#Deputy Rice

[pasquines]

#Federal Government #Puerto Rico #Advisor Julie Graves #Advisor Susan Rice #ARP #Biden-Harris Administration #Contextomy #Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves #EPA #FEMA #IRA #President Biden

[zvaigzdelasas]

"Why doesn't Hamas just have elections?'

The result was a victory for Hamas, contesting under the list name of Change and Reform, which received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, whilst the ruling Fatah received 41.43% of the vote and won 45 seats.[1][...]

In the lead-up to the elections, on 26 September 2005 Israel launched a campaign of arrests against PLC members. 450 members of Hamas were detained, mostly those involved in the 2006 PLC elections. The majority of them were kept in administrative detention for different periods.[19] In the election period, 15 PLC members were captured and held as political prisoners.[20]

During the elections, the Israeli authorities banned the candidates from holding election campaigns inside Jerusalem. Rallies and public meetings were prohibited. The Jerusalem identity cards of some PLC members were also revoked.[21] The Carter Center, which monitored the elections, criticised the detentions of persons who "are guilty of nothing more than winning a parliamentary seat in an open and honest election".[22][...]

On 21 December 2005, Israeli officials stated their intention to prevent voting in East Jerusalem, which, unlike most of the Palestinian-inhabited areas that are planned to participate in the election, is under Israeli civil and military control. (Israel annexed East Jerusalem in the wake of the Six-Day War; this move has not been recognized by most other governments, or by the PNA, which claims Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital.) Israel's stated motivation was not the argument about sovereignty over the area (Palestinian voters in East Jerusalem had been allowed to vote in previous PNA elections despite the dispute) but concern over Hamas' participation in—and potential victory in—the election.[...]

The Israeli police arrested campaigners of Hamas and closed at least three Hamas election offices in East Jerusalem during the campaign.[26][27][...]

On 29 March 2006 a new government was formed by Hamas leader Ismail Haniya.

After the kidnap of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006, Israel launched a series of raids into Gaza and West Bank. Israel destroyed civilian infrastructure and arrested dozens of Hamas supporters, including elected cabinet ministers and members of the PLC. On 28 June overnight, the army invaded Gaza and performed airstrikes, bombing infrastructure such as bridges and an electricity station. On 29 June, the IDF detained from the West Bank 8 ministers and 26 PLC members in addition to many other political leaders.[19][41] By August 2006, Israel had arrested 49 senior Hamas officials, all from the West Bank, including 33 parliamentarians, "because technically they were members of a terrorist organisation although they may not be involved in terrorist acts themselves". Most of the Hamas detainees were moderate members from the West Bank who had been calling on the Gaza leadership to recognise Israel and make the party more acceptable to the international community. Hamas has accused Israel of trying to destroy the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.[42][...]

On 28 January 2006, Israel said it would prevent Hamas leaders, including newly elected PLC deputies, from travelling between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. On 29 January, Ehud Olmert said that after Hamas sets up a Government, Israel would stop transferring to the PA custom duties and taxes it had collected on their behalf until it was satisfied that they would not end up in the hands of "terrorists". US Secretary of State Rice declared that "The United States wants other nations to cut off aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian Government, also ruling out any US financial assistance to a Hamas Government." [45] On 17 February, one day before the new parliament was sworn in, the then Fatah-led government returned $50 million US aid that Washington did not want to come in the hands of the new government. The money had been intended for infrastructure projects in Gaza.[46][...]

Just before the January 2006 elections, and after witnessing Hamas' gains in municipal polls, the House of Representatives passed H.Res. 575 (December 16, 2005), asserting that terrorist groups, like Hamas, should not be permitted to participate in Palestinian elections until such organizations "recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, cease incitement, condemn terrorism, and permanently disarm and dismantle their terrorist infrastructure."[54] The Palestinian Authority chose to ignore this external decision[...]

The New York Times reported in February 2006 that "The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again. The intention is to starve the Palestinian Authority of money and international connections to the point where, some months from now, its president, Mahmoud Abbas, is compelled to call a new election."[56] Just how much further matters would be taken was revealed in April 2008. Tom Segev (in Ha'aretz) reported:

a "confidential document, a 'talking points' memo,[57] was left by the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, Jake Walles, on the desk of Mahmoud Abbas . … According to the paper left behind … he wanted to pressure Abu Mazen to take action that would annul the outcome of the elections that had catapulted Hamas to power. … When nothing happened, Walles … warned the Palestinian president that the time had come to act. Instead, Abu Mazen launched negotiations with Hamas on the establishment of a unity government. … At this point the Americans moved to "Plan B." That was a plan to eliminate Hamas by force. In fact, it was to be a deliberately fomented civil war Fatah was supposed to win, with U.S. help."[58][...]

Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war. The plan was for forces led by Dahlan, and armed with new weapons supplied at America's behest, to give Fatah the muscle it needed to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power. (The State Department declined to comment.) Some sources call the scheme "Iran-contra 2.0," recalling that Abrams was convicted (and later pardoned) for withholding information from Congress during the original Iran-contra scandal under President Reagan. There are echoes of other past misadventures as well: the C.I.A.'s 1953 ouster of an elected prime minister in Iran, which set the stage for the 1979 Islamic revolution there; the aborted 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, which gave Fidel Castro an excuse to solidify his hold on Cuba; and the contemporary tragedy in Iraq.[59]

The Jerusalem Post confirmed that the documents cited by Vanity Fair "have been corroborated by sources at the US State Department and Palestinian officials", and added:

The report said that instead of driving its enemies out of power, the US-backed Fatah fighters inadvertently provoked Hamas to seize total control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. David Wurmser, who resigned as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief Middle East adviser a month after the Hamas takeover, said he believed that Hamas had no intention of taking over the Gaza Strip until Fatah forced its hand. "It looks to me that what happened wasn't so much a coup by Hamas but an attempted coup by Fatah that was preempted before it could happen," he was quoted as saying. Wurmser said that the Bush administration engaged in a "dirty war in an effort to provide a corrupt dictatorship [led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] with victory." Wurmser said he was especially galled by the Bush administration's hypocrisy. "There is a stunning disconnect between the president's call for Middle East democracy and this policy," he said. "It directly contradicts it.".[60][...]

The original article was cited by the Irish Times, the Israeli historian and political analyst, Tom Segev, in an article entitled "Bay of Pigs in Gaza", and also by Suzanne Goldenburg of The Guardian, who added "A state department memo put the cost for salaries, training and weapons at $1.27bn (£640m) over five years."[50]

The 2008 exposé by Vanity Fair (of plans to reverse the democratic 2006 PA parliamentary elections) confirmed a CF Report of January 2007, over a year earlier, by Alistair Crooke:

Deputy National Security Advisor, Elliott Abrams ... has had it about for some months now that the U.S. is not only not interested in dealing with Hamas, it is working to ensure its failure. In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas elections, last January, Abrams greeted a group of Palestinian businessmen in his White House office with talk of a "hard coup" against the newly-elected Hamas government — the violent overthrow of their leadership with arms supplied by the United States. While the businessmen were shocked, Abrams was adamant — the U.S. had to support Fatah with guns, ammunition and training, so that they could fight Hamas for control of the Palestinian government.

Over the last twelve months, the United States has supplied guns, ammunition and training to Palestinian Fatah activists to take on Hamas in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank. A large number of Fatah activists have been trained and "graduated" from two camps — one in Ramallah and one in Jericho. The supplies of rifles and ammunition, which started as a mere trickle, has now become a torrent (Haaretz reports the U.S. has designated an astounding $86.4 million for Abu Mazen's security detail), and while the program has gone largely without notice in the American press, it is openly talked about and commented on in the Arab media. Of course, in public, Secretary Rice appears contrite and concerned with "the growing lawlessness" among Palestinians, while failing to mention that such lawlessness is exactly what the Abrams plan was designed to create."[61]

Voice of America reported that the Bush administration had denied the Vanity Fair report.[62]

In 2016 a 2006 audio tape emerged that contains an interview by Eli Chomsky of the Jewish Press with Hillary Clinton. Clinton opined that pushing for elections "in the Palestinian territories ... was a big mistake", adding "(a)nd if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win."[63][...]

In June 2007 the Washington Post reported: "Hamas … leaders have accused Fatah's security services of working on behalf of Israeli and American interests because of a $40 million U.S. aid package to strengthen Abbas's forces. … The Israeli government has openly supported Fatah forces against Hamas, whose tightening control of Gaza alarmed Israeli defense officials.[67]

In a wikileaks cable dated 13 June 2007, Shin Bet security chief Yuval Diskin told U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones that: "Fatah had thus turned to Israel for help in attack Hamas", which he termed a new and unprecedented development in Jerusalem's relations with the Palestinian Authority.

In the cable sent to Washington, Jones said that Yadlin had been quite satisfied with Hamas' seizure of the Gaza Strip. If Hamas managed to take complete control then the Israel Defense Forces would be able to relate to Gaza as a hostile territory and stop looking at the militant group as an undiplomatic player, Yadlin apparently told Jones."[68]

[cemeterything]

how do you give your ocs last names that both fit the character and sound like a real plausible name? your oc names always sound really good and I can never figure out how to give mine last names without them sounding too fantasy

mostly i just cycle through name ideas until i find one that clicks. i usually have a vague theme in mind which guides my research on common surnames, word etymology and variations throughout language, culture and history. for example, giving annie, emery and jocelyn the last name "crane" came from wanting a surname that evoked both slender elegance and undertones of creepiness and/or the gothic, since the crane family is a gothic horror family associated with spider motifs. cranes are elegant but also slightly grotesquely proportioned birds, and "crane" is the protagonist's last name in the short horror story the legend of sleepy hollow, which has gothic themes. it also rolls off the tongue following the names "annie" "emery" and "jocelyn", so it checks off all the requirements. "tanaka", chiyo's last name, is a common japanese last name that translates literally to "center of the rice paddy", which reflects chiyo's humble origins as the daughter of rural rice farmers in the north of japan, while her first name translates to "thousand (years), eternal", reflecting her aspirations to achieve immortality either through a legacy of art or literal transcendence from the flesh to the machine/digital consciousness.

sometimes i also settle on last names before i choose first names, because it can be easier. "lincoln ray" started as "ray", a name that is both masculine and strong and also evokes light and hope, and "lincoln" followed as a first name because i wanted him to have a traditionally usamerican-sounding name with an implied hint of bloody violence (which, since president lincoln was assassinated by being shot in the back of the head, fits the bill). nicky's last name, dyatlov, is a fairly common russian surname which means "woodpecker". woodpeckers have black and white feathers; nicky has black and white hair. it's also a name associated with death and misfortune; the infamous dyatlov pass incident being of course the most obvious example, but also the surname of the deputy chief engineer on duty on the night of the chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. nicky is a fairly unsettling figure whose presence usually means something unfortunate is going to happen, so it was fitting. "nikita" or "nicky" followed as a first name because nicky is nonbinary, and "nikita" is a gender neutral name. it also sounds rather cute and charming, which reflects nicky's deceptively polite, perpetually smiling nature. it actually means "unconquered" or "victor", which also neatly reflects nicky's iron willpower and relentlessly obsessive tendencies.

[onlydylanobrien]

‘SNL 1975’ Finds Its Garrett Morris, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase And John Belushi

By Justin Kroll, Anthony D'Alessandro January 30, 2024 10:00am

Lamorne Morris playing Garrett Morris, Dylan O’Brien playing Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith playing Chevy Chase and Matt Wood playing John Belushi

EXCLUSIVE: Lamorne Morris, Dylan O’Brien, Cory Michael Smith and Matt Wood have joined the cast of Sony Pictures’ SNL 1975 that will be directed by Jason Reitman and based on the real-life behind the scenes accounts of the opening night of Saturday Night Live. Morris will play Garrett Morris, O’Brien will play Dan Aykroyd, Smith will play Chevy Chase, and Wood will play Belushi. The original screenplay is written by Reitman and Gil Kenan.

On October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. SNL 1975 is the true story of what happened behind the scenes that night in the moments leading up to the first broadcast of NBC’s SNL. It depicts the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

The screenplay is based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by Reitman and Kenan with all the living cast members, writers and crew. Reitman, Kenan, Jason Blumenfeld, Erica Mills and Peter Rice are producing.

Morris can currently be seen in FX’s fifth season of Noah Hawley’s hit drama series Fargo as North Dakota Deputy Witt Farr. He joined the cast of Netflix’s Unstable for season two opposite Rob Lowe. Prior to this, he starred as the titular lead in the hybrid live-action/animated Hulu series Woke, inspired by the life and art of cartoonist Keith Knight.

O’Brien was most recently starring in Ponyboi, which premiered as one of ten films in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Up next, he will be seen in the feature films Caddo Lake, from the writing-directing team of Logan George and Celine Held and producer M. Night Shyamalan, and Anniversary, a thriller co-starring Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Zoey Deutch and Phoebe Dynevor. His other credits include Searchlight feature Not Okay from writer-director Quinn Shephard, the critically-acclaimed crime drama The Outfit, opposite Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, and Johnny Flynn; Paramount’s Love and Monsters and the popular Maze Runner franchise

Best known for his role on as the Riddler on the popular Fox series Gotham, Smith can currently be seen as Julianne Moore’s son in Todd Haynes’ May December. He most recently starred as Varian Fry in Anna Winger’s limited series Transatlantic opposite Gillian Jacobs and Corey Stoll for Netflix. Smith has also worked with Todd Haynes in both Carol (as private investigator Tommy Tucker) and Wonderstruck.

Wood has appeared in the original Broadway cast of Spongebob Squarepants and as husky kid icon Augustus Gloop in the Broadway First National Tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Television credits include Law and Order: SVU, Instinct and Difficult People.

Morris is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, The Lede Company, and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light. O’Brien is repped by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Principal Entertainment LA, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark. Smith is repped by Circle of Confusion. Wood is repped by BRS/Gage Talent Agency.

Source: deadline.com

#dylan o'brien #news #snl 1975 #dan aykroyd #snl 1975 cast

[necros-writing-stuff]

Foxes and Minxes: Collabo'ween Day 21

GN!AFAB!Reader/M!Teacher!Bailey

Warnings: Me being very British with everything referenced here (sorry); Alcohol; Gloryhole; Hints of Yandere Reader; References to bullying; Condoms; Bailey POV and he feeling guilty; Only pronouns for reader are they/you.

Word Count: 4010

Notes: This is the telepathy mixed with teacher prompt! Bailey is not the telepathic one, though, and I kept it subtle methinks. It's also just fun to think of where Bailey might have ended up if he hadn't become the caretaker.

His paycheck is late. Again. Leighton has been holed up in his office all day yelling at delinquents, telling Bailey to come back later every time he'd popped his head in. The first round of students had set a bin on fire in the cafeteria. The second had been encouraging someone to moon passing cars at the gates. The third had popped River's tires. 

Sure, the kids here were usually shitheads, but to this level? It had to have something to do with graduation coming soon - they were all in their final year of Sixth Form afterall. Most of them being 18, but not fully grasping that they were adults yet and that they could be arrested for what they had been up to. 

Some of them were in his class: economics. Or rather, missing from his class today. They'd been put in the isolation room to write out lines at desks with screens on them so they couldn't talk to each other. Bailey had been in there once or twice as a kid, hell, Winter had been the one to put him in there a few times. Strange that they were now colleagues. Strange that Winter hadn't applied to be head of the school (or at least deputy) after all these years. 

As it was, with the shitheads mostly missing, his class was quiet. Sixth Form classes were smaller than the secondary education classes, the other teachers who had to handle both levels had it worse. Typically UK schools have all of the desks pushed into larger tables to facilitate group work and to make larger use of the room's space, but with how bad the students are here all of the desks had to be separated to discourage certain behaviours. 

Right up front was his favourite. A shy kid, huddled up with their notebook. He couldn't tell whether or not they were doing the work or absently doodling while their mind wandered. He didn't care either way. They'd finished their exams, the only reason they were still here in class was because they all had to be until they walked out with their grades or failed and were pushed out anyway. School policy. One that severely annoyed everyone who wanted a free period to wander around. 

His favourite kept mostly to themself, barely interacting with the others even though they were silently chatting amongst themselves or watching the documentary he had put on to keep some of them occupied. Only educational programmings allowed. Yet another school policy. God, it was miserable here. He'd be watching Breaking Bad otherwise, all of these students had hit 18 so he wouldn't get in trouble from parents about it. But no, instead he'd had to throw on some bullshit scaremongering thing about the dangers of ecstasy pills he'd found on YouTube. 

Funny thing, growth. Back when he was their age, he'd have bullied his favourite. He was as much of a little shit as the rest of them are today. Now he finds solace that at least one of them paid attention. And they'd be gone soon, replaced by another bout of insufferable 16 year olds who would be eager to push him to his limits - only to find that he knew their games and wouldn't be putting up with them. Same old song and dance every new year. 

Which is why he wanted his fucking paycheck. He goes home bordering on having an aneurysm every night, the least he can have in return is his rent money. He's not late, not yet, he'd saved up enough to have reserves, but it still felt better to have it. Plus, he'd be able to get himself a takeaway tonight. That Chinese place he likes is open on a Tuesdays. Some egg fried rice, noodles, chicken curry, those salt and peppered chips. A lovely break in his recent health kick he'd been on. 

Bailey sinks into his seat, sighing at the thought as he chews on a pen cap. His favourite looks up from their notebook, their eyes passing over him quickly before going back down. Not a new thing. They're a jumpy little thing like that. He'd bumped into them once and they'd whimpered as though he'd struck them. Kinda reminds him of all of those videos of foxes just squealing because they can - so he'd nicknamed them after the animal.

He's not a stranger to the signs of an abusive upbringing - the bullying couldn't have helped either. But he's not the one to offer support beyond letting them use his classroom instead of the library. They could go to Doren if they wanted a shoulder to cry on. 

The bell rang then, the students mostly springing up and rushing out to head to the cafeteria. His favourite was stayed put until everyone else left. 

"What you got today?" Bailey reaches under his desk, fetching a box from his bag and his homemade panini with it. Ham, lettuce, and tomatoes filled it up. 

"Same as usual," you respond with a small smile. Which means…

Bailey catches the Yorkie when you throw it over to him, and in return he tosses a bag of Maltesers. That's your usual deal. You bring the Yorkie, Bailey exchanges it for whatever sweet snacks he has that day. Whichever parent it is that always packs the bars for you clearly hasn't clued in to the fact that you've grown sick of the chocolate. Luckily for you, though, Bailey could inhale a whole four-pack in ten minutes. 

And with it not being a class, that also means he doesn't have to abide by the 'educational' videos only rule. At least, that's the excuse he'll tell Leighton if he's caught putting on fucking Hannibal. 

But it's a nice time, eating with his favourite as they watch the show over the lunch hour. Sure beats the fucking staff rooms. Bailey might just quit if he has to hear River complain about that Whitney kid again. 

It's quiet again (save the chewing), but this time it's a comfortable quiet rather than the eternally tense silence of a classroom full of kids a moment away from doing a crime to lull the boredom. 

Little Foxie relaxes now that they're alone, your shoulders sloping and your eyes focused rather than shifting. Poor damn kid. But, not his circus, not his monkeys. He won't see you again after next week anyway. 

"Which exam do you have left?" 

"Just physics. I'm dreading it, though. Sirris kinda does best with biology, so I've had to teach myself quite a bit. Just wish Leighton would hire more teachers - Winter's started nodding off in class apparently." 

Yeah, you aren't wrong there. Overworked, underpaid. And that's what separates you from the other student. That empathy you have for others. How you've held onto it for this long despite the torment of your peers never fails to amaze him. 

"I'm excited to head off to uni, though. It'll be way different than here and I won't have to be around people I don't want to see." There's hope I'm your tone. 

"What'd you pick again?" Bailey can barely speak intelligibly with all that chocolate stuffed in his mouth. Like he's ever been one for good manners though - and it seems to entertain you enough when you smile at him.

"I'm still not sure. Psychology's an option, but creative writing or even zoology sound cool, too."

"Zoology? Didn't know animals were your thing." 

"I started thinking about that after that field trip to the forest last month. You know how Winter is trying to find all of those ruins but there's the bears and stuff that could hurt him? It would be good to work to keep people who work there safe by taking care of the animals. Oh, and the fact that they're extinct everywhere else in the UK. They're important." 

Eden would disagree, but his old friend would keep to himself so long as he was left alone out there. 

"That, and well… animals are honest, you know? I don't have to worry if they'll be bad like people. They'll let me know what they want, I just have to learn the body language." 

Bailey snorts, finishing his Yorkie as he nods. "Aye, good point there. They say never work with kids or animals, but I used to work at the dog pound when I was your age and wrestling screaming huskies into the bath tub was easier than these lot." 

You return to being pensive, head cooking to the side. "How many of them do you think will go to uni?" 

How many of them will you have to avoid, you mean, judging by the nervousness that eases back into your voice. 

"Not many. They'll be the better ones who do anyway." 

No more chatting after that. There's not much more to say - you don't exactly go into personal stuff with your students. You've covered what was appropriate to talk about, and that was enough. That's how it always is. It's how it continues in the week to follow, until you graduate. 

He'll miss you. Just a little bit. The chocolate coated apple you leave on his desk with a thank-you note with a voucher for the local Chinese place is a nice touch, too. Did he even tell you he liked that place? He can't remember, but probably. 

Bailey knows why he harbours such feelings toward you. You're the kind of kid he'd hope to have if he was ever unlucky enough to spawn. 

"Good luck, Foxie," he whispers to himself as he eats the apple - and what do you know - it's melted Yorkie chocolate. Maybe you should have added confectionary to your list of things to study. 

A bittersweet heaviness settles in his chest, causing Bailey to rub the area as he frowns. Your note didn't have a social media handle, and now that you'd graduated you could add him on there. He'd like to keep an eye on your progress, but if you'd rather not then he understands. It's a new start for you, and he was a part of a difficult past even if he'd tried to offer safety in the storm. 

He still couldn't help but feel left behind. And not for the first time, he thinks. 

Dwelling on his sorrows won't do, though. It's better to get your demons out before they dig dens: so to Darryl's club it'll be tonight.

Bailey stays to fix his classroom up and get everything he needs for the summer. The kids left screaming for joy - his work hasn't stopped just because it's a holiday. He'll have to check his units and adjust all of his educational bullshit. 

His flat is small, just a single bedroom and a joint kitchen and living room, but it's enough. He guesses. Bailey's younger self would kick him in the balls for ending up here instead of as some big-shot lawyer or whatever he'd had in his head back then. 

Chucking his box of work shit onto his coffee table, Bailey pushes his dark hair back out of his eyes and heads to the shower. He can afford to spend half an hour in there, Leighton had sent the paycheck over. Its just what he needs, the scalding water loosening his muscles up and getting any sweat off of him from the summer heat. 

The outfit he chooses to wear is simple, but it's tailored just right to make his body look it's best. Dress shirt in white, black slacks, Italian loafers, his woolen long coat. He doesn't put it on until he's eaten, though, opting to shovel pasta into his mouth with his towel around his hips. 

It's still bright when he heads to the club even though the hour is late. Bailey finds himself thankful for it, the setting sun keeping some warmth as he waits for the bouncer to thin the line out and let him in. 

The environment inside is energetic, music pulsing through the building as lights are focused on various dancers performing on the stages in various stages of undress. People sit around watching with drinks in one hand and money in the other, ready to throw the cash when they find a dancer that gets them going enough. 

Bailey didn't bring change. Instead, he's off to the bar, taking an empty spot and ordering a whiskey. Then, he waits. Tourists come to this town for the beach (and the underground sex industry), many of them in the club tonight. Many of them good looking and looking for a fuck without ties. Luckily for one of them tonight, so is Bailey. 

His eyes scan the crowd, trying to scope out some cute thing he can make eye contact with and smile at so they'll either come to him or he can go to them. Sadly, the club's occupants tonight seem to be mostly local. And he isn't paying for one of the dancers either - Bailey likes it here and he'd rather not end up banned and have to venture over to Briar's seedy little hole. 

With no luck, Bailey settles for watching the dancers and listening to the conversations of groups around him for a while as he sips his drinks. Yes, multiple. If he can't fuck, he'll get a buzz and go home feeling merry at least. 

That time closes in, his eyes feeling heavy before it even reaches one in the morning. Fucking hell, he's feeling his age these days. He's not fourty yet, but it's coming, and his back especially is feeling it. 

Placing his latest empty glass on the bar, Bailey goes to get up when something catches his eye. Red hair, pretty face, young. Someone he doesn't recognise. He thinks. He's had enough to drink at this point that he can't see the best - but what he can see he likes. 

Now it's just about getting their attention. 

Another drink is ordered - this time a virgin cocktail. He's had enough alcohol, he'd like to be able to walk home without falling over. Then it's back to lounging against the bar, staring at the pretty red-head and willing them to look his way. 

And willing. And willing. And… shit. Yeah, they're not interested. Plus, Bailey needs to piss. 

The crowd goes up in cheers as one of the favourite dancers comes onto center stage, everyone glued to their spots as the music switches to their routine's soundtrack. It fades away as the door to the toilets swings shut behind the dark haired man. There's barely anyone else in there, and the two that are hurry to get out to watch. 

Not wanting to risk having some creep take a photo of his dick while he pisses, Bailey stumbles into a stall rather than over to the urinals. He's surprised to notice a gloryhole in the side of the stall; the owners here don't like that shit happening in the open. And it's a bug fucking hole, too.

A deep sigh leaves his lungs when he relieves himself, his head falling back and his eyelids closing. 

The door squeaks open, footsteps echoing as they make their way over to the stall right beside his own. Swearing under his breath, Bailey keeps an eye out for a phone coming under or above the stall. The stalls don't save you from pervs with cameras, but it does mean you can trap them in the stall and threaten them until they hand the phone over and you can delete what they took. 

"Hey, sorry, I couldn't hear you out there." 

Bailey's eyebrows crease as he shakes his dick and puts it away. Are they talking to him? 

"Yeah, no, I'm in the bathroom now. What did you call for?"

Nope, not for him. Nice voice though, bit of an accent. Definitely not from around here. Could be his tourist. 

"I- really? Really? You promised I'd be able to stay out the full night! You always do this, you always-" 

Oh, yikes. Controlling partner, it sounds like. Bailey knows he should go, but to leave now while they're arguing? To interrupt it? That feels more awkward than to hide and pretend he isn't there until they leave first. 

That accented voice only gets more upset, causing Bailey to cringe and hold his breath. 

"No! No, I'm not doing this anymore. We're done, you fucking freak! Yeah? Yeah? Go ahead, burn my shit, like I care." 

Oh, good for them, he guesses. He can still hear the tears in their voice. Tears that evolve into sobs when they hang up and, by the sound of things, sit down on the toilet seat. Time to go, Bailey thinks. He'll be really quiet about it, though. 

Which he fails at. Immediately. His loafers slip against the tile and his fist flies into the wall. Bailey doesn't hurt himself, but those sobs cease immediately. 

There's some flashes of movement beyond the glory hole, flashes of red hair going past while Bailey remains completely frozen. 

"Are you okay in there?" 

"I should be asking you the same thing," he shoots back. "But yeah, I'm good. Caught myself." 

"Guy from the bar, right? You were looking at me." 

Ah, so they're avoiding the question. Fair enough. He can't blame them for not wanting to tell a stranger about the partner they just broke up with. 

"Yeah, sorry, didn't know you were taken." He grunts as he finally stands back up right, smoothing out his shirt and working on tucking it back in. 

"Were." It's whispered, accompanied by the shuffle of clothes. He'll leave them to it, he supposes. 

"I, ah. Good luck with your-" 

They weren't pulling their pants down to take a piss. They were pulling them down to press their pussy against the glory hole, giving Bailey a good view of it. 

"You have a condom? I'm free now so…" 

Bold little minx, aren't they? Forward with what they want, but responsible enough to ask for a condom. Which Bailey would have forgotten if they hadn't mentioned. 

"Yup," is all he says, the 'p' popping as his pants come down again. Fishing out the condom from his wallet, Bailey keeps the packet held between his teeth as his hands get to work. One wraps around his cock, the other pressing against their pussy and thumbing their clit. 

Such a cute giggle they have, such a cute little cunt they have. Just what he needs to keep make his day after all of the goddamn stress. He's clumsy though, the drink and the two different movements of his hands making his ministrations rough. Not that the minx next door seems to mind. 

He's quick to harden, ripping the condom packet open before rolling it down on himself. 

"Just spit on me, I don't want to wait longer." 

Fucking hell, yeah he can do that. Leaning down, Bailey rolls his tongue around in his mouth, gathering spit before drooling it all over their cunt. And he just can't resist giving it a lick when he picks up how good it smells. 

They laugh again, wiggling their hips so that his tongue teases their clit for a few seconds before he pulls away. Then it's right to what they both want. 

The angle is awkward, standing up so straight his back leans away from the wall as he presses himself in. Completely worth it when he feels how tight and warm it is - even around the condom they feel like heaven. 

Reaching up, Bailey tightly grips the top of the stall dividing wall to keep himself steady while he pumps in and out. Nice and slow to start, nice and slow to find the angle he likes and a rhythm that makes sense. He keeps his head down, watching himself sink in. Such a good sight to commit to memory. 

The minx starts whimpering, gyrating their hips to demand more from Bailey. Strange that the whimper seems familiar, flashing images of a certain fox-like ex-student through his head. And a flash of heat through his lower belly. 

"Fuck," Bailey hisses, shaking his head and trying to focus on the here and now. Completely inappropriate to think of you right now. He's never thought of you that way, and he won't start now. 

But then the minx whimpers again, leaving Bailey with the thought of his little Foxie bent over his desk, taking him rough and hard while they both watch the door from fear of being caught. 

You're gone. He won't see you again. It's not like he'll have to look you in the eye on Monday and face the shame of having had these thoughts. What's the harm in indulging in them when they make his skin feel so aflame? 

"Yes, Sir, more!" 

Oh that fucking helps. Sends his mind reeling about how nice you always were, how you knew what he wanted from you whether it was your behaviour, work, or conversation. It would translate into the bedroom, Bailey knew that much. You'd be such a good little one for him, on your back with your knees held to your chest so he could get a good view of what's between your legs. What he'd be tasting, savouring. 

"So good, Sir, so good," the minx whines, that one fucking title the sweet spot in it all. 

Bailey snarls, pumping hard and fast right into them, right into you, his brain stuck in a world where you're in his apartment, laying in his bed and clinging tightly to him while he makes your anxiety seem out of your body with every hit against the slick, gummy walls of your sweet cunt. 

It creeps up on him, electricity sparking up his spine as his balls tighten. Bailey hasn't come this close to finishing so quickly in years, a realisation that sobers him for a second. His teeth dig into his lower lip, but it doesn't slow down the building explosion that hits him. 

He loses control of his hips, feeling like they're being pushed forward by an unseen force as he buries himself into the minx, spilling spurt after spurt of his seed into the condom. It drains that burst of energy he'd had, his cock slipping out of the minx as he struggles to stay standing. 

"You okay in there, handsome?" There's no mocking in their voice, just amusement. 

"Shit - sorry. I'll finish you off, here-" 

"Nah, it's all good. My phone won't stop going off and if I don't answer that bastard really will burn my shit. I left my mother's necklace over there so I should head over." 

"Don't go alone if you can help it," Bailey grunts, putting his clothes to right again and disposing of his condom in the bin. Next door, he hears the minx putting their clothes to right as well. 

"Yeah, I'll grab my friend on the way out. She's probably out of money at this point anyway." 

Their stall opens, footsteps heading off. Bailey isn't long behind. 

Two seconds. Two seconds of seeing them clearly in the mirrors above the sink as he passes. Two seconds where he sees them fixing their hair - an obviously fake wig that he can make out clearly since the drunkenness has faded. Two seconds where he can make out their face in the bright light of the bathroom.

One extra second when you turn back, panic in your eyes at the knowledge that he'd realised who you are. The panic fades though. Instead, you're smiling in a way he's never seen you smile before. It's confident. Fox-like. 

"Or maybe I'll just head back home since there's no ex-boyfriend. Could go back to yours. Bet you'd like more of a taste, Sir. I'll even hold my legs apart for you." 

Bailey can't move. Can't chase after you and demand answers as you scurry off, your hips swaying in that outfit. Can't believe his cock is hardening again, and that you'd know just what he wants. Just like he'd thought you would. 

Why do you always know what he wants?

#collaboween #spill my guts #necro's fics #bailey the caretaker #gn reader #afab reader #cw alcohol #yandere reader #degrees of lewdity

[thehumanofjustice]

my incorrect qoutes post! PT.1

let’s begin

Infitrix : Caffeine no longer keeps me awake while I work, so instead I have Willow periodically send me texts saying ‘we need to talk.’ Infitrix : It gives me the right amount of adrenaline and fear I need to keep going.

Anna: So, I heard you like bad girls… I time travel in Animal Crossing.

Deputy : We can't lose. Because we have this. points to their chest Everyone else: We have souls? Deputy : Souls? No, me. I'm pointing at myself. I'm going to win this for us.

Purple : ‘Technically legal’, the two best words in the the English language, right before ‘cowboy spectacular. Clover: YEEHAW!

Deputy , washing the dishes: Who the fuck used this pan?? Deputy : Wait. I the fuck used this pan… Whisper: It was you the fuck. Deputy : It was I the fuck… Anna: Who cooks rice in a pan? Whisper: They the fuck.

Basil: I just ended a five year relationship. Infitrix : Oh no, are you okay? Basil: It's okay, it wasn't mine.

Deputy: There's beer in the cooler. Purple : What about for the children? Whisper: You can get water from that water fountain and use it to water down the beer. Allie : Why don't we just give the kids water? Deputy, angrily: I suppose you could do that!

Whisper: How many vampires do you think have been hit by a car backing up in a parking lot because the driver couldn’t see their reflection? Deputy : I’ve never considered it but you’re really shining light on what’s probably a very serious issue.

Sorcerer: I give you a cursed amulet! Deputy : Cool! It’ll make me look cute, and the shadow that follows me will make me more active, I’ll get out more!

Basil: What do you do when someone offers you drugs? Infitrix : Take them! Anna: Punch them in the neck! Allie : Say thank you! Whisper: Offer them more drugs to assert dominance! Basil: … Basil: No.

THE LAST ONE tho-

[koras-human-warriors]

Human Warrior clans and trading

Each clan has their own special exports that they use for leverage in trading with other clans.

They have an unspoken agreement to not step on each other's toes, but toes are frequently stepped on

Trade is usually handled by the deputy and the trade master, a senior warrior who is specially trained for keeping track of trade (they know math)

Trade is usually upon request but every gathering they have a little market set up with knickknacks and traditional foods

Anything they can't get from other clans or make themselves they hesitantly get from nearby villiages

Clans may also hire members of allied clans for labor they aren't good at do (ex: Shadowclan hiring Windclan to demolish fallen boulders or Thunderclan hiring Riverclan to help them build stormproof houses)

Thunderclan- lumber, wool, poultry, dyes, potatoes and pork

Windclan- silk, wheat, horses, livestock, coal and raw metal, gunpowder

Shadowclan- monster parts, herbs, peat, rice and nuts, shellfish

Riverclan- fish and fish oil, shells, sugar, citrus fruits, Sea monster parts,

#warrior cats human #warrior cats human au #warrior cats

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration is aiming to counter antisemitic discrimination in federally-funded transit systems, housing, food programs and other areas — one of the most major actions the White House has taken since it unveiled a far-reaching strategy to combat antisemitism in May.

On Thursday, the administration announced that it is instructing eight cabinet departments to extend civil rights protections to victims of antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry. The decision marks a broad expansion of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

In addition, the administration is launching a listening tour of schools and colleges this fall to hear from Jewish students about hostility on campus, which Jewish groups say often comes from the anti-Israel left. Last week, an LGBTQ student group at Rice University cut ties with Hillel over its support for Israel, and in a separate incident, the Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania was vandalized.

Thursday’s launch of the listening tour in San Francisco will include a meeting between the deputy secretary of education and representatives of the city’s Hillel chapter. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to lead a robust, whole-of-society effort to combat antisemitism and discrimination in all its insidious forms,” a White House official said in an e-mailed statement. The four-page release was the most comprehensive accounting to date of how the antisemitism strategy has been implemented since May. Biden set a deadline of May 2024 for the strategy to be implemented across the executive branch.

The announcement includes a comprehensive list of initiatives already taken under the antisemitism strategy. It also comes the same day as President Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech in Phoenix at the McCain Institute, named for the late Republican senator, that will warn of threats of democracy from the far-right and former President Donald Trump.

Under the 1964 act’s Title VI, which the White House release cites, any program or activity receiving federal funding cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The White House statement said that staff at the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Treasury, and Transportation will be told the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act bans discrimination based on antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious bias.

The initiative is a substantial expansion of initiatives by the Obama and Trump administrations to extend the Civil Rights Act’s protections to Jews through the Education Department. An executive order signed by Trump led to a series of federal complaints alleging that Jewish and Zionist students faced hostile campus environments.

Staff will be trained “to respond to this kind of discrimination, engage with entities that are prohibited from discriminating in these ways to explain their legal responsibilities, and inform communities of their rights to be free from such discrimination and how to file complaints,” said the release. Fact sheets on the topic will be available in Yiddish, Hebrew, Arabic, Punjabi, and other languages.

Examples of how the expansion would work, the release said, include “shielding people from harassment or discrimination on transit systems funded by the Department of Transportation; in housing funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; or in U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded food programs.”

In recent years, Jewish watchdog groups have recorded a spike in antisemitic attacks in public places, targeting people who wear outwardly Jewish symbols or clothing. Muslim and Jewish groups have also long advocated — with some success —  for making kosher and halal food available through relief programs.

Jewish groups have, for decades, sought the act’s protections, but have been frustrated by the difficulty of resolving constitutional guardrails around the separation of church and state. The Obama and Trump Education Department directives worked around that issue by defining Jews not simply as a faith but as a group defined in part through ancestry, and also as a group perceived by bigots as being a race — categories that fall under Title VI’s purview. 

As part of the launch of the listening tour of Jewish students, Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten will meet with Jewish students, teachers and community leaders at San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, followed by a closed session with Hillel-affiliated students from the Bay Area about campus antisemitism.

The emphasis on allegations of campus antisemitism may address concerns by some Jewish organizations that the Biden administration was not as focused on combating antisemitism from the left as it was on antisemitism from the right, and that it is not addressing antisemitism in the context of anti-Israel activism.

In addition to the expansion of Title VI and the listening tour, the White House statement mentioned a list of actions the administration has taken as part of the strategy on antisemitism. Those include delivering information and training to Jewish and other communities on securing their buildings and their computer systems in the face of threats, and bringing together law enforcement agencies and religious communities targeted by violence. Federal officials are also training National Park Service staff on stopping and preventing antisemitic harassment.

The White House is providing information to religious communities on their rights to build houses of worship, an issue that continues to dog Muslim and Orthodox Jewish communities thwarted by local authorities. Alongside those measures, the administration is informing members of religious minorities of their rights to religious accommodation in the workplace and is educating medical students, professionals and chaplains on religious discrimination in health care settings. In addition, an exhibit on how the United States reacted to the Holocaust is touring libraries across the country.

In November, a planned Agriculture Department summit of religious leaders in Omaha will “assess the state of antisemitism, highlight effective strategies to counter antisemitism, and build solidarity across faiths.”

As part of the roll-out, the State Department Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, published a report on her efforts over the last year to identify and confront antisemitism overseas. In her report, she praised state actors for “embracing and applying the non-legally binding International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition as our baseline for how we discuss antisemitism.”

Biden’s strategy in May named IHRA and other definitions as models for identifying antisemitism, but its use has stirred controversy because its emphasis is on antisemitism as manifest through anti-Israel activity. Critics say its definitions are too broad and could squelch legitimate speech.

[dearestcorrespondence]

John Laurens to Francis Kinloch, Fludyer Street Westminster, [August 23, 1774]

Dear Kinloch

After a pleasant Ride through a very fine Part of France, I arrived in London on the 7th of this month, but figure to yourself my Grief and Mortification, at finding that my Father had set out that day fortnight in order to meet me. I knew how great his Anxiety and Uneasiness would be on my Account, and therefore left Town the next day, and travelling without intermission, reached the Fauxbourg St. Germain on the 11th at day break, where I had the happiness of relieving my Good Father from much Concern_ we staid a day or two at Paris where we had the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Blake, who enquired very kindly after you. R. Izard jun'r, Grimke [and] ca. and I am but just returned from my new Journey_ let this apologize for my not writing to you sooner. I waited on your Friend Mr. Boone, And as he was out of town, I left your Letter with a Card_ had I not been afraid of detaining any longer, what can never fly too quick or come too often to him good news from you, I should have had the pleasure of delivering the Letter to him myself. my Letter is a little confused, dont be surpriz'd at it, for I am quite like a Creature in new World, and shall be for some time in an unsettled State. I am glad however to inform you that I shall not have Lodgings in the Temple as I at first thought, but in some genteel private Family. the Noise, the Cries the Smoak and Dust of this vast City, make me sometimes wish myself back at Paquis, I have another Reason too, for wishing myself there, I dont know when I shall get into such a valuable Set of Acquaintance as I have left but perhaps for the present, the fewer Acquaintance I have, the better it will be for me. I am confirm'd in the opinion that you and I both had at Geneve respecting our young Countrymen, by what I have seen and heard since my Arrival here_ I can write you nothing satisfactory as yet of American Affairs, the English Soldiers it is said begin to desert, the colonist are forming into Committees to consult what is to be done in their present Circumstances, the Carolinians are to send Rice and other necessaries for the Relief of their distress'd Brethren at Boston. A General Congress will be held at Philadelphia or New York, the Deputies to be sent there by the Province of SoCarolina, are Henry Middleton, T. Lynch, C. Gadsden, J. Rutledge, and Edward Rutledge the Young Man who lately went over, and who has already acquir'd a great degree of Celebrity. Tell Lord Lumley that I hope he continues a good Friend to the Americans, be so kind as to present my best Compliments to him Mr. Clayson, Moore the Duke and Harvey. I wish them all a great deal of Happiness and Pleasure at Geneve_ it grows so late that I must bid you Adieu, kiss all the pretty Genevoises for me and dont delay to write to your affectionate John Laurens

Fludyer Street Westminster

23d August 1774

Direct to me at the Carolina Coffee House.

#john laurens #francis kinloch #kinloch correspondence #laurens correspondence #1774

[zvaigzdelasas]

Both sides could have settled on long-standing loans made to the corrupt regime of Lon Nol in the early 1970s. Instead, US intransigence pushed Phnom Penh further into the embrace of Beijing at a time of intensifying rivalry between the two superpowers

Debt in international relations is diplomacy by other means. Recent breathless reports about China’s “debt- trap” diplomacy often make it sound like Beijing invented it when it is as old as time. In any case, a good deal of the accusations levelled at the Chinese are exaggerated.

But, in light of the ongoing furore over wholly inaccurate claims that the Chinese navy is secretly taking over Cambodia’s Ream naval base, it is worth examining a genuine case of debt-trap diplomacy, only that this one dates back decades and concerns the United States’ egregious repayment claims on the Cambodian people. What’s more is that the debt and its controversy have been tied, directly or indirectly, by one side or the other, to the current row over the [same] naval base.

The debt in question stems from a US$274 million loan made to the regime of the American puppet Lon Nol in the early 1970s. It has since ballooned to about US$700 million from accumulated interest.

Without the war, there would have been no secret and illegal bombing of Cambodia (and Laos), a country with which the US was actually not at war. Without the bombing, the traditional monarchy would have endured. But the intense bombing created the conditions, on the one hand, for Lon Nol to stage the US-backed coup which abolished the monarchy and, on the other, the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Dragging Cambodia into the war intensified its unfolding civil war and prepared the country’s direct descent into hell.

As described in The Phnom Penh Post by Suos Yara, a legislator and spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, the original US loan was made to the Lon Nol regime to buy American rice, wheat, oil and cotton. This was meant to avoid a humanitarian crisis to save displaced Cambodians “from starvation after they fled to Phnom Penh under the communist [Khmer Rouge] advance as well as US bombings in the countryside”.

Ever since, Washington has insisted on repayment, including interest. To outsiders, the circularity of the debt may seem morally revolting. America bombed the Cambodians so they needed loans from Washington to buy food and not to starve. And of course, for all of Washington’s subsequent criticisms of other countries’ irresponsible lending, did its officials care about how much Lon Nol and his cronies actually pocketed the money and how much reached Cambodians in distress?

To put the bombing in perspective, 2,756,941 tons of American bombs were dropped on the country between 1965 and 1973. In comparison, the Allies dropped just over 2 million tons of bombs during all of World War II. “Cambodia may be the most heavily bombed country in history,” wrote Ben Kiernan, historian and author of How Pol Pot Came to Power and The Pol Pot Regime.

Unexploded ordnance – which were only detonated later by accident – have caused an estimated 65,000 deaths or injuries up to now. The deliberate spraying of millions of gallons of herbicide, including Agent Orange, have caused physical and cognitive disabilities and deformities over several generations and continue today.

If all these don’t make a strong case for reparations, the cancellation of all debts or at least a generous debt restructuring, it’s hard to think what would qualify.

Long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen is no angel. But despite having called the US loans “dirty debt”, last year he offered to settle with Washington.

During a visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, he proposed: allowing Cambodia to repay gradually; reducing interest to 1 per cent, or turning more than 70 per cent of the debt into development aid to cover education, culture and demining.

That should have been a good opportunity for both sides to get creative and come up with a viable debt restructuring. A generous repayment plan would have given Washington leverage as Sherman explicitly warned Phnom Penh against continuously tilting towards Beijing and expressing alarm at a potential deal with the Chinese navy at the Ream naval base. Could there have been a quid pro quo between cancelling the debt and allowing Americans, instead of Chinese, return to the naval base? It seemed more than possible.

But Sherman apparently stuck to her guns as Washington showed no signs of being flexible over the debt. Indeed, in November, it ended up sanctioning Cambodian Defence Ministry Director-General Chau Phirun and top navy commander Tea Vinh, followed by an arms embargo over the naval base and allegedly growing Chinese military influence.

It was all sticks and no carrots. Should anyone be surprised now that Phnom Penh has, in the most public manner possible, sealed its deal with the Chinese navy? [...]

Debt-trap diplomacy is always a double-edged sword.

15 Jun 22

[gravityofforteana]

Archives of the Impossible conference | Flash Talk: Colm A. Kelleher

Colm A. Kelleher, program manager of the Advanced Aerospace System Weapons Application Program (AAWSAP) and a contractor at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), presented a talk titled "UFOs and Psi Phenomena: Lessons Learned from the Pentagon’s AAWSAP UFO Investigations" as part of "Archives of the Impossible: Transnationalism, Transdisciplinarity, Transcendence." The May 11-13, 2023 international conference at Rice University featured speakers and panelists who set out to demystify the paranormal through their research and experiences regarding metaphysics, UFOs and much more.

Between 1991-1996, Kelleher was an immunology research scientist at the National Jewish Center in Denver, Colorado. From 1996-2004, he led the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) team on Skinwalker Ranch as well as multiple other NIDS projects. From 2004-2008, he served as laboratory director at San Francisco biotechnology company Prosetta where he led teams of scientists in executing Department of Defense (DoD) contracts to discover drugs against Ebola virus and other viruses of interest to DoD.

In 2008, Kelleher became deputy administrator of Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) where he led the day-to day operations in executing the AAWSAP contract with Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). From 2012-2020, he led the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Department at Bigelow Aerospace where he managed projects that cumulatively resulted in the building of life support systems for expandable spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Kelleher co-authored "Hunt for the Skinwalker" in 2005 with journalist George Knapp and "Skinwalkers at the Pentagon" in 2021 with James Lacatski and George Knapp.

#colm a kelleher #uap #mimicry #aawsap #Youtube

[englass]

WIP DAY

Tagged by: @derelictheretic & @fadedjacket -- thank you lovelies! 💖

Tagging (although completely optional as always): @starsandskies @chyrstis @chazz-anova @words-and-seeds @weekend-writer @deputyash @deputy-rice-pudding​ and anyone else that wants to do this! I truly have no idea who to tag anymore on these things...

A/N: Um... hi! It’s been awhile 😅 To be honest, I have been working on stuff on-and-off. Just at my own leisurely pace. Finally feel like I have something worthwhile to share though, but we’ll see. It’s a bit longer than I’d like to post for a WIP Day, but who knows when I’ll actually get it done so 🤷‍♀️

Before we get into it, I suppose I should mention the fandom it’s for at this point? It’s FF14 -- so, uh, be aware of Shadowbringers’ spoilers for this, I guess?

- - -

Fatigue tugs at you. The familiarity of this place plucking at ancient memories, the emotions ringing on the vibration, the echoes a faint afterimage; unrefined, barely a silhouette in the dark, but there all the same. They leave you dizzy, unfocused, feeling inebriated over this queer battle of wills; the invasive merging of memories not your own but– but they… they are– were?

You climb on the bench, spitting an exhausted sigh as you settle, harshly pressing your hands into your eyes. A tremble wracks your frame, the heavy taste of Light clogging up your throat. Even the feeble defence of your hands can not hide you from the intrusive memories, outlines clearer upon the pitch backdrop. Overlapping, intertwining, converging. Are you swaying? It feels like you are swaying. The Light writhing, agitated beneath your skin. It is all starting to make you feel sick.

Swallowing down the urge to gag you cautiously manoeuvre yourself. Lay down with your arms at your side, leeching the coolness of the stone through your clammy skin. You feel so warm, so grossly uncomfortable in your own body. Like it is no longer yours, as if there is not enough room. Never have you felt so small.

At least the leaves above you are pretty, somewhat distracting in their gentle sway against a phantom wind. Glimpsing past to the murky green beyond, you trace the rays of light that filter down from the ocean’s surface. Watch with absent interest as sea-life leisurely glides above the heavens, like birds on the wind. Find yourself mentally mapping out the sky, the stars that typically populate its canvas. The next time you leave the city you should take a spare journal with you, start compiling all the constellations you come across in your travels. That way, when you return you can give them to your friends; and when you ultimately have to leave again you can all–

…

… …

You curse, aggressively shove the ball of your hands into your eyes. A weak sound cracking loose in your throat, frustrated tears burning as they escape down the side of your face.  

That didn’t– that’s not your memory. It is not yours… and that hurts more than words can ever articulate.

It is not even the fact that you can’t remember them, or that they don’t truly belong to you. It’s how they make you feel that kills you.

You have always felt adrift in the world, always felt like something was missing. Only ever found in dreams and those painful moments of unwarranted nostalgia. It is why you originally set out on your travels. Vainly searching for clues in foreign tomes, collapsing ruins and distant lands. Looking for that mystical place that has ever resonated within you, the dual silhouettes that have ever compelled you back to them; that have ever urged for your morose soul to come home.

Those memories, painful as they are, they…

You scrub at your eyes. Cringing as you raise them above your head and see the liquid Light smeared across them. Shakily exhaling you drop them, uneasily wiping the oily remnants off against your attire. Try not to think too hard at the fact that you are crying Light, so contaminated that you are literally leaking the stuff. It is only because of Ryne and sheer willpower that you have yet not succumbed. Holding on because you must, because there is no one else. But…

Emet-Selch was right: you are all but a Sineater, at this point.

The temptation to surrender is there. In this hidden nook, within this skeleton of glorious Amaurot and amongst the ghosts of a resurrected memory you wonder if it would be so bad to give up. To finally rest. Or, at the least, to indulge. To not have your potential final moments be wrought with non-stop strife and conflict, but to be softened by the hollow comforts of a life never lived. Of memories never made. Of a love never shared, yet depthless and timeless; eternal.

#i love this game #can't wait for the next patch #and to get all the lynx's - woohoo! 2 down and more to get #my writing #my wip #tagged #tag game #wip day #wip game #different from my usual game/fandom of choice but i'd like to try and branch into all the stuff i enjoy #show my appreciation and love as a fellow hobbyist creative #derelictheretic #fadedjacket #thank you again for the tag lovelies! #sorry it's taken so long as always

[esoterium]

MUSES. list order: seasonal, ahs, marvel, sons of anarchy, twd, stephen king's universe, rob zombie's world, anne rice's novels, general horror && others

–SEASONAL / FEATURED. may become permanent if they gather partners. i won’t delete seasonal and featured muses if i am writing with people and we have threads and plots!

none, atm. removed to moved to permanent depending on interest!

–MARVEL/MCU. 

name: steven grant rogers age: verse dependent sexual preference: bisexual occupation: captain america faceclaim: chris evans notes: heavily canon divergent in endgame. if you are curious on my development and writing style for steve, his main blog was/may be again found @shieldbound.

name: james buchanan barnes age: 19+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: wwii sergeant, former winter soldier, assassin, wanderer. faceclaim: sebastian stan notes: a long running character for me that i miss terribly and need to write again. i just don't have the spoons to run a lot of blogs. he is near and dear to me. if you're curious about how much i've developed and love him, you can find my main blog for him here. @loyaltyworn

name: wanda maximoff age: verse dependent sexual preference: bisexual occupation: verse dependent faceclaim: timeline dependent notes: will write any time in mcu/wandavision timeline only.

–SONS OF ANARCHY.

name: jax teller age: 25+ sexual preference: straight occupation: soa member of various ranks, mechanic faceclaim: charlie hunnam notes: divergent past last episode

–THE WALKING DEAD.

name: carol peletier age: 30+ and timeline dependent sexual preference: straight, bi-curious occupation: survivor, queen badass, woman who gets shit done faceclaim: melissa mcbride note: carol's blog can be found @peletier. any threads i start here can be moved over there once i open her blog back up. timeline on that is up in the air. she is and always will be a beloved muse. because she's carol and a loml.

name: daryl dixon age: 30+ and timeline dependent sexual preference: straight(ish?) occupation: survivalist, jack of all trades, dog dad faceclaim: norman reedus notes: i’m willing to play all timelines up to the end of season 11. so far, i’ve not watched twd: daryl dixon. i don’t plan to til i find out what happens with carol in it. tbh i’m not interested if they hurt her. lol! so i’ll be divergent with my own canon til then.

name: paul ‘jesus’ rovia age: 27+ sexual preference: homosexual occupation: thief, survivalist, menace, reluctant leader of hilltop faceclaim: tom payne note: i do have an alternative take on the graveyard scene that gives him his comic ending on this blog cause eff that noise. a lot of my paul content is on his singular blog @nomadical and you're more than welcome to check out my headcanons and writing for him there!

name: rick grimes age: 23+ sexual preference: bisexual, mostly curious til plotted occupation: father, husband, former deputy, leader, survivalist faceclaim: andrew lincoln

name: beth greene age: 25+ (prefer to write beth post season 7 and plotted!) sexual preference: straight occupation: former farmer’s daughter, survivor, thief faceclaim: emily kinney notes: heavily divergent. was found by a surgeon of the hospital and taken in. they have remained together since then. she is a thief/nomad who lies on the outskirts of the commonwealth and has yet to be encountered.

–GENERAL HORROR.

name: stuart 'stu' macher age: 18-40+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: infamously known accomplice to william 'billy' loomis, ghostface killer 2, serial killer, all reformed of course, it was a bad childhood and a whole lot of crazy video games without supervision--okay? recently released from a maximum security psychiatric hospital much to the public's outrage. faceclaim: matthew lillard fandom: scream

name: wilhelmina "mina" murray / harker age: 20+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: schoolmistress, wife (in other verses can range from warrior to dracula's lover and wife to agent for the british secret service and leader of the league of extraordinary gentleman as i'll play both versions of her. bram's or league's!) faceclaim: winona ryder in bram stoker's / peta wilson in league fandom: bram stoker (default) / abc/dc/disney (pick one. all over the place.)

name: david mills age: 32+ sexual preference: straight occupation: homicide detective faceclaim: brad pitt fandom: se7en

name: eric draven age: 24-28 living, 28+ post devil’s night sexual preference: straight, bi-curious occupation: heavy metal guitarist, mechanic to pay the bills, backup/side gig singer if forced. faceclaim: brandon lee fandom: the crow

name: shelly webster age: 21+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: photographer faceclaim: sofia shinas, morena baccarin fandom: the crow

name: lydia deetz age: 39+ (will only write her in the first era w/ est. partners!) sexual preference: bisexual occupation: photographer faceclaim: winona ryder fandom: beetlejuice (film! see above for musical!)

name: ellison oswalt age: 35+ sexual preference: straight occupation: famous true crime author, currently on a comeback? kinda hated by some. mostly cops. and district attorneys. and most law enforcement. faceclaim: ethan hawke fandom: sinister

name: grace le domas age: 26 sexual preference: straight, bi-curious occupation: former server at a high end restaurant, writer, survivor of a hell of a honeymoon night faceclaim: samara weaving fandom: ready or not

name: timothy price bryce age: 27+ sexual preference: homosexual straight occupation: another vice president of mergers and acquisitions at pierce & pierce faceclaim: justin theroux fandom: american psycho notes: heavily influenced by headcanons. please see rules @traintracked as they are unique to him for extremely important reasons!

name: laurie strode age: 18+ sexual preference: demisexual occupation: babysitter (younger), former headmistress && teacher, writer faceclaim: jamie lee curtis fandom: halloween

–STEPHEN KING'S UNIVERSE.

name: pete moore age: 32+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: wanted to be an astronaut but became a car salesman faceclaim: timothy olyphant fandom: stephen king's dreamcatcher, derry crossovers welcome!

name: joe 'beaver' clarendon age: 31+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: the comic relief, the divorced drunk, the seer faceclaim: jason lee fandom: stephen king's dreamcatcher, derry crossovers welcome!

name: stanley "stan" uris age: 12+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: the birdmad boy, accountant, the one who remembers faceclaim: wyatt oleff, andy bean fandom: stephen king's it, primary muse from it.

name: daniel “danny” torrance age: 35+ sexual preference: straight, bicurious occupation: drifter, janitor, caregiver, blessed/cursed with the shining. faceclaim: ewan mcgregor fandom: the shining & doctor sleep, stephen king verses

name: susan "sue" snell age: 17+ sexual preference: straight, bicurious occupation: the popular girl, the redeemed bully, the guidance counselor faceclaim: amy irving / gabriella wilde fandom: carrie

–ANNE RICE'S NOVELS.

name: louis de pointe du lac age: 25, born 1766 sexual preference: demisexual occupation: former plantation owner (mortal and beginning of vampire life), owns real estate in and around new orleans mostly now under various pseudonyms, vampire faceclaim: brad pitt (1994)

name: lestat de lioncourt age: 20, born 1758 sexual preference: bisexual occupation: former hunter, performer, rockstar, brat prince, && many titles/roles/and self-proclaimed 'jobs, duties, and obligations' much to the chagrin of those that know him and whether they approve or not. vampire. faceclaim: luke eisner

–OTHERS.

name: malcolm whitly bright age: 32+ sexual preference: questioning occupation: former special agent. profiler, psychologist, nypd consultant faceclaim: tom payne fandom: prodigal son

name: terry bellefleur age: 35+ sexual preference: open minded occupation: retired military, jack of all trades, construction worker faceclaim: todd lowe fandom: true blood

name: gina gray age: 23+ sexual preference: straight occupation: asshole faceclaim: anya taylor-joy fandom: peaky blinders

–&& THE SIDEBLOG // PLACES TO FIND ME.

name: dean winchester age: 21+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: we'll just leave it at hunter. can we leave it there? okay. yeah. faceclaim: jensen ackles fandom: supernatural blog: bloodsalted

#new attempt. will it mess it up? #let's see. #muse list (ooc) #muse list update (ooc)

[fullmetalpotterhead]

Hi! I was rereading your Sugar Baby fic and you mentioned your XL nd MQ friendship bias in one of the notes.

It made me curious for your thoughts on the Xianle trio’s friendship. :)

P.s . I really enjoyed seeing the Xianle trio interacting with the Disaster trio from your sugar baby fic. They were hilarious.😄😄

I love the Xianle Trio a lot! I feel like they really capture a relatable falling apart

Straight off the bat I’m going to say if you hate FX or MQ, this analysis isn’t going to be your cup of tea, but if you do hate them I’m not sure why you’re reading Xianle Trio content.

Anyways while the circumstances for how they fell apart are obviously kind of extreme and not relatable, the actual reasons are very understandable.

MQ: different life priorities that cause you to fall apart/feeling overworked and over relied on

FX: getting pushed away during a difficult time in your friend’s life because they aren’t in a place to receive help

MQ came from a place of not even realising he was IN the friend group. To XL and FX it felt very obvious MQ was included but MQ was servant class and very conscious of it— still doing the servant tasks for XL both in heaven and after being kicked out, so much after the banishment that he was doing all the cooking and cleaning and homemaking while also going out to try to earn money with FX and MQ.

He also was constantly being treated by FX like he wasn’t part of the group, which I think comes from the fact FX while being pretty honest is also pretty clumsy at emotional shit and genuinely didn’t seem to realise how extremely hurtful it was to openly dislike and accuse MQ of just using XL (he should work on that, both FX and MQ would grow so much if they just let themselves learn from each other).

XL was nice to MQ sure, but MQ got the impression he was more of a charity case than a friend. XL was pretty nice to everyone and it’s not like being close with him meant MQ got to shirk on servant duties. So while XL might have had the impression they were friends regardless, he didn’t seem to even realise how much he was relying on MQ.

So MQ burnt out. He had his own family. He had his own career. I don’t like what he did at the 33 deputy gods confrontation but yeah I do understand why he looked at 33 heavenly officials and 1 banished god and went “XL isn’t going to win this, it’s more pragmatic if he goes and finds somewhere else instead of me fighting a losing battle that gets me ostracised.” It’s not good, it’s not fun, but I get it.

XL gets it too, eventually. He gets how much he relied on MQ and how much MQ stood to lose and he forgives him. MQ doesn’t forgive himself though. And the last impression he has is XL doesn’t forgive him either, throwing the rice MQ could get in serious trouble for bringing him back in his face because his life is falling apart and from XL’s perspective at that point they WERE friends and MQ abandoned him.

MQ wouldn’t realise they were friends until XL and FX accepted his bridge confession. It’s funny. It’s tragic. MQ has wanted their friendship for so long. He thinks the world of XL and also can’t fucking stand him because for so long he was this naive, sheltered prince who couldn’t see how the world worked but god was he good. MQ doesn’t want people to pity him, he’s a very prideful person, but because he thinks he’s a charity case he constantly does feel pitied. I’ve never owed a friend the amount MQ owes XL but I’ve been in a few situations where the dynamic was a little unbalanced like that and I get where the insecurity is coming from. And they handled it like early twenty year olds with two completely different upbringings and no ability to understand each other handle things: messily.

FX is loyal, he was ready to stick to XL until the world fell apart but you know what he wasn’t ready for? Being XL’s emotional support. He was just vastly unprepared for the role he was in, watching XL fall apart with very little understanding of why. XL didn’t tell him most of what happened to him during that period, even if FX had wanted to be helpful he couldn’t really. But truthfully FX just wasn’t equip to deal with what was happening.

FX also lost a friend when MQ, as much as he fought MQ in those early days, he’s hurt too when MQ leaves. FX also lost his kingdom and his way of living. And he’s doing his best to adjust because it’s his job. Life is simple-> you serve the royal family. And yes FX knew he was friends with XL, but their interactions are again very coloured by this difference in status.

FX wasn’t prepared to watch his best friend, his idol, crumble under the pressure. He wasn’t prepared for XL to be a messy human being and even if it wasn’t XL he wouldn’t have known how to handle it. He’s just not a soft feelings guy. He’s loyal as fuck but he’s not the one I’d want by me when in crisis for anything emotional.

And XL gets he was being unfair and that FX leaving when he said to leave wasn’t something he could hold against him. He forgives him too.

FX and MQ don’t forgive themselves. And because they don’t forgive themselves they fight with each other. For centuries they do not grow, they stay stagnant, trapped in this past and this guilt and all their what-ifs. They already had clashing personalities but their fight about abandoning XL very much strikes me as self-punishment more than an actual attack on each other (though I think it’s a bit of both).

MQ is hurt because FX never liked him and he thought FX could be counted on to be there with XL, but mostly he’s hurt because he cared about the two of them and he left and now he has no chance of being their friend and he’s let them down.

FX is hurt because MQ left them both. But he’s no better in his mind, he left too and now he can’t find XL.

Meanwhile in those centuries apart XL grew. XL settled. XL learned. He forgave his friends. He learned how to live with his trauma and even let go of some of it or heavily repress others. He changed as a person.

And then he came back. And neither of them know how to handle him. There’s centuries of guilt eating MQ and FX alive and they aren’t even sure if XL wants them in his life anymore. But when they are around him they’re struck by how different he is.

XL grew out of their impression of him. He had to. They’re still stuck in the past. They can’t recognize him as he is. They’re stuck with the image of the naive prince and what they have is this old man.

XL knows they came to him in disguise, but they don’t seem ready to confront him publicly really. I think XL would be okay with it if they did. I think he misses them and fully forgives them. But I think he also understands the part he played in falling apart and I’m not sure he fully understands how in their own heads they are about hurting him still.

Ultimately I think HC’s presence forces them to acknowledge the new XL in a lot of ways which I’ve talked about in this post about him taking their jobs and that helps the Xianle Trio move forward into what they are now to each other.

But seeing XL be happy with HC also helps them settle into how XL has changed I think. I’ve written a fic about FX coming to grips with the fact XL isn’t the god he once knew anymore (May your life be filled with softness) but I think both MQ and FX do it to some extent. (Belatedly remembered I wrote about that in this post).

It’s not easy realizing someone you once knew very well is now foreign to you. It’s not easy realizing you may not be compatible anymore. It’s also a relief when you see the ways they haven’t changed. It’s good to find the new common ground.

The Xianle Trio is a bit messy, but they feel like an honest depiction emotionally. I can see how much they all still care for each other and I think post canon their relationship will look a lot better than it did before even!

I personally have a bias for the MQ and XL friendship over the FX and XL one not because I think they’re better friends or anything, I just think MQ and XL have a lot more healing to do since MQ didn’t even know they were friends and the way they grow post canon as equals really gets to change that for the better. I also just find MQ’s character neat

#tgcf #whoops I did this instead of eating breakfast before my meeting

[turbo-virgins]

Get to Know Me (Kinda) 🥰

tagged by @purplehairsecretlair

tagging: @aceghosts @royaljoltik @strangefable @infamousbeans (please excuse accidental double tags and no pressure!!)

Three Ships: Deputy OC/Joseph Seed of course since that’s the fic I’m working on. Other than that, I’m a big fan of Christine Daaé/Erik from phantom of the opera (there’s so much good fanfic out there). Third is tough. I’m trying to remember what my last pre-FC5 obsession was. Probably Commander Shepard/Garrus Vakarian??

First Ever Ship: This one is so hard to answer because when I was younger I just rolled with whatever was presented to me in canon. I guess it would probably be Sora/Kairi in Kingdom Hearts since their little crush barely GOES ANYWHERE. If not that then Dragonborn/Cicero was when the excessive fanfic consumption began :/

Last Song: King by Florence and the Machine. It slaps.

Last Film: Jane Eyre (1997)

Currently Reading: A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VamderMeer (would recommend if you like clutter core and magic and whimsy). Also study materials for an upcoming cert exam (would not recommend under any circumstances ever).

Currently Watching: I don’t usually have the mental capacity to watch a show or movies. Most of the time it’s YouTube video essays. Lately I’ve been enjoying Rachel Maksy’s channel. She’s very sweet and does fun crafts :)

Currently Consuming: creamy chicken curry with onions and mushrooms and rice I made 🥰 (Pinterest recipe of course)

Currently Craving: Time devoted to my own projects instead of this career development BS I gotta do to feed the corporate machine so I can afford to feed myself LMAO (crying inside)

#tag games

[asideoftrashplease]

若还有来生

(chengxian) if there were still another life

---

"Great news! Wei Wuxian is dead!"

He pauses as the sounds of drunken revelry reach him, pursing his lips with distaste, before he continues down the stairs. The old wooden steps creak beneath him as he makes his way down to the ground floor, quickly spotting the innkeeper clearing a table of empty jars amidst passed-out cultivators.

“Madam,” he calls. The innkeeper starts, before abandoning the jars to hurry over to him. She dips into a bow as she reaches him, looking faintly nervous. “Deputy Shi.”

“More tea for my master, please,” he says.

“Of course,” she murmurs.

As she vanishes back into the kitchen, a tired-looking soldier steps across the threshold, and immediately approaches with clasped hands.

“Deputy Shi,” he greets. “We’ve enlisted the village doctors to treat those wounded in the final battle.”

Deputy Shi nods once in acknowledgement.

“Thank you for your work,” he says. “Please rest for the night. It’s been a long fight, and everyone is tired.”

The soldier bows again respectfully, shooting a look towards the chaos inside the inn, before turning to leave. As he vanishes out into the night, the innkeeper comes back out of the kitchen with a fresh pot of tea. He holds out an arm before she can ascend the stairs to the second floor.

“Sect Leader does not wish to be disturbed,” he says shortly, and holds out his hands for the tea tray. “I will serve him myself.”

She dips her head again.

“Then I shall not trouble you,” she demurs.

Taking the tray from her, he returns to the private room on the second floor. The doors are slightly ajar, the room dark beyond the rice paper screen.

Sect Leader sits alone by the table, cast in shadow.

“The Yiling Patriarch is dead?” he hears a joyful query from below, as he steps across the threshold and sets the tray down on the table. “But how? Who could have killed him?”

“Who else but his old shidi, Jiang Wanyin,” another voice answers, as he pours the tea, “putting an end to him for the greater good! He and the Twin Jades led our forces to storm his den in a grand battle, and we have now returned— victorious!”

“What?!” someone else cries.

“It’s expected that Zewu-jun and Hanguang-jun would have led the charge,” the first voice returns, sounding doubtful, “considering how the Yiling Patriarch dealt the blow that crippled their uncle at the Nightless City—” 

There’s a flicker of movement on the balcony opposite them.

Deputy Shi looks up to where two men in white are sitting, partially hidden by a pillar, as they watch the celebration below. A moment later, his attention is drawn back to the commotion on the ground floor.

“But what about Jiang Wanyin?” the man from before continues. “Didn’t he grow up with the Yiling Patriarch? How could he suddenly bear to turn on his own shixiong?”

“Have you never met the man?” someone roars, laughing. “That man has no love in his heart, only vengeance! Does he even know how to love anyone?” Drawing in a sharp breath, Deputy Shi’s hand fists against the tables. He stands, furious, but before he can act, someone else speaks up.

“I say he was justified!” the man cries. “The previous sect leader of Yunmeng Jiang took Wei Wuxian off the streets and raised him like a son, and yet he turned around, defected from Yunmeng Jiang, and murdered the young Jiang Yanli! Way to bite the hand that fed him!”

Deputy Shi turns to look at the back of Sect Leader’s head, but Sect Leader remains still as stone by the table, neither moving nor speaking. 

“I say Jiang Cheng allowed this dog to live too long!” another man declares drunkenly. “If I were him, why, I would have — I would have drawn my sword and killed him on the spot!”

“Killed him on the spot?” someone else cries, laughing. “Look at you! Could you have killed the Yiling Patriarch at your level of cultivation?”

“How dare you!” the other man cries, outraged.

As the sounds of a fight break out below them, Sect Leader finally stands, and begins to make his way back to the rooms they have booked for the night. Picking up his sword hastily, Deputy Shi follows him as he slips past the drunken celebration, silent as a shadow, and disappears into the courtyard outside.

“Knock it off!” a woman shouts, as Deputy Shi hurries after him. “Tonight is a night for celebration, not strife! Wei Wuxian is dead! Good riddance!”

“Good riddance!” a chorus of voices ring out in agreement.

Deputy Shi ducks out of the doorway and into the cool night air.

Outside, Sect Leader stands in the middle of the stone path, back turned, resplendent in indigo brocade. After a moment, however, he turns to look back over his shoulder. His face is frighteningly pale in the moonlight, brows dark and dense, eyes sharp but strangely devoid of light.

“Sect Leader,” Deputy Shi finally whispers. “Wei Wuxian—”

“Is dead,” Sect Leader interrupts, and turns away.

As he begins to cross the courtyard with slow, deliberate steps, he turns his face up to the moon, and begins to laugh.

“Good riddance,” he cries, still laughing. “Good riddance!”

“Sect Leader,” Deputy Shi whispers, stricken.

The laughter dies, going as quickly as it had come.

Sect Leader stops in the middle of the courtyard, fingers tightening around the body of a bloodied bamboo flute.

“Good riddance,” he whispers.

---

[This is actually the first scene of my canon-verse Chengxian long fic, 若还有来生 (title is in Chinese, fic is in English, don’t worry), in which Chengxian became sort of lovers during Sunshot, but they still fell apart. 13 years later, JC captures a revived “MXY” at Dafan and brings him back to Lotus Pier, but WWX is eventually able to convince him that he is, in fact, MXY. Disguised as MXY, however, WWX soon falls back in bed with JC. COMPLICATIONS ENSUE. 

If you’re interested, you can read my fic here.]

#chengxian #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #canon jiang cheng #canon jc #mdzs #fanfiction #my fic