#stay strong kaiser fans

[nominote]

in honour of all the kaiser fans out there. rest in peace chapter 156-chapter 260

[xkseii]

⎮The magnificent bird and the golden cage⎮

⏤ Including → 18+ content

⏤ Warnings → implied yandere's behaviour, protectiveness, mention of violence, implied manipulation, unhealthy relationship

⏤ Summary → Who is the magnificent bird in the gold cage, and who keeps him locked there.

Part 1 → Alexis Ness, Michael Kaiser, Oliver Aiku & Julien Loki

✖︎ You are the magnificent golden pheasant, and he's the falconer.

✷ Despite his angelic face, Alexis Ness is more twisted than you thought. He hates not being in control or being able to see what you're doing and with whom.

✷ He needs to know everything, so he can protect you, even though he is aware that you can defend yourself fairly well. You are his treasure, the most beautiful bird, and he's convinced that you can't survive in the wild without him.

✷ Alexis has the habit of keeping you close, whether it's having your hand in his, an arm around your waist, or simply holding your sleeve. To function properly, he needs to feel your presence near him.

✷ It is also the same reason why he goes everywhere with you, to all his matches, even if it's in another country, he threatens the coach to not play if you aren't here. Whenever he gets out, you are by his side, and the paparazzi are always excited to take new pictures of you two.  

✷ The staff and his teammates are used to his behaviour, but they can't help but have chills going down their spines when Alexis glares at them just because they manage to catch your attention.

✷ Don't get him wrong, though, he has been and always will be the sweetest and kindest with you. And he will never let you see his more twisted side of himself, you only see him as protective of you.

✷ Alexis absolutely adores you.

✖︎ You locked yourselves together in a golden cage.

✷ Michael Kaiser has always been greedy and arrogant, along with being crazily possessive.

✷ It is what scared most of his past partners away, so he tried to keep it down when you got together. But one day, after someone tried to flirt with you in front of him, he snapped and did something unimaginable.

✷ He knew it was over between you from that moment, when he showed his true colours. And yet, you only smiled sweetly, helping him hide his mistake and continued on with your life. To say he was confused, was an understatement.

✷ Though, he understood why, not so long after. As he never imagined that you could be as bad, if not worse than him, especially when you almost bashed someone's head open publicly. Man did it gave him butterflies.

✷ You complete each other, he is on the aggressive side and takes his time, savouring it, while you are more manipulative and tend to end things quickly. He may have jokingly said in one of his interviews “we are a match made in hell”, the journalists far from knowing how true it was.

✷ Still, you keep a good appearance publicly, and many fans of his see you as the perfect couple. And Kaiser never misses an opportunity of showing you off, only making the fans love your dynamic even more.

✷ Everything will be fine for you, as long as nobody comes snooping around your shared house.

✖︎ You are the wild bird who tamed his own falconer, and he ended up in the golden cage.

✷ Oliver Aiku has always been a womanizer, and never really cared about his past relationship. Despite his tendencies to flirt left and right, he never cheated in his life and promised himself to never do. As long as it stays a flirt, for him, it was alright.

✷ Until he starts to go out with you. Not only you had a strong personality, but you were such a good flirt that you managed to make him go out with you. Which, was an accomplishment for someone like him.

✷ Unfortunately for Oliver, you were a bit spiteful sometimes. And after telling him multiple times that you hated seeing him flirt with people in front of you, you started doing the same.

✷ The more he would do it, the less time you would spend with him and end up hanging out with other people. It didn't disturb him, or he never noticed, until he got out to buy something and saw you with another person, chuckling as they held your forearm, and boy, he lost his mind.

✷ Suddenly, he was all over you, by your side all the time, never looking at anyone else but now. The more he pays attention to you, the more he would get rewarded with love and affection. You had him wrapped around your fingers.

✷ And then, it became uncontrollable. He needed and desired with all his heart for you to be his one and only, going as far as taking care of the ones standing in his way. This calm and calculative man turned into a much more dangerous character. He would do anything if it means that you will be his, and no one else's.

✷ He would purposely mix up your clothes, steal some of your accessories, send messages to you when he knew that you were with friends, and delete contacts on your phone or pictures from people he found too close to you. The only person you needed to be close to, was him.

✷ He couldn't live without you anymore.

✖︎ You are the falconer, and he is the tamed eagle.

✷ Julien Loki is the sweetest man you have ever met.

✷ He is kind and caring, so soft and delicate with you, whatever he's doing. Despite being rather demanding with his teammates, he never shouted or ordered anything in your presence.

✷ To say Julien Loki was a sweetheart is an understatement.

✷ Everyone, teammates, staff, and fans were always admiring your relationship, seeming so perfect. Yet, it was far from the truth, on the common norms, standards, and expectations at least.

✷ While Julien was considered perfect, you were the complete opposite. Aggressive, manipulative, perfectionist and intimidating, most traits that a person shouldn't have, or not to this extent, at least. And yet, Julien was head over heels for you.

✷ He knew how you were when he started dating you, you have been honest about it, and told him that choosing you would be the worst decision of his life. But he never regretted it. For him, this relationship was his safe space, only filled with joy and bliss.

✷ With you, he loved not being in charge, not being seen as a prodigy, he was just a normal human being. Leaving everything to you, he trusts you immensely and knows better than to disobey. He follows you around like a puppy, trusts you with his diet, and lets you take care of him whenever he is sick or injured.

✷ Despite how unhealthy it is, as he knows that if you ever decide to, you could cut him off from the world completely. He relishes in this peace he found, and never would go back on his words, that you were the best decision of his life.

✷ If one day, you do decide to hide him from the world, he won't complain. He only needs you.

⏤ Thank you for reading! I wish you a great day.

⏤ here is my masterlist & ko-fi ⏤

[okkotsuus]

ex encounters (bllk pt.4) !

features: alexis ness ... tabito karasu ... eita otoya ... kenyu yukimiya

contents: bad exes, general tw, confrontation, harassment, google translate german, strong language

tw for the exes: controlling, domineering, power struggle, accusations, fighting, public scenes, revenge, grabbing (shoulder), trying to get back together, harassment, manipulation, gaslighting, falling out of love, wanting you back, possessive themes

notes: FINALLY FINISHING THIS SERIES and desperately hoping this will cure my writer's block </3

pt.1 — pt.2 — pt.3

like kaiser, ness would be so pressed that your ex would even have the audacity to so much as even think of you. but unlike kaiser, ness would not be trying to throw hands: bro would just be gaslighing your ex into thinking he can't stand a chance against him.

you met ness online, trying to learn german through an anonymous messaging forum: where he was trying to learn your native language. the both of you had no clue who the other was, becoming online friends for years, long before you had ever even met your ex.

when your ex came into your life, ness noticed that you were online less and less. when asked, you gave the sheepish answer that your boyfriend didn't support you learning german, not wanting you to know a language that he didn't.

despite the red flag that was, and all his other warning signs, you stayed with him. you still learned german, now only messaging your pen pal when your lover slept or was away.

but, one day, you came home to your (now ex) boyfriend sitting on the couch. he found out you were still messaging ness, and he was mad.

it lead to a blow-out fight, you ended up having to flee and stay with a friend, collecting your stuff over a week while he was at work. you never saw him again.

eventually, you finished learning german. after a long discussion, ness agreed to meet you at the airport. the second you touched down in berlin, you rushed out the gates to see that cute boy with caramel hair and magenta tips holding your name on a sign. that would be the man you'd come to love so very dearly.

eventually, you and ness moved in together in germany, for his soccer career. you returned home with him for the holidays, to visit family.

as ness and you walked hand in hand through the streets of your hometown, bantering idly in german, you stumbled across a face you thought you'd never see again.

"ah, i see that i was right to not want you to learn german..." his voice said from a little further away, eyes glaring at the two of you. you instantly stiffened, and ever perceptive ness instantly figured out what was happening, muttering a quiet "verdammt" under his breath.

as your ex sauntered closer, ness wordlessly stood in front of you. though he wasn't the most imposing figure, you could see his distaste written plainly on his face, sneering at your ex.

"you left me for a german terrier... i see your standards really lowered..." your ex mumbled, chuckling as he glanced at ness. "keep it up, just try me schwein..." ness threatened, squaring his shoulders.

this went back and forth enough until ness had finally barked out enough insults with that near-crazed look on his face that had him shaking his head and storming away.

your boyfriend, turned to you, like a dog awaiting praise. it had you giggling and cupping his face to press scattered kisses along his cheeks. "thank you, mein held..."

"anything for you, mein schätzchen. i'd do it for you in a heartbeat..."

karasu would be smug at first before quickly getting annoyed. he would want to throw hands, shoving the guy away and mocking him, probably gets the cops called on him. at least he doesn't look bad in cuffs ig??

when karasu was introducing you to a group of fans who watch bllktv, you didn't expect to see your ex. "wow, y/n, what are you now... a gold-digger?" he taunts, stepping into your view.

your boyfriend was off to the side, signing things, blissfully unaware to your torment as his back was turned to you. so, you decided to be the bigger person and just ignore him.

your ex was one of those run-of-the-mill revenge people, would make fun of you at any given chance now that you were separated. you don' even remember why you broke up, probably some snide comment of his that ticked you off. but one thing about him was that he hated being ignored.

karasu, who heard a guy's voice and figured you were getting hit on. he knows that you're a catch, and he trusts you, so usually he lets you humble people on your own unless things get out of hand. well, things got out of hand.

he spun around when he heard you yelp, eyes meeting the hand that gripped your shoulder. in an instant he was shoving your ex away from you, guiding you so gently behind him that it contrasted with the same movement he had used against your ex.

"trash shouldn't touch treasure." he spits, glaring down as you ex stumbles on his feet. just like that, with a shout, your ex charges back at karasu.

like a professional, karasu throws him back again, this time with more force. but desperation does something to inhibition and your ex lunges back again, sending a punch across your boyfriend's face.

karasu just chuckles, wiping the blood from his nose as he grabs your ex's collar with one hand and socks him with the other, sending him to the ground.

they continue this one-sided fighting until flashes of blue and red flare in the corner of your peripheral. then they're both in cuffs and all three of you including those fans from earlier are being questioned.

then, karasu walks away from his cops, rubbing his now-restraint-free wrists as he saunters up to you with that coy smirk. "hey there pretty thing, your jailbird's back..."

he's taken aback as you jump into his arms, hugging him tight as your hands hold him like he was fragile. he just smiles, wrapping his arms around you and kissing he side of your head with a gentle affection.

"hey now, don't cry. i'd gladly get cuffed again for keeping you safe."

otoya is another smug one, but unlike karasu he is not eager to be fighting. otoya's smart and knows just what to do, plays innocent if it ever gets to the point where cops come in.

of all people in the world, otoya has certainly had his share of running into an unpleasant ex. he's the one who will understand you best, which is why he stands next to you with a cocky grin as your ex desperately tries to explain how he's better for you than him.

"i don't have a history of cheating... unlike present company..." your ex digs, shooting a smug look at otoya, who grumbles out a "c'mon, it was one time..."

you just chuckle, shaking your head in exasperation with a heavy sigh. "no, you didn't cheat. but you're still a manipulative asshole." he huffs, rolling his eyes and mumbling curses under his breath.

"you pretentious bitch, i never once hurt you. it was all for your betterment because you can't take care of yourself." your ex spits, getting closer until otoya puts an arm between you two.

"don't talk to what's mine like that, back it up bud." otoya muses with a grin, pushing your ex back lightly, putting himself between you two. your ex stammers, glaring at you over your boyfriend's shoulder.

seemingly, all was fine until the next time you were out with otoya, your ex appeared again: delivering the same take-me-back speech. it was getting tiring and you felt your patience begin to wear thin with every emotionally-charged word that spilled from his lips.

you groaned, running your hands down your face with a tired sigh, otoya silently wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

"listen, i think you should just go, man. this is getting pretty pathetic... i know that y/n's a real catch, but sometime's you gotta know when you can't reel a babe in..." otoya says, somehow getting even more smug as he presses you into his side, leering down at your ex.

eventually, after a few more snide remarks from otoya, your ex finally gave up. allowing you to slump in your boyfriend's arms, letting ot a tired sigh as you kissed his cheek. "thanks, 'toya..."

"i know why he's so desperate, there really is no one like you. makes me happy that i ended my player streak for you..."

an angel sent from heaven. arguably the best person to run into your ex with. yukimiya is calm and composed enough if your ex is temperamental, and he's tall and handsome to scare anyone else away. 10/10 literal perfect man.

yukimiya’s a pretty boy, he’s tall and lean with an angelic smile. he’s a catch, by far the best man you’ve ever dated. he only proves this to be even more true when the two of you run into your ex.

there wasn’t necessarily any bad blood between you two, he had just suddenly broken up with you on the claim that “he fell out of love.” it hurt you like hell, of course, but there was no reason for you to resent him for it. so you two left on good terms, occasionally wishing a happy birthday to the other until the friendship too fizzled out.

then you met yukimiya through a mutual friend and fell hard, but he fell harder. so here you are, happily sipping a blue slushy while yukimiya held your hand and chattered about soccer.

“blue was always our favorite…” a voice rang from behind you, yukimiya stopped drinking his red slushy as he turned with you. there he was, your ex with a sheepish grin.

you quirked a brow, confused. you hadn’t talked to him in nearly a year, ever since you and yuki had started dating.

he smiles sweetly at you, the kind that has you realizing where this is leading. “sorry, i’ve just been nostalgic about us lately…” he said with a chuckle, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

your eyes flit over to your boyfriend, catching the furrow of his brow. yukimiya was a really nice guy, he wasn’t a fan of confrontation. but you are.

so you grin at your ex, waving a hand dismissively. “sorry man, i’m in a very happy relationship…”

the second he tries to protest you swiftly shut him up, sticking out your tongue. at first, your ex was confused, then he realized that your tongue was purple. his eyes flit between your blue slushy and yukimiya’s red one, sighing and walking away.

yukimiya’s face goes bright red as he stares at you, “that’s not why your tongue is purple, you just wanted to try mine!” he protests.

you chuckle, grinning at him, “yeah, but he doesn’t have to know that…” yukimiya just sighs before grinning back at you.

"i don’t like lying, so why don’t you let me do it authentically…"

okkotsuus 23

[bucketspammer4life]

the boxers reading mail from fans

insert cool writing here (im having writing block send helppp)

Glass Joe

- absolutely over the moon from joy, hes suprised people would go out of their way to send him mail

- usually gets mail from people calling him "a little meow meow" and finds it funny, the other kind of mail he gets is drawings of him & people sending shit in like "how the fuck do you lose 99 times just get out of the building lmao"

- hangs up the fanart he gets sent on the fridge, it just looks like a wall of drawings now

- sends the most thought-out replies ever, you could send him something like "why do you like bread so much?" And he would send you a 999727 word essay explaining his life and how it drove him to like bread

- makes sure his writing is extra fancy

Von Kaiser

- Really likes reading mail from fans, it just makes him happy since he always loved writing stuff

- He usually replies and goes in great detail to questions, especially if its something about one of his interests

- writes in a very formal way like hes speaking to the president or something

- frames every piece of fanart he has, will even carve out special frames for drawings with unique measurements and silhouettes (im sure im spelling that wrong)

- will take time to compliment the fanart he gets sent, no matter the size, you could send him a tiny doodle of him on a sticky more and he would call you Picasso

Disco Kid

- thinks replying to fanmail is really fun, giggles while writing replies

- writes really casually, usually calls whoever is writing to him "bestie", this usually comes back to bite him because parasocial relationships are a thing

- adda a fancy signature at the end, sometimes sends a photo along with it

- all fanart sent to him is usually on a special board dedicated to art

King Hippo

- Really honored to reply to fanmail, it gets him feeling like royalty (he is, yass King Hippo go get it)

- has the messiest handwriting ever since his hands are usually to big to grab pens properly, so he has to grab it like hes grabbing a shovel

- will draw a cute little smiley face instead of a signature, he claims he wants to hide his signature for official stuff only

- writes very directly, his grammar is a bit wonky but he manages to get the point across, sometimes just makes up new words, treadmill? You mean "runny floor" right? Shot glass? You mean "shiny tiny cup"??

- has a board for fanart, he sometimes just looks at the pieces of art and admires them for hours

Piston Hondo

- loves fanmail, he used to have a penpal when he was little so it brings back memories for him

- draws little flowers & trees in the corner when hes done writing to spice it up a little

- writes very formally and adds positive messages at the end of his writing like "stay strong", "dont let others take you down" And "chase your dreams"

- loves fanart with his entire heart, he does some art himself so it makes him very happy to see art made for him

Bear Hugger

- writes extremely casually like hes writing to a family member or a close friend, usually starts off with "hi buddy" or "hey pal"

- overshares a bit, you could ask him what his favorite meal is and he would tell write something worth at least 90 pages about why he thinks pancakes are heavenly (he isnt wrong though)

- will draw some trees at the bottom of the page, sometimes some stickmen too

- usually has questions about how he met his squirrel, recipes or the most random questions ever like "have you ever eaten a tree" that he answers with all his heart

- fanart makes him really happy, dedicated a wall of his house to hang up drawings (at least it started as one wall, he has a room dedicated to fan stuff now)

Great Tiger

- fanmail makes him get a bit cocky, feels very honored to have people write to him

- will not write about his magic, ironically most of his mail is about that no matter how much he gatekeeps it

- has special paper he uses to write responses, its scented & has a flower-themed design

- writes in cursive & has the fanciest signature ever

- signs off as "the greatest tiger" since he thinks it sounds cool

- frames his fanart in the most gorgeous frames you could ever think of

Don Flamenco

- LOVES LOVES LOVESSS fanmail, especially the ones that compliment him or idolize him

- usually gets mail from people thirsting after him or asking about carmen

- sprays perfume on the envelope & the paper he writes it on

- fanart sent to him gets hung up on the fridge, no questions asked

- Carmen sometimes joins him to write responses to questions sent to her, She absolutely loves it

- usually answers whoever sent him mail with "dearest ___"

Aran Ryan

- writes very casually, will not drift away from harsh language when writing if he feels like it

- has the ugliest handwriting ever but also has the coolest signature ever

- usually has questions sent to him asking for life advice (which goes as well as you expect)

- sometimes sends some pictures along with mail

- draws some doodles on the corner if he feels like it would add to his writing

- hangs up his fanart above his bed so he can look at it before he sleeps when his insomnia acts up

Soda Popinski

- finds fanmail a bit exhausting but still loves it, he isnt too fond of writing but likes replying to fans

- draws soda bottles at the bottom of the page instead of a signature

- writes very directly, straight to the point since he doesnt want to keep whoever he is writing waiting

- you can sometimes find drops of soda on the paper he writes on since hes bit of a sloppy drinker, causing the paper to smell like soda

- hangs up his fanart up on the ceiling with rope, he came up with the idea before he went to bed and had to fly out of his bed in a cold sweat

- his writing is a bit messy but is still somewhat readible, his a's look like n's somehow

Bald Bull

- prefers fanmail instead of face-to-face meetups 100% because he hates getting swarmed

- gets oddly personal questions sent to him which he hates with all his heart

- has squeaky clean handwriting, some people mistake it for being printed

- hides fanart in a drawer to keep it safe, lost a piece of fanart given to him once and he still hasnt forgiven himself since

Super Macho Man

- absolutely overjoyed to reply to fanmail

- sends pictures of himself along with his response, usually of himself flexing

- adds messages at the end of his writing like "stay cool"

- writes very casually and likes to treat whoever hes writing to as his bestie (uh oh parasocial relationship alert)

- goes off topic very easily, he could start writing about a vacation he went to and end up talking about why he hates buses

- has a seperate room for fanart, has fanart hung up on the ceiling, walls, the windows, everywhere except the floor

- has somewhat readible writing

Mr Sandman

- absolutely swimming in fanmail but still loves it

- will write for pages if you ask him about anything related to boxing or motivation

- likes keeping his fanart safe & has some fanart in his room he uses as posters

- his writing is a little bit wonky but in a endearing way somehow

- has straight to the point answers, but will also ramble if he feels like it

[ihatealexturner]

can you give your thoughts on the album? I haven't listened so far bc I'm busy with work but I'll take my time listen to it tomorrow! I'm very excited about that hehe

Hey, yeah sure.

Well so far im really into it. You know how it is with every monkeys album, you have to listen to it at least a dozen times to only start getting an idea about what it is about.

As you can probably imagine its hard for me not to be biased about it, being such a fan of Alex work for decades, but i truly can say that i am enjoying this one. Its true that there's going to be loads of people that aren't going enjoy this album because it didnt gave to the temptation of make a fast pace and easy listening album like the first 5 albums (especially the first two and AM).

But being honest, i wouldn't be that interested in a album like that at this point, all the bands from ealy 00´ that i used to dig (say franz ferdinand, kaiser chiefs, the kooks, the libertines, kasabian, etc) they mostly stay with the same sound for years and years and really i dont care about their last albums and mostly stop listen to them, simply because if you dont try to be ambitious and progress in music terms you go stale. The monkeys once more are showing strong signs of maturity and evolution with their work, and that's a feature common to all the greatest bands (being beatles, led zep, bowie, etc).

About the album itself, i just wish it would have been a bit longer, it just feel to short for me, but i guess quality comes before quantity. So im ok bit it. And also, being a huge fan of Alex's Submarine and the Puppets proyect, im really liking this "new" sound. Actually, in the past i wouldn't imagine the monkeys making it work with strings around them, but once again i suppose i understimate alex brain.

Im really loving the three singles so far, probably right now i feel "mirroball" is the strongest one of those but "body paint" feels really fresh for the monkeys sounds, and "I aint quiet" is really good with those bowie/stevie wonder sounds.

"Scultures" gives me some Humbug vibes for sure, although i read that the guys said it has AM vibes. Really like that Jamie has an impact in this one and its a good sign for the future of that band that the rest of the guys are giving their share with the songs. "jet skis", "Hello You" and "Big ideas" really make Al voice shine as fuck. Give me a slowish song with Al vocals being the star and im completely sold. Of those i guess Jet skis stands a bit more for me, although i think the other two are reciving more love for the fanbase. By the way "Hello You" sounds like it could have been in the puppets second record FOR SURE. "Mr Schwartz" i guess it sounds more like it could have fit in a Alex Solo album, and it was one of my favorites when i heard the album the first times, well in fact it still is!

I guess the only song im still trying to process is "The Car", i mean is not a band song or anything, but im still trying to get that feeling, you know. I got to say it gives me Enio Morricone "The good, the bad and the ugy" vibes, which is really cool.

And finally, "Perfect Sense", that for me along with the opener song are the two best songs of the whole album. Its simple gorgeous. The last minute of the song its just, absolutly insane. Actually really hard to not get emotional with the music and the lyrics. Kinda song that makes you reflect about your life and shit, which is basically my favorite type of songs.

So yeah, its hard to rank this album, but i think it probably feels a bit better than TBHC, but yeah its hard to say. After all this album is so different from the rest so how can you compare them, really?. Any way, another great piece of work for the guys. 7 in a row. How many bands can say that. 5/5

[thespiralgrimoire]

It’s summer so: Which male black clover characters wear speedos and which wear swim trunks Which girls spend a lot of time at the beach

Lmao what an excellent question

I’m gonna skip the Black Bulls because they got a beach episode and do the captains

🩲 Julius is rocking a speedo, but he’s running around the beach like a madman and being very unsexy about it. All the hopefuls expecting to catch the DILF Wizard King showing off the goods are sorely disappointed to find out that he is not wearing a speedo for them. This is simply so that he can run around the beach watching all the goings on as efficiently as possible

🩲 William is wearing trunks and a white shirt. Homeboy’s got the fairest skin in the kingdom and is too shy to be in the limelight. Catch him on a beach towel, under an umbrella, hiding from the sun and maybe from prying eyes

🩲 Nozel is wearing swim trunks and is spending 80% of his beach time in the water, preferably on a floatie. The boy practically grew up in the water and could swim his way out of a tsunami so he is not worried about how far out to sea he drifts. Everybody else does get a little worried when he and his floatie is only a speck on the horizon... They’re pretty sure he’s asleep at that point

👙 Charlotte is wearing a sexy bikini but never works up her courage to take off her slip and show it off. It’s pretty obvious that Yami’s not paying attention so what’s the point? She’s going to sit in the sun pretending she’s too good for this while she silently bemoans her lack of attention from Yami. When she starts looking a little rosey (haha) William invites her under his umbrella. They vibe.

🩲 For Fuegoleon, it’s really a tossup. He’d grab his swim trunks first, but it would take one (1) comment for him to whip out the speedo. His copious fans are hoping somebody does. Either way he spends most of his time in the shallows wrassling with whoever will accept his challenge. He’s not a strong swimmer but he’s not touting that fact. He’s just not going in past his chest and hoping no one notices

🩲 Jack is wearing a speedo. I mean, look at his normal outfit. The boy’s just used to being vacuum-sealed. He’s bound and determined to flip Nozel’s floatie, drag Fuegoleon into deep water (he doesn’t know WHY he’s staying in the shallows, he thinks he just wants to keep his hair dry) and besting Yami in every way possible. He is the Beach Nuisance.

🩱 Dorothy is wearing a cute little one-piece swimsuit. She spends almost the entire beach vacation asleep, and then very suddenly for a 15 minute period she wakes up, helps Jack fucking LAUNCH Nozel into the sea, and goes back to sleep. Jack bears the entirety of Nozel’s wrath while everyone wonders wtf that was about

🩲🩱 Kaiser is wearing swim trunks and shmoozing his wife the entire trip. He’s acting like they are on their first beach date and he’s trying to get a goodnight kiss. It’s adorable. His wife is eating it up. Fuegoleon goads him into some wrassling and when Kaiser pounds him into the ground everyone is terrified except for Mrs. Granvorka. The two of them have a great time

🩲 Rill is wearing swim trunks and becomes, to Jack’s chagrin, Jack’s accomplice in his shenanigans. While he’s not being a nuisance he’s painting. Charlotte and William end up the inspiration for his best painting of the day and neither of them know how to handle it

[suffragettecity100]

1916: Jeannette Rankin Elected to Congress

The First Woman Elected to Congress

The fall of 1916 brought a both a tragic loss and a great victory for suffrage. On October 23, celebrated suffrage leader Inez Milholland (the woman on the horse who led  the 1913 parade) collapsed during a speech in Los Angeles, California. Her famous last words were, “Mr. President, How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty?” She was 30 years old. Then on November 7, 1916, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress.

Jeannette Rankin ran as a Republican at a time when the Republican Party was in favor of federal rights over state rights, wanted income tax especially for the wealthy, was trying to break up monopolies and proposed many progressive social reforms. The Democrats were the conservatives. Rankin herself was more progressive than many in her own party. She campaigned on suffrage, social welfare issues, and against the U.S. entering WWI. This was the first election when women in Montana could exercise their newly won right to vote (Episode 66). Montana was very politically divided and it had a majority of conservative Democrats. Montana had two seats in Congress. A conservative Democrat won the first seat and Rankin won the second.

Her congressional career started off with one of the hardest votes that any nation is asked to make...whether or not to go to war. In April of 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to “make the world safe for democracy” by joining the allied forces and declaring war on Germany. Rankin was a strong pacifist and abstained from the debate which did not sit well with many suffragists who felt it would hurt their cause. Unaware of the House rules, she made a statement before casting her vote which broke protocol. She said “I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war. I vote no.” The final vote was 373 for and 50 against. America officially entered WWI. 

The press was not kind about her vote. She was accused of being “a dupe of the Kaiser” and a “crying schoolgirl”. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) distanced themselves from her vote saying “Miss Rankin was not voting for the suffragists of the nation—she represents Montana.”

In 1918 she pushed for national suffrage by recalling the reason for entering WWI and asked “How shall we explain to them the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country?” She also fought for programs for working mothers, child welfare, and workers rights including supporting the striking miners in Butte, MT. She had little chance of being reelected to Congress so she ran for Senate when her term was up. She did not succeed. 

She continued to work for suffrage, labor rights, consumer protection, and pacifism but returned to Congress for a second term in the lead up to WWII. The current Republican Congressman was a vehement Anti-Semite. She was able to win the primary and used her status as the first woman elected to Congress and endorsements of some of influential progressives such as Senator Robert M. LaFollette, Jr., of Wisconsin and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York City to solidly win the election with 54% of the vote. 

After the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, America once again had to decide whether or not our nation should go to war. Rankin attended the debate determined to voice her opposition to the war. Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn of Texas refused to recognize her on the floor and called her out of order. Other members told her to sit down. Sympathetic colleagues tried to tell her to just abstain from the vote. Amid boos and hisses, she voted no. The resolution to enter into WWII passed in the House 388 to 1. She hid in a phone booth and had to wait for a police escort to leave the building. Her constituents in Montana turned against her. The rest of her term she was relegated to the sidelines. The press and her colleagues ignored her. She voted “present” on the vote to declare war with Italy and Germany and did not run for re-election in 1942.

For the rest of her life, Rankin stayed true to her convictions of peace and was a vocal supporter of Gandhi. She also protested the Vietnam War. In 1968 she led the Jeannette Rankin Brigade in a march on Washington and shortly before her death in 1973 she considered a third run for Congress in order to protest the Vietnam War. 

This week’s song pick:

“This Girl is on Fire” by Alicia Keys 

Video pick is a fan compilation of the “Hunger Games” https://youtu.be/ZuKzypMSMqQ 

#SuffragetteCity100 #FightForThe19th

Episode 70 Sources:

https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/R/RANKIN,-Jeannette-(R000055)/

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/jeannette-rankin 

More about Inez Milholland

http://inezmilholland.org/about/

[infinityzilla]

These are the elite squad hunters. They are in charge of the other hunters. From left to right: Kelly, Steve, Maya, James, Jeff, and Mei. James is the commander of all hunters. He was 16 when the demon realm attacked the human realm. Blaze restored his leg and promised to return him a debt. Once Pyro took over he joined a military group but he and a few others survived. He then created the hunters to bring a end to Pyro's rule. He leads his hunters into victory. He stays with the Elite Squad the most since he has created better teamwork with them. He has been labeled as the ruler of the Human Realm due to his wise and strong leadership.

(Voiced By J. Michael Tatum) Age: 46 DOB: Jan 1st Maya is a scientist that studies demons. She is very smart and loves studying demons. She even obsesses over them, finding unique traits about them. But on the battle field she is quite serious. Maya looks after every member of the hunters. She even helps the Kaisers and their allies. She became an elite by taking down an Level A demon.

(Voiced By Jessica Calvello) Age: 36 DOB: Sep 5th Jeff is a military soldier. Jeff is from Germany and was part of group super soldiers with incredible strength and durability. He wasn’t officially chosen to join, his commanding officer was. But when a demon attack struck his base and town he got cocky and his commander was wounded and died after the battle. Jeff decided to join the hunters in place of his commander. He has become the Hunters Shield and muscle.

(Voiced By David Wald) Age: 37 DOB: Nov 1st Mei is a Chinese fighter. Mei is from clan of ninjas that were a rival clan to Miyuki’s clan. But when the 2 clans stopped fighting after seeing how she and Miyuki became good friends they stopped. They were trained under a good demon. But their clans were slaughtered by a demon attack leaving only them. She and Miyuki trained until they joined the hunters. Mei isn’t upset at Miyuki for choosing to stay a rank below her. Mei uses her fans to cut through any opponent. She still loves Miyuki but when they are united they make a great team. As an elite she kills demons within a 5 seconds.

(Voiced By Trina Nishimura) Age: 20 DOB: May 2nd Kelly is a police officer. Before becoming a hunter she was a police detective and would solve any crime in no time. She got to become an elite after killing 3 demons that were threat level A. As a hunter she uses her detective skills to figure out when and where demons will strike next. She uses her pistols as her main weapon.

(Voiced By Monica Rial) Age: 21 DOB: Feb 27th Steve is a field medic. He worked as a doctor in a hospital for many years until people from demon attacks kept on coming. He couldn’t find ways to save them so he almost gave up. But one day a demon arrived in the hospital wanting to take lives that were easy prey. Steve battled the demon and he killed it. Steve was recruited by James to join because he could use a medic with his skills of fighting on the battle field. He became an elite and would give medical advice to other hunter teams.

(Voiced By Mike McFarland) Age: 31 DOB: March 19th

[dragonandtiger]

Dreaming To Reality: 02 Remix Chapter Forty Four - 08

“Is this the work of the Digimon Kaiser?” Andiramon asked.

“Does it matter?” Baihumon asked. He didn’t look at the rabbit Deva, his eyes locked on Armagemon as it seemed focused on him despite the still sizeable distance between them.

Andiramon paused before she shook her head. “I suppose not.”

A flash of light appeared nearby, prompting Andiramon and the army of Digimon to stop and turn to stare. Only Baihumon kept his eyes on Armagemon, choosing not to watch as the Chosen Children appeared beside them with their partners. He did little more than flick his left ear as the Digimon partners evolved quickly, with War Greymon, Metal Garurumon, Rosemon, Garudamon, Holy Angemon, Zudomon, Altur Kabuterimon, and XV-mon taking the field.

“I believe I told you that there would be no alliance,” Baihumon said.

“You also said that we’re free to do what we like,” Yamato said as he turned to grin up at the Holy Beast. “No different than anyone else in your army.”

Baihumon paused at that before he let out a chuckle. “I suppose I did.”

Rosemon stood before Mimi, her rainbow cape fluttering behind her as she stared at the behemoth as it continued onward towards them. “...I’m sure Wormmon is suffering right now, just like Kyoumon was. Being forced to do such awful things, unable to stop himself...”

“We need to stop him, so he doesn’t suffer anymore,” Holy Angemon said as he hovered above the others, his wings fanned.

“Stay back, Sora,” Garudamon said. “You all need to stay as far away from him as you can.”

“She’s right,” Altur Kabuterimon agreed. “We can’t afford to take any chances.”

“Especially if he’s even half as strong as Imperialdramon was,” Zudomon agreed as he clutched his hammer with both hands. “And given our luck, spitting vaporizing lasers is probably right up his alley.”

XV-mon glanced at the other, much higher level Digimon before he turned his attention to Armagemon. He wasn’t about to be discouraged by being the smallest one there. “I’ll do my best!”

“Are you ready?” War Greymon asked grimly as he stood beside Metal Garurumon.

“I’m ready,” Metal Garurumon said, with a nod.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic]   Cure For Boredom

Daisuke looked so miserable, slumped on the floor, his wings held tightly against his back. Kaiser would’ve felt sorry for him, if he weren’t still furious about Daisuke’s escape attempt. Three weeks and he still hadn’t completely cooled down over that.

He’s learning, though.

Daisuke hadn’t done much since his master retrieved him to get on the Kaiser’s bad side. He did what he was told with little argument – which sort of disappointed Kaiser, because what he liked most about Daisuke, aside from his lovely wings, was how the fire burned so strong in him.

The fire still smoldered, but not quite as bright as it had once been, and Kaiser wondered how he could fan it to the heights again.

Perhaps not all the way. But this sullen little thing isn’t the pet that I want.

He wanted Daisuke to stand beside him, to burn in the directions that Kaiser wanted him to burn, to eagerly and willingly throw himself into Kaiser’s arms, to fly and always return to his perch at the Kaiser’s side, where he properly belonged.

And I won’t get that if he’s depressed all the time.

That annoyed Kaiser more than anything. He’d done all that he could to impress upon Daisuke that he could earn favors by being obedient, and yet it didn’t seem to really take.

He examined his situation for a few moments. The Chosen still came and went, but he could predict where they’d go by now, and even steer it to a degree. He couldn’t guess where they’d choose to go on any given day, but he could figure out which places they were most likely to go, either to search for him, Daisuke, or his base, or to try to cause him trouble somewhere – probably in the hopes that he or Daisuke would turn up there.

But if he set up something almost guaranteed to lure them to a given place, then they would be occupied for as long as he chose to keep them that way. He could set up at least a dozen waves of slaves to attack them. Not enough to overwhelm them – he didn’t want to end the game so soon and he would prefer it to happen when Daisuke stood next to him freely – but just enough so they couldn’t recover and couldn’t escape.

And while they were thusly occupied, he had plans for what he would be doing with Daisuke. Or perhaps, what Daisuke would be doing with him.

Daisuke smoldered. Daisuke wanted to scream and shout and struggle and do things, to find a way to so much as cause Kaiser an inconvenience. Being chained to a pole in Kaiser’s bedroom – he hated the thought of that but it was a cold reality – didn’t give him many real chances to inconvenience his captor.

He knew why he was kept like this. He couldn’t have missed it. He’d made an attempt to escape: a successful attempt. But Kaiser tracked him down and took him back, and as much as Daisuke hated to even think like that, it hurt.

Kaiser threatened his wings.

He knew in his heart that Kaiser would never clip them to the point they couldn’t be used again, no matter how much he threatened that very thing. Half of why Kaiser wanted him was his wings. But to hear that threat, to know that Kaiser would clip them until his next molt, when a new set of flight feathers would grow in – that he didn’t even want to think about.

Even less, he wanted to think about Kaiser’s hands on his wings at all, because he needed to groom himself, to get his feathers properly taken care of, and he couldn’t reach around to do it, and pulling them in front still left parts of them untouched, and only someone else could really do a good job.

He’d had help before. Jun helped; she was really good with grooming his wings. Once Hikari helped, just the summer before all of this happened. Taichi-san had helped a year or so earlier, and that had been when he’d learned about the Digital World.

But now the only help he could imagine would be Kaiser, and that was so far on his do not want list that it probably made up most of it. He didn’t want Kaiser’s hands on him, especially not on his wings. Bad enough the guy kissed him. He made a point of doing so every night, along with a caress of his wings. That wasn’t grooming, but it was still something Daisuke didn’t want, and Kaiser didn’t care what he didn’t want, and took what he wanted.

Just like he’d taken Daisuke and refused to let him go.

Daisuke stifled the sigh he wanted to make and stared down at the polished steel floor. I want to fly.

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there when the door opened and Kaiser stalked in. That was the only word to use for it. Kaiser didn’t walk like anyone else might have. He flowed. He prowled. He stalked. He was a wild beast and he made no secret of it.

And now he stalked over to Daisuke and lifted his head.

“Are you bored?”

Of all the questions that he might’ve asked, Daisuke really hadn’t thought to hear that one. He blinked a little and answered without thinking.

“Yeah.”

He was. Seeing only the inside of Kaiser’s quarters, and not being able to get close enough to anything to affect any of it – he couldn’t even rearrange Ken’s underwear, for Heaven’s sake! - drove him absolutely wild and bored him near to tears all at the same time.

Kaiser reached around to unlock the chains that kept him bound there. He didn’t remove the collar or leash – not that Daisuke expected him to – but he did pick the leash up and tug Daisuke to his feet.

“We’re going to have a little outing today,” Kaiser told him. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Daisuke twitched. Every part of him twitched, from his eyes to his wings. He stared at Kaiser in distrust. “What are you up to?”

Kaiser frowned down at him. “I’m taking you out on a trip. Do you not want to go?”

Out. Outside of the fortress. Daisuke’s heart-rate picked up. He might get a chance to spread his wings. He would at least get fresh air! Not like that little room where he could fly but it wasn’t the same thing. He couldn’t touch the sky there.

“I want to!” He’d almost do anything Kaiser wanted for this, and it wasn’t until they were halfway out of the fortress before he wondered just what the Kaiser would want for it.

Because he would want something. If Daisuke had learned nothing else, he’d learned that during his months here. Whatever Kaiser did to him that could even remotely be considered as ‘nice’, there was something else behind it.

“So what’s your thing today?” Daisuke finally brought himself to ask once he saw the familiar takeoff area, where the AirDramon rested in between missions.

Kaiser didn’t bother looking back at him. “What do you mean, my ‘thing’?” He sounded sort of amused, which Daisuke didn’t take as a good thing. He didn’t take a lot of anything the Kaiser said or did as a good thing.

“You want something. So what is it?”

Now Kaiser did look at him. “I want what I’ve always wanted out of you: for you to understand and accept that you’re mine and that’s never going to change. And since you are my pet, I would hardly be a proper master if I just let you rot away, would I?”

Daisuke wanted so much to just jump over there and strangle Kaiser on the spot. He even started to shift that way, before catching sight of the leash and remembering how much pain Kaiser could dish out.

It went against every grain of his body and mind, but he held himself back and stuck to talking.

“So, you’re just taking me for a walk?” Like an animal. Like a pet.

Kaiser stopped and waited for Daisuke to catch up with him. Daisuke stayed out of reach – for all the good it would do if Kaiser really wanted him closer – and stared at him.

“If you don’t want to go out, then I can take you right back and chain you up again. I’m taking time away from my work to do this for you. You could be grateful. If you are, this could happen again.”

Daisuke’s throat closed up. The desire to shout and scream his rage burned him from the inside out. If he said a word against this, he’d lose this. He didn’t doubt that for a moment, not with the way Kaiser stared at him with those ice-cold eyes. Kaiser would take him back and if he had any regrets, Daisuke wouldn’t know about them. What he didn’t know might as well not have even happened.

And if he didn’t know it had happened, if it hadn’t happened, how could he do anything with it? How could he look for another way to get out of there? And he wanted to do that. He wanted to find a way to get back to his friends. That was the only way he would be really free.

He bit his lip, then pulled himself up. He knew Kaiser would want him to submit, so he refused to do so. As wearying as all of this was, the chance of going outside energized him one more time. He wouldn’t let the Kaiser win. He just couldn’t.

“I didn’t say that.”

Kaiser stared him for a few moments before he nodded. “Then let’s go.”

The AirDramon waited for them, Wormmon already there. Daisuke sighed quietly; he missed V-mon so much. He wished he could find a way to send him a message of some kind.

Maybe…

He climbed onto AirDramon’s back and settled down at Kaiser’s feet without having to be told. He wanted to stand up. He wanted to fly on his own. He wouldn’t do anything that Kaiser would construe as trying to escape, though. Maybe if he behaved for a little while, Kaiser would get sloppy.

It wasn’t likely, but he would give it a try. It had sort of worked before, and now he kind of knew better what to do: find the others and not leave them for so much as a moment.

AirDramon took off, winding its way through the skies to wherever Kaiser wanted to go. Daisuke said nothing, jerking a bit in surprise when Kaiser’s hand flowed through his hair, petting him. He told himself that he didn’t like it and he didn’t.

It felt good but he didn’t like it. He’d always been kind of sensitive on his head, almost as much as his wings, and the Kaiser’s touch seemed to find all the good spots up there.

He wouldn’t have been surprised to find Kaiser wanting to brush his hair, too. So far he’d been allowed to take care of his own personal grooming, except his wings. He could wash himself in the Kaiser’s huge bathroom and Kaiser provided fresh, clean clothes that looked nothing at all like the ones he usually wore, in the Digital World or out of it, all with the proper wing-holes cut into them. Daisuke didn’t ask where those came from. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

Finally AirDramon slipped downward and Daisuke followed his captor off to find they were in a luscious mountainous valley. He didn’t see any signs of any Digimon there, but he still gave Kaiser a suspicious look.

“We’re not here so you can capture more slaves, are you?”

Kaiser looked more and more annoyed with him every time he said something. Daisuke counted that as a win.

“If I wanted to do that, I wouldn’t bring you along. We are here for your sake.” He gave Daisuke another look, this one a little harder. “I am not trying to hurt you, Daisuke. Not today.”

Daisuke had so many things he could've said to that leap to his lips. What actually came out was something he wasn’t at all certain he liked.

“Is this your weird idea of a date?”

What he wasn’t sure he liked even more was Kaiser’s answer. “You could call it that if you wish. We are going to spend a few hours here enjoying ourselves with one another.”

Daisuke couldn’t help but step back, but Kaiser tugged him closer, sliding one hand through his hair again, and pressing a light kiss against his lips. Daisuke didn’t try to fight it; he’d learned doing so didn’t get him anything besides kissed even more. He still didn’t kiss back.

“I’m not going to do anything with you,” he reiterated once Kaiser stopped kissing him.

Kaiser was a really good kisser, though. At least by Daisuke’s standards and experience, which pretty much extended to … Kaiser and no one else. Kind of a small sample there.

But what he’d experienced, he sort of liked. And would like better if Kaiser wasn’t so Kaiser.

“You’ll do what I want you to do, Daisuke. Have you forgotten that you’re my pet?” Kaiser smiled a slow and lazy smile, the sort that made Daisuke want to leap into the air and fly away as far as he could. The collar and leash kept him right where he was. “Come on. It’s time for your walk.”

Daisuke did not fail to roll his eyes. “I’m not your slave, I’m not your pet, and I’m definitely not a dog.”

“You’re more like a cat, really. Selfish and spoiled, always thinking you know better than anyone else, especially someone who really does know better than you.”

Daisuke’s eyes sparked for a moment. “Sounds more like you than me.”

He wouldn’t have been surprised at all if Kaiser hit him. He’d hit him for other things, after all. But now Kaiser just gave him another of those looks, and Daisuke could not help but wonder if he actually saw a hint of approval in the tilt of his lips.

Which definitely did not make him comfortable at all. If he were doing something the Kaiser wanted, then… was he doing something wrong? It sent warning chills all up and down his spine and over his wings.

But Kaiser said nothing that would clear up the matter either way, just walking through the valley, heading for a clear river at the center of it. He kept looking back at Daisuke, the leash held between his fingers, just loose enough so if Daisuke did take off, he might be able to escape before Kaiser could stop him.

His wings twitched, just a fraction, when Kaiser wasn’t looking at him. The skies beckoned and he mentally swallowed, aching to be up in the air. It had been so long since he’d properly flown. Weeks, even. He hadn’t left the fortress at all since Kaiser dragged him back, coated in spider webs, battered and bruised from the beginning of Kaiser’s punishment. He hadn’t even been able to take off and hover.

Kaiser looked back at him, a thoughtful tilt to his head, before he turned all the way to face Daisuke head-on.

“You want to fly, don’t you?”

Daisuke couldn’t even begin to answer, desire choking his throat. He wanted to fly like he wanted to breathe!

He didn’t expect Kaiser to do anything but insist that he needed to be good for a while, to do as he was told, to accept that he was Kaiser’s pet.

He didn’t expect Kaiser to unclip the leash and give him a quiet, firm look. “I expect you back. Don’t disappoint me.”

Okay, that was something like he expected, but not quite all at the same time, enough to confuse him and make him wary. He didn’t trust Kaiser. That was the whole point. Anything Kaiser did that looked even remotely good wasn’t something he believed in. There was always something underhanded involved, even if he didn’t know about it.

“Go on.”

But damned if he wasn’t going to take this chance to fly anyway. Daisuke unfurled his wings, wincing at how they ached from lack of use, and then spun up into the air, throwing his head back and crying out for sheer joy. His heart pounded with glee as the wind cut through his hair and danced through his feathers.

He wasn’t crying. Really, he wasn’t.

But he coasted on the wind and laughed with the breeze and he couldn’t help but look around, just to see if the other Chosen were anywhere he could see them.

They weren’t. Which didn’t surprise him. He didn’t trust the Kaiser.

He didn’t fly too far away. He stayed where he knew the Kaiser could see him, because he could see the Kaiser. Memories of what happened during his last escape attempt did not fade so easily.

He’d done what he wanted to do almost his entire life. Now if he did what he wanted, it was even odds that he’d pay for it somehow. That hadn’t ever been a problem before. Before wasn’t now.

The sun started to slide down closer to the mountains before Daisuke finally landed next to Kaiser, breathing hard and loving every moment he spent out here. His eyes shone with delight.

“Thank you!” He didn’t like the Kaiser still and he knew that wasn’t going to change, but for those one moment: he felt free again.

Kaiser eyed him thoughtfully and Daisuke's heart slowly began to sink as he reached out to clip the leash back into place.

“We can come out here every other day,” Kaiser said. “As long as I’m not too busy.”

He added nothing else but he didn’t need to. Daisuke could read him very well after the last few months, and he knew what those silent words were.

If you behave yourself. If you don’t make me angry. If you don’t try to escape me. If you are mine.

Kaiser’s fingers caught Daisuke’s chin and tilted his head back so their eyes met. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? To fly again.”

Daisuke allowed himself a nod.

“You’ll fly as I allow it. I have not forgotten you are my pet, Daisuke, nor will I let you forget. You are mine in every way that I choose to have you. I will take very good care of what is mine.” He smiled one of those smiles that unsettled Daisuke’s stomach in far too many ways. “Your wings need to be taken care of. I’ll do that tonight.”

Just what he’d feared and just what he could do nothing at all about.

“I want so little from you, Daisuke. Just to be mine. To obey me. To be a good pet for me. And you continue to act as if I’m being unreasonable here.” He shook his head before he touched his lips onto Daisuke’s ever so softly, a sweetness that coming from anyone else would’ve been so very welcome. “Think about it. Think of what I can give you if you do as I wish. Think of what you can be for me.”

Daisuke pressed his lips together. “I don’t want to be anything for you!” He just wanted… not to be hurt. To not have the Digimon hurt. To not have his partner or his friends hurt.

Would Kaiser do any of that for him? Would he stop hurting people and Digimon just because that was what Daisuke wanted? Would he ever learn that he was wrong?

Kaiser started to tug him away, back to the waiting AirDramon. “You’ll have dinner with me tonight.” Which, of course, meant that he would be fed from Kaiser’s hands. At least he didn’t have to worry about sleeping on the Kaiser’s bed.

He almost expected Kaiser to change that, but instead he just guided Daisuke back. Every step Daisuke took felt heavier and heavier, especially compared to the glorious freedom of the air. The collar’s grip didn’t change, but he couldn’t fully breathe, and he didn’t want to go back inside.

“Please,” he murmured as they climbed back onto the AirDramon. “I don’t want to go back. Not yet.” He hated how he sounded, but he wanted so much to stay outside, to feel the wind in his hair and feathers.

Kaiser favored him with a stern look. “Are you mine?” A simple question that dug right into Daisuke’s heart. The freedom of the skies, at the cost of all of his other freedoms.

He closed his eyes, pulled as much of the memory of being in the air as he could to him, and shook his head. He couldn’t. He couldn’t disappoint his friends like that. He couldn’t disappoint V-mon like that. He couldn’t disappoint himself like that.

“Then let’s go home, my pet.”

Kaiser tugged his leash and Daisuke followed.

He wasn’t crying. Really.

The End

Notes: Poor Daisuke. I'll develop the story to its end one day.

[future-imperfect]

The year I last minute decided to go to Pinkpop

Pinkpop 2017

Going to Pinkpop for the 5th time in a row I consider myself quite a veteran. After seeing the biggest bands in Rock music like Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Green Day, Muse, Rammstein. This year year certainly felt....well.... different. In order to appeal to a broader audience and to make Pinkpop more of a pop festival, no one less than Justin Bieber topped the bill of the first day. year long regulars of the festival (like myself) were outraged. The biggest rock festival of the Netherlands managed to taint the good name they built up over nearly 50 years as one of the major festivals of Europe. And it was not like the festival had very much more to offer. The other headliners were Green Day and Kings of Leon. Two bands who also topped the bill in 2013. (The first year I went) Because the festival had not much more to offer I planned on skipping my first Pinkpop in 5 years. However. after noticing that ticket sales were in decline for this edition. And all the black market ticket hoarders were struggling to get rid of their tickets, me and my girlfriend were able to get tickets for only €140,- (normal tickets: €195,-) Saving 55 euros suddenly made Pinkpop festival a lot more attractive, because after all we were able to see the mighty Green Day again. (the reason I bought my ticket in 2013) and a few other bands that were on my live list for a very long time like System of a Down, Prophets of Rage (RATM), Sum 41, My Baby, Kaiser Chiefs. And hey maybe we can get a laugh over how bad Bieber is. and we sure did.

Day 1 felt like a strange experience. from the get go we realized that the Pinkpop audience has changed. After waiting in line for an hour to get in due to sharpened security checks we found ourselves on a festival site filled with stage hugging Beliebers, sneaked in selfie sticks and a suprising lack of bandshirts. yet we still had a surprisingly fun day. The Pierce Brothers gave an energetic 2 man performance making Mumford and sons-esque folk music. Kaiser Chiefs were most definitely Drunk and it made their performance all the better. After that we saw a little of Five Finger Death Punch. They were a little flat, and the crowd didn’t really seem into it. I wouldn’t call myself much of a 5FDP fan but some heavy metal was just what we needed at that moment. Then after sheltering for the rain for 30 minutes the moment everyone at the festival were waiting for, whether they liked it or not. Justin Bieber on the Main Stage. The clouds cleared and the intro music for Justins performance started. paired with some hard to understand visuals of Justin Bieber falling and telling us how hard his life must be and how much struggles he has (Sure justin). Then of course he came up wearing a sweatsuit and my biggest fear came true. He started dancing and play-backing. Oh how low Pinkpop has sunk. we stuck around for a good 30 minutes, because yet, his songs were still recognizable and the visuals/fireworks were quite impressive. but when he started talking about how he had no Idea where he was and tried to persuade his fans to buy even more merch because he even wore it himself. the performance sunk to its lowest point and we decided it would be best to go back to the camping and get some rest to be fit for Green Day the next day. Day 2 started and Finally Pinkpop felt like Pinkpop again. we were at the gates before opening and waited to get in next to some exited Green Day fans. waiting to be the first ones at the front of the stage and stay there for the next 12 hours. (something I myself did 4 years ago) We decided to chill on the field and get some more rest. Then we went to see My Baby at the tent stage. A Dutch band that combines blues riffs with trance music. they played a very energetic and tight set. However they failed to find a connection with the audience who, I guess, didn’t realize is was dance music. We originally planned to see Biffy Clyro on the second stage but we decided to skip them and make our way to the main stage to get some decent places near the front when Green Day starts. At the mainstage we saw Broederliefde (dutch hip hop group) not really my kind of hip hop so couldn’t really get into it. but they did managed to get the crowd moving. after that we saw Imagine Dragons. A band that, to me, is nothing more than their lead singer. The lead singer gave a tight performance even though admitting he felt very sick that day. The band however felt awkward. I never really thought of imagine dragons of a real band because of the overproduced sound they have. And this performance seemed to proof that, because the bandmembers had no idea what they were doing. they played a set full of awkward silences between songs a cliché drum solo, a cliché guitar solo which featured even more cliché rock riffs like seven nation army. I was the only one in the audience who seemed to mind though because everyone around me (including my girlfriend) were having the time of their lives. then finally Green Day started performing their pre-show success ritual of getting everyone to sing along to Bohemian Rhapsody, the drunken rabbit hyping the crowd up while playing Blitzkrieg Bop, and the good the bad and the ugly theme to add some more suspense. Green Day sounded the exact same as they did 4 years ago, just with some more strong songs in their arsenal like Bang Bang and Revolution Radio. I went to the concert to relive my 15 year old self. in a time when Green Day was the best band I ever heard and I listened to them religiously. Looking at the people in front of me glued to the barrier, seeing Green Day for the first time, reminded me so much of myself 4 years ago. But instead of the stage hugging super fan, this year I was the older (maybe even a little annoying ) guy that started the mosh pits with the people around me. Introducing the people around me to punk crowds like the 20 years olds did to me 4 years ago.

Day 3 started and we were at the gates just as early as day 2. My girlfriend wanted to see Oh Wonder and we heard rumors that they would play a small acoustic set for the radio at the start of the day. And they sure did. At the same time the festival grounds opened Oh Wonder started playing so we had to hurry to get there and not miss the first song. Seeing Oh Wonder in a small setting was very relaxing. 4 hours later we would see their full set at the tent stage. which was also great. But it did feel like even the tent stage was too big for them. Their small songs really came out stronger with just guitar and piano. And Being able to sit while listening to them was also a pro. The rest of the day was filled with more “15 year old me” nostalgia. we went to see Sum 41, the Prophets of Rage and System of a down. all 3 in a row. All of them were incredibly tight and got the crowd moving. This is the Pinkpop I know, and This is the Pinkpop I want to see every year. Sum 41 played an energetic show filled with old school hits that everyone seemed to remember. Prophets of Rage did 5 songs of the first Rage Against the Machine album. One of my favorite albums of all time. Of course it wasn’t Zach De La Rocha on vocals but if everybody is rapping along to the hits who even cares? The same thing counted for System of a Down. Not the headliner, but certainly the crowd magnet of the festival. everyone came to see the mighty system of a down. And maybe hoping to hear some new material. We didn’t get any new material we did however get a great show. Looking back at recordings System of a Sown were not very tight and Serj Tankian is definitely not as energetic as he used to be. But when the crowd is a nonstop moshpit.... Who the hell even cares? After what felt like a headliner-worthy set we were treated to the Real headliner of the festival. Kings of Leon. And boy did they disappoint. I wasn’t interested in getting close to the stage because we were tired from the rock marathon at the second stage. Kings of Leon sounded perfect, but their music and performance lacked so much energy. I started to wonder why they were headliner and if Kings of Leon are still relevant in 2017. Of course the crowd went wild when they played Sex on Fire and Use Somebody but they did nothing with the momentum the show gained from those 2 fan favorites. worst of all was how the show ended. No encore, just “we were Kings of Leon, hope to see you next time, bye” And as soon after he said that the outro music started playing and they were gone. It was like they couldn’t wait to leave the stage as soon as possible. Kings of Leon played a great set. But if a band doesn’t want to act like a headliner, it’s a damn shame that they’re booked as one.

All in all after having some doubt about going i can say that this was one of the most relaxing festivals I’ve ever been to. No large groups of six people, just me and my girlfriend. Even though the feeling was a little lost on the first day, Pinkpop is still Pinkpop and to me it’s not even about the bands anymore. it’s just about having a good time. So I’ll probably be going again in 2018. Even if they put even more pop into Pinkpop

[lanewqnz037-blog]

The Modern Jeep and Off Road Enthusiasts

The modern day Jeep is understood as an all-terrain lorry that can brave the most rugged of environments but is likewise considered road-worthy or street legal. The contemporary day Jeep brand name has undergone a lot of modifications in style and ownership throughout the years but has maintained its claim to fame as one of the most recognizable and influential cars in the world.

It is a testimony to the Jeep's staying power that it has actually effectively crossed military and civilian appeals and lines to both markets. With the increasing interest in off-road cars, the many versions of the Jeep are traversing both desert and icy tundra and continue to control the 4x4 world.

After the War: Commercializing the Jeep market

After the Second World War, Willys-Overland saw an opportunity to hallmark the Jeep and repackage it to appeal to a broader market.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opposed this move as the company had not develop the name "Jeep" initially; however, they chose not to pursue this claim further, allowing Willys-Overland to take ownership of the brand name.

Willys-Overland produced the very first civilian Jeep or CJ in 1945 and trademarked the Jeep brand in 1950. Willys-Overland struggled in terms of production and sales which allowed them to be taken over by the Kaiser Motors three years after they were granted the trademark of the Jeep brand name. Kaiser Motors also underwent repackaging and became the Kaiser-Jeep company in 1963.

It wasn't till Kaiser-Jeep was obtained by the American Motor Business or AMC that the Jeep brand actually took off. The Jeep brand complemented AMC's automobile service and AMC took advantage of Jeep's worldwide and government background. The French automobile maker, Renault began investing in the AMC however eventually encountered financial difficulty.

The American Motor Company was bought out by the Chrysler Corporation that ultimately combined with Daimler-Benz and formed the DaimlerChrylser. During this time the original Jeep CJ-17 was changed by the Jeep Wrangler. The present majority owner of the Jeep brand is a private equity business that put the Chrysler and Jeep divisions under the all-inclusive arm of the Chrysler Group LLC.

Jeeps All Around the World

Many variations of the Jeep have been made under special license all over the world. The Jeep Cherokee (XJ), for instance, was produced by the Beijing Jeep Company, Ltd. in partnership with the Beijing Automobile Industry Corporation.

The Jeep vs. General Motor's Hummer

Willys-Overland's first style for the Jeep included a slat-grille made up of an plan of flat bars. This was revamped by Ford into a 9-slot grille which was more lightweight and much better suited for the World War II jeeps.

The business Jeep now uses a 7-slot grille style which is likewise in use by the General Motors Hummer. Chrysler Jeep department claimed exclusive rights for the 7-slot grille because they are now the sole owner of the Jeep hallmark.

The last Hummer was produced in 2009. Jeeps, on the other hand, are still going strong.

Jeep Enthusiasts and Off Roadway Clubs

There is a fanaticism with Jeeps that runs deeper than that of most other vehicles. Many Jeep owners have actually opted to share their love with fellow owners by joining local clubs committed to them. These clubs frequently gathering for weekend journeys; driving their Jeeps off road for shared adventures as well as assisting each other with custom-made modifications. Many groups have actually opted to signify their membership with special Jeep club shirts or sticker labels featuring tailored photos of their own automobiles.

What might be unexpected to some Americans, is that a few of the greatest Jeep fans on the planet come not from the United States, but South America. The rugged country of Columbia is the ideal stomping ground for these hardy 4x4s. In this area, Jeeps are more than simply a hobby, they are a way of life. The rinsed dirt roadways of coffee nation are impassible to standard cars. They are true workhorses, bring supplies to remote areas in addition to offering trustworthy transportation to individuals residing in villages.

Later, Ford and Willys-Overland produced two more jeep models. In the end, Ford and Willy's-Overland manufactured the very first mass production of jeeps.

The origin of the word jeep is not clear, however people believe that the word came from phonetically slurred pronunciation of "GP" or car for basic Article source purpose.

Some individuals also think that the name for this multi purpose lorry came from a character in Thimble Theater cartoon Popeye, the character is referred to as Eugene the Jeep. Eugene the Jeep is a character that might walk through ceilings and walls , climb trees, fly and simply go anywhere it wanted.

Early Americans believe that soldiers were so satisfied with the adaptability of the jeep that they named their prototype from the comic character.

After the production of the very first jeep prototype and the 2nd set of jeep models from Ford and Willys-Overland, Willys-Overland Motor Business was designated to produce the very first mass production of jeeps in Toledo, Ohio.

Because of the substantial quantity requirement of the United States Federal Government, Ford Motor Business complimented Willys-Overland to assist complete the requirements.

In combination, the production of Willys-Overland and Ford reached about 600,000 systems of this high mobility multipurpose-wheeled lorry, which some call hum-vee.

The jeep is commonly copied by other nations such as in France and The Netherlands. The french variation of the jeep is developed by Hotchkiss and in The Netherlands, Nekaf is the manufacturer of their jeep.

Other variations of the jeep are the train jeep and the amphibious jeep, which are better than any other automobile of its size.

Part of the war effort brought jeeps to the Red Army during the World War II.

Today, the hallmark holder of Jeep is DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler is the successor of the company Willys-Overland. Jeep aficionados are believed to acknowledge the distinction of the 7 bar grille design of jeep as popular as Mickey Mouse.

DaimlerChrysler likewise thinks that the jeep brand name is well-known worldwide, second just to the Coke brand. This can be true for those who are enthusiasts of this flexible lorry.

It is true that jeeps are multipurpose and recognized worldwide; as in fact, there are likewise producers of the jeep brand name in Beijing, China. This producer did this originating from the joint venture between Beijing Jeep Corporation Ltd., and DaimlerChrysler Corporation located in China.

In addition, other jeep cars have different design classification. Some of them are civilian jeep that brings the "xJ" designation although not all are widely known as the traditional CJ or Civilian Jeep.

[tipsoctopus]

"World class", "Better buy than Klaassen" - Loads of Everton fans discuss Silva favourite

Loads of Everton fans have been giving their verdict on the form of Richarlison, who already seems to be repeating his Watford mistakes.

When Richarlison went off the boil in the second half of last season, it was widely assumed that it was down to the departure of Marco Silva, who clearly has a great relationship with the youngster.

The other factor in the youngster’s demise with the Hornets was fatigue, as his appearance at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship meant he was playing an entire season on very little rest.

Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…

However, he has now followed the exact same path at Everton, which is particularly concerning given the presence of Silva and a fan base that is desperate for him to succeed.

The 21 year-old has ten Premier League goals to this name this season, a superb return for a young winger at a new club, but just one of those goals have come in 2019, and he has been virtually non-existent in the last few games.

Of course, the fact that the entire team is underperforming isn’t helping, but the youngster’s form is a concern nonetheless, and loads of fans have been giving their verdict.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Needs to stop sulking, needs to stay on his feet more, but equally needs more support from referees who give him nothing. He’s a quality player, it’s there to see.

— Tom🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@TommyD1878) February 10, 2019

Spends too much time on the deck sulking

— Stuart (@Stupot1994) February 10, 2019

He is a symbol of the team. Talented, mentally weak & fragile, needs a strong character managing him who keeps things simple and can instil belief & discipline. I don’t think that man’s name is Silva.

— Paul Tran (@paultrantrainer) February 10, 2019

21 years old. Brazil international. Double figures for season. Will get better when we have more threat and as a result he gets more space.

Gone off the boil recently but so has the team. Still puts a shift in. Fighter and epitomises how blues wants players to play!

— Mike Heyes (@mikeheyes1) February 10, 2019

Good player but needs to sort his head out. Does come in for rough treatment at times but spends too much time on the deck moaning and lets it affect his game.

— Trevor Edwards (@blackrodblue) February 10, 2019

Better buy than Klaassen

— Greg Evans (@gregofallgregs) February 10, 2019

Jury is out. Certainly not a 50m player on the evidence so far!

— Greg Lambden ✌?✌? (@Gre9oryPeck) February 10, 2019

Good player but I’d take 80/90 mill off PSG any day

— Neil Thomas (@11thommo) February 10, 2019

Confidence player. No pace an can’t dribble. But very gritty ancan finish. Loads to learn an he has to want to. He’s a target an players target him so he has to use that to his advantage

— Der Ketwig Kaiser (@DerKetwigKaiser) February 10, 2019

Fantastic talent, could be world class. Needs to stay on his feet and keep his head down. He’s young, give him time

— Alex Peace (@the_alexpeace) February 10, 2019

from FootballFanCast.com http://bit.ly/2BvEj4q via IFTTT from Blogger http://bit.ly/2SsDtzZ via IFTTT

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Back to Life: COVID Lung Transplant Survivor Tells Her Story

Mayra Ramirez remembers the nightmares.

During six weeks on life support at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ramirez said, she had terrifying nightmares that she couldn’t distinguish from reality.

“Most of them involve me drowning,” she said. “I attribute that to me not being able to breathe, and struggling to breathe.”

On June 5, Ramirez, 28, became the first known COVID-19 patient in the U.S. to undergo a double lung transplant. She is strong enough now to begin sharing the story of her ordeal.

Mysterious Exposure

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mayra Ramirez began working from home. She’s unsure how she contracted COVID-19.(Northwestern Medicine)

Before the pandemic, Ramirez worked as a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Chicago. She enjoyed walking her dogs and running 5K races.

Ramirez had been working from home since mid-March, hardly leaving the house, so she has no idea how she contracted the coronavirus. In late April, she started experiencing chronic spasms, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, and a slight fever.

“I felt very fatigued,” Ramirez said. “I wasn’t able to walk long distances without falling over. And that’s when I decided to go into the emergency room.”

From the ER to a Ventilator

The staff at Northwestern checked her vitals and found her oxygen levels were extremely low. She was given 10 minutes to explain her situation over the phone to her mother in North Carolina and appoint her to make medical decisions on her behalf.

Ramirez knew she was about to be placed on a ventilator, but she didn’t understand exactly what that meant.

“In Spanish, the word ‘ventilator’ — ventilador — is ‘fan,’ so I thought, ‘Oh, they’re just gonna blow some air into me and I’ll be OK. Maybe have a three-day stay, and then I’ll be right out.’ So I wasn’t very worried,” Ramirez said.

In fact, she would spend the next six weeks heavily sedated on that ventilator and another machine — known as ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — pumping and oxygenating her blood outside of her body.

In this photo taken before the transplant, Mayra Ramirez is being monitored by the ECMO team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.(Northwestern Medicine)

One theory about why Ramirez became so sick is that she has a neurological condition that is treated with steroids, drugs that can suppress the immune system.

By early June, Ramirez was at risk of further decline. She began showing signs that her kidneys and liver were starting to fail, with no improvement in her lung function. Her family was told she might not make it through the night, so her mother and sisters caught the first flight from North Carolina to Chicago to say goodbye.

When they arrived, the doctors told Ramirez’s mother, Nohemi Romero, that there was one last thing they could try.

Ramirez was a candidate for a double lung transplant, they said, although the procedure had never been done on a COVID patient in the U.S. Her mother agreed, and within 48 hours of being listed for transplant, a donor was found and the successful procedure was performed on June 5.

At a recent news conference held by Northwestern Memorial, Romero shared in Spanish that there were no words to describe the pain of not being by her daughter’s side as she struggled for her life.

She thanked God all went well, and for giving her the strength to make it through.

‘I Just Felt Like a Vegetable’

Dr. Ankit Bharat, Northwestern Medicine’s chief of thoracic surgery, performed the 10-hour procedure.

“Most patients are quite sick going into [a] lung transplant,” Bharat said in an interview in June. “But she was so sick. In fact, I can say without hesitation, the sickest patient I ever transplanted.”

Bharat said most COVID-19 patients will not be candidates for transplants because of their age and other health conditions that decrease the likelihood of success. And early research shows that up to half of COVID patients on ventilators survive the illness and are likely to recover on their own.

But for some, like Ramirez, Bharat said, a transplant can be a lifesaving option of last resort.

When Ramirez woke up after the operation, she was disoriented, could barely move her body and couldn’t speak.

“I just felt like a vegetable. It was frustrating, but at the time I didn’t have the cognitive ability to process what was going on,” Ramirez said.

She recalled being sad that her mother wasn’t with her in the hospital, not understanding that visitors weren’t allowed because of the pandemic.

Her family had sent photos to post by her hospital bed, and Ramirez said she couldn’t recognize anyone in the pictures.

“I was actually sort of upset about it, [thinking,] ‘Who are these strangers and why are their pictures in my room?’” Ramirez said. “It was weeks later, actually, that I took a second look and realized, ‘Hey, that’s my grandmother. That’s my mom and my siblings. And that’s me.”

After a few weeks, Ramirez said, she finally understood what happened to her. When COVID-19 restrictions loosened at the hospital in mid-June, her mother was finally able to visit.

“The first thing I did was just tear up,” Ramirez said. “I was overjoyed to see her.”

The Long Road to Recovery

After weeks of inpatient rehabilitation, Ramirez was discharged home. She’s now receiving in-home nursing assistance as well as physical and occupational therapy, and she’s working on finding a psychologist.

Ramirez eagerly looks forward to being able to spend more time with her family, her boyfriend and her dogs and serving the immigrant community through her legal work.

But for now, her days are consumed by rehab. Her doctors say it will be at least a year before she can function independently and be as active as before.

Ramirez is slowly regaining strength and learning how to breathe with her new lungs.

She takes more than 17 pills, four times a day, including medicines to prevent her body from rejecting the new lungs. She also takes anxiety meds and antidepressants to help her cope with daily nightmares and panic attacks.

The long-term physical and mental health tolls on Ramirez and other COVID-19 survivors remain largely unknown, since the virus is so new.

While most people who contract the virus are left seemingly unscathed, for some patients, like Ramirez, the road to recovery is full of uncertainty, said Dr. Mady Hornig, a physician-scientist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Some patients can experience post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, which can consist of depression, memory issues and other cognitive and mental health problems, Hornig said. Under normal circumstances, ICU visits from loved ones are encouraged, she said, because the human interaction can be protective.

“That type of contact would normally keep people oriented … so that it doesn’t become as traumatic,” Hornig said.

Hopes for the Future

COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed Latino communities, as Latinos are overrepresented in jobs that expose them to the virus and have lower rates of health insurance and other social protections.

Ramirez has health insurance, although that hasn’t spared her from tens and thousands of dollars’ worth of medical bills.

And even though she still ended up getting COVID-19, she counts herself lucky for having a job that allowed her to work from home when the pandemic struck. Many Latino workers don’t have that luxury, she said, so they’re forced to risk their lives doing low-wage jobs deemed essential at this time.

Ramirez’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, making her particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. She had been working at a meatpacking plant in North Carolina, for a company that Ramirez said has had hundreds of COVID-19 cases among employees.

So Ramirez is relieved to have her mom in Chicago, helping take care of her.

“I’m glad this is taking her away from her position,” Ramirez said.

Friends and family in North Carolina have been fundraising to help pay her medical bills, selling raffle tickets and setting up a GoFundMe page on her behalf. Ramirez is also applying for financial assistance from the hospital.

Her experience with COVID-19 has not changed who she is as a person, she said, and she looks forward to living her life to the fullest.

If she ever gets the chance to speak with the family of the person whose lungs she now has, she said, she will thank them “for raising such a healthy child and a caring person [who] was kind enough to become an organ donor.”

Her life may never be the same, but that doesn’t mean she won’t try. She laughs as she explains how she asked her surgeon to take her skydiving someday.

“Dr. Bharat actually used to work at a skydiving company when he was younger,” Ramirez said. “And so he promised me that, hopefully within a year, he could get me there.”

And she has every intention of holding him to that promise.

This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes Illinois Public Media, Side Effects Public Media, NPR and KHN.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Back to Life: COVID Lung Transplant Survivor Tells Her Story published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Back to Life: COVID Lung Transplant Survivor Tells Her Story

Mayra Ramirez remembers the nightmares.

During six weeks on life support at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ramirez said, she had terrifying nightmares that she couldn’t distinguish from reality.

“Most of them involve me drowning,” she said. “I attribute that to me not being able to breathe, and struggling to breathe.”

On June 5, Ramirez, 28, became the first known COVID-19 patient in the U.S. to undergo a double lung transplant. She is strong enough now to begin sharing the story of her ordeal.

Mysterious Exposure

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mayra Ramirez began working from home. She’s unsure how she contracted COVID-19.(Northwestern Medicine)

Before the pandemic, Ramirez worked as a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Chicago. She enjoyed walking her dogs and running 5K races.

Ramirez had been working from home since mid-March, hardly leaving the house, so she has no idea how she contracted the coronavirus. In late April, she started experiencing chronic spasms, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, and a slight fever.

“I felt very fatigued,” Ramirez said. “I wasn’t able to walk long distances without falling over. And that’s when I decided to go into the emergency room.”

From the ER to a Ventilator

The staff at Northwestern checked her vitals and found her oxygen levels were extremely low. She was given 10 minutes to explain her situation over the phone to her mother in North Carolina and appoint her to make medical decisions on her behalf.

Ramirez knew she was about to be placed on a ventilator, but she didn’t understand exactly what that meant.

“In Spanish, the word ‘ventilator’ — ventilador — is ‘fan,’ so I thought, ‘Oh, they’re just gonna blow some air into me and I’ll be OK. Maybe have a three-day stay, and then I’ll be right out.’ So I wasn’t very worried,” Ramirez said.

In fact, she would spend the next six weeks heavily sedated on that ventilator and another machine — known as ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — pumping and oxygenating her blood outside of her body.

In this photo taken before the transplant, Mayra Ramirez is being monitored by the ECMO team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.(Northwestern Medicine)

One theory about why Ramirez became so sick is that she has a neurological condition that is treated with steroids, drugs that can suppress the immune system.

By early June, Ramirez was at risk of further decline. She began showing signs that her kidneys and liver were starting to fail, with no improvement in her lung function. Her family was told she might not make it through the night, so her mother and sisters caught the first flight from North Carolina to Chicago to say goodbye.

When they arrived, the doctors told Ramirez’s mother, Nohemi Romero, that there was one last thing they could try.

Ramirez was a candidate for a double lung transplant, they said, although the procedure had never been done on a COVID patient in the U.S. Her mother agreed, and within 48 hours of being listed for transplant, a donor was found and the successful procedure was performed on June 5.

At a recent news conference held by Northwestern Memorial, Romero shared in Spanish that there were no words to describe the pain of not being by her daughter’s side as she struggled for her life.

She thanked God all went well, and for giving her the strength to make it through.

‘I Just Felt Like a Vegetable’

Dr. Ankit Bharat, Northwestern Medicine’s chief of thoracic surgery, performed the 10-hour procedure.

“Most patients are quite sick going into [a] lung transplant,” Bharat said in an interview in June. “But she was so sick. In fact, I can say without hesitation, the sickest patient I ever transplanted.”

Bharat said most COVID-19 patients will not be candidates for transplants because of their age and other health conditions that decrease the likelihood of success. And early research shows that up to half of COVID patients on ventilators survive the illness and are likely to recover on their own.

But for some, like Ramirez, Bharat said, a transplant can be a lifesaving option of last resort.

When Ramirez woke up after the operation, she was disoriented, could barely move her body and couldn’t speak.

“I just felt like a vegetable. It was frustrating, but at the time I didn’t have the cognitive ability to process what was going on,” Ramirez said.

She recalled being sad that her mother wasn’t with her in the hospital, not understanding that visitors weren’t allowed because of the pandemic.

Her family had sent photos to post by her hospital bed, and Ramirez said she couldn’t recognize anyone in the pictures.

“I was actually sort of upset about it, [thinking,] ‘Who are these strangers and why are their pictures in my room?’” Ramirez said. “It was weeks later, actually, that I took a second look and realized, ‘Hey, that’s my grandmother. That’s my mom and my siblings. And that’s me.”

After a few weeks, Ramirez said, she finally understood what happened to her. When COVID-19 restrictions loosened at the hospital in mid-June, her mother was finally able to visit.

“The first thing I did was just tear up,” Ramirez said. “I was overjoyed to see her.”

The Long Road to Recovery

After weeks of inpatient rehabilitation, Ramirez was discharged home. She’s now receiving in-home nursing assistance as well as physical and occupational therapy, and she’s working on finding a psychologist.

Ramirez eagerly looks forward to being able to spend more time with her family, her boyfriend and her dogs and serving the immigrant community through her legal work.

But for now, her days are consumed by rehab. Her doctors say it will be at least a year before she can function independently and be as active as before.

Ramirez is slowly regaining strength and learning how to breathe with her new lungs.

She takes more than 17 pills, four times a day, including medicines to prevent her body from rejecting the new lungs. She also takes anxiety meds and antidepressants to help her cope with daily nightmares and panic attacks.

The long-term physical and mental health tolls on Ramirez and other COVID-19 survivors remain largely unknown, since the virus is so new.

While most people who contract the virus are left seemingly unscathed, for some patients, like Ramirez, the road to recovery is full of uncertainty, said Dr. Mady Hornig, a physician-scientist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Some patients can experience post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, which can consist of depression, memory issues and other cognitive and mental health problems, Hornig said. Under normal circumstances, ICU visits from loved ones are encouraged, she said, because the human interaction can be protective.

“That type of contact would normally keep people oriented … so that it doesn’t become as traumatic,” Hornig said.

Hopes for the Future

COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed Latino communities, as Latinos are overrepresented in jobs that expose them to the virus and have lower rates of health insurance and other social protections.

Ramirez has health insurance, although that hasn’t spared her from tens and thousands of dollars’ worth of medical bills.

And even though she still ended up getting COVID-19, she counts herself lucky for having a job that allowed her to work from home when the pandemic struck. Many Latino workers don’t have that luxury, she said, so they’re forced to risk their lives doing low-wage jobs deemed essential at this time.

Ramirez’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, making her particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. She had been working at a meatpacking plant in North Carolina, for a company that Ramirez said has had hundreds of COVID-19 cases among employees.

So Ramirez is relieved to have her mom in Chicago, helping take care of her.

“I’m glad this is taking her away from her position,” Ramirez said.

Friends and family in North Carolina have been fundraising to help pay her medical bills, selling raffle tickets and setting up a GoFundMe page on her behalf. Ramirez is also applying for financial assistance from the hospital.

Her experience with COVID-19 has not changed who she is as a person, she said, and she looks forward to living her life to the fullest.

If she ever gets the chance to speak with the family of the person whose lungs she now has, she said, she will thank them “for raising such a healthy child and a caring person [who] was kind enough to become an organ donor.”

Her life may never be the same, but that doesn’t mean she won’t try. She laughs as she explains how she asked her surgeon to take her skydiving someday.

“Dr. Bharat actually used to work at a skydiving company when he was younger,” Ramirez said. “And so he promised me that, hopefully within a year, he could get me there.”

And she has every intention of holding him to that promise.

This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes Illinois Public Media, Side Effects Public Media, NPR and KHN.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Back to Life: COVID Lung Transplant Survivor Tells Her Story published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

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http://time.com/5271527/older-couples-living-apart-unmarried/

Three years ago, William Mamel climbed a ladder in Margaret Sheroff’s apartment and fixed a malfunctioning ceiling fan. “I love that you did this,” Sheroff exclaimed as he clambered back down.

Spontaneously, Mamel drew Sheroff to him and gave her a kiss. “I kind of surprised her. But she was open to it,” he remembered.

Since then, Mamel, 87, and Sheroff, 74, have become a deeply committed couple. “Most nights, I’ll have dinner with Marg and many nights I stay with her overnight,” Mamel explained.

And yet, despite the romance, these North Carolina seniors live in separate houses and don’t plan to move in together or marry. Demographers call this type of relationship “living apart together” (LAT).

“It’s a new, emerging form of family, especially among older adults, that’s on the rise,” said Laura Funk, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Manitoba in Canada who’s written about living apart together.

Questions abound about these unconventional couplings. What effects will they have on older adults’ health and well-being? Will children from previous marriages accept them? What will happen if one partner becomes seriously ill and needs caregiving?

Researchers are beginning to focus on these concerns, said Susan Brown, chair of the sociology department and co-director of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. “It’s really remarkable that older adults are in the vanguard of family change,” she said.

How many older adults are in LAT relationships? According to a 2005 survey by the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, 7% of individuals between 57 and 85 years old described themselves as living apart together. (Some experts contend the measure used in this survey was too broad, allowing couples who are dating to be included.)

Last month, at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in Denver, Huijing Wu, a graduate student in sociology at Bowling Green State University, presented an analysis of nearly 7,700 Wisconsin adults age 50 and older surveyed in 2011. Married couples accounted for 71.5% of that group, single people accounted for 20.5%, and people who were “partnered but unmarried” accounted for 8%.

Of the partnered group, 39% were in LAT relationships, according to a more focused definition of this arrangement, compared with 31% who were dating (a less committed, shorter-term relationship) and 30% who were cohabiting.

Jacquelyn Benson, an assistant professor of human development and family science at the University of Missouri, is among a handful of researchers who have studied the experiences of older people in LAT relationships. “Older adults really see this as a lifestyle choice, not a relationship of convenience,” she said.

Benson’s 2016 study of 25 older adults (from 60 to 88 years old) in LAT relationships found various motivations for these partnerships. Seniors wanted to have “intimate companionship” while maintaining their own homes, social circles, customary activities and finances, she discovered. Those who’d been divorced or in unhappy earlier marriages didn’t want to tie themselves down again and believed a degree of distance was preferable to day-to-day togetherness.

Also, several women who’d cared previously for sick parents or husbands wanted to avoid assuming caregiving responsibilities or the burden of running a household again.

“It’s a been-there-done-that attitude,” Brown explained. “I took care of my husband, I reared my children, and now it’s my time.”

Caregiving is a thorny issue, on multiple fronts. The only known study to look at caregiving in LAT relationships, out of the Netherlands, found that about half of partners planned to provide care, if needed — a sign of ambivalence. But when illness entered the picture, partners offered assistance nonetheless.

“People in LAT relationships forget there’s going to be this emotional entanglement and they won’t just be able to walk away,” Benson said.

Other complications can arise if adult children resent or fail to recognize their older parent’s outside-of-marriage relationship. “In some cases, when a partner wants to step in and have a say, they’ve been pushed out by family members,” Benson noted.

One older woman in her study learned that her partner had been placed in a nursing home by his family only when she couldn’t reach him at home anymore. “They didn’t include her in the conversation at all,” Benson said, “and she was pretty upset about it.”

Only a few studies have evaluated the quality of LAT relationships, which has implications for seniors’ well-being. One found that older adults in these relationships tend to be less happy and receive less support from partners than people who are married. Another, presented at last year’s Population Association of America meeting, found that the quality of LAT relationships isn’t as strong as it is for marriages.

That hasn’t been true for Luci Dannar, 90, who’s been involved with James Pastoret, 94, for almost seven years, after meeting him at a dance at a Columbia, Mo., senior center.

“The first feeling I had for Jim was sorrow because he seemed to be grieving from his wife’s death five months before,” said Dannar, whose husband and oldest daughter both passed away 19 years ago. “I thought maybe I could be helpful to this man because I’d been through those deaths.”

After getting to know Pastoret and realizing she liked him, Dannar laid down her terms. “I told him, I don’t ever want to get married and he said ‘I don’t either,’” she remembered. “And I said if you have a jealous bone in your body, don’t darken my door again. Because I lived 53 years with a jealous husband, and I never want to go through that again.”

Neither wanted to give up their apartments in a retirement community, about 300 steps from each other. “I like my independence,” said Pastoret, who taught in the school of natural resources at the University of Missouri for 33 years. “When I go home at night after supper with Lucy, I’m very happy to be by myself.”

“He comes over at 5 every evening and leaves here about 9, and then I have two hours by myself — my private time,” Dannar said. “We really like our space, our time alone, and we don’t need to be together 24 hours a day.”

Unlike some other older LAT couples, they’ve talked about the future and toured assisted living centers together. “Someday, if he needs me to help him or I need him to help me, we will probably rent an apartment together, with our own bedrooms, and hire extra help,” Dannar said. “Our plan is to take care of each other until one of us is gone or we go into a nursing home.”

William Mamel is already making good on a similar promise to Margaret Sheroff, who had a mass removed from her gallbladder late last year and recently was hospitalized with complications from chemotherapy.

“With her in the hospital, I spend most of my days there,” said Mamel, who was a good friend of Sheroff’s with his wife of 37 years, Betty Ann, who passed away 2½ years ago. “Being caregivers for each other isn’t even a question.”

Their situation is complicated by Sheroff’s guardianship for her husband, John, who has advanced dementia and resides in a nursing home. “Marriage isn’t in the picture for us, but that doesn’t matter,” Sheroff said. “We’re taking one day at a time and enjoying being together.”

“Just to be able to have someone that you can wake up with in the morning and talk to, someone to have coffee with and see the smile on their face, is such a blessing,” she continued. “At this time of life, it’s really, really important to have someone in your life who’s there for you.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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