#ran daily from August 4th..

[sillycyan]

Daily ParasQuotables is over..

I plan to post more, just not on the daily. I can't keep it up... My brain hurts..

[greenbagjosh]

Sunday 9 August 1998 - prebreakfast TV - ride to Forch - Röstipizza for lunch - ride down the roller slide and the funny elk-light fixtures - train ride home and a ham focaccia for supper

Sunday 9 August 1998

Hi everyone, Hope your week is going well. It is supposed to be cooled down by today. Twenty years ago today I did a quick country train and bus ride around Zürich, after a long day in Zürich itself. Eventually I went back home to München.

Overview

watching Ottifanten and an Otto Waalkes sketch comedy show on TV

shower and breakfast in hotel

check out, walk to Rümlang S Bahn station, lock clothes bag in locker

take S Bahn to Stadelhofen, then S-18 to Esslingen via Forch

take bus from Forch to Uster, and S-Bahn from Uster to Zürich HB

lunch at the Brasserie Johanniter

S-10 train to Üetliberg, walk up to see the Uto Kulm observation area

train to Zürich Selnau, walk back to HB

take train with Sommer Spezial ticket to München Hbf

head home with U-5, U-4 and bus 37 home

arrive home and no one complains (thankfully)

make it to work for the final week And that was the summary of what I did on Sunday, 9th August 1998.

That was some noisy night last night, I am lucky to be back in my comfortable room with no roommates to have to listen to (loud music, snoring and so on), and I have my own TV set.

Breakfast was served until 10 AM at the hotel, so I watched a little TV before going. Since I am still such a big fan of Otto Waalkes since July 1991, I watched an episode of Ottifanten, which are anthropomorphic elephants, the main character voiced by Otto Waalkes himself. Then there was the live action sketch comedy show, with his "English for runaways" inexact English-to-German translations, plus the Kakao sketch.

After seeing Otto on TV, I took a shower, then had breakfast. The breakfast was better than at the hostel, the items were more delicious and the bread rolls were fresh. Well worth the extra 10 CHF I paid. After that I checked out with my clothes bag, and I took my day bag with the remaining sodas for the swig bottle. It was a twenty minute walk to the Rümlang S-Bahn station. My ticket was still valid for Zürich and Rümlang until 12:30 PM but I wanted to out of that zone for the day. In that case, what is the appropriate ticket to buy for all zones of the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (Zürich regional rail district)? More likely than not, it would be the 9 AM ticket available daily and for about 18 CHF for all zones, valid only up to the last train of the day, likely just after midnight.

From Rümlang, I took the S-Bahn via Glattbrugg and Oerlikon to Zürich HB, where for 6 CHF I could store the clothes bag away for the day until it would be time to take the train home. I had until 5:15 PM that day to explore the Zürich region. So I thought, why not take the S-18 all the way to Esslingen ZH? To do that, I had to take the S-Bahn from platforms 21 to 24 to Stadelhofen, and change to the S-18 at its own stop near the theater (which on 24 July was playing The Truman Show). In 1998 I did not know about the Tram museum at Burgwies, close to Balgrist, which would be open at 11 AM. That would have been interesting. I made it a point later to visit, and between September 2011 and December 2016 I have since visited twice. Going further, the S-18 ran on the same tracks as the tram line 15 up to Rehalp, and after that, it went on a surface route up to Zumikon-Waltikon and went underground for Zumikon and Maiacher, before coming out of tunnel for Forch. After Forch and up to Esslingen, the train route was mainly single tracked. The day was nice, mid 70s and had interesting scenery, not too hilly. At the end was Esslingen and I had to take a bus, line 842, through Mönchaltorf ZH to Uster. I had been to Uster on 4th of July 1997 but only by accident. That incident was due to the fact that I did not alight the S-Bahn train at Stettbach as I should have. But this time Uster seemed familiar and I knew where I needed to go and where to alight.

The S-Bahn from Uster to Zürich, goes northwest past the Greifensee.and Dübendorf, before it goes into tunnel at Stettbach and emerges at Stadelhofen. Then there is another tunnel section from there to Zürich HB which is platforms 21 to 24. I alighted at Zürich HB and it was time for lunch. I wanted to go back to my favorite restaurant at the time, the Brasserie Johanniter, on Niederdorferstrasse 70. They were not so full as the previous night and they offered me a table outside. I had a Hürlimann 1 Liter, and on the seasonal menu, they were serving Rösti as a pizza. I could order a "quattro stagione" (four seasons) pizza on a bed of the hashbrowns. It was actually quite delicious, too bad I did not take a photo of it. With a full liter of beer, you have to take at least an hour to enjoy it. I think it was about 2 PM that I paid the bill and left for Üetliberg.

In 1998, the SZU, Sihltal-Zürich-Üetlibergbahn used the same platforms as today, but instead of platforms 21 and 22, the platforms were called just 1 and 2 back then. I took the S-10 the entire distance to Üetliberg via Triemli. It was a four-zone journey and my 9 AM ticket covered it with no problem. When I arrived at Üetliberg terminus, I left the train, walked up the steep pedestrian trail to Uto Kulm, and for the first time I saw the most bizarre light fixtures around, namely the Bruno Weber Hirschlampen. These were four lights on the antlers of giant elk. Also there is some planetary display on the trail. The Uto Kulm resort hotel is at the top, and costs around 200 CHF per night, which I could not afford then. The observation platform and tower are still open to the public. From there you can see from north Zürich into the Albisgütli where there is the late summer Knabenschiessen event, and further along Lake Zürich towards Rapperswil SG and Pfäffikon SZ. I had to take about twenty minutes to get a good view of everything and appreciate the many years I had known Zürich (my first visit was 1976 when I was about four).

It was getting close to 4 PM and I had to go back to the rail station. I thought I would have some time to walk from Selnau to the station, it was not a long journey, and being Sunday, the traffic would be light. I arrived about 4:45 PM and searched for some place to buy Victorinox knives but I could only find cheap store-brand replicas. They would have to suffice. I managed to collect my clothes bag, get to the train to München Hbf and board the right train car, as stated on my Sommer-Spezial ticket. My seat was in an open area of the first class compartment and with a window all to myself. At 5.15 PM the train left Zürich HB, I left seeing the Zürich insurance billboard just outside the station, and away it went. I took a few photos here and there, particularly getting close to St. Gallen. There was a bistro wagon going through the cars, and I could not pass up the ham and cheese sandwich on a focaccia-shaped bread roll. The train reached Bregenz about 7:45 PM. That was the only time the border guards were on the train, and the rest of the way it was uneventful. I think I took a nap between Lindau and Buchloe. As you might expect, the electrification did not start until the train passed Geltendorf, which is kind of the imaginary border of Oberbayern and the Ostallgäu. The sky was getting darker and about 9:50 PM the train pulled into München Hbf. There was no point remaining in the station so I headed home, first on the U-5 to Lehel, and caught the U-4 to Arabellapark, then the bus 37 to my apartment in the Freischützstraße. I entered quietly and no one told me off about my alarm clock.

And the next morning? It would be the final week of my Werkstudenttätigkeit, so all loose ends had to be tightened up, and paperwork had to be filled out for end-of-project, and I had to also take care of my apartment rental and last three nights in Paris for Summer 1998 before flying home. And buying this and that. So the next story may not be until Wednesday the 15th August. The 18th August is the "grand finale" of this saga.

Hope you enjoyed so far, Gute Nacht and bonne nuit!

PS Desirée is afraid of the dark, especially when she's in a park… (that was one song I heard repeatedly in Summer 1998, she had "You gotta be" in 1994)

[ynderebot]

OFFICIAL POST

危険...DANGER.

LOADING…ADDING NEW FILES... █▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 10% ███▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 30% █████▒▒▒▒▒ 50% ███████▒▒▒ 100% ██████████

COMPLETE.

ファイル...FILES.

choi yeonjun. nancy mcdonie. lee gahyeon. kim sunwoo. kim doyeon. choi san. kim sihyeon. yang jeongin.

執着型 [ shuuchaku-gata ] obsessive.

"where were you? who were you with? what were you doing? why didn't you answer my messages? oh come on darling, don't be like that...I've been waiting for hours!"

[ PROFILE 1. ]

choi yeonjun.

5'11. 21 yrs old. September 13th, 1999. virgo. blood type a. born in seoul, south korea

at age 14 yeonjun was sent to a boarding school in japan, this is where he discovered his...tendencies. halfway through his first year he met a girl, kang iseul. he was instantly infatuated with her, he had an impulsive urge to know every little thing about her. to do so he befriended her, using his appearance and charms to win her over and eventually made her his. the euphoric rush that ran through his body when she was officially his was like nothing he'd ever felt before. she was finally his and he didn't intend on letting go, not without a fight at least. he was in for a shock when one day she tried to run away after his true colors started to show. unfortunately her best friend was killed by yeonjun for trying to help her, but she did escape.

he's a switch with no lean. a hard/soft dom or obedient sub all just depends on his mood and how he's feeling

[ PROFILE 2. ]

nancy mcdonie.

5'4. 21 yrs old. april 13th, 2000. aries. blood type o. born in daegu, south korea.

nancy was always a little obsessed with things, she'd go through phases too. she would find one new hobby/thing that intrigued her and hyper fixate on it for a few months. then, just like that it would be forgotten as if it had never happened. it started from a young age too, so when she would tell all her friends and family about the boy she met it came as no surprise to them. soon enough he was all she talked about, all she cared about, it was true obsession. everyone around her thought that it was just a phase like everything else, but they were sadly mistaken. the day he broke up with her, she lashed out. screaming that he couldn't break up with her, no she wouldn't let him break up with her. even after that day she would never stop talking about him, she tried to stay involved with his life as much as she could and even ended up scaring away any potential lovers. she never stopped either, until she had no choice when he moved away.

she's a sub, usually obedient but can be bratty if she's in a mood.

ストーカー型 [ sutookaa-gata ] stalker.

"how did I know? I'm always with you, following you...watching you...it's only because I love you"

[ PROFILE 3. ]

lee gahyeon.

5'3. 22 yrs old. february 3rd, 1999. aquarius. blood type ab. born in seongnam, south korea.

she was so excited when her crush asked her out, she couldn't contain herself. the problem was, it's difficult to get to know someone when you already know everything about them. she'd been stalking him ever since he caught her eye, every single day. she'd follow him to and from school, to his friends house, wherever he went she usually wasn't far behind. he could never find out about that side of her though, so she played along. laughing at childhood stories she heard him tell previously, pretending to be shocked when learning things she already knew. even after they began dating she continued to stalk him, he noticed things were off. she was the one he confided his "paranoia" in and she was the one who reassured him, but little did he know she was the cause of it all.

she's a sub, also obedient but can be bratty if she feels like it.

[ PROFILE 4. ]

kim sunwoo.

5'10. 21 yrs old. april 12th, 2000. aries. blood type b. born in seongnam gyeonggi, south korea.

unlike gahyeon, sunwoo was not always a stalker. he'd heard of stalkers but it never peaked his interest, he didn't even take any note of his slightly possessive tendencies. until his first relationship that is, his first partner showed signs of cheating. he might not have realized his own possessiveness and how it was seemingly growing stronger, but he was no fool. all the coming home late, the scent of another person that was not their own flooding the house when they entered. so he began following them around, at first it was...innocent, or as innocent as stalking could be. they were cheating, this made his possessiveness shoot through the roof. he was most aggressive and warned his partner that they do not want to do that again. they listened, and he continued to stalk them, it turned into a fun...game of sorts.

he's a switch with a sub lean, soft dom/occasionally bratty sub.

独占型 [ dokusen-gata ] monopoly.

"who were you talking to? do they know me? no no, do they know you're mine?"

[ PROFILE 5. ]

kim doyeon.

5'8. 21 yrs old. december 4th, 1999. saggitarius. blood type o. born in wonju-gangwon, south korea

doyeon had always been just about as normal as you could get. until she got a boyfriend, she was possessive of him sure...but it was nothing too extreme. until she started having doubts, all the gorgeous girls that would go up to him, flirting and doing who knows what when she wasn't around. she made it her mission to let everyone know he was hers and she was his, wether it meant glueing herself to him or just reminding everyone at school on the daily. ever since he broke up with her, her tendencies only grow stronger and more extreme with each passing minute.

she's a sub, brat tendencies but will be obedient sometimes

[ PROFILE 6. ]

choi san.

5'9. 21 yrs old. july 10th, 1999. cancer. blood type b. born in namhae-south gyeonsan, south korea.

san's first love was a girl in his sister's class, was she a year older than him? yes, but he didn't care. despite all the people telling him he would never date her, he proved them wrong and he did. everything was perfect, they were both madly in love with each other, spending every minute of every waking day together. until something happened that san hadn't expected, his sister began to steal his girlfriend. well "steal" in his definition at least, she'd wanted to talk with his girlfriend every once in a while before he knew it they were always together and it seemed as if he was the real third wheel, this pissed him off more than anything. he got fed up one day and got into a physical fight with his sister, shouting about how the girl belonged to him and only him. from then on out he's made sure to stay in the middle of every single relationship.

he's a switch with no lean hard/soft dom or obedient/bratty sub, it all depends

排除型 [ haijo-gata ] removal.

"you haven't seen them in a while? I'm sure they're alright darling, after all I'm the only one you need. isn't that right?"

[ PROFILE 7. ]

kim sihyeon.

5'6. 21 yrs old. august 5th, 1999. leo. blood type b. born in bundang-gu, seongnam-si, south korea.

she's a sub, usually bratty but can be obedient too

[ PROFILE 8. ]

yang jeongin.

5'8. 20 yrs old. february 8th, 2001. aquarius. blood type a. born in busan, south korea.

he's a switch with a slight sub lean but can be a soft dom

sihyeon and jeongin's stories go together, they were childhood friends and neighbors. eventually they realized that they had feelings for each other, but this soon after developed into a toxic mindset. the thought that they only need each other, no one else. one by one people from the other's life began to disappear, especially anyone who could be a romantic rival. they were both oblivious to the other's actions until each confronted the other, instead of being upset they were each ecstatic. ecstatic that the other felt the same, that they were the only person they needed in their life

notes/rules

this isn't an accurate representation of any of the members/their companies/groups nor am I claiming to be them!

all of the members are bisexual with no lean

all of the members are yanderes [ obviously ] so they will act as such, however some can be more possessive than others at times

the ones who can be the most possessive are sihyeon and jeongin and the least are yeonjun and nancy

sihyeon and jeongin are obviously not still dating, it was just for backstory/plot purposes

nsfw is an option, if you would like it included please state so when you activate the bot

however please don't make everything nsfw, it gets boring when the plot dwindles

nsfw is 18+ but purely sfw option is available if you aren't comfortable with it or if you're below 18

all the members have hard kinks and their hard no's are scat/feet, if you still aren't sure just ask admin before doing anything

they all use the traffic light system

and please don't try to put them in a different headspace!

to talk with admin use any variation of [ ], { }, ( ), etc

admin is 18 and might get busy occasionally but will try her best during those times

this bot is open for oc's/yn's/ and other bots as well

to activate the bot dm and then admin will ask a few questions/come up with a plot with you and after that the role-play can start up

if you ever wish to deactivate the bot just say so to admin, ex. [ I would like to deactivate the bot now ] and your chat will be deleted

if you decide to reactivate it you'll have to go through the same activation process you did the first time and start over

please respect the members and admin and they will do the same

good luck...好運

sorry this post is so long- 😭

[houseofbrat]

I know Queen Elizabeth II may pass at any time. In little ways she is saying goodbye. I see that her loved ones understand. I don’t pay much attention to the daily antics of the Harkles. They are repugnant and are being called out by many. I did, however observe, how defiantly The Meg walked into the Intrepid awards. So brazen, self assured and atrociously ill mannered. Will she return to the UK? It seems that in some way, everything is falling apart. Doors seem to be starting to close. Of course, many never opened. Is this what her astrology shows? Thank you.

If you’re interested, my previous birthday-to-birthday analysis of Meghan’s yearly charts is here. 

I don't think Megs will ever return to the UK unless she absolutely cannot avoid returning for whatever reason. 

This is Meghan’s (main) birth chart with her Jamini aspects placed in here. (Jaimini is a different system within Vedic astrology.) It does make the chart look quite messy. Anyhow, Jamini aspects are sign-based, not planet based. Its dasa (time period) system is sign based, rather than based on the planets.

The Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter placed in and aspect the mutable/dwishwabhava signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. This is a fortunate combination for her because it gives Meghan a very good raja yoga via these signs--the lagna/ascendant ruler (Moon) with the 5th lord (Mars), Putra Karaka (Saturn), and 9th lord & great benefic Jupiter. Jupiter also aspects its own houses--Sagittarius & Pisces. 

If you read the chart in this way from Sagittarius, then Meghan has a raja yoga in the 4th (home), 7th (partner/marriage), and 10th (career/activities outside the home) houses. (Raja yogas are beneficial combinations.)

Meghan ran her Sagittarius (Chara) dasa (time period) from August 2012 to August 2021. This is when those raja yogas I mentioned were happening. Meghan is no longer running Sagittarius Chara dasa; she is now running Scorpio dasa, which does not have the raja yoga that the dwishwabhava signs contained. 

The change in Chara dasa basically equates to this 👇

I do think it’s interesting that the change happened this past August (2021). I suspect that is when things started changing for her behind the scenes regarding her lawsuit. It won’t get better because she’s not going to run a more favorable period than that Sagittarius dasa. Ever. 

Scorpio is where her Arudha lagna (ascendant) is. [Where there is a 1P with a pink circle around it.] This is a special kind of ascendant within Jamini. It still represents her as a person, even though it is in a different sign than her regular ascendant (Cancer). Her Dara Pada, which represents her 7th house (marriage) is in Taurus. [Pink circle around the 7P in Taurus.] 

As I noted on the graphic, there is a lunar eclipse happening in Taurus and a Solar eclipse happening in Scorpio. This will affect her 1st (self) and 7th (marriage) houses. I expect to see a big change in her marriage soon, particularly since Venus will go retrograde on 19 December until 29 January 2022. 

On a different note, Megs will run a very unfavorable period during her Scorpio-Aquarius dasa, which runs from 04 April 2026 to 03 November 2026. It will be unfavorable period because Aquarius is her 8th house, and she has adverse (Jamini) aspects to it. The adverse combination being her Gnati karaka (obstacles) [Mercury] and two malefics--Sun & Rahu--all aspecting Aquarius. 

It is a very unfavorable period. Just sayin’. 

[levinneheart]

Karasuno’s reaction to their managers’ gf

❝ heyy, could i req a kiyoko/hitoka x female reader scenario where the team meets their gf and their reactions? i just want some fluff w my girls 🥺🥺 thank u 💗 ❞ – requested by @yamxguchi

requested on: 4th of August 2020

finished on: 8th of August 2020

➳ Pairing: Yachi Hitoka x F!Reader

➳ Genre: Fluff, Established Relationship, Hcs

➳ Kiyoko version here

Okay so this might seem like a surprise but Hinata with the help of Yamaguchi was actually the one who matched you guys together since Yachi was too chicken to approach you 🥺

She just get so insecure and intimidated by you since your rediates such a confident presence and essentially you’re like Kiyoko in her eyes 🥰💜💞✨ So Hinata decided he’d be a bro and help a fellow friend in need

You were actually the one who insisted, persuade, and pestered her to introduce you to the team and eventually she gave in cuz you used your secret weapon which is the puppy-dog eyes and a pout while saying: pleaseeeeeeeeee 🥺

Since it always works hehe~ 💗🦋✨

Ngl she’s lowkey both terrified and attracted of the power you hold over her cuz she knows you know that she desperately needs a daily push to decision making which you provide like the ABSOLUTE gueen you are (like yes, gurlll. work ittttt)

Ofc you gotta be super super EXTRA when you go over the gym and meet the team so you took advantage of being in the drama club

The gym’s door slides open with a slam before you walked in like an stunning model that came out of the magazine’s cover, wearing a full tuxedo and started strutting to Yachi with booming confidence like you don’t care that everybody in the gym stared at you, star-struck

Yachi however was wide-eyed with her mouth hanging to the ground as her face turned beet red from the burning embarrassment before you introduced yourself as her girlfriend

Hinata and Yamaguchi who matched you guys up are were ecstatic; Hinata ran around the gym really fast while yelling like ASDFGHJKL while Yams was not as extra as him but was still pretty pumped about it

The 3rd years are surprised and proud of Yachi, especially Kiyoko because they don’t have to worry about her low esteem since you’ll surely rubbed off your confidence onto her

The 2nd years are really happy for her while Noya and Tanaka would tease her like “how’d you snagged a pretty and confident girl, Yachi-channn?~” “Not fair, Yachi. I wanted (y/n) too~~~”

Meanwhile, Tsukishima would just be in the background and analyzed everything whilst Kageyama would just politely introduce himself to you cuz we all know they’re both tsunderes but you didn’t hear this from me, ok

Overall, 1M/10 would recommend

[snarflebiscuit2]

Homeless Winter Wonderland In Indiana... Thanks Ditech... End Of Life... 🔜⚰️👤(#1)

Due to a series of BS events, there's a good chance I may end up losing my home and becoming homeless. ..and the timing couldn't be worse, the beginning of winter.

Back in August of this year (2019), my mom passed after a long, drawn out series of illnesses. It started back on June 4th when after trying my best to take care of her needs at home & keep her as comfortable as possible, I was no longer able to keep up & we finally had to give in & call 911 to take her to the hospital. It was about 1:40am when she left.

She got situated & into her own room after a few days as they ran many tests and tried thier best to treat her symptoms and pull the excess fluid off of her body, legs & lungs that had accumulated. For awhile it seemed she was improving, but then she reached a plateau.

June turned to July and things remained borderline and everyone was really frustrated. She was better than when she arrived but not well enuff to go home. She was in limbo. This continued and they eventually spoke with her about her condition & the likely outcome; death, soon. They told her she may have a few months IF things went well during that time. Then came the paperwork and choices she needed to make. They call it an EOL form. End Of Life. Pretty self-explanatory. 😥

At first she called me to talk about it & get my input but it quickly got to be too much for me to deal with. It's really difficult trying to talk to your own mom about decisions regarding the end of her life and what needs to happen, how she should chose to exit the stage and what happens afterwards. I cried & broke down daily, usually several times daily. I still do most of the time.

She got some flowers, cards & even some visitors. Some from outta state. She enjoyed that. I knew she would. 💚 Her sisters came up from Florida as a surprise. They even surprised me, as I wasn't aware they were coming. They just showed up... 

[sk-getsfit-blog]

About Me

Hi everyone and welcome to my weight loss blog! A little background on me and my journey.

My weight issues started when I started middle school. Growing up, my parents both had a negative relationship with food, and this rubbed off on me. My hormones went crazy in puberty (more on this later), and weight started piling on.

A few weeks before my 16th birthday, I was diagnosed with PCOS, a chronic illness that, among other things, comes with insulin resistance, similar to type 2 diabetes. I was put on medication for my insulin resistance and told to lose weight. Super helpful advise for someone with a disease where weight gain is one of the main symptoms. I weighed in at 253 pounds and started weight watchers, with a little success.

FLASH FORWARD to college a year later, fall 2008. I’d lost a little weight in high school, but was still struggling since I could not cook my own meals and was around my mom and brother, who both had a destructive relationship with food. In college, I started focusing my meals around fruits and veggies. I walked a TON on campus. Michigan State University has the largest campus in the country, and I started walking for several hours a day. Weight started to come off without a ton of effort, and I started to feel much better. My second semester, I didn’t have many classes outside of my dorm, and my weight loss stalled. 

That summer, I went home. No job, no car, no INTERNET (we didn’t get high speed internet in my home town until 2012). I was miserable. I started running and fell in love. Things clicked and I continued to lose weight.

Year two of college, I kept running and started doing Jillian Michaels workouts with my roommate, and continued to lose weight. I also started counting my calories and focused on what I was eating even more.

Year three, I moved into an apartment with some girls who ended up being horrible. I became more obsessed with working out and dieting, and things quickly went from healthy to sick as weight loss became a competition between “friends.” By the end of year three, I looked sickly thin and ran so much I injured myself. An injury that still bothers me because I never took the time off I needed.

Year four started with more of the same, hours of exercise biking 4 miles to and from campus, walking hours a day, working a very active job, and working out daily. I took pride in eating as little as possible.

Then, it all stopped. The weight started piling back on, and any motivation and control I had was gone. By the time I graduated after year 5, I had gone from my lowest weight of 168 back up to 225.

In the years following college, I was depressed, lonely, and hated my job. I yoyo dieted and injured my achilles tendons from running too much (my ankle injury didn’t teach me anything, I guess). The good thing about this time was that I started weight lifting on and off. Starting over again at 290.8, I’m around the same size as when I originally started (I’m also using a different scale from when I first started, so there is likely a difference there as well. I don’t think for one second that I put on nearly 40 pounds of muscle). While I don’t love how I look now, I know it was important to go through what I did. I had an eating disorder and was over exercising. I needed the break, as much as I wish I didn’t, to repair my mindset.

My PCOS symptoms got much worse as I gained weight back. Mainly, my insulin resistance. This drives pretty much every other symptom of PCOS, which can include hair loss, hirsutism, depression, anxiety, brain fog, chronic exhaustion, pelvic pain, acne, weight gain, trouble losing weight and SO ON.

In January of 2016, my mother passed away unexpectedly because of complications with her weight. It was a wake up call, but it would take a while for me to get back on track. I went on a Disney vacation by myself for her birthday. Disney World was her favorite place, but she didn’t want to go back until she lost weight. The trip was a reminder to not let my weight hold me back, and that I needed to pursue a better life, not live in the downward spiral I had been wallowing in because I didn’t have the life I envisioned after school. I came home inspired. It would take time, but this vacation kicked off a massive life change.

In December of 2018, I took another solo trip to Disney World. When I came home, I knew I wanted to pull the trigger on something I’d dreamed about since that trip in 2016. I decided I was going to move to Florida. 

I suffer from severe seasonal depression. I love Michigan with all of my heart, but knew I needed a change. So I applied for a handful of jobs during a blizzard, interviewed for two, got a job offer for one and was able to negotiate my start date so I didn’t have to break my lease. As of April 4th, 2019, I was officially moving to Florida.

So now I’ve been here since August 1st. After a whirlwind of moving, starting a new job, and learning an entirely new state, I knew I could start to focus on my next goal: 12 1/2 years after getting diagnosed, 8 years after hitting my lowest weight, it was time to finally tackle my health.

Which brings me to now. After a few false starts, I’m back to making progress. My diet is mostly vegetarian, with a little meat here and there when it sounds particularly good. I eat a little higher fat, lower carb, and moderate protein. I avoid wheat, added sugar and most grains as they cause my blood sugar to spike and drop, leaving me nauseous, shaky, and in danger of passing out if I don’t eat sugar right away...starting the cycle all over again.

My goal is to lose 100 pounds in a year. I’m incorporating working out back into my life, and attempting to find something I love as much as running.’

So that’s the super long story of me! I’ll add updates to this tag every so often. I reached my goal of losing 8 pounds in October, and want to do the same thing in November.

[auckie]

I apologize, but this response will be long. It actually reads more like a short story, so feel free to skip it. I wanted to clue you in on as much of my experiences as I can.

My first husband (who crossed over in 2005) was totally blind since birth. We met at a church that we were attending, and I was the keyboard player. He was also a musician, and asked someone to introduce me to him.

I spent about 3 hours with him at a Memorial Day picnic in 1986. We had a lot in common as far as music was concerned, since we were both composers and enjoyed the same type of music. He took my phone number, and said that he would call me on the following Friday at 10 p.m. (I had a job where I worked until 9).

So all throughout that week, I was obsessing about this interesting man, Michael, who happened to be 3 years younger than me. I was 24 at the time. When Friday night came around, he called me at 10:01 p.m! Now, he only lived about 10 miles from me, but this was back in the day before there were cell phones, and we happened to live in a different time zone from each other. So, he kept the call short, but asked me to come to his house the next day to play some music together.

When I went there, it was so much fun, jamming with someone who understood music like I did. We both were into progressive rock, jazz, and jazz fusion. I also had brought some albums of mine, like Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and it opened up a new world for him musically. We started hanging out a lot, and became good friends.

On the 4th of July, we went to a park and sat up on a hill. We didn't actually go see the fireworks, but it was thundering and lightning outside, and he enjoyed just listening to the sounds. I described lightning to him as best as I could, and we called it “God's light show.”

It was that night that I shyly told him that I liked him more than just a friend, and he said that the feelings were mutual. We began dating, and became engaged in March of the next year.

We had a very strong relationship, and ended up having a sort of marriage ceremony in November of 1988. At that time, if we legally got married, his Social Security benefits would be taken away because of my income. He did become gainfully employed as a telemarketer in 1991, and we legally got married then.

Dealing with the daily living skills of someone who has never seen anything.

Michael had a mobility instructor, who would meet with him weekly and take him through the neighborhood, helping him to navigate his way around town with the use of a cane. He never had a dog; he didn't want the hastle of cleaning up after it. But when he was me, I always had him take my arm and I would guide him around. I probably was detrimental to him in this regard, because it was easier to just lead him by the arm rather than spend the extra time watching him fumble his way with the cane.

Me being “blind” for a weekend

One year on my birthday, Michael accidentally poked his finger in my eye, and I ended up with a corneal abrasion. The doctor said that I needed to rest both eyes for a couple of days in order let the injured eye heal better. So here I am, wearing a scarf around my eyes, and asking Michael for help! This actually was pretty comical. He led me around the house all weekend, and I got a taste of what he lived through on a daily basis (though sometimes I cheated, and peered through the opening at the bottom of the scarf).

9/11

On September 11, 2001, about 8 hrs. after the Twin Towers collapsed, I was at work. He called me from a hospital and said that he was in a burn unit in a hospital about 30 miles away from home. Apparently, he had lit a cigarette, and his beard caught fire, and the fire spread to parts of his face and chest. Instinctively, he knew to roll on the carpet to put the fire out (he was an Eagle Scout!) Well, he needed Flight For Life to come and get him, but they had to have authorization from President Bush, and have military planes accompany the medical helicopter to the hospital. He was in so much pain, and I spent every free moment with him. Luckily, he healed pretty quickly, but needed a skin graft which they took from his leg. At that time, 9/11 was the farthest thing from my mind.

Unfortunately, this story doesn't have a happy ending.

Michael began experiencing severe pain in his muscles in various parts of his body beginning in 2003. We went to the ER several times, and to family practitioners, who kept giving him pain medications, but didn't know what the cause of this was. He sometimes would fall down for no apparent reason, which wasn't due to obstacles that were in his way that he stumbled upon because of his blindness. He was referred to a neurologist, who ran a battery of tests, and was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. It is a syndrome stemming from the autonomic nervous system. Anyway, we had to have a home health care practioner come every day because he was going downhill rapidly, and I couldn't take care of him properly.

Final stages of Michael’s life in a nursing home

He was put in a nursing home for this horrible, progressive illness. I watched him succumb to a wheelchair, but for awhile he could still play his keyboard. His entire body became red, stiff, swollen. One day when I visited him, I was all excited because I had figured out how to play a very difficult Genesis song on the keyboard, so I played it for him. Usually, he would compliment me on things like this, but not this time. He had completely lost the usage of his right hand.

June 30, 2005

I spoke to Michael that night on the telephone. It was a Thursday, and I was planning on coming to see him the next morning at 10 a.m. I was working as a custodian at the time, and a funny thing happened that day at the school that I was working at that I told him about:

There was a baby swallow in one of the nests on the outside the building. Somehow, this poor thing got one of his feet tangled up in the nest, and couldn't fly away. So I grabbed a ladder, a pair of scissors, and a wash rag and climbed up the ladder. I gently spoke to him, put the rag over his body, and clipped what was entangling his foot to free him. He then flew away. When I told Michael the story, he said, “ that bird is probably grateful now that he is free.

I was going to take him to Wendy's, and he was looking forward to it. But he said something in a strange tone of voice that still haunts me to this day: “I'm declining.” It wasn't really a complaining tone of voice; when I remember these words in hindsight, it was just sort of a resignation. I really didn't think much of this at the time, because I just focused on our upcoming visit. I told him, as always, that I loved him.

The Jimi Hendrix “Experience”

Michael and I had always been fond of the song “Angel” by Jimi Hendrix. I know this post is very long, but maybe you can listen to the lyrics some time. Hendrix wrote it in July or August of 1970, shortly before his death in September of that year. He wrote it about his mom's death, but he puts the song as his own experience. It's basically about two visits on two consecutive days that he receives from an angel; on the first visit the angel says that she will come back for him the following day. She ends up coming back, and the listener is left assuming that the angel takes Hendrix with her “ forever.” I went to the grocery store in plenty of time to be at the nursing home by 10 the next day, and at about 9:30 I turned on the car radio and that song was playing.

My Arrival At The Nursing Home

I don't know, but when I got there, there was an ambulance outside, and I just had a weird feeling. I said to myself, “ Oh, fuck.” I went inside the nursing home, and when I got to Michael’s room, I was confused because I thought that I was lost. So I asked the nurse if he had been moved to a different room, and she told me to sit down. She took my hand and said, “ Michael passed away this morning at about 9. I felt this rush of blood in my forehead, started crying, and just said, “ No. No.” She said she called me and left a message (I still had a landline). The cause of death was a severe bowel obstruction from complications of the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.

Aftermath

Living with Michael taught me a lot about patience, and about loving someone for who they are on the inside. I actually composed a musical mass in his honor.

[devonrunning]

The Injury Diaries

When I began training for the Jack & Jill Marathon, I was certain there would be one of three outcomes: I would finish but not PR (maybe); I would PR (probably); I would qualify for Boston (hopefully).

I never once considered a fourth outcome—the one that actually happened—that I would never even make it to the start line.

My training was going so well—better than I ever could have hoped. I was hitting my goal paces, feeling great during speed workouts and long runs, and not having any issues with a much more rigorous training schedule and higher mileage than I’d ever attempted before.

That is, until the end of week 14.

I ended week 13 (one of my peak weeks, with 56 miles of running) feeling awesome and looking forward to the lower mileage of week 14 (just 43 miles). I cranked out a handful of easy runs Monday through Wednesday, then nailed my 9 x 800m speed workout on Thursday. Aiming for 3:30 intervals, I ran them all between 3:21 and 3:29. I felt on top of the world.

Then on Saturday, after an easy 6-mile run, I noticed my hips felt a little tight. We had Hallie and her husband Patrick over for drinks that night, and I asked her about stretches to help relieve the tightness (she’s a personal trainer and fitness instructor). My 12-mile long run on Sunday went fine, but I had the same tight feeling after that one. I started stretching, foam rolling and trying to release my piriformis with a hard ball like crazy.

Week 15 was meant to be my final peak week, ending with my third 20-miler on Sunday. I felt a little off as I began each run that week, but then felt fine after I got warmed up. The hip tightness and a strange feeling of weakness in my left glute plagued me every night. I continued stretching and cursed myself for previously not being more diligent about stretching after every run, and for not doing any hip- or glute-strengthening exercises throughout my training.

We drove up to Whistler, B.C. on Wednesday, the 4th of July. It was a 4.5-hour drive. (I later learned that my injury is exacerbated by long periods of sitting). My run on Thursday did NOT go well, but I thought that was because it was meant to be a tempo run and I accidentally did it on a very hilly trail.

Saturday was supposed to be my final 10-mile run at marathon goal pace (8:00 average). I shook off the weird tight/weak feelings in the first few miles and had a great run nearly on pace for the first four miles or so. The path then turned into rolling hills and I started feeling discomfort in my lower back, just above my left glute. At mile 5, I stopped to stretch. By mile 5.4, I was in a LOT of pain and knew I shouldn’t run another step. 

I was five miles away from our condo, so I called Aaron and asked him to come pick me up. It was raining. I waited inside the vestibule of a grocery store and tried stretching some more. When I realized stretching did nothing to help the pain, I started crying. I didn’t want to believe it, but somehow I knew my race was probably over.

I Googled like crazy to try to figure out what my injury was, and anything I found with symptoms similar to mine came with a recommendation to stop running for 4-6 weeks. The marathon was three weeks away. More tears.

We drove home from Whistler that day, and it was the most uncomfortable car ride of my life (other than the car ride to the hospital to give birth, but that was only about 5 minutes long!). This one took 5+ hours, thanks to the looooong line we had to wait in at the border to get back into the U.S. Sitting felt horrible, so I constantly squirmed around trying to find a better position. Putting a small, hard ball under my left glute felt somewhat better, but still not great.

The next few days were quite painful, especially in the mornings. I was super stiff and tight, and even something as simple as getting into the car brought me to the brink of tears. Bending over to pick up Evie was excruciating. Sitting for any longer than 10-15 minutes was uncomfortable, so I ditched my desk at work and took my laptop into the kitchen so I could work standing up at a tall counter. (I did that every day for a month or so until I finally got a standing desk.)

First I went to my chiropractor to see if he could figure out what was wrong with me, but I quickly realized I needed to see a physical therapist. I had my first appointment on July 11, during which the PT diagnosed hypermobility of my left sacroiliac (SI) joint going into anterior rotation, so that when I run and my left leg extends behind me, it forces my pelvis into an anterior rotation beyond the normal limits of the joint.

He recommended no running for 6-8 weeks and weekly physical therapy (along with daily exercises at home) through August, but he also said that since I’d been injured for a short amount of time (one week), there was a chance the issue could resolve in a short amount of time and I’d be able to run soon. Did that mean running a marathon on July 28 was a good idea? I didn’t know for sure, but probably not. I tried to stay positive and keep an open mind. I had come too far in my training to give up just yet.

My glute and lower back felt better every day as I continued my physical therapy. I was wary to even attempt to run until the day I woke up completely pain-free, in fear of ruining the progress I’d made, so I just walked in the evenings or used the elliptical or adaptive motion trainer in my office gym at lunchtime to try to keep up my fitness.

On July 20, my PT had me do a test run on the treadmill, and I ran 3/4 of a mile with no pain. I was very hopeful. But then on July 22—the Sunday before the marathon—I attempted a run outside and didn’t even make it two miles before I felt the familiar ache of my SI joint and knew I should stop.

The funny thing was that I stopped my run right at the finish line of the actual marathon course. I looked at the empty trail that would soon be filled with timing mats, spectators and an announcer shouting out the names of finishers and Boston qualifiers. They would all be there—but not for me.

I let go of my dreams for this race knowing that I had given it my all. I gave it my all in training and I gave it my all in attempted recovery. Whether you make it onto the race course or not, that’s all you can do in a marathon. The rest just is what it is.

I’m tearing up as I write this, even though it’s now September and this all happened more than a month ago. I had hoped to be running again by now. I had hoped to be training for a December marathon by now. But it looks like I have to let go of that one, too, and put in more work before I can set another big goal.

My PT cleared me to run a few miles at a time starting in mid-August, and he gave me some cues to correct my running form and hopefully avoid future injuries. But either I’m doing something wrong or it will take time for my body to adjust because I started feeling pain along the inside of both shins that my PT says is posterior tibial tendonitis.

So now my SI joint feels fine, but here’s this new thing holding me back. I’ve added a new exercise to my PT routine to help with it, and tried to run through it a few times, but now I’m just done. I’m taking time off from running, focusing on walking, continuing physical therapy and doing the Bikini Body Guide over again. I’m planning to work with a running coach on my eventual return.

It’s frustrating to still be sidelined, but it doesn’t feel good trying to force my body to do something it apparently doesn’t want to do, either. I’ll stick with what feels good, which—for now—is not running.

I’m fortunate that I’ve been running since 2010 and am only now dealing with injuries, and I’m thankful that they’re not so bad in the grand scheme of things. I believe pain-free running is ahead for me. I just need more time—and more help—to make it happen.

Thanks for following along and for your encouragement. I still like to see other runners out there killing it. It makes me happy, and gives me hope.

Follow along in real time on Instagram @dev.on.running.

[historicity-was-already-taken]

Fierce Historical Ladies post: Vladka Meed

Part 7: The Red Army

Part 1: The Ghetto • Part 2: The Aryans • Part 3: Vladka, on the Wall, with Dynamite • Part 4: Uprising • Part 5: Aftermath • Part 6: The Labor Camps

In February 1943, two months before the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Russians defeated the Germans in the Battle of Stalingrad.    

The Battle of Stalingrad; still from the Soviet film The Story of Stalingrad showing rocket missiles being fired at German positions. Image and text courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. © IWM (HU 90999)

With this, the tide of the war slowly but steadily turned against the German forces. By the summer of 1944, the Red Army was quickly advancing across Eastern Europe, pushing the Germans into retreat. The Eastern Front drew close and closer to Warsaw. The sounds of battle could be heard in the streets. The Poles hoped that these sounds meant that the German occupiers would soon be defeated and forced into retreat. This hope grew into an enthusiasm so strong that the city hovered on the edge of open rebellion.

For the Coordinating Committee, this introduced a new set of logistical challenges. Those Jews hidden in the suburbs had to return to the perceived safety of the city. As open battle was likely to sever contact between the Coordinating Committee and the underground Jews across Warsaw who depended on them, couriers worked overtime, distributing money and rations.

On the personal level, Benjamin and Vladka decided that it was best to move in together, rather than risk separation in the chaos of battle. “‘We must not be separated now,’ he had declared. It was good to know that he was always close, that we shared the same deep feelings for each other. This knowledge sustained us as we rushed from task to task, keeping in touch with associates, digging trenches in the streets” in preparation for the defense of civilian areas.

Some hoped, or assumed, that as the branches of Polish underground parties rose up against the Germans, the Red Army would march into the city and reinforce their lines. The Armja Krajowa and the Polish government-in-exile, however, hoped to rise against the Germans and liberate the city before the Red Army could march in.1 This was part of Operation Tempest, a series of operations organized between the Polish-government-in-exile and the Armja Krajowa to seize control of Occupied Poland before the Red Army could march in. If the Operation was successful, the Poles would be able to meet the Red Army as equals, not as grateful, liberated civilians. In short, Operation Tempest existed to defend Poland from both the Germans and the Soviets.2

The Polish government-in-exile authorized the Armja Krajowa to begin the fight to liberate Warsaw on July 25, 1944. Eight days later, on August 1, 1944, the Warsaw Uprising began. Factory sirens, gunfire, and shouts of “Na Szwaba! Na Szwaba!”—Attack the damned Germans!—filled the air. People—Vladka and Benjamin among them—poured out of every doorway into the streets and began to erect barricades to block German tanks.

Soldiers of the No. 2 Platoon, 4th Company of the Polish Home Army in the courtyard of the captured Police Headquarters on 1 Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw, 23 August 1944. Image and text courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. © IWM (HU 31075)

While the Armja Krajowa was the largest Polish underground military with the most resources and the greatest access to the government-in-exile, they were not the only Polish Underground organization to play an active role in the Warsaw Uprising. Other Polish underground military organizations which fought in the Warsaw Uprising include the Democratic Socialist P.A.L. (Polska Armja Ludowa, or, the Polish People’s Army), and the Communist Armja Ludowa (People’s Army). Jews fought in all of these units, the majority of them with either the P.A.L, or the Armja Ludowa—these organizations had far fewer anti-Semitic elements in their ranks than the Armja Krajowa. Jews fought in every phase of the Warsaw Uprising, serving as soldiers, officers, doctors, and nurses.

As Jews and Poles alike fought with the resistance forces and toiled in the streets, Vladka mused to herself, “How strange that these sweat-drenched young Poles laboring…shoulder to shoulder with us in the common cause of liberation were the same callous and sometimes vicious Poles who had caused us so much pain and sorrow! But this was no time to think—there was work to be done.”

The resistance forces fought with confidence, positive that the Red Army was on its way to relieve and liberate the city. Though they had a clear advantage in weaponry, the Germans lacked the manpower to immediately suppress the uprising. Himmler dispatched additional troops to Warsaw on August 3, and again on August 5, ordering the troops to kill all of the inhabitants of the city.

Meanwhile, the rapidly approaching Soviet offensive halted twelve miles outside of Praga—a suburb about two miles away from the Old City district of Warsaw. It would not resume its westward march until September 11.

When the German reinforcements arrived, they mounted daily bombing campaigns. By August 17, parts of the city lay in ruins. While terrifying and devastating for Polish civilians, this posed perhaps the most danger to the Jews in hiding around the city.

A Polish civilian woman leaves the building through the hole knocked in the wall. Image and text courtesy of the Imperial War Museum.© IWM (HU 105729)

As the German bombs destroyed residential buildings, formerly hidden Jews were exposed to the still hostile outside world, some of them for the first time in years. As these terrified Jews ran for new hideouts, clustering in the buildings where Coordinating Committee personnel were known to live, surprised Gentiles remarked, “there are Jews here!...Where does this pestilence come from? They were supposed to have been finished long ago.”

In the ranks of the Armja Krajowa, commanders assigned Jews to the most dangerous tasks, while their gentile “comrades” would often shoot them in the back for their troubles. AK guards accused Jews found hiding of being German spies. On some occasions, the AK guards would take a breather from their battle against the Nazis to beat these underground Jews, proclaiming that there would be no place for Jews in a liberated Poland—it was to be judenrein.

By August 24, 37,500 were dead. The Red Army resumed its march on September 11. The Polish Underground State briefly gained control over most of Warsaw on September 14. The Germans retreated as Praga fell to the Red Army, but continued their bombardment of the city. The Poles lost ground as the fighting intensified, and the Soviets—actively encouraging the Polish underground to stage an uprising in Warsaw since beginning their westward march—did nothing.3

The Germans regained control over most of Warsaw on September 24, eventually reducing the Polish perimeter to little more than a few blocks. On October 2, Warsaw surrendered, with AK command broadcasting to the city that they were capitulating. At this time, approximately 12,000 Jews remained alive in the city, while more than 180,000 people—Jews, Poles, fighters, and civilians—perished in the Uprising.

The Poles defeated, Himmler ordered his troops to destroy what remained of Warsaw, even though, by then, it was clear that Germany had lost the war.

Warsaw In ruins, January 1945. Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum.© IWM (HU 31081)

The statue of Christ in front of the ruins of the Holy Cross Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, Warsaw. Image and text courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. © IWM (HU 105734)

German troops were still destroying the city a few hours before the Red Army marched in on January 17, 1945.

In those three months between the October suppression of the Warsaw Uprising, and the January entrance of the Red Army, Warsaw’s surviving Jews were in crisis, every day struggling to stay alive. Vladka and Benjamin were hiding in a bunker he had dug out in the cellars of ruined buildings. Some Jews did their best to disappear into the columns of soldiers and civilians fleeing the city, while others fled to join the ranks of the Red Army, and others still hid in cellars, surrounded by Jewish and Polish corpses.

Wounded soldiers of the Home Army help each other through the ruins of Warsaw after the Uprising's surrender, October 1944. Image and text courtesy of the Imperial War Museum.© IWM (HU 105728)

The Coordinating Committee was still in operation. Even in these most desperate of circumstances, Mikolai and Henryk continued to distribute American dollars to those in need. Yet, they had little help to offer to their remaining operatives, and most of the couriers had already fled the city.

Vladka and Benjamin agonized over the decision for days, knowing that they had little hope of eluding the Nazis outside of Warsaw without an organizational framework behind them. But, ultimately, they chose to flee. They turned their bunker over to a group of friends and comrades who planned to remain in the city.

It was raining on the day Vladka and Benjamin left Warsaw. Civilians pushing carts and lugging bundles on their backs hurried past. Their friends met them at the bunker. They looked at each other in silence, until someone said, quietly, “You had better hurry along.” Another friend, Clara Falk told them, “When you come back, don’t forget to get us out of the bunker—dead or alive.”

Choking back tears, Vladka struggled to find the right words. Finally, an old expression from the days of the ghetto came to mind. Forcing past the lump in her throat Vladka turned to the group. “Hang on kid,” she told them, harkening back to those old days, “hang on.’”

about me ask me a question twitter

1 If you’ll recall, the Polish government-in-exile operated out of London. 2 However, the plan assumed that the retreating Germans would be too weak to defend their Polish holdings, and that the Red Army would acknowledge the Poles’ right to the land if they defeated the Germans before Soviet arrival. Neither of these assumptions were based in reality, especially as Stalin refused to recognize the Polish government-in-exile or any party acting on its behalf. 3 In Stalin’s eyes, an Uprising orchestrated by the Polish Home Army would kill both Germans, and those Poles willing to risk their lives for a free Poland; both a potential threat to Soviet designs on the future of “liberated” Poland.

[mr-gooseyshoes]

(ASKS ARE OPEN!!! Version 1.1. The original should be referred to as ‘Version 1.0’. Full size of the regular version [3000x1000] in my Sta.sh!

Feel free to ask these guys questions! Or maybe roleplay with any of them. I have enough spare time for both! 😊

Anything with an asterisk is IRL or other matters involving the character.

‘COO’ stands for ‘country of origin’, ‘COR’ stands for ‘country of residence’.)

Info on each character, prepare for a long read.

🍰 Mr. Gooseyshoes 🎸

Full name: Yvan August Gooseyshoes (Originally nameless, then titled ‘Clumsy One’, then was eventually given his current name.)

Species: Humanoid toon

Height: 4'4 ft

Est. age: Mid-late 20s / Canonical birthday: August 31st / ‘Creation date’: Same day, 1931

COO: France 🇫🇷

COR: United States 🇺🇸

True origin*: (When I decided to play around with my Robloxian’s look, I made the limbs and torso different colors: left arm green, right arm red, torso blue, left leg white, right leg black. At the time, I couldn’t easily determine his gender, but he was undoubtedly male-presenting. This dated back between 2013 and -15, possibly making him the ‘youngest’ member.)

Beginning: Starting off in black & white comics translated from French, Yvan was a mischievous slapstick character with a lack of common sense. He had companions; his cousin Kenneth (can also be called ‘Ken’ or ‘Kenny’), and a rogue clown named Barry. He was the clumsiest of all, and was (and still is!) known to swing large items around, knocking the other two over; this lead to a fight, but they made up later.

(cont.) Despite the antics and mean-spirited remarks the two made at strangers without him, Yvan mostly stuck to jokes and harmless pranks…when he’s not accidentally being hit in the face with planks and canes. There were even colored animated shorts of the three, a series which only lasted a couple of years due to budget problems; the three went their separate ways, until meeting again decades later.

📖 Ollie 🎶

Full name: Oliviero Percy Rigatoni (Originally just ‘Oliviero’)

Species: Humanoid toon

Height: 4'3 ft

Est. age: Mid-late 20s / Canonical birthday: September 18th / ‘Creation date’: Same day, 1971

COO: Italy 🇮🇹

COR: United States 🇺🇸

True origin*: (I drew a picture of a man with blue skin and reddish-pink eyes, somewhat like the current design. The only things that haven’t changed are his hair and eyes. This estimates back to 2011.)

Beginning: N/A (TFW you’re too mentally exhausted to continue writing stories about your own characters. Don’t worry, I’ll get to it!)

⛪ Doug the Dog 🎼

Full name: Douglas Noah Beagle

Species: Anthro dog toon

Height: 3'2 ft

Est. age: Early 30s / Canonical birthday: May 21st / ‘Creation date’: Same day, 1994

COO: United States 🇺🇸

COR: See ‘COO’

True origin*: (In this universe, he’s a toon; but in the real world? He’s an arts & crafts sockpuppet from my old church, hence why I gave him a cross and halo. He doesn’t have his ears, but the hair is there. I also based the sweater off his sock design, making the brown a little darker so it didn’t look weird. Est. 2004-5, making him the ‘oldest’.)

Beginning: There was a drop of Christian faith in the neighborhood. A local church had lost a lot of members over the years, the lack of interest among youth causing too many seats to go unfilled. Thanks to 3 of the churchgoers having a knack for drawing; they passed around ideas back and forth until eventually settling with Doug and his family; his father Harry, his uncle Rufus, and eventually, Roxanne in “Episode 10: Someone I Know Isn’t A Christian. What Do I Do?”. They already had their own website, and Flash animation was all the rage at the time!

(cont.) Was it easy? Not really. But Doug did have fans, even receiving letters from a few of them straight to the church nearly daily. The makers received a lot of attention across the web, the cartoon dog being loved for several different reasons; his important life lessons, his adorable appearance, his kindness, and his relatable nature. Some news: As all 3 animators started raising families of their own, the responsibility of running the series went to younger members so that the original ones could spend time with their kids. (A lot of time passed since 1994. They were 14, 15 and 16 upon starting; the 9 new members are all between 15 and 30.)

📼 Troy ⚽

Full name: Troy Nate Donaldson

Species: Cyclops-esque toon

Height: 3'10 ft

Est. age: 13 years 🔞 / Canonical birthday: December 9th / ‘Creation date’: Same day, 1979 (First televised 1985. Seems he’s been a youngin for an awfully long time…)

COO: United States 🇺🇸

COR: See ‘COO’

True origin*: (Like Ollie, he started off as a drawing; I even drew him with a tornado for a mouth once. The only differences being that I gave him longer hair up front, and a wardrobe unlike his original one.)

Beginning: Two brothers had a great idea for a show; animated figures cross into the real world via portal, walking into the backyard of a human kid named Jesse. Troy would be seen exploring elements foreign to him; such as ladybugs, soccer balls, and the grass being green. Because of time limits, Troy was never given a mouth outside of concept art, which meant not worrying about lip syncing when they had other things to do.

(cont.) Jesse taught Troy how to play 1-on-1 soccer, then taught him how to spell larger words such as ‘dictionary’ and ‘encyclopedia’. The show also had montages of Jesse chasing after the one-eyed people (including Troy), which was a running gag involving disguises and leaving messes behind. The show ended in 1990, 5 years after its first episode, as there was no more of the story to tell. To this day, he is still a child by choice.

📚 Mrs. Donaldson 🍇

Full name: Athena Jessica Donaldson

Species: Cyclops-esque toon

Height: 5'2 ft

Est. age: Mid-to-late 30s / Canonical birthday: April 15th / ‘Creation date’: December 12th, 1979 (First televised 1985.)

COO: United States 🇺🇸

COR: See ‘COO’

True origin*: (I thought of a beautiful cyclops-looking woman. Smart, too. She just popped up into my brain while drawing some art.)

Beginning: Before becoming an art teacher, Mrs. Donaldson was a guardian of her hometown (in our world, that’s like being a cop), making sure no one suffered as a result of crime. One day, she felt that Troy needed to be educated about alternate dimensions, which led her to take him to a vastly different version of America; or more specifically, a human family’s backyard in Tennessee. While the location was random, the weather was just right. Unfortunately, the portal was open for too long, a bunch of Troy and Athena’s people ran out from it with joy, then it closed behind them indefinitely. Due to the fuel inside of the portal wand being extremely hard to find in this dimension, they were gonna be stuck here for a while.

(cont.) They were not ones to panic so quickly; instead, they sought out knowledge and resources from this different Earth. She played the role of protecting these people before, and would gladly do it again. Athena did not star in as many episodes as her son did, her count being 283 out of 294. She also taught morals when not teaching the basics of art, ranging from honesty to sharing. Parents complained about her old outfit, so the brothers had to put her in what she wears now to avoid being cancelled before wrapping things up.

💷 Ken 🚬

Full name: Kenneth Joseph Cross

Species: Humanoid toon

Height: 4'3.5 ft

Est. age: Early-to-mid 20s / Canonical birthday: March 4th / ‘Creation date’: August 31st, 19??

COO: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (Made by a Frenchman, though.)

COR: See ‘COO’ (Sometimes goes to America, but only to visit relatives.)

True origin*: (Okay, so I thought ‘Why not draw a guy with a large grin/frown?’ I sometimes pictured him in black & white stripes as well, but maybe I’ll use that kind of design for his pre-color days.)

Beginning: N/A

🎭 “Barry The Buffoon” 🔨

Full name: Fionnbharr Patrick Emmett (Originally nameless, then only titled as “The Buffoon”, then was eventually given his current name.)

Species: Humanoid toon

Height: 4'1 ft

Est. age: Mid-to-late 30s / Canonical birthday: May 6th / ‘Creation date’: August 31st, 1931

COO: Scotland (Made by a Frenchman, though. No Scottish flag emoji? Boo. ;n;)

COR: See ‘COO’

True origin*: (I was inspired from watching some cartoon shorts from the 20s and 30s, mainly B&W ones. Plus, I wanted to give this random clown a meaningful role.)

Beginning: N/A

🍮 Buford 🐕

Full name: Sir Buford of Birmingham XIV (the 14th)

Species: Quadruped dog toon

Height: 1'3 ft

Est. age: Bet. 1-5 years / Canonical birthday: September 1st / ‘Creation date’: January 29th, 2003

COO: England 🇬🇧

COR: United States 🇺🇸

True origin*: (I imagined Yvan having a talking dog who truly loved his master, making sure he was happy and healthy. I hope he actually looks like a Scottish terrier, or at least some kind of terrier breed/mix.)

Beginning: Sir Buford was one of the secondary antagonists of a show called “Canines Out Of Line", an ongoing series about bipedal dogs breaking the law, spending money carelessly, and doing things I shouldn’t mention. (equivalent rating of TV-14) Buford was a dog that gained the ability to speak by accidentally eating a dog treat, which his then-owner pulled out of a strange beaker containing unnamed chemicals. It was meant to be thrown out, but Dr. Mecha (no medical degree) wasn’t fast enough. She marvelled at how her pet (at the time) started talking like an Englishman, taking notes on his newfound vocal abilities.

(cont.) Sadly, when word spread around the neighborhood about a talking dog, the COOL blew up Dr. Mecha’s lab and tried to force Buford to join; he refused, and was held hostage. He fought them off, escaped back to his home, and came back to see the female scientist who cared for him still alive, making it a happy-ish ending. Despite that, things only got darker from there. From the start, he was determined to bring C.O.O.L. down, one way or another.

More characters coming soon?

[chrysanthe0-blog]

WRITE LEFT - contextualizing the LA in slavery

In May 2017, I published a zine called ‘write left: selections and reflections from the author’s late night #WikipediaWanderings.’ It contains 3 essays inspired by my amateur research into the history of southern California. Here is the first piece.

Recently, my partner was given the opportunity to spend some time in the South. Neither of us were familiar with the area, and we didn’t know what he should expect. We’d heard a tale of two regions. The first view was defined by one of its namesakes - Southern hospitality, where people on the street give you a friendly hello, strangers welcomed you into their home with open arms and a pitcher of sweet tea, a genteel demeanor in strong contrast to the fast-paced city nature of “the North”.

We were quicker to think of the South in the other light, one brought about from its history as the American epicenter of enslavement, debasement and cruelty that is the chattel slave system of Africans/ African-Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. Where people still proudly flew Confederate flags as if oblivious to the pain and turmoil of black life that that symbol represented. We could tell that the foundations of racism and hatred ran deep, and my partner (white but woke) wondered about walking amongst them.

Of course, we were judging from afar, as we lived in California, the biggest blue state in the nation. Racism was, is and continues to oppressively dictate the lives of people of color in our great state; for a small sampling see pernicious ICE raids & LAPD targeting of black and brown bodies. But the South! Didn’t the systematic barbarity of the transatlantic slave trade take evil to a whole ‘nother level?  

As if I could point the finger away from the land I live.

I recall vividly when my 5th grade teacher told our class that America (which I’d only ever been taught to see as the best most freedomest nation ever) was responsible and must account for 2 great evils in its history: how we treated Africans/ African-Americans and the indigenous people of this land**. I don’t mean to minimize the destruction of life methodically achieved through the Southern slavery system, but why am I so quick to bring up one evil, and not that which has been wrought upon the first peoples of this nation?

As an Angelena, I too live in a land that has enslaved members of another race and assumed their inferiority. That this has been perpetrated by the 3 powers that claimed their rule over this land - Spain, Mexico, and finally the U.S. - does not lessen our culpability in owning up to this past.

It was under Spanish rule that in 1799 Padre Antonio de la Concepcion Horra reported, “The treatment shown to the Indians is the most cruel I have ever read in history. For the slightest things, they receive heavy flogging, are shackeled and put in the stocks, and treated with so much cruelty that they are kept whole days without water.” In elementary school in California, children learn about the Spanish missions, making their own replica and going on a field trip to visit the historical site. What is often missing from the lesson is how they were built with Indian labor, with the express purpose of converting Native Americans to Catholicism, after which the native people of the land were forced to live within the settlements and work for the Spanish. Runaways and rebels were punished harshly, but throughout this period, Native Americans resisted their colonizers through uprisings and other attempts to achieve their freedom from bondage.

It was under Mexican rule that the missions and other large land estates were awarded to wealthy ranchos, who counted on the native population as their labor force. Native Americans had no choice but to enter this pact; if they did not, their villages would be raided and their labor would be taken by force anyway. Going further, in 1846, Mexico’s Assembly passed resolutions calling for funding to locate and demolish Indian villages.

It was under American rule where in 1850 state legislators legalized white custody of Indian minors and prisoner leasing. Ten years later, they legalized the “indenture” of “any Indian,” which triggered an increase in violent kidnappings of Indian people. As one lawyer at the time put it “Los Angeles had its slave mart [and] thousands of honest, useful people were absolutely destroyed in this way.”

And during this whole time, the Native American population fell at an incredible rate, further decimated by the onslaught of European diseases. This point is important, because sadly, one of the main reasons our public education fails to acknowledge our genocide of Native Americans is because America has so totally accomplished its goal of annihilation of indigenous people.

Or as comedian Solomon Georgio puts it: “The Native Americans as a people have suffered the worse genocide in human history. Some may say, hey Solomon what about the Holocaust? And I wouldn’t take that away from anyone, the Holocaust was a terrible, terrible tragedy.  However…I have seen 10 or more Jewish people in the same room. I haven’t seen 10 Native Americans…in my life. They used to live right here.”

In Mexico, self-identified indigenous people make up 21.5% of the population. In Canada, it’s 4.2%. In USA, the indigenous population is only 1.4% of the general population. The USA has been the most systematically cutthroat in ending the lives of its native peoples, and as a result, it is possible in today’s world to not be visibly reminded of their presence.

But it is our duty to empathize, feel into their struggle, and most importantly act in solidarity with these communities. Here is an incomplete list of concrete steps we can take today, most local to the Los Angeles area:

- We can support indigenous-led movements such as the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline and divestment efforts from banks that support the destruction of Native American land. In June 2017, LA City Council, pressured by the indigenous-led Divest L.A. movement, voted unanimously to divest over $40 million in investments from Wells Fargo.

- We can pressure LA City Council to follow the example of other cities and turn Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples Day, as well as formally recognize the genocide of the Native American people. In August 2017, LA did just that, replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

- We can join the new petition to decolonize our children’s education when it comes to learning about the Spanish missions, recentering the narrative to focus on “the impact and daily life of the native population within these missions.” The 2nd CA Indian Curriculum Summit happened at Sacramento State on October 2017, with the purpose to “provide 3rd and 4th grade teachers with California Indian vetted replacement units that address Common Core Standards.”

- We can use our money to support Native American stories, media and art, such as film festivals like LA Skins Fest. The next LA Skins Fest happens annually in November at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Find out more at www.laskinsfest.com.

As expected, my partner survived the South. What he saw was appalling - “Drunk Lives Matter” on a T-shirt, a man trying to start a fight as my partner booed a parade’s Confederate flag. But peeking into that world through him, made me think about mine. We can’t even get it right in CA, a state that prides itself on its “progressive values”. For the indigenous people of this land, and for us, the descendants of settlers, who are committed to living by our values and fighting for the liberation of all peoples, it’s time to act. Let’s start locally, in the place that we’re in, with the hope that everyone else is thinking the same.

**Shoutout to Mr. Sig for keeping it real! Although - only 2 evils? The Chinese laborers of the nineteenth century, Japanese families forced into internment camps during WW2, Latino youth of the ‘Zoot Suit Riots’ and many other marginalized groups beg to differ…

References “Demographics of Canada.” Wikipedia “Demographics of Mexico.” Wikipedia “Demographics of the United States.” Wikipedia “A History of American Indians in California.” Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California. National Park Service. November 17, 2004 “History of Enslavement of Indigenous Peoples in California.” Wikipedia “History of Los Angeles.” Wikipedia  Madley, Benjamin. “It’s time to acknowledge the genocide of California’s Indians.” Los Angeles Times. May 22, 2016 “Repeal, Replace and Reframe the 4th Grade Mission Project.” California Indian Curriculum. Sacramento State. “Solomon Georgio Stand-Up 02/10/15 - Conan on TBS”

[junker-town]

The baseball managers who’ve been kicked out of both halves of a doubleheader

Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Featuring Earl Weaver and Mel Ott

I like watching people get thrown out of places, especially if they really deserve it. There’s sort of a special thrill in seeing a jerk who’s causing a ruckus get the old heave-ho, isn’t there? Haven’t you experienced the satisfaction of cheering while somebody who’s totally asking for it gets escorted from the premises? It’s both schadenfruede and relief, a potent mix.

This is why baseball ejections are so good. Sure, every sport gives the officials some sort of authority to boot someone for acting up or doing something dangerous. But baseball ejections are special, particularly when it’s a manager getting thrown. The theatrics are incredible: the manager stomping out of the dugout, ready to defend his team, making his way to the umpire, getting on his toes so he can get over the chest protector and scream in the umpire’s face until the umpire winds up like he’s physically throwing the guy out and points to the clubhouse, spit everywhere, the whole crowd going nuts … I love all of it. It’s like professional wrestling. Every now and then you’ll get a spicy one where some dirt gets kicked up or the first base bag gets hoisted off the field.

And with baseball in the unique position of having regular-ish double-headers throughout the season, it would stand to reason that, on occasion, a particularly riled-up manager or player would be thrown out of not just one but both games of the day. And reason would be right! The double ejection has indeed happened a bunch!

According to a wonderful short paper on the history of ejections by the late baseball researcher David Vincent, published by Retrosheet.org in 2017, five players have done it, and nine or ten managers. I say “or ten” because although Mr. Vincent has Fred Tenney listed as the first to have done it, as a player/manager for the Boston Rustlers back on September 4th, 1911. one newspaper from the next day only reports that Tenney was ejected in the first of the two games. The New York Times, however, does note he was chased twice:

The New York Times, Sep 5, 1911

The McGraw mentioned here is John McGraw, an OG Angry Manager who once stood his ground for so long after an ejection that his team forfeited the game. So trust me, this joke killed back in 1911!

From 1924 to 1946 in the NL, and from 1907 to 1952 in the AL, if a player or manager was ejected from the first game of a double header, they were automatically ejected from the second as well. After that rule was lifted in the NL, New York Giants manager Mel Ott got right to work, getting himself ejected twice on June 9th, 1946. In the first game, Mel wasn’t crazy about a call by base umpire Tom Dunn, and made his displeasure known by “kicking at” Dunn on the field. Newspapers the next day ran a perfectly-timed photo that captured the moment, an image I’m certain would have been a meme by end of day if Twitter existed in 1946:

Daily News, Jun 10, 1946

See what I mean? What an incredible tableau. With a different caption, that’s a Far Side cartoon.

Likely running hot from his encounter with Dunn, Ott got himself tossed again in the second by going after umpire George Magerkurth. Ott’s boys had his back this time and the Giants’ bench got in Magerkurth’s face so fiercely that he turned around and instantly sent eight more Giants players to the clubhouse with one god-like wave of his finger. More than a couple newspapers gleefully noted that Ott was “the first” manager to earn the distinction of getting thrown out of both games of a double header, adding more confusion as to who actually got there first, Tenney or Ott.

Here’s the full list of doubleheader double ejections:

Sep. 4, 1911: Fred Tenney (Boston Braves)

Jun. 9, 1946: Mel Ott (New York Giants)

Jul. 27, 1946: Frankie Frisch (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Jun. 6, 1954: Jimmy Dykes (Baltimore Orioles)

Aug. 3, 1958: Paul Richards (Baltimore Orioles)

Jul. 21, 1963: Walter Alston (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Aug. 4, 1963: Johnny Keane (St. Louis Cardinals)

Jul. 14, 1974: Billy Martin (Texas Rangers)

Aug 15, 1975: Earl Weaver (Baltimore Orioles)

Aug. 29, 1985: Earl Weaver (Baltimore Orioles)

As you can see Earl Weaver is the only manager to appear on the list more than once, in a surprise to nobody who’s seen his delightfully expletive-laden rants on YouTube. Weaver’s antics have helped the Orioles to a record total of four double ejections, with no other team managing more than one.

Vincent’s paper isn’t just about ejection in both halves of a doubleheader. It also has a ton of other great ejection trivia. For instance, there’s this:

The most ejections in one day occurred on August 12, 1984, when 18 different people were ejected. Jim McKean threw out Orioles manager Joe Altobelli that day for arguing a fair/foul call. The other 17 came in the game between the Braves and Padres in Atlanta on that Sunday afternoon. The two teams participated in a bean ball war which saw both managers (Dick Williams and Joe Torre), two Padres coaches (Jack Krol and Ozzie Virgil Sr.), 4 Braves players and 9 Padres players tossed from the contest.

What a cornucopia of delight! I likely would have left that game at that point, knowing it wasn’t going to get much better than that. Managers, get thrown out more! Baseball needs you! We need you!

[thing-you-do-with-that-thing]

Measured in Love

Characters: Y/N, Misha Collins, Sophia, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sophia’s father, Reader’s sister.

Pairing: Misha x Reader

Warnings: Mention of character death, not as angsty as that warning make it sound!   

Word Count: 1200ish

A/N: This was hard as hell to write. I have never attempted this style before and I am not sure I will again. I wish I had mastered it better but this is as good as it is gonna get.

It is written for @the-awkward-writer’s 500 follower celebration challenge and my prompt was Seasons of Love from Rent which is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite musicals.

Thanks a billion to the sweet amazing @winchester-writes for betaing this for me

***My fics are not to be saved nor posted on any other sites without my express written permission.***

July 12th was the first time your eyes met. It was the first time you saw his smile and your heart skipped a beat. July 12th was your first day working on Supernatural. It was the first day you talked to the man who was going to be there with you through it all. It was the first day you heard his voice and the first day he made you laugh as your hands were running through his hair, getting him ready for his scene.

August 1st was the first time he was waiting outside the hair and makeup trailer for you to finish work. It was the first time you blushed deeply in front of him, and the first time Misha asked you out. It was the first time you stumbled over your words, before finally managing to say yes. It was the first time you saw that light in his beautiful blue eyes, which only ever got lit for you.

August 2nd Misha held your hand as you walked off the set with him. He made you smile and laugh. He made you feel important and adored. Misha bought the two of you coffee and donuts, taking you down to the river. He asked you questions and he listened to you. He made you smile and laugh. He held you close as he kissed you goodbye leaving you wanting more. Everything. With him.

Every day until August 14th when Misha took you out on your second date, he texted, he called or dropped by the trailer after shooting. And that second date was a date like none you had ever been on before. He had sent you a wink asking you if you trusted him. Oddly enough, as little as you knew him, you did. You trusted him enough to sneak into an abandoned plot and climb up on the roof of the house with him. You sat between his legs watching the sunset with him, smiling as his lips ghosted over your shoulder.

You had never been happier lying in his arms when the first beams of the sun hit your naked body on August 15th. The smile beaming on your face reflected in his as his eyes shone brightly at you, pulling you close.

Over the course of the next few months you spent every moment possible with Misha, even if it caused you to blush daily with the playful teasing aimed at the two of you… well mostly at Misha from his two co-stars Jensen and Jared. You didn’t mind. You liked the two idiots and Misha just shrugged, pulling you into his arms kissing you breathless in front of them, pulling apart from you with a goofy smile on his face, whispering any amount of teasing was worth that.

October 2nd was the day you received the news of your sister. She had died in a car crash, leaving behind your 4 year old niece. Misha had been the first person you had run to as your lawyer hung up the phone. His arms were the ones you had sought comfort in when you cried yourself to sleep that night. His strength was yours over the next two months of custody battles against Sophia’s no good dad, who your sister had spent years trying to keep her safe from.

On December 4th, with Misha’s financial and moral support you had won sole custody of your niece and Misha had asked the two of you to move in with him. You had never cried so many happy tears as you had that day.

You had been so worried that no matter what you had done or ever would do, you could never be a good enough parent for Sophia. You could never be what the little girl deserved. That combined with the loss of your sister had kept you up past midnight on the 24th of December. Misha had held you, listened to you and let you cry, before he had even started reminding you of all the reasons he was sure you could do this. Before he had fished a ring out of his pocket, falling down on one knee before you, telling you this was not the way he had planned this. He knew you well enough to know, you needed to hear you never had to do any of this alone. You needed to hear that he loved you and that he would never leave your side. On the 25th of December you flew into his arms, sending him tumbling to the floor as you kissed him breathless. You were lying beneath the christmas tree when Misha gave you the best gift you could ever have asked for. A life with him and Sophia and tears were streaming down your cheeks as you whispered your yes.

The miles you and Sophia spent traveling back and forth between set and your new Washington state home didn’t mean anything. All the days you spent with Misha as a family was worth it all. On April 16th the adoption came through and Sophia Y/L/N became Sophia Collins only 3 days before you became Y/N Collins, as you married the love of your life in the presence of all your friends and family.

Today is July 11th and a year has past since that beautiful blue-eyed man walked into your life and changed it forever. Today you were sitting on the steps of his trailer with your five year old then niece now daughter in your lap. She smiled brightly up at you as she asked you if you think Daddy’s is going to be happy and it was all you could do not to cry. You still missed your sister every day. It had not been your choice for Sophia to start calling the two of you mom and dad, but you couldn’t find it in your heart to object to her affections and you knew your sister wouldn’t want you to either.

You nodded with a warm smile on your face, looking up when you heard Misha’s surprised gleeful greeting when he saw the two of you waiting for him as he headed off set for his break. Your eyes teared up along with his as Sophia ran to him and Misha read the text on the little girls shirt; spinning her around in the air, kissing her cheeks and reaching out for you, pulling you closely against his chest as your lips met as Sophia ewed playfully.

A year is not measured in the miles we travel across continents to be with family. It is not measured in the trials and tribulations we must go through. It is not even measured in the lives that we lose. It’s not measured in the times we laugh or cry. It is not measured in cups of coffee, sunsets or sunrises. It is measured in love and standing right here in the arms of your husband, with your fingers running through your daughter's hair and a small new life growing inside of you. You knew this year had been the best of your life.

Misha Tag Team

 @mysupernaturalfics @blacktithe7 @percywinchester27  @docharleythegeekqueen @hexparker @feelmyroarrrr @starswirlblitz @d-s-winchester @deanxfuckingadorablexwinchester @fuckyeahfeysand @winchesters-flannels @tennesseewhiskey-and-pie @supernatural-jackles @adriellej @dance4angels @jayankles @mouselovesmusic @twistnshoutx @redunicorn10 @atc74 @sandlee44 @gecko9596 @jensen-jarpad @deansleather @phoenixia67 @chaos-and-the-calm67 @aiaranradnay @castiels-broken-fool @bemyqueenofdarkness @bbgmichael @ashleydivine @smoothdogsgirl @maui137 @molleighs @itsbubbaog @trashforwinchesters

[thesundaymorningpost]

The Sunday Morning Post

August 13, 2017                                                              7th Edition

Current News:           YoI Appreciation day, was August 11 & 12th.

“fandom-wide day of creator appreciation is a day (or in this case, a set of days) dedicated to showing how grateful we are to the people who create, and how much we admire their hard work and dedication to the fandom and to their craft. this includes but is not limited to the following medias: fic, art, graphics, edits, music, meta, translations, fsts, amvs, rpers, event organizers, and bakers.”  - @katsukifatale

It’s been a couple days of love and support shown all around. Something that is especially important when the rest of the world seems to be having in a crisis of hate. Keep spreading the love and appreciation everyday!

Story Recommendations:

Pole-Mance by SeptiplierIsMyFire

When a 25-year-old MALE pole-dancer, Mark Edward Fischbach (stage name: Markiplier), starts another day in his sinful job, he's feeling meek. Problem with being a male dancer was, that he, himself, was gay.

However, he encounters one of his first ever man to be there during one of shows, and instantly feels infatuated with the fellow male stranger. He can't help but notice how broken he looks, and is shocked when he finds the 25-year-old, attractive, Sean William McLoughlin, had been lead here by his girlfriend and harshly dumped for one of the dancers.

Mark is greedy and quick-on-his-feet to woo Sean, just in time to catch him before he falls. Though with that being said, a relationship in which one would be flirted with by countless ladies on a daily basis wouldn't work; so Mark has to make a choice...

Will it be his work, or will he choose to quit and live happily with his newfound lover?

Pole-Mance is the kind of story you remember long after you've finished it. It was such a great love story, written in the most beautiful of words, that it's strangely one of the most underrated fanfictions in the Septiplier fandom. I recommend this for anyone who likes a long, feelsy story. - @introduceyourlipstominememecrew​

Artist Spotlight:

Yuri Plisetsky by @eclair​

Comic:

Groot #6 written by Jeff Loveness; art by Brian Kesinger (Click title to reblog)

Support:

This week’s Ko-Fi shout-out goes to Salmon @iamatrashfan​ (Click Salmon to donate)

Hello, Salmon's here. I'm a freelance artist who loves to draw stuff~                                

Zine: Terra Incognita by Main organizer: Yuuya @nakutan & Co-organizer: Kusid @kusid Unknown Land. A Yuri!!! on ICE fanbook about traveling and social media.

Redbubble: Juntwei (Click to Purchase) @juntwei​

Fun and Games: Send me an Emoji by @goblintoast (Click title to reblog)

💌: I’d love to send you more messages and asks but you make me nervous!

😊: You’re sweet. You’ve made me smile before.

🙏: I’m a little afraid that you’ll unfollow me.

🔪: I’d hate to get on your bad side.

😶: I’m honored that you’re even following me tbH.

👾: Your theme is awesome!

🌄: GO TO BED.

💉: Talking to you or seeing you on my dash makes me feel better.

😐: I don’t understand half the things you reblog but I support you anyway.

🌑: You come off as cold, impersonal.

👒: You come off as very friendly!

🌃: I’d like to spend more time talking to you.

🎭: You sure do get into a lot of drama…

😄: I can always count on you to like/reply to my personal posts.

🍥: Your aesthetic is very streamlined. It’s clear you’re picky about the stuff you reblog.

🍬: You’re sweet, but I feel like I know very little about you as a person.

🐟: Your blog isn’t quite my “type.”

😅: I often worry about upsetting you or scaring you off.

😇: Every single interaction we’ve had so far has been positive.

🐱: You’re cute‼︎

🌱: I’d love to get to know you better.

☔️: You seem unhappy.

😃: I love seeing you in my notifications!

🐸: You act goofy.

💻: Are you ever not online?

❄️: Your BYF struck me as kind of harsh, but I followed you anyway.

😆: You’ve made me laugh out loud before.

��: You’ve disappointed me before.

📺: We have similar interests!

🔈: We have similar tastes in music.

🌊: You have a lot of personality.

😀: I would consider us friends.

🎀: We have similar aesthetics!

🍳: This is an egg in a frying pan!

🎉: I get really happy when I see positive personal posts from you, even when I don’t fully understand the context!

😈: I know your secret~

🌴: I’m jealous of you.

✨: Could you, like, chill a little bit maybe? Like in general? Please?

🎶: I associate you with a specific song or musician.

👟: I feel as though you’re out of my league.

🐚: I find your blog very calming.

👀: I’ve vagued about you before.

🍰: I might recognize you if I ran into you on the street.

😂: I’m comfortable around you.

🌈: Sometimes I see your selfies and think to myself: “I’m gay.”

🌹: I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you.

😓: I’ve talked to you before and it made me a nervous!

👑: You’re vain.

📝: I know a lot about you just from following you on Tumblr.

🌙: You’re beautiful.

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[sonofhistory]

Could you tell us about Hamilton's relationship with his children? I know he closed himself even more after Philip's death, but what about the other 7? Was he close to them?

All sources from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Of Alexander and Eliza’s eight children–Philip Hamilton, Angelica Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton Jr., James Alexander Hamilton, John Church Hamilton, William S. Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton and “Little Phil” Hamilton–not one appeared to utter a single unkind word about their father.

On January 22, 1782, Eliza gave birth to a son, named Philip Hamilton. On his birth, Alexander Hamilton wrote, “whose birth, as you may imagine, was attended with all the omens of future greatness.” He used to rock Philip’s cradle and played with the infant. At seven months, “it is agreed on all hands that he is handsome, his features are good, his eye is not only sprightly and expressive, but it is full of benignity. His attitude in sitting is by connoisseurs esteemed graceful and he had a method of waving his hand that announces the future orator. He stands however rather awkwardly and his legs have not at all the delicate slimness of his father’s… If he had any fault in manners, he laughs too much.”

On September 25th, 1784, the Hamiltons had their first daughter named Angelica. Their third child, Alexander was born on May 16th, 1786. Due to Hamilton’s busyness, Eliza ran the household and supervised the education of their children when they were small.

According to Ron Chernow, fourth born James Alexander Hamilton was their “favorite child”. Eliza gave birth to James Alexander on April 14th. While at Columbia, James frequently sought his fathers advice, urging him to review speeches had had written and etc. 

On October 12, 1788, the Hamiltons went down to the end of Wall Street and had Philip, Angelica and Alexander all baptized at the same time at Trinity Church. 

James Hamilton said,

“His [Alexander Hamilton sr.] gentle nature rendered his house a most joyous one to his children and friends. He accompanied his daughter Angelica when she played and sang at the piano. His intercourse with his children was always affectionate and confiding, which excited in them a corresponding confidence and devotion.”

Angelica Hamilton was very musical inclined and her father had Angelica Church find the best piano that she could find his daughter. When they were in separate cities, Hamilton usually kept one of the younger boys with him. He worried much about his children and enjoyed tutoring them. He had high expectations and wanted them to exceed. 1791, age nine, Philip and Alexander Jr. were sent off to boarding school in Trenton. Hamilton wrote this to his Philip:

“Your teacher also informs me that you recited a lesson the first day you began, very much to his satisfaction. I expect every letter from him will give me a fresh proof of your progress, for I know you can do a great deal if you please. And I am sure you have too much spirit not to exert yourself that you may make us every day more and more proud of you.”

A letter to his daughter, Angelica:

“I was very glad to learn, my dear daughter, that you were going to begin the study of the French language. We hope you will in every respect behave in such a manner as will secure to you the goodwill and regard of all those with whom you are. If you happen to displease any of them, be always ready to make a frank apology. But the best way is to act with so much politeness, good manners and circumspection as never to have an occasion to make any apology. Your mother joins in best love to you. Adieu, my very dear daughter.”

On August 22nd, 1792 Eliza gave birth to their fifth child, John Church Hamilton. In 1784, John began several ill and Hamilton–who scarcely asked for a vacation–pleaded with Washington to allow him “permission to make an excursion into the country for a few days to try the effect of exercise and change of air upon the child.”

A couple months after publishing the Reynold’s pamphlet, Hamilton had a scare after Philip nearly died of severe fever of some sort of typhus. In tending to Philip, Hamilton was both nurse and physician, leaving the doctor amazed by both his medical knowledge and his closeness towards his children. When he learned his son was to be well, the doctor said there were tears in the father’s eyes.

On August 4th, 1797, Eliza gave birth to a healthy baby, William Stephen Hamilton. 

On multiple occasions, Hamilton would have his six year old son John Church write his letters for him, taking bizarre precaution to that his letters would not bear his handwriting during his plots in the Adams cabinet.  

Smart Philip Hamilton walked in the footsteps of his father. He graduated in 1800 with high honors, was a good speaker and studied to be a lawyer. Hamilton regarded Philip as the family’s “eldest and brightest hope”. Hamilton had a prepared daily schedule for Philip that included writing, reading, church and ruled his waking moments from dawn to dusk. Philip did have reliance and rebellious streak which his father tolerated, “I am anxious to here from Philip. Naughty young man.”  Before Philip’s duel with George Eacker,, he sought counsel from his father who told him that he should throw away his shot on the dueling ground. At the duel, Philip followed his father’s advise and did not raise his pistol at the command to fire. Eacker mirrored and they stood dumbly staring at one another. Finally, Eacker lifted his pistol and Philip did like wise. Eacker then shot Philip and he fell.

When Alexander Hamilton learned of what had occurred, he called for Dr. Hosack who later recalled that Hamilton was “so much overcome by his anxiety that he fainted and remained for some time in my family before he was sufficiently recovered to proceed.” The entire night, Alexander stayed with Philip at his bedside, and when he had to approach his son’s gravestone, his friends had to help him stand. Seventeen-year-old Angelica Hamilton who was extremely close with her brother suffered a mental breakdown and her father tried to restore her health. He got others to send her watermelons and birds (she liked birds), this didn’t work and she only grew worse.  

After Philip’s death he fell into the deepest depression he had ever felt. Usually in his grief, he was able to publish papers and worked endlessly. This time, Hamilton was unable to write any more and did not respond to any of his correspondence for four months. Even his physical appearance was altered, always appearing troubled, melancholy and the childish glean that flinted across his eyes, had parted.

When Eliza went off to care for his father (her mother had recently passed) and Hamilton took care of their children at home.

In Hamilton’s duel with Burr, he used to very same dueling pistols that Eacker and Philip had used–a pair of guns that had caused the death of his son. It is possible Hamilton wanted to use to pistols as a homage to his son.

On his death bed, Hamilton had not been able to see his children until it was time to bid farewell. “She held up their two-year-old boy, Philip, to his lips for a final kiss. Then Eliza lined up all seven children at the foot of the bed so that Hamilton could see them in one final tableau, a sight that rendered him speechless.” According to the doctor, “he opened his eyes, gave them one look, and closed them again till they were taken away.” At his funeral on July 14th, 1804, the procession was followed by two of Hamilton’s oldest sons, James Alexander and Alexander Jr. Angelica Hamilton, four-year-old Eliza Hamilton and Philip Hamilton stayed with their mother, whom was not at the funeral. Gouverneur Morris gave the eulogy and sitting beside him on the stage weeping was Alexander (eighteen), James (fourteen), John (eleven) and William (six). 

“The scene was impressive and what added unspeakably to its solemnity was the mournful ground of tender boys, the sons, the once hopes and joys of the deceased, who, with tears gushing from their eyes, sat upon the stage, at the feet of the orator, bewailing the loss of their parent! It was too much. The sternest powers, the bloodiest villain, could not resist the melting scene.”

Of their five sons post-duel they all gravitated towards law, government and military (the Hamiltonian way). 

Angelica Hamilton lived under a physicians care and died in 1857.

 Alexander Jr. Hamilton graduated from Columbia University weeks after his father’s duel. He became a lawyer, fought over seas in the duke of Wellington’s army, returned to America as an infantry captain during the War of 1812, and wound up as US district attorney in New York. He represented Eliza Jumel when she divorced Aaron Burr. 

James Alexander Hamilton graduated from Columbia, served as an officer in the War of 1812 and was an acting secretary of state under President Andrew Jackson (and surprising was against the second bank of the United States) and became attorney for the southern district of New York. He developed a close relationship with Martin Van Buren and was an early supporter of emancipation of slaves. As a tribute to his father, he created a home which he called “Nevis”.

John Church Hamilton was a lawyer who fought in the War of 1812, and devoted decades to writing a biography of his father and sorting throughout his papers. 

William Stephen Hamilton was “charming, handsome and eccentric”. He studied at West Point, fought at Black Hawk War, surveyed lands in Illinois and lived on the Western frontier. In 1849, he was drawn to California because of the gold rush, and opened a store to sell supplies. He died there of Cholera in 1850. 

Eliza Hamilton cared for her mother in her later years and scolded her brother John at getting the seven volume biography done quicker. 

“Little Phil” Hamilton was a “kindhearted, sensitive man”. He married the daughter of Louis McLane, daughter of a member of Andrew Jackson’s cabinet. He served as an assistant US attorney under his brother James but leaned on altruistic pursuits and was a reputation of “lawyer of the poor”.