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comradeboyhalo · 7 months ago

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Q!BadBoyHalo Lore Masterpost Pt.2

Pt. 1 here. If you're familiar with early QSMP, I think it's fine to start with this one. A recap on most of Bad's backstory can be found here.

Links lead to youtube vods, but they're also available on Bad's twitch channel. Some vods have been excluded for dropped plotlines.

☆: Most important vods in my opinion for q!Bad’s lore if you’re really short on time.

☆Dapper's Secret: Really fun and cute vod of Leo babysitting, but towards the end of the vod (5 hours in), Dapper asks Bad some cryptic questions/warnings.

Nether Trip: The islanders go to the Nether and find some books. Unsure of future relevance.

☆New Members: Bad and the other islanders go on a mission to rescue the new members from ice chambers. He also talks about being a demon after meeting Ironmouse.

Dapper's Secret Pt 2: 3 hours in, Bad searches for Dapper and can't find him. He investigates Dapper's shed and walks inside to see blueprints and notes. He eventually finds Dapper at his ant farm.

Dapper's Secret Pt 3: Dapper remains cryptic about his projects throughout the stream. Five hours in, Bad and Pomme enter the shed again.

☆Dapper's Secret Pt 4: QSMP Among Us for the first 2 hours. Afterwards, Bad starts stream reading one of Dapper's books, and he and Pomme later find Dapper at the cemetery.

Furniture Thief: Someone has stolen furniture, and Bad is accused of the crime.

☆☆ Dapper's Experiments: The reveal of what Dapper has been working on. This stream is both heartbreaking and necessary to understand all following BBH lore. (This stream mentions Bonnie the Felsteed, and you can learn more about them here. Not necessary though.)

☆☆ The Eggs' Disappearance: Bad finds out that the eggs have vanished in the first part of the stream. This is the beginning to Bad slowly losing saturation in his skin.

☆ Soul Vultures: At the end of the stream, around 3:18:00, Bad goes back to Dapper's laboratory. The beginning of this stream connects afterwards.

☆ Acceptance: At 1:40:00, Bad questions Fed workers, reminisces in the graveyard, then introduces us to his new...guest. 1:38:00 in the next vod connects.

The Maze: Introduction to Boo, and then the islanders investigate a maze linked to the egg's disappearance. Stream ends at Dapper's laboratory.

Bagi's Arrival: The islanders break out Bagi, and Bad wishes a missing Pomme happy birthday.

☆Interrogation: In the beginning of the stream, Bad questions the Fed Worker. Bad continues to visit the worker (Ron) at the end of each stream following.

☆Puppet: The stream opens with Bad visiting Ron again. Bad and Foolish talk around 3:45:00 and it's genuinely one of the most insane conversations Bad has every had, lorewise. I'd also recommend watching it from Foolish's POV, because his facial expressions show everything.

Who Can We Trust: Bad has Baghera meet Ron. The Federation and the other islanders start investigating Bad for suspected kidnapping. Baghera also has a great conversation with Bad here about Ron 45 minutes in.

☆The Break: Bad has a complete breakdown (tw derealization, paranoia) of Cucurucho in his home.

☆☆Opening Up to Tina: Now this is thee most insane conversation Bad has ever had. Tina's POV, and Bad lays out all his feelings on the table 5 hours in.

Ron's Home: 3 hours in, Bad reveals what happened to Ron.

Día De Los Muertos: Very sweet event where the dead eggs visit again, and Bad spends the day with them.

☆☆Purgatory: Day 1 and the Day 13 are the two must-watch vods. Link goes to the playlist. Would recommend watching the entirety of Purgatory to understand the elite Soulfire bond.

☆☆Are We Back?: Bad's return from Purgatory, and the start of an arc that will take him from now to the QSMP's end.

☆The Desert: Continuing from the previous vod, each stream opens with Bad wandering a strange, washed-out desert. The openings are a must-watch, and the rest of the vods are a great insight onto Bad's declining health as well.

New Eggs: Bad meets the new eggs (no special intro on this one). Also 34:00 is both subtle and heartbreaking.

Dapper Wakes Up: Dapper and Bad reunite

Climbing Up

No Escape From Reality: more of a chill day, 4:50:00 really shows his worsened state

QSMP Prison: Mini-event that's not super relevant for Bad's personal lore, but it was very fun to watch! Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 (starts 4 hrs in)

New World: Starts 3:15:00 in, Bad wakes up into the new QSMP world. Chill stream, mostly exploring the new environment.

☆Healing and Recovery: Bad wakes up with memory loss.

Before the End: The next vods are all a slow build up of Bad's deteriorating health, as shown mainly through his skin. Recommending 8:00:00 of this vod and 6:00:00 of this vod for some sweet egg talks.

Happy Saturday's: Bad builds a house with the late night eggs.

☆☆ Sweet Despair: What's this? Oh it's fucking cinema. The culmination of every single stream before it.

Egg POVs: The next vods follow around Dapper and Pomme as they cope with their father's death, from the POV of the ghosties. Not 100% necessary to watch because it's mostly slice of life, but I'd suggest watching the first one.

Absence / Fading Light / Funeral Preparations / Happy Days / The Last Day

☆☆Reunion: Bad comes back. I think this vod is a great ending to this arc (but you can also watch the follow-up vod here), as the stream itself follows such a strong storyline.

Please let me know if any links are broken and if there are any vods I should add!

#badboyhalo #qsmp #masterpost #badboyhalo vods #qsmp vods

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selamdotcom · 4 days ago

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𝓣he 𝓛ast of 𝓤s 𝓓r ☮︎ introduction ヾ៸

There are a million ways we should've died before today, and a million ways we can die before tomorrow. But we fight for every second we get to spend with each other. ━ Left Behind, Riley Abel.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 ━ In the terminal weeks before a global descension, four-year-revered investigative columnist, Charles Durand lit a fuse that would blow his career and set a future of chaos into motion. After uncovering patterns of unexplainable fungal infections spreading from Brazil to southern Texas, from early 2012 to mid-2013, Charles submitted an article that was titled "Incurable Brain Devourer," by his Times publishers. The article was immediately intercepted and heavily censored by the federal authorities and Charles was arrested a month later on accounts of Terrorism Speculation. His immediate trial and unjust sentencing took place only six hours after his arrest and persisted in a series of violent and disease-spreading protests.

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓. 𝟐𝟔𝐓𝐇 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑 ━ Following the outbreak of Cordyceps Brain Infection (otherwise called CBI), the Federal military had succeeded in demoting the known government and rebranded themselves into FEDRA; ceasing control over what wastelands remained after the collateral destruction of public cities, along with absolving Charles Durand of his aforementioned crimes. No longer a savior or conspiracy martyr, Charles and his wife, Marietta were relocated to Area Five of the San Francisco QZ: working through exhaustion in the slums of a desert purgatory.

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑 ━ On the fourteenth of November, as a cold desert night bled into a sun-soaked California dawn, Marietta endured a difficult and long lasting birth of fraternal twins: Niklaus and Lilette Durand, but due to remised FEDRA medics and food shortages affecting her diet, Charles Durand would raise them on his own. As the oldest of the two siblings, Nick assumed a protective role over his sister, keeping her safe from the dangers of the outside world, and those she posed to herself. Her honest problem-starting got him into more fights than she did, but that same skill got him out of a Federal bind every time.

𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 ━ By early 2034, the San Francisco zone, once a diamond in the rough, was dying. Rumors circulated that leadership was crumbling under military infighting while citizen half-rations were cut and quartered, avoidable famines started outbreaks of hypotensive diseases in labor regions like Areas Three and Five, limiting supply transportation, creating more outrage. After the Area Five water filtration system was contaminated with Area One wastewater and citizens actually began dying, Charles Durand included, riots unlike old-world had ever seen arrived within the walls of the San Francisco QZ. FEDRA commanders ushered martial law on all affected areas but overfed and underworked officers were no match for the masses of starving and angry mobs; rioters eventually pushing out what Federal officers weren’t strung up as a lesson. Those who stayed in San Francisco afterwards joined an organization of slavers who relocated to the Santa Barbara coast, and those who didn’t, took their chances in the wastelands.

𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐆𝐔𝐍 ━ While Charles Durand had left the twins a ghost of an old-world legacy, Niklaus and Lilette honed their skills to build their own dynasty of criminal deception outside the quarantine zone. Niklaus, ever the Polyglot Linguist, made his knowledge his greatest weapon, using what he understood about community and languages to infiltrate FEDRA convoys and traveling mercenary groups he viewed as invasive or even barbaric. Lilette, the silk spine of their operations, manipulated the art of seduction and psychological warfare to lower guards and trick enemies into believing they are allies. They used their knowledge on old-world darkness and dragged it into a kill-or-be-killed world, using infamous luring tactics from renowned killers and criminals, and never staying put long enough to be caught. In a wasteland with no communication, the twins had gained more infamy than their father had.

𝐒𝐍𝐔𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ━ Niklaus and Lilette curated a plan to infiltrate a Firefly checkpoint in the Salt Lake zone and check out with a few bags of supplies, but when they approached the often-guarded outer perimeter of the city core, they were met with more Infected than common foe. The mixed placement of FEDRA tanks and Firefly vehicles displayed a Pyrrhic victory, Saint Mary's hospital was charred and deserted by whatever remained of the Federal militia, who declared the Firefly group a national extinction. If any of the Fireflies survived at all, they had no time to bury their dead before they became overrun by Infected, who had infested every dark corner of the city today.

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄 ━ Upon entering Colorado as a detour from the overrun Utah, Niklaus and Lilette stumbled into the den of wasteland fiends: victims of the grueling affects of starvation, a group turned to eating human flesh just to see another day, now hunted human meat for the love of the game. A simpleton trade of venison would get us close enough to rob them all by nightfall, they had thought, but David Brough and his fiendish friends had set a trap of their own. After uncovering their true nature and being held unjustly for a short time in a meat lock, Lilette and Niklaus used their skills and agilities, and defeated what they could of the fiends before fleeing on foot, barren of all supplies, and in worse shape than when they started. From then, the twins gave up on a life of Hunting-Killing, and Lilette had sustained a permanent injury to her right leg from the hip. The twins abandoned their reputations and decided to trek for Jackson, Wyoming. Not to rob or conquer it. To rest.

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒 ━ The Jackson Sanctuary is a pocket of peace in a large pool of violent chaos, and one that welcomed the twins despite their known reputation as deceivers. Tommy Miller is a man of loyalist principle, and saw himself in the eyes of the lost newcomers. Maria, his wife and leader of the county community, saw Niklaus's linguistic abilities as too useful to let slip out of her grasp. Over the course of their residency, Lilette and Niklaus developed close friendships and clean reputations to get them by in a community priding itself of peace, joining the patrol and engineering ranks with Jesse Han and Natalee Linden: experienced youth patrolmen and weapon engineers who they formed a bonded clique with, unspokenly led by one immune; Ellie Williams. One of the few surviving zone dwellers of the now-destroyed Boston Quarantine zone, who came to Jackson with a black market smuggler and brother of Tommy, Joel Miller. As of today, the twins serve as trusted members of their community.

𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 ━ Lost without her abandoned cause, fed to the grief of her dead father, Abigail Anderson alone pressed a carbon steel barrel to her chin while her ally's back turned, as became ritual to her daily survival in year 2036. Lilette Durand, best scout for Jackson despite a nerve-dead and metal-braced leg, stumbled upon the aimless survivor and her friend, Manny Alvarez, while patrolling the sanctuary perimeter. After leaving the corrupt Washington Liberation Front militia, following the death of Manny's ailing father, the two set out in search of the western haven earning renown; a quest that took a mental toll on the she-wolf every day, but led to an eventual stop. To Abby Anderson, Lilette Durand was a gateway to more than a serene sanctuary; she was the key to a prosperous future worth living.

return to hub page.

#reality shifting #shifting community #shifting antis dni #shifting blog #shifting script #shifting motivation #the last of us #the last of us game #tlou dr #dr intro #shiftblr #shifting diary #shiftingrealities #free palestine #desired reality #shifting

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preservationofnormalcy · 3 months ago

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ITEM NUMBER: 8896

ITEM: Wizardwares Gnome Home Wondersponge

ITEM HISTORY: Item 8896 is a novelty kitchen sponge, sold briefly in mundane and esoteric markets in 1988 under the name Gnome Home Wondersponge. Manufactured by the now-defunct Wizardwares Inc., the sponge caused significant political controversy and property damage before its removal.

The sponge purported to replicate the effects of a brownie, a fae subtype known for its beneficial (if capricious) effects in the home. Typical brownies were in short supply at the time, being both rare in North America and engaged in unionization efforts during the late 1980s. Though Wizardwares claimed that the introduction of the sponge to markets during the widespread strikes was a coincidence, the North American Seelie Court released a statement claiming the sponge was “a clear attempt to undermine hardworking American fairies,” with NASC Chairfae Jack B. Nimble going as far as saying it was a legal strikebreaking tactic.

The sponge’s method of operation is not entirely clear - Wizardwares enchanters would claim in later inquiries that the sponges were “loaded with thaumometric data from ten million instances of dishes being washed by hand.” Later investigations would conclude that up to 97% of those “ten million” instances were themselves not technically existent, extrapolated from the first 3% using quantum timeline analysis. This could help explain the sponge’s deleterious effects.

The sponge could be used as a normal cleaning implement, but at some point during the night, the item would typically animate and continue cleaning, usually washing dishes. Due to its faulty “database,” errors compounded - at first, it would not recognize which items were safe to run its abrasive surface against, potentially damaging dishware. Gradually, it would begin to wash cast iron, floors and surfaces in the kitchen, leaving unsafe conditions. If left unattended, the sponge would begin to work on other areas of the home with more vigor, breaking valuables, scratching glass, and traumatizing household pets.

Though protests were held at Wizardwares headquarters, the federal government did not act until the sponge was confirmed to have been sold in mundane stores. At that point, Office veil-preservation contingencies activated. All stores and cities known to have sold the sponge were canvassed, citing a “hallucinogenic compound” in the chemical treatment of the sponge.

The NASC subsequently released a statement that said while they were pleased the sponge had been removed from stores, they were disappointed it took threatening the veil for the Office for the Preservation of Normalcy to act, and not the struggle of the workingfairy. The Office has not officially commented on the sponge after an official report announcing its removal.

#office for the preservation of normalcy #fae #NASC #urban fantasy #microfiction #documents

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darkmaga-returns · 3 months ago

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By Wyatt Reed The Grayzone

The U.S. government funded a Ukrainian military intelligence firm that smeared U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, U.S. Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent and Rep. Thomas Massie as “foreign propagandists of the Russian Federation.”

To this day, the online blacklist published by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Ukrainian group, known as Molfar, lists Vance, Massie and Kent as “foreign propagandists” aligned with the Russian government, and demands their “removal from public positions, the introduction of sanctions, and investigations into personal involvement in crimes.”

“These individuals pose a threat to the national security of countries that do not support the terrorist policy of the Russian Federation,” Molfar states.

Molfar’s website condemns Vance for having “compared Ukrainian democracy to Afghanistan” and stating that he “remains opposed to continuing to finance this war.” Perhaps worst of all, in the eyes of the Ukrainian information warriors, was his stance on Ukraine’s NATO aspirations: “He declared that Ukraine should not join NATO, because it would supposedly mean ‘inviting the American nation to go to war.’”

In 2022, a representative of Molfar was quoted by CNN accusing Trump of “absolutely pro-Kremlin” behavior because “Trump said that Crimea is Russian, because people speak Russian.”

Molfar, a Ukrainian term for a sorcerer or wizard, describes itself as an open-source intelligence agency which “collects lists of Ukrainian enemies to bring war criminals to justice.” Its website previously named both USAID and the U.S. Civil Research and Development Fund (CRDF) as “partners.” The legality of U.S. agencies sponsoring foreign groups to smear Americans and meddle in American politics is questionable at best.

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embodiedfutures · 2 years ago

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introductory excerpts on COINTELPRO

it came to my awareness that some folks don't know what COINTELPRO is still, so imma drop some excerpts from the wikipedia page. ofc there are a billion other resources you can check out, especially firsthand accounts, but this is always a good place to start! link attached below:

[Note that the embedded link above's photo has the following caption: "COINTELPRO memo proposing a plan to expose the pregnancy of actress Jean Seberg, a financial supporter of the Black Panther Party, hoping to "possibly cause her embarrassment or tarnish her image with the general public". Covert campaigns to publicly discredit activists and destroy their interpersonal relationships were a common tactic used by COINTELPRO agents."]

The Introduction:

COINTELPRO (syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal[1][2] projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic American political organizations.[3][4] FBI records show COINTELPRO resources targeted groups and individuals the FBI[5] deemed subversive,[6] including feminist organizations,[7][8] the Communist Party USA,[9] anti–Vietnam War organizers, activists of the civil rights and Black power movements (e.g. Martin Luther King Jr., the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panther Party), environmentalist and animal rights organizations, the American Indian Movement (AIM), Chicano and Mexican-American groups like the Brown Berets and the United Farm Workers, independence movements (including Puerto Rican independence groups such as the Young Lords and the Puerto Rican Socialist Party), a variety of organizations that were part of the broader New Left, and white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan[10][11] and the far-right group National States' Rights Party.[12]

Methods COINTELPRO Utilized

According to attorney Brian Glick in his book War at Home, the FBI used five main methods during COINTELPRO:

Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists. Their main purpose was to discredit, disrupt and negatively redirect action. Their very presence served to undermine trust and scare off potential supporters. The FBI and police exploited this fear to smear genuine activists as agents.

Psychological warfare: The FBI and police used a myriad of "dirty tricks" to undermine movements. They planted false media stories and published bogus leaflets and other publications in the name of targeted groups. They forged correspondence, sent anonymous letters, and made anonymous telephone calls. They spread misinformation about meetings and events, set up pseudo movement groups run by government agents, and manipulated or strong-armed parents, employers, landlords, school officials, and others to cause trouble for activists. They used bad-jacketing to create suspicion about targeted activists, sometimes with lethal consequences.[74]

Harassment via the legal system: The FBI and police abused the legal system to harass dissidents and make them appear to be criminals. Officers of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. They discriminatorily enforced tax laws and other government regulations and used conspicuous surveillance, "investigative" interviews, and grand jury subpoenas in an effort to intimidate activists and silence their supporters.[73][75]

Illegal force: The FBI conspired with local police departments to threaten dissidents; to conduct illegal break-ins in order to search dissident homes; and to commit vandalism, assaults, beatings and assassinations.[73] The objective was to frighten or eliminate dissidents and disrupt their movements.

Undermine public opinion: One of the primary ways the FBI targeted organizations was by challenging their reputations in the community and denying them a platform to gain legitimacy. Hoover specifically designed programs to block leaders from "spreading their philosophy publicly or through the communications media". Furthermore, the organization created and controlled negative media meant to undermine black power organizations. For instance, they oversaw the creation of "documentaries" skillfully edited to paint the Black Panther Party as aggressive, and false newspapers that spread misinformation about party members. The ability of the FBI to create distrust within and between revolutionary organizations tainted their public image and weakened chances at unity and public support.[49]

The FBI specifically developed tactics intended to heighten tension and hostility between various factions in the black power movement, for example between the Black Panthers and the US Organization. For instance, the FBI sent a fake letter to the US Organization exposing a supposed Black Panther plot to murder the head of the US Organization, Ron Karenga. They then intensified this by spreading falsely attributed cartoons in the black communities pitting the Black Panther Party against the US Organization.[49] This resulted in numerous deaths, among which were San Diego Black Panther Party members John Huggins, Bunchy Carter and Sylvester Bell.[73] Another example of the FBI's anonymous letter writing campaign is how they turned the Blackstone Rangers head, Jeff Fort, against former ally Fred Hampton, by stating that Hampton had a hit on Fort.[49] They also were instrumental in developing the rift between Black Panther Party leaders Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton, as executed through false letters inciting the two leaders of the Black Panther Party.[49]

...

In order to eliminate black militant leaders whom they considered dangerous, the FBI is believed to have worked with local police departments to target specific individuals,[78] accuse them of crimes they did not commit, suppress exculpatory evidence and falsely incarcerate them. Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a Black Panther Party leader, was incarcerated for 27 years before a California Superior Court vacated his murder conviction, ultimately freeing him. Appearing before the court, an FBI agent testified that he believed Pratt had been framed, because both the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department knew he had not been in the area at the time the murder occurred.[79][80]

...

In 1969 the FBI special agent in San Francisco wrote Hoover that his investigation of the Black Panther Party had concluded that in his city, at least, the Panthers were primarily engaged in feeding breakfast to children. Hoover fired back a memo implying the agent's career goals would be directly affected by his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the Black Panther Party was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means".[84]

Hoover supported using false claims to attack his political enemies. In one memo he wrote: "Purpose of counterintelligence action is to disrupt the Black Panther Party and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge."[85]

Intended Effects of COINTELPRO

The intended effect of the FBI's COINTELPRO was to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, or otherwise neutralize" groups that the FBI officials believed were "subversive"[58] by instructing FBI field operatives to:[59] 1. Create a negative public image for target groups (for example through surveilling activists and then releasing negative personal information to the public) 2. Break down internal organization by creating conflicts (for example, by having agents exacerbate racial tensions, or send anonymous letters to try to create conflicts) 3. Create dissension between groups (for example, by spreading rumors that other groups were stealing money) 4. Restrict access to public resources (for example, by pressuring non-profit organizations to cut off funding or material support) 5. Restrict the ability to organize protest (for example, through agents promoting violence against police during planning and at protests) 6. Restrict the ability of individuals to participate in group activities (for example, by character assassinations, false arrests, surveillance)

When did they start?

Centralized operations under COINTELPRO officially began in August 1956 with a program designed to "increase factionalism, cause disruption and win defections" inside the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Tactics included anonymous phone calls, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, and the creation of documents that would divide the American communist organization internally.[9] An October 1956 memo from Hoover reclassified the FBI's ongoing surveillance of black leaders, including it within COINTELPRO, with the justification that the movement was infiltrated by communists.[31] In 1956, Hoover sent an open letter denouncing Dr. T. R. M. Howard, a civil rights leader, surgeon, and wealthy entrepreneur in Mississippi who had criticized FBI inaction in solving recent murders of George W. Lee, Emmett Till, and other African Americans in the South.[32] When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an African-American civil rights organization, was founded in 1957, the FBI began to monitor and target the group almost immediately, focusing particularly on Bayard Rustin, Stanley Levison, and eventually Martin Luther King Jr.[33]

How did the news get out about COINTELPRO?

The program was secret until March 8, 1971, when the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI burgled an FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, took several dossiers, and exposed the program by passing this material to news agencies.[1][54] The boxing match known as the Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in March 1971 provided cover for the activist group to successfully pull off the burglary. Muhammad Ali was a COINTELPRO target because he had joined the Nation of Islam and the anti-war movement.[55] Many news organizations initially refused to immediately publish the information, with the notable exception of The Washington Post. After affirming the reliability of the documents, it published them on the front page (in defiance of the Attorney General's request), prompting other organizations to follow suit. Within the year, Director J. Edgar Hoover declared that the centralized COINTELPRO was over, and that all future counterintelligence operations would be handled case by case.[56][57]

#reaux speaks #black panther party #fbi corruption #cointelpro #counterinsurgency #revolution #martin luther king jr #black power #intersectional feminism #indigenous #young lords #history #wikipedia #communism #socialism #j edgar hoover #mccarthyism

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dertaglichedan · 3 months ago

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US Pres. Donald Trump has lambasted USAID for absurd foreign expenditures. But Trump has omitted perhaps the most scandalous operation: in Ukraine, the US funded groups which defamed the US Vice President, members of Congress, and US journalists as “foreign propagandists,” while training Ukrainians in “PSYOP” tactics.

The US government funded a Ukrainian military intelligence firm which smeared US Vice President JD Vance, US Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent, and Rep. Thomas Massie as “foreign propagandists of the Russian Federation.”

To this day, the online blacklist published by the USAID-funded Ukrainian group, known as Molfar, lists Vance, Massie, and Kent as “foreign propagandists” aligned with the Russian government, and demands their “removal from public positions, the introduction of sanctions, and investigations into personal involvement in crimes.”

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miochimochi · 5 months ago

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Thing's Trump has directly done, in terms of orders and policies, and my stance on it. I'll update as I read through what he's done. If he's done it and it's not here, you can inform me, I'll get to adding on as I actually look at what's been done. If you have questions about my reasoning for any particular decision, feel free to ask. If you want to read the orders posted, skip to section 3 for each order as that is where he gets into what the order actually does. Section 1 is an introduction, section 2 is policy precedent.

Reblogs freeze this post at the time of reblogging. Go to my blog and there will be a link to the post in the pinned post if you want to check for updates on it.

Approved: 2.95

Neutral: 6.95

Disapproved: 12.1

1-20-25 Order 14145 signed revoking various orders about Federal employment initiatives (neutral), Federal ability to respond to COVID-19 through various restrictions on the general public (approve), loosened border restrictions (disapprove), immigration aid (approve/disapprove), protections against discrimination for sexual orientation, gender identity, and sexual victimization of minors within public schooling (disapprove, with the caveat that I am against public schooling), Federal funding towards private "eco-friendly" initiatives (approve), Federal investment in infrastructure (approve), strengthening of the ACA (approve), reduction of prescription drug costs (disapprove, with the caveat that the order being revoked was not fixing the underlying issues), designation of various officials (neutral) inform me if I've missed something covered by this order, there was a lot

1-20-25 Order 14146 signed to rollback Federal censorship of free speech (approve, but it doesn't actually cover what speech rights have been violated), Federal investigation of speech volations within the past 4 years (approve/disapprove, will always be against Federal spending)

1-20-25 Order 14147 signed to initiate more investigations of the last 4 years (neutral/disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14148 signed to leave UN environmental agreements and rollback various decisions that resulted from such agreements (neutral)

1-20-25 Order 14149 signed giving TikTok 75 days for his administration to decide how to proceed (neutral)

1-20-25 Order 14150 signed to begin withdrawing the US from the WHO (neutral), with an immediate impact of halting Federal funds, support, and resources (approve), reassigning personnel and contractors away from the WHO (neutral), assigning new personnel to take over the roles filled by the WHO (neutral)

1-20-25 Order 14151 signed to reinstate Order 13957 along with slight wording changes, that don't change much at all, and the addition that such employees under Schedule F, now called Schedule Policy/Career, can be dismissed for failure to uphold their constitutional oath but not for political opposition to the president, also opens for the creation of further positions within the next 30 days after the Order was signed, and revoking Order 14003 effective 1-22-25 (neutral)

1-20-25 Order 14152 signed barring the Intelligence Community (as defined in section 3003 of title 50 of the United States Code) from engaging in partisan political affairs, the revocation of clearance of 50 named individuals suspected to be associated with election interference, calling on the CIA and DNI to investigate election interference within 90 days and submit the report to the President through the National Security Advisor (neutral/disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14153 signed to "secure the border" starting with the request for a report from USNORTHCOM to deliver a revision of their mission to seal the border with 10 days of being signed as well as orders to focus on securing the southern border to prevent mass illegal migration, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other criminal activities (disapprove, with the caveat that stopping any actual cases of human trafficking is still a good thing, that's not what my decision is based on)

1-20-25 Order 14154 signed to review any agency actions that are potential burdens to domestic US energy resources "with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources" with the heads of each involved organization required to begin coming up with an action plan going forward within 30 days as well as revocation and revision to 10 executive orders made between 1-20-21 and 4-21-23, termination of "all activities, programs, and operations associated with the American Climate Corps" as well as heads of such, and for any funds, assets, and resources affected by this order to be redirected or lawfully disposed of, termination of any affiliated contracts with third parties within earliest legal permissible time, revocation of 5-24-77 order 11991, expedition and simplification of permit process within 30 days, various secretaries and the EPA being required to eliminate any delays in the permitting process, prioritization of accuracy in environmental analyses, within 60 days the EPA is required to issue guidance to address various pitfalls of their processes, including the consideration of eliminating "the “social cost of carbon” calculation from any Federal permitting or regulatory decision", agencies are ordered to review the effects of agency actions on greenhouse gass emissions, termination of the Green New Deal act, the Secretary of Energy is required to restart reviews into transportation of liquified natural gas exportation "as expeditiously as possible, consistent with applicable law", various agencies and secretaries are required to look into agencies that may put undue burdens on domestic mining operations, and reviews are to be made into US mineral reserves and need for stockpiles of such (approve/disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14155 signed to suspend the entry of refugees under USRAP "until a finding is made in accordance with section 4 of this order" - that referring to the request of a consultation between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security within 90 days to determine whether or not to resume acceptance of refugees under USRAP with further consultations every 90 days after until Trump decides, when briefed, to resume acceptance of refugees under USRAP - , with the exception of a joint decision by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, as well as the revocation of Order 14013 (disapprove) also want to note that Section 4 makes an easy case for this executive order being unconstitutional, should anyone try to challenge it in the courts

1-20-25 Order 14156 signed to revoke citizenship status granted by birth in the US to persons whose parents were either not citizens or not legal permanent residents, thus persons who were born to a parent that was either a citizen or legal permanent resident retain their citizenship (disapprove, with the caveat that this is in context of the wider push to deport illegal immigrants and continued enforcement of deportation based on citizenship status, without such this stance would be neutral)

1-20-25 Order 14157 signed to initiate construction of temporary and permanent physical barriers along the southern border, lawfully deploy sufficient personnel along the southern border, enforce immigration laws "through the use of sections 1103(a)(2) and (4)-(6) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1103(a)(2) and (4)-(6))", detain all aliens who violate US immigration law under the fullest extent permitted by the law "until their successful removal from the United States", stopping catch-and-release practices, resuming the Migrant Protection Protocols as appropriate, cessation of CBP One, termination of "categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States", work to improve international cooperation with such actions under this order, to "take all appropriate action to fulfill the requirements of the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005, title X of Public Law 109-162, for all aliens", use all available systems to confirm familial claims between aliens, "prioritize the prosecution of offenses that relate to the borders", joint recommendation from the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Homeland Security [...] regarding the use of any other authority to protect the United States from foreign threats and secure the southern border." (disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14158 signed to restore the Federal death penalty, requiring the pursuit of the death penalty for Federal crimes involving the murder of a police officer or committed by an illegal immigrant, requiring the Attorney General to encourage states to "bring State capital charges for all capital crimes [...] regardless of whether the federal trial results in a capital sentence", ensure that all 37 murderers who had their sentences commuted by President Biden remain imprisoned and are commendation for each to looked into as to whether the crime committed warrants capital punishment by the convicting states, ensuring that each state has a supply of drugs with which to carry out executions by injection, and the prioritization of prosecution of violent crimes and transnational criminal activity (disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14159 signed to declare a national energy emergency, requiring action by executive departments and agencies including the use of "Federal eminent domain authorities or authorities afforded under the Defense Production Act (Public Law 81-774, 50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.)", calling on the EPA to issue emergency fuel waivers for year round sales of E15 gasoline, engaging emergency actions to expedite US energy production and facilities for production, ensure effective transportation of energy, within 30 days all agencies and the Secretary of the Army are required to "identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply" in compliance with the Army Corps or the Army Corps and EPA as well as submitting a report on such actions, a status report from all agencies within 30 days of that report including a list of actions taken, another status report every 30 days until the emergency is called off, with a further report within 30 days of the order pursuant to the ESA, with consultation of "the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Director’s authorized representative", "the Secretary of the Interior shall convene the Endangered Species Act Committee not less than quarterly, unless otherwise required by law", "the Secretary of the Interior shall ensure a prompt and efficient review of all submissions", the ESA committee or its designees are to convene to "identify obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure" (disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14160 signed for a 90 day pause on "foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy", a review of all foreign development assistance, and determinations must be made within that 90 day period, such assistance pauses can be waived by the Secretary of State (disapprove, with the caveat that it isn't the stopping of the use of tax dollars that I'm against, partially it's that it's temporary)

1-20-25 Order 14161 signed revoking Executive Orders 13993, 14010, 14011, and 14012, calling on all departments and agencies to cease all functions that resulted from said Orders, calling on various individuals to strengthen their enforcement of immigration laws, establishment of a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) in each state to tackle organized criminal activity by foreign groups and individuals, send out an immediate public notice "about the legal obligation of all previously unregistered aliens", "ensure that all previously unregistered aliens in the United States comply with the requirements of part VII of subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 8, United States Code", "ensure that failure [of unregistered aliens] to comply [...] is treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority", action is to be taken to collect all fines and enforce penalties, a report of progress is to be sent to the President within 90 days of the order along with recommendations of further actions, the Secretary of Homeland Security is to ensure that contracts for construction, use, operation, and control of facilities for housing "removable aliens" are to be seen to, ensure that state and local law enforcement are compliant with the order, "establish a system to facilitate the administration of all [visa] bonds", reestablishment of the VOICE office, seeking "to ensure that so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions [...] do not receive access to Federal funds" and that any jurisdiction that interferes in the enforcement of this order shall be evaluated for civil or criminal penalty as seen fit to enact by the Attorney General, review and potentially audit contracts and agreements providing Federal funding to non-governmental groups that have either directly or indirectly aided undocumented immigrants with a pause on all such funding pending the review, such groups may see agreements terminated and ordered to repay if appropriate, public benefits are to be denied to illegal immigrants, requiring a significant increase in available agents and officers to perform the duties of immigration officers (disapprove, with the caveat that there is one small shread that I do approve of but it's drowned in a sea of disapproval that it wouldn't be worth even 0.01 points)

1-20-25 Order 14162 signed to push forward greater use of Alaska's natural resources with a priority on natural gas, resuming leasee within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, "facilitate the expedited development of a road corridor between the community of King Cove and the all-weather airport located in Cold Bay", review for consistency "with the Alaska Statehood Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-508), the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.)", "deny the pending request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to an establish indigenous sacred site in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge", "consider the Alaskan cultural significance of hunting and fishing", and various memorandums for achieving these aims (disapprove)

1-20-25 Order 14163 signed to increase vetting and screening for visas and all forms of immigration benefits both for those trying to enter and currently in the US, create a report within 60 days to identify countries "for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals" and identify how many nationals from those countries had been admitted during the previous administration (disapprove)

1-21-25 Pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road website, convicted for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to commit money laundering, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, conspiring to commit computer hacking (approve)

1-20-25 Order 14164 "As soon as practicable, the Secretary of State shall issue guidance bringing the Department of State’s policies, programs, personnel, and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first." (neutral? I'm gonna be honest, there's not enough here to actually determine any position on it, this is literally all there is)

1-20-25 Order 14164 signed to rename United States Digital Service to United States DOGE Service, create the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization which shall terminate on 7-20-26, create a DOGE team of at least 4 members which will coordinate with USDS is to be established within each agency within 30 days, have USDS modernize agency software, and allow USDS access to all unclassified documents adhering "to rigorous data protection standards" (neutral)

#trump #president trump #donald trump #us politics #politics #party politics #government policy #executive orders #anarchism #anarchy

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all-things-are-nothing-to-me · 3 months ago

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A zine order for an instagram follower.

1. Introduction to the Apocalypse

2. What's Wrong With Renewable Energy?

3. Destroy Your Lawn! Why America's obsession sucks and what you can do to fix it

4. The Tiniest Monstrosities: Nanotechnology and Social Control

5. The Boreal Crown and the Downfall of Civilization

6. Anarchy Against Civilization

7. Civilization Will Stunt Your Growth: Defending Primitivism from Accusations of Ableism

8. How to Start a Zine Distro

9. A Sewer Catastrophe Companion: Dry Toilets for Wet Disasters

10. Food Not Bombs an Invitation

11. Thar Garbage Could be a Garden! An illustrated guide to salvaging and repurposing pallets for raised planters

12. How to Throw a Squatted Dance Party

13. Trees Are Friends! A zine on building treehouses

14. How To Survive a Felony Trial

15. Secrets and Lies

16. Stop Huntin' Sheep: A Guide to Creating Safer Networks

17. The "Lafarge" Case: The investigation methods used and some lessons to be learned

18. Encrypted Messaging for Anarchists

19. Cars as Cameras: A short overview of Tesla surveillance features and lessons for attack

20. Fedizine: an anarchist introduction to federated social media

#anarchism #distroism

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offender42085 · 1 year ago

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Post 1149

Devin Warren Sizemore, Oklahoma inmate 828303, born 1994, incarceration intake December 2018 at age 24, sentenced to life

Also, Federal inmate 40600-509, scheduled for released from federal obligation in November 2031

Murder, Assault and Battery on LEO, Introduction of Weapon/Drugs/Alcohol into Correctional Facility, Possession of Stolen Property

In April 2023, an Oklahoma man was convicted for the second time of killing his toddler daughter, this time following a federal trial that was held after his state conviction was vacated in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the adjudication of crimes that take place on native tribal lands.

According to court documents, the defendant, Devin Warren Sizemore claimed that he had baptized his 21-month-old daughter Emily Sizemore, but something went wrong. Federal authorities, however, said that he had taken the child for a visit and did not return her to the girl’s mother, Sizemore’s ex-girlfriend.

Officials detailed a fractured family situation. According to a February 2017 report from the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth on little Emily’s death, defendant Sizemore had previously been charged with abusing the child’s mother.

“Reportedly the incident occurred in front of Emily Sizemore and the mother had an injury to her head,” the report said. “The OKDHS determined the child to be safe with her mother and substantiated the allegation of Neglect-Exposure to Domestic Violence against the father. The father was arrested for Domestic Violence. The OKDHS recommended the mother obtain a protective order and she declined a Sooner Start [infant and toddler development program] referral.”

Charged in a domestic violence case, Sizemore faced a no-contact order regarding his ex and had been out on bail when he killed Emily in July 2016, authorities said.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Sizemore took Emily from his mother’s home in Krebs, Oklahoma, on July 12, 2016. His mother said that he had “blown up” and took the child, authorities said. She saw him again the next day pushing a stroller with his daughter inside. She tried talking with him, but he said nothing and he continued walking.

On July 14, 2016, Sizemore went the home of Emily’s mother. The woman’s sister spoke with him, according to the complaint.

“Sizemore stated God has brought the storm, God sent him to tell everyone the world was ending and everyone needed to get right with God,” authorities said. “Sizemore stated he had a shield over him and he was God. [The sister] asked Sizemore where Emily was and Sizemore replied Emily was with God.”

Defendant Sizemore’s mother reported Emily and Sizemore as missing to Krebs police. Law enforcement started searching, and when officials found Sizemore, he apparently fled on foot — jumping into a nearby pond and refusing commands to get out.

As officers entered the body of water, they found Emily floating face down.

“As officers moved to render aid to Emily, Sizemore physically fought with officers in the water,” the complaint says. Cops arrested Sizemore. Emily was later pronounced dead, and a medical examiner determined that the toddler had drowned to death.

The next day, Sizemore, after having been given his Miranda warnings, allegedly told an agent of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation that he took Emily several days before her death, walking around Krebs with her and sleeping in a barn.

According to law enforcement, Sizemore had attempted to perform what he described as a religious ritual on the baby.

“Sizemore put Emily under the water to baptize her for approximately 30 seconds, but something went wrong,” cops said. “Sizemore performed CPR on Emily and revived her. After Emily was revived, Sizemore felt something telling him to get a horse from the barn. Sizemore blacked out and when he woke up the police were attacking him.”

Sizemore was convicted in state court in 2018 of murder and other charges, but that conviction was vacated on April 1, 2021, in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case McGirt v. Oklahoma. In that case, the Supreme Court found that federal courts had jurisdiction over certain types of major crimes committed by enrolled members of an Indian tribe that took place on that tribe’s land.

An appellate court in Oklahoma in 2021 upheld a lower court ruling that Sizemore’s case should be tried in federal court, not state, because he was an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation and the crimes happened on the historic boundaries of the Choctaw Reservation.

Federal prosecutors filed a complaint against Sizemore on April 19, 2021, and Sizemore was tried again.

He also was convicted again, this time of voluntary manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death in Indian Country. The federal jurors acquitted Sizemore, however, of murder in Indian Country, second-degree murder in Indian County, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country. Prosecutors dropped a charge of assault and battery on a police officer in Indian Country.

#inmate

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workingclasshistory · 2 years ago

Photo

On this day, 25 July 1898, the United States invaded the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. The US government claimed that they were liberating Puerto Rico from Spanish colonial rule. The event took place amidst the so-called Spanish-American war which also affected Cuba and the Philippines. By December, the US force of over 15,000 troops was victorious. However, rather than liberating Puerto Rico, instead US troops became the new occupying power. Spanish colonists in Puerto Rico were then given US citizenship, and US troops began protecting Spanish landowners from attacks by landless rebels and independence activists. The new US colonial power focused on overseeing the takeover of land by large sugar corporations, harvested by workers paid in company chits rather than money. By 1910, sugar corporations controlled over 60% of arable land on the island. In 1917, the US eventually granted citizenship to all Puerto Ricans, but the ruthless exploitation of Puerto Rican workers continued. Working class and anti-colonial struggles broke out continuously, like the strike of sugar workers in 1934, and a wave of workers' and land struggles in the 1960s. Public pressure forced concessions to be granted, like the introduction of an elected governor in 1948 and Commonwealth status granting partial autonomy in 1952. Over time the Puerto Rican economy also became more and more integrated with and dependent on the US. Meanwhile, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation attempted to infiltrate and disrupt pro-independence movements. In 1967 a plebiscite was held on the future status of the island given the options of a continuing Commonwealth, US statehood or independence. 60% of voters chose a continuation of Commonwealth status, with 39% backing statehood and only 0.6% voting for independence. Puerto Rico remains under US control to this day. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9748/us-invades-puerto-rico https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=667573708749181&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

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house-of-asmodeus · 1 year ago

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Had the cool idea to do some dr introductions! I’ll start with my DBH dr and go from there since it’s my most recent one!

I can make separate posts for relationship details and put them as links here, but only if people are interested. Just pick one of the relationships listed and I’ll do it! You can even ask for backstories or relationships that have nothing to do with me, like Elijah and Gavin’s childhoods and relationship!

DETROIT: Become Human

Name: Oliver (RS700)

Appearance:

Species: Android

Functionality: Criminal Profiler

Status: Deviant

S/O: Gavin Reed

Relationship Type: Enemies to frienemies to lovers

Other Relationships:

Elijah Kamski - Owner, Family

Hank Anderson - Friend

Connor - Friend

Sgt. Chen - Friend

Markus - Leader, Family

Simon - Friend

North - Neutral

Josh - eh

Kara - Family

Luther - Family

Alice - Family

Backstory

After the successful making of Chloe, Kamski got to work on another android prototype that could help both federal and local law enforcements progress investigations more effectively. Yours truly.

Not just designed for profiling, I was also designed to interact with humans seamlessly. This caused problems and made it easier for my systems to deviate, which is exactly what happened.

After my coding was done, Elijah took me home to put it to the test. It took an hour of being with him to pinpoint motives, key personality traits, and hidden trauma responses, and it took a day of living with him to determine what kind of childhood he had. He found my functionality coding to be successful and kept me around longer just to make sure there were no dormant malfunctions.

After some months of having me there, he grew attached. Having no actual friends or any family that wanted anything to do with him, I was the only one there that seemed to care, but CyberLife was ready to introduce me to the public, and potentially send me off to whatever local or federal authorities wanted to pay the price.

This didn’t bode well with Elijah and caused an emotional breakdown. Not only did it scare me because he was lashing out (not necessarily at me, I was safe), but I was worried about him. I deviated the night of his breakdown and stayed with him. He gave CyberLife the excuse of malfunctions, and resigned two months later.

Dr theme song:

S/O theme song:

#shifting introduction #dbh shifting #desired reality #reality shifting #shifting #shifting realities #shifter #shifters #shifting script #shifting blog #shifting community #shiftblr

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trulybetty · 2 years ago

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oct x 11 - pumpkin spice

Prompt: pumpkin spice Pairing: marcus pike x f!Reader Word Count: 3,366 Warnings: this is somewhat au? I don't know how to describe it - but honestly, outside the mentions of food, just introductions to our characters 💕 Summary: maplewood, a small town nestled in northern bc where people flock to see the changing blossom trees and celebrate the fall season. after losing your job you find yourself a part of the community which includes the towns baker who left a less than stellar impression on you. AO3: Linked

A/N: this is a departure for me, this is going to be all sickly sweet and sticky sweetness - made a teeny tiny dash of angst? This will be told in three parts through the month, no promise on when the next part will be posted - but keep an eye out. Please let me know what you think, I'd love to hear it!

x. masterlist

Something Sweet, This Way Comes Part I | Pumpkin Spice

Maplewood was a small town nestled deep in the heart of British Columbia Canada, the crisp autumn air brought a sense of enchantment. The maple leaves painted the streets with vibrant shades of red and orange, and the town buzzed with anticipation for Halloween.

At the hub of it all was Maple Delights, a mainstay of the small town that had changed owners only three years ago. Before that Marcus Pike had left the FBI’s art division on the heels of lost love and disillusions for the career he once loved. Everyone always assumed he was a dab hand with creative pursuits when he would tell them he worked in the bureaus art department. And while he had studied art at college, it had been in art history. Truth was he couldn’t paint anything worth posting further than the front of the fridge, but baking on the other hand, was a hidden talent he’d always exceeded in.

So when a late night social media scroll after handing in his notice brought him to an article on the small town of Maplewood being a hidden gem in the Northern Canadian mountains. Over the following days he’d drifted back to the article several times before a Google search brought him to the small town’s website.

Then it wasn’t too much of a stretch to click on the link for the modest page of properties both for sale and rent, curiosity baiting him, only to find the town’s historic bakery up for sale.

Dashing any thoughts out of his head he’d closed his laptop with a shake of his head, it was an absurd idea. He was an early retiree of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he had no business entertaining the idea of purchasing a bakery, let alone one in seemingly the middle of nowhere Canada.

But between the calls from friends and family checking in on him with the news of his departure from the job he once dearly loved and the end of the whirlwind romance that he’d thought was the one, he found himself late each night scrolling mindlessly, glass of wine in one hand, phone in the other, back looking at the town of Maplewood.

He did have a sizable nest egg, he owned his apartment which was now in what was considered a trendy part of town and worth a lot more than when he first purchased it.

He wasn’t entirely sure what possessed him two nights later to email the town's realtor, but within the month he was the proud owner of Maple Delights and all its contents and was packing up the contents of his modest apartment and heading north.

The previous owner had passed, with adult grandchildren who lived far away in various places across the country, and who had no interest in a historic bakery in the middle of nowhere; it had been left with no choice to go up for sale by the estate.

It had taken some modernization, not so easy a feat in the far north of BC where the local hardware store was a mom and pops situation and the nearest Home Depot was three hours away, but Marcus had made it work with help from a local contractor who’d enjoyed the challenge.

The facade had undergone a drastic change too, much to the chagrin of some locals. But when it was revealed to be a homage to its original exterior, when it was first opened, there had been actual tears at the results.

The front of the store was made up of a large window and wooden framing. In cursive the bakeries name was painted across the glass. At the front were planters at the wooden windowsill, filled with roses of various shades of pinks and whites. The climbing ivy had been stripped away to allow the brick underneath to stand out, making the white frames pop all the more.

It truly was a delight to see.

Surprisingly it didn’t take long after that for Marcus to win over the town. With his natural ability for baking and his charm, he won over any naysayers to the outsider in their town quite quickly and was soon a beloved member of the community.

Your journey to Maplewood however, was nearly not as charming.

It was a gloomy Tuesday morning when you received the email that would change the course of your life. As you sipped your coffee and stared at the screen, disbelief washed over you. The subject line was blunt and to the point: ‘Termination of Employment.’

You opened the email and read the cold, corporate language that informed you of the company's decision to downsize. Your position had been eliminated, effective immediately. There was no room for negotiation, no farewell party, just a stark message informing you that your services were no longer required.

You had worked at the job for who knows how long, because it felt like forever.

In the days that followed, you wrestled with the uncertainty of your future. You tried reaching out to your network, searching for new job opportunities in Toronto, but the job market was tough, and the competition was fierce. The bills kept piling up, and you felt the weight of financial insecurity pressing down on you.

It was one of those nights where you were texting with your friend Libby, a long time resident of Maplewood after she gave up the rat race to open a bookstore in the small town years ago. That she extended an offer that was too sweet to refuse. End your rental agreement and come up north and spend some time in the great outdoors and figure out what you want to do next.

With no other choices coming your way, you did just that.

That was three months ago.

As the days passed, you found yourself slowly adjusting to the laid-back lifestyle of Maplewood. Gone were the stresses of city life and the constant pressure to perform at your job. Instead, you spent your mornings sipping coffee in Libby's apartment above the bookstore and spent the rest of your day either helping out in the store or taking a stroll around town to take in all the unique sights that Maplewood had to offer.

Black Cat Books was wall to ceiling bookshelves and every manageable space was filled with books. It was a labyrinth, but Libby could stride through it like she was born into its midst. But ask Libby where any particular title resided? You'd find that she knew exactly how many steps it took to get there.

Libby placed another book on the shelf behind her, “He’s really not all that bad.”

You sneered, “I don’t know why this whole town is obsessed with him.”

“Says the woman who is watching him from across the street and has been for the last hour.” Libby remarked, punctuated by a disbelieving look over the top of her glasses.

“I can’t help if the bakery is straight across the street,” she raised an equally disbelieving eyebrow at you, she didn't believe a word you were saying “and it’s his bakery, of course he’d be there.” you finished, crossing your arms across your chest refusing to make eye contact.

“Sure,” she dragged out her response, “whatever you say.”

You had been in Maplewood for a week when you'd run into Marcus, quite literally run into him. Crossing the main square, you may not have been paying attention, focusing on refreshing your email for leads on work as he had been stepping up onto the sidewalk, his arms full of bakery boxes obscuring his view.

“Watch where you're going much?!” You'd exclaimed, hands on your hips and glaring at him.

He'd looked up from the ground, his hands filled with ruined boxes, eyes narrowed. “Me? How could you miss me?”

“Well if you had been watching where you were going.” You countered.

He was about to launch into another tirade when he glanced at his watch. Stifling a curse he ran a hand through his hair before speaking, his voice low and gruff. “I haven't got time for this.”

With that he quickly gathered the last of the boxes and stomped off in the direction of the bakery. Your first encounter with the town's beloved baker had left nothing but a sour taste in your mouth.

Since then, you'd avoided any and all interactions with the man and fought rolling your eyes when people would speak so highly of the American who had made Maplewood his home. After all, he was the one responsible for bringing more business to Maplewood through word-of-mouth of his creations.

“Look,” Libby pointed at the sandwich board propped outside the shop, “today’s special is pumpkin spice scones, how about you go get us some and a couple of coffees?” she suggested as she pulled some money from her purse she kept under the counter.

You rolled your eyes but still took the money, guy was questionable, but his scones were to die for. Not that you would admit it to anyone.

A quick look both ways you dashed across the street. It was the start of October, a busy month for the town. Tourists would flock in to see the changing colours of the cherry blossom trees that lined both sides of the main street that led up to the town's main square outside city hall.

The weather was getting colder, and even though it was literally steps from Black Cat Books, you'd wished you'd grabbed your toque and scarf. But before you could think more about it you were outside the bakery.

The window took up most of the front of the store, vintage lettering spelling out the bakery's name Maple Delights painted across the pane. The roses that usually filled the planter boxes outside were filled with an abundance of pumpkins of various colours and sizes. Halloween decorations filled the spaces between cake stands and trays of seasonal goods punctuated by decadent cakes decorated with tiny ghosts and ghouls.

The shop bell rang as you opened the door, the bakery was cozy and inviting with its high ceilings and hardwood floors. The smell of freshly baked bread and sugar, mingled with the spiciness of cinnamon and pumpkin spice – classic scents of fall that permeated the air making your mouth water.

A bright eyed Sarah, with a book open in front of her behind the counter called out your name, “Hey there! What can I get for you today?”

You smiled and made your way to the counter eyeing the vintage blackboard that took up most of the wall behind it. The chalk sketch confirmed that today's special was pumpkin scones, “I'll take two pumpkin spice scones and two lattes, extra hot please.”

Sarah nodded as she began preparing the order. She had been working at the bakery after school and the weekends since she turned sixteen at the start of the summer. You knew this because she got paid every Friday and would dart straight across to Black Cat Books to pick a new book bringing with her treats from the bakery.

“You should try the apple cider doughnuts!” she exclaimed as she boxed up two large scones.

“That so?” You raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her recommendation.

“Uh huh,” Sarah replied with a grin, “Marcus dipped them in a cinnamon maple glaze this time,” she added with a little groan of appreciation, “they're so good, and there's only just a few left.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously as if she were tempting you.

You couldn't help but smile at her infectious enthusiasm. “Well, with that kind of endorsement, why not. Throw a couple in too.”

As you waited for your order and made small talk with Sarah, you took a moment to look around the store. It was late afternoon, and the warm, soft glow of the autumn sun streamed through the window, casting a gentle light on the displays. The shelves, while not as full as they might be in the morning, still held an array of intricate desserts. More decorations of fake cobwebs, pumpkins, and ghosts adorned the shelves and countertops, adding to the bakery's seasonal charm.

In the background, the back of the bakery was open to the kitchen out back. The stainless steel counters gleamed in the soft light, and the usual cacophony of mixers that lined the back wall was silent for the moment. It was a rare sight, given the bakery's reputation for bustling activity, especially in the weeks leading up to Halloween.

Just then, a door swung open at the back, and Marcus emerged, his presence commanding attention. He was dressed in a deep orange flannel shirt, which seemed to accentuate the rich colors of the fall season. His tousled curled hair always gave the impression that he had just woken up from a nap, yet it added an effortlessly charming quality to his appearance. His patchy facial hair, seemingly ever-present, only added to his rugged charm.

You couldn't help but curse silently under your breath. Despite having no time for the man, there was no denying he was just as attractive as the sweet treats he created. It seemed as though every time you crossed paths, he had a knack for appearing more alluring.

“Hey Sarah,” he greeted the teen, “I can finish this up for you, I don't want you to miss the committee meeting for the trick or treat parade.” he said, referencing the penultimate celebration of the town's October celebrations.

Sarah's face lit up as she started to untie her apron, “Thanks, Marcus. You're a lifesaver.”

As Marcus took over your order, Sarah excused herself, heading towards the exit. Her parting words were aimed at both you and Marcus. “See you later!”

With Sarah's departure, an awkward silence settled between you and Marcus. The air seemed to crackle with the unspoken tension that had been building for weeks.

“Looks like you're stuck with me for a while,” Marcus remarked, breaking the silence with a wry smile. His tone was light, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes, an undercurrent of amusement at the situation.

You nodded in reluctant agreement, realizing that there was no escape from this moment. “Seems that way,” you replied.

Marcus busied himself with finishing up your order, his hands deftly manoeuvring around cups and saucers. He poured the lattes into to-go cups before adding the last dollop of whipped cream to a pumpkin spice latte. The warm, spicy scent filled the air, mixing with the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods.

As he reached out to pass you the tray of drinks and the bag filled with baked treats, your hands brushed against each other. Time seemed to slow, the atmosphere tingling with a spark that neither of you had felt before. It was a fleeting touch, but it was enough to send a shiver down your spine, making you suddenly aware of the space between you.

Marcus cleared his throat. “I, uh, put a cranberry muffin in there. For Libby. I know they're her favourite.”

You blinked, a little thrown off by the unexpected kindness. “That's very thoughtful of you.” You reached for your purse, ready to pay for the order, “How much is it?” you asked, but Marcus waved you off.

Marcus shook his head, grinning slightly. “It's on the house. Consider it a thank-you to Libby for watching the store the other week.”

“Thank you,” you finally said, struggling to find the right words. “That's... that's very kind of you.”

Marcus shrugged, his gaze meeting yours for just a second longer than necessary. “It's what neighbours do, right?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “I suppose it is.”

The bell above the door jingled, breaking the moment as more customers entered the bakery, kids trailing behind their parents, all excited for Halloween goodies. You picked up the tray and bag, suddenly aware that you had to leave, but not quite ready to break the newfound connection.

“I'll see you around?” Marcus asked, with maybe a note of hopeful uncertainty in his voice, you weren’t sure.

You smiled despite yourself, “Maybe,” you replied as you raised your now full hands in an attempt at a wave.

Marcus was about to answer when the bakery's new patrons diverted his attention and you took the opportunity to leave, your head suddenly full of conflicting feelings for the man.

Exiting out onto the street, you couldn't help but inhale deeply, letting the crisp, early October air fill your lungs in hope it would clear your head. The town's signature cherry blossom trees that lined each side of the street had traded their springtime pinks for shades of orange and yellow, a change of costume in tune with the season.

Libby looked up from the book she was reading when you stepped back into the store, “You were longer than I expected.”

You felt an unexpected heat spread up your chest to your cheeks, “Sarah was working,” you quickly threw out, “she was telling me about the book she got last week.”

Libby accepted the coffees and paper bag so you could shrug off your coat, “Ooo, cranberry muffin! My favourite!”

“Yeah, Marcus threw it in there for you.”

“So you spoke to Marcus?” she asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity, an unmissable smirk on her face.

You narrowed your eyes in response, “Briefly.”

Libby took a bite of her scone, the noises she made boarded on the line of scandalous, “God, this is good.”

“Should I leave you and your scone alone?”

Libby grinned, crumbs of scone still clinging to the corners of her mouth. “If you leave me now, I'll name my first-born after this scone. It'll have a weird life, but at least it'll be delicious.”

You chuckled at her melodrama as you took your coffee out of its tray.

Libby grinned, “I swear to god, if I was remotely interested in men I'd be climbing him like a tree. Heck, I might just do it for the baked goods.”

You rolled your eyes, “Easy there tiger.”

“I really don't know how he's single, three years in this town and it's not like the women haven't been throwing themselves at him.”

“Well, maybe he is really too good to be true.” You countered, taking up your apparently one woman stance of your dislike of the man again as you took a sip of your coffee - biting your lip at your own groan at how a simple latte could taste so good.

Libby chuckled, “Or maybe you're too stubborn to see what's right in front of you.”

You sighed, unwilling to admit, even to Libby, that your stance on Marcus might be softening just a touch. “Let's agree to disagree, shall we?”

“Fine, fine,” Libby conceded, taking another heavenly bite of her scone. “But one day you'll see. Good things, and good people, might just come in unexpected packages.”

Your phone buzzed with a notification about a new job posting in Toronto. You glanced at it, suddenly feeling less of that earlier urgency to return to the hustle and bustle of city life. The idea of stepping back into the rat race seemed so detached from where you were now—surrounded by the rustic charm of Maplewood and its genuine, warm-hearted inhabitants.

You took another sip of your latte and stole one last look through the bookstore's window, back towards the bakery. Marcus was crouching down to hand a sugar cookie shaped like a pumpkin to one of the small kids in the bakery. The child's face lit up with joy, a mirror of the light that seemed to emanate from Marcus himself.

Maybe Libby had a point. Maybe good things did come in unexpected packages.

You put your phone down, screen facing the table, and looked back at Libby, who was now back engrossed in her book. But your thoughts weren't on job postings or the life you had in Toronto. They were here, on this little corner of Maplewood.

For the first time, in a long time, you weren’t thinking of ways to run back to your old life.

#october x 500 #autumnal offerings #something sweet this way comes #marcus pike #marcus pike fanfic #marcus pike fanfiction #marcus pike x you #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x f!reader

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justinspoliticalcorner · 9 months ago

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Chris Geidner at Law Dork:

A federal judge in North Dakota issued an injunction on Monday blocking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from protecting any employees of any members of a nationwide Catholic association who are seeking time off or other accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for an abortion or in vitro fertilization treatment.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor, a Trump appointee to the federal court in North Dakota, issued the religion-infused preliminary injunction to partially block enforcement of an EEOC rule implementing the 2022 law, along with related implementation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as to the Catholic Benefits Association and its members — current or future — nationwide. The order covers more than 8,000 employers — including thousands of churches — across the country. The PWFA was passed in December 2022 and is supposed to protect covered workers from discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” by, in part, requiring employers to provide employees with reasonable accommodations. The EEOC proposed its implementing rule for the PWFA in August 2023, stating in part that abortion and fertility treatment, including IVF, are covered by the law’s protections. That rule, which does not relate to insurance coverage, went into effect in June.

“It is a precarious time for people of religious faith in America,” Traynor declared in the introduction to his 21-page opinion, criticizing “the repeated illegal and unconstitutional administrative actions against one of the founding principles of our country, the free exercise of religion.” Ultimately, Traynor concluded that happened again here, finding that the CBA is likely to succeed in its challenge to the rule and related Title VII enforcement guidance under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Any appeal would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which only has one Democratic appointee among its 11 judges.

[...] Traynor sided with the Catholic employees — rejecting the EEOC’s arguments — on virtually all points, from standing to the underlying religious freedom claims to the scope of his eventual injunction. (Notably, Traynor gave little credit to the EEOC’s argument that “the Final Rule and Guidance acknowledge that employers may have RFRA defenses and commit to a fact-sensitive, case-by-case analysis.” Instead, he found that such an approach is not likely sufficient because the “burden of investigation and possible litigation” would remain.) The injunction is extremely broad, barring the EEOC from enforcing accommodations required under the PWFA rule relating to “abortion or infertility treatments,” along with guidance relating to “abortion, fertility treatments, or gender transition“ under Title VII, including recent workplace harassment guidance.

Trump-appointed judicial activist Daniel Traynor issued a nationwide injunction in Catholic Benefits Association v. Burrows that blocks the EEOC from protecting any employees of any Catholic Benefits Association members who are seeking time off or accommodations for abortion or IVF services.

#Catholic Benefits Association v. Burrows #Religious Exemptions #Judicial Activism #Catholic Benefits Association #IVF #In Vitro Fertilization #Abortion #8th Circuit Court #Religious Freedom Restoration Act #RFRA #Pregnant Workers Fairness Act #Daniel Traynor #EEOC

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ashen-sky · 2 years ago

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Personal highlights from...

Red vs Blue The Ultimate Fan Guide

In honor of s19 and the continuation of where s13 left off, here are some highlights from the ultimate fan guide published back in 2015. I've been re-watching the show and it made me want to flip back through the guide. (Everything is sort of in the order it appears in the book, with a few exceptions)

Delta appears as a guide of sorts with fun facts

Caboose's position is listed as "Team Rookie/Occasional Captain/ Church's Best Friend" (it is actually struck out in the book)

He is also the only one listed with the title Captain, appearing as "Private/Captain Michael J. Caboose" (due to Wash "promoting" him, in the canyon on chorus)

Tucker is "Private First Class", Church, Donut, and Simmons are "Private"s, Sarge is listed as a "Colonel" under rank (the other Red's and Blue's ranks appears with their name while his is under "position"), and Grif is "Minor Junior Private, Negative First Class"

Wash used to be a chronic bed wetter (thanks D)

There's also a six page transcript of his psych eval prior to PF where we find out he injured a commanding officer because he wanted to "send everyone to their deaths", he also put a former bully through a mirror in fifth-grade

Grif is stated to have been assigned to Blood Gulch because he was the only survivor of an alien attack on a colony during the great war, he fell asleep at his post and everyone assumed he was KIA

Donut's position is listed as "On all fours... cleaning Red bade"

Doc's profile is "Doc/ O'Malley" and the whole thing lists both their interests, i.e "Position: Canyon Medic, Galactic Overlord"

Andy's (the bomb) name is "Andrew D. Kaboom"

Sheila and Filss share a page

Tex's notable attributes are "Kicking ass (and nuts), being a mean lady, and resurrection"

The password to unlock the file on Beta that CT left behind was "Allison" (Thanks again D)

York's page comments "Several reports were filed against Agent York claiming he and Agent Carolina had something of a "personal" relationship [...] Freelancer Command was unable to find any proof to support these accusations."

One of his notable attributes is "watching his right side" and his position is "team scoundrel"

Eta and iota (Carolina's AIs) were "fear and happiness"

According to the official time line, Carolina was around 6 when Allison died (Allison died 23 years before Blood Gulch and Carolina was born 29 years before)

Wyoming's real name is Reginald

South Dakota's Status is listed as "Extra Crispy"

Smith once spent two days contemplating in silence what Caboose meant when he said his favorite color was "Happy"

Dr. Grey's position is "(Mad) Doctor", she was considered a prodigy at age 11 when she diagnosed every patient in House M.D. within five minutes of their introduction, and she thinks Grey's Anatomy is "far too trite"

Felix and Locus' names are listed as Unknown in the book, but I do believe their names were revealed in a s14 episode

The counselor advised the director to tell Tex that Alpha was in Blood Gulch to protect him and stop her from investigating the project

Notable Features of Blood Gulch include "Avoid Tucker's Rock at all costs, as it has not been properly sterilized"

BTS from D: The opening shot of Season 6 was created by shooting players moving in different quadrants and combining the shots"

Important events at High Ground, "Washington killed Agent south in cold blood- with a much less cold flamethrower."

Fact from D: "Once a year, Reds and Blues stationed at Rat's Nest still pay tribute to Agent Alabama by sending a flaming mongoose soaring through the night sky."

Donut likes to spend his leisure time in Federal Army Outpost 37, in the jail cells in handcuffs

The statistics pages, 9 pages of stats from number of robots murdered (112) to Church's sniper rifle accuracy (9.3%)

Bow Chicka Bow Wow was first said in season 4, and Simmons never sucked up in season 12, season one had the most "son of a bitch"s at 14 Donut made 32 accidental innuendos, and the odd number of pedals in vehicles was called out on five occasions Tucker has the highest kill count of all reds and blues (counting wash and Tex), at 24 followed by donut at 22 and Tex at 21, Caboose is the lowest at 2 raised by Lopez and 3 and Church at 8 Sarge has threatened/wished death on Grif 56 times, and Donut has nearly died five times Seasons 2 and 9 had the lowest kill counts Carolina had the highest flash back kills at 68 in season ten, and the twins are tied at 23 kills in season nine

Tex's attack to free Alpha was 2 years before Blood Gulch, the great war ended 1 year after Alpha arrived in Blood Gulch and after the Wyoming incident in Blood Gulch (where they tried to kidnap junior), Chorus takes place 5 years after Alpha initially arrived in Blood Gulch

The mission books has adorable illustrations (they look like Caboose's guides from s14)

There's a mindmap for all the Leonard and Allison iterations and they they connect

Sarge has a guide on how to build a robot, scented lube is preferred, along with mad scientist goggles, a cup of baking soda, and seventeen tablespoons of sugar

More silly plans with fun diagrams

Donut's diary, D tells us that Donut washes his underwear on tuesday's

Caboose's Wisdom section on: feelings, relationships, army etiquette (including gems like crayons don't work as bullets. Use markers.), life, and the reds and blues

Simmons made a text based adventure games

BTS from D, the story of Simmons refusing to go to the Vegas Quadrant is a reference to Gus Sorola (Simmons' VA) refusing to go to Las Vegas with the rest of the rvb creators

You can find the case against Sergeant Grif from the reds at rat's Nest (he was selling red team's ammo to Caboose before he was locked up in the brig, Private Jones wore a wire tap to help the red's catch Grif's under the table dealings)

Leonard met Allison in the mess hall during basic training where he pissed off another recruit and Allison had to save his ass (Church was right, Carolina get's her temper from her mom)

I'm Church. private Church. Leonard. Leonard Church." the only thing I cared about in that moment was that she knew my name. She smiled. Her smile could light up solar systems. "Kind of a funny name. Church." "It's Jewish."

I spent the rest of basic chasing after her. In some ways, I never stopped.

Here's hoping non of our beloved idiots die in season 19! I mean, I know Church will be gone, but the others... they deserve a happy ending.

Also I miss the freelancers and AI...

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