#therefore. partial custody <3

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Zé Borrego the ‘Wolf Hand’ Ripper

José Domingos Borrego was born in Penamacor, Portugal. He wasn’t tall at only 5'7, but he was sturdy, weighing 90 kg. His most unique trait was a set of huge hands that could easily squeeze the life out of his victims, hence his nickname “Wolf Hand.” Borrego, 43, was a former shepherd, scissor sharpener, construction worker, and later a sewing machine tuner and trinkets salesman in fairs and markets.

He allegedly seduced several men and then brutally murdered them in rest-houses by choking them to death. Afterward, he would dispose of the victims by dismembering the bodies and spreading them along water lines, where they would “finally be purified”.  Zé Borrego would explain to the police investigators how he could not resist the voice of the Virgin Mary saying? “Go to Lisbon and kill homosexuals” (sic). He confessed all his crimes but was never convicted.

Case 1:

Zé Borrego allegedly had a feud with his business partner, José Pedro dos Reis, known as “Sanduga,” because the latter didn’t want to return a large sum of money he had borrowed. The two men had been shacking up for a month and a half in the Lisbon district.

At some point in the altercation, things escalated, Sanduga threw the bills at Borrego, yelling, “Take the money and shove up it up your arse!” José immediately grabbed him by the neck, suffocating the poor man, and then smashed his head with a stone.

The police reports mention how Borrego laid down resting for half an hour in the shack next to Sanduga’s and spent the night thinking about getting rid of the body. Afterward, he took a saw and started cutting the corpse into pieces starting from the head downwards.

Borrego put the torso in a plastic bag and the head and limbs in another one, placing all the parts in a wooden suitcase. Sanduga was disfigured beyond recognition; he had his eyeballs plucked out, and the ears cut off. The very next day, Zé traveled by train to the capital with his morbid luggage. From there, he went to the municipal dumpsite in Paço de Arcos, where he disposed of the victim’s head, arms, and legs. He didn’t want to leave the remains all in one place; hence he went back to his shack to spend the night. The next day, he again took the bloody suitcase and travelled to the southern bank of the Tejo river. He went to Quinta de São João, where he had worked. There, he dumped the second half of the body into an empty well.

Nevertheless, despite Borrego’s efforts to conceal the corpse, Sanduga’s remains were eventually found. The man had a criminal record. Therefore the forensic police managed to process his fingerprints and got a matching ID. After a brief inquiry, authorities made the connection to José Borrego, and he was detained. With Zé Borrego under custody, investigators dug into other unsolved crimes, and Leonel Abrantes da Cunha’s case file surfaced. He had also been found partially disfigured and half-naked in the Setúbal district and had also been seen in the company of a man resembling Zé Borrego.

Case 2:

Leonel was a married tailor and coffee smuggler from Manteigas, living on the outskirts of Portalegre. He was also a convicted felon with a criminal record like “Sanduga.” The police investigators traced back the connection between José Borrego and Leonel da Cunha to the Onion Fair in Portalegre, where they had a business together. Borrego told the police how one night, when they were both drunk, Leonel took him to a friend’s house, where they stayed overnight. The next day, after parting ways, Zé noticed his razor blade was missing.

Believing Leonel had stolen it, he confronted him. They fought, but Borrego had the upper hand and choked him to death with his hands.

November 16, 1970: a young woman, Silvina Barbas Salvado, discovers a dismembered corpse with a mauled face near Moscavide. Leonel da Cunha was wearing only an undershirt and had been choked and beaten to death.

Case 3:

He began to direct his thirst for blood towards male homosexuality. That’s how he allegedly approached several men planning to kill, quarter them, and scatter the remains near water lines all over the Lisbon area.

The authorities were able to establish the connection between the murderer and at least four dead people. However, Borrego had already admitted having killed at least ten more, as he travelled from land to land and disposing of the bodies without raising suspicions.

In the Lisbon Penitentiary, the guards were known to despise murderers and his custodians allegedly beat Zé Borrego to the point he promised to kill two of the guards or kill himself.

He was a cold-blooded psychopathic killer who confessed to all his crimes, but he never faced trial. One morning he was found hanging by the neck in the cell; legend has it, he used his own pants as hangman’s rope.

#wolf hand ripper #true crime #serial killers #crime #killers

[shini--chan]

Allies with an s/o with separation anxiety?

Before I start, one thing – separation anxiety is a big burden for those who have it. So, if you’re reading this and have it, I recommend you seek out treatment.

Warning: abuse of a mental condition

Yandere Allies – Discidium

America

Alfred gleaned at your medical certificate on his computer screen. From experience he knew that the medical history of a person could be very telling, and a lot could be deduced from it. Allergies could be used as torture; medication could be withheld until a trade was offered. But the really interesting part was the psychological section of such reports. They weren’t always filled out, since people didn’t always have noteworthy defects or maladies in that directed. Therefore, when they were, they were all the more insightful.

Keenly, he scrolled down to the sought after part – and wasn’t reported. There, clearly visible, stood a very particular remark:

…patient shows signs of separation anxiety…

It was rather recent too, he realized when he traced the digital footprint. And idea began to form in his mind. As he steeped his fingers together and rested his head on them, a most devious plan of action came one step closer to being realised.

Since Alfred would really turn up the charm when it would come to wooing you, you would quickly become attached to him, a fatal mistake on your behalf. For even if he wouldn’t find out about your metal state from a series of documents, he’d quickly derive the truth from your actions or make you spill the beans. He would portray himself as considerate, only concerned for your wellbeing – which would be why you’d promptly move together.

As cruel as it would be, it would be a boon for him. America wouldn’t have to be concerned about you running away. Out of that reason he wouldn’t install any elaborate locks or security measures – your chains would be intangible. However, he might use your anxiety against you as a form of punishment. Alfred would tie you up in a dark room and leave the house for some time, or threaten to do so.

Canada

Matthew didn’t have to sharpen his ears or turn around to know he was being followed. Who ever it was, was being very obnoxious and clumsy, the snow crunching with every other step. At least they were putting some effort in matching their steps with his. Yet that wasn’t enough to throw him off – it never was.

Without any forewarning, he whirled around and caught sight of the flaps of your dark coat as you leapt behind the thick truck of a fir tree. Not fast enough – Matthew had always been something of a hunter, reflexes sharp as well as his intuition. You’d never be able to beat him in a game of hide-and-seek, or successfully run away from him, not without a giant handicap.

So, you had gotten out. But why hadn’t you used the chance to at least attempt an escape and had rather chosen to tail him?

“Why are you following me? I told you to stay in the house.”

You emerged from your cover, a sheepish look on your fine face. Tangling your fingers together, you approached him, lips twisted as you pressed out.

“I simply didn’t want to be alone.”

An understatement, as he was later to find out.

Matthew would probably find out relatively fast that you’d have separation anxiety. Not because he would obsessively stalk you (he would rather gradually get to know you), but through the obvious behaviours. Whether or not you’d attempt to hide it, he would eventually catch on. And he would be delighted and worried in equal measures.

Delighted, because then he wouldn’t have to worry about you running away. Canada wouldn’t be an extrovert, having a rather reclusive nature for a New World country and a small circle of friends – so he would spend most of his time with you.

Worried, because somewhere in the back of his mind he would know that his feelings for you wouldn’t be right and that you don’t lock people away. Your behaviour would only endorse his in a twisted way.

China

Yao had never been a long sleeper. Maybe it was the centuries that he had already lived or the result of all his lifestyle choices. Nevertheless, his sleep was always brief, 3 hours usually being enough rest. That why when you started twisting and turning in a dreamy haze.

He was just starting a new chapter in his current novel when you started groaning in your sleep, uncoordinatedly swinging your arms around with increasing panic. Upon realising what was going on, he quietly laid his book away and dimmed his reading lamp a bit. Then he turned around to you and waited for you to awaken from your nightmare.

It took a few minutes, worry building in his chest in a poisonous knot as time trickled by. This was why you were always meant to be with him. You were one of the finer things in life for him – in no way tawdry, rather with a splendour and depth. A sort of medication to distract him from the atrocities of the past, present and future. He was the same to you, he was sure of that.

So when you eventually shot up, perspiration on your forehead and tears in your eyes, he felt a sick joy. One that was only amplified when you gasped: “Please don’t ever leave me!”

Family is important to him; marriage is important to you. So you having a mental condition that would cause you to have anxiety attacks at the notion of him leaving you wouldn’t be all that unappealing to him. It would just strengthen your bond, and cause you to be more drawn to him, ignoring all the red flags. Yao would just have to play all his cards right in the beginning.

However, there would also be the issue with the other people in your life – your family and friends. While he wouldn’t mind you staying in touch with your family (with certain limits) your friends would have to leave your life. Something that would be all the more difficult in your case. Still, he would set to the gruelling task of cutting people out of your life and dealing with the fall-out.

England

“You know you would be all alone if you use that knife”, he casually commented, not even turning around to regard you. To you, it seemed as if he hadn’t even lifted his eyes from the newspaper he was so avidly reading, creating the illusion of having eyes in the back of his head. Actually, he had seen your reflection in the window pane when you had started to approach him, the steel glinting marvellously in the sun-light.

It surprised you that he took such a treat so nonchalantly, him as well to an extent. Arthur guessed he wasn’t as shocked he had expected himself to be, because he had intrinsically suspected that such a scene would play out.

“Are you sure, I’d either end up in police custody or…”, you tried to reason before trailing off. You had realised that something was amiss here, and it unsettled you.

Coolly, he set away “The Times” and turned to you, watching you as your resolve crumbled and fear welled up. “Do you really think that?”, he asked.

You trembled, your convictions crumbling. Through hard lessons you had come to learn that he was far more powerful and cunning than he seemed at first glance. At the moment, you didn’t know if he was just bluffing or telling the truth. Probably a mixture of both, and that was bad enough.

Arthur would mercilessly use it against you. You being scared of being separated from him would mean he wouldn’t have to regulate his sharp tongue or his more volatile tendencies. You being scared of being separated from him could be used as a threat, actually separation as a punishment. It would be something he would constantly hold over your head as a means of making you behave and as an insurance on his behalf.

On the other hand, it would also immensely frustrate him. England would be very attached to you, possessive of you, but he would also want to have some quality time with himself. That wouldn’t really be accomplishable with you clinging to him.

France

“Please, don’t leave”, you murmured.

At first, Francis thought he had somehow misheard you, but then, when he glanced up from where he was tying his shoelaces, he saw that he hadn’t. Your eyes were glassy, the skin around your cheeks and collar bone blotchy with the beginnings of a rash and your breathing was shallow.

It puzzled him and delighted him simultaneously. He didn’t know what had provoked such a reaction – it was late at night and he was leaving. Customary at this stage in the relationship since you didn’t live together … yet. To see you already be so attached to him delighted him in a sick way. It also concerned him since he didn’t like seeing you in anguish.

“What is wrong, ma cheri?”, he inquired carefully, standing up and gently cupping your cheeks. He watched with piqued interest as you leaned into his touch, the hypertension leaving your body for a few seconds.

“I get anxious just at the thought of you leaving. Please, at least stay the night.”

Besides being delight about you being drawn to him, like all the other on this list, he would also be very concerned. You having anxiety attacks just at the notion of you leaving would immensely worry him. He would encourage you to seek out treatment, even treat you himself, just to erase the worst parts of your condition.

Apart from actually caring a lot about you, his motivation would be partially selfish. Aiding you in such a manner would convince him that he would be a good person, and in a series of complicated mental gymnastics he would overexaggerate it, and thus convince himself that his obsession with you and all the actions that would spring thereof would be good and virtuous.

Russia

A knock sounded on his door, causing him to look up from the paperwork he had been pouring over for the past two hours. Internally, he snarled. He had said he was only to be disturbed in an emergency, something he had explicitly told the guards.

Nevertheless, he sighed and called out: “State your name and business.”

The answer came immediately, dull from the monotony of the man’s voice and muffled from the wood of the door: “There is somebody here that wants to see you. Had a nervous breakdown in the entrance hall and claimed it was urgent.”

Ivan rolled his eyes at the explanation. He really wasn’t in the mood for dealing with people that had nervous breakdowns anywhere on that matter, thank you very much. He’d really have to have a word or two with the personal here.

“Send them away.”

Instead of an answer, he heard some commotion and swears from beyond the door. Frowning, he stood up, half wanting to go to the door and give the group in front of it a piece of his mind. Yet before he could take a single step or even decide what he wanted to do; the door was slammed open. You stormed in and took a running jump at him.

Ivan would be a lot like Arthur in this scenario. You having separation anxiety would be one of the few things that would completely convince him that you would never leave him or betray him. So, there would be no therapy for you – indeed, he would even take steps to worsen it.

Yet he would also want to have his privacy. Russia would have been alone for a long time, so demanding he go from solitude to constant company would be too much. You following him wherever he would go, even to work and other shady places, would make him feel guilty and remorseful.

#yasndere allies #yandere hetalia #yandere america #yandere england #yandere russia #yandere canada #yandere china #yandere france #yandere #yandere x reader

[queenoftheworldisdead]

Off Schedule 4

Summary: Slow burn. Brad Pitt is your boss and he is going through a divorce. Smut in later chapters. Warning this is really fucking long(sorry), Kissing, fingering

Brad Pitt x Reader, Keanu Reeves x Reader

Any critiques to make me better are more than welcome.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Jonah asked Brad to come to his office to give him an update on the divorce proceedings. He arrived there late that evening, the mood in the room was solemn. Brad had a feeling that  whatever Jonah had to say wouldn't be good. Taking the seat across from Jonah's desk Brad saw the grim look on his attorney's face.

"So you have news on the trial." Brad spoke first.

"The judge agreed to the expedition" Jonah said defeated. He had tried to call in favors to get the date of the divorce proceedings delayed and to stop the expedition, but he failed in the end. He called this meeting with Brad to discuss a strategy on how to proceed.

"I'm not surprised when she wants something she would be hard pressed not to get it." Brad half-heartily laughed.

"The text messages" Jonah continued with more bad news. "They came from your phone or at least your iPad. The devices are linked to your account therefore if presented as evidence it will look as if you sent them." Jonah was in the works to getting the messages thrown out, but after receiving the technical data of the origins of the texts he knew that would be hopeless.

Brad furrowed his brow. "How I always have my phone. You don't think I wouldn't have notice strange text coming off my phone" he was becoming agitated.

"While you were in the shower, while you slept it could've happened anytime. She must've texted from the ipad and deleted it after. That’s why you didn't see them or notice. The other number could've come from a $40 burner phone or a friend." Jonah tried to explain. "Which would be hard to prove without the other phone."

Brad got up, threw his hands in the air in frustration and paced Jonah's office fuming.

His life was being up rooted and there was nothing he could do. He wasn't sleeping barely eating. The only bit of normalcy he had in is life was work. Once through those doors he drifted into work letting that consume him. He had even taken up a habit of sleeping in his office.

Angelina was staying at the house. He was barely allowed access to his children. The stress was weighing down on him.

"This doesn't make any sense to me. I give her any and everything she could ask for" he lamented.

"Look I know the deck is stacked against us. Jen's baby, the text messages and the past history of impropriety." Jonah exhaled. "The date is set for the end of the month. Which doesn't give us much time to prepare."

"The bright side is we can more than likely get you partial custody, but you won't be the primary parent." Jonah said

"In regards to the company issue we might need to bring Keanu into the conversation." Jonah finished.

Brad knew he was right. He didn't like the idea of bringing Keanu into this mess. But it seemed he had no choice. "Your right. I'll have something setup." With that the two men rose and shook hands before departing.

The day started with a heavy down pour of rain. You hadn't checked the weather before leaving the house that day so you had quite the sprint from the bus stop to the office building.

The velocity of the wind decimated your hair, the rain soaked your outfit making it unflatteringly clingy. Your makeup you were sure was probably bleeding.

Once you get up stairs you hoped that you could salvage yourself before you started your day in the office.

When you got into the building you saw the lobby elevator doors were about to close. Squinting you couldn't make out who got in, but you called to them anyway.

"Wait hold the elevator please!" You shout as you carefully scurried to the closing doors.

A hand reaches out to hold them allowing you to shuffle inside. "Thank you" your words almost die in your mouth when you saw him.

It was Mr. Pitt, bone dry clutching his umbrella. He was smart enough to prepare for the day ahead. He took one look at you an immediately frowned.

Out of all the people to be alone in an elevator with it had to be him. You lowered your chin and walked to the back corner opposite him. He kept his distance and stayed quietly along the opposite wall. You looked like a drowning victim while he looked perfect.

Great another reason to hate you.

The tension was so thick that time had come to an agonizingly slow crawl.

Looking up through your lashes you debate if you should say something. Maybe you just needed to be the one to reach out first. To get things back to normal. Maybe apologize?

You took a deep breath and exhaled. This was it now or never.

"Um Mr. Pitt" your voice cut through the tension like a dull knife. You turn to face him, but he didn't move.

"Congratulations!" the words came out a bit louder than you anticipated.

His jaw clinched and a vein popped out of the side of his head. He was seething. You regretted speaking at all in that moment.

Oh gawd they were keeping it secret? Of course, shit. What were you thinking? Saying something about it without him telling you first, you dumb bitch.

"I-I am sorry I .. I didn't know you weren't telling people yet" You immediately try to correct your overstep.

"What goes on in that fucking head of yours?" He was curt still unwilling to face you.

Water started to prickle in your eyes. Every interaction you've had with this man has gone belly up. What made you think today would be any different.

"I didn't mean to pry I was looking up Jenn's..." You stopped. As soon as Jennifer's name slipped out of your mouth he boxed you in the corner of the elevator. Your spine pushed against the  hand rail of the box car.

It was hard to look at his eyes they burned with a fury that you had never seen. His eyes bore through to your soul.There was a darkness there you never saw before and never wanted to see again.

You yearned for the indifferent glances now or to be ignored by him. You had his full attention and you quivered in it.

"You think its funny" he said. He lifted his arms and slammed his palms against the wall. His arms were level beside your head. You wanted to crumble.  As the elevator climbed up you hoped someone would get on to grant you reprieve.

"I'm so sorry I hadn't told anyone" you started to sob, but he was unmoved.

He tsk’d at that. His lips parted to speak again, but you pushed through first.

You shakily try to continue. "It was an accident your wife's name came up under my 'Suggested Names' in the search bar when I was looking for Jen's baby registry. I'm so sorry I shouldn't have looked" inhaling loudly and powering forward again "I was just curious to see what she had on her registry." Your vision was so blurred from your tears that you hadn't notice his arms drop as he stepped back.

His eyes widened. Wheels were turning in his head.

"What did you say?" You couldn't hear the venom in his voice anymore. Though it was hard to focus as you tried to fight back the tears that begun to trickle down your cheek.

"Shit, shit" stroking his beard he cursed himself.

"I'm sorry" you stuttered and bawled.

"Hey hey" he spoke softly holding up his hands in retreat. Looking at you trembling and crying in the corner. He tried stepping forward again reaching his arms out in an attempt to embrace you. The sudden movement made you wince.

When the doors opened behind him you swerved him, high tailing it to the restroom. You weren't even sure it was your floor. You just needed to get out of there.

Once inside you tried to stop crying, but you couldn't. The rain had ruined your makeup already and the tears only served to make it worse. You lost count of how long you were there. You scalded yourself for speaking to him. You wished that you would've kept your mouth shut and let him keep his indifference towards you.

Staring in the mirror you start to try and save your makeup and  fix your hair. Your clothes had begun to dry a bit within a hour or two you were sure you be dried completely.

Giving yourself one last look over you hear the door open.

He wouldn't come into the Ladies room right?

"Y/N? What are you doing here?" It was Sarah, you must've gotten off on her floor in your haste. "Well you look like shit." She said matter of factly.

"Ugh I know.. I got caught in the rain. I didn't want Mr.Pitt seeing me like this" you lied as you fiddled with your appearance. You thought about telling her about your ordeal in the lift, but you didn't need office gossip floating around.

"Well that explains why you weren't answering your phone or emails. I thought you might be out of the office today or something." She walked over to  examined the state of you.

"Sorry I was just about to head there now" you apologize as you walk out to the door and Sarah followed.

"Well are you excited" Sarah asked

"About what?"

"Admin day duh. The one day a year we get recognition for all are hard work" Sarah reminded you as she walked you to the elevator.

"Oh yeah can't wait" you lied again feigning excitement.

"Me too! Kea is taking me out to lunch. I don't mind telling you that there will be enough left overs to feed me for a week on his dime" she said excitedly.

You both chuckled at her blatantness.

"Look I gotta get back to my desk. I will hit you up for lunch or something later ok" you tell her as you depart through the lift doors.

When the doors open you scan the hall. His door was closed and the coast was clear. You walked carefully as to not have your heels slap against the floor.

Making it to your desk unscathed you gingerly sit and open up your computer to check his schedule. He was going to be in a meeting soon and you didn't want to see him leave his office so you ducked back into the supply closet to wait him out. It continued like that for the rest of the day. When you knew he was getting out of a meeting you hid in the supply closet. When you estimated that he would be leaving for another you hid in the restroom. Thankfully he hadn't bother to email you or call. You just wanted the day to be over. To go home, forget, relax with wine and Netflix.

Brad fucked up and jumped to conclusions with you in the elevator. He had assumed that you too were accusing him of cheating with Jen. So he exploded on you. Of course you had no clue as to what was going on in his personal life he realized too late.

You hadn't even known how much of a revelation you bestowed on him.

Throughout the day he looked for you but seemed to just miss you somehow. Brad needed to find you to apologize for earlier and for how he had been treating you through his drama. He let his personal life affect his work.

Thoughts of your eyes looking up at him pleading flashed through his head. His dick twitched. Another reason he had been so distant was due to something much more primal.

He had hoped to salvage the relationship with his wife, but she had been making it frustratingly difficult and now with this news Brad knew that it was futile. Whenever he was on the edge of anger you seemed to inject yourself into the narrative. Calling him, emailing him, walking past his office.

It took no time at all for his mind associate you with his frustration. Eventually he couldn't even glance in your direction without his dick taking control. To calm down he would clinch his jaw and push thoughts of you back.

Thoughts of you bent over his desk in place of his wife. Spanking your ass raw as you beg for forgiveness. Thoughts of you riding his cock, impaling your tight hole. Thoughts of you on all fours looking up at him with those pleading eyes wiping his cum from your lips.

He desperately needed a release, he needed you. But he knew he couldn't cross that line. Especially now with the accusations of infidelity.

Pushing you to the back of his mind again. He resigned himself in his office. Brad needed to call Jonah and let him know that his soon to be ex-wife was pregnant. That he had not touched her in months. You had given him the key to fix the catastrophe that was his life.

Digging his cell out of his pocket he made the call to Jonah.

Today's administrative assistant appreciation day. One of your most favorite days of the year. Every year you would get flowers, lunch with Mr. Pitt and generous gift card. These days it would've come in handy.

You normally would be looking forward to it, but not today.  Staying home was more appealing than going back to work and seeing him. Reluctantly you got up and got ready for work.

In the building you thought it best not to take the elevator. A nice jaunt up the stairs to clear your head was more appealing. By the time you made it to your floor your legs burned and your feet were screaming at you. Going up the stairs with heels will be a mistake you never make again. Sweating and panting from the stairwell you scanned the hall.

His door was closed. You thought about taking your laptop and hiding in a small meeting room all day.

*Ring You looked at the I.D. it was Sarah. You sighed in relief.

"Soooo what did you get this year?" Sarah excitedly asked over the phone.

He hadn't gotten you anything. Why would he? He hated you. It was only a matter of time before he finally pulled the trigger and fired you.

You sighed "Nothing.... I walked in expecting to see a bright colorful bouquet like every year, but nothing." You lied faking disappointment.

You failed to tell Sarah about the issues you were having with your boss. She was Mr. Reeves assistant and they were close really close. You didn't want her to try to get him to resolve the problem for you. Or possibly make things worse.

"Aw that sucks Y/N." She consoled you.

"Its ok... I think he seems like he has a-lot going on so it might have slipped his mind." you tried making up an excuse. It felt kind of true, you had assumed something was going on with so you tried treading lightly. But after yesterday you didn't care to know what he was going through.  You didn't deserve to be treated the way he had treated you.

"You might be right... Um hold on a sec." Sarah placed you on a brief hold while you got to your daily task.

"Y/N?"

"I'm still here" you answered back.

"OK so I just spoke with Kea" Sarah always called Mr.Reeves that you used to be so envious of their closeness.

"We normally do lunch together on admin day, but since Mr.Pitt has neglected his duties he is treating you, me and Zoe to a long ladies only lunch anywhere we want."

"What? Really?" you perked up.

"Yea. Oooh lets get mimosas. I'm sending a group text now so we can coordinate."

"Your the best!" You say before telling her goodbye. At least you have a free lunch to still look forward to. *Click

All three of you indulged in bottomless mimosa throughout lunch. By the time you got back to the office all of you were a giggling mess. Tumbling into the elevator laughing and gossiping all while trying to compose yourselves and sober up. Riding up the elevator Zoe got off first and then Sarah. You gave them both departing hugs and rode the rest of the way alone.

When you finally made it to your floor you hopped off the elevator and was greeted with the sight of a huge rainbow bouquet. The monstrous bushel sat atop your desk and you squealed. Your heels click clacked against the marble tiles as you dashed to your desk with excitement. You had such a good time you totally forgot about the tumultuous relationship with your boss.

You rounded the desk, leaning down smelling the beautiful aroma. Grabbing the card you read it and your heart hurt slightly. It was from Mr. Reeves. No doubt pity flowers. 'Thanks Sarah' you thought sarcastically. It was a nice gesture but you were hoping maybe Mr.Pitt sent them to apologize. You flopped in your chair and pouted. Trying to sober up and get back to work.

Before you started you thought it best to Thank Mr. Reeves for his wonderful gift.

✉️ To: Mr. Reeves Subject: Thank you! Mr. Reeves thank you so much! The flowers are so beautiful and made my day. Also thanks for lunch it was amazing. I don't think I've ever had anything as delicious in all my life.☺️

Thanks again, Y/F/N

✉️ He replied quickly ✉️ To: Y/N Subject:Re: Thank you!

No problem at all Y/N. Just wanted to make sure you knew how much we appreciate you here.

I'm glad you ladies had great lunch. The food at La Tour d’Argent is OK, but I know a few other spots around town that are way better. I might have to take you there sometime. 😉 ✉️

As you read your thoughts drifted back to the foot massage he gave you a few days ago. If you didn't know any better you would think he was flirting. Compose yourself this man is not interested in you. He is just super nice.

You didn't reply back. Pushing thoughts of him out of your head as you try to focus on work.

"What's the occasion? Its not your birthday I know." His voice came from behind. You went rigid

He knew when your birthday was? Maybe he just had a calendar reminder. You shook it off.

"No its for administrative day" you responded timidly. It was getting harder to speak to him without thinking he would chew you out.

"I'm sorry I forgot"

The apology stunned you. That was the last thing you thought he would say to you. You figured he hadn't forgotten about Admin Day. Just that you didn't deserve it, but he had actually forgotten.

"It's ok Mr. Reeves bought the admins lunch and flowers" turning to him you say forcing a smile. Taking a whiff of the bouquet. He frowned at that and your nerves shot through the roof. He was going to yell at you again. You could feel it.

"Can I see you in my office?" He held the door open.

You were nervous. Were you about to get chewed out for taking a late lunch? Gawd could he tell you were drunk? Fuck!

Rising from your chair he ushers you in.

As you walked passed he caught your wrist and spun you shutting the door behind you. Moving in close, lifting your chin with one hand to look at him. There was a softness there that you hadn't seen in a while. A softness that you missed.

"I'm sorry" there was sincerity in his eyes and a hurt there you couldn't understand. This man was going through something in his mind that his mouth refused to give up. But his eyes were pleading.

You parted your lips to speak, but he leaned and captured your lips with his own. He started off soft but swiftly grew hungrier. Your eyes went wild as his tongue invaded your mouth. You shut your eyes tightly.

You had to be dreaming. Who was this man before you? Kissing you? Surely not the man that had been so mean and distant.  

His arm snuck behind your back and his hand lowered itself on to your ass. Palming it he squeezed it lightly causing you to moan into his mouth. You could feel the warmth building in-between your legs. You kissed him back taking his blazer in your hand you pulled him into your chest.

He bit your bottom lip, pulling it lightly with his teeth before  releasing it. Brad started peppering kisses along your jaw finding his way to your neck. There was a wetness pooling between your legs. You closed them tightly as if to prevent your juices from soaking through your panties and down your leg.

"I'm sorry" kissing your neck. His beard tickled your skin sending goosebumps down your spine "I'm sorry" he kissed again traveling further down your neck to your color bone. Sucking and kissing on your exposed flesh. Brad's fingers grazed the hem of your skirt before he began pushing it up your thighs.

Brad's hand danced along the edge of your panties before moving past your waistband. Methodically pushing a thick digit inside you making you pant. Pushing into his hand you urged him to do more. Taking his thumb he grazed your clit rubbing circles around it. His name quietly slipped from your lips.

Your juices coat his finger as he pulls out. Pushing in again he  adds in another. Curling them inside you as he put his lips to yours again. Swallowing your moans as an orgasm peaked your core.

His other hand crept up your stomach until he found your breast. Cupping one through the fabric of your blouse.

Your back arched and you fell backwards, losing your balance he lost hold of you. The back of your head hit the door with a thud. You hissed on impact. Reaching one hand behind your head to coddle the pain.

Brad stepped closer.

"Wait wait wait!... I'm really confused sir." you screeched. You were stone cold sober now.

The bump had brought you back to reality. The reality were your boss had been so mean to you. Your MARRIED boss. Your thoughts went to Angelina and Jennifer. The weight of them had you panicking. It all felt so wrong.

When he and Jennifer ended you knew she thought you were sleeping with her husband. You didn't want to make her past speculation turn to a premonition. Or for his current wife to accuse you of being some Jezebel.

Shifting your skirt down you moved backwards to grab the handle to his door behind you and turned it. He looked as if he was at a loss for words of what to say. You were too.

When the door opened you backed out without looking. Hands grabbed your shoulders halting your movement. Turning swiftly your eyes fell on Mr.Reeves. You knew that this room was sound proof but the unease you felt of him almost walking in on you made you queasy.

"Whoa" Mr.Reeves exclaimed as he tried to stop you from bumping into him.

"Sorry Mr.Reeves"

"Please call me Keanu or Kea" he corrected you.

"Um yes sure. Um sorry I have to go" you pivoted and walked off down the hall. To a destination you hadn't quite figured out.

Chapter 5 >>>

#brad pitt x reader #brad pitt imagine #brad pitt smut #brad #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves fic #keanu x reader #keanu reeves imagine #black writer

[thunderbirds-are-fab]

The Mechanic

An unnecessarily long fan essay examining the character ‘The Mechanic’ from Thunderbirds are Go by thunderbirds-are-fab

Pretty much since the Mechanic was first revealed as an upcoming character to be introduced into Thunderbirds are Go, he’s been surrounded by mystery. There were a lot of wild fan theories about who he could be and if he was related to any original character in particular (He was either Brains’ brother or his father, Kyrano gone mad, and even Jeff in some weird disguise trying to traumatise his children to someone), but he has since turned out to be a completely new character and therefore had a lot of possibilities as to how he could fit into the established TAG universe.

Sadly, two seasons since his introduction we still don’t know all that much about him or his super villain origin story, and with the conclusion of Season 3 we likely never will. The writers put this guy on the back shelf, and this is why I’m writing an essay piecing together all the messy details we have regarding the character of the Mechanic. It turns out there’s quite a lot to talk about, so get comfy.

*Episode spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched Seasons 2 and 3*

The biggest tease about the Mechanic was his hinting that he knows Brains very well or even personally in Earthbreaker, but after that it’s not really brought up again. Massive wasted potential there. He made it sound like he and Brains were old rivals from long ago, but Brains doesn’t show any signs of recognising him. Brains himself never really reacts to the Mechanic’s hints that they might know each other during Earthbreaker or after, and never even tries to guess at who this masked engineer may be, which feels ridiculous.

“Hey Brains, in all your years of being one of the world’s best engineers, did you ever meet anyone in your field of expertise who was capable of making an army of robots completely on his own, looked like he could bench press MAX with one hand, and maybe seemed a little power-hungry and unhinged?”

“Nope, sorry. That sounds like it could have been anyone.”

Surely if they were both brilliant inventors working on similar stuff, they would have mutually run into each other before???

Not only does Brains not keep up his end of the ‘we-may-know-each-other’ plotline to make it believable, but after Earthbreaker the writers seem to drop it from the Mechanic’s character too. He doesn’t show the same ominous bias towards focusing on Brains again whenever he crosses paths with IR, and if anything he seems to reacts with distrust towards Brains when he first offers to help him in Home on the Range. In Brains vs Brawn Brains offers to help him again, but still acts wary of him wanting to get close. If they had known each other before then this could have been a great bonding moment for them to reconnect and win each other’s trust, but instead Brains has to use the promise of “engineer to engineer” which is as far as their personal connection seems to go in the end.

Brains also only ever calls him “the Mechanic” the same as everyone else does, and going into Season 3 this lack of a proper name becomes more of a problem for the Mechanic’s character as a whole. We finally see him without his mask in Chaos Part 2, but a face reveal is all it is. It’s not a grand finale Scooby-Doo moment of “Aha! It was old man Jenkins the janitor all along!”, and this again feels like wasted potential to me. What’s the point of having a masked villain if he’s still exactly the same person without the mask, just a little sadder?

Between being taken into GDF custody in Brains vs. Brawn and then being negotiated for release in Break Out (a 20 episode gap, which is quite a long time span in TAGverse), the GDF don’t seem to have done any background check on him whatsoever. Everyone, including Colonel Casey, still refers to him as “the Mechanic”. If even the in-world authorities couldn’t find this guy’s original identity, then it seems that the entirety of who he was before never existed, and that’s because the writers never properly wrote it. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the TAG writers and have rarely had to fault them on anything in 78 episodes, but fitting their OCs into the series for more than an episode or two is by far their biggest weakness *coughcoughwhydidn’tyouuseEOSmorecough*

His backstory was clearly set up before his introduction, but then scrapped for whatever reason. Perhaps with everything else going on in the show they simply didn’t have time for it? This I can understand, because there’s only so much time in a children’s show and action has to come first in this genre, but it opens up a lot of additional plot holes when you keep trying to build a story on top of a poorly-established character.

What I’m trying to get at here is that without ever having his personal motivations revealed, looking back on the Mechanic’s pervious actions in the story gets a lot more confusing, and makes his character development and the plot development between Season 2 and 3 more difficult to understand.

I’ll split these last points into two parts:

1.    How do we know he built the the T-Drive when he’s unidentifiable?

In Break Out it’s suddenly revealed that the Mechanic was the engineer who designed the first T-Drive engine/Zero-X prototype... But how? How do they now know that??? Surely being the engineer who came up with this fantastic revolutionary warp drive for the spaceship that allegedly killed the great Jeff Tracy would make this guy pretty famous? His former name should probably be common knowledge, and yet he’s still only ever called the Mechanic. It’s been suggested to me on anon that maybe he’s shunned his former name in favour of the Mechanic moniker, which is fine, except that’s no reason for all of the other characters never to speak his true name even when he’s not there to hear it. To us he’s still just the villain we were introduced to, never the man he was before. Without being shown how that past and him today are linked, it’s difficult for us as an audience to attach such important prior information to a character who doesn’t seem to have previously existed.

2.    Was he ever really a true villain, or was it all because of the Hood? And does his change of heart make sense?

We’re never told how the Mechanic came to be. Why did he go from brilliant engineer, to turning over to the dark side and becoming a puppet of the Hood? In Break Out he hints that the Hood manipulated his bitterness over ~something~ in order to get him to work under him, but again it’s frustratingly vague! In the beginning we assumed it was through some personal grudge with Brains, but as I’ve already gone through at length, all that backstory just got washed away. Another anon has suggested to me that his rivalry with Brains was manufactured by the Hood. He didn’t know Brains personally, but developed a grudge against him through being compared. “Brains is brilliant, but you’re a failure”... because of the Zero-X disaster? He’s clearly as good as or even better than Brains when it comes to inventing things, so he had to have had something big happen to him in order to spiral downwards as he did. The Zero-X disaster would certainly fit the bill for that, but it’s a shame to leave all that to speculation. If it were true, then would it have been so hard to fit that into the show?

Anyway, the Hood somehow fostered a hatred for IR in him that served his own motives, and so began their partnership. He’s clearly very strong, so that’s probably why the Hood needed extra control over him via cybernetics. It’s in Brains vs. Brawn that we first learn that the Mechanic is at least partially being controlled by the Hood. Since the Hood spent most of Season 2 in jail, this was maintained through a connection between his bionic eye and some kind of cybernetics that the Mechanic has (forcibly implanted by the Hood or just already there and hacked, we don’t know). Partially coerced and partially forced, but we will never really know how much of each.

The Mechanic is a lot more violent than the Hood ever is on his own. The Hood may not care much for other people or the collateral damage he causes (e.g. in Falling Skies he’s fine with abandoning the Estrella Grand hotel full of people to crash and burn if he decides that he doesn’t want it anymore), but it isn’t really his priority. For the whole of Season 3 he makes the Chaos Crew do the physical dirty work he doesn’t care for (btw I let the Chaos Crew off for not having much background story because their “we’re bad just because we enjoy being that way” motive stays fairly consistent throughout the show. They aren’t that complicated). 

In contrast, the Mechanic has frequently plowed forward with no regard for anyone’s safety. He doesn’t make sneaking around his Plan A like the Hood, and he doesn’t hit and run for fun like the Chaos Crew. He’s brutal. Earthbreaker really sets him up for being a ruthless villain because he’s so focused on getting what he wants that he’s willing to take down anyone who gets in his way. Even when Scott asks for him just to let IR work around him to rescue the civilians below, he attacks! He’s a genuinely scary and thrilling character for how relentlessly destructive he manages to be every time she shows up in Season 2. Seriously, just read his wiki page and you’ll see it’s got ‘perfect villain traits’ written all the way through it.

Then comes the redemption arc.

In Brains vs. Brawn he is subdued and chooses to trust that Brains can redeem him. In Break Out he shows remorse for his actions. He believes that he deserves to be in prison and is beyond redemption for what he’s done. He puts Kayo’s safety before his own and saves her life. He could have disappeared, but instead comes to Tracy Island of his own free will and voluntarily works with his former enemies. That’s a pretty big change from someone who was hellbent on destruction regardless of innocent people begging for their lives! It’s a pretty big ask to believe that all of that relentless anger and complete apathy towards human life was only there because the Hood was in control the whole time.

There’s something else which leads me to believe that “I was being controlled by the Hood” isn’t the watertight excuse it’s presented as. The Mechanic makes it sound like he’s totally stuck and irredeemable without the Hood’s control being removed, but prior to that happening in Buried Treasure he makes choices of his own that the Hood could’ve stopped.

Between being dumped by the Hood in Escape Proof and Brains vs. Brawn, he’s pretty much a villain under his own steam. He’s working independently on continuing Project Sentinel, which has the aim of using to destroy the Hood for having control over him. Sure, he may only be doing bad things because he’s desperate for revenge against his abuser, but he’s still willfully endangering a lot of other people in the process. The Hood may have lost interest in him during that period, but the control system was still in place that whole time - and he was resisting it! If he can manage to hide himself from the Hood and work directly against him despite that, then he still has some free will of his own.

In Chaos - Part 2 Havoc learns the Mechanic is in space prison, which is why the Hood has lost control over him. Arguably the HEX probably had a faraday cage around his prison cell to block the Hood’s influence, and it is stated that it’s harder for the Hood to influence him from space anyway. But after breaking out and coming to Tracy Island of his own free will, shouldn’t being back on earth have put him back under influence again? The only time he had to fight against the Hood’s direct control after that was when Brains disturbed the control software and alerted the Hood, who then suddenly reveals that he has a fail-safe that can wipe the Mechanic’s memories. Wow. If he could really do that, then why didn’t he do so in Escape Proof and not leave the Mechanic as the potential enemy that he turned out to be? Sure, he later says that he still has plans for the Mechanic, but you would think that during Brains vs. Brawn when he’s getting shot at by a giant lazer whilst being thrown around by IR, and the Mechanic is resisting his commands to stop, that then would have been the ideal time to use the secret factory reset ability?  

Afterthoughts aside, I’m still convinced that the Mechanic had a lot of evil in himself that wasn’t just there because of the Hood, and it’s really a wonder that the Tracys let him into heir home after how many times he tried to kill them. i really don’t blame Scott for staying suspicious, even though he was the one most obviously anxious to find a way to get his father back. 

Despite all the questions that the show failed to answer about him, I still think that the Mechanic was a good villain. Whatever his super villain origin story was supposed to be, I think it had a lot more potential to be morally complex than the origin they ended up giving the Hood. It’s a shame that writers across the board these days often don’t have the time to write villains more complex than the trope of “once upon a time somebody made me sad, so I decided to be evil to get revenge”. I know that somebody out there will be looking at this unnecessarily long post and screaming But fab, it’s just a kid’s show! Kids won’t care about tying up offscreen plotlines or any of this crap! And my answer is yes, I know that. That’s why I’m not actually mad about what the writers did with the Mechanic’s character. The writers of TAG did a great job and the show works as it is, but I can’t help but feel that they only had to push a little more or add a line or two somewhere and then all of these questions I have about the Mechanic could have been answered. A little backstory goes a long way in fleshing out a character, and Thunderbirds is a franchise with a lot of history.

#the mechanic rant #the mechanic #this is long overdue #and way too long in itself #it's over 2000 words oops #but there's a lot to analyse #why couldn't i write this much for my essays? #and it was highly anticipated by some #so i hope some of you like it #and i hope i got all the details right #Thunderbirds are Go

[thecodethreechronicals]

And that’s on not being a selfish asshole.

To those who believe we should continue to keep the world shut down I would like to bring your attention to this story. This is a real call I ran. This was a real child abuse case where the parent was to be prosecuted for felony child abuse, neglect and Involuntary man slaughter secondary to neglect. Just to name a FEW charges. It seems that the only way to get people to listen these days is to shock and scare the living hell out of them. The media has been doing it for months with corona virus reports and incorrect death numbers and now I will do the same with this story. Maybe if everyone stopped caring about ONLY themselves for five minutes this world would actually be a better place. With that being said - ‼️Trigger warning‼️ child abuse/neglect/sex trafficking/drug use. All identifying information has been withheld to protect the parties involved. Around a year ago I ran a 911 call for a two year old who was dehydrated. That’s the only information I had enroute. We got on scene and there were about 10 police cars parked down a neighborhood street. In that moment I knew exactly why we were there. A DFS worker was there and explained they had received an anonymous tip regarding the living conditions of 3 juveniles. A mom had been squatting in a condemned house with the roof partially collapsed, no power, plumbing, A/C (it was 100+ degrees out that day) minimal furniture, and a single mattress on the floor covered in urine and feces. There was also no food and the middle child (10 yrs old) told us they had hadn’t eaten in days and had been caring for the younger sibling with special needs for nearly 3 days alone. The two year old had a GJ feeding tube that was severely infected and coming out. Someone had taped around the whole belly with duct tape to prevent it from coming out causing chemical burns to the skin. The two year old had significant medical history and visible disabilities and was unable to eat by mouth. There was no formula that was supposed to be given and instead the 10 year old said the mom had been chewing food, spitting into a cup, mixing with soda and forcing it through the GJ-tube, which explained the severe infection. In the days following speaking to various caseworkers it came out that the older teenager was being sold for sex by the mother in exchange for drugs, which she was also giving to the teenager to cause an addiction and therefore be dependent on her, which is sadly a common practice amongst sex offenders. A few months after I was contacted by another DFS worker to let me know the case would be heard by the DA and criminal court instead of family court due to the death of the two year old several weeks later as a result of malnutrition, neglect, septic infection, etc. A few weeks ago we had a pre trial hearing-social distancing style. I was asked to provide a written statement on the conditions in which the children were found and and my professional opinion on how the children presented medically at the time of EMS arrival. Since then I was told the actual court proceedings had been rescheduled several times until last week when I was told the trial had been postponed indefinitely. The mother was released months prior on bail and custody was granted back to the mother. The reason? Foster parents are refusing to take children due to the concern of corona virus. DFS has been directed to move as many kids as possible out of child haven and work with the biological parents on safe parenting plans in the home, which is not their common practice just so these kids don’t have to be in homes or child care facilities with large groups. Things are falling through the cracks and the safety of one of the most vulnerable populations is being compromised for fear of a virus that as of TODAY has killed 253,000 people worldwide which is 0.014% of the yearly worldwide deaths of heart disease. Or cancer which kills 10 million worldwide, yearly for a total percentage of 0.0253% Child abuse cases are up 40% Suicides are also on the rise but it’s unknown the exact amount at this time since it usually takes over a year to obtain those statistics. People with felonies like rape, child abuse, domestic abuse are being released from jail daily and trials postponed over the fear of a virus that kills less people annually than diseases that we live with on a daily basis and no one bats a single eye. When this started I was all for social distancing and flattening the curve. We’ve accomplished this. The second wave everyone is talking about is all of this. Abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and suicides. People can’t leave their homes. They can’t utilize the gym to combat anger, anxiety or depression. Adults are stressed and depressed over looming financial obligations from being laid off. Kids don’t have the outlet to escape to school or hanging out with friends. Education is falling by the wayside as many low income families don’t have the resources to provide their kids with “distance learning” and many just in general don’t care about their kids education anyway. Higher education institutions like nursing schools are not allowed to participate in clinicals to gain experience. Practical skills and Invasive procedures are being taught online instead of hands on. So when you say the world should stay closed who is this really about? Is it actually about protecting others or is it about yourself and the fears you have? Because I’ll tell you right now the disservice we are doing to our vulnerable populations right now has a much larger socio-economic impact on the world than this virus EVER will.

[alex51324]

About those $1200 checks, part 4

3/29/20:  The stimulus package has been passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law.  According to the Treasury Secretary, they’ll be making direct deposits within 3 weeks.  (It’s unclear whether that timeline is realistic--back before the bill passed, they were telling people to expect checks by April 6--but that’s what they’re saying.)   

So, what do I need to do to get my stimulus money?

In most cases, absolutely nothing. If you filed taxes in 2018, filed taxes in 2019, or receive Social Security, the IRS already has your information and will use it to issue your payment.  If you had a tax refund direct-deposited (in either year), or have Social Security direct-deposited, the stimulus will be direct-deposited into your account.  

What if I didn’t file taxes and don’t get Social Security?

Then you should file for 2019--even if you don’t make enough money to have to file.  Low-income filers can file for free using various tax preparation websites.  (I used TurboTax.)  

If you are a minor under age 17, your parents (or whatever adult claims you on their tax return) will get $500 on your behalf.  If you’re over 17 and have any earned income at all, you can file and get your own $1200 payment, as long as no one has claimed you as a dependent.  (If you’re 17, 18, or 19, your parents can claim you as a dependent, but won’t get the $500 for you.  The tax break they get for claiming you as a dependent could be more than $1200, though, so consult with them about what makes the most sense for your family.)

What if I don’t have direct deposit? 

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says there will be a “web-based application” for giving the IRS your direct deposit information.  It doesn’t exist yet.  

I can’t find any official word on how people will get their payment if they don’t have bank accounts (and therefore can’t set up direct deposit even when the form to do so is available).  The most likely way is probably paper checks in the mail; there’s also some speculation about pre-loaded debit cards.  Either of those options will certainly take more time than direct deposit, so if direct deposit is an option, you should sign up for it.  

There is also no word about how to get the money if you don’t have a mailing address.  

Am I eligible for this money, and how much do I get?

You have to be a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien authorized to work in the United States.  If you pay taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, rather than a Social Security number, you are not eligible.  (This mostly applies to undocumented immigrants.)  

The base amount of the payments is $1200 per adult, and $500 for each child under 17 in a qualifying household.  You get the full amount if your income is $75,000 a year or less.  ($150,000 for couples filing jointly.)  If you make more than $75,000, your payment is lowered; the maximum income to get a partial payment is $99,000 ($198,000 for couples filing jointly).  

For heads of household--usually the filing status for a single custodial parent--the maximum income to get the full check is $112,500.  Heads of household earning up to $146,500 get a partial payment.  

Over  90% of households will qualify for a stimulus payment.  

#about those $1200 checks #coronavirus stimulus #us politics

[allatariel]

THE ERSO LINK

RI 553-B1 DEBRIEFING: CAPT. ANDOR

Gen. Cracken,

As ordered, I have been investigating reports that the Empire is transporting kyber crystals to Patriim, Horuz, and other remote star systems. Those investigations led me to Corulag and then to Coruscant, where I heard rumors that the Empire was concealing shipments of kyber crystals in convoys of civilian freighters. Further investigation revealed shipments were arriving on Kafrene from the direction of the Unknown Regions before being sent to an unknown destination.

On Kafrene I contacted an intelligence source of mine, Tivik, who’d proved useful in the past. Tivik has always been the nervous sort, but this time he was terrified. He didn’t want to meet with me, warning that Imperial spies were everywhere and his communications were being monitored.

When I managed to track down Tivik, he revealed why he was so frightened. He told me that an Imperial cargo pilot named Bodhi Rook had defected the previous day on Jedha. Someone named Galen Erso had convinced Rook to find Saw Gerrera and warn him that the Empire was preparing to test a weapon that used kyber crystals and had enough power to destroy a planet.

Before I could find out more, stormtroopers approached us. They were clearly looking for Tivik. I eliminated the troopers and then neutralized Tivik to prevent him from being taken into Imperial custody. I then returned to Base One at all speed.

COMMANDER’S EYES ONLY

SUBJECT: Jyn Erso

AGE: 22¹

PLACE OF BIRTH: Vallt

RECENT ALIASES: Liana Hallik, Lyra Rallik, Kestrel Dawn, Tanith Ponta, Nari McVee

Jyn Erso was born on Vallt during the Clone Wars. A partial document recovered from an Arakyd Industries data storehouse on Vulpter reveals that her parents, Galen and Lyra Erso, were researching energy creation and storage for Arakyd.² We have two other official records of Jyn Erso: a residence permit from Coruscant issued in the first year of the Empire and a visitor’s permit for the Outer Rim planet Alpinn, which states that she is three years old.

Our next report of Jyn Erso comes from the Commenor Underground, which briefly coordinated operations with Saw Gerrera’s militia nearly a decade ago. Arhul Nemo, a lieutenant in the Commenor Underground, met Gerrera’s fighters and reported that his favorite was a twelve-year-old girl named Jyn. Gerrera claimed he’d rescued her from the Empire and raised her as his own.

We aren’t sure how Jyn Erso wound up in Gerrera’s militia, when she left, or why she did so. After that we have her Imperial arrest records as a street fighter, smuggler, and petty criminal. She drifted from planet to planet, acquiring and discarding fake names, until she was arrested on Corulag³ and sentenced to a labor camp on Wobani.

PARTIAL LIST OF CRIMINAL WARRANTS:

Forgery of Imperial documents

Aggravated assault against Imperial personnel

Escape from custody

Resisting arrest

Shipjacking

Impersonation of an Imperial official

Forgery of Imperial documents

Possession of unsanctioned weapons

Unlawful contact with undesirables

Petty theft

Creating a public nuisance

Disorderly conduct

(FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE CRACKEN/ANDOR PROG40062 AND IMPERIAL ARREST ADDENDUM 41.3711.)

Jyn Erso says she thought her father was dead and hasn’t seen Gerrera in years.

—Jason Fry, Star Wars: Rogue One: Rebel Dossier

1. According to Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, Jyn was born on Vallt at some point after the Second Battle of Geonosis. Until the publication of the Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, the Second Battle of Genosis occurred late in 22 BBY as established in The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 8. The timeline included in Star Wars: Galactic Atlas shifts the Second Battle of Geonosis to 21 BBY, therefore Jyn was also born in 21 BBY.

2. According to Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, Galen and Lyra were working for Zerpen Industries. Jason Fry acknowledged this discrepancy and a potential future retcon on the Jedi Council Forums on theforce.net.

3. According to Rebel Rising, Jyn was arrested in the Five Points system and neither the film nor the novelization say anything regarding where she was arrested. Although Star Wars: The Rebel Files does also list Corulag as her "site of arrest," considering how prominent the Five Points system storyline is in Rebel Rising, it can be assumed that both mentions of Corulag are in error and will perhaps be retconned as well, though this is purely speculation.

#jyn erso #captain cassian andor #cassian andor #general airen cracken #airen cracken #alliance intelligence #cassian's report on jyn and the ersos #galen erso #lyra erso #bodhi rook #saw gerrera #tivik #the partisans #arhul nemo #the commenor underground #jason fry #star wars: rogue one: rebel dossier #rogue one

[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Hi, I've decided to make Mowgli's wolf parents their own characters, named Nisha and Vihaan, with Akela as the leader and grandfatherly mentor to Mowgli. Are their any sequels you think are better than the first movie? For me, All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 is much better that the original. Are their any relationships in Trollhunters that you feel could've been explored, ie, Claire and Draal? And how would you have done Troll!Jim and the final battle with Gunmar?-The Sapphire One.

I’m happy for you, making so much progress on your fanfic.

I would prefer if, in the future, you directed any further requests for advice on your Jungle Book fic to someone who is actually in the Jungle Book fandom, though? I’ve been trying to be courteous and supportive, but it’s getting exhausting to devote so much mental and emotional energy to determining, “what can I say that is helpful but also gently conveys I am not interested in discussing this topic further?”, especially since I don’t seem to be successfully conveying the ‘polite disinterest’ part.

When I have said, repeatedly, that I am not invested in The Jungle Book, what I mean is that it’s an okay story and I have nothing in particular against it, but it is not a fandom that I am in, and therefore fanfiction for it is not fanfiction I am inclined to read or discuss. I would rather devote my time and energy to stories and fandoms in which I do have an emotional investment.

I wish you good fortune in continuing this project and hope it finds the audience it deserves on whichever platform you choose to share it.

+=+

The All Dogs Go To Heaven duo is a neat one because each movie appeals to me in different ways.

The sequel had stronger music. “Let Me Be Surprised”and “It’s Too Heavenly Here” convey the same ideas, but “It’s Too Heavenly Here” has a lot more energy, possibly because Charlie’s had more time to go stir-crazy.

I respect the first one for not shoehorning in a romantic subplot with all the other plot lines they were already working with, but I respect the second one for introducing new elements a bit more cohesively - I mean, the alligator in the first one basically showed up out of nowhere. He did eat Carface in the end, so he was plot-significant, but he was still really jarring - so jarring a whole trope got named after the Big-Lipped Alligator Moment.

The timeline between movies is a bit confusing? I think the first one is set in the 1920s, or maybe the 50s. I’m basing this on partially car designs but cutting out the 10s, 30s, and 40s due to lack of mention of the Great Depression or either World War. But the second one, based on the humans’ clothing, looks like it’s in the 1980s, maybe 90s? So, unless dogs have a natural lifespan similar to a human one in this universe, it’s weird that the second movie starts when Itchy dies. (He’s be thirty, or seventy, depending on which of my time period guesses are right.) I guess there could also be a long time-skip between “It’s Too Heavenly Here” and Carface stealing Gabriel’s horn.

Overall I’ve found movie sequels tend to be lesser than or equal to the original movie. Shrek 2, for example, was really good, but I wouldn’t say it was better than Shrek.

Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time was exceptional, with how the writer’s took advantage of the opportunity to expand on the prince’s character - although he still doesn’t get a name - and Cinderella’s character as well, along with the different specific reasons her stepfamily was jealous and vengeful. (Lady Tremaine wanted the social status, Drizella wanted wealth, and Anastasia wanted emotional security.)

TV series, on the other hand, are often a bit stronger in their second season than the first, because they don’t have to introduce how the setting’s culture or magic/high tech system works unless something new is happening, and likewise they don’t have to introduce new characters every episode or two in order to build the initial main cast, and the main themes and conflicts of the series have been set up.

+=+

Draal’s relationships with everybody could have been expanded on. We don’t really see relationship development between him and anyone else other than Jim and Kanjigar’s ghost. There are some minor scenes showing him getting closer with AAARRRGGHH and Blinky, too, but that got cut off by Draal getting brainwashed before the audience got to see much of it.

You know who else didn’t get many relationships developed? Barbara.

There is exactly one scene, a one-sided phone conversation in Season 3, which implies she has a social life. Also, what is the relationship between her and Nana Domzalski? Jim and Toby are close, and their families live across the street, and Barbara addresses her as Nana, so clearly they’ve met, and yet Barbara never spoke to Nana on-camera in Season 1 about her concerns after Jim and Toby got arrested together and Jim started ‘acting different’?

And furthermore [insert rant about how Stricklake was fumbled in Season 3].

… Not to mention Blinky! She’s friendly with him when he gets turned human and Jim passes him off as a guidance counselor, but their very limited interactions do not explain why she was willing to let Jim go off to New Jersey with the trolls and didn’t even suggest she come along, basically temporarily turning custody of Jim over to Blinky when Barbara and Blinky have had all of one on-screen conversation since she got her memories back.

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Okay, final battle redo, gotta keep Jim a troll …

First of all, Troll!Jim is a klutz. He just went through a massive growth spurt and hasn’t had time to adjust yet. It is acknowledged by him and others (though probably not Merlin), “Wow, this was a really bad idea to do right before getting into a fight, Jim is nearly back to beginner skill-level. At least he’s fast and therefore better at dodging, and can take a hit better.”

Alternately, shuffle everything around so that Jim turns into a troll by S3E6, so the audience has half the season to get used to him, because I think having Jim get trolled right before the final battle is one of the reasons Troll!Jim ended up being such a controversial character.

Either way, the Trollhunters fight Gunmar as a group.

Gunmar is facing Jim. Toby, using the Warhammer to fly, sneaks up behind Gunmar and hits him over the head. Gunmar reaches for Toby, but Blinky throws a dwarkstone in Gunmar’s face, and AAARRRGGHH charges in (possibly via portal so Gunmar won’t see him coming) and punches Gunmar in the gut. The combination of explosion and punch forces Gunmar to drop his sword, and Jim grabs it.

Jim, wearing the Eclipse armour, discovers he is able to hold the Decimaar Blade. (It is implied by how Gunmar conjures it that Decimaar is magically bound to the Gumm-Gumm warlord in a similar way to how Daylight is tied to the Trollhunter, so this might surprise Jim. At the very least, AAARRRGGHH should look surprised.)

Gunmar is distracted by Claire, who portals Blinky out of the way of an attack. Gunmar has seen Claire before, when Morgana agreed to help bring about the Eternal Night. “Morgana’s child …” He is confused and suspicious to see her on the Trollhunters’ side.

Toby swoops Jim above Gunmar and Jim drops down, doing that diagonal swiping attack but with the Decimaar Blade instead of Eclipse, and striking from behind. Gunmar doesn’t turn to stone right away - he turns and starts charging at Jim, who conjures the Eclipse sword stabbed into Gunmar’s chest, like how Jim stabbed Gladys and Bular with Daylight in Season 1.

Gunmar turns to stone and crumbles. Decimaar is still there. The blade’s highlights are blue again instead of gold. Jim picks it up and his eyes glow blue. The other Trollhunters exchange worried looks.

“Jimbo?”

“Master Jim?”

Jim sends out a blast of blue lightning-looking energy from the sword, like the red stuff that happened in the show when Gunmar died, except instead of exploding the Gumm-Gumms it un-brainwashes them. He then drops the sword and collapses. His friends rush to him. (He’s fine, just exhausted. Jim isn’t used to doing magic.)

Angor Rot wasn’t there when Jim and Gunmar started fighting. He saw Strickler and went off to kill him, as revenge for the magical enslavement in the second half of Season 1. Angor changes his mind when he sees Strickler get injured fighting a Gumm-Gumm to protect some humans who haven’t gotten to shelter yet, which prompts a flashback to Angor’s time as a hero. Angor goes off again, this time to hunt down Morgana, nonchalantly killing any Gumm-Gumms who cross his path on the way. (At this point, Angor may still want Strickler dead, but he’s willing to wait to kill him until after the Gumm-Gumms are defeated.)

The thing with Morgana happens like it did in canon except Angor gets thrown back instead of exploded.

Draal is with Nomura and Strickler protecting the civilians from the Gumm-Gumms, or possibly he did die because Draal would have smashed down that bathroom door in negative five seconds and stopped Jim using the potion. If he did die, they revive him later with the Creeper’s Sun antidote.

#ask me anything #Trollhunters #Tales of Arcadia #Troll Jim #Gunmar #fight scenes #what might have been #movies #Sequel #television #commentary #relationships #Draal #Dr Barbara Lake #Nana Nancy Domzalski #Blinkous Galadrigal #also #jungle book #fanfiction

[persona-minty]

Robot Revival AU

Sooo I was talking to @friskyghost about a certain AU they created (link) and they were kind enough to indulge me and talk about it for a while. It was really fun! Anyway, I asked and they said I could make a post about what we talked about and they said yes, so I’m going to do just that. @friskyghost is the primary creator of this AU, but this post is mostly mine with my own headcanons and details that may not hold true for friskyghost’s version of the AU. Persona 3 and 5 spoilers abound and this is a pretty long post, so be warned.

Premise/TL;DR

Minato, Hamuko, and Ryoji are all resurrected several years after the fight against Nyx, except there’s a catch. While their souls are still around and unable to naturally move on, their bodies have long since decayed, so SEES finds a way to infuse their souls into Plumes of Dusk and then crafts three Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon bodies to put those Plumes of Dusk into. Later, Hamuko, Minato, and Ryoji are sent off to Shujin Academy along with Labrys and Ken during the same year the Phantom Thieves will be active. Naturally, they get caught up in the goings on of the metaverse.

Appearances

Minato, Hamuko, and Ryoji all look like they did back in 2009, except with several clear Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon features, like the headphones and metallic shoulder and leg joints Aigis had. Labrys looks essentially the same, and Ken and all of the other members of SEES save Aigis are just older versions of themselves, likely similar to what we saw in Ultimax.

Prelude

Elizabeth and Theodore figure out a way to permanently destroy or detain Erebus, perhaps thanks in part to Yaldabaoth’s creation/birth. From there they dismantle the seal and set Minato and Hamuko, twins in this AU, free from the seal. Ryoji is there with them, has been since the creation of the seal, and decides that if the twins are leaving then he will too. Liz and Theo relay all of this information to SEES, and SEES acts by creating robotic bodies for the three of them. So Hamuko, Minato, and Ryoji all come back to life.

Of course then there are happy reunions. Hamuko, Minato, and Ryoji are happy to be alive, and their friends are happy to see them again. It’s great for everyone, but despite the fact that all of this is generally seen as positive, there are drawbacks. Hamuko and Minato have to get used to having suddenly jumped forward in time several years, all of the friends they’d worked so hard to make being so much older than them, technology being so much more advanced (a bit ironic coming from two robots), and so many world events having come to pass while they were in stasis in the Great Seal. Ryoji is less affected, having only existed for a couple of months in 2009 before. The matter of them finishing high school comes up, because Mitsuru has always been a bit of a stickler about that, though she is gracious enough to say that they don’t have to if they really don’t want to.

The original plan is for them to attend Gekkoukan, but they realize that most of the teachers that taught them back in 2009 are still teaching at the school, and furthermore, some of their friends/social links are still living in the area. They’d surely be recognized if they hung around the area, but they’re not ready to answer any questions about their miraculous resurrection to those not in the know yet. So Ken suggests that they attend the same high school that he does: Shujin academy. Originally he transferred to investigate the mental shutdowns that began occurring some time ago and showed several similarities to Apathy Syndrome, but despite that he was unable to find any potential crossover points where shadows could get access to those affected by the mental shutdowns in order to cause those shutdowns like how they caused Apathy Syndrome. Still, he stayed at Shujin partially because it was a school on par with Gekkoukan so he felt no need to transfer back, and partially because Shinjiro, not dead but permanently injured and therefore basically incapable of fighting shadows without putting himself at great risk, now lives in Tokyo and since waking up on graduation day, he and Ken have become closer and closer and healed past wounds.

It’s then that Labrys decides that she wants to attend school as well, and transfers to Shujin with them, both for her own curiosity’s sake, and to help them adjust to living in robotic bodies. So Shujin gets five transfer students that year: Minato, Hamuko, Ryoji, Labrys, and Akira. Minato, Hamuko, Ryoji, and Ken are all third years, while Labrys is a second year.

Entering Shujin

So the twins, Ryoji, and Labrys begin their year at Shujin Academy. Immediately there are whispers that one of the transfer students is a dangerous criminal, but it’s quickly determined that it isn’t the twins, Ryoji, or Labrys. Instead, it’s a second year transfer student that none of them know. Among them it’s decided that they shouldn’t make quick judgements on this student, but that they also have no reason to get involved with him and should just focus on adjusting. 

For the first two weeks or so, they just hang around and try to get adjusted. There seems to be five new rumors about the criminal transfer student each day, while Minato and Hamuko are gathering several admirers akin to Akihiko or Mitsuru in P3 because of their maxed stats. Ryoji, Ken, and Labrys share in that popularity to an extent.

Hamuko, excited about playing volleyball again like she used to, wants to sign up for the volleyball team. The coach of the volleyball team, Mr. Kamoshida, seems very supportive of this, but Hamuko discovers that her new robotic body might be harder to hide if she were to begin playing volleyball. This majorly bums her out, seeing that they can’t risk revealing themselves, but her friends are there for her and promise to play volleyball with her outside of school. She joins a less risky club, like the cooking club, and Minato joins something like the light music club. Labrys, meanwhile, takes interest in the student council and makes it her goal to become the student body president next year, after the current president has graduated.

Then, two weeks in or so, the twins have a very strange dream. It’s a place that’s a very familiar shade of blue, but so different from what they remember. Instead of an ever moving elevator, they find themselves trapped in a prison cell, peering out at Igor from behind steel bars. Liz and Theo have been replaced by two little girls named Caroline and Justine, and even Igor himself seems very different. He tells them of a place called Mementos and how to get there, and then they are released from the dream. They wake up, discuss amongst themselves, and then discuss it with Ryoji, Ken, and Labrys at school. They all decide to investigate after school.

Entering Mementos For the First Time

After school, they go to investigate the place called Mementos. It’s similar to Tartarus, and Ken theorizes that perhaps this is what he was looking for when he first began investigating the mental shutdowns. They run around for a little bit and discover that though Ryoji has no persona, he can still operate just fine as a navigator. Meanwhile, Minato and Hamuko have been “reset”, kind of, so they only have their respective versions of Orpheus and Messiah right now, but they still retain the ability to gain more personas through Shuffle Time. At the end of their investigation session, they venture into the Velvet Room once more and are told by Igor that Mementos is a manifestation of humanity’s sins.

Once out of Mementos, they discuss what they should do next. They agree that Igor must have shown them Mementos for a reason, and that it very well may have something to do with the mental shutdowns and/or psychotic breakdowns. So all of them agree to head back to Mementos again. Admittedly, it also feels good to fall back into the groove of fighting shadows. For Minato and Hamuko especially, since they’re struggling with the drawbacks of their new bodies and their sudden jump in time, so something familiar is extremely welcome.

The Calling Card

The next day at school, a calling card is posted about Mr. Kamoshida. It’s from a group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, and claiming that they’re going to take Mr. Kamoshida’s twisted desires and change his heart. The next day, Mr. Kamoshida doesn’t show up for school. Nor the next day, and so on and so forth until the assembly where Mr. Kamoshida confesses his sins onstage and vows to kill himself. Mr. Kamoshida is taken into custody by the police, apologies are made to the people who Mr. Kamoshida’s actions affected, and rumors begin to swirl.

Minato, Hamuko, Ryoji, Labrys, and Ken are intrigued by the Phantom Thieves, but not overly interested right now. They’re more focused on discovering why Igor showed the twins Mementos, and they don’t yet consider the possibility that the Phantom Thieves may be persona-related.

Mementos Exploration (1)

They investigate further and further into Mementos, until they discover that they seem to have found the end of it. Mementos was much smaller than any of them imagined, and Ryoji even says that he was almost positive there was more. They discover the answer when they talk to Igor, and he says that they have barely scratched the surface of Mementos, but that to access more of Mementos the public would need to be aware of their existence.

(This is around the time that the Phantom Thieves first enter Mementos, but they do not cross paths with our group).

Making the Public Aware of Them

They discuss whether or not they should go forward with the exploration into Mementos. They are all a part of the Shadow Operatives, so taking care of shadows seems almost natural. Minato and Hamuko also trust Igor, despite him seeming very different, because of his assistance in the past, and the fact that it was Liz and Theo that freed them from the Great Seal. However, they have no idea how to proceed in Mementos, as they have to find a way to become known to the public. Ken, Labrys, or Ryoji then points out that the twins are musically gifted, and if they became famous that way then perhaps they’d be able to get further in Mementos.

After a quick brainstorming session, they come up with the idea to post a video of themselves on YouTube (or an equivalent), hoping that will be enough. Their video is a good enough quality that it draws in many people, but not enough to get them much further in Mementos. They try posting a few more videos, but the results are the same. They lament the fact that this does not seem to be working very quickly and debate just giving up on Mementos, but word of their struggle makes it’s way to the rest of the Shadow Operatives and the next day they find that their videos have skyrocketed in views because Rise promoted one of the videos they made.

(I haven’t decided quite what I want these videos to be about. Since the twins are always wearing headphones I definitely want it to have something to do with music, but I don’t know what yet. If need be, just imagine them posting covers to idol songs.)

Mementos Exploration (2)

The popularity that ensues from Rise’s actions is enough to get them further into Mementos, and it’s here that they discover that some people have actual shadow selves in Mementos. That’s when they decide that the mental shutdowns could be from someone killing these shadows, and first consider the possibility that there might be another persona user in Tokyo, and not one with good intentions. Remember, Ken was investigating the mental shutdowns from the perspective of someone who had dealt with Apathy Syndrome and automatically assumed shadows were the cause of the mental shutdowns.

Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves take care of a few side requests in Mementos while looking into the Madarame case and Yusuke. When our group finds out about these requests, they officially determine that the Phantom Thieves can access the metaverse and are likely persona users if they can navigate Mementos without dying. That means they become suspects in the mental shutdowns case, at least to our group, but it’s not definite. They have no proof aside from both the assumed culprit and the Phantom Thieves likely having personas and being able to access Mementos, and the Phantom Thieves only showed up a little while ago while the mental shutdowns have been happening for a few years at least.

Still, our group makes the decision, with the approval of the other Shadow Operatives, to investigate Mementos and the Phantom Thieves further. If they wouldn’t, the Shadow Operatives would send others to check it out, because this seems important. As is, Mitsuru wants to send others in, protective of the twins after everything that’s happened, but they all but beg her not to. I think the twins would probably see this as a very good opportunity to get used to living again, especially in these new bodies in this new time. They really became comfortable with living their lives when they fell in with SEES, and this is a similar enough situation that they’re eager to get entangled with it. 

Conclusion

I don’t currently have anything more for this AU imagined, but I think it’s a strong start and has a lot of potential. The story from there would continue with the Phantom Thieves doing as they do in the game while our group investigated them and ventured further into Mementos. Meanwhile, Minato and Hamuko would be dealing with all of their emotional turmoil from being resurrected, being robots now, and being six years into the future. Like honestly, that’s a triple whammy right there, but at least they have each other to confide in. Meanwhile, we could get a more in-depth look at Ryoji, Labrys, and Ken’s characters, or at least a fan-written version of them.

I have what I believe to be a really interesting idea for the progression of this AU that involves our group joining Haru and Morgana in Okumura’s palace, but I haven’t fleshed it out yet so who knows if I’ll ever make a post about it. As it stands, if you like this AU you should go check out @friskyghost, who created the original concept for it. I think they’re a really cool person.

Thank you for reading this suuuuuper long post, whoever made it this far, and FYI, if anybody wants to come chat with me about any persona AU you or I create, I’m always up for it. Message me anytime. Seriously. I love fleshing out AU’s.

#persona 3 #persona 5 #minato arisato #hamuko arisato #robot revival au #ryoji mochizuki #labrys #ken amada #friskyghost #persona au #persona 3 spoilers #persona 5 spoilers

[lenaysworld]

Arena Link & Response

Link to Arena channel: https://www.are.na/lenay-demetrious/projects-research-of-inspiration

As I continue to think about my senior thesis idea, I really seem to be drawn to my first idea, which is to launch a YouTube vlog series that follows me and documents my life throughout the semester. Because I’m strongly leaning toward this idea, I decided to populate my Arena channel with projects and pieces of research that primarily explore vlogging and the YouTube platform. 

Some creators that have been so inspiring for me over the years (and have actually implanted the thought in my head to create a vlog series myself) are:

1) CatCreature, an art student at RISD who documents her life through weekly vlogs

2) Brooke Mooney, a childhood friend of mine who just recently launched a YouTube channel that follows her life as one of five children in a large Long Island family

3) ViolinMD, a third-year medical resident who vlogs her (insane) 24-26 hour call shifts

4) NinaUnrated Vlogs, a stripper who vlogs about work, being a content creator, and her brutal legal battle to attain custody of her son

5) Eve Cornwell, a young lawyer from the UK who has vlogged everything from her absolutely painful exam weeks to internships to now her new full-time job (!!)

and 

6) Shane Dawson, a veteran YouTuber who vlogs his friends and him visiting new states, haunted hotels, haunted ships, etc. 

What I love about all these channels and vlog series is that they are all so wildly different; the beauty of YouTube is that it truly showcases the originality and individuality of a person through tangible videos produced by the creator. I also love how most of these content creators have stressful and not-so-glamorous lives, because prior to watching their videos, I honestly thought the only YouTube creators that could get views are those that lived glamorously, traveling the world and eating gourmet food and being flown out by Louis Vuitton to attend NYFW. However, all these content creators prove otherwise, and because of that, because they can make things like a 26-hour call shift and studying for law school exams entertaining, I have the courage to document my life, which can be mundane and “normal” at times. 

I also populated my channel with some pieces of research that have opened my eyes a bit to the business part of YouTube (and what dangers to look out for). Something that I’ve learned is that YouTube has just been hit with a hefty fine for violating the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which is now affecting hundreds of content creators, as Forbes has reported that “for videos targeted to kids, YouTube will be halting all personalized ads and removing features like comments and notifications in the coming months”. This will be a huge hit for creators in this sub-community of the platform in terms of post engagement, and therefore, profit. I am not necessarily planning on creating kid-targeted content for my senior thesis, but this is something to keep in the back of my head moving forward, as it reflects the seemingly warped ethics of YouTube, which may or may not affect me in the future. 

Another issue that I’ve come across in these research pieces is the question of how YouTube and vlogging affects a creator’s mental health. According to Tech Times, YouTube is rolling out a new policy to “abbreviate” or only partially display a creator’s subscriber count as a way to combat creator stress and to promote better well-being across their army of creators. Though YouTube’s ethics can be questioned in the case of their COPPA violation, they can be commended for this newly implemented policy, which shows their concern for their creators’ mental health. 

I’ve also included a TED Talk about how vlogging can turn loneliness into a good thing, which I found interesting and insightful as I embark on my vlogging journey, as well as a fun piece that explains why some celebrities are turning to YouTube/vlogging recently. Finally, I’ve included a piece about sponsorships between brands and content creators that I found fascinating and enlightening, because I may be in a position a little further down the line where brands may come to me to promote their product through my videos. 

This brief amount of research has already opened my eyes to the “bigger picture” and business of YouTube, and more specifically, the vlogging community that belongs to the platform. I’m excited to research and learn more about both the dangers and benefits of the platform, which will then enlighten and inform me on how I should move forward with my vlog series/channel. 

[fitzgeraldmccartney4-blog]

The Sufficient Household

The households of the not as well distant past were related along 4 axes. These axes were not mutually unique. Some overlapped, all of them boosted each various other. Individuals obtained married for various factors: 1. As a result of social pressure and social norms (the Social Dyad). 2. To develop a much more efficient or synergetic economic device (the Economic Dyad). 3. In pursuit of psychosexual gratification (the Psychosexual Dyad). 4. To protect long-term friendship (the Friendship Dyad). Therefore, we could speak about the complying with 4 axes: Social-Economic, Emotional, Practical (Sensible), Private-Familial. To show exactly how these axes were linked, allow us consider the Emotional one. Until extremely lately, people used to obtain wed because they really felt extremely strongly regarding living alone, partially because of social stricture of reculsiveness. In some countries, people still register for beliefs which advertise the family members as a column of culture, the fundamental cell of the nationwide organism, a hothouse where to reproduce youngsters for the army, and so forth. These collective beliefs ask for individual payments and sacrifices. learn more have a strong emotional measurement as well as give incentive to a host of habits patterns. But the emotional financial investment in today's individualistic-capitalist ideologies is no smaller compared to it remained in the other day's patriotic ones. True, technical advancements made past believing obsolete as well as inefficient yet did not appease Man's thirst for advice and also a worldview. Still, as innovation evolved, it ended up being an increasing number of turbulent to the family. Enhanced movement, a decentralization of information sources, the transfers of the standard features of the family members to social as well as economic sector facilities, the boosted incidence of interpersonal communications, safer sex with lower or no consequences - all cultivated the disintegration of the traditional, extended and nuclear family. Think about the patterns that straight influenced women, as an example:. 1. The introduction of usual marriage residential or commercial property and of laws for its equivalent circulation in instance of separation constituted a shift in legal approach in the majority of cultures. The result was a significant (as well as on going) re-distribution of riches from guys to women. Include in this the differences in life expectancy between both sexes and the magnitude of the transfer of financial resources ends up being noticeable. Ladies are becoming richer due to the fact that they live longer than guys as well as hence inherit them as well as because they obtain a share of the marriage property when they divorce them. These "endowments" are normally more than they had contributed to the pair in loan terms. Females still earn much less compared to guys, for example. 2. An increase in financial possibilities. Social as well as ethicalities transformed, modern technology allows for boosted movement, wars and also economic turmoils brought about the required introduction of females right into the labour markets. 3. The result of ladies's improved economic clout is a more egalitarian social and lawful system. Female's rights are being lawfully along with informally protected in an evolutionary process, stressed by small lawful changes. 4. Ladies had actually largely accomplished equal rights in academic as well as financial chances as well as are dealing with a gaining fight in other domain names of life (the armed force, political representation). Really, in some legal areas, the prejudice protests men. It is unusual for a guy to complain of unwanted sexual advances or to obtain spousal support or custody of his kids or, in numerous countries, to be the beneficiary of social well-being settlements. 5. The introduction of socially-accepted (normative) solitary moms and dad as well as non-nuclear family members assisted females to form their lives as they choose. A lot of single parent households are goinged by females. Women solitary moms and dads are disadvantaged economically (their typical revenue is really low also when adapted to show transfer repayments) - yet several are taking the plunge. 6. Therefore, slowly, the shaping of future generations ends up being the special domain name of females. Even today, one third of all youngsters in developed countries grow in solitary moms and dad families without male figure around to work as a role model. This exclusivity has remarkable social as well as financial ramifications. Progressively and discreetly the balance of power will move as society ends up being matriarchal. 7. The innovation of the pill and also various other birth controls liberated females sexually. The resulting sex-related revolution impacted both sexes but the major recipients were women whose sexuality was all of a sudden legitimized. No more under the cloud of undesirable maternity, ladies did not hesitate to engage in sex with numerous companions. 8. When faced with this newfound freedom and the truths of altering sexual conduct, the double moral conventional fallen apart. The presence of a legitimately revealed womanly sexual drive is widely approved. The household, consequently, becomes likewise a sexual joint venture. 9. Urbanization, interaction, and also transport increased the number of experiences between men and women as well as the chances for economic, sex-related, as well as psychological interactions. For the very first time in centuries, ladies had the ability to evaluate and compare their male companions to others in every imaginable means. Progressively, females choose to opt out of connections which they consider to be useless or inadequate. Greater than three quarters of all separations in the West are launched by females. 10. Women familiarized their requirements, priorities, preferences, dreams as well as, generally, of their appropriate feelings. They abandoned emotions as well as believed patterns instilled in them by patriarchal societies and societies as well as sustained via peer stress. 11. The functions and also traditional functions of the family members were slowly worn down as well as transferred to other social agents. Even functions such as psychological support, psychosexual communications, as well as youngster rearing are typically relegated to outside "subcontractors". Emptied of these functions and of inter-generational communications, the extended family was lowered to a dysfunctional shell, a hub of simple interaction in between its remaining members, a worn out variation of its previous self. The standard roles of ladies and their alleged personality, propensities, and dispositions were not useful in this new atmosphere. This led women to look for a brand-new meaning, to discover a brand-new niche. They were actually cleared out of their houses by its useful disappearance. 12. In parallel, modern medication boosted women's life expectancy, extended their youngster birthing years, enhanced their wellness significantly, as well as preserved their appeal with a myriad new methods. This provided women a new lease on life. In this brand-new world, women are far much less likely to die at childbirth or to look decrepit at Thirty Years of age. They are able to time their choice to bring a kid to the world, or to refrain from doing so passively or proactively (by having an abortion). Female's expanding control over their body - which has actually been externalized, reviled and also appreciated for millennia by males - is arguably among one of the most striking functions of the feminine change. It permits ladies to rid themselves of deeply embedded manly values, views as well as bias concerning their physique and also their sexuality. 13. Lastly, the lawful system as well as other social and economic frameworks adjusted themselves to mirror most of the abovementioned revolutionary change. Being inertial and difficult, they reacted gradually, partially and also gradually. Still, they did respond. Any type of contrast between the scenario simply twenty years ago and also today is likely to disclose considerable distinctions. However this change is just a segment of a much bigger one. In the past, the axes with which we opened our conversation were very closely and seemingly completely linked. The Economic, the Social and the Psychological (the axis bought the conservation of societal mores as well as ideologies) formed one amalgam - and the Exclusive, the Familial and the Utilitarian-Rational made up one more. Therefore, culture motivated individuals to get married due to the fact that it was mentally dedicated to a societal-economic ideological background which infused the family members with sacredness, a historical goal and grandeur. Regardless of social sights of the family members, most of males and females got wed from a cold economic computation that related to the household as a functioning financial unit, within which the private properly negotiates. Forming family members was the most reliable way understood to generate wide range, accumulate it as well as transfer it across time as well as space to future generations. These typical assemblages of axes were diametrically turned around in the last couple of years. The Social and Economic axes together with the Practical (Reasonable) axis as well as the Psychological axis are now straightened with the Personal and Familial axes. In other words, nowadays society urges individuals to obtain wed because it wants to optimize their financial outcome. However most people do not see it by doing this. They pertain to the household as a secure emotional sanctuary. The distinction in between previous and present may be subtle yet it is by no means trivial. In the past, individuals used to share emotions in routine, socially dictated means, wearing their ideas and also beliefs on their sleeves as it were. The family members was one of these modes of expression. Yet truly, it acted as a simple financial device, lacking any kind of emotional involvement as well as web content. Today, individuals are seeking to the household for psychological sustenance (romantic love, friendship) and also not as a tool to improve their social as well as economic standing. Producing a family members is no more the means to take full advantage of utility. Yet these brand-new assumptions have actually undercuted the household. Both men and women seek emotional comfort as well as true friendships within it when they cannot locate it, utilize their newfound self-sufficiency and also liberties as well as divorce. To summarize:. Males and female used to want to the family members for financial and also social assistance. Whenever the family members fell short as a financial and also social launching pad - they lost interest in it as well as started trying to find adulterous choices. This trend of disintegration was better improved by technological advancement which encouraged self-sufficiency and also extraordinary social division. It was culture at large which related to families emotionally, as part of the prevailing belief. The duties have reversed. Culture now has the tendency to see the family in a utilitarian-rational light, as an effective mode of organization of financial and social task. As well as while in the past, its participants pertained to the family members mostly in a utilitarian-rational manner (as a wealth creating device) - currently they desire a lot more: psychological assistance and friendship. In the eyes of the individual, households were transformed from economic production units to emotional powerhouses. In the eyes of culture, families were changed from components of emotional and spiritual ideological background to utilitarian-rational manufacturing devices. This change of axes and emphases is bridging the conventional gap between males and females. Ladies had actually always accentuated the emotional side of being in a couple as well as of the family. Guy always stressed the convenience as well as the utility of the family members. This gap made use of to be unbridgeable. Male acted as traditional social representatives, females as revolutionaries. Just what is occurring to the organization of the household today is that the revolution is ending up being mainstream. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGa9MVMC_p0

[arifisha77]

#Ethiopia 🇪🇹🇪🇹

We are #OROMOO and we all are political prisoners.

We are accused because we are struggled for OROMO people.

We are accused because we are struggled for Ethiopian people.

We are accused because we are stood for Equality and to establish a system that treats all citizens without partiality.

We are accused because we demanded truthful justice system in our country.

We are being prosecuted for our political belief.

We are #OROMO and we are political prisoners.

We Express our fear & strongly request that to realise Our prominent activists, Leader & human rights fredoom fighters that behind the bar!!

#HearTheVoiceOfOromo

#ReleaseOurLeaders

We are demanding the immediate release all Oromo political prisoners unconditionally who were detained unlawfully.

We are demanding the immediate release of all political activists and journalists unlawfully arrested Oromia, Ethiopia🇪🇹.

We strongly request that to release Our Leaders

27 days of hunger strike

#OromoPoliticalPrisonersOfHungerStrike

#Starvingforjustice

#FreeAlloromoPoliticalPrisoners

#JusticeforHachalu

#OromoProtests

#FreeJawarMohammed

#FreeBekeleGerba

#freeAbdiRagassa

#FreeColonelGemechuAyana

#Freedejenaxafa

#FreeMeleseDirribsa

#FreeHamzaBorana

#Freeshemsedintaha

#FreeMichaelBoran

#FreeLammiibeenyaa

#FreeDawitabdeta

#FreeKennasaAyana

Day 28 of Hunger Strike at Kaliti Federal Prison.

____

Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Borana and other Oromo political prisoners are on their 28th day of a hunger strike in Kaliti Federal Prison. They are all in critical condition. Seven of the strikers are hospitalized, and all of them have developed kidney problems.

The prisoners asserted that they started this hunger strike because of a worsening political condition and the derailed transition to democracy.

The Oromo political prisoners put their demands as follow:

1. Release All Oromo Political Prisoners

Jails and prisons are full of Oromos, more than any other group in the country. Currently there are more than 50,000 Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia. In Kaliti alone there are more than 5,000 Oromo political prisoners, constituting 90% of the nation’s entire prisoners.

There are also more than 30 Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia who returned from different parts of the world following the 2018 promised transition to democracy. Among the returnees are high ranking officials of the OLF & OFC, including the most influential young political figure from the U.S, Jawar Mohammed.

Therefore, release all prisoners of conscience languishing in Ethiopian jails and prisons, of which the overwhelming majority are Oromo political prisoners.

2. Allow Oromo Political Party Offices to be Opened and to Operate Fully

More than 103 offices of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) across the country, including the HQ in Finfinne, have been closed by the government. More than 90 Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) offices across Oromia are also now closed by the government.

The ruling party must stop the alienation and systematic disenfranchisement of the Oromo Nation from political participation in the country. Government must allow Oromo media TV station offices that were closed and their licenses suspended to be reinstated and to resume operations. We also demand that they organize an

all-inclusive national dialogue before the national election.

The government must open up and widen the political space in order to bring the derailed transition back on track, so that all who have vision for the betterment of Ethiopia could participate in a free and fair election.

Hence, the hunger strikers demand is to open and allow opposition political parties offices to operate. Stop the alienation, systematic disfranchisement and to open up the political space equally for all.

3. End Mistreatment of Families of Political Prisoners

Government security forces must end mistreatment of political prisoners while they visit their loved ones at Kaliti Prison and elsewhere. End any inhumane treatment of prisoners under custody or under investigation.

_____

[californiaprelawland]

Yellow Flag? Red Flag? The Future of Gun Control Laws in the United States

By Sydney George, Occidental College Class of 2023

February 3, 2021

In 2019, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed a "yellow flag" gun control bill that had passed in the Democratically-controlled Maine Senate and House of Representatives by 32-0 and 135-9 votes, respectively. The bill allowed law enforcement to temporarily seize the firearms of a person in protective custody with permission from a judge and approval from a mental health professional deeming the individual a threat to themself or others. The law went into effect on July 1st, 2020.

The legislation was a compromise between gun control and gun rights advocates as a less severe version of the "red flag" or "extreme risk" gun laws that have become increasingly popular following mass shooting incidents in recent years. According to a CDC report, 2017 saw the highest number of gun deaths in at least 40 years. As of today, "red flag" gun control laws have been passed in 19 states and the District of Columbia. [1]

"Red flag" laws, also known as risk-based gun removal laws, allow family members and law enforcement personnel to petition a court to order the temporary seizure of weapons from individuals who could be considered dangerous to themself or others. The "yellow flag" law in Maine is very similar but requires the approval of a mental health professional before the temporary removal of an individual's guns, and family members are unable to directly seek the removal of an individual's firearms. Because of these limiting factors, the law also drew support from gun rights advocates.

If a mental health professional evaluates the person in custody and finds that their mental health is likely to deteriorate and that they likely pose a threat of serious harm, and the practitioner's evaluation is certified, the individual's access to dangerous weapons is limited pending a hearing. The law states that the individual is "prohibited from possessing… or attempting to possess… a dangerous weapon pending the outcome of a judicial hearing." [2]

The effectiveness of the "yellow flag" law and "red flag" laws has been highly debatable. As thirteen potentially dangerous people in Maine have been taken into protective custody since the "yellow flag" law was implemented in July of 2020, many gun control advocates have pointed to the lives the law may have already saved from gun violence. [1] Further, studies conducted in "Connecticut and Indiana found that for every 10 to 20 confiscations under the ["red flag"] laws, there was one fewer death than would otherwise have been expected." [3] The law is also hypothetically designed to incentivize those with mental health issues to seek proper medical treatment. It is however still extremely difficult to quantify the effectiveness of these laws on both public safety and mental health.

Because mental health professionals must determine if a person poses a potential threat, the standards for weapons seizure under "yellow flag" laws are fairly high. However, concerns remain that the law violates the right to due process since individuals at immediate risk are often not allowed to represent themselves before their weapons are confiscated until a hearing before a judge within 14 days.

Many gun rights advocates have also decried these laws as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. While the "yellow flag" law in Maine was the result of a compromise that included gun rights advocates, "red flag" laws have faced a strong backlash from gun rights organizations like the NRA.

This constitutionality of gun control laws has been a topic of debate for numerous decades. Early Supreme Court cases about gun control such as the 1876 United States v. Cruikshank interpreted the Second Amendment as barring only the federal government from regulating gun ownership, which left almost all decisions about gun ownership laws up to the states.

However, later cases seemed to disrupt the constitutional consensus around gun control laws. District of Columbia v. Heller of 2008 was a landmark Supreme Court case that reversed the District of Columbia ban on handguns and a few other regulations because laws violated the Second Amendment. Yet, the Court also wrote, "nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill," so these gun control laws appear to continue to hold legal standing. [4] The implications of District of Columbia v. Heller were later clarified by the 2010 Supreme Court case McDonald v. City of Chicago, in which the Court affirmed that the Second Amendment is incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore can be enforceable to the states.

Some also argue that these laws may stigmatize and unfairly target those with mental health issues. This is partially why the Maine Gun Safety Coalition is planning to push stronger gun control legislation that amends the language of the "yellow flag" bill. As Director Geoff Bickford said, "A person can be having a crisis but not be mentally ill." [1]

As for the future of these gun control laws, President Joe Biden plans to incentivize states adopting "red flag" legislation by giving them increased federal funding if they implement it. He also plans to direct the Department of Justice to offer technical assistance and guidance to states open to adopting these laws.

Many polls have indicated that the majority of the public supports "red flag" laws. One study in 2019 found that 80% of Democrats, "two-thirds of Republicans and 60% of gun owners support allowing police to seek the court orders." [5] "Red flag" laws have even drawn bipartisan support in Congress, as Republicans like Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida publicly advocated for them in 2019. Still, the debate over "yellow flag" and "red flag" laws will certainly continue to be contentious in the years to come.

______________________________________________________________

[1] Harrison, J., & Shepherd, M. (2021, January 25). Maine passed a law to prevent mass shootings. Police have used it 13 times. Bangor Daily News. https://bangordailynews.com/2021/01/25/news/bangor/maine-passed-a-law-to-prevent-mass-shootings-police-have-used-it-13-times/.

[2] 129th Maine Legislature. An Act To Enhance Personal and Public Safety by Requiring Evaluations of and Judicial Hearings for Persons in Protective Custody Regarding Risk of Harm and Restricting Access to Dangerous Weapons. SP0612, LD 1811, item 1, An Act To Enhance Personal and Public Safety by Requiring Evaluations of and Judicial Hearings for Persons in Protective Custody Regarding Risk of Harm and Restricting Access to Dangerous Weapons. http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_129th/billtexts/SP061201.asp.

[3] Williams, T. (2019, August 6). What Are 'Red Flag' Gun Laws, and How Do They Work? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/us/red-flag-laws.html.

[4] Legal Information Institute. (2008, June 26). DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER. Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZS.html.

[5] Paterson, L. (2019, August 20). Poll: Americans, Including Republicans And Gun Owners, Broadly Support Red Flag Laws. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/08/20/752427922/poll-americans-including-republicans-and-gun-owners-broadly-support-red-flag-law.

[chanlyeya]

More parabella headcanons please! I love this AU!

If you asked for parabella headcanons and you don’t see your ask here, don’t worry, some went better with a prompt so I’ll be answering them with the prompts themselves :P

Parabella is my most thought out AU, so, you can bet your behinds I’ve got more headcanons for you ;)

Okay, so, specifics first. Ashbella first date!

Pretty sure I mentioned it in another parabella hc post, but, they get together five years after the events of The Letter

Unlike how I imagine their relationship goes in the regular post-TL timeline, their first date is a week after their first kiss. Isabella calls him up the day after asking when he plans on taking her out

He’s super flustered because, remember, he didn’t even intend to confess when he did and Belle just…dragged him down for a kiss

He fumbles and Becca takes over and says he has the day off within the week, he’ll take her then. Belle makes sure it’s actually okay with him before she says she’s looking forward to it

Ash freaks out, thinking he needs to make this date go perfectly! So, he starts researching best paraplegic date ideas

He loses a lot of sleep over it since he keeps researching whenever he’s not at work damnit Becca, how could you spring this on him and actually sleeps through his alarm and is therefore late to pick her up. Bella doesn’t mind though, he was only about ten minutes late, but meanwhile, Ash is lamenting his complete and utter failure

They have a nice evening out. Ash took her to a nature trail far away from any cities and light pollution that would be easy enough for her to maneuver. He brings them there no too long before sundown and they walk out to a place where they can watch the stars

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for their first date. On to Angelo!

Bella is actually in her mid-thirties when she has Angelo. She had three miscarriages before him though

Ashton’s nickname for Angelo (Fritz) actually came from Fitz, as in, the prefix meaning “son of ___”. He thought he was hilarious, Belle not so much, so he added an r in there so he could accidentally call him Fitz without Belle giving him that look

Angelo has Belle’s pigmentation, but his facial structure and everything is clearly his father’s. He dyes his hair black when he starts his “hate Belle” phase so he looks less like her

He’s extremely attractive, and he grew his hair out somewhat. Has a habit of braiding his bangs out of the way when he works. Belle once drew him and Ash posted it jokingly online, and people loved it. He took it down after about ten minutes, and had all records deleted, but, Santos’ depiction of Eros had already made a splash. It was the most embarrassing time of Angelo’s life. He was fully clothed, get your minds out of the gutter

He’s slightly taller than both his parents, at 5′8″. He’s far-sighted and needs reading glasses, but hates wearing them in public. Not because he doesn’t think he looks good in them or anything like that; he just has a habit of taking them off and leaving them lying around wherever. He has a hard enough time remembering where he took them off inside the house

Alright, that’s it for the specific requests, now for just random parabella AU facts:

Ash sells Shirley since she’s not the best car for Belle. It was one of the hardest things he ever done. Becca bought it off him since she knew how crazy sentimental he was about her so he could borrow her whenever Becca never actually drives Shirley herself

Hannah joins the group and seamlessly fits in with them all. She’s closest to Zach, followed by Becca, but gets along swimmingly with Ash and Belle as well

Hannah and Becca both like Zach, and told each other as such. Becca, having grown, rather than getting jealous of Hannah, is actually very supportive, as is Hannah with Becky’s feelings

On that note, they both confessed to Zach, together. It has left Zach in a very awkward position and they all have an “its complicated” relationship

Luke eventually gets caught and does time. A very reduced sentence of five years and he gets out in three on good behaviour

He’s good friends with Becca, Marianne and Hannah, and is an amazing father to his kids. He technically doesn’t have custody of his kids, and doubts he’ll get it with his record, but Hannah is fine with letting them stay with their father every now and again

The girls are all really good friends with each other, and regularly get together to hang out

Marianne still commissions Isabella and gets a discount rate after she becomes famous as Isabella partially owes her fame to Marianne selling her art to all sorts of influential people

The girls have tried to get the guys to come together as well. While Ash and Luke can tolerate each other now that Luke’s done his time, they never like one another. Ash is the one that put him behind bars in the first place and Ash thinks he got off way too easy. No one complains because it’s what Hannah wants

….aaaaaaaaand that’s all I’ve got for now. :P

#the letter vn #the letter visual novel #ashton frey #isabella santos #ashbella #hannah wright #zachary steele #rebecca gales #some zachbecca and zachannah #parabella #asks #nonnie #otp: the truth he holds against the world

[torchholder247-blog]

Eric L Andrist-the man behind the curtain of baddoctordatabase, bad medicine database on fb, 4Patientsafety and The Patient Safety League

What follows is an exchange with Eric L Andrist (photo bust attached to this site), the man who runs the [email protected] blog where he re-posts articles about doctors accused of wrongdoing, often adding his own spin to the posts. In the exchange below we removed the doctors name and identifying information as the focus is Who is Eric Andrist? and the defamatory false exposure of Innocent doctors are posted on his sites.

Us: Charges were dismissed against Dr X and his medical license is active and unlimited. Dr X was and remains innocent of the charge.

Andrist: I already posted the newer articles. However, dismissal of charges does NOT necessarily equate to rendering someone "innocent." The article clearly says:

"In an unusual move, Circuit Judge X sealed the probable cause affidavit and case information at the request of Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney X the day before Dr X was taken into custody.

The Order to Seal Affidavit and Information document indicates the record was sealed on the grounds that if released to the public, it could compromise an ongoing investigation. In addition, the release of said information is sensitive, and it is necessary to withhold this information for a short time to ensure the investigations are not impaired."

So clearly there is an ongoing investigation.

Us: Your integrity is appreciated. The citation you post above are from reporters of Online & Bulletin articles of X date. Clearly from that date further 'ongoing' investigations transpired that the State dropped charges and reinstated Dr X's medical license 'in full without restriction'. Those two current legal actions verify 'Innocence' in that surely you are not suggesting that the State would permit the doctor to resume practice otherwise. You posted Dr X to your various social media Bad Doctor related sites solely on the basis of 'the Charge against him' yet 'the Charge against him' has been dismissed..and you now refuse to take down your negative posts. That decision defeats the otherwise good intention of your site. Since the ruling no further investigation of Dr X exists. IF you are suggesting that other persons are part of a current ongoing investigation, that has no relevancy to Dr X. Please reconsider and remove.

Thank you for posting the Online Dismissal article provided to you.

Andrist: Actually, they don't. That's not how the law works. Dropping charges does not equate to innocence. It just means there was not enough evidence to proceed with the charges. The state constantly lets doctors practice when they've done something wrong! We monitor the California Medical Board heavily. We have 3 doctors currently on the Sex Offenders Registry who are practicing with clear records!

My decision to keep up the information does NOT defeat the purpose of my site because he has not been proven innocent...they just gave up proving him guilty.

If you have documentation PROVING innocence, by all means send them to me and I'll post them. But again, dismissing charges does not mean he's innocent. There's a big difference.

In court, even a "not guilty" verdict by a jury does not equate to "innocent" As we saw in the OJ Simpson case, he was found not guilty by a jury, when he was clearly guilty, and later found guilty in a civil trial.

Us: I am trying hard to understand. I get what you are saying about other cases, but am only informed about the case of Dr X. Your website states "'Innocent' until proven guilty", the 'one' charge against Dr X was dismissed, not by the Judge, not by Statute of Limitations, but by the State Prosecutor..resulting in Dr X having no charges against him. He cannot be proven 'guilty' when there is no charge against him..nor any further investigation of him. Therefore based upon your site claims, Dr X is innocent...supporting removing your posts on social media. To take any action otherwise contradicts your website virtue of Innocent Until Proven Guilty...and becomes Guilty Until Proven Innocent. Our legal system is not perfect, but it is based solely upon that same legal system that your website exists.

Andrist: You don't seem to understand what "dismissed" means. Why do you think it relates to innocence? If someone murders their spouse and they get arrested just because they were there at the time, but later the charges are dropped because they simply couldn't find more evidence linking them to the murder, does that mean to you that the person is innocent and didn't kill someone?

Innocent until proven guilty is a phrase that only has meaning in a court of law. In the real world, not so much. People judge people guilty all the time. It's on my website as a disclaimer, not as my own personal belief. I don't put information in my blog personally, I only link to stories that other reporters have already written. The stories about Dr X are other people's words, not mine. It's there for informational purposes.

In the eyes of the "law," he is considered innocent until proven guilty. But in real life, that's not the case. We as people are not bound by the laws of the court to read the facts and make a judgment based on them.

IF he is guilty, don't you think his patients have a right to know the details of this story?

What is your relationship to him?

Us: I understand both 'dismissed' and 'innocence' in both lay terms and legal terms. I also understand human nature as it relates to judging/harming others on an emotional platform. Additionally I saw that your sites were merely re-posting articles written by others. The dialogue between you and I could go on exchanging philosophical views but cutting to the chase..what evidence do you accept to prove 'innocence' of anyone posted to your baddoctor related websites?

Andrist: First, who are you and why are you asking for this? Why isn't the doctor asking me?

Us: No story here, just trying to understand how, as the site manager, to work with you to remove the post and would appreciate your guidance on what is required. Please advise.

Andrist: Well, I won't continue the conversation until I know who you are and your motives. I've been contacted by companies before who did this same thing who were paid by the doctor to clean the internet. They gave me all kinds of lies trying to get me to take a post down including bribe money. They told me the doctor was proven innocent. Then I checked with the DA's office and it was all lies. So if you want to continue the conversation, come clean.

Us: I can't be held accountable for what others do. As you can attest, I have done nothing but provide you with updated Source data (articles, legal docs) to support a reasonable request. You claim you have 'no relationship' with the folks that submit to your sites, accordingly it is illogical to require otherwise of me. My request of what constitutes 'Proof of Innocence' to you is straight forward. Without knowing your requirements, the tasks is unreachable...as from a legal platform I have already provided you adequate documentation to satisfy my request.

Andrist: Sure it is. It's my blog, I can do what I want with it. I need to know where information comes from and if it's from a person, the motives for it. You could be lying for all I know. And no, you have not provided me anything to satisfy your request. You seem to think that a dismissal equates to innocence.

If he did the things he's accused of, why should his patients not have access to the information so they can decide for themselves? Why would you want to take that away from them?

Us: With all due respect, I ask again, what would satisfy you to establish Proof of Innocence? or is your site unamenable to ever removing a post?

Andrist: Sorry, I'm done talking if you're not going to tell me who you are.

Have the doctor contact me himself.

Us: I am sorry also. You could have simply told me that you never remove anyone once you make a post.

Andrist: Why would I say that if it's not true. I've taken a doctor down when he was able to convince me of his innocence. You've convinced me of nothing except being a busy body.

Us: Name calling, really? If what you now say was true, you would easily provide your site requirements to prove innocence. There would be no motivation not to produce the requirements, yet you refuse.

Andrist: What's wrong with name calling if it fits? I don't have to provide anything. I'm a patient safety advocate, my allegiance is to the public not the bad doctors. You're asking me for a favor, I gave you the requirements for me to proceed, and you've chosen not to. You'r choice. I've refused nothing...you just don't want to play.

Us: You are partially right, this is not a game. Your site while it does serve a great public good when the doctor is 'guilty', it is negligent to have no clear protocol for the wrongly accused to clear their name, given the harm your site causes the innocent..who are 'also' part of the public you say you serve. For that portion of the posts, the innocent, however small it may be, your website does a great injustice. But that does not matter to you, it's all about the game and power. Sad.

#bluefoggyday #andrist #4patientsafety #baddoctordatabase #baddoctordatabase-errors #patient safety league #eric andrist #notary #cali #valley villagers choir #bad medicine watchdog #calisplea #micra

[blackkudos]

Haile Selassie

Haile Selassie I (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and emperor from 1930 to 1974. He also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 25 May 1963 to 17 July 1964 and 5 November 1966 to 11 September 1967. He was a member of the Solomonic Dynasty.

At the League of Nations in 1936, the emperor condemned the use of chemical weapons by Italy against his people during the Second Italo–Ethiopian War. His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the League of Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring. His suppression of rebellions among the landed aristocracy (the mesafint), which consistently opposed his reforms, as well as what some critics perceived to be Ethiopia's failure to modernize rapidly enough, earned him criticism among some contemporaries and historians. His regime was also criticized by human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, as autocratic and illiberal.

Among the Rastafari movement, whose followers are estimated at between two and four million, Haile Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God incarnate. Beginning in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafari movement perceives Haile Selassie as a messianic figure who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness, and prosperity. Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life. He is a defining figure in Ethiopian history.

Haile Selassie died on 27 August 1975 at the age of 83, following a coup d'état.

Name

Haile Selassie was known as a child as Lij Tafari Makonnen (Amharic ልጅ ተፈሪ መኮንን; lij teferī mekōnnin). Lij is translated as "child", and serves to indicate that a youth is of noble blood. His given name, Tafari, means "one who is respected or feared". Like most Ethiopians, his personal name Tafari is followed by that of his father Makonnen and rarely that of his grandfather Woldemikael. His Ge'ez name Haile Selassie was given to him at his infant baptism and adopted again as part of his regnal name in 1930.

As Governor of Harer, he became known as Ras Teferi Makonnen  listen . Ras is translated as "head" and is a rank of nobility equivalent to Duke; though it is often rendered in translation as "prince". In 1916, Empress Zewditu I appointed him to the position of Balemulu Silt'an Enderase (Regent Plenipotentiary). In 1928, she granted him the throne of Shoa, elevating his title to Negus or "King".

On 2 November 1930, after the death of Empress Zewditu, Ras Tafari was crowned Negusa Nagast, literally King of Kings, rendered in English as "Emperor". Upon his ascension, he took as his regnal name Haile Selassie I. Haile means in Ge'ez "Power of" and Selassiemeans trinity—therefore Haile Selassie roughly translates to "Power of the Trinity". Haile Selassie's full title in office was "By the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings of Ethiopia, Elect of God". This title reflects Ethiopian dynastic traditions, which hold that all monarchs must trace their lineage to Menelik I, who was the offspring of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

To Ethiopians, Haile Selassie has been known by many names, including Janhoy, Talaqu Meri, and Abba Tekel. The Rastafari movement employs many of these appellations, also referring to him as Jah, Jah Jah, Jah Rastafari, and HIM (the abbreviation of "His Imperial Majesty").

Biography

Early life

Haile Selassie's royal line (through his father's mother) originated from the Amhara people, He was born on 23 July 1892, in the village of Ejersa Goro, in the Harar province of Ethiopia. His mother was Woizero ("Lady") Yeshimebet Ali Abba Jifar, daughter of the renowned Oromo ruler of Wollo province Dejazmach Ali Abba Jifar. His maternal grandmother was of Gurage heritage. Tafari's father was Ras Makonnen Woldemikael Gudessa, the governor of Harar. Ras Makonnen served as a general in the First Italo–Ethiopian War, playing a key role at the Battle of Adwa; he too was paternally Oromo but maternally Amhara. Haile Selassie was thus able to ascend to the imperial throne through his paternal grandmother, Woizero Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II and daughter of Negus Sahle Selassie of Shewa. As such, Haile Selassie claimed direct descent from Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of ancient Israel.

Ras Makonnen arranged for Tafari as well as his first cousin, Imru Haile Selassie, to receive instruction in Harar from Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin, an Ethiopian capuchin monk, and from Dr. Vitalien, a surgeon from Guadeloupe. Tafari was named Dejazmach (literally "commander of the gate", roughly equivalent to "count") at the age of 13, on 1 November 1905. Shortly thereafter, his father Ras Makonnen died at Kulibi, in 1906.

Governorship

Tafari assumed the titular governorship of Selale in 1906, a realm of marginal importance, but one that enabled him to continue his studies. In 1907, he was appointed governor over part of the province of Sidamo. It is alleged that during his late teens, Haile Selassie was married to Woizero Altayech, and that from this union, his daughter Princess Romanework was born.

Following the death of his brother Yelma in 1907, the governorate of Harar was left vacant, and its administration was left to Menelik's loyal general, Dejazmach Balcha Safo. Balcha Safo's administration of Harar was ineffective, and so during the last illness of Menelik II, and the brief reign of Empress Taitu Bitul, Tafari was made governor of Harar in 1910 or 1911.

On 3 August, he married Menen Asfaw of Ambassel, niece of heir to the throne Lij Iyasu.

Regency

The extent to which Tafari Makonnen contributed to the movement that would come to depose Iyasu V has been discussed extensively, particularly in Haile Selassie's own detailed account of the matter. Iyasu V, or Lij Iyasu, was the designated but uncrowned emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. Iyasu's reputation for scandalous behavior and a disrespectful attitude towards the nobles at the court of his grandfather, Menelik II, damaged his reputation. Iyasu's flirtation with Islam was considered treasonous among the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian leadership of the empire. On 27 September 1916, Iyasu was deposed.

Contributing to the movement that deposed Iyasu were conservatives such as Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis, Menelik II's longtime Minister of War. The movement to depose Iyasu preferred Tafari, as he attracted support from both progressive and conservative factions. Ultimately, Iyasu was deposed on the grounds of conversion to Islam. In his place, the daughter of Menelik II (the aunt of Iyasu) was named Empress Zewditu, while Tafari was elevated to the rank of Ras and was made heir apparent and Crown Prince. In the power arrangement that followed, Tafari accepted the role of Regent Plenipotentiary (Balemulu 'Inderase) and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire (Mangista Ityop'p'ya). Zewditu would govern while Tafari would administer.

While Iyasu had been deposed on 27 September 1916, on 8 October he managed to escape into the Ogaden Desert and his father, Negus Mikael of Wollo, had time to come to his aid. On 27 October, Negus Mikael and his army met an army under Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis loyal to Zewditu and Tafari. During the Battle of Segale, Negus Mikael was defeated and captured. Any chance that Iyasu would regain the throne was ended and he went into hiding. On 11 January 1921, after avoiding capture for about five years, Iyasu was taken into custody by Gugsa Araya Selassie.

On 11 February 1917, the coronation for Zewditu took place. She pledged to rule justly through her Regent, Tafari. While Tafari was the more visible of the two, Zewditu was far from an honorary ruler. Her position required that she arbitrate the claims of competing factions. In other words, she had the last word. Tafari carried the burden of daily administration but, because his position was relatively weak, this was often an exercise in futility for him. Initially his personal army was poorly equipped, his finances were limited, and he had little leverage to withstand the combined influence of the Empress, the Minister of War, or the provincial governors.

During his Regency, the new Crown Prince developed the policy of cautious modernization initiated by Menelik II. Also, during this time, he survived the 1918 flu pandemic, having come down with the illness. He secured Ethiopia's admission to the League of Nations in 1923 by promising to eradicate slavery; each emperor since Tewodros II had issued proclamations to halt slavery, but without effect: the internationally scorned practice persisted well into Haile Selassie's reign with an estimated 2 million slaves in Ethiopia in the early 1930s.

Travel abroad

In 1924, Ras Tafari toured Europe and the Middle East visiting Jerusalem, Alexandria, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, Geneva, and Athens. With him on his tour was a group that included Ras Seyum Mangasha of western Tigray Province; Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam province; Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu of Illubabor Province; Ras Makonnen Endelkachew; and Blattengeta Heruy Welde Sellase. The primary goal of the trip to Europe was for Ethiopia to gain access to the sea. In Paris, Tafari was to find out from the French Foreign Ministry (Quai d'Orsay) that this goal would not be realized. However, failing this, he and his retinue inspected schools, hospitals, factories, and churches. Although patterning many reforms after European models, Tafari remained wary of European pressure. To guard against economic imperialism, Tafari required that all enterprises have at least partial local ownership. Of his modernization campaign, he remarked, "We need European progress only because we are surrounded by it. That is at once a benefit and a misfortune."

Throughout Ras Tafari's travels in Europe, the Levant, and Egypt, he and his entourage were greeted with enthusiasm and fascination. He was accompanied by Seyum Mangasha and Hailu Tekle Haymanot who, like Tafari, were sons of generals who contributed to the victorious war against Italy a quarter century earlier at the Battle of Adwa. Another member of his entourage, Mulugeta Yeggazu, actually fought at Adwa as a young man. The "Oriental Dignity" of the Ethiopians and their "rich, picturesque court dress" were sensationalized in the media; among his entourage he even included a pride of lions, which he distributed as gifts to President Alexandre Millerand and Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré of France, to King George V of the United Kingdom, and to the Zoological Garden (Jardin Zoologique) of Paris. As one historian noted, "Rarely can a tour have inspired so many anecdotes". In return for two lions, the United Kingdom presented Ras Tafari with the imperial crown of Emperor Tewodros II for its safe return to Empress Zewditu. The crown had been taken by Robert Napier during the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia.

In this period, the Crown Prince visited the Armenian monastery of Jerusalem. There, he adopted 40 Armenian orphans (አርባ ልጆች Arba Lijoch, "forty children"), who had lost their parents in Ottoman massacres. Ras Tafari arranged for the musical education of the youths, and they came to form the imperial brass band.

King and emperor

In 1928, the authority of Ras Tafari Makonnen was challenged when Dejazmatch Balcha Safo went to Addis Ababa with a sizeable armed force. When Tafari consolidated his hold over the provinces, many of Menelik's appointees refused to abide by the new regulations. Balcha Safo, the governor (Shum) of coffee-rich Sidamo Province, was particularly troublesome. The revenues he remitted to the central government did not reflect the accrued profits and Tafari recalled him to Addis Ababa. The old man came in high dudgeon and, insultingly, with a large army. The Dejazmatch paid homage to Empress Zewditu, but snubbed Ras Tafari. On 18 February, while Balcha Safo and his personal bodyguard were in Addis Ababa, Ras Tafari had Ras Kassa Haile Darge buy off his army and arranged to have him displaced as the Shum of Sidamo Province by Birru Wolde Gabriel who himself was replaced by Desta Damtew.

Even so, the gesture of Balcha Safo empowered Empress Zewditu politically and she attempted to have Tafari tried for treason. He was tried for his benevolent dealings with Italy including a 20-year peace accord which was signed on 2 August. In September, a group of palace reactionaries including some courtiers of the empress, made a final bid to get rid of Tafari. The attempted coup d'état was tragic in its origins and comic in its end. When confronted by Tafari and a company of his troops, the ringleaders of the coup took refuge on the palace grounds in Menelik's mausoleum. Tafari and his men surrounded them only to be surrounded themselves by the personal guard of Zewditu. More of Tafari's khaki clad soldiers arrived and, with superiority of arms, decided the outcome in his favor. Popular support, as well as the support of the police, remained with Tafari. Ultimately, the Empress relented and, on 7 October 1928, she crowned Tafari as Negus (Amharic: "King").

The crowning of Tafari as King was controversial. He occupied the same territory as the empress rather than going off to a regional kingdom of the empire. Two monarchs, even with one being the vassal and the other the emperor (in this case empress), had never occupied the same location as their seat in Ethiopian history. Conservatives agitated to redress this perceived insult to the dignity of the crown, leading to the rebellion of Ras Gugsa Welle. Gugsa Welle was the husband of the empress and the Shum of Begemder Province. In early 1930, he raised an army and marched it from his governorate at Gondar towards Addis Ababa. On 31 March 1930, Gugsa Welle was met by forces loyal to Negus Tafari and was defeated at the Battle of Anchem. Gugsa Welle was killed in action. News of Gugsa Welle's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa when the empress died suddenly on 2 April 1930. Although it was long rumored that the empress was poisoned upon the defeat of her husband, or alternately that she died from shock upon hearing of the death of her estranged yet beloved husband, it has since been documented that the Empress succumbed to a flu-like fever and complications from diabetes.

With the passing of Zewditu, Tafari himself rose to emperor and was proclaimed Neguse Negest ze-'Ityopp'ya, "King of Kings of Ethiopia". He was crowned on 2 November 1930, at Addis Ababa's Cathedral of St. George. The coronation was by all accounts "a most splendid affair", and it was attended by royals and dignitaries from all over the world. Among those in attendance were George V's son the Duke of Gloucester, Marshal Franchet d'Esperey of France, and the Prince of Udine representing the King of Italy. Emissaries from the United States, Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Belgium, and Japan were also present. British author Evelyn Waugh was also present, penning a contemporary report on the event, and American travel lecturer Burton Holmes shot the only known film footage of the event. One newspaper report suggested that the celebration may have incurred a cost in excess of $3,000,000. Many of those in attendance received lavish gifts; in one instance, the Christian emperor even sent a gold-encased Bible to an American bishop who had not attended the coronation, but who had dedicated a prayer to the emperor on the day of the coronation.

Haile Selassie introduced Ethiopia's first written constitution on 16 July 1931, providing for a bicameral legislature. The constitution kept power in the hands of the nobility, but it did establish democratic standards among the nobility, envisaging a transition to democratic rule: it would prevail "until the people are in a position to elect themselves." The constitution limited the succession to the throne to the descendants of Haile Selassie, a point that met with the disapprobation of other dynastic princes, including the princes of Tigrai and even the emperor's loyal cousin, Ras Kassa Haile Darge.

In 1932, the Sultanate of Jimma was formally absorbed into Ethiopia following the death of Sultan Abba Jifar II of Jimma.

Conflict with Italy

Ethiopia became the target of renewed Italian imperialist designs in the 1930s. Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime was keen to avenge the military defeats Italy had suffered to Ethiopia in the First Italo-Abyssinian War, and to efface the failed attempt by "liberal" Italy to conquer the country, as epitomised by the defeat at Adwa. A conquest of Ethiopia could also empower the cause of fascism and embolden its rhetoric of empire. Ethiopia would also provide a bridge between Italy's Eritrean and Italian Somaliland possessions. Ethiopia's position in the League of Nations did not dissuade the Italians from invading in 1935; the "collective security" envisaged by the League proved useless, and a scandal erupted when the Hoare-Laval Pact revealed that Ethiopia's League allies were scheming to appease Italy.

Mobilization

Following the 5 December 1934 Italian invasion of Ethiopia at Walwal, Ogeden Province, Haile Selassie joined his northern armies and set up headquarters at Desse in Wollo province. He issued his mobilization order on 3 October 1935:

If you withhold from your country Ethiopia the death from cough or head-cold of which you would otherwise die, refusing to resist (in your district, in your patrimony, and in your home) our enemy who is coming from a distant country to attack us, and if you persist in not shedding your blood, you will be rebuked for it by your Creator and will be cursed by your offspring. Hence, without cooling your heart of accustomed valour, there emerges your decision to fight fiercely, mindful of your history that will last far into the future… If on your march you touch any property inside houses or cattle and crops outside, not even grass, straw, and dung excluded, it is like killing your brother who is dying with you… You, countryman, living at the various access routes, set up a market for the army at the places where it is camping and on the day your district-governor will indicate to you, lest the soldiers campaigning for Ethiopia's liberty should experience difficulty. You will not be charged excise duty, until the end of the campaign, for anything you are marketing at the military camps: I have granted you remission… After you have been ordered to go to war, but are then idly missing from the campaign, and when you are seized by the local chief or by an accuser, you will have punishment inflicted upon your inherited land, your property, and your body; to the accuser I shall grant a third of your property…

On 19 October 1935, Haile Selassie gave more precise orders for his army to his Commander-in-Chief, Ras Kassa:

When you set up tents, it is to be in caves and by trees and in a wood, if the place happens to be adjoining to these―and separated in the various platoons. Tents are to be set up at a distance of 30 cubits from each other.

When an aeroplane is sighted, one should leave large open roads and wide meadows and march in valleys and trenches and by zigzag routes, along places which have trees and woods.

When an aeroplane comes to drop bombs, it will not suit it to do so unless it comes down to about 100 metres; hence when it flies low for such action, one should fire a volley with a good and very long gun and then quickly disperse. When three or four bullets have hit it, the aeroplane is bound to fall down. But let only those fire who have been ordered to shoot with a weapon that has been selected for such firing, for if everyone shoots who possesses a gun, there is no advantage in this except to waste bullets and to disclose the men's whereabouts.

Lest the aeroplane, when rising again, should detect the whereabouts of those who are dispersed, it is well to remain cautiously scattered as long as it is still fairly close. In time of war it suits the enemy to aim his guns at adorned shields, ornaments, silver and gold cloaks, silk shirts and all similar things. Whether one possesses a jacket or not, it is best to wear a narrow-sleeved shirt with faded colours. When we return, with God's help, you can wear your gold and silver decorations then. Now it is time to go and fight. We offer you all these words of advice in the hope that no great harm should befall you through lack of caution. At the same time, We are glad to assure you that in time of war We are ready to shed Our blood in your midst for the sake of Ethiopia's freedom…"

Compared to the Ethiopians, the Italians had an advanced, modern military which included a large air force. The Italians would also come to employ chemical weapons extensively throughout the conflict, even targeting Red Cross field hospitals in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Progress of the war

Starting in early October 1935, the Italians invaded Ethiopia. But, by November, the pace of invasion had slowed appreciably and Haile Selassie's northern armies were able to launch what was known as the "Christmas Offensive". During this offensive, the Italians were forced back in places and put on the defensive. In early 1936, the First Battle of Tembien stopped the progress of the Ethiopian offensive and the Italians were ready to continue their offensive. Following the defeat and destruction of the northern Ethiopian armies at the Battle of Amba Aradam, the Second Battle of Tembien, and the Battle of Shire, Haile Selassie took the field with the last Ethiopian army on the northern front. On 31 March 1936, he launched a counterattack against the Italians himself at the Battle of Maychew in southern Tigray. The emperor's army was defeated and retreated in disarray. As Haile Selassie's army withdrew, the Italians attacked from the air along with rebellious Raya and Azebo tribesmen on the ground, who were armed and paid by the Italians.

Haile Selassie made a solitary pilgrimage to the churches at Lalibela, at considerable risk of capture, before returning to his capital. After a stormy session of the council of state, it was agreed that because Addis Ababa could not be defended, the government would relocate to the southern town of Gore, and that in the interest of preserving the Imperial house, the emperor's wife Menen Asfaw and the rest of the imperial family should immediately depart for French Somaliland, and from there continue on to Jerusalem.

Exile debate

After further debate as to whether Haile Selassie should go to Gore or accompany his family into exile, it was agreed that he should leave Ethiopia with his family and present the case of Ethiopia to the League of Nations at Geneva. The decision was not unanimous and several participants, including the nobleman Blatta Tekle Wolde Hawariat, strenuously objected to the idea of an Ethiopian monarch fleeing before an invading force. Haile Selassie appointed his cousin Ras Imru Haile Selassie as Prince Regent in his absence, departing with his family for French Somaliland on 2 May 1936.

On 5 May, Marshal Pietro Badoglio led Italian troops into Addis Ababa, and Mussolini declared Ethiopia an Italian province. Victor Emanuel III was proclaimed as the new Emperor of Ethiopia. On the previous day, the Ethiopian exiles had left French Somaliland aboard the British cruiser HMS Enterprise. They were bound for Jerusalem in the British Mandate of Palestine, where the Ethiopian royal family maintained a residence. The Imperial family disembarked at Haifa and then went on to Jerusalem. Once there, Haile Selassie and his retinue prepared to make their case at Geneva. The choice of Jerusalem was highly symbolic, since the Solomonic Dynasty claimed descent from the House of David. Leaving the Holy Land, Haile Selassie and his entourage sailed aboard the British cruiser HMS Capetown for Gibraltar, where he stayed at the Rock Hotel. From Gibraltar, the exiles were transferred to an ordinary liner. By doing this, the government of the United Kingdom was spared the expense of a state reception.

Collective security and the League of Nations, 1936

Mussolini, upon invading Ethiopia, had promptly declared his own "Italian Empire"; because the League of Nations afforded Haile Selassie the opportunity to address the assembly, Italy even withdrew its League delegation, on 12 May 1936. It was in this context that Haile Selassie walked into the hall of the League of Nations, introduced by the President of the Assembly as "His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia" (Sa Majesté Imperiale, l'Empereur d'Ethiopie). The introduction caused a great many Italian journalists in the galleries to erupt into jeering, heckling, and whistling. As it turned out, they had earlier been issued whistles by Mussolini's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano. The Romanian delegate, Nicolae Titulescu, famously jumped to his feet in response and cried "Show the savages the door!", and they were cleared out. Haile Selassie waited calmly for the hall to be cleared, and responded "majestically" with a speech sometimes considered among the most stirring of the 20th century.

Although fluent in French, the working language of the League, Haile Selassie chose to deliver his historic speech in his native Amharic. He asserted that, because his "confidence in the League was absolute", his people were now being slaughtered. He pointed out that the same European states that found in Ethiopia's favor at the League of Nations were refusing Ethiopia credit and matériel while aiding Italy, which was employing chemical weapons on military and civilian targets alike.

It was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makale were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world. Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that the fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes, and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. In order to kill off systematically all living creatures, in order to more surely poison waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare.

Noting that his own "small people of 12 million inhabitants, without arms, without resources" could never withstand an attack by a large power such as Italy, with its 42 million people and "unlimited quantities of the most death-dealing weapons", he contended that all small states were threatened by the aggression, and that all small states were in effect reduced to vassal states in the absence of collective action. He admonished the League that "God and history will remember your judgment."

It is collective security: it is the very existence of the League of Nations. It is the confidence that each State is to place in international treaties… In a word, it is international morality that is at stake. Have the signatures appended to a Treaty value only in so far as the signatory Powers have a personal, direct and immediate interest involved?

The speech made the emperor an icon for anti-fascists around the world, and Time named him "Man of the Year". He failed, however, to get what he most needed: the League agreed to only partial and ineffective sanctions on Italy. Only six nations in 1937 did not recognize Italy's occupation; they were China, New Zealand, the Soviet Union, the Republic of Spain, Mexico and the United States.

Exile

Haile Selassie spent his exile years (1936–41) in Bath, England, in Fairfield House, which he bought. The emperor and Kassa Haile Darge took morning walks together behind the high walls of the 14-room Georgian house. Haile Selassie's favorite reading was "diplomatic history." But most of his serious hours were occupied with the 90,000-word story of his life that he was laboriously writing in Amharic.

Prior to Fairfield House, he briefly stayed at Warne's Hotel in Worthing and in Parkside, Wimbledon. A bust of Haile Selassie is in nearby Cannizaro Park to commemorate this time and is a popular place of pilgrimage for London's Rastafari community. Haile Selassie stayed at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern in the 1930s and his granddaughters and daughters of court officials were educated at Clarendon School in North Malvern. During his time in Malvern he attended services at Holy Trinity Church, in Link Top. A blue plaque, commemorating his stay in Malvern, was unveiled on Saturday, 25 June 2011. As part of the ceremony, a delegation from the Rastafari movement gave a short address and a drum recital.

Haile Selassie's activity in this period was focused on countering Italian propaganda as to the state of Ethiopian resistance and the legality of the occupation. He spoke out against the desecration of houses of worship and historical artifacts (including the theft of a 1,600-year-old imperial obelisk), and condemned the atrocities suffered by the Ethiopian civilian population. He continued to plead for League intervention and to voice his certainty that "God's judgment will eventually visit the weak and the mighty alike", though his attempts to gain support for the struggle against Italy were largely unsuccessful until Italy entered World War II on the German side in June 1940.

The emperor's pleas for international support did take root in the United States, particularly among African-American organizations sympathetic to the Ethiopian cause. In 1937, Haile Selassie was to give a Christmas Day radio address to the American people to thank his supporters when his taxi was involved in a traffic accident, leaving him with a fractured knee. Rather than canceling the radio appearance, he proceeded in much pain to complete the address, in which he linked Christianity and goodwill with the Covenant of the League of Nations, and asserted that "War is not the only means to stop war":

With the birth of the Son of God, an unprecedented, an unrepeatable, and a long-anticipated phenomenon occurred. He was born in a stable instead of a palace, in a manger instead of a crib. The hearts of the Wise men were struck by fear and wonder due to His Majestic Humbleness. The kings prostrated themselves before Him and worshipped Him. 'Peace be to those who have good will'. This became the first message.

...Although the toils of wise people may earn them respect, it is a fact of life that the spirit of the wicked continues to cast its shadow on this world. The arrogant are seen visibly leading their people into crime and destruction. The laws of the League of Nations are constantly violated and wars and acts of aggression repeatedly take place… So that the spirit of the cursed will not gain predominance over the human race whom Christ redeemed with his blood, all peace-loving people should cooperate to stand firm in order to preserve and promote lawfulness and peace.

During this period, Haile Selassie suffered several personal tragedies. His two sons-in-law, Ras Desta Damtew and Dejazmach Beyene Merid, were both executed by the Italians. The emperor's daughter, Princess Romanework, wife of Dejazmach Beyene Merid, was herself taken into captivity with her children, and she died in Italy in 1941. His daughter Tsehai died during childbirth shortly after the restoration in 1942.

After his return to Ethiopia, he donated Fairfield House to the city of Bath as a residence for the aged, until modified in the 1990s where it is now used as a day care centre. Advanced negotiations are progressing for a community group to run the House to preserve and develop the House.

1940s and 1950s

British forces, which consisted primarily of Ethiopian-backed African and South African colonial troops under the "Gideon Force" of Colonel Orde Wingate, coordinated the military effort to liberate Ethiopia. The emperor himself issued several imperial proclamations in this period, demonstrating that, while authority was not divided up in any formal way, British military might and the emperor's populist appeal could be joined in the concerted effort to liberate Ethiopia.

On 18 January 1941, during the East African Campaign, Haile Selassie crossed the border between Sudan and Ethiopia near the village of Um Iddla. The standard of the Lion of Judah was raised again. Two days later, he and a force of Ethiopian patriots joined Gideon Force which was already in Ethiopia and preparing the way. Italy was defeated by a force of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations, Free France, Free Belgium, and Ethiopian patriots. On 5 May 1941, Haile Selassie entered Addis Ababa and personally addressed the Ethiopian people, five years to the day since his 1936 exile:

Today is the day on which we defeated our enemy. Therefore, when we say let us rejoice with our hearts, let not our rejoicing be in any other way but in the spirit of Christ. Do not return evil for evil. Do not indulge in the atrocities which the enemy has been practicing in his usual way, even to the last.

Take care not to spoil the good name of Ethiopia by acts which are worthy of the enemy. We shall see that our enemies are disarmed and sent out the same way they came. As Saint George who killed the dragon is the Patron Saint of our army as well as of our allies, let us unite with our allies in everlasting friendship and amity in order to be able to stand against the godless and cruel dragon which has newly risen and which is oppressing mankind.

On 27 August 1942, Haile Selassie abolished the legal basis of slavery throughout the empire and imposed severe penalties, including death, for slave trading. After World War II, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. In 1948, the Ogaden, a region disputed with Somalia, was granted to Ethiopia. On 2 December 1950, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 390 (V), establishing the federation of Eritrea (the former Italian colony) into Ethiopia. Eritrea was to have its own constitution, which would provide for ethnic, linguistic, and cultural balance, while Ethiopia was to manage its finances, defense, and foreign policy.

Despite his centralization policies that had been made before World War II, Haile Selassie still found himself unable to push for all the programs he wanted. In 1942, he attempted to institute a progressive tax scheme, but this failed due to opposition from the nobility, and only a flat tax was passed; in 1951, he agreed to reduce this as well. Ethiopia was still "semi-feudal", and the emperor's attempts to alter its social and economic form by reforming its modes of taxation met with resistance from the nobility and clergy, which were eager to resume their privileges in the postwar era. Where Haile Selassie actually did succeed in effecting new land taxes, the burdens were often passed by the landowners to the peasants. Despite his wishes, the tax burden remained primarily on the peasants.

Between 1941 and 1959, Haile Selassie worked to establish the autocephaly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had been headed by the abuna, a bishop who answered to the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. In 1942 and 1945 Haile Selassie applied to the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church to establish the independence of Ethiopian bishops, and when his appeals were denied he threatened to sever relations with the Coptic Church of Alexandria. Finally, in 1959, Pope Kyrillos VI elevated the Abuna to Patriarch-Catholicos. The Ethiopian Church remained affiliated with the Alexandrian Church. In addition to these efforts, Haile Selassie changed the Ethiopian church-state relationship by introducing taxation of church lands, and by restricting the legal privileges of the clergy, who had formerly been tried in their own courts for civil offenses.

In keeping with the principle of collective security, for which he was an outspoken proponent, he sent a contingent under General Mulugueta Bulli, known as the Kagnew Battalion, to take part in the Korean War by supporting the United Nations Command. It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill. In a 1954 speech, the emperor spoke of Ethiopian participation in the Korean War as a redemption of the principles of collective security:

Nearly two decades ago, I personally assumed before history the responsibility of placing the fate of my beloved people on the issue of collective security, for surely, at that time and for the first time in world history, that issue was posed in all its clarity. My searching of conscience convinced me of the rightness of my course and if, after untold sufferings and, indeed, unaided resistance at the time of aggression, we now see the final vindication of that principle in our joint action in Korea, I can only be thankful that God gave me strength to persist in our faith until the moment of its recent glorious vindication.

During the celebrations of his Silver Jubilee in November 1955, Haile Selassie introduced a revised constitution, whereby he retained effective power, while extending political participation to the people by allowing the lower house of parliament to become an elected body. Party politics were not provided for. Modern educational methods were more widely spread throughout the Empire, and the country embarked on a development scheme and plans for modernization, tempered by Ethiopian traditions, and within the framework of the ancient monarchical structure of the state.

Haile Selassie compromised when practical with the traditionalists in the nobility and church. He also tried to improve relations between the state and ethnic groups, and granted autonomy to Afar lands that were difficult to control. Still, his reforms to end feudalism were slow and weakened by the compromises he made with the entrenched aristocracy. The Revised Constitution of 1955 has been criticized for reasserting "the indisputable power of the monarch" and maintaining the relative powerlessness of the peasants.

Charitable gesture

He sent aid to the British government in 1947 when Britain was affected by heavy flooding. His letter to Lord Meork, National Distress Fund, London said, "even though We are busy of helping our people who didn't recover from the crises of the war, We heard that your fertile and beautiful country is devastated by the unusually heavy rain, and your request for aid. Therefore, We are sending small amount of money, about one thousand pounds through our embassy to show our sympathy and cooperation."

He also left his home in exile, Fairfield House, Bath, to the City of Bath for the use of the Aged in 1959.

1960s

Haile Selassie contributed Ethiopian troops to the United Nations Operation in the Congo peacekeeping force during the 1960 Congo Crisis, to preserve Congolese integrity, per United Nations Security Council Resolution 143. On 13 December 1960, while Haile Selassie was on a state visit to Brazil, his Imperial Guard forces staged an unsuccessful coup, briefly proclaiming Haile Selassie's eldest son Asfa Wossen as emperor. The coup d'état was crushed by the regular army and police forces. The coup attempt lacked broad popular support, was denounced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and was unpopular with the army, air force and police. Nonetheless, the effort to depose the emperor had support among students and the educated classes. The coup attempt has been characterized as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history, the point at which Ethiopians "for the first time questioned the power of the king to rule without the people's consent". Student populations began to empathize with the peasantry and poor, and to advocate on their behalf. The coup spurred Haile Selassie to accelerate reform, which was manifested in the form of land grants to military and police officials.

The emperor continued to be a staunch ally of the West, while pursuing a firm policy of decolonization in Africa, which was still largely under European colonial rule. The United Nations conducted a lengthy inquiry regarding the status of Eritrea, with the superpowers each vying for a stake in the state's future. Britain, the administrator at the time, suggested the partition of Eritrea between Sudan and Ethiopia, separating Christians and Muslims. The idea was instantly rejected by Eritrean political parties, as well as the UN.

A UN plebiscite voted 46 to 10 to have Eritrea be federated with Ethiopia, which was later stipulated on 2 December 1950 in resolution 390 (V). Eritrea would have its own parliament and administration and would be represented in what had been the Ethiopian parliament and would become the federal parliament. Haile Selassie would have none of European attempts to draft a separate Constitution under which Eritrea would be governed, and wanted his own 1955 Constitution protecting families to apply in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 1961 the 30-year Eritrean Struggle for Independence began, followed by Haile Selassie's dissolution of the federation and shutting down of Eritrea's parliament.

In September 1961, Haile Selassie attended the Conference of Heads of State of Government of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade, FPR Yugoslavia. This is considered to be the founding conference of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In 1961, tensions between independence-minded Eritreans and Ethiopian forces culminated in the Eritrean War of Independence. The emperor declared Eritrea the fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962. The war would continue for 30 years, as first Haile Selassie, then the Soviet-backed junta that succeeded him, attempted to retain Eritrea by force.

In 1963, Haile Selassie presided over the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the continent-wide African Union (AU). The new organization would establish its headquarters in Addis Ababa. In May of that year, Haile Selassie was elected as the OAU's first official chairperson, a rotating seat. Along with Modibo Keïta of Mali, the Ethiopian leader would later help successfully negotiate the Bamako Accords, which brought an end to the border conflict between Morocco and Algeria. In 1964, Haile Selassie would initiate the concept of the United States of Africa, a proposition later taken up by Muammar Gaddafi.

On 4 October 1963, Haile Selassie addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations referring in his address to his earlier speech to the League of Nations:

Twenty-seven years ago, as Emperor of Ethiopia, I mounted the rostrum in Geneva, Switzerland, to address the League of Nations and to appeal for relief from the destruction which had been unleashed against my defenceless nation, by the fascist invader. I spoke then both to and for the conscience of the world. My words went unheeded, but history testifies to the accuracy of the warning that I gave in 1936. Today, I stand before the world organization which has succeeded to the mantle discarded by its discredited predecessor. In this body is enshrined the principle of collective security which I unsuccessfully invoked at Geneva. Here, in this Assembly, reposes the best – perhaps the last – hope for the peaceful survival of mankind.

On 25 November 1963, the emperor was among other heads of state, including France's President Charles de Gaulle, who traveled to Washington D.C. and attended the funeral of assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

In 1966, Haile Selassie attempted to create a modern, progressive tax that included registration of land, which would significantly weaken the nobility. Even with alterations, this law led to a revolt in Gojjam, which was repressed although enforcement of the tax was abandoned. The revolt, having achieved its design in undermining the tax, encouraged other landowners to defy Haile Selassie.

While he had fully approved of, and assured Ethiopia's participation in, UN-approved collective security operations, including Korea and Congo, Haile Selassie drew a distinction with the non-UN approved foreign intervention in Indochina, and consistently deplored it as needless suffering, calling for the Vietnam War to end on several occasions. At the same time he remained open toward the United States and commended it for making progress with African Americans' Civil Rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s, while visiting the US several times during these years.

In 1967, He visited Montreal, Canada to open the Ethiopian Pavilion at the Expo '67 World's Fair where he received great acclaim amongst other World leaders there for the occasion.

Student unrest became a regular feature of Ethiopian life in the 1960s and 1970s. Marxism took root in large segments of the Ethiopian intelligentsia, particularly among those who had studied abroad and had thus been exposed to radical and left-wing sentiments that were becoming popular in other parts of the globe. Resistance by conservative elements at the Imperial Court and Parliament, and by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made Haile Selassie's land reform proposals difficult to implement, and also damaged the standing of the government, costing Haile Selassie much of the goodwill he had once enjoyed. This bred resentment among the peasant population. Efforts to weaken unions also hurt his image. As these issues began to pile up, Haile Selassie left much of domestic governance to his Prime Minister, Aklilu Habte Wold, and concentrated more on foreign affairs.

1970s

Outside of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie continued to enjoy enormous prestige and respect. As the longest-serving head of state in power, he was often given precedence over other leaders at state events, such as the state funerals of John F. Kennedy and Charles de Gaulle, the summits of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the 1971 celebration of the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire. In 1970 he visited Italy as a guest of President Giuseppe Saragat, and in Milan he met Giordano Dell'Amore, President of Italian Savings Banks Association. He visited China in October 1971, and was the first foreign head of state to meet Mao Zedong following the death of Mao's designated successor Lin Biao in a plane crash in Mongolia.

Human rights in Ethiopia under Selassie's regime were poor. Civil liberties and political rights were low with Freedom House giving Ethiopia a "Not Free" score for both civil liberties and political rights in the last years of Selassie's rule. Common human right abuses included imprisonment and torture of political prisoners and very poor prison conditions. The Ethiopian army also carried out a number of these atrocities while fighting the Eritrean separatists. This was due to a policy of destroying Eritrean villages that supported the rebels. There were a number of mass killings of hundreds of civilians during the war in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Wollo famine

Famine—mostly in Wollo, north-eastern Ethiopia, as well as in some parts of Tigray—is estimated to have killed 40,000 to 80,000 Ethiopians between 1972 and 1974. A BBC News report has cited a 1973 estimate that 200,000 deaths occurred, based on a contemporaneous estimate from the Ethiopian Nutrition Institute. While this figure is still repeated in some texts and media sources, it was an estimate that was later found to be "over-pessimistic". Although the region is infamous for recurrent crop failures and continuous food shortage and starvation risk, this episode was remarkably severe. A 1973 production of the ITV programme The Unknown Famineby Jonathan Dimbleby. relied on the unverified estimate of 200,000 dead, stimulating a massive influx of aid while at the same time destabilizing Haile Selassie's regime. Against that background, a group of dissident army officers instigated a creeping coup against the emperor's faltering regime. To guard against a public backlash in favour of Haile Selassie (who was still widely revered), they contrived to obtain a copy of The Unknown Famine which they intercut with images of Africa's grand old man presiding at a wedding feast in the grounds of his palace. Retitled The Hidden Hunger, it was shown round the clock on Ethiopian television to coincide with the day that they finally summoned the nerve to seize the emperor himself.

Some reports suggest that the emperor was unaware of the extent of the famine, while others assert that he was well aware of it. In addition to the exposure of attempts by corrupt local officials to cover up the famine from the imperial government, the Kremlin's depiction of Haile Selassie's Ethiopia as backwards and inept (relative to the purported utopia of Marxism-Leninism) contributed to the popular uprising that led to its downfall and the rise of Mengistu Haile Mariam. The famine and its image in the media undermined popular support of the government, and Haile Selassie's once unassailable personal popularity fell.

The crisis was exacerbated by military mutinies and high oil prices, the latter a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The international economic crisis triggered by the oil crisis caused the costs of imported goods, gasoline, and food to skyrocket, while unemployment spiked.

Revolution

In February 1974, four days of serious riots in Addis Ababa against a sudden economic inflation left five dead. The emperor responded by announcing on national television a reduction in petrol prices and a freeze on the cost of basic commodities. This calmed the public, but the promised 33% military wage hike was not substantial enough to pacify the army, which then mutinied, beginning in Asmara and spreading throughout the empire. This mutiny led to the resignation of Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold on 27 February 1974. Haile Selassie again went on television to agree to the army's demands for still greater pay, and named Endelkachew Makonnen as his new Prime Minister. Despite Endalkatchew's many concessions, discontent continued in March with a four-day general strike that paralyzed the nation.

Imprisonment

The Derg, a committee of low-ranking military officers and enlisted men, set up in June to investigate the military's demands, took advantage of the government's disarray to depose Haile Selassie on 12 September 1974. General Aman Mikael Andom, a Protestant of Eritrean origin, served briefly as provisional head of state pending the return of Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, who was then receiving medical treatment abroad. Haile Selassie was placed under house arrest briefly at the 4th Army Division in Addis Ababa, while most of his family was detained at the late Duke of Harar's residence in the north of the capital. The last months of the emperor's life were spent in imprisonment, in the Grand Palace. Reportedly, his mental condition was such that he believed he was still Emperor of Ethiopia.

Later, most of the imperial family was imprisoned in the Addis Ababa prison Kerchele, also known as "Alem Bekagne", or "I've had Enough of This World". On 23 November 1974, sixty former high officials of the imperial government were executed without trial. The executed included Haile Selassie's grandson and two former Prime Ministers. These killings, known to Ethiopians as "Bloody Saturday", were condemned by Crown Prince Asfa Wossen; the Derg responded to his rebuke by revoking its acknowledgment of his imperial legitimacy, and announcing the end of the Solomonic dynasty.

Death and interment

On 28 August 1975, the state media reported that the "ex-monarch" Haile Selassie had died on 27 August of "respiratory failure" following complications from a prostate examination followed up by a prostate operation. His doctor, Asrat Woldeyes, denied that complications had occurred and rejected the government version of his death. Some imperial loyalists believed that the emperor had in fact been assassinated, and this belief remains widely held to this day. One western correspondent in Ethiopia at the time commented, "While it is not known what actually happened, there are strong indications that no efforts were made to save him. It is unlikely that he was actually killed. Such rumors were bound to arise no matter what happened, given the atmosphere of suspicion and distrust prevailing in Addis Ababa at the time."

The Soviet-backed Derg fell in 1991. In 1992, the emperor's bones were found under a concrete slab on the palace grounds; some reports suggest that his remains were discovered beneath a latrine. For almost a decade thereafter, as Ethiopian courts attempted to sort out the circumstances of his death, his coffin rested in Bhata Church, near his great-uncle Menelik II's resting place. On 5 November 2000, Haile Selassie was given an imperial-style funeral by the Ethiopian Orthodox church. The post-communist government refused calls to declare the ceremony an official imperial funeral.

Although such prominent Rastafari figures as Rita Marley and others participated in the grand funeral, most Rastafari rejected the event and refused to accept that the bones were the remains of Haile Selassie. There remains some debate within the Rastafari movement whether Haile Selassie actually died in 1975.

Descendants

By Menen Asfaw, Haile Selassie had six children: Princess Tenagnework, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, Princess Tsehai, Princess Zenebework, Prince Makonnen, and Prince Sahle Selassie.

There is some controversy as to the motherhood of Haile Selassie's eldest daughter, Princess Romanework. While the living members of the royal family state that Romanework is the eldest daughter of Empress Menen, it has been asserted that Princess Romanework is actually the daughter of a previous union of the emperor with Woizero Altayech. This may be a nickname she used, as nobleman Blata Merse Hazen Wolde Kirkos, a contemporary source prominent in both the Imperial Court and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church names her as Woizero Woinetu Amede. The emperor's own autobiography makes no mention of this previous marriage or having fathered children with anyone other than Empress Menen, although he mentions the death of this daughter in captivity at Turin. Other sources such as Blata Merse Hazen Wolde Kirkos mentions Princess Romanework's mother Woizero Woinetu Amede as attending the wedding of her daughter to Dejazmatch Beyene Merid in a first hand account in his book about the years before the Italian occupation.

Prince Asfaw Wossen was first married to Princess Wolete Israel Seyoum and then following their divorce to Princess Medferiashwork Abebe. Prince Makonnen was married to Princess Sara Gizaw. Prince Sahle Selassie was married to Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam. Princess Romanework married Dejazmatch Beyene Merid. Princess Tenagnework first married Ras Desta Damtew, and after she was widowed later married Ras Andargachew Messai. Princess Zenebework married Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa. Princess Tsehai married Lt. General Abiye Abebe.

Rastafari messiah

Today, Haile Selassie is worshipped as God incarnate among followers of the Rastafari movement (taken from Haile Selassie's pre-imperial name Ras—meaning Head, a title equivalent to Duke—Tafari Makonnen), which emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s under the influence of Marcus Garvey's "Pan Africanism" movement. He is viewed as the messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom. His official titles are Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God, and his traditional lineage is thought to be from Solomon and Sheba. These notions are perceived by Rastafari as confirmation of the return of the messiah in the prophetic Book of Revelation in the New Testament: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Root of David. Rastafari faith in the incarnate divinity of Haile Selassie began after news reports of his coronation reached Jamaica, particularly via the two Time magazine articles on the coronation the week before and the week after the event. Haile Selassie's own perspectives permeate the philosophy of the movement.

In 1961, the Jamaican government sent a delegation composed of both Rastafari and non-Rastafari leaders to Ethiopia to discuss the matter of repatriation, among other issues, with the emperor. He reportedly told the Rastafari delegation (which included Mortimer Planno), "Tell the Brethren to be not dismayed, I personally will give my assistance in the matter of repatriation."

Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on 21 April 1966, and approximately one hundred thousand Rastafari from all over Jamaica descended on Palisadoes Airport in Kingston, having heard that the man whom they considered to be their messiah was coming to visit them. Spliffs and chalices were openly smoked, causing "a haze of ganja smoke" to drift through the air. Haile Selassie arrived at the airport but was unable to come down the mobile steps of the airplane, as the crowd rushed the tarmac. He then returned into the plane, disappearing for several more minutes. Finally, Jamaican authorities were obliged to request Ras Mortimer Planno, a well-known Rasta leader, to climb the steps, enter the plane, and negotiate the emperor's descent. Planno re-emerged and announced to the crowd: "The Emperor has instructed me to tell you to be calm. Step back and let the Emperor land". This day is widely held by scholars to be a major turning point for the movement, and it is still commemorated by Rastafari as Grounation Day, the anniversary of which is celebrated as the second holiest holiday after 2 November, the emperor's Coronation Day.

From then on, as a result of Planno's actions, the Jamaican authorities were asked to ensure that Rastafari representatives were present at all state functions attended by the emperor, and Rastafari elders also ensured that they obtained a private audience with the emperor, where he reportedly told them that they should not emigrate to Ethiopia until they had first liberated the people of Jamaica. This dictum came to be known as "liberation before repatriation".

Haile Selassie defied expectations of the Jamaican authorities and never rebuked the Rastafari for their belief in him as the returned Jesus. Instead, he presented the movement's faithful elders with gold medallions – the only recipients of such an honor on this visit. During PNP leader (later Jamaican Prime Minister) Michael Manley's visit to Ethiopia in October 1969, the emperor allegedly still recalled his 1966 reception with amazement, and stated that he felt that he had to be respectful of their beliefs. This was the visit when Manley received the Rod of Correction or Rod of Joshua as a present from the emperor, which is thought to have helped him to win the 1972 election in Jamaica.

Rita Marley, Bob Marley's wife, converted to the Rastafari faith after seeing Haile Selassie on his Jamaican trip. She claimed in interviews (and in her book No Woman, No Cry) that she saw a stigmata print on the palm of Haile Selassie's hand as he waved to the crowd which resembled the markings on Christ's hands from being nailed to the cross—a claim that was not supported by other sources, but was used as evidence for her and other Rastafari to suggest that Haile Selassie I was indeed their messiah. She was also influential in the conversion of Bob Marley, who then became internationally recognized. As a result, Rastafari became much better known throughout much of the world. Bob Marley's posthumously released song "Iron Lion Zion" refers to Haile Selassie.

Question of his divinity

In a 1967 recorded interview Haile Selassie appeared to deny his alleged divinity. In the interview Bill McNeil says: "there are millions of Christians throughout the world, your Imperial Majesty, who regard you as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ." Selassie replied in his native language:

I have heard of that idea. I also met certain Rastafarians. I told them clearly that I am a man, that I am mortal, and that I will be replaced by the oncoming generation, and that they should never make a mistake in assuming or pretending that a human being is emanated from a deity.

For many Rastafari the CBC interview is not interpreted as a denial of his divinity, and according to Robert Earl Hood, Haile Selassie neither denied nor affirmed his divinity either way. In Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music, Kevin Chang and Wayne Chen note

It's often said, though no definite date is ever cited, that Haile Selassie himself denied his divinity. Former senator and Gleaner editor, Hector Wynter, tells of asking him, during his visit to Jamaica in 1966, when he was going to tell Rastafari he was not God. "Who am I to disturb their belief?" replied the emperor.

After his return to Ethiopia, he dispatched Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro to the Caribbean to help draw Rastafari and other West Indians to the Ethiopian church and, according to some sources, denied his divinity.

In 1948, Haile Selassie donated a piece of land at Shashamane, 250 km south of Addis Ababa, for the use of people of African descent from the West Indies. Numerous Rastafari families settled there and still live as a community to this day.

Biographical film

In 2008 a full-length feature film, Man of the Millennium, was produced by an Ethiopian film-maker Tikher Teferra Kidane of Exodus Films, in collaboration with an Alaskan TV station Tanana Valley TV and 4th Avenue Films.

Quotations

A house built on granite and strong foundations, not even the onslaught of pouring rain, gushing torrents and strong winds will be able to pull down. Some people have written the story of my life representing as truth what in fact derives from ignorance, error or envy; but they cannot shake the truth from its place, even if they attempt to make others believe it.

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained and until the ignoble but unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique, and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and goodwill; until all Africans stand and speak as free human beings, equal in the eyes of the Almighty; until that day, the African continent shall not know peace. We Africans will fight if necessary and we know that we shall win as we are confident in the victory of good over evil.

Our attitude to the Somalis who belong to the same race as the Ethiopian people and share with them a common history, has always been crystal clear.

Apart from the Kingdom of the Lord there is not on this earth any nation that is superior to any other. Should it happen that a strong Government finds it may with impunity destroy a weak people, then the hour strikes for that weak people to appeal to the League of Nations to give its judgment in all freedom. God and history will remember your judgment.

We have finished the job. What shall we do with the tools?

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.

Today I stand before the world organization which has succeeded to the mantle discarded by its discredited predecessor.

Misguided people sometimes create misguided ideas. Some of my ancestors were Oromo. How can I colonize myself?

I have heard of that idea [i.e., of Haile Selassie being the reincarnation of Jesus Christ]. I also met certain Rastafarians. I told them clearly that I am a man, that I am mortal, and that I would be replaced by the oncoming generation, and that they should never make a mistake in assuming or pretending that the human being is emanated from a deity."

A qualified man with vision, unmoved by daily selfish interests, will be led to right decisions by his conscience. In general, a man who knows from whence he comes and where he is going will co-operate with his fellow human beings. He will not be satisfied with merely doing his ordinary duties but will inspire others by his good example. You are being watched by the nation and you should realize that you will satisfy it if you do good; but if, on the contrary, you do evil, it will lose its hope and its confidence in you."

Title as emperor

2 November 1930 – 12 September 1974: His Imperial Majesty the King of Kings of Ethiopia, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God.

Honours

National orders

Chief Commander of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia (1909)

Grand Cordon of the Order of Solomon (1930)

Grand Collar of the Order of the Seal of Solomon

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Queen of Sheba

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Holy Trinity (Ethiopia)

Grand Cordon of the Order of Menelik II

Foreign orders

Ancestry

Military ranks

Haile Selassie held the following ranks:

Field Marshal, Imperial Ethiopian Army

Admiral of the Fleet, Imperial Ethiopian Navy

Marshal of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force

Field Marshal, British Army, 20 January 1965

Popular culture

William Saroyan wrote a short story about him entitled The Lion of Judah in his 1971 book, Letters from 74 rue Taitbout or Don't Go But If You Must Say Hello To Everybody.

His name is often called out in vain by Hermes Conrad, a Rastafarian Accountant from the show Futurama

Featured as a playable leader in the computer strategy game Civilization V: Brave New World

Rex Stewart, a jazz cornetist, thought about Haile Selassie when he was creating a tune named Menelik (The Lion of Juda) which was recorded in 1941.

Wikipedia

#Haile Selassie #07-23 #08-27