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dr-spencer-reids-queen · 8 months

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Amplification: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.4k

Summary: A deadly spread of Anthrax is going around infecting and killing people. One of your own is affected that completely tears your world into two. How will you over come this?

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

"It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and it will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt." - Exodus 9:9

"I want to go back," you say in the elevator heading up to the office.

"Me too. Maybe we can make this a monthly thing. You know, go someplace really fancy for the weekend."

"I'd really like that," you grin and pull him closer. You two are the only ones inside the elevator, so you don't feel bad when you kiss him like you would in the bedroom. "I love you."

"I love you."

"No, I mean I'm in love with you. Every part of you."

"You stole the words right out of my mouth," he laughs.

The elevator doors open and the smile is lost from your face. The entire BAU floor is covered with people from the military. Something is happening but you're not sure what. No one is visually panicking but you can feel it all. Derek and Emily are by the glass doors just watching the chaos.

"What the hell is going on?" you ask and join their side. "Why is the Military here?"

Without stopping to talk to anyone, you head into the briefing room where JJ, Rossi, Hotch, and some strange woman are.

"What is going on?"

"Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of Special Pathogens with the CDC."

"Hello. I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Spencer asks.

"Last night, twenty-five people checked into emergency rooms in and around Annapolis. They were all at the same park after two in the afternoon yesterday. Within ten hours, the first victim died. It's now just past seven in the morning. The next day, we have twelve dead."

You take the files and read through them quickly.

"Lung failure and black lesions. Is this Anthrax? This doesn't kill that fast."

"This strain does."

"What are we doing about potential mass targets like airports, malls, and trains?"

"There's a media blackout."

"We're not telling the public?" Email gasps.

"We'd have a mass exodus. The psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack. If it does get out, whoever did this might go underground or destroy their samples."

"Or if they wanted attention and don't get it, they might attack again. Doesn't the public have the right to know that?"

"I agree with Emily here. The public has a right to know this," you agree.

"If there is another attack, there's no way we'll be able to keep it quiet. Our best chance of protecting the public is by building a profile as quickly as we can. What do we know about this strain?"

"The spores are weaponized, reduced to a respirable ideal that attacks deep in the lungs. It's odorless and invisible. This is a sophisticated strain. Only a scientist would know how to do that."

"These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours."

"It's not the lesions I'm worried about, it's the lungs. We don't know how to combat the toxins once they're inside. The reality is, we may lose them all. The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing at Walter Reed Hospital. I'd like for your offices to become a small command center."

"We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick," Hotch says.

"General Whitworth is coming here?" Rossi asks.

"He's in charge of site containment and spore analysis. Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible."

"My team is in charge of treating all victims," Linda informs.

"Reid and Y/N, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital and interview the victims. Morgan and Prentiss, there's a hazmat team that will accompany you to the crime scene." Linda brings in some pills for everyone in the room. "This is Cipro. Everybody needs to take it before we go."

"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, but it's something."

You take a deep breath to calm yourself and grab one of the cups. You look over at JJ who is trying to suppress her concern. As soon as she takes it, she leaves and heads to her office to be alone. You know she's worried about her family. If she can't tell the public, then she can't tell her family about the risks.

Before you can go to the hospital, you need the files on all the victims who have been affected by this strain. JJ has all the files, so you and Spencer follow her to her office. She is looking at her phone with a look of concern on her face.

"Do you have the files on the victims?" Spencer asks.

"Did you see this memo from the director? Office phones and emails are being monitored."

"Yeah, they're trying to protect the media blackout. Files?"

"Right here."

She hands them over to him.

"Thanks. I want to see what kind of medical treatment the victims received before we head to the hospital."

There had been another strain of Anthrax that was going around in 2001 where the suspect put the Anthrax on envelopes. It affected a lot of people but it was never this deadly.

"Why do you think the suspect in 2001 stopped sending the letters?" JJ asks about the previous incident.

"I have no idea, but if he hadn't, it would have been much worse."

"The worst part was not knowing when it was gonna be over. You know, feeling safe opening mail again."

"Five people died. Many more were exposed and gotten sick including a baby who was admitted into the hospital after lesions appeared on his skin."

"How did he contract it?" JJ asks worriedly.

"I have no idea. The baby must have come into close contact with a tainted letter or crossed paths with the unsub himself."

"How old was the baby?"

"Seven months."

Fear and panic spike from JJ. She thinks about her own son getting this. She wants nothing more than to contact her family and warn them.

"Did he survive?"

"We gotta go. Dr. Kimura's waiting. I'll call you from the hospital."

"Spence. Did the baby survive?"

"Yeah, but, I mean, that was a curable strain. This thing's entirely different."

"Spencer, you are freaking her out," you whisper. "She has a baby of her own." Spencer goes quiet and decides to leave before he says anything worse. "JJ, listen to me. Henry is going to be fine. Will is going to be fine. I am your son's Godparent, so I say he's going to be just fine. You can't think like that."

"Like what?" she whispers with tears in her eyes.

"Like that. You're going to go home and be with your family who are going to be fine. I love you, but I have to go now. Keep your head up, JJ. They're gonna be fine."

Rossi and Hotch work with General Whitworth and the CIA to figure out what's going on here. The CIA said there are a few overseas terrorist groups with funding and capability for this. The FBI and CIA need to look at anyone who is going to profit from poisoning everyone, especially people who have patents on Anthrax vaccines. Not to mention anyone with access to weaponized spores like people from universities, scholars working in bioweapons research, and employees of labs who keep germ collections.

General Whitworth and his men are trying to decode the strain and learned that the additives used to strengthen the bacterial capsules don't exist at the CIA research labs, and there aren't any known labs to have these substances. He'll provide a list of all scientists in the CIA Anthrax programs just so the FBI can rule out anyone who decides to have a side project.

This unsub is someone who has the ability to manipulate and weaponize Anthrax, so it doesn't matter what General Whitworth's views are on the BAU. Someone above him believes in the power of profiles, so he has no choice but to listen to orders.

You and Spencer reach the hospital with the people who are sick with Anthrax. The public doesn't know what is going on so there isn't a lot of panic going around, but the ones that are affected are struggling very hard. There is only one person who is well enough to answer some questions since most others are either dead or close to being dead. Dr. Linda Kimura leads you and Spencer to Abby Belle's room.

"Hi, Abby," Linda says gently. "Are you feeling any better?" She shakes her head no. "This is Agent Reid and Y/N from the FBI. If you can, will you talk with them?"

This time, she nods. You walk around to the other end of the bed and hold out your hand for her to take. She doesn't know what's going on but what harm would this do? She lifts her hand just enough for you to slip your hand underneath.

"Abby, I'd like to try to do a memory recall exercise with you to take you back to the park, if that's okay." She nods. "I need you to close your eyes." She does. "Yesterday afternoon, you rode your bicycle to the park. How did the sun feel on your skin? The breeze through your hair? Can you describe for me what you heard and the people that you saw?"

"It was warm... windy," she whispers. You allow her words to take you back to that day. The park was in full effect with a bunch of people enjoying the sun. There is a game of men playing football, kids swinging on the playground, dogs running around with each other, people on bikes, and others walking the trail. "There were guys playing football... Kids... I see free... Me seen fee me. Free knee."

Her speech is screwed up from whatever the Anthrax is doing to her, and she is panicking.

"It's alright, Abby. You just rest now," Linda says.

"Me mock fee key me free," she whimpers.

"Just rest, Abby. Thank you."

You, Spencer, and Linda leave her room to give the doctors an opportunity to work on Abby.

"What's causing her aphasia?"

"The poison is infecting the parietal lobe which impairs her speech. Some of the other patients displayed the same symptoms shortly before they died."

"There's nothing that is helping them? Nothing is working?" you ask.

"The only thing that's helping them right now is the morphine."

Emily and Derek reached the park in Maryland which has been closed for observation. Emily is against not telling the public about this, but she isn't in a position of authority to make that call. So, instead of telling people the truth, officials have told the public there is Methane buildup in the sewage system. Since they're oblivious as to what's going on, they believed it.

There is a certain spot in the park that has high levels of Anthrax where the unsub most likely released the attack. The wind spread the Anthrax around the park and hit everyone who was there. It's weird because you didn't think that a park would be a target for anything. Terrorists usually target symbols like the White House, Pentagon, and the World Trade Center. The park is nice but it's nothing like a symbol building.

It could be symbolic for the unsub like how Ted Kaczynski sent bombs to Berkley where he taught, to Michigan where he went to school, and to Chicago where he lived. The suspect who attacked with Anthrax in 2001 sent letters to two pro-choice senators whose politics he opposed. People like that can't help but attach a personal motive to the places they've targeted, so this park must mean something to the unsub.

In the last two hours alone, more people have come into the hospital seeking medical attention for being sick, and the panic and fear are getting to you. No one knows what's going on, and humans fear the unknown. You're trying hard not to let it get to you but for someone with your abilities, it's hard.

You wipe your eyes before the tears have a chance to fall, and Spencer takes you off to the side.

"Hey, it's going to be okay."

"Is it? How do you know?"

"I don't," he sighs. "I have hope that we're going to figure this out because we always do."

"I wish that'd give me comfort." You look around the hospital and see parents hugging their sick children and people comforting their loved ones. "Promise me you won't do something stupid."

"What?"

"We're the only ones that know what's going on. Please don't do anything stupid. This is your life. I can't bear the thought of losing you. Please be careful."

"Only if you promise to do the same."

"Sorry to interrupt, but this whole thing is baffling me. Seventeen out of twenty-five people are dead. This strain is duplicated every thirty to forty-five minutes. It's poisoning the lungs and causing massive hemorrhaging and organ failure."

"Whoever created this had to at some point go to the trouble of testing it. First, they start with rodents, then advance to larger mammals, and then they do a very small trial run with people. There's no way this was his first human test run."

"We would have heard about a previous anthrax attack," Linda says.

"Not if it presented itself as something else," you state. "Is there anything that happened recently that was kind of like what's happening now?"

"Yeah, actually."

She tells you what happened a couple of days ago and gives you files on the patients affected. Your phone rings and you and Spencer go into an empty hospital room to answer the phone. You place JJ on speakerphone.

"Hey, JJ."

"Hey, you have me, Hotch, and Rossi."

She sounds like she's been crying because she is so worried about her family. She can't tell them anything but she wants to so badly.

"JJ, are you okay?"

She doesn't comment.

"It turns out that two days ago, two people in two separate Baltimore ERs, and one person in a Philadelphia ER slipped into comas and died suddenly. The COD on all of them was meningitis. Doctors didn't test for Anthrax because the illnesses presented themselves as meningitis, but I think it can be caused by Anthrax."

"Did they show symptoms that we're seeing now like the lesions?"

"They wouldn't have if the bodily functions expired as quickly as they did."

"How quickly?"

"They were all dead within three hours of being admitted."

"Wait, the first patient died yesterday at ten in the morning."

"If they inhaled a higher concentration of the strain, it would cause a quicker death through organ failure without exterior physical symptoms."

"What are their names?"

Spencer looks through the files. You can feel JJ's sadness through the phone. You'd love nothing more than to tell Hannah about what's going on, but she's in New Jersey and likely won't be affected. Will and Henry live right in the danger zone.

"JJ, listen to me. I need you to breathe. Henry is going to be fine and so is Will. You're going to go home and see your family. You need to tell yourself this."

"Okay, their names are Gale Mercer who was thirty-one, Martha Finestein who was forty-eight, and Albert Franks who was fifty-two."

"Did they visit the same place on the day they were affected?"

"Gale made a credit card purchase at a bookstore owned by Albert."

"We'll send Morgan and Prentiss out there to investigate."

"Remember, JJ, breathe," you say before hanging up.

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

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girlactionfigure · 7 months

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*ISRAEL REALTIME* - Connecting the World to Israel in Realtime

(( Note Israel Realtime does not post updates on Shabbat (Israel time) unless life threatening / saving. ))

SHABBAT ✡️✡️ SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS✡️✡️ for those in ISRAEL

Chief Rabbinute instructions with Risk adjustments

🔅Erev Shabbat Parshat Ki Tisa - Exodus 30:11-34:35, discussing contributing a half shekel to the temple, temple construction, and keeping Shabbat.

Shabbat Times here -> https://www.myzmanim.com/search.aspx

🔸NORTH - Risk MEDIUM and GROWING, could grow serious very suddenly, particularly in Safed, Meron, Acre, Nahariya, Teveria, Afula and HAIFA area. Safety precautions necessary, shelter options needed at synagogue, school, work and home. Know your shelter options where ever you are, such as shopping.

🔸SOUTH - Unchanged, rockets from GAZA mostly eliminated, BUT occasional rocket attacks, more often on Shabbat. Risk is low except for Ashkelon, Sderot and near-Gaza towns - take precautions, know your shelter, where, time to get there, capacity - everywhere.

🔸EILAT and NEGEV - Risk low, but occasional attacks from Yemen. Keep an eye open on shelter options.

➡️ MAMAD LIGHTS ON… leave the lights on so if there is an alert you don’t have to turn them on, on Shabbat.

➡️ TAKE A PHONE WITH YOU… when sheltering or leave one on in the shelter. If you must call for help, have a way to do so quickly.

➡️ LEAVE ON AN ALERT METHOD… Leave on silent channel or stream on computer or phone, or alert app.

➡️ SAFE TO GO TO SYNAGOGUE? - Follow instructions of Homefront Command and your City!

— HIGH Risk - only go to a synagogue that has, or preferably is in, a shelter. Otherwise pray at home.

— MEDIUM Risk - best to only go to a synagogue that has or is very near a shelter. Where is it? Have a ‘when there is a siren’ plan in mind.

— LOW Risk - there will possibly be sirens, what’s your plan? Have one or choose another synagogue.

➡️ PLAN YOUR SHELTER PATH TO/FROM SYNAGOGUE - If an alert goes off en route, where will you go to be protected?

➡️ IN SYNAGOGUE, WHERE IS THE SHELTER? Does it have capacity? - If an alert goes off in synagogue, KNOW where you will go. Walk over and check the path and capacity.

➡️ ARE YOU SLOW? - In High Risk areas, stay home. Medium and Low risk, have a plan if there is a siren.

➡️ CHILDREN? Discuss with your children what to do in case there is a siren. Leave young children at home in High risk areas.

➡️ CARRY YOUR WEAPON.

— If you have a gun license, it is a MITZVAH to carry your gun on Shabbat, even without an eruv.

— Try to have AT LEAST one armed person in every synagogue.

— Have Pepper spray? Or a Knife (small size, approx. width of palm, as allowed by law)? Carry it - we all remain at risk of terror attacks. (Note pepper spray, knives etc will not be allowed to enter govt offices, hospitals, malls or any security controlled site, and your workplace may require you to register.)

➡️ IF SIRENS, SHELTER EVEN IF IN AMIDAH

— If sirens are heard in the middle of the Amidah, one must go to the shelter. After, restart Amidah from the beginning (others rule to start from where you stopped).

— Can’t get to shelter, LAY DOWN, all the way, hands on head (reduces risk by 80%).

— As per Homefront Command, wait AT LEAST 5 minutes (Homefront says 10) before exiting shelter or getting up.

➡️ HAVE A PHONE AVAILABLE

— Every synagogue needs a PHONE ON for immediate use on Shabbat. And with a red alert app in case it is hard to hear sirens.

— You may carry and keep a cell phone on in your pocket. Set to silent, and set red alert apps to “override silent mode”.

➡️ DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL POLICE !! - If anything suspicious, CALL POLICE immediately! Dial 100

➡️ ALL INSTRUCTIONS FROM HOME FRONT COMMAND and your City must be strictly obeyed. If instructed to shut yourself in, do not leave the house even for prayer.

It is a mitzvah to take actions to protect and save and preserve life on Shabbat, not a violation. But ONLY actions which do so.

#Israel #Realtime War Updates #October 7 #Operation Swords of Iron #Hamas Massacre #Israel/HamasWar

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tothemettle · 1 year

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A 'closed-down' shopping mall in Chiang Mai Thailand. There is a heritage style hotel at the rear still operating. It has been said the Chinese owners optimised the number of retail tenants into pokey little premises and that, in the face of open, airy and spacious modern shopping malls, led to an exodus of tennants and it's ultimate demise. Engineers are in the process of redesigning the interior.

#brutalism #architecture #abandoned #chiang mai #thailand

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paisholotus · 11 months

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𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓾𝓮

Narrative

"What's the Army doing here? What the hell is going on?" Derek asked, walking into the office.

"Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of special pathogens, with the CDC." Hotch introduced them to the doctor.

"Hello." The group said.

"Hello. I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances." Dr. Linda said, sadly.

"What circumstances? We need to get started." Spencer said.

"Last night, 25 people checked into emergency rooms, in and around, Annapolis." The doctor informed them.

"They were all at the same. Park after 2 PM. yesterday. Within 10 hours, the first victim died. It's now just past 7 AM the next day. We have 12 dead." JJ told them.

"Lung failure and black lesions." Derek read from off the report.

"Anthrax?" Emily asked.

"Anthrax doesn't kill this fast." Spencer said.

"This strain does." Dr. Linda said.

"What are we doing about potential mass targets..." JJ asked.

"airports, malls, trains?" Derek pointed out.

"There's a media blackout. We're not telling the public?" Emily asked.

"We'd have a mass exodus." Hotch said.

"The psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack." Spencer pointed out.

"Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did this might go underground or destroy their samples." Derek said.

"Or if they wanted attention and didn't get it, they might attack again." Hotch said.

"Doesn't the public have the right to know that?" Emily questioned.

"If there is another attack,there's no way we'll be able to keep it quiet. Our best chance of protecting the public is by building a profile as quickly as we can." Hotch said.

"What do we know about this strain?" Spencer asked.

"The spores are weaponized, reduced to a respiral ideal that attacks deep in the lungs...odorless and invisible. A sophisticated strain. Only a scientist would know how to do that." Dr. Linda said.

The group looked around worried of what to do as they calmly listened to the doctor.

"These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours. It's not the lesions I'm worried about. It's the lungs. We don't know how to combat the toxins once they're inside. And the reality is, we may lose them all. The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing at Walter Reed Hospital. Our offices will become a small command center. We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick." Dr. Linda told them.

"Attorney General Washington is coming here?" Rossi asked Hotch.

"Yes, they don't want this to become a public issue. The president has already been notified." He said, looking all the group.

"Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible." Dr. Linda said.

"My team is in charge of treating all victims. Reid, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital. Interview the victims. Morgan and Prentiss, there's a HAZMAT team that will accompany you to the crime scene. There's Cipro. Everybody needs to take it before we go." Hotch told his group.

"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, but it's something." Dr. Linda told them.

"This is really happening?" Derek asked, but mainly to himself, looking down at the reports of people being hospitalized.

"We knew this could happen. We've done our homework. We've prepared for this.This is it." Hotch told them.

They raised the little cups up with the pills in them, and took them.

"May you live 100 years." Rossi said, taking his pills.

-Time Skip-

"Office phones and emails are being monitored." JJ said.

"Yeah, they're trying to protect the media blackout. Files?" Spencer asked.

"Uh, yeah, right here." JJ pointed to the end of the table.

"Thanks. I want to see what kind of medical treatment the victims received before I head to the hospital." Spencer said, reading over the files.

"Why do you think the suspect in 2001 stopped sending the letters?" JJ asked, Spencer, looking at the board with possible suspects.

"I have no idea, but if he hadn't, it would have been much worse. The worst part was not knowing when it was gonna be over. It was feeling safe opening mail again." He said, lowly.

"5 people died. Many more exposed and sickened, including a baby who was admitted to the hospital after lesions appeared." JJ said, sadly.

"Agent Jareau." One of the soldiers came into the room, standing by the door.

"Uh, call me when they get through security. Thanks." JJ said, handing up the phone.

"The General's here." He told them.

"Is there bad blood with her?" Spencer asked, the soldier.

"She was very critical of the way the '01 Amerithrax investigation was handled." He told, them.

"Because of what happened with Dr. Hatfill?" JJ asked.

"Among other things. And this is the list of victims you asked for." He said, handing JJ and Spencer the files.

"No high-profile jobs?" Spencer asked.

"No. Just ordinary people frolicking in the park." The soldier said.

"Any word from the CIA?" JJ asked him.

"They said there are a few overseas terrorist groups with funding and capability. They're working international. We've got domestic. Also the members of the BJS are going to accompany the General." He said.

Spencer and JJ stopped walking looking at him surprised. The soldier stopped and nodded his head for them to keep walking.

"Jesus..." JJ trailed off, looking back down at the papers.

"We need to look at anyone who could profit from this. People who have patents on anthrax vaccines." JJ said.

"Garcia." Spencer called, through the phone.

"Yes, sir" She answered.

"And add to your list anyone with access to weaponized spores...universities, scholars working in bioweapons research. Employees of labs who keep germ collections." He told her.

"Okay, call back in a few." She said, handing up.

"Right in here, Ma'am." The Soldiers said, leading Aleza through the door.

"Attorney General, Aleza Washington. This is Agent Hotchner, SSA David Rossi, Dr. Spencer Reid, and Agent Jennifer Jareau." The soldier said, introducing the group.

"Pleasure to meet you all. But I would like to get the formalities out the way, so someone can tell me what the hell is going on, before I have national panic on my hands." She said, folding her arms.

"My scientists are decoding the strain.The additives used to strengthen the bacterial capsules do not exist at our research labs." Dr. Linda said.

"Are there any other labs using these substances?" She asked, her.

"No." Dr. Linda said, lowly.

"I'd like a list of all the scientists in your anthrax program." She said, walking towards the doctor.

"I just said we don't use those additives." Dr. Linda said, raising her eyebrows.

Aleza gave her a hard glare, "ma'am, we can rule out your lab samples, but not your people." She said, harshly. "We're looking at someone who has the ability to manipulate and weaponize anthrax. Your scientists make that cut." She said, continuing to glare at the doctor, towering over her.

"Now, we all know what happened the last time your team looked into my people. Ma'am, our team officially ruled out Dr. Hatfill. I'm sorry if Justice didn't listen to us." The doctor said, not backing down.

"but the profile was accurate. It happened in your labs. Now the same thing is happening again in one of your labs, you're going to look me in the eyes and tell me that's a coincidence? I hope you don't think I got this job, by being stupid." Aleza said, squinting at the doctor.

"I'll get you your list. General." Hotch told her.

She nodded still glaring at the doctor then turned around and walked out.

-Time Skip-

"Team, This Sariya Washington, she is with the BJS. Hotch introduced them to her.

"Hi, nice to meet y'all. But I We've tracked Chad Brown. He's going to the train station." She said, showing directions on her laptop.

"Then that's where we're going. Thanks for your help." She nodded, walking back out the door.

"No gas masks. Repeat, no gas masks. Rush hour crowd sees anyone in a mask, here's gonna be a stampede. Morgan, I want you to stay above ground and help the crowds. I'm gonna go down by myself." Hotch told them.

"Not a chance, Hotch." Derek said, shaking his head.

"Morgan, we're a man down. If the area's infected, we can't risk losing both of us as well." Hotch, said frowning.

"We are a team. We're gonna go down as a team." Derek told him, determined.

"We need to clear the station." JJ said, putting on her vest.

"I've got it. OK, I need everybody to listen up. I am FBI. I need you to exit the train now." Hotch yelled.

"What's happening? Oh, my God." A woman yelled, panicked.

"Please, everyone, through this far door only." Emily said, ushering people through the door.

"Chad Brown, don't move!" Derek yelled.

"Don't come any closer!" He yelled, backing up.

"Chad, put the bag down." Emily said, trying to

get the man to do what they said.

"Far door. Let's go." Derek said, walking closer.

"I can kill everybody here!" Chad, screamed, clutching the bag.

"And I will kill you before you do." Hotch said, closing in.

"No! No! Weapons down." Aleza said, walking towards the situation.

"General, what are you doing?" Hotch asked, looking between the General and Chad.

"This is an order from the President. The US Army is taking this man into custody." She said, grabbing Chad.

"General, the Army has no authority here." Hotch said.

"Agent! YOU DO NOT TELL ME WHERE I HAVE AUTHORITY! THIS MAN IS COMING WITH ME He helped create this strain. He's the only one who can show us how it was made." She yelled, at Hotch.

"Ma'am, he is a danger to the country." Emily said, pleading.

"He is an asset to this country! And by Presidential order, I'm taking him in." Aleza said, turning around to look at Chad.

"Sir, please come with me." She asked, him.

"Where?" He asked, squinting his eye's.

"Fort Detrick, sir." Aleza said, with a smile.

"You want me to go to Fort Detrick?" Chad asked, uncertain.

Aleza nodded, "We need you, sir, please." Aleza pretended to plead the man.

"I helped create this. You have to name it after me!" He said, with hopeful eyes.

Aleza smiled, nodding. "Of course. Standard practice. Now, hand me the bag so we can go on our way." She said, slowly sticking out her hand. Chad looked at her hand, then back into her eyes and smiled, handing the bag to her.

"Are there any other samples present?" She asked, cautiously.

"No." He said, shaking his head.

"Move in." She said, to her soldiers. Then looked back at Chad with a glare.

"You should have understood this was never going to go your way." She said, as the soldiers roughly cuffed Chad and pulled him away.

"What are you doing?!" Chad yelled.

"General!"....

"General!....I can help recreate this for you!" He yelled, before getting put into the police car.

Aleza handed her bag to one of the soldiers, as they put it in a confinement box, and taking it to one of the cars.

"Well, you did good work, General." Said, Prentiss. Aleza gave her a small smile, "I know. You Agents did a good job, thank you for your hard work." She said, nodding at them and walking away.

-Time Skip-

"eating Jell-O?" Spencer asked, groggily.

"Hey, kid." Derek said, softly.

"Hey, Doc. Look who's back." Derek said, towards the doctor.

"Is there any more Jell-O?" Spencer asked, trying to sit up.

"Hey. Not so fast." Derek said, pushing Spencer back lightly.

"What happened?" Spencer asked, leaning back onto the bed.

"You're gonna be all right, kid. We caught him, and him and the Virus are getting locked up forever." Derek said, smiling at Spencer.

"Dr. Reid, you have visitors." The nurse said, opening the door for them to come in.

Aleza and Sariya came in holding flowers and and a present wrapped in wrapping paper. Spencer felt like his breath was caught in his throat, when he saw Aleza earlier today, a part of him was excited despite Aleza's Intimidating nature. Because he was wondering if Sariya was close by.

He hasn't seen Sariya since they were kids, he remembered the pain he felt when his best friend told him she was moving away for awhile, that awhile turned to years. He would check on her from time to time through social media, but gave up due to the fact, that he thought she had moved on from him. Sariya was his first everything. His best friend, his protector, his first love. And here she was standing in front of him.

"I, heard Spencer Reid was in the hospital, so we decided to stop by and check on him." Aleza said, holding the flowers.

"Oh, that was very nice of you, General." Penelope said, taking the flowers and placing them beside the bed.

Sariya walked towards the bed, standing beside Spencer, smiling down at him. Spencer felt his skin get hot, as he stared up at her, as if she hung up the stars.

"Hey, Moon, long time, no see." She said, sitting beside his bed.

Derek looked at Penelope, to Aleza, then back to Spencer.

"I'm happy you're okay, don't know what I'll do if something happened to you." She said, rubbing the side of his face.

Aleza cleared her throat and tapped her watch telling her they had to go. Sariya rolled her eyes and stood up.

"OK, I have to go. But I wanted to give you this." She said, handing him the wrapped present. "Take care of yourself, Moon. See you around." She said, kissing the top of his head.

They waved bye to everyone and walked out the room. Derek then looked at Spencer surprised and smiled, hitting Spencer on his shoulder.

"Kid, when were you going to tell us, you have a girlfriend?" Derek asked.

Spencer smiled and opened the present. His eye's watered and clutched the book to his chest smiling.

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sirfrogsworth · 11 months

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Regarding my heading down an unfinished road... I found it on Google Street View.

So these are from a year ago.

This is the lane I drove down.

And this is the section where I realized, "Oh shit, I ain't supposed to drive here."

I used generative fill to update these images to what they looked like on the day of embarrassment.

Looking back, there were a few cones. But all of the "do not enter" signs were gone and I think it would be perfectly reasonable to assume you could drive here. I think other people may have avoided it because they drive in this area regularly. I drive maybe once or twice a month.

And here is what the dead end looked like with a year of construction progress.

(It is scary how close generative fill matched this to my memory of it.)

I was really confused when I got to this point. I wasn't sure if I should try backing up or turning. I thought the gravel was okay to drive on, so I pulled forward and started a u-turn. But there was a sharp drop-off from the road to the gravel section I couldn't see and that was very jarring. And the gravel was not fit for driving on. So I kicked up a ton of dust and passers-by were all "WTF are you doing?"

Hell, I was like "WTF are you doing?"

I have a feeling this memory will join a few other embarrassing moments that pop into my head right before I try to fall asleep.

It wasn't my fault, but yeah, I hate driving around here.

It feels like the highway construction in this area is endless. It's been going on for years and it never feels like any progress is being made.

They closed off 3 highway exits for streets that contain a lot of local businesses. One of them leads straight to Ferguson. And if you don't know to exit onto a side road ahead of these areas, you'll just pass them by. So people from out of town who might be looking for a place to eat or shop could easily drive past these areas.

I feel sad for my community. Big franchises are closing up shop. There is no pizza place that directly delivers to my area. When your last pizza place closes up, that's when you know your community is in trouble.

If anyone around here wants pizza delivered you have to spend a ton to have it DoorDash'd in from another area.

And it all started with a "white flight" epidemic. They even made a documentary about it called Spanish Lake (my township). There was a failed housing project nearby and a lot of poor Black folks started moving to Spanish Lake afterward. Then some scummy real estate people took advantage and it all snowballed from there...

"The 1990s saw a mass exodus of the white population, spurred on by blockbusting, a practice some U.S. real estate agents use to encourage white property owners to sell their houses quickly at a loss, implying the African-Americans moving into their neighborhood will depress their property values."

Apparently blockbusting is the new red lining.

The "controversy" section on Wikipedia sums up the movie pretty well.

I started following a Facebook page dedicated to Spanish Lake, thinking it would be other folks in my community. I thought maybe I could get to know my neighbors.

Instead, it is all of the white people who moved away reminiscing about how great Spanish Lake used to be.

People in this group are trying really hard not to say the quiet part out loud.

Riff raff?

Scot, I think you dropped this...

I grew up here. I still live here. I love my house and my street. There are some areas that could really use some help, but if you live here, you know the few small pockets to stay away from. I have no issue walking up and down my street at night without fear.

They also mourn the loss of the businesses that closed because they abandoned the area.

There is the mall which will be officially demolished soon.

And, yes, it is the spooky mall from that viral video.

youtube

There was the movie theater... at the mall.

There was the Aloha Roller Rink.

Which now looks like this.

And the burger joint.

The pizza place.

And the other pizza place.

Saullo's was okay.

Angelo's in the next town over is better. And still in business!

What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah. Don't drive down unfinished roads!

#long post #Youtube

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thesoftboiledegg · 11 months

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Good evening Rick fuckers, girlbloggers, self-shippers, roleplayers, writers, Spencer's employees, artists, tea drinkers, stoners, Birdrick truthers, bootleg streetwear sellers, vapers, gamers, this guy, leftists, merch collectors and everyone else who either joined the fandom late or survived the 2017 Szechuan Sauce Exodus: it's the Season Seven Premiere Roundup! 💐

The Funko Pops at the "nerdy" store are still thinning out, but this one did greet me near the entrance--pretty fitting since season seven starts with Mr. Poopybutthole reminding Beth that she shot him.

I glanced over and saw another surprise on the wall behind the register. No idea how long he's been parked there.

The other "nerdy" store in the mall had a new comic and a couple of puzzles. Dan Harmon really tricked everybody into watching a show where one of the leads sits on a toilet for half the episode.

For whatever reason, the IT/Rick and Morty crossover continues to dominate head shops. The one in the mall had a T-shirt with a new design:

Another head shop in my area had a couple of new items in stock--a grinder and a pipe covered in Mortys.

But back to the mall: shockingly, I couldn't find Pickle Rick anywhere at Spencer's, not even near the Rick and Morty cube. Luckily, they had plenty of beanies to make up for his absence.

New belt! Morty's looking a little overeager.

And finally, it looks like Rick made a new friend. Couple of drinking buddies! 🍻

A guy wearing a Rick and Morty shirt walked into the coffee shop while I was writing this roundup, so I'll take that as a good sign. Admittedly, Rick and Morty dominates this part of the Midwest. I used to roll my eyes, but now that I've actually watched the show, I enjoy seeing how much the people around me love it. I hope that I create something that people love that much one day.

And in the meantime, let's celebrate new episodes, new voices and new material just in time for Halloween! 🎃

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #the simpsons #spencer's #cannabis culture #head shop #roundup

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principles-of · 20 days

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I was tasked to photograph buildings and encouraged to play around with how to present it. My city has plenty of looooong strip malls and I wanted to show how (almost comedically) long they were. But how? I can't fit it in the frame. I landed on this idea: shoot with a prime lens, photograph different sections of the building from a consistent distance, and look out for parking lot traffic. Sloppily stitch them together in google slides. It's an assignment not a print so I didn't worry at all about the polish of the editing, just enough to translate my idea into imagery.

If I could do it again I would

Use a different lens. My 35mm prime is really fun to shoot on. Probably my favorite lens. It has so much character and imperfections. Which is precisely why I should've gone with the 50mm. There is no vignetting, images are crisp and professional and I know exactly how images will turn out. No "character" of the lens coming out to play. Just my view.

Shoot in RAW. I shot in jpeg because I wanted to get it right in camera. They turned out too blue (shot at 8pm), and too underexposed for my liking. Even if I am confident in how I'm shooting, the RAWs are a nice backup. It's 2024. I can use the tech to support my goals, but it should not supplement my technique.

Give myself more time to shoot. I hate to admit it, but I left the assignment on the table until the last opportunity. While shooting, I wish I had more time before it got too dark. I felt rushed. I had ideas how to improve already, but I couldn't go back to improve those old shots. I could only apply it moving forward, like omitting distracting elements like cars or pedestrians.

Use a tripod. I could line the photos up pretty well in post, but I think having a tripod would enhance the realism of these long buildings. My shots would more consistent in framing, leading to a more surreal final image after stitching.

My idea was inspired by a photo by Chris De Bode, Exodus from Libya, featured in Aperture no. 214. The repetition makes it hard for me to find a beginning and an end. It's subjects chaotic while setting is sound and structured. Both of those elements bring the peoples' voice to the front "We are being exiled by our country. We have no choice but to leave." My photographs aim to hear the voice of these buildings. What do they say to you?

#photography #opinion #composition #photographers on tumblr #art

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jonathanwrotethis · 25 days

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Authenticity

Following the quite predictable implosion and subsequent exodus of users from the hellscape that Twitter became once Elon gave free reign to the toxic horde, I “followed the spiders” across the internet in search of somewhere better to procrastinate.

A part of me asks “why bother”. There will always be somewhere new to discover - the internet never slows down. I'm often caught between the idea of setting up a beach-head for myself - becoming a fool on a hill - or descending into any of the “town squares” - the various popular social networks that seem to rise and fall every few years.

I’ve been writing a public journal - a “blog” - for over twenty years. Along the way I’ve seen countless platforms come and go. In the beginning of course there were no platforms - if you wanted to publish your thoughts it meant signing up for a web hosting account. Everybody was an island, and we would spend time building bridges among the archipelago.

In the same way that Wells' martians gazed jealously towards Earth, so Meta must have looked upon Twitter, given the speed with which they resurrected a long dead social experiment, re-badged it “Threads”, and set out on a spectacularly successful user trawling expedition.

For a while Threads seemed like it might be the future for many - an advertising free micro-blogging platform - a free start initially absent of marketers, advertisers, and trolls. Notice the word “initially”. A tipping point has been reached in recent weeks - a critical mass that has drawn the gaze of the brands, marketers and trolls. Suddenly the small-town feel of Threads has begun to erode - with it’s numerous small communities seeing the arrival of chain coffee shops, restaurants, bill-boards, shopping malls, and the inevitable army of trolls, attention seekers and “influencers” that follow any community where they might command eyeballs, hearts and minds.

We’ve been here before.

Blogger, ICQ, Geocities, LiveJournal, Vox, Posterous, Yahoo 360, Jaiku, Plurk, Tumblr, Wordpress, TypePad, MySpace, MoveableType, Google+, Buzz… I could go on.

While a few of those platforms are still with us, they are a shadow of what they once were. As each platform has taken it’s place in the sun migrations have emptied each of it’s neighbours. In more recent times “the community” came together to “fix” the ever-repeating cycle of silos and ring-fenced communities - giving birth to “the fediverse” - the “federated internet” - where no one company owns or controls either a platform, or your data. The only problem with this lofty ideal? It requires effort on the part of it’s users.

People are lazy. And busy.

Why even think about building your own city, when you can arrive on the doorstep of an already thriving metropolis and immediately set about finding your tribe? It explains why Mastodon, Pixeltube, Peerfed, Friendica, and Writefreely have never gained significant traction against the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

I didn’t set out to write a monologue. I set out to wonder where might be best to “throw my hat” in the months ahead. Where might be “good enough”. Where I might find a tribe that doesn’t expect too much, but might also appreciate me quietly sitting in a corner and volunteering my tuppence-worth every now and again. Not sharing selfies every day like the attention-whore glitterati that have descended on Threads - more emptying my head into the keyboard about subjects that nobody else was thinking about, or really set out to read about.

You know the funny thing? I may have found my ultimate destination some time ago, but didn’t realise it.

Substack.

Yes, they’re paying to attract influential writers, and yes, they could do with a small army of user interface and interaction designers, but my word has their trajectory been spectacular. Where else can you find the likes of Patti Smith, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Stephen Fry, Chuck Palahniuk, Nick Hornby, Richard Dawkins and Pamela Anderson (yes, that Pamela Anderson) writing personal blogs, alongside a rapidly growing community of old-media journalists, retired columnists, and plain-old-garden-bloggers such as myself?

Of course this is me though, and rather than switch platforms yet again, I’m trying to be everywhere, for everybody, all at once (isn’t that a movie title?). I’m cross-posting to Wordpress, Tumblr, Medium, and Substack.

Now and again the urge to find out what other’s think of each platform overtakes me, and a quick search uncovers an entire universe of commercial bloggers espousing Wordpress rule over the internet universe, and how you can buy their get-rich-quick series of posts, videos, and podcasts about how you too can live happily ever after while holed up in a perfect cabin with a laptop somewhere.

It strikes me that the same writers that destroyed Wordpress - turning it into a publishing rather than a blogging platform - arrive at any sufficiently popular platform and mansplain to the masses what to write, how to write, when to write it, and so on - you know, instead of telling anybody how their day went - unless of course that doesn’t preclude carefully posed, heavily photoshopped gym-flex photos of themselves inbetween yoga and boutique coffee shop visits.

I’m not ranting. In the words of the Dowager Countess of Grantham, “I’m explaining”. And certainly not mansplaining - more muttering to myself while the rest of the world gets on with it’s day, oblivious to the unfolding idiocy that doesn’t seem to matter to anybody else.

This post doesn’t really have a point. It’s just me - emptying my head - and wondering how many plates I can continue to spin until they all come crashing down.

Perhaps I do have a point though.

The famous writers that have begun to gather at Substack seem to be mostly independent - devoid of any sort of agenda or mission to prove the validity of what they might share. They are without publishers, agents, or marketers filtering, shaping, or writing their words for them. It’s refreshing, and brings about an authenticity that a lot of the “social internet” has been missing for a long time.

#Social #Internet #Writing #Blogging

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bookish-bi-mormon · 5 months

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Source

I hate suburbs I hate isolationism I hate it here

(ID under cut)

[ ID: Screenshots from an academic essay in plain text reading:

"Oldenburg discusses the dramatic decrease in public space as the plight of America. “In their kind and number, there has been a marked decline in gathering places near enough to people’s homes to afford the easy access and familiar faces to a vital informal public life. The course of urban development in America is pushing the individual toward that line separating proud independence from pitiable isolation (Oldenburg 1989, xvi). Oldenburg’s sociological theory of third place preceded the takeover of social media and smartphones, but even in the 1980s, he observes “America does not rank well on the dimension of her informal public life … her citizens are encouraged to find their relaxation, entertainment, companionship, even safety, almost entirely within the privacy of homes” (Oldenburg 1989, xvi – xvii). His desperation over Americans retreating to their first places and reducing social interaction is in keeping with our current retailer exodus where chain stores and malls, the quintessential gathering place of the latter part of the 20th century, are shuttering daily.

Oldenburg attributes the increased isolation of Americans, in part, to a desire for convenience, a deemphasized informal public life, and reliance on self-help (Oldenburg 1989, 285–292). Busy, working Americans view third places as inconvenient because it takes effort and time to visit them, and their presence in society has lessened (Oldenburg 1989, 286–287). The health and fulfillment benefits of third place have been abandoned, and Americans seek to solve their own emotional and mental troubles or turn to professionals in a formal setting. This decline in third places increases the urgency for libraries to accept the social responsibility of providing space in the public sphere. Libraries are still vulnerable to the isolation habits of the general public just like any third place, but the principles that libraries represent and the values they are capable of preserving, suspend the hasty fate to which franchise stores have fallen victim. The synergy for preserving libraries comes from history, core values, and a future sanctity of public.

We may not need third place association to build a town hall anymore, but we sorely need it to construct the infrastructures of human relationships. Ever since the solidifying effect of World War II passed into history, Americans have been growing further apart from one another. Lifestyles are increasingly devoid of gathering places. To the extent of our affluence, we avoid public parks, public playgrounds, public schools, and public transportation (Oldenburg 1989, 2).

Following World War II, veterans returning home were able to obtain singlefamily dwellings in the suburbs with the privacy they desired at low cost (Oldenburg 2002, 4). There was a deemphasis on local pubs, and the suburban housing development represented retreating from public life rather than nurturing its shared spaces. In his book, Individualism and Public Life, Ralph Ketchum discusses the postwar trend of individualism and says “the suburb put people on their own in a way that contrasted sharply with traditional understandings of community” (Ketcham 1987, 9). The American flightpath was headed for private ownership and a concealed existence as opposed to the more collective focus of its predecessors. The bearings of a private life became associated with prosperity and well-being. Simultaneously, corporations flourished in America post war (Oldenburg 2002, 4). Relative to this corporate occupation are Frank Webster’s words regarding the capitalist encouragement and subsequent deterrent of the public sphere: “the capitalist state came into being: as such its adherents increasingly turned their backs on an agitational and argumentative role and used the state – now dominated by capital – to further their own ends” (Webster 2014, 165). The American business model turned to privatization just as individuals retreated to a more private life"

End ID]

#ray's ramblings #sharing my homework with you guys cause this made me sad

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stephenjaymorrisblog · 4 months

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The Torah Versus the Koran

Stephen Jay Morris

5/14/2024

Well, here we are in the Twenty First century. Not only do we not have solar powered, flying cars, but we still have religion! You know—the Abrahamic kind. The number one religion on planet Earth is Islam, second is Christianity, and last, but not least, is Judaism. Within Christianity, everything is in threes. You remember: there were the Three Wise Men who visited Christ when he was born. There was Christ’s family, aka “The Holy Family,” Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Then, there’s “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” 1-2-3! The reason Christianity was created is because the Jewish religion consisted of nothing but rules, rituals, and abstractions of God. In other words, it was a stupid religion. So, White people created a stupider version of Judaism: Christianity! The symbol of Christianity is the cross, on which Christ got crucified. As Saint Lenny Bruce said, and I am paraphrasing here: ‘Good thing Jesus didn’t get the electric chair. If he had, the symbol of Christianity would be an electric chair and every Christian would be wearing an electric chair around their neck!’

So here we are in 2024, and vast members of humanity still believe in an old man with a long, grey beard and hair sitting on a throne, watching the race of human’s he created destroy each other. Groovy, Baby! And why do people believe in God? Simple: Thanatophobia! Say that ten times fast. What does Thanatophobia mean? The fear of death. Everyone is worried that their life will end when they die. As science progresses and finds a cure for death, religion will die faster. We are still being subjected to superstitious, primitive minds. No, they are not bad people, but they are a roadblock to progress. Here is one based quote: “I have examined all the known superstitions in the world, and I do find our particular superstition, “Christianity,” has one redeeming feature. They are all based on fables and mythology. Thomas Jefferson.” I am sorry I won’t be around for the Neo-Age of Enlightenment. Until then, we are stuck with primitive pea brains.

The religious creeps get upset when you state: “Religion has killed more people than any other cause.” Their retort: “What about Communism?” Well, you’re the one that calls communism a religion. So, shut the fuck up! Now, it is not only common people who are primitive minded; leaders of Islamic Theocracies like Islam, and the one Jewish State. Israel’s prime minister, Netanyahu, uses the bible verse about the Amalekites, from the Book of Exodus, to justify his genocide of the Palestinian people. Why do the Palestinian people get compared to an ancient race? Because it’s a political methodology to appeal to the conservative and orthodox Jews. Reform Jews think Benny is full of shit! In this fable, King Saul tells the Jews to kill all women and children who are Amalekites. Nice story. I remember the Jewish Defense League use to quote this bible verse and—I’m paraphrasing once again: ‘Wake up early before your enemy does and slay them.’ Nice quote. Thus, the Torah gives permission to Jews to be violent.

Hamas are Islamic fanatics, and members of the Likud party are Jewish lunatics. Actually, the Likud party came from the revisionist Zionist movement of the 1930’s. They were anti-socialists who wanted to tear down the Kubutz and replace them with mini malls.

Thanks to good old American Imperialism, the CIA put a stop to the potential communist takeover of the Middle East. They supported any Islamic terror state, because, after all, it’s better than having a Godless commie state. Thank you, CIA. Thanks for helping Islamic fanatics blow up the Twin Towers! I’m going to repeat again, my point: The reason the Communists didn’t use nuclear bombs was because they were atheists: they didn’t believe in the afterlife. The Islamo- terrorists fully believe in the afterlife and wouldn’t blink one eye at using nukes. Some hard-core Likud members are calling for Gaza to be nuked, and some Christian Nationalists in the USA are advocating it, also. Why should they worry about a nuclear winter and massive radiation poisoning? They’re going to get raptured and go to the great super bowl in the sky! Muslims, when they the kick the bucket, will go to heaven and screw 27 virgins! Then there are Jewish Anarchists, like me, who want to live another 10 years and enjoy what is left of my life.

Now, here is my solution to this whole Mid-East situation: Dear Israeli people, You must go back to your socialist roots. Revisionist Zionists will destroy little Israel. First thing is to have a general strike. Second, outlaw the Likud party. Arrest your Prime Minster and put him on trial. The Likud party is no different than Hamas. Israel is being occupied by Judeo-Fascists. Jews who are in love with freedom should have a revolution.

Free Israel! Free Palestine! Free the whole world!

#stephenjaymorris #poets on tumblr #american politics #youtube #anarchism #poets of tumblr #anarchocommunism #baby boomers #anarchopunk #anti religion #atheism #anti christianity #abrahamic religions

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r1999-transcript · 10 months

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A Nightmare at Green Lake 17 - The New Exodus

Horropedia: Honestly, can’t we just show her our sincerity and care? To share something from the bottom of our hearts, to cure her agony caused by the antagonist’s lonely childhood. Oh, there she is.

Jessica: Just like I expected, you made it! Did you enjoy the story? Oh. I didn’t give you any background information in advance. But it’s okay. You will see a familiar face or two. I believe you haven’t forgotten them. Just like I can’t forget you, Jennifer. Come with me. I’ve prepared you a new home, a home where you may sleep on beds made of soft moss and drink clear, cold spring water. I will get you toffees, coffee, and so many teeth in beautiful shapes. You can even have mine, if you like. You will stay here with me happily ever after, till … till a time even I don’t know of.

Blonney: Huh, Jessica, let us talk. You’ve been thinking of me, haven’t you?

Jessica: Of course, I have!

Blonney: You are fond of me, as well as the stories I made, aren’t you?

Jessica: Yes, I’m fond of you, Jennifer.

The young girl takes a deep breath and tries to show a smile.

Blonney: Do you wanna make me happy?

Jessica: I think so. I have made you happy once. Would you let me do it again? Do you like my story?

Blonney: Let us go, then, including Jason, Freddie, and Michael. Let all of us go.

Jessica: Why?

Blonney: You have made a mistake. You hurt people, and that is unacceptable. This is not funny. I was to blame for misleading you. I can’t let you keep on doing his. I …

Jessica: Don’t you like my story?

Blonney: Yes, I like it very much. It resembles a lot of the stories I wrote when I was a kid. You must have really liked them so much that you would remember them, as well as me, for such a long time. I will not leave you alone again. I’ll come back for you. Every year, no, every six months. I’ll have more time after the graduation. If I make a new movie, you’ll be my first audience, like what we used to do.

Jessica: But I hate living by myself. I don’t wanna live like this anymore. I have no one to talk to. The friends I have here can do nothing but roar. I sing with them as the sun comes up and wake up among them as the moon rises. Jennifer, you know, I used to have the same dream over and over again. A forest and a grassland. Not in Green Lake, nor any places that I know of. I can hear music that I’ve never heard before. After we met, there is you in that dream. You’d wake up in that dream with me, giving me a wreath. In that dream, I can truly rest. But when I wake up, I found myself in Green Lake again. Do I belong here, in Green Lake Campsite? Or somewhere afar? In the days when no one is here, I always hum the melody in the dream, quietly waiting, until my figure almost blended into the mosses. But I’ve waited for too long—so long that you are no longer a girl but a woman now. I’m tired of waiting for you. I’m tired of living all by myself. I was hoping that you may like my story, that you are different from all those people who always try to run away.

The fog starts to surge, bringing a suffocating smell of grass. In the middle of the fog vortex, the deer girl approaches her targets step by step, her eyes glowing green.

…

Tooth Fairy: The fog starts to gather around her. Step back! Cover your mouth and nose. Don’t breathe the fog in.

Sonetto: Her wounds are healing, and I sense her arcanum is getting stronger. We need to leave now, Timekeeper!

Jessica: No, please don’t go.

The voice of Jessica comes out of the fog. She sounds like a little girl who’s begging her mother for a puppy.

Jessica: Please stay here. I will get you the best beds, honey, and fruits. I will search for foods for you. I will take the responsibility to take care of you.

Blonney: Jessica, we will not stay. Now listen to me carefully!

Jessica: No, I hate living alone!

Blonney: Come with me! I will get you a beautiful house, much better than the one you have here! I will show you around, restaurants, shopping malls, and discos. We can have fun in so many places! I will also get you a room, right in our house. I don’t care whether my parents allow this or not.

Jessica: Jennifer. I really want to be with you, but I don’t want to leave here. I have no desire for the outside world. I will quickly reveal this true look of mine, and people will look at me as if I’ve done something wrong! I don’t like that. I hate when my power gets weakened. I … I want you to stay, here, with me!

Vertin: If I say I could stay?

Sonetto: Timekeeper?!

Vertin: Jessica, if I stay, what will you get me? Except for food and shelter, what else will you get me?

Jessica: Will you?

Jessica wipes the tears off her face and smiles.

Jessica: If you stay, I will share my critter friends with you. Along with my cave, my keys, my little buttons … anything you want!

Vertin: Sounds great. We will definitely have great fun. But Jessica, where are the people who once chose to stay here? When they stayed for long enough, after you ran out of all available games, they were no longer attractive to you and no longer adored by you. I can stay longer than them, but with no exception, I will become boring one day. You will be alone again. Every day, waking up, falling asleep, roaming in the dream alone …

Jessica: No, I don’t want that. I don’t wanna live like that anymore!

Vertin: You can lead a different life. You can embrace a diversified and meaningful life.

Jessica: A diversified, meaningful life?

Vertin: When you were Anne, you asked what my wishes were. Now I know the answer. I know what I want. It’s you. Do you want to come with me? I will find you a good place to stay, where nobody will consider you to be weird, nor will they keep staring at you. You will see the world with us—the amazing and unique outside world.

Jessica: This outside world … what else will it have?

Vertin: There are a lot of people and fantastic things out there. There, some people eat gold bars; some others dance on the crocodile skin. Some people ride a rocket, dashing into the sky, and eventually fall into an unknown Zero-G. Even the grassland and the anonymous music in your dream, they truly exist … in the outside world. If you are willing to come with me, you will have them all.

Jessica: Will you really take me to that place?

Vertin: Of course.

Jessica: Why would I trust you?

Vertin: I promise, with everything I can offer.

Jessica: Promise … I know that word. It means words that cannot be broken.

Jessica’s breath gently touches Vertin, from her forehead to her jaw. She sniffs at her discreetly, like a cautious animal. When she finally stops, she smiles like a happy child.

Jessica: I will make your wish come true. I like you. I hope you can be my friend. This is new. I haven’t made a friend like you in a really long time.

In the deer girl’s palm lies a delicate yet worn remote.

Vertin: What’s this?

Jessica: This is a gift to you. Press it. You will find out.

Vertin: I see.

That gift, looking like an old black remote control, makes a “beep” sound.

Vertin: …!

The next second, the sky splits into two halves and then restores itself to one piece again. Under the sun appears the icon of Zeno. The night is over, and the fog has lifted. The horror story has reached its final act.

Zeno Soldier: They are here! Hey, come here!

Female Foundation Investigator: The medics are ready. Please leave the injured to us.

Zeno Soldier: Captain, captain, we found the target and are now carrying out the rescue. Over.

Vertin: There are no enemies here. Everyone here is a member of our squad! Please don’t attack. Repeat, please don’t attack!

Horropedia: Oh, come on … seriously? First we persuaded her with love and care, then we presented the deus ex machina. Now we are doing this? This is the worst antagonist ever! Everything is so screwed! Commentators won’t write anything nice for us! Well, if it were them to write the story, characters like me would always fail to live long enough to see the end. So I don’t oppose to end this peacefully, but to end like this … err …

Tooth Fairy: Aren’t you happy? They did it, like what you said. Some emotional and comforting plots. Eventually, it shows us that love always wins.

Horropedia: Emm, Ms. Tooth Fairy, that was a joke, a joke to show you my sense of humour.

An acquaintance gets out of the crowd and approaches the children quickly.

Male Foundation Investigator: Timekeeper, it’s great to see that you are fine. And Mr. Horropedia, Madam Z is waiting for you in the car outside the woods. Please come with us.

Horropedia: What? Madam Z? She’s here? Oh, hiss, ah, my wounds … Ah, how painful! Medics … where are the medics?

Jessica: What are these?

Vertin: People from the “outside world.” Don’t worry. They won’t hurt you. You might receive some training for a period. It might be a bit boring, but I promise it won’t last too long.

#reverse 1999 #events #a nightmare at green lake #1.2

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