Remember when “You’re My Best Friend” was playing on the record when Aziraphale’s bookshop was burning down? A headcannon of mine is that Aziraphale plays Queen in the bookshop because he associates it with Crowley’s driving: it’s terrifying. He’s trying to scare off customers.
I think one of the reasons Oliver Queen as a parent resonates with me so much is because he feels... real. He's not a shining beacon of perfect decisions. He doesn't always say or do the right things. He fucks up, and sometimes he hurts his kids in the process. But he's also not some cartoonishly evil parent. He's not an abuser. He's not apathetic. He loves his kids so much, but love isn't enough to make someone flawless. But he tries, he makes amends, he fixes his mistakes, he apologises, and he learns. He's trying his best.
Released 8 September 2022
Remembering Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II today
All Princess Anne's cuts from the BBC's A Tribute to Her Majesty The Queen first released exactly a year ago today.
It's that time of year when someone passive-aggressively gifts me a planner for the new year, and my ADHD-ass thanks them and sets it down, never to pick it up again.
Quick disclaimer this post is not trying to undermine charlottegeorge's (we seriously need to come up with a better ship name) children's feelings towards their mother. Although we know very little about them, it's obvious their relationship with Charlotte isn't perfect, but if I'm being honest, I'm tired of this narrative that she was an awful mother. I 100% agree that she wasn't the best mother (tbh, none of the Bridgerton mothers are. That's what makes the show interesting), but people keep suggesting that she's Augusta-level bad, and that's just not true.
Firstly, everyone keeps forgetting that Lottie lost her parents when she was young, which suggests she didn't have a motherly presence for at least half her life. Secondly, she was eighteen when she had her first child. Eighteen and her strongest examples of motherhood were probably Agatha and Augusta (both, again, arguably not the most amazing mothers). Thirdly, she had fifteen kids. FIFTEEN!! Thirteen (twelve???) surviving, I'm not saying she didn't love them equally, but that's a lot of kids to get to know.
My main argument, however, is that Charlotte probably was not the best mother, and she probably did focus more on being queen and protecting George — which I would argue was also protecting her children. However, she is not Augutsa 2.0 (who, even though not the best mother did try).
Charlotte had twelve (thirteen, idk any more consistency is not this shows strength) surviving children, and it seemed that, for the most part, she let them do whatever they wanted. Unlike Augusta, who tried to control every aspect of George's life, she let her sons whore about (her words, not mine), and she clearly didn't meddle too much in her daughter's love lives. It's only until the very last minute that she inserts herself into their affairs.
At first, it was just her telling them to marry suitable people and produce an heir. She still allowed them to marry who they liked, just as long as they were from a specific pool. And if I'm being honest, that pool wasn't that small; they literally had all of Europe. One of them could have found someone if they had tried. But alas, they didn't which forced Charlotte's hand, leading to arranged marriages.
I think none of them really took her command of marriage seriously because none of them, outside of George probably, knows what responsibility is. Yes, we know that her daughters stayed because they couldn't bare to see their mother remain stuck in time. However, Charlotte did what Augusta couldn't. She didn't let the weight and responsibility of the crown break her children. To her, she was a good mother because she gave them freedom — freedom George never had — she let them have affairs and stay unmarried because she refused to put pressure on them the way Augusta and everyone else did on George.
Her children didn't crack under the crown's weight because she did. Charlotte had two choices: be the best queen or be the best mother. I think she chose the option that made the most sense to her. By being the best queen (George's queen), George had someone on his side, the kingdom had stability, AND her children got to live their lives.
Charlotte had so much responsibility from such a young age; is it really shocking that she couldn't juggle it all? Furthermore, people keep acting like she didn't love her kids, but she clearly did. She was very much pained when Elizabeth confessed her miscarriages, she was gentle with William when he admitted he was scared, and she was ecstatic when Edward announced Victoria's pregnancy. She didn't even care that they thought it would be a girl.
Overall, Charlotte is not a perfect mother, but none of the Bridgerton mothers are (not even Violet). All the mothers in this world are just women who tried their best. And as much as their best may not have been enough, it's all they had. Bridgerton does this brilliant thing, highlighting the toxic cycle that occurs when child-baring is a societal expectation, even in relationships made from love and children produced by autonomy. Charlotte's story is just another example.
Say what you will but “Fae general’s human wife fakes her and his heir’s death to marry a mortal man, and have twins only for the fae general to find out years later and is honor bound to kill both her and her husband (in front of the kids), and ooops, looks like he’s got three kids now! Yeah their mum betrayed him and all, but still they’re her kids, and he’s subsequently honor bound to raise them, and now we get to see the mess one of the younger kids makes in an effort to become part of the country she was spirited away to, murder and blackmail updates at ten” is infinitely more gripping than “tiktok’s 5th most hyped read, enemies-to-lovers, Yass Queen extravaganza of the decade” will ever be.
To the public, little is known of the families behind some of the world’s most renowned bioterrorists, but the question remains: did they play a role in causing their children to walk down the path that they did? Or are these individuals simply ambitious criminals with delusions of grandeur?
For Diana Wesker (née Afanasyeva), her introduction into the bioweapons black market trade was upon discovering her employers were using her research into limb regeneration with salamanders to further their experiments in creating enhanced soldiers, instead of developing human therapies with which she was recruited for. Although the prospect of using biological weapons in the military did not appeal to her, the concept remained fascinating for her own selfish endeavours. Born on the 27th of October, 1963 in Sydney, Australia to Russian immigrant parents, Diana had harsh expectations placed upon her at a young age, ones that no matter how hard she tried she could never live up to. Her mother, Tatyana, was an unfeeling woman, absent for long stretches of time with little regard to how it affected her daughters, much more concerned with her craft as an accomplished opera singer. Viktor was no better. A strict man whose role as father and ballet master blurred, he pushed his girls to one day follow in his footsteps. Whilst Sofia enjoyed ballet, and went on to become a professional ballet dancer, Diana’s heart was set on going into the field of biology. She wished to make a name for herself, separate from her family – to which she succeeded.
Diana was married to former U.S. Marine, Dave Monroe, for only a year until he was declared dead in 1992 after succumbing to injuries sustained in a horrific car accident. Foul play was ruled out while Diana played the role of the grief-stricken widow, but in reality, she had snapped after years of mistreatment at her husband’s hands, and opted for something she could pass off as an accident to be free of him. For years she believed he was dead – and he was, legally – but that proved to not be the case when he found his way back into her life again in 1999. Unbeknownst to her, she had been lied to by the police and coroner, who were paid off by her employers when they took Dave’s body for themselves and used him as one of their first test subjects in developing supersoldiers. Before he could ever hurt her again, Diana’s second husband, Albert Wesker, tracked the man down, captured him and tortured him, before allowing Diana to get her violent and bloody revenge.
The origins of Albert Wesker’s involvement in bioterrorism, alongside his twin sister, Alex, are much different than that of Diana’s. The two hail from London, Canada, but unfortunately, they hold no memories of their lives there, nor what happened to their biological parents when they were eight years old. Agents of Oswell E. Spencer, an aristocratic billionaire and eugenicist, took the twins from their home and executed their parents as per Spencer’s orders. Albert and Alex were then placed in a home funded by the Spencer Foundation where they were given new names and a privileged upbringing. They had access to the best education possible, free to pursue whichever field they decided, but it was by no accident they both went into virology and bioengineering; at home, their adoptive parents – agents whom they believed to be their real parents – instilled them with the beliefs of Oswell E. Spencer, harbouring disdain for war and pestilence, and believing humans to be an evolutionary dead-end in need of a rebirth. They were only two of the hundreds of children “adopted” as part of what is known as Project W, a plan intended to develop an advanced race of human beings. The most promising candidates were headhunted by Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, the twins amongst them, where they went on to create bioweapons for the company founded by none other than the man who had handpicked them for his plan. The final stage of this was to infect the thirteen Spencer saw fit, however, only two survived; Albert received the intended effects, now possessing superhuman abilities, however, Alex was only offered more time to live due to her terminal degenerative illness.
In the summer of 1995, Diana was working undercover within Umbrella to gather development data on their projects for her company. Here, she had a chance encounter with Albert, an intelligence officer at the time, which permanently altered the course of her life. The two were never seen far from one another’s side, marrying in 1998, and they went on to become notorious in the bioweapons industry. The development of the Uroboros virus was where things took a turn for the worst. Although Diana’s infection was successful and she bore abilities that rivalled her husband’s, the plan itself did not succeed as they had hoped, and almost cost Albert his life at the hands of his former subordinates.
Now, they work within the shadows, with Diana declared missing and Albert believed to be dead. Their legacy, however, lives on with the mark they left on the world. As visionaries in their field, they influenced bioterror attacks carried out by countless individuals and organisations. In turn, they also inspired others to fight against such atrocities. One such person happens to be Albert’s son from a former relationship, Jake Müller, whose existence he was unaware of.
【High School Affiliated to Loveland University Second Year (Section 1) Semester Schedule - Thursday】
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[Tidbits]: To not break the flow, gonna put the note first– in the first dialogue, Victor’s classmates address him as “老李” (Lao Li)~ the way I hate English vocabulary at times like this LMAO the term “老” here is used as a teasing remark by his classmates to express their respect/ honor for him sarcastically given that not only he’s ahead of the crowd but he acts far too mature beyond his years as well~😂
—
[MATH]:
“Sir Vic, what answer did you get for the second-to-last question?”
“Square root of 2.”
“OK! Now, what option did you choose for the tenth question?”
“I chose option C, but I’m not sure.”
“It should be option A… P is the symmetric point with respect to the straight line x-y=0…”
For the math teacher who loves giving impromptu quizzes, getting the students to engage in discussions during the ten-minute break is also one of their “conspiracies.”
—
[BIOLOGY]:
Looking at the textbook he’s already highlighted with the key points long ago, Victor takes out a collection of competition-grade questions that are carefully sorted to align with the relevant exam topics. As he listens, he begins contemplating the problems.
—
[CHINESE]:
Everyone is on their “best behavior” during the homeroom teacher’s class. The beaming woman is speaking eloquently on the stage, while Victor looks down at a reading comprehension analysis. He finds that he understands it even better than the original writer.
There are so many incomprehensible things in this world.
—
[CHEMISTRY]:
There are less than ten minutes to go until the end of the class. Glancing from afar, Victor notices that Zheng Xi, who is seated near the front door, already seems to be in a stance ready to bolt at any moment. Victor can’t help but feel hungry as he feels himself being infected by the sight.
—
[PHYSICS]:
Is it really possible for anyone to stay alert and not feel sleepy in the first class of the afternoon?
Yes, Victor doesn’t feel sleepy in the slightest.
—
[MUSIC]:
“Aside from focusing on studies, I hope that everyone can enhance their perception of various forms of “aesthetics.” This semester in music class, the teacher aims to create a platform for self-expression, where each student can showcase their talents through musical instrument performances, singing, or dancing. Last week, several students performed exceptionally well. Now, we’ll continue with the presentations in order of student numbers. Up next is student number 23.”
“Does the vice class monitor know how to play the piano?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve never seen him playing it.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...Thank you, Victor, for your performance. Music is a form of self-expression. But, next time, perhaps you can also consider singing a song?”
—
[ENGLISH]:
Led by the arrangement of the passionate young teacher, the class is divided into multiple small groups, each assigned to perform different roles based on the textbook content. However––
With a sense of resignation, Victor touches the curly wig on his head and remains silent for a moment. Despite so, he still earnestly delivers the lines of the judge.
“I’m already a mature high school student,” he thinks to himself, feeling at a loss for words.
—
[ENGLISH]:
One of the biggest benefits of the campus activities on Thursday is that Victor can seamlessly participate in the Model United Nations (MUN) right after his English class.
Even if one practices their lines in advance, no one will raise an eyebrow. The school administration teacher is really nice.