#Allen W. Dulles

[zeroducks-2]

ooooh I love that dark ask game! how about prompts 8 or 11 or 21 + C or Q or W with Eobarry or Sladick? :)

Thank you for the prompt vexic! I’m going to go with Eobarry because there’s a lot of Sladick in my inbox :3

8. Intimate Torturer + W. “Don’t bite” - Eobard Thawne/Barry Allen

(TW: NSFW, blood and head injury, Eobard being his own content warning)

There’s something fascinating about watching his own blood dripping from the side of his face, the steady drip of it creating a quickly drying puddle on the floor below. Barry doesn’t entirely see it, vision going in and out and sort of tunneling, his focus not really there when a palm cups his jaw and makes him look up. 

His head lolls into the grip. He’s vaguely aware of more blood pearling on the wound on his head and then going down along his temple, touching the other man’s wrist and ending up falling after a semicircle on his forearm. 

«Look at you.» A familiar voice says, but Barry has been hit on the head way too strongly to make any sense of who it belongs to. «You poor thing… it really doesn’t take all that much to put you out of commission, Flash.» Something dabs at his head and Barry flinches, pain spreading from the open wound. He tries to retreat but doesn’t get to go anywhere, the hold on his jaw sufficient to keep him right there. 

He still finds himself held against another body, kept still while pressure is applied to the side of his head. It doesn’t take long for him to stop fighting it, he lost a lot of blood and everything is so fuzzy already. He’s leaning his weight forward soon enough, eyes closing by themselves now that he doesn’t need to fight to keep his balance while kneeling down, and he’s pretty sure he heard a quiet “tsk” but pays it no mind. 

Arms surround him more tightly, hands reach his bound wrists behind his back, and then there’s a click like a lock opening. Something heavy is lifted from his forearms and just like that Barry feels like he can breathe again, electricity suddenly coursing through him and filling him up and it’s so soothing he groans quietly, the pain of his injuries immediately starting to grow dull. 

And then he’s hit with the fact that he needs to get away. He needs to get away right now, before-

The shackles click back in place and cut the connection with his powers again, his attempt to struggle through it prevented by how securely Thawne is holding him against his chest. It was just a minute but Barry finds himself lucid, the wound on his head regenerated enough to have stopped bleeding albeit it’s still raw, his body throbbing and shaking in the renewed, painful distance with his lightning. 

He’s still breathing hard when Thawne stands on his feet, a hand fisted into his hair to keep him looking up. «Couldn’t let you bleed out.» He says in a casual tone, taking back the folded napkin to wipe blood from Barry’s cheek. He tries to jerk his head away with a grunt but he’s held fast. «Now, now… » Napkin discarded, steel strong fingers dig into his jaw to pry it open and then three of them fit past his lips. «See that you don’t bite. If you do, I'm just going to bash your head open again.» 

Barry feels his eyes growing hot but closes them shut and forces himself to keep it together. It’s been a day of this already, maybe something more. He’s tired. He can tell the other is getting worked up by how he’s forcing him to swallow around his fingers, and just makes an effort to tune himself out.

Here's the ask game! Feel free to prompt me again or reblog it yourself :)

[usafphantom2]

The mission of the Blackbirds, the very essence of its life and breath, was the need for knowledge that was verified to keep us safe from enemy invasion. You must look back at history to understand why America rose to the challenge to create the incredibly fast and high-altitude Blackbirds(A-12 and SR-71 ) so technically advanced that our enemies could not shoot them down. It also helped that Kelly Johnson was an avionics genius who lived in the United States. Our very lives depended on knowing what the enemy was planning. Many men risked their lives. They understood the mission and were willing to put their lives at stake to protect their country; They volunteered for this duty. I am sure that my father, Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield, would’ve flown over Russia and China. It was the first question he was asked when being interviewed by Colonel Doug Nelson for his position as the first RSO in the SR 71.

On July 3, 1956, President Eisenhower approved a ten-day slot for the overfly of the Soviet Union. His decision was made not knowing about the A-100 radar, which provided early warning for the SA-1 guide surface-to-air ( SAM) missiles located around Moscow. It was thought the Russians could not have any capability above 60,000 feet.

President Eisenhower made it clear to Richard Bissell and Allen Dulles that He needed to be informed on any tracking or attempted interceptions. Bissell and Alan Dulles went to the White House and told them that it would be at least 36 hours after each mission before receiving the first reports of detection tracking and attempted interception and that it could be as long as several weeks! General Goodplaster, Eisenhower‘s aide, told them that he understood the President wanted the mission to go forward at the maximum rate until the first tracking evidence was received. On July 4, the Soviets did detect the U-2; it wasn’t until July 10 that Goodplaster informed Eisenhower about his meeting with Dulles and Bissell, adding that there had been some indication of tracking. Eisenhower, at this point, was still woefully uninformed. Later that day, the USSR delivered a protest note about the previous day's flights to the US Embassy in Moscow. It was clear that the Soviet air defense system had not only detected each flight but had tracked them for a considerable distance.

The President was extremely annoyed that the assurances given by Bissell and others were proven false. They had told him that the flights would hardly be detected, let alone tracked. Eisenhower never again gave the CIA carte blanche for a series of U-2 flights overflying Russia. Ironically, the CIA U-2 planners similarly implied to the President that if a U-2 crashed or were shot down over the Soviet Union, the pilot would not survive a claim, which they eventually came to regret to Eisenhower‘s embarrassment on May 1, 1960. According to Harvey Stockman‘s nephew ( Stockman flew the U-2 over the USSR), he was told to take the poison cyanide pill if his airplane was shot down.

Stockman was told that in 1956, by 1960, when Francis Gary Powers overflew and was shot down in the USSR, it was an option, not a command, to take the poison pill. According to Power's son in his book “Spy Pilot.”

On our Independence Day, July 4, 1956, Harvey Stockman of New Jersey took off on Mission 2013 in a U-2 from Wiesbaden, West Germany; he flew near Leningrad and Minsk, covering targets nearby. Stockman, looking through the aircraft site, saw MiG fighters climbing in unsuccessful attempts to intercept him. Undeterred, Stockman continued his mission as planned, passing over Soviet bomber bases in the Baltic states an eight-hour and 45-minute flight. What a fearless man Stockman was. Here is the link to learn more about his amazing life .roadrunnersinternationale.com/stockman.html

Written by Linda Sheffield

My sources are Paul Crickmore’s Lockheed Blackbird Beyond the Secret Missions, the missing chapters, see page 33

The Roadrunner associations webpage

@Habubrats71 via X

[docterdenseif]

In this alternative timeline, does the Cold War still happen, and major conflicts like the Korean War, Algerian War of independence, Vietnam War, and the Soviet-Afghan War?

Plus, the collapse of the Soviet Union, along with the rest of the Eastern Bloc.

Right before the War of Reformation, the Soviet Union was wiped out by the U.S. in 1960 during Operation "Falling Star," which was run by the CIA. The Korean War still happened, but Vietnam did not. The eastern bloc unraveled as soon as the Soviet Union was gone. The Algerian War of independence also happened with similar results to real history.

Bellow is a classified document detailing the operation.

Intelligence Report - Falling Star

Mr. President.

On May 16th, 1960, operatives No.1(███████ ███████) and No. 3 (███████ ███████) were transported to Moscow via internal channels. As the Soviet Party met in their headquarters on 4 Staraya Square, No. 1 used their ███████ to breach the building. No.1 proceeded to dispatch every high-ranking official that was present. This part of the operation was a great success, crippling the Soviet's ranks. At the same time, No. 3 traveled around the city and took key points of interest. These targets ranged from military installments to family members of the high-ranking politicians that were not present in the city. They were successful, much of the Soviet's military was crippled, and much leverage was gained. Unfortunately, No.3 never returned from their mission. It is still unknown whether they fled after the missions completion or were killed. Given their peculiar constitution, the CIA currently believes it to be the former. We are keeping are eyes open for them. No.1 returned from the mission and is under a strict gag order. The operation was a major success. We expect to see the Soviets crumble now that half of their inner circle is no longer with them. A great victory for democracy has been won, and the potency of the new breed of humans has been proven. Further programs utilizing them are ready to be developed as soon as you give your approval.

Godspeed Mr. President,

Allen W. Dulles

[myinconnelly1]

Nameless Need Part 8 - Oaths

Masterlist

W/c: 1348

Summary: Selena 'Lena' Allen convinces her neighbor, Adam, to pretend to be her boyfriend so that a Stalker will leave her alone. Things get a little out of hand after that.

Warnings: smut, 18+, P in V Sex, unprotected sex, Stalker, unwanted attention, dirty talk

Lena was the first to wake the late the next morning.  She had lost count of how many times she had cum.  Instead, she counted the number of times Adam had cum, and that had been three times.  She tried to roll onto her back to take stock of herself, but the long heavy leg on her and the arm that was wrapped around her breast and kept her tucked against Adam’s chest limited her movement.  She adjusted her hip and felt the dull ache at her core.

“You’re squirming,”  Adam mumbled against the shell of her ear.  “Go back to sleep.”

“We need to get up soon,”  She said rubbing her cheek under his chin.

“I can be up again, if you want,”  Adam was starting to sound a bit more awake as he ground his semi-hard cock against her rear end.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!”  She had tried for indignation but moaned a bit at the last word. 

“If you can still make that sound then I didn’t do good enough last night,”  he joked as he nibbled wherever he could reach.

“I’m so sore I don’t know how you can even think of going another round,” She giggled as she rolled over in his arms.

“For you, kid, I could go three nights straight,”  He breathed against her lips before kissing her hard.

“Adam, seriously, we need to stop.  We haven’t been very smart about this.  You at least need to start pulling out,”  She pushed at his chest gently for firmly.

“Shit, you’re right.  I’m sorry,”  He muttered rubbing his nose against hers.  “Come take a shower with me, I’ll get you cleaned up.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to keep my hands off you at this wedding,”  Adam said looking her over almost an hour later in the elevator heading to meet up with other people from the hospital for lunch.

“I’m sure you’ll manage,”  she grinned slyly.

“Oh shit, I just remember that you’re gonna wear that sexy little dress I found for you,”  Adam said, as his eyes darted away.

“What?”  Lena asked.  But the elevator dinged, and other people got on.

“I’ll tell you later,”  He replied significantly.

Lunch was jovial as everyone seemed giddy waiting for the wedding.  There was lots of chat about Adam and how Lena had managed to keep him a secret from them all for so long.  The interrogation wasn’t as bad as Lena had feared but there were several questions that she had not prepared for, including whether they had any plans to get married.

Lena chalked it up to the fact that they were at a wedding and that people were just simply excited, but Adam was like a fish in this environment.  His skills at improvisation seemed to be at his fingertips, as he told them all his plan to whisk her away and elope, but that her aunt had made him swear he wouldn’t do that.

Lena was taken aback by his answer and wondered briefly if he had actually thought at all about marrying her.  But she let that thought slide away as she excused herself to the restroom.  She was becoming a bit of a mess from all of Adam’s cum and needed to dry herself again.  The thought of still having him inside of her, this long after, was a turn on, but she couldn’t let herself get too focused on that.

They went back to the room and changed around 4pm, and Adam groaned when he saw her in the dress that he had bought for her.

“I thought about how amazing you would look in that dress when I tore it off of you,”  He admitted.

“Later, and don’t you dare,”  She said holding her arms across the chest of the dress protectively.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful, as Lena had expected, but she hadn’t expected Adam to tear up.  He apparently took this kind of thing seriously.

But the dancing was the most magical part of the wedding.  Adam lived up to his word and danced her around the whole night.  He refused to let her dance alone or be out of his touch practically when they were on the dance floor.  The dress fluttered brilliantly and made her feel like she was the prettiest woman there.  Lena had stepped outside for a breath of fresh air while Adam got them some water to hydrate with.

“That dress is very beautiful.”  It was Charlie and Lena almost threw up in her mouth.  “It’s also very lucky.”  He was very clearly drunk based on the slurred speech and the bright color of his cheeks.

“You’re drunk, Charlie, go back inside,”  Lena said, looking for a clear path past him to get back inside.

“I’ve wanted you for so long, but you won’t even look at me,”  Charlie slurred as he stumbled toward her.  Lena pulled back to avoid his touch.  “I’ve watched you all over the place.  You seem so lonely, but then suddenly you have a boyfriend.  You want me to believe that?”

“It’s true, Charlie.  You need to accept it and stay away from me,”  Lena said forcefully, but Charlie wasn’t having it and reached out grabbing her arms.

“Why don’t you want ME!”  He shouted as he tried to pull her in for a kiss.

“Sleep it off, buddy,”  Adam said loudly as he grabbed Charlie and pulled him away from Lena.  He gave him a not too soft punch in the face, which would later result in a black eye for Charlie.

“Come on, let’s go inside,”  Lena said falling against Adam’s arm and pulling him away from the situation.

“Fucking creep.  You okay, kid?”  He asked once they were inside.  He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, looking her over for injury.

“I’m fine.  Glad you showed up.”  She looked around the room seeing that the bride and groom had left, and it was mostly just the stragglers that were left in the room.  “Let’s get out of her, and you can look me over more in depth,”  Lena said suggestively.

[alanshemper]

Members of the Warren Commission gathered around a table including (left-right) former CIA Director Allen W. Dulles, Representative Hale Boggs, Senator John Sherman Cooper, Chairman Chief Justice Earl Warren, Senator Richard B. Russell, John J. McCloy, and Representative Gerald R. Ford

[sunshinerotting]

richie download the overbooked 2 btw percy said smash to allen dulles

hi notgirl i ask this nonjudgmentally how often do u guys play smash or pass w dead politicians

[grandhotelabyss]

Now that you've re-read some of the great epic poems, do you plan to revisit The Aeneid, and see how it stacks up now, since you found the more 'epic' qualities half hearted in your review, and the more lyrical qualities more wholehearted (Aeneid is a favorite work of mine, even if it isn't quite as vital or full blooded as either the Iliad and Odyssey or Paradise Lost)

I'll definitely revisit it at some point, probably in a different translation. I read Sarah Ruden's previously, which I loved. Maybe next time I'll do Allen Mandelbaum, since I like his Dante, or the prose translation by W. F. Jackson Knight extolled by Paglia in Sexual Personae as the only version to capture the poem's "uncanny daemonism." On the other hand, perhaps the muscular Robert Fagles will be more persuasively Homeric. If I didn't make this clear, I loved the lyrical or decadent parts—loved Dido especially—I just found the "Iliadic" parts dull.

[basement-writings]

just because you said the magic word anon~✨

~~~

~Yandere 2P!Allies x Country!Reader~

-2p China-

You first caught Xiaos attention by giving a speech at one of the meetings that he rarely ever attended.

But this time he was glad he went to the stupid meeting. Just to see your eyes flare with passion and with such purpose that the drugs in his system couldn't even block it out.

It felt like the first time he tried drugs, the feeling of losing yourself under its control, though it dulled over time the more he took it which led him to looking for more harder drugs, which too, dulled over time.

But you, you had awoken that feeling of it back inside of him which he thought he had lost long ago.

It was something he couldn't lose, he had to must get more of it.

Just like if you give a racoon food,

it's going to come back for more.

~~~

~2p Russia~

You first met the intimating Russian was when your two countries were doing a public announcement that the two of you had to attend.

Something about having y'all be side by side while your bosses sign papers was to show how close y'all were supposed to be.

Politics politics politics...

He had been through these type of meetings before with many different countries, it wasn't that important to him, still, it was majorly just to look nice and pretty for everyone to see.

Making a few adjustments to his outfit outside the doors waiting for you, (even pondering if you were even going to show up once) but when he saw you in your best outfit walking to see him, all his thoughts vanished.

Something about you had made him stop momentarily before he regained himself (though with his resting bitch face it was hard to tell on your part) to properly greet You.

He had a habit of judging people when he first met them, seeing if they were worth his time to talk too, but when he looked at you he couldn't tell what made you so special to him. It almost scared him.

maybe this meeting wasn't going to be as dreedful as he had thought.

~~~

~2p France~

Let's just say when you first met the Louise, it wasn't in the most ideal place.

Not behind a Building smoking a cigarette, trying to calm your nerves before a meeting.

When you threw open the back door and hitting a certain Frenchman causing him to drop his own cigarette, you knew you were screwed.

When you were about to get cursed out in French you quickly apologized even going as far to try to not get even more beat up as you thought you were, by trying to say sorry in French.

He just kept staring down at you with a blank exspression as you quickly excused yourself to go to the meeting. You felt like you were going to accend when he walked into the meeting and sat right next to you, just your luck.

Afterwards you went back behind the building (making sure to not hit anymore) to see that you were alone, much to your relief. It wasn't until your back got smacked by the door did someone join you saying "Thats payback for earlier.."

Softly you chuckled and offered him a cigarette saying "Even?" Which he let a sign out but took one.

As the two of you just sat in the ally in silence when he casually looked over at you, feeling a tiny bit irritated that you were still nice to him even after he purposefully smacked the door with you and even went as far to offer him a cigarette.

it confused him to find a genuinely nice person.

And as you went back inside, leaving him, he couldn't help but feel like he wanted it for himself...

and only for himself.

~~~

~2p England~

oooohhhhh boy did you mess up-

So stupid for you to procrastinate on delivering papers, now you gotta act like a delivery boy today, running around with a stack of papers and putting them in their correct place.

Didn't make things better when you ran straight into someone, causing all your papers to fly

e v e r w h e r e

Not even adding onto the fact that the dish of cookies that the brightly colored Brit was carrying got frosting and crumbs all over them.

Just your luck...

Trying to hastily gather all your papers and try to get the icing off some of them(more like smudge it into the papers more), you didnt notice how the Brit was so close to you before you looked up, staring right into his colorful eyes.

"You have a bit of frosting on your cheek poppet!" Wiping it away with his hand.

The odd gesture left you feeling a bit touched but you couldn't stall, you still had to get the papers delivered.

Excusing yourself you quickly got up and continued on your way, making it a point to repay him later and to be more mindful of who's around the corner.

Oliver continued to stare at you as you left, the feeling of Butterfly's in his stomach being replaced with a stinging pain with seeing you disappear behind a corner.

He made it a point to see you again,

he just had to.

~~~

~2p America~

You had decided to go to one of the local bars to celebrate your countries Independence Day.

The whole city was booming with fireworks, dancing, and of course, drinking.

It was a day that you looked forward to for the whole year, a day filled with joy and being proud of what you represented.

It felt nice to unwind for day (since it was a national holiday your boss let you have the day off), you sorta lost yourself when you started dancing to the music that was blasting in the streets, merging in with all the drunks as fireworks lit up the sky.

What happened next happened so quickly that it took your drunken mind a minute to process.

You had tripped over yourself bumping into a stranger, and if it hadn't been for them catching you, you would have hit the hard pavement of the road.

"I've seen you've fallen for me, dollface!"

Was all the stranger said with looking at your confused and drunken face. All you could do then was just burst out laughing as the two of you started dancing together.

It was then that Allen knew he had fallen for you, your laugh. It was like nothing he had ever heard before, and it was the only thing he wanted to hear!

He only wanted to see you happy from that day onwards.

He would do anything to just see you smile and laugh.

~~~

✨hope you like it anon!

[sataniccapitalist]

The Dark Side of Allen Dulles: The Greatest Untold Story of American Power - U.S. History (2015)

Dulles was born on April 7, 1893, in Watertown, New York, one of five children of Allen Macy Dulles, and his wife, Edith F. (Foster). About the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006... He was five years younger than his brother John Foster Dulles, chairman and senior partner of Sullivan & Cromwell, and two years older than his sister, Eleanor Lansing Dulles. His maternal grandfather, John W. Foster, was Secretary of State under Benjamin Harrison, while his uncle by marriage, Robert Lansing was Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson.

[kramlabs]

This is a copy and paste on MJ-12 or Majestic 12*… YMMV

(Keep in mind, when I read this, I replace “ufo” and “alien” with “advanced technology “ and “breakaway civilization”)

The Top Secret Operation Majestic-12 was established by order of President Harry S. Truman in 1947.

Operation Majestic-12, was created to take charge of the technical, sociological and other aspects of the crashed UFOs and the small alien occupants, dead or alive, that were recovered. In later years this operation evolved into and became known as MAJI (the Majority Agency for Joint Intelligence).

MAJI is the most secret of all intelligence groups and out-ranks all other intelligence agencies including the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

MAJI is responsible directly and "only" to the President of the United States.

MAJIC / MAJI

The TOP SECRET / MAJI project control group is responsible for every aspect of interface with the alien life forms including security and intelligence, and disinformation to prevent public or foreign disclosure of the alien presence. (This is why all documents referring to "MJ-12" or any other form of that name are wrong).

MAJI is on-going in Washington DC.

MAJIC: Is the security classification of all MAJI and Aquarius information. MAJIC means "MAJI CONTROLLED." MAJIC is the highest security classification in the nation.

MJ-1: DIRECTOR OF MAJI. The Director of the CIA is usually MJ-1 and reports only to the President. Other members of MAJI are designated MJ-2, MJ-3, MJ-4, etc. This is the reason MJ-12 cannot be used as a name for the control group as it would cause confusion in meaning, i.e., (Is it referring to MJ-12 the person or MJ-12 the group.) Any reference to MJ-12 is to a person and nothing else. References and documents referring to "MJ-12" as a "Group" are incorrect.

MAJI, originally was known as Majestic-12, a group consisting of twelve members.

This group was made up of a team representing selected government officials, U.S. intelligence personnel, highly trained scientists, business executives and military personnel. All were sworn to total secrecy. MAJI has continued its covert activities with the knowledge and consent of the last eight Presidents.

The group continues to function today and has had the responsibility of establishing an ongoing relationship dating from 1964, with UFO beings (the Greys) from the third planet of the star system Zeta Reticuli.

Information forwarded to and the activity of MAJI has always been assigned an Above "Top Secret classification," known as MAJIC.

MAJI, to conceal its existence, adopted the cover name of "Majestic-12." It created numerous covert and compartmented sub-divisions such as Projects Aquarius, Sigma, Snowbird and Garnet, to name a few. These projects were sheltered by MAJI and directed by select personnel of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

By secret Executive Memorandum NSC 5410, Eisenhower had preceded NSC 5412/1 in 1954 to establish a permanent committee to be known as Majority Twelve to oversee and conduct all covert activities concerned with the alien question. NSC 5412/1 was created to explain the purpose of these meetings when Congress and the news media became curious.

Majority Twelve was made up of:

Nelson Rockefeller

the director of the CIA Allen Welsh Dulles

the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

the Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson

the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Arthur W. Radford

the Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover

six men from the executive committee of the Council on Foreign Relations known as the "Wise Men"

These men were all members of a secret society of scholars that called themselves "The Jason Society," or "The Jason Scholars" who recruited their members from the "Skull and Bones" and the "Scroll and Key" societies of Harvard and Yale.

The "Wise Men" were key members of the Council on Foreign Relations. There were twelve members including the first six from Government positions thus Majority Twelve.

This group was made up over the years of the top officers and directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and later the Trilateral Commission.

Gordon Dean

George Bush

Zbigniew Brzezinski,

...were among them.

The most important and influential of the "Wise Men" who served on Majestic-12 were,

John McCloy

Robert Lovett

Averell Harriman

Charles Bohlen

George Kennan

Dean Acheson

It is significant that President Eisenhower as well as the first six Majestic-12 members from the Government were also members of the Council on Foreign Relations.

However, not all the "Wise Men" attended Harvard or Yale and not all of them were chosen from the "Skull and Bones" or "Scroll and Key" membership during their college years. [{Research indicates that various members were chosen on an ongoing basis by invitation based upon merit and was not confined to those who had attended only Harvard or Yale}]

Further information regarding this can be obtained from the book "The Wise Men" by Walter Issacson and Even Thomas, Simon and Schuster, New York.

A chosen few were later initiated into the Jason Society. They are all members of the Council on Foreign Relations and at that time were known as the "Eastern Establishment." The Jason Society is alive and well today but has expanded to include members of the Trilateral Commission as well. The Trilateralists' existed secretly several years before 1973.

The name of the Trilateral Commission was taken from the alien flag known as the "Trilateral Insignia."

The Trilateralists existed secretly several years BEFORE 1973.

The name of the Trilateral Commission was taken from the alien flag known as the "Trilateral Insignia"

William Cooper

The Secret Government and The Origin, Identity and Purpose of MJ-12

BACKGROUND

In 1947 and again in the early 1950's, Army and Air Force military units - on direct orders from the Pentagon - rushed to various sites of UFO crashes located in the Southwestern part of the United States and carted away the unearthly remains. Remains consisting of both crashed UFOs and their alien occupants. The 1947 events prompted the creation of Operation Majestic-12 by President Truman.

The wreckage and dead bodies obtained from these early crash retrievals were originally stored at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.

According to military sources who later went against orders and decided to talk, Hangar 18 was used for this purpose. All reports of crashed UFOs and extraterrestrial contacts have always bypassed normal reporting procedures and channels of the military, and other intelligence agencies. Instead, they were sent directly to Project Aquarius.

All "hard" information regarding UFOs was routed directly to Operation Majestic-12. This explains why other intelligence agencies and Project Bluebook, [the official and public Air Force investigative activity] never received this information or knew about crashed UFOs, recovered spacecraft, or alien beings.

In later years, a joint CIA/AF covert operation, using six C-124 aircraft, recovered the wreckage, instruments, dead bodies and alien artifacts of crashed UFOs from Wright Patterson and other Air Force bases, world-wide, and moved them to a newly-built, underground, storage facility at Edwards Air Force, California.

The entrance to this underground facility is through a hangar located at the end of the same runway now used by NASA's space shuttles. According to eye-witness testimony, the CIA agent in charge of this covert operation, wearing the uniform of an AF Colonel, was William C. Cooper.

Note: The information in the preceding paragraph was supplied by an eyewitness who participated in the covert operation described, working side by side with the CIA agent in charge. This witness testifies that this is the same William C. Cooper, who has been prominent since 1988 in the civilian UFO movement.

CONCLUSIONS

The Ultimate Secret, is that MAJI and the U.S. government has in its possession spaceships manufactured on other worlds, as well as the occupants of those interstellar crafts. And, that since 1964, has maintained radio contact with the aliens through Project Sigma.

They have also entered into various technical and "trade agreements" with the beings from Zeta Reticuli, named the Greys.

Note: Communication with the Greys (by Project Sigma) has been an accomplished fact since April of 1964. Therefore, the NASA sponsored "SETI" Program (The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is merely being used as another method to provide covert funding for MAJI-projects under the guise of a legitimate program.

The Greys, as their part of the trade agreements, were to provide MAJI and the U.S. government with various forms of advanced technology. In exchange, the Greys are provided with secret bases of operation within the United States; bases protected by the Greys and U.S. Military forces. In exchange, MAJI agreed to conceal all knowledge of their presence.

Part of the "trade agreements" was an exchange program that allowed the aliens to abduct U.S. Citizens for experimental medical, psychological and genetic research purposes - the Grey's were to provide lists of persons abducted to the National Security Agency (NSA), for later government follow-up if such persons, when released, required medical assistance or psychological adjustment.

ADDENDA

During 1972-1973, a period of two years, an area South of Groom Lake (one of the nation's most secret test centers in Nevada) was closed and a huge underground facility was constructed for and with the help of the Greys. This facility was built South of Area-51 in another location named Area-S4. This location is just east of, and adjacent to the Nevada Atomic Test site.

The bargained for technology was set in place, but could only be operated by the Grey's themselves, to prevent their advanced technology being used against them.

Another secret underground base was provided the Greys in a location known as the "Ice Caves" near the Los Alamos Laboratory Facility in New Mexico. Over a period of the next six years, four more secret bases were provided the Greys in other isolated areas of the United States.

During the years 1979 through 1983, it became increasingly obvious to MAJI that things were not going as planned. It became known that many more people (in the thousands) were being abducted than were being listed on the official abduction list. The list the Greys were supplying the National Security Council, and MAJI. It was apparent that the abductions included much more than the simple monitoring experiments of an advanced civilization.

In late 1979, things had gotten almost entirely out of hand when it became known that the Greys had implanted a tiny probe, 3mm. in size, into the brains of certain abductees before releasing them. MAJI investigators determined the probe could be used to hypnotically and telepathically program and monitor the person. In addition, some abductees were programmed with unknown post-hypnotic commands. The Greys also implanted tracking devices just under the skin, on some abductees to monitor their movements.

Attempts, by hypnosis, to determine the nature of the hypnotic programming and commands implanted by the Greys, triggered life-threatening physical symptoms in these individuals making these efforts unsuccessful. It was later discovered that the Greys were performing genetic cross-breeding experiments on some of the human female abductees.

In 1983, MAJI discovered the full magnitude of the Grand Deception put over by the Greys. They were also shocked when the Soviet Union (USSR) admitted that they, too, had been deceived and that the Greys had entered into similar Treaties and agreements with them. MAJI was in a state of confusion and near panic as they realized their plans were dashed, along with their hopes and dreams of obtaining the Grey's technology and the secrets of interstellar space flight.

This caused MAJI to become split along factional lines. One faction advocating confessing the scheme and the shambles it had become to the public, begging their forgiveness and asking for their support.

Note: This faction is responsible for the leaks of sensitive information regarding the activities of Operation Majestic-12.

The other faction rejected this saying there was no way they could do that, even though the situation was untenable, stating there was no use in alarming the public of either country with the horrible truth.

This second faction won out and their plan to develop a weapon that could be used against the Greys was accepted by the Soviet Union. Under the guise of "SDI," (a joint US/Soviet effort) the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), this weapon was developed. SDI, has nothing whatever to do with a defense against Soviet nuclear missiles. The nick-name "Star Wars" was closer to the truth than the uninformed public realized.

The "alarm," publicly expressed by the Soviet Union regarding SDI, and its opposition to the program, were all artfully crafted to conceal the joint nature of the program and to prevent the Greys learning its real purpose. The United States and the Soviet Union have been secret allies since 1983.

Primarily, SDI is a weapon for use against the Greys' underground bases or any attempted invasion from space. However, to achieve funding from Congress and support from the people, and to conceal its real nature from the Greys, it had to be presented as a defense against a nuclear strike from the USSR.

The Soviet equivalent of MAJI used the same technique, the development of a weapon to protect their country from a U.S. nuclear strike, to obtain covert funding for the joint effort.

The threat from the Greys is taken so seriously by MAJI, that President Reagan adamantly refused any concessions on SDI. He continued to vigorously pursue its development, and deployment, in spite of uninformed scientific and congressional opposition. These opponents never knew its real and intended purpose.

To accomplish the true objectives of the SDI program, MAJI created another ultra-secret project - Project Zeus.

Project Zeus is revealed here for the first time.

Project Zeus, created under the umbrella of MAJI, is charged with the real purpose, direction, management, development and eventual deployment of the SDI Weapons System. It was aptly named for the mythical Greek God - Zeus. Only this time, it would be an angry Zeus hurling laser and particle beam lightning bolts into the heavens - against an alien attack or, deflected by mirrors, against secret alien bases on the Earth.

In 1984, President Reagan in a public address established the tone and seriousness of this endeavor when he deliberately, or inadvertently, let slip the remarks that the world may one day unite to fight a threat from outer space. This was followed by a series of subsequent remarks during the latter days of his term of office.

The basic information revealing the existence of Operation Majestic-12, the crashed UFOs, alien beings, and their secret bases within the United States, was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act from the files of the CIA, NSA, FBI, State Department, the U.S. Air Force. Other intelligence data obtained by The Phoenix Project has contributed to this report.

These documents reveal the "Above Top Secret" nature of Operation Majestic-12. They also verify that the scientific discovery of all time has been hidden from the people of Earth, and that both communications and relationships with extraterrestrial alien beings have already been achieved. And, that the radical new technology the Greys possess could alter human civilization overnight.

Some of these documents obtained by various civilian researchers, verify the fact that we are not alone in the universe.

The additional information contained in this report, i.e., notes and comments, and some of the conclusions (in the addenda) are based on intelligence information from other confidential sources.

PROJECT ZEUS

In 1980, Lt. General Daniel O. Graham - Department of Defense Strategic Analyst, stated:

"We need a bold new approach. We must stop competing with the Greys in areas where we can't win, and begin to compete where we have the advantage."

The result: A book by General Graham entitled "The High Frontier," and the National Security Agency (NSA) funded "Project High Frontier." This project used some of the nation's best engineers and development scientists.

This book and the project were the "red herring" technique to sell the concept and proposal to Congress, scientists, and the defense and aerospace industries. It, supposedly, was a bold, new, defense plan for the United States and Western Civilization.

This was followed by another book "The Strategy of Technology" by Stefan Possony and Jerry Pournelle. It should be mentioned that neither of these two authors dreamed their book would be used to further promote the purposes of MAJI and Project Zeus. Its concept was to abandon the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), in favor of Assured Survival, in any conflict with the USSR.

The foregoing concepts (a Western Civilization Defense Plan) and the covert efforts directed against the Greys (Project Zeus) orchestrated by MAJI, were presented to President Ronald Reagan. That presentation was successful. On March 23, 1983, President Reagan made his famous "Star Wars" speech - and labeled it "The Strategic Defense Initiative."

Only in later speeches, near the end of his term in office, did President Reagan publicly mention the possibility of a hostile encounter with extraterrestrials.

The importance of this endeavor and the serious nature of the threat presented by the Greys and the consequences if Project Zeus were aborted, explain why the President would not budge from his SDI position, even in the most critical of nuclear arms' reduction negotiations with the USSR, or critics in the scientific community and Congress.

It also explains why President George Bush, still the head of MAJI, continued to press forward with the SDI project when he was in office.

According to public statements by General James Abrahamson, SDI Project Director, "SDI" research has turned up five ways the weapon system could, and would work.

"SDI," (Project Zeus, the covert operation against any possible space threat, threatening action or invasion attempts by the Greys), "is based on two technological discoveries:

That ground-based lasers are a feasible and a likely way to defend a nation. Enormous lasers could be built near large hydro-electric plants and operational nuclear power plants, diverting the enormous output of these sources to laser weapons.

With such enormous lasers and mirrors, in orbit to redirect the energy, it would not be necessary to "point and shoot" such weapons; you could raster an entire target area; sweeping the beam in a deadly conical pattern to eliminate any target.

Planet-based laser weapons of such power could reach beyond the Moon to engage and destroy hostile spaceships.

Development and deployment of high-powered particle beam weapons from orbiting space platforms and ground based installations.

MAJI's plans called for the funding, planning, development, testing, and operational aspects of Project Zeus to be concealed within the compartmented SDI program.

NASA, without knowledge of the real purpose would orbit the necessary tracking and data relay satellites, and Department of Defense (DOD) payloads of laser mirrors.

These SDI payloads were disguised and classified as military communication, spy, and navigational satellites."

On April 4, 1983, Project Zeus "got off the ground" with the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger - a clear indication of the high-priority this project commanded.

The first of the SDI Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS-A) was placed in orbit.

This was followed on August 30, 1984, when the Shuttle Discovery, on its maiden flight, launched SYNCOM IV-2 the second communications satellite for the Department of Defense (DOD).

The SYNCOM satellites are DOD's high-priority command and communications links with all U.S. military forces worldwide. The on-going NASA Missions concerned with Project Zeus and SDI, are identified in the attached exhibits.

Note: It is obvious that the Greys became suspicious of the intense launch activity of NASA and the number of Defense Department (DOD) payloads being placed in orbit - more than would logically be needed to counter a nuclear strike by the USSR.

Evidence to support this is their increasing surveillance of the Space Shuttle missions and the reported intercept, boarding, and inspection of the Shuttle Discovery's cargo on 3/13/89. They must suspect the real purpose of the SDI program.

If future SDI or DOD missions are interfered with it will confirm this premise.

…

*Source and more: https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_mj12_32.htm

[96thdayofrage]

America’s defeat in Afghanistan is one in a string of catastrophic military blunders that herald the death of the American empire. With the exception of the first Gulf War, fought largely by mechanized units in the open desert that did not – wisely – attempt to occupy Iraq, the United States political and military leadership has stumbled from one military debacle to another. Korea. Vietnam. Lebanon. Afghanistan. Iraq. Syria. Libya. The trajectory of military fiascos mirrors the sad finales of the Chinese, Ottoman, Hapsburg, Russian, French, British, Dutch, Portuguese and Soviet empires. While each of these empires decayed with their own peculiarities, they all exhibited patterns of dissolution that characterize the American experiment.

Imperial ineptitude is matched by domestic ineptitude. The collapse of good government at home, with legislative, executive and judicial systems all seized by corporate power, ensures that the incompetent and the corrupt, those dedicated not to the national interest but to swelling the profits of the oligarchic elite, lead the country into a cul-de-sac. Rulers and military leaders, driven by venal self-interest, are often buffoonish characters in a grand comic operetta. How else to think of Allen Dulles, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Donald Trump or the hapless Joe Biden? While their intellectual and moral vacuity is often darkly amusing, it is murderous and savage when directed towards their victims.

There is not a single case since 1941 when the coups, political assassinations, election fraud, black propaganda, blackmail, kidnapping, brutal counter-insurgency campaigns, U.S. sanctioned massacres, torture in global black sites, proxy wars or military interventions carried out by the United States resulted in the establishment of a democratic government. The two-decade-long wars in the Middle East, the greatest strategic blunder in American history, have only left in their wake one failed state after another. Yet, no one in the ruling class is held accountable.

War, when it is waged to serve utopian absurdities, such as implanting a client government in Baghdad that will flip the region, including Iran, into U.S. protectorates, or when, as in Afghanistan, there is no vision at all, descends into a quagmire. The massive allocation of money and resources to the U.S. military, which includes Biden’s request for $715 billion for the Defense Department in fiscal year 2022, a $11.3 billion, or 1.6 percent increase, over 2021, is not in the end about national defense. The bloated military budget is designed, as Seymour Melman explained in his book, “The Permanent War Economy,” primarily to keep the American economy from collapsing. All we really make anymore are weapons. Once this is understood, perpetual war makes sense, at least for those who profit from it.

The idea that America is a defender of democracy, liberty and human rights would come as a huge surprise to those who saw their democratically elected governments subverted and overthrown by the United States in Panama (1941), Syria (1949), Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), Congo (1960), Brazil (1964), Chile (1973), Honduras (2009) and Egypt (2013). And this list does not include a host of other governments that, however despotic, as was the case in South Vietnam, Indonesia or Iraq, were viewed as inimical to American interests and destroyed, in each case making life for the inhabitants of these countries even more miserable.

I spent two decades on the outer reaches of empire as a foreign correspondent. The flowery rhetoric used to justify the subjugation of other nations so corporations can plunder natural resources and exploit cheap labor is solely for domestic consumption. The generals, intelligence operatives, diplomats, bankers and corporate executives that manage empire find this idealistic talk risible. They despise, with good reason, naïve liberals who call for “humanitarian intervention” and believe the ideals used to justify empire are real, that empire can be a force for good. These liberal interventionists, the useful idiots of imperialism, attempt to civilize a process that was created and designed to repress, intimidate, plunder and dominate.

The liberal interventionists, because they wrap themselves in high ideals, are responsible for numerous military and foreign policy debacles. The call by liberal interventionists such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Susan Rice and Samantha Power to fund jihadists in Syria and depose Muammar Gaddafi in Libya rent these countries — as in Afghanistan and Iraq — into warring fiefdoms. The liberal interventionists are also the tip of the spear in the campaign to rachet up tensions with China and Russia.

Russia is blamed for interfering in the last two presidential elections on behalf of Donald Trump. Russia, whose economy is roughly the size of Italy’s, is also attacked for destabilizing the Ukraine, supporting Bashar al-Assad in Syria, funding France’s National Front party and hacking into German computers. Biden has imposed sanctions on Russia – including limits on buying newly issued sovereign debt – in response to allegations that Moscow was behind a hack on SolarWinds Corp. and worked to thwart his candidacy.

At the same time, the liberal interventionists are orchestrating a new cold war with China, justifying this cold war because the Chinese government is carrying out genocide against its Uyghur minority, repressing the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and stealing U.S. patents. As with Russia, sanctions have been imposed targeting the country’s ruling elite. The U.S. is also carrying out provocative military maneuvers along the Russian border and in the South China Sea.

The core belief of imperialists, whether they come in the form of a Barack Obama or a George W. Bush, is racism and ethnic chauvinism, the notion that Americans are permitted, because of superior attributes, to impose their “values” on lesser races and peoples by force. This racism, carried out in the name of Western civilization and its corollary white supremacy, unites the rabid imperialists and liberal interventionists in the Republican and Democratic parties. It is the fatal disease of empire, captured in Graham Greene’s novel “The Quiet American” and Michael Ondaatje’s “The English Patient.”

The crimes of empire always spawn counter-violence that is then used to justify harsher forms of imperial repression. For example, the United States routinely kidnapped Islamic jihadists fighting in the Balkans between 1995 and 1998. They were sent to Egypt — many were Egyptian — where they were savagely tortured and usually executed. In 1998, the International Islamic Front for Jihad said it would carry out a strike against the United States after jihadists were kidnapped and transferred to black sites from Albania. They made good on their threat igniting massive truck bombs at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that left 224 dead. Of course, the “extraordinary renditions” by the CIA did not end and neither did the attacks by jihadists.

Our decades-long military fiascos, a feature of all late empires, are called “micro-militarism.” The Athenians engaged in micro-militarism during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) when they invaded Sicily, suffering the loss of 200 ships and thousands of soldiers. The defeat triggered successful revolts throughout the Athenian empire. The Roman empire, which at its height lasted for two centuries, created a military machine that, like the Pentagon, was a state within a state. Rome’s military rulers, led by Augustus, snuffed out the remnants of Rome’s anemic democracy and ushered in a period of despotism that saw the empire disintegrate under the weight of extravagant military expenditures and corruption. The British empire, after the suicidal military folly of World War I, was terminated in 1956 when it attacked Egypt in a dispute over the nationalization of the Suez Canal. Britain was forced to withdraw in humiliation, empowering Arab nationalist leaders such as Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and dooming British rule over its few remaining colonies. None of these empires recovered.

“While rising empires are often judicious, even rational in their application of armed force for conquest and control of overseas dominions, fading empires are inclined to ill-considered displays of power, dreaming of bold military masterstrokes that would somehow recoup lost prestige and power,” the historian Alfred W. McCoy writes in his book “In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power”: “Often irrational even from an imperial point of view, these micromilitary operations can yield hemorrhaging expenditures or humiliating defeats that only accelerate the process already under way.”

The worse it gets at home the more the empire needs to fabricate enemies within and without. This is the real reason for the increase in tensions with Russia and China. The poverty of half the nation and concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny oligarchic cabal, the wanton murder of unarmed civilians by militarized police, the rage at the ruling elites, expressed with nearly half the electorate voting for a con artist and demagogue and a mob of his supporters storming the capital, are the internal signs of disintegration. The inability of the for-profit national health services to cope with the pandemic, the passage of a Covid relief bill and the proposal of an infrastructure bill that would hand the bulk of some $5 trillion dollars to corporations while tossing crumbs — one-time checks of $1,400 to a citizenry in deep financial distress — will only fuel the decline.

Because of the loss of unionized jobs, the real decline of wages, de-industrialization, chronic underemployment and unemployment, and punishing austerity programs, the country is plagued by a plethora of diseases of despair including opioid addictions, alcoholism, suicides, gambling, depression, morbid obesity and mass shootings — since March 16 the United States has had at least 45 mass shootings, including eight people killed in an Indiana FedEx facility on Friday, three dead and three injured in a shooting in Wisconsin on Sunday, and another three dead in a shooting in Austin on Sunday. These are the consequences of a deeply troubled society.

The façade of empire is able to mask the rot within its foundations, often for decades, until, as we saw with the Soviet Union, the empire appears to suddenly disintegrate. The loss of the dollar as the global reserve currency will probably mark the final chapter of the American empire. In 2015, the dollar accounted for 90 percent of bilateral transactions between China and Russia, a percentage that has since fallen to about 50 percent. The use of sanctions as a weapon against China and Russia pushes these countries to replace the dollar with their own national currencies. Russia, as part of this move away from the dollar, has begun accumulating yuan reserves.

The loss of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency will instantly raise the cost of imports. It will result in unemployment of Depression-era levels. It will force the empire to dramatically contract. It will, as the economy worsens, fuel a hyper-nationalism that will most likely be expressed through a Christianized fascism. The mechanisms, already in place, for total social control, militarized police, a suspension of civil liberties, wholesale government surveillance, enhanced “terrorism” laws that railroad people into the world’s largest prison system and censorship overseen by the digital media monopolies will seamlessly cement into place a police state. Nations that descend into crises these severe seek to deflect the rage of a betrayed population on foreign scapegoats. China and Russia will be used to fill these roles.

The defeat in Afghanistan is a familiar and sad story, one all those blinded by imperial hubris endure. The tragedy, however, is not the collapse of the American empire, but that, lacking the ability to engage in self-critique and self-correction, as it dies it will lash out in a blind, inchoate fury at innocents at home and abroad.

[nelsonbeauchejason]

HV Y’ALL EVR ‘EARD TH T STRIE ‘F TH

TROY

TSSD BBIEz FRM TH W[A]LL 🐣🤮♠️

ALAS, SPECIFICALLY PR ‘VER TH 🎯

HORRIBLE IDEA ACCEPTING DEODORANT FRM THIS.0 EVR GT ‘RND 2 RDNG:

Hunt for Red October, lol..RAM KêKut

Keep declaring I mean what I say; and IAM.. This is a suicide mission—and IAM ALLEN [ANTE] SOL 4 EITHR [VOID] KET . . . .

(i.e. !REINCARNATE) . . . .

fnTYPE:YOLO OR [NULL] . . . .

I’m simply one of the faces of this OP, and one simple :PASSIVE: ECHOING

Kant claim PACE PLN

Need 2 Know

I figure by the time invested (13Y) en this specific branch, WE must be a minimum of 250 moves coming the other way in time; think Zen. I’ve barely had to wing sh@t

♠️4️��📙,

COL NELSON, JBC

(PRV⏱️EXPIR: 2019)

Cross ❤️; ACT: Hope to Die

GENDR: QUEER

🥱🛌.LAST: 2009 Borja, Mia

🎅 💭 Dulles Brothers & JFK

Cum NW Lad’ & Gen’ … I seek necessary and sufficient Love (AGAPE) from Y’ALL kin; THIS will make the retirement worth every cent.

Due u hv ‘ny idea the amount of time wasted on this site … it’s like 81:27 ratio … i.e. bout 2.5 minnie of genuine & integral work per quarter … My entire life is rather…boring.

Shud I lube up first or do Y’all like to think ‘bout xhamster meth session 18,385, and keeping it dry..

BYW, no☝️ ever told me where to drop M$ to drop off of law enforcement’s radar . . . . Got contact info/name.. lol 😂

We could not have done this without your cooperation & assistance. We ain’t talking about CBI or FBI. Think bigger…way tf gargantuan.

I DO NOT PLAY GAMES;

IAMG

I 🙏 aim to 🙏 please 🙏

This is Will & Testimony

Tell that snitch ‘Norway’

…..Eucalyptus

i know i use the word iconic a lot in relation to harry james potter but i feel it bears repeating here

[shipersanonymous]

A Flash fan fiction ❤️

By ShipersAnonymous and Annasorayasmith

....

I remember.

I remember it all. In flashes of red. The agony. The betrayal. The sound of my heart breaking. The silence as they each forgot about me.

As they left me behind.

I remember. And I don't intend to forgive.

..................................................................................

Author's Note:

A-hoy there shippers!

So I've been biting my tongue to keep this in cause I'm terrible at keeping secrets! But it's finally here!

I can't tell you how over the moon I am at this collaboration with @annasorayasmith who trusted me enough with her thoughts and let me put them into words.

I've never done anything like this before and this story has so much it's a challenge to find out which angle is better suited to tell the story (their all so good!). I hope that together we can do the story justice and hope that you enjoy it!

We've mixed a little Godly mythology into this with a bit of romance, a lot of familial drama and a splash of angst! It's a Barry/Eobard fic but to my shippers out there don't worry West-Allen will still form apart of this wild mix!

To my lovely co-author, thank you a million times over for sharing your imagination with me and believing in my skills enough to let me copilot. I look forward to reaching our destination but I'm stoked for the journey we're embarking on!

All aboard!!!

XOXO

💜🖤

*************Cliffhanger Warning*************

Prologue

His chubby fingers curled over the bar of gold that formed part of the crib’s frame. With curious eyes, he lifted himself onto the tips of his toes and peered inside. A flushed face, wrinkled and topped with a thin sheet of glossy, auburn hair, rested soundly against the mattress. The creature looked so small and fragile, like if he reached in hard enough he could hold its head between his infantile hands and squeeze with enough pressure to make it burst.

He smiled at the malevolent thought. 

As if sensing his darkened intent, the babe’s lips trembled before a holler, loud and panicked pushed out of them.

Strong voice for such a tiny thing.

His mother came rushing in, the worry in her eye unmistakable, fuelling his hatred. She swooped the hollering child into her arms and pressed it against her bosom. With the honey milk voice she used to reserve just for him, a song echoed from her chest and ruffled the clouds that they called home. The love in each note pronounced. The admiration and affection clear in each word.

The lullaby breaking his heart.

He shuffled to his mother’s side with his head hung in sadness. With the gentleness mastered only by a child, he tugged at her skirt for attention.

“Ami?” he called, a name he’d lovingly kept from his days as a babbling infant learning to speak, but his call went unanswered. Her attention had been captured by the creature that now laid still in her embrace.

The embrace stolen from him.

“Ami?” he tried again and this time her gaze turned towards him, her body continued its gentle sway as she danced with the little god.

“Achilles, my sweet, hush a moment and let mama put Apollo to sleep.” she pleaded softly, the affection in her golden eyes shining through like the rays of the rising sun. He could never deny her a wish when she smiled at him so warmly. So he swallowed down his pride with hopes that his good behaviour would win her favour enough for him to keep her love. As she carried on singing and swaying, he diligently held on to her skirt.

His tiny palm began to sweat and he tightened his grip. His unripe muscles thumped with a dull ache and stiffness, yet little Achilles persisted.

He was too afraid to let go.

At last she replaced the child in its bed of gold and turned her full attention onto him. His heart beat hopeful that his determination had paid off and when she smiled down at him he reached out his arms, begging her to pick him up. Needing to be encapsulated by her warmth, reassured that he hadn’t lost her. Instead she knelt down before him and drew him in for a hug.

“My sweet, sweet Achilles. I’m afraid I no longer poses the strength to carry you like I used to. You’ve grown so much,” she says once they pull apart and her eyes sparkle with a gleam of sadness, coloured by a hint of maternal pride. But little Achilles, small as he was, failed to read the emotion on her face and simply attached meaning to her words.

Was he now too big because she had a smaller model to compare him too? Was she now too weak because her strength had been exhausted on the creature that lay fast asleep in his crib? Regardless of the reason, there was a single common thread in both explanations.

Apollo.

This fiend he had to call brother had stolen from him the one thing he treasured most. The one fortune the stars had granted him. The love of his mother. He could feel it in the core of his very being.

“Iris!” his father’s thunderous voice boomed from a distance and she turned her head towards the sound.

“In a minute my lord,” she called back.

“Your father is in need of me, I must make haste. I plead thee, Achilles, do not wake thy brother,” she asked and he nodded.

As a reward for his compliance he received a kiss on the forehead before his mother took her leave. He waited till he was truly alone and approached the sleeping babe. Peering into the cot once again, he was filled with a dark determination to see his beloved mother rid of the parasite that harmed her so. With no one there to bare witness his eyes flickered a deep red and the corners of his lips turned up into a grin that rid his childish face of all its innocence. The old woman had warned him that the child that grew within his mother would bring nothing but misery. If she was right about that she must have been right about his quest.

It was his destiny to save his Ami. To rid the heavens of the abomination that shared his father’s blood with him. To be a hero that only a son of Zeus could be. As the seed planted itself into his naïve little heart and took root, the red glow died out of his eyes but it did not disappear completely. It simply slumbered behind the hazel of his irises, awakening each time he laid eyes on his bother.

…

The red in his eyes glows brighter than ever before as Eobard, triumphantly gazes down at a semi-conscious Barry. The loud roar of thunder drowns out Barry’s pained whimpers but the grimace on his bloody and bruised features is enough to appease Thawne’s sadistic hunger for the time being.

The blood stained rain drops, drip from his fingers to pool at his feet where it joins the river of red streaming from Barry, whose breaths are shallow. Each inhale agonising as it vibrates through his shattered ribs. Each exhale bringing him closer to his end.

Barry’s vision is blurred from the swelling of his eyes and bloody rain that wets his lashes, and yet he can still make out the haunting red orbs that glow like demon flashlights.

“W-Why?” he manages to whisper, searching for closure. A reason for his sudden and unjustified demise. Eobard let’s out a spine chilling cackle that slices through the night air, bleeding into the symphony of the storm.

“Poor, unsuspecting fool,” he spits.

“So naïve!” he punctuates his point with a kick to Barry’s side. The young man groans out in pain, a soft, tortured sound as he is too weak to scream.

“So unaware…” another kick.

“…Of the gift you’ve been granted. The honour bestowed upon you. So unworthy of the blood of Zeus.” A sneer of disgust crosses his lips as he gazes down at the weak, trembling figure at his feet. The thought that he is somehow connected to the whimpering mess, shames him. It dulls the glory of the Godly name bestowed upon him.

“Your existence is a mistake! A universal miscalculation. An error bound to bring misery to who’s ever path you cross.” Eobard sneers as he takes the two steps needed to close the distance his kicks had opened between them. Barry simply lays on his back, barely conscious, his eyes closed, his mind flipping through his memories with Iris to help ease his physical pain.

Her smile. Her touch. The sweet smell of her skin. The softness of her lips. The feel of her hair between his fingers. The lively sparkle in her eyes.

“But I intend to fix that.” Thawne declares as he sinks down on one knee and violently grabs Barry by the collar. The brisk movement sends a shock wave of pain through the injured boy’s body and forces his eyes to open as much as the swelling will allow.

Fear slithers into his heart.

“It’s why I was born. My destiny. And believe me when I say….”

Thawne holds his free hand up for Barry to see and though his vision is still impaired, Barry hears the moment his hand begins to vibrate. It’s a gut twisting sound that creeps into his bones and paralyses him. He’s never heard it before but something in him recognises it as a bad omen.

Death is coming.

“… that I’m going to enjoy the honour of ending your worthless life.” An evil smile of satisfaction thins Thawne’s lips as the prospect of his victory gives him the last bit of strength he needs.

A bolt of lightning lights up the sky with the brilliance of stadium lights.

A thunder clap, deafening like the roar of a mighty lion, rattles the wet earth.

Thawne, oblivious to it all, begins to lower his deadly hand onto Barry’s chest.

[cececreativewriting]

full play, “Cactus”

CACTUS

A play by Cece Jane

my mind alarms me

wondering what is real

and who decides reality

Characters:

Jonah: antsy; to be read abruptly, quickly, almost always in a panic.

Mirror-Jonah: Jonah’s reflection in the mirror. Sassy. He wants to help Jonah, but can’t be heard when Jonah is determined to block him out.

Boss: Only heard from other side of phone call, not seen.

Avaleigh: Neither seen nor heard. She was perfect. He’ll do anything to get her back.

Setting:

An apartment building in an average, middle America town. The year is 2020.

Post-it notes of various colors are hung up throughout the apartment. Some are inspirational, saying “You can do it!” or “One day at a time!”, while some state things like, “You’re a piece of shit”, “Stop being delusional”. Negative post-it notes primarily on the mirrors.

Throughout the whole play, there is a cactus in a pot, in every scene.

Notes

/ means the next line begins.

The question of this play is, what is real? And that’s up to each individual audience member to decide. Jonah shows people that other people’s realities aren’t always the same as yours.

SCENE I

*Jonah wakes up and it is midnight. He sits up in his bed. It is dark, with a small spotlight on his bed, and a window that shows it is pouring rain.*

*He reaches over to his phone and the bright screen shocks him, as he scrunches his face*

Jonah: *sighs*midnight.

*Jonah starts to dial on the phone, and does so slowly, as if nervous*

Jonah: *on the phone; he stutters*Avaleigh, listen… I’ve really been thinking, and I…

*He looks out the window at the hard rain. He touches the window with his finger, letting himself feel the cold glass. He wants to feel the rain on his fingers, he wants to run his fingers through Avaleigh’s hair, he wants to feel her warm skin and little scar on her left thigh again.*

Jonah: … I think we can make it work. I mean, I know things have changed, I know nothing can ever remain the same no matter how badly I want it to. But… Avaleigh, I want to make this work!

…

I want to make you happy.

*He slowly hangs up the phone, flickering on a small light.*

*Jonah reaches over to his bed side table and picks up a bottle of pills. He pours two pills out and swallows them without water.*

*He then sits in his bed with a book of a collection of Edgar Allen Poe short stories and begins to read, stopping a few pages in, sighing, and putting down the book.*

Jonah: One moment at a time, Jonah. One moment at a time.

*He turns off the light. It is pitch black with the only light being the moonlight coming from the window, in which we can watch the shadows of the rain*

BLACKOUT

*A few minutes will pass, and the window will slowly fade the rain away, and enter in sunlight.*

SCENE II

*Once the lighting is set as a bright morning, an alarm clock goes off on Jonah’s phone.*

*Jonah wakes up abruptly from the alarm, jumping up and grabbing his phone, shutting off the alarm. He looks outside at the window, and notices that it’s sunny. A new day has come, and it is bright and sunny. He is… hopeful?*

*His room is covered in multicolored post-it notes. Everywhere. He looks at them and reads them in his head as he passes each one. When he looks at the ones by the window or the mirror, he quivers.*

*He makes his bed, perfecting every corner, then he walks to his desk and pulls out a notebook to write his schedule*

Jonah: Okay, so, if I brush my teeth and put on clothes, I can make it to the office by 8:33am. I can take the bus, right? I think I can take it from The South Station to The Main St Station. I can get out, and go to Bagel Gourmet, I can get bagels for the whole office! They’ll all be like, ‘Oh look, Jonah got us all bagels!’ They’ll all be so happy. I’ll make them all so happy.

*He gets distracted, mumbling about how happy he’ll make them, fantasizing about friendships with these coworkers*

Okay, okay, I can get to work at 8:52. Allotting time for hello’s and removing my coat, I will work from 8:56 until 12:23. I will go to the bathroom, then I’ll take a lunch break from 12:25 to 12:50. I will allow ten minutes for the returning socialization, possible phone calls, or maybe I will read the newspaper. But I will start working again no later than 1pm, continuing to work until 9:38. I’ll put in those extra 8 minutes so I seem like a hard worker.

*His eyes widen*

A hard worker. Me, that’s right, I’m a hard worker. Hello, I’m Jonah, nice to meet you, I’m a hard worker!

*getting more serious*

I will walk home, so that I can stop by Avaleigh’s.

*getting excited*

Yeah, I can stop by Avaleigh’s and maybe she’ll be there! Maybe she’ll be there, and I’ll say Hello!

Or…

*nervously*

Maybe I’ll walk by, and, and maybe I’ll look and see another man. A man who isn’t me. Maybe I’ll-

*He interrupts himself*

Stop it, Jonah! Stop it!

Work Before Play! Work Before Play!

*He paces around the room as though he is looking for what to do next but unsure of the move. He picks up a post-it note and moves it to a different location, then goes to his desk and grabs a bottle of pills. He pours a few out and takes them.*

Jonah: One day at a time, Jonah. One day at a time. You can survive today, and we can focus on tomorrow, tomorrow. Tomorrow tomorrow! Tom-or-row, haha!

You can do this, Jonah!

How does a man eat an elephant, Jonah?

One bite at a time, Jonah.

*The next line is to be said while slowly going into a cry/panic. Additional or less repetition of the phrase is okay*

One bite at a time. One bite at a time. One bite at a time. One bite at a-

*He breaks down crying.*

*The spotlight on the cactus*

BLACKOUT

SCENE III

*he gets up and looks at the clock*

Jonah: Okay, okay! If I leave now, I can make it to the office by… 9:03! I mean, I won’t be able to get bagels for everyone, but at least I’ll make it to the office. Yeah, yeah Jonah, at least you’ll make it to the office, at least you’ll get to greet everyone, say your hellos!

You’ll make it to the office, Jonah, you’ll make it!

*Jonah takes a few more pills. He begins pacing around the room for a few moments before stopping while mumbling to himself. He pulls out his phone, nervously, and dials on his phone.*

*ringing noise….. BEEEEEP*

*During the call, on a mirror at a different point on the stage, a reflection of Mirror Jonah is shown, arms crossed, shaking head dissaprovingly.*

Jonah: Avaleigh! Hi! Hi, it’s uh Jo- uh, it’s me.

I want to see you...

I want to see you… today.

Yeah, I want to see you today, Avaleigh.

I miss you, Avaleigh.

My life isn’t the same without you.

My life isn’t the same without you in it.

Avaleigh…

Please, please come back.

Please, Avaleigh.

*He tries to hold it together but his mind is overcome with despair.*

Please come back.

I’m begging you, Avaleigh.

I am begging you.

I am begging you.

*pause; he is frozen*

Jonah: Okay, okay so now I’m a little late. Now, I’m a little late, but I can still make it! I can still make it! You can still make it, Jonah, you can still make it to work!

One bite at a time, Jonah.

One step at a time, Jonah.

One! At! A! Time!

*begins pacing again, then waters the cactus*

Jonah: Remember when Avaleigh got you this cactus? She got it to protect me. Remember she said, ‘This is your protector. A cactus is humble, it doesn’t ask for much, but it is by no means submissive. It protects itself from risks without hurting any other aspect of nature. Cut it open and it has the qualities to heal humans, drink it and you’ll think you’re floating up to God. A cactus fulfills the need for nature as well as providing as a weapon. It’s a contraction within itself. It’s just like you, Jonah.’

*He paces around, mumbling to himself questioning what he needs to do before he can leave for work*

Jonah: Okay, okay, Jonah.

I just need to wash my face,

Yeah… I’ll wash my face and,

And I’ll wash my hands too,

Of course, can’t forget to wash my hands.

and, and I’ll fix up my hair.

Yes, make my hair look nice for work,

I’ll make my hair look nice and everyone will say,

‘Wow, Jonah, look at your hair!’

‘How dapper you look!’

‘What a stud that Jonah is!’

I bet Avaleigh would even fall in love with me again,

She would,

She’d see my hair and she’d fall for me

She’d fall into my arms and say,

‘Wow Jonah, you look so handsome, thanks for doing your hair!’

Yeah!

I’ll do that.

I’ll do my hair

*he mumbles about looking good and doing his hair for a little while walking to a bathroom. Need a sink and a mirror. Mirror reflection is seen by audience.*

Jonah: You can do this Jonah.

I can do this.

*Washes hands very intensely. Turns sink on and off various times.*

*Dries hand with a dull hand-towel. He makes sure his hands are completely dry and takes his time with it.*

*He looks in the mirror with the towel in his hands, his face starts to scrunch up, he begins to cry. However, after the face becomes scrunched up in the mirror, the mirror shows “Mirror Jonah”, confident, not crying, fed up with Jonah’s shit.*

Mirror Jonah: Jonah, you piece of shit!

*Jonah looks up in the mirror, sad, confused, but not as shocked as you would think one would be if their reflection started talking to them. It seems as though they’ve met before.*

Jonah: W-what?

Mirror Jonah: Yeah, you. You, Jonah. Get your fucking shit together.

Jonah: I am! I- I washed my hands, I am doing my hair… I’m gonna go to work, I’m gonna greet everyone with hellos!

I’ll say,

‘Hello, Sharron!’

‘Hello, Louis!’

‘Hello, Tracey!’

‘Hello-

Mirror Jonah: I know you won’t.

We both know / you won’t

Jonah: I will!

I will! I will! I will!

*Mirror Jonah rolls his eyes and slightly chuckles*

Jonah: Stop mocking me! I will, okay! I’m going to do my hair and everyone’s gonna say I look so nice and put together! Avaleigh is going to love it!

*Mirror Jonah laughs*

Mirror Jonah: You’re delusional, Jonah, I’m trying to help you.

Jonah: Help me! Help me!

How!

By Crushing my dreams?!

Mirror Jonah: By telling you the truth./ Something you can never do for yourself.

Jonah: Shut up shut up shut up!

*Jonah gets angry. Angry tears stream down his face, he is raging. Lights represent chaos. He is screaming and yelling, telling Mirror Jonah to shut up and leave him alone.*

*Mirror Jonah holds up a cactus. Jonah bangs against the mirror, then screams in pain and looks at his hand, full of cactus needles.*

Mirror Jonah: The cactus… A weapon that will always flower.

Jonah: What the fuck!

Mirror Jonah:*amongst Jonah’s screams* I’m trying to help you!

*Mirror Jonah writes something on a post-it note and places it on the mirror.*

Jonah: Leave me alone! I don’t want you! I don’t like you!

*Amongst this screaming, at one point, the mirror returns to being simply a reflection of Jonah*

*He is screaming banging on the mirror, cracking it. It continues to crack, but he keeps banging, with glass getting under his finger-tips making him bleed more. There is blood all over the mirror as Jonah bangs against it, bloodying his hands more and more with each movement*

*Amongst the chaos, people dressed in all black will put cacti throughout the bathroom. Some of the cacti will have candle wicks at the top and be lit, some simply with a spotlight. But, there should be a lot of cacti and movement.*

*Eventually, he backs up and looks at the cracked, bloody mirror, and notices his reflection.*

Jonah: What!

You’re just gonna be silent now!

*He waits for a response that will never come.*

Jonah: Fucking speak to me!

*No response. He stares at the mirror but simply sees himself: bloody, crying, a mess.*

Jonah: … come back!

*Jonah keeps trying to get Mirror Jonah to return, by both screaming and silently crying. Eventually, he falls to the ground in despair. He puts his head in his bloody hands and sits there, crying, with his reflection in the mirror.*

*A few moments pass, then the spotlight is on the mirror, off of Jonah. There is no reflection. The audience can see how broken, cracked, and bloody it is. A few moments later, blackout with spotlight on a cactus in the mirror.*

BLACKOUT

SCENE IV

*It is now evening. It is dim, lighting and windows reflects that. It could be raining.*

*Jonah is pacing around the room. There are bags under his eyes*

*Jonah dials on his phone, both eager and timid*

Jonah: Hi, Avaleigh. It’s… it’s uh, it’s me again

Hahah

I, uh,

…I just really miss you.

I just

I just don’t know… what to do without you and-

I’m sorry, okay! I’m just,

*solemnly*

I’m sorry

*Jonah returns to his desk, dumps out some pills and swallows them without water*

*I want the actor to interpret how to say this next line. Mockingly, serious, with tears, laughing. What is your experience with medication? How can you express that with this line?*

Jonah: Just take your pills, Jonah.

You’ll feel better, Jonah.

Just take your pills.

*Jonah begins to pace around again. Timid, he pulls out his phone and dials, but within the first ring he hangs up with fear.*

*He writes down “Confidence!” on a post-it note and sticks it to the wall, or on his phone.*

*He sighs, builds up confidence, then redials*

*The phone rings. The ringing is loud, intensifying in Jonah’s ear like the beat of your heart does as you lay on a cheap motel pillow*

Boss: Hello, this is Greenside, how can I help you?

*Jonah pauses. He tries to speak but no sound comes out of his lingering lips.*

*While he speaks, he is drawing a cactus on a post-it note.*

Jonah: Hey, hi, uh, hi this is Jonah.

I, uh, I was really going to make it into the office today,

I swear, I had it all planned out and,

I really was, I swear!

But, uh, something came up.

I promise, I promise I will be there bright and early tomorrow

With my hair done nicely and

A smile on my face and

A whole box of bagels for the whole office!

I’ll, I’ll be there, I/ promise.

Boss: *sighs; beat*Jonah…

Jonah: I mean it, I will! I’m so sorry.

Boss: Look Jonah, it’s just…

This is getting old.

I get it, Jonah, I do.

I get that it’s hard and I understand that you’re struggling, but it’s just…

It’s been two years, Jonah.

It’s been two years since you’ve come into the office. The last time you were here was in 2018, Jonah!

I mean, we’ve replaced you, you have to know that, right?

You just, you need to stop calling.

*Jonah angrily puts the post-it note up. A light on it. It is a drawing of a cactus, and over it says, “I DON’T GET THE DIFFRERNCE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL.”*

Jonah: But / I

Boss: Just. Stop. Calling.

*Boss hangs up on Jonah. There is a BEEEEEEEEEP to show the call has ended. It feels longer than it should be.*

*Time is moving differently.*

*He holds the phone away from his ear without hanging up. He drops the phone, and it bounces on the ground once. The BEEEP gets louder over time.*

*Jonah stutters and mumbles before falling to the ground, crying.*

BLACKOUT (with spotlight on the cactus. Maybe different colored spotlight.)

SCENE V

*Jonah is in bed. The time is past midnight. Lighting is dim, maybe a candle at the bed side. He is rocking back and forth. He has the Edgar Allen Poe book in his lap, with post-it notes throughout it. He pours some pills into his hand.*

Jonah: Just take your pills, Jonah

Just take your pills and

Everything will be okay Jonah

Just take your pills and you’ll be okay.

You’ll be able to sleep

You’ll be able to sleep and

You’ll be okay

You’ll be able to sleep and

You’ll wake up in the morning and

You’ll look in the mirror and

You’ll fix your hair and

You’ll look so good, Jonah

Avaleigh would have said ‘you look so good’

She would’ve

I know she would

How do you know?

I just know

But how do you know?

I know! Because I know! Because I love her and I know her

I’m gonna see her tomorrow,

I will. I am going to see her tomorrow,

I am!

*Jonah writes down “GO TO AVALEIGH’S” on a post-it note and puts it right on the wall by his bed*

BLACKOUT

SCENE VI

*The lights are blinding- no one can see what is on the stage. Over time, they become dimmer, but still bright enough to represent a sunny day.*

*It is morning now. The sun is bright and there is an optimistic vibe to the atmosphere, presented through lights and setting. Birds are singing. Hope is in the air, but delusion is in the wind.*

*Spotlight on Jonah on the side of the stage, holding a single flower in one hand, a gun in the other.*

Jonah: Avaleigh, I’m coming for you.

I’m coming this time.

I’m coming.

*He looks at the gun, then the flower, then the gun, flower, gun, flower, etc.*

Jonah: *As though talking to someone who asked him a question*

No, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.

*swallows pills*

But I’m getting her back in whatever way possible

No matter what that means.

*Mirror-Jonah walks in holding the frame of a mirror. He sits down in a back corner and holds it in front of him, watching Jonah*

*Jonah begins to walk across the stage, slowly. He is the calmest we have ever seen him*

*As Jonah walks, he continues to look from the flower to gun to flower to gun etc. He is unsure of what to do.*

*Once at the other side of the stage, the spotlight is still only on Jonah (with dim lighting on Mirror Jonah). There is a small figure to his right*

Jonah: H- hi Avaleigh.

Jonah: I know it’s been a while. I should’ve come to see you sooner. I’ve called, I - I just couldn’t actually face you. It’s too hard.

Jonah: But, I want to be with you. I’m ready to be with you again.

*The spotlight widens, revealing a tombstone that states: HERE LIES THE BEAUTIFUL AVALEIGH TRUONG. BELOVED DAUGHTER, FRIEND, AND LOVER. 1-12-1990 TO 9-26-18. SHE IS LOVED AND MISSED BY ALL.*

*He puts the flower on her grave, and lies down, as though cuddling with her ghost. It seems as though he is actually holding onto a figure, like someone is actually there.*

*He doesn’t cry. He remains there as people surround him with cacti. Mirror Jonah bangs against the inside of the mirror but can’t get out.*

*Jonah puts the gun in his mouth*

*He cocks it*

*beat*

BLACKOUT

THE END

[dark-starseed]

In the event that you can't tell an oxford from a loafer, have no dread. We've assembled this shopping manual for assist you with exploring all the sorts of men's dress shoes just as their complex highlights -, for example, the contrast between a wingtip and a top toe.

Regardless of whether you're on a careful spending plan or a major high-roller, we have you secured with our item suggestions toward the finish of this article, including our top pick, an extravagance wingtip dress shoe by Allen Edmonds.

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Contemplations while picking men's dress shoes

Kinds of men's dress shoes

Oxford:

The works of art of men's dress shoes. They are described by having shut binding, which implies that the shoelace eyelet tabs are appended under the vamp. They have a low heel and thin outline. By and large, oxfords have a negligible, smooth appearance that make them ideal for formal eveningwear.

Derby:

Fundamentally the same as oxfords however with open binding, which implies the eyelets are sewn over the vamp. This takes into account a more extensive, increasingly agreeable fit. Derby dress shoes can be worn for both business-easygoing and formal events.

Loafer:

These shoes are portrayed by their slip-on, slipper roused plan. They highlight a bit of cowhide that lays over the highest point of the shoe (called a seat) that might be plain, slitted, or enhanced with metal or tufts. They have a low heel and profile. Adorned loafers are fitting for formal settings.

Priest tie:

Comparative outline as loafers yet with a wide lash that clasps over the front of the shoes rather than bands. The lash can have a solitary or twofold clasp. Priest lash shoes are viewed as more formal than the Derby yet less formal than the oxford.

Dress boot:

Like boot adaptations of oxfords, they have a more drawn out shaft to cover the lower leg and they ribbon up. Dress boots are more straightforward and sleeker than other men's boots as a progressively formal day wear alternative.

Different contemplations

Material:

Most dress shoes are produced using cowhide. The best shoes are produced using full-grain calfskin, which isn't as treated and handled and ages superior to adjusted cowhide. This kind of cowhide has been sanded and afterward a counterfeit grain has been included for a stain-safe surface.

Shading:

Men's dress shoes are regularly dark. In any case, in case you're anticipating wearing a naval force suit, dim darker dress shoes will combine better and offer greater adaptability in coordinating. The least adaptable yet generally striking in shading are dull red dress shoes in conceals like burgundy, cordovan, oxblood, or cognac.

Toe style

Dress shoes highlight an assortment of toe styles that each offer an unmistakable look:

Plain

toes have no enhancements and offer a perfect, straightforward look.

Top

toes highlight a level line that looks like a top on the facade of the shoe.

Wingtip

highlights a top with a point (like a "W") and bended sides that take after a wing.

Split/cover

highlights a sewed crease that begins at the center of the toe and runs back to the center of the heel.

Cost

Men's dress shoes change generally in cost from $15 to $500 a couple. Hope to pay somewhere in the range of $60 and $175 for a mid-run dress shoe.

FAQ

Q. What does broguing mean?

A. Broguing is a kind of adornment on dress shoes that comprises of little holes that make examples and plans. Broguing is frequently used to make wingtips.

Q. Are there any cowhide elective materials utilized for men's dress shoes?

A. While men's dress shoes are ordinarily produced using cowhide, a few makers utilize false calfskin that looks fundamentally the same as top notch cowhide for individuals who need to keep away from creature items.

Men's dress shoes we prescribe

Elite: Allen Edmonds' Men's McAllister Wing Tip

Our take: An enduring, premium quality dress shoe that merits the speculation.

What we like: Traditional Oxford with wingtips. Solid. Footbed highlights cushioning for comfort.

What we detest: Tight fit; you may need to measure down right now.

Best value for your money: Dockers' Men's Gordon Oxford Dress Shoe

Our take: A mid-valued Oxford dress shoe from a believed name brand.

What we like: Very agreeable. Under $100 for an exemplary dress shoe with a top toe.

What we hate: Minor worries with the bands not coordinating up.

Decision 3: Bruno Marc's Men's Lace-Up Leather-Lined Oxford

Our take: A truly moderate, adaptable dress shoe for easygoing and progressively formal events.

What we like: Unique pointy toe. Arrives in an assortment of exemplary hues and toe styles. Adaptable development and delicate latex padding for comfort.

What we disdain: Toe is excessively long and pointy for certain shoppers' taste.

Ana Sanchez is an essayist for BestReviews. BestReviews is an item audit organization with a particular strategic: help rearrange your buying choices and set aside you time and cash. BestReviews never acknowledges free items from makers and buys each item it surveys with its own assets.

BestReviews burns through a great many hours inquiring about, dissecting and testing items to suggest the best picks for most purchasers. BestReviews and its paper accomplices may acquire a commission in the event that you buy an item through one of our connections.