#belgium country side

[vincent-mourlon-b]

[punctuation-completionist]

since today is punctuation day, i figured i'd talk with you about my favorite punctuation that is sadly not in unicode

(my apologies if these crop weird)

these six marks were invented by french writer hervé bazin in his essay plumons l'oiseau (or 'let's pluck the bird')

while the essay also had aim to switch the french language to a more phonetic writing system, it also gave us six new punctuation marks!

from left to right and top to bottom these are, the acclamation point, the authority mark, the conviction point, the doubt point, the irony mark, and the love point. so let's go over what these all were supposed to convey! (or at least what i expect they were supposed to)

the acclamation point was meant for praise, goodwill, and enthusiasm (ie "Well done [acclamation point]")

the authority mark was meant to be used in situations where the exclamation was serious and involved a degree of command or urgency (ie "Get in my office right now [authority mark]") i think this— along with the love point and irony mark— shows how a lot of these punctuation marks were a bit like early examples of tone tags, i'll get into it more later

the certitude point was used to show sureness in a fact. (ie "It's absolutely positively true [certitude point]") i think this might be the most useless of the bunch but whatever. i digress.

the doubt point is kind of the opposite of the certitude point, used when you aren't sure of something (ie "It should be done tomorrow [doubt point]") also it should be noted that the example used above is not the only way you'll see the doubt point, some also have it looking like this

the idea of irony marks has been widely suggested, for example the poet/art critic/song writer (i think, this guy's only wiki page is in french and i am guessing a bit on the word 'chansonnier') alcanter de brahm suggested an irony mark that resembled a backwards question mark (not to be confused with the percontation point which indicated a rhetorical question) and belgian inventor (among other things) marcellin jobard suggested a point that looked like an upwards arrow (this △ on top of this |, i can't paste it)

^ de brahm's mark

all that to say, bazin's mark was based off of the greek letter psi (Ψ) which some of you may recognize if you are familiar with the greek language or comics that shall not be named. it's used in situations of irony (ie saying "Wow, that sure was brilliant [irony mark]" if someone did something stupid)

and our last point is the love point, known for being so adorable, and indicating love or affection after a sentence (ie "Thanks a lot bud [love point]")

now we can obviously see that some of these are very similar to tone tags! the love point could be like a /pos, the irony mark is kinda like a /sarc, the authority mark could be like a /srs . i just thought it was interesting i guess. i don't have a point (heh) here exactly except that i guess people might actually need these punctuation marks ? so unicode? give me the love point or give me death

anyways so that's some fun niche history for y'all! hope you enjoyed

[brltpop]

I'm 300% on board with people not sharing their personal information online (place of birth, real name, birth year etc) but it's a tad fun when they give away one single little detail that leads you to accidentally discover what it is

[queersatanic]

[This post is a series of images from an infographic by the Slow Factory Foundation originally posted May 2021. The first image is a photo with text over it. The photo shows a massive fireball in the middle of a group of buildings, with a massive black cloud rising from the flames that is bigger than the buildings themselves. The building just behind the fireball is low, rectangular, and lit up bright orange. Behind that building, there is a city lit up at night. Hundreds of buildings stretching into the distance, a thousand glimmering lights.]

What is happening in Palestine is not complicated; it's settler colonialism & ethnic cleansing.

Debunking Misinformation around Palestine.

Myth ❌ Palestine and Israel are in "conflict."

Fact ✅ What is happening in Palestine is settler colonialism, military occupation, land theft and ethnic cleansing. A conflict means there is equal footing, which is not the case. There is an active oppressor (Israel) and an oppressed (Palestine). A colonizer (Israel) and a colonized (Palestine). This is not a conflict.

[Three images of headlines with the word 'conflict' crossed out in red ink.]

Note: According to the Congressional Research Service,

Israeli military occupation has been supported by US aid with $3.8bn a year paid for by U.S. tax dollars since 2016 for the next 10 years.

It's also supported by other colonial countries including Canada, Australia, France and Belgium.

Myth ❌ Before Israel came to Palestine, it was "just a desert" and Israel made the desert green.

Fact ✅ Before the occupation of Israel, Palestine had green, rich and lush land. In fact, Palestine respected the biodiversity of their Indigenous land: Palestinians were producing 92% of Palestine's grain, 99% of its olives and 95% of its melons to name a few.

Since Israel's occupation, biodiversity has decreased. Israel removed Indigenous plants from the land to plant European Invasive species. This phenomenon is called green colonialism, which has been discussed in depth by many, including Naomi Klein in "Let Them Drown."

Myth ❌ Sheikh Jarrah is the only neighborhood in Palestine that is in danger.

Fact ✅ Israel has been gradually stealing Palestinian land, destroying and ethnically cleansing entire Palestinian villages, violently displacing families and building illegal settlements on top them since the first Nakba ('catastrophe' in Arabic) in 1948, where almost 600 Palestinian villages were destroyed, Palestinian history erased and half the Palestinian population were expelled from their homes.

Myth (cont'd.) ❌ Sheikh Jarrah is the only neighborhood in Palestine that is in danger.

Fact ✅ Over the past few decades, the state of Israel has continued the settler colonial project, and Sheikh Jarrah is the latest and not the last neighborhood being violently threatened with dispossession, which Israel has no legal right to do.

[Images of a map showing the drastic decrease in Palestinian landmass from 1946 to 2019. In 1946, Palestine was 99% Palestinian land. In 1947, it decreased to 40%. In 1967, to 30%. And in 2019, less than 20% of Palestine is Palestinian land. The remaining areas are being encroached on by occupied Palestinian land, meaning occupied by Israelis. The rest is Israeli land.]

The mainstream media has been supporting these myths by spreading misinformation that conceal Israel's ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine by saying it's a two-sided conflict, framing Palestinian resistance as terrorism and normalizing the state of Israel.

To learn more about Palestine and the ongoing fight for liberation, follow Palestinian-led organizations, media and frontline activists. [@Instagram / Facebook]

@theimeu / Institute for Middle East Understanding ( IMEU )

@eye.on.palestine

@palestinianyouthmovement / Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)- حركة الشباب الفلسطيني

@jewishvoiceforpeace / Jewish Voice for Peace

@visualizing_palestine / Visualizing Palestine

@wolpalestine [Censored by Meta]

@mohammedelkurd / Mohammed El-Kurd

@muna.elkurd15 / Muna Nabeel Elkurd

@nouraerakat / Noura Erakat

Sources & Suggested Reading

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis

Let Them Drown by Naomi Klein

Black Power and Palestine by Michael Fischbach

Orientalism by Edward Said

The Question of Palestine by Edward Said

Palestine by Joe Sacco

"Zionist Logic — Malcolm X on Zionism" in The Egyptian Gazette, Sept. 17, 1964

On Palestine by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé

[End of images]

[folkloresthings]

TOLERATE IT / FA14.

in which the older sister of lando norris finds herself teetering dangerously towards the precipice of her brother’s, significantly older, colleague.

( fernando alonso x norris!reader )

track one: gold rush. track two: delicate. track three: labyrinth. track four: false god. track five: happiness. track six: the 1. track seven: daylight. track eight: lover.

✩⡱ warnings: age gap! reader is 25, fernando is 41.

TWITTER.

INSTAGRAM.

liked by isahernaez, estebanocon, and 78,294 others

yourusername back in london town

view all 12,444 comments

landonorris mum asked if you’re coming to dinner on sunday?

⤷ yourusername tell her yes, i’ll bring dessert, and please teach her how to text

user queen is back in the same city as me i might cry

lewishamilton i’ll be around next week, we should grab coffee!

⤷ yourusername only if you bring roscoe

⤷ lewishamilton yes ma’am 🫡

user im going to miss her in the paddock :(

⤷ user fingers crossed she’s back after the break

it was rather refreshing, to be back in your own apartment after weeks of living hotel to hotel. knowing where everything is, cooking for yourself, spending every night under your own covers. granted, after nights spent close to fernando’s side, your double bed felt much emptier than it did before.

with the summer break begun, the lack of work was leaving you with little to do. and the apartment had been sitting empty for weeks, desperate for a deep cleaning. so, clad in an old shirt and some shorts, you got to work. halfway through wiping down the entire kitchen, your phone rang, silencing the nineties hits playlist you’d had on.

hurrying over in your fluffy socks, you glanced down at the ringing screen. fernando. you hadn’t seen him since that morning lando had shown up in your hotel room. frankly, after your conversation with your brother, you fled the country as quickly as you could.

“hi,” you greeted him tentatively, after answering the call. he was quiet on the other end, your heart picking up its pace with every moment of silence.

“you left without saying goodbye,” he eventually speaks, voice monotone and heavy. you curse him mentally for being so unreadable, so plain when he wants to be.

you sigh, a finger rubbing your brow bone as you settle yourself on the couch. “i’m sorry, ‘nando.”

you weren’t sure of what else to say. you glanced at the time, ten minutes past eleven, wondering what time it was where fernando was. still in belgium? back home in spain? he wasn’t here, and that seemed to squeeze at your heart.

“so, what does this mean?” the question you had been dreading. the question you had asked yourself the whole plane ride home, and every moment since.

“i don’t know,” you murmured, truthfully. “it’s so complicated. if… if we keep this up, we’ll only get attacked. and lando will constantly be on edge — i don’t know if he could ever really accept it.”

“we could make him—” fernando begins to argue, and you can hear the frustration in his voice now.

“please, just listen.” he falls quiet and you lean back into the cushions. “i won’t be able to live knowing my brother didn’t approve. i can’t lose him, ‘nando, he’s my best friend. but…”

your lip wobbles, a tear slipping down your cheek. one you quickly wipe away, willing your emotions to get back in shape. fernando notices the shake in your breath, and his heart breaks when he realises he can’t do anything to help.

“but… the time we spent together, it was wonderful. you’ve taken my whole heart and i’ve happily let you keep it. it’s not something i want to let go of.”

“can’t we have both?” fernando asks, ready to beg you to stay. “lando will come around. and who cares about the press? we’d have each other, that’s what matters.”

“and what if it goes wrong?” you ask, almost too sharply. “what then? i can never come to a race again, because i won’t be able to face you? or we make it awkward between you and lando? he really looks up to you, fernando.”

“what could go wrong?” he asks, though he knows the answer. he knows about his own mistakes, and the reputation that came from it. but he would never dare break your heart, for it would only ruin his own.

“fernando…”

“mi amor, please…” he doesn’t care how desperate he sounds, because he is desperate. desperate to love you, to have you forever. “at least let us try.”

you consider it for a moment, you really do. torn between the possible love of your life and your baby brother, the hellish debacle of the century. but blood ran thicker than water, right?

“we never should have started this,” you brave the words, though they stab you in the process. but you know the only way to do this is to hurt him, to give him a reason to stay away. no matter how it kills you. “we can’t go on. it’s not like it ever could have worked, and you know it’s true.”

“no,” he replies firmly, holding himself together. “no, i’m not letting you go that easily.”

“i’m sorry, fernando. try and enjoy your break, okay?” you click the red end call button before he can reply, turning your phone off and sinking into the cushions, body soon racking with gentle sobs.

INSTAGRAM.

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lando.jpg home sweet home

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user back with the y/n content, the people’s princess 🫶🫶🫶

pierregasly y/n’s cooking 🔛🔝

carlossainz55 i want a norris family dinner rn

user Y/N’S SO CUTE

fernandoalo_official enjoy ❤️

writers note: whoopsies. this is short sorry i’m super duper busy atm 💌

[thatdeadaquarius]

OKAY BUT I HAVE MORE IDEA FOR BLUNT READER CUZ I LOVE THAT AU SO MUCHANDMDJFKSLDKF

So you know how french people's insult are always outta pocket (from a person who's first language is french I can tell you that no other language compares in insult -apart for African languages)

Like,, some "bad" insult here would be : bitch, fuck off, whore,..

Which we can all agree is boring...

BUT THEN IN FRENCH!!!

We be getting creative with it

Eg.

"mange tes mort" wich translates to "eat your dead (relatives)"

"vas te fair enculer" means "go get yourself pegged in the ass"

(yes, we have a specific word for being fucked in the ass 💀)

AND THOSE WOULD BE THE COMMON ONES AS WELL

English could never compare ✨

BUT ANYWAYS

how would the characters react if reader was from france/ belgium/ canada(or any other french speaking country) and started cursing people out like they eould do in their home countrie !?!?

The eay their face would drop

We would make a couple of people cry

AND GOD(us haha) FORBID A KID OVER-HEAR US AND STARTS REPEATING US

Trying to un-teach them would be hell *cries*

Your thoughts?

Love yaaaa~

ABSOLUTE TOP TIER ORAH MY BELOVED!!

Nobody has any idea how much I HATE ENGLISH both for its rules/pronounciation BS/etc. But also, most importantly, THERES LIKE NO GOOD CUSS WORDS- OR LIKE CUSS PHRASES??

I HAD TO PUT THIS GIF BC THAT WAS LITERALLY ME WHEN I HAD THE REALIZATION TO LOOK UP OTHER LANGUAGE CUSS WORDS AND I WAS JUST BLOWN AWAY BY HOW GOOD THEY WERE- HOW CREATIVE- 😫😭🥲 ENGLISH WHY R U SO SHITY IN EVERY POSSIBLE LANGUAGE SITUATION-

like idk we got "eat shit and die / fuck off / go fuck yourself" ???? Like- thats pathetic 😟.

I love hearing someone just cuss smbody out their native language/non-english, it’s so badass and cool to see

Anyway u already know i love non-native english speakers from the bottom of my heart✨️

GOD I FUCKING LOVE BLUNT LANGUAGE AU ITS LIKE ONE OF TOP FAV AS U CAN PROBABLY GUESS I COULD WRITE A LITERAL FANFIC ENTIRELY OFF THIS SIMPLE PREMISE 💖💓💗💞❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

omg so i HAVE SPECIFICALLY HEARD ABT FRENCH BEING RLLY CREATIVEEE

and i researched french cusswords/phrases,,,

😭 BRO IM CRYING

“bête comme ses pieds!” IM ROLLING ON THE FLOOR-

(trans: you’re as stupid AS YOUR FEEEEEETT)

idk what’s funnier, you translating urself in real time and saying all these phrases to ppl,

OR just scaring the ever-loving shit out of every teyvat citizen within a mile radius bc oh wow- you look pissed, so yeah somebody’s about to lose all their self-esteem for the rest of their life bc ur insults are known to be extra cutting bc ur so blunt-

OH CREATOR ABOVE (…oh creator, present??)- you changed to your holy language FOR THIS???

everybody just giving the npc the most bombastic side-eye for pushing you to do this,

or even just you stubbing ur toe/ate food when it was too hot

or my favorite, getting onto ppl like Wanderer when they do smth silly lmao

STOP I HAD A FOUL THOUGHT OF GETTING ONTO Ei AND WANDERER (like ei for not keeping him/at least giving him to someone else to raise, then all the shit he did as Scaramouche lol)

AND THIS CUSSWORD COMES OUT UNDER UR BREATH OR SMTH- DOES THIS FIT BC THIS KILLS ME:

“Putain de salope…” (whore of whore, I LIED IT MEANS FUCKING BITCH LMAO😭)

JUST GETTING THE MOM AND THE SON IN ONE FULL BREATH CRYINGGGG

STOPPP wanderer using it against other ppl ever since u used it lol

oh no stop dont bring the kids into thisss 😭😭

Klee would deffo be the first one to pick up ur words and use them, omg she just uses them as catchphrases like when throwing her bombs 💀

“Mange tes mort!” JUST WITH A SMILE ON HER FACE AS SHE THROWS HER HUGE SKILL BOMB INTO A FISH POND

Venti would definitely make sure the winds “pass along phrases of the sacred All-God language!”

which just means anyone who UNDERSTANDS YOU JUST GETS GENTLY CREATIVELY CUSSED OUT BY THE WIND IM SOBBINGGG

☆

i hope u guys are having a great summer! its basically too hot to go outside where I am, not unless ur going straight into the water or smth

which hey, ill be doing that this weekend, floating down the river about an hour away from my house with friends! :]

which,,, if anyone sees this, U GOTTA HELP ME THINK OF A 1000 FOLLOWERS MILESTONE THING TO DO IDK WHAT TO DO BUT I WANNA CELEBRATE IT BC I NEVER THOUGHT THATD HAPPEN!! lmk what u think in the comments if u read this!

☆

Safe Travels 0rah,

💀♒

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Already Gone || MV1 {4}

Pairing: Max Verstappen x spy!fem!reader Summary: Try as you might, you can’t stay away from Max for too long. Warnings: criminal activities, implied smut WC: 2.8k

F1 Masterlist || One || Two || Three || Four || Five

It was official, you were insane. That had to be the reason why you found your way back to Monaco. 

The last month had seemed more like a year and every single day had dragged out as you tried to keep yourself distracted by moving from place to place. But nothing worked. Max consumed your waking thoughts and invaded your dreams. 

Your freefall through Europe had started in Norway since it had been the first flight leaving the country after you finally retrieved your go bag from the safe house in Camden Town. You tried not to look back as you searched for a place to start over, forcing yourself to move forward even though your legs felt like lead. 

Sweden came next, then Denmark, but neither country had what you were looking for either so you crossed into Germany. The luxury apartment in Cologne had everything you needed to have a fresh start as a nobody and you should have been comfortable, but it too didn’t feel like home. So you had locked it up and got back in your car, hitting the highway and letting fate decide where you ended up.

You mindlessly walked with your head down to shelter your phone from the rain that drizzled upon the cobbled streets, your thumb swiping through the hundred of pictures you had taken with Max. You had only stopped in the random city because you could no longer ignore your rumbling stomach but when you saw the country flag hanging from a war memorial statue you froze.

You looked around, paying more attention to your surroundings and not the memories the photos held, as you struggled to remember even passing through the Netherlands before reaching Belgium. Everywhere you turned you saw signs you had missed, the city name surrounding you: Hasselt.

 How did you end up here?

Max was the answer. You were a victim of your own mind and it had been leading you back to him this entire time. But this still wouldn’t be enough. You didn’t want to be where he was born, you wanted to be where he was. 

You wanted to make things right. You needed to make things right.

So there you were, walking along the private street lined with perfectly trimmed hedges towards a wrought iron gate that would never stop you from reaching his door. But the man stationed in front of it might.

“Shit,” you cursed as you turned down the driveway of his neighbour. You hadn’t factored in that he may have been given a protective detail as a result of your actions. It didn’t change your end goal though, merely the plans of getting there.

It had been a few years since you last scaled a fence but you managed to pull yourself up the one on the back boundary and not break a leg when you jumped down the other side. It would have been much easier to sneak around at night but you weren’t patient enough to wait that long but you did keep to the shadows as you reached the house and tested the backdoor. 

You hardly breathed when the latch clicked and the handle turned. The sound seemed too loud in the quiet suburb and you froze as you waited to hear the shouts of alarm, but they never came. All you heard was the loud purring of Achilles as he padded across the kitchen floor to brush against your legs.

“Look at you, you’ve gotten so big,” you whispered as you picked him up and snuggled him to your chest, a weight lifting from your conscience knowing Max had kept his promise. “I missed you too.”

You placed him back on the floor with one last scratch behind his ears before silently rounding the corner and ducking past the front window and tiptoeing up the stairs. You had spent too many nights in this house to count, made too many memories, to just walk through it without feeling the ache that came from missing it.

You skipped the stair that always creaked and stepped to straighten the picture of him and his mom on the wall. It was your fault it was on a lean, your shoulder had knocked it one night when you fell asleep on the couch and Max had carried you up to bed.

The only thing that had changed in the house was the door to the storage room that now had a gaping hole in it. Questions flooded your head at the possibilities ranging from Max lashing out in a fit of rage and putting his fist through it to a more worrying thought of someone else doing the damage. Was that why he had security? Did someone attack him?

Your hands shook at the thought and you clenched them into fists as you swore you would find out what happened, and make sure they paid.

The anger that had quickly filled you evaporated the instant you heard his voice and your feet carried you towards the sound you had missed dearly.

You watched him for a minute from the side door to the corner office, taking in the exhaustion that saturated him from his wild hair and dark bags under his eyes to the unkempt beard he was sporting.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled to one of the Red Line racers and the lifeless tone cut through the excitement you had felt when you spotted him in his simulator, his eyes focused on the screens in front of him.

“When did you become the liar?”

Max’s hands tore his headset off as he spun to find you, an apparition he could hardly believe was standing in his home. Time slowed as you stared at each other and the very air seemed to freeze as you connected with those blue eyes that had haunted your nights. No photo could ever quite capture the true shade of azure they were, you had relied upon your memory but even that did not do them justice.

“Hi.” You broke the silence and the moment in time was shattered, sense coming back to Max as he pulled the power plug from his simulator to cut the live stream before jumping to his feet.

“How did you get in here, Y/N?” he asked, looking out the window that overlooked the front yard to see the security guard still stationed at the gate.

You shrugged and looked down at your feet. “The backdoor was unlocked.”

“I have so many questions.”

You had expected as much as you went to the adjoining room and took a seat on the edge of his bed while he leaned against the set of drawers. 

“I can’t promise answers to everything, but I won’t lie to you, Max,” you swore as you buried your hands in your pockets. 

“That’s more than I thought I would get,” he muttered before taking a deep breath and crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Fine, an easy one to start with. Would a locked door have stopped you?”

Your shoulders bounced with a laugh. Reaching the back of your head, you pulled a long hair pin out and eyed the curved hook that you held out to him. “Not a standard one at least.”

He shook his head but didn’t seem surprised by the answer. “How did you learn that? How did you become…whatever you are?”

“That’s not as easy to answer,” you admitted as you pushed the pin back into your hair. “There was this foster mum, a particularly nasty woman. She liked the money the state gave her but not so much the kids. She would lock us in the attic and as the oldest it was up to me to sneak out and steal food, clothes, money. Turns out I was pretty good at it.”

“Fucking hell,” Max said quietly as his hands fell at his sides and you saw the pity in his eyes. You didn’t want pity.

“It is what it is. My turn for a question,” you said as you pointed to the hallway. “What the fuck happened to the door?”

“What? Oh, that,” he said as a small smile appeared on his face, instantly making your heart feel lighter. “Achilles got trapped in there and I had to break him out, poor little guy must have been terrified.” The smile disappeared as he realised that had probably been how you felt as a child and he swallowed deeply before crossing the room and sitting beside you on the bed. 

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” he confessed as he rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head in his hands. “Why did you come back?”

“Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you too.” You reached into your pocket and pulled out the small thumb drive you had prepared on your journey to Monaco. “This is everything you need to destroy Ferrari,” you said as you placed it into his hand and closed his fingers around it.

“What is this?” he asked as you spotted a dress between the almost closed doors to the wardrobe. You rose to your feet and opened it wider to see your clothes that had been left at his place on numerous occasions hung neatly beside his. “Y/N, what is this?”

You trailed your fingers over the thick motorcycle jacket he would wear, the one you would rest our helmet on as you tucked in behind him to shelter from the wind on a ride. “Correspondence, payments, data reports, everything to prove what they hired me for,” your voice almost failed as emotion thickened your throat, “and my testimony.”

The air shifter as Max stood up and you turned to see his brows pinched together. “But that would mean…”

“I’m done running, Max.”

“So that’s it? You’re done?” he shouted as he raked his hands through his hair. “You’re giving up and happy to spend the rest of your life in prison?”

“I’m not happy about any of this,” you shot back as you took a step closer and tipped your head back to look him in the eyes. “But I can’t live with the guilt of knowing I ruined your dream.”

“My dream was to be world champion, and I already won that twice,” he stated as he opened his hand, letting the thumb drive clatter on the floor. “I don’t care if I lose every race this year, liefje, I’m not going to lose you again.”

The drive crunched under his heel as he destroyed the evidence his team needed before he pulled you into his arms. Your head fell forward as relief crashed into you and your fingers desperately clung to the back of his shirt as you held him close.

“I thought you would hate me,” you whispered as your tears wet his shirt.

“I wanted to. I tried to, but,” he breathed into your hair as his arms encircled your wait. “Ik hou van jou.”

You had lost all hope of hearing those words on his lips again so it took a moment to process that had really said them to you, but the instant your brain caught up so did your body. You were already rising on your toes as you threw your arms around his neck and crashed your lips with a sound of delight. 

“I love you too,” you promised between the gasping breaths you took as his kiss trailed down your neck and he guided you backwards. 

Your legs hit the bed as he pulled your shirt off and it fell from his hands as his eyes darkened while they drank in the sight before him. The dutch you had learned from him was limited but you recognised the word for beautiful before his lips were on your skin where they belonged once again.

“What happens now?” 

Your head was resting on Max’s chest, one leg draped over his as you listened to his heartbeat. You had been lost to the sensation of his fingers running up and down your spine that you didn’t comprehend the question until his touch disappeared. 

“I suppose I should have a chat with your boss.” His eyebrows lifted at your suggestion and you chuckled as you trailed your fingertips over the soft curls below his navel, the blond hair catching the afternoon sun that spilled into the room. “I’m out of a job and a girl needs to eat, maybe I can put my skills to some good use?”

“No,” he shook his head adamantly. “No more secret agent spy shit. You don’t have to do that anymore, I’ll take care of you.”

You smiled against his warm skin as you pressed a kiss to the centre of his chest and peered up at him. “I was thinking more along the lines of security work, keeping the secrets safe instead of stealing them. Atonement for my sins.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure Christian will want you in a mile radius of the factory, or England,” he laughed and the sound only fed your smile.

“I can be pretty convincing.” You slipped out of his embrace and grabbed your clothes from the floor as he sat up and made to follow. “Wait here, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where are you going?” He frowned as you pulled your jeans on and threw your shirt on next as you left the room.

“To talk to the moron at the gate!”

“Woah, hold on,” Max called as he rushed out of the bed, a heavy thud and a curse telling you he caught himself up in the tangle of bedsheets. “Y/N!”

“He had one job, Max, one job.” You skipped down the stairs and his feet hit the landing at the top. “Anyone bastard could have snuck past and gotten into your house.”

You threw the door open and broke into a sprint as Max raced to catch up, his shout alerting the guard to your presence.

“You!” you growled as you pointed a finger at the man.

“You!” he shouted in alarm at the same time, his hand reaching for the phone on his hip.

“Stop, both of you!” Max demanded as he caught you around the waist and planted you behind at his still shirtless back. “Paolo, she’s not a threat.”

“Debatable,” you muttered as you crossed your arms. “I’m not a threat to you, but he clearly isn’t doing a great job at protecting you. Here, give me that,” you didn’t wait for an answer as you swiped the phone off Paolo, Christian’s number already on speed dial and connecting.

“Paolo, everything alright?” Christian answered.

“I’ve gone by many names, but Paolo isn’t one,” you said with a smile before you heard a door shut loudly in the background and the sound of leather creaking as he sat down on his office chair.

“What is it you want?”

“This isn’t just about me, the question is what do we both want?” You looked at Max as he stood stoically between you and the angry security guard, the dominance in his stance making you hot and bothered all over again. “I’m looking right at him, Mr Horner. So I suggest you pick up the beautiful fountain pen your lovely wife gave you for your anniversary, walk over to the planner on the wall behind you and find the time to meet with me.”

“Put Max on the phone,” Christian demanded quietly.

An offended scoff escaped your throat at the request. “I haven’t hurt him, I’m trying to help you keep him safe. I’ve already proven that the people you hire to protect him aren’t up to par.”

“Put him on the phone.”

“Fine. Tell him when and where you want to meet.”

You tossed the phone to Max and walked back inside the house, climbing straight back into the sheets that were still warm and smelled like him. It was the feeling of being wrapped in a cocoon of safety and the sense of home you had been searching for since you were a child. It had been right here.

It was the soft sigh that had you blinking your sleepy eyes open to see him leaning in the doorway, a playful smile on his lips. “You’re insane.” He pushed off the door jamb and pulled back the sheets to join you under the blankets, your bodies moulding together like two puzzle pieces.

“Says the man that goes 200 mph in a tin can.”

“We must both be insane,” he chuckled as he kissed your temple, “because we’re heading to the UK in the morning.”

You smiled and looked up at him, seeing your reflection in his eyes like glancing into a perfectly serene lake, endless depths hidden within them. You took his hand and traced the life line that slashed across his palm before following the love line that branched off it. You had danced your way over moral lines your entire life but now you had found the lines you wouldn’t cross.

“I told you I could be convincing.”

Click here for post five.

Tagging: @octaviareina @omgsuperstarg @mvclff1 @alwaysclassyeagle @icantcomeupwithamusicalname-blog @laneyspaulding19

[jokeroutsubs]

📝 ENG Translation: Joker Out honestly on anxiety that is ever-present

Article by evrovizija.com, written by Alesh Maatko, originally published on 7.2.2024.

Joker Out / Photo: Urša Premik

The Song 'Everybody's Waiting' is coming

Just before a big European tour, Joker Out will present a new track, undoubtedly one of their most magnificent songs to date - Everybody's Waiting. This is the band's first release after their temporary move from their native Ljubljana to London, where they were driven by the desire to create a new album. Everybody's Waiting focuses on personal thoughts and reflections that accompany many young people these days. The premiere of Joker Out's new single will take place on Friday, the 16th of February.

Joker Out on Anxiety

The song Everybody's Waiting grew out of Bojan's sudden bouts of anxiety on stage and in everyday life. In an increasingly fast-paced society driven by success and individualism, anxiety is now, unstoppably, on the rise, but it still seems to be somehow overlooked and ignored. A song can act as a valve that offers the listener the opportunity to recognise himself as the main protagonist of the story, recognise his own feelings and release the tension.

The song was written last summer, when the band was recording the song Sunny Side of London in the Beatracks studio in Kočevje. It was produced by their longtime producer Žarko Pak, the mix was created by Sebastian Krys, and the final sound was provided by Maor Appelbaum. In the music video, which will also be premiered on the 16th of February, we will be able to follow the story of the protagonist, who struggles with his inner battles in the comfort of his own house, while the band, almost like an apparition, pours out its soul through its instruments around him. The video highlights the deep introspective nature of the song, while hinting at the role of music and art in overcoming personal challenges. Bojan took care of the direction in tandem with the long-time collaborator of the band, Mark Pirc.

Slovenija 2023: Joker Out – Carpe Diem | Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

The 'See You Soon' Tour

The new single comes two weeks before the start of the big European tour 'See You Soon', which takes the band to as many as 13 countries, including France, Belgium and Italy for the first time. It promises 22 concerts at some of the world's most iconic venues, including the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. The dates of some festival concerts are also known, including EXIT (July 10-14, Novi Sad), Sziget (August 7-12, Budapest) and Sea Star (May 23-26, Umag).

At the end of last year, Joker Out also released the album and concert film 'Live From Arena Stožice', which was created at their revolutionary concert in Ljubljana's Arena Stožice, in front of 12,000 fans. The album can be found on all music streaming platforms and an exclusive concert film directed by Mark Pirc is available on demand on the band's website.

The unique concert in Stožice that is still making waves. | Photo: Vita Orehek

With photos by Urša Premik, Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU, and Vita Orehek.

Translation by vessyvk, reviewed by @kurooscoffee, proofeead by IG GBoleyn123

If you repost quotes from the interview, please link back to this post! And if you repost the photos, do not crop out the photographer credit.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Published: Jul 13, 2023

As experienced professionals involved in direct care for the rapidly growing numbers of gender-diverse youth, the evaluation of medical evidence or both, we were surprised by the Endocrine Society’s claims about the state of evidence for gender-affirming care for youth (Letters, July 5). Stephen Hammes, president of the Endocrine Society, writes, “More than 2,000 studies published since 1975 form a clear picture: Gender-affirming care improves the well-being of transgender and gender-diverse people and reduces the risk of suicide.” This claim is not supported by the best available evidence.

Every systematic review of evidence to date, including one published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, has found the evidence for mental-health benefits of hormonal interventions for minors to be of low or very low certainty. By contrast, the risks are significant and include sterility, lifelong dependence on medication and the anguish of regret. For this reason, more and more European countries and international professional organizations now recommend psychotherapy rather than hormones and surgeries as the first line of treatment for gender-dysphoric youth.

Dr. Hammes’s claim that gender transition reduces suicides is contradicted by every systematic review, including the review published by the Endocrine Society, which states, “We could not draw any conclusions about death by suicide.” There is no reliable evidence to suggest that hormonal transition is an effective suicide-prevention measure.

The politicization of transgender healthcare in the U.S. is unfortunate. The way to combat it is for medical societies to align their recommendations with the best available evidence—rather than exaggerating the benefits and minimizing the risks.

This letter is signed by 21 clinicians and researchers from nine countries.

FINLAND Prof. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, M.D., Ph.D. Tampere University Laura Takala, M.D., Ph.D. Chief Psychiatrist, Alkupsykiatria Clinic

UNITED KINGDOM Prof. Richard Byng, M.B.B.Ch., Ph.D. University of Plymouth Anna Hutchinson, D.Clin.Psych. Clinical psychologist, The Integrated Psychology Clinic Anastassis Spiliadis, Ph.D.(c) Director, ICF Consultations

SWEDEN Angela Sämfjord, M.D. Senior consultant, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Sven Román, M.D. Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

NORWAY Anne Wæhre, M.D., Ph.D. Senior consultant, Oslo University Hospital

BELGIUM Em. Prof. Patrik Vankrunkelsven, M.D. Ph.D. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Honorary senator Sophie Dechêne, M.R.C.Psych. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Beryl Koener, M.D., Ph.D. Child and adolescent psychiatrist

FRANCE Prof. Celine Masson, Ph.D. Picardy Jules Verne University Psychologist, Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants Co-director, Observatory La Petite Sirène Caroline Eliacheff, M.D. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Co-director, Observatory La Petite Sirène Em. Prof. Maurice Berger, M.D. Ph.D. Child psychiatrist

SWITZERLAND Daniel Halpérin, M.D. Pediatrician

SOUTH AFRICA Prof. Reitze Rodseth, Ph.D. University of Kwazulu-Natal Janet Giddy, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H. Family physician and public-health expert Allan Donkin, M.B.Ch.B. Family physician

UNITED STATES Clin. Prof. Stephen B. Levine, M.D. Case Western Reserve University Clin. Prof. William Malone, M.D. Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine Director, Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine Prof. Patrick K. Hunter, M.D. Florida State University Pediatrician and bioethicist

Transgenderism has been highly politicized—on both sides. There are those who will justify any hormonal-replacement intervention for any young person who may have been identified as possibly having gender dysphoria. This is dangerous, as probably only a minority of those so identified truly qualify for this diagnosis. On the other hand, there are those who wouldn’t accept any hormonal intervention, regardless of the specifics of the individual patients.

Endocrinologists aren’t psychiatrists. We aren’t the ones who can identify gender-dysphoric individuals. The point isn’t to open the floodgates and offer an often-irreversible treatment to all people who may have issues with their sexuality, but to determine who would truly benefit from it.

Jesus L. Penabad, M.D. Tarpon Springs, Fla.

[ Via: https://archive.today/IRShy ]

==

The gender lobotomists just got called out.

[love-me-a-lotta-whump]

로기완 - My Name is Loh Ki Wan - 2024 - Whump List - 🇰🇷

Whumpee: 로기완 (Loh Ki Wan) played by 송중기 (Song Joong Gi)

Synopsis: Loh Ki Wan is a North Korean defector. He has arrived in the unfamiliar country of Belgium from China because of his mother. He wants to start a new life in the country, but his only hope for him to stay is to receive refugee status from the Belgian government. He then meets Marie. She is a Korean who received Belgian citizenship. Unlike Loh Ki Wan, who came to Belgium to live a new life, Marie doesn't have a reason to live. They have an unpleasant first meeting but fall in love with each other. (MDL)

Genre/Tags: Refugee, Survival, Romance, Collapse, Drugged, Constant Emotional & Physical Whump

Watch On: Netflix (Original), DramaCool, KissAsian

⚠️Caution: this film contains a couple s**cide attempts as well as a few mentions of the topic)⚠️

WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW

0:56 - stressed, bloody hands, exhausted

13:08 - coughing

15:53 - asleep in the hall

17:16 - freezing, having to sleep in a public bathroom, curling in on himself

18:30 - throwing up

21:28 - scared, repeatedly kicked, robbed, stumbling, freezing, fell into cold water, collapsed, shaking, heavy breathing, bloody face

24:20 - (flashbacks: scared, chased, found his mother dead)

28:00 - asleep, robbed

28:40 - anxious, emotional, angry, crying, (flashbacks: told his uncle sold his mother’s body, crying), trying to commit s**cide, stopped, fought, manhandled, slapped, scolded, held, trying to clean her blood off of the asphalt, stressed, bloody hands, exhausted, crying, sobbing, grieving)

41:29 - desperate, fought, grabbed, thrown

49:20 - trapped in a walk-in, anxious, semi scolded

1:10:42 - harassed, thrown, fell

1:13:12 - asleep in a cell

1:16:00 - upset, scared, crying, begging to know why he was betrayed

1:19:36 - semi stumbling, holding his wounded hand, using a wall for support, concerned for someone

1:30:09 - stopping someone from hurting themselves, bloody hand

1:30:35 - concerned for someone, scared, bloody hand, taking drugs to stop someone else from doing it, collapsed, shaking, concern for him, coughing up liquid, asleep, pale, concern for him, barely conscious, struggling to speak

1:37:30 - traumatic past reveal, comforted, held while he cried

1:46:53 - concerned for someone, grabbed, thrown, kicked, fought, kicked in the ribs, fell, grabbed, strangled, attacked with a knife, concerned for someone, covered in blood, shaking

———+———

MORE WHUMP LISTS >>> {x}

Side note/translation note: The title I’m seeing on Netflix (my Netflix language is set to Korean) is just “Loh Ki Wan” However tbh the English title fits the story better. (If you watch the whole thing then you’ll see why)

[universalcowboyclown2006]

Headcanons about California (Long text):

• California is a white latino.

Reasons? He gives the vibes of being a white latino with Vitamin D deficiency because of not leaving too much his apartment and having a poor diet (the vitamin D deficiency it's a projection), also for genetics.

• Him, Baja California and Baja California Sur need glasses to see because the three of them have astigmatism. (Funfact: California and Baja share the San Andrés fault)

• When he was a spanish and then a mexican territory, he used to be taller than Texas and had long hair. A very long hair but he didn't knew how to take care of it so Yucatan had to do it because she was the closest thing he had of an older sister.

• He joined to the american side in the Mexican-American war, not because he had no choice but because he wanted to leave Mexico... Except he left Baja California behind and abandon him (this was before Baja California Sur born).

(• Talking about Yucatan, she was the older sister for mostly the mexican states and for Texas, New Mexico and California, especially for Texas.)

• He's losing his ability to tolerate spicy food thanks to the american food.

• He had relationships, affairs or just a situationship with another human representations around the world beside the states:

Those were:

- Bahamas (he broke her heart and Florida almost broke California in half) (affair)

- Tokyo (she just used him but nobody believes him thanks to her calm and educated demeanor; don't have her as your enemy...NEVER...) (unknown status)

- London (Him and London were so toxic for each other) (affair)

- Buenos Aires (Latinoamerica started to hate him because he wasn't a nice guy towards her, even if he's a feminist and even if Latinoamerica didn't like her. Otherwise, Buenos Aires has a draft tweet (not only on Twitter) about California and all his personal information that could ruin him forever; she obtained the information from Tokyo) (relationship)

- Zurich (Zurich's first and last relationship because he develop an anxious attachment style and Cali is one of the reasons he goes to therapy) (Situationship/Relationship, it was pretty confusing)

- Saint Petersburg (Oh god...he...their relationship it's a confidential document top secret and no one knows they were something except for Tokyo) (unknown affair)

- Seoul (She thought he was different from the men of her country, Seoul was right but the stereotypes she saw on America about her country and other asian countries make her broke up with California; this was the healthiest broke up that Seoul had but the most painful for Cali, he loved her so much and the relationship was cute for both of them.) (Relationship)

- Belgium (California broke up with him but Belgium still loved him (Belgium is a cinnamon roll until you discover what he did in the Democratic Republic of Congo))(Relationship)

Etc.

• Usually when he has a problem with a country, he uses his "What if I'm a country?" status to be taken seriously, think that doesn't work and ask for help from Gov at the end.

That's it, bye bye!!

(Edit 14/04/2024: Cali's relationship with London was an affair, not a formal one)

[hero-israel]

--------------------------------------------------

Amazing how uncritically modern leftists, who won't even say "Rhodes Scholar," will leap to defend 150-year-old white Englishmen if they seem to be good on Palestine for ten seconds.

Fucking ARNOLD TOYNBEE. Really!

Toynbee uses the term "Judaic" to describe episodes of "extreme brutality," even where Jews themselves were not involved, as in the Gothic persecution of the Christians.  More generally, throughout the first eight volumes of his civilization series, Toynbee often refers to the Jewish people as a "fossil remnant," implying that Judaism was defined by its "fanaticism," its "provincialism," and its "exclusivity," whose value derived solely from its role as a seedbed for the superior civilization and moral code of Christianity.

By characterizing Judaism as a morally primitive belief-system based on the idea of Jews as a "master race," and then asserting that Jews' claim to Israel is based on this premise, Toynbee figures Zionism as "kindred to Nazism." On the other hand, Toynbee argues that by failing to accept their fate as a diaspora community and trying instead to replace the "traditional Jewish hope of an eventual Restoration of Israel to Palestine on God's initiative through the agency of a divinely inspired Messiah," Zionist Jews have the same "impious" relationship to their religion as Communists do to Christianity. Having thus equated Zionism with both Nazism and Communism, Toynbee asserts:

On the Day of Judgement, the gravest crime standing to the German National Socialists' account might be, not that they had exterminated a majority of the Western Jews, but that they had caused the surviving remnant of Jewry to stumble.

What was delightful was that an actual Jew made this colonizing motherfucker eat his words!

Toynbee explained that he did not intend to statistically equate the actions of the Nazis with those of Israel’s founders, but rather simply to draw a moral comparison: that individual massacres committed by Israeli forces in 1948 were no different than those perpetrated by the Germans against the Jews. “If I murder one man, that makes me a murderer,” he observed. “I don’t have to reach the thousand mark or the million mark to be a murderer.”

Herzog pounced on this point, turning Toynbee’s own scholarship against him. “Now, Professor, in volume four, page 128F, of your Study of History you say, ‘In the history of man’s attempt at civilization hitherto, there has never been any society whose progress and civilization has gone so far that in times of revolution or war, its members could be relied upon not to commit atrocities,’ ” Herzog recited. He then listed all the nations Toynbee himself implicated in this charge: the Germans in Belgium in 1914, the British in Ireland in 1920, the French in Syria, and many others throughout history—including, of course, the Nazis.

Herzog then added one group that Toynbee had omitted: “Do you agree that there were also Arab massacres of Jewish civilians?” Herzog made reference to such cases, asking, “Were these also in the category of Nazi atrocities? And if so, why don’t you say that both sides did things in such a category? Why do you choose us? Why do you single us out? Why don’t you write of Britain and of almost every country in the world according to your own definition?”

After several minutes of such questioning, Toynbee conceded the point. “I agree that most societies have committed atrocities, but I do not think that condones atrocities,” he said. “I agree with you on that,” Herzog quickly responded. “But do you agree that this comparison can be applied on the universal level to any country which in war its soldiers have committed atrocities against civilians?” Toynbee had to concur: “Yes, atrocities are atrocities and murder is murder, whoever commits it.” Herzog asked if Toynbee would similarly stigmatize “Arab atrocities against Jewish civilian populations,” and those committed by the United States. “Of course,” the professor replied.

With that admission, Herzog essentially disarmed the historian. After all, if every nation had behaved like the Nazis, then the charge was divested of moral meaning. “In other words,” Herzog concluded, “the Nazi pall lies across the world, before the Nazis came … and after they have gone.” Jews, then, were no more prone to immoral conduct than any other people, and Israel no more and no less guilty than any other modern state.

@laast-in-tranz-lay-shn

[nyoomfruits]

fics that are essential landoscar lore to you 3 2 1 go

[shoves the enitre contents of the ao3 landoscar tag at you] there you go :)

IN ALL SERIOUSNESS. this is so hard why would you ask this of me aaahhhh but OKAY.

(below a read more because uuuuh. this accidentally got really long)

how much can you fit (under your skin) by cloudcollector | E | 4,5k

Oscar has biteable thighs. Lando has teeth.

this one is self explanatory and what prompted you to send me this ask i think. anyway i've said this before but even if you dont like thighs you will come out of this a thigh lover. also 10/10 dynamic like everything is so!!! about this fic. introduced reading oscar to the world which i think should be a staple in all landoscar fics actually

Negative splits by leafmealone | T | 10k

So officially, Oscar Piastri, pretty good steepler and pretty bad pacer, was now a professional runner. They wanted him to steeple, mostly, though he’d be doing cross country in the fall, and Lando had pinky promised him, mid-distance guy to mid-distance guy, that if he wanted to get into the 3k flat indoor then he would get him in. Oscar didn’t really want to ask how he planned on doing that. Felt safer not to ask.

very important landoscar lore to me personally which if you've been following me a while you probably know why. anyway 10/10 and a must read makes me feel very insane every time. also leaf did put the sports boys in another sport as well which is also mandatory reading in my personal opinion.

only found by eisenberg | T | 7k

“Hey, well. No strings attached, right?” Oscar says, strategically. Lando smiles and says, “hell yeah. And now that that’s established, what’s your stance on aliens? Also, do you still want your cake?” -- cinderella soulmates au where whatever you lose, your soulmate finds. except: oscar has a soulmate and lando is a No-Match, a person who doesn't have a soulmate.

what is a mandatory reading list without a soulmate au truly. AND LET ME TELL YOU. 10/10. dynamic is of the charts fantastic, beautifully captures the differences between lando and oscar but why they work anyway and gaaahhh. sometimes i just stare at the ceiling for three hours and think about this fic no biggie

what would you do (if I went to touch you now)? by laceyamethyst | E | 30k

“Okay, so they both like each other. We need to get them together.” “How? Lando’s too freaked out to think straight and Oscar is the human embodiment of the standing man emoji.” Charles purses his lips for a moment before he snatches his boyfriend’s phone up from the other side of the table. “What are you doing?” “Initiating Mission Landoscar.” “Did you just make that up?” Charles waves at him dismissively as he begins texting, and Max lays his head down on the coffee table and prays for strength. *** In which Max tries to prove to an oblivious Charles how glaringly obvious it is that Lando is head over heels in love with Oscar. When Charles finally gets with the program, Lestappen go on A Mission™ to get the two idiots to admit their feelings for each-other, but it’s easier said than done.

first of all this fic is perfect, show stopping, laugh out loud funny. SECOND OF ALL this fic is the best way to bully your lestappen friends into shipping landoscar because it actually has a super sweet established relationship lestappen side plot. also this whole fic is from max's pov which means you get a beautiful outsider pov look at the complete chaos that is lando and oscar pining for each other. delightfull really.

Your Plans (And Those Slow Hands) by xxcelientje | E | 4k

He could probably fit both of Oscar’s hands in one of his own, he could for sure use one hand to hold both of Oscar’s wrist and an idea entered his mind. He smiled at Oscar. ‘You like my hands?’ Oscar’s cheeks reddened even more as he nodded, his eyes still on their joined fingers. ‘They fascinate me,’ he admitted, biting his lip. OR: Lando and Oscar have some fun (and share some feelings) after the Belgium GP

just like the thigh fic will give you a thing for oscar's thighs this will give you a thing for lando's hands. gaahhh their dynamic in this is just so!!!!!!!!! the way theyre so HORNY for each other 10/10

carried away by venerat | E | 22k

“Oscar,” Lando said. “Don’t hate me, alright, but I've—”

did you really think i was going to do a mandatory reading list without a venerat fic???? lmao. anyway all of venerat's stuff is mandatory but this one is my personal fave i think. TOP TIER dynamic truly, and its FAKE DATING. what more can a person want really

change the weather by sharls | E | 5k

Lando knows what a thong is, of course he does—but the team needs content, the team needs clicks, and he just so happens to be well-versed in the art of going viral.

is a mandatory landoscar reading list really complete without a thong fic??? i think not. and this is so!!!!!!!!! everything about this just Makes Sense. if you told me this had actually happened i would be like. yeah. that checks out. very incredibly in character and just !!!!!!! very hot and funny and perfect.

all right theres a lot more but??? i promised myself i would rec only 5 fics and this is already 7, so... i'll stop here. for now

[thethief1996]

Here's a list of upcoming events in support of Palestine:

ALBANY, NY (US) – Sun Oct 29, 12 pm, West Capitol Park, Washington Ave and S Swan St. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4E2xxJT54/

ANTWERP, BELGIUM – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, Sint-Jansplein. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy7z0ZnN1uT/

ATHENS, GREECE – Sun Oct 29, 11:30 am, Metro Evangelismos. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8bhiMIoDh/

AUSTIN, TX (US) – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, Texas Capitol. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyyrpZnJC3_/

BERLIN, GERMANY – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Sonnendeck im Westpark, Gleisdreieckpark

BERLIN, GERMANY – Sun Oct 29, 6 pm, Hermannplatz

BILBAO, BASQUE COUNTRY – Sun Oct 29, 6 pm, Bihotz Sakratutik. Info: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=716646197162773&set=pcb.716637363830323

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – Sun Oct 29, 12:30 pm, Barclays, High Street. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8eCTNophn/

CAERNARFON, WALES – Sun Oct 29, Maes. Info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/303482486838722

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (US)– Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Colorado Springs City Hall. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy36OhUPtP7/?img_index=5

DEN HAAG, NETHERLANDS – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Malieveld. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyzFb9pI5rX/?img_index=3

DENVER, CO (US) – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Colorado Capitol. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy58qQALzp4/

DERRY, IRELAND – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, Free Derry Corner. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy79d9EsLxp/

DURANGO, CO (US) – Sun Oct 29, 4:30 pm, Buckley Park, 12th St and Main Ave. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy36OhUPtP7/?img_index=6

EDMONTON, CANADA – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Churchill Square, march to Violet Henry King Plaza. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6l5kEyKBp/?img_index=1

EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – Sun Oct 29, 6:15 pm, Silent March. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CywSp76ouui/?img_index=1

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (US) – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, 299 East Broward Blvd (Federal Courthouse). Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3sBHsJfzz/

GHENT, BELGIUM – Sun Oct 29, 4 pm, Stadshallen. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy7z0ZnN1uT/

GRANADA, SPAIN – Sun Oct 29, 1 pm, Jardines del Triunfo. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cys_3qPoXw0/?img_index=1

HOUSTON, TX (US) – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, City Hall, 901 Bagby St. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6iXjigiN9/

LAS VEGAS, NV (US) – Sun Oct 29, 4 pm, 333 S Las Vegas Blvd. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3edR_L_sE/

LEEUWARDEN, NETHERLANDS – Sun Oct 29, 4 pm, Stationsplein. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8gvdBobZ8/

LISBON, PORTUGAL – Sun Oct 29, 3:30 pm, Martin Moniz Square.

LONDON, ON (CANADA) – Sun Oct 29, 12 pm, Western University. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy9CGDkOpCK/

MADRID, SPAIN – Sun Oct 29, 12 pm, Atocha. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6H79nqVGD/

MAO, SPAIN – Sun Oct 29, 6 pm, Pl. Esplanada. Info: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=716646140496112&set=pcb.716637363830323

MCALLEN, TX (US) – Sun Oct 29, 5 pm, Archer Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyzQ_WfRrkC/

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Sun Oct 29, 12 pm , State Library. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyxBu-GB068/?img_index=7

MEMPHIS, TN (US) – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, FedEx Forum to Tom Lee Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy7O9BJuL32/

NASHVILLE, TN (US) – Sun Oct 29, 4:30 pm, Fred D Thompson Federal Bldg, 719 Church St. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy7llxyu8Tq/

NEWARK, NJ (US) – Sun Oct 29, 1:30 pm, 920 Broad St. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6OjhnuA3e/

NEW PLYMOUTH, NEW ZEALAND – Sun Oct 29, 1 pm, The Landing. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3y_7RJ-7J/

NURNBERG GERMANY – Sun OCt 29, 3 pm, Kornmarkt

ORLANDO, FL (US) – Sun Oct 29, 5 pm, Orlando City Hall. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyzKXS5sl6f/

OTTAWA, CANADA – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Parliament Hill. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6bAGfRmGM/

PERRYSBURG, OH (US) – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, 10576 Fremont Pike. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy7XWqSN6q7/

PHILADELPHIA, PA (US) – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, City Hall West Side. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy045GWrQuk/

PISCATAWAY, NJ (US) – Sun Oct 29, 1:30 pm, MCMC, 1000 Hoes Lane, Drive for Palestine. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4WRLHu3jccM1saN9BFQdHx1aGEMrbaPNE5wY0/

RALEIGH, NC (US) – Sun Oct 29, 4 pm, Moore Square, 201 S Blount. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4IwhURhSO/

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, Neue Mitte Lehen. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyxsStRMTyE/

SALINAS, CA (US) – Sun Oct 29, 12 noon, Boronda and North Main. Info: https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/10/23/18859834.php

SAN JOSE, CA (US) – Sun Oct 29, 1 pm, SJ Ciy Hall, 200 E Santa Clara St. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4pO7Org29/

SANTA ROSA, CA (US) – Sun Oct 29, 11 am, Old Courthouse Square, Third Street.

SCRANTON, PA (US) – Sun Oct 29, 12 pm, Lackawanna County Courthouse

ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND (CANADA) – Sun Oct 29, 1:30 pm, Harbourside Park.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Sun Oct 29, 1 pm, Hyde Park North. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyxBu-GB068/?img_index=10

TORONTO, CANADA – Sun Oct 29, 2 pm, US Consulate, 360 University Ave. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy0-N2-JpO0/

VALENCIA, SPAIN – Sun Oct 29, 12 pm, Placa Reina. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy0KUQIq-jl/

WATERBURY, CT (US) – Sun Oct 29, 3 pm, City Hall. Info: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1715808265508048&set=a.124168471338710&type=3&mibextid=cr9u03

WORCESTER, MA (US) – Sun Oct 29, 3:30 pm, Worcester City Hall. Info: https://masspeaceaction.org/event/protest-with-justice-for-all-in-worcester-stand-with-palestine/

CLEVELAND, OH (US) – Mon Oct 30, 5 pm, 601 Lakeside E. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6D8RogwWT/

ESSEX, ENGLAND – Mon Oct 30, 6 pm, Square 2-5. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy81di8oy9N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

IRVINE, CA (US) – Mon Oct 30, 7 pm, Ring Road by Langston Library, UCI. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy17TjfJBFV/

LAS VEGAS, NV (US) – Mon Oct 30, 11 am, Free Speech Walkway, UNLV. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3ae38rkGe/

MANHATTAN, KS (US) – Mon Oct 30, 6 pm, Triangle Park. Info: https://actionnetwork.org/events/palestinian-liberation-rally

TROY, NY (US) – Mon Oct 30,  5pm, Riverfront Park. Info: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=309545841705829&set=a.177000064960408

TUFTS UNIVERSITY (US) – Mon Oct 30, 11:45 am, Lower Campus Center. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4OXa7LIty/?img_index=1

FORT WAYNE, IN (US) – Tues Oct 31, 5 pm, Allen County Courthouse. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/638151171839892/

[BIDEN WILL BE HERE!!!] MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Wed Nov 1. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4n_chs1q_/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

SAINT PAUL, MN - Every Friday, 4-5 PM, Corner of Snelling and Summit Ave.

ABERDARE, WALES – Wed Nov 1, 5:30 pm, Library. Info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/303482486838722

OXFORD, ENGLAND – Wed Nov 1, 5 pm, Manzil Way to Bonn Square. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyv-w5wIK4_/

SEVILLA, SPAIN – Wed Nov 1, 7 pm, Plaza Virgen de los Reyes. Info: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=716671617160231&set=pcb.716637363830323

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – Wed Nov 1, 1 pm, Sheffield Town Hall. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3H3HPsJPp/?img_index=1

ST PAUL, MN (US) – Fri Nov 3, 4 pm, Snelling and Summit Ave. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4oFPTMVzq/

BERLIN, GERMANY – Sat Nov 4, 2 pm, Neptunbrunnen to Alexanderplatz. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy5tpQAsx0J/

BURLINGTON, VT (US) – Sat Nov 4, 1 pm, Battery Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy5_1OCuoWw/

ROME, ITALY – Sat Nov 4, Rome. Info TBA: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyndKUitnMU/

SANTIAGO, CHILE – Sat Nov 4, 11 am, desde el GAM. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy59hQiu411/

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Sat Nov 4, 1 pm, 32 Mugyo-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy5cGxOpSCA/

WASHINGTON, DC (USA) – Sat Nov 4, 2 pm, Freedom Plaza. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyiecRtr9-B/

ZARAGOZA, SPAIN – Sat Nov 4, 6 pm, Glorieta Sasera to Plaza del Pilar. Info: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=716671587160234&set=pcb.716637363830323

BARRY TOWN, WALES – Sun Nov 5, 12 pm, King Square. Info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/303482486838722

CAERNARFON, WALES – Sun Nov 5, 6:30 pm, Maes. Info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/303482486838722

STUTTGART, GERMANY – Sun Nov 5, 3 pm, Schlossplatz

VALLEKAS, SPAIN – Sun Nov 5, 12 pm, Metro Buenos Aires. Info: https://twitter.com/IUMadridRetiro/status/1718229817366044883/photo/4

Feel free to add more!

[ctitan98official]

Mother Miranda angst drabble

When you had first met Miranda she was a beautiful, thriving young mother with a lovely daughter named Eva… Tragedy strikes and Miranda changes… A lot. (This one made me legit sad for a second)

TW/CW: Mentions of suicidal ideation, child death, and slight gore. Please be safe and take care of yourself.

August, 10th - September, 13th 1914

You had been traveling through Eastern Europe on a solo trip to research various plants and their medicinal properties. The Great War had broken out just one month prior and you had volunteered to join the medical corps. You were desperate to find anything that could help your country and its allies heal their wounded. You happened across a small farming village in a remote part of Romania. You were relieved to see that it had remained untouched by the destruction of war. Some of the towns that you had passed on your journey were unrecognizable as the fighting forced people to flee from their homelands amid brutal attacks.

As you walked through the village, trying to acclimate yourself, you ran across a young girl who couldn’t have been more than five or six years old. You smiled and waved at her which caused her to burst into a fit of giggles. She cheerfully ran up to you and asked you what your name was.

“Hello! I’m Y/N. What’s your name?” You asked her.

“My name’s Eva! I’m five!” She grinned back at you and pointed at your medical corps uniform. “I like your costume!”

You couldn’t help but laugh and playfully salute at the little girl’s exuberance. It was nice to have a pleasant interaction after seeing so much pain and misery. Suddenly, one of the most gorgeous women you had ever laid your eyes on walked up and gently scolded Eva for bothering you. She had luscious golden brown hair and the intensity of her inquisitive blue eyes made your heart skip a beat.

“Eva, let’s not bother this nice person, alright? I’m sure they are busy.” The woman spoke in a velvety voice.

“Sorry, mommy.” Eva offered up sheepishly.

You blushed and stood up straighter when you noticed the woman staring at you. “No trouble at all, ma'am! We were just getting acquainted. Right, Eva?”

The little girl hid behind her mother’s legs, now shy, but nodded her head happily.

“Well, I can’t say we have had the pleasure of being introduced. I’m Miranda.” The woman held out a dainty hand for you to take which you did gladly.

You were a mess.

“O-oh! That’s right! I’m Y/N, I’m new here- well, actually I’m just passing through. T-to do some research!”

Miranda’s eyes sparkled with curiosity and she grinned softly. “Well, it seems I’m in good company. I am a studying scholar myself, however, I had to defer some of my education because of this little one.” Miranda turned and rubbed Eva’s head affectionately making the girl smile at her in adoration.

Your heart warmed at such a gentle display of love. You explained that you had been sent on a research mission to find healing plants to make salves and medicines with. You and Miranda hit it off immediately. She had so much knowledge and wisdom for somebody so young. You both worked side by side to come up with formulations and solutions.

You ended up spending a month in the tiny village with Miranda and Eva. You grew fond of the pair and felt yourself starting to fall for the brilliant woman before you were assigned to frontline medical care. When you left, Miranda gave you a locket with a picture of her and Eva in it to remember them by. You promised that you would write to her and that as soon as you got leave you would be back. She shocked you by giving you a tender kiss on the lips. She said that she would wait for you.

September, 30th 1914 - March, 16th 1915

Being a frontline medic was a scary and dangerous job. You worked hard and tried to help as many people as you could. You were stationed in Belgium for a few months while you tried to heal broken bodies. You made sure to write Miranda every chance you got. Sadly, a surprise attack killed most of the troops in one of your assigned trenches one night and badly burned your right leg. You were soon medically discharged from the medical corps, so you decided to make the trek back to the small village.

March, 28th 1915

When you arrived, people from the village recognized you and ran to get Miranda. When Miranda came out and saw you, she wept happy tears to see you back again. She ran up to hug you (being careful not hurt your injured leg) and held you tight. Eva was not far behind as she smiled and ran up to hug your legs. She was delighted to have her friend back.

Not long after this happy reunion, you had proposed marriage to Miranda and she excitedly accepted. You, Miranda and Eva led a peaceful and happy life for many years, unsuspecting of the hardships you would face.

October, 25th 1919

You and Miranda lived and worked in her home as healers for the village. Earlier that year, you had gotten some correspondence from old buddies who were in the medical corps with you. They warned of a serious strain of influenza that was wreaking havoc across Europe. You had looked into the limited reports about it that you could get in your village, but so far, much like the war, the village had seemingly been untouched by the disease.

November, 10th - November, 12th 1919

A few villagers complained two days ago of headaches, fevers and body aches. As scary as those symptoms were in light of the pandemic gripping Europe and other continents, you and Miranda had reasoned that there was not enough trade coming in and out of the village to warrant too much concern, although you both had always been advocates of personal hygiene and hand washing. Now, it seems those same villagers had taken a turn for the worst. Fevers that you normally dealt with in this region would typically break within twenty-four hours, however this illness was clinging on and not letting go. The apparent outbreak was also causing multiple people to present with the same symptoms almost immediately after coming in contact with the infected. This suggested a high likelihood of fast onset and an even faster incubation rate. Once you and Miranda returned home to get some rest, you both made sure to wash thoroughly and keep away from Eva as a precaution.

November 13th - November 21st 1919

Eva had woken up with a stuffy nose and a fever a few days after the illness had started spreading through the village. Miranda stayed home and watched her while you went out to help others. Eva did not have particularly severe symptoms, so you were praying that her young and otherwise healthy immune system would wipe out the disease.

As time wore on, Eva began to decline. Her spunky blue eyes started to dull with each passing hour. You were so scared. Terrified that you would lose the little girl who you loved as your own flesh and blood. While you remained rather stoic, Miranda was outwardly panicking. Every time Eva would break out into a coughing fit Miranda could feel her heart drop to her stomach. Your wife began lashing out at you and blaming you for having brought home this plague to your daughter. You felt guilty, but to be fair, both you and Miranda had been out tending to the sick. Also, there was little you could do without vaccines and effective medicines to treat this illness.

Finally, on November 21st 1919 your worst nightmare became a reality. Eva took her last breath in her mother’s arms. Your little playmate and constant companion was gone. You screamed and cried while Miranda was eerily silent. After a few hours, she calmly cleaned Eva’s body, dressed her in her finest clothes and buried your darling girl near the tree she always used to play by. You both were sobbing as you said your goodbyes, but Miranda seemed so broken. She couldn’t function.

November, 29th 1919

After multiple relatively sleepless nights, one morning you awoke to an empty bed. Miranda’s side of the bed was cold, alerting you to the fact that she had been up for a while. You thudded into the kitchen with what little energy you had only to find a note on the table. As you read through the note from Miranda you felt a sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. Miranda kept saying how she needed to be with Eva and how she deserved to have her mother with her. You were scared your wife might try to hurt herself.

You started searching for Miranda all over the village. You eventually came to a large cave and wandered inside to look for your wife. As you called out Miranda’s name, a somewhat familiar blonde woman appeared in front of you. She had swept back hair and a piercing silver stare. You fell onto your back in fright at what had become of your beloved Miranda. You called her name and she was immediately at your side explaining how she had somehow seen Eva’s consciousness when she touched the root of a large fungal colony. You couldn’t believe your ears and ushered Miranda to come back home. You hated to do it, but you had to snuff out any hope Miranda had of getting Eva back. She was gone and holding on like this would only prolong you and Miranda’s suffering.

“Miranda, she’s gone. Eva is gone! You have to accept this! It’s not healthy to ignore reality!” You had pleaded with her.

Miranda surged forward with a feat of strength you had never seen her possess and slammed you so hard into one of the cave walls you were afraid it might disintegrate. She grabbed you by the throat and yelled at you. “You know nothing of what I feel! Eva is MY daughter, not yours! If you won’t help me, I have other ways of making you useful!”

Miranda’s words cut you to the core, but you knew (hoped) that she was just lashing out from her grief and she didn’t really mean what she said.

Miranda’s grip on your throat tightened as she dragged you back to the lab in your home. She roughly threw you into a chair and tied you down with rope. Miranda was a completely different person now. Her sweet but direct manner had all but vanished. What you were looking at now was a shell of a woman with only one ambition. Miranda took out a jar from her coat that seemed to contain samples of the fungal colony she was talking about. She came over to you before ripping the front of your shirt open.

“Miranda! What are you doing?! Stop this!” You said to Miranda.

In her all-consuming rage, the now deranged woman slapped you in the face and yelled at you to shut up.

“I’ll have my Eva back!” She shrieked at you.

Miranda grabbed a scalpel and started mercilessly cutting into the flesh of your chest to reach your heart. You writhed in agony as Miranda mutilated you. Miranda eventually grabbed a pair of tweezers and picked up a sample of the fungus before placing it next to your still beating heart in the hopes that it would attach itself to the organ.

As soon as the fungus began melding into your body, you started to scream and seize violently. Miranda watched in morbid fascination, and shame, as she saw what the fungus was doing to you. It seemed that her moment of pure mania had passed and she was seeing the effects of her lack of self-control.

Tears streamed down her face as your body stopped moving all together. She stared into your now unseeing eyes and wept as she realized you were dead. She choked out apologies as she laid her head on your lap. Miranda couldn’t believe the horrible act she had just committed. She had killed her own spouse in one of the most gruesome ways possible. She loathed herself and cried for hours by herself in that lab.

As she picked herself up off the floor, finally ready to lay you to rest, Miranda was now determined to get both you and Eva back. No matter the consequences…

Masterlist

[stephensmithuk]

His Last Bow

Originally titled in full "His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" and later "His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes", this was originally published in 1917.

It is the final story in His Last Bow, the final short story in the canon covered by Letters from Watson and agreed by all the key chronologists to be the final canon appearance of Holmes and Watson.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had openly supported British entry into the First World War in 1914.

The story came about after a visit to the Western Front in 1916; asked by a French general what Holmes was doing, Doyle had responded that he was too old to serve. He then decided to write this story as a means of boosting morale.

To put it mildly, the British public had gone a bit spy-crazy in the lead up to the war; fearing "Teutons serving them croutons" i.e. Germans living in the UK acting as intelligence agents for the Kaiser.

The Riddle of the Sands is one such work of popular literature on this theme, which is the subject of Letters from Carruthers coming in September.

There was also the fantastical works of William Le Queux, who started off with the French and Russians as his enemies before switching to the Germans; he also had his works serialised in the Daily Mail, a British middle-market tabloid that was founded in 1896 and has been happily engaging in right-wing sensationalism since to the point Wikipedia has banned them as a source. Le Queux for his part believed the Germans were out to get him for exposing their spy networks - he hadn't, they weren't and the Metropolitan Police refused him protection.

The Benz company had produced the first practical motor car in 1885; they of course later merged with Daimler to become Mercedez-Benz. I cannot find a 100hp example of their vehicles.

The German Chancellor in 1914, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, was a moderate, who reluctantly went along with many German policies like unrestricted submarine warfare and tried to initiate peace proposals on a number of occasions in the war before being ousted in 1917.

Flushing is the historical English name for the Dutch port of Vlissingen; it had a ferry connection to Sheerness until 1994.

At the outbreak of war, diplomats on both sides were allowed to return home unmolested, after locking down their embassies and burning anything sensitive they could not take with them.

Britain, France and Prussia had signed a treaty in 1839 guaranteeing the neutrality and independence of Belgium. The German invasion of the country on 3 August gave the UK justification for war and moved a Cabinet divided over the matter to firm unity.

There was a fear of Irish civil war at this point; the Liberal government, reliant on Irish and Labour support for a Commons majority after the two elections of 1910, had passed legislation creating a devolved government for the island, called Home Rule. This was vehemently opposed by Ulster Protestants and both sides were receiving weapons - from Germany in fact - in preparation for a fight as Whitehall tried to arrange a compromise. The Germans in fact believed the British would be distracted by a civil war, but in fact the Home Rule legislation was suspended for the duration and both militias decided to support the war effort. That stopped things... until the more radicial Irish Republic Brotherhood launched the Easter Rising of 1916.

"Window-breaking Furies" refers to the suffragette movement that sort votes for women, some of who engaged in direct action like breaking windows and also planting bombs or arson, although they made sure the latter was done when the buildings were empty to avoid killing anyone. These tactics were as controversial at the time as the tactics of modern-day groups like Just Stop Oil. When the war broke out, the suffragettes stopped their militant actions and supported the war effort; their imprisoned members being released as part of an amnesty.

John Bull is a national personification of the UK, typically a stout middle-aged man in a Union Jack waistcoast, frequently seen in cartoons at this time. He rather fell out of popular use post-war and is rarely seen today, unlike Britannia, who remains a widely used figure.

The Rosyth Dockyard was built from 1909 for refitting Royal Navy ships and submarines; although now privatised, it retains that role and is currently building the five Type 31 frigates.

Carlton Terrace was the home of the German Embassy until 1945; after the war, the property and its contents were sold off at auction. The Federal Republic of Germany set up at Belgrave Square in 1951 and remains there to this day.

Junkers were the land-owning aristocracy of Prussia, who exercised considerable political power up until 1945, at which point most of their holdings ended up in the USSR, Poland or what became East Germany. The land was broken up, usually ending up in collective farms; accused of war crimes, those Junkers who ended up in Soviet hands frequently ended up in NKVD camps or even executed. Their descendants did not get them back after reunification.

The King's English is another name for Received Pronunciation, the "standard" dialect and accent of British English.

Tokay or Tokaji is a sweet wine from the Tokaj regions of Hungary and Slovakia, the designation being protected under EU law in a similar way to Champagne. Imperial Tokay, which was the highest quality Tokaji Essencia, was reserved for the Austrian imperial cellars, often being passed to other European monarchs as gifts. This stuff is still drinkable after over 200 years and even the relatively new stuff isn't cheap.

A naval flotilla would be based at Harwich in both World Wars.

The reference to Holmes being sixty here is where the common estimate of 1854 being his birth year comes from.

Portland is a prison and young offenders' institution in Dorset. Notable past inmates include George Edalji (whose miscarriage of justice was exposed by Doyle), John Babbacombe Lee ("The Man They Couldn't Hang") and the controversial comedian Roy "Chubby" Brown.

Fratton is an area of Portsmouth.

In reality, the Home Section of the Secret Service Bureau, later MI5, had managed to identify the key German agents by monitoring their postal correspondence. The police then rounded them up in August 1914 and once the cross-sea cables were cut, contact with any agents in the UK became close to impossible. Little intelligence of any use came from them in any event; the Germans seem to have not even been aware of the British Expeditionary Force being sent to France, which was hardly a small event. Gustav Steinhauer, head of German naval intelligence's British section, got subjected to a rant about his agency's incompetence from the Kaiser that lasted the better part of two hours.

Twelve German spies would be executed during the war, eleven by firing squad at the Tower of London, which hosted its final execution (also of a spy) in 1941.

Skibbareen is a town in County Cork, now in Ireland.

The final speech by Holmes at the end also featured in the 1942 Basil Rathbone film Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror, based on this story.

So Holmes and Watson drive off into the sunset. What happened to them after that? All we know is that both survived the war and at some point Dr Watson stopped writing about his dear friend. They deserve to have had a long retirement.

I will be doing these for the individual chapters of the novels next year; I have already done ones for the first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet that I will repost.