clay’s cheeks. “So cute.”

“It slipped my mind!”

“Okay, what is that smell?” Leo leads Eloise towards the kitchen after she is done fawning over how cute those three are. Finn and Logan are suspiciously standing in the way of the countertop right next to the stove. “What are you hiding?”

Finn turns bright red and Logan looks anywhere but Leo. Eloise sets her purse on the counter and walks over to them, giving them both kisses on the cheek.

“What did you make us?”

“Well… we tried to make a cake from your cookbook-”

“It didn’t go very well.” They both move to the side to reveal a lopsided cake with some diluted frosting dripping off and random coconut flakes floating around on it. “Can you at least tell what it is?” Logan casually turned the plate so the ‘good side’ was facing Leo and Eloise.

“Umm… not really. Do you mind just telling us?” Eliose was examining the cake, trying to figure out what cinnamon cake she had in her cookbook. None that she can remember.

“Something called,” Finn walks over to the book and notices Clay and Reg standing to the side with their phones up and probably recording. “Divinity Cake.” The room was suddenly really still and quiet. Eloise looked like she was about to cry and Leo was just staring at the cake in shock.

Then Eloise brokedown in laughter, to the point where she was laughing so hard she was on the ground holding her stomach and crying. Finn and Logan were visibly confused and looked to Leo for an explanation, only to find him trying to conceal his laughter in the crooks of his arm.

“Oh my god! What is so funny?” Logan looks at the cookbook and then back at the cake. It looked terrible but they tried their best! They didn’t burn the house down at least.

“Oh my lovely lovely boys.” Leo wraps an arm around both their shoulders and pulls them in close so they are all cheek to cheek for a moment. “Divinity cake is usually cooked for your in-laws in the south.. To prove you are worthy of being a good wife.” explains through his laughing breaks. “This is amazing.”

Eloise eventually stands up and dabs her eyes so she doesn’t smear her makeup. Pulling the two embarrassed boys into a tight hug. “Y’all are so sweet. Thank you for the cake.” She gives them both sloppy kisses on the cheeks and then pats where she just kissed. “Alright I’m going to put my things in the guest room and then we can cook something up for y’all to eat.” She smiles and takes most of her bags to the guest room but forgets her purse. “Finn, would you be a dear and grab my purse for me?” She calls out and Finn being the sweetheart he is, grabs the bag and tries to take it with him as he walks past.

The bag won’t budge, Leo is watching with a smile on his face and his arms crossed. Finn tugs at the bag again and eventually gets it off the counter, it nearly knocks him over with how heavy it is. He scurried to Eloise’s room and gave it to her. She holds it like it’s nothing.

He makes his way back over to Leo and sinks into his chest, his face buried in his neck. Logan is still poking the cake, showing off just how gelatinous it is. Clay and Reg are comparing videos that they took and laughing at how they zoomed in on different faces. Sending them to each other.

“I’m sorry we messed up the cake.” Finn looks up at Leo and sees the sweetest little smile, showing his dimples off. Finn has noticed Leo’s tan from the summer is fading and it is making the small scar across his nose more prominent. It was cute.

“Honestly, it’s better than anything else y’all have made. Plus, now Mama can teach you how to make it the right way for the next time she visits.” Leo kisses his eyebrow and wraps his arms around him as Finn pouts even more. Logan eventually makes his way over and rests his head on Leo’s shoulder.

“Maybe it still tastes good?” He closes his eyes and rubs his cheek on Leo’s soft shirt and tough shoulder, massaging his jaw muscles. His arms are crossed.

“We can try it afte Mama and I make some food, how about y’all pick out what you want so she can put on her mini cooking show.” Leo feels the boys lean off of him and smiles as he watches them pour over each page of the book looking for a meal they want.

“Alright, I’m ready to cook.” Eloise comes back into the room and gathers everyone so they are sitting on the other side of the counter, unless they are Reg or Leo because they are allowed to help cook. Finn and Noelle have taken the two seats while Clay and Thomas are on either side of them watching and Logan is in between them.

They all watch as Eloise explains what she is doing in hopes it helps them understand and make them want to try and make this on their own. Logan gets in trouble for focusing on Leo instead of what she is teaching and she gives him a smirk.

“You remind me a lot of Wyatt, you know that? Around the same height too.” She smiles as she fiddles with her ring after she washed her hands to get the rest of the flour off her hands. Leo is watching the food in the oven as he leans against the counter and nods in agreement with her.

“I do?” Logan looks at her a little confused, he sadly never got the chance to meet Wyatt but he always pictured him as more of the strong and silent type who was also tall, giving Leo his extra few inches of height.

“He was 5’10 and the sweetest man I have ever met, he was goofy and carefree like Finn and always had this hard look in his eyes like you do. Unless he was looking at Leo or I, or in your case Leo. Please don’t look at me like that.” Leo snorts and smiles.

“That would be kinda weird.” He turns his head over his shoulder and smiles at his boys. “Why don’t we tell them some stories about dad? I never really talk about him because… well, it still hurts.” Eloise smiles a little sad at her son and gives his arm a comforting squeeze. Her love language.

“Well, he was in the air force.” She notices Clay looking away, Noelle suddenly looks uncomfortable and Thomas looks a little sad. Something was off. “He and his twin brother Wess joined at the same time, and flew fighter jets together. His brother was shot down and Wyatt made Leo promise to never join. After he came back he vowed to never leave again. He kept his promise.” She smiles at the image of him coming home still fresh in her mind. “He was in love with music, sometimes I think he loved music more than us. He tried to get Leo to learn how to play instruments but the poor boy is so tone deaf he couldn’t figure anything out.” She laughs a little as Leo smiles. “I remember when Leo was being taught the guitar Wyatt would be thrown into laughing fits when Leo would play the wrong chords and smile up at him like he just did something.”

“I thought I did!” Leo laughs a little and turns around to face everyone else. “Look It took me forever to learn rhythm, and now I can dance like there is no tomorrow… still can’t sing though.”

“Ahmen!” Clay pipes up and ducks as Leo throws a spoon at him.

“Shut up!”

“Wyatt did manage to teach Clay how to play fiddle somehow, do you still play?” Eloise checks the food in the oven and determines it's not done.

“I haven’t played since… yeah I haven’t played in a while.”

“He was so proud of you. Wyatt was also a sportsman. He loved sports, especially baseball. So when Leo came home and told Wyatt he joined the team, they went out back and played catch for, I don’t know, hours.”

“My arm was sore the next day.”

“He came to every single game of Leo’s besides one, and was his biggest fan. He made shirts with Leo’s player picture on them and wore them to every game. No matter how many times Leo begged him not to!” The timer goes off and Reg gets the food out of the oven.

“Is this done?” He asks, Eloise comes over to check and nods.

“Looks good! How about we eat?” She smiles and has everyone line up so she can dish it out for them.

Thomas and Noelle are getting ready to leave when Eloise asks Clay to join her outside. He gives them a worried look but follows her. Outside is cold, and there is a bit of snow on the railing of the balcony.

“Talk to me Clayton, something is wrong, I noticed it earlier.” She looks at him and taps her foot as he pulls out a cigarette and lights it. “Clayton.”

“I joined the navy, and I haven’t told Leo, and I ask that you don’t tell him either because he needs to hear this from me.” He is looking out at the traffic below so he doesn’t have to watch her face. He knows she is upset with him.

“Is that what you really want to do?” She walks up next to him and joins him in looking at the traffic. Clay has always admired how strong Eloise is, she has been through a hell of a lot and still has this calm and stable energy.

“Yes.”

“Then you made the right choice.” She turns and looks at him, smiling in a way that he knows is trying to hide her sadness. She ruffles his hair as he finishes his cig and puts it out on the bottom of his boot. “Have you told Noelle and Thomas?”

“Yeah.” He knows his short answers sound hostile but he wants to be away from this conversation.

“They support you?” She always makes sure he has support, it hurts sometimes. Like he can’t just get support himself and he always needs help.

“Yes.” She nods and walks back towards the door.

“Then you better spend as much time with them as you can.” She goes inside, leaving Clay to think about everything by himself.

It was dangerous.

He walks back inside and they leave. Noelle turns around from the passenger seat and smirks at Clay. He was in for a fun night.

“I’m off to bed boys, we have a busy day tomorrow!” Elosie kisses her boy's cheeks and walks to her room.

“I like you mom.” Logan says as he tackles Leo to the ground straddling his back with his scented markets in hand. He tugs at Leo’s shirt, he complies and takes it off. Logan has been dying to do this all day.

“I hope not too much!” Leo crosses his arms under his head until Finn sits down next to him and he pulls his thigh so it's underneath Leo’s head. Leo shivers as the cold marker hits his skin and Logan begins coloring.

“What other stories do you have about Wyatt?” Finn rubs his fingers over Leo’s short hair that has really grown out over the past month, it was starting to curl at the ends making Leo look sweet.

“He used to read to me when I was little, then when I was able to read I would read to him until he fell asleep and started snoring.” Leo smiles and Finn can feel it on his leg. “He was also my coach for little league baseball for a bit and he was great but not everyone liked that he was my dad. Other parents thought I was getting special treatment. Also he would argue with the umpires and get in trouble!” Leo bursts out laughing and Logan gorans.

“Leoooooooooo! Be still!” Leo calms down and lets Logan keep coloring the flowers of his back piece.

“Sorry sorry, I just remembered when he got kicked out of a game because an umpire called Clay out when he was safe. It was hilarious. He called the umpire a muppet.” Smiling Leo yawns and blinks a few times.

“You can fall asleep, we will wake you up and go to bed when Logan finishes.” Finn is scrolling on his phone and is petting Leo’s head as he feels it get heavier with sleep. Finn looks up at Logan after making sure Leo is asleep.

“We need to tell him we love him.”

“Yeah, we do.” They smile at each other and share a peck before going back to what they were doing.

The next morning Finn and Logan wake up with a Leo sized dent in the bed and not Leo. They wander out to the kitchen and get smacked in the face with the smell of blueberry pancakes. They float into the kitchen and smile at the sight. Eloise has her hair in curlers and is in a thick grey robe and Leo’s sweatpants because she doesn’t own a pair. Her face is free of makeup and it shows how well she has taken care of her skin over the years. She is flipping a couple of pancakes while Leo sips on some apple juice. Just chatting away about the plan for today.

“Okay so after family skate is the party at Pascal and Celeste’s.”

“I won’t be at family skate dear, I have some work to do today.” She puts the last pancake on a plate, making sure that each plate has two, she takes two plates over to the table while Leo carries the other two.

“Ma, you promised me you wouldn’t work while you were here.” He sighs and sets the plates down. He sighs and sits down, not noticing the other two people in the room, he starts poking at his pancakes with his cheek on his hand and elbow on the table. Sulking.

“I know sweetheart but these people are someone who your Daddy tried to sell to for years. They plan to get two mares and then I will be at the party. On time. I promise.” She puts the dishes from cooking in the sink and fills the pancake batter bowl with hot water before grabbing her cup of coffee and walking over to sit next to Leo.

Logan and Finn share a look. They shouldn’t be listening to this.

“Okay but, just please be there towards the beginning of the party. I want to introduce you to my-... the team.” Leo furrows his brow not understanding why he about called the lions his team, when he doesn’t even play hockey.

“I will try my best, Merigold.” She pats his hand and Logan and Finn make their entrance, yawning and stretching as they walk over to the table. “Morning boys.”

“Morning!” Finn smacks a kiss on Leo’s temple as he walks past and Logan does the same, taking their seats and chowing down.

Later that day Eloise was putting her hair in a ponytail as she checked to make sure there were no creases in her uniform. Well, it's not a uniform but what she likes her and Leo to wear when they go to sell.

A black tall-neck turtle neck with long sleeves and tight to the body. Some khaki colored riding pants with tall back socks and brown riding boots. Professional yet comfortable. She was selling to the Malfoy family today, the father is buying these mares for his sons wedding coming up. She is still convinced that they only want their mares because Wyatt is gone, making Knut horses more desirable.

They were in contact with Wyatt for years and were not very nice. She knows she needs to make this sale though. Walking out to the living room to grab her purse she sees Leo moping on the couch by himself. She sighs out of her nose, walking over to him and petting the top of his head.

“I promise I will be there tonight, with moonshine.” She smiles as Leo rolls his eyes.

“I trust you.” Then he stood and gave her good luck and a hug before walking back to his bedroom… not the master bedroom. She takes a deep breath and leaves the apartment.

The rink was cold, Leo was bundled up in his new coat, hat and gloves while rocking his normal jeans and boots. His brand new skates were in hand, not broken in so he was wearing two pairs of tall socks just to help against blisters. Clay actually owned a pair of skates and has been skating since he was younger because he has family in Montana that he would visit for the holidays.

Jerk.

Leo was sitting in Finn's stall just trying to stay warm while he watched Noelle tie one of Clay’s skates and Thomas tie the other. Leo had to admit, he was so happy for Clay, seeing him with that sappy smile makes Leo know that he’s okay. He never smiled like that with Ashley.

Logan walks over to him, completely ready to skate and looking good. He was wearing his favorite well worn sweats and Leo’s new thrifted sweater that was dark green, showing off his eyes. He was wearing his normal cap backwards and Leo has always found it funny that Logan will never wear a hat forwards.

“Ready to get laced up?” Leo nods and holds out a skate to Logan. “You’re very quiet right now, are you that cold?” Leo just narrows his eyes and gives a short nod. Logan shows him how to lace up and once his other skate is on he stands up and nearly falls over.

“This is going to be terrible… is there a dentist nearby? I have a tendency to fall teeth first into the ground.” Licking over his chipped tooth absentmindedly he looks around. There were kids running around in skates and jumping into other players arms. He smiles a bit and rests his elbow on Logan’s head who is wear much more worn down skates so Leo is a fucking giant to him. “You’re the perfect height.”

“Yeah yeah, lets watch you try and walk. Then we can find Finn who I’m guessing is talking to Syd.” Logan helps Leo take a few steps knowing Leo has no balance at all. In skates or not. He has witnessed this name trip over nothing.

“Whose Syd?” Leo starts walking on his own and feels like this isn’t so bad.

“My oldest sister. Aubry is here too. They also play professional hockey. So… don’t get on their bad sides.” Leo stops walking.

“You never mentioned your sisters will be here! I thought I was meeting them when we go to visit your parents in a week! Oh boy… Do they know about you and Finn?” Leo continues walking after Logan grabs his hand and leads him out of the tunnel.

“Yes they know about me and Finn, I told my family first because… well my parents love him and my sisters all had a bet so… yeah. But they don’t know about you because I didn’t know if you were ready for that.” Leo stops him before they completely exit the tunnel and presses him up against the wall, kissing him softly.

“Thank you.” Leo smiles when Logan does and they pull apart to see they are the last out of the tunnel. Walking out Leo stops in front of the ice. “Yo, I don’t know if I have enough ego to let me fall face first onto the ice in front of a whole hockey team yet.”

“What, you aren’t up for the challenge?” Clay skates right up to him, not as seamless as everyone else but still pretty well. He has this challenging look in his eyes and Leo knows exactly what is going to happen. “I knew you weren’t good at everything.” Leo launches himself at LCay who skates out of the way just in time for Leo to miss and barely holds himself up as he glides across the ice.

“Clay! When I get my hands on you, I swear!” Then he falls flat on his ass and gorans laying down, staring at the ceiling annoyed. This sucks.

Clay is having an absolute field day, Laughing his ass off as he skates up to Leo and helps him stand. Patting his back for a moment and letting Leo get his balance he then pushes him over and skates away.

“CLAYTON!” Leo falls basically into a middle split and it distracts Finn from his conversation with Logan and his sisters, hitting Logan’s chest until he looks over at Leo who is still being taunted by Clay and now Reg.

“I didn’t know he could do that.” They share a look and both seem to get ideas around the same time because their faces get all reg and they high five.

“Who is that?” Sydney is readjusting her hat as she looks at Leo. “He’s a cutie, I wouldn’t mind getting a piece of that.”

“Agreed. He is really handsome.” Aubry nods in agreement and Logan is suddenly possessive. He glares at them.

“Back off, he’s mine!” He crosses his arms and turns his attention back to Leo who is now talking to Katie who has made herself at home on his leg. Leo looks like he is trying his best not to shake from how cold he is.

“You have Finn, let us have our fun.” Aubrey hits his shoulder and skates over to Leo and Katie. “Need some help?” Katie smiles at her. Leo looks up at her and gives a shy smile because he is embarrassed. Nodding she holds out her hand, Katie grabs his other hand and helps him up. With Katie on one side and Aubry on the other, Leo starts more skating and less falling over.

“Awww they are so cuteeeee.” Sydney smiles at them and hears Logan grumble, looking at them annoyed and Finn is still snorting everytime Leo stumbles. But Finn has this look in his eyes that Sydney has only ever seen him give Logan. She hopes there isn’t anything shady going on between those three.

Eventually, Aubry and Leo stake back over to Finn, Logan and Sydeny who are all still chatting on the ice and sipping their hot chocolate that Celeste brought.

“Can I have a sip?” Logan holds up his cup over his shoulder to Leo’s lips, because Leo is behind him, and holds it as he takes a sip. “Mm, so yummy. I’ve never really had this before. Hot chocolate?” Leo doesn’t really drink warm drinks at all, even the coffee is normally cooled down to where it isn’t hot, sometimes iced.

“You should have Finn make you some, he is really good at it.” Finn kisses Logan's forehead and smiles.

“It’s like the one thing I learned how to make properly. Alex taught me! He is coming to the party later tonight if you want to meet him.”

“I’d love to meet him! Now, I’ve met Aubry. I’m guessing you are Sydney? Logan talks about you guys sometimes but I don’t know a lot.” Leo smiles at her and reaches his hand out to shake hers.

“You have a southern accent…” Aubry and her share a look.

Logan is definitely not keeping him from them.

#leo knut #logan tremblay #finn o'hara #james potter #thomas walker #Clayton Bruss #o'knutzy #o’knutzy #lumosinlove #sweater weather #coast to coast

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disappearinginq · 4 years

Photo

Let me rant for a moment.

I want to know if showrunners and costume departments get demoted for just slapping together uniforms and calling it a day. It’s not a secret how these work. You can find it on Google. Or any Facebook group devoted to military, prior or current. Or, you know, walk your happy ass down to Pearl Harbor, one of the largest Navy bases we have, conveniently just down the road from where filming takes place.

And I want to know if showrunners appreciate the hoops fandom people jump through trying to make sense of costume and story points - and yes, I realize this is the picture the show posted as a teaser and the Marines flipped shit about TC not being an officer and also a pilot, because that doesn’t happen.

But what in the ever loving shit were they thinking with the service stripes? For those of you not in the know, service stripes are those diagonal lines on Rick and TC’s sleeves. You get one for every four years of service, meaning Rick has been in MAX 7 years, or he would have two. Marines have the lowest cutoff age for any branch - max age you can be to enlist is 28. So Rick would’ve been...34 when he got out? Possible, but ‘late to the game’ enlistees don’t normally wind up scout snipers and door gunners. And TC, who went to college (you need a college degree to be an officer, or be in an officer program, which generally takes just as long, or you have to wait to be selected) has been in for MIN 12 years? How old are we supposed to believe TC is? Or how, after 7 years and all those service ribbons and awards Rick is an E4? For reference, I was a Navy E4, and I was an E4 on purpose - I was a holy fucking terror, I was a suspect in like 2 murders and a missing person case, and I was never where I was supposed to be or studied for advancement. It takes effort to not be promoted. And TC is only an E5? After minimum 12 years, maximum 15.

And let’s not mention the part that between this episode and second season, they demote Thomas from LtCmdr to just Lieutenant. And flipped his warfare pins. Or even bothered to give him the jump wings, because it’s covered under the SEAL trident.

::sigh:: This is like Asylum Films level fuckery. They get it right on Hawaii 5-0 (I think - I actually only watched maybe 10 episodes total and they never had uniforms on). They get it right on NCIS. Why is it so hard to do the bare minimum for a show that claims to be in support of veterans.

#rant #magnum pi 2018 #magnum pi reboot #maybe they'll fix it now that lenkov is gone #here's hoping

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wbwest · 7 years

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New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/04/21/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-42117/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 4/21/17

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Star Wars Celebration (I can’t say that without thinking of Dave Chappelle’s Rick James yelling “It’s a celebration, bitches!”) happened in Florida last weekend, and we got our first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Folks seemed to like it alright. I’ve never claimed to be the biggest Star Wars fan, but nothing about this really gave me a Force Boner or anything. That’s probably because Rogue One left such a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll see it, but it’s not really on my radar.

In other movie “news”, we got the track listing for Awesome Mix Vol 2 from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2., which comes out today. Is it just me, or is it weird that Mama Quill gave Peter mixtapes of all the songs that played while she was banging dudes in Camaros? Come on – she was totally that chick! Anyway, there are no real surprises here, as it seems to be in-line thematically with the first volume. Personally, I’m ecstatic that “Come A Little Bit Closer” will be introduced to a new generation, as I’m a huge fan of Jay and the Americans (check out “Cara Mia” if you’ve never heard it).

This rumor came out a few weeks ago, but it kinda floated under my radar: apparently Warner Bros wants to release 4 Batman-centered films in 2019 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Detective Comics. This slate would include Nightwing, Gotham City Sirens, the Joss Whedon Batgirl, and the oft-delayed The Batman. Nice idea, but there’s no way this happens. DC just doesn’t have its shit together enough to pull this off. Marvel could do it, but they would’ve been planning it since 2012. It’s already 2017 and they expect to crank out 4 movies in 2 years? Shit ain’t happening.

Bring on the teen angst train, as we’ve got two more comic-based series just dripping with it! First up is Cloak and Dagger on Freeform, which looks like the Freeformiest show that ever Freeformed. It’ll be right at home between the show about the deaf girl and the show about the foster kids. I’ve never been a huge Cloak and Dagger fan, but the series follows teen runaways Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, who were kidnapped and injected with an experimental drug. The drug left Tandy (Dagger) with “light daggers”, while Tyrone (Cloak) has a mystical cloak that transports people and things to a dark dimension. Oh, and there’s that sweet, sweet interracial love/Jungle Fever aspect to things. Based on the trailer, it’s gonna focus more on the love thing than the power thing, which is understandable since powers are expensive on a weekly TV budget. I haven’t heard if this is actually considered part of the MCU, but it’s nice to see the Roxxon sign at the end, so there are clear ties to the universe itself.

The angst doesn’t end there, though, kids! We also got a trailer for Syfy’s Krypton series (which has since been yanked down) – ya know, the one that nobody asked for. It’s hard for me to get excited about Krypton when very little about that planet has ever seemed appealing. It’s most recently been painted as a cold, stoic, science-based society. And since they don’t have our sun, it means they’re powerless. Here’s what I don’t get about the trailer: the show takes place approximately 200 years prior to Man of Steel (I guess making it the first series to be an official part of the DCEU), but the monologue is of Kal El’s grandfather leaving a message for him. Um, how does he KNOW his grandson’s name is Kal El if he hasn’t been born yet? Anyway, it’s about Grandpa El, who happens to be a sexy, CW-ish twenty something, trying to restore honor to the disgraced House of El. The effects look nice (AKA expensive), but nothing about this show makes me want to see it.

There’s some laughter coming from a different comic-based series, however, in the form of Freeform’s New Warriors. I mentioned it a few weeks ago, but it’s been confirmed that Kevin Biegel of Enlisted/Cougar Town will be the showrunner, and we got a confirmation of the roster. Led by Squirrel Girl (who has never been a New Warrior in the comics, but I won’t harp on that), the team is comprised of Speedball, Night Thrasher, Microbe, Mister Immortal, and Debrii. I’m familiar with career Warriors Speedball and Night Thrasher, but I don’t know anything about the others. Considering Mr. Immortal and Squirrel Girl are Great Lakes Avengers characters, this is something of a hybrid team.

I’m the furthest thing from a foodie, but I love a good dairy-based gimmick drink, and this week featured TWO of them! First up, I’d read online that Burger King had been testing a Froot Loops Shake at certain East Coast locations, with plans to roll it out nationally today. Well, I traveled around until I found one that had it early (well, I didn’t travel too far – it was down the street from my apartment), as I had to see what the fuss was all about. I had heard it described as made from vanilla soft serve, with Froot Loops pieces, topped off with a sweet, syrupy drizzle. Sounds exotic, right? WRONG. Whoever thought of this probably got a bonus for the idea, but it lacks in the execution. It’s basically a vanilla shake with edible confetti in it. From Loops don’t really have a strong fruity flavor to them, so it’s not like it’s rubbing off into the soft serve. And when you do get some Froot Loop chunks through the straw, they just taste like flavorless corn cereal. I didn’t taste any kind of drizzle, and I kept waiting for the WOW to kick in. It never did. I drank this so that you don’t have to and, trust me, you really don’t have to.

Next up was the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino. I hadn’t even heard of the thing until Wednesday morning, when everyone and their mom was talking about it. Looking at it, I was reminded of the Birthday Cake Frappuccino that comes out in March (I remember this because it was out at the time Evie was born). I LIVED on those things for the two weeks or so that they were in stores, so I was expecting this to be more of the same. I wasn’t sure what flavor this one was supposed to be, but there were certainly visual similarities. Anyway, after dinner Wednesday night, I snuck off to the corner Starbucks to try it out. You’ve heard of a Butterface, right? Well, this is a Buttertaste. It looks cool and everything, but the taste…THE TASTE! Its marketing emphasizes that it magically changes flavors while you drink it, but I could never really nail down what those flavors were supposed to be. There was a pervasive muskiness to it, making me feel like I’d basically sucked off a real unicorn. Of course, that would be silly – everyone knows you’ve got to buy a unicorn dinner before it lets you do that! Then, near the end, the muskiness gives way to a hyper berry taste, reminiscent of the Blue Raspberry that candy scientists seemed to have discovered in 1992. At no point in the drink was it what I would call “enjoyable”, and even the whipped cream on top was disappointing. As far as I’m concerned, this drink can fuck off back to Narnia where it came from.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Bill O’Reilly was fired from Fox News following sexual harassment allegations. See, if he’d told Billy Bush he only grabbed ‘em by the pussy, he’d be President by now!

Nintendo officially ended production on the NES Classic, followed by rumors that an SNES Classic is coming later this year

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were announced as the directors for Captain Marvel. I’ve never seen anything they’ve done (Half Nelson, episodes of Billions, and The Affair), so I’ve got no real opinion right now

Speaking of Marvel films, Black Panther wrapped production this week, as Hollywood braces for the return of every living Black actor

Will Smith is in talks to take on the classic Robin Williams role of The Genie in Guy Ritchie’s live action Aladdin adaptation. Obviously, Jaden Smith will probably get the role of Aladdin.

Stranger Things co-star Shannon Purser came out as bisexual on Twitter. Well, she’s bisexual in real life. She just used Twitter to announce it.

Director James Gunn announced that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 would be the final iteration of this lineup of the team

Black-ish was sold into off-network syndication, launching in Fall 2018

Jane The Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez will voice Carmen Sandiego in a new animated series coming to Netflix

Steve Harvey will host a revival of Showtime At the Apollo for Fox

Fate of the Furious debuted to $532 million internationally, beating the record-setting $529 million earned by Star Wars: The Force Awakens

With its original pilot rejected by Fox a few years ago, Joe Hill’s comic Locke & Key will have a new pilot filmed for Hulu

The X-Files has been renewed for a 10-episode 11th season. I couldn’t even make it through the last 6-episode batch they gave us, so I think this is a pass for me.

For the past 6 seasons, I have pretty much hate-watched HBO’s Girls. I hated Lena Dunham’s dumpy, Play-Doh body which was constantly on nude display. I hated all of her character Hannah’s “problems”. I hated her boyfriend Adam. I had convinced myself that I was really just watching, hoping that the characters would eventually be hit by a truck or something. Then, this season came along. Even through all my hate, I had to admit that this was a pretty strong season. From Hannah’s odd interaction with a bestselling author to Marnie finally realizing she sucks at life, there were some great episodes of television to be found in this season of the show. I was also forced to admit things about myself.

First off, I always knew I liked Shoshana because she had enough sense to know that she deserved better than the friends with which she’d found herself. And I definitely missed her once she decided to finally distance herself from them. I also realized there was much more to the Ray character and, while they didn’t exactly put a bow on it, I’m glad they led us to believe that he had found a happy ending. Even a character as originally unlikable as Elijah had some strong development this season, and he was truly missed in the finale, even though this chapter of his story had come to a close. As I already admitted in my Get Out review, I had to come to terms with my crush on Allison Williams and, by extension, Marnie Michaels. Yeah, she sucked at life, but she seemed like the one out of the four who had Tony Starked her way into that situation; she was the cause of her own problems. Once she began to realize that, the character held more promise. And I realized I hated Jessa because she reminded me too much of girls I’d hooked up with in college: damaged, tattooed, pseudo-junkies who are lucky to still be alive. And I guess Hannah reminded me of girls I’d hooked up with post college. Yeah, I hated a lot about Girls because, I guess, I hated a lot about myself.

This Sunday saw the series finale of the show, and I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for it. After a season that had given us a pregnant Hannah, but also showcased the dissolution of the group’s friendship, I didn’t really know how they could “end” the story. I was further distraught when I read an article last week saying that Jessa and Shosh’s final appearances had been in the penultimate episode that had just aired. While I would miss them in the final half hour, I had to admit that their chapters had also come to a close.

When we get to the finale, there’s a five-month time jump, where Marnie and Hannah are living in a remote house upstate, raising Hannah’s baby, Grover. Yes, that’s what she named him. Anyway, it was 30 minutes about what it means to be happy, but also what it means to be an adult and a parent. I like to think that Hannah finally grew up once she realized that Grover wasn’t another problem that she could simply run away from. The entire episode, she’s freaking out because Grover won’t breastfeed, but in the final seconds he finally takes to her breast. The look on her face is a mix of relief and maturity. It was then that I realized the show had to end at that point, as Hannah was no longer a girl. The entire series had been about millennial drama, as they skirted adulthood, but those times were over. The title Girls no longer applied to Hannah because she was now a Woman, with all the responsibilities that entailed. I used to worry about Hannah, and I sure as Hell worried about Grover when we learned she was pregnant. After Sunday’s finale, though, I think they’re gonna be OK. It was a finale that I had to give some thought to, but it didn’t leave me unfulfilled like Don Draper creating a Coke jingle only to end up hocking tax prep software six months later. For this reason, Girls had the West Week Ever.

#Batman #Comics #DC #Indie #Marvel #Movies #Music #Politics #Race #Relationships #Star Wars #Syndication #Television #Video Games #West Week Ever

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michiganandback · 6 years

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Aug 11-15 AM

We found a nice city Run Campground to spend the night. We got up early to catch our 8 a.m. flight to the island, got there in plenty of time, and waited almost 2 hours because of the fog. We flew over with three friends who were back packing for a week on the island. Flight was uneventful and it was hazy on the lake so we really couldn't see much. The pilot was knowledgeable about the lake and told us some of the characteristics of the freighters. We had visited with the three friends waiting for the plane and found out Rick was a retired ex-marine/Air Force retiree. He was traveling with his brother-in-law Scott and Harry from their high school days I guess. Rick had been deployed many times with Marine Corps and part of the time he was a casualty officer. On one of his deployments he lost 40 men in 6 months. It was pretty tough because he got out of the Marine Corps and then enlisted in the Air Force to finish his career. It turned out he had multiple deployments with the Air Force as well but not as dangerous. Brother-in-law Scott is an Industrial Engineer and works in a factory in their hometown that was about the close before the economy picked up and now they're running to 10 hour shifts 6 days a week. Harry is a babysitter for a bunch of men who drive forklifts in a warehouse. We got to the island around 10:30 and had to wait until almost 2:30 for our room. We walked around and talked to a lot of people and got the lay of the land. We found out that Sunday is not the day to arrive on Isle Royale. Not much is going on, including no cruises on the small charter boat that takes you around to various points on the island. We did meet a young couple from across the bay in Hancock. Josh is a systems analyst at Michigan Tech University and Megan is a special Ed teacher from downstate giving teaching one more hot before moving on to another career. It turns out Michigan doesn't support their teachers with supplies for classrooms anymore than Oklahoma does. We took a short walk after dinner and on the way back Megan and Josh called us over to the restaurant balcony where they were eating dinner and chatted some more. At this point we didn't even know their names. We met quite a few young couples while waiting for our room. The next day we got up and rented a canoe to paddle around the island on the inner passage away from Lake Superior. It was the first time in a long time either of us had been in a canoe. We adapted surprisingly well and paddled over to a lookout you can climb up to about a mile off the shore. There are a lot of kayakers and canoes in the Tobin Harbor area. The water is so clear you can see 20 or 30 ft down. We had a nice walk past a beaver dam around a place called Hidden Lake. The climb was not very strenuous, just sometimes very narrow. We did see evidence of moose activity right in front of us in the form of scat and hoof prints. However, we never saw a moose the whole time we were on the island. I must say Lookout Louise was underwhelming but we got some exercise. On the way down we ran into the young couple again and we finally said “hey what are your names? I got Megan's email and we have already corresponded a couple times. They have not been out of Michigan very much to travel because there's so much to do here. They come over to Isle Royale a couple times each summer. On the way back to the dock with the canoe, the water was a little choppy and the wind in our face. Consequently, it took a little longer to get back, but it was not a problem. We tried to rent a motorboat to go out to see another part of the island too far to take a canoe, but the concession had shut down all boat rentals because of the weather. We thought we’d get one in the morning, but the concessionaire said the weather report predicted up to 7 foot seas that evening and rough waters the next day. That evening while checking our email in the one spot on the island that has Wi-Fi from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., we met a couple from Florida having a drink in the meeting room. We were having cocktails and I said to Ghee, just because you leave civilization doesn't mean you have to leave civilization behind and that started a conversation. He and his wife joined us. We mentioned that there was a float plane at the dock when we got back from rowing and they said yes that's ours. They had sold their storage business and are traveling around the country now. They flew the plane to Alaska and went into some pretty remote areas where the Forest Service Cabins are available for $45 a night, if you can get to them. They joined us for dinner and we had a wonderful evening. We hope to hear from them again. Her husband is a product of a French mother and Italian husband who grew up in the Belgian Congo. They have led a very interesting life. Aug 14 We woke up expecting the worst of weather and found the best of weather. The water was smooth as glass and the sun was shining but it was a little cool. We checked with Jake who was working the Marina that day, but no decision has been made about rental boats. Finally at 10 Jake checked with the weatherman and he said you can launch boats. We grabbed the first motor boat and headed to the first light House ever on Isle Royale (no longer in service), an old Fisheries set up and to visit Rolf and his wife Sandy who have lived on the island for 49 years, observing and cataloging the moose population and reading the bones of those who are killed by wolves or who died of natural causes. He has a group of volunteers that come out every year for 3 weeks and scours the islands in the archipelago's looking for bones to bring back to him. He and his wife now have the 3rd generation living with them in a shack. They have to filter their water because of the microbes and tapeworms that are in it, but they seem very happy. Rolf is Norwegian and I recognized his flag. He laughed and said some people think it is the Confederate flag at first glance. He has an impressive collection of moose bones and antlers, probably the largest in the world that have been cataloged and documented. He showed us evidence of arthritic hips, gum disease and talked about how the animals have evolved. For instance, the moose bodies have gotten smaller including their heads and their legs became shorter before a wolf population came to the island sometime in the last hundred years. That's because of the lack of vegetation to eat especially in the winter time. When the wolf population became a problem, their legs started growing longer to be able to defend themselves. The wolf population has been decimated and the moose population has increase proportionately so the forest service is bringing in wolves over the next few years to keep the population in balance. No one knows for sure, but they estimate there's only one pair of wolves left on the island. We don't know what this means in the grand scheme of things but someone believes it's worth studying for 49 years by the Michigan Technical University staff. John, the curator of The Fishery, lives there with his wife 4 months out of the year and gives tours of the old Fishery run by the Edisen Family years ago. There were about 40 commercial fishermen on the lake at one time. It was a rough life and you didn't make much money but it was a way of life they apparently enjoyed. After a while between the Fisheries the Lamprey eels, most of the fish and that area of the lake we're gone. The commercial fishermen left and they found a way of eradicating the eels so the fish came back. Now they make more money from sports fishing than commercial fishing. A boat was docked at the fishery for a visit and it had at least 12 rods and reels sticking up above the cabin. We also went to see the lighthouse that is open to the public but has not been manned since the mid 1800s. Every lighthouse has an exhibit of shipwrecks. We got the motor boat back about an hour before the ferry left to go back to Copper Harbor where our limo was waiting for us. It was a three and a half hour Cruise across the lake and fortunately the water was calm. We sat with a man and his two sons who had planned to go to Philmont but the wildfires kept Philmont closed when he was supposed to go there with his Scouts. One son plays the oboe in the high school orchestra and the other is a freshman at the University of Michigan studying electrical engineering. He talked mostly about being a lighting technician at University of Michigan Theater. There’s more to that story but I'll get into that maybe another time in person. John, the father is a civil engineer and deals with water and wastewater treatment plants, which is what I did early in my career. We chatted for quite a while and then Elizabeth asked if they had any cards to play. Nathan whipped out a deck of cards and they taught us the game of euchre. It's pretty simple, but somewhat different than anything we had played before, but we finally got the hang of it. Elizabeth and Nathan beat John and me 10 to 8. I still don't know how they score the points so we had to trust him. We did get to see up close one of the largest ships on Lake Superior. Everyone thought that was a big deal so we did too. It’s 1000 and 4 ft long. That’s the longest freighter you can fit in the locks going though Lake Superior. It didn't look that big and we were really close to it. We (the ferry’s captain) got permission to circle behind its Stern. When we landed, Charlie was there to meet us and we drove back to the RV without incident. I forgot to ask Charlie to wait in case the battery was dead and fortunately the RV started with only 7.9 volts in the battery. We went back to the same City RV Park, to the same spot as before and spent the night.

Aug 15 We’re taking it easy this morning and Elizabeth just finished some laundry before we begin the next leg of our journey. I will probably post this before pictures, but I will get pictures uploaded soon.

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lopezdorothy70-blog · 6 years

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U.S. Taxpayer Funds Used To Develop and Market Merck's Gardasil Vaccine Global Empire

How NIH Uses U.S. Tax Dollars to Secure Profits for Vaccine Developers and Manufacturers

by The Vaccine Reaction Staff

It is no secret that huge conflicts of interest exist between vaccine promoters and vaccine makers.

Pediatrician and vaccine developer Paul Offit, for example, who is one of the nation's leading promoters of mandatory use of government recommended vaccines, holds a $1.5 million research chair at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, funded in part by Merck.1

Julie Gerberding left her post as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she oversaw the creation of national vaccine policies, to head Merck vaccines.2

Former Texas governor Rick Perry recommended state-wide inoculation of all 11- and 12-year-old girls with Merck's Gardasil vaccine after his chief of staff left to work at Merck.3 4

Just as disturbing are the millions of dollars that officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) dole out to academic institutions and vaccine manufacturers to improve vaccine technology, find new, lucrative markets and boost vaccine marketability-functions that guarantee the profitability of corporations, but do not always ensure the well being of taxpayers, the public and patients.

Once upon a time, before passage of the Bayh-Dole Act by Congress in 1980 and the push for lucrative “technology transfer” business arrangements between federal agencies and for-profit corporations, inventions developed with federal funding were owned by the U.S. Government and not industry.

Today, taxpayer-supported research to develop new drugs and vaccines is voraciously patented by universities and drug companies for outsized Wall Street profits when the research rightfully belongs to taxpayers.5

HPV Vaccine – Using U.S. Taxpayer Funding to Develop and Market the Vaccine Globally

Development of the human papillomavirus (HPV) Gardasil and Cervarix vaccines is a case in point.

The initial research was funded by the NIH, National Cancer Institute, University of Rochester, Georgetown University and the University of Queensland, which licensed them to Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.6 7

In 2015, Merck made $1.9 billion on its Gardasil franchise.8

Soon, aggressive domestic and overseas marketing of the expensive HPV vaccines began, even as the vaccines themselves got poor marks for both safety and effectiveness.

In 2006, consumer advocacy groups had protested the FDA's fast tracking of Gardasil vaccine to licensure, citing inadequate safety data.9

Reports of sudden collapse/fainting (syncope) and serious neurological and immune system problems after Gardasil vaccinations emerged immediately after the vaccine was licensed.10

For example, in just one year between Sept. 1, 2010 and Sept. 15, 2011, there were thousands of Gardasil vaccine reaction reports of seizures, paralysis, blindness, pancreatitis, speech problems, short term memory loss, Guillain-Barré Syndrome and 26 deaths filed in the FDA's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).11 12

In 2016, judges in India's Supreme Court demanded answers after children died during a trial of the HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix.13

This is how investigative reporter Jeanne Lenzer cast the problems with HPV vaccines in 2011:14

There are better ways to spend the billions of dollars currently being spent on HPV vaccines.

First, we already have a pretty terrific way to prevent most cervical cancer deaths, and it's called the Pap smear.

Since poor women are less likely to get Pap smears and more likely to die from cervical cancer, we could start by extending medical services to them.

Second, many oral cancers are caused by smoking, and men and women who smoke are more likely to die of oral and cervical cancer, so we could invest in smoking cessation efforts.

As HPV vaccine safety and efficacy problems persisted, the NIH acknowledged the vaccine was widely shunned by mothers of both boys and girls, adolescents and many in poor and ethnic communities.

But that did not stop the NIH from continuing its subsidy of the vaccine industry with tax dollars, this time helping with actual marketing.

In 2013, the NIH gave half a million dollars to the University of Texas SW Medical Center Dallas to try to “identify an optimal and feasible self-persuasion intervention strategy to promote adolescent HPV vaccination in safety-net clinics,” also known as sell more vaccines.15

Nor was that the only marketing grant NIH gave to the university to aggressively market HPV vaccines.

The University of Texas El Paso received $422,716 from the NIH to do similar free marketing and “pilot test a future intervention to promote adoption of the HPV vaccine in the Latino community” while “considering cultural factors.”16

In 2013/2014, Yale University received $390,389 from the NIH to “identify and describe barriers to HPV vaccination completion among lower income racial and ethnic minorities” and “generate ideas for future interventions that will be culturally relevant and have the greatest potential for impact.”17

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC), overseen by the National Vaccine Program Office in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), takes their job of providing free marketing for the vaccine industry one step further-it recommends enlisting health care providers in the sales force.18

It cautions providers to not miss “clinical opportunities to administer HPV vaccination,” which are defined as visits to a provider in which at least one other recommended adolescent vaccination is received but not the HPV vaccine.

The NVAC also recommends “office strategies, such as reminder-recall systems and the distribution of information and educational materials from provider professional organizations” to sell the HPV vaccine to patients and suggests that pharmacists get involved.

CDC programs offer incentives/bonuses to “motivate providers to develop more effective immunization delivery systems and ultimately improve immunization coverage levels.”19

NIH Uses Taxpayer Funding to Keep Vaccine Makers Profitable

The NIH also gives money to drug companies making and marketing vaccines to simply improve their bottom line, government largesse that would be unthinkable in other industries.

In 2013, NIH bestowed almost $2 million on Advanced Bioscience Laboratories, Inc. to “facilitate the development and introduction of new vaccines” including product development, toxicology studies, technical and facility audits and regulatory support appropriate for submission to the FDA.20

If private industry keeps the profits, why should government fund vaccine development and marketing operations?

In 2012, Advanced Bioscience Laboratories received $1,052,178 from the NIH to develop “promising products when such products emerge from investigator-initiated research studies.”21

The same year, NIH gave $2,120,235 to California University San Diego at La Jolla to “discover, characterize, and support preclinical testing of new adjuvant candidates [for vaccines] based upon triggering of the human innate immune system.”22

Between 2009 and 2014, NIH also gave a cool million to Alexander Biodiscoveries, LLC for studies “directed at developing new drugs that can combat influenza virus” plus another one million dollars to Corixa Corporation to “discover, characterize, and support preclinical testing of new adjuvant candidates based upon triggering of the human innate immune system.”23 24

Generous grants were also given to Multimeric Biotherapeutics and other biotech companies to improve their profits and marketability of their vaccines on the public's dime.25

Finally, for years, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of NIH, has handed millions of dollars to the pharmaceutical industry to develop a vaccine to treat cocaine and meth addiction despite the contention of non-industry recovery experts that addiction is not just a physical disease but an emotional and spiritual one too and, thus, not very amenable to a vaccine or other physical treatment.26

Intervexion Therapeutics, for example, has received grants for several years in a row to develop “a methamphetamine conjugate vaccine.”

While the vaccine industry loves to present itself as “life saving,” addiction vaccines that target a defined population seem more like for-profit designer drugs than vaccines for preventing contagious diseases that affect the broader public.

Addiction vaccines also suggest a deep misunderstanding of the process of addiction itself, as most people with drug cravings who want to get high on meth, are unlikely to seek or even accept a vaccine that would “block or slow the rate at which METH enters the brain, [and] shield the user from METH's rewarding and toxic effects,” as the grant naively reads.27

In funding the marketing of vaccines, improving vaccine makers' bottom line and soliciting addiction vaccines, the NIH clearly is lavishing taxpayer dollars on an already very profitable vaccine industry.

Comment on this article at VaccineImpact.com.

References:

1 Attkissson S. How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders? CBS News July 25, 2008. 2 Reuters. Former CDC head lands vaccine job at Merck. Dec. 21, 2009. 3 Rosenberg, M. Mental Health Inc. AlterNet Jan. 8, 2018. 4 Eggen D. Rick Perry and HPV vaccine maker have deep financial ties. The Washington Post Sept. 23, 2011. 5 The University of Arizona. Bayh-Dole Act & University Technology Transfer What's it mean to me? Tech Launch Arizona Mar. 9, 2014. 6 Padmanabhan S, Armin T, Sampat B et al. Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Developing Country Manufacture of Low-cost HPV vaccines – A Case Study of India. Nature Biotechnology 2010; 28 (7): 671–678. 7 Joshi, PP, Roberts, L. Hann, D. NIH's Role in Developing an HPV Vaccine: A Retrospective Analysis. Portfolio Analysis Poster Meeting. NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) July 2014. 8 Sagonowsky E. GSK exits U.S. market with its HPV vaccine Cervarix. Oc. 21, 2016. 9 National Vaccine Information Center. Merck's Gardasil Vaccine Not Proven Safe for Little Girls. NVIC.org June 27, 2006. 10 Debold V, Fisher BL. Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Safety Analysis of Adverse Events Reporting System Reports: Adverse Reactions, Concerns and Implications. National Vaccine Information Center Feb. 1, 2007. 11 Lind, P. U.S. court pays $6 million to Gardasil victims. The Washington Times. December 31, 2014. 12 MedAlerts. The U.S. Government's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System Database. MedAlerts.org. 13 Rosenberg, M. Where Is the Vaccine Safety Grey Area? Epoch Times. Jan. 27, 2017. 14 Lenzer, J. Should boys be given the HPV vaccine? Discover Magazine Nov. 14, 2011. 15 National Institutes of Health. NIH Grant: Developing a self-persuasion intervention promoting adolescent HPV vaccination. Grantome.com. 16 NIH. NIH Grant: Mother-daughter joint decision making to obtain the HPV vaccine. Grantome.com. 17 NIH. NIH Grant: Disparities in HPV vaccine completion: Identifying and quantifying the barriers. Grantome.com, 18 National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Overcoming Barriers to Low HPV Vaccine Uptake in the United States: Recommendations from the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. NCBI June 9, 2015. 19 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Four components of AFIX. CDC.gov. 20 NIH. NIH Grant: Task X3: manufacture and characterization services for vaccines and biologics. Grantome.com. 21 NIAID preclinical development support. Federal Reporter. 22 NIH. NIH Grant: Small molecule stimulators of innate immune receptors. Grantome.com. 23 NIH. NIH Grant: Novel anti-viral agents to treat influenza. Grantome.com. 24 NIH. NIH Grant: Novel TLR7/8 agonists as adjuvants for rapid-acting vaccines. Grantome.com. 25 NIH. NIH Grant: Development of a multimeric CD40 ligand vaccine adjuvant. Grantome.com. 26 Ibid. 27 NIH. NIH Grant: A methamphetamine conjugate vaccine: from manufacturing to IND. Grantome.com.

Young women whose lives were destroyed by the HPV vaccine.

California Nurse Gives Gardasil Vaccine to Own Daughter who Develops Leukemia and Dies

Infant Accidentally Vaccinated with Gardasil – Mother Blamed for Vaccine Injuries and Baby Medically Kidnapped

Iowa Girl Faces Death: Life Destroyed by Gardasil Vaccine

Gardasil Vaccine Given without Consent and Ruins Life of 14 Year Old Girl

After 3 Years of Suffering 19 Year Old Girl Dies from Gardasil Vaccine Injuries

Gardasil: The Decision We Will Always Regret

The Gardasil Vaccine After-Life: My Daughter is a Shadow of Her Former Self

Gardasil: An Experience no Child Should Have to Go Through

I Want my Daughter's Life Back the Way it was Before Gardasil

Gardasil Vaccine: Destroyed and Abandoned

15-Year-Old Vaccinated by Force with Gardasil now Suffers from Paralysis and Pain

Recovering from my Gardasil Vaccine Nightmare

Gardasil: We Thought It Was The Right Choice

“HPV Vaccine Has Done This to My Child”

13 Year Old World Championship Karate Student Forced to Quit After Gardasil Vaccine

If I Could Turn Back Time, Korey Would not Have Received any Gardasil Shots

What Doctors Don't Tell You: Our Gardasil Horror Story

Family Fights U.S. Government over Compensation for Gardasil Vaccine Injuries

Gardasil: When Will our Nightmare End?

HPV Vaccine Injuries: “I Cannot Begin to Describe What it is Like to Watch your Daughter Live in Such Agony”

Gardasil: Don't Let Your Child Become “One Less”

The Gardasil Vaccine Changed Our Definition of “Normal”

Gardasil: I Should Have Researched First

“They've Been Robbed of Their Womanhood” – Local Milwaukee Media Covers Gardasil Vaccine Injuries

Gardasil: The Day Our Daughter's Life Changed

Gardasil: The Decision I will Always Regret

Gardasil Vaccine: One More Girl Dead

Gardasil: A Parent's Worst Nightmare

After Gardasil: I Simply Want my Healthy Daughter Back

Gardasil: My Family Suffers with Me

Gardasil Changed my Health, my Life, and Family's Lives Forever

Gardasil: Ashlie's Near-Death Experience

Gardasil: My Daughter's Worst Nightmare

My Personal Battle After the Gardasil Vaccine

Gardasil: The Worst Thing That Ever Happened to Me

A Ruined Life from Gardasil

HPV Vaccines: My Journey Through Gardasil Injuries

The Dark Side of Gardasil – A Nightmare that Became Real

Toddler Wrongly Injected with Gardasil Vaccine Develops Rare Form of Leukaemia

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battybat-boss · 6 years

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U.S. Taxpayer Funds Used To Develop and Market Merck's Gardasil Vaccine Global Empire

How NIH Uses U.S. Tax Dollars to Secure Profits for Vaccine Developers and Manufacturers

by The Vaccine Reaction Staff

It is no secret that huge conflicts of interest exist between vaccine promoters and vaccine makers.

Julie Gerberding left her post as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she oversaw the creation of national vaccine policies, to head Merck vaccines.2

Former Texas governor Rick Perry recommended state-wide inoculation of all 11- and 12-year-old girls with Merck's Gardasil vaccine after his chief of staff left to work at Merck.34