#counting machine Nepal

[cookinguptales]

Hey, just read your post on A Haunting In Venice (great analysis by the way), and I was wondering if there’s anywhere to read your poisonous beekeeping story? In fact if you have any more facts about poisonous beekeeping or mad honey I’d be DELIGHTED to hear about them

Hmm. Well, with the caveat that I wrote this several years ago and consider myself to be a much stronger writer now, you can read the story here. Maybe I should post it on AO3, too... Maybe I will once I get back from Japan in a few days.

The Dose Makes The Poison Word Count: 24k Pairing: F/F Rating: M (Violence, some suggestive content) Used by the crown and reviled by the public, Adira is known for the poisonous honey her sacred bees produce. She secludes herself away from it all, carefully tending to her bees and trying not to fall too hard for Ranni, a palace cook who doesn't have the good sense to be afraid of her. But when machinations are revealed to be at work in the palace, poisons may be at the heart of the problem -- and the solution.

I've actually been thinking recently about using some of the concepts I used in this fic to write a new one... A rewrite or a sequel or at least some more in this universe. I really enjoyed a lot of the worldbuilding I did in this, particularly the honeyed religious stuff, so maybe it would be fun to give it another try...

As for mad honey itself... I did a lot of research on beekeeping when I was writing this! Especially cliffside beekeeping, which is still practiced in some parts of the world. Mad honey itself is made when bees harvest nectar from poisonous plants and turn it into honey. Usually, this doesn't actually affect the bees even when they consume it. It's sort of like how mint/caffeine/capsaicin is toxic for many animals but pleasant to humans. That said, sometimes bees do get a little sleepy and "drunk" off some plants! Which is kind of cute, though apparently the bees don't enjoy it.

I come at this from the POV of someone who studies religions (which is also why I got so into the religious worldbuilding in that fic) so I was really fascinated by how mad honey has been used to purposefully induce hallucinogenic states in some shamanistic rituals. In parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, there are bees that live on cliffsides and ingest grayanotoxins, which in turn creates mad honey that is purposefully harvested and ingested in small quantities to induce a psychedelic state. This is often used in religious rituals in some communities, particularly in Nepal. (Which was what inspired my story.)

But also, y'know, reindeer eat Amanita muscaria, a deeply poisonous mushroom, and people have used their pee (yes, sorry) in order to get high, also often for religious reasons. It's a whole thing where animals can ingest a poisonous plant, process it, and then secrete a less-poisonous version that humans can ingest in small quantities for hallucinogenic reasons. It's something that you see in a lot of cultures that emphasize altered states for cultural and/or religious purposes.

Honey has been used in religious rituals (and religious ideas more generally) for thousands of years in a lot of different cultures, and bees themselves are often seen as sacred or particularly close to the gods. I liked the idea of a fantasy culture that saw honey as sacred and that incorporated it into most of its religious traditions -- and I wondered how something like mad honey could fit into that, especially if it was being used for violent rather than religious means. And that's how I came up with a poor, lonely beekeeper scooped from her remote village for her accidental talent in creating poisonous honey and placed in the capital city at a very young age. No matter how useful her work is to the crown, the people see her very differently. How much blame does she carry for that bloodshed, and is she diluting sacred rites...?

It's a complicated question for a woman who just wants to be left alone with her bees, y'know? I think I'd like to examine it a little more closely in the future haha. I think I'd like to incorporate more of the shamanistic aspects of the topic next time, too.

Maybe that's what I'll write when I get home from Japan... More honey fic...

#fic stuff

[huwujiu]

The Rolang

Word Count: 6.3 K

“I wonder if Felix’s ever coming back,” said Lucy. “We can’t keep storing all his junk forever.”

Privately, I doubted that Felix ever would but, being preoccupied with the Scrabble board in front of me, I said nothing.

“You’re just afraid he’ll insist on taking back his room and throw you and Meg out on the street,” Matt observed, scanning his letter tiles in vain. “Why do we even play this game? All I ever get are vowels.”

“Because we’re a bunch of over-educated Ivy Leaguers obsessed with dead poets,” Lucy replied.

“You gotta have a vocabulary of more than a thousand words to win at Scrabble, Matt,” Tony pointed out, drawing chuckles from the others. “You shoulda studied Latin like the rest of us.”

As usual, Tony was watching, not playing. He glanced over at Lucy, who, as usual, was sitting on her favorite stool with her shoulders hunched. It was her concentration posture. “Not to worry, Luce, Felix is not coming back.”

“You can’t know that,” Irene said, her almost albino-white skin looking paler than usual in the soft glow of the spider lamp hanging over the large wooden table. “He said he would be back, and not to throw away his things or anything.”

“He said, but he’s been gone nearly six months, to where was it? Nepal, wasn’t it?” Lucy stirred the remnants of coffee in her cup.

“Tibet, this time,” Irene corrected. “He’s already been to Nepal twice, and spent a couple years in India besides.”

“Why in the world does he spend so much time in places like that?” Matt wondered aloud. “Nothing but poor people and lots of diseases. Why can’t he be into Medieval or English Lit, like any normal person?”

“He’s been seeking wisdom,” said Irene, without a trace of irony. “Enlightened people have doing that in the East for millenia.” When Matt rolled his eyes and grinned at Tony, she added in an exasperated tone, “Some people think there’s more to life than beer and women, Matt. Felix knows more languages than the rest of us put together.”

“So what?” Matt snorted. “He’s missing out on the best things in life to poke around musty monasteries. And don’t knock beer till you’ve tried it.”

“Typical,” sniffed Irene. “Ladies and gentlemen, Matt’s attitude is why this whole rotten Western civilization of ours is such a mess. Everybody thinking about number one, nobody ever asking the important questions, all materialism, no spirituality--”

“Spirituality, hell,” Matt said. “Didn’t you hear that message on the answering machine last week? The dumb jerk’s gotten kicked out of his graduate program at Penn. Felix forget to tell anyone at school he was taking a few months off.”

Irene waved dismissively. “He has higher priorities. I wouldn’t expect you to understand the word ‘enlightenment’.”

Lucy spoke up again. “Irene, we all know you admire him and tried learning some dead language from him – sam-… sank-… What was it?”

“Sanskrit,” Irene informed her. “Hardest thing I ever did, but he’d mastered it. Also Pali and Punjabi and Tibetan and I’m not sure how many others. He’s like a modern-day Richard Burton.”

“You mean the actor?” Tony was looking genuinely puzzled.

“The explorer and adventurer,” Irene said.

“Yeah, wasn’t he kind of kinky, researching Oriental sexuality, that kind of thing?” Matt was suddenly interested.

“Yes,” Irene said, “but he was also a real pioneer and managed to learn about all kinds of secret cults and other stuff that no other Westerner had ever learned about.”

“Somehow,” Matt said, “I can’t picture Felix going all tantric. The guy’s a marble statue, I’m pretty sure. Took him out drinking one time, or tried to. Tried to get him to pick up some girl who was totally hitting on him, and he wasn’t interested.”

“Felix has better things to do than go to bars,” Irene said.

“Whatever.” Lucy waved dismissively. “I’m sure it’s all very interesting, but didn’t you think he was a little creepy? I mean, he used to burn incense in his room in front of that horrible statue --”

I knew what she was talking about. I used to smell the incense from my room down the hall, sometimes late at night. And there was the bell-ringing and incessant chanting --.

“It’s just a Yab-yum,” Irene said. “A fertility symbol older than any Western religion.”

“Oh, is that what it is?” Matt winked at Tony. “I got a calendar in my room with a few of those.”

Irene colored slightly. “I’m sorry. I thought I was talking to grownups.”

“I don’t care what it’s called,” Lucy said. “It gave me the creeps. And all those languages – how’s he gonna make a living reciting Buddhist prayers?”

“There!” Matt said triumphantly, laying three tiles on the board. We all looked. Matt had played ‘and’ for a whopping four points.

“It’s about time,” said Irene, reaching for her tiles. “I just happen to have--”

But what Irene had remained forever unknown, because the doorbell rang suddenly, followed by a barrage of knocking.

“Who the hell--?” Matt started for the door.

“Don’t answer it, Matt. Could be some kinda nut, at this hour.” Lucy moved closer to Tony, who was the largest resident of our house.

“I’ll go check it out. You guys stay put.” I stood up, relieved for a break in the game and the conversation. I winked at Matt. “You hear a sudden scream, followed by a choking noise, just jump out the window.”

“Into that rain? No thanks, I’d rather get carved up by a psycho,” Matt said loudly.

“Will you two quit it, please? Doug, either check the door or turn out the lights.” Irene looked merely irritated, as usual, but Lucy looked nervous.

I went to the dining room door just as the knocking resumed. I pulled the door open, letting in a gust of wind and rain.

On the threshold stood a pitiful figure in a soaked poncho, carrying a muddy backpack. It was Felix.

“Felix! Come on in! We were just talking about you! I never expected to see you again, to tell the truth. Figured you’d taken up permanent residence in some monastery.” I ushered him inside, and draped his dripping poncho over a dining room chair.

Felix looked a lot thinner than the last time I had seen him, and his jet black hair was plastered over temples that did not appear to have seen the light of day for some time. His red eyes betrayed a lack of sleep, and his clothing looked as though it had not been washed in many days.

“Come on into the kitchen, and let’s get you something to eat and drink, and then we’ll get you warmed up and dried out.” In spite of the late hour, I was happy to see Felix again. He was kind of strange, but, like Irene, I enjoyed his company.

Fifteen minutes later, Felix was in the living room sipping microwaved Swiss Miss hot chocolate and munching on a cold blueberry Pop Tart. He stared at the fire guttering in the fireplace, and said nothing at all. The rest of us watched him in silence.

Finally, Irene broke the ice. “Felix, it’s really good to see you again. We were beginning to wonder.”

Felix looked hollowly at her. “Wonder what?”

“Well, um, actually – ”

“We were beginning to wonder if you’d gotten yourself killed over in Tibet or wherever you were,” Lucy said helpfully, ignoring a reproachful glance from Irene.

“Would that I had.” Felix said glumly, turning back towards the fire. “Been killed, I mean.”

“Oh, come on, it couldn’t have been that bad,” said Matt. “I mean, there’s other fish in the ocean, you know.”

Felix looked up, utterly confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Women, man,” Matt said, throwing an arm around Felix’s thin shoulders. “Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. What was her name?”

“Matt -- ” Irene started to rise threateningly from her chair.

“There was no woman,” Felix said. “It’s nothing like that. Believe me, I wish it was.”

“You do realize that they kicked you out of Penn,” Matt said. “You seem to have forgotten to leave them a forwarding address. You’re gonna have to apply for readmission.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Felix said mournfully. “I’m not going back. Not after what I’ve been through.”

“Well, what happened?” I asked. “You can tell us.”

“Yes,” Lucy added. “Inquiring minds want to know.”

“Why don’t you all lay off Felix,” Irene snapped. “He’s exhausted and doesn’t want to talk about anything.”

“No, that’s okay.” Felix set aside his empty hot chocolate mug. “I probably should tell you, and then you can decide whether to keep me or throw me out in the rain.”

“What, the police after you? Did you rob a bank or something?” Tony exchanged glances with Lucy.

“Do you really want to know?” Felix asked. “Because once I tell you, you may regret ever asking.”

We all answered in the affirmative. Felix sighed. “Okay, then, so -- ” He stopped abruptly and looked at me. “Doug, did you lock the door?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

“Go lock it right now. And put up the chain and deadbolt. And make sure the other doors are locked as well.”

“Felix, what in the world -- ”

Felix’s nostrils flared with impatience. “Just lock the doors, now! Then I’ll tell you what happened. Whether you believe me is your problem.”

I got up and locked the dining room, kitchen, and basement doors, and returned to the living room. The Scrabble game was forgotten; all eyes were now on Felix, who had not said a word during my absence.

As soon as I sat down, he cleared his throat, and after a nervous glance at a rain-spattered window, began speaking in a soft monotone.

“You all know my interest – some would call it an obsession – with Tibet,” he began, his eyes still flitting from window to window. “After mastering Vedic Sanskrit and wading through the Dhammapada in the original Pali, I found my attention turning increasingly to the Land of Eternal Snow. The Tibetan language, of course, bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Indo-Aryan languages, except for the Sanskrit borrowings, so it seemed a worthy challenge. Neither Vambery nor Burton ever learned it, so I found myself poring through the writings of David-Neel. She made it to Lhasa at age 50, you know. Anyway, it was in one of her volumes that I first learned about the rolang.”

He fell silent and looked around again, and thunder rolled in the distance. Having no idea what he was talking about, we all waited patiently for some sort of clarification. After an interval when he seemed to be listening for something, Felix continued.

“Rolang is a Tibetan word meaning ‘standing corpse.’ The creation of a rolang is said to be the supreme feat of Tibetan magic, and its successful consummation confers on the celebrant unparalleled powers. From the moment that I first read David-Neel’s brief description of the ritual, I knew I had to research the matter further, and that meant going to Tibet and finding a sorcerer who could perform such a feat.”

At this point, Lucy excused herself and headed upstairs to her room. She was a strict vegan, and had no tolerance for any discussion of death or bloodshed.

“Say hi to Meg, Luce,” Matt called out. “Tell her she’s welcome to grace the rest of us with her presence anytime she wants.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and gave no answer.

Felix watched her go, then turned to the rest of us. “What I’m going to tell you isn’t for the squeamish, so you might want to decide now whether to follow her example.”

No one moved.

When he saw that the remainder of his audience was appreciative, Felix continued. “I flew to Lhasa and, once through customs and all that, I managed to evade the authorities and slip out of the city unnoticed with a bunch of yak herders. The Tibetans have no love for their Chinese overlords, of course, and were more than happy to aid and abet a white man who spoke their language. I got as far north as Sepogön, an area little changed since David-Neel set foot there decades ago. After making discrete inquiries among the locals, I was directed to the Thags-yang temple back in the mountains, where an extremely powerful sorcerer – one of those whom the Tibetans call ngagspa – was said to reside. No one from the village ever went near the place, which the people of Sepogön claimed was frequented by demons and the walking dead who had been resuscitated by shamans. In the end, I made the long and lonely trek alone with nothing except the clothes on my back.

“The way to the Thags-yang temple was desolate and wild, even by Tibetan standards. I saw none of the usual wildlife, and plant life was almost nonexistent. I did notice odd tracks here and there, and more than once had the sensation of being watched by what seemed to me to be malevolent eyes, but possibly it was just my imagination. Anyway, I pressed on, and reached the temple grounds late in the day.

“There were perhaps a dozen sullen-faced lamas in residence there, who were none too pleased to see a white man in their domain. Their faces softened a little when they heard me speak their language, and they finally took me to meet the presiding ngagspa. He was a magnificent fellow who wore an apron of carved human bones, and I prostrated myself before him and told him I had come to learn the secret of the rolang.

“At this he began quizzing me sharply about my background and beliefs, and it was several hours before he seemed to be satisfied I was neither an impostor nor a casual curiosity-seeker. The rite of the rolang, he told me, was, of all the rites of high sorcery, by far the most dangerous. The rolang is nothing less than a demon tenanted in a human corpse, which will destroy the one that awakens it if it can. The only way to tame the monster, he told me, was to grapple with it and bite off its tongue, and the tongue so procured becomes a ngagspa’s most prized magical possession, more so even than his phurba or magical dagger. If he failed to bite off the creature’s tongue, it would kill him on the spot or track him down and destroy him. The ngagspa told me that three nights from then, one of his acolytes was going to attempt to raise a rolang, and that he would permit me to attend, as long as I didn’t interfere and did precisely as I was told.

“For three days I lingered at the temple, witnessing many strange things. One of the lamas was a master lung-gom-pa, and could leap like a gazelle whenever he entered a trance. I was warned not to wander outside the temple grounds, since the surrounding hills were said to be infested with flesh-eating demons that only the lamas possessed the know-how to keep at bay.

“On the evening of the third day, all the lamas gathered outside the inner sanctum of the temple, a dark and clammy chamber adorned with skulls and lurid images of various Tibetan demons and demonesses, lit only by a single candle manufactured from human fat. The acolyte who was to attempt the ritual was young and obviously very frightened, and wore a black robe into which human bones had been woven. We all took our seats on the cold stone floor outside the sanctum and waited. Presently, two more lamas entered carrying the corpse of an elderly man on a white litter. We watched as these two entered the inner sanctum, laid the corpse on the floor, and withdrew. The presiding ngagspa then blessed the young acolyte and whispered something in his ear. The young man nodded and entered the sanctum.

“You can imagine my disappointment when the other lamas arose and closed and bolted the great stone door, shutting the young acolyte inside with his ghastly companion. No one, not even the ngagspa, was permitted to watch what happened next (I was later told that the doors were also closed to protect the others since, if the celebrant failed in his task, the monster would destroy anyone in its path. Once, one of the lamas whispered to me, a celebrant had been overcome, and the creature within had broken out and killed three lamas before being driven away. They found the sanctum full of blood, but the luckless acolyte had been devoured by the monster. When I asked where the rolang had ended up, the lama just shrugged and made a sweeping motion with one hand encompassing the surrounding mountains).

“On this occasion, we all waited breathlessly outside the stone door. All of the other lamas held their phurbas upright, and from through the thick stone, we could hear faintly the murmured mantra of the acolyte as he lay on the floor beside the corpse, whispering in its ear to awaken it.

“For a long time, nothing happened. Then we heard the acolyte’s voice quicken and then fall silent. Following that, there was a strange gurgling sound, and I suddenly felt a terror unlike anything I have ever felt before. Beyond the thick stone door, I knew, some unimaginably foul presence was awakening, and the fear of it coursed through the assembled lamas like ice water.

“Then the acolyte shouted aloud the Triple Jewel, and we heard the sounds of a struggle. There was a tremendous bumping and crashing around, and it sounded like the young man was fighting desperately for his life against some terrible foe. There was a clanking of metal as various idols were knocked aside, and several times the door shivered in its hinges as a weight crashed against the other side.

“This lasted for at least several minutes, when suddenly we heard an awful shriek and a blast of cold air extinguished the lamps. All of us jumped up, certain that the young acolyte within had lost the contest and that any moment, the revenant would come through the bolted door into our midst. But the head ngagspa called out for everyone to be calm, and relit one of the lamps. By its light, we could all see that the door held fast, and no sound came from within.

“The ngagspa approached the door and rapped cautiously with the blade of his phurba. From inside, to our great relief, we heard the voice of the acolyte in reply, a sort of triumphant shout. The lamas drew back the bolt and opened the door to the sanctum.

“Inside, we found the acolyte lying on the floor, utterly exhausted. His arms were laced with bloody wounds, which looked like the marks of teeth and long nails. In his hands he held a bloody tongue, a repulsive, grayish object that hardly looked to me like a great talisman. The corpse of the old man lay twisted on the floor, its eyes wide and staring. Bending down for a closer look, I could see blood on its teeth and lips and gobbets of bloody human flesh under its nails which, like the nails of all corpses, had grown long and unkempt in the days since its death. The room was in a shambles; all of the idols had been knocked over, and the extinguished taper lay trampled on the floor. I could see plainly in the dust two different sets of footprints.

“Well, I wanted to see more, since nothing of what I had witnessed was proof positive that in fact a corpse had been resuscitated. But all the lamas were convinced. They crowded around and congratulated him, and the corpse was carried off and buried in some secret spot, bereft of its tongue. As for that grisly relic, it was dried and attached to a golden necklace, and its bearer became a venerated presence in Thags-yang.

“At length, I understood my welcome to be wearing thin. The ngagspa told me that the rolang was a very rare ritual, and would likely not be attempted again for years. He did confide in me the mantra used to carry out the ritual, which I carefully wrote down, thinking to publish something sooner or later.

“I returned to Sepogön with an escort of three lamas, who kept a wary eye on the surrounding terrain, convinced we were being stalked by demons and other unmentionable beings. I bade them a warm farewell, which was not reciprocated, and made my way furtively back to Lhasa, where I mingled for a few days with the tourists before catching a flight to Beijing and then back to the States.”

At this point he paused and looked at the floor, and his face was gray with miserable fear. “I wish I’d never boarded that plane to Tibet,” he said, shaking his head. “I should have kept my curiosity in check, and stayed home. As soon as I got back, I found I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d seen. The images of that bloodied corpse, the severed tongue, and the triumphant lama stayed fresh, and began cankering my thoughts. I began to doubt whether I had seen a display of supernatural power, or whether I’d been duped by some very clever con artists. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a naïve Westerner fell for Oriental wiles; everybody’s heard of the Indian rope trick.”

He sighed. “After all, the lama could have made all the noise himself and dragged the corpse around to produce the footprints and other effects. As for the removal of the tongue, that could be accomplished easily enough with a keen-bladed phurba. The more I thought about it, the less convincing the whole thing seemed, until I was all but certain that I had been taken in by some clever hoaxters bent on enjoying themselves at the expense of a foreigner. At least, that was the thought that kept nagging at me. In such a condition, I couldn’t focus on my studies, and my aunt outside of Allentown, where I was staying, got impatient and threatened to throw me out of the house unless I got a job of some kind to help with expenses.

“Well, I decided to find work to help get my mind off the doubts that pecked at the edges of my every waking thought. I found a job in the county mortuary, of all things. I guess I’d already half-formed an idea of what I was going to do, and so I chose a job most suited to the purpose.

“In spite of all the stories you hear about such places, mortuaries are pretty humdrum most of the time. You quickly get used to the smell of formaldehyde and the parties of grievers. As for the bodies themselves, well, you never get completely used to them, but after a few nights, you’re no longer afraid to be alone with a cadaver, and you stop imagining things, like the dead hand that twitches in the corner of your eye, or the corpse that you think sat up when your back was turned.

“A few nights ago, I found myself alone in the embalming room with the corpse of an old man that reminded me somewhat of the one in Tibet. I saw the same attenuated limbs and blotchy face, and the same long, ugly yellowish nails. He was a Caucasian, but the resemblances were there nonetheless. And as I sat there in the embalming room, suddenly the plan that had laid half-formed in my mind for weeks crystallized. I was going to find out for myself if the rolang mantra worked. I rationalized to myself that I only wanted to verify that it in fact didn’t work, to prove that the entire ritual I had supposedly witnessed was a fraud. However, a small part of me wanted, I must admit, some kind of positive result.

“So I turned off all but one bank of fluorescent lights and knelt down beside the corpse, which lay on its back, face upward and eyes closed, clothed only in a hospital robe. The man had died that day of a massive stroke, and no autopsy had been performed.

“Feeling foolish, maybe even a little deranged, I bent close to the thing’s ear and began whispering the secret mantra over and over. At first, I promised myself that if nothing happened after five minutes, I’d give up the whole thing and forget about it. But as the minutes ticked past – hummed past, I should say, because the electric clock on the wall was the only other sound except for the rumble of an occasional passing car – I got more and more agitated and determined to somehow make the grotesque ritual work. For fifteen or twenty minutes I kept it up, sometimes louder, sometimes softer, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly and deliberately.

“All of a sudden, right about the time my throat began to ache from the exertion, I thought I caught a movement out of the corner of my left eye, where the corpse’s hand lay on the table. Not stopping my recitation, I turned my head slightly and watched carefully. For another minute or two, nothing else happened. I had just concluded that I had imagined it, when the fingers twitched unmistakably. Again I felt that same icy terror I had experienced at Thags-yang as the forearm jerked convulsively, and then the whole body shuddered on the table. Before I could move, the head turned suddenly, and I found myself looking into the thing’s awful eyes. They were amber-colored and had this gloating expression, and the corpse’s tongue flicked provocatively at me through yellow stumps of teeth.

“I jumped back in surprise and terror and sprang to my feet as the thing on the table sat up. The lights flickered and dimmed as the rolang stood unsteadily, and I knew that I must fight or perish.

“As I had been instructed, I closed with the creature and began to wrestle with it, almost overcome by the terrible smell. Except for the eyes, it looked like a spindly old man, but it fought with the strength of a wild beast. It wasn’t breathing as such, but it did sort of make a hissing, gurgling sound from time to time. As we struggled, I forced my face against its face. It leaped and bounded about with the agility of a hare, not at all like those sleepwalking zombies in the movies. I was certain that, if I relaxed my hold at all, the thing would pounce on me like a beast of prey.

“Now we were eye to eye, and I could smell the thing’s fetid breath. It kept flicking its tongue against my cheek, mocking me, I think, and my inability to finish the job. Finally, the moment came when I knew I would have to go for its tongue or be overpowered. But before I could make the attempt, the rolang made a horrible sound, and the lights went out completely and the clock stopped.

“In the dark, I heard my antagonist give a triumphant gurgle. I knew I had no more chance, and so I shoved the monster as hard as I could, and over we went onto the floor. Somehow I disentangled myself from the creature; perhaps the fall had disoriented it for a moment. Anyway, unable to think of anything else to do, I shouted aloud the Triple Jewel and raced for the door. Behind me, I heard the rolang scrambling to get up, making a kind of low moaning sound.

“Somehow, I found the door in the pitch dark before the rolang found me, and slammed and locked it from the outside just as the thing within began attacking the door from the other side. Knowing my life depended on it, I fled on foot, returning to my aunt’s house just long enough to grab my travel bag, expecting all the while the creature to show up.

“Knowing the authorities would think I was responsible for the damage and the missing corpse, I hiked all night into Allentown, and caught a Greyhound to Trenton, where I holed up in a hotel. The next morning on the local news, I saw reports of vandalism and cadaver theft at the mortuary where I had worked. The police had gone looking for me when the damage was discovered, and had gone straight to my aunt’s house. There, they discovered her mutilated remains, and now they’re hunting for me up and down the East Coast. Obviously, the thing went to her house and, failing to find me, killed her instead. As soon as I saw the news, I fled from the hotel and rode all the way here on a stolen bicycle. Oh, don’t worry,” he added, “I won’t stay long. That thing is out there somewhere, and it’ll find me if I stay anywhere for more than a day or two.”

We all stared in mute horror at our former housemate. I’d heard news of the murder of the old woman near Allentown, but hadn’t connected it with Felix. And now he was in our midst, with an impossible story about Tibetan necromancy to conceal the fact that he had just committed a brutal murder.

“Felix,” I said quietly, “why don’t you just tell the truth? We’ll help you get a good lawyer and all that, you know we will. You can’t –“

At this Felix became very agitated. “What are you talking about? I have told the truth, improbable as it may sound. What do you think I am, a killer? Is that what you’re implying?”

For the first time, he looked at all of our faces. Seeing our expressions, he shook his head. “Oh, okay, I see now. I shouldn’t have told you the truth. You all think I’m crazy, don’t you? Well, don’t worry, then. I won’t stay if my old friends think I’m a murdering lunatic. I’ll leave right now.”

He stood and started for the door, and none of us made any move to stop him.

Suddenly, the lights went out. The rain outside had gotten worse, so we all assumed it was a power failure. But Felix made a frightened mewing sound in the dark. “It’s here,” he whispered. “It’s found me, somehow. Don’t let it in. Please, please, keep the doors and windows shut.”

In spite of the lunacy of his story, I was starting to find the whole thing quite unnerving. Felix had always been melodramatic, and now he had all of us huddling together in the dark while the storm raged outside.

“’Felix,” I finally said, after a minute or so, “I really don’t think—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Irene, who was sitting across from me, let out a scream and pointed at the window behind me. “Close the blinds, close the blinds, there’s something outside. Please, please close them, and lock all the doors. Do it now!”

“What’s the matter, Irene?” Matt said, putting a reassuring arm around her. “Tony, close the blinds and lock all the doors. Irene, what the devil did you see?”

“I don’t know,” Irene said, shaking like a leaf. “I couldn’t see the face, but there was someone outside that window just now, looking in. Someone very thin, that’s all I could see.”

“Well, whoever it was isn’t getting in,” Tony said from the dining room, trying to sound confident. He bolted and chained the dining room door and headed off to the kitchen to lock the back door.

Suddenly Irene jumped up. “What about Lucy and Meg upstairs? If there’s some lunatic outside, they ought to be down here with the rest of us.”

“Leave them,” said Felix tonelessly. “Nobody leave this room. We have to stay together. If that thing gets in --”

“Everybody just calm down and take a deep breath,” I said. “It’s just a power outage from the storm, nothing more. There’s nobody out there in this weather.”

“It’s here,” whispered Felix. “Maybe it will leave the rest of you alone. It’s come for me.”

“This is nuts,” I said. “You’ve just confessed to cold-blooded murder, and now…” I pulled out my phone and tried to dial 911. There was no reception.

I grabbed Felix by the arm. “Just cause the phones aren’t working, doesn’t mean we’re letting you run off. As soon as this storm’s over, we’re taking you straight to the police.”

Felix tugged weakly. “You need to let me go. I don’t care what you believe. You’re all in danger because of me. Just let me go and you’ll never see me again.”

“Hey, where the hell’s Tony?” Matt demanded suddenly.

Felix raised a hand. “Shhh! Everybody quiet.” He looked and listened in the dim light towards the dining room and kitchen beyond that. We all listened with him, and suddenly we all heard a stealthy sound from the kitchen, like very soft, measured footfalls.

Felix’s eyes were wide in the next lightning flash. “It’s inside, it’s inside the house,” he moaned. Then he whispered, “Quick, everyone behind the chairs, out of sight.”

Unnerved, Irene and I ducked behind the sofa, and Matt behind an armchair. Felix dove into the cubbyhole under the writing desk beside the stereo system.

We waited, trying not to breathe, as soft footsteps came across the dining room. A terrible smell of death and formaldehyde wafted into the living room, and with it, a paralyzing fear. I am not ashamed to admit I felt tears of pure terror running down my face. Irene, who was trembling and barely breathing, grabbed my hand and squeezed. The footsteps stopped. I plucked up the courage to peek around the armchair, expecting the worst. Something was standing stock-still in the doorway, but I couldn’t make out any features in the darkness, except for a couple of pricks of amber yellow where the eyes might have been. In a dim flicker of lightning, I had a brief impression of ragged hair, an emaciated frame, and bare feet, but the face was shadowed.

The thing took a step forward into the room. I was within a split second of making a panicked dash for the windows when there was a thump from upstairs, followed by footsteps in the hallway. In a flash, the apparition was gone, and we heard a creaking on the stairs.

We all came out of our hiding places, and Matt was all for making a break for it, now that the creature was upstairs. “We can’t just run away and leave Lucy and Meg,” Irene hissed, her voice breaking.

At that moment we heard Lucy start to scream, and the sound of footsteps pounding down the hall. Meg yelled from the bathroom, and Lucy hammered on the door, begging to be let in.

“Please, please, somebody do something,” Irene sobbed. “We’ve got to help them.”

But it was too late. From directly above us came the sound of the bathroom door being wrenched open, and then the most terrible screaming I’ve ever heard or hope to hear. The screaming ended abruptly, and was followed by a horrible ripping, crunching sound, like bark being torn from the trunk of a live oak tree.

At this, our courage broke, and we fled for our lives. In the kitchen, we found Tony spreadeagled across the threshold, his head nearly twisted from his torso. Irene shrieked at the sight and fled into the rain and the storm without looking back, with Matt at her heels. For some reason, I hesitated in the middle of the lawn.

Felix was standing behind me, looking back into the dark house. “It’s me it’s looking for,” he whispered, ignoring the pouring rain. “It’s not going to stop until it gets what it wants.” From a deep coat pocket he drew forth a long, ornately-carved dagger. “My phurba,’ he explained. “Maybe I can kill it with this.” He started back toward the house.

I begged him to flee, promising to hide him somehow, but he shook his head. “Time to take care of this, one way or the other,” he said. “No more running. No more killing. You run away, go!” He dashed back onto the back porch and in the kitchen door.

Unable to run away, I followed cautiously, but by the time I reached the back porch, Felix was out of sight, whether upstairs or downstairs, I couldn’t tell. I scanned the dark kitchen but saw no lurking menace.

No sooner did I step inside the kitchen than I heard Felix’s hysterical voice from somewhere upstairs. “Come out, come out, wherever you are! I’m here. Come and get me. Come on, show yourself, monster.” He added some phrases in Tibetan, or at least that was what it sounded like.

There was a thump as a door was thrown open, and Felix screamed like the damned. A horrible crash followed, and then an awful gurgling sound. I felt then such a wave of black malice, coming from the abomination upstairs, that I felt physically ill. Then suddenly the sounds stopped. There was a tearing sound, heavy footsteps, and then the crash of an upstairs window shattering. I raced to the dining room window as a heavy thud came from the lawn, and had a fleeting glimpse of a dark, wraithlike figure carrying some large burden, fleeing into the night.

The police arrived, with Matt and Irene, a few minutes later, and found me sitting on the kitchen floor beside Tony’s wretched remains, too frightened to move. Upstairs they found the remains of Lucy and Meg strewn all over the bathroom. The hallway was covered with blood and the wallpaper slashed to ribbons. But of Felix, they found only a single token, on the sill of the shattered upstairs window: a human tongue, still warm, torn out at the roots, pinned into the wood by the blade of a Tibetan phurba.

#horror #horror stories #short story #writblr #original writing #original fiction

[ya-world-challenge]

🎊 2-Year Anniversary! 🪅

I started the World Challenge around April 2022, so here's my little 2-year celebratory post with a bunch of stats that no one cares about!!

The stats:

Books read: 70

Countries completed: 66

Total pages read: 23,918

Average rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3.9 stars

Average publication year: 2015

Average page count per book: 341

Native authors: 74%

Queer books: 24%

YA or MG genre: 68%

As you can see from the number above, it can be hard to find queer books for certain countries. I have also somehow managed to generally pick books that I like, as the ratings show!

Top Genres:

Sources:

Total spent: $41.39

Most of the spent is 2 months of Scribd, and some Kindle sale books. The "Other" is, ahem, when there were no affordable options, and thankfully that was low! Otherwise I managed well with libraries and free trials! (all digital)

Time Periods:

I've also spent the majority of time in the modern world.

Keep reading for the full list of books I've read so far:

🇦🇫 Afghanistan - One Half from the East, Nadia Hashimi

🇦🇷 Argentina - Furia, Yamile Saied Méndez

🇦🇺 Australia - Ghost Bird, Lisa Fuller

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan - The Orphan Sky, Ella Leya

🇧🇸 Bahamas - Facing the Sun, Janice Lynn Mathers

🇧🇴 Bolivia - Woven in Moonlight, Isabel Ibañez

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina - The Cat I Never Named, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

🇧🇼 Botswana - Entwined, Cheryl S. Ntumy

🇧🇬 Bulgaria - Wunderkind, Nikolai Grozni

🇨🇦 Canada - This House is Not a Home, Katłıà

🇨🇫 Central African Republic - Beasts of Prey, Ayana Gray*

🇹🇩 Chad - Told by Starlight in Chad, Joseph Brahim Seid

🇨🇳 China - Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan

🇨🇺 Cuba - A Tall Dark Trouble - Vanessa Montalban

🇨🇿 Czech Republic - Torch, Lyn Miller-Lachmann

🇩🇰 Denmark - The Shamer's Daughter, Lene Kaaberbøl

🇪🇪 Estonia - The Man Who Spoke Snakish, Andrus Kivirähk

🇫🇯 Fiji - The Wild Ones, Nafiza Azad

🇫🇷 France - Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow, Faïza Guène

🇬🇪 Georgia - Giorgland Fables, Tamuna Tsertsvadze

🇬🇷 Greece - Threads That Bind, Kika Hatzopoulou

🇬🇱 Greenland - Last Night in Nuuk, Niviaq Korneliussen

🇬🇩 Grenada - Sugar Money, Jane Harris

🇮🇳 India - Lioness of Punjab, Anita Jari Kharbanda

🇮🇩 Indonesia - The Songbird and the Ramubutan Tree - Lucille Abendanon

🇮🇷 Iran - Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

🇮🇶 Iraq - Yazidi!, Aurélien Ducoudray & Mini Ludvin

🇮🇪 Ireland - All Our Hidden Gifts, Caroline O'Donoghue

🇯🇵 Japan - Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Mizuki Tsujimura

🇯🇴 Jordan - West of the Jordan, Laila Halaby

🇱🇹 Lithuania - Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepatys

🇱🇺 Luxembourg - The Elf of Luxembourg, Tom Weston

🇲🇾 Malaysia - The Weight of Our Sky, Hanna Alkaf

🇲🇹 Malta - The Maltese Dreamer, Catherine Veritas

🇲🇽 Mexico - Secret of the Moon Conch, David Bowles; Guadalupe García McCall

🇲🇦 Morocco - Thorn, Intisar Khanani*

🇳🇵 Nepal - What Elephants Know - Eric Dinerstein

🇳🇱 Netherlands - On the Edge of Gone, Corrine Duyvis

🇳🇬 Nigeria - An Ordinary Wonder, Buki Papillon

🇲🇰 North Macedonia - A Spare Life, Lidija Dimkovska

🇵🇸 Palestine - Travellers Along the Way, Aminah Mae Safi

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea - Tales from Faif, Baka Barakove Bina; Emily Sekepe Bina

🇵🇱 Poland - When the Angels Left the Old Country, Sacha Lamb

🇵🇹 Portugal - Mariana, Katherine Vaz

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico - The Wicked Bargain, Gabe Cole Novoa

🇷🇴 Romania - And I Darken, Kiersten White

🇷🇺 Russia - Night Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko

🇷🇼 Rwanda - Our Lady of the Nile, Scholastique Mukasonga

🇱🇨 St. Lucia - 'Til I Find You, Greta Bondieumaitre

🇼🇸 Samoa - Telesā: The Covenant Keeper, Lani Wendt Young

🇸🇲 San Marino - The Gladiator, Harry Turtledove

🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe - The Exiles of Crocodile Island, Henye Meyer

🇬🇧 Scotland - The Library of the Dead, T.L. Huchu

🇸🇳 Senegal - No Heaven for Good Boys, Keisha Bush

🇸🇬 Singapore - Sofia and the Utopia Machine, Judith Huang

🇸🇰 Slovakia - Impossible Escape, Steve Sheinkin

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka - I Am Kavi, Thushanthi Ponweera

🇸🇩 Sudan - Home is Not a Country, Safia Elhillo

🇸🇪 Sweden - The Circle, Sara Elfgren; Mats Strandberg

🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago - When the Vibe is Right, Sarah Dass

🇹🇳 Tunisia - Other Names, Other Places, Ola Mustapha

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates - Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson*

🇺🇸 United States - Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger

🇻🇪 Venezuela - The Sun and the Void, Gabriela Romero Lacruz

🇾🇪 Yemen - When a Bulbul Sings, Hawaa Ayoub

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe - All That It Ever Meant, Blessing Musariri

*inspired fantasy world

#updates #books #reading challenge #books and reading #booklr #ya world challenge #reading progress

[anjalisinghh12]

Elevate Your Style: The Ultimate Guide to Men's Cashmere Jumpers

When the air turns crisp and the leaves start to fall, it's time to layer up in style and comfort. And what better way to do that than with a luxurious cashmere jumper mens ? In this comprehensive guide, we'll dive into the world of cashmere jumpers for men, exploring their history, benefits, styling tips, and how to care for these exquisite pieces. Get ready to embrace warmth, sophistication, and timeless fashion.

The Allure of Men's Cashmere Jumpers:

A Brief History: Cashmere's rich history dates back centuries to the rugged mountains of India, Nepal, and China, where the soft undercoat of cashmere goats provided warmth and comfort to the local populations. The term "cashmere" itself originates from the Kashmir region in India. Over time, cashmere evolved from a practical necessity to a symbol of luxury, capturing the hearts of fashion enthusiasts around the world.

Benefits Beyond Compare:

1. Unmatched Softness: The hallmark of cashmere jumpers is their incredible softness. The fine fibers are a result of meticulous combing and sorting, creating a fabric that feels gentle against the skin, making it perfect for those chilly days.

2. Supreme Warmth: Despite its lightweight feel, cashmere is renowned for its exceptional warmth. The natural insulation properties of the fibers trap heat effectively, keeping you cozy without the bulkiness of heavier materials.

3. Timeless Elegance: A men's cashmere jumper effortlessly exudes sophistication. Whether you're dressing up for a special occasion or going for a casual chic look, this versatile garment can be styled in various ways to suit your aesthetic.

4. Durability Redefined: Quality cashmere jumpers are an investment that can stand the test of time. The resilience of cashmere fibers, coupled with expert craftsmanship, ensures that your jumper will remain a wardrobe staple for years.

Styling with Panache:

1. Business Casual: Pair a classic V-neck cashmere jumper in a neutral shade like charcoal or navy with dress trousers and a crisp white dress shirt. Complete the look with leather loafers for a sophisticated office ensemble.

2. Weekend Comfort: Opt for a crew-neck cashmere jumper in a relaxed fit, and team it up with dark denim jeans and sneakers. This effortlessly stylish outfit is perfect for weekend outings and casual gatherings.

3. Layering Magic: Embrace the art of layering by wearing a cashmere jumper over a collared shirt. Choose complementary colors to create a polished look that transitions seamlessly from day to evening.

4. Smart Evening Attire: Elevate your evening attire by pairing a sleek black cashmere jumper with tailored trousers and a well-fitted blazer. This combination exudes refinement and makes a statement at any formal event.

Caring for Your Cashmere:

1. Gentle Washing: Hand wash your cashmere jumper in cold water using a mild detergent. Avoid wringing or rubbing the fabric. Alternatively, opt for a gentle machine wash on a wool or delicate cycle.

2. Drying: Lay your cashmere jumper flat on a clean towel to air dry. Avoid hanging, as the weight of the water can stretch the fibers.

3. Storage: During the off-season, store your cashmere jumper in a breathable garment bag to protect it from dust and moths. Cedar blocks or lavender sachets can help repel pests.

4. Dealing with Pilling: Pilling, the formation of small fuzz balls on the surface, is common in cashmere. Gently remove them using a cashmere comb or a fabric shaver.

Invest Wisely:

When shopping for a men's cashmere jumper, consider these factors to ensure you're making a wise investment:

1. Fiber Grade: Opt for Grade A cashmere, known for its exceptional softness and quality.

2. Ply Count: A higher ply count indicates a thicker and more luxurious jumper.

3. Origin: Look for cashmere sourced from reputable regions like Mongolia or Nepal for superior quality.

4. Craftsmanship: Examine the stitching and finish of the jumper to ensure it's well-made and durable.

Conclusion:

A men's cashmere jumper is more than just clothing; it's a symbol of refined taste and elegance. Its history, undeniable comfort, and versatile styling options make it a must-have for any fashion-conscious man. By understanding how to care for and select the finest cashmere, you can enjoy the luxury, warmth, and sophistication of this timeless garment for years to come. Embrace the allure of men's cashmere jumpers and elevate your style to new heights.

[aroraengineering123]

Why Partner With Arora Engineering As Your Elevator Bucket Manufacturer?

Bucket Elevator is one of vastly-used equipment in various kinds of industries on the present date. Arora Engineering stands as one of the best elevator bucket manufacturers in India. Therefore, every part of a bucket Arora produces is of the finest quality.

Arora Works Globally! Trusted by renowned brands, Arora Engineering proudly provides premium products not only across India but also in UAE, Africa, and is in actively involved in conversation with prospects in Nepal Bangladesh etc.

Arora’s Plus Points: As one of the most popular elevator bucket manufacturers in India, we design and create products keeping in mind the needs and requirements of the clients. Our clients are not just the customers we value but the family we stand by round the year.

The elevator buckets we make are capable of handling all kinds of dry and free-flowing bulk materials in a hassle-free way.

We follow the standard way of manufacturing all types of goods so they are both efficient and of high quality.

Different kinds of industries use elevator buckets to lift different materials. Therefore, Arora Engineering aims to put quality above all as the elevator buckets we design are highly efficient to carry almost every kind of material. The buckets can be attached to the belt the lifted smoothly in the most trouble-free manner.

Why is Arora every client’s favourite? Arora has been offering goods with a wide range of variety based on what the customers require. We are not just a supplier but one of a kind manufacturer. The elevators we make can be used in different types of elevators (chain bucket elevators, belt bucket elevators, etc.). We use high-end materials to build the equipment so it can be utilized finely in various fields. Our elevators can carry hefty loads from the beginning to the final stage without any intermediate rest. In a way, the goods we make save excess power, space, and energy along with additional budget.

We Provide Excellent Everywhere… Arora Engineering works have produced buckets in material Mild Steel ( E-250 grade, E-350), and Sail Hard (Make- Sail) Tiscral (Make- Tata Steel), Hardox-400, Hardox-500 (Make-SSAB Sweden), Boiler Quality Plates SA 516 GR-60 and GR 70 Hardox-400, Hardox-500 (Make-SSAB Sweden), Boiler Quality Plates, (SA 516 GR-60 and GR 70 (Make-Uttam Galva) Now, you may wonder why we are so highly evaluating the quality of our elevator buckets. This is not because Arora Engineering is named with the most trusted elevator bucket manufacturers in India. But additionally, we have been a loyal partner to several industries such as

Power plants

Cement plants

Steel production factories

Sugar plants

Coal plants

Why choose Arora Engineering? As we have already mentioned, Arora Engineering is counted among the finest elevator bucket manufacturers in India. Moreover, along with high-end goods, we are bound to our clients through

Standards

Loyalty

Durability

Performance

Affordability

Moreover, we are known for the service we have been providing across countries since 1991. Each and every part of the good we produce offer high productivity, low maintenance costs, easy installation, and on-site services. They come with a customized maintenance system designed for longevity, efficacy, and consistency. Right from the beginning, we have gained the trust of several industries through

Professionalism

Reliability

Cost efficiency

Environment friendliness

All Arora engineering works buckets are made from plates which are sourced from authorized dealers of manufacturers. All the cutting is done on laser cutting machine,Bending is done on CNC bending machione. There are approximate 400 types of buckets which we have produced since our inspection in various sizes. The weight range in from 5 Kgs to 220 Kgs per unit. Arora Engineering produces Buckets in various material as per the application. The temp various from 20 degree C – 300 degree C. Few types of Bucket produced by Arora Engineering Works are:

Seamless type bucket

Stacker type bucket

Elevator bucket

Reclaimer / Carrying blade type bucket

Apron feeder Pan type bucket

Deep Pan conveyor bucket.

Wrapping up, we must say that from local stock to fast delivery, our clients are in to receive all of it as Arora Engineering values client satisfaction highly. So, no matter how far you go, Arora is to deliver the best-quality elevator buckets keeping in mind your business necessities.

More Information: https://aroraengineering.com/why-partner-with-arora-engineering-as-your-elevator-bucket-manufacturer/

#Mill Liner manufacturers in India #Impeller shaft assembly manufacturer in India #Reclaimer Bucket manufacturers in India

[yournamibind]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZkwJifuvo

#Nepal bundle note counting machine #godrej note counting machine #godrej desktop counting machine #cash counting machine #बन्डल नोट गणना मशीन अहिले नेपालमा फेला पर्‍यो #godrej loose note counting machine #counting machine Nepal

[angryschnauzer]

The Screws Turn

Summary; Taking place immediately after the end of Mission Impossible Fallout, this is the reader’s journey with her relationship with August.

A sequel to The Hammer and the Screw

Genre: Angst with a happy ending.

Pairing: August Walker x Reader

Fandoms: Henry Cavill, Mission Impossible Fallout

Word count: 1173

I do not run a masterlist or tag list, however if you follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications, you’ll then get an alert every time i post new work.

A/N This is specifically written for @nuggsmum​ because she read between too many lines and thought The Hammer and the Screw was setting reader up for a world of hurt. This is my way of fixing things.   

The Screws Turn

The room was quiet apart from the quiet beeping of the machines, of the incubator filling with air and then depressing again. The small motor on the IV machine whirred and added that hour’s dose into the tube, and you watched as it slowly dripped into the reservoir before making its way down the clear line and into the patient who lay unconscious on the bed. 

Nurses came and went, checking vitals and fussing over the bed, ensuring none of the tubes had blockages and that the patient was fine. They would always check on you, the hospitality of their culture, one that cared for everyone involved in a situation, not just the patient.

One nurse in particular would always check on you, and as she approached your chair you pushed yourself to stand with some trouble, but greeted her on your feet;

“Chimini, how is he doing?”

“Well, he is doing well. But how are you doing? Did you eat yet?”

You nodded, at that moment your body decided to let a small burp slip from your lips;

“Yes, thank you”

She stepped forwards and pressed a hand to your stomach;

“We will need to scan soon, Binsa”

You smiled at her name for you, it meant ‘A Woman Who Is Fearless’ in Nepali, a language you had to rapidly master after the events of Kashmir. 

There had been a few of your camp that had seen what’d happened, three other loyal soldiers dedicated to August’s cause, and the four of you had dragged him from the wreckage at the bottom of the ravine. His body had been burned and crushed, doused in acid from one of the lines in the helicopter rupturing. None of you would ever know what had happened during the firefight mid air, only knowing that Hunt had escaped alive and had left August to die. None of you were going to let that happen. 

The route to Nepal had been quick, the resources at your fingertips as the right-hand woman of the man in charge had been a blessing, knowing that once you were over the border and into the Himalayas you were pretty much untraceable. The hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, was a private one, as long as you had the money they could treat anything, and as you landed on their rooftop helipad the trauma team had been on the roof bracing themselves against the snowstorm, ready to work their magic.

That had been six months ago, August arriving unconscious and being put into a medically induced coma to stop the pressure spikes on his brain. He had been through multiple surgeries, repairing his bones and organs, plastic surgery on the side of his face. As the facial injuries and procedures had healed you’d agreed with the Doctors that he could grow his beard and hair out, the daily task of helping to groom him as he lay there unaware of the world around him, it had helped anchor you to the reality, to the hope he would wake, clinging to that hope that your August would return. 

Winter had come and gone, and for anyone that had ever experienced a snowstorm, nothing could compare to living in the highest mountain range on earth, in the clouds and surrounded by light or dark, a perpetual softness to the world as the weather cocooned you. As spring had started to arrive the snow had melted. Bright green shoots sprouting in the trees and through the snow on the ground, the promise of the whole spectrum of colours soon to arrive bringing a brightness to the days. 

It had been four days since the Doctors had decreased August’s medications that kept him unconscious, monitoring his vitals in the hope he would wake on his own soon. As the day had grown long the night shift clocked on and the day shift said their goodbyes, wishing you both a pleasant evening and well wishes for the next day.

That night you wanted to be close to August. The bed in the corner of the room is a cold stark reminder of the last six months of loneliness. Grabbing the pillow and blanket from the cot you made sure the side was locked into place on August’s much bigger hospital bed, before settling across the foot of the bed. His calf rested against your stomach as you lay on your side, the warmth of his body through the blankets a welcome comfort. The sounds of the room lulled you to sleep, only waking when the child inside of you kicked at your abdomen, your eyes fluttering open as you saw the faint light of dawn starting to glow at the windows. Moving on the bed you sat up, resting your hand on your round belly;

“Shh it's ok little one”

Smoothing your hand over the curve of your stomach you frowned, there were no further kicks, usually once he got started it was a good half hour of wriggles, instead it was just the gentle movement as he turned a little within you and settled. Then you felt the kick again, this time at your hip. It took a moment to realise it was external stimuli rather than from inside you, but as your eyes focused on the crumpled blankets you saw August’s foot move again, tapping against your side. With a gasp your eyes shot up to his face, staring as he stared back through heavily lidded eyes, one pale and cloudy, the other bright blue with that fleck of brown that had always intrigued you. For the longest moment you both just stared at each other, the tears forming and spilling silently down your face as his attention was drawn to your rounded stomach, his eyebrow shooting up above his blue eye.

“He’s looking forward to meeting you” you said quietly, and a single tear slid down August’s cheek. 

At that moment the nurses and doctors came rushing in, excitedly talking as they saw that August was awake, one helping you off the bed as they explained in accented English they would remove the breathing tube from his throat. For the moments that followed a nurse stood at your side, holding you up as you sobbed silently, tears of toy spilling from you;

“Mama please, it is joyous but we need you to calm so your Son does not arrive too early”

With a quiet laugh you nodded, and soon you were able to stand at August’s side. The fingers on his hand twitched, as if he was trying to remember how to move his limbs, before you gently captured his hand in yours and settled it on your belly;

“You promised me a new start Hammer, i’m glad you’re back to be part of it” you said softly.

He smiled and nodded as the nurse lifted a small cup of water to his lips, sipping on the straw to soothe his parched throat;

“My Little Screw…”

“Always. I’ll always be yours August”

#august walker #august walker angst #august walker fanfiction #henry cavill

[cashmereleopardscarf]

Black Navy Print Cashmere Leopard Scarf In Blue

This offer isn't relevant to purchases being shipped internationally. Take your fashion to the wild aspect with this leopard print Autograph scarf. Crafted from ultra-soft and opulent cashmere. Please email us on to advise us you are returning the garment and if you'll like a refund or exchange for one more garment https://strandfirm.com/product/cashmere-leopard-scarf/.

My new scarf was beautiful over simple black pants and prime, seemed very glamour.

We will organize a return postage label so the merchandise could be returned to us when in a position. We will ship you an e mail as quickly as we obtain the returned garment and purpose to course of your return inside 2 enterprise days of receipt. All items returned should be in the identical situation during which they had been acquired.

Scarves are uniquely hand woven and hand printed making every bit tremendous luxurious and tremendous gentle. Embrace fine and opulent layers with this pure cashmere leopard scarf from hush. With a sizeable size and width, this scarf is roofed in a catchy leopard print that is related and on-point season after season. I ordered this online and was really disappointed when I opened the parcel. For virtually £70 I was anticipating a luxury merchandise - nevertheless it fell well short.

We have never met a Leopard print we didn’t love !! And we are huge fans of this lovely deep cobalt blue color. This cashmere scarf was created to put on all winter lengthy with leather jackets and good blazer fits to offer you a luxury look. Update your 2018 accent assortment with the hanging colors of our new scarf. Created from the best cashmere and silk and that includes our classic leopard print, unique to Leatham Cashmere, this scarf will smarten any outfit. All 100 percent cashmere, our scarves, hats and socks are loving made by hand within the tiny kingdom of Nepal.

If you have already got items in your basket, please note that they wiil be shipped to the country you will choose. Please also note that the shipping rates for lots of items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be discovered on its element web page. To reflect the policies of the shipping corporations we use, all weights shall be rounded as much as the following full pound.

Please note that lots of our merchandise are individually crafted by skilled artisans. Slight variations are a pure results of this process and add to the distinctive magnificence and persona of every piece. Our Leopard Scarves are hand-woven and hand-printed in Nepal. The weavers "dress" the loom in a width that's higher than the finished size, and make it longer, too. The resulting fabric is then felted by hand, which involves washing and mild agitation to aid within the interlocking of the very fine cashmere fibers.

All clothes are checked by us earlier than preparing your order for packing. In the unlikely event that the garment is faulty on arrival, incorrect or broken in transit, please notify us immediately on receipt of goods. We will arrange for the merchandise to be returned to us. If we're unable to provide you with a replacement, we will refund your cost of the merchandise. This is a 100% cashmere fine-woven scarf, however it is massive sufficient to also make a comfortable wrap. The background is the pure white color of the cashmere goat hair, with pale camel and black spots screen printed on the individual items.

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Please notice, we can not provide pay as you go return labels for international returns. Customers are answerable for the delivery for all returns coming from outside the United States. Luxurious handcrafted cashmere knits and hand woven scarves from Nepal. Designed in England for a up to date wardrobe. A Lily and Lionel signature, the leopard print has been shrunk to a micro scale this season for an summary, polka dot design, on a caramel-toned backdrop. Printed on one hundred pc cashmere, finished with an eyelash hem.

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We do not compromise; looking gorgeous and feeling good are mutually imperative for us. Woven in Italy from a lustrous cashmere-and-silk mix, this elegant scarf showcases a traditional leopard print. Meticulously completed with hand-rolled edges, its elongated silhouette makes for a highly versatile accent. Free Fast Shipping on Orders $150+ & Free Returns |Details Enjoy free quick delivery on orders of $150 or more and free returns at RalphLauren.com only.

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Wear it with a jacket for or layer it with a sweater and coat in cold weather. We recommend teaming it with our Fallon beret and fingerless gloves. A luxurious scarf in basic leopard print and crafted using Grade A cashmere.

[shield-agent78]

Truth

Title: Truth

Parring: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 2147

Warning: Sassy reader, light mentions of sex, some language, fluff 

Ratting: 18+ for good measure

Summary: You and your boyfriend have been secretly dating for several months. One day, you two are assigned to do inventory in the lab. However, things don’t go as plan when truth powder is discovered.

A/N: Thanks to @teamcap4bucky for letting me participate in her 1K Celebration writing challenge. Congratulations my friend! Please check out her blog. The prompts I had were you were moaning my name out in your sleep last night and he’s right behind me, isn’t he?

There were many reasons your boyfriend loved you. You were smart, caring, funny, hardworking, and sassy. However, you had been known to be very stubborn at times which sometimes got you both into trouble. Nevertheless, inventory in the lab had to be done and the only person he wanted to do it with was you.

“You know every time you get that gleam in your eye you get me in trouble,” you stated as you looked up from your desk. The man who you had been secretly dating now for four months was leaning against your doorway with that mischievous gleam in his eyes again. His arms crossed over his broad chest.  

“I do no such thing. Besides the last time that we got into trouble was when you forget to lock your bedroom door and Steve almost walked in and caught us making out,” Bucky chuckled. You stood up from your desk and walked over to his with your hands on your hips.

“The only reason that happen was because you pinned me to the wall before I had a chance to do so,” you responded sassily. He gave another chuckle.

“While I would love to debate that point with you all day Doll we have inventory to do. Remember? So come on and help me and then maybe we can have a little fun.” He stated with a smile as he took your hand and pulled you out of your office only to drop in when he got into the hallway.

You decided that being drugged into the lab by Bucky wasn’t such a bad deal after all especially since he had been on a mission in Nepal for the last two weeks and this was the first time you two had been able to be alone. Let just say for the first hour of inventory all you two got accomplished was augh rediscovering each other in the supply closet. The second hour you were thanking the heavens that you had worn your black capris leggings and gray v neck short sleeve shirt to work that day for a whole other reason. The lab was hot and it wasn’t only because of the company. Machines buzzed to life all around you on the walls not to mention the countless computers and gadgets that Toney had been fidgeting with scarred all around on the countertops. You had just finished checking off the last several items on your list and had three boxes stacked in your hands that you were about to place on the top shelf when you heard his voice boom from within the supply closet.

“Y/N is there a large white bag on the floor close to you?”

“Yes. Why?”

“What does it say? I may need to lock it up in here.” You placed your boxes on the shelf and bent down to read the contents of the bag around.

“It says Sodium Pentothal on the outside of it.”  You picked up the large heavyweight brown canvas bag in your arms. “Here I’ll bring it to yo…” Before you could even get the words out Bucky can running out of the storage room to get the heavy canvas bag that you had just placed into your hands. His large hands grab tightly around the bag as he tries to pull it from you.

“I got it. Let go Y/N.” He commanded in an authoritative tone.

“What gives Barnes doesn’t think I can handle this little bag,” you retorted with a huff as you gave him a gruff look. He gritted his teeth and pulled a little harder in the bag.

“That’s not it. You don’t have any idea what you are dealing with there. Let me have it okay.”

“A think I have a good idea. My boyfriend doesn’t think I can handle giving him a heavy bag.” Your muscles groan underneath the wait is the bag that you held in your arms now tighter. It was no way you were going to let him let him get the last word.

“It’s not about that,” Bucky deadpan looking at your straining face. “Just don’t want you hurt.” He tugged on the bag harder this time locking eyes on you.

“James come on really!” You sassed as you gave him a gruff stare.

You yanked the bag harder this time at the same time he decided to pull as hard as he could. Little did both of you know that a small rip at the bottom of the bag had already occurred on the seam. This tugging match you two were having did little for it and with one last pull, the bag ripped spilling its white powdery contents into the air with a poof! White power floated through the air covering all insight. Your hands, face, and outfit were covered with white power. You began to giggle as you looked at Bucky. He was no better than you. His brown hair and scuff were covered with the white powder making him almost look like a mini Santa. His maroon Henley that you loved was now speckled in white and his blue jeans looked more stonewashed than blue. You both couldn’t help but laugh as you looked at one another.

“Y/N look what you did!” Buck chuckled as he laughed at your sight.

“Me! Look what you did Barnes,” you giggled back at him as you pointed to him. “You look like an old man.” He gave you a large smile as he chuckled loudly.

“Old?” His blue eyes showed with a mischievous glare. “Is that why you were moaning my name out in your sleep last night Doll because I’m old or is it because you want me in your bed?”

“Barnes that never happen, however, I would be happy to take you up on that” you sassed back with a raised eyebrow as you rested your hands on your hips.

“You know I love it when you're sassy,” Bucky chuckled.

“And I lo-…” Your confession of love was on your lips however it was interpreted by Steve Rogers voice booming behind you two.

“What are you two doing!?” He loomed in the doorway crossing his large muscular arms over his chest. Natasha was right behind him and laughed at the sight of you two covered in the white truth-telling powder.

“He/She broke the bag.” You two said in unison said pointing at the other. “Hey stop that, Bucky deadpan.

“No. You. Stop. Let Go.” You gave another tug on the now empty bag finally pulling it out of your boyfriend's hands. You gave him a smug smile and then stuck your tongue out at him. He stood looking at you and crossed his arms.

“Real mature, Y/N. I can show you some places you can put that tongue of your. . .”

“Buck!” Steve yelled before he could finish that statement. Steve gritted his teeth. “You two. Separate. Now.” Before you knew it, Natasha had grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the lab door to clean up. After hitting the showers, you decided that since she had been harping on you to train more you would hit the gym.

(In Another Location...)

“Ok, I got all pretty up for you. Can I go now?” Bucky asked as he finished getting dressed from a shower. His gray sweet paints and black teeshirt hugged his body perfectly. He laced his shoes as Steve leaned against the door with his arms still crossed.

“Not a chance. You know what that stuff was; truth serum. It is no way I am leaving you along right now.” Steve picked up the powered covered clothing and towel and deposited into a hamper.  

“Not goin’ to be along. Going to find Y/N,” Buck stated flatly.

“Why?”

“Been going out with her for the last three months and want to see my girl. That’s why. Besides, how else can I be along with her when you are always around. Do you realize how hard that is?”

“Wait. You and Y/N are a thing?” Steve just shook his head in awe. Bucky and you had hidden it so well that no one knew. Yes, maybe expected something but not knew; at least not until now.

“I’m going to train. So if you want to babysit me than you better come on Rogers,” Bucky stated walking out of his room with Steve right on his heels.

The gym door swung open as you marched into it with determination. You wanted to train. Heck, you even had his favorite black and white exercise leggins and black sports tank. There was no way anyone was going to stop you

“I don’t think the gym is a good ideal right now Y/N."  Natasha was following Ema right on your heels.

"Why? You always say that I need the extra practice.” You said exasperated with your hands on your hips.

“Yes but that when you and Barns haven’t been exposed to a truth serum powder.”

“ So now you are my babysitter,” you said flatly.

“Yes, for right now,” Natasha’s voice was almost in amusement. You stood facing Natasha who was now in front of her just shaking her head as she crossed her arms trying to head you off.  

“Do you know how frustrating that man is?"  You waved her hands for emphasis. "We were in a closet for a little bit with him pulling me closer to him while he was flirting with me,” you noted as you pointed to yourself. Natasha looked at you in amusement with a slight smile creeping upon her face. “I mean do you know how HOT he is? Bucky teased me, saying I had a sassy mouth. It took everything I had not to tell him that the only way to shut me up was him to use a much better pick up line or put his tongue in my mouth. I really wanted him to do the second. I mean he is HOT.” Natasha now was rolling with laughter so hard that tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

“ Y/N you-you really don’t know when to shut up do you?” She said between giggles.

“No not really why?” Nat shook her head to the right than to the left. You glanced to her right seeing Steve beside you. He shook his head in amazement trying not to laugh. “Oh crap! You know,” you continued looking up now at Steve now “I can’t figure him out sometimes."

"That makes two of us right now.” He said with a slight laugh.

“I can’t tell if he just wants to kill me,” talking with your hands again now placing a figure closer to your lips biting on it some, “or take me to bed.” Steve put his hands over his forehead and over his eyes now almost in tears trying not to burst into laughter his face getting more red every moment. “Wait!” you said realization hit you, “if you are here and that means he’s right behind me isn’t he?” You asked as you jerked your head several times to the left emphasizing your point.

“Yep,” Steve answered you with a grin.  You immediately blushed and looked straight ahead to Natasha who was now laughing her head off again.

“You are no help Nat!"

"No, not really but that is all on you girl."  You turned facing Bucky now who was standing behind you looking very cocky with his arms folded.

"You heard everything didn’t you?”

“ Yes,” he said smugly as he moved closer to you placing his left arm around your waist while his flesh hand tucked a piece of it behind her ear. His hungry blue eyes darkening. “And I plan on taking you up on the last part doll. You know you're sexy as hell. I will be very pleased to shut you up probably leaving all kinds of marks on you so everyone will be able to tell that you are mine. Would you like that doll?” His voice dripped with lust.

“Yes, sergeant,” you said innocently.  

“Do something, Steve. "Natasha commanded.

"What do you want me to do?” Steve looked at the both of you and then back to Natasha.

“ Stop them.”

“ Ok, Buck let her go and come on.”

"Get your own girl she’s mine.“ He huffed tightening his grip on you.

” See that’s what I’m dealing with,“ Steve said in frustration.

"Come on doll lets go now.” His smile was intoxicating

“Where?”

“Back to my room.” Bucky took your hand in his and led you out of the gym without father argument.

"Steve!“ Natasha called out again.

"Just chill Tasha they been together for a while now anyway..”

“ What?” Her green eyes lighting up in shock. He let out a frustrated huff.

“Yes, they were just keeping it quiet.”

"Guess that’s out now.“

@teamcap4bucky @jewelofwinter @verygraphicink @babyinatrenchcoatlover @marvelandotherfandomimagines @buckmesideways22 @shreddedparchment

#bucky x oc #buckybarnes #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #winter solider #steve rogers #avengers #natasha romanoff #teamcap4bucky #1kcelebration

[harry-sussex]

I find it odd that 6th in line the throne is basically doing a huge commonwealth tour around the same time as Charles commonwealth tour of Africa. But the future king after Charles, hasn’t, and hasn’t even visited Fiji yet. Wtf is going on with William and Kate. They still don’t want to take on the roles of future king and queen, Meghan and Harry basically have done all the work, they have visited four countries in 16 days: why don’t they give that work to wills and Kate?!

A timeline for you:

2011

March 2011 - William’s visit to New Zealand (Commonwealth)

April 2011 - William and Catherine get married

June 2011 - W/K tour of Canada (Commonwealth)

July 2011 - W/K tour of USA

2012

March 2012 - Harry’s tour of Belize (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

March 2012 - Harry’s tour of the Bahamas (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

March 2012 - Harry’s tour of Jamaica (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

March 2012 - Harry’s tour of Brazil

September 2012 - W/K tour of Singapore (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

September 2012 - W/K tour of Malaysia (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

September 2012 - W/K tour of Solomon Islands (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

September 2012 - W/K tour of Tuvalu (Commonwealth, Diamond Jubilee celebrations)

2013

May 2013 - Harry’s tour of USA

September 2013 - William leaves the RAF, W/K/G move to Anmer Hall

October 2013 - Harry’s visit to Australia (Commonwealth)

2014

April 2014 - W/K/G tour of New Zealand (Commonwealth)

April 2014 - W/K/G tour of Australia (Commonwealth)

May 2014 - Harry’s tour of Estonia

May 2014 - Harry’s tour of Italy

June 2014 - Harry’s visit to Brazil

June 2014 - Harry’s visit to Chile

August 2014 - William starts work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance

September 2014 - William’s visit to Malta (in place of Kate)

December 2014 - W/K tour of USA

2015

February 2015 - William’s tour of Japan

March 2015 - William’s tour of China

May 2015 - Harry’s tour of New Zealand (Commonwealth)

June 2015 - Harry leaves the Armed Forces

October 2015 - Harry’s visit to USA

November 2015 - Harry’s tour of South Africa (Commonwealth)

December 2015 - Harry’s visit to Lesotho (Commonwealth)

2016

March 2016 - Harry’s tour of Nepal 

April 2016 - W/K tour of India (Commonwealth)

April 2016 - W/K tour of Bhutan

May 2016 - Harry’s visit to Canada (Commonwealth)

May 2016 - Harry’s visit to USA 

September 2016 - W/K/G/C tour of Canada (Commonwealth)

November 2016 - William’s tour of Vietnam

November 2016 - Harry’s visit to Antigua and Barbuda (Commonwealth)

November 2016 - Harry’s visit to St. Kitts and Nevis (Commonwealth)

November 2016 - Harry’s visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Commonwealth)

November 2016 - Harry’s visit to Grenada (Commonwealth)

November 2016 - Harry’s visit to Barbados (Commonwealth)

November 2016 - Harry’s visit to Guyana (Commonwealth)

2017

March 2017 - W/K/G/C visit to France

July 2017 - W/K/G/C tour of Poland

July 2017 - W/K/G/C tour of Germany

August 2017 - Philip retires from royal duties

August 2017 - William’s tenure with the Air Ambulance ends, W/K/G/C move permanently to Kensington Palace

2018

January 2018 - W/K tour of Sweden

February 2018 - W/K tour of Norway

April 2018 - Harry is appointed Commonwealth Youth Ambassador

May 2018 - Harry and Meghan get married

June 2018 - William’s visit to Jordan

June 2018 - William’s visit to Israel

June 2018 - William’s visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories

July 2018 - H/M visit to Ireland

July 2018 - Harry’s visit to the Netherlands

September 2018 - William’s visit to Namibia (Commonwealth)

September 2018 - William’s visit to Tanzania

September 2018 - William’s visit to Kenya (Commonwealth)

October 2018 - H/M tour of Australia (Commonwealth)

October 2018 - H/M tour of New Zealand (Commonwealth)

October 2018 - H/M tour of Fiji (Commonwealth)

October 2018 - H/M tour of Tongo (Commonwealth)

** Note - visits only counted if they were for more than one day

William and Catherine (Future King and Queen of the United Kingdom)TOTAL COUNTRIES VISITED: 24Number of visits to Commonwealth nations: 12Number of Commonwealth nations visited: 10Number of nations outside the Commonwealth visited: 15Number of nations visited with different monarchy: 4

Harry and Meghan (Commonwealth Youth Ambassador)TOTAL COUNTRIES VISITED: 22Number of visits to Commonwealth nations: 18Number of Commonwealth nations visited: 15Number of nations outside the Commonwealth visited: 8Number of nations visited with different monarchy: 1

What does this all mean?

Charles, as the next (and arguably imminent) King, has his own set of requirements set forth by The Royal Family that are different than those delegated to the Cambridges or Sussexes.  He is not really relevant in this conversation.

Her Majesty’s government has a strategy.  That strategy is to promote William and Catherine as the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom.  Part of that is developing a working relationship with people outside of your realm.  It is for this reason that William and Catherine have been embarking on more tours of places with different monarchies (Sweden, Norway, Bhutan, Jordan) and more visits to places with charged political landscapes (China, Japan, Israel, Vietnam, the Occupied Palestinian Territories).  It will be their responsibility as King and Queen to maintain and develop these relationships in the coming years.  Note that the frequency and intensity of these visits was amplified significantly after William’s departure from EAAA, Philip’s retirement, and the Cambridges’ permanent relocation to Kensington Palace.  The Queen’s interest with respect to the royal calendar for the Cambridges is to prepare them to be King and Queen.  It is for this reason they do not tour Commonwealth nations as often as, say, Harry does.  They do not have to nurture that relationship - that is what Harry and Meghan are for, as of Harry’s appointment as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.  They don’t give as many Commonwealth tours to William and Catherine because that’s not what their primary focus is or should be.

Harry was appointed the Commonwealth Youth Ambassador - his most significant appointment to date - in April of 2018.  In this role, he needs to continue to reinforce and nurture the existing relationships between the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth.  Meghan joined that role upon her marriage in 2018.  He doesn’t have to venture outside of the Commonwealth because his role within the Commonwealth is both important and well-defined.

The Royal Family has split the Cambridge and Sussex international duties to focus beyond the realm of the Commonwealth and explicitly within the realm of the Commonwealth, respectively.  Based on this empirical data, it seems that William and Catherine have absolutely taken seriously their role as future King and Queen - evidenced by their visiting more countries overall, more countries with different monarchies, more countries with politically charged climates, and fewer Commonwealth nations.  Harry and Meghan have done outstanding work within the Commonwealth, which is exactly in line with their duties as The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and for Harry’s duty as the Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.

In conclusion, you’re wrong.  William and Catherine have done plenty of work to prepare themselves as the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom on an international scale.  Harry and Meghan will devote a large majority of their international work for the rest of their lives supporting the Commonwealth, while hardly ever venturing outside, I would imagine.  Each couple is actively working towards the end goals set for them by the well-oiled machine that is the monarchy.  To have each couple overlap their goals is inefficient - why bother?  They each have their different areas of expertise under control, as evidenced by the data I have compiled above.

Next time you want to argue facts, then please bring facts to the table.  Your objective rhetoric pales in comparison to empirical data collection.  Check your facts, sweetheart.  You’re wrong.

#long post #sorry #needed to get the facts out and there is a lot of data here lol #ask #anonymous #prince william #duke of cambridge #kate middleton #duchess of cambridge #prince harry #duke of sussex #meghan markle #duchess of sussex #british royal family #prince charles #prince of wales

[thefemalethatwrites]

Pheonix (Genji Shimada x Reader)

Request; No.

Prompt; After being set up to marry Hanzo you gain feelings for his younger brother.

Relationship; Hanzo Shimada x Reader, Genji Shimada x Reader

Warning; Cursing? Violence, Death, Mentions of Death

Word Count; 1401

A/N: Your Cyborg suit is similar to Genji’s but glows red and is black metal instead of green and grey/white metal...EXAMPLE Also credit to the artist. 

~~~

(Y/N)’s POV

I sliced the head off the dummy I was practicing on,

“You can’t do that to her!” I heard mother yell making me tilt my head,

“And why’s that?! She’s my daughter!” Father yelled,

“Our daughter! They are your sworn enemy! And you’re willingly to throw your only child to them!” Mother yelled,

“With this marriage two of the most powerful clans will unite!” He yelled,

“That’s all you care about, power!” She screamed,

“Enough! I’ve made my decision” He yelled before the door to their room opened, “(Y/N)” Father called me over, I put my Katana in its holder on my waist before I went over and bowed,

“What is it father?” I asked,

“You’ll be joining me on my visit to the Shimada Castle” He said, my eyes widened, I nodded,

“I’ll follow your lead” I say, he lead me to the car and we drove off the family grounds and towards the Shimada Castle, we arrived and was met by the Shimada’s leader, he and father shook hands before he turned to me, so I bowed,

“So, this is your daughter?” He asked as he lead us through the castle,

“Yes, as I promised” Father said.

“I see she’s trained with the Katana, like my youngest” He said,

“The Katana is her favourite. She’s also trained with the bow, guns and batons” Father said proudly, I rolled my eyes at his bragging,

“I see. Hanzo. Genji” He said, two young men approached us and bowed, I bowed back, “Boys, I’d like to introduce (Y/N) Mirada” Their father introduced, the green haired male took my hand and kissed it,

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Mirada. I’m Genji” He introduced, I nodded before he was pulled back by the other, whom I’m guessing to be Hanzo, and had withdrawn a Katana and swung at me, I quickly looked at Father for any signs but was given none, so I caught the blade and glared at him, shocked cover the Shimada men as they stared at me, I sighed and let go of the blade, their father laughed before taking my father and Hanzo away, “Are we to follow them?” Genji asked,

“If we were my father would have called for me already” I say watching them enter a room.

***

I had been set to marry Hanzo out of the two brothers and I had to live at Shimada castle, I sighed as I was sat in my room, they was a light knock on my door causing me to stand up,

“Enter” I say and Genji opened the door, my eyes widened as I ran over and hugged him “You’re back! How was Overwatch?!” I asked making him chuckle as he closed the door before pulling away,

“Boring” He pouted, I smiled and pecked his lips causing him to smirk before he began to kiss me, he pinned me to the bed before another knock on the door came, we quickly separated, he hid as I stood up,

“Enter” I say, Hanzo opened the door,

“(Y/N) would you come with me” He said, I nodded before following him outside,

“What’s wrong?” I asked,

“You’ve been a spy for your clan. That’s why my father died” He spat turning to me with a Katana in hand, my eyes widened

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” I asked as I back away from him,

“Don’t try twisting my mind as you’ve done to Genji’s. The sooner you’re gone, the quicker the Shimada clan can repair” He growled, I scoffed

“Fair enough. Try your best” I spat as I withdrew my own Katana.

***

“(Y/N) Mirada, age 22, heir to the Mirada clan” A voice said as I awoke, I sat up and saw that my body was robotic,

“What happened?” I muttered as I inspected my new body,

“Ah, Miss Mirada, you’re awake” Someone exclaimed, a young woman came over to me, I pinned her to the wall by her throat

“What happened?!” I growled,

“I found you gravely wounded. I brought you here to save you, but to do so I needed to…” She trailed off and I let go of her,

“You saved my life by turning me into a killing machine” I spat before I began to leave,

“Wait!” She called after me,

“What?!” I spat turning to her,

“I’m sorry” She said, I continued to leave.

***

I arrived at Nepal at the Monks temple,

“Hello my child. What can I do for you?” One of them asked, I bowed

“I’m in need of your assistance” I say, he hummed

“Very well. Follow me” He said before leading me inside, “So, what are you in need of my assistance for?” He asked,

“Recently, I was found by a doctor after being gravely wounded in a fight. I was on the brink of death, so she turn me into this machine” I growled, he hummed

“It seems to me that you’re in need to come to peace with your new form and abilities. I shall help you to do so. My name is Tekhartha Mondatta” He introduced, I nodded

“(Y/N) Mirada” I introduced.

***

I watched from the roof as Zenyatta’s student trained while he and Mondatta spoke to each other, I had been here for two years and within that time I have learnt to accept and embrace my form, in doing so I had a full robotic suit that was made for me by Overwatch, which is where I first woke up in this form, they made it so I could move efficiently and quietly, I jumped from the roof and approached the brothers,

“Ah, speak and she shall appear”  Zenyatta said, I nodded.

“I was just saying that Zenyatta’s student is doing so well he could pass you” Mondatta said,

“Is that so? I’d like to see him try” I say glancing at the student trained,

“Genji” Zenyatta called him over, my eyes widened, No, it can’t be him, he came up, “(Y/N), I’d like to introduce you to my student; Genji Shimada” Zenyatta introduced, I nodded and bowed,

“Pleasure to meet you” I say as I stood up to see him tilting his head in confusion, “Mondatta, it’s time for your trip to Kings Row” I say, he nodded, so we left.

***

Mondatta was about to enter the car to evacuate him away when there was an explosion on the roofs making him stop and watch as two females fell from the explosion, one of them had a Sniper in their hands and fired, I went to catch it, but was too slow as the bullet lodge itself into Mondatta’s head,

“No!” A woman in the crowd cried as he fell into the car, I felt a rush of anger wash over me as I quickly made my way up to the rooftops, the assassin was heading towards an aircraft making me charge at her and tackle her to the ground as my robotic hand wrapped itself around her throat.

“Why did you do it?!” I growled, she smirked and chuckled, I slammed her against the ground again before light emitted from behind me making her eyes widened before she kicked me off her and quickly retreated to the aircraft, I let out a frustrated yell as I punched a chimney, I caught my reflection in a puddle and rolled my eyes, my Phoenix wings were out and spread wide, I sighed and retracted them before they disappeared back into my back, the reason I have them is because in every generation of the Mirada, there is a rule for only one child to be born so the power of the Phoenix is passed down and is not weakened, but I thought that the spirit of the Phoenix had disappeared when I became the machine.

***

I arrived back at Nepal and retreated up to my room, avoiding any contact with Zenyatta as it was my fault his brother was no longer alive, I removed my headgear and threw it against the wall before noticing a figure by the door,

“I didn’t mean to intrude, my apologises” Genji said,

“No, it’s fine. What’s up?” I asked as I turned to him,

“You-You’re like me…” He trailed off,

“What a half-arsed piece of human and half tin-can? Yeah” I snapped,

“It really is you” He muttered before giving me a hug.

#Overwatch #hanzo shimada #hanzo shimada x reader #genji shimada #genji x reader #genji shimada x reader #zenyatta #mondatta

[theygavedvaananimatedshort]

Lore Compilation - Hero: Zarya

This post is the 7th [D.va | Orisa | Reinhardt | Roadhog | Winston | Wrecking Ball] in a project I’m carrying out to compile all the lore on every individual hero, scattered through the various pieces of media we’re provided with. While I’m sure many people already know all of this, it’s intended to be a good starting point for people who don’t, and a good reference point to those who do. This post will include links to official media, screenshots and descriptions of voice lines.

This post will not include sprays, nor any kind of analysis, speculation or theories. However, it is important to note that every piece of media is being given to us through the perspective of an unreliable narrator, so while the material is canon, it may not be the truth of the situation.

(Rest under the cut.)

 Hero Bio:

https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/zarya/

Cinematic Appearances:

Zarya makes a cameo appearance at the end of Infiltration. 

Comic Appearances:

Zarya stars in the comic Searching and has a cameo appearance in the first panel of Reflections. 

[above: Zarya’s cameo appearance in Reflections.]

Skins:

Four (4) of Zarya’s skin have bios: Arctic, Siberian front, Champion and Weightlifter.

Arctic/Siberian Front: After retirement from competition, Zarya enlisted in the Russian Defense Forces and was deployed to the Krasnoyarsk front in Siberia. 

Champion/Weightlifter: A champion weightlifter in her home country, Zarya retired on the eve of the World Championships to enlist in the Russian Defense Forces. 

Maps:

Zarya’s ‘home map’ is Volskaya Industries. The player can’t find any of her possessions there, but there is a mural of her.

[above: a mural of Zarya on Volskaya.]

She also has voiceline interactions on the following maps:

Nepal: "I do not trust these omnics...and I do not like this place."

Numbani: "The humans who live here are fools to trust the omnics. They will see."

Volskaya Industries:

Katya is a hero to my people; we must protect what she has built."

"Быть может, у человека сто чувств и со смертью погибают только пять, известных нам, а остальные девяносто пять остаются живы." [translation: Perhaps a man has 100 senses and when he dies only the five senses we know perish with him, and the other 95 remain alive.]

"В гостях хорошо, а дома лучше.” [translation:There's no place like home.]

Eichenwalde: "I will not let the fate that befell this place happen to my country."

Junkertown: "Let Russia never repeat the mistakes of this country."

Voiceline Interactions:

Zarya has pregame voiceline interactions with the following heroes:

Bastion:

Zarya: I have destroyed more of your kind than I can count. Bastion: [sad beeping]

D.Va:

Zarya: D.Va! Have you seen the Svyatogors? Now that is what I call a mech. D.Va: Size isn't everything.

Doomfist:

Doomfist: Human strength will only get you so far. Zarya: True strength is hard work and determination, not augmentation!

Genji:

Zarya: How do I trust a man who is half machine? Genji: The heart of a man still beats inside of me.

Genji: How can I convince you I'm still a man? Zarya: I know what you are. I am only sorry that you do not.

Mei

Mei: Zarya? I don't understand how you can fight in the cold wearing so little. Zarya: I'll tell you my secret... if you give me your coat.

Mei: Zarya, how can you carry all that weight? Zarya: I lift as well as I lift because it cannot be avoided.

Orisa:

Orisa: Zarya, I have learned to utilize my graviton charge by watching you. Zarya: Your compliment is unwanted.

Reinhardt:

Zarya: Reinhardt, you said you would arm wrestle me. Nervous? Reinhardt: Nervous? Me? Never!

Reinhardt: Keep training, and maybe someday you can learn to handle a real weapon! Zarya: I think I’ve got this, old man.

Reinhardt: Haha! Finally I have beaten the champion at arm wrestling! Zarya: I heard it was your birthday old man. So I went easy on you.

Sombra:

Sombra: Your friend, Katya Volskaya, what will you say when you learn the truth? Zarya: She's a hero to all Russians. I do not care what you have to say.

Torbjörn

Zarya: The suffering of my people rests heavily on your shoulders, Torbjörn. Torbjörn: Believe me, I don't need reminding.

Winston:

Zarya: Winston, your gun is so cute. You should try playing with some real firepower. Winston: I like to leave the heavy lifting to the professionals.

Zenyatta:

Zarya: I'll have my eye on you, omnic. Zenyatta: And I will watch your back in turn.

Additional Links:

Zarya’s ‘it’s only a game’ voiceline and how it came to be: https://sports.yahoo.com/ilya-bryzgalov-end-overwatch-172049435.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&guccounter=1

That’s all for now! If there’s anything that you know I missed, please let me know and I’ll add it. If anything new is added to the game, I’ll be sure to edit accordingly.

#Lore Compilation #zarya #overwatch lore #aleksandra zaryanova #op

[antoine-roquentin]

Here’s some Real interference in election campaigns

[Slightly abridged version of chapter 18 in William Blum’s Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower; see it for notes]

Philippines, 1950s:

Flagrant manipulation by the CIA of the nation’s political life, featuring stage-managed elections with extensive disinformation campaigns, heavy financing of candidates, writing their speeches, drugging the drinks of one of the opponents of the CIA-supported candidate so he would appear incoherent; plotting the assassination of another candidate. The oblivious New York Times declared that “It is not without reason that the Philippines has been called “democracy’s showcase in Asia”.

Italy, 1948-1970s:

Multifarious campaigns to repeatedly sabotage the electoral chances of the Communist Party and ensure the election of the Christian Democrats, long-favored by Washington.

Lebanon, 1950s:

The CIA provided funds to support the campaigns of President Camille Chamoun and selected parliamentary candidates; other funds were targeted against candidates who had shown less than total enchantment with US interference in Lebanese politics.

Indonesia, 1955:

A million dollars were dispensed by the CIA to a centrist coalition’s electoral campaign in a bid to cut into the support for President Sukarno’s party and the Indonesian Communist Party.

Vietnam, 1955:

The US was instrumental in South Vietnam canceling the elections scheduled to unify North and South because of the certainty that the North Vietnamese communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, would easily win.

British Guiana/Guyana, 1953-64:

For 11 years, two of the oldest democracies in the world, Great Britain and the United States, went to great lengths to prevent Cheddi Jagan – three times the democratically elected leader – from occupying his office. Using a wide variety of tactics – from general strikes and disinformation to terrorism and British legalisms – the US and Britain forced Jagan out of office twice during this period.

Japan, 1958-1970s:

The CIA emptied the US treasury of millions to finance the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in parliamentary elections, “on a seat-by-seat basis”, while doing what it could to weaken and undermine its opposition, the Japanese Socialist Party. The 1961-63 edition of the State Department’s annual Foreign Relations of the United States, published in 1996, includes an unprecedented disclaimer that, because of material left out, a committee of distinguished historians thinks “this published compilation does not constitute a ‘thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of major United States foreign policy decisions’” as required by law. The deleted material involved US actions from 1958-1960 in Japan, according to the State Department’s historian.

Nepal, 1959:

By the CIA’s own admission, it carried out an unspecified “covert action” on behalf of B.P. Koirala to help his Nepali Congress Party win the national parliamentary election. It was Nepal’s first national election ever, and the CIA was there to initiate them into the wonderful workings of democracy.

Laos, 1960:

CIA agents stuffed ballot boxes to help a hand-picked strongman, Phoumi Nosavan, set up a pro-American government.

Brazil, 1962:

The CIA and the Agency for International Development expended millions of dollars in federal and state elections in support of candidates opposed to leftist President João Goulart, who won anyway.

Dominican Republic, 1962:

In October 1962, two months before election day, US Ambassador John Bartlow Martin got together with the candidates of the two major parties and handed them a written notice, in Spanish and English, which he had prepared. It read in part: “The loser in the forthcoming election will, as soon as the election result is known, publicly congratulate the winner, publicly recognize him as the President of all the Dominican people, and publicly call upon his own supporters to so recognize him. … Before taking office, the winner will offer Cabinet seats to members of the loser’s party. (They may decline).”

As matters turned out, the winner, Juan Bosch, was ousted in a military coup seven months later, a slap in the face of democracy which neither Martin nor any other American official did anything about.

Guatemala, 1963:

The US overthrew the regime of General Miguel Ydigoras because he was planning to step down in 1964, leaving the door open to an election; an election that Washington feared would be won by the former president, liberal reformer and critic of US foreign policy, Juan José Arévalo. Ydigoras’s replacement made no mention of elections.

Bolivia, 1966:

The CIA bestowed $600,000 upon President René Barrientos and lesser sums to several right-wing parties in a successful effort to influence the outcome of national elections. Gulf Oil contributed two hundred thousand more to Barrientos.

Chile, 1964-70:

Major US interventions into national elections in 1964 and 1970, and congressional elections in the intervening years. Socialist Salvador Allende fell victim in 1964, but won in 1970 despite a multimillion-dollar CIA operation against him. The Agency then orchestrated his downfall in a 1973 military coup.

Portugal, 1974-5:

In the years following the coup in 1974 by military officers who talked like socialists, the CIA revved up its propaganda machine while funneling many millions of dollars to support “moderate” candidates, in particular Mario Soares and his (so-called) Socialist Party. At the same time, the Agency enlisted social-democratic parties of Western Europe to provide further funds and support to Soares. It worked. The Socialist Party became the dominant power.

Australia, 1974-75:

Despite providing considerable support for the opposition, the United States failed to defeat the Labor Party, which was strongly against the US war in Vietnam and CIA meddling in Australia. The CIA then used “legal” methods to unseat the man who won the election, Edward Gough Whitlam.

Jamaica, 1976:

A CIA campaign to defeat social democrat Michael Manley’s bid for reelection, featuring disinformation, arms shipments, labor unrest, economic destabilization, financial support for the opposition, and attempts upon Manley’s life. Despite it all, he was victorious.

Panama, 1984, 1989:

In 1984, the CIA helped finance a highly questionable presidential electoral victory for one of Manuel Noriega’s men. The opposition cried “fraud”, but the new president was welcomed at the White House. By 1989, Noriega was no longer a Washington favorite, so the CIA provided more than $10 million dollars to his electoral opponents.

Nicaragua, 1984, 1990:

In 1984, the United States, trying to discredit the legitimacy of the Sandinista government’s scheduled election, covertly persuaded the leading opposition coalition to not take part. A few days before election day, some other rightist parties on the ballot revealed that US diplomats had been pressing them to drop out of the race as well. The CIA also tried to split the Sandinista leadership by placing phoney full-page ads in neighboring countries. But the Sandinistas won handily in a very fair election monitored by hundreds of international observers.

Six years later, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Washington’s specially created stand-in for the CIA, poured in millions of dollars to defeat Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas in the February elections. NED helped organize the Nicaraguan opposition, UNO, building up the parties and organizations that formed and supported this coalition.

Perhaps most telling of all, the Nicaraguan people were made painfully aware that a victory by the Sandinistas would mean a continuation of the relentlessly devastating war being waged against them by Washington through their proxy army, the Contras.

Haiti, 1987-1988:

After the Duvalier dictatorship came to an end in 1986, the country prepared for its first free elections ever. However, Haiti’s main trade union leader declared that Washington was working to undermine the left. US aid organizations, he said, were encouraging people in the countryside to identify and reject the entire left as “communist”. Meanwhile, the CIA was involved in a range of support for selected candidates until the US Senate Intelligence Committee ordered the Agency to cease its covert electoral action.

Bulgaria, 1990-1991 and Albania, 1991-1992:

With no regard for the fragility of these nascent democracies, the US interfered broadly in their elections and orchestrated the ousting of their elected socialist governments.

Russia, 1996:

For four months (March-June), a group of veteran American political consultants worked secretly in Moscow in support of Boris Yeltsin’s presidential campaign. Boris Yeltsin was being counted on to run with the globalized-free market ball and it was imperative that he cross the goal line. The Americans emphasized sophisticated methods of message development, polling, focus groups, crowd staging, direct-mailing, etc., and advised against public debates with the Communists. Most of all they encouraged the Yeltsin campaign to “go negative” against the Communists, painting frightening pictures of what the Communists would do if they took power, including much civic upheaval and violence, and, of course, a return to the worst of Stalinism. Before the Americans came on board, Yeltsin was favored by only six percent of the electorate. In the first round of voting, he edged the Communists 35 percent to 32, and was victorious in the second round 54 to 40 percent.

Mongolia, 1996:

The National Endowment for Democracy worked for several years with the opposition to the governing Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRR, the former Communists) who had won the 1992 election to achieve a very surprising electoral victory. In the six-year period leading up to the 1996 elections, NED spent close to a million dollars in a country with a population of some 2.5 million, the most significant result of which was to unite the opposition into a new coalition, the National Democratic Union. Borrowing from Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America, the NED drafted a “Contract With the Mongolian Voter”, which called for private property rights, a free press and the encouragement of foreign investment. The MPRR had already instituted Western-style economic reforms, which had led to widespread poverty and wiped out much of the communist social safety net. But the new government promised to accelerate the reforms, including the privatization of housing. By 1998 it was reported that the US National Security Agency had set up electronic listening posts in Outer Mongolia to intercept Chinese army communications, and the Mongolian intelligence service was using nomads to gather intelligence in China itself.

Bosnia, 1998:

Effectively an American protectorate, with Carlos Westendorp – the Spanish diplomat appointed to enforce Washington’s offspring: the 1995 Dayton peace accords – as the colonial Governor-General. Before the September elections for a host of offices, Westendorp removed 14 Croatian candidates from the ballot because of alleged biased coverage aired in Bosnia by neighboring Croatia’s state television and politicking by ethnic Croat army soldiers. After the election, Westendorp fired the elected president of the Bosnian Serb Republic, accusing him of creating instability. In this scenario those who appeared to support what the US and other Western powers wished were called “moderates”, and allowed to run for and remain in office. Those who had other thoughts were labeled “hard-liners”, and ran the risk of a different fate. When Westendorp was chosen to assume this position of “high representative” in Bosnia in May 1997, The Guardian of London wrote that “The US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, praised the choice. But some critics already fear that Mr. Westendorp will prove too lightweight and end up as a cipher in American hands.”

Nicaragua, 2001

Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega was once again a marked man. US State Department officials tried their best to publicly associate him with terrorism, including just after September 11 had taken place, and to shamelessly accuse Sandinista leaders of all manner of violations of human rights, civil rights, and democracy. The US ambassador literally campaigned for Ortega’s opponent, Enrique Bolaños. A senior analyst in Nicaragua for Gallup, the international pollsters, was moved to declare: “Never in my whole life have I seen a sitting ambassador get publicly involved in a sovereign country’s electoral process, nor have I ever heard of it.”

At the close of the campaign, Bolaños announced: “If Ortega comes to power, that would provoke a closing of aid and investment, difficulties with exports, visas and family remittances. I’m not just saying this. The United States says this, too. We cannot close our eyes and risk our well-being and work. Say yes to Nicaragua, say no to terrorism.”

In the end, the Sandinistas lost the election by about ten percentage points after steadily leading in the polls during much of the campaign.

Bolivia, 2002

The American bête noire here was Evo Morales, Amerindian, former member of Congress, socialist, running on an anti-neoliberal, anti-big business, and anti-coca eradication campaign. The US Ambassador declared: “The Bolivian electorate must consider the consequences of choosing leaders somehow connected with drug trafficking and terrorism.” Following September 11, painting Officially Designated Enemies with the terrorist brush was de rigueur US foreign policy rhetoric.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs warned that American aid to the country would be in danger if Mr. Morales was chosen. Then the ambassador and other US officials met with key figures from Bolivia’s main political parties in an effort to shore up support for Morales’s opponent, Sanchez de Lozada. Morales lost the vote.

Slovakia, 2002

To defeat Vladimir Meciar, former prime minister, a man who did not share Washington’s weltanschauung about globalization, the US ambassador explicitly warned the Slovakian people that electing him would hurt their chances of entry into the European Union and NATO. The US ambassador to NATO then arrived and issued his own warning. The National Endowment for Democracy was also on hand to influence the election. Meciar lost.

El Salvador, 2004

Washington’s target in this election was Schafik Handal, candidate of the FMLN, the leftist former guerrilla group. He said he would withdraw El Salvador’s 380 troops from Iraq as well as reviewing other pro-US policies; he would also take another look at the privatizations of Salvadoran industries, and would reinstate diplomatic relations with Cuba. His opponent was Tony Saca of the incumbent Arena Party, a pro-US, pro-free market organization of the extreme right, which in the bloody civil war days had featured death squads and the infamous assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

During a February visit to the country, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, met with all the presidential candidates except Handal. He warned of possible repercussions in US-Salvadoran relations if Handal were elected. Three Republican congressmen threatened to block the renewal of annual work visas for some 300,000 Salvadorans in the United States if El Salvador opted for the FMLN. And Congressman Thomas Tancredo of Colorado stated that if the FMLN won, “it could mean a radical change” in US policy on remittances to El Salvador.

Washington’s attitude was exploited by Arena and the generally conservative Salvadoran press, who mounted a scare campaign, and it became widely believed that a Handal victory could result in mass deportations of Salvadorans from the United States and a drop in remittances. Arena won the election with about 57 percent of the vote to some 36 percent for the FMLN.

After the election, the US ambassador declared that Washington’s policies concerning immigration and remittances had nothing to do with any election in El Salvador. There appears to be no record of such a statement being made in public before the election when it might have had a profound positive effect for the FMLN.

Afghanistan, 2004

The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, went around putting great pressure on one candidate after another to withdraw from the presidential race so as to insure the victory for Washington’s man, the incumbent, Hamid Karzai in the October election. There was nothing particularly subtle about it. Khalilzad told each one what he wanted and then asked them what they needed. Karzai, a long-time resident in the United States, was described by the Washington Post as “a known and respected figure at the State Department and National Security Council and on Capitol Hill.”

“Our hearts have been broken because we thought we could have beaten Mr. Karzai if this had been a true election,” said Sayed Mustafa Sadat Ophyani, campaign manager for Younis Qanooni, Karzai’s leading rival. “But it is not. Mr. Khalilzad is putting a lot of pressure on us and does not allow us to fight a good election campaign.”.

None of the major candidates actually withdrew from the election, which Karzai won with about 56 percent of the votes.

[kayla1993-world]

Despite laying dozens of charges, RCMP have stopped targeting Canadian accomplices in foreign scam calls | CBC News

In the darkness of the early morning of Feb. 13, 2020, several unmarked RCMP vehicles followed Gurinderpreet Dhaliwal into a parking lot in Brampton, Ont., northwest of Toronto. When he stopped, the Mounties made their move, surrounding his vehicle, ordering Dhaliwal out and placing him in handcuffs within seconds.

His arrest — and that of his wife, Inderpreet, hours later — resulted from Project Octavia, a concentrated RCMP investigation into telephone scams bilking Canadians out of millions of dollars.

A police search of his home would reveal $114,000 in jewelry, plus additional cash, a money-counting machine and other evidence police say supports their allegations that the couple were key money mules for an overseas crime syndicate, funnelling and laundering money from Canadian victims of scam calls to India-based call-centre operators.

They have repeatedly delayed the Dhaliwals' trial. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. They have proved none of the charges against them in court.

Three others scooped up in the task force's broader investigation fled Canada before they could make an arrest. Two others were operating from Nepal, but they would make an arrest if they ever come to Canada. Two took deals avoiding jail time. They deported one. And one has not yet had his trial scheduled.

But within a year of the Dhaliwals' arrest, Project Octavia quietly disappeared. They disbanded the RCMP task force that targeted Canadian accomplices of scam calls, even as those calls continue unabated and Canadians' financial losses mount.

"In an industry like this that operates with impunity, you are sending a message that Canada doesn't care about this kind of crime," said Vanessa Iafolla, a financial crimes researcher at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

The Mounties formed Project Octavia in October 2018 after a CBC Marketplace investigation revealed how little the RCMP had done to combat the thousands of scam calls harassing Canadians every year, with schemes ranging from Amazon refund scams to impersonating Canada Revenue Agency officials.

Ralph Goodale, then-federal public safety minister, promised action. Soon after, they formed the special task force at the Milton, Ont., detachment to find those in Canada, providing the critical link between victims here and call centres overseas.

"It's essentially a national priority investigation," RCMP Insp. Jim Ogden said when they created the task force.

But in January 2021, with cases still pending and scam call activity surging, the RCMP eliminated its financial crimes unit in Ontario, which oversaw Project Octavia, redeploying the scam call investigators into other areas.

While the Mounties officially say the work will continue inside other pre-existing units, including serious and organized crime teams, a senior RCMP source told Marketplace the investigations have stopped.

Victims "will continue to be victimized, they have no recourse," the source said by email. CBC is granting confidentiality to the source because they fear professional repercussions for speaking out critically on the decision to end Project Octavia.

The source says they placed the RCMP to work with police in India to tackle the ongoing calls.

"These scams are multi-jurisdictional, which makes it impossible for local police departments to deal with them effectively," the source said.

An RCMP spokesperson told Marketplace that its Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMET) "remain a dedicated unit that focuses on frauds or other types of illegal activity in securities markets."

The RCMP said the unit "provides expertise in securities law, process and regulation, financial services, regulatory requirements, forensic accounting, corporate investigations, security risk management and capital-market criminal investigations."

However, the source told Marketplace that the unit has nothing to do with investigating phone scams.

The decision, says Iafolla, is "very reactionary. It's fly-by-night." Ending the task force specifically targeting those funnelling money abroad "just makes Canada a more attractive place for people to engage in these kinds of scams," she said.

Police say money mules in Canada take in money — and keep a set portion of it — in return for being a conduit back to criminal kingpins. Not all mules are necessarily aware of their role in the scam. Some grew up in India and came to Canada on student visas, or emigrated, and they recruit to become mules before leaving India or once established in Canada.

While most of those contacted by scammers do not fall victim to the ruse, a sufficient number do, which makes it a hugely profitable endeavour.

Phone scammers, said Iafolla, "are people who really understand what vulnerabilities other people have and exploit them." She describes them as "natural psychologists."

Monique LaFrance, of Gatineau, Que., lost nearly $200,000 in the bank investigator scheme.

"He presented himself as a security investigator from the Royal Bank, and he told me they had compromised my accounts," she said of the scam call she received in August 2020. "He asked me if I wanted to help them find the fraudsters and help others."

The scammer said he would deposit money in her account — and that she was to send that additional money in cash by courier to specific addresses. What she didn't realize was that the scammer had access to her online banking, and was adding money to her savings account by drawing from her line of credit.

"It's crazy. It's really crazy. It gets me kind of sick just thinking about it," she said.

They addressed one of those packages to Abhinav Bector at his home address, and another package addressed to Abhi B at a duct-cleaning business where a man of the same name was an employee. The RCMP tracked that package and arrested Bector.

They charged him with fraud, money laundering and possession of the proceeds of crime. But in an arrangement that avoided a trial and the possibility of a jail sentence, he pleaded guilty to only the last charge.

When approached by CBC journalists in November 2021 and asked if he had anything to say to his victims, some of whom are facing the prospect of losing their homes and life savings, he responded: "I have nothing. I was not."

Signs in Bector's car suggest he work now as an Uber driver. But at sentencing in September 2021, the court heard he had received a job offer from a Canadian bank. They will wipe his criminal record clean a year after his guilty plea, so the bank making the offer may never know of his criminal past.

Both Gurinderpreet Dhaliwal, arrested by the Mounties in that parking lot in February 2020, and his wife, Inderpreet, they scheduled to face trial. However, they have repeatedly delayed the proceedings and have now not scheduled to begin until the spring of 2023.

They continue to live in the Brampton home where police say they found cash connected to scam victims.

Court documents allege one of them is Melissa Steele's father. She doesn't want to identify him by name, worrying the scammers will target him again. He has cognitive difficulties and still does not understand what's happened — or the consequences that will change his life.

"He got one of those calls saying that he owed tax money and that he was in trouble. He ended up driving to his bank and taking out money."

He has since had to move out of the home. Steele has a message for the couple who allegedly received her father's money, leading to charges.

"I would say it's cruel, and how would they feel if somebody treated, you know, their loved ones that way?"

CBC journalists asked Inderpreet what she would say to people who lost their life savings. They would expect some of whom to testify at trial. She responded: "No comment."

Her lawyer, Thomas E. Pittman, later contacted CBC to emphasize his client would not make comments before trial. He said the RCMP has wrongly characterized her as a "player in an international criminal syndicate."

[tondonellie06]

CDR Report Sample for Industrial Engineering: ANZSCO 233511

Industrial engineers look for ways to avoid wasteful recurring cycles. They build expert frameworks that coordinate laborers, machines, resources, data, and vitality to manufacture a product or offer assistance. Mechanical specialists focus on how to complete the work as efficiently as possible, taking into account numerous variables such as time, the number of laborers needed, available innovation, the moves laborers must make, achieving the finished result without errors, laborers' well-being, environmental concerns, and cost.

CDR Format for Industrial Engineers

The Industrial Engineer Competency Demonstration Report Sample covers all required reports such as Three Career Episodes, Continuing Professional Development, Summary Statement, and Curriculum Vitae. The sample's content is as follows:

Curriculum Vitae

Engineers Australia Resume Writing for CDR Report should be carefully written and prepared to help in the submission. A well-written CV that includes a clear collection of educational history, professional experience, credentials, ambitions, and achievements is a guaranteed approach to impress Engineers Australia (EA). Our skilled staff will assist you in developing a compelling professional message for your CV and prepare a CV / Resume for Engineers Australia.

Continuing Professional Development Sample

CPD Sample- 1000 words- clearly explain the author's Engineering Knowledge CPD (Continuous Professional Development) is a set of principles, ideas, and strategies for managing your learning and development. CPD Statement refers to everything that can help you broaden your knowledge, keep your present specialized skills, and improve your engineering career. The CPD Statement focuses on outcomes or the advantages that professional development may provide in the actual world. Support for CPD Statement activities can also help you expand your professional networks and contacts. Regardless of where you are in your career or what you intend to achieve, your CPD statement should be unique to you.

Industrial Engineer Career Episode Report Samples

The career episode must be fully written based on your most recent work experience and written entirely in English. Each career episode should highlight the challenges you faced and the steps you took to overcome them. It would be excellent if you named each paragraph of your career episodes as "Career episode 1 (paragraphs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and so on)". Industrial Engineer Career Episode Report Sample – 1In the first professional episode, the author describes a project he worked on during his last year of electronics and communication engineering at the Advanced College of Engineering and Management. "Radio Frequency based Attendance System- 1950 words" was the project's name. The following were the author's responsibilities:

To provide a user-friendly system for data modification and retrieval through the interface.

To give a user-friendly means of rating a system's performance and efficiency.

to create a digitized and effective attendance system

To replace the conventional attendance system with a computerized one. To employ RFID readers and tags for project execution.

Industrial Engineer Career Episode Report Sample – 2United Telecom Limited's Department of Home Location Register is the name of the project. Word count: 1750In the second Career Episode, the author explains the engineering skills while working as a telecom engineer in the HLR (Home Location Register) department at United Telecom Limited in Kathmandu, Nepal. The following were his project roles and responsibilities:

to make communication simple and efficient

To protect the subscribers' personal information

To develop the Home Location Register database to give enough service to the user

As an operation, save the subscribers' data and information in the database.

To offer the user the services, they have requested

to give customers unique services

To carry out normal operations and maintenance on the HLR platform.

To do a test on the communication's fault actions.

to investigate and resolve fault activity

Junior technicians must be supervised and trained.

Industrial Engineer Career Episode Report Sample – 3 United Telecom Limited's Intelligent Network Department - 1750 words. In the third Career Episode, the author displays the technical abilities he needed to accomplish the project while working as a telecom engineer in United Telecom Limited's Intelligent Network department in Kathmandu, Nepal. The writer's primary task was:

To give consumers simple and effective service.

Customers' data and information must be kept safe.

to devise and execute new methods for subscribers

to run many clever network servers (IN)

to monitor and manage various IN modules

To keep track of the interconnection between the MSC, the HLR, and the billing center.

To set the call fee rates

to devise and carry out new projects.

Industrial Engineer Summary Statement SampleA thorough explanation of all competency components takes 2380 words.The Summary Statement must be written in a way that is both effective and appropriate. Readers and assessors should always be given an early introduction in the CDR report. In this respect, your research serves as the first step in securing a potential specialist position in any Australian firm.The purpose of this CDR Summary Statement Sample is to assist you in understanding the document's components, format, and items that must be included in the context.

CDRwritersAustralia for your assistance

You may rely on us to create your documentation for the CDR evaluation, and we have specialists on our teams that have previous experience producing such a report. We are here to help you through the whole process of creating your career episode, CPD, summary statement, and even your curriculum vitae to ensure that your evaluation goes well. Don't hesitate to contact us for additional information if you require a report on CDR, RPL, or KA02.

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[hcroiisms-blog]

“Hey, um. Zenyatta. I’m pretty sure a droid-like machine built in a factory with others of the same circumstances doesn’t count as a ethnicity for someone who isn’t part of the human species. But go off, I guess.” //I don’t know.\\

❛ Omnics as themselves are a race based off of humans am i not mistaken? We do not all come from Nepal as I do, but still. I was just very furious by the close minded way some people think.  ❜

#eriiidi