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detachedminxsfics · 2 years

Text

Spit Pt. III

Masterlist

Characters: Negan x Alexandrian F!Reader, Maggie, Gabriel, Lydia, Elijah, Marco, The Commonwealth

Summary: It'd be been months since the face-off with the reapers, the last time you saw Negan. A messenger arrives at Hilltop begging the group to help another community, and so you did. Much to your dismay, there's a familiar face you never thought you'd have to see again. Set in the events of S11 E13/14.

Word Count: 5.4K+

Warnings: NSFW - Fingering, oral (f!recieving), praise, elements of public play, mortal enemies, xtra DILFy S11 Negan

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to upload. I was just constantly unhappy with the pace or wording as this is one of the longest parts of Spit, and certainly the longest thing I've ever written. I also had to find a way to naturally develop but not ruin their dynamic, so I hope I did that! Thank you for all the love on this fic as always. <3

The sky was bright with oblivion, and the dead were not seen roaming as often today. This was what you'd call a good day, though the group grew smaller and smaller every week. You, Maggie, Lydia, Elijah and Marco were all that was left of Hilltop. Everybody else had succumbed to the fantasy of the commonwealth, aching to feel that sense of normality that we all so desperately wished to cling onto. But not everybody felt that way. Others, such as Maggie and yourself, knew these places were a great deal of trouble. One way or another something would go wrong, their cover would get blown, and the truth would start to surface. But that was the gamble of safety that they'd individually chosen to make, all of them. It'd been a few months since the face-off with the reapers, and the experience had made Maggie antsy. She was paranoid now, afraid of losing people, and would lash out when it came to the protection of others. You could understand this given the lack of loyalty in the way that everybody had slowly abandoned us and this place, barely enough of us were left to run it. It was hurtful, and she was on edge. So when Lydia set out to leave for the Commonwealth herself there were no hard feelings, but you were disappointed to see her go. You'd bonded with Lydia, spent time with her in which you'd confided in her the nature of your turbulent and not so labelled relationship with Negan. It was eating you up inside, hunching your back with what felt like the weight of the world on your shoulders for weeks after he left, and she listened to you without judgement. You didn't miss him per se, but you'd gotten used to his obscene presence, however irritating it may be. In the days after he left you'd thought a lot about how he would've just left without one word if you hadn't followed him into those woods, and Lydia sympathised with you on that too. When what was left of you returned to Alexandria she was heartbroken, Negan having left without so much as a word, and you consoled her. As she reached the gate you hurried over to her, calling out to her in order to attract her attention.

"Hey!"

Lydia spun round to face you, smiling when she saw you headed towards her with outstretched arms. She threw her arms around you welcoming the hug, and you laughed once you felt her tight hold on you. Lydia had teased before that you 'were like the big sister she never had', and so her departure would cause you a great deal of pain, but you just couldn't leave Maggie. Truthfully, you weren't sure she could take much more. So many lives had been lost, your people slaughtered by the reapers, that mission was one big mass grave. God, Alden was the only one who ever even got a proper burial.

"You be safe, and don't do anything I would do." You both pulled back from the hug to look at one another, and you raised your brows as you playfully insisted upon your point.

She laughed a little at your remark, and you both let go of one another. A few more solemn stares and she was gone, headed down the dirt path clutching her Commonwealth pamphlet. Then the unthinkable happened. Everybody drew their weapons wary of the approaching stranger swaying with feeble consciousness on horseback, and he was too far out for you to hear. Lydia approached him, and she was able to relay what had happened to the rest of you. Someone we knew had sent him, a fatally wounded message for us, and the map that we'd been given was now laid out on the table for all to see. The discussion of what should be the course of action was tumultuous to say the least, finally ending with all of you heading towards the direct source of trouble in a pickup truck. Maggie required some considerable convincing, nevertheless, you managed to sway her decision.

It sounded like hell itself. There was no way of ever anticipating that this is what you’d be walking into. As you moved through the building screams of anguish rang out from all over the place, wild gunfire sounding off periodically amidst all the ruckus. You and the others were moving through the halls as strategically as you could, doing your best to not be seen. While you could you still had the element of surprise, the upper hand of anonymity and being strange to this place. Eventually, Maggie nudged open the door to one of the rooms, the barrel of her gun protruding from the door at first, entering only after a brief survey of the room. She remained cautious as she entered, Aaron and yourself moving through the doorway afterwards and observing the room for any unwanted company. Something wasn’t right. Your intuition rang true when you heard the flick of the safety on someone’s gun, and it wasn’t any of yours. A gun appeared neatly pressed against Maggie’s back, the woman cowering behind her in an attempt to stop either you or Aaron from putting a bullet in her head, but Lydia and Elijah’s interference managed to tip the scales in your favour again. It was five against one. Some discussion had been had, even despite the gunpoint as Maggie attempted to reason with her. The conversation broke when another distant voice rang out from a separate room. A familiar one.

“Her name is Maggie.”

Negan turned the corner and came into view, startling everybody but yourself and Lydia. Negan had a way of doing that, putting people on edge solely on presence alone. His eyes met yours a moment too long when he saw you, but in the saddened sense. That was enough to make you tense. Through some smooth talk he was able to diffuse the situation, people hesitantly lowering their weapons and breaking the standoff. You wanted to say something, but you just stared at him like a deer in headlights. It was hard to even grasp that it was truly him, you really thought you’d never see him again.

“Hey, kiddo.” He spoke to Lydia as though he had never left, and you could gather by the hurt in her eyes that she didn’t appreciate it.

“What are you doing here?” Lydia replied, impartial to his presence.

That was the question. Although you feared Negan himself may have answered that the last time you saw him. Where trouble would be he would be, and here he was, knee-deep in the quicksand of trouble. So were you. He briefly glanced at you, and then pointedly wrapped his arm around the waist of the lady who’d held Maggie at gunpoint.

“We live here.” He added, the implication of ‘we’ speaking for itself.

Negan had a damn girlfriend. She looked the shallow type, and worse, she looked like something Negan might’ve had for a wife back in his reign of tyranny. There was a stench of irony.

After the awkward moment, Negan urged us to follow him into the next room through the disguise of a clothes rack concealing a hole in the wall, parting the clothing to allow everybody entry to the hidden space. Reluctantly we followed him into a room crammed full of people, including Gabriel. The celebratory hugging ensued with our group reunited and our morale strong, now it was about how we get out of here alive. The woman Negan was with had more than a few things to say. She wanted to go floor by floor, clearing and rescuing anybody who may be left trapped here. Maggie was irritated by this, you could tell, but she settled to go along with it regardless of her disapproval. Negan had tried to leave with his new squeeze in order to help them but she managed to convince him to stay, demanding Maggie go with her solo instead. Much to Maggie’s dismay, she followed after the strange lady without even allowing you to offer your help. It’d all happened so fast, and sure, your mind was occupied elsewhere. Without trying to raise suspicion you holstered your weapon and slipped into an empty room, desperately craving the loneliness and time with your thoughts in privacy. You were granted that for only a short while, the door you’d nudged closed creaking open and then closing again. Just by the weight and manner of the footsteps, you knew who it was, and he was the last person you wanted to see.

“What do you want?” You were sitting on the ledge of a windowsill, your eyes finding interest in the view from the glass.

Negan scoffed at your bluntness, taking steps toward you until he came to lean on the windowsill next to where you were sitting.

"That's all? Hi Negan, get lost Negan. That's all I get?" There was a faint presence of irritation in his tone, and you turned to face him with a vexed expression.

"What, were you expecting a hello kiss?" You taunted him for what he had said during your time in the woods together before, and the callback managed to crack a smile on his lips.

"Well if I did I'd be cheating, so I guess that's off the table." Though he was playful, you did not find it as amusing as him.

You lost interest all over again, turning to gaze out the window and wander back into your train of thought. Did it bother you? You assumed it was the hypocrisy that he in ruining someone else's life by murdering their partner sought his own, and he'd found one. Someone stupid enough to not see him for who he truly was. He observed you closely again, knowing he had little chance of getting through to you unless you were hitting him or fucking him, and only one of those was still possible. He laid his hand just above your knee, the touch pulling you from your haze to meet his eyes inquisitively.

"Look, how have you been? Just, give me something will you?" It was strange, but the amiable hint in his eyes told you he was reaching out.

But it also felt a hell of a lot like pity. You swatted his hand, and he snatched it back with a grumble of disappointment.

"What the hells wrong with you?" Negan sneered, and you felt that desire to hurt him again.

"How would your new girlfriend feel about you putting your hand on the girl you used to fuck, hm? Would she like it?" You spat bitterly, unsure where the true source of frustration had originated from.

Negan let out a long sigh, running his hand along his stubble as he did.

"Goddamn, will you keep it down?" He urged you to quiet down, to lower your voice when discussing the calamities between you and Negan.

It only encouraged you further, enjoying the look of adversity etched across his features.

"Or what? What are you gonna do about it Negan? You gonna fuck some sense into me again? Cause I don't think your girlfriend would like that."

Negan clenched his jaw, slightly squinting his eyes as he suppressed his anger.

"Her name is April." He spoke defensively, but did his best to level his tone.

"Like I give a shit about the name of your new toy?" You raised your voice, and the volume at which you spoke had Negan flinging himself towards you.

He clasped his hand against your mouth, your body rocking back to thud against the glass of the window. Your laboured breath fanned against the palm of his hand whilst your cold eyes burned holes into him, and he parted his lips to chide you.

"Be as angry with me as you damn well please, but not here. Not right now, with all those people in danger. They find us here just because of you running your pretty little mouth, and there'll be consequences." His voice became a husky, threatening whisper before he slightly lessened the pressure of his hand over your lips.

Negan stepped back whilst you glared back at him, narrowing your eyes with distaste as you breathed newly unobstructed air.

"Do you love her?" The words forced their way out of your mouth as your breathing evened out, but it felt good to say them.

Negan furrowed his brows, searching your features for any sort of falsity, but he only found imperceptible sincerity. It fell silent, and he moved from the centre of the room to standing directly opposite you, your knees pressing up against his hips with the closeness.

"What game are you playing?" He faintly cocked his head to the side with furrowed brows, deflecting your question by shifting the focus onto you.

You wouldn't let that slide.

"Answer me Negan, do you love her?" You were stubborn, and you were going to get an answer out of him whether he liked it or not.

Negan knew that too.

"I think I'd have to for me to be with her, wouldn't I?" Though faint you sensed the restraint in his voice, the hesitation with which he himself wasn't even entirely sure.

"Not necessarily." You said matter of factly with a lingering sense of perilous persistence.

Seizing the temptation of the opportunity you stretched your legs out and wrapped them around his waist, yanking him forward and leaving him captive to the enclosure of your legs. Your palms were flattened on the ledge at your sides, and your lower half had tipped over the edge a little from the force of drawing him in. Negan took a sharp breath inward as his clothed crotch was rammed directly against your groin, his hands instinctively coming up to rest on the sides of your thighs. It was like second nature, two fucked up puzzle pieces that just fit.

"Fuuck baby, your damn body's like a goddamn weapon." He drawled in a throaty whisper.

It was like your minds became riddled with one another again, totally taken up with the feel of the other person.

"I'll ask you again, do you love her?" You knew exactly what you were doing, entrapping him into admitting that he was doubtful as to the validity of his feelings.

He'd begun to strain against his jeans, a bulge forming that served as an answer in itself. Nevertheless, you thought you'd allow him to express it in his own words, to see if he would defy the way his body wanted you. Wanton with enticing him you rolled your hips a little, creating friction that had him squeezing his eyes shut and suppressing a groan. Negan's head lazily tipped forward a little, his forehead resting against yours.

"Shit, I don't know. I should, she's done nothing wrong. I don't know maybe something's missing." His breathing was irregular as he spoke gravelly confessions, his hands still gripping your thighs against him.

It was depraved, relishing in exposing the flaws of Negan's feelings for a woman you barely knew, but it felt so satisfying. The nights that followed after Negan's departure had been some of the strangest days you'd ever had. Alexandria was falling apart at the seams, and you weren't sure how much longer it would last. Occasionally you even caught yourself looking down into the barred window of Negan's old cell, pretending he was still down there, eyeing you up every morning as he had said. It brought a small smile to your face every morning just to reminisce over what he had admitted to you. You wanted to say something, maybe even share with him some of what you had felt in the weeks after the turmoil, but you couldn't. Instead, you lifted your head and smashed your lips against his, Negan wasting no time in returning the avid pace of your lips. It felt like the first time all over again but tinged with a subtle difference. You didn't want it to stop, didn't want to keep taking him in with small humble bites, you craved all of him. Greedily you ran your hands down his chest whilst he ran his tongue along your own, moaning into each other's mouths just from the mere contact again. One of his hands let go of your thigh and began to fumble with the button on your jeans, and your hand reached up to rest at the nape of his neck. You broke the kiss in need of air, loosening the pressure of your legs just enough for Negan to push the jeans down past your thighs, rolling them down until they rested against your calves. His fingers traced from your outer thigh to your groin, your head leaning back slightly when they came to run along your inner thigh, teasing the outer edge of your panties.

"Not gonna take your pants off?" You queried him through heavy breaths, and he grinned at you with an unnerving and diligent smirk.

"What with the way you cry and scream, and all those poor folks in the next room? Yeah, I don't think so."

He lifted his hand from the outer edge of your panties to fold all but his index and middle finger against his palm, pressing the pads of his fingertips against your bottom lip.

"Open your mouth." Negan demanded, and your lips parted ardently, his fingers pushing into your mouth as you close your lips around them.

You wet them with your tongue, Negan fixedly watching with half-lidded eyes whilst you sucked on them, earning a hum of approval. When they were wet enough he slipped them from your mouth, leaving a brief line of saliva stretching from one of his fingertips to your bottom lip. With considerable haste his fingers delved beneath the fabric of your panties, teasing your slick hole with his damp fingers. Tortorously, he had you waiting with bated breath. Negan looked over your body, a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth when he noticed your shirt.

"You're still wearing my shirt?" Negan teased, clearly revelling in the way you looked in it.

"Never go anywhere without it." You confessed, and he grinned at the thought of you having kept it all this time.

The sweetness of the moment was broken, however, the feelings of his fingers dipping in, sliding inside you with little to no resistance. Whimpers threatened to pass your lips, and so you bit down on them, stifling your sweet sounds as he began to pump his skilled digits back and forth inside you.

"Good girl." He praised you for the muffling of your noises, the pleasure he was inundating you with far outweighing your desire to challenge his touch.

It was filthy. Your friends, loved ones, and a whole cluster of strangers lie oblivious to the knowledge of Negan fucking you with his fingers in the next room, not to mention the window pressed up against your back, bound to give anyone who might look in one hell of a show. With the pace of his fingers fastening, getting deeper with every plunge, you began to struggle to suppress your noises. He sensed your efforts, your teeth dug into your lip so hard you were moments away from drawing blood, and pressed his mouth on yours. The moment he'd leaned forward you ceased biting your lip, welcoming his lips as it allowed you to breathe some of your whines into his mouth, and he groaned from the rather auditory outburst of your pleasure. He waited until your release began to build, your walls clenching his fingers, and then removed them. You broke the kiss to glower at him and he raised his brows, parting his lips to stop you from misinterpreting his sudden cease of action.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" You spoke harshly through gritted teeth.

"Hey hey, before you slap the shit out of me, just wait." Negan planted a brief kiss on your forehead in an attempt to dissuade you from being too furious with him.

With your eyes locked on one another, he lifted his fingers to his lips and briefly sucked your wetness from them, groaning as he did it. Though you wouldn't admit it the way Negan was treating you right now was incredibly attractive, the way he focused on you and what you needed, and did it expertly. After tasting you he slowly lowered to his knees, his hands gripping the inner side of your thighs and spreading your legs. With you wide open to him he traced one of his hands from your thigh to your panties, hooking his fingers in the material framing your hips and beginning to slide them down. With your palms flattened against the ledge, you used the stability to lift your body ever so slightly, providing the room he needed to ease your panties off. He pulled them down to your calves, removing both your jeans and your panties in one swift movement. You were totally exposed now, and still aching from your ruined orgasm. Wrapping his arms around your thighs to hold you in place Negan moved into the space between your legs, looking up at you with longing eyes.

"Keep it down, alright?" He reminded you sternly, his lips mere inches from where you needed him.

His tongue darted out, running along your folds. You stifled a gasp from the feeling of him licking you, fast and long strokes that had one of your hands scrambling to run your fingers through his hair, working your fingers through his slicked strands. Negan was humming his approval, sending vibrations throughout that already tempted you towards release. He was devouring you, yearning to feel you shaking on his tongue and curling your toes, the sounds of your hitched and restrained breaths as you tried not to scream from the pleasure he was giving you. Through the breathlessness and pure thrill of what the two of you were doing, you were sure you were seeing stars, one hand gripping the edge of the windowsill while the other used your grip on his hair to guide him, rocking against his tongue and chasing your own release. With one final quick swipe of his tongue your whole body began to quiver, a fluttering sensation in your abdomen that had you clasping your hand over your mouth and whimpering muffled cries of pleasure into your palm. Negan continued to lick you through your orgasm, lapping up your arousal and only prolonging the unbearable sensations that made you sensitive to the most gentle of touch. You used the hand you'd tangled in his strands to yank his greedy mouth back from the space between your inner thighs, and it was now that he could see how much you were struggling to physically suppress the vocalisation of your orgasm. Negan rose to his feet, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest to ease you through the aftershocks, hushing you through your unsteady breathlessness.

"I got you, baby, I got you. You were so good." He ran his fingers through your hair as you buried your face in the fabric of his shirt, the adrenaline gradually subsiding.

"Negan?" Your voice was muffled against the denim of his jacket, but he could make out what you were saying well enough.

"Yeah?" He replied, patiently awaiting your response.

The words were rising in your throat, like the feeling of vomit threatening to fill your mouth, it was unsavoury, to say the least. The fact that you didn't have to stare at his face while you worked up the courage to be honest with him made it a whole lot easier, and you parted your lips to speak against the material.

"I think I missed you."

Everything fell silent, the air itself stilling and allowing you to truly feel the weight of your words, even his hand had halted its stroking of your hair. When you received no response you carefully lifted your head from his chest, frightened by the possibilities of what you may be met with, all but this one. A smile was creeping onto his lips, a sincere one that had him parting his lips to return the sentiment, but he never got the chance to speak. Knocks thudded against the door, and you jumped immediately startled by the unexpected sound. In a frenzy you hopped from the ledge, the epinephrine coursing through you allowing you to stand on your unreliable footing. You scrambled to pull your panties up your legs, your pants following shortly thereafter whilst the voice of Aaron explained himself from the other side of the door.

"Negan, can you come out here? Maggie's on radio." His voice didn't sound all that enthusiastic, and the sudden communication from Maggie couldn't have been a good sign.

This was bad. Negan smoothed his hands through the mess you'd made of his hair, roughly slicking it back into place whilst you got dressed with an impossible haste you hadn't even thought yourself capable of. Negan walked to the door, his fingers resting over the handle as he turned back to check whether you were presentable again or not. Seeing you fully clothed and somewhat composed he gave you time to approach the door, your hand coming down to press on the back of his as he attempted to turn the handle, halting him. Inquisitively he watched you, curious as to the reason for the delay. With devious intentions, you leaned forward and pressed your lips against his, a brief kiss in which you tasted yourself on his mouth. Not meaning for it to be too long you broke it, your face still relatively close to his when he turned the handle and pushed the door open without warning. You immediately stepped back from him, putting distance between one another and attempting to avoid any suspicions. Negan sauntered out from the doorway, and you followed after. The atmosphere of the room seemed to have sunk more than it already had when you first arrived, and Aaron passed the radio over to Negan with a vaguely sympathetic stare.

Negan pushed the button on the radio, lifting it to his face as he spoke into it.

"I'm here Maggie."

There was a small pause between his words and Maggie's response, and you were beginning to feel as though that wasn't solely technological.

"She's gone, Negan. They came out of nowhere, there was nothing I could do. But your people are safe now." Maggie's voice rang through the cluttered speaker, and Negan's face fell.

Sure, he hadn't loved her as much as he thought, but it didn't stop it from hurting. You didn't know her well enough, but she would've held personal qualities that Negan found desirable, and for all you knew they had spent all this time together since you last saw him. Awkwardly you glanced at one another, not regretfully, but knowingly. It was cruel really. April died loving him, whilst Negan was too busy knuckle-deep in the person who wanted to tear his head off. It was disturbingly poetic. His eyes averted towards the ground, his thumb pressing against the button to radio his response.

"I'll be right down." The crackle of the radio signified the end of his message, and he slowly offered it back to Aaron.

No one really knew how to sympathise with Negan, for he never grieved the deaths he himself had caused us, so why should we his? But at the very least Aaron feigned some sort of sympathy, and you perceived Gabriel's to be far less false. But your own? Honestly, you weren't quite sure. With the commonwealth troops now dealt with, the building quiet with the aftermath of a war, the group made their way down to the first floor. As it turns out Negan had made a detour before he came to find you in the separate room, a rather important one. Hershel had snuck in the back of the pickup truck we'd arrived in, and Negan saved him from the soldier who had found him and brought him inside. He'd been able to radio through to Maggie just prior to his time with you, to let her know that he was safe and sound. You knew that she'd be grateful for that, though obviously unnerved at the thought of Hershel's life lying in Negan's hands of all people. Whilst everybody you knew huddled together and began to devise a plan of how to hide these people from the vengeance of the commonwealth Negan bundled the lifeless April into his arms, making his way outside with her. You didn't feel particularly up to speaking with anybody you knew right now, the guilt of what you had done weighing down on you, and so you followed him. You silently accompanied him throughout everything. Stood at his side whilst he carefully pushed a knife into the side of her temple to stop her from turning, the crunch of bone as the blade pushed through her skull. Even as he shovelled the hole, lowering her down into the ground before he stood to his feet and began shovelling dirt back on top. Speaking didn't feel appropriate, and you wouldn't unless he prompted you to. It was only when he was tying the twine, fashioning a makeshift cross with two sticks with the means to mark her grave, he spoke to you.

"Stay with me." His back was facing you, kneeling to the ground as he secured the cross best he could.

Having gone so long without one word you weren't sure whether you had imagined it or not at first, but given the way he paused what he was doing as you heard it, he must have.

"What?" That was all the response you could muster whilst Negan pushed the stick into the dirt.

He paused for a moment as he adjusted the cross, and then stood to his feet.

"There just isn't enough time for this shit. Not in this world. I'm standing over the grave of a woman that loved me for christ's sake. Someday, hell even tomorrow that could be you or me, and I'm not burying you." His words were undeviating, and the bluntness of them had you reeling at the mere thought of what you would say.

Negan sensed how much he had overwhelmed you, sighing as he only continued further.

"Look all I'm saying is you don't gotta look at me like you're gonna gouge my fucking eyes out a few minutes after we mess around with each other like nothing else matters."

"Okay." Your fast and snappy response had Negan raising his brows.

Truthfully, though you'd have hoped to never have to feel this way, some deranged attachment with Negan had occurred. You despised him as much as Maggie, opposed to all his past actions and would never innately forgive him for the slaughter of your friends. But when he touched you, ran his hands over your bare skin with such care, the kisses he'd litter while he fucked you into oblivion and made you feel like the most beautiful thing in the world, you couldn't get enough of it. And sure, there was a thrill element due to the rather secretive nature of the dynamic.

"I don't forgive you Negan, and I know you don't want my forgiveness, but I just need you to know where you stand." You thought you'd level the playing field, and the honesty had Negan smiling a little.

"Loud and clear, baby."

There would be no way of this ever working, of course, no sort of stability or romance to be had, and you couldn't allow so much as the faintest idea that you were sleeping with the enemy to get back to Maggie. Without a doubt, she'd kill you. It was time to head inside, to learn of the plans that the others had devised while you were outside with Negan, so you started to walk. Instead of heading straight towards the building you stopped in front of him first, leaning forward and whispering into his ear softly.

"I like you better when your mouth's busy."

He chuckled a little, locking impish eyes with you as you leaned back to look at him. Your gaze lingered for a moment, intensely sultry and unspoken eye contact that hardly needed much interpretation. After a beat passed you turned on your heel and headed back to the others, Negan trailing after you a few moments later. As opposed to the last time you saw him there was an obvious change.

You left together.

#the walking dead negan #negan smith #negan twd #negan smut #negan x y/n #negan x you #the walking dead #the walking dead fanfiction #twd fanfiction #twd fic #twd negan #negan fic #daddy negan #negan the walking dead #jeffrey dean morgan

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bm-european-art · 3 years

Photo

Holy Family with Saints John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria, Marco Palmezzano, 1521, Brooklyn Museum: European Art

Size: 23 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (60.3 x 92.1 cm) frame: 37 1/2 x 51 1/4 in. (95.3 x 130.2 cm) Medium: Tempera and oil on poplar panel

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4708

#marcopalmezzano #europeanart #brooklynmuseum #museumarchive

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imamotherfuckingstar-lord · 6 years

Text

Someone Special

Daryl Dixon x Reader

A/N: Reader is bisexual. Unedited, I’m tired.

Summary: You tell Daryl how you feel.

It was night time, Alexandria was buzzing with life; people filtering in and out of houses, drinks in hand and maybe a few alcoholic beverages as well. Daryl sat on the porch stairs, watching but not willing to participate. It was Maggie’s idea, a mixer, for everyone to get to know each other – after Deanna died and Rick saved the community, she thought everyone could use a little boost. Spirits seemed to be lifted but Daryl just sat and observed, finding it hard to assimilate. He wasn’t trying to be distant, but there was always this aching voice in his head that never allowed him to fully relax around the majority of people. He had Rick, Carol, and the others; people he considered to be family and loved – they were the ones he could be himself with, but he remembered what Aaron had told him once about trying. So, he grunted with displeasure and attempted to get up when he saw you coming.

You were a few yards away, walking close to a woman he occasionally saw around the community. He stared as you pulled the woman even closer, sneaking a sloppy kiss as her hands wrapped around your neck. Instinctively, he wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. The kiss was intimate, and he felt a fluttering in his stomach as you stopped near one of the houses, hiding from prying eyes. Your back was leaned into the wall and the woman was standing in between your legs, her hands on your face.

He finally looked away when you stopped the kissing and felt ashamed for even sneaking a peek, but his eyes again drew to you a minute later. Now you were unaccompanied, still leaning against the wall. Alone, you looked lost, subdued, and even lonely. You were almost a reflection of how he looked, and that made Daryl’s eyes move down to his lap. He fetched out a cigarette and lit it, willing himself to not look in your direction again. Instead he smoked, knee shaking anxiously.

“Think you can spare one?’

Daryl looked up from his cigarette and saw you standing there, and he nodded. You joined him on the steps, your shoulders lightly touching his and you thanked him when he passed one over with a lighter. His head stared forward as you lit the cigarette and leaned back on your elbows, exhaling with a quiet sight. Neither of you spoke, just sat there under the night sky and the little humming of words streaming from inside the nearby houses. You stared up at Daryl, his profile in slight view – the two of you had been occasional runners together, sometimes you’d go with Aaron and him to scout out new community members. Usually when Aaron was around, he facilitated any conversations between the three of you. You were big on humor and would get a few chuckles from Daryl, here and there.

“Why aren’t you at the party?”

“Ain’t my thing.”

Moving back into a sitting, you exhaled again. “When I was inside the house it felt like everything was normal, back to the way it was before, and that’s weird as fuck.”

Daryl scoffed. “My life was never like that before.”

You laughed too loud and he looked over at you, holding back a smile as you apologized. “I guess everyone was different back then…shit, it seems like too long ago.”

“Yeah, ain’t never going back,” he said, glancing over to you. He felt bad, in that moment for spying on you earlier, so he took a long drag and exhaled. “I saw you earlier, with that woman.”

“Oh, Cindy,” you inhaled, the smoke dispersing in the air. “She’s pretty nice.”

Daryl scoffed and you gave him a funny look, asking what that was for. “I didn’t know you were into girls.”

“I’m not into girls, I’m into women,” you pointed out with a smile, nudging him playfully. “And please tell me you aren’t like some of these folks here. They are nice, but the shit I have heard about Aaron…”

“Fuck that,” he grumbled, flicking his cigarette to the ground. “I ain’t saying that, it’s just…”

“I like men too,” you interrupted, giving a shrug. “It’s not that complicated, it’s more…it’s like if I like someone, I like them, that’s all.”

“It’s that easy, huh?”

You stared at the man, and even in the dark, he was attractive. “I guess it could be complicated.”

“How?”

The shame washed over you then, like it had a long time ago. It wasn’t like you were this terrible person, everyone had moments in their life they regret, and you figured telling Daryl the truth would solidify your friendship or even more, at least on your part.

“I was married before,” you said quietly, eyes staring down at the cigarette between your fingers. “Marcos was a wonderful man, I loved him very much.”

“He dead?”

“I don’t know, when everything happened, he left me.” He grunted then, asking what kind of man would leave his wife when the world was going to shit. “The kind that’s hurt,” you explained.

He didn’t say anything and neither did you, instead the two of you watched as a Glenn and Maggie walked up to the house, hand in hand. The latter asked why you had left early and when you said you needed to keep Dixon company, Glenn grinned, and Daryl rolled his eyes. The couple said goodnight and disappeared into the house, leaving Daryl and you alone again.

“I was working in retail when I met Belinda.” Daryl’s eyes shifted over to you, waiting for you to go on. “I was married, but when she walked into the break room, everything stopped mattering. It wasn’t right, I know. I’m such an asshole for saying this but I couldn’t help it.”

“You ain’t an asshole, it just is what it is.”

“Sure, right now, that’s easy to say – the dead fucking walk and our world is in chaos, but back then? When we had a marriage and a mortgage, it wasn’t so easy,” you admitted, telling him that Marcos found out about the affair a week before the world went to shit. “I was going to ask for a divorce, but I got the apocalypse instead.”

“And you think Cindy is the new Belinda?”

His question made you chuckle, which caused him to stare at you in confusion and a bit of annoyance. Reaching out your hand to his shoulder, you apologized, which you seemed to be doing a lot and explained that you weren’t looking to find another Belinda.

“She was too special to be replaced, she represented a small time in my life where I was my happiest – if that makes sense.”

Daryl nodded. “How long did you have with her?”

“After everything happened, we were together for three months. She got bit one night and then I was alone until Aaron found me. And like I said, Cindy’s nice and all, but I don’t want nice.”

He grunted then, low and as if he knew what you meant, but you weren’t sure he did. Daryl, as far as you knew, hadn’t been linked to anyone in the community or in Rick’s group. At first you thought something was going on with Carol and him, but that was shut down by Glenn. In the end, Daryl just became this mysterious box you wanted to open and the feeling you had, when he was around, hadn’t been missed by you either.

“What’s wrong with nice?”

Cindy was a nice person; caring and sweet, but at the end of the night, you hadn’t wanted to go home with her – not after catching a glimpse of Daryl alone.

“We live in a world were anyone could die at any minute. I loved Marcos, I truly did but then I found someone who made me feel something I hadn’t before, and I lost her too quickly. And now, now I don’t want to get attached, to be with someone who I wouldn’t miss much when they die.”

“And your girl knows this?”

“She’s not my girl. I’m not a complete asshole, I’ve always been upfront about how I feel. She’s using me just as much as I’m using her. That’s what people do when who they want is unreachable.”

His eyes glanced over to you and you smiled at him – something soft and luring that made he turn away. “You want someone special, huh?”

Nodding, you took a deep breath and reached down for his hand that rested on the stairs. He didn’t move away but did look down to your hand over his. Daryl’s heart pounded away but he remained quiet letting you hold his hand tight.

“I want you, Daryl. I’ve wanted you from the moment you walked into Alexandria with that dead raccoon,” you confessed, squeezing his hand before letting go.

He sat quietly, knee shaking lightly.

You knew it was a lot to drop on the man, but it wasn’t like you had expected to do this tonight – you had gone to the party with Aaron and Eric. Mingled around for an hour waiting to see if Daryl would show before Cindy beckoned you over with promising eyes. It was the disappointment and embarrassment that made you agree to walk Cindy home. Of course, you felt bad, but the way she kissed you and the words she was saying – you knew she didn’t really want you, like you didn’t really want her. It was when you broke the kiss, near Tobin’s house, that you saw Daryl sitting on the porch. In the end, you asked for a rain check you never attended to keep and walked over to the man.

“It was a possum.”

Daryl broke his silence after a long minute, and you grinned. “Right, that sort of freaked out a bunch of people. I thought it was kind of cute…”

He scoffed but smiled – an actual honest to God smile that made your insides melt into thousand different colors. He wasn’t Belinda and you weren’t looking to replace her, but that feeling she gave you, even before you knew her – he had given you that feeling, and all you wanted to do was hold on until you couldn’t breathe.

“We might die tomorrow,” he said, eyes lingering up and down your face.

“I know, so what are we waiting for?”

Daryl let out a low breath and slowly lifted his arm around your shoulder, bringing you into his side. He was a bit stiff when you scooted even closer but after a few seconds, he relaxed and rested his hand on your lower back. As your head rested against chest, the night just as warm as his touch, you knew happiest had finally arrived and you were going to enjoy the ride.

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #daryl x reader #the walking dead

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soulhappyy · 5 years

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Como os apóstolos morreram.

1. Mateus Sofreu martírio na Etiópia, morto por uma ferida de espada.

2. Marcos Morreu em Alexandria, no Egito, depois de ser arrastado por cavalos pelas ruas até morrer.

3. Lucas Foi enforcado na Grécia como resultado de sua tremenda Pregação aos perdidos.

4. João Enfrentou o martírio quando ele foi fervido na enorme Bacia de óleo fervente durante uma onda de perseguição em Roma. No entanto, ele foi milagrosamente libertado da morte.

João foi então condenado às minas na prisão da ilha de Patmos. Ele escreveu seu livro profético do Apocalipse em Patmos. O apóstolo João foi mais tarde libertado e voltou a servir como bispo de Edessa na Turquia moderna. Ele morreu como um homem velho, o único apóstolo a morrer em paz

5. Pedro. Ele foi crucificado de cabeça para baixo em uma cruz em forma de x. De acordo com a tradição da igreja, foi porque ele disse aos seus algozes que se sentia indigno de morrer da mesma forma que Jesus Cristo havia morrido.

6. Tiago O líder da igreja em Jerusalém foi lançado a mais de trinta metros do pináculo sudeste do templo quando se recusou a negar sua fé em Cristo. Quando descobriram que ele sobreviveu à queda, seus inimigos espancaram Tiago até a morte com um taco de fuller.

Este era o mesmo pináculo onde Satanás havia levado Jesus durante a Tentação.

7. Tiago, o filho de Zebedeu, era pescador de profissão quando Jesus o chamou para uma vida de ministério.

Como um forte líder da igreja, Tiago foi decapitado em Jerusalém. O oficial romano que guardava Tiago assistiu espantado quando Tiago

defendeu sua fé em seu julgamento.

Mais tarde, o oficial andou ao lado de Tiago até o local da execução. Dominado por convicção, ele declarou sua nova fé ao juiz e Knelt ao lado de Tiago aceitou ser decapitado como cristão.

8. Bartolomeu. Também conhecido como Nathaniel. Ele era um missionário na Ásia. Ele testemunhou para o nosso Senhor na atual Turquia. Bartolomeu foi martirizado por sua pregação na Armênia, onde foi esfaqueado até a morte por um chicote.

9. Andre Ele foi crucificado em uma cruz em forma de x em Patras, na Grécia. Depois de ser chicoteado severamente por sete soldados, amarraram seu corpo à cruz com cordas para prolongar sua agonia.

Seus seguidores relataram que, quando ele foi conduzido para a cruz, André a saudou com estas palavras: "Eu desejei e esperei por muito tempo essa hora feliz. A cruz foi consagrada pelo corpo de Cristo pendurado nela". Ele continuou pregando para seus algozes por dois dias até que ele expirasse.

10. Tomé Ele foi esfaqueado com uma lança na Índia durante uma de suas viagens missionárias para estabelecer a igreja no subcontinente.

11. Judas Ele foi morto com flechas quando se recusou a negar sua fé em Cristo. ( era outro Judas: Atos 1: 13,14).

12. Matias O apóstolo escolhido para substituir o traidor Judas Iscariotes. Ele foi apedrejado e depois decapitado.

13. Paulo Foi torturado e depois decapitado pelo malvado Imperador Nero em Roma em 67 d.C. Paulo suportou uma longa prisão, que lhe permitiu escrever suas muitas epístolas às igrejas que ele havia formado em todo o Império Romano. Essas cartas, que ensinaram muitas das doutrinas fundamentais do cristianismo, formam uma grande parte do Novo Testamento.

Talvez este seja um lembrete para nós de que nossos sofrimentos aqui são realmente menores para comparar com a intensa perseguição e crueldade fria enfrentada pelos apóstolos e discípulos durante seus tempos por causa da fé.

E sereis odiados de todos os homens por causa do meu nome: Mas aquele que perseverar até o fim será salvo.

Passe adiante para encorajar outros cristãos. Por que nos sentimos sonolentos na oração, mas ficamos acordados através de um filme de 3 horas?

Por que estamos tão entediados quando olhamos para o LIVRO SANTO? Mas acham fácil ler outros livros?

Por que é tão fácil ignorar uma massagem sobre Deus?

No entanto, nós encaminhamos as mensagens desagradáveis?

Por que as orações estão ficando menores, mas bares e clubes estão se expandindo.

Por que é tão fácil adorar uma celebridade, mas é muito difícil se envolver com Deus?

Faça desta mensagem sua contribuição para o evangelho de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo.

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cutsliceddiced · 5 years

Text

New top story from Time: How Millennial Leaders Will Change America

Love ’em or hate ’em, this much is true: one day soon, millennials will rule America.

This is neither wish nor warning but fact, rooted in the physics of time and the biology of human cells. Millennials–born between 1981 and 1996–are already the largest living generation and the largest age group in the workforce. They outnumber Gen X (born 1965–1980) and will soon outnumber baby boomers (born 1946–1964) among American voters. Their startups have revolutionized the economy, their tastes have shifted the culture, and their enormous appetite for social media has transformed human interaction. American politics is the next arena ripe for disruption.

When it occurs, it may feel like a revolution, in part because this generation has different political views than those in power now. Millennials are more racially diverse, more tuned in to the power of networks and systems and more socially progressive than either Gen X or baby boomers on nearly every available metric. They tend to favor government-run health care, student debt relief, marijuana legalization and criminal-justice reform, and they demand urgent government action on climate change. The millennial wave is coming: the only questions are when and how fast it will arrive.

So what’s America going to look like when this generation rises to power? I spent the past three years trying to answer that question by crisscrossing the country, interviewing the young leaders who are among the first in their cohort to be elected to public office. I sat down with Democratic stars like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 30, and former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, and Republican up-and-comers like Representatives Elise Stefanik and Dan Crenshaw, both 35. I interviewed rookie Democratic Congresswomen like Lauren Underwood, 33, and Haley Stevens, 36, and a smattering of local leaders from California to New York, including Stockton, Calif., Mayor Michael Tubbs, 29, and Ithaca, N.Y., Mayor Svante Myrick, 32. The result is my book, The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.

If I set out to learn what millennials believe and why, I ended up with something more compelling: a glimpse of our country’s future. Millennials, after all, are starting to gain political power at a time when America looks more like a gerontocracy than ever. Donald Trump is the oldest first-term President in U.S. history, elected largely by older, white voters. He is surrounded in Washington by senior citizens like Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, 82, who can manage only a small window every day when he can “focus and pay attention and not fall asleep,” according to one Politico report. Trump’s Senate allies are similarly geriatric. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, 77, graduated from the University of Louisville when tuition ran just $330 a year, and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, 86, was kindergarten age before the chocolate-chip cookie was invented, in 1938.

It’s not just Republicans. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, 79, and two of the top Democratic presidential candidates–former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, and Senator Bernie Sanders, 78–were born before the discovery of the polio vaccine and the bikini. Many of the lawmakers who must now grapple with questions of net neutrality, cyberwarfare and how to regulate Facebook were approaching retirement age when social media was invented.

Of course, age isn’t everything. Sanders, whose politics broadly reflect the preferences of the rising millennial electorate, has emerged as a Democratic front runner in part because of his popularity among young voters, while Buttigieg is most popular among older, more moderate Democrats. And Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, has become a hero among young liberal women.

Nor will a generational uprising come all at once. Young people have historically voted at much lower rates than older people, and factors like geography, gerrymandering and voter-suppression efforts–which tend to disenfranchise college students and new voters–will conspire to diminish the power of millennials as the largest voting bloc. It may take years or even decades for millennials to be proportionally represented in the halls of power.

But a progressive youthquake is coming. Research has shown that people’s experiences in early adulthood have the greatest impact on their lifelong political leanings, and millennials, for the most part, have experienced an America riven by inequality, endless wars, a financial collapse, a student debt crisis, and inertia in the face of climate change. All that has made them distinctly more liberal than their elders. “The America we grew up in is nothing like the America our parents or our grandparents grew up in,” Ocasio-Cortez told me in an interview in her Capitol Hill office last year. “A lot of what we have to deal with are issues and decisions that were made by people in generations before us.”

According to Pew, 57% of millennials hold “consistently” or “mostly liberal” opinions, while only 12% report having conservative views. Even Buttigieg, who is often cast as a moderate in this Democratic presidential primary, is significantly more liberal than centrists of the previous generation, favoring universal health care, student debt relief and urgent action on climate change. He is also openly gay–which just a generation ago might have disqualified him from the South Bend mayor’s office, let alone the presidency. Meanwhile, Trump is deeply unpopular among young Americans. One Harvard poll found his disapproval rate among people under the age of 30 topped 70%.

There’s nothing more natural than generational turnover. Every couple of decades, a wave of elected officials begin to retire and a new generation fills the void. In the 1950s and ’60s, it was the Greatest Generation, the ones who fought WW II and led a civic revival that built the national highway system and the rockets that sent men to the moon. In the ’70s and ’80s, the so-called Watergate babies swept into office to clean up corruption and reform institutions, ushering in a new era of entrenched partisanship. And for the past 30 years, baby boomers have been running the show. They shaped American politics according to their principles of fierce individualism, embracing privatization, tax cuts and policies rooted in “personal responsibility.” Generation X’s leaders, including former Georgia house minority leader Stacey Abrams and Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley, are now ascendant.

Millennials are next. And by understanding the forces that shaped their politics, we can understand what America might look like when they’re in charge.

Tamir Kalifa—The New York Times/ReduxFormer South Bend mayor Buttigieg with supporters at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa

On Christmas Eve 1999, 16-year-old Haley Stevens opened her journal, gripped a purple marker and wrote: Haley’s Millennium Ideas. Her letters were large and looping. “The polar ice caps are going to melt,” she wrote. “Natural disasters and mad leaders at war … what we read and what we do became so unbalanced and money driven.” Like most diary-scribbling teenagers, she had a flair for the dramatic: “We won’t stop our mistakes,” she wrote. “So what the prophets predict will come true.”

Back then, Stevens was just a high school junior who filled her journal with America Online instant-message chats with boys from camp. (She printed them out and saved them for later analysis.) Now she’s a freshman Democratic Representative from Michigan’s 11th District, one of 20 millennials who were elected to Congress in 2018 in a wave of discontent with the Trump Administration.

I first met Stevens a couple of months before she won her primary. She had never held elected office, and at that point she was a long shot to win her party’s nomination, much less go on to flip her Michigan House district. Which is perhaps why she let a reporter into her mother’s bright yellow kitchen to read her childhood journals and sift through boxes of old keepsakes. “I think there’s a little bit of a misperception that people have about millennials: we do feel very called to service,” she told me at the time. “Kids of the ’90s, we grew up thinking that we were going to change the world.”

The conventional wisdom has long been that young people usually lean to the left and then become more conservative as they age, buy homes, build wealth and raise families. Winston Churchill once supposedly said, “If you’re not a liberal at 20, you have no heart; if you’re not a conservative at 40, you have no brain.” But the data tell a different story. Researchers have found that popular Presidents tend to attract young people to their party, while unpopular Presidents repel them. Those formative attitudes are persistent: if you’re disenchanted by a Republican President as a teenager, you’re disproportionately more likely to vote for Democrats well into your adult life. One Pew study of 2012 data found that those who turned 18 during the unpopular Republican Richard Nixon years were more likely to vote for Democrat Barack Obama, while those who turned 18 just a decade later, during the prosperous Ronald Reagan years, tended to vote for Obama’s GOP opponent in the 2012 presidential race, Mitt Romney.

In several studies, Andrew Gelman, a political scientist at Columbia University, and Yair Ghitza, chief scientist at Catalist, a data provider for Democratic and progressive organizations, found that political events experienced between the ages of 14 and 24 have roughly triple the impact of events experienced later in life. (Their research focused on white voters, since longitudinal data on voters of color is more difficult to find.) “It’s much more about cohort than age,” Gelman says. “One way of understanding these up and down trend lines over the decades is asking: What happened when people were young?”

Consider, then, the millennial generation’s experience of America so far. For many, their political awakening came on Sept. 11, 2001. Ocasio-Cortez, then a seventh-grader, remembers coming home early from school and watching the towers fall on television, wondering whether her mom would be home from work in time for the apocalypse. Representative Max Rose, then a high school freshman, surprised his parents after the tragedy by hanging an American flag in his messy teenage bedroom in New York City. Stefanik, who was a high school senior in Albany, N.Y., remembers watching a friend collapse on the floor because her sister worked in one of the towers. (The friend’s sister was ultimately found safe.) “It’s one of the reasons I wanted to go into public policy,” Stefanik told me later. “On that day, we became a globally aware generation.”

The millennials who enlisted to fight in the endless wars that followed would learn firsthand the consequences of American foreign policy. Crenshaw, who was also in high school on 9/11, lost his eye in Afghanistan while serving as a Navy SEAL, completing a mission he thought was a misguided use of resources by Obama’s Pentagon. Rose was injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan; his life was saved by a new kind of Stryker vehicle that has been recently funded by Congress. When Buttigieg arrived in Afghanistan as a naval intelligence officer in 2014, his fellow officers told him the war was over: he spent most of his nights in his bunk, reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace and thinking about the question Vietnam veteran John Kerry once asked during congressional testimony: “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

The young people who served in Iraq and Afghanistan often have a more comprehensive view of American military engagement than their peers. Crenshaw is a vocal supporter of American military abroad and bucked his party to oppose Trump’s proposed withdrawal of troops from Syria. He often says, “We go there, so they don’t come here.” But while the baby boomers endured the Vietnam draft, only a small fraction of millennials have served in the military, and many see the wars as folly at best, immoral at worst. To many of them, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were expensive fiascoes that shattered their sense of American exceptionalism.

In 2017, just half of millennials said they thought the U.S. should take an active part in world affairs, compared with almost three-quarters of boomers. Only about a third of millennials said they thought the U.S. was the greatest country in the world.

Meanwhile, young people weren’t doing great at home either. Thanks to a series of public-policy moves, including slashing federal funding for state colleges and institutionalizing debt as a means to pay for it, millennials ended up owing nearly four times as much in student loans as their parents did. The student debt burden in the U.S. now stands at $1.6 trillion, most of which is owed by younger generations.

Then came the financial crisis in 2008, which has had cascading effects for millennials and shaped many of their young political leaders. Ocasio-Cortez’s father died just as the economy was melting down, and as her mother fought in court to recoup her husband’s assets, Ocasio-Cortez’s younger brother Gabriel noticed bank officials prowling around taking photos of their home. He had read that having a dog on the property can slow down the foreclosure process, since the bank would have to compensate its managers with hazard pay. He started leaving the family’s Great Dane, Domino, on the porch.

Between student debt and the financial crisis, millennials are lagging behind boomers and Gen X-ers. One study found that nearly a decade after the recession, millennialled households still had 34% less wealth than older generations had at their age, and the recession prevented millennials from substantially increasing their net worth. Youth unemployment spiked to 20% after the recession, and when millennials did find jobs, they were often in the gig economy, which likely meant irregular hours and no benefits. Between 1989 and 2011, the percentage of graduates covered by employer-sponsored health insurance was halved. Millennials, as a group, are more likely to have debt, less likely to have union benefits, and less likely to own a house or a car compared with the generations before them. Those who have gotten married have done so later and had fewer children. No wonder, then, that many young people today feel that 20th century systems aren’t working. They want to build 21st century solutions for 21st century problems.

Brittany Greeson—The New York Times/ReduxStevens campaigns in her Michigan district during her 2018 congressional run

The 2008 presidential race was a galvanizing political moment for many young people. Buttigieg, who was 26 at the time, trudged through Iowa canvassing for Obama, digging out his car with his clipboard when it got stuck in the snow. Eric Lesser, who is now a Massachusetts state senator, worked as a luggage handler for Obama’s campaign. Obama’s victory was due in large part to youth enthusiasm: he won two-thirds of voters under 30.

Obama rose to power on a message of consensus building, and many of the young people who worked for him internalized that message. Stevens, who also worked for Hillary Clinton in the primary and for Biden’s vice-presidential bid in 2008, was hired to work on the new President’s auto task force. She remembers staying up all night in the Treasury Department, eating Cheerios straight out of the box as the task force tried to find a way to save the auto industry. Lauren Underwood, now a first-term Illinois Congresswoman, worked in Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services, helping implement the Affordable Care Act. “We have very high goals, just like Obama did,” says Lesser, who spent much of Obama’s first term sitting in a tiny cubby outside the Oval Office, working as a special assistant to senior adviser David Axelrod. “But we also understood that sometimes it’s the singles and doubles and triples that get you there.”

Other young people were galvanized in a different way by Obama’s focus on consensus. “A lot of our generation put our hopes into Barack Obama’s campaign,” says Waleed Shahid of Justice Democrats, a progressive organization that supports young, working-class candidates like Ocasio-Cortez in campaigns against moderate Democrats. “And then as soon as he gets into office, there’s all these things that go on that are kind of disappointing to young people.” If this was the best a transformative leader like Obama could do within the system, many people figured, then maybe the system itself was broken.

If systems were the problem, then movements–not individuals–would be the solution. In the wake of the Obama Administration, millennials began founding and joining “leaderless” social movements like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, demanding systemic overhauls to fix structural inequality and institutional racism. These groups rejected Obama’s hopeful pragmatism. “We’ve never seen bipartisanship function in society,” says Varshini Prakash, a leader of the Sunrise Movement, a group of young people agitating for a Green New Deal. “We’ve fundamentally seen our political institutions fail to fix the most existential threats of our lifetime.”

So when Sanders ran for President in 2016 on a message that the system itself was rigged, his message struck a chord. Working as a bartender in New York, Ocasio-Cortez sometimes made as little as $60 in tips in a nine-hour day. “I didn’t have health care, I wasn’t being paid a living wage, and I didn’t think that I deserved any of those things,” she told a cheering crowd of Sanders supporters in late 2019, after endorsing his presidential run. “It wasn’t until I heard of a man by the name of Bernie Sanders that I began to question and assert and recognize my inherent value as a human being.”

Among young voters, Sanders’ embrace of democratic socialism was not a liability; it was part of his appeal. Young people’s approval of capitalism dropped 15 points from 2010 to 2019, according to Gallup. By 2018, fewer than half of 18-to-29-year-olds said they supported capitalism, according to an annual poll from Harvard’s Institute of Politics; 39% said they supported democratic socialism. The word itself–socialism–became something of a generational Rorschach test: to boomers, it conjured images of Soviet gulags and Venezuelan famine; to millennials, it meant universal health care and day care, climate solutions and affordable housing.

None of this looks good for the GOP. Republicans have long done well among white voters, but millennials and their younger siblings in Gen Z (those born since 1997) are the most racially diverse generation in U.S. history. Republicans maintain strong ties to religious voters; millennials widely reject organized religion and are more openly LGBTQ than any generation before. On nearly every predictor of social conservatism–religion, race, wealth–millennials are headed one way and the GOP is headed another.

In the years before 2016, young Republicans urged their party to do a better job of appealing to millennials. Former GOP Representative Carlos Curbelo of Florida, first elected at age 34, pushed his party to embrace immigration reform and described a widespread acceptance of marriage equality among younger conservatives. “This is a live-and-let-live generation,” he says. “We don’t seek to impose our moral codes on others.” Stefanik and Curbelo both pushed their party to act on climate change, an issue that many of their septuagenarian colleagues have either dismissed or ignored. (Stefanik, who first emerged as a voice of moderation in the GOP, has now taken a hard right turn, defending Trump against impeachment and signing on as a New York co-chair in his re-election campaign.)

But Trump’s election in 2016 scrambled young Republicans’ efforts to appeal to a new generation. When Curbelo, once a rising star in the GOP, was ousted in the 2018 midterms, Trump mocked him as Carlos “Que-bella.” As Trumpism rose, many young conservatives began nursing serious doubts about their party, and some jumped ship altogether. From 2015 to 2017, roughly half of young Republicans defected from the GOP, according to Pew. Over 20% came back to the party by 2017, but almost a quarter left for good, Pew found. By 2018, only 17% of millennials identified as solidly Republican.

Conservatives may find solace in the fact that young people are still much less likely to vote than their parents or grandparents. But that may be changing too. Millennial turnout was 42% in the 2018 midterms, roughly double what it was four years prior, and they voted for Democrats by roughly 2 to 1. That turnout helped send 20 millennials to Congress, from firebrand socialists like Ocasio-Cortez in New York City to moderate seat flippers like Representative Abby Finkenauer in Iowa. And nearly 60% of Americans under 30 say they definitely plan to vote in 2020.

Michael Nigro—SipaOcasio-Cortez rallies fellow millennials at a Sanders campaign event in Queens, N.Y., on Oct. 19

These generational rifts have already defined the Democratic primary in surprising ways. Buttigieg has frequently noted that he is a member of the “school-shooting generation,” and emphasized that millennials like him will be on “the business end” of climate change. When I first met Buttigieg at a coffee shop in Manhattan in 2017, he told me he thought a lot about the 2004 commencement speech that the comedian Jon Stewart gave at the College of William & Mary. “He said, ‘Here’s the thing about the real world: We broke it, sorry’–I think he meant grownups,” Buttigieg told me, paraphrasing the speech. “He said, ‘We broke it, but the thing is, if you figure out how to fix it, you get to be the next Greatest Generation.'”

Today Buttigieg is part of a quartet of top contenders in the 2020 Democratic primary. If he wins, he’ll be the first millennial presidential nominee. And if the nomination goes instead to Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, both in their 70s, it will be because millennial voters have dragged the party to the left. Nearly 6 in 10 young Democrats favor the most progressive candidates: according to a January Quinnipiac poll, 39% of voters under 35 favor Sanders and 18% support Warren.

Which means that if 2016 was a skirmish, then 2020 could be an all-out generational war. It may take two years, or five years, or 10, but the boomers who run Washington today won’t be around forever. A surge is coming. The elections this year could tell us if it’s already here.

Adapted from Alter’s book, The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For, out Feb. 18

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

#Time #top stories #IFTTT #news

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camilaolivertm-blog · 6 years

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Bíblia Católica x Bíblia Protestante.

Entendam a diferença:

Quem já teve a oportunidade de folhear alguma edição protestante da Bíblia certamente percebeu que existe uma diferença na quantidade de livros desta e da católica. De fato, o Novo Testamento contém 27 livros tanto na Bíblia católica quanto na protestante: ele se inicia no Evangelho de Mateus e termina no Apocalipse. O número de livros do Antigo Testamento, porém, é destoante.

O cânon (lista) católico contém 46 livros e o protestante, 39. Neste, estão ausentes os livros de Tobias, Judite, Sabedoria, Baruc, Eclesiástico (Sirácida ou Sirac), I Macabeus e II Macabeus. Além disso, faltam alguns fragmentos dos livros de Ester e de Daniel.

Por que faltam estes trechos sagrados na Bíblia dos protestantes? A Igreja Católica, além das Sagradas Escrituras e da Tradição, está embasada também no Magistério. Este garante que o Evangelho transmitido e a fé professada são os mesmos ensinados por Cristo ao longo do tempo. Inicialmente, ele foi formado por pessoas escolhidas pelo próprio Jesus, os Apóstolos, cujos sucessores são, hoje, os responsáveis por confirmarem os irmãos e garantirem a guarda do depósito da fé.

No século XVI, os protestantes afastaram-se do Magistério, renegando-o. Sob a alegação de que a Igreja Católica havia se corrompido, empreenderam um grande esforço arqueológico para recuperar a chamada Igreja "primitiva". Nesse movimento, descobriram que o povo judeu possuía uma lista diferente de livros sagrados, com 39 livros - ou seja, 7 livros a menos que o cânon católico. Daí para concluírem que a Igreja Católica acrescentou os outros livros foi questão de tempo.

Os sete livros adicionais recebem o nome de deuterocanônicos. A palavra "deuteros" vem do grego δευτεροσ e significa "segundo". Eles são assim chamados pois, apesar de já constarem no cânon no Concílio de Cartago, no século IV, só foram oficializados pelo Concílio de Trento, no século XVI. Em verdade, eles já se encontravam na versão grega da Bíblia, chamada Septuaginta, só não faziam parte do texto hebraico. A partir disto, no século XIX, os protestantes decidiram abolir definitivamente os sete livros de seu cânon.

O Antigo Testamento foi compilado inicialmente em hebraico. O livro era formado por três partes: 1. a Torá que continha os cinco primeiros livros, também chamados de pentateuco; 2. O Neviim que continha os Profetas; 3. O Kethuvim que continha os Escritos. A diferença entre a Tanakh (Bíblia hebraica) e o Antigo Testamento adotado pela Igreja Católica estava no livro que continha os "Escritos".

Interessante frisar que foi muito lento o processo de canonização desses livros. Primeiramente foram canonizados os livros da Torá, posteriormente os dos Profetas e, somente muito tempo depois, os dos Escritos. Na época de Jesus o cânon da Bíblia judaica ainda não estava fechado. Portanto, os judeus, contemporâneos de Jesus, ainda debatiam sobre quais eram os livros sagrados. Por exemplo, os saduceus só criam nos livros da Torá, já os fariseus aceitavam os Profetas e os Escritos, mas não totalmente, pois achavam que a inspiração dos Escritos ainda não estava concluída.

Jesus deu uma ordem aos Apóstolos: "ide pelo mundo e evangelizai". Ora, o mundo daquela época falava o grego, que era o equivalente ao inglês de hoje. Assim, os Apóstolos começaram a pregar o Evangelho em grego. Mas como se dava isto, se a Bíblia estava em hebraico? Os Apóstolos passaram a utilizar uma tradução da Bíblia do hebraico para o grego denominada Septuaginta, que havia sido elaborada em Alexandria antes de Cristo.

Ocorre que na Tradução dos Setenta, como também é conhecida, estão contidos aqueles sete livros. Ora, qualquer biblista sério é capaz de perceber que em diversas citações do Antigo Testamento encontradas no Novo, a tradução utilizada é a da Septuaginta. Este era o livro utilizado pelos Apóstolos e foi este, portanto, que a Igreja Católica adotou.

É verdade que houve um conflito entre os cristãos e os judeus, pois estes perceberam que os Apóstolos estavam pregando o Evangelho de forma diferente e, por isso, expulsaram-nos das sinagogas. Esse fato também motivou os judeus a fecharem o cânon dos livros sagrados: eles decidiram pela exclusão definitiva daqueles sete livros que constavam na Septuaginta.

Isto, porém, só aconteceu no final do século I, ou seja, um século após a vinda de Jesus. Desta forma, os protestantes, ao aceitarem o cânon da bíblia judaica, estão desprezando a autoridade dada pelo próprio Jesus aos apóstolos e aceitando a definição dos rabinos judeus mesmo depois de Cristo.

Muito se poderia argumentar ainda nesse sentido, contudo, para os católicos basta saber que quem define o cânon das Escrituras é a Igreja. É importante lembrar também que foi esta mesma Igreja quem definiu os outros 27 livros do Novo Testamento, sobre os quais não há discussão. Portanto, uma pergunta que não pode deixar de ser feita é: por que os protestantes aceitam a autoridade da Igreja Católica que definiu os 27 livros do Novo Testamento e não aceitam a autoridade dessa mesma Igreja quanto aos 46 livros do Antigo Testamento?

Até o terceiro século o cânon do Novo Testamento não estava ainda definido. Isso é histórico. Havia muitas listas, muitas discussões acerca de quais livros deveriam ou não integrar as Sagradas Escrituras. Não há argumento que justifique a postura arbitrária dos protestantes de aderir aos judeus em detrimento da fé da Igreja.

O primeiro documento da Igreja que faz referência a esse cânon atual (46 livros no Antigo e 27 livros no Novo Testamento) foi o Concílio de Hipona, na época de Santo Agostinho. Infelizmente, não restaram consignados os atos desse concílio. Contudo, quase contemporâneo a Santo Agostinho, tem-se o Decretum Damasi, publicado no ano 382, que diz:

"Agora tratemos das Escrituras divinas, o que a Igreja católica universal deve acolher e que deve evitar.

Começa a ordem do Antigo Testamento. Gênese, 1 livro; Êxodo, 1 livro; Levítico, 1 livro; Números, 1 livro; Deuteronômio, 1 livro;, Josué, 1 livro; Juízes, 1 livro; Rut, 1 livro; Reis, 4 livros, <= Samuel, 2; Reis 2> Paralipômeno<= Crônicas> 2 livros; 150 Salmos [Saltério], 1 livro; Salamão [Salomão], 3 livros; Provérbios, 1 livro; Eclesiastes, 1 livro; Cântico dos Cânticos, 1 livro; Sabedoria, 1 livro; Eclesiástico, 1 livro.

Igualmente, a ordem dos Profetas: Isaías, 1 livro; Jeremias, 1 livro; com as Cinot, isto é suas lamentações; Ezequiel, 1 livro; Daniel, 1 livro; Oséias, 1 livro; Jonas, 1 livro; Naum, 1 livro; Ambacum [Habacuc], 1 livro; Sofonias, 1 livro; Ageu, 1 livro; Zacarias, 1 livro; Malaciel [Malaquias], 1 livro.

Igualmente a ordem das histórias: Jó, 1 livro; Tobias, 1 livro; Esdras [Hesdras], 2 livros <= 1 de Esdras, 1 de Neemias>; Ester, 1 livro; Judite, 1 livro; Macabeus, 2 livros.

Igualmente, a ordem da Escritura do Novo e eterno Testamento, que a Igreja santa e católica [romana] reconhece e venera: dos Evangelhos [4 livros:] segundo Mateus, 1 livro; segundo Marcos, 1 livro; segundo Lucas, 1 livro; segundo João, 1 livro.

[Igualmente, dos Atos dos Apóstolos, 1 livro]

Cartas de Paulo [apóstolo], em número de 14: aos Romanos, 1 [ep.], aos Coríntios, 2[ep.], aos Efésios, 1; aos Tessalonicenses, 2; aos Gálatas, 1; aos Filipenses, 1; aos Colossenses, 1; a Timóteo, 2; a Tito, 1; a Filímon [Filêmon], 1; aos Hebreus, 1.

Igualmente, as cartas canônicas [(cân. ep.], em número de 7: do apóstolo Pedro 3 cartas, do apóstolo Tiago 1 ep., do apóstolo João 1 ep., do outro João, o presbítero, 2 ep., do apóstolo Judas o Zelote, 1 ep. Termina o cânon do Novo Testamento." (DH 179 e 180)

O Catecismo da Igreja Católica em seu número 120 e seguintes ensina sobre o cânon das Escrituras:

"Foi a Tradição apostólica que fez a Igreja discernir que escritos deveriam ser enumerados na lista dos Livros Sagrados. Esta lista completa é denominada "Cânon" das Escrituras. Ela comporta 46 (45, se contarmos Jr e Lm juntos) escritos para o Antigo Testamento e 27 para o Novo:

Gênesis, Êxodo, Levítico, Números, Deuteronômio, Josué, Juízes, Rute, os dois livros de Samuel, os dois livros dos Reis, os dois livros das Crônicas, Esdras e Neemias, Tobias, Judite, Ester, os dois livros dos Macabeus, Jó, os Salmos, os Provérbios, o Eclesiastes (ou Coélet), o Cântico dos Cânticos, a Sabedoria, o Eclesiástico (ou Sirácida), Isaías, Jeremias, as Lamentações, Baruc, Ezequiel, Daniel, Oséias, Joel, Amós, Abdias, Jonas, Miquéias, Naum, Habacuc, Sofonias, Ageu, Zacarias, Malaquias, para o Antigo Testamento; os Evangelhos de Mateus, de Marcos, de Lucas e de João, os Atos dos Apóstolos, as Epístolas de S. Paulo aos Romanos, a primeira e a segunda aos Coríntios, aos Gálatas, aos Efésios, aos Filipenses, aos Colossenses, a primeira e a segunda aos Tessalonicenses, a primeira e a segunda a Timóteo, a Tito, a Filêmon, a Epístola aos Hebreus, a Epístola de Tiago, a primeira e a segunda de Pedro, as três Epístolas de João, a Epístola de Judas e o Apocalipse, para o Novo Testamento." (CIC 120)

Além disso, existem ainda mais dois documentos que citam o cânon das Escrituras. O primeiro é o Concílio de Florença, em seu Decretum pro Iacobitis, de 04 de fevereiro de 1442, que diz:

"A Igreja confessa um só e o mesmo Deus como autor do Antigo e do Novo Testamento, isto é, da Lei e dos Profetas e também do Evangelho, porque os Santos do um e do outro Testamento falaram sob inspiração do mesmo Espírito Santo; e ela aceita e venera os livros deles, compreendidos sob os seguintes títulos:

Os cinco livros de Moisés, isto é, Gênesis, Êxodo, Levítico, Números, Deuteronômio; os livros de Josué, dos Juízes, de Rute, os quatro dos Reis, os dois dos Paralipômenos, Esdras e Neemias, Tobias, Judite, Ester, Jó, os Salmos e Davi, os Provérbios, o Eclesiastes, o Cântico dos Cânticos, a Sabedoria, o Eclesiástico, Isaías, Jeremias, Baruc, Ezequiel, Daniel, os doze profetas menores, isto é, Oséias, Joel, Amós, Abdias, Jonas, Miquéias, Naum, Habacuc, Sofonias, Ageu, Zacarias, Malaquias, os dois de Macabeus, os quatro Evangelhos de Mateus, de Marcos, de Lucas e de João, as catorze cartas de Paulo: aos Romanos, duas aos Coríntios, aos Gálatas, aos Efésios, aos Filipenses, aos Colossenses, as duas aos Tessalonicenses, duas a Timóteo, a Tito, a Filêmon, a Epístola aos Hebreus, a Epístola de Tiago, as duas cartas de Pedro, as três João, uma de Tiago, uma de Judas, os Atos dos Apóstolos e o Apocalipse de São João." (DH 1330)

O segundo é o famoso Concílio de Trento que, em 08 de abril de 1546, publicou o Decreto sobre os livros sagrados e as tradições a serem acolhidas. Vejamos o que diz:

"O Sacrossanto, Ecumênico e Geral concílio de Trento, congregado legitimamente no Espírito Santo e presidido pelos três legados da Sé Apostólica, propondo-se sempre por objetivo que exterminados os erros se conserve na Igreja a mesma pureza do Evangelho, que prometido antes na Divina Escritura pelos Profetas, promulgou primeiramente por suas próprias palavras, Jesus Cristo, Filho de Deus e Nosso Senhor, e depois mandou que seus apóstolos a pregassem a toda criatura, como fonte de toda verdade que conduz à nossa salvação, e também é uma regra de costumes, considerando que esta verdade e disciplina estão contidas nos livros escritos e nas traduções não escritas, que recebidas na voz do mesmo Cristo pelos apóstolos ou ainda ensinadas pelos apóstolos, inspirados pelo Espírito Santo, chegaram de mão em mão até nós.

Seguindo o exemplo dos Padres católicos, recebe e venera com igual afeto de piedade e reverência, todos os livros do Velho e do Novo Testamento, pois Deus é o único autor de ambos assim como as mencionadas traduções pertencentes à fé e aos costumes, como as que foram ditadas verbalmente por Jesus Cristo ou pelo Espírito Santo, e conservadas perpetuamente sem interrupção pela Igreja Católica.

Resolveu também unir a este decreto o índice dos Livros Canônicos, para que ninguém possa duvidar quais são aqueles que são reconhecidos por este Sagrado Concílio. São então os seguintes:

Do antigo testamento: cinco de Moisés a saber: Gênesis, Êxodo, Levítico, Números e Deuteronômio. Ainda: Josué, Juízes, Rute, os quatro dos Reis, dois do Paralipômenos, o primeiro de Esdras, e o segundo que chamam de Neemias, o de Tobias, Judite, Ester, Jó, Salmos de Davi com 150 salmos, Provérbios, Eclesiastes, Cântico dos Cânticos, Sabedoria, Eclesiástico, Isaías, Jeremias com Baruc, Ezequiel, Daniel, o dos Doze Profetas menores que são: Oseias, Joel, Amós, Abdías, Jonas, Miquéias, Naum, Habacuc, Sofonías, Ageu, Zacarias e Malaquias, e os dois dos Macabeus, que são o primeiro e o segundo.

Do Novo Testamento: os quatro Evangelhos: Mateus, Marcos, Lucas e João, os Atos dos Apóstolos escritos por São Lucas Evangelista, catorze epístolas escritas por São Paulo Apóstolo: aos Romanos, duas aos Coríntios, aos Gálatas, aos Efésios, aos Filipenses, aos Colossenses, duas aos Tessalonicenses, duas a Timóteo, a Tito, a Filemon, aos Hebreus. Duas de São Pedro Apóstolo, três de São João Apóstolo, uma de São Tiago Apóstolo, uma de São Judas Apóstolo, e o Apocalipse do Apóstolo São João.

Se alguém então não reconhecer como sagrados e canônicos estes livros inteiros, com todas as suas partes, como é de costume desde antigamente na Igreja católica, e se acham na antiga versão latina chamada Vulgata, e os depreciar de pleno conhecimento, e com deliberada vontade as mencionadas traduções, seja excomungado.

Fiquem então todos conhecedores da ordem e método com o qual, depois de haver estabelecido a confissão de fé, há de proceder o Sagrado concílio e de que testemunhos e auxílios servirão principalmente para comprovar os dogmas e restabelecer os costumes da Igreja." (DH 1501-1505)

Ao contrário dos protestantes, os católicos não pertencem à religião de um livro, mas sim de uma Pessoa: Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, que está vivo e presente em sua Igreja "una, santa, católica e apostólica". Ela celebra em sucessão apostólica os mesmos sacramentos, crê na mesma fé, nas mesmas Escrituras e está sob o mesmo governo eclesiástico com o Papa e os Bispos em comunhão com ele.

Como disse Santo Agostinho: "Ego vero Evangelio nos crederem, nisi me catholicae Ecclesiae commoveret auctoritas" (eu não creria no Evangelho, se a isto não me levasse a autoridade da Igreja católica.)

Padre Paulo Ricardo

Copiado por Camila Oliver ™

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usnewsaggregator-blog · 7 years

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Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Faces 12 Federal Charges

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/former-trump-campaign-chair-paul-manafort-faces-12-federal-charges/

Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Faces 12 Federal Charges

Updated at 4:39 p.m. ET

Paul Manafort, the veteran GOP operative who once chaired Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a variety of financial and lobbying crimes. The charges, lodged against Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates, arose from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The indictment, which was unsealed on Monday, contains 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading statements under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.

Both men pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C. The indictments represent the first cases to emerge from Mueller’s apparently wide-ranging investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to influence the outcome. Reports on Friday indicated that the first charges were expected on Monday.

Robert Mueller Is Just Getting Started

In addition, the special counsel’s office announced a plea agreement with George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign, in which he acknowledged making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russians.

The indictment alleges an elaborate scheme, perpetrated by Manafort and Gates, to hide foreign income from the federal government and to move it into the U.S. without paying taxes. Prosecutors allege that the two men laundered $75 million through offshore accounts, using noted financial havens such as Cyprus, the Grenadines, and the Seychelles. They then slowly moved that money into the U.S., transferring it in round amounts. Manafort, the indictment alleges, used the cash to buy real estate, then obtained loans using the real estate as collateral—effectively laundering the money by concealing its origin.

“Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States, without paying taxes on that income,” prosecutors wrote.

Even setting aside the money questions, however, prosecutors claim that Manafort and Gates worked to avoid disclosing their work for foreign governments, as is required by law. The indictment alleges that they concealed that work by hiring two firms to lobby on behalf of Ukraine’s government, masking their own role. They claimed only that they had connected the government and the firms, and said they’d played no direct role in lobbying. Further, the indictment says that in November 2016 and February 2017, Manafort and Gates submitted false and misleading statements to the Justice Department in letters.

In a statement, Manafort attorney Kevin Downing said the indictment reinforced that there’s no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Today you see an indictment brought by the Office of Special Counsel that is using a very novel theory to prosecute Mr. Manafort regarding a FARA filing. The United States government has only used that offense six times since 1966 and only resulted in one conviction,” Downing said. “The second thing about this indictment that I, myself, find most ridiculous is a claim that maintaining offshore accounts to bring all your funds into the United States, as a scheme to conceal from the United States government, is ridiculous.”

There have been many signs that Manafort, 68, was a target of the Mueller investigation, including a no-knock, early-morning raid on an apartment that he owns in Alexandria, Virginia, in July. The indictment largely confirms press reports about alleged money laundering. It’s unclear whether Mueller might bring more charges against Manafort or Gates. Among the other possible areas of interest are millions that Manafort apparently received from the political party of the deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, a client of Vladimir Putin for whom Manafort worked, and an agreement with Oleg Deripaska, another Putin ally with whom Manafort signed an eight-figure lobbying contract. In June, Manafort retroactively filed disclosures under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for work between 2012 and 2014.

Gates, who is 45, is a junior partner and Manafort’s protégé. Like Manafort, he joined the Trump campaign. He remained after Manafort left, but was forced out of a pro-Trump outside group in April amid the Russia probe.

Political Repercussions

The first charges in Mueller’s case come at a delicate time, and the way Washington reacts to them could set the stage for the next weeks, months, or even years in American politics.

Although the political world has been focused on questions of whether there were links between the Trump campaign and Russia, the charges unsealed on Monday do not get to that matter, nor do they involve President Trump himself, except through his hiring of Manafort.

In recent days, an increasing number of Republican officeholders and conservative pundits have suggested that Mueller’s investigation should be disbanded. A campaign among conservative journalists has sought to recirculate an old story about a uranium deal as new information, framing it as more pressing than potential Russian collusion with the Trump team.

“The president tweeted last night that Republicans, all in caps, needed to ‘DO SOMETHING,’” Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told me Monday. “Hard to escape that was a reaction to the indictments. What is he asking Republicans to do? It certainly looks like he’s asking them to focus on his vanquished opponent.”

Although it sometimes feels as though the Russia probe has been years in the making, Mueller was only appointed to his post in May, shortly after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. In comparison with other, similar investigations, like the Clinton-era Whitewater case, the first charges here come unusually soon. While Mueller, a respected former FBI director himself, has tended to shun politics, and his team has been unusually leak-resistant, bringing charges now could serve the purpose of justifying his investigation by showing results.

The president’s reaction to the charges is another X factor. At times in the past, Trump and his allies have issued threats to the Mueller team through the press, attempting to restrict the scope of the investigation by suggesting that Trump might fire Mueller. Sunday morning, Trump tweeted, “All of this ‘Russia’ talk right when the Republicans are making their big push for historic Tax Cuts & Reform. Is this coincidental? NOT!”

Although Trump has been less eager to defend Manafort than some other former aides swept up in the investigation—former Press Secretary Sean Spicer once claimed that Manafort “played a very limited role” on the campaign—the president could still attempt to force Mueller out. That would threaten a reprise of the 1973 Saturday Night Massacre, in which President Richard Nixon, seeking to fire the Watergate special prosecutor, saw his attorney general and deputy attorney general resign. Solicitor General Robert Bork did fire the prosecutor, but the incident ultimately hastened the end of Nixon’s presidency.

Manafort’s Background

Although news of the pending indictment inspired fevered political oddsmaking over the weekend, Manafort should perhaps always have been the favorite for the first indictment. Although Mueller only assumed his role in May, he took over a preexisting investigation of Manafort. Reports in September indicated that Manafort had been under FBI surveillance in his apartment at Trump Tower for at least two stretches, once starting in 2014 and ending before Manafort joined the Trump campaign, and again starting sometime in 2016. In an unusual move this summer, Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni was compelled to testify before a grand jury. The Times reported in September that Mueller had been told he would be indicted.

Manafort, a veteran Republican operative, joined the Trump campaign in March 2016. He was hired for his expertise in counting delegates at conventions, which stemmed from his work successfully defending President Gerald Ford against a challenge from Ronald Reagan at the 1976 Republican National Convention. Manafort was also a former business partner of Roger Stone, the flamboyant on-again, off-again Trump adviser who is also said to be under scrutiny in the current probe.

Shortly after Manafort joined the team, Trump locked up enough delegates to effectively clinch the nomination. But on a troubled campaign filled with inexperienced and often ineffective workers, Manafort soon rose through the ranks, becoming the campaign chair in May. The previous campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was soon pushed out amid campaign struggles and a controversy over his grabbing and manhandling a journalist at a Florida campaign event.

In June 2016, Manafort was present at a meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and several Russians, in which, according to emails, the Trump team expected to receive damaging information about the Hillary Clinton campaign. Trump Jr. was also told in emails that the Kremlin backed his father’s campaign.

Although Manafort had made a name on that 1976 campaign, he spent much of the intervening time working abroad, including for some unsavory clients, such as Ferdinand Marcos and Mobutu Sese Seko. Curiously, despite his hired-gun approach to political work, Manafort agreed to work for the Trump campaign for free.

More recently, Manafort had worked for Yanukovych, a notoriously corrupt Kremlin ally who fled the country amid a popular revolt in 2014. Among other accusations, Yanukovych is alleged to have embezzled money from the state. In August 2016, The New York Times reported on handwritten ledgers that appeared to record nearly $13 million in off-the-books payments from Yanukovych’s political party to Manafort.

Manafort also had done a variety of forms of business with Deripaska, many involving a series of offshore shell companies. In one case, Deripaska and Manafort were involved in an $18 million deal to buy Ukrainian cable-TV assets. In the mid-2000s, Manafort had signed a $10 million per year deal with Deripaska, which documents obtained by the Associated Press indicated was to boost Putin’s profile overseas, though Manafort says the deal was simply a personal one with Deripaska. The two men apparently later had a falling out over a failed deal, with Deripaska filing a suit against Manafort in a Cayman Islands court.

Recently, my colleagues Julia Ioffe and Frank Foer have reported on emails between Manafort and a Deripaska aide in which Manafort appears to be trying to use his position on the Trump campaign as leverage in his relationship with Deripaska, asking, “How do we use to get whole”? Manafort appears to have been in debt to Deripaska over the failed deals. (In October, Maloni asserted to NBC News that Manafort was not in debt to any former clients, then revised his statement to remove that claim.)

Looking for Clues to the Mueller Strategy

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller in May, one result of Trump’s abrupt firing of Comey. Initially, the White House pinned the dismissal on Comey’s handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email address and server, but Trump himself soon said he had fired Comey over the Russia probe, of which he disapproved. Trump has also pressured Comey to publicly clear him, which Comey declined to do.

In the aftermath of the firing, with accusations of obstruction of justice being lobbed at Trump, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions already recused from any Russia matters, having failed to disclose meetings with Russians to the Senate during his confirmation process, Rosenstein took the unusual step of appointing a special prosecutor to handle the case, a tool that’s used when the standard Justice Department faces too many conflicts to be seen as fairly handling a matter.

Mueller’s appointment has been a source of friction between Trump and his Justice Department. The president has claimed ignorance of Rosenstein, whom he nominated for deputy attorney general, and claimed falsely that he was a Democrat. Trump also spent weeks this summer lambasting Sessions publicly and privately, upset that Sessions had recused himself and thus made the Russia probe a greater danger, and made it harder to fire Mueller.

Mueller’s investigation has been, by the standards of today’s leak-happy Washington, unusually opaque and careful with information. Much of what the press and the public have learned so far has appeared to come from other sources—Congress, other organizations with which Mueller is partnering, or defense teams.

In that low-information situation, the indictment of Manafort and Gates will be carefully scrutinized for clues to Mueller’s strategy. Of particular interest is the fact that Trump appears nowhere in the indictment, nor are there allegations of election interference. Outside observers have long speculated that Mueller might attempt to “flip” Manafort, convincing him to testify against Trump in exchange for leniency. While the no-knock raid suggested distrust between Manafort and the special counsel’s team, the focus on Manafort’s personal crimes leads some analysts to believe that Mueller might still hope to flip him. One of the higher-profile members of Mueller’s team, Andrew Weissmann, is an expert in witness-flipping. The focus on fara, meanwhile, could expand the Mueller probe into going after Democrats, too. Tony Podesta, brother of the Clinton campaign chair, John, and his firm, the Podesta Group, are also said to be under investigation for working with Manafort on matters related to the Ukraine.

This speculation is, however, just that. The public still knows very little about the Mueller investigation or when new indictments might emerge. But the Manafort–Gates indictment and the Papadopoulos plea mark two important milestones. First, they place the investigation close to Donald Trump, with a top aide with whom the president was reportedly still speaking as late as January. Second, they show that Mueller is willing to work incrementally, going after individuals as he has the evidence to charge them, rather than working toward a single, blockbuster conclusion.

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