#so much snow will fall during sundays in August | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elizabeethan · 3 years

Text

Never Nothing- Extra # 2

Another little extra for one of my favorite series!! Soft domestic fluff meets angst... There will be a follow up to this one, eventually.

For @the-darkdragonfly who wanted this to be a 12 part series… we’re halfway there baby

Rated T, mostly for language

~4300 words

Get added to my tag list (I keep one for everything!)

Read on Ao3

Read the rest of the series

Read my other stuff

~~~~

“Stop it.”

“I’m only trying--”

“No, stop it.”

“My love, if you’d just--”

“I don’t want to!”

“--you may find that you feel better.”

“I won’t. I will never feel better, ever, for as long as I live. I will feel exactly this horrible every second for the rest of my miserable life.”

Killian sighs softly, smiling at her despite how much it pisses her off and running his hand through her hair. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so uncomfortable.”

“Having a baby in August is not a good plan.”

“No,” he agrees. “I’m sure you must be feeling rather miserable.”

She nods, pouting. “Extremely miserable.”

He softly kisses the tip of her nose, taking out the sunscreen he’s been begging her to wear and squirting some into his hands. “Now, just imagine how hot you’d be if we were still in Phoenix.”

“Shut up,” she grumbles, leaning forward just enough for him to get her back.

“You’re the one who suggested we come to the beach.”

She glares up at him, her lips pressed into a tight line and her brows covering her eyes almost completely. “You’re on thin ice.”

“I think you’ll find there’s no ice this time of year, my darling. It’s very hot out; it would melt.”

He can’t blame her for being miserable. At 37 weeks pregnant in late July, she can’t seem to ever get comfortable. Her back hurts her endlessly, her hips are sore, she’s been suffering with horrible heartburn, and the mood swings are difficult to keep up with.

He wouldn’t have it any other way, though.

“Why don’t we get into the water? A bit of buoyancy is sure to help your back.”

She sighs in defeat and says, “I’ll probably just get sea sick. Or eaten by a shark. Or stung by a jellyfish.”

He kisses her nose once more and takes her hand, hoisting her off of the chaise lounge and placing his palm on the small of her back where he knows she’s sore. “I’ll fight off the sharks and the jellyfish, my love.”

“Promise?” she asks as she waddles towards the shore with him.

“Of course.”

She squeals as she tries to get into the chilly water, but once they’re in and she’s used to the cold, she relaxes a bit. His heart flutters when she leans back against his chest, letting him bear her weight as he runs his hand along her bump and presses a kiss to her shoulder.

Feeling her pressed against him makes the blood rush through his veins, and he’s glad for the cold water keeping any obvious signs of his arousal at bay. He’s always found her unbelievably sexy, but seeing her in her yellow bikini, her bump on full display, is enough for him to have almost kept her home today.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she grumbles, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the waves. “And no, we’re not doing it in the ocean.”

“I would perish at the thought of sullying your purity on a public beach, love.”

“Purity,” she scoffs. “I’m knocked up at 22. Nothing pure about it.”

He kisses her neck, then her cheek, and holds her close to himself, his bare wrist pressed to the side of her belly and his hand holding it tenderly. “We've talked about this, love,” he murmurs against her skin. “How this child has come to be is not important. What’s important is how fiercely the two of us love him.”

“I know,” she agrees softly, dropping her head to his shoulder and sighing as she lets herself relax further into his hold and into the gentle current of the sea. “I just wish… sometimes I just wish you were his dad.”

He sways the two of them together gently, letting the waves carry them, and reminds her, “I fully intend to be. Biology isn’t really a factor here, my love.”

She hums happily as she lets him support every ounce of her, effectively floating just below the surface with him holding her up. “I just feel… I love this baby more than anything. I don’t regret having him, I just kind of wish you'd been the one to knock me up.”

“Me too,” he laughs, “but it’s alright, because this child will be as much my son as any that I sire.”

“I love you. Sorry I’m a bitch.”

“You’re the furthest thing from it, darling. I’ll not hear you talking about yourself in such a way.”

She hums again and shrugs. “I could probably chill out a bit. I’ve been pretty snappy.”

“Well, you’re nine months pregnant.”

“Maybe I’ll keep being bitchy after the baby’s born.”

“I hope so. I like you when you’re fired up.”

She lies in his arms for a while, content to float almost weightlessly in the water as the pressure of the babe she carries is finally relieved. He feels the lad kicking about beneath the water, likely entranced by the dancing waves, and chuckles softly each time he gets a strike to his palm.

“What would you like for dinner, my love?” he asks after a long silence falls between them.

“Chinese food,” she answers immediately.

“That’s a nice dream. What do you actually want, Miss High Blood Pressure?”

“Baaaabe,” she groans, tossing her head back against his shoulder again and gripping his forearms. “I don’t want grilled chicken.”

“You don’t have to have grilled chicken. We can stop for fish.”

“The baby wants lo mein.”

“He can have some after he’s born and his mother isn’t at risk for preeclampsia.”

She grumbles some more, her words incoherent and inaudible over the sound of the water lapping around them. “Chicken,” she finally concedes. “But only if you make that sauce you made last week.”

With a snort, he asks, “you mean the one with the bacon in it?”

“That’s the one.”

“Alright, love. Let’s get you out of the water before you give birth to a raisin.”

“You’ve gotta work on your dad jokes.”

~~~~

The days seem to be getting longer and longer, time refusing to pass at a normal pace as she lives in constant torture and betrayal of her own body. She loves being pregnant, honestly, but it’s becoming a bit tiring. The baby she’s hauling around is heavy, and her back is killing her. Killian’s being very wary of her slightly elevated blood pressure when all she wants is Chinese food and chicken nuggets. Her mom still remembers her days as a perinatal nurse and won’t stop accidentally scaring her when she talks about what she’s seen during labor.

Killian’s looking forward to the delivery, and she tries not to let that piss her off. Of course, she’s more than elated to see him so excited for their child to be born, and she’s so lucky to have a partner who will be there for her throughout the whole thing. But each time he tries to show her something he’s read in a book, or a breathing exercise they can try together during contractions, she wants to chuck something at him. After all, she doesn’t believe that he’s truly ready for what her body will be doing in just a few short weeks.

“During a contraction, I can try to massage your lower back if you’re standing. How does that sound?”

“Standing?” she asks doubtfully. “I can barely stand during cramps.”

“Don’t let him fool you; the massages don’t help,” Granny says ominously while she places her plate before her. While he’s been very strict about her diet, Killian can’t keep her from getting her French toast from Granny’s on Sunday mornings.

“And did you have a walking epidural when you delivered in the Enchanted Forest, Granny?” he asks, his tone sarcastic.

She rolls her eyes as she places his eggs in front of him.

Taking a deep breath with her eyes squeezed shut, Emma places her hand on the top of her bump as a zip of hot pain rushes up her chest and into her throat. Killian’s silent and still as he watches her, holding his fork above his plate as his brows furrow while she waits for it to pass. Once the pain subsides, he asks, “alright?”

“Heartburn,” she breathes. He pushes her glass of water towards her encouragingly as she breathes steadily. “Damn.”

“It won’t be long, love.”

“Yeah, he better make an appearance soon. I wanna meet him so bad, and I wouldn’t mind if the indigestion went away.”

“Morning,” Ruby says happily as she refills Killian’s mug, much to Emma’s jealous vexation.

“Morning Ruby. What’s the report for this week?” he asks, happily going along with her perception of herself as the town crier.

“Not much, but there’s someone new in town. Can you believe that? The dwarves are doing some research to find out if that means we can leave.”

“Well, that will certainly be interesting,” he agrees, giving Emma a happy smile. They haven’t even bothered to attempt to leave themselves, although it’s suspected that they can.

“And everyone is excited to have a newcomer.”

“I’m sure he must be a really interesting character, what with him wanting to come to Storybrooke.”

Emma snorts, digging into her breakfast once her least favorite pregnancy symptom subsides completely.

“I haven’t met him, but I’ve heard he is kind of an ass.”

Moments later, her parents bustle into the diner and greet her with a broad smile as they approach them. “Hi honey!” her mom says happily.

“Morning,” she smiles.

“How are you feeling?” she asks as she and David scoot the two of them down in their booths. “How’s my sweet little grandson?”

Mary Margaret places a gentle hand over Emma’s bump and she stiffens just a bit. It always feels weird to have anyone but Killian put their hands on her belly. “Okay. He keeps flopping around and giving me heartburn.”

She hums in understanding, patting her belly. “Have you heard about someone new being in town?”

“We were just briefed by Ruby,” Killian answers.

“Well, I met him very briefly. He’s handsome and very charming.”

“I don’t think Emma or Hook care much about that, Snow,” David says, and Emma nods.

“Well, I heard he’s coming here for breakfast today. Isn’t that exciting? You two won’t be the newcomers anymore.”

Emma laughs and nods through another bite. “I guess that’s true.”

They continue to chat through their meal, David talking about his job as an animal control officer. Apparently, they’re thinking about adopting a dog he’d rescued a week ago, and Emma’s only seen him beam like this a few times in the short time she’s known him. Things are good, the French toast isn’t giving her heartburn, she thinks she’s going to have a good day.

Until the bell above the door rings.

And he walks in.

She takes in a gasping breath, her eyes bugging out of her head as she swings her head away from the door. “Alright?” Killian asks her softly, leaning over the table and taking her hand.

She shakes her head and feels his body go rigid with panic. If they weren’t trapped in the booth by her parents, she would grab his hand and run out the back door of the diner to escape him.

“Heartburn?” Killian asks softly, not yet alerting her parents of her sudden shift in mood. “Braxton Hicks? Contractions?!”

“No,” she croaks.

“What is it, angel? Talk to me.”

She chances a look towards the door and sees him talking with Ruby, probably flirting with her shamelessly. Then, she looks back at Killian and whispers, “Neal.”

He raises a brow in thought and then she watches as the pieces of the puzzle click into place. He nods once, looking towards the door and grimacing. Ruby starts to guide Neal towards a table and Mary Margaret gives him a friendly, excited wave before Emma can stop her. She wants to put her head through the table; maybe he won’t see her if she does that.

The only saving grace is the fact that she can spread her legs out and tuck her bump under the table. The last thing she wants right now is for him to find out that he fertilized the egg that became her son.

“Mary Margaret, right? Hi,” he greets casually. “And this must be your husband, and--”

He’s staring, but not at her. He’s gaping at Killian.

“What the… Hook?”

Killian looks as baffled as Emma must, and he gives her a look of confusion that tells her he has no idea what’s going on. Only, when he looks at her, so does Neal.

“Emma?!”

“You two know each other?”

“Oh my god,” she grumbles, dropping her head to her folded arms on the table. She’d pushed her plate away, unable to eat anything more as the stress of her sperm donor making an appearance in her life eats away at her.

“Darling, perhaps we should--” Before he can continue, she kicks him under the table, not wishing to let Neal know anything personal about her, especially the fact that she and Killian are together and that she’s expecting a baby in a few weeks.

“Darling? Are you two, like, dating or something?”

“Emma and Ho-- Killian live together,” her mother supplies, and Emma rolls her eyes.

“Huh,” Neal says in response. “You sure do move on fast.”

“Mate, that’s not--”

“I’m not your mate, pirate.”

Killian chuckles awkwardly and asks, “do we know each other?”

Neal looks like he’s ready to snap, perhaps jump across the table and strangle Killian at his cocky response, but he’s interrupted by the door opening again and Mr. Gold entering the diner. “Bae,” he calls, not yet taking notice of what he’s doing or who he’s talking to. “What are you doing?”

“Bae,” Killian breathes, staring up at Neal and Mr. Gold in astonishment. “You… you’re Neal?”

“What is going on?” Emma asks through gritted teeth, wanting nothing more than to escape. The position she’s put herself in in order to hide her bump is horribly uncomfortable on her back (and she probably looks ridiculous), and all she wants to do now is go home and sit on her new couch.

“What’s going on is your boyfriend is a piece of shit,” Neal spits at her. “You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“What, like I picked you? Lot of good that did me, what with the police, and the court hearings, and the community service, and the--”

“Honey… This is Neal? I thought your name was Bae.”

“It was,” Neal grumbles back, turning towards his father and then back to Emma. “You told your parents about me?”

“Well, she kind of had to,” David responds condescendingly. “What with the--”

“Dad. Please stop.”

“The what?”

“Son, let’s go enjoy our breakfast and leave the family drama for later.”

The baby starts wiggling just as another bout of heartburn curses her, and she hisses, pushing her fist against her chest and leaning forward even more until she’s in an awkward position. “Honey, you need some tums. I told you, they’re safe for the ba--”

“I’m fine,” she seethes, swallowing and breathing deeply through the feeling of lava crawling up her throat. She wants to leave so badly, but the moment she moves to stand, her pregnancy will become more than obvious.

“Family drama,” Neal laughs. “That’s rich, isn’t it, Hook? First my mom and now my girlfriend?”

Emma glares up at him, practicing her mom-look. “Go away,” she insists.

He scoffs and says, “Ems, come on. Let's get you out of here.”

“Excuse me?”

“Bae is Neal?” Killian asks through continued astonishment, looking down at his hand with his mouth agape, his brows furrowed.

“Stop calling me that,” Neal snaps. “You lost your right to talk to me when you killed my mother and sold me to Pan.”

Emma knows this isn’t true; Killian told her the story about the Crocodile murdering his first love in front of him. He told her about how he found her son years later and wanted to raise him as his own. She just had no idea that her son was… Neal. Evidently, Killian didn’t either.

“Neal, go away. Leave us alone like you left me to rot.”

“I did that for your own good. You had to break the curse.”

“Right,” she scoffs. She wants nothing more than to rub in his face the fact that he abandoned her, homeless and poor and pregnant, but she holds in her anger. Truthfully, Neal leaving was one of the better things to have happened to her. It gave her Killian and their baby. It brought her to her family. It helped her find out who she is.

Those facts don't make his betrayal sting any less, though.

“Killian, maybe you should take Emma home,” her mother suggests through the haze of anger and confusion surrounding the table. He looks up at Snow, his jaw still dropped towards the floor and his eyes swimming with the guilt of his past, and nods.

“Aye,” he agrees, shaking his head and taking Emma’s hands. “Come, love. Let’s sail away.”

She wants nothing more than to agree, to nod and smile at him, taking his hands and letting him lead her out of the diner, but Neal remains firmly planted outside of their booth. If she stands now, she’ll reveal herself. She looks at Killian meaningfully with wide eyes, then glances down towards her belly and up in Neal’s direction.

He understands effortlessly and turns towards Neal, asking, “do you mind, mate? We’d like to head out.”

Neal rolls his eyes and concedes, stepping away from their booth and towards his father, and Mary Margaret and David stand to give them a path out of their seats. They're almost home free-- she can see the light at the end of the diner-- Killian leading the way and effectively hiding the evidence of her pregnancy. Or so she thinks.

Just as Killian’s hand reaches the door, about to push it open and gain their sweet escape, Ruby cuts them off with an excited greeting to Emma, reaching to give her a hug as she usually does and asking, “how’s my favorite little nephew doing? What is it now; three weeks to go?”

Emma freezes, eyes wide and face pale as Killian’s back goes stiff in front of her. The diner is silent, the early breakfast rush long over, and she knows Neal heard her. It’s confirmed when she hears the scratch of the chair against the floor as he stands and calls, “what, so he knocked you up, too? What a stand-up guy.”

The blood in her veins chills at his statements. Her jaw starts hurting with how forcefully she’s clenching it. She watches Killian turn around and fears that he’s going to confront Neal with the truth. In reality, though, he turns and looks only at her, taking her hands in his easily despite the fact that one is missing, courtesy of her ex’s father. “It’s alright,” he whispers, showing her just how much he understands her. Showing her that he can tell exactly what she’s thinking; can read the fear in her eyes at the thought of Neal finding out that this child is technically a part of him. “We can go,” he tells her.

She can’t help but to spin around, half turning to face Neal with tearfilled eyes, looking at him just once so that she can remind herself of the mistakes she’s made in her past. So that she can compare the despair he brought her with the joy that Killian brings so effortlessly. But it’s a mistake. She watches as his face falls, seemingly seeing just how pregnant she really is.

“Is that… are you…” He looks up at the ceiling, flexing his fingers as if counting on them. Counting the months since they were last together. Realizing it’s been almost nine months since their last encounter. Taking in just how large her bump is. “Emma…?”

She should just turn around and leave, or ignore him; refuse to give attention to his thoughts so that she doesn't spur them on. But instead, she lets out a choked sob and buries her face in her hands as her tears flow freely.

Killian’s hand is on her back immediately, running soothing circles along her skin as he moves to stand in front of her and blocks her view of the rest of the world, consuming her with only his ocean-blue eyes. “It’s alright,” he whispers again.

“Did she say three weeks left? Is that…”

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, and although Neal’s voice cuts through the air between them like a knife, all she sees is Killian.

“I wanna go home,” she cries softly, clinging to his hand and hook.

“We will,” he promises.

“Emma, is that my kid?”

She can’t respond. All she can do is tilt her body slightly so that she’s looking past Killian’s right into Neal’s eyes, showing him the truth in her own. She can’t tell him with words that he fathered a child with her, but she knows that the look on her face is enough confirmation when his own pales and he drops back down in his chair.

He only stays there for a second before forcefully standing again, the chair colliding with the floor. Gold begs, “Bae,” reaching his hand towards his son, and Neal violently rips away from his father.

“Don’t!” He shouts. “Fuck.”

Before anyone can say anything, Neal is stalking towards Emma and Killian, and she almost feels nervous for a second, until he brushes past the two of them and slams his way out the door.

~~~~

Her lip trembles as he shuts the door, and she spins into his arms the second he locks it, bursting into tears easily. “He’s gonna take him,” she cries.

“Emma, no. That isn’t going to happen, love.”

She sobs some more, gripping his shirt with white knuckles, nodding into his neck and pulling him as close to herself as she possibly can with the bump between them. “He is.”

“You saw his face when he found out, darling. He has no interest. He’s already running.”

“Everything was so perfect. Now it’s ruined.”

“Nothing is ruined, my love,” he argues. “What makes you even say that?”

She shudders in his arms, whimpering pathetically as the hormones take over and the fear of losing her child consumes her. “I wanted--” she chokes. “I wanted you to be his dad.”

When he pulls away from her, forcing her face from his neck, she cries out again, pained at the thought that she’s losing him, too. “Angel,” he murmurs softly, soothingly. “I am his dad. Perhaps the lad will simply be lucky enough to have two.”

The violence behind her choked breathing is palpable between the two of them, showing him just how distraught she truly is as she asks, “you mean-- you mean you’re not leaving?”

“You silly thing,” he breathes through a gentle laugh, pressing their foreheads together. “Do you really believe that that fool coming into our lives will sway me? I love you. Both of you.”

Her bottom lip trembles again as his hand slides along the side of her belly, the baby kicking against his palm in greeting. The fact that he didn’t stir when faced with his biological father doesn’t get past her as he wiggles against his dad lovingly. She lets out one last soft, whimpering sob and sniffles before saying, “I love you. We both love you.”

He kisses her gently despite the tears and snot, making her laugh lightly. “Bae knows what it is to have an absent father, love. I’m… I’m truly shocked to know that the boy who lived on my ship all those years ago has done this to you. But I do believe that, now that he knows, he’ll do what he can to support you and the little lad. I believe he’ll do the right thing.”

“Maybe I don’t want him to,” she pouts.

He smiles, cupping her cheek, and says, “that’s valid. And I know you're scared. But we’ll just have to sort out what’s best for the little one.”

With a heaving sigh, she drops her forehead to his chest and shuts her eyes. “Right now, what’s best for the little one is a nap.”

“It’s only 10:30,” he jests, but despite his argument, he places his hand on the small of her back and guides her towards their bedroom. “Need a snack?”

“More French toast.”

“No. An apple.”

“Never mind,” she grumbles, pouting as she collapses on the bed and holds up her feet until he starts pulling her sandals off. He shakes his head as he laughs lightly, running his thumb over her swollen feet and kissing her cankles. “Killian?” she whispers quietly.

“Aye, love?” he asks, almost as softly as he crawls up towards her and helps her lean back onto the bed.

She grunts unattractively as her swollen body flops like a fish across the mattress, drawing a soft smile from his lips. “I’m scared,” she whispers when his front wraps around her back.

“Aye, love. I know.” His hand slides across her giant bump, the baby kicking him gently, and kisses just behind her ear. “But you’re going to be fantastic. You’re so strong, and smart, and capable of anything you set your mind to.”

“Then why can’t I just magic him out of here?”

“Bae?” he asks with a surprised laugh.

“Yeah, I’ve been trying since we got home.”

“You are a silly thing. And I love you very much.”

With a contented hum, she pulls him closer to her despite the heat. “I love you, but let me sleep now.”

“As you wish, my angel.”

~~~~

@courtorderedcake @kmomof4 @stahlop @klynn-stormz @laschatzi @emelizabeth88 @lfh1226-linda @kday426 @elisethewritingbeast @timeless-love-story @captain-emmajones @gingerpolyglot @ebcaver @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @tiganasummertree @gingerchangeling @jrob64 @onceratheart18 @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @swampmedusa @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy @love-with-you-i-have-everything @shireness-says @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @ouatpost @daxx04 @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook @therooksshiningknight @eeteeaytay @xsajx @itsfridaysomewhere @alexa-fangirl-forever @jonesfandomfanatic @wefoundloveunderthelight @qualitycoffeethings @rapunzelsghosts @spaceconveyor @badcats-andmice @batana54 @sailtoafarawayland @deckerstarblanche @zaharadessert @xarandomdreamx

#Never Nothing #extra #captain swan #captain swan fanfic #cs ff #never nothing ff #cs fluff #cs angst

41 notes · View notes

technofantasia · 4 years

Text

Rise of the TMNT Timeline

Alright, by piecing together some clues from the show and making some educated guesses, I’ve put together a tentative chronology for Rise!

(Note: not all episodes are included, just a couple that either have timeline evidence or are somehow plot notable. This is assuming the canonical episode order is also chronological order.)

[EDIT] Added some more information (namely Splinter’s birthday month).

1600s-ish: The Shredder was created and sealed away September 1960: Splinter was born 1966: Splinter’s mother left (Finale part 1 flashback) 1979: Splinter left for America (Finale part 1 flashback) 1980-1984: Splinter became an action film star, dated around 1984: Splinter started dating Big Mama 1987: Splinter’s “Hot Soup: the Game” was released 1989: Splinter proposed to Big Mama, was imprisoned in Battle Nexus November 2002: April was born April-August 2003: (Presumably) Raph was born April-August 2004: (Presumably) Leo and Donnie were born April-August 2005: (Presumably) Mikey was born October 2005: Splinter and the Turtles were mutated February 2014: The first Lair Games was held 2014-2016: Donnie made his first battleshell, goggles, and tech bracer Early 2018: Piebald was flushed August 2018: Mystic Mayhem (the series begins), Down with the Sickness September 2018: The Turtle Tank was created (The Fast and the Furriest), Bug Busters, Hypno part Deux October 2018: Bullhop, Evil League of Mutants, Shelldon was first created (Smart Lair), Shadow of Evil November 2018: April’s 16th Birthday (Warren and Hypno), April meets Sunita (Operation: Normal) December 2018: Snow Day January 2019: S1 Finale February 2019: The sixth Lair Games was held (Lair Games), Repairin’ the Baron March 2019: Air Turtle April-May 2019: S2 Finale

(Reasoning below the cut!)

So. Assuming that the episodes occur in chronological order, we can reasonably assume that the course of the show proper takes around or slightly less than a year.

In Hypno Part Deux, April is going to a homecoming dance; homecoming dances happen usually around the beginning of the school year, in late September or early October. Since she is canonically 15 at the time (she says she’s 16 in Always Be Brownies, which happens after her birthday) and has a birthday that comes after homecoming, that would likely make her a high school junior! That’s not important, just a fun fact. Placing the beginning of the series around August makes sense, then, since it’d be before April started school and during flu season, giving Splinter a good reason for catching the rat flu in Down with the Sickness.

The other solid time marker we have is Snow Day, which obviously takes place during snow season in New York (which is usually December to March). It’d likely be closer to December, since I’d like to imagine that they would have gone out to have fun in the snow as soon as they could have, potentially even at first snow. Since Lair Games comes chronologically after Snow Day and confirms the year as being 2019, we can assume that most episodes that happen before Snow Day happened in 2018 while those after happened in 2019.

Another, slightly more tenuous time marker is Bullhop, where a calendar is shown that says the 21st of the month was on a Sunday; by our previous assumption, this is 2018, so a calendar shows this must have been during the month of October, which falls in line with the rest of our timeline here! Neat. The 2018-2019 NBA season went from October 6 to April 10, so, since Air Turtle presumably showed a late season game with potential for turnaround, early March seems like a fair bet. All of those episodes combined give a pretty good sense of time throughout the series, spanning from probably around August 2018 to Mid-2019. The finale could have happened any time after March and before June (when high school would end, meaning Sloppy Joe wouldn’t have had to be working Draxum’s kitchen). Because there were quite a few episodes that should have happened before the finale, though, I’ll split the difference and say the S2 finale happened in or around May.

Fun detail: by this timeline, April’s birthday is sometime between October and December/January, likely November (seeing as it comes after Bullhop but before Snow Day, and judging by the fall colors of the foliage in Operation Normal which comes directly after her birthday episode.)

As for the brothers, we can assume that they might have different birthdays judging by how in Lair Games, Mikey says that one of his favorite days is “my birthday”; if they all shared a birthday, he might have been more likely to say “our birthday”. They were mutated sometime close to October, but since they didn’t seem to see the date of their mutation as anything special in ELoM, we can assume they don’t celebrate it as their birthday. We know that at the beginning of the show, Mikey is 13, Leo and Donnie are 14, and Raph is 15; at no point during the show do any of them have a birthday, which leads me to assume that they are the same ages by the S2 finale. They COULD have had a birthday offscreen, but since birthdays are a pretty big thing for teenagers, I’d think that if one of them had a birthday it would be pretty noteworthy. I’ll just guess and say they didn’t have one. If that’s the case, then all of their birthdays would be some time between April-ish and August-ish. By the time the show starts, then, they would have already had their birthdays, confirming for us their (probably only guessed anyway but whatever) birth years as 2003, 2004, and 2005. Realistically, Splinter probably didn’t know how much older Raph was from any of the others or anything like that, but the years are still somewhat important for age calculation purposes. I could try to guess their birthday months by saying they might all have wanted a unique birthday month, but that would be complete conjecture on my part (as compared to the rest of this which is just mostly conjecture), and would honestly be more headcanon territory than an educated guess? So for the timeline I’ll just say that their birthdays are between April and August.

Now, reaching further backwards to figure out Splinter’s life timeline!

In Splinter’s memories in E-turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we see a clip of a teenage Splinter. Said “teenage splinter” looks to be on the older side of teenager, as he seems to have his own apartment and just looks older besides, so I’d place him at either 18 or 19 (leaning towards 19). Additionally, taking a look around his room, it looks like he might be using a Sony Walkman (first made in 1979), and has what looks to be a Star Wars poster on his wall (1977). Additionally, he has a TV in his room that looks to be a Toshiba Blackstripe model that was popular in the mid-to-late 70s. While I can’t tell if he does actually have a walkman or not, I’d probably place this scene as being 1978 or 1979 anyway, so let’s just say it’s 1979. If he was 19 in 1979, that would place Splinter’s birth year as 1960, which is nice and even so I’m keeping it. That would make Splinter 58-59 during the course of the show, which seems to track! He has a birthday in Mascot Melee (the turtles are buying him a new robe as a birthday present), which, according to my episode timeline, puts his birthday around early September.

The flashback of Splinter as a kid is a little bit tricky, since he looks to be about five or six judging by how he acts in the scene? But he’s also holding a Kamen Rider doll, and that show didn’t exist until 1971. I nonetheless place the scene in 1966, since this is a cartoon and hey, maybe the Kamen Rider equivalent came out a few years earlier in this world, who cares. The bottle flip challenge already apparently happened in 2014 here, why not move some other stuff around? This exercise has already had me comparing calendar days, I will not be deterred

In Many Unhappy Returns, the clapperboard for the film “Crouching Shrimp, Hidden Tiger Prawn” in Splinter’s flashback shows that it was 1984 when he first met Big Mama, meaning that he was not only Lou Jitsu by then (at just 24 years old!), but that he had been making movies for at least a few years. After all, he and Big Mama were supposedly inseparable after meeting, and in The Shadow of Evil, it’s shown that Splinter did date around a bit as a star. Assuming that rat dad isn’t the cheating type, that would have had to be before meeting Big Mama. In Fists of Furry, Splinter mentions that he hasn’t seen any of his dojos in thirty years; while he may not have meant literally thirty years on the dot, assuming he’s at least close, that would mean that he was first abducted around 1989 (age 29). At that point, he and Big Mama would have been dating for around 5 years, which seems like a reasonable amount of time for him to wait before proposing. He also would have had time to build up quite a bit of fame as a movie star; the game he had of him looks to be on a system similar to the Atari 2600 and in fact looks pretty similar to the real life game “Kung Fu Master” that came out on Atari in 1987, a year which would have been the prime of his career. Sure, that date works as well as any. After that point, we know he was imprisoned in the Battle Nexus until Baron Draxum kidnapped him in order to use his DNA to mutate the turtles 13 years before The Evil League of Mutants. That would have placed his kidnapping and their mutations at around October of 2005, judging by the monthly timeline of the show. So, Splinter would have been around 45 when he adopted the turtles, after having been imprisoned and forced to fight for ~16 straight years. Dang.

Finally, I figured that the whole deal with Shredder and Karai would have happened at some point in the 1600s as it was 18 generations ago, judging by the number of “greats” in Karai’s grandma title, and if you average out a generation to be about 20-25 years, that lands you in the range of the 15th century. That works especially because Ninja apparently first started becoming a thing in the 15th century, so the timing checks out well enough.

(and, just as an extra fun note for the timeline, the lair games was said to have been going on for 6 years as of early 2019, meaning it must have started in 2014. We see that, in 2014 (year 1 of the Lair Games), Donnie doesn’t have his goggles or battleshell and is instead wearing glasses. In 2016 (year 3), though, he looks about the same as he does in the present, meaning he must have created all his tech that he wears on him (battleshell, goggles, tech bracer) between 2014 and 2016.)

So, the above timeline is a guesstimated and shoved around compilation of all this totally meaningless investigation, typed in a form that makes some kind of chronological sense! I hope that someone finds it useful, or just fun to think about :D

#tmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #hunny rambles #this took... way too much time and effort #but its useful for fanfiction i guess!!!#reference

426 notes · View notes

charmingturkeysandwich · 5 years

Text

I Could Use a Love Song - Ch 1: givin’ up on love, hey love’s given up on me

Summary: Emma Swan, small town orphan and up-and-coming country singer, is known for her voice, her penchant for leather, and her overall (earned) anger toward the world. She’s had a rough go of it – rough enough that every single song of hers is angry or sad – but on the road something (or someone) happens that might change her tune.

(Spoiler Alert: it’s Killian. Cue the gasps of shock.)

Also on AO3.

---

The upside to a truly shitty adolescence? Lyrical inspiration.

Emma Swan grew up a little bit all over the place, but primarily in a small town that was most definitely above the Mason-Dixon line and yet half its population spoke with some kind of southern-esque drawl. Confederate flags were common on Chevy trucks. Friday nights in the Fall were dedicated to high school football and absolutely nothing else. Their town’s only radio station was country, though it played seven different church services on Sunday mornings. To say that the whole town’s dynamic read like a cliché country song… it was more obvious than Emma’s bright red leather jacket in a crowd of cotton camo.

So no one was particularly surprised when the beautiful, damaged orphan with the voice of a (really pissed off) angel hit the road with a country band.

They might not have been surprised, but oh did they talk. After her falling out with the pastor’s son and her quick escape to Pittsburgh, she was every negative stereotype of famous in a small town you could conjure. Lily, the closest thing she’d had to a friend outside of Neal, son of Pastor Gold, would keep her updated on the rumors and the hearsay. Not that she wanted to know, necessarily. She’d rather imagine that her name had simply fallen out of the collective memory of that god forsaken town. But it hadn’t. Her story was on the tongues of every bar patron, Baptist, and boy scout leader north of I-80.

It wasn’t her story, though. Not really. The tales they told of Emma Swan always somehow ended up with her as the villain and not the fairy tale princess, the lost girl with no choice but to suffer at the hands of assholes.

Her parents had been shit. Drug addicts, apparently, and she’d been taken from them. She’d been passed through the foster system from ages 3-12, the best foster parents mostly ignoring her and the worst… well, she couldn’t afford the therapy to even attempt to go there.

She’d wound up with an OK but definitely half-crazy woman by the name of Sarah just before she turned 13 and that’s where she’d stayed, that hick town that just couldn’t get enough of her little sob story. That’s where she’d met Neal, the charismatic son of one of the town’s pastors. His dad had seemed nice enough, did a lot of community work and even owned several businesses, boasting of his commitment to boosting the local economy. For once she’d thought she’d found some people who didn’t suck who might make her life at least somewhat normal.

She, as usual, was wrong. Pastor Gold was… well, off. Way too angry for a dude preaching the New Testament each week. But at least he’d never hurt her. No, that privilege was reserved for Neal, who would beat her to a bloody pulp and then tell his daddy’s flock all about saving his sweet girl from a drug deal gone wrong (poor thing ended up like her parents despite the best efforts of the system, you see).

It was pathetic. And after she went to jail for having the gall to defend her own life from that sociopath, well, that was it. She dropped out of high school during the homecoming pep rally and hopped a bus to the city.

That had been years ago now, of course, but it was her origin story, as they say, and something very important to her on-stage personality. And her internal struggle.

Life had fucked her over and she was pissed. And so for five years after leaving that sleepy, secret-filled little town, all she ever really focused on was her anger. She’d write lyrics on truck stop napkins and sit in a half-stranger’s basement strumming chords on the guitar she’d stolen from the church rectory (she wasn’t sorry). She started out performing at open mic nights and then somehow found some of Her People, those who loved country music but maybe hadn’t grown up in a Dixie Chicks song (if only she could have Goodbye Earl’ed that son of a bitch high school boyfriend of hers before he ever laid a hand on someone new…).

(At least he ended up in prison. You know, eventually.)

(And, hey, her rage got her out there and selling records. But that was on her, not him. Nobody saves me but me, she always said. And she wasn’t about to thank a monster just because she survived slaying it.)

Tonight’s show was in a dive bar in upstate New York and Emma was so damn ready for it. She and Ruby had done a few shots of tequila before slipping on their tight jeans and leather jackets, and David had just finished setting up their brand new sound system that made them sound like they could actually be on CMT and not just playing from someone’s garage. David and Mary Margaret, they were like Johnny and June with their sweetness and Emma could hardly stomach it. But they were her friends, her actual honest-to-god, wouldn’t-rat-her-out-to-the-forest-service-for-underage-drinking friends and she loved them. She loved them and Ruby and even Graham in the only way she knew how: teasing insults, cases of beer, and not running away in the middle of the night even when she was feeling like her whole world could crash town with one wrong word from herself or anyone else.

(She really did need therapy beyond the catharsis of angry singing to half-drunk strangers. Someday, maybe.)

Friend love was a strange, but manageable thing. Well, mostly. But romantic love? Absolutely fucking not. After she left Neal and that town, after she drank away the pain and the frustration, well she thought maybe she’d give romance another try. Turned out the next guy was even worse, somehow, leaving her bruised and bloody when she turned down his marriage proposal at a fancy restaurant in Cleveland (yeah, those exist). The physical pain she had been used to, but the emotional… he called her every name she didn’t deserve and a few that she probably did, and when he finished her off with a few choice comments about the baby she’d lost after Neal threw her out a moving car, well she was done. For good. Never ever would she trust a man again. Preacher’s son or furniture salesman – they were all just… evil. She couldn’t ever again take that chance.

But tonight – tonight she wasn’t thinking about romance or even the past, not beyond the bits and pieces that had made their way into her songs. She was happy, buzzed, excited. Their little tour bus (well, van) family was rising in the ranks and soon she could move far away and get her own apartment overlooking the thriving streets of Nashville. Soon she would be so busy with interviews and music video shoots that she wouldn’t have a single second to spare a thought to those who had hurt her. Soon she would be so rich she wouldn’t ever feel lonely because she’d always have male company in the form of all her Benjamins she’d backstroke through like Scrooge McDuck.

The previous night Mary Margaret had tried to set Emma up with the singer of their opening act, a guy they called August who carried a typewriter instead of a guitar (who she’d definitely seen leaving with a drunk after she’d turned him down, by the way), so Emma had already had her monthly I Don’t Want Love chat with her hopeless romantic friend. Meaning today she was free and clear to just… enjoy this new life she’d spent years building on the bones of all the good girls she could have been.

She high-fived Ruby and David kissed her on the cheek as they took the stage, starting the guitar riff as Emma sauntered out to the opening words of the song. This was one of her crowd favorites, a good one to set the tone for what kind of show to expect, and she was melting into her confident, badass, devil-may-care persona easily by the time they hit the first chorus.

I’m goin’ home, gonna load my shotgun

Wait by the door and light a cigarette

He wants a fight, well now he’s got one

And he ain’t seen me crazy yet

A few people in the front row were singing along and her heart was bursting with pride that she was on this road, that she’d turned such a goddamn nightmare of a life into something positive and productive and while overall it still wasn’t healthy… she damn well was on the road to actually being someone. To finally shutting up the idiots back in Pennsyltucky who were convinced she wasn’t going to amount to anything but a statistic just like her parents (despite having never even tried any drug beyond alcohol and nicotine, the judgmental fucks).

One thing that entertained her beyond reason was listening to Mary Margaret sing backup vocals on the songs Emma wrote. Emma liked to call Mary’s on-stage persona Snow White Trash and Ruby insisted that be the name of the band’s first mainstream album when their big break finally came and Emma actually fucking laughed in the middle of performing her angry song that night because she couldn’t stop thinking about the mismatch.

So when the song was over she apologized to the crowd, told them how much she loved her band and her friends, even the hilariously innocent of them, and asked someone to pass her a beer so she could stop the chuckles from trickling out during the next song.

Next on their set list was one that had been co-written by Emma and Ruby, two girls from two very different small towns, who still had so much shared experience. It used to hurt her to sing it, the depressing nature of where she came from threatening to swallow her whole, until Graham came to her one night after the show, quieted her tearful sobs with a kiss and told her to just pretend it was a movie. She was just telling a story. It wasn’t her town or Ruby’s… it was nothing but fiction.

And that’s how she belted it all out totally devoid of those pesky feelings that made her wish she could just crawl under a rock rather than relive her trauma for the seventy third time this fucking year.

If you ain’t got two kids by 21, you’re probably gonna die alone

At least that’s what tradition told you

This song was a lesser known of theirs so they don’t have as many mouthing the words back, but the energy in the crowd is still so high, despite this song being a little more bummer than banger. So she scans the crowd, watches the faces of the drunk, the joyful, the brooding, and best of all, those who understand.

Off to the left, just at the edge of the stage, she saw probably the hottest man she’d ever seen in real life. Black leather jacket, artfully mussed hair, a smirk that could charm her pants right off if she let him.

It’s not that hot guys didn’t come to their shows. They definitely did. But they were usually more the Jake Owen or Luke Bryan type, the ones that look like they were ready to meet your mama by the third date. This guy, he didn’t seem the take-home-to-parents type (just the kind for her, having no parents and all).

But there was something else different about him. Standing just off stage, standing alone, glancing toward David every so often. He looked a bit too confident, comfortable, like he already had some kind of connection to her makeshift little family, and that set up some red flags.

She was not accepting applications for any new friends at the moment. Or maybe ever.

She’d been staring just a little and people tended to notice stuff like that so of course he eventually locked eyes with her, for just a fleeting moment, and there was something in that one glance that told her he knew what she was singing, how she felt, on a level that most others just… didn’t.

So naturally she broke the gaze and didn’t look back.

Jack and Jill went up the hill.

Jack burned out on booze and pills.

Mary had a little lamb.

Mary just don’t give a damn no more.

From there, Mary Margaret had taken over lead vocals, her cover of Strawberry Wine a nice balm to the mood-dampener that Merry-Go-Round always was. And every show without fail, she always took that transition to gloat about how she’s most definitely not the Mary from that song because she has David and loves him so much and Emma almost always makes the universal gesture for “gag me” to the crowd eliciting laughter and a few errant woo’s.

She didn’t tonight.

First taste of love, oh

Bittersweet

And green on the vine

Like strawberry wine

(sorry Deana Carter, but there wasn’t always some sweet.)

They closed the show with Kerosene, like they always did: high-energy, twangy, and true-to-form for their actual fans. The whole bar was on their feet, jumping and swaying and shouting and spilling their $4 beers on the guy beside them but no one really cared because they were sharing a moment, Emma and each of them, singing out their anger and sadness and ten years of life’s-not-fair.

Crazy how a three minute song could effectively patch the wounds of a whole life.

And, yeah, maybe it wasn’t really patching anything. Maybe it was just distraction. Maybe she was just as much a drug addict as her parents, but her drug was the stage and the music and the connection she shared with every other person in each and every bar who didn’t get the benefit of a first love like any kind of wine.

She sang her song from the diaphragm – broadway voice – but it was like it came all the way from her toes. It was always her anger that defined her, drove her, made her feel alive.

Why not lean into it?

I gave it everything I had

And everything I got was bad

Life ain’t hard but it’s too long

To live it like some country song

Trade the truth in for a lie

Cheating really ain’t a crime

I’m giving up on love, cause love’s given up on me

Songs sung, merch sold, and bar tab closed, Emma headed toward the crew’s van, ready to sleep off the liquor in the third row seats while the lovebirds took the hotel room above the bar and Ruby and Graham found someone’s bed to put their boots under for the night.

It was odd, feeling like the fifth wheel when truly there was only one couple in the band. But Ruby and Graham, they were so in sync with where they were in their life – jand it was just not what Emma was looking for – that she still ended up left out.

Which was fine. Everything was just fine.

Until her path to the van was obstructed by the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life, the smoldering-eyed, confident guy who’d nearly made her forget her own lyrics before she’d promptly remembered to forget him and any other person who might possibly hold the potential to make her heart skip.

(Hearts aren’t meant to skip. That’s not love; it’s a trip to the cardiologist.)

He was definitely about to annoy her, so shouldn’t he look properly… annoying? Not like a goddamn model. That was distracting her from her annoyance and inevitable hate. Because a girl like her? Every song lyric and leather jacket was a clear message: leave me the fuck alone.

He clearly wasn’t receiving the signal.

“Swan, I presume?” he finally spoke, her eyes certainly glaring daggers at him despite her tiredness and BAC.

“Uh, obviously? What do you want.” (It wasn’t a question.)

“To introduce myself, of course! Killian Jones, at your service.”

She stopped a few feet from him, one hand on her hip and the other reaching for the cigarettes in the back pocket of her jeans.

“I’m not interested in any services beyond handing me a lighter. Can you manage that one?”

He smirked at her and reached into his jacket, the click of the zippo lighter in his hand echoing off the brick alley the van was parked in. With a quick flick of his thumb there was a flame and he offered it to her, his eyes burning with something other than the reflection of the fire.

“Ah, yes, that’s something even a one-handed bloke like me can manage.” He clicked the lighter closed and deposited it back in his jacket, only to reveal his left arm – ending at the wrist – from where it had been tucked behind him.

Emma deflated a little, some compassion left inside her despite the unwanted nature of his approaching her. “OK, Captain Hook, what exactly do you want from me?”

(She had compassion, but also very little candor. For the record.)

“Ah, yes, I’ve never heard that one before,” he muttered, rolling his eyes and finally looking like he was receiving her please-go-away signals, but he still soldiered on. “I was meant to be here before the show started, but I had some trouble finding this hole-in-the-wall. I presume by your attitude that Dave didn’t warn you I was coming?”

“You presume correctly. Can you please get on with whatever garbage is happening here? I swear if they put you up to asking me out or something I’m going to kill them. Mary Margaret especially. Because we just talked about this and I know that it’s not your fault that they’re such meddlers but I swear I’m pretty much the same girl who sings on stage in real life and I absolutely want nothing to do with men. Or women, for that matter… I’m not a person who dates and if they thought..”

“Love, please stop. No, I’m not here to ask you out. Believe me, I know I’m not what you need. I mean, technically I am, but not in the romantic sense.”

He paused and waggled his eyebrows and Emma was too tired to roll her eyes so she just closed them, willing the moment to pass. “I’ve been hired to work for you. All of you. Roadie. Can’t play notes on a guitar anymore, but I can haul them in and out of these dumps you lot perform in.”

Ah. He was the guy David had suggested they hire but the group had then rejected the idea and apparently David decided to overrule them all because why would Prince Charming listen to a democratic band vote, anyway? (Ugh.)

“Can you maybe stop insulting the patrons that pay us since that same money is going to be what pays you?”

Drunk laugher and electronic music pulsed out of the back door of the bar they’d played in not long before. Almost closing time now. Emma needed to get out of the open before she had to break someone’s wrist for drunkenly groping her. Again.

“Ah, of course, love,” he replied, finally seeming to be at least somewhat chagrined. “Now if you could point me in the direction of our sleeping quarters, I’ll leave you to your business.”

“First of all, I am not your love. We’ve covered this already and I need you to keep up. Second, do you really think we make enough to have quarters? I’m not entirely sure how we’re going to both pay you and eat. So.”

“So, what exactly does that mean for you or I, Swan?” he emphasized her last name in an effort to prove he was capable of using titles other than ridiculous British terms of endearment.

“Well, Jones, that means that either you go shack up with David and the missus (10/10 would not recommend; Mary gets very horny while drunk and her voice carries), or you do like Graham or Ruby and find a local to make gross sex noises with. Or whatever they do. Don’t know, don’t ask, don’t care.”

“And you, princess?” His tone was a challenge. He wanted her to object to the sickly sweet nickname. And she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

“I sleep in the van. And I do not cuddle.”

“Oh, it’s not cuddling I’m looking for,” he purred, waggling his stupid eyebrows again. (This time she did roll her eyes, annoyed enough to expend the limited energy she still possessed.)

“Then go find someone willing, buddy. Like I said.”

He shook his head and laughed, already turning back toward the van. “Damn. David said you were difficult, but I wasn’t expecting this. I’ll sleep wherever you don’t. Unless you snore?”

“No, I do not snore!”

“Great. Then we’ll get along just dandy.” He waited next to the van until Emma pulled out the fob to unlock it, sliding open the big door a second after the beep-beep to signal entry. “After you, not anyone’s love.”

“Thanks, Captain. I’ll be in the back. Touch me at your peril.”

They each crawled into the van and settled at opposite ends. Emma tossed Killian a blanket and Killian tossed Emma a pillow that had been lodged in the front seat and they both drifted off to the sounds of Garth Brooks on the Pandora radio Ruby had bought her to ward away the nightmares that inevitably accompanied the silence.

#cs ff #cs au #cs fanfic #cs fanfiction #keisha writes #first chapter #I've done emo AU #now it's time for the other music of pain #that's country music #at least that's what xander says #this has been a buffy reference in the tags of an ouat story #have a nice day

11 notes · View notes

lindoig4 · 5 years

Text

Starting our Greenland Expedition

(I have temporarily given up trying to post more photos. I spent several hours uploading the 3 recent pics in about 100 attempts. The internet is so dodgy here that I just hope Canada offers better pictorial opportunities.)

August 4

Today was the big changeover day when 30 of the 54 voyagers and a couple of staff were replaced with a fresh complement of crew and passengers. Heather was still not well enough to get out of bed, but we were booked to go searching for fossils so I got togged up and waited for the car to take us fossilising. We waited - and waited - and after more than an hour, when we couldn’t even contact the guides to find out where they were, the excursion was cancelled and we walked into town (about 2 km although we were told it was only 5 minutes down the road). It nearly killed me. This reflux problem (or whatever it is) made it impossible for me to keep up with the others so I just wandered along, stopping for a rest several times, but I made it - only to be told that our fossil hunt had been rescheduled for 2pm. The guide said he thought the 9am trip really meant 3.30pm but agreed to start at 2pm instead.

I had quite a few little things I wanted to buy (like toothpaste!) so I set off for the supermarket. Alas, it is Sunday so nothing opens until 11, or maybe noon, or after lunch or....... The supermarket opens at 3:30! I scrounged around the few other places that were open, but came up empty-handed. (One think I did see in one shop that tickled me was that their extensive range of cuddly polar bears were all stored and displayed in a large fridge!) I couldn’t find any of the things we wanted so I was forced to squat at the Radisson where a meeting room had been booked for all the Aurora people who were ashore. They provided a ‘sort of’ lunch for us - a pretty tasteless mayonnaise-drowned wrap that I assume the Radisson is ashamed to serve.

Our guide turned up almost on time to take 5 of the 9 originally-registered fossil hunters on our excursion. (Two were on the sick-list, one had to drop out to go shopping when the supermarket that sells everything opened, and one had withdrawn to go dog-sledding instead. They were the lucky ones.)

We had been told that it was a short easy walk from the car to the fossil field for anyone of average fitness. In fact, it was a challenge for an ultra-fit mountain goat with extensive mountaineering experience. It was at least 2 km and probably a 500 metre climb over the most treacherous terrain I have seen. We skirted the glacier along a path (in name only) that was often less than 20 centimetres wide and sloping at nearly 45 degrees to a 40-50 metres slide over precipitous shaly rocks to the ice below. One of our team had two falls suffering minor scrapes and bruises, but I was in fear for my life at several points. I suffered no injury, but getting up and down the stairs on board was hard work for my aching thighs for a few days. It took us just over an hour to get there so we only had 15-20 minutes cracking rocks looking for treasures before we had to trek back to the car to board the ship at 4:45. I had about given up looking for fossils when I had one final whack at a rock and discovered a fossilised twig - of which I am quite proud. It is far from impressive, but it is perhaps 60 million years old and I released it from its matrix in a fraction of second today! I hope I can get it home in our baggage.

I am really glad I did it for the bragging rights (and because I have a fossil to show for it) but would not recommend it to a healthy tahr. We all provided some pretty pointed feedback to the ship and I don’t think they will be offering it again to anyone without very close scrutiny in future. At least, they gave all the intrepid fossilisers a free bottle of wine to calm our nerves after the ordeal.

More than half our fellow expeditioners had to go through the mandatory lifeboat drill and safety briefings, but we experienced old-timers were exempt and watched smugly as they trooped off to their orientation practices.

It is interesting that so much of the second leg of our trip mirrors the first leg - even the menu. The Meet the Team, Meet the Captain, the Polar Plunge, BBQ night, the Captain’s Farewell and several of the lectures all repeat the format we have already enjoyed.

Greenland

Most of the stuff above (once it is posted, it will actually be below so I will leave it to the erudite reader to interpret the literary compass as he or she wishes) was written during our Svalbard circumnavigation - but our Greenland experience means that some parts of it need moderation of sorts.

We had two days with our new complement of expeditionists revisiting western Svalbard, albeit different areas than we had visited before. They were exceptional days, including one when we went to see the Three Bears. There is some dispute as to whether there were 3 or 4, but my photos indicate the former. We spied one big bear sleeping way up on the mountain (shall we nominate him/her as Father Bear?) so we Zodiac-ed across in the hope of a better look - only to see another adult (had to be a female so I will call her Mother Bear) with a cub who was obviously Baby Bear, somewhat higher up and off to the left of Father Bear. Some in our group must have had a spot of double vision, claiming to have seen two cubs - but I don’t believe them. We are reasonably sure that the bears were unaware of the others’ presence because if Mother Bear saw Father Bear, she would take Baby Bear far away - or Father Bear would likely kill Baby Bear in an attempt to persuade Mother Bear to cooperate in making more Baby Bears next season. But look as I would, I could not see a single bowl of porridge anywhere on the mountain - nor a broken chair or a mussed up cot! Maybe they hadn’t read the script......

But after doing due diligence to our bear observations, we motored across to an adjacent glacier and did something really cool. Walking on a glacier is about as cool as you can get and it was an experience of a lifetime for both of us. It was a bit of an adventure getting up onto the glacier, but a lot easier than we imagined walking on it. We were able to explore a couple of small crevasses and walk quite a way on the ice. I don’t think we were the first or only people ever to set foot on a glacier, but it was certainly a big deal for me and we have the photos to prove it. Apart from being a couple of hundred metres above sea level, we were on an emotional high, an experience we never imagined we would have but one that gave us more of a thrill than many things, including long-distance bear watching.

Greenland is very different from Svalbard. We had two full days at sea sailing to Greenland and had to detour a few times when the ice became almost impassible. But we awoke to find ourselves surrounded by mountains even more spectacular than many in Svalbard and icebergs several hundred times bigger than anything we had seen before. There was comparatively little snow and the vegetation was hugely larger - I saw grasses over 30 cm tall and the biggest polar willows, although still prostrate and hugging the ground, had trunks/limbs up to almost 50 cm long/tall. The vegetation was quite varied: a lot was similar to that in Svalbard, albeit often not quite as miniaturised, but quite a few other species were interspersed. The first morning, we also saw our first musk ox, 3 adults and a calf, checking us out from high on a ridge, giving rise to almost unanimous comments about Apaches ready to attack the settlers.

I was also able to add a couple more birds to my list and I am itching to get some time on the Internet to confirm a couple of identifications and to check whether these are mainly just species we have seen before or variations (subspecies that are different from those seen in Russia and Scotland).

1 note · View note

brokendevilwrites · 5 years

Note

I'd love to read something from Broken Sundays where Clarke and Lexa see each other during one of their breaks. Thank you!

It’s been just under six months and Clarke has come to the illogical conclusion that even the air tastes different now that Lexa isn’t a main player in her life anymore. She remembers talking to her friends about it at college, when it first happened, about how food just wasn’t as satisfying and sleep wasn’t as easy and they all made noises in the right places and would regurgitate lines about time healing all wounds and how she needs to go through each stage of grief and own it.

Which is all bullshit in her very valid opinion because time does heal all wounds and it doesn’t hurt like it used to but Lexa is no longers hers and, honestly, it’s the worst feeling in the world. Just because she doesn’t cry at night or physically long for Lexa’s touch like she did in those first few weeks doesn’t mean that she still doesn’t feel that loss, that pain.

On her worst days she remembers everything. She looks through pictures and images of a younger Lexa and her younger self smile back at her, shoulders and cheekbones fading from sun kissed and freckled all the way through to wrapped in layers and dusted with snow. There are presents that she reminds herself of, little gifts they’ve given one another, and they make her smile. It all makes her smile and and cry and laugh she wonders if she should do such a thing but then she stops and thinks and she knows that of course she should smile! Being with Lexa was the happiest time of her life and denying that, being sad about it, is almost a disservice to everything that they went through.

When they broke up it was easy. Clarke is very aware that, for some, those words don’t make sense but her and Lexa have never done anything the simple way. It was painful and scary and awful when they broke up, yes. But it was easy. Because it was through communication and understanding and mutual love for one another that it happened. And she knows, they both know, that it isn’t forever anyway.

It can’t be.

Clarke once vowed to herself that she would love Lexa forever the moment that the brunette kissed her with her caramel sweet tongue.

----

“It’s okay. The bedroom isn’t much to rave about but the kitchen is big and the backyard is awesome so I can’t complain,” her dad tells her when she asks about his new house and she keeps a smile on her face in an attempt to sound happy when she speaks to him. The thought of her parents not living together hurts her a lot, especially when she knows she’s the main cause of their breakdown, and she tries not to dwell on it too much. “I think you’ll like it. You can help me pick out some things the next time you come home. I think it needs a real artists touch to make it pop.”

“One daughter complete with interior designs coming your way in the near future,” she laughs softly and she puts her hand over her eyes when he cheers down the phone, completely embarrassed by his antics despite being alone in her bedroom and with nobody in her shared house at all. “You’re so lame.”

“How dare you speak to such a cool and amazing dad like that?”

“Oh, I dare,” Clarke grins and it’s the widest she’s smiled in absolute months. She will always and forever thank the stars that fate twisted and turned and adjusted just enough that Jake Griffin was her father. “I’ll let you know closer to the date when I’ll be back but I already can’t wait to see you, dad.”

“I’ve missed you too, kid,” he says and Clarke can hear the wistful sigh in her voice. In her mind's eye she sees him in his brown leather chair, his feet kicked up in front of him as he rests a cup of coffee on his stomach. She can practically smell his aftershave, the laundry detergent he uses, she can feel the softness of pillows beneath her as she sits in the room with him and meets eyes that look so much like hers. “Will Lexa be coming back with you?”

“We broke up, dad. I told you.”

“I remember, I’m not that old just yet. I thought you said that you were still friends?”

“We are but it’s different,” Clarke replies and she feels herself becoming distant. Because she has really spoken to Lexa in weeks and she hasn’t seen her in a long, long time.

There was a time when Clarke could rattle off what Lexa was doing, right down to the very minute, but she struggles now to even remember what days her long classes are on. She wonders if there is another girl with this knowledge, if there is someone else who knows Lexa’s quirks and tastes and feelings.

There is nothing more in this world Clarke wants more than to know Lexa is happy but she squashes her thoughts of someone else rapidly because, oh.

That’s not something she can think about yet.

“I’m sorry, baby. I wish I could take away what you’re feeling.”

She smiles at that because her dad might be the most perfect person put onto this world. “I’m a lot better than I was,” she admits and she hears him let out a satisfied sigh at that. “Dad, do you think that you could ever be friends with mom again?”

There’s a long pause on the other end of the phone and Clarke closes her eyes. Her parents were happy before and even if she has no regrets about coming out, about meeting Lexa and finding love, she knows it put an unbelievable amount of strain on her parents. When the separation came, Clarke cried for hours in Lexa’s arms. And it didn’t matter how often Lexa or her dad or Raven would tell her that her mother's actions had nothing to do with her; it didn’t matter.

Guilt built and built and built.

And the higher it grew, the stronger it became, and it chipped away at the walls her and Lexa had built their future in and it broke down her defence and before she knew what was happening she was alone.

Alone and rebuilding and sad.

“No, I suppose not in the traditional way,” he finally says and Clarke just nods because there isn’t much comfort she can give. Her dad has insisted too many times to count that she isn’t to blame, that it wasn’t her fault and that even adults fall out of like with one another before they fall out of love. But still, that means nothing when the family dynamic she knew so well growing up broke into pieces the moment she held a girls hand. “I just hoped Lexa would stick around for you, you know? I liked her.”

“So did I,” Clarke laughs but it’s wet and sad and she longs for walks along that river to ease the sadness. “I always knew you liked her more than me.”

“Oh Clarke, of course I liked her more than you,” Jake teases but there is nothing to it and they softly make their way into silence before they finally say goodbye to one another.

They didn’t just break up, Clarke thinks as she lays back on her bed and ignores how hard her heart is beating, they broke everything.

----

Of all the people she’s ever known in her life, she never expected Finn Collins to turn up and come stumbling in like a newborn foal on a rainy Friday night. When she left Arkadia to dive headfirst into life and college and her relationship with Lexa she had simply assumed she’d left the long-haired beautiful boy back in the small town. It’s not difficult for Clarke to remember how sweet he was back then, even if a little flawed, and memories of him asking her to be his girlfriend in a soft voice at a Christmas dance swirl in her mind a little as he stands in the little diner and looks at Clarke with awe and shock and envy.

His face when she broke up that Thursday night in Spring was that of a broken little boy but, as he stands from his booth, he’s a man and it makes Clarke proud to see how much he’s grown and filled out and changed. There’s a small boy in across the table from him and she’s curious but, instead, she makes her way over to him with a small laugh and her arms outstretched.

When he wraps her in a gentle embrace, it’s nice. His arms have filled out from what Clarke remembers and there’s a distinct brush of stubble against her temple as he pulls his body away from hers, his aftershave filling her senses and taking her back to her first true boyfriend.

“Trust us to move out of the smallest town ever to exist and explore the big bad world and still manage to find one another,” Finn laughs and he’s attractive and wonderful and a thought fills Clarke that she hopes he’s happy. He really deserves to be happy. “What are you doing here, Griffin?”

“Studying,” she says and she knows she should be working but Finn is the only customer currently and her boss is easy-going when it comes to Clarke, she knows that. “I came here for college. What about you?”

Finn watches her curious eyes and he swallows a little, his hand coming to the back of his neck. “So this is Rory,” he finally introduces and Clarke schools her face enough that it lets Finn continue, his posture relaxing some. “He’s my boy. He’ll be two in August.”

“You’re a dad?”

“Strange how life is, huh?”

Clarke laughs a little at that but there isn’t a judging bone in her body, not for this. Looking at little Rory even she can see he is happy and healthy and his tiny arms have little rolls on them that she wasn’t to squeeze and adore. Thin brown hair cover his head and his inquisitive brown eyes take her but he doesn’t speak, a shy smile breaking across his chubby cheeks instead.

“Two?”

“That summer after we graduated high school was intense,” he chuckles but there’s a sad look in his eyes that Clarke doesn’t want to deepen and she knows he’s probably had it rough, being so young and being a dad. “I’m lucky because Marie, his mom, is really good. She lets me see him as much as I want which is amazing.”

Clarke nods, supportive. “Does she live here in the city?”

“Oh, no, I’m just here to meet my mom,” he says and a dark look crosses his face. “She hasn’t really met him yet and she doesn’t want me taking him to Arkadia. You know how people talk. Marie lives here so I’m visiting.”

The sardonic tone isn’t lost on Clarke and she knows Finn is talking about people like her mom, she isn’t an idiot. It hurts to know the town is still the same, that nothing has changed, and she reaches out to put her hand on his arm. “At least I’m not the centre of attention anymore,” she tries and that makes Finn laugh, his own hand coming to brush through his hair, and he nods at her.

“You and Lexa did stir up quite the scandal,” he muses. Rory makes a frustrated noise and he turns his attention back to his son, sitting down to give him attention. “How is she? Are you both doing alright?”

“She’s fine, we’re doing good,” she says and her eyes widen at that, knowing how wrong it sounded, and she tries to correct herself but Finn looks at her with a wide smile before she can explain.

“I knew you two would make it,” he says and guilt drops in her stomach because they didn’t make it and she’s more aware of that than anyone. “Listen, can I give you my number? It’d be awesome to catch up properly. You can bring Lexa too if you want.”

She agrees and silently thanks the stars that some customers walk in, college students with unlimited stomachs and good tips, and she apologises before she moves away.

I knew you two would make it, feels more like a hammer to her chest than a complimentary sentence and she forgets to say goodbye to Finn as he leaves, so lost in her own thoughts.

----

Her faith has stayed as important to her now as it was then. She knows people question it, tell her how the LGBTQ community is looked down upon and hated by religion, but Clarke has always found solace in her beliefs.

St. Patrick’s Church welcomed her with open arms when she tentatively stepped in during her first year of college and have done nothing but support and love her since. Her sexuality doesn’t define her and she grew tired of being ‘Clarke Griffin, Bisexual’ a long time ago, instead wishing people would discuss her talents or her humor or her brain. Church gave her that relief and, as she sits in a pew and links her fingers, she’s glad she didn’t give it up like she wanted to all those years ago.

“Good evening, Clarke,” Father Michael says as he passes by her and Clarke smiles, comfortable that he knows who she is, and she sits back as he considers her for a few moments. “Seeking warmth from that awful chill?”

“Just needed the quiet to collect my thoughts,” she admits with a soft chuckle and even with the lights and the colourful pictures and kind face of her Pastor, she can still hear Finn’s words. “I knew you’d make it,” repeats in her mind and she wonders if everyone believed in them, wonders if they were the only two people who didn’t manage to see it through. “And it’s warm.”

He smiles at that, deep set wrinkles next to his mouth forming at her young words. “Can I help?”

“No,” she says and she isn’t avoiding the subject or the need to talk about it. This is just something she needs to work through alone. Between the conversation with her dad, and then with Finn, a once muted person has rammed back into her life on full volume and she wishes she knew how to handle it. Breaking up with Lexa was painful, she reminds herself, but remembering her seems to be worse.

He hums softly, a kind noise. “Your friend was in earlier,” he says to her and Clarke looks up, not surprised at all to know he’s talking about Lexa. It seems, to her at least, that everyone is talking about her recently. “She needed to clear her thoughts too, I think.”

“Was she okay?”

“Oh,” he sighs and he turns to look at her completely, his attention on her fully even as others walk into the Church and find a place amongst the seats to find peace too. “I’m sure she will be.”

Clarke knows he won’t divulge much more than that and she’s accepting of it, not wanting to pry into Lexa’s personal life with her faith more than she ever needs to. In that first year in college there was a struggle for Lexa between herself and her faith and Clarke remembers how she pulled away from the Church for a long time until one summer evening. A mild night where Lexa got ready with Clarke and they made their way to St. Patrick’s together.

“I miss her,” Clarke admits and Father Michael barely reacts beyond a knowing nod. “I don’t know how to stop missing her.”

“I believe sometimes we have to face loss to understand strength and to understand strength we need to look inside ourselves,” he says softly to her, weathered hands holding onto the wood in front of her and when she meets his eyes all she can see is understanding and kindness. Where was this faith when she was younger? “What does your heart tell you, Clarke?”

“That I miss her.”

He chuckles kindly at that and tilts his head. “Perhaps you should find your peace of mind not here but with her, don’t you think?”

Her eyes widen at that and when she leaves, an hour later and without any real answers, Father Michael simply smiles at her with soft eyes and understanding.

She knows he’s a rare case, that not everyone is as kind and as open as he is, but she hopes the world will learn one day just how easy it is to say yes to love like Father Michael has managed to do.

----

“Careful,” Harper laughs as she walks past Clarke, her tray full of empty milkshake glasses and plates, “I’m slightly worried for my safety with the force of that yawn you just let out.”

Clarke smirks at that and rolls her eyes as the girl brushes into the kitchen area, disposing of the soiled utensils, and Clarke gives herself a little shake as she reminds herself she only has a few hours left at work. She’d stayed up late the night before on an essay that wasn’t due for weeks but she wanted to get it out of the way, mostly so she could spend more time with friends at the weekend and earning some money to go home.

“What time are you working until?” Harper asks as she comes back out. She’s wiping her hands on a towel as she speaks and Clarke groans, her eyes on the black clock above the door that ticks slowly towards her finishing time. “That bad?”

“Seven,” Clarke replies but it still feels like forever away as the time creeps slowly towards five o’clock. It feels like she’s been here all day but there’s a part of her that isn’t too bothered; working keeps her mind busy and the busier her mind is then the less it has time to think about exes and rivers and trees the perfect shade of green.

Harper sympathises softly but then a rowdy group of guys walk in, jeering and catcalling and falling over one another, and for the next hour Clarke doesn’t really think about anything.

----

And of course it happens.

Because it’s Sunday.

Of course it happens.

----

Lexa sees her but she pretends not to and Clarke doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or not. She watches as the brunette distracts herself by tidying away her menu but, in turn, all she manages to do is knock her napkins and cutlery from the table with a clatter loud enough to make the boys at the long table cheer.

There’s a deep blush on her cheeks as Clarke makes her way over and it’s so deliciously attractive that, for a moment, Clarke forgets she’s at work and has an urge to wrap her fingers around Lexa’s wrist and run, run, run away from prying eyes and fluorescent lighting and jukebox music that doesn’t fit the moment.

“You’ve cut your hair,” is the first thing Lexa says to her in six months and it’s oh so Lexa that Clarke can do nothing, absolutely nothing, but laugh. She was going to be good, she was going to take her order and act like Lexa was another customer but her eyes are green and her lips are soft and Clarke is doomed.

She’s always been doomed.

“Do you like it?”

Lexa blushes again, long fingers tapping on the table, and she nods. “I think you’re aware that I like anything when it comes to you,” she says--no breathes--and just like that, just that suddenly, Clarke feels peace and serenity and glee wash over her in waves and waves and waves. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to --”

“Thank you,” Clarke interrupts. She knows what Lexa is like, she knows she’ll fumble and apologise and pretend like she didn’t mean the honest words she spoke and Clarke doesn’t want that. She’s always been most in love with this candid Lexa; the Lexa that shared cider with her and laughed deeply and held her hand in public. “You look good too, Lexa.”

There’s a moment where things go quiet and if it wasn’t for the rosy pink on Lexa’s cheeks, the swell of her smile and the bright shine in her eyes Clarke would think she’s just said something wrong. But she knows she hasn't. She knows the brief compliment is blooming inside Lexa’s chest, stretching and growing and flowering into a feeling neither of them have forgotten. She watches as Lexa’s jaw flexes a few times, her throat bobbing under words she can’t place right now, and she stands.

Patient.

If she thinks hard enough she can feel the breeze from the river, can hear the clacking of stones breaking over one another, the shuffle of animals as they dance through trees and long grass and flowers.

She can smell perfume and hot cocoa and taste strawberries and caramel and apples.

If she tries hard enough and closes her eyes tightly then she can pretend it’s just her and Lexa and the world begins to spin again.

“When do you finish?”

Lexa’s voice startles her, calm and relaxed and without the shake her own reply has. “An hour, and then I don’t really have much else to do.”

“Hm,” she acknowledges and she taps at the table again, nervous and unsure and beautiful. “I’ll have a black coffee then, please. Take your time. I’m in no rush.”

Clarke grins, able to read Lexa’s words better than anything written by any author in history. She ignores Harper’s questioning glare and the tut she hears from another table for waiting so long and makes her way to get a singular black coffee, two sugars, and hopes Sunday’s go back to being everything for her.

----

With Spring rising, the light of the evening is pale and romantic and the streets are mild enough to walk with a small jacket. The sidewalks paint themselves with pale yellows and reds and greys as the sun dips behind buildings ready to bring the day to an end. Lexa walks next to her, her left hand occasionally brushing Clarke’s right, and it shouldn’t be so easy to fall back into such rhythm with a girl who bundled up her heart and carried it away with one last embrace.

“Did you know Finn was in the city?” Clarke starts and it’s so awkward how Finn manages to be the topic of conversation for her that her fingers flex tightly at her sides. Finn was always the boy that kissed Clarke first, who touched Clarke first, but Lexa seems to ignore all of that and makes a noise of genuine interest at the subject. “He has a son?”

“I’m sure his mother loves that,” Lexa says and Clarke feels pride grow in her when her tone holds nothing but concern and kindness. She thinks back to Anya and Aden and the things people would say about them, the beliefs they held, and she purses her lips together as Lexa presses forward. “He’s our age, right? That must be hard.”

Clarke nods, awe in her eyes at the mature girl in front of her and she doesn’t know why she’s so surprised. Six months is an intake of breath in the long life she knows her and Lexa have together but she can’t deny how much she’s missed, perhaps forgotten. “He seems to be okay. He said the mother is really good with him and he looks genuinely happy. It was nice to see.”

“I’m glad.”

“He said he knew we’d always make it,” she blurts out and she wishes she knew why she said it because the heavy feeling drops in her stomach again. If Lexa is surprised by the subject change she doesn’t let on but the spark in her eyes dulls a little and she drops her head, eyes focusing on her steps instead of glancing over at Clarke. “I would have corrected him but I so wanted it to be true that I think I forgot.”

“We’ve made it out of that town, so he isn’t entirely wrong,” Lexa muses and there’s a wistful sigh to her voice, a beautiful tone that aches deep inside of Clarke. Everything inside of her screams at her to soothe Lexa, to hold her hand and assure her that it’s okay, but she shoves her hands inside the denim of her jacket instead and nods. “We’re studying subjects we love, have hobbies we enjoy. In one way we have made it.”

“Except for our relationship,” Clarke says, because one of them had to.

“Except for our relationship,” Lexa concedes and suddenly stops walking, her body several steps behind Clarke for a few seconds until the blonde notices, and when she turns Lexa is looking at her with such determination that her body trembles. “You know, I don’t plan on this break lasting forever Clarke. There is no scenario I can imagine in which I spend any single second of my life not loving you. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Absolutely not,” Lexa teases and Clarke hasn’t heard a more perfect reply in her life.

---

Clarke’s apartment block appears a lot sooner than either of them would have liked. The high archway and brown doorway looms from the sidewalk and Lexa looks at it for long moments, her eyes filling with memories. Clarke can see them running up the steps during a rainstorm, their hair soaked and droplets falling from their lips as they kissed and kissed and kissed. How they sat there studying, a thermos of hot chocolate between them, and Clarke laughing with Lexa’s roving commentary as people walked past.

She wonders what they would have looked like back then, two girls completely enamoured with each other, lips and skin and hearts painted with kisses from the other.

She wonders if people were envious of them, of the love they shared, of their lives.

She finds herself envious of her own past, even as she stands at the bottom of the stoop with the girl of her dreams in the city that managed to shape every single aspect of her life.

“My dad has a new house,” Clarke says softly, desperate to keep the conversation moving. “He finally moved out of that awful apartment and he wants me to go back and help decorate.”

“I know,” Lexa smirks and Clarke’s eyes widen enough that she rushes to explain, her hand lifting to push hair back over her own ear in a nervous gesture. “We talk sometimes. Jake and I.”

Clarke rolls her eyes because of course they do, of course her dad would be too kind to let the girl his daughter fell in love with suffer a breakup alone. “I should have known you two would team up behind my back.”

“Don’t tell Anya. I think she still harbours a crush on your dad, you know?”

“Shut up,” Clarke giggles and she reaches her hand out to slap at Lexa’s forearm. It takes less than a second for Lexa to capture her hand, to hold it against her arm with a soft smile, and her thumb runs over Clarke’s knuckles with a confidence that neither of them have felt in months and months and months. “I’ve missed you so much, Lexa.”

For the first time since they started talking Clarke sees tears line green eyes; they build from the bottom, black eyeliner running only just, and her heart clenches. Because they’re beautiful and tragic and so in love it hurts. “If you only knew how empty I’ve been without you, you’d understand how much I’ve missed you too,” she says and Lexa has always had a way with words, a way to make something so simple a masterpiece, and she runs her hand down Lexa’s forearm to link their fingers together.

“When we broke up you told me that you needed to understand yourself, have you found answers?”

Lexa shakes her head slowly, her feet shifting ever closer to Clarke’s, and she sniffs softly. “I’m not going to stand here and lie and say breaking up with you was wrong and I know I can say that because I know you agree,” she starts and Clarke can do nothing but nod.

Two years she spent with Lexa and she slowly went from being Clarke Griffin, to being Clarke and Lexa, to being Lexa’s girlfriend. And she knows that wasn’t ever Lexa’s intentions or plan and it certainly wasn’t hers for Lexa either; they lost their sense of identity, so wrapped up in one another, and while she lost her heart on that autumn evening she began to find herself again.

“I know who I am with you and I know who I am without you, and I can honestly say that who I am without you is only half a person,” Lexa continues and she smiles softly at the girl in front of her. “Truth is I’m miserable without you and I’ve learnt to be without you. I don’t know if you need more time and if you do then that’s okay, but you’re my inevitability Clarke. You’re as inevitable as Sunday’s appearing each week. I hope you know that.”

Clarke nods, gentle and slow and her heart beats loudly in her chest. “You’ve always been inevitable to me,” she says and watches Lexa swallow thickly, an emotion filling her eyes that almost overcomes them both. “Do you want to come inside? It’s warmer.”

“Are you trying to proposition me, Clarke Griffin?”

“If I was you’d already be inside,” she fires back and revels in the laughter she receives, the pure happiness. There’s a light in Lexa’s eyes that only appears with her and it grounds Clarke while simultaneously making her believe she can fly. But Lexa has always done that to her, always made her feel incredible and special and like she’s everything. One smile and she’s done. One little smile and she sees her future. “Come inside, Lexa.”

Lexa nods, already tugging a little at Clarke’s hand. “It’s Sunday, isn’t it? There isn’t anywhere else in the world I’d rather be.”

#verse: sundays #clexa fic #clexa #Anonymous

11 notes · View notes

switchbladegoddess · 6 years

Text

Chapter 1 of naito’s autobiography

Although Naito was brought up in Adachi-ku from Adachi-ku, what kind of environment was born and raised around? Although it is said that it is said that "Adachi-ku is a Gala street" as a solitary island from a person, if it is from a prosperous local people, peaceful land around Uchi is quietly in a quiet place When I walked to the nearest station, it took about 30 minutes, so I was far from the area, and it seemed to be something.111 Same Ross · Ingo Berna Bless · de Hapon (hereinafter referred to as "Li. J ) BUSH is also from Adachi-ku, but also Adachi-ku is doing local talks, and this is pretty wide, which is personal, but in the middle, east and west north and south, 5 blogs in all (lol ) I was in the middle and BUSH! Was in the east so there is not much common topic in the same way, right ?. I said my mother is from Adachi-ku and is familiar with her maternal grandfather.The parents also live in the neighborhood So this land is from Asakusa in Taito Ward Speaking 28 er. Earn This is the place where there is A 11 Maru a a gym which I went through before the professional wrestling It is so it is so so it brought to Asakusa often to my father before entering the gym. With my acquaintance with my father, I came for a while. My father used to work for a tire maker of an automobile, although he seems to have had a lot of associations with people in various regions, but my father often bragged about what he was working at at the head office (laugh) I think that the mother was an up-and-coming person! Basically it was a full-time housewife, so my mother occasionally part-time! In addition, as a family composition there is a sister aged two years older, I remember even now, It seems that my older sister wanted to keep a dog at a young age, I wore a collar on me who did not go to kindergarten or not going to kindergarten, I put sandals on my limbs In short it is te, After having grown up in one wife, the line is a substitute for wesc kindergarten (bitter smile). After becoming an adult, my older sister said "I hated Tetsu in the old days" because you are an older sister " What I was told was From my sister, my mother seemed to be spoiled. Were you influenced by your older sister during childhood? Surprisingly it was not it. Every time I was on holiday, my father had taken me outside, so mostly it was a catch ball. Anyway my father loves baseball and professional wrestling, "I'm king, lol", Mr. Nagashima and Inoki CAPITULO.1 Pro wrestling boy. , Attar えと Inoki san. Master. Call on! Previously, it was said that my father was u ex, r Weekly Wrestling "in the article" Tetsuya was I was not a child, I was different from me (laugh) "was said. When I was living together, I did not think so, but recently my mother got into the media as a parent of Tetsuya Naito · "Why is not it me you taught me your wrestling? It is said (laugh). But, if I think now, I think the Naito family was free. When I entered junior high school, my father included "I decide what I want to do, but I can take responsibility by myself". It is like Naito's family's learning, and there is almost no memoir of getting angry with a laissez-faire anyway. My older sister was quite free (laugh). I will go abroad for months if a little money gets accumulated, and moreover by myself. I am working at a publishing company now (at the time of interview) and I think that I could study from a long time ago. Also freely yourself, 2 Mr. Fuji said that the motor nerve was good from early childhood. It seems that we started walking around 10 months after birth. My bicycle was suddenly able to ride on an auxiliary wheel when I was about 3 years old. There seems to be inheritance There seems to be mothers better than exercise about father. Business association at basketball I think that he was a family member who likes sports as he seems to have gone out as a supporter to the game. There were 170 postalities and I was playing volleyball and the first sports I played was football. My father thought that "Men are baseball!", But my mother did not seem to have a feeling of Sagger, so happened to be a soccer club in the kindergarten, and when I noticed it, I was engaged. Besides, when my father assembled one started to learn baseball when I was small 1 (lol, - since there was no baseball team looking at kindergarten, as soon as I got to elementary school I was put in a neighborhood team 41. 4 Takashi liked baseball more than football and I was pleased at the time.I had a batting center in my neighborhood and I was taken along well.When my high school age, my father is baseball As the likes increased, I started to teach the children as a coach with the team, since the entrance of my father, the number of cases in which a father like a cool boy in a team becomes a coach has increased, Just a little "I may be a person to say I (). 32 My hero is Muto Keiji - If he is good at sports, is he a girl too? Oh, I got a lot of chocolate at Valentine 's Day, I ran fast from the time of kindergarten, I was able to raise upside down in the air with a steel bar, because my motor nerve was good anyhow. I just could not get chocolate from my favorite stuff (bitter smile). Were you injured in the head this time? That's right! When I practiced a soccer club, I tried to jump over the wire mesh, climbing the wire gauze, thinking about having to go from jumping over the 2 meter virgin gold E that the ball is hitting the ground. Then at the moment of jumping, the pants caught on the wire mesh eagle hanging, suspended from it from the head and fell down to the ground from the head, it was full of blood and cried a dog, but I was conscious I remember having a panic at the hospital, it is the first vertical falling formula I was born. (Laugh) I heard that he was playing a game soccer We are watching a game of Suku 4 (Oh yeah yeah, it is a backward music at that time, it's my father's battle.) I remembered the day I went on the first day Today, I remember the summer "Summer 12th and 20th" Night fever: N Country skills. "On the first day Antonio Inoki and Saka Nomachi are the main attractions - you are a person Do not forget to remember the contents of do 4, but KEZita's co-op is awesome after 5 Well, 41 red, but 4 seconds when it comes down to a small quake 11 is football Pro wrestling small side be, "I do not even remember that my mother panicked at the hospital, it is the first vertical falling formula I was born. (Laugh). , And (laugh) "In the story of pro wrestling, Naito seems to have watched it with his father on television since he was small! Dad seems to have been watching the game of the first Tiger mask on TV by putting Naito-san on baby on the knee, is not it? At that time I would like to take you to the Korakuen Hall as well, but I certainly do not remember it. The first memory that I saw pro-wrestling with my father at the venue is the two-round battle of the two countries in the summer of 1987. I certainly remember going to the first day. It is r Summer Night Fever 1N Kokugikan of 111th and 19th and 20th of August. On the first day is a 5: 5 irritation match of Antonio Inoki and Naou Leader of Mr. Seiji Sakaguchi and New Leader of Fujinami Tatsuji (this "Tatsumi" player and Choshu Akimoto), which is an eyeball, Keiji) The players were put in the direction of the Now reader, right ?. I am still 5 years old, I do not remember the contents of the game, but the atmosphere of the venues of both the Kokugikan are very impressive. I still felt very wide, so I was surprised at the picture of the yokozun who had decorated tu many pieces above the venue, but when I get up to elementary school, I will be playing football on Saturday and baseball on Sunday CA Because I was doing, I have not gone there until the end of the week. I did it, but · at that time in Wushan, I caught ce cheat on red pants and I was keen. The way of joining is with fans. Ro - "in 1991 is mainly because the butterfly player snow" "to Muto players, and there was a note that was drunk. Did your mother like pro wrestling? : And, I was watching TV on my father and watching it on TV. However, mother's grandma, if you saw it from the original, esatteus liked professional wrestling very much. I was 84 in the middle of 3, when I passed away, 'a, when I saw a line at Adachi-ku gymnasium such as tr's in Ka-yama, I saw that I went to Yo-sr- + 4 . 4, 0, tiecaus did not like all my articles as filing hobbies, but it seems I am doing it as a debut. Results of all the matches since the original wrestling was done 4 Print out, and when it is filial pro wrestling properly and someday and someday. auni. + «It is WR It is because I think that there is the appearance because it is a lid in which the doorpreme is pro-wrestling so I am left in the impression most impressive 匁 years. -sis-- 1-1 \ No, it was a bit different from sn ?, wu anaanet, tiir, it was a bit different. (There was something strange to a heart-to-heart. Blesses boys 35 1111 pro wrestling! For the house it is said to be a son of filial piety. On the contrary it is Kotachi - Deee. Because I think that there is a present form because the Naito family had soil that I soaked in a pro-wrestling doppery. The most impressive thing in the old wrestling wrestling was the 1.4 Tokyo Dome Great Muta vs Butterfly in 1993. 11 w GP Heavy and NWA World <Haito Lariat where the double title match Muta is said, I was surprised that it was a fresh idea while I was a child. Muto Keiji was a childhood hero. Essentially I like pretty much like Hiroshima, like Hiroshima Carp for baseball, Yokohama Fluger for Suka 1, New Japan for wrestling. But, Muto is a little different about the players. The skill is brilliant, the body is cool, and there is something that can attract the child's mind. The dream of the future is an uncle of a gas station "- Is the elementary school that passed along in Adachi-ku? That's right, Adachi Ward Hirano Elementary School. I think that it was not such a big place because it is 2 classes in grade 1. Study s The grades were not so much. Anyway, I like exercise so much, I feel like I'm going to do my best in physical education. Since I was taking the initiative after school and playing football, it was like a male leader in class. Anyway, at that time I love to stand out in exercise, and I am from the gymnasium on the stage ru CA I was doing 36. From that time I was doing things like air killing. Several pro wrestling friends around me, so we gathered early in the morning and wrestled with sandbox. Although I did not get injured, when I was 6, I became a fight in the classroom and my head was locked to the other party, so I had KO done with the whole backflop (lol) "The other party has become a fluffy I'm glad I did not get caught now, but I have never hit or beaten a person until I go into a professional wrestling.It is almost impossible to play a fight, just backdrop is a pro wrestling game I was happy to decide it beautifully, and I was happy with it (laugh) .11 Have you been a centerpiece even for a baseball team that entered at the same time as you entered elementary school? I am doing it when I am a 6th grader , I think that it is known as a fan of the island Karp at the time of 5 years but at that time I was cheering for the giant, I love Tatsunori Hara and that influence of my father. Meeting at Suidobashi station. Also, my paternal grave is right next to Seibu baseball stadium and I went there. 11 What is the reason why I switched from a giant to a carp? It is probably the most reason for socching because it was graduated by one army gradually and retired at the time of senior high school gradually. So when my heart dangled a bit, my baseball using Carp 's feet looks really cool. At that time, Director Toshiyuki 111 village, No. 4 Satoshi Eto, player Takayasu Ogata and Tomokichi Maeda who is currently doing the director are active. Perhaps, I think that I wanted to be a professional baseball player when I was little. But, my kindergarten 's birthday card has my dream written on the petrol station "(laugh). There was a petrol station in the neighborhood of the house, but at that time I guess the old man of the gas station looked cool rather than the professional baseball player and the professional wrestler. Besides exercise, what are the lessons in elementary school days? I was attending an abacus class with my sister's influence. I was able to mental arithmetically with my abacus. I also won a top prize at the Adachi Ward competition. I'm extreme. It is a type that thoroughly does it if you are interested, Without feeling interested in like a point. Is there something you gathered in something like that in that era? By the influence of the surrounding friends, the ric Bikkurimanseiru "was collecting Meguha. Another carddust of "Dragon pole". That puts in 20 yen and it turns out, but it comes out two occasionally, manga read carddus in population. Originally, there is no custom to read manga itself. r Saint Seiya ", but it was also the main animation. Or, I think now, I have been almost at home since I was little. I went outside as soon as I got back from school and did not do much for dark video games or something. V I was doing soccer and baseball, so the J League started at 4 athletes, right? I liked flugers, but I was absorbed earlier by the Yokohama Marinos, but I liked the whole, but if it says strongly, I would like to say that if you are strong, Mr. Akihiko Mori and Mr. Atsuhiko Mori who wrapped the bandanna goal keeper anti- ^ ^^^^ thousand 11, are looking cool. My position at the time was so-called. It was an aggressive midfielder. What kind of characters did you go to get yourself or get assisted by your fellow? It was my 1111 class position, or I was trying hard to play around which I was calling, 47, I was unexpectedly demonstrating leadership.46 soccer high school days high school days Naito players No 2 months after Budokan, did you have the opportunity to receive a sign or receive a professional wrestler in the age of your fans? But - in June 1997 I basically do not have much desire to approach professional wrestlers. As I liked being only on the second day of the three consecutive warfare between the two countries, when I went to the shop at this time to see "GI", when I left the hall, it happened that I saw SAITO Akihito. Akihito 's match The first time I was born in a convention poster I bought a signature. However, it was not long before I went through with my wrestler as well as fan events. Although I first thought of becoming a professional wrestler, I joined a fan club in Shinnihon, but since I wanted more information about New Japan anyway, I was looking forward to the newsletter every time Keep it. Once a year, the original video was sent with membership benefits, but in the meantime there was a new Japan dormitory in the young era Mashabe Kanji (there was a video that the .tai player guided at that time. There is a memory that I saw many times, thinking that I am going in here. CAPITULO.1 Pro-wrestling boy 47 Although it is only interested in new books. I was not interested in that from the late 1990s to early eight years? Martial arts such as "K.1" and "P RIDE" were excited, but it was all, but when the professional wrestler lost to the IK family, it was a terrible disappointment, Ishizawa evil 1 Ake, 0 M players, etc. But I thought that Muto Keiji was the strongest, so I thought that I could win against Hixon Gracie by dragon screw from the fourth character (lol) Hashimoto was with Naori Ogawa I was thinking that if Muto was pushed by conflict, I was able to defeat Ogawa something "I was saving money in bytes when I was 2 and Iwaki Tenden (RIM) IWGP <Bee I went to see or something. 11 You were a follower Muto believer. Where is high school? Adachi East High School, sticking to Adachi Adachi (laugh). Because I did not want to take an examination examination, I consulted my teacher and entered with a designated school recommendation with only an interview. Well, it was a place where I can go on to the exam pears, which was full of bad though. There are seven classes in one year, but in the second year there are only six classes. In other words, more than one class of students are not quitting or retiring. The number of students in one class is also over 30 when it is one year, but in the end there were only about 20 people. 48 schools entered the football club - did not you proceed to the way of failure? However, it was full of cigarette cigarettes so that the floor in the club room can not be seen (lol) I was interested in practicing soccer club a week though. But at that time, the judo club was a school, so all the club activities worked at all, there were clear reasons and it was not irritated or simply interested. There were six days. At first I was thinking of entering the judo club for making a wrestler basis. Or, it was not as rough as local famous. It looks like it was not. No, I entered the football club the next day after the entrance ceremony but then I was alone by myself if no one came in. (Laugh) "So, I told friends who became friends" 11 Well, it is inevitable that only the football club was doing it? Well, that is inevitably inevitable, but everyone was doing it properly or saying it was hot like a lama, "Practice is also 6 Let's do "(laugh). You look like youth. It is a change that we changed in our generation. However, football was a group competition and it was only beginners, and it was not that sweet even if it became strong. How was the performance of football? It is not as a CAPITuLo.1 Broles 98 team, but I've got advice from the forerunner of one of the strongest schools to "ausa to Kimi 1" Lee 's advice, Tea goes on t1 after the tournament. I was told that "Mark only that number 6" ~ ~ Even in the game I lost by the big difference I got one point only After the game I was preached that the opponent team "was put in number 6" Well, it can not be better to win alone, so there was a part because it was basically 1 because I admired professional wrestling.11 So while talking, high school is hitting the buttocks of bad guys Everyone seems to be Yancha when I was a junior high school student, but my practice was done seriously, and my friends at that time would come to the venue ... Activities I never stopped because I felt like I was going out for classes and going to the club room or going to a convenience store to buy "Weekly Wrestling" or r Weekly Gong. Pro wrestling magazine was a substitute for textbooks (laugh) "To go club activities only I go to school for football by bicycle 4; high school is really important: I calculate the number of days attendant and I'm about to be able to progress gracefully Resting, with everyone going back to school Witnessing the debut of Hiroyasu Tanahashi 11 Does the high level of professional wrestling increase in high school days? The bite cost was almost gone wrestling. Originally there was no fashion or goddess, but the use of money was mostly professional wrestling, go to a spirit shop that was in Roppongi or Shibuya. At the time, there was a video series about 3000 - 4000 yen, r fighting spirit V special "and I bought it well. When buying a higher video, I suffered for hours in the store (laugh). After that, I came to go to the venue in Tokyo and so on at the beginning of January, so I can go even with mopeds if there is a venue there. "I was also visiting near the Kanto area. Soka is also in Saitama, because it is soon after crossing the river from Adachi Ward .... What is called Kuroba in Tochigi, Chiba Park gymnasium. I just do not want to taste the trip, I just want to see a wrestling. I also went to Sapporo by airplane in the high 2 summer. Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center often went. Kuki, Hasuda, Omiya, and it Kanagawa Yokohama, Fujisawa, supposed to be Sagamihara-Yamato is demolished, but it is do Shin Nihon & Co., did the last two races. On the first day Muto players and small CAPITULO.1 Pro wrestling boy Me (Do) (laugh) "I'm watching the debut of Hiroyasu Hirohashi, is not it? So yes, so the game was only for the Young Lion debut game. By the convention, I also played the game in the rural area at 99 Dora's ora's Korakuen, at that time the signing ceremony of the dome came to the main shelf bridge vs Mashiro and Shibata Katsuyasu vs Inoue Gutsuki Until then until then it was only seen in the center of the city of Bikku Maufuti, such as the two countries and the dome, but at such a tournament there were not many Young Lion games being organized, so at this time the young friends When I saw the game of "I wonder what this is!" I was shocked. Although there is no flashy technique, it is very interesting to put a sense of mind all over and compete for nuisance. Of course, I'm also interested in the game of the main players, but I feel like I want to see more of the Young Lion game, so I came to various competitions 5. It is interesting that Tanahashi player of the debut game was the trigger for me to spend hours on mopeds at local venues.Because at Ains Korakuen in Ainsakuen, I realized that Heng g Hiroyu shines best for 6 m. Pizza also took off the Yan Lion 94, did not he? It is six steps from the second, but since local competitions do not announce all cards in advance beforehand, after arriving at the venue, there were things like "what's the shelf bridge?" , I liked all the Young Lion games. - Young Lion at that time besides Tanahashi player Shibata player 0 - Inoue player, Masaya because of fainlessness, Mashira players, and the other is Refusal Yume A crying, Mr. Fukuda Masa 1 groove 0 -. KENSO (a_ 云木 9% made debut with rumor.) Athlete 2: It is a moment when the Tanahashi player loses Shibata player's cross-type Ha 4 - me & Krauti (lol) at that time I was thinking that that is the strongest technique I was contracting as a cause of becoming a Tanahashi fan, I have been temporarily away from New Japan.There are wrestlers that make me feel like my favorite flowers Or, at that time, I was already aiming for a wrestler, so it may have been caught as a familiar admiration and the thought is Great and Muta, where WCW and the target athletes are gone.

8 notes · View notes

madeleineandwilliam-ff · 6 years

Text

Chapter Nine

The rest of the month of November flew by once Madeleine returned home to London, where final exams and essays awaited her in the final weeks of her first semester of college. William kept himself equally as busy, but the pair managed to make time for phone calls, texts and AIMs during their class breaks and study sessions.

They welcomed December with harsh, bitter winds and lots and lots of snow. The month of December would also be the month of Madeleine’s first official engagement in London. Once she returned to London back in November, the Swedish Royal Court bombarded her with calls.

Over the last couple of months, the Swedish press had dubbed her “the absentee princess” as she hadn’t been on an official engagement since her move to London in August. Her parents had asked her to complete a joint engagement with her father’s older sisters, Princess Margaretha and Princess Birgitta. The engagement planned for the following week was a concert at the Royal Albert Hall for Swedish Pianist, Robert Hall. Louise was also set to accompany Madeleine and her aunts to the event, as a sort of comfort to Madeleine’s nerves.

“So what does one wear to see a pianist at the Royal Albert Hall anyways?” Louise asked Madeleine from her spot in Madeleine’s doorway of her bedroom.

Madeleine was curled up in her window seat with a fresh cup of coffee, engrossed in the second book from the Harry Potter series, The Chamber of Secrets as she briefly turned her attention to her best friend. “Your Sunday best?”

“My Sunday best, what are you eighty?” Louise replied, laughing. “That’s not nearly enough detail, Leni. Do I dress professional? Casual? Slutty?”

Madeleine was attempting to finish her current chapter in her book, but she sighed and rolled her eyes at Louise as she closed her book with a loud smack. Louise knew the word “slutty” would truly get Madeleine’s full attention. “Professional would be best, Lussan.”

“How about professional with a hint of slutty?” Louise asked with a devilish grin.

Madeleine chuckled. “Oh Birgitta and Margaretha would looove that.”

Louise rolled her eyes. “Are they prudes? Have I met them before? Your father’s sisters have a tendency to blur together after so many encounters, no offense.”

“Yes, you’ve met them a few times at birthday parties and at my graduation party. And they’re okay, the more proper of my dad’s four sisters as they’re the two eldest. Birgitta is more carefree, whereas Margaretha is more serious. They’ll like you, Margaretha is excited for the visit. She called briefly this morning.”

“Are they staying with us or has the Court arranged otherwise?” Louise asked, plopping herself down on Madeleine’s bed.

“They’re staying at a hotel about five minutes away. They’ll be over for tea on the eighth and then the concert is the evening of the ninth, then they’ll go home early on the morning of the tenth for the Nobel festivities.” Madeleine replied.

She was excited for her aunts to visit, but of course she was nervous. She didn’t grow up around them like she did her aunt and godmother, her father’s other sister, Princess Christina. She normally only saw Birgitta and Margaretha for special occasions like holidays, weddings, graduations and other big family events. They always got on well, but Madeleine was only ever comfortable with them when her parents were in the vicinity.

“Sounds good.” Louise replied as she began to flip through a gossip magazine on Madeleine’s bedside table.

“Hey Lussan?” Madeleine said, biting her lip.

“Yeah, Len?”

“Thank you again for coming with me. I know it's not your ideal way to spend a Friday night during finals week with me, and my aunts you hardly know. I normally wouldn’t ask but, I’m so freaked out about this event. The Court is worried the press may keep on me with the “absent princess” stuff if I don’t do well with this.”

“Ah, Leni. Of course, that is what best-friends are for. I know I could count on you if I was in the same situation. You’re going to kick that engagement square in the ass, if you ask me. Your aunts have done this before, they’ll be a good help for you. I’m just moral support.” Louise replied with a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, let’s hope so.”

The next day, Madeleine found herself sitting alone at a table at The Roasted Bean, a small, quaint coffee shop that was conveniently located down the road from her apartment. Over the last few months, Madeleine had grown to love the small hole in the wall coffee shop. It was very peaceful, as most people still preferred the Starbucks around the corner. But it worked out to Madeleine’s advantage as the shop was mostly a ghost town during her afternoon study sessions.

She was studying away for not one, but three of her finals that she was due to take the next day. However, her dyslexia had decided to kick in in the most convenient of moments, hindering her ability to concentrate on reading and note taking.

She had ordered her usual White Chocolate Mocha and chocolate croissant and instead of studying found herself people watching. The City of London was hustling and bustling around her with only weeks to go until Christmas. Many Londoners carried shopping bags that were filled with trinkets for their loved ones as they came and went. Snow was falling and the sun had long gone down with only the lights from Christmas decorations and street lights illuminating the sidewalks.

Since her move to London, Madeleine had found herself appreciating the art of people watching. It was more the art of normalcy she supposed she appreciated the most. Madeleine envied the random pedestrians as they passed her, they were the definition of normal - shopping as they pleased, going places without protection officers.

In Stockholm, she’d never had the pleasure of sitting in peace, just watching the world pass her by. But in London she had the glory of not being recognized around every street corner. That is, unless, she was being chased by the paparazzi, due to her own position and now the added plus of who her high profile boyfriend was.

Outside the window of the coffee shop, Madeleine spotted her protection officers, Olle and Ludvig, waiting for her in the parked Range Rover. This was another plus with London, she didn’t need them with her every second of every day - she only needed them on standby. It was nice to not feel watched by not only them, but by people she’d never met in her life. It was somewhat peaceful, especially since the press had otherwise become focused on things other than her relationship with William.

“Madde?”

Madeleine sprang to attention at the mention of her name. No. Someone had found her, or recognized her. This was her safe place, apparently not anymore. She turned to the voice, sighing as she looked up from her seat.

But this was no stranger to her, nor to her circle of friends back home in Sweden either. It was the boy who her friend, Emma Pernald, had wanted to set her up with just before she moved to London. Jonas Bergstrom.

Madeleine expected to see him in Stockholm, however not in London. She had no idea why he would be here as he was studying law back home in Sweden. Madeleine sighed as she turned to the tall, brunette with dazzling blue eyes. He was handsome, she would admit to that. But incredibly obnoxious, if you asked Madeleine.

“Jonas! Hi!” Madeleine exclaimed, trying to hide her surprise at seeing him in her city.

Jonas smiled at her, his blue eyes shining as he looked down at her. “So it is you! Emma mentioned that you were studying in London, but when I booked a trip here I never thought I’d actually see you!”

Madeleine shrugged her shoulders. “I supposed it really is a small world.”

“Indeed it is.” Jonas replied as he gestured to the empty seat at Madeleine’s table. “Can I sit?”

“Uhm, sure. Why not?” Madeleine replied, a polite smile on her face. She knew that Jonas had a thing for her, and he was a flirt anytime he saw her. He didn’t like not getting what his heart desired, however Madeleine clearly didn’t reciprocate these feelings.

Jonas took his seat, setting his coffee down. “I still can’t believe this. Princess Madeleine of Sweden! In London!”

“Uhh....yes. But if you wouldn’t mind saying that quite so loud, please?” Madeleine asked in a hushed tone. The last thing she wanted was for the baristas to know who she was, that would ruin this place for her altogether.

“Oh right, sorry.” Jonas replied, a slight flush coming to his cheeks.

“No don’t worry about it.” Madeleine replied, feeling a shift in the air. She’d made it awkward, of course. “So, what brings you to London anyways?”

Jonas perked up. “The opportunity has come up for me to study abroad here next summer. I’m just checking some places out and the college, of course.”

“Oh, what a great opportunity. Are you liking what you’ve seen so far?” Madeleine asked as she took a bite of chocolate croissant.

Jonas flashed her a smile and if Madeleine wasn’t mistaken he winked at her. Yes, winked at her. “Very much so. There are some great views in London.”

Madeleine had to refrain from rolling her eyes at him. Here he went with his flirting. The boy was so clueless it was painful. And apparently didn’t know, or care about the fact that she was publically dating William. However, Madeleine kept her cool. “There are some great places to visit as well.”

Jonas nodded in agreement. “Any place you’d suggest I visit?”

“Well, Big Ben is a must. Kensington and Buckingham Palaces are never a let down. And the London Eye is amazing.”

“Sounds like you’ve visited all the sights.” Jonas paused as he took a sip of his coffee. “Any chance you’d be available to show me around town? You might be able to sell me on London, more so than I already am.”

Madeleine tried not to display her displeasure on her face. He was a mutual friend, however he clearly wanted to be more than that in her life. There was just something she couldn’t quite pinpoint about him that she just didn’t like. Or maybe his blatantly obvious flirting was what it was. Whatever it was she did not want to show him around London.

“Normally, I could. But it's finals week for me and I’m slammed until I go home to Stockholm for Christmas.” Madeleine replied, gesturing to the several textbooks sitting in front of her. And she wasn’t lying, she didn’t have much free time. But what little free time she did have would be spent with William or on the phone with him, that was for certain.

“Ah, I see. You’re probably pretty busy with William too.” Jonas replied with a smirk.

Again, Madeleine had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She could not figure out why her friend, Emma, liked this boy so much so that she wanted to set him up with her. He was the most annoying, conniving thing she’d ever met. There was clearly an ulterior motive to this conversation.

“Not really, we’re long distance.” Madeleine replied with narrowed eyes.

“Oh so, you’re not that serious I take it?” Jonas asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

Madeleine shifted uncomfortably in her chair. This conversation was going down hill. Quick.

“You know, we’re taking it one day at a time.” Madeleine replied with pursed lips.

“Gotcha. That William, though. He seems like a bit of a playboy, from what I’ve heard.” Jonas replied, casually.

He clearly only approached her to piss her off. That was painfully obvious. He was jealous of her relationship with William. And was still holding a torch for Madeleine ever since the failed setup that her friends had tried to organize.

“You know what Jonas, thank you.” Madeleine said, curtly. She was over this.

“Thank you? For what?” Jonas asked smiling.

“Thank you for proving to me of what a fantastic decision it was to...” Madeleine began, but forced herself to stop as Olle approached her.

He’d left his position from the Range Rover and came and whispered in her ear. “Isn’t it time you head to the library, Madeleine?”

Madeleine let out a sigh of relief after the save from Olle. She clearly would’ve said something she would later come to regret. Her hotheadedness once again got the best of her as she gathered her books and said a quick goodbye to Jonas.

On her way out to the car, beside Olle she turned to him. “Thanks for the save in there, Olle.”

“No problem, Madeleine. We remembered your dislike for him the last time, and he clearly wasn’t getting the message.” He replied, opening the back door of the Range Rover for her.

As she slid in the backseat, she smiled. “Jonas Bergstrom is clearly not a face you should forget. Please save me anytime you see him. He’s an asshole.”

Olle and Ludvig burst into laughter. “Whatever you say, Princess.”

A few hours later, Madeleine returned home to her flat. After her encounter with Jonas at The Roasted Bean, she studied at the university’s library for a bit and later went grocery shopping at Waitrose.

As she walked into the front doorway, she dropped her bookbag at the door and carried the groceries into the kitchen.

“Lussan! You here?” Madeleine yelled as she began to put the milk in the fridge.

“Ohhh, Leni! Yay!” Louise exclaimed as she popped in the doorway of the kitchen, a smile on her face.

“What’s got you so excited?” Madeleine asked, her brow furrowed as she continued to put their groceries away.

“Well, you’ll never believe who called me this afternoon...” Louise trailed off as the ringing of their doorbell trilled through the flat and she disappeared down the hall.

“Louise! Who is here? I didn’t invite anyone tonight...” Madeleine questioned as she followed Louise down the hall.

Madeleine stopped in her tracks as she rounded the corner in the hallway and saw who their guest was. Now this was no coincidence.

Here he was again.

Uninvited and unwanted. In her flat. Jonas Bergstrom.

As Madeleine turned to Louise to ask her to come to the other room for a quick chat, she couldn’t help but notice that this guest was very wanted and invited by her best friend. Wonderful.

Louise was all giggly and full of excitement as she smiled up at Jonas. “Jonas, I’m so glad you called. It’s been too long, honestly.”

“It has, sweet Lussan.” Jonas replied, wrapping Louise into a hug as his blue eyes met Madeleine’s.

“Jonas! My, my aren’t we full of surprises? For the second time today!” Madeleine exclaimed with her eyes narrowed as she observed him.

Jonas had since changed his outfit from jeans and a sweatshirt from earlier in the day, to a nice blue button down shirt that complimented his eyes and dark wash jeans. His hair was more styled and there was the hint of overbearing cologne coming from his direction. God, he was full of it.

Louise furrowed her brow and looked to Madeleine. “Wait you knew Jonas was in town, Leni? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I was just about to when I walked in but here he is!” Madeleine paused, turning to Jonas. “What brings you here tonight, Jonas?”

“Ah well, since you couldn’t show me around London, I rang Lussan and she gladly accepted the invitation to accompany me. I’m just here to pick her up.” Jonas replied with a sly smile.

Madeleine tried to stop herself from scowling in his direction. “I see. Where exactly are you two going?”

Louise replied this time. “Well I figured I’d take him to some of the places William took you to, Leni. I was thinking London Eye, London Dungeon, maybe Buckingham Palace if there’s time.”

Madeleine nodded. “Well, you two should go then. Before it's too late, don’t let me keep you.”

Louise waved her hand in the air. “Nonsense, I was actually going to invite you! Can’t you come?”

Jonas didn’t give Madeleine a chance to answer before he interjected and answered for her. “Didn’t you say you were studying tonight, Madeleine? Unless your plans have changed.”

Madeleine couldn’t believe she’d been put in this position with him for the second time today. Where were Olle and Ludvig to save the day this time? While Madeleine had gotten most of her studying out of the way, she still had zero interest in spending an evening with Jonas.

“You’re right, Jonas. I have a big paper due in English Lit tomorrow, so I better not. You two have fun though.” Madeleine replied, trying to urge him out of their flat as quickly as possible.

“Such a shame.” Jonas paused. “Maybe next time?”

“We’ll see.” Madeleine replied, shifting awkwardly.

Louise grabbed her coat from the hall closet. “Let’s head out and leave Madeleine to her studying. Come on Jonas.”

“Right. Have a good night, Madeleine.” Jonas replied, smiling with a glimmer in his eye.

“You as well.” Madeleine mumbled as she watched Louise close the door behind them.

But now, Madeleine would have anything but a “nice” night. She was in complete disbelief at Jonas. Louise was clearly under the impression that he had different intentions with his visit that night, but Madeleine saw right through him. This was Jonas’ way to her, and she wasn’t going to let him hurt her best friend in the process.

Author’s Note: Hey readers! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And there was a new character introduction! What will Jonas Bergstrom’s (Madeleine’s ex-fiance in real life) role be in this story? ;)

#royal fanfic #royalfanficcollection #royalfanficcentral #princess madeleine ff #prince william ff

37 notes · View notes

livinginlandmarketing · 3 years

Link

Labor Day weekend can be one of the most popular times for local mountain resort towns and campgrounds set in Southern California’s lush forests and remote regions.

But with fires raging to the north of the state, and resources being taken up fighting those fires, vacationers will have to make other plans for the holiday weekend.

The U.S. Forest Service announced this week that 17 of the region’s National Forest areas shut down for the holiday weekend as of Tuesday, Aug. 31, prompting closures at places such as the Snow Summit and Snow Valley resorts, popular hiking and mountain biking areas and Mountain High. Mammoth Mountain, another in-demand destination, also closed.

A mountain bikers passes by a small sign posted at the Black Star Canyon Trailhead on Black Star Canyon Road in Silverado that informs visitors that access to the Cleveland National Forest is closed, on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Due to the California wildfires burning throughout the state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has temporary closed all of the National Forests in California, beginning on August 31, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. through September 17, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The closures, in place until at least Sept. 17, are due to the fires in Northern California putting a strain on resources, a decision made to “better provide public and firefighter safety due to the ongoing California wildfire crisis,” an announcement by USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region said.

“We do not take this decision lightly, but this is the best choice for public safety,” Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien said in the statement. “It is especially hard with the approaching Labor Day weekend, when so many people enjoy our national forests.”

Samantha Reho, spokeswoman for U.S. Forest Service, said it was only the second time in the Pacific Southwest region’s history that a full closure had been put in place. The last one was Sept. 9, 2020.

In the Southern California region, the closest areas impacted are the Angeles National Forest, the Cleveland National Forest, the San Bernardino National Forest and Los Padres.

In addition to the 17 closed this week, El Dorado near the fire-threatened Tahoe area had already enacted a closure on Aug. 17, which will last through Sept. 30.

Brian Roe, of Bakersfield, was looking forward to the June Lake fishing and camping retreat he’s taken for nearly 25 years. An estimated 200 men from around the country gather, but had to cancel their plans for this time.

“I was really looking forward to a vacation,” said Roe, adding that the last year has been tough with the coronavirus restrictions.

He will leave his camping gear at home and instead opted for a motel in June Lake, not far from Mammoth Lakes, for a few days next week, hoping to scout out a few still-open lakes.

“I’m off for 11 days, so I’m going to go anyhow,” he said.

Several lakes are still open in the area, including Twin Lakes in Bridgeport, Virginia Lakes and Crowley Lake, according to an announcement by Mammoth Mountain. Several golf courses, also on Roe’s to-do list, are still open.

In Mammoth Mountain, the closures include the Mammoth Bike Park, Via Ferrata adventure center and the scenic gondola ride, which will remain closed for the summer season. Camp High Sierra, and most camping spots in Mammoth Lakes, also closed, as well as Tamarack Lodge, at least through Sept. 17.

Reho couldn’t speculate whether the closures would be extended, but did note that it’s the time of year when Santa Ana winds – which can cause fires to rapidly spread – are most prevalent.

“Weather conditions and climate change, what we have seen, are not trending in the right direction,” she said. “Climate change continues to be a reality in the Forest Service, that’s something we monitor closely. It’s hard to speculate whether or not this will be a yearly thing.”

The Chaparral Fire, on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest and Tenaja Road in Murrieta, was up to 1,425 acres on Sunday morning. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

She said there’s an estimated 22,000 fire fighters deployed across the Forest Service at the moment. Many first responders are also helping in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida that devastated the Louisiana area, she noted.

She also noted that National Parks in the region – which fall under the U.S. Department of the Interior – may not be closed and people should check with those areas if they have plans in coming weeks.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Wednesday, Sept. 1, added a closure list of 34 properties that lie within or near U.S. Forest Service boundaries. Those closures are also due to the extreme fire conditions and are expected to last at least until Sept. 17.

In Southern California, those include the Coal Canyon Ecological Reserve in Orange County, the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve in San Bernardino County and the Carrizo Canyon Ecological Reserve in Riverside County, as well as others in the San Diego area.

Snow Summit operators scrambled this week to get the word out to visitors that their mountain bike trails, hiking trails and rock climbing areas would be closed.

“Thankfully, we got the news out fairly early yesterday with our messaging platforms,” said Big Bear Mountain Resort spokesman Justin Kanton. “It’s not that we want to close, or we don’t want people enjoying the forests, but given the resources required to fight the fires throughout the state, that’s what the Forest Service determined to be the best course of action.”

Other areas within Big Bear remain open, including the golf course operated by Big Bear Mountain Resort, but not on the National Forest land, as well as the lake.

U.S. Forest Service listed several reasons for the closures, including temporarily reducing the number of people in forest areas to minimize the likelihood that visitors could become trapped during emergency circumstances and decrease the potential for new fires starting at a time of when firefighting resources are already taxed.

The drought conditions – with little rain this summer – was another factor in the decision.

“Due to state-wide conditions, any new fire starts have the potential for large and rapid fire growth with a high risk to life and property,” officials said in their announcement. “Forecasts show that conditions this season are trending the same or worse as we move into late summer and fall.”

Corona’s Griffin Park reopens after renovation

LA’s Music Box Steps: a scenic climb, but leave your piano at home

Joshua Tree National Park proposes new entrance, more parking spaces

Discover (or rediscover) downtown Riverside via free tours

Secret stairs in LA a good fit for urban explorers

John McColly, director of marketing for Mountain High in Wrightwood, said although there’s no current fires in the region, he understands there’s high fire dangers and resources are limited.

“Frankly, it’s going to be more common as long as we have these big fires,” he said. “We haven’t had much rain this season, that’s contributing for the fire danger.”

McColly said it would have been a busy weekend for the resort, which had to shut down its disk golf course, restaurants and cancel a band that was supposed to play Saturday evening.

With coronavirus closures last year, wildfires the year before that, and now the most recent closures, local resorts have had to pivot quickly to adapt to swift closures, he said.

“We’re hanging in there.”

-on September 02, 2021 at 08:25AM by Laylan Connelly

#riversidenews

0 notes

heavyarethecrowns · 6 years

Photo

People that have married in the Royal Families since 1800

Sweden

Eugénie Bernardine Désirée Clary better known as Désirée Clary (8 November 1777 – 17 December 1860)

Clary was born in Marseille, France, the daughter of François Clary a wealthy silk manufacturer and merchant, by his second wife Françoise Rose Somis Eugénie was normally used as her name of address.

Clary had a sister and brother to whom she remained very close all her life. Her sister, Julie Clary, married Joseph Bonaparte, and later became Queen of Naples and Spain. Her brother, Nicholas Joseph Clary, was created 1st Count Clary

As a child, Clary received the convent schooling usually given to daughters of the upper classes in pre-revolutionary France. However, when she was barely eleven years old, the French Revolution of 1789 took place, and convents were closed. Clary returned to live with her parents, and was perforce home-schooled thereafter. Later, her education would be described as shallow.

In 1794, Clary's father died. Shortly after, it was discovered that in the years before the revolution, he had made an appeal to be ennobled, a request that had been denied. Because of this, Désirée Clary's brother Etienne, now the head of the family and her guardian, was arrested.

Désirée Clary met Joseph Bonaparte and was introduced to her family. Bonaparte and Clary were engaged, and his brother Napoleon Bonaparte also met her family. Soon Joseph was engaged instead to her older sister Julie while Napoleon was engaged to Désirée Clary on 21 April 1795. In 1795–1797

Clary lived with her mother in Genoa in Italy, where her brother-in-law Joseph had a diplomatic mission; they were also joined by the Bonaparte family. In 1795, Napoleon became involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais and broke the engagement to Clary on 6 September. He married Joséphine in 1796.

In 1797, Clary went to live in Rome with her sister Julie and her brother-in-law Joseph, who was French ambassador to the Papal States. Her relationship with Julie remained close. She was briefly engaged to Mathurin-Léonard Duphot, a French general. The engagement has been assumed to be Napoleon's idea to compensate her with a marriage, while Duphot was attracted to her dowry and position as sister-in-law of Napoleon. She agreed to the engagement though Duphot had a long-term relationship and a son with another woman. On 30 December 1797, on the eve of their marriage, Duphot was killed in an anti-French riot outside of their residence Palazzo Corsini in Rome.In later years, Clary vehemently denied that her engagement to Duphot had ever existed

After her return to France, Clary lived with Julie and Joseph in Paris. In Paris, she lived in the circle of the Bonaparte family, who sided with her against Josephine after Napoleon had broken off their engagement. She herself did not like Josephine either, as she has been quoted calling her an aged courtesan with a deservedly bad reputation, but she is not believed to have shown any hostility toward Josephine as did the members of the Bonaparte family. She received a proposal from General Junot, but turned it down because it was given through Marmont.Clary eventually met her future spouse, Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, another French general and politician. They were married in a secular ceremony at Sceaux on 17 August 1798. In the marriage contract, Clary was given economic independence. On 4 July 1799, she gave birth to their only child, a son, Oscar.

In August 1810, Bernadotte's husband was elected heir to the throne of Sweden and she heiress, now in that position being given the official name of Desideria. She initially thought this was to be similar to the position of Prince of Pontecorvo, and did not expect to have to visit Sweden more than she had been forced to visit Pontecorvo: "I thought, that it was at it had been with Ponte Corvo, a place from where we would have a title."She was later to admit, that she had never cared about any other country than France and knew nothing of foreign countries nor did she care about them, and that she was in despair when she was told that this time, she would be expected to leave Paris. Desideria delayed her departure and did not leave with her spouse. She was delighted with the position she had received at the French court after her elevation to crown princess (she had been invited to court events every week), and she was frightened by the stories of her reluctant French servants, who tried to discourage her from leaving by saying that Sweden was a country close to the North Pole filled with Polar bears.Finally, she left Paris and traveled by Hamburg and Kronborg in Denmark over the Öresund to Helsingborg in Sweden.

On 22 December 1810, Desideria arrived with her son Oscar in Helsingborg in Sweden, and the 6 January 1811, she was introduced to the Swedish royal court at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The Swedish climate was reportedly a shock for her: she arrived during the winter, and she hated the snow so much that she cried. Her spouse had converted upon his election as heir to the Swedish throne, and upon their arrival, her son was also to do so, as was required, and was taken from her to be brought up a Lutheran. There was, in accordance with the Tolerance Act, no demand that she should convert, and a Catholic chapel was arranged for her use. Desideria was not religious,but the Catholic masses served to remind her of France, and she celebrated the birth of the son of Napoleon, the King of Rome, by a Te Deum in her chapel.

Desideria was unable to adapt to the demands of formal court etiquette or participate in the representational duties which were required of her in her position of Crown Princess. Her French entourage, especially Elise la Flotte, made her unpopular during her stay in Sweden by encouraging her to complain about everything.She did not have a good relationship with Queen Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte, though the Dowager Queen Sophia Magdalena was reportedly kind to her. In her famous diaries, Queen Charlotte described her as good hearted, generous and pleasant when she chose to be and not one to plot, but also an immature "spoiled child", who hated all demands and was unable to handle any form of representation, and as "a French woman in every inch" who disliked and complained about everything which was not French, and "consequently, she is not liked." Queen Charlotte, who wanted to remain the center of attention at her own court, was not pleased with Desideria and also influenced King Charles against her.

Desideria left Sweden in the summer of 1811 under the name of Countess of Gotland, officially because of her health, and returned to Paris, leaving her husband and her son behind. She herself said that the Swedish nobility had treated her as if they were made of ice: "Do not talk with me of Stockholm, I get a cold as soon as I hear the word." In Sweden, her husband took a mistress, the noble Mariana Koskull. Under the same alias Desideria officially resided incognito in Paris, thereby avoiding politics. However, her house at rue d'Anjou was watched by the secret police, and her letters were read by them. She had no court, just her lady's companion Elise la Flotte to assist her as hostess at her receptions, and she mostly associated with a circle of close friends and family.

In 1818, her husband became King of Sweden, which made Desideria Queen. However, she remained in France, officially for health reasons. After she became Queen, the Swedish Queen Dowager wrote to her and suggested that she should have Swedish ladies-in-waiting, but she replied that it was unnecessary for her to have a court as she still resided incognito. She officially kept herself incognito and did not host any court, but she kept in contact with the Swedish embassy, regularly visited the court of Louis XVIII and often saw Swedes at her receptions, which she hosted on Thursdays and Sundays, unofficially in her role as queen, though she still used the title of countess.

During this period, she fell in love with the French prime minister, the Duc de Richelieu, which attracted attention. According to one version, she fell in love with him after Louis XVIII had given him the task to deny her regular appeal for her sister Julie in the most charming way possible. True or not, she did fall in love with him, but the affection was not answered by Richelieu, who referred to her as his "crazy Queen". According to Laure Junot, she did not dare to speak to him or approach him, but she followed him wherever he went, tried to make contact with him, followed him on his trip to Spa and had flowers placed in his room. She followed him around until his death in 1822.

During the summer of 1822, her son Oscar made a trip in Europe to inspect prospective brides, and it was decided they should meet. As France was deemed unsuitable, they met in Aachen and a second time in Switzerland. In 1823, Desideria returned to Sweden together with her son's bride, Josephine of Leuchtenberg. It was intended to be a visit, but she was to remain in Sweden for the rest of her life. She and Josephine arrived in Stockholm 13 June 1823. Three days later, the royal court and the government was presented to her, and 19 June, she participated in the official welcoming of Josephine and witnessed the wedding

On 21 August 1829, she was crowned Queen of Sweden in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. Her coronation had been suggested upon her return, but her consort had postponed it because he feared there could be religious difficulties. There was actually a suggestion that she should convert to the Lutheran faith before her coronation, but in the end, the question was not considered important enough to press, and she was crowned all the same. She was crowned at her own request after having pressed Charles John with a wish that she should be crowned: "otherwise she would be no proper Queen". A reason for this is believed to have been that she regarded it as protection against divorce

The relationship between her and her husband King Charles XIV John was somewhat distant, but friendly. Charles John treated her with some irritability, while she behaved very freely and informally toward him. The court was astonished by her informal behavior. She could enter his bedroom and stay there until late at night even though he hinted to her that he wished to be alone with his favorite Count Magnus Brahe. Every morning, she visited her husband in her nightgown, which was seen as shocking, because her husband usually conferred with members of the council of state in his bed chamber at that time. Because of their difference in habits, they seldom saw each other even though they lived together. Because she was always late at dinner, for example, he stopped having his meals with her, and as he also preferred to have his meals alone, it was not uncommon for the nobles of the court to sit alone at the dinner table, without the royal couple present

The 1830s were a period when she did her best to be active as a queen, a role she had never wanted to play. The decade is described as a time of balls and parties, more than had been seen at the Swedish court since the days of King Gustav III, but Desideria soon grew tired of her royal status and wanted to return to France. However, her husband did not allow it. As queen she is mostly known for her eccentric habits. She is known to have kept reversed hours and, consequently, for often being late and keeping guests waiting, something which agitated her spouse. Normally, she retired at four in the morning, and awoke at two o'clock in the afternoon. Before she went to bed, she took a "walk by carriage": during these trips, she often paid unannounced visits, which were normally inconvenient because of the time. When the weather was bad, her carriage drove round the courtyard of the royal palace instead. It was normal for her to arrive for a visit to an opera when the show had ended.

Desideria was interested in fashion, devoted a lot of interest and pride in her hair and wore low cut dresses until an advanced age. She enjoyed dancing: her standard question at court presentations were if the debutantes liked to dance, and she herself danced well also during her old age. Her conversations were mainly about her old life in France. Her niece, Marcelle Tascher de la Pagerie, served as her Mistress of the Robes her first years as queen and also her main company, as she could speak to her of her main topic, her old life. After her niece had returned to France, she often socialized with the rich merchant Carl Abraham Arfwedson, who had once been a guest in her childhood home.She never became very popular at the royal court, where she was regarded with some snobbery because of her past as a merchant's daughter and a republican. She never learned to speak the Swedish language, and there are many anecdotes of her attempts to speak the language.

In 1844, Charles XIV John died and Desideria became Queen Dowager. Her son, the new King Oscar I, allowed her to keep her usual quarters in the Royal Palace as well as her entire court, so she would not have to change her habits. When her daughter-in-law Queen Josephine tried to convince her to reduce her court of her own free will, saying she no longer needed such a big court as a queen dowager, she answered: "It is true that I no longer need them all, but all of them still need me." She was a considerate and well-liked employer among her staff. One notable member of her court was Countess Clara Bonde, who was described as a personal friend and served the queen from her return to Sweden until her death.

Desideria did engage in charity but it was discreet, and it has been said: "Her charity was considerable but took place in silence". One example was that she supported poor upper-class women by giving them sewing work. She also acted as official protector of charitable institutions, such as the Women's Society Girl School. The same year she became a widow, she was described by the French diplomat Bacourt: "Royalty has not altered her — unfortunately, for the reputation of the Crown. She has always been and will always remain an ordinary merchant woman, surprised over her position, and surprising to find upon a throne."He also added that she was a goodhearted woman.

After becoming a widow, she grew more and more eccentric. She went to bed in the morning, got up in the evening, ate breakfast at night and wandered around the corridors of the sleeping palace with a light. Desideria sometimes would take in children from the streets to the palace and give them sweets; she was not able to engage in any real conversation, but she would say "Kom, kom!" (Swedish for "Come come!") There are stories about people having been awakened by her carriage when she drove through the streets at night. The carriage sometimes stopped; she would sleep for a while, and then she would wake and the carriage would continue on its way. Her habit or circling the courtyard in her coach she called "Kring kring" (Swedish for "around and around"), one of the few Swedish words she learned.

On the last day of her life, Queen Desideria entered her box at the Royal Swedish Opera just after the performance had ended, and collapsed before reaching her apartment upon returning to Stockholm Palace on 17 December 1860.

#queen desiree #1800 #sweden

10 notes · View notes

lawtoyatalks · 6 years

Text

Wow, I know its been a while but, the blog is back! Let me tell you, being a law student is extremely time consuming. When I created this blog in 2015 I thought I would continue blogging throughout law school and beyond. I made it to the second semester of 1L year & all h**l broke loose! I knew it’d be hard to maintain a steady presence on the blog and be a good student, but clearly it was a bit harder than I anticipated. So, now that I’m LawToya J.D., I figured it was due time to start blogging again. I have so much to share about my law school experience and cant wait to post them on the blog. I’ll also be incorporating a few of my favorite things like beauty, travel, and food (I really love food.)

So, where have I been? Here’s a recap of the last 3 years!

1L Year

1L year was a whirlwind. Everything was new, everyone was new, and every where was new. I grew up in south Florida and went to the University of Central Florida for college. For law school I decided to switch up the scenery and move to Illinois. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “why in the world would you leave those warm sunny beaches?” I’m insane, that’s why. Adjusting to life in Illinois took up a huge chunk of time during 1L, but it also made it fun. Imagine a Florida girl learning how to shovel snow!

I joined the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) which was absolutely necessary (Look out for a blog post on BLSA). I also got involved with the Woman’s Law Society, took a seat on the faculty curriculum committee, and worked with the prisoners rights research group. Overall, I had an amazing 1L year.

1L Summer

Summers in law school are reserved for working and networking. I was incredibly fortunate and landed an in-house position at a fortune 500 company for my 1L summer. It. Was. Amazing. I worked and lived in Chicago, I got to party on the weekends and explore my neighborhood on weeknights. I fell in love with the city & knew I wanted to be back for 2L summer. I also networked my a** off, I met tons of lawyers from all different backgrounds. This networking proved to be invaluable during OCI. Oh, and speaking of OCI . . . it was . . . interesting. (I’ll have a separate post on how to survive). Fortunately though, I made it out of OCI with my sanity and an offer from my top firm!

2L Year

2L year worked me to death. It was the most difficult year of my academic career. I took 18 credits, competed on the trial team, and clerked part time at a local firm. I also decided to be an over achiever and join the BLSA & WLS executive boards. Although it was incredibly difficult, I got bomb grades and actually had a lot of fun. 2L was a busy blur but somehow I made it out alive!

2L Summer

Back in Chicago, this time at the firm of my dreams! I’d looked forward to this for 9 months! I was one of 6 summer associates at the firm. We spent 10 weeks working as “associates,” taking on assignments, attending court hearings, and shadowing depositions. Outside of work I was living my best life! Rooftop parties were a weekly occurrence and Sunday brunches with unlimited mimosas were an absolute must. The summer was incredibly challenging and the anxiety of post-grad offers plagued my thoughts daily. In the end, the stress and late nights at the office were worth it! On August 9th 2017, I signed an offer to return to the firm after graduation. Talk about a sigh of relief!!!

3L Year

Finally. The end was near. 3L year was the home stretch, but boy was it difficult. Fall semester I decided it was the perfect time to become a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. This. Was. Difficult. But, I wouldn’t change it for the world! Then, spring semester decided to show me who’s boss. I was enrolled in 8 classes, some short sessions, some intersession, and some traditional doctrinal courses. I’m still not sure whether it was the overload of courses or the senioritis that made me feel like jumping off of a bridge. The semester proved to be my most challenging. Grades haven’t been released yet and honestly, I’m not checking them.

Overall my law school experience wasn’t a bad one. I truly enjoyed most (read: some) of the process and have many fond memories. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m SO glad its over! Now onto Bar prep…pray for me.

LawToya, J.D.

I know its been a while but, LawToya is blogging again! Read & Subscribe to my blog! Wow, I know its been a while but, the blog is back! Let me tell you, being a law student is extremely time consuming.

3 notes · View notes

thuthu220100 · 3 years

Link

Meal planning makes grocery shopping and weeknight dinners less hectic, and we could all use a little less stress in our lives. If you’re new to meal planning or just need some new inspiration, our weekly meal plans are a great place to start.

Each week, we’ll be adding the meal plan featured in our Meal Prep & Planning newsletter. Sign up now if you’d like to get these meal plans sent straight to your inbox.

Check out the Expert’s Guide to Meal Planning for tons more plans, recipes and tips that’ll keep you organized.

This Week's Plan: 4-Ingredient Dinners

1 / 7

Sunday: Special Pork Chops

I work nine hours a day, so I need delicious and simple recipes like this one. My husband thinks I work hard fixing meals, but this dish is good and easy. In summer, I can my own salsa and use some to top these chops. —LaDane Wilson, Alexander City, Alabama

Get Recipe

Sign up for the Meal Prep & Planning newsletter for more weekly meal plans and meal prep tips delivered straight to your inbox.

Monday: Caesar Chicken with Feta

My tomatoey chicken is the perfect answer on those crazy days when supper has to be on the table in 30 minutes, tops (doesn't hurt that it's delicious, too). —Denise Chelpka, Phoenix, Arizona

Get Recipe

Tuesday: Weeknight Ravioli Lasagna

My husband and I love lasagna, but it's time-consuming to build and we always end up with too much. Using frozen ravioli solves everything. —Pamela Nicholson, Festus, Missouri

Get Recipe

Wednesday: In-a-Pinch Chicken & Spinach

I needed a fast supper while babysitting my grandchild. I used what my daughter-in-law had in the fridge and turned it into what's now one of our favorite chicken and spinach recipes. —Sandra Ellis, Stockbridge, Georgia

Get Recipe

Thursday: Garlic Toast Pizzas

Between working full-time, going to school and raising three children, finding time-saving recipes that my family likes is one of my biggest challenges. These quick pizzas pack a huge amount of flavor. —Amy Grim, Chillicothe, Ohio

Get Recipe

Friday: Oven-Roasted Salmon

When I’m starving after work, I want a fast meal with no-fail technique. Roasted salmon is super tender and has a delicate sweetness. It’s also an easy wowza for company. —Jeanne Ambrose, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Get Recipe

Saturday: Sesame Cilantro Shrimp

On days when I don't feel like spending much time in the kitchen, I reach for shrimp. I can have a hot meal in the table in 10 minutes. —Tami Penunuri, League City, Texas

Get Recipe

Find more weekly meal plans here.

Stressful weeks need easy dinners, like these. This week, we’re focusing on 4-ingredient dinners that come together in a snap. Because when life is hectic, dinner shouldn’t be.

Last Week's Plan: Canned Goods

1 / 7

Sunday: Effortless Black Bean Chili

My mom found the inspiration for this chili in a slow-cooker cookbook. After a few updates, all of us love it (even those of us who steer clear of beans). We think it's even better served over rice. —Amelia Gormley, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

Get Recipe

Sign up for the Meal Prep & Planning newsletter for more weekly meal plans and meal prep tips delivered straight to your inbox.

Monday: Family-Favorite Cheeseburger Pasta

I created this cheeseburger pasta recipe to satisfy a craving. What a delicious, healthy classic! —Raquel Haggard, Edmond, Oklahoma

Get Recipe

Tuesday: Greek Brown and Wild Rice Bowls

This fresh rice dish tastes like the Mediterranean in a bowl! It's short on ingredients, but packs in so much flavor. For a hand-held version, leave out the rice and tuck the rest of the ingredients in a pita pocket. —Darla Andrews, Schertz, Texas

Get Recipe

Wednesday: Spinach Salad with Tortellini & Roasted Onions

Spinach and tortellini go so well together, and this salad makes an easy meal with leftover cooked chicken. What really makes it special is the roasted onion that adds oomph to bottled salad dressing. —Robin Haas, Hyde Park, Massachusetts

Get Recipe

Thursday: Contest-Winning Hearty Hamburger Soup

At family get-togethers, our children always request this spirit-warming ground beef soup along with a fresh loaf of homemade bread and tall glasses of milk. This hamburger soup has robust flavor, plenty of fresh-tasting vegetables and is easy to make. —Barbara Brown, Janesville, Wisconsin

Get Recipe

Friday: Creamy Tuna-Noodle Casserole

When you need supper fast, this tuna noodle casserole makes a super one-dish meal. Cooked chicken breast works well in place of the tuna. —Edie DeSpain, Logan, Utah

Get Recipe

Saturday: Classic Chicken Potpie

Our neighbors and a friend from back home are always after me to make "those yummy potpies". That's all the encouragement I need, since we really like 'em, too! —Ada May Smith, Citrus Springs, Florida.

Get Recipe

Find more weekly meal plans here.

Canned goods are a great starting point for countless meals, including these. Each of this week’s dinners relies on canned foods—beans, tomatoes, tuna and more—to make your meal prep stress free.

Want to make your own plan? Check out our meal plan template.

April Weekly Meal Plans

A warm up is on the way! Celebrate spring this month with recipes featuring Mediterranean flavors, roast chicken and more. April is also a great month to get thrifty and experiment with making meals out of pantry staples or minimal ingredients. (After all, we’ve been saving up for spring break!)

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Easter Leftovers

A 7-Day Meal Plan with 4-Ingredient Dinners

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Taco Meat

A 7-Day Meal Plan With Roast Chicken

A 7-Day Mediterranean Dinners Meal Plan

March Weekly Meal Plans

Spring is on the horizon. As you start spending more time outdoors (goodbye, snow), make dinner quick with recipes that require just 15 minutes of prep. Making a big batch of meat and grains on Sunday also helps speed up weeknight dinners. And don’t forget about St. Patrick’s Day. We have ideas for the entire week—corned beef, reubens and other Irish-inspired meals.

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Rice

A 7-Day Meal Plan For St. Patrick's Day Week

A 7-Day 15-Minute Prep Meal Plan

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Slow Cooker Pot Roast

February Weekly Meal Plans

February may seem dull and dreary, but it does have some holidays and events. If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with your special someone or observing Lent, we’ve got a meal plan for you. And if you’re in the mood to use your favorite small kitchen appliances—like the Instant Pot and slow cooker—to cook up some comfort food, you’ll find lots of ideas this month.

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Your Instant Pot

A 7-Day Meal Plan for Valentine's Day Week

A 7-Day Meal Plan During Lent

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Slow Cooker Chicken

January Weekly Meal Plans

January is all about starting fresh—and that applies to your meal plans, too! We’re enjoying lots of lightened-up meals, as well as classic comfort foods to keep us warm on cold nights. January is also a great month to experiment in the kitchen, whether that means trying a new global recipe or finally putting your Dutch oven to work. Stay warm out there!

A 7-Day Meal Plan of Healthy Meals

A 7-Day Meal Plan of Winter Dinners

A 7-Day Indian Dinners Meal Plan

A 7-Day Meal Plan of One-Pot Meals

A 7-Day Meal Plan of Kid-Friendly Dinners

December Weekly Meal Plans

If you ask us, December is the best month of the year. And whether you’re craving something healthy in between bites of Christmas cookies or you need ideas for using up leftovers, these meal plans have you covered. Plus, they’re all easy! (We know you’ve got your hands full with holiday prep).

A 7-Day Meal Plan of Freezer Meals

A 7-Day Meal Plan of Fresh Salads

A 7-Day Meal Plan Between Christmas and New Year's

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Leftover Ham

November Weekly Meal Plans

We look forward to November all year long. And while Thanksgiving Day is a major food holiday, the rest of the month doesn’t have to be quite as laborious. That’s why we love these oh-so-simple meal plans for sheet pan suppers, 5-minute meals and more. There’s nothing wrong with taking it easy!

A 7-Day Meal Plan of Sheet Pan Suppers

A 7-Day Meal Plan with Prep-Ahead Soups

A 7-Day Meal Plan with 5-Minute Meals

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Leftovers

October Weekly Meal Plans

Fall is in full swing, and we are loving seasonal ingredients. This month, incorporate pumpkin, squash, Brussels sprouts and more autumnal produce into your meals. This is also a great month to dig into cozy casseroles and hearty German eats (Hello, Oktoberfest!).

A 7-Day Meal Plan Featuring Fall Flavors

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using a Rotisserie Chicken

A 7-Day German Meal Plan

A 7-Day Meal Plan with Fall Casseroles

10 Recipes with 10 Ingredients

September Weekly Meal Plans

September brings a lot of change—cooler weather, back to school and shorter days. Make the most of it with prep-ahead meals, global eats and plans that incorporate your favorite kitchen appliances.

A 7-Day Meal Plan of September Dinners

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Appliances

A 7-Day Greek Meal Plan

A 7-Day Meal Plan with Prep-Ahead Casseroles

August Weekly Meal Plans

The dog days of summer are here. Cool off with summer meal plans built around grilled meats, family favorites and simple ingredients. This is a great month to take advantage of peak seasonal produce, too. (We’re serving sliced watermelon with almost every meal!)

A 7-Day Meal Plan for the Summer

A 7-Day Plan Using Marinated Chicken

A 7-Day Asian Meal Plan

A 7-Day School Night Dinner Plan

A 7-Day Italian Meal Plan

July Weekly Meal Plans

Lazy summer days are coming right up. Enjoy easy, no-cook meals, 30-minute plans and more. Plus, since we know your garden is bursting, find creative ways to utilize fresh basil or mushrooms. Our goal is to help you cook less so you can enjoy more time outdoors.

A 7-Day Meal Plan of No-Cook Dinners

A 7-Day 30-Minute Summer Meal Plan

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Fresh Basil

A 7-Day Meal Plan with Mushrooms

June Weekly Meal Plans

Longer, warmer days have us wanting to eat a little lighter. This month we’re enjoying simple meals and meat-free entrees. At the store (or farmers market!), keep an eye out for tons of fresh summer fruits and leafy greens.

A 7-Day Meal Plan Repeating Favorite Dinners

A 7-Day Meal Plan That Keeps It Simple

A 7-Day Vegetarian Dinners Meal Plan

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Hard-Boiled Eggs

May Weekly Meal Plans

See ya spring—and hello summer! May is a great transition month and the perfect time to start experimenting with fresh flavors in your kitchen. Put seasonal ingredients to work, like tomatoes and grilled chicken, and enjoy time well spent on the patio.

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Spaghetti Sauce

A 7-Day Meal Plan with Grilled Chicken

A 7-Day Meal Plan with Theme Nights

A 7-Day Meal Plan Using Summer Produce

How do I make my weekly meal plan?

In the mood to make your own meal plan? We suggest starting with a few core ingredients that you can use throughout the week. Roast chicken, for example, can work as a Sunday night dinner, a Monday night taco filling and a Tuesday soup starter. We also recommend picking simple, family-friendly meals. After all, meal planning is supposed to make your life easier—don’t feel pressured to whip up a 27-step gourmet meal after a busy day.

Editor’s tip: If you’re on a budget, use grocery store sale flyers to guide your ingredient selection.

What meals can I cook for a week?

Most meal plans focus on dinner, but you can also meal plan for breakfast and lunch—or all three! To save time, we recommend repeating meals for breakfast and lunch. Overnight oats are a great meal prep option to enjoy all week. And a big batch of grains, roasted veggies and grilled chicken prepared on Sunday can feed you for lunch the entire week.

If you’re looking for meal plans that fit a particular lifestyle, check out our low-carb meal plan, vegetarian meal plan and vegan meal plan. We also have tips for creating a healthy meal plan, too.

Next up: How to Stock Your Pantry According to Our Kitchen Expert

The post Your Weekly Meal Planner appeared first on Taste of Home.

Nguồn: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/your-weekly-meal-planner/ Xem thêm tại: https://thuthu220100.blogspot.com https://hocnauan.edu.vn Xem thêm tại: https://thuthu220100.tumblr.com https://hocnauan.edu.vn

#hnaedu #hocnauan #hocnauanedu #hocnauaneduvn #hocnauanngon #hocnauanchuyennghiep #hocnauancob

0 notes

newstfionline · 3 years

Text

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Records show fervent Trump fans fueled US Capitol takeover (AP) The mob that showed up at the president’s behest and stormed the U.S. Capitol was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, members of the military and adherents of QAnon. The Associated Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who, going maskless amid the pandemic, were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. The evidence gives lie to claims by right-wing pundits that the violence was perpetrated by left-wing antifa thugs rather than supporters of the president. Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, told reporters that investigators had seen “no indication” antifa activists were disguised as Trump supporters in Wednesday’s riot. The AP found that many of the rioters had taken to social media after the November election to retweet claims by Trump that the vote had been stolen.

Parler, Free Speech, and bans (NYT) From the start, John Matze had positioned Parler as a “free speech” social network where people could mostly say whatever they wanted. It was a bet that had recently paid off big as millions of President Trump’s supporters, fed up with what they deemed censorship on Facebook and Twitter, flocked to Parler instead. On the app, which had become a top download on Apple’s App Store, discussions over politics had ramped up. But so had discussions that the election had been stolen from Mr. Trump, with users urging aggressive demonstrations last week when Congress met to certify the election of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. By Saturday night, Apple and Google had removed Parler from their app stores and Amazon said it would no longer host the site on its computing services, saying it had not sufficiently policed posts that incited violence and crime. Early on Monday morning, just after midnight on the West Coast, Parler appeared to have gone offline. Parler’s plight immediately drew condemnation from those on the right, who compared the big tech companies to authoritarian overlords. Parler has now become a test case in a renewed national debate over free speech on the internet and whether tech giants such as Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon have too much power. (Worldcrunch) The moves by the tech giants didn’t sit well with many, including critics of the president. “We understand the desire to permanently suspend [Trump] now,” Kate Ruane, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote in a statement on Friday. “But it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions—especially when political realities make those decisions easier.” French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire went further, telling France Inter radio this morning that he was “shocked” that the social networks could take such action: “The regulation of the digital [space] can’t be carried out by the digital oligarchy itself. The digital oligarchy is one of the threats that weighs on our nations and our democracies.”

Presidential Disqualification (NYT) If the House impeaches President Trump this week, it will still have almost no effect on how long he remains in office. His term expires nine days from now, and even the most rapid conceivable Senate trial would cover much of that time. But the impeachment debate is still highly consequential. The Senate has the power both to remove Trump from office and to prevent him from holding office in the future. That second power will not expire when his term ends, many constitutional scholars say. A Senate trial can happen after Jan. 20. And disqualifying Trump from holding office again could alter the future of American politics. There is a significant chance he could win the presidency again, in 2024. He remains popular with many Republican voters, and the Electoral College currently gives a big advantage to Republicans. If he is not disqualified from future office, Trump could dominate the Republican Party and shape American politics for the next four years.

As spending climbs and revenue falls, the coronavirus forces a global reckoning (Washington Post) Costa Rica built Latin America’s model society, enacting universal health care and spending its way to one of the Western Hemisphere’s highest literacy rates. Now, it’s reeling from the financially crushing side effects of the coronavirus, as cratering revenue and crisis spending force a reckoning over a massive pile of government debt. The pandemic is hurtling heavily leveraged nations into an economic danger zone, threatening to bankrupt the worst-affected. Costa Rica, a country known for zip-lining tourists and American retirees, is scrambling to stave off a full-blown debt crisis, imposing emergency cuts and proposing harsher measures that touched off rare violent protests last fall. Around the globe, the pandemic is racking up a mind-blowing bill: trillions of dollars in lost tax revenue, ramped-up spending and new borrowing set to burden the next generation with record levels of debt. In the direst cases—low- and middle-income countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America, that are already saddled with backbreaking debt—covering the rising costs is transforming into a high-stakes test of national solvency. Analysts call it a “debt tsunami”: National accounts are sinking into the red at a record pace. “I consider the risk to be very high of an emerging-market debt crisis where a lot of countries run into problems at once,” said Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “This is going to be a rocky road.”

Schools shut as Madrid clears record snow (AP) Schools in Madrid were closed on Monday while most trains and flights resumed as the Spanish capital tried to return to some form of normalcy after a huge snow storm on the weekend. While many in Madrid enjoyed the rare snow fall, skiing right at the heart of the city and holding mass snowball fights, a cold spell was set to turn the snow into slippery ice this week, and authorities rushed to clear more streets. With most streets still covered in snow, many workers stayed home. A Reuters reporter saw a number of empty shelves at several central Madrid supermarkets.

Pope, in new decree, allows more roles for women in Church (Reuters) Pope Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, on Monday changed its law to allow them to serve as readers at liturgies, altar servers and distributors of communion. In a decree, the pope formalised what already has been happening in many countries for years. But with the change in the Code of Canon Law, conservative bishops will not be able to block women in their diocese from those roles. But the Vatican stressed that the roles were “essentially distinct from the ordained ministry”, and were not an automatic precursor to women one day being allowed to be ordained priests. In a big shift last August the pope appointed six women, including the former treasurer for Britain’s Prince Charles, to senior roles in the council that oversees Vatican finances. Francis has already appointed women as deputy foreign minister, director of the Vatican Museums, and deputy head of the Vatican Press Office, as well as four women as councillors to the Synod of Bishops, which prepares major meetings.

Populist, Prisoner, President: A Convicted Kidnapper Wins Kyrgyzstan Election (NYT) A populist politician and convicted kidnapper won a landslide victory on Sunday in a snap presidential election in Kyrgyzstan triggered by a popular uprising against the previous government. Sadyr Japarov, the winning candidate, got nearly 80 percent of the vote, according to the central electoral commission of the mountainous country, the only democracy in Central Asia. More than 80 percent of voters also supported Mr. Japarov’s proposal to redistribute political power away from Parliament and into the president’s hands. In September, Mr. Japarov, 52, was still in jail, serving a lengthy term for orchestrating the kidnapping of a provincial governor, a charge he denounced as politically motivated. A violent upheaval that erupted in October over a disputed parliamentary election sprung Mr. Japarov from a prison cell to the prime minister’s chair. A few days later, he assumed the interim presidency before resigning to run for that office. The country’s main investigative body quickly canceled Mr. Japarov’s conviction. A landlocked former Soviet republic of 6.3 million people, Kyrgyzstan has suffered recurrent political strife. Three of its presidents, including Mr. Japarov’s immediate predecessor Sooronbay Jeenbekov, have been toppled in violent revolts since the country’s independence from Moscow in 1991.

A Year After Wuhan, China Tells a Tale of Triumph (and No Mistakes) (NYT) At a museum in Wuhan, China, a sprawling exhibition paints a stirring tale of how the city’s sacrifices in a brutal 76-day lockdown led to triumph over the coronavirus and, ultimately, rebirth. No costs appear to have been spared for the show, which features a hologram of medical staff members moving around a hospital room, heart-rending letters from frontline health workers and a replica of a mass quarantine site, complete with beds, miniature Chinese flags and toothbrush cups. But the exhibition is also striking for what is not included. There is no mention of the whistle-blowing role of Ai Fen, one of the first doctors to sound the alarm in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated, or the decision by Zhang Yongzhen, a Shanghai doctor, to share its genome with the world against official orders. Visitors are invited to lay a virtual chrysanthemum at a wall of martyrs that includes Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist at a Wuhan hospital whose death from the virus led to nationwide mourning. But missing from his brief biography is a crucial fact: that Dr. Li was reprimanded by the government for warning colleagues about the virus from which he later died. China has spent much of the past year trying to spin the narrative of the pandemic as an undisputed victory led by the ruling Communist Party. The state-run news media has largely ignored the government’s missteps and portrayed China’s response as proof of the superiority of its authoritarian system, especially compared to that of the United States and other democracies, which are still struggling to contain raging outbreaks. Those efforts have taken on new urgency as the Jan. 23 anniversary of Wuhan’s lockdown draws closer. In recent weeks, the government has deployed an army of censors to scrub the internet of critical coverage of the Wuhan outbreak.

Daily Low Flying Israeli Jets Over Lebanon Spreading Jitters (AP) Israeli military jets carried out several low flying flights over Beirut as reconnaissance drones also buzzed overhead Sunday in what has become a daily occurrence. Israel regularly violates Lebanon airspace, often to carry out strikes in neighboring Syria. On Christmas Eve, Israeli jets flew low late into the night, terrorizing Beirut residents who are no strangers to such flights. They were followed by reported Israeli strikes in Syria. The frequency of low flying warplanes over the capital has intensified in the last two weeks, making residents jittery as tensions run high in the region on the final days of President Donald Trump’s administration. “Of all types of panic I experienced in life in Beirut, the panic that accompanies the Israeli warplanes flying this low in Beirut is very special,” Tweeted Rudeynah Baalbaky, who said it brought back memories of the 2006 war with Israel. “When the drone leaves, the warplanes come. When the warplanes leave, the drones return. They have seen us in our PJs, filmed us in our PJs and surveilled us in our PJs. Now what,” quipped Twitter user Areej_AAH.

Lebanon tightens lockdown, imposes 24-hour curfew, as hospitals buckle (Reuters) Lebanon announced a tightening of its lockdown on Monday, introducing a 24-hour curfew from Thursday as COVID-19 infections overwhelm its medical system. The new all-day curfew starts at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Thursday and ends at 5 a.m. on Jan. 25, a statement by the Supreme Defense Council said. Lebanon last week ordered a three-week lockdown until Feb. 2 that included a nighttime curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. But tighter measures were now necessary as hospitals run out of capacity to treat critically ill patients, President Michel Aoun said in the statement.

In Trump’s final days, Netanyahu orders more settler homes built (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered construction plans advanced on Monday for some 800 Jewish settler homes in the occupied West Bank, anchoring the projects in the final days of the pro-settlement Trump administration. Palestinians condemned such construction as illegal. The timing of the move appeared to be an attempt to set Israel’s blueprint in indelible ink before Joe Biden, who has been critical of its settlement policies, becomes U.S. president on Jan. 20. Moving ahead with the projects could help shore up support for Netanyahu from settlers and their backers in a March 23 election, Israel’s fourth in two years, in which the conservative leader faces new challenges from the right.

Saar, longtime Netanyahu ally, emerges as his top challenger (AP) For years, Gideon Saar was one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most loyal and vocal supporters, serving as Cabinet secretary and government minister. Now, the telegenic Saar, armed with extraordinary political savvy and a searing grudge against his former boss, could prove to be Netanyahu’s greatest challenge. After breaking away from the Likud Party to form his own faction, Saar is running against Netanyahu in March elections and has emerged as the long-serving leader’s top rival. A secular resident of culturally liberal Tel Aviv with a celebrity news anchor wife, Saar, 54, is a hard-line nationalist long seen as an heir to the Likud Party leadership. After unsuccessfully challenging Netanyahu in a leadership race and then being denied a government position as retribution, Saar last month broke out on his own. He said his aim was to topple Netanyahu for turning the Likud into a tool for personal survival at a time when he is on trial on corruption charges. Saar’s chances of becoming prime minister in the next elections are far from certain and polling forecasts his New Hope party coming in second place after Likud. But his entry into the race reconfigures the playing field and could complicate Netanyahu’s task of forming a coalition government, perhaps sidelining the Israeli leader after more than a decade at the helm.

Pompeo Designates Houthis as Foreign Terror Organization (Foreign Policy) The U.S. Department of State designated Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist organization on Sunday, potentially complicating efforts by an incoming Biden administration to bring an end to a war that has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Because the Houthis don’t appear to have foreign bank accounts, a terrorist designation will do little to affect the group’s operations. The designation is likely to complicate and at best delay humanitarian relief efforts, however, with charities and international groups wary of facing prosecution for working in Houthi-controlled territory. Pompeo’s statement attempted to head off humanitarian concerns surrounding the designation, adding that the U.S. Treasury Department is “prepared” to issue licenses for “certain humanitarian activities conducted by non-governmental organizations in Yemen” and “certain transactions and activities.” Scott Paul, Oxfam America’s humanitarian policy lead, is skeptical that the State Department has done its homework. “No responsible humanitarian agency or private business can afford to rely on these assurances. We’ll need to prepare for the worst,” Paul wrote on Twitter.

#headlines #news

0 notes

purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1067

JANUARY 2020

Where did you go on new year’s?: I believe we only stayed home and had a big dinner with family. We’re usually home during the New Year since our rooftop already offers a fantastic view of the fireworks around the city and in Manila, and also because my dad usually isn’t home on December 31st/January 1st.

Who kissed you on new year’s? I didn’t kiss anyone when 2020 hit. Gab and I always celebrated holidays and spent weekends separately...in retrospect, both already should’ve served as a bit of a red flag for me.

Did you have a New Year’s Resolution this year? I didn’t. I thought I had it together. Oh well.

Does it snow where you live? It never snows here.

Do you like hot chocolate? It’s comforting and I order it a lot, but as I’ve said before I don’t like hot drinks haha. No restaurant or coffee shop serves lukewarm chocolate, so I usually just get an order of hot chocolate and then wait for it to considerably cool down.

Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? I’ve never been to New York and they don’t show that program here.

Is January anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My dad’s birthday is on the 31st. I also always remember my aunt and uncle’s wedding anniversary on the 11th since theirs has so far been the only wedding of an immediate family member that I’ve attended, and so I remember the preparations and the actual event being really hectic but fun.

FEBRUARY 2020

Were you single? No. I was in a happy, committed relationship at the time.

Who was your Valentine? My girlfriend at the time was, but I remember we agreed to make Valentine’s a little lowkey last year because we were both low on savings at the time. Still, she got me a street food bouquet and I got her a pretty flower bouquet in return. I think we also had an Italian dinner somewhere between Valentine’s Day and our anniversary.

When you were little did you buy Valentine’s for the whole class? No. I don’t see the point.

Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? I really don’t care about this in general. It’s not a thing we follow here.

What did you receive for Valentine’s day? Like I said, Gab went to my favorite street food stall and she manually made a bouquet herself, fancy paper and ribbons and all. The ~bouquet had chicken isaw, pork isaw, barbecue, Betamax, and Walkman in it, which are my favorites.

What did you give for Valentine’s Day? A big bouquet. She was shooting for a school requirement that day and was at her best friend’s house, so I spoke with that friend in secret so I can plan out a surprise visit and hand her the flowers.

Is February anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) I used to look forward to February because it was mine and my ex’s anniversary. I’m not threatened by the date this year and I will just make plans for myself. Or I can also ask Angela to hang out with me. Idk yet, but what matters to me right now is that I’m no longer sad about it.

MARCH 2020

Are you Irish? Not one drop of it in me.

Do you like corned beef and cabbage? I haven’t tried these together but I will sometimes eat my samgyupsal with cabbage, so I doubt this combo would be bad.

What did you do for St Patrick’s Day? We don’t celebrate that here.

Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? We also don’t have winter.

Is March anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My late grandpa celebrated his birthday on the 11th. March will also forever be burned in my brain as the month that 2020 ended for me.

APRIL 2020

Do you like the rain? Love it. Rain makes me feel calm and peaceful.

Did you play an April fool’s joke on anyone this year? I don’t think so. I just enjoy watching prank videos on social media sometimes, but I don’t pull them myself nor is there anyone who pulls them on me.

Do you get tons of candy for Easter? That’s not really tradition here. Most families will just go to church on Easter Sunday, and only families with young kids will have Easter egg hunting games.

Do you celebrate 4/20? Nope. I celebrate the day afterwards, which is my birthday haha.

Do you love the month of April? I do get a childlike excitement for it every year because I always get excited for my birthday, no matter how small my plans may be for it in a given year. The only thing I hate about April is the weather, because this is when it starts to get unbearably hot in the country. Is April anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My birthday, my parents’ anniversary, my brother’s birthday (at least I was excited for it until I stopped talking to him). April is also usually Wrestlemania month, and something I will always look forward to regardless of how detached I’ve gotten from pro wrestling.

MAY 2020

What is your favorite flower? Roses and peonies. Sunflowers make me feel hopeful, but I wouldn’t say they’re my favorite.

Finish the phrase “April showers…”: I don’t know.

Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day? That’s a day? I always remember May 16 as being Katreen’s birthday lol. Anyway, no I definitely do not celebrate it. I don’t even have piercings beyond my earlobes.

Is May anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) It’s my favorite cousin’s birthday. May also marks the end of the school calendar, so back in college I had always looked forward to the 3rd or 4th week of May. In 2020, Andi and I also wrapped up our thesis in May.

JUNE 2020

What year did/will you graduate from high school? I graduated in 2016. Happier, simpler times.

Did you do anything fun during this Month? I learned how to use iMovie so I can make a surprise birthday video for Gab, where I collated video greetings from her closest friends and also asked them to put photos they have with her in a Google Drive. That was exciting to learn and make, even though my efforts ultimately went to waste. We also got Cooper last June!!!!! when he was still a small small tiny bean of a pup, and I could still carry him with one hand.

Have a favorite baseball team? I don’t even know how baseball works.

Is June anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) Yeah used to be her birthday but I obvs can’t celebrate it with her anymore. Otherwise, pretty uneventful month overall.

JULY 2020

What did you do on the 4th of July? We don’t celebrate that here. This used to be the date of our Independence Day back when US still had a much tighter grip on us, but I believe a former President shifted it to a different date (the one we have now) to serve as a sign of our independence from that country.

Did you go to the fireworks? We don’t have fireworks on July 4th, nor do we have fireworks on our own Independence Day.

Did you blast the A/C all day? I wanted to but was not in the place to, given that I did not earn my own money yet to help with the bills.

Is July anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) Last year, my college graduation was held in July.

AUGUST 2020

Did you have a sunburn? No. No reason for me to get one considering I stayed at home from March to September, except for the time I went to the doctor in May.

Did you go to the pool a lot? I didn’t, but my parents did blow up the inflatable pool that we keep and placed it on the rooftop so that we can cool down. Summer this year was unforgivable.

Did you go out of town? I don’t believe we did in August.

Is August anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My university-wide graduation. My school has quite a large population so we get two grads - a more intimate one with our own college where we can be called one by one to go up the stage; and a larger, more general, university-wide grad, where the university higher-ups and a chosen summa cum laude student make speeches and there are multiple music/dance performances.

SEPTEMBER 2020

Are you attending college/school? Not anymore.

Do you like fall better than summer? We don’t get fall.

What happened this month? Man you had 8 other months to ask this, why pick my worst month?? Lmao. September was the month of the quick deterioration of my relationship and its eventual breakup, my first job interview (that I got ghosted by), Nacho’s first death anniversary, opening my first bank account, and the start of my internship.

Is September anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): Angela’s birthday, my mom’s birthday, Nina’s birthday.

OCTOBER 2020

Whats your favorite candy? Fruitella. I got soooooo many Fruitella packs from my relatives this Christmas because that was what I put on my wishlist hahahahaha.

What was your favorite thing(s)about this month? October was terrible. The only thing that kept me alive was my internship and the people in it, our Halloween party, and Good Mythical Morning. But in general, September through the first half of December 2020 is a period I would like to bury permanently.

What are you planning to be for Halloween? I don’t have plans for Halloween 2021 yet.

Are you going to be trick or treating? Nope.

Is October anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): I don’t think so.

NOVEMBER 2020

Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? Sigh. I don’t care for Thanksgiving.

What are you going thankful for this year?: Too early to tell, but on the second day of the new year, so far, I’m thankful for the positive people around me, the kindness and patience they extend to me, and myself for powering through and living to see 2021.

Do you love stuffing? No but I’d like to try it.

Anything exciting happen this month? Again, November was still shitty times for me.

Is November anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): I got employed and started my first real job.

DECEMBER 2020

Do you celebrate Christmas? Yeah, but it clashes with my non-belief so it’s something I’m still figuring out.

Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? No.

Get anything special last year? I got one too many bottles of soju and packs of Fruitella, hahah. I also got the wooden portable table that I’ve been eyeing for a while.

What do you love most about December? THE HOLIDAY WORK BREAK ZZZZZzzzzzz I can’t believe it’ll be over soon :( I’m not yet ready to go back to work ugh.

Is December anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): Two of my aunts’ birthdays, my godson’s birthday, my grandma’s birthday, and get-togethers with different sides of my family.

#survey #surveys

0 notes