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thethief1996 · 6 months

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Israel has just bombed a hospital where hundreds of wounded and refugees were taking solace. Journalists in Gaza have reported there was hardly a single body whole in the aftermath (If you can stomach it, there's a video of a father holding what remains of his child). At least 500 people killed by IOF soldiers, who planned this action, got into an airplane and dropped that bomb willingly. The deadliest attack in five wars, according to the Ministry of Health.

Israel has denied ownership of the attack and said it was a misfired Hamas rocket. Originally, they celebrated it on their social media, saying they had destroyed a Hamas target, treating the deaths like an unfortunate collateral. After international backlash, they posted videos to their social media claiming it was a Hamas rocket. The video, though, shows a second explosion 40 minutes after the airstrike, and they edited it our of their tweet in a pathetic attempt at covering up.

Israel has said multiple times that they were going to bomb hospitals. They told doctors to evacuate and leave their patients to death because they were going to bomb, namely: Al Shifa, Shuhada Al Aqsa and the Quwaiti Hospital. Al Shifa housed at least 10.000 refugees and wounded, and worked as a hub for the press because it was one of the only hospitals that still had working generators. Medical crew worked with sirens blaring to signal the hospitals were not empty. This was a purposeful massacre. These people died hungry, thirsty and in pain because of the Israeli government's cruelty.

CNN and other media outlets already tried to pin the blame on Hamas, parroting back the pathetic propaganda being sold by the IOF. Even in death, Palestinians can't be respected and are used to further their own oppression. These people's deaths are not going to be in vain. Within our lifetimes, Palestine will be free.

Take action. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting today after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN GERMANY: Here's a toolkit to contact your representatives by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN POLAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN DENMARK: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN SWEDEN: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

Protests in support have already erupted in Beirut, Madrid and Rabat in response to the shelling of the hospital. Join your local protest and raise your voices. For people in the US, Israel has just asked for additional $10bi in aid on top of the annual $3.8bi already given to them. Palestinians are asking that you refuse this loudly, with their every breath.

Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

USA calendar

Here are upcoming events:

WASHINGTON, DC: Outside Congress on 18/10 at 12 PM

WASHINGTON, DC: NATIONAL MARCH in front of the White House on 4/11 at 12 PM

SAN DIEGO: 2125 Pan American E Rd. (Spreckles Organ Pavillion) on 18/10 at 7 PM

NEW YORK: 72nd st. And 5th ave., Brooklyn on 21/10 at 2 PM

NEW YORK: CUNY Grad Building on 18/10 at 2 PM

NEW YORK: Oct 18, 5pm, Steinway & Astoria Blvd.

DALLAS: 1954 Commerce Street (Dallas Morning News Building) on 19/10 at 3 PM

[CAR RALLY] KITCHENER-WATERLOO: Fairview Park, 2960 Kingsway Dr. on 18/10 at 6 PM

KITCHENER-WATERLOO: CBC Building, 117 King St. W on 19/10 at 5 PM

HOUSTON: Zionist Consulate, 24 Greenway Plaza on 18/10 at 4 PM

OMAHA: 72nd St & Dodge St on 18/10 at 6 PM

SAINT PAUL, MN: Oct. 18, 5:30pm. State Capitol, 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

BALTIMORE: Oct 20, 6pm. Baltimore City Hall

DUBLIN: Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 1 on 18/10 at 5 PM

THURLES: Liberty Square on 19/10 at 7 PM

LURGAN: Market Street on 21/10 at 3 PM

PORTO ALEGRE: Rua João Alfredo, 61 on 18/10 at 19h

RIO DE JANEIRO: Cinelândia on 19/10 at 17h

RECIFE: Parque Treze de Maio on 19/10 at 17h

MANAUS: Teatro Amazonas, Largo de São Sebastião on 19/10 at 17h

SÃO PAULO: Praça Oswaldo Cruz on 22/10 at 11h

FOZ DO IGUAÇU: Praça da Paz on 22/10 at 9h

TSHWANE: Belgrade Square Park, Jan Shoba Street on 20/10 at 10 AM

VEREENIGING: Roshnee Sports Grounds on 21/10 at 14h30

Feel free to add more resources

#save palestine #save gaza #free palestine #save sheikh jarrah

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timesofocean · 1 year

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US, Bangladesh eye joint efforts to deal with climate crisis

New Post has been published on https://www.timesofocean.com/us-bangladesh-eye-joint-efforts-to-deal-with-climate-crisis/

US, Bangladesh eye joint efforts to deal with climate crisis

Dhaka (The Times Groupe) – US and Bangladesh have focused on the ongoing cooperation to address the climate crisis the world is facing, including Bangladesh’s vulnerable population.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen met at the US Department of State in Washington, DC.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest, including climate change, resolving the Rohingya crisis, strengthening the economic partnership, labor rights, civil liberties, and elections, according to a statement by the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Bangladesh is ranked seventh in the UN’s Global Climate Risk Index 2021.

Climate change cost the country 1% of its GDP every year, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said.

It noted in an earlier statement that rising sea levels may submerge some 17% of Bangladesh’s coastal lands by the year 2050, displacing about 20 million people.

“It is an important fact that the relation between Bangladesh and the US has grown tremendously over the last 50 years –economically, our people-to-people ties, work we’ve been doing more recently on everything from climate to health, we very much value … and the generosity Bangladesh showed to 1 million Rohingya,” Blinken said, in his initial remarks in presence of the media.

Momen said that Blinken assured Bangladesh that the US would continue to support the repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar, citing Blinken’s comments.

In Myanmar, more than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims live in 33 congested refugee camps, including 30,000 on the silt island of Bhasan Char. There had been a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State, a Buddhist-majority nation in Southeast Asia.

According to the statement, the US also asked Bangladesh to permit the refugees to work and engage in economic activities.

Momen, in response, said: “We have arranged some (economic activities) for them but we have 2 million fresh manpower to join the job market and we could not provide jobs to all of them, while some 500,000 of them have become migrant workers to find jobs. So, we could not arrange jobs for all Rohingya.”

As Bangladesh’s main priority, he emphasized the need for sustained international pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingya.

According to Momen, if repatriation begins, the US, UN, and the global community will help improve things with the help of Blinken. TIMES OF OCEAN

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odinsblog · 2 months

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This is definitely a trend for the hateful, christofascist, religious reich. Hobby Lobby did the same thing at previous Super Bowls.

It’s right wing, Islamophobic, homophobic, anti-abortion Christian nationalism, masquerading as “caring” religion.

The Servant Foundation: the power behind the ads

The $20 million "He Gets Us" campaign about Jesus - is funded by an influential donor to some of the most active and litigious Shadow Network groups working to undermine church-state separation.

The Servant Foundation

The Servant Foundation, also known as The Signatry, is behind the “He Gets Us” ad campaign that debuted during the 2023 Super Bowl. Over the next three years, the Servant Foundation plans to spend “about a billion dollars” toward this public relations campaign. They’ve hired a PR firm to address, in the firm’s words, the problem of “How did the world’s greatest love story in Jesus become known as a hate group?”

Of course, they’re the cause of their own problem – not only has the Servant Foundation funded hate groups, but the PR firm, Haven, has represented these organizations. Key Shadow Network members Focus on the Family and Alliance Defending Freedom are in their portfolio. ADF is a noted anti-LGBTQ hate group that has argued repeatedly in courts that religion, and specifically Christianity, is a license to discriminate; they have one such case pending before the Supreme Court right now.

The money trail

The Servant Foundation is one of ADF’s biggest financial backers. A recent exposé reports that, “between 2018-20, the Servant Foundation donated more than $50 million to the Alliance Defending Freedom and that those contributions “were among the five largest donations given out by the foundation in each of those three years.”

Other recipients of the Servant Foundation’s billion dollars in assets include:

Nearly $8 million went to Answers in Genesis, creationist Ken Ham’s fundamentalist ministry behind the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, an organization that has been championed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a former ADF attorney.

Over $1 million was designated for the anti-LGBTQ Campus Crusade for Christ (rebranded as “Cru” since 2011).

$374,800 went to Al Hayat Ministries, an organization that seeks to “respectfully yet fearlessly unveil the deception of Islam,” and runs an Arabic-language Christian satellite TV station with the goal of converting Muslims to Christianity.

In 2020 alone, we found donations to prominent Shadow Network members American Center for Law and Justice, First Liberty Institute, and Liberty Counsel.

(continue reading)

#politics #super bowl #republicans #christian nationalism #lgbt #homophobia #christofascism #religious reich #lgbtq #jesus gets us #the servant foundation #no hate like christian love #the signatry #alliance defending freedom #adf

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hotchfiles · 4 months

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second. damn your love.

masterlist

pairing: james x fem!reader.

content warnings: james being kind of an ass, cheating on lily, lily will be probably shit talked (i luv her i'm very sorry !), mistress!reader, uhhh cursing, not totally AU but like... canon divergent i would say. probably hurt/no comfort unless i switch the ending but--

worth mentioning: reader insert with no use of names or “y/n”. paragraphs completely in italic are flashbacks. pro quidditch player!james. muggle born!reader.

word count: 2,2k

previous chapter

chapter 2

for some reason unknown to you, it hadn't taken james as long as usual to give you any sign that he still remembered your existence after being with you. surprisingly, on the same day after dropping you off at home and rushing to be with his girlfriend, he sent you a message through his patronus (much too recklessly as you lived in a majorly muggle neighbourhood), apologizing for what had happened.

normally, you would believe his words, and then become disappointed. however, after what happened, you didn't believe anything he said, you knew he wasn't sorry and you knew you probably wouldn't be seeing him for a while.

all you felt like doing was laying down, still feeling completely shaken, disappointed, angry... betrayed, and it took you a while to stop crying, you couldn't believe how easy it was to manipulate you, two days together and you actually started to think things were changing.

ingenuity or just the hard truth: it was easier to let yourself believe it.

luckily, or not, you still had your commitment to your responsibilities, if not your pride, you would try to maintain that instead, so the best decision was to get yourself together as best as you could the next day and go to work.

even though you lived mostly among muggles, a decision you had made long before graduating hogwarts, you still ended up in a ministry job, an obliviator. not the most glamorous, and a lot of times you thought about getting a muggle job, but years went on and you got comfortable with it. sometimes being able to forget is the best option there is.

so got yourself together you did, the best as you could included showing up office ready and giving off the obvious energy that you did not want to be perturbed, especially after taking the tube half an hour later than you normally would, too loud, too full, it was probably one of the few times over the last years you wished you could just apparate in front of the right phone cabin. but an obliviator risking wizarding secrecy would be too much of an hypocrisy.

you made sure you wouldn't be making any field work, taking the liberty to be shut in your office filling paperwork and crying, as any mature woman would if they were in your shoes: exhausted from hating yourself because you knew you were an excellent witch, a strong-willed independent woman and still, every time james potter smiled at you, you felt nothing but weakness.

and there it was, the weakness as soon as you left the ministry building and felt his gaze upon you, simply leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, his face completely relaxed.

your hands went straight to your eyes, reminding yourself of their appearance, you looked up at the sky for a few seconds and wondered if there was a god, because it didn't matter how much you begged either merlin or godric, you still didn't get one single moment of peace.

"were you crying?" he asked straight away, without even explaining why he was there. you shook your head denying it and found refuge for eyes on your feet. "you're a terrible liar."

"i don't think you know me that well anymore," you sighed and tried your best to look at him firmly. "no car today?"

"i don't indulge on those very often, apparition is still a thing, you know?" you tried your very best not to roll your eyes at the arrogance he displayed, favoring instead the idea that he had the car for the weekend to please you. "you ignored my patronus, i feel like you probably didn't even check your mail, my poor owl working over time for nothing, and you're the only witch i know who doesn't have a bloody fireplace. kinda got worried that you were mad at me." his lips formed the pout you knew so well, and you had to bite you lips to prevent yourself from smiling.

"not having the fireplace goes hand in hand with the anti-apparition charm on my apartment." you shrugged, it was a way to avoid unwanted guests, so he pretended to be the upmost offended by that. you closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to concentrate on the reasons why you were angry with him. "we need to talk."

"we can do that in your apartment. let's talk there." he nodded, and you agreed. it wasn't something to discuss so close to where you worked, for sure. he offered his arm so you would apparate together and you ignored it completely, stretching your arm to the street to get a minicab to stop for you both.

"i'm not risking magic exposure and being fired because you rarely indulge on cars, potter." weirdly enough he doesn't try to convince you otherwise, getting on the backseat with you.

on the way he told you he had been waiting for you for at least forty minutes, which you weren't sure was even true, but on any other day you would've swooned over, but his true intentions showing up came to light so quickly, you couldn't. james kept touching your thigh with his right hand slowly, teasingly, and a pantsuit was never as helpful as then, because of it you could ignore his touches or at least pretend to ignore it.

despite the touches, james maintained a casual conversation with you, talking about trivialities from his day, like forgetting to take his vitamin supplement in the morning and running less that afternoon so he could get home in time to take a shower and pick you up. at least that was the term he used, even though you were in a cab.

you enjoyed having conversations like that with him, knowing how his day had been and how he felt about the team, the training sessions... it brought a sense of normality, as if you were just an ordinary couple talking about everything or just friends talking about your lives. but at that moment, you couldn't enjoy it the way you normally would due to what still lingered on your mind from the previous night, not to mention the fact that the words coming out of his mouth sounded innocent, but his eyes and hands overflowed with nothing but.

you felt like you were under torture, the rational part of your brain competing with your emotional part, which was shaken by any touch from james, any scraps of attention. you even felt relief when you arrived at your building, especially because there were other people in the elevator, preventing him from grabbing you there and making you forget everything you so wanted to tell him. but it didn't last long. as soon as you reached your floor, you were grabbed from behind, his hands firm on your waist while his lips roamed your neck.

"james, we need to talk," you repeated what said before, freeing yourself from his arms and walking towards the door. you unlocked it with a silent charm and left the door open for him to enter next.

"talk about what?" you heard the question, but his tone showed no interest in talking. in fact, he pulls you by the arm and pushes you against the nearest wall, trapping you with his arms. you lost your breath for a few seconds due to the proximity. "we can talk later," james whispers in your ear, brushing his lips softly against yours, one of his hands touching your waist under your blouse. you almost lose it, but finds the strength to get out of his embrace and leave to the kitchen.

"i want to talk about us." you said seriously, resolute in your decision to give him an ultimatum, tired of being the mistress, but you couldn't deny that after his teasing, you just wanted to wrap your legs around his waist and hear him say your name in between moans.

"brilliant, let's talk." james begins, slowly moving closer to you. "but we could just go to your room and enjoy our time in a more pleasurable way." you feel his hands again grabbing you around the waist, and his lips brushed lightly against your ear as he detailed all the other pleasurable things he could be doing to you. you give up, defeated, letting out a grunt and pulling him to you, starting a desperate kiss as he takes off your pantsuit and leads you stumbling back to your bed.

it was late at night, almost two in the morning, when the noise woke you up, almost frightened as you had no idea what it could be at that time. your first instinct was to obviously grab your wand and go to the living room, ready to disarm or worse if it was an intruder, but you noticed that it someone knocking frantically on your door.

"who is it?" you asked loud and clear, assuming it was a stranger trying to pull some kind of scam, you've heard of cases like that happening around the muggle neighbourhoods, the knocking then stopped and you thought you had scared away whoever was there, but you were wrong.

"it's me…" the voice was familiar, but you doubted it was who the voice reminded you of, so you waited for more before you decided or not to open it. "james." you froze and held you breath, but still denying mentally that it could be him.

"james? need to be more specific."

"don't remember me anymore?" it was him, surely. james potter. you hadn't seen him since the turn of the previous year, but truthfully, you hadn't really spoken to him in years, you couldn't even imagine how in hell had he found your address. "potter."

"what you doing here?" you open the door, giving him the space he needed to enter and smelling the alcohol invading your apartment. "it's two in the morning."

"not sure…" he seemed a bit disoriented, obviously because of the alcohol, but he wasn't about to fall over drunk and you mentally thanked him for that. "was in a pub having a few, but they closed…kept thinking about you and here i am." a shiver ran through your whole body and you cussed yourself, it was pathetic how he could still cause such a thing so many years after your relationship, after your last kiss, unfortunately you had never really managed to forget him, but instead you hid him deep in your memories, that way you wouldn't have to deal with your true feelings for him when you saw each other at a mutual friend's house or anything of the sort.

but still, you did to this day found yourself thinking about him at times, but that didn't help you understand why he would be there at such a time, or why he would be thinking about you when in fact the only reason you had left his life was because of him, because if he wasn't such a dick, you might still be in a relationship today, or at least be best friends like you used to be.

"know what…" even though you haven't responded to anything he's said before, he sits down on your sofa awkwardly and you feel completely uncomfortable with the situation, crossing your arms, unable to move more than that. "i'm such a twat." james lets out a weak laugh of discontent. "letting you go that day… mum told me what happened, but I still didn't look for you." it was amazing how he could form sentences almost perfectly even though he stank of alcohol miles away.

"james, what do you want?" you sigh, still not understanding anything that's going on. he simply gets up and walks towards you, making you instinctively move away until you reach the end of the line, one of the walls of the living room. "potter?"

"i want things between us to go back to normal." his perfume takes you over as he gets closer, replacing the smell of firewhiskey, and you try not to get dizzy. "just want you." panic is your first reaction as his lips come close to yours and you push him away.

"you have a girlfriend." you look into his eyes, being as serious as possible without showing how tempted you were, making exaggerated gestures with your hands to show him how wrong it was.

"shh, forget it, just f'now. i'll fix it, swear i'll fix everything." you soften at his words and sigh, you're probably losing your mind but still you walk towards him with your arms open for a hug and he immediately finds himself taking the chance.

"missed you." your voice nothing but a whisper and james nods in response, stroking your hair.

the affectionate embrace evolves quickly into a quiet kiss that becomes more and more desperate and before you know it, you're both on the sofa, blending into one.

you woke up the next day feeling partially satisfied, but guilt consumed you entirely, you had slept with a commited guy, what kind of woman were you? and not only that… what would james and you be from then on?

"bloody hell." and there you were, waking up after given in to james' charms again, just like the first time, just like every time after that, it was frustrating how much power he held over you, you couldn't take it anymore, you were done.

tag: @xcinnamonmalfoyx

#lari writes sometimes #marauders imagine #james potter scenario #james potter imagine #james potter x you #james potter x reader #james potter x y/n #james x reader #james x you #james x y/n #marauders x reader #marauders x you

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flusteredmoonn · 5 months

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speak now; regulus black

summary: "and the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march," in which his parents see to it that their familial name is continued on.

tags: (SFW), drabble??, fast paced, arranged marriage, pureblood!reader, she/her pronouns, third person y/n.

words: 600+

speak now tracklist. request.

what had seemed like hundreds of people she didn't know had lined the pews of the church. ironically, an unlikely place for a magically family which held blood purity in such high regard. the girl thought bitterly as she peered behind the dark curtains which hung in the doorway off to the side of the altar.

"come on, girl, don't ogle. you've got to be ready to walk soon," the pointed woman spoke harshly, her hand rested elegantly and sweetly on the girl's shoulder in a false compassion.

"yes, ma'am," she spoke, before making a swift get away back to her dressing room.

no one from her family was there. she had came to the rough conclusion. her father had been sent on a mission from the dark lord, whisking her mother away with him. those that were there for her, weren't really. there were several attendees from the ministry of magic, eager to report on the affair.

everyone who was there whom were her blood, were his blood too. and with how high a status which the black family held, they were never really there for her in the first place.

silently, she cursed her father for promising her away. cursing him because he couldn't give his only child, his only daughter, away on her wedding day.

it had felt like a death sentence, she grimly thought as she turned to stare at herself in the round antique mirror. the dress she donned was obscene. the family she was marrying into had taken the liberty of dressing her away from what was traditional. maybe for such a dark family this was traditional.

the dress matched the name she was soon to take. a stark contrast in colour to what she had been expecting. her face paled with anticipation as damning music began to weave through the atmosphere.

running her hands down the top of the skirt, fingers rubbing the tulle and lace, she squinted at her own reflection in the mirror. delicately, she moved from the room she had taken refuge in, and moved to the foyer in preparation for her walk down the isle.

on the other side of the door, regulus black was having a similar thought process. his high collared suit jacket roughly itching his neck. he so desperately wanted to loosen his tie to relieve himself.

the boy's mother roughly gripped his arm, as though she could read his mind. a lie of a small smile graced his face as he began passing his close family members. the pianist's fingers danced along the keys as they transitioned between songs upon the boy reaching the altar.

sharply, he inhaled as the large doors at the start of the isle swung open once more. hesitantly, y/n put one foot in front of the other. she was on the red strip of carpeted material which ran the length of the church. she can't back down now.

and she didn't, deeply inhaling and squeezing her eyes shut. the bridal chorus began to play, eyes turned to the girl as everyone in the sacred building stood up to watch her walk to deaths door.

after an eternity, she reached the altar, regulus chivalrously took her hand and helped her onto the small stage.

the ministry's priest uttered the words which tied them together for the rest of their lives. both the boy and the girl agreed through gritted teeth, lying about their loyalty to one another and how they'll care for each other 'til the ends of the earth.

and so, they were perpetually tied to one another.

from the artist: i don't really think that anyone outwardly readers regulus fics, that i know of, but this idea was too good to not write. though the execution of it is mehhhh

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amillieaway · 1 year

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prompt: that hurts

They break up in the middle of dinner.

Maybe at a restaurant Granger would have avoided a scene, but because they were staying in, yet again, and because Draco insisted on it, she takes full liberties in unleashing hell upon him.

At one point plastic cutlery and teriyaki-stained wooden chopsticks are airborne. Later, when Draco undresses, he finds a rice noodle in the buttonhole of his blazer. And for the grand finale, shards of his great-aunt’s vase become a mosaic on his foyer floor, once valued at some fifteen thousand galleons. Now, worthless.

She’ll be back, he thinks, quite confidently. He experienced a similar rockiness when he dated Pansy. They broke up and got back together at least every other fortnight.

A day goes by.

Three, five, ten—and nothing.

Fine, Draco relents, he’ll write to her.

It’s a fine letter. Bottomless black squid ink, proof-read four times, eloquently expressing that he misses her, that he’s sorry they haven’t been together in public places and, if she’s willing to hear him out, he’ll take her out for a proper meal. She can even tip-off the Daily Prophet if it pleases her.

She doesn’t reply.

Draco grows irritable. He begins to resent her a little.

Once, before the war destroyed his reputation, any girl would have been thrilled Draco Malfoy was giving her the time of day. He was good-looking. He was wealthy. His family was connected to top politicians and moguls in the Wizarding World. He was Slytherin’s Seeker. She would have been lucky to date him.

So what, they haven't been out in public after a couple months of dating? That gives her no right to give him the cold shoulder and act like they never knew one another.

To hell with her.

Days pass, and Draco is gutted. Wrecked.

Her absence hurts and hurts and hurts.

He catches himself staring out into space at odd moments. Over a bowl of soggy cereal, trying to remember what her hair smelled like. Peach? Pear? Wiping the same spot on the window for five minutes, knowing it’s Sunday, and somewhere on the other side of town, she must be cleaning her flat too.

He caves and writes to her once more.

This time, with more apologetic and less arrogant undertones.

Radio silence.

He knows she’s receiving them because he prodded gossip out of Blaise who lives with Pansy who bumped into Potter at a party, and Potter drunkenly blurted out that ‘your douchy friend Malfoy’s still trying to win Hermione back. She needs to forget that wanker, if you ask me.’

Well nobody asked you, Potter, thank you very much.

And so Draco spirals a little.

He sends fifty-three bouquets to her office. One for each day they were together. When he hears nothing, he follows it up with fifty-three cauldron cakes. When that proves no bueno, he hires a mariachi band to follow her around the Ministry, singing cheery love ballads. He’s given them express instructions to perform until she visits him.

That should prove he’s more than okay with everyone knowing they’re together. He doesn’t care. All he needs is Granger back. Because-because—

“I miss you,” he says when she Apparates into his office precisely thirty-seven minutes after he unleashed the mariachi band upon her, holding out longer than he expected.

She’s red in the face, shoulders bunched up to her ears, eyes blazing, pointing a finger at his chest. “You are the most infuriating, conceited, over-the-top…”

“I miss you,” he repeats, speaking over her as he rounds the desk to meet her on the opposite side.

“…PRAT I have ever had the misfortune…”

“I miss you so much.” He has her shoulders, forcing them down a little, pressing his thumbs right where he knows she needs it most, watching delightfully as they liquify even as she’s going on.

“…encountering and when I’m done with someone, Draco, I am DONE…”

“I need you back, Hermione.” He draws his palms down her arms, grabbing her hands and pinning them to his chest when she tries to swat him away.

“…and I refuse to date anybody who’s even slightly ashamed of where I come from…”

“I love everything about you.”

And that about does it.

Granger stands there, mouth agape, no more screaming. She drops her gaze to her hands, splayed open on his chest, realising, perhaps, how close they are. Feeling, maybe, how her presence alone turns Draco on. Seeing, hopefully, the authenticity in his gaze.

“You… you…”

“I love you,” he says, prepared. “I’m sorry you had to leave before I realised it.”

“Harry says I need to forget you.” She’s staring at his lips now, making no effort to step away.

“Potter’s a wanker.”

She frowns, but doesn’t seem angry. Her eyes grow distant, lost in thought.

He waits.

When her focus resurfaces, she's watching his lips again, heat creeping into her irises. “Kiss me on two conditions.”

“One?” he asks, heart racing.

“We tell everybody.”

Her breath is warm on his skin. Deliciously close. “And two?”

“You never send anything to my work ever again.”

It’s the sweetest deal he’s ever made.

#dramione #dramione drabble #amillieaway #draco x hermione #draco malfoy #hermione granger

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ask-the-clergy-bc · 1 month

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How would Papa III/Papa lV react to a s/o other who came back from the dead? Maybe s/o was hiding they were immortal, got caught up in an accident, then got back up like nothing happened.

NGL I took some… artistic liberties with the reader’s ‘condition’. I hope that’s ok! It’s been a real Infesstissumam type of week for me! This is based on lore I’ve built up behind the scenes for my own personal works, and is in no way canon. But I hope you enjoy my ideas! :)

GN Reader* (Note for after prompt, see bottom)

Supernatural Being/Immortal Reader

Relationship Tension

Papa III and IV Reacting to their S/O Magically Coming Back to Life… Literally

Papa III:

-No one can remember a time Papa was this devastated. Not when he was forced to retire, not when he lost everything… This is one of the few times he was forcibly pushed to go into private mourning. Even Omega had to be called back from duty to console the third Emeritus. Papa felt his world collapsing in. A demon blooded does not give their heart so easily, so it’s catastrophic when it shatters.

- Omega is the only reason anyone believes you when you ‘come back from the dead.’ You had just been the victim of a fatal highway accident merely days before. EVERYONE in the Ministry knew about it- And word travels fast! If it wasn’t for him everyone would assume you were some imposter or evil entity trying to take advantage of the situation.

-Even though the accident wasn’t your fault, you already felt guilty. This was going to be a very awkward explanation to Papa. You’ve been hiding your true nature for so many years you didn’t even bother to tell him. How was he going to react?

-Omega was the one to lead you to Papa but stopped you in the hallway. Barring you from entering the room where you could feel the angst of your beloved. The large ghoul loomed over you, eyes cold and lacking any empathy for you. It was the first and only time you felt scared of him.

“He deserves to know. Tell him or I will… Ghuleh.”

All you could do was tremble and nod.

-Papa looked AWFUL when you finally saw him. No paint, bags under his eyes, his hair and clothes a mess. He had been rotting away on his bed before you finally walked in, practically a shell of his former self. At first he didn’t respond to you calling for him, brushing you off as another person attempting to comfort him. But when he recognized your voice the man bolted up in bed. Papa stared at you with wide eyes before he scrambled to get you into his arms.

-You were showered in desperate kisses, a crushing hug, and his near sobbing; praising Lucifer for bringing you back to him. Luckily, that lasted for a good hour as he got it out of his system. The entire time you couldn’t help but glance at Omega, who watched you both from the door way with unblinking eyes.

-When you both calmed down from your emotional reunion you were forced to swallow your pride and tell Papa what had happened. That you truly had ‘died’ in the physical sense. But you tried to reassure him it was ok! That happens sometimes, and you were fine! Papa didn’t seem to understand at first before asking if you were not human or if you had been in magic practices this whole time. Well, he wasn’t wrong!

-It was nerve wracking having him go from super emotional to watching you impassively as you stumbled over your words. Yes, you knew magic that he couldn’t sense… and technically you USED to be human. Before you know, you took an Oath and became a Ghuleh. No, not THE Ghuleh of course but- you were a long lived and skilled disciple of her power. It’s the whole reason you were granted sanctuary in the Ministry in the first place. You technically couldn’t die in the physical sense. You never bothered telling him because it’s been so long since your practiced and you were afraid he might not like you if he knew. You faced so much rejection from your magic lineage, you didn’t want to lose him too. You were just too cocky that something like this wouldn’t happen.

-Papa sat in silence for what felt like ages, staring at you once you finished. A part of you was starting to break down figuring your relationship was over. But he finally moved to take your hand and give a gentle kiss to your knuckles.

“Don’t you ever lie and hide from me again.”

-you cried and you both hugged.

Papa IV/Copia:

-The news of your supposed passing tore Copia apart when he was first informed. He is a strong man, but you have always been his weakness. Copia can’t cope with the idea that the love of his life has been stolen from him too soon. When Copia was informed he became a sobbing mess, nearly passed out, and was utterly inconsolable. They had to give him tome off (and a LOT of Xanax) to keep him stable. It was a second disaster all in itself!

-You hadn’t meant to worry everyone. Hell, how were you EVER supposed to predict the most random renovation accident in Ministry history! All you did was walk by one of the new walls they were putting in and… at the very least, no one else had been hurt. But it was a terribly embarrassing time for you when you sat up and walked out of the Clergy mortuary. At least Miasma got a kick out of it.

-Sister Imperator was the first person to greet you when you ‘came back.’ And she was not happy. Imperator had been the person to guard your secrets and give you a place in the Ministry. Even let you near her prodigal son. But the deal had been you disclose everything about yourself to Copia. To Tell him what you were so they could AVOID his emotional meltdowns. A small side of you had been hurt that she cared more about Copia’s feelings than your own predicament, but you pushed it aside.

-“off you go. Go make it right.” You hated how she treated you like a child and not like a fellow disciple. But she was right- you did break your promise. And now you’ve accidentally broken Copia’s heart, even if it wasn’t your fault!

-The band ghouls had been happy to see you, but Copia nearly shrieked at your presence. The Papa convinced you were some sort of trick of his mind. It took you and all the ghouls an hour to calm him down (and even more Xanax.)

-When the new Papa came back to himself he clung to you, sobbing. You could barely make out him praising Lucifer and begging you not to leave him again. You let him, he deserved to get it out. You even found yourself tearing up and apologizing. The two of you rocked each other until all the tears dried up.

-You asked to be alone when you finally got the courage to explain what happened to him. You finally explained that you were a Ghuleh, a disciple of the zombie queen and her undying magic. Copia listened but he was stuck in a look of shock the entire time. You assured him that you never wanted him to find out this way. You were hoping he’d never find out.

-The worst thing ended up happening, aside from a break up. Copia didn’t want to leave you and he wasn’t planning to. But he was horribly upset at you for keeping this from him. Copia understands as much as he can. That’s not an easy lineage to hail from in this day and age. But you couldn’t tell him AT ALL?? How could you both be so close and so in love yet you kept this from him? It took you LITERALLY DYING to finally come clean! He felt so stupid at first. That he had a break down over this and not being strong enough to tell you were this deep in forbidden magic.

-As much as you both hate it, it did take a small hit on your relationship. A son of Lucifer and Child of Ghuleh has its own magical complications. But you don’t split. Copia would never let you go over this. He just needed a little time to get over feeling embarrassed and upset. This whole ordeal has made you both closer if anything!

-Imperator is oddly pleased about this…

—

*Notes:

Ghuleh is both the name of the Zombie Queen AND her highest ranking disciples.

Anyone who is a Ghuleh is someone who achieved partial or full ‘immortality’ through the magics practiced by the Zombie Queen.

Ghuleh in this regard is a gender neutral title, and one of VERY high honor.

In my work Ghuleh is NOT to be confused with ‘Ghoulette’ or any feminine nick names for Ghouls. They are separate categories.

#the band ghost #ghost bc #ghost headcanons #papa emeritus iii #papa emeritus iv #Cardinal copia #Copia #reader insert #ghost reader insert #sister imperator #omega #reader death #immortal reader #mentions of death #minor triggers #relationship turmoil #ghuleh

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faith4today · 2 months

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Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. Psalms 51 kjv Bible Gateway

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Uphold Me by The Winans - Topic (Youtube)

FAITH 4 TODAY DISCLAIMER PLEASE READ

ABOUT ME -(PLEASE READ) I am a student a teacher and forever learning

#faith 4 today #liberty ministry #jesus saves #salvation #Youtube

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dracoslibrary · 6 months

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So It Begins

Draco Malfoy's troubles were never-ending.

While it was true that the trial that had consumed his life for the past — was it truly almost a year? — was finally coming to a close, it was not over yet. His parents had fled Britain to their estate near Bordeaux after their own trials, leaving Draco to manage things at their Wiltshire manor with only an agency house-elf, Keys, for company. He was getting nowhere with the press nor with the Ministry; neither would lift a finger to help him with the dismal public opinion of the Malfoy family. If anything, they were keen to make things harder for him. Last and worst of all, he was quite alone. His school friends had all but abandoned him, and most everyone else he'd known since birth was either dead or locked up in Azkaban.

Draco wasn't used to being alone. Lonely, yes. Of course, lonely. But alone? He had always had his parents at home or his friends at school. Someone. Always someone. Sometimes so many someones that he wanted to scream and fly so far away that no one would ever find him. But as he sat in the morning room of Malfoy Manor drinking tea and pretending to read the same sentence in the Daily Prophet for the fourth time, he could not help but face the fact that he was well and truly on his own.

Except for Keys, but she hardly counted.

It would be one thing if he was in London, in Diagon Alley where he could get out into the bustle of the street. That would be something. But he was stuck in Wiltshire until the conclusion of the trial next Thursday. If all went well, he would get his wand back. He would get his life back. If it didn't go to plan... Well, at least he would know. There would be an end to it. It was the not knowing that was so hard.

The not knowing and the being alone. Draco didn't know which was worse.

He tried reading the same sentence in the Prophet again and failed. His nerves were too frayed. He threw the newspaper aside, then watched a picture of precious Potter and his little posse of Aurors striding in and out of view from the front page. The headline made Draco want to rip the paper in half.

HARRY POTTER BRINGS LESTRANGE TO JUSTICE

Draco's only surviving uncle, Rodolphus Lestrange, had just been sentenced to life in Azkaban. It was a hell of a time for the Ministry to be asking anything of Draco, but he couldn't afford to say no. He was willing to do anything to reconcile his public relations nightmare, even letting a mudblood into the house. And not just any mudblood. The mudblood.

His hand shook as he sipped his tea. It was stone cold. He hardly cared.

Apparently the great Hermione Granger required the use of the Malfoy library. That's what the letter had said. What reason she could possibly have for making such a demand was beyond him, especially since she would most certainly have the whole of the Hogwarts library as well as the Ministry's records at her disposal. Why should she need access to the largest collection of books on the Dark Arts in the country?

Draco told himself not to feel curious about it. There was nothing to be done except to allow it. After all, how could he say no to the Ministry's request on her behalf when they held his liberty by a single thread? It didn't matter why she was coming. It only mattered that today was the day.

Hermione Granger in his home again. Hermione Granger touching his family's things.

Draco stood up. "Keys," he said, and immediately a floppy-eared house-elf with a button nose and a tea towel toga appeared before him.

"Sir called for Keys?"

"I'll be in the garden. Find me when she gets here."

The house-elf bowed as Draco moved past her. He couldn't do much to blow off steam, but he could train, and that's exactly what he would do until the mudblood was at his door.

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doverstar · 3 months

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Hey Doverstar. Fellow Christian here. :) What do you think about The Chosen? They just started releasing Season 4 eps in theaters this February in the United States. I really love this show. What about you? If you do...I think that would be groovy! If not...well. That would also be groovy too. ✌

Hi there! Woah, it's in theaters, that's crazy! Back in my day it was barely stream-able and we had to be in a specific person's living room to get it on the TV, how far we've come by matchbox twenty- I'm glad you asked, this will be long-ish!

I used to attend the church that the creator of the show had been attending at the time when we lived in IL (his name is Dallas, I think we had dinner with him? don't remember). That was before The Chosen was a thing. He had great ideas about what Christian media could be, but The Chosen in particular went downhill fast for me. I think it's an excellent show, but I also think that when you're using historical, real people in the content, you have to be very careful. Especially when it's biblical figures in history. Then you have to be insanely careful, and Dallas is not being as careful as one would hope. Because you don't want people who know nothing about Jesus to watch that show and have that expectation in their minds when they go to read the Bible. Jesus probably didn't talk like that, may not have looked like that, and may not have even smiled like that during His ministry here. But I've literally spoken with people who say things like if Jesus doesn't smile like Jonathan Roumie when they get to Heaven, "what's the point". That's dangerous. (And theologically the show is not sound.) I get taking creative liberties in order to make a television show more engaging for a modern audience, but not with the Bible. I get trying to make it easier to understand and follow for people who are just not brought up in the church and don't know the language. But I've decided for me, personally, not to continue watching The Chosen. For one thing, I don't want those actors/actresses in my head when I'm reading the Bible, and for another, I don't want to start being in a "fandom" for a show that's supposed to be portraying the events in the Bible. I don't want to start treating the Bible like it's fiction, like Peter's my blorbo (as the kids say), like it's just entertainment. It's not. It's real. It's all real, and I know me, and I know I have a tendency to over-romanticize the media I consume. I'm not going near that show with a 39-and-a-half foot pole anymore. It would be too easy to start thinking the wrong way about what I believe based on the way the show makes me feel. That, and I think the show is disrespectful and wrong. Great idea, good execution, went off the rails. And yeah, The Chosen is so good at making you feel things! I saw that first Season. I loved that first Season! Little ideas like having the Jesus-character laugh in bed while knowing exactly what the family of the lame man he cured is waking up to, literally able to see them rejoicing miles away? That's beautiful. When the Jesus-character cries with the woman at the well, and he tells her from now on it will all be about the heart, not about works? And she says "You promise?" And he cries and smiles and promises and she's so happy? That's beautiful. I cried too. And my favorite was the line when Mary says that before she met Jesus, "I was one way. And now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him." That's perfect. That's so good. That's what it's like, in three sentences. Excellent. Well done. Oh, and the music swelling at the end of each episode? Fantastic. Emotions everywhere. But like I said, I don't trust it. I got through about four episodes of Season 2 before I was like, okay, that's enough. This isn't good for me. Does that make sense? I could go into the discrepancies and how they often treat Jesus in the show as though He wasn't fully man and fully God (He was), and how they often make it seem like you can believe He was or He wasn't and it's all fine, when it's not all fine. But that would take a while! In a nutshell: I'm glad the creators had the right heart to start out with, and I'm pleased to see it proven that Christians can make excellent media, but not if it's like this, and I don't think the show should continue. If it does, I think they need to get their heads on straight and be super clear about the Truth, otherwise there's no point. I won't be watching it. Doesn't make you evil if you watch it! This is just what I think. Since you asked. Glad to hear from you! <3

#asked #answered #ask doverstar #doverstar's thoughts #the chosen #the chosen tv series #christianity #jesus #jesus christ #faith #dashdotdashdotdashdot #christian #jonathan roumie #dallas jenkins #christian tumblr #bible

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battlekilt · 1 year

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Art by @ninjigma Seen in: Setting Suns AU, which is a Sith Obi-Wan AU. Also seen in: Aay'han—Mournful Celebration.

Clone Unit Alpha-110 “Kit”

From the logbooks of Nala Se Scientist #1401— Lead Manager of the Advanced Mutations Projects.

Scientific Ministry has decided to elevate my position to Lead Manager of the Advanced Mutations Projects. This promotion has afforded me an opportunity to access the genetic codebook of my peers, without sacrificing my own codes. Some have been resistant, but the ministry has been insistent, especially as the war drew to a close. At the time, we were unaware of any future where production of the Clones would be scaled back so significantly. Without livable tissue from the Fett Prime Donor, we have been forced to push the bounds of our abilities to clone further. At this time, we have been forced to repair genetic gaps with our older units. Ideally, Alpha-01, known as “Boba Fett,” would be the next best choice. However, he remains in custody with the Republic, and we are unable to secure access to the subject. Obviously, Alpha-00, known as “Omega,” candidacy as a donor subject remains inviable due to unit’s extreme distance from the agreed upon genetic template for our base model Fett Clone. Alpha-class Clones still remain our next best choice. Reviews of successful A-units narrowed one of our prime candidates down to unit A-77. Created by Ulni Drayris (Scientist #1033), developed the A-77-X iterative Template in pursuit of similar traits as I pursued for the Alpha-00 template.

(See attached notes for further comparisons between Project A-00-X and A-77-X.)

Project A-00-X was further used in the development of other projects. (Review Project A-00-75-XX, -13, -89-03) Similarly, Project A-77-X has been the progenitive temple used with several other projects and units, some of whom have been successful operatives in the field. (Review Units #01-1010, #27-5555)

NOTE: Unit #27-5555 has been terminated for classified reasons. Though, I protest the unit’s reclassification as a failure, as the subject showed impressive intellectual skills and remained true to the Clone’s operative base.

Additionally, our stock of Alpha-class units have been nearly depleted, same as our field-deployed Advanced Recon Commando. With fewer and fewer units derivative units made from the codes used for our Alpha-units, we have seen critical drops in suitable candidates for our ARC Cadet Corps. The commandant of our Clone Cadet Corps, Unit A-17, has informed me and the ministry that is tactically ill-advised; I have decided to put my weight behind his protests to the Ministry’s complacence on this matter. With this all these concerns in mind and my new liberty as the lead scientist of the AMP Department, I have opened up Project A-00-100-X.

FOLLOW-UP #1:

As of this log, Ulni Drayris has worked with me on Project A-00-100-X. Our first twenty units are gestating at this time, and the genetic code sequences look very promising.

Note: I have extended Unit A-00’s lab duties, and she has been my assistant on this project. This is an excellent opportunity to prove the intellectual viability of the Alpha subjects. To further her education, I have also assigned her duties in the matter of human reproduction and infancy. Her drive for self-education continues to please me, and I will encourage her curiosity. Hopefully, this will prove to the Ministry further application of human Clones—I find them to be quite fascinating and curious.

FOLLOW-UP #2.1:

Project Unit A-00-100-14 appears to be the most promising product of the project. Project Unit A-00-100-10 unfortunately does not appear to be as promising; it is exhibiting the same signs our early Alpha-class and Production units exhibited. Omega has informed me that humans call this a “failure to thrive.” Most unfortunate.

Personal Note: I confess… distressing to witness so close at hand. The sounds are truly… disturbing.

FOLLOW-UP #2.2.1:

Curiously, Commandant Alpha-17 has elected to take custody of Project Unit A-00-100-10. The infant subject is responding to the additional human care and exposure. I have convinced the ministry to allow this to expand our observation

Personal Note: It is quite pleasant to observe Omega express the innate drive to pass knowledge onto others as she instructs Alpha-17 in the means of care for a human infant. Though Seventeen would have never been considered for one of our nursery Clones to care for the infants, his signature determination has been redirected towards this endeavor. Fascinating.

FOLLOW-UP #2.2.2:

Project Unit A-00-100-14 has been redesignated to Alpha-114; it is currently in quarantine in my personal laboratory. Much to the surprise of many, Project Unit A-00-100-10 has managed to survived to its third month. Though, based on the behavioral history of Units #01-1010, this should not have been a surprise to anyone, including myself. Now that the infant has survived to this critical stage and even though we have elected to delay the infant’s immune system replacement due to concerns over survival probabilities, it has been given the designation Alpha-110.

FOLLOW-UP #2.2.2:

Alpha-17 has decided to unofficially name Alpha-110 “Kit,” which is a reference to what Alpha-17 believes are traits shared between Alpha-110 and Unit #01-1010’s temperament. A “kit” is the name for an infant fox-vulpes.

Personal Note: I do concur with Seventeen that Kit is tenacious, even if still remarkably small.

————————————————————————

Log Entry:

Project Unit A-00-75-67 has been killed in the line of duty. NOTE: This unit has always been referenced as other designations in past logs.

(See A-67, CC-7567)

Personal Note: This is highly unfortunate.

————————————————————————

Log Entry:

Alpha-00 has been taken by experimental Clone Unit #99.

————————————————————————

Log Entry:

Alpha-17 has gone AWOL and taken Alpha-110 with him.

Personal Note 1: I am alone now.

Personal Note 2: I do still have Alpha-114, though he refuses to talk.

In Summary: Alpha-77 and Fox are just about twins, just... with a time delay. Alpha-110 is a late-made little Clone that nearly dies in infancy, but Alpha-17 adopts the skrunky fella.

But this is Kit.

This is based on an amalgamation of several AU versions. Kit’s personality stays the same. 100% skrunky.

#clone troopers #alpha-17 #swtcw #original clone troopers #original clone characters #the clone wars #clone wars fanart #swtcw fanart #swtcw oc #bucket's ocs #kilt gets gifts #clone oc: kit #clone oc: alpha110

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theculturedmarxist · 3 months

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As with the South African case, according to court procedure the Israeli case was introduced on Friday by their “agent”, permanently accredited to the court, Tal Becker of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He opened with the standard formula “it is an honour to appear before you again on behalf of the state of Israel”, managing to imply purely through phrasing and tone of voice that the honour lay in representing Israel, not in appearing before the judges.

Becker opened by going straight to the Holocaust, saying that nobody knew more than Israel why the Genocide Convention existed. Six million Jewish people had been killed. The Convention was not to be used to cover the normal brutality of war.

The South African case aimed at the delegitimisation of the state of Israel, he said. On Oct. 7 Hamas had committed massacre, mutilation, rape and abduction. 1,200 had been killed and 5,500 maimed. He related several hideous individual atrocity stories and played a recording he stated to be a Hamas fighter boasting on WhatsApp to his parents about committing mass murder, rape and mutilation.

The only genocide in this case was being committed against Israel. Hamas continued to attack Israel, and for the court to take provisional measures would be to deny Israel the right to self-defence.

Provisional measures should rather be taken against South Africa and its attempt by legal means to further genocide by its relationship with Hamas. Gaza was not under occupation: Israel had left it with great potential to be a political and economic success. Instead Hamas had chosen to make it a terrorist base.

Hamas was embedded in the civilian population and therefore responsible for the civilian deaths. Hamas had tunnels under schools, hospitals, mosques and U.N. facilities and tunnel entrances within them. It commandeered medical vehicles for military use.

South Africa had talked of civilian buildings destroyed, but did not tell you they had been destroyed by Hamas booby traps and Hamas missile misfires.

The casualty figures South Africa gave were from Hamas sources and not reliable. They did not say how many were fighters? How many of the children were child soldiers? The application by South Africa was ill-founded and ill-motivated. It was a libel.

This certainly was a hardline and uncompromising start. The judges appeared to be paying very close attention when he opened with the Oct. 7 self-defence argument, but very definitely some of them started to fidget and become uncomfortable when he talked of Hamas operating from ambulances and U.N. facilities. In short, he went too far and I believe he lost his audience at that point.

Next up was Professor Malcolm Shaw KC. Shaw is regarded as an authority on the procedure of international law and is editor of the standard tome on the subject. This is an interesting facet of the legal profession, where standard reference books on particular topics are regularly updated to include key extracts from recent judges, and passages added or amended to explain the impact of these judgments. Being an editor in this field provides a route to prominence for the plodding and pedantic.

I had come across Shaw in his capacity as a co-founder of the Centre for Human Rights at Essex University. I had given a couple of talks there some twenty years ago on the attacks on human rights of the “War on Terror” and my own whistleblower experience over torture and extraordinary rendition. For an alleged human rights expert, Shaw seemed extraordinarily prone to support the national security interests of the state over individual liberty.

I do not pretend I gave it a great deal of thought. I did not know at that time of Shaw’s commitment as an extreme Zionist and in particular his long term interest in suppressing the rights of the Palestinian people.

After 139 states have recognised Palestine as a state, Shaw led for Israel the legal opposition to Palestine’s membership of international institutions, including the International Criminal Court. Shaw’s rather uninspired reliance on the Montevideo Convention of 1933 is hardly a legal tour de force, and it didn’t work.

Every criminal deserves a defence, and nobody should hold it against a barrister that they defend a murderer or rapist, as it is important that guilt or innocence is tested by a court. But I think it is fair to state that defence lawyers do not in general defend those accused of murder because they agree with murder and want a murderer to go on murdering.

That however is the case here: Malcolm Shaw speaks for Israel because he actually wants Israel to be able to continue killing Palestinian women and children to improve the security of Israel, in his view.

That is the difference between this and other cases, including at the ICJ. Generally the lead lawyers would happily swap sides, if the other side had hired them first. But this is entirely different.

Here the lawyers (with the possible exception of Christopher Straker KC, an other attorney who represented Israel on Friday) believe profoundly in the case they are supporting and would never appear for the other side. That is just one more way that this is such an extraordinary case, with so much drama and such vital consequences, not least for the future of international law.

For the reason I have just explained, Shaw’s role here is not that of a simple barrister plying his trade. His attempt to extend the killing should see him viewed as a pariah by decent people everywhere, for the rest of his doubtless highly-paid existence.

Shaw opened up by saying that the South African case continually spoke of context. They talked of the 75 years of the existence of the state of Israel. Why stop there? Why not go back to the Balfour Declaration or the British Mandate over Palestine?

No, the context of these events was the massacre of Oct. 7, and Israel’s subsequent right of self-defence. He produced and read a long quote from mid-October by European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, stating that Israel had suffered a terrorist atrocity and had the right of self-defence.

The truth is that this is not genocide but armed conflict, which state has existed since Oct. 7, he said. That was brutal, and urban warfare always involved terrible civilian casualties, but it was not genocide.

He then turned to the question of genocide. He argued that South Africa could not bring this case and the ICJ had no jurisdiction, because there was no dispute between Israel and South Africa on which the ICJ could rule, at the time the case was filed.

South Africa had communicated its views to Israel, but Israel had given no substantial reply. Therefore a dispute did not yet exist at time of filing. A dispute must involve interaction between parties and the argument had been on one side only.

This very much interested the judges. As I noted on day one, this got them more active than anything else when Professor John Dugard addressed the same point for South Africa. As I reported:

“The judges particularly enjoyed Dugard’s points, enthusiastically rustling through documents and underlining things. Dealing with thousands of dead children was a bit difficult for them, but give them a nice jurisdictional point and they were in their element.”

They were even more excited when Shaw tackled the same point. This gave them a way out! The case could be technically invalid, and then they would neither have to upset the major Western powers nor make fools of themselves by pretending that a genocide the whole world had seen was not happening. For a while, they looked visibly relieved.

Shaw should have given up while he was ahead, but he ploughed on for an hour, with some relief when he continually muddled his notes. A senior KC with zero ability to extemporise and recover was an interesting sight, as he kept stopping and shuffling paper.

Shaw argued that the bar for judging whether South Africa had a prima facie case must be significantly higher because of the high military and political cost to Israel if the court adopted provisional measures.

It was also necessary to show genocidal intent even at this stage. Otherwise the genocide was a “car without an engine”. If any illegal actions had taken place within Israel’s carefully targeted military action, Israel’s own military courts would investigate and act on them.

Random Israeli ministers and officials making emotional statements was not important. Official policy to protect civilians would be found in the minutes of the Israeli war cabinet and national security council. Israel’s strenuous attempts to move civilians out of harm’s way was an accepted measure in international human law and should not be viewed as mass displacement.

It was South Africa which was guilty of complicity in genocide in cooperation with Hamas. South Africa’s allegations against Israel “verge on the outrageous”.

Israel’s next lawyer was a lady called Galit Raguan from the Israeli Ministry of Justice. She said the reality on the ground was that Israel had done everything possible to minimise civilian deaths and to aid humanitarian relief. Urban warfare always resulted in civilian deaths. It was Hamas who were responsible for destruction of buildings and infrastructure.

There was overwhelming evidence of Hamas’ military use of hospitals. In every single hospital in Gaza the IDF had evidence of military use by Hamas. Mass evacuation of civilians was a humanitarian and legal measure. Israel had supplied food, water and medicine into Gaza but supplies had come under Hamas fire. Hamas steals the aid for its fighters.

Next up was lawyer Omri Sender. He stated that more food trucks per day now entered Gaza than before Oct. 7. The number had increased from 70 food trucks to 109 food trucks per day. Fuel, gas and electricity were all being supplied and Israel had repaired the sewage systems.

At this stage Israel had again lost the judges. One or two were looking at this man in a highly quizzical manner. A couple had definitely fallen asleep – there are only so many lies you can absorb, I suppose. Nobody was making notes about this guff.

The judges may find a way not to condemn Israel, but could not be expected to go along with this extraordinary nonsense. Sender continued that the scope and intensity of the fighting was now decreasing as the operation entered a new phase.

Perhaps noting that nobody believed him, Sender stated that the court could not institute provisional measures but rather was obliged to accept the word of Israel on its good intentions because of the Law of the Unilateral Declarations of States.

Now I have to confess that was a bit of international law I did not know existed. But it does, specifically in relation to ICJ proceedings. On first reading, it makes a unilateral declaration of intent to the ICJ binding on the state that makes it.

I cannot see that it forces the ICJ to accept it as sufficient or to believe in its sincerity. It seems rather a reach, and I wondered if Israel was running out of things to say.

That appeared to be true, because the next speaker, Christopher Straker, now took the floor and just ran through all the same Hamas stuff yet again, only with added theatrical indignation. Straker is the lawyer I suspect would happily have appeared for either side, because he was plainly just acting anyway. And not very well.

Straker said that it was astounding this case could be brought. It was intended to stop Israel from defending itself while Israel would still be subject to Hamas attacks. Hamas has said it will continue attacks.

If you look at the operation as a whole including relief efforts, it was plain there was no genocidal intent. Israel was in incredible danger. The proposed provisional measures were out of proportion to their effect.

Can you imagine if in the Second World War, a court had ordered the Allies to stop fighting because of civilian deaths, and allowed the Axis powers to keep on killing?

The final speaker was Gilad Noam, Israel’s deputy attorney-general. He said that the bulk of the proposed provisional measures should be refused because they exposed Israel to further Hamas attack. Three more should be refused because they referred to Palestine outside Gaza.

There was no genocidal intent in Israel. Ministerial and official statements made in the heat of the moment were rather examples of the tradition of democracy and freedom of speech. Prosecutions for incitement to genocide were under consideration.

The court must not conflate genocide and self-defence. The South African case devalues genocide and encourages terrorism. The Holocaust illustrated why Israel was always under existential threat. It was Hamas who were committing genocide.

And that was it. Israel had in the end not been allowed to show its contentious atrocity video, and it felt like their presentation had become repetitive and was padded to fill the time.

It is important to realise this. Israel is hoping to win on their procedural points about existence of dispute, unilateral assurances and jurisdiction. The obvious nonsense they spoke about the damage to homes and infrastructure being caused by Hamas, trucks entering Gaza and casualty figures, was not serious. They did not expect the judges to believe any of this. The procedural points were for the court. The rest was mass propaganda for the media.

In the U.K., the BBC and Sky both ran almost all the Israeli case live, having not run any of the South African case live. I believe something similar was true in the USA, Australia and Germany too.

While the court was in session, Germany has announced it will intervene in the substantial case to support Israel. They argue explicitly that, as the world’s greatest perpetrator of genocide, they are uniquely placed to judge. It is in effect a copyright claim. They are protecting Germany’s intellectual property in the art of genocide. Perhaps they might in future license genocide, or allow Israel to continue genocide on a franchise basis.

I am sure the judges want to get out of this and they may go for the procedural points. But there is a real problem with Israel’s “no dispute” argument. If accepted, it would mean that a country committing genocide can simply not reply to a challenge, and then legal action will not be possible because no reply means “no dispute”. I hope that absurdity is obvious to the judges. But they may of course wish not to notice it…

What do I think will happen? Some sort of “compromise”. The judges will issue provisional measures different to South Africa’s request, asking Israel to continue to take measures to protect the civilian population, or some such guff. Doubtless the State Department have drafted something like this for the president of the court, the American Joan Donoghue already.

I hope I am wrong. I would hate to give up on international law. One thing I do know for certain. These two days in The Hague were absolutely crucial for deciding if there is any meaning left in notions of international law and human rights.

I still believe action by the court could cause the U.S. and U.K. to back off and provide some measure of relief. For now, let us all pray or wish, each in our way, for the children of Gaza.

Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. His coverage is entirely dependent on reader support. Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.

#craig murray #the hague #international court of justice #israel #south africa #genocide #israel palestine conflict #gaza #consortium news

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