#Silent Conference System In Paris
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Silent Conference in Paris
Paris, known for its rich cultural heritage and iconic landmarks, has embraced the innovative concept of silent conferences with open arms. These unique events have taken the city's vibrant conference scene by storm. Imagine strolling through the picturesque streets of Paris, surrounded by fellow attendees, all wearing wireless headphones that transport them into a world of knowledge and inspiration. With the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop or nestled in the charming courtyards of historic venues, silent conferences in Paris offer a truly immersive experience. Attendees can effortlessly switch between sessions, all while enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of the city of lights. It's a fusion of technology and culture that has elevated the conference experience to new heights, making silent conferences in Paris an unforgettable and forward-thinking way to engage with ideas and innovation.
#Silent Conference in Paris#Silent Conference System In Paris#silent conference equipment in Paris#silent conference worldwide#silent conference
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Silent Conference in Paris
Paris is a global commercial and business hub, home to numerous multinational corporations and the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Its location, history, and infrastructure contribute to its status as a centre for trade and finance. The city's history dating back to the Roman Empire has created a strong business environment with a well-developed legal and financial system, making it a vital centre for global markets. The city's strategic location in Western Europe and its rich history make it an attractive destination for businesses seeking global expansion.
Silent Conferences in Paris are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, a number of organisations are now offering silent conference services in the city. These organisations can provide the headphones, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful silent conference.
#Silent Conference in Paris#Silent Conference System In Paris#silent conference equipment in Paris#Silent Conference Equipment Hire
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Silent Conference in Paris
Paris is a global commercial and business hub, home to numerous multinational corporations and the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Its location, history, and infrastructure contribute to its status as a centre for trade and finance. The city's history dating back to the Roman Empire has created a strong business environment with a well-developed legal and financial system, making it a vital centre for global markets. The city's strategic location in Western Europe and its rich history make it an attractive destination for businesses seeking global expansion.
Silent Conferences in Paris are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, a number of organisations are now offering silent conference services in the city. These organisations can provide the headphones, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful silent conference.
The increasing number of international conferences hosted in Paris also contributes to the growth of quiet conferences. These gatherings frequently draw people from all over the world, many of whom do not speak the same language. Silent conferences can help participants overcome this language barrier by allowing them to listen to the speaker in their native language.
Silent Conference Worldwide ( www.silent conference worldwide.com) is the worldwide leader in the supply of silent conference solutions. We have many years of experience supplying silent conference services for a wide range of events such as conferences, trade exhibits, and corporate meetings. We also have a team of highly qualified technical professionals on hand to assist you with the setup and operation of your quiet conference system.
#Silent Conference in Paris#Silent Conference System In Paris#silent conference equipment in Paris#silent conference system#silent conference system service#silent meeting system
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Silent Conference in Paris
In Paris, the use of silent conference solutions is growing. silent conference systems, which enable numerous conferences with numerous speakers and delegates in the same hall with brief breaks. Those who need to spend money on soundproof buildings, intricate PA systems, and logistics for sizable events will particularly benefit from this. As they are brought in the day before the scheduled tests are ready, silent conferences don't need to rent exhibition halls or hotels for an extended period. They enable quick partitioning of groups using maxima, lower noise levels, and improve efficiency in terms of time and cost. The event can be enjoyed without hassle in any location in the hall because each speaker is given a set of microphones, and delegates can select the session they prefer.
#Silent Conference in Paris#Silent conference#Conference system#Simultaneous interpretation#Interpretation system#conference interpreter
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Silent Conference in Paris
Paris is a global commercial and business hub, home to numerous multinational corporations and the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Its location, history, and infrastructure contribute to its status as a center for trade and finance. The city's history dating back to the Roman Empire has created a strong business environment with a well-developed legal and financial system, making it a vital center for global markets. The city's strategic location in Western Europe and its rich history make it an attractive destination for businesses seeking global expansion.
Silent conferences in Paris are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, a number of organizations are now offering silent conference services in the city. These organizations can provide the headphones, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful silent conference.
The increasing number of international conferences hosted in Paris also contributes to the growth of quiet conferences. These gatherings frequently draw people from all over the world, many of whom do not speak the same language. Silent conferences can help participants overcome this language barrier by allowing them to listen to the speaker in their native language.
Silent Conference Worldwide ( www.silent conference worldwide.com) is the worldwide leader in the supply of silent conference solutions. We have many years of experience supplying silent conference services for a wide range of events such as conferences, trade exhibits, and corporate meetings. We also have a team of highly qualified technical professionals on hand to assist you with the setup and operation of your quiet conference system.
#Silent Conference in Paris#silent conference equipment in Paris#headphones for silent conference#headphones for silent meeting#silent conference system#silent meeting system#silent meeting equipment
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Irreverent Pt. 54 - Anchor
Title: Irreverent Pt. 54 - Anchor
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: M Words: ~6K
A/N: Whoops on the posting schedule. Had a wedding, etc. and things just got away from me.
Irreverent Series Masterlist
It's cold in the warehouse, the drafty chill causing goosebumps to erupt under the leather jacket you still had on. You're seated in one of the metal chairs, eyes trained on the door. Your companion had his to the other side, watching the windows.
It had been over a day since you and Clyde had been taken outside the jazz club. In hindsight, it had been impulsive of you both to go along with the change in plan, and yet the fact that the club had blown up mere seconds after you stepped outside, had you feeling rather alright about your rashness. The two of you hadn't had a chance to recover from the blowback of the explosion, when you were being shoved and pushed at gunpoint into the back of a van, cloth covers thrown over both your heads.
They shouldn't have known that the two of you were undercover agents. But they had. You'd arrived and been led into another building and when the cloth had been torn off of your head, the face in front of you had your head reeling. It had been as though every fear you'd had about the assignment had suddenly manifested itself and you regretted having kept all of your suspicions from Clyde.
Erasmus Jansen had been an associate of your father's whom you'd met on a handful of occasions while traveling with him, at your home growing up, and then once more when your father had agreed to bring you in formally. In a split second decision, you called him Uncle Erasmus – banking on your father's relationship to him to offer you some protection, buy you some time and trust, imploring him to see the little girl who had ran into her father's office eager to show off her working Grand Adage, and not the federal agent who had been sent to stop him.
Your voice had harkened him to pause as recognition flitted into his eyes. Your eyes and the set of your mouth, so very much a reminder of your father. He'd brisked you away into another room where you had continued to bank on your father's reputation. You allowed Jansen to do most of the talking, as he revealed to you that your father had confided in him that he was working on getting agents into the higher echelons of each governmental agency. He had simply never guessed that one of those agents would be his own daughter. You thought it best not to dissuade him of that notion.
Things had progressed quickly after that as you acted almost entirely on instinct, working to ingratiate yourself to him and earn his trust. You'd shot Clyde, wordlessly imploring him to understand what you were doing and why, careful to aim for the thickest parts of the vest and avoid any critical areas.
You'd had to play along. For both of your sakes.
You still had a job to do.
All of your doubts and fears regarding this assignment were coming to life, and there were still two CIA operatives unaccounted for. Jansen had said that your father had been cultivating agents on the inside - that was confirmation enough for you that you and Clyde had been correct. There was a mole still somewhere within the Bureau. Someone who had been watching and waiting, feeding them information for years. Jansen had to know the identity of whomever it was, since he had assumed you were a mole who had never been utilized by your father. It wouldn't have been any surprise to you if your father had indeed even played into the idea that you were a plant. That you were his to command. That he owned you.
Now here you sat, waiting in the outer chamber of a warehouse in the outskirts of Philadelphia. The drive there had seemed vaguely familiar and as you'd driven past an old diner by the road, you're reminded of a trip you'd taken out here with John during your first year of training. Wind rushing around you, your hair tucked safely beneath a helmet, arms wrapped tightly around the firm torso in front of you as your fingers clung to the worn leather jacket. You'd stopped for food at that diner on the way back, after scoping out the property. It had been one of several on a list that you were working through on the weekends you both could spare. Ocean blue eyes and cherry pie. Milkshakes - chocolate for you and strawberry for him. Finding a song on the jukebox that had his shoulders moving along. Your laughter - both yours and his - lighting up that dusty old diner by the side of the road. It felt like a lifetime ago. A person ago.
The clanging of the door separating the outer chamber from the inner maze has you jolting towards it, as both you and Jansen's associate - whose name you'd come to learn was Ramos - moved forward to enter as Jansen's hand beckoned on in. It takes a second for your eyes to adjust to the lowered lighting as you look around. They'd established a temporary base here it seemed. You can see the outline of the ladder that you'd climbed down during your first visit, nearly six years prior. It had rattled and shook, the two of you shushing one another in the following silence. What had then been an empty space was now equipped with weapons. In the center you can see a cage – metal bars separating you from two shapes within. It is all so familiar. You should've known. You should've known then. You shouldn't have written it off as too horrific to be true.
As you draw closer, one of the two shapes moves. You watch, silently accepting the chair that Jansen had drawn out for you as he seated himself in the other one. It is only by the dim lighting inside and the beginnings of moonlight peaking through the high shutters that you can make out the shape as it moves closer. White knuckles gripping tightly onto the metal bars. A scuffed pant leg just barely visible in the darkness. You look up to meet the pale, glassy eyes of Agent Dean Novak, CIA.
*------------*
Emily watches from the corner of her eye as Hotch and Hawthorne pour over the documents they'd grabbed from the storage unit. The team had relocated to the office now that McKinney was aware they were working the case.
Hawthorne had arrived pretty quickly after Hotch had stepped out of the storage unit to call him. He'd been nice and polite to all of them, remembering their names despite her having a vague recollection of you never having gotten around to actually introducing them to him that night at the bar. Though she supposed her memory of that night was far from reliable.
None of them had known that Hotch really knew this guy and now here they were, sitting across from one another at the conference table, quietly comparing notes on anything of interest. It made sense that Hotch had called him in. He'd explained to them all, prior to Hawthorne's arrival, that the two of you had been researching your father's businesses together around the time you joined the Bureau. None of them had been surprised to hear that. Hotch had decided to call in the guy who knew all of this as well as you did. They could certainly use the help. The fact that he was also the closest thing you had to an ex besides Matthew, seemed not to matter.
"He called him Aaron," JJ whispers from beside her, catching Garcia's attention as well. Before Hawthorne had arrived, Garcia had already looked up everything there was to know about the guy. Clean record, upstanding citizen, wealthy family with dubious connections, but that wasn't exactly a surprise. Derek had been the one who knew the most about him, and even he knew very little. However, it didn't take a profiler to see that Hotch and Hawthorne had known each other beyond that casual hello at the bar with the rest of them. They'd shaken hands quickly when Hawthorne had arrived, all windswept hair and perfectly fitted suit, before Hotch had introduced him to the rest of the team.
Garcia had already declared him one of the most attractive human beings to ever exist within five minutes of his arrival, having blushed when he'd smiled at her in greeting, much to Morgan's annoyance. He'd shook all of their hands incredibly politely – soft, but not timid in the least. Confident in that self-assured manner where he had nothing to prove to anyone. He'd quickly rolled up his sleeves and dived in. His familiarity with your organizational system immediately paying off as he quickly reduced the number of boxes they had to sift through from the forty nine they'd carried out of the storage facility, down to merely ten. When asked how the two of you had had time to do all of this research in addition to your day jobs – him, logging over sixty hours a week at a major New York law firm, and you being in round the clock training – he'd merely shrugged. Somehow, the two of you had found the time. From that, Emily gathered that neither of you had had much of a life beyond this and each other throughout those two years.
The cavalry seated around the room, all of them searching for any way to find you. Emily knows that that hadn't been the case when she had been presumed dead. Instead, from subsequent conversations with Rossi and Morgan, she'd come to learn that her cavalry had consisted of exactly one, you. You, who had dedicated every spare moment to finding Doyle, avenging her death. Learning that hadn't exactly been a surprise. She'd known that Hotch was away and JJ reassigned. Morgan was busy running the team and Rossi was trying to keep everyone's head above water. You'd been all alone in your vengeance. It had led credence to the number of times she'd come close to dialing your number while hiding out in Paris. Out of everyone, you'd be the person to never stop.
Her eyes wander over once more to the two men seated at the adjacent table. Morgan was working through something with Garcia. Reid and JJ were still sifting through their respective boxes. Hotch and Hawthorne had split a box between them, both of them taking notes as they went through in long yellow legal pads. Both of their heads were bent in concentration, suit jackets long shed in favor of comfort. There was a half eaten sandwich in front of them both, which they'd only acquiesced to partake in under JJ's watchful eye – both abandoned once her back was turned. Hawthorne’s fingers tapped rhythmically against the table as he flipped through a thick folder. Hotch's thumb rubbed the outer edge of his index finger. Both of their legs bounced, the only outlet for the coiled energy within, kept hardly at bay.
Not for the first time, Emily finds herself praying – to who knew what – that they'd find you. If only so that she could see your reaction to these two men co-existing here, because of you.
*------------*
You and Jansen walk back into the outer chamber, leaving Ramos to guard over Novak and Cavanaugh, relieving one of the earlier guards to go walk the perimeter.
"They're the ones you and that other agent wanted to buy. I still have contacts with the Chinese if we want to get them off of our hands this week," he tells you, coming around to sit in one of the chairs off to the side.
You know he trusts you minimally at best right now. Shooting Clyde had been a test that you'd passed, having quickly walked over to him before Ramos could, pressing down into the part of the armpit that would help mimic a lack of pulse when checked. Ramos didn't know enough to ward against that, and Jansen had been busy taking a call. You'd willed Clyde to be passed out long enough from the force of the gunshots for you to get away with the first deception.
"Why the Chinese? Our Russian contacts have always been stronger and more responsive," you counter, tracking back to everything you'd learned from your father years prior. Jansen had to feel like you had a stake in this. You allow yourself to slip back into your old fate, just this once.
"Volkov died last year. It weakened our position with them and we haven't been able to make a new contact that's trustworthy enough."
You sigh, leaning back in the and forcing an air of ease about you. Jansen had to see you assume the role your father had once held in his life. It wouldn't be easy. Only once before had he seen you actually in the business prior to Julian's death. That too, alongside your father. However, your distinct advantage here, ironically, would be your last name. Jansen might have attempted to take over from your father, but your family name still carried weight. A certain respect in these circles that was earned by virtue of swift and calculated brutality.
"Who had been feeding you the names on the inside if it wasn't me?" you ask, side stepping the land mine that was Alexander Volkov. Jansen brought him up only due to your personal relationship with Volkov. After all, your father hadn't been able to brag enough about how you'd cultivated that particular contact for him as your first real project on the job. No one had made strides with the Russians the way you had. You'd spent the first part of your winter break senior year, in the Balkans, being firsthand witness to Volkov's methods. You'd shown no fear, however, and he'd respected that, agreeing to sit down and talk. Even now, the mere thought of the burly, intimidating Russian had your insides churning. It was no wonder that Jansen wouldn't take on any successor to Volkov. Successors in that business were created only through conquest.
"He's up in the Bureau. Sits in on the project meetings," Jansen answers, taking a swig from the flask he still carried with him. He offers it to you, but you shake your head. He wasn't giving you a name exactly, but that alright. If you got enough details, you could figure it out.
"What's in it for him?"
Jansen's face takes on a sinister quality as he takes another sip from the flask, his lips curling into a menacing grin that has your skin crawling. You're not about to like whatever he tells you next.
*------------*
Erasmus Jansen was the name that Garcia had been trying to hunt down in vain since they'd learned that he'd been the one to take you and Easter. Her computer dings, once more turning up empty. With a groan, she looks back at Emily in defeat.
"I can't do this," she wails. "He's mentioned in the Atlantis files and in some older CIA files on Y/N's father, but beyond that, on his own, there's nothing. No bank account, no physical address, not even a MySpace account. The man is a ghost."
Emily nods in sympathy before turning back to Hawthorne who was poring over yet another folder of real estate investments. "You're sure you don't remember anything at all about this guy?"
Hawthorne looks up apologetically, a frown marring his otherwise perfect face. Emily was pretty sure his was the face DaVinci had envisioned when he spoke of the golden ratio. "Sorry, no. Only met him while I was a kid and that too only in passing. Cap spent more time with her dad than Julian did so she knew all the players better." He sighs and comes around to where Emily and Garcia are sat, brainstorming through ways of potentially tracking you or Jansen. He leans against Garcia's table, one leg crossed over the other, arms holding up the rest of his weight against the table, and from her vantage point right in front of him, Emily can tell he's mentally combing through absolutely anything that could help. "The only thing she ever said about Jansen was that while he was great at execution, he wouldn't innovate. He'd rather have someone else in charge, which was why he stuck around her father for so long. On his own, he tends to flounder."
"We might be able to use that," Emily offers. "He'll stick to whatever is familiar and uncompromised."
Hawthorne nods, slowly agreeing with her. "Older properties that had other uses in the past. Places he feels comfortable." He's already walking back over to the files, sifting through until he finds one he's looking for. "Can you get aerial views of these?" He pushes a piece of paper with an address on it towards Garcia, who lights up at the opportunity to be able to do something she knows she can deliver on.
"Can I get an aerial shot?" Garcia scoffs as she types furiously, pounding at the keyboard with renewed fervor. "Give me a minute and I can get you a lot more than whatever Google Earth can manage."
Looking up, Emily can see a grin on Hawthorne's face as he watches Garcia continue her rant on exactly how much more she can find, how much better she is, could he please give her a real challenge next time because this ask was elementary at best.
Across the way, Hotch was talking to Rossi and Morgan about a profile they were creating for Jansen, leveraging the details of the Philadelphia bombing and what little Hawthorne had been able to add on. Emily's been surprised by how well Hotch had put himself back together after the video they'd all seen. The video that would likely haunt her for quite some time. Ever since Easter told him you were alive, the man had been single minded in finding you. While Rossi had mentioned looking into Easter's accusation – not out of any belief in it, but merely as a precautionary measure so they could be prepared – Hotch had brushed it aside, saying that would come later. Right then, he didn't want a single resource dedicated to anything besides getting you back. If she had ever doubted Hotch's dedication to you – which she never really had – the thought had no leg to stand on ever since he'd called in Hawthorne.
Hotch catches her gaze and quirks an eyebrow up in question – Do you have something? Emily shakes her head but offers him a small smile that he manages to return somehow. They were going to find you. No matter what.
*------------*
Jansen wanted to move both Novak and Cavanaugh to a secondary location. His paranoia was starting to catch up with him since no other buyers besides you and Clyde had reached out for the purchase, his calls to the Chinese going unanswered. Unbeknownst to him, you'd shut down his website prior to your meeting and he was now reaching out into the void, towards nothing.
He's been teetering a bit and you can see his natural instinct to follow your orders go up against that same paranoia that tells him to not trust you fully yet. You've tried to stall and calm him down and it has worked a bit but you're unsure how much longer you can continue to quell his instincts from working against you.
Your eyes meet Agent Novak's once again as you continue your silent attempt to communicate to him that you were safe. That you were there to help. Dot Dot Dash Dot. Dash Dot Dot Dot. Dot Dot. Aaron had forced you to learn morse code early on in your time with the team. He had told you it could come in handy at the most opportune of times. You'd spent a few weekends with him and Jack, learning the alphabet. Afterwards, you'd talked him into showing you some complicated knots, which he would only let you out of once you correctly tapped out your request to be released. In hindsight, you briefly wondered if he'd liked you even back then and gotten something more out of tying you up. Something to follow up on later.
You keep repeating your light taps, hoping that Agent Novak – the former Ranger – knew as much morse code as your Eagle Scout boyfriend and his equally nerdy and endearing son.
Dot Dot Dash Dot. Dash Dot Dot Dot. Dot Dot.
Dot Dot Dash Dot. Dash Dot Dot Dot. Dot Dot.
F. B. I.
Dot Dot Dash Dot. Dash Dot Dot Dot. Dot Dot.
Dot Dot Dash Dot. Dash Dot Dot Dot. Dot Dot.
By now, your email would have triggered the send to Penelope. With Clyde safe, you can only hope that Garcia would, given the circumstances, think to reach out to him. Jansen ordering you to shoot him had been the confirmation you had needed, to know that Easter himself wasn't the mole. Clyde might stand a chance at finding you on his own if Jansen and his lot weren't covering their internet traffic well enough, however you had far more faith in Garcia, despite the mere breadcrumbs you'd left behind. You hadn't known enough to leave behind more. However, together, the two parties should know enough to find you – Clyde had the profile you'd built on Jansen and his operation. Given everything you'd left for Garcia, the team would have all of the access to your old research. They would be able to isolate to local properties once they found the right folders that you'd left on top, and they'd be able to find you.
Aaron would be worried sick. You're already anticipating the lecture you're about to receive when you get back home. All about being more clear about your intentions and not leaving cryptic messages behind. It wouldn't matter that you'd try and fail to explain how you couldn't afford to be more clear for fear that someone else might also catch on. It wouldn't matter what you said to defend yourself. All he would see – all he would reiterate again and again – was that you left yourself open and vulnerable. He'd scoff at you insisting that you had faith in him, in the team. He'd rage against your insistence that this was the best way. The safest way.
Despite everything, in your head you don't hear the drum of your own doubts. Only his encouragement. His voice, which drowns out all of your fears. Reassurances that, soon, this too shall pass and you'll see him once again. He'd find you, no matter how enigmatic your clues might be. He'd find you.
He'd better find you before Jansen decided to ignore you and move.
*------------*
There's a gun in your hand once more. Thrust into it at the beginnings of sound from outside. Jansen's paranoia had kicked into full gear and Ramos had been deployed to scope out the perimeter. Nothing you said placated him any longer and you were wary of pushing your luck. He takes hold of Agent Cavanaugh, entrusting Novak to you. Both of their hands are wrapped behind their back, despite which, either one stood a decent chance at overpowering you had they been in a prime state. As it stood, Jansen had been pumping them both with something that made their reflexes slower and responses sluggish.
Your heart beats rapidly within your chest as you follow Jansen, with him leading Cavanaugh at gunpoint. Your hand is wrapped around Novak's arm, fingers tapping once more at that familiar pattern, regardless of whether or not the message is getting through. It is only as you turn the corner and meet Novak's eye, that you see that the glassy veneer to his eyes has lifted. Meeting yours, he offers an imperceptible nod – a flash of understanding. You're about to switch gears and take action, when Ramos rejoins the group and offers confirmation that there was indeed some movement outside. You're outgunned once more.
*------------*
Derek leads the group through the dark, his hand at the back of a SWAT agent. Hotch had put a tactical team on deck as soon as they'd made some leeway on potential locations you and two CIA operatives could be taken. This warehouse had been one of three locations isolated by Hawthorne as nearby options where someone could reasonably be held and were around back in the day. Prentiss, JJ, and Rossi were leading another team to an abandoned building in Virginia, while him, Reid, and Hotch had come to this other one on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
The third location had been ruled out – Garcia had determined that it had been the subject of an arson and triple homicide case from only a few weeks back. Local detectives had written it off as gang violence. None of them quite believed that given the circumstances, and so Garcia and Hawthorne were digging into it.
If anyone were to ask Derek what he thought of your ex paramour, he'd lie and say he hadn't much of an opinion. However, truth was, the guy had grown on Derek the last day or so. He'd come as soon as Hotch had called, likely having dropped whatever else he had going on. As a DA for the state of NY, Derek reckoned that hadn't been easy. He'd come quickly and while, yes, Derek was just a little annoyed at how Penelope blushed every single time the guy even looked her way, let alone called her Agent Garcia all nice and sweet, and asked her to look something up for him, Derek had to concede that he'd been helpful. He'd known exactly what to look for and all of them had been surprised by the sheer amount of research and area the two of you had covered in two years of looking into your father's businesses. Unfortunately, if Hawthorne was to be believed, the two of you had managed to only scratched the surface.
Regardless, as it stood, Derek could see how you and Hawthorne had worked, and he's a little relieved that not all of your exes were entirely trash. Even Hotch liked him. He might not have said anything, but Hotch had been a lot friendlier with the dude in only a day of working with him, than he'd been with Derek the entire first year. Prentiss had already chalked that up to you having a type – Older. Lawyer. Smart. Ambitious. You could be sure that Prentiss would give you crap for that later, though Derek had seen her eyes rake over Hawthorne about half a dozen times too.
In his ear, he can hear both Hotch and Reid taking their respective positions, with Reid just a few agents behind him. The infrared scanner had already revealed there were people inside - four men circling the perimeter with another five people closer to the center. One of those bodies was far smaller than the others, which led them to assume it was you.
*------------*
The sounds of gunfire have both Jansen and Ramos barreling quickly towards the back exit, Jansen leading and Ramos right behind you. You had no opportunity to duck away and take Agent Novak with you. You had to continue to bide your time and hope that whoever it was –the team or Clyde – would look carefully before they shot.
Down one hallway and the next. Through one door and then another. Quickly and quickly. Feet pounding against the concrete. Gun still weighing down your hand, the other still holding on to Agent Novak. Neither him nor Cavanaugh have put up much of a struggle, liking leaving it to you to take the lead. You pray that you'd about to run into a SWAT team. Once you're out in the open and you don't have Ramos right behind you. Maybe then. Then you'd have your chance.
"F.B.I. Stop where you are!"
Jansen comes to a screeching halt right in front of you, the pathway in front blocked by a tactical team. You recognized that voice. You'd recognize it anywhere.
From behind Agent Novak, you make eye contact with Derek and he wordlessly asks if you're alright. You offer him only a perfunctory acknowledgement, eyes trained quickly once more on Jansen and Ramos. Your main priority was ensuring that both Agents Novak and Cavanaugh were alright.
"Jansen, give it up. You're surrounded," Derek proclaims, gun trained at the man. From beside him, four SWAT agents and Reid emerge, all guns pointed towards the five of you in the center. Your eyes search for Aaron.
Jansen turns back towards you, his eyes wild like a caged animal. "Shoot him," he orders, his gun pressing harshly into Agent Cavanaugh's back.
You don't move. You don't say anything.
"Shoot him," he repeats himself. "Now." He shoves Cavanaugh aside, who stumbles and falls to the ground in his drugged state. Jansen's gun is now pointed past Novak and right at you. He hadn't failed to notice your hesitation to follow his orders.
Your eyes flit up to Agent Novak and then back towards Derek before landing on Jansen's crazed expression once more. You can tell then, that if you don't do as he says, he'll shoot you.
Derek and the SWAT agents will follow protocol. They won't try to take him down while he's got a gun trained on both you and Novak. No sudden movements from the group.
"Jansen. Give it up man. There's no way out for you here. Don't make things worse for yourself." Derek speaks calmly, making a show of lowering his weapon slowly. Behind you, you become aware of Ramos's presence, his gun is trained on you as well, both him and his boss watching you intensely as you continue to defy his direct order.
"I'm not going to shoot a federal agent in front of the F.B.I." you tell him, shaking your head, your heart leaping into your throat as you felt the jut of Ramos's rifle at your back. His boss had given him the order. If you turn out to be not what you claim, shoot her. Shoot her and worry about the rest later.
Your hand holds the gun firmly still, the other still anchored to Agent Novak, ready to shove him to the ground in case of gunfire.
Out of the corner of your eye you can make out Reid from behind the SWAT guys, his gun trained on Jansen. You know what he's thinking. He's assessed the room the same as you. Ramos's view was slightly obstructed as he was still behind you and Novak. If it was timed right and Reid took down Jansen before Ramos had the chance to react, you had the ghost of a possibility to shove both yourself and Novak to the ground while SWAT got Ramos. It had to be Jansen first. Jansen had a clear view of you all and Ramos going down wouldn't allow you enough time. It's the only play.
You feel your body coil, ready to move, waiting for Reid's shot.
Jansen's maniacal eyes are still trained on you. You can feel the nudge of Ramos's gun to your back, imploring you to follow orders.
From the corner of your eye, you catch a beam of red light bouncing off the wall right behind Ramos's head. Assurance that they have him. They have him if you can move fast enough.
Each second that the standoff lasts seems to last a lifetime. You become highly aware – of your own heartbeat, of Agent Novak's muscles tensing under your touch, of Reid's shoulders, tensed and ready to take the shot. You're waiting. Waiting for that telltale sign as his right shoulder will flex just barely. That sign that tells you that his finger is ready to pull the trigger. That's what you're waiting for.
One second.
Jansen shifts from one foot to the other.
Two seconds.
Ramos's gun catches the zipper on the back of your jacket.
Three seconds.
Derek opens his mouth to say something again.
Four seconds.
The beam of red flits across your eyes once more.
Five seconds.
You go down.
Your ears ring from the aftermath of the loud gunshots as you lie on top of Agent Novak on the concrete flooring. In front of you, Jansen was dead, having been hit by two shots, one to the back and another to the chest, his gun slipping from his hand and clattering to the floor. Behind you, Ramos had fallen – single gunshot to the head.
You're aware just barely of Derek helping up both you and Novak, taking the gun from your hands and reengaging the safety. You feel his hands on your arms and his eyes looking you over to make sure you're alright. There's some SWAT guys and paramedics around, making sure both CIA agents are doing well. Reid is still standing where he was when he'd shot Jansen, his arms hanging by his side. You're half expecting to see a shell shocked look on his face, but when you look past Derek and meet his eye, he only smiles at you and you know he's alright.
"Hey, you sure you're okay, Princess? You gotta talk to me here," Derek implores, shaking you just slightly to draw your attention back towards him.
"Yeah," you respond shakily. "Yeah I'm – " You break off, as you look beyond his shoulder and see a far too familiar figure making its way down the ladder, a rifle slung behind its back.
The world stops.
Next thing you know, you've broken away from Derek and taken off in a run. Through the haze of people in the space, past Reid, until you collide into Aaron's chest, his arms wrapping tight around you as he manages to lift you fully off the ground, your legs wrapping around his haphazardly.
Home. You're home.
Aaron can scarcely believe he's holding you, breathing you in – you're here, in his arms. You're real.
The familiar weight of you in his arms feels like a totem, his anchor to reality. It was his reward for never quite believing anything had happened to you. His grace for holding true to his faith in you.
His hand curls behind your back and to your neck, lifting your head that's buried into his shoulder. He needs to see your face. He needs to know he isn't imagining this.
You tilt back to meet his gaze and he can see your panic and relief mixed together, the honeysuckle sweetness of your reunion coating and soothing over the acrid burnt taste left behind by your long absence and the past few days of torment and uncertainty. He can feel the tears slipping down his face as he holds you tighter, closer, your body trembling in his arms, a deep sob working its way through, streaks of tears painting lines down your cheeks.
But you're here. You're here and he has you and that's all that matters as he feels your lips against his, causing his heart to wobble, your hands in his hair and around his shoulders, the wetness of your tears mixing together, no awareness of the surrounding world or the people awaiting the two of you. Screw people. People could wait.
You're here.
#aaron hotchner#criminal minds#aaron hotch x reader#aaron hotchner x reader#aaron hotchner x you#criminal minds imagine#criminal minds reader insert#irreverentseries#hotch x you#hotch x reader
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Eat the Rich: Chapter 1
Eat the Rich Masterlist
The Avengers are tasked with tracking down an elusive thief, and retrieving the grand amounts of money she has stolen. Even after capture, she turns out to be impossible to break, save for a mystifying interest in Bucky.
Written for @mermaidxatxheart ‘s #jamiesmadwritingbash, under the Robin Hood AU prompt, with the dialogue prompt “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, running around with the end of the world on her his arm?” in bold in this chapter.
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Warnings: mentions of nightmares, memory loss and recovery, brief mentions of Bucky’s Winter Soldier days, and canon-level violence. Lots of frustrated Avengers. A bit of flirting.
A/N: I can’t decide if I want this series to make people laugh or cry, so good luck. Please comment and reblog!
Divider by the fantastically talented @whimsicalrogers!
The Avengers are confused. Perplexed and far out of their depths, they’re strewed about the meeting room with variants of displeasure on their faces. Bucky wears the biggest scowl of all, sitting ramrod straight in an armchair intended for postures far more comfortable. The source of their malcontent hovers in a hologram above the conference table, somehow managing to look bored while handcuffed and bound to a steel chair in the most secure interrogation room in the Compound.
You’re a thief. A crook who has been stealing big money from bigger people, in a slew of prominent heists that eventually led to the Avengers’ recruitment to your case. High stakes burglary isn’t their field, but when certain people threw their weight around, demanding a serious investigation, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had no choice but to play detectives to one elusive criminal.
A flirtatious one, too, Bucky thinks, remembering your first confrontation, as he traces the seams of his metal arm with the softer pads of his flesh fingers.
Sam, Nat, and Bucky had tracked you all the way to Paris, where, one night, Sam gave chase while Bucky waited to intercept you on the predicted escape route, in an alley behind one of the classiest bars in town. Their prediction had proved accurate, and you had pretty much run straight into Bucky’s waiting arms.
The ensuing fight should have been an easy one, and Bucky made the awful mistake -- the mistake he hadn’t made since meeting the Widows in the Red Room -- of underestimating a woman, and he ended up paying for it.
His fists clench in his lap at the memory of how you had pulled a very Widow move on him, and he had wound up on his back with your thighs around his neck in a chokehold almost gentle. You had leaned over him to tie his hands together, and left him panting, out of breath, and with the taste of rust in his mouth. Clambering off, and wiping away the blood at the corner of his lip, you had then said, “I look forward to our rematch, handsome,” before disappearing into the dark, French night.
“Barnes?” He hears Stark call, and he blinks. “You still with us, or are you daydreaming about your girlfriend?” The room grows silent, and Bucky can sense suppressed smiles and silent glares, the latter aimed at Stark from Steve.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he grouses, letting his metal fingers dig into his kneecaps.
Sam, coffee abandoned on the table in front of him, eyes twinkling says, “We heard her through the coms, Barnes. In Paris, and in Buenos Aires.”
“And Oslo,” Peter pipes up, and Bucky falls back into the memory of autumn frost crunching under his feet, the reverberations of the orchestra in the opera house as he followed your coat-tails -- you played violin, because why the hell not -- down the busy street. Power-walking turned to running, and you had ended up in a crowded, posh bar with Bucky backing you into the wall in the hallway leading to the restrooms, holding your hands in one metal fist behind you.
Still, you had been unperturbed, trying to distract him with gemstone eyes while he called backup -- Stark, soaring in stealth mode above the fjord. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, running around with the end of the world on his arm?” You had asked, gesturing toward his metal shoulder, no struggle, no flight or fight.
Red-lipped smiles, you had given him, and he had been so close to pulling out the handcuffs until a trio of burly security guards had appeared, your backup, apparently, and engaged him in enough combat to allow you to escape.
“She seems to like you,” Sam finishes piercing the haze of another battle lost, less violently at least, and Bucky rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, well, I don’t like her,” is the best he can come up with, and he stands, moves towards a window overlooking the grounds, addressing the bulletproof glass, next. “What I would like is for us to get the money back so we can all go on our merry way and pretend this ever happened.”
The room falls quiet at that. Every person here is acutely aware of the fact that they’re no closer to getting the money back -- nobody could ever spend the amounts you’ve stolen recently, so quickly; FRIDAY’s run simulations on it -- and you haven’t budged under the interrogations you’ve faced thus far.
Barton enters the room as soon as he gets off the quinjet, still in his typical Bed Stuy uniform -- ripped jeans and purple t-shirt -- and Bucky, alongside Natasha and Sam in the observation room behind the one way glass, can see the angle he’s going with.
It’s almost cliché, or maybe it’s just Clint, so relaxed and loose-limbed with too much pizza in his system and likely smelling of one-eyed dog -- Bucky adores Lucky, but he’ll never admit it -- the way he turns his chair around and sits, resting his chin on folded arms atop the back of the chair.
For a moment, Bucky worries he’s fallen asleep right there, until his blond head lifts ever so slightly and he says, “Would you like something to drink?”
You quirks a smile. “I’d like a proper introduction. What, were you raised in a barn?” The smirk is teasing, but there’s no bite, like you’re greeting an old friend with an inside joke. Barton traces the edge of the table.
“Almost. Ever heard of Waverly, Iowa?” He asks.
You shake your head, and then, grin, informing, “No, but I have heard of you, Clint Barton.”
“So you didn’t need an introduction.”
“I’m a prankster, can’t you tell?” Bucky thinks of the navy blue dress in Prague, the tiny but powerful stink bombs you had kept in a thigh holster, how you had left them coughing.
“Jokes are all well and good but, uh, stealing isn’t so funny,” Clint answers., sitting up, and Bucky can hear in his hardening tone that he’s starting to get serious.
“Depends on who you’re stealing from,” is your flippant response.
“Also depends on who has to get the money back, too, and let me tell you, we’re a little tired of playing games.”
“Then I guess I win, right?”
“Are you sure you don’t recognize her? Her tactics seem familiar,” Sam says, and the sensation that has been aggravating the nerves in an unlocatable part of his brain since he saw her for the first time worsens, but Sam’s question is addressed to Nat.
“She’s not Red Room, if that’s what you mean. The Widows were trained to be merciless. She avoids getting more physical than she needs to,” Natasha answers, retying the band on her braid, flaming red hair coiled over her shoulder.
“She broke Bucky’s nose,” Steve points out in protest.
Nat shrugs, leans forward to doodle on the notepad resting on her knee. “If it was me, I might have knocked some teeth out. Maybe pulled a knife or garrotte.”
“You have to tell me where you get those sting-y things,” you say the moment Nat enters the room, eyes sparkling and wide with awe. Bucky winces as he remembers the short-circuit from that little electric disc. The engineers in the bank had been pretty troubled by the thought of what could’ve caused that kind of damage to the internal systems, until he his fist around one of their necks gave them something else to worry ab--
Steve’s hand on his shoulder startles him back to the observation room instead of Hydra’s clutches, and he says, “Hey, Bucky, how’s it going?” with a nod to the room in front of them. Vibranium cuffs peek out from under the large, green hoodie that envelopes your form, making you look deceptively soft.
“She wants to know where Nat gets her taser discs.”
“You’re eager for those even after you’ve felt how much they hurt?” Nat asks calmly, and Bucky imagines an ice-cool smirk on her lips as she reminds you of how exactly you were captured. It was the tasers that brought you down, after Sam, Steve and Bucky flew and ran you to exhaustion through the streets of Algiers, costing Stark some collateral payments. He hadn’t minded too much, just been happy to have you in custody, finally.
“They look like they’d be fun to use. Pretty handy around certain metal armed men, too,” you suggest playfully.
“Yeah, he isn’t going to talk to you, but I’ve been looking forward to this chat of ours, so why don’t you start by telling me your name.”
“I don’t have one. I’m a ghost story,” you say, and Bucky assumes Nat is looking unimpressed, because you press forward with the joke. “You’re going to need a medium to talk to me.”
“And where do you suppose I find one of those?”
“You have one. Isn’t Bucky Barnes a ghost story, too?”
Sam’s about to name what is sure to be another way to cause unnecessary injury when Bucky butts in. “It doesn’t matter how she hurt me or how she could have hurt me,” this, with a glare at Natasha, who smiles down at the paper. “We have a burglar with billions stashed away and a buncha angry billionaires breathin’ down our necks to find it.”
“Well why don’t you give it a go if you think it’s so easy?” Looking up from the hangman sketch, Nat fixes emerald eyes on his, reminding him, once again, of the unusual interest you’ve taken in Bucky. One that started with mid-battle conversations of a different nature, and that has extended into custody. Something that’s been bugging Steve, his protective instinct whirring into overdrive -- Bucky sees his eye twitch from across the room at Nat’s remark -- no more so than during Steve’s turn to question the captive.
“You guys are all taking your turns playing Good Cop Bad Cop, but I haven’t seen Robocop yet. Why is that?”
“You left him tied up in Paris–”
“There’s an innuendo in there somewhere,” you sing-song, head tilting rhythmically from side to side. Bucky clenches his fists in the observation room.
“–so he isn’t much obliged to see you,” Steve finishes, bypassing your interruption.
Playful eyes with laser determination, unperturbed by locked rooms and handcuffs, focus on a spot just above Steve’s shoulder, almost looking through the glass, even though Bucky knows it’s just a mirror for you. “What a shame. I was hoping our little back alley tussle wouldn’t scare the big, bad White Wolf away.”
Steve rolls his eyes. “Are you going to tell us where the money is or do you want formal charges and a jail cell?” He asks, shifting so he blocks your line of sight, folds his hands on the table, and broadens his shoulders, all-Captain and no-nonsense.
“Giving up on me so easy?”
“I wouldn’t call it easy, miss. We’ve been looking for months and tried just about everything to get you to cooperate.”
“Not everything.”
“She’s yawning,” Sam proclaims indignantly, glaring, shocked, at the hologram where indeed, the source of their troubles is yawning, like you could fall asleep, tied up and all. “Unbelievable.” He shakes his head, and Bucky stops a snort from escaping. He’s seen all kinds of interrogations, faced a fair few, too, and this woman is just warming up.
The ensuing discussion and debate continues for hours, until the sun sets behind the window Bucky’s standing by, and what silences them is the thump with which Clint puts his hearing aids on the table in front of him. Sam’s coffee wobbles dangerously, and everyone sighs as Clint wordlessly tells them to shut up. Murmurs of agreement to rest and get a fresh start tomorrow echo through the room, and Bucky catches Barton’s eye, and receives a wink.
Later that night, in his room, Bucky knows he’s not going to get a minute of sleep. It’s just an intuition, something his very bones are telling him, and he sees no reason to dispute it. Under the throbbing ache in his head, there’s an itch in the grey matter of his mind, somewhere he can’t reach, and he twists and turns. The feeling is recognizable as the vexation inflicted when he’s on the verge of a memory, but those return either by dream or by sense these days.
Dreams are for the bad memories, the days of the Winter Soldier, his subconscious loosening whatever locks his mind placed to compartmentalize the pain, to stuff it all away. The nightmares, the terrible memories leave him shaking, but therapy helps. By a few percent, but when the load of pain is as heavy as his is, every small burden taken off his shoulder helps.
Sense brings back the time before Hydra, although it’s sometimes hard to believe there was one. Steve’s face buried in his shoulder, be careful, Buck; Romanian take out, his mother’s hands; faucet dripping, water running out; oranges exploding on his tongue, a month’s salary plus overtime from working at the docks for that sweet rush once a year. The Depression, the first war -- trench memory brought back by a rainy run in Central Park, the scent of muddy petrichor in the air -- snowfall in the Alps, Dugan’s cigar. His body remembers, and then shows his mind the way.
However, this, this infuriating personality that has him incensed and restless, she isn’t in his mind in any capacity, but Bucky thinks he knows her. Or that he might have, once. And he needs to know her, again, because he hates not knowing. The nightmares hurt, and the memories of what he’s lost do, as well, but not knowing, existing in the strange limbo between certainty and loss, it’s unbearable. If this woman knows him, if she’s another key to another past, another piece of him, he has to talk to her.
“FRIDAY?” He asks groggily, sitting up.
The screen in the wall across from him blinks blue in acknowledgement, along with a “Yes, sir?”
“Is Steve up?”
“Captain Rogers is awake and having a cup of coffee in the kitchen, Sergeant,” FRIDAY tells him, and Bucky curses at the idiocy of consuming caffeine at this hour of night -- whatever’s in that shit works even on the serum and that can’t be good -- replacing his sweatpants with jeans once more and heading out to find his friend.
Steve has his back to the entryway, deep in thought -- dumbass, anyone could sneak up on you like this -- when Bucky comes in and clears his throat. The mug in Steve’s hands looks comically small, and Bucky sits down across from him at the island, reaches forward to take it from him, and downs the remaining half.
It’s just one more testament to how disturbed Steve is -- as if the careless consumption of coffee at midnight wasn’t enough -- that he lets Bucky steal his coffee. Blue meets blue in the silver dusting of moonlight, and Steve tries to locate Bucky’s purpose in his eyes before asking him for it verbally. “What is it, Buck?” He’s tired, too many missions weighing on those eyelids, but too worked up to let them close, to find rest. What Bucky’s going to say won’t help.
“Let me talk to her.”
#ayesha writes#jamiesmadwritingbash#bucky barnes#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes fanfiction#bucky barnes x y/n#bucky barnes x you
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From the fluffy/blushy prompts: "No, it’s fine. I can wait until you’re done talking to them". Thank you!
Happy NaNoWriMo (aka, working multiple projects and filling prompts <3)!
911/Buddie
Take My Heart Away With You
“Eddie Diaz, as I live and breathe.” Half a dozen heads shot up from across the intersection as the firefighters of the 118 continued to pack up their equipment. It had been a simple enough call: three-car accident in a residential area, no major injuries or immediate dangers. In fact, the entire incident was over and done with in less than an hour; they might make it back in time for Bobby to cook lunch before half of the crew were off for the day.
Although, plans were certain to change given the determined excitement from the stranger on the sidewalk.
Eddie looked up from his place beside Buck and recognized the man instantly. “Jerry? What the hell are you doing here?”
Without a second glance, he tossed his share of the equipment haphazardly into the truck for Buck to sort and jogged over to greet his friend.
“What am I doing here? Last I heard, you were living in Texas with your parents, and now I find you pulling cats out of trees in the City of Angels?”
From against the side of the truck, Chimney tilted his head to mutter “I don’t think I’ve ever rescued a cat from any form of flora.” Hen chuckled but agreed with a quip of her own, though Buck was admittedly too fixated on the other voices to pay much attention. Unfortunately, he was a little too far away to hear Eddie’s conversation with his old friend so he returned to his task, picking up the slack until his partner’s return.
“I moved out here with my son about three years ago, now.” Eddie hadn’t seemed to notice the distinct lack of chatter from his teammates as they all strained to hear his conversation. “You remember Christopher? He’s almost ten now.”
Jerry whistled in response, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. “Crazy. And Shannon? How’s she doing?”
No matter the passage of time, the sudden memory of losing his wife was always a shock to his system. “She, uh, she passed just over a year ago. It’s just the two of us. Well, I’ve got my aunt and my grandmother, and Carla, and Buck, and the rest of the 118.”
“I’m sorry,” he looked down at the hand on his shoulder and his mind returned to the days when the most sympathetic greeting he could expect on a daily basis was a firm clap on the shoulder. “but it seems like you’re doing well here.”
“I am.” Eddie was finally able to admit that he was thriving in LA, and it was nothing to be ashamed of (actually, he was almost able to admit that). “But what about you? I thought you were moving to Paris to be with Katie and her family.” It had been some time but he seemed to remember long nights of listening to Jerry pine for his girlfriend who had decided to move home now that she was done with her Masters, and how much he would miss her once his tour was over.
“I did. I’m just in town for a conference.” His friend flashed a smile that reminded Eddie of Buck’s giddy grins when he was almost too excited to share his news. “We’ve been married now, two years in August.”
He had nothing but congratulations to offer Jerry, though his heart did ache to see the ring glinting in the sunlight.
“How have you been since Shannon…” there was no need to end the sentence for two men so acquainted with death. “Is Carla…?”
“No.” He gently affirmed. “Carla’s an amazing woman but she helps care for Christopher when I’m at work.” And what a god-send she was. “Buck introduced us.”
There was a familiar glint in his eyes that Eddie recognized from every time he found himself roped into pulling pranks on their last day at any camp. “And Buck is…”
“My coworker.” He emphasized with a nod in his friend’s direction, hiding the smile that came when Buck gave an awkward wave.
“He’s cute.”
Eddie barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Jerry wasn’t the first (and he certainly wouldn’t be the last) of his friends to be charmed by Buck with just a single look.
“And he knows it.” He grumbled good-naturedly. “But listen, I gotta get back to work. It was nice seeing you.”
He was already jogging back when he turned at the sound of his name. “A couple of the guys are getting together on Thursday to watch the game; you wanna join us?”
Eddie paused in the middle of the street, a rejection on his lips before he paused to consider the offer in its entirety. A night with old friends who shared a very specific (and some would say ‘traumatic’) experience, most of whom he hasn’t seen since returning prematurely from his second tour. A night which didn’t predictably end at home or at Buck’s, reminiscing about the day – not that he didn’t enjoy his downtime with someone he’d easily call his best friend. A night with no responsibilities.
“Yeah.” He called as he jogged back to his old friend. “Let me give you my new number and you can send me the details.”
Across the road, Buck stood upright as he no longer subtly observed Eddie’s interaction. “Did he just give that guy his number?”
“So what if he did?” Hen slammed the back of the ambulance after returning their unused equipment. “It’s been over a year since Shannon died, I think it’s good that he’s getting back out there.”
Chimney hummed in contemplation beside her. “I’m with Buck on this. Maybe it’s a little too soon to be dating. Besides, he’s got a kid at home, doesn’t that complicate things?”
“I didn’t say it was too soon.” Buck protested too sharply. “I just think it’s in poor taste to be hitting on a guy when he’s in the middle of a call.”
“Didn’t you frequently talk to your girlfriend while actively treating a patient?”
He ignored Hen’s excellent point in favor of watching Eddie return to his post.
“Sorry about that. Old army buddy. I haven’t seen him since I got back but we’re gonna get together with some of the old squad later this week to catch up.” He looked so excited (as excited as ‘Professional-Mode’ Eddie could be) that Buck didn’t have the heart to question him further. He used the same excuse to explain why we was virtually silent on the ride back to the station. It certainly had nothing to do with the curious way his heart tightened at the thought that Eddie might be ready to date after the passing of his wife.
Eddie would never describe himself as a ‘social butterfly’, in even the broadest sense of the term, but there was something about being in a specific environment that brought out his louder personality. Sitting on the couch, drinking beer, and half-watching a game while taking turns swapping stories about the old days and where life took them after (that is to say, standing and cheering when there was noise from the television and virtually ignoring the screen otherwise).
For once, he found he had stories to tell that didn’t leave him riddled with guilt. He could talk about the people he’d saved at work, and the daring rescues Buck decided to pull off that Eddie had to save him from. A few of the guys had seen Buck on the news but had no idea Eddie was there. Thoughts of all the people they’d lost – and almost lost – in bombings had silenced the room for a minute. And then someone scored a goal and they were all on their feet, cheering and sloshing drinks like nothing had happened.
For a few hours, Eddie was given the gift of forgetting that he had anything to be ashamed about and just enjoy the life he had now. So, of course, when the boys invited him out a week later, he was quick to accept their invitation.
“Sorry, I can’t do game night on Tuesday, I’m going out for drinks with the guys.” He declined Chimney’s offer of dinner while they dressed in the locker room before their weekend shift. “Buck, you’re welcome to join us if you don’t want to be the odd man out.” As much as he loved his sister, Eddie knew that his friend was less than keen on being the only person at dinner without a date.
Not that he and Buck would go as a date, but it always seemed easier when they could pair off in whatever way that meant to them.
“I don’t want to impose.” Buck began to protest but Eddie waved him off.
“It’s not imposing if I’m inviting you.”
Still, the man shook his head.
“Nah, I actually have plans on Tuesday anyways so I won’t be going to Maddie’s anyways.”
If he were paying closer attention, he might notice the way Buck avoided his eyes as he spoke – a sure sign that he was being less than truthful.
“You were just going to not show up and leave me as the odd man out? I, at least, gave you fair warning.” He tossed his uniformed shirt at Buck’s head, which he caught only after it hit him on the side of his face. Of course, that meant Eddie had to cross the locker room in only his slacks to retrieve the clothing item, leaving him standing next to Buck, shirtless, and all too aware of their close proximity.
“Have fun without me.” He saw the twinkle behind those blue eyes of something unspoken but instead of asking, he pulled the shirt out of his hands and pulled it over his head in a smooth motion on his way out the door.
Buck watched him leave with, breathless in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. And something in his gut that squeezed hard at the thought of Eddie spending time with other people. Which was ridiculous. Eddie was allowed to have friends that he didn’t know about. Yes, they were best friends but that didn’t mean they owed each other a free pass to their entire lives. He’d just have to get over this jealousy.
“Why’d you lie to Eddie?” He flew against the lockers at the sound of Hen’s voice at his side.
“Why-why do you think I lied to Eddie?”
Her incredulous gaze was nearly as intimidating as Athena’s (had she been getting pointers?). “Because you don’t have plans on Tuesday. Why did you tell him you did?”
Was he that obvious? Could everyone see that he was jealous and he wanted to sulk at home rather than spend the evening with his sister, distracted and wondering what Eddie was up to?
“I didn’t want him to feel bad. If he’s not going to Maddie’s, then I’m not going to be the odd one out – like he said.”
Hen perched herself beside him against the lockers, her scrutiny turning soft. “He invited you to join him, you could have gone out with his army buddies. Is there a reason you didn’t want to?”
He didn’t want to be a burden, he’d have nothing in common with them, he didn’t want to feel like an obligation, Eddie deserved a night out with friends who weren’t him.
“It just didn’t seem like my thing.” Drinking at a bar didn’t seem like his thing? Hen didn’t have to voice her question but he shrugged it off regardless. “I’ll probably just hit the gym and do some laundry. I’m way behind anyways.” He pushed off the wall of lockers before she could question his lies any further.
Of course, he hated lying to his friends. It seemed better than admitting that he was feeling petty and jealous – like a child – over something so silly.
No matter how guilty he felt for the way he was acting, it still hurt to see Eddie strolling into the station on Wednesday morning with a smile on his face. He looked brighter than he had in a long time (since Shannon, probably). And was there a bounce in his step? Surely, he was imagining it; but he did seem happy. That was all that mattered, right? As long as Eddie was happy, he’d learn to get over his jealousy and find other friends to occupy his time.
Or perhaps he’d just be alone forever. That seemed like a likely alternative. He would adjust, adapt; he’d figure it out and everything would be fine.
Four months later, he wanted to smack his past self in the face for thinking that he could have a normal, well-adjusted reaction to anything. He was the guy who overreacted, who felt things so deeply and blew everything out of proportion.
Of course, he would see Eddie finding other friends as a sign that there was something wrong with him, and thus should isolate himself from everyone in his life. The problem was: Eddie hadn’t changed – not really. Sure, he went out with the guys a few nights a month and always came back with a smile on his face and a few stories to tell that Buck got to hear with the rest of the crew. But he kept up their weekly game night, and pizza night, and their trip to the baseball game that he told himself was out of pity for the expense of the tickets (but really, he was just excited to spend some time with his friend).
Eddie was his usual self, it was Buck who started declining game night or ending pizza night early, or feigning illness when Eddie told him about adult night at the observatory. He was the one who was pushing his friend away because some selfish part of him couldn’t handle not having someone’s attention 24/7. The more he told himself of all the reasons he was wrong, the more convinced he became of his need to isolate.
He should have known better.
“Eddie? It’s midnight, what are you doing here?” He groggily answered the door, stumbling when his mind finally caught up with him. “What happened to Christopher?”
“He’s fine.” The man was quick to put his hands out in a calming motion, walking straight past him and into the apartment without invitation – not that Eddie ever needed an invitation. “He’s at a sleepover. I wanted to talk to you.”
He’d figured it out. He must have. Eddie knew that Buck was acting like a dick and wanted to cut ties completely. Why did he have to do it in the middle of the night when it was already so dark and cold?
“You see me every day.” He closed the door despite his own instinct to run away.
“This isn’t really a work conversation.” There it was: the truth.
“I need a drink.” Buck was circling the bar and reaching for the fridge before Eddie could protest. He turned back with two water bottles in his hand (a force of habit, he supposed) and slid the other to the man taking his usual seat on the island.
It was such a minor thing but Buck had always found it amusing that even though he had a perfectly good table a few feet over, the two of them always gravitated towards the kitchen bar/island – he couldn’t remember which. Perhaps there was something to that, but he couldn’t figure out what.
“So what is it?”
“Actually, that’s what I wanted to ask you.” Two minutes in and Eddie was already nervously picking at the label of his bottle. This was going to hurt. “You’ve been distant lately; cancelling plans, lying to avoid spending time together. I appreciate that you still make time to see Christopher but you and I haven’t hung out in months. What’s up?”
After the last time he and Eddie split up – that is to say, they were separated as teammates – he’d felt so guilty about his favourite kid getting caught in the crossfire. So, even if Eddie never wanted to see him again, he was going to do all he could to still be there for Christopher. Although, it seemed especially cruel to make Buck confess all his wrongdoings instead of just yelling at him and walking away.
“There’s nothing up, I’ve just been busy.” Why he bothered to try and lie to his best friend would forever remain a mystery.
“You’ve never been able to lie to me, Buck, I don’t know why you’re doing it now but I’m worried.”
“Worried?” This was not the response he was expecting at all. What would Eddie have to be worried about?
“I’m worried that I’m losing my best friend and I don’t know why.”
There were moments in a person’s life that struck as lightning – hard and fast and completely unexpected. And there were some that rolled like thunder – highly anticipated but when it finally arrived, nothing could prepare for the aftershock. Buck finally understood the feeling of releasing a long-held breath only to feel the sensations trickle down his body, leaving pins and needles in their wake.
“I don’t want to be your best friend anymore.”
No puzzle pieces formed together, there was no sense of relief after letting go of this realization, but the moment the words left his mouth, they rang with truth. He didn’t want to see Eddie as a best friend, vying for time and caring from the sidelines of his life. He wanted to be in Eddie’s life. He wanted something new. He wanted-
“You don’t want to be friends anymore, what?”
“No!” He stumbled over his own shoes in an attempt to recover from his own misstep. “Well, yes, but not in the way you’re thinking.”
“What other way is there, Buck?” He followed as Eddie instinctively stepped away, confusion and hurt marring his face. That suddenly, very kissable face.
One step at a time.
“The way where we are something other than friends. Something romantic.” He ventured, drawing out each word as they formed in his mind.
“Something…” Eddie’s voice trailed off and Buck was gifted with the display of emotions that crossed his face. Confusion, searching, conclusion, understanding, realization, surprise, and finally a soft, shaking “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.” Buck tried to smile in a comforting manner but it has difficult to concentrate when the air had left the room. “Is that okay?”
There had always been an understanding between the two men: words were not necessary for them to know what the other needed. They didn’t need to talk to come up with a plan to rescue someone from a three-story house. They didn’t need to talk to offer comfort after a call went badly and all they wanted was not to be alone. They didn’t need to talk to know when to pounce on Chimney when he had overplayed his turn on the game console. They knew each other – complimented one another in their silence – which made them an amazing team and wonderful friends.
In the silence following Buck’s question, he didn’t dare try to read Eddie’s expression, for fear of breaking his heart too soon.
“I-yeah it’s okay but,” Buck closed his eyes against the world. “I don’t know that I feel the same.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” His mouth retreated from the conversation before his feet could make a decision. “But that’s why I’ve been…yeah.” When his feet finally caught up with his beating heart, they made their way towards the door. “So now that we’ve settled that, I’ll see you at work.”
Just get him out now. Do whatever you need to be alone. Get out. Find the silence so you can put yourself back together.
“Buck, shouldn’t we talk about th-”
“Nope.” He squeezed the handle to steady his shaking hands. “No, I think we’ve covered everything.” With a strength he didn’t possess, Buck opened the front door and stepped aside for Eddie to leave. “I’ll talk to you at work.”
He could hear the slow shuffling of Eddie’s steps as he made his way towards the door, stopping in front of Buck. They had never needed words to know what the other was saying (there had been days when they had been completely off and needed to make amends but with time, their skills had improved) and with just the steady breaths between them, Buck acknowledged Eddie’s apology and listened as he walked out the door.
It wasn’t until the engine of his truck roared out of the parking lot, that Buck allowed himself to close the door and wipe a hand over his face to clear the emotions he’d delicately kept at bay.
Eddie found himself numbly driving anywhere but home, his mind racing with the onslaught of realizations he’d been handed in such a short amount of time. How had he not seen it before? How had he not noticed the signs? How had he not understood how important that moment was? How had he not found the words to say he felt the same?
With nothing awaiting him at home, he drove for what felt like hours until he finally pulled up to his front door, feeling no less certain of what he should do next. Even so close to the safety of his bedroom, Eddie couldn’t bring himself to walk inside, choosing instead to lean against the steering wheel until the sun came up.
When he found himself burdened with so many conflicting thoughts, the only person he wanted to talk to was suddenly the only person he couldn’t share his fears with. What else was there to do but keep his emotions close to his chest until he could sort them out. Or maybe he’d make an appointment with Frank – that’s what he was for, right? – and see what an objective mind could come up with.
For now, he had to find the strength to go inside and get ready for work.
Because naturally he and Buck would be scheduled to work together the day after such an unsettling interaction. The universe would never give him an opportunity to adjust to his new mindset and perhaps come up with what he wanted to say to Buck. His friend deserved an answer – or perhaps closure – but he had nothing to give. No amount of sitting in his driveway with the engine turned off, would give him the words he needed to find before he was set to face Buck again.
Why is this a problem?
That question had drifted through his mind over again as the night slowly faded to daylight. He’d known for some time that Buck meant something significant to him. Perhaps it was in the role of best friend, or trusted partner, and occasionally he laid in bed wondering if he might mean something different – something romantic.
The thought of dating Buck hadn’t scared him the way he expected it might. In fact, he’d been circling around the daydream with startling frequency of late. So why, at the pivotal moment – the moment when he might actually get to fulfill those dreams – did he lie and say that he didn’t feel the same way? It was like he was predestined to break his own heart at every turn; first, he hurt his wife, then his son, then his best friend. But unlike with Shannon, Eddie had a chance to make up for his mistakes with the other two people who meant the world to him. He could spend the rest of his life apologizing to Christopher for leaving by showing up every single day. And he could apologize to Buck by…
By telling him the truth.
That the sudden confession had startled him and his brain hadn’t actually registered what he was saying until he was down the block. That he very much reciprocated, but he’d screwed up – like he always did (maybe he’d leave that part out).
He had to try, at least.
Besides, this was Buck. They always came back to each other; they always forgave each other.
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Eddie blocked the other man’s path as they approached the station together. It hadn’t been difficult for Eddie to beat him to work and then all he had to do was wait. “Buck, I just want to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk, Eddie.” Buck side stepped his partner but Eddie caught him again. “Not right now. We have to focus on work.”
He’d never seen the man so pale and small. He was carefully balancing his work bag on one hunched shoulder, his neck and head cast down but even then, Eddie could see how tired his eyes looked, feel how cold his skin felt from exhaustion. Had either of them slept?
“What about after work? Come over and we’ll talk.”
“Talk about what?” It wasn’t quite a shout but they were quickly drifting into the territory of ‘not work appropriate levels of conversation’. “You told me you don’t feel the same – that’s fine. I just need a little time.” When Eddie moved to block his escape again, Buck looked into Eddie’s eyes properly for the first time all day and whispered “Please.”
Eddie let him pass.
Their shift together was uncomfortable to say the least. Buck barely spoke to anyone and his avoidance of Eddie was obvious to anyone who accidentally walked through the cold air between them. Eddie didn’t try to engage with him again but too often, he caught himself staring across the table at his friend, begging for some sign that this – like every other horrible thing between them – would pass.
As they packed up at the end of the day, he watched Buck sidestep Chimney’s attempts to engage in conversation, and nearly ran into Hen when she approached him – now doubt some tag team strategy to get the story from both parties at once.
Unfortunately for the paramedics, neither of the men were up for airing their dirty laundry. No, Eddie saved that for drinks with his army buddies a few nights later.
“So when are we actually going to meet this ‘Buck’ of yours?” Ian meant well (as well as he could when teasing his friends about his obvious crush). “I thought you were going to introduce us.”
Eddie stared into the bottom of his glass of ginger ale, wondering if it held any of the answers he so desperately needed. Instead, he downed the rest of his soda in one gulp. “Buck isn’t mine.”
“Ooh.” A few voices from the table echoed Sam’s ribbing. “Trouble in paradise?”
“You could say that.” He couldn’t exactly blame his loose tongue on the alcohol but he was sorely tempted to find a better excuse to share his feelings than simply ‘he needed someone to talk to’.
Like friends?
“Buck told me that he had feelings for me and I told him that I wasn’t sure I felt the same (even though that’s a lie). And now he’s freezing me out because I hurt him, but the only way I can make it up to him is if I talk to him. I don’t know how to make it right.”
It was an odd sensation to feel a weight lift off his chest – he was so used to carrying it all alone until he’d come to LA and even then, it was a hard habit to break – but confessing his frustrations to a room of receptive people did give him a sense of relief.
“Wait, hold on.” Ian shook his head. “You and Buck aren’t a couple? Could have fooled me, the way you go on about him.” Mostly receptive.
The trouble was: he wanted them to be a couple, and though he wasn’t sure Buck was still on board, he knew there was the potential to get everything he wanted. There was only one person who could get them there and it wasn’t any of the men sitting around the table in the dimly lit bar.
“We are not talking about my love life – or lack thereof – anymore.” He declared, rising to his feet. “The next rounds’ on me.” He was still waiting for their order when he felt a hand clap his shoulder and he jumped despite himself.
“Sorry,” Sam hissed in sympathy. “I should know better. I just wanted to say: fix it.” He grabbed half of the drinks as they were slid across the bar for Eddie to follow suit. “Do what you need to do to be happy – even if that means locking your boy in a closet until you sort it out.” Eddie held his balance as Sam lightly elbowed him with a smirk. “You talk about Buck like he’s someone special to you. Don’t lose that.”
It was Sam’s words that led Buck to open his door after midnight for the second time that week, to find an anxious Eddie eager to enter his apartment.
“What do you want, Eddie?” Without waiting for permission, the man walked through to the kitchen bar and began to lightly pace back and forth. He looked nervous, almost scared. What could he possibly have to say that was so terrifying? Was he fleeing the city because he couldn’t handle being around Buck any longer? No, that wasn’t it. Though his heart was still healing, he knew Eddie was not one to run away from his problems. Not that Buck was a problem. Was he?
“I want us to talk.” The man declared as he continued to run a hole in the hardwood floor. “And I don’t want you to kick me out again.”
Buck knew he’d been rash the other night in sending Eddie away before he could continue but the other option was listening to platitudes about their friendship (which he cherished greatly) and maintaining a professional attitude and he just couldn’t bring himself to hear it then.
The rest – the confrontation in the parking lot, the icing out – it had been to protect his heart while he readjusted the level of hope he was allowed to carry. He just needed time. Yet, here Eddie was, pushing his way through.
Just like you do.
“Fine.” He closed the door with just enough gracefulness to appease his grumpy neighbours. “Talk.”
Eddie stopped pacing when Buck approached. “No, we’re going to talk to each other.” He really didn’t want to talk about this awful situation between them. In fact, if they never spoke again, he would be perfectly content. He cursed his own traitorous heart for calling him a liar, then.
“What do you want me to say, Eddie?” He took the stool across from his friend when Eddie motioned for him to sit. Even now, it seemed important that the two of them never sat at the table.
“First, I want to ask you a question. Please be honest.” As much as his mind cried ‘no! You don’t owe him anything!’ his heart whispered ‘give him every chance’.
“Okay.”
“You said you were pulling away because you wanted to be something other than friends. Why?”
Buck couldn’t help the incredulous snort that escaped. “Why was I pulling away, or why do I want to be something other than friends? Because if I’m being honest, I’m trying to rethink that last one.” He silenced the voice shouting ���liar’.
“No, why were you pulling away? What changed?”
His immediate response was to answer with ‘nothing’. To confess that nothing had changed except he suddenly came to his senses, even if those senses had gotten him hurt. But then, he let himself think back to the weeks and months when Eddie wasn’t around as often. When he suddenly had other people he would rather be with instead of him.
“I got jealous.” He confessed quietly. “You had your army buddies and you were spending less time with me. At first, I thought I was just jealous that you had other friends. It’s been just the two of us for some time and suddenly you weren’t always there.” He’d tried so hard to convince himself that he was just being selfish the way he always was; that he was simply meant to grow up and get over it. “Then I suddenly realized I wanted to be there with your friends – get to know them – but I didn’t want to be one of them.” Eddie’s eyes were too soft and bright to stare into any longer so he found a place on the counter between them that felt like neutral territory.
“I want you all to myself and I know that’s selfish but I want all of you.” Saying it out loud was meant to feel like relief but all Buck found was a pain in the center of his chest. “Seeing you and not knowing what to do: it was too hard. So I stepped back. And now that it’s all out there,” (And boy, was it all out there.) “I just need some time to readjust. That’s all I need.”
What he ‘needed’ was an infinite list of ever-changing desires, but several of the constants included Eddie and Christopher in his life. What he needed: was to put the genie back in the bottle and never realize his feelings in the first place. What he needed was to be happy.
“It’s not selfish.” He barely heard Eddie’s whispered words but he looked up to familiar, shining eyes. “Or if it is, then I’m selfish, too.”
It wasn’t quite like he’d heard a record scratch in his mind but the world most definitely stopped moving for a moment as his words set into place.
“You-what?”
Eddie reached out his hand but hesitated, placing it just between them. An offering instead of a command: Buck could answer if he wanted, when he was ready.
“When you told me…what you told me,” that was certainly one way of putting it. “I panicked.” Buck didn’t echo his nervous laughter but he did nothing to deter it, too lost in absorbing all of the new information.
“I thought maybe you meant it some other way, or I was dreaming, or I wasn’t good enough for you.” How could Eddie ever believe that he wasn’t good enough? Even if this was his long-winded way of letting him down gently, Buck made a promise to never let him believe that again. “So I told you that I wasn’t sure how I felt but that was a lie.”
The more Eddie spoke, the more Buck allowed his heart to take on just a little more hope. “And I wanted to tell you the truth but I could never get you alone.” Because Buck had made a point of walking in the other direction whenever Eddie entered the room, entirely born out of self-preservation that was, apparently, unfounded.
“You know my friends, they thought we were dating.”
“Wait, really?”
His laugh had elements of the joy he knew Eddie was capable of and it gave him permission to relax against the bar just a little bit. “Yup. They kept asking when they were going to meet the guy I couldn’t stop talking about. And then they told me to do what I need to do to be happy.” Eddie sighed in conclusion. “So I came here.”
Buck tried to speak a few times but no words ever came. He had let himself hope for this outcome too often, but it never felt like this. His heart felt as though it would burst from his chest and his ears were ringing like he was flying through high altitude. His eyes darting across Eddie’s face over and over, looking for a hint that he was being insincere but all he saw was the same terrified and shy desire that he assumed was in his own expression.
“So you like me?” Buck ventured.
“Yeah, Buck.” Eddie chuckled in return. “I like you.”
Good. “And I like you.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“And your friends think we’re dating.”
“They may have hinted at it, yes.”
It seemed a pity that Eddie’s hand was resting between them, completely unaccompanied, so Buck linked their fingers.
“Do you want to go on a date?”
It felt right, feeling Eddie’s thumb gently swipe across his skin and squeeze their fingers with all the joy they couldn’t express for fear of breaking their quiet bubble of hope.
“Honestly, I want to kiss you right now.” The shiver of anticipation was one he’d been waiting for, for a very long time. “But I’m also very tired. I haven’t really slept since that night.”
Buck found himself simultaneously relieved and guilty to learn that he hadn’t been alone in his sleeplessness so instead, he pulled Eddie to his feet.
“Do you have anywhere to be in the morning?” When Eddie shook his head, he smiled. “My bed’s pretty big. What do you say to sleeping – just sleeping – and then see about the rest of it in the morning.”
Without hesitation, he melted into Eddie’s smile. “That sounds perfect.”
--
He had done much scarier things in his lifetime – hell, he’d gone to war when he had a newborn son waiting for him at home – but somehow, walking into the pub with his boyfriend by his side was what really got him sweating.
“Hey,” Buck bumped his shoulder with an encouraging smile the way he had since the day they met. “it’s gonna go great.”
It didn’t entirely ease his anxiety but he also had the distinct realization that he could handle whatever happened because he wouldn’t have to handle it alone.
“I know.”
He spotted the group easily enough, the group of boisterous men in the corner booth, exchanging loud war stories and wiping up their sloshed drinks (because they were raised to be polite young men, thank you, ma’am). The moment they caught sight of Eddie they waved him over and the two made their way to join the platoon.
“Hey guys, I see you started drinking without me.” He greeted the men with a smile.
“Well Kelley started around noon.” Ian shoved his friend’s shoulder. “So unless you wanted to skip…whatever it is you two were doing before this…”
“We were at work.” Buck replied quickly with a mischievous smirk to his cheeks. The man really was shameless, even when he was telling the truth. “Hi, I’m Buck,” he extended his hand to the closest person – Sam – who took it immediately. “it’s nice to meet you all.”
Thankful for his boyfriend’s ability to charm the pants off of anyone he met (though the pants-loosing was a super power he reserved for one person in particular), Eddie allowed himself to relax into the evening. “Buck these are some of the men I was on tour with. This is Sam, Ian, Harry, Erik, and Cole.” Buck greeted them each with a polite nod and handshake. “Guys, this is Buck.”
“Please tell me you two are finally having sex.” Ian shook Buck’s hand enthusiastically, laughing at the double take from both men. “Eddie here has been mooning over you for months.”
If it were possible for the floor to swallow him whole, he would pray for an earthquake. The knowing look on Buck’s face, paired with the snickers from around the table, told him that he wouldn’t be hearing the end of it for some time.
“Mooning?” Buck teased as they took their seats next to one another. “Eddie, I had no idea you mooned.” He was well aware that they both mooned over one another (as evidenced by the amount of times Chimney had asked them to stop looking at each other while they were on duty before they were arrested for indecent exposure) but he didn’t correct his boyfriend.
“Suddenly I’m feeling very down to earth.” He rolled his eyes at Buck’s faux indignation before they turned their attention to the rest of the table. “So, what were we talking about?”
Erik waved him off without waiting for the others to respond. “Doesn’t matter. We want to talk to Buck here. I bet there’s some things he knows about Eddie that we’d like to know.”
He knew before he asked Buck to accompany him to guys’ night, that the boys would latch on to him and search for blackmail material. Fortunately, he came prepared.
“And I know there’s some things about these guys that Buck would find hilarious. Like, guess who got caught sneaking out of the captain’s quarters after someone set off the fire alarm. And they were naked. And so was the captain.”
It wasn’t difficult to discern the culprit from the blush in his cheeks, but Buck still snorted at Cole with a mixture of shock and approval.
“I was fired a few months into being a probie because I got caught stealing the firetruck to have sex. Twice.”
If there was one thing Eddie should have known, it was that Buck was as shameless as he was handsome. Of course, he would reveal stories about his life that even his partner hadn’t heard before.
“You said I couldn’t kiss you goodbye in the parking lot because we had to be professional!”
“Because I got fired for having sex in a firetruck.” Buck matched his indignant energy with a smile. “I’m not going to risk getting fired again.”
“It’s a kiss, Buck, we’re not going to get fired for a kiss (not in LA, anyways).”
“Well I know that if I kiss you, I won’t be able to stop. And the things I want to do to you would get us fired – even in LA.”
“You are both very horny and very sweet.” Eddie shoved his boyfriend lightly, to accompany his hidden smile of giddy joy. This thing between them was only a few weeks old and they were still learning what would change and what would stay exactly the same. So far, it had been nothing but happy adjustments and stolen kisses. Eddie knew exactly what Buck meant about never wanting to stop – and he hoped that feeling never went away.
“I feel so sorry for your coworkers.” They snapped to Sam, taking in the snickers from the other men as they came back to reality. “I don’t know how they get anything done with you two like this constantly.”
“They don’t.” The pair replied in unison, earning another round of laughter from the table.
Eddie recovered first. “Enough about us, we’re here to spend a night among friends, so whose gonna by us a drink?”
Truth be told: Eddie didn’t mind the sniggering or taunting because it all came from a place of love – a place he wasn’t sure he’d ever find like this. He had his son, his family, his friends, his partner, and even if it wasn’t perfect, there was certainly hope.
#cj writes things#911 fox#911 fic#buddie#buddie fic#oneawkwardcookie#love cookie#love confession#jealousy#prompt fill#evan buckley#eddie diaz
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hi goldy!! ❤️❤️ do you think during some break up periods jikook tried to be with other people?
This question...
Lol. I mean... if you count Jimin's Paris girls and JK's tattoo girl as other people lol. I don't.
Unless you mean other people within BTS? In which case, don't mind if I silently judge you. Lol.
I don't like speculating on persons outside of BTS because it's their private life and they didn't sign up for this. Plus it can be very invasive and my conscience just won't let me...
But I don't think Jimin moves on that easily or quickly from a breakup to be honest. He values human relationships and connections with other people and has a very high emotional intelligence quotient to resort to 'using' others to fix his emotional problems.
He cares about others' feelings and how his actions impact them emotionally- I mean did you see him turn to Kook to ask if Kook was ok with him saying he liked him on camera during one of their logs in the early days?
He is awfully self aware in the way that he conducts himself around people. It's why I smirk when people say he 'harasses' JK often and that JK doesn't like him being all over him. Believe me, Jimin doesn't do anything JK whipped ass don't enjoy. And when he seem like he is pushing JK's boundaries a tad bit much or smothering JK, it's usually him teasing JK and JK knows it. They both have a way of using things that make eachother uncomfortable to tease eachother and I don't think they both mind- I think people need to stop acting like Jikook abuse eachother when they tease eachother.
They abuse eachother alright- in bedroom huh! Lol. Sorry. Couldn't help it. Lmho.
The best example I can give you of this is these two recent Run episodes. If you pay attention to the sequence of events and the progression of Jikook's interactions, you would notice how JM was trying a little bit harder to interact with JK in the beginning of the episode and JK kept pulling away to enforce his boundaries?
But when JM noticed JK wasn't open to recieve and reciprocate those advances he was making he sort of backed away immediately. As such, towards the end of episode 116 and throughout 117 you could see JM respecting those boundaries JK was putting up with him. As such, he would reserve himself and would move past JK and offer his hug to the other members instead- out of respect for Kook, not spite. Mind you.
I think he is more likely to try and fix his relationship with Kook than to rebound with other people or try to be with other people knowing full well he still has feelings for Kook. Listen, Jimin is not letting go of his feelings for Kook anytime soon. He is too deep in it. I mean this is the person who's said when he falls in love he wants it to be forever. He is not letting JK go anytime soon.
This is the person who keeps reiterating how he wants to be with BTS as a group forever. He values connections and is sentimental about them. He is sentimental about JK and he values his connection with JK.
Besides, JM has friends and emotionally fulfilling relationships outside of his relationship with Kook that he consciously waters and nurtures. So often when he goes through a Kook withdrawal there are people there to offer him that emotional support. In my opinion. Lol.
I can't say same for Kook. He is naturally emotionally closed off and it takes time for him to let people in but once he does he tends to keep those connections forever too. I think. I mean, he is an introvert and people like that prefer keeping a close knit circle of friends made of one or two people they are intimately or closely attached to rather than maintaining a wider circle of friends.
You don't need me to tell you that Jimin is his circle within the circle. Lol.
It seems also that he doesn't consciously go out of his way to nurture connections with people outside of his close circles the way JM does. Especially if you hear the members talk about how he takes an entire year to return text messages, how he doesn't even see the importance of going out of his way to wish his bandmates a happy birthday on social when everyone else is doing it, how he doesn't bother to gift others presents on their birthday except for the one person within the group he is emotionally attached to.
How he's had a falling out with Tae over the years but didn't even bother to make a conscious effort to fix things with him leaving Tae with no choice but to passive aggressively shade him for it throughout the years- complaining about getting used to JK ignoring him behind cameras and what not.
Jk is very selective about who and which relationship he goes out of his way to nurture and give his energy to unlike JM. I think it's partly due to the differences in their personality as an introvert and extrovert but also due to the differences in their upbringing and the environment they each grew up in but let's not get into that today. Lol.
Very often when JK is going through a JM withdrawal it hits him the hardest I think. Unlike JM, I don't think he has other emotional support systems in place to fall on? 2018 was it? Remember when he was going through a hard time in that period and he shut out the members but would jump on Social to interact with Army? Why do that if there were people in his life to offer that level of emotional support and fulfillment for him?
Tae is like that too. Remember how he said to JK during their Soop conversation that he was posting much more frequently on Weverse because he wasn't feeling loved and wanted reassurance? Why do that if he had that level of emotional support in his life?
He brought that up because on some level he knew JK could relate among other things. In my opinion.
I mean did you hear Blue and Grey? Yet people swear up and down he is in a relationship with a boy in BTS- must be a very emotionally unfulfilling relationship that doesn't meet his need for reassurance and validation in a romantic relationship. Smirk.
I think JK starts seeking out other connections and tries to nurture them so they provide the emotional connection he needs in periods when he is going through a such hard times without Jimin-but the moment he gets good with JM he's gonna forget those connections ever existed lol.
I think that's what had happened with Tae in On era and the tattoo girl as well... Were they dating? I know they weren't. I know JK wasn't having sex with her simply because she would have screwed him over far worse than she did in the aftermath of the scandal. Lmho.
I mean home girl tried on the whole gender ambiguity look for a hot minute there when she was hanging out with JK but ditched that look real fast the moment she realized JK was never gonna pick her- these pick me gals I swear!
She went from expressing herself as overtly tomboyish to a much rather toned down stereotypically feminine gal in a flash in the aftermath of the scandal? Chileee I'm gonna get in trouble. Lol.
The hair cut, the baggy clothes, the boyish appearance- probably knew JK was attracted to genderly ambiguous people. Cough, cough Jimin and so tried to appear more genderly ambiguous within that period to fit in as a one of the guys? Know what I mean? It's just my opinion and I feel bad for voicing it out loud this way.
She could have been experimenting with her looks and identity and all that jazz- she has every right to present herself whatever way she wants honestly and gender is not defined by the clothes you wear and frankly it's none of my business. Chilee.
It's just crazy to me how she kept saying she didn't want to cause trouble with Army blah blah blah which is why she had chosen to stay quiet about the scandal when it first started but then later she changed her tone and started liking posts and comments that said she and JK were a thing. Smirk.
I mean for someone who had said she didn't want to harm the reputation of JK in the beginning of the scandal and didn't want trouble with Army and so had chosen to stay out of the issue, she sure suddenly had started fanning the flames of the scandal later on and her shop would eventually post a statement about the scandal- on JM's birthday. Coincidence? I think the fuck not.
If you ask me, I think her and the shop knew exactly what they were doing with that one. They both wanted to hurt JK if you ask me. They are Koreans and they know just how much scandals hurt the business and reputations of idols. So for them to keep at it even when that scandal had died down...
And I know some people believe someone from her shop had leaked the photos etc- this is where I insert my BigHit conspiracy theory- BigHit don dunnit! Lol. That scandal came at a time too convenient for a company scared people were going to find out two of its talents were dating. Y'all know my theory on that so I'll just rest it.
This is the same campany that calls paparazzi on its talents and arranges for tabliods to meet and take photos of the boys and write articles about them as and when it so pleases them. I'm not just talking about Dispatch- if you know you know.
I think they have their own people following these boys around just to keep an eye on them to avoid heavy scandals. They definitely knew what JK and JM were up to during their vacation and when they realised there was a much bigger scandal on the way they conducted this tattoo girl and Paris girls scandal to mitigate that.
Listen, BigHit has been through a much severe scandal with their earlier band before BTS. That scandal literally crippled the company- allegedly, had it not been for BTS and so when I tell you they do not joke with scandals involving their artists. You bet your ass they have their eyes on the boys. All the time. They ain't about to let another major scandal cripple their empire.
I mean, even in the recent BE conference they held, they had to film the Q&A session offline- probably didn't want a repeat of the media embarrassing BTS like they did with the plagiarism scandal. Jk's cheeky smirk. Lmho.
Would explain why both the shop and the girl in question also felt used by the company and JK later on. The shop was expecting compensation from BigHit for using them in that way it seemed- read their statement you'll understand what I mean. And the girl perhaps also thought she was gonna get to be with JK as consolation price- yea, no. Sorry dear. JK don'troll like that.
It is why later they tried taking vengeance on both JK and the company with those moves they made. In my opinion. Lol.
From a legal perspective, BigHit had every right to sue the shop for breach of privacy on behalf of JK because the shop owed that duty to JK being their client. They had a duty to protect the privacy of their clients and so it's funny how the shop turned around claiming BigHit was the one that owed them compensation or whatever. Chileee. Messy, messy, messy.
I really don't want to get deep into that whole conversation and so kindly read between the lines... got it? Good. Lol.
Anywho, JK has a tendency to latch on to people when he is in an emotionally vulnerable state. In the group it is often Tae or Jin, Suga or Hobi in my opinion.
Honestly I prefer he does that than shut everyone out.
This tendencies of his is why I keep saying he has the most boundaries in BTS- emotional boundaries I mean. Jimin is a nurturer and to nurture people you have to be willing to be emotionally open, attached and vulnerable with others. Whereas JK is not a nurturer like that so naturally he is much emotionally closed off.
He simply latches on to people when he is going through a tough time or shuts himself up completely for self preservation. In my opinion.
What I am trying to say is, i don't think either of them have both been with other people during times they weren't together because usually they don't stay broken up for that long- long enough for either one of them to form any meaningful attachments outside of eachother.
I can't say same for sex though- shit only takes a few minutes. But judging from the way they behave when either one of them does skinship with even members they consider family, I don't think either one of them have had sex outside of eachother. That would devastate them and lead to much dire repercussions such as each of them developing trust issues and severe insecurities- they are insecure about eachother as it is and they haven't been seeing other people. Chilee.
If JK as much as have sex with another person even if they are broken up Jimin would literally die. I'd laugh but I don't think it's funny.
As for JK... sigh. Let's just say he is going to raise hell on us all if Jimin should do that. Forget the Corona Virus, forget the apocalypse- JK would bring the world to an untimely end. Deadass.
I hope this helps?
Keep supporting Jikook. Jikook is real.
Signed,
GOLDY.
#jikook#jikook analysis#jikook theories#kookmin#kookmintheories#kookmin analysis#goldy theories#goldy analysis#goldy blogs#ask goldy#ask response#tattoo girl scandal#bts ships
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Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (November or September 9, 1914 – January 19, 2000), was an Austrian-American actress, inventor, and film producer. She appeared in 30 films over a 28 year career, and co-invented an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication.
Lamarr was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, and acted in a number of Austrian, German, and Czech films in her brief early film career, including the controversial Ecstasy (1933). In 1937, she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer, secretly moving to Paris and then on to London. There she met Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio, who offered her a Hollywood movie contract, where he began promoting her as "the world's most beautiful woman".
She became a star through her performance in Algiers (1938), her first United States film.[5] She starred opposite Clark Gable in Boom Town and Comrade X (both 1940), and James Stewart in Come Live with Me and Ziegfeld Girl (both 1941). Her other MGM films include Lady of the Tropics (1939), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), as well as Crossroads and White Cargo (both 1942); she was also borrowed by Warner Bros. for The Conspirators, and by RKO for Experiment Perilous (both 1944). Dismayed by being typecast, Lamarr co-founded a new production studio and starred in its films: The Strange Woman (1946), and Dishonored Lady (1947). Her greatest success was as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949). She also acted on television before the release of her final film, The Female Animal (1958). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
At the beginning of World War II, Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system using frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology for Allied torpedoes, intended to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. She also helped improve aircraft aerodynamics for Howard Hughes while they dated during the war. Although the US Navy did not adopt Lamarr and Antheil's invention until 1957, various spread-spectrum techniques are incorporated into Bluetooth technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of Wi-Fi. Recognition of the value of their work resulted in the pair being posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of Emil Kiesler (1880–1935) and Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler (née Lichtwitz; 1894–1977). Her father was born to a Galician-Jewish family in Lemberg (now Lviv, Ukraine), and was a successful bank manager. Her mother was a pianist, born in Budapest to an upper-class Hungarian-Jewish family. She converted to Catholicism as an adult, at the insistence of her first husband, and raised her daughter Hedy as a Catholic as well, though she was not formally baptized at the time.
As a child, Kiesler showed an interest in acting and was fascinated by theatre and film. At the age of 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. She also began to associate invention with her father, who would take her out on walks, explaining how various technologies in society functioned.
After the Anschluss, she helped get her mother out of Austria and to the United States, where Gertrud Kiesler later became an American citizen. She put "Hebrew" as her race on her petition for naturalization, a term that had been frequently used in Europe.
Still using her maiden name of Hedy Kiesler, she took acting classes in Vienna. One day, she forged a permission note from her mother and went to Sascha-Film, where she was hired at the age of 16 as a script girl. She gained a role as an extra in Money on the Street (1930), and then a small speaking part in Storm in a Water Glass (1931). Producer Max Reinhardt cast her in a play entitled The Weaker Sex, which was performed at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Reinhardt was so impressed with her that he arranged for her to return with him to Berlin, where he was based.
Kiesler never trained with Reinhardt nor appeared in any of his Berlin productions. After meeting Russian theatre producer Alexis Granowsky, she was cast in his film directorial debut, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. (1931), starring Walter Abel and Peter Lorre. Granowsky soon moved to Paris, but Kiesler stayed in Berlin to work. She was given the lead role in No Money Needed (1932), a comedy directed by Carl Boese. Her next film brought her international fame.
In early 1933, at age 18, Hedy Kiesler, still working under her maiden name, was given the lead in Gustav Machatý's film Ecstasy (Ekstase in German, Extase in Czech). She played the neglected young wife of an indifferent older man.
The film became both celebrated and notorious for showing the actress's face in the throes of an orgasm. According to Marie Benedict's book The Only Woman In The Room, Kiesler's expression resulted from someone sticking her with a pin. She was also shown in closeups and brief nude scenes, the latter reportedly a result of the actress being "duped" by the director and producer, who used high-power telephoto lenses.
Although Kiesler was dismayed and now disillusioned about taking other roles, Ecstasy gained world recognition after winning an award in Rome. Throughout Europe, the film was regarded as an artistic work. However, in the United States, it was banned, considered overly sexual, and made the target of negative publicity, especially among women's groups. It was also banned in Germany due to Kiesler's Jewish heritage. Her husband, Fritz Mandl, reportedly spent over $300,000 buying up and destroying copies of the film.
Kiesler also played a number of stage roles, including a starring one in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria produced in Vienna in early 1933, just as Ecstasy premiered. It won accolades from critics.
Admirers sent roses to her dressing room and tried to get backstage to meet Kiesler. She sent most of them away, including an insistent Friedrich Mandl. He became obsessed with getting to know her. Mandl was a Viennese arms merchant and munitions manufacturer who was reputedly the third-richest man in Austria. She fell for his charming and fascinating personality, partly due to his immense wealth. Her parents, both of Jewish descent, did not approve, as Mandl had ties to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, and later, German Führer Adolf Hitler, but they could not stop their headstrong daughter.
On August 10, 1933, at the age of 18, Kiesler married Mandl, then 33. The son of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother, Mandl insisted that she convert to Catholicism before their wedding in Vienna Karlskirche. In her autobiography Ecstasy and Me, Mandl is described as an extremely controlling husband. He strongly objected to her having been filmed in the simulated orgasm scene in Ecstasy and prevented her from pursuing her acting career. She claimed she was kept a virtual prisoner in their castle home, Castle Schwarzenau in the remote Waldviertel near the Czech border.
Mandl had close social and business ties to the Italian government, selling munitions to the country, and, despite his own part-Jewish descent, had ties to the Nazi regime of Germany. Kiesler accompanied Mandl to business meetings, where he conferred with scientists and other professionals involved in military technology. These conferences were her introduction to the field of applied science and she became interested in nurturing her latent talent in science.
Finding her marriage to Mandl eventually unbearable, Kiesler decided to flee her husband as well as her country. According to her autobiography, she disguised herself as her maid and fled to Paris. Friedrich Otto's account says that she persuaded Mandl to let her wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party where the influential austrofascist Ernst Stahremberg attended, then disappeared afterward. She writes about her marriage:
I knew very soon that I could never be an actress while I was his wife. ... He was the absolute monarch in his marriage. ... I was like a doll. I was like a thing, some object of art which had to be guarded—and imprisoned—having no mind, no life of its own.
After arriving in London in 1937, she met Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who was scouting for talent in Europe. She initially turned down the offer he made her (of $125 a week), but booked herself onto the same New York-bound liner as he. During the trip, she impressed him enough to secure a $500 a week contract. Mayer persuaded her to change her name from Hedwig Kiesler (to distance herself from "the Ecstasy lady" reputation associated with it). She chose the surname "Lamarr" in homage to the beautiful silent film star, Barbara La Marr, on the suggestion of Mayer's wife, Margaret Shenberg.
When Mayer brought Lamarr to Hollywood in 1938, he began promoting her as the "world's most beautiful woman". He introduced her to producer Walter Wanger, who was making Algiers (1938), an American version of the noted French film, Pépé le Moko (1937).
Lamarr was cast in the lead opposite Charles Boyer. The film created a "national sensation", says Shearer. Lamarr was billed as an unknown but well-publicized Austrian actress, which created anticipation in audiences. Mayer hoped she would become another Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. According to one viewer, when her face first appeared on the screen, "everyone gasped ... Lamarr's beauty literally took one's breath away."
In future Hollywood films, Lamarr was often typecast as the archetypal glamorous seductress of exotic origin. Her second American film was I Take This Woman (1940), co-starring with Spencer Tracy under the direction of regular Dietrich collaborator, Josef von Sternberg. Von Sternberg was fired during the shoot, and replaced by Frank Borzage. The film was put on hold, and Lamarr was put into Lady of the Tropics (1939), where she played a mixed-race seductress in Saigon opposite Robert Taylor. She returned to I Take This Woman, re-shot by W. S. Van Dyke. The resulting film was a flop.
Far more popular was Boom Town (1940) with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Spencer Tracy; it made $5 million MGM promptly reteamed Lamarr and Gable in Comrade X (1940), a comedy film in the vein of Ninotchka (1939), which was another hit.
She was teamed with James Stewart in Come Live with Me (1941), playing a Viennese refugee. Stewart was also featured in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), in which Lamarr, Judy Garland, and Lana Turner played aspiring showgirls; it was a big success.
Lamarr was top-billed in H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), although the film's protagonist was the title role played by Robert Young. She made a third film with Tracy, Tortilla Flat (1942). It was successful at the box office, as was Crossroads (1942) with William Powell.
She played the seductive native girl Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), top-billed over Walter Pidgeon. It was a huge hit. White Cargo contains arguably her most memorable film quote, delivered with provocative invitation: "I am Tondelayo. I make tiffin for you?" This line typifies many of Lamarr's roles, which emphasized her beauty and sensuality while giving her relatively few lines. The lack of acting challenges bored Lamarr, and she reportedly took up inventing to relieve her boredom. In a 1970 interview, Lamarr also remarked that she was paid less because she would not sleep with Mayer.
Lamarr was reunited with Powell in a comedy, The Heavenly Body (1944). She was then borrowed by Warner Bros. for The Conspirators (1944), reuniting several of the actors of Casablanca (1942), which had been inspired in part by Algiers and written with Lamarr in mind as its female lead, though MGM would not lend her out. RKO later borrowed her for a melodrama, Experiment Perilous (1944), directed by Jacques Tourneur.
Back at MGM, Lamarr was teamed with Robert Walker in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), playing a princess who falls in love with a New Yorker. It was very popular, but would be the last film she made under her MGM contract.
Her off-screen life and personality during those years was quite different from her screen image. She spent much of her time feeling lonely and homesick. She might swim at her agent's pool, but shunned the beaches and staring crowds. When asked for an autograph, she wondered why anyone would want it. Writer Howard Sharpe interviewed her and gave his impression:
Hedy has the most incredible personal sophistication. She knows the peculiarly European art of being womanly; she knows what men want in a beautiful woman, what attracts them, and she forces herself to be these things. She has magnetism with warmth, something that neither Dietrich nor Garbo has managed to achieve.
Author Richard Rhodes describes her assimilation into American culture:
Of all the European émigrés who escaped Nazi Germany and Nazi Austria, she was one of the very few who succeeded in moving to another culture and becoming a full-fledged star herself. There were so very few who could make the transition linguistically or culturally. She really was a resourceful human being–I think because of her father's strong influence on her as a child.
Lamarr also had a penchant for speaking about herself in the third person.
Lamarr wanted to join the National Inventors Council, but was reportedly told by NIC member Charles F. Kettering and others that she could better help the war effort by using her celebrity status to sell war bonds.
She participated in a war bond-selling campaign with a sailor named Eddie Rhodes. Rhodes was in the crowd at each Lamarr appearance, and she would call him up on stage. She would briefly flirt with him before asking the audience if she should give him a kiss. The crowd would say yes, to which Hedy would reply that she would if enough people bought war bonds. After enough bonds were purchased, she would kiss Rhodes and he would head back into the audience. Then they would head off to the next war bond rally. In total, Lamarr sold approximately $25 million (over $350 million when adjusted for inflation in 2020) worth of war bonds during a period of 10 days.
After leaving MGM in 1945, Lamarr formed production company Mars Film Corporation with Jack Chertok and Hunt Stromberg, producing two film noir motion pictures which she also starred in: The Strange Woman (1946) as a manipulative seductress leading a son to murder his father, and Dishonored Lady (1947) as a formerly suicidal fashion designer[verification needed] trying to start a new life but gets accused of murder. Her initiative was unwelcomed by the Hollywood establishment, as they were against actors (especially female actors) producing their films independently. Both films grossed over their budgets, but were not large commercial successes.
In 1948, she tried a comedy with Robert Cummings, called Let's Live a Little.
Lamarr enjoyed her greatest success playing Delilah opposite Victor Mature as the biblical strongman in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949). A massive critical and commercial success, the film became the highest-grossing picture of 1950 and won two Academy Awards (Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design) of its five nominations. She won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Delilah. Showmen's Trade Review previewed the film before its release and commended Lamarr's performance: "Miss Lamarr is just about everyone's conception of the fair-skinned, dark-haired, beauteous Delilah, a role tailor-made for her, and her best acting chore to date."[48] Photoplay wrote, "As Delilah, Hedy Lamarr is treacherous and tantalizing, her charms enhanced by Technicolor."[49]
Lamarr returned to MGM for a film noir with John Hodiak, A Lady Without Passport (1950), which flopped. More popular were two pictures she made at Paramount, a Western with Ray Milland, Copper Canyon (1950), and a Bob Hope spy spoof, My Favorite Spy (1951).
Her career went into decline. She went to Italy to play multiple roles in Loves of Three Queens (1954), which she also produced. However she lacked the experience necessary to make a success of such an epic production, and lost millions of dollars when she was unable to secure distribution of the picture.
She was Joan of Arc in Irwin Allen's critically panned epic, The Story of Mankind (1957) and did episodes of Zane Grey Theatre ("Proud Woman") and Shower of Stars ("Cloak and Dagger"). Her last film was a thriller The Female Animal (1958).
Lamarr was signed to act in the 1966 film Picture Mommy Dead, but was let go when she collapsed during filming from nervous exhaustion. She was replaced in the role of Jessica Flagmore Shelley by Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer.
Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her inventive "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.
During World War II, Lamarr learned that radio-controlled torpedoes, an emerging technology in naval war, could easily be jammed and set off course.[53] She thought of creating a frequency-hopping signal that could not be tracked or jammed. She conceived an idea and contacted her friend, composer and pianist George Antheil, to help her implement it.[54] Together they developed a device for doing that, when he succeeded by synchronizing a miniaturized player-piano mechanism with radio signals.[40] They drafted designs for the frequency-hopping system, which they patented.[55][56] Antheil recalled:
We began talking about the war, which, in the late summer of 1940, was looking most extremely black. Hedy said that she did not feel very comfortable, sitting there in Hollywood and making lots of money when things were in such a state. She said that she knew a good deal about munitions and various secret weapons ... and that she was thinking seriously of quitting MGM and going to Washington, D.C., to offer her services to the newly established National Inventors Council.
As quoted from a 1945 Stars and Stripes interview, "Hedy modestly admitted she did only 'creative work on the invention', while the composer and author George Antheil, 'did the really important chemical part'. Hedy was not too clear about how the device worked, but she remembered that she and Antheil sat down on her living room rug and were using a silver match box with the matches simulating the wiring of the invented 'thing'. She said that at the start of the war 'British fliers were over hostile territory as soon as they crossed the channel, but German aviators were over friendly territory most of the way to England... I got the idea for my invention when I tried to think of some way to even the balance for the British. A radio controlled torpedo, I thought would do it.'"
Their invention was granted a patent under U.S. Patent 2,292,387 on August 11, 1942 (filed using her married name Hedy Kiesler Markey).[58] However, it was technologically difficult to implement, and at the time the US Navy was not receptive to considering inventions coming from outside the military.[35] Nevertheless, it was classified in the "red hot" category.[59] It was first adapted in 1957 to develop a sonobuoy before the expiration of the patent, although this was denied by the Navy. At the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, an updated version of their design was installed on Navy ships.[60] Today, various spread-spectrum techniques are incorporated into Bluetooth technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of Wi-Fi. Lamarr and Antheil's contributions were formally recognized in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Lamarr was married and divorced six times and had three children:
Friedrich Mandl (married 1933–37), chairman of the Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik
Gene Markey (married 1939–41), screenwriter and producer. She adopted a boy, James Lamarr Markey (born January 9, 1939) during her marriage with Markey. In 2001, James found out he was the out-of-wedlock son of Lamarr and actor John Loder, whom she later married as her third husband.
John Loder (married 1943–47), actor. James Lamarr Markey was adopted by Loder as James Lamarr Loder. During the marriage, Lamarr and Loder also had two further children: Denise Loder (born January 19, 1945), married Larry Colton, a writer and former baseball player; and Anthony Loder (born February 1, 1947), married Roxanne who worked for illustrator James McMullan. They both appeared in the documentary films Calling Hedy Lamarr (2004), and Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017).
Ernest "Ted" Stauffer (married 1951–52), nightclub owner, restaurateur, and former bandleader
W. Howard Lee (married 1953–60), a Texas oilman (he later married film actress Gene Tierney)
Lewis J. Boies (married 1963–65), Lamarr's divorce lawyer
Following her sixth and final divorce in 1965, Lamarr remained unmarried for the last 35 years of her life.
Lamarr became a naturalized citizen of the United States at age 38 on April 10, 1953. Her autobiography, Ecstasy and Me, was published in 1966. In a 1969 interview on The Merv Griffin Show, she said that she did not write it and claimed that much was fictional. Lamarr sued the publisher in 1966 to halt publication, saying that many details were fabricated by its ghost writer, Leo Guild. She lost the suit. In 1967, Lamarr was sued by Gene Ringgold, who asserted that the book plagiarized material from an article he had written in 1965 for Screen Facts magazine.
In the late 1950s, Lamarr designed and, with husband W. Howard Lee, developed the Villa LaMarr ski resort in Aspen, Colorado. After their divorce, her husband gained this resort
In 1966, Lamarr was arrested in Los Angeles for shoplifting. The charges were eventually dropped. In 1991, she was arrested on the same charge in Florida, this time for stealing $21.48 worth of laxatives and eye drops. She pleaded no contest to avoid a court appearance, and the charges were dropped in return for her promise to refrain from breaking any laws for a year.
During the 1970s, Lamarr lived in increasing seclusion. She was offered several scripts, television commercials, and stage projects, but none piqued her interest. In 1974, she filed a $10 million lawsuit against Warner Bros., claiming that the running parody of her name ("Hedley Lamarr") featured in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles infringed her right to privacy. Brooks said he was flattered; the studio settled out of court for an undisclosed nominal sum and an apology to Lamarr for "almost using her name". Brooks said that Lamarr "never got the joke". With her eyesight failing, Lamarr retreated from public life and settled in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1981.
In 1996, a large Corel-drawn image of Lamarr won the annual cover design contest for the CorelDRAW's yearly software suite. For several years, beginning in 1997, it was featured on boxes of the software suite. Lamarr sued the company for using her image without her permission. Corel countered that she did not own rights to the image. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 1998.
In 1997, Canadian company WiLAN signed an agreement with Lamarr to acquire 49% of the marketing rights of her patent, and a right of first refusal for the remaining 51% for ten quarterly payments. This was the only financial compensation she received for her frequency-hopping spread spectrum invention. A friendship ensued between her and the company's CEO, Hatim Zaghloul.
Lamarr became estranged from her son, James Lamarr Loder (who believed he was adopted until 2001), when he was 12 years old. Their relationship ended abruptly, and he moved in with another family. They did not speak again for almost 50 years. Lamarr left James Loder out of her will, and he sued for control of the US$3.3 million estate left by Lamarr in 2000. He eventually settled for US$50,000. James Loder was the Omaha, Nebraska police officer who was charged but then acquitted of the killing of 14 year old Vivian Strong in 1969.
In the last decades of her life, Lamarr communicated only by telephone with the outside world, even with her children and close friends. She often talked up to six or seven hours a day on the phone, but she spent hardly any time with anyone in person in her final years. A documentary film, Calling Hedy Lamarr, was released in 2004 and features her children Anthony Loder and Denise Loder-DeLuca.
Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida, on January 19, 2000, of heart disease, aged 85. According to her wishes, she was cremated and her son Anthony Loder spread her ashes in Austria's Vienna Woods.
In 1939, Lamarr was voted the "most promising new actress" of 1938 in a poll of area voters conducted by a Philadelphia Record film critic.[95]
In 1951, British moviegoers voted Lamarr the tenth best actress of 1950,[96] for her performance in Samson and Delilah.
In 1960, Lamarr was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the motion picture industry, at 6247 Hollywood Blvd adjacent to Vine Street where the walk is centered.
In 1997, Lamarr and George Antheil were jointly honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award.
Also in 1997, Lamarr was the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing".
In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology.
Also in 2014, Lamarr was given an honorary grave in Vienna's Central Cemetery, where the remaining portion of her ashes were buried in November, shortly before her 100th birthday.
Asteroid 32730 Lamarr, discovered by Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in 1951, was named in her memory. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on August 27, 2019 (M.P.C. 115894).
On 6 November 2020, a satellite named after her (ÑuSat 14 or "Hedy", COSPAR 2020-079F) was launched into space.
The 2004 documentary film Calling Hedy Lamarr features her children, Anthony Loder and Denise Loder-DeLuca.
In 2010, Lamarr was selected out of 150 IT people to be featured in a short film launched by the British Computer Society on May 20.
Also during 2010, the New York Public Library exhibit Thirty Years of Photography at the New York Public Library included a photo of a topless Lamarr (c. 1930) by Austrian-born American photographer Trude Fleischmann.
The 2017 documentary film Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, written and directed by Alexandra Dean and produced by Susan Sarandon,[108] about Lamarr's life and career as an actress and inventor, also featuring her children Anthony and Denise, among others, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.[40] It was released in theaters on November 24, 2017, and aired on the PBS series American Masters in May 2018. As of April 2020, it is also available on Netflix.
During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services invented a pyrotechnic device meant to help agents operating behind enemy lines to escape if capture seemed imminent. When the pin was pulled, it made the whistle of a falling bomb followed by a loud explosion and a large cloud of smoke, enabling the agent to make his escape. It saved the life of at least one agent. The device was codenamed the Hedy Lamarr.[109]
The Mel Brooks 1974 western parody Blazing Saddles features a male villain named "Hedley Lamarr". As a running gag, various characters mistakenly refer to him as "Hedy Lamarr" prompting him to testily reply "That's Hedley."
In the 1982 off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors and subsequent film adaptation (1986), Audrey II says to Seymour in the song "Feed Me" that he can get Seymour anything he wants, including "A date with Hedy Lamarr."
On the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold!, there is a running gag in which whenever something unfortunate happens to Arnold's grandfather, Phil, he constantly states how things would have been different if he had "married Hedy Lamarr instead!". In one episode, it is revealed that he carries a photo of her in his wallet.
In the 2003 video game Half-Life 2, Dr. Kleiner's pet headcrab, Lamarr, is named after Hedy Lamarr.
In 2008, an off-Broadway play, Frequency Hopping, features the lives of Lamarr and Antheil. The play was written and staged by Elyse Singer, and the script won a prize for best new play about science and technology from STAGE.
In 2011, the story of Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum invention was explored in an episode of the Science Channel show Dark Matters: Twisted But True, a series that explores the darker side of scientific discovery and experimentation, which premiered on September 7.
Batman co-creator Bob Kane was a great movie fan and his love for film provided the impetus for several Batman characters, among them, Catwoman. Among Kane's inspiration for Catwoman were Lamarr and actress Jean Harlow. Also in 2011, Anne Hathaway revealed that she had learned that the original Catwoman was based on Lamarr, so she studied all of Lamarr's films and incorporated some of her breathing techniques into her portrayal of Catwoman in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
In 2013, her work in improving wireless security was part of the premiere episode of the Discovery Channel show How We Invented the World.
In 2015, on November 9, the 101st anniversary of Lamarr's birth, Google paid tribute to Lamarr's work in film and her contributions to scientific advancement with an animated Google Doodle.
In 2016, Lamarr was depicted in an off-Broadway play, HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, a one-woman show written and performed by Heather Massie.
Also in 2016, the off-Broadway, one-actor show Stand Still and Look Stupid: The Life Story of Hedy Lamarr starring Emily Ebertz and written by Mike Broemmel went into production.
Also in 2016, Whitney Frost, a character in the TV show Agent Carter, was inspired by Lamarr and Lauren Bacall.
In 2017, actress Celia Massingham portrayed Lamarr on The CW television series Legends of Tomorrow in the sixth episode of the third season, titled "Helen Hunt". The episode is set in 1937 "Hollywoodland" and references Lamarr's reputation as an inventor. The episode aired on November 14, 2017.
In 2018, actress Alyssa Sutherland portrayed Lamarr on the NBC television series Timeless in the third episode of the second season, titled "Hollywoodland". The episode aired March 25, 2018.
Gal Gadot is set to portray Lamarr in an Apple TV+ limited series based on her life story.
A novelization of her life, The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict, was published in 2019.
#hedy lamarr#classic hollywood#classic movie stars#golden age of hollywood#old hollywood#1930s hollywood#1940s hollywood#1950s hollywood#hollywood legend
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Open Book. | Johnny
Request: Hi! 😊 Can I ask for a Johnny imagine wherein he finally had time for a solo vacation in some other country after his very busy idol schedules. Then he meets this girl who stays in the same hotel and also in her own vacation. Btw, I love your fluffy stories ❤
Author’s Note: I kind of really don’t like this, I kind of think it’s cringey but I worked on it so much that I want to publish its first version heheh I hope you it lives up to your expectations! Plus, I hope you get to learn this amazing country a little, because traveling there has been at the top of my bucket list since I first learned about it when I represented it at an MUN conference back in high school lol
Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of drinking/intoxication, suggestive towards the end, kind of dialogue heavy, representations might not be at their best so please let me know if there are any problems. English is my second language so there might be errors, and that must be it. Please let me know if there is more!
Word Count: 4.262 kinda long
Genre: Fluff all around, Angst if you squint like you have really bad eyesight, traveler!reader, fem!reader (I have all of my fics besides this gender neutral, but I thought since it was requested specifically I’d make this fem!reader)
Hope you all enjoy and hope this is not as cringey as it is to me!! Stay safe and healthy, take good care of yourselves for me 💚Have a happy morning/day/afternoon/evening/night!
Going on vacation alone after many years of constant company is weird for Johnny.
It starts off normal. He goes to the airport accompanied with some managers, with a private car. His disguise is more secretive than ever— no special airport outfit, no make up, face mostly covered with glasses, a mask and a hat to make sure no photographers or fans spot him throughout the procedure. The only suspicious thing is that he gets special treatment with VIP access to avoid waiting in the lines and get over with everything quickly, but to his luck, nobody seems to suspect anything.
The weirdness of everything starts then. Managers leave when he passes passport control and gets into the duty free area. For the first time in years, he is completely alone. It is somewhat overwhelming.
But Johnny manages to keep his calm and go to his gate for the first of his flights. He gets to his business class seat, not bothering to take off his mask or glasses yet, and tries the in-flight entertainment system. Though, he has already memorized everything that it has to offer, so he opts for listening to music and editing a few experimental shots and videos he has taken instead before going to sleep.
When the flight is over and he checks his phone for the first time, he finds the group chat filled with encouraging messages and good wishes, which he finds is exactly what he needs.
It is early in the morning when he lands in Paris, and he has a couple hours to spare before his second long haul flight to Pointe-à-Pitre. So he treats himself to a breakfast before rushing to his gate. This flight of almost nine hours of flying does not seem to end since he has grabbed quite a bit of sleep on his first one. He does everything to keep himself occupied, walking up and down the plane’s aisles to make up for the lack of activity that his legs were getting. Somehow that flight also ends without much hassle. It ultimately ends up being the one that messes up his sense of time, since his body thinks it is 3 pm whereas the time in Pointe-à-Pitre is in fact 9 am when they land.
Within a matter of an hour is his flight to Bridgetown, and after his two long haul flights, this short flight of just over an hour is basically nothing. It comes and goes with a blink of his (very tired) eyes.
In all honesty, it awes Johnny that his luggage does not get lost during this almost a day long— 21 and a half hours, to be exact— travel, and he wants to thank every airline and airport worker ever for doing a phenomenal job.
But he cannot, because shortly after landing he has to take a boat ride to his final destination.
The lands are beautiful, the ocean more so, with their blinding greens and blues. His mask and glasses he had gotten rid of on his flight from Paris, but the glasses quickly make a come back, along with his hat under the morning sun. The guide that is designated for him and the group of people he takes the boat ride with takes them to their hotel, and after checking in and being guided to his little villa, Johnny is able to stand in an open space with a private bed and bathroom.
But it is all worth it. Because as he looks out of the windows that cover the side of the villa that looks out to the ocean, he can see the beautiful bay and the islands and the beauty of nature, with its bright colors and white noise that is the screeching of bugs.
Why travel so much? Well, if he had gone to a known, tourist-dense place, he probably would not get what he wanted to get— which is to relax. Truly let go of everything for a while. Disappear, even, with people not knowing him, ultimately resulting in him forgetting his usual life as well. He wants to be a bit invisible for once.
And St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the perfect place for that. He had been interested in this place for years after first seeing a random video that popped up on his YouTube recommended. Locals were known to be angels of hospitality, everyone seemed to be happy, views were amazing, yet it somehow attracted less tourists than the surrounding countries.
With a good ten days to spare here, the first thing he knows he will do is take a nap. For at least a good couple of hours. So he takes off his t-shirt that smells of all kinds of airports and plane seats, puts his glasses and hat somewhere, and does just that. Luggage still packed and all.
Only after waking back up does he even bother with unpacking his luggage, and to be honest, it is only because he wants to take his trunks out and head to the beach. He looks.. disheveled at best, or so he decides when he is putting some sunscreen on very carefully as it is just past the afternoon and he has a good chance of getting a burn otherwise. Johnny’s face is puffy, both from traveling and sleeping, and his nose is acting up a little— blocked because of all the air and pressure change. But is it enough to stop him from exploring around? No. Not really.
The bay is not crowded when he walks down save for a few groups of people and a couple others that are alone. It smells like sea salt and overall freshness, with small waves hitting the shore and a few yachts in the distance. The sand is almost white under his feet and the water is a beautiful turquoise.
What is truly different to him, though, is the fact that the beach seems to be silent. Sure, some people a few years younger than him were playing with a beach ball in the water and provided some noise, but not too much. It was almost too peaceful as he swam a few laps in the water.
That is not to say it does not feel magical and amazing, though, because it does.
He takes his time swimming around, looking down to see any formations or life in the clear water before coming out. In the heat that is much more manageable than back in Seoul, he walks back to his place, takes a shower, and dresses back up to go outside.
The resort is stupidly big. There are many facilities, pools, sports grounds, restaurants, entertainment areas and access to different bays that he feels overwhelmed by the time his stomach starts crying out for dinner— and even by then, he is not done with exploring the whole place.
It is only when he takes a brochure from a random information point and looks at it that he realizes this whole island belongs to this resort, because it is privately owned.
Looking at the map for directions, he goes to the nearest restaurant. It is fairly small, more like a pub than a restaurant, so he sits at the bar. The waiter hands him a menu with a smile on his face, and Johnny does not hesitate to smile back before thanking him.
There are so many options on the menu. Some local food, some not, some snacks, some appetizers, some main, some desserts, but basically too many. Especially since they all sound good to his stomach that craves something other than plane food.
“You seem lost, want help?” Somebody leans on the bar as they speak to him, and he picks his head up to look at them. A girl. A very pretty girl with a warm smile on her face. “Actually, yeah. I’d appreciate some help.”
Without even glancing at the menu, you respond. “Roasted breadfruit and fried jackfish tends to be good anywhere. It’s the national dish, can’t really go wrong with that.”
Your confidence beams like a shining star, so Johnny finds himself trusting you. He orders his meal with, again, a smile on his face, and gets flustered when the waiter compliments his outfit choice genuinely. So far, the locals really did seem very happy and positive, because the guide was also the same. Always smiling. And Johnny really appreciates that.
You, who is now sitting on the stool next to him order some roasted breadfruit yourself, before coming eye to eye with Johnny and chuckling a bit awkwardly. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
It kind of makes him feel bad that you felt the need to even ask him that, so he relaxes himself in an attempt to hopefully not look too intimidating anymore, and nods. “You don’t have to ask. Sorry, it’s just been a long travel day.”
Your smile grows wider. “Oh I know that feeling all too well. You look nothing like me when I’m just done traveling, though. I wish I could look like that.”
Something about the sentence makes Johnny smile to himself, and you seem to notice that, because you clear your throat. “I mean,” You let out before clearing your throat one more time because your voice is not quite like how it was. “I’m a full time traveler. I just wish it’d get easier by now.”
“You’re a full time traveler?” Johnny asks. He can smell the food being cooked now, and it smells absolutely delicious. Enthusiastically, you nod. “How come?” Because you look maybe his age, maybe a few years older or younger, whatever it is— you look around the same age. Full time traveling would have sounded like a good stretch (anyone your age) if it was not for the confidence you were radiating.
“I have a goal of traveling to 120 countries. Made it my job, I work for several magazines and networks writing about my experiences. Plus filming a documentary— but all by myself so it’s not like I’m getting payed for that or anything.” All of that sounds so incredibly cool to him, he cannot help but feel his eyes widen. “Everything I do is so that I can pay off the traveling expenses.”
“That sounds amazing,” Johnny says with a smile on his face, awed at the fact that you get to do this for a living, at least for now. The waiter comes back with their food, and the two of you thank him before digging into your servings. It is either because Johnny is really hungry, or because the dish tastes so good, or both, but it is delicious. Breadfruit is something he had not tried before but he finds himself loving it.
He kind of groans, which is embarrassing. “This is amazing.” It prompts a giggle out of his companion, and he too huffs at his own remark. “So, how many countries have you been to?”
Biting a breadfruit piece, you answer. “Ninety three,” You say it as if it is nothing. “So I’m starting to slow down a little. I’ve been here before, but I wanted to take a bit off my savings and have a vacation. Pamper myself, I guess.”
“Excuse me, ninety three?” Johnny asks in awe, grabbing a bite of his salty fish. You looked around the same age as him. “How long have you been doing this for?”
Your eyes roll upward, recollecting memories and counting the time. “Three years? More or less.”
“You’re crazy.” He chuckles lightly, to which you join. “I am.”
He continues to talk with you, asking you questions about how and why. It takes some time for him to actually ask you your name, but he does— luckily you are not insulted or suspicious by the fact that it takes him at least a good hour of conversing before he can ask you. In fact, you have a positive energy with the way you speak and act throughout the time the two of you spend which could only hopefully mean good. Because Johnny finds you really interesting, the initial physical attraction put aside. You sound like an open book that he would love to read.
Luckily, you give him a chance. Before you have to leave to catch up with your work, you suggest him something. “Are you by yourself?” Johnny nods at your question as he finishes up his meal. “No tours or anything?” Contradictory to his last answer, he shakes his head. When he looks at you, you smile to him, trying to ease the words. “During the day I’m usually island-hopping. I could show you around, if you’d like.”
The suggestion makes him feel all happy-go-lucky inside, and he can feel it reflecting by the way he smiles. “Do you suggest this to everyone?”
You do not answer. But the way your cheeks get slightly pink as you turn away from him with a chuckle is all the answer he needs.
The next morning you call his phone— the one in his little villa, that he had given its number of before you two parted your ways. It was too early in the morning, and your voice was not beaming the way it did the day before, but you still sounded more enthusiastic than he ever could. “Do you like hiking?”
Johnny kind of whines a little before he can catch onto what he is doing and stop himself. He really wants to relax, but he had the unfortunate chance of fortunately meeting you. “Is hiking literally the first thing we’re doing?”
“I was gonna do this before I met you too, so,” You yawn. “Plus, it’s not like we’ll hike in some forest. I’ll take you to an active volcano.”
It sounds too cool for him to not agree.
First you two meet up at the restaurant you had met in, having some light breakfast and coffee before you leave the resort. You take him to the port, saying you will have to take a ride to another island— Saint Vincent to start your hike. You inform him that the peak is at a whopping 1,234 meters which sounds really fun considering the way up will all be on foot not to mention the rocky trail, but in return, you promise him a beautiful view and countless photo-ops. Plus the ability to say I’ve hiked all the way up to the crater of an active volcano.
The boat ride is short and before he knows the two of you are already on the trail between groups of tourists. The weather is only just starting to get hotter when you start hiking, but he knows it will not be much of a problem anyway with the height you are hiking up today.
“So,” You start speaking after a while of silence as you walk beside him. “You interviewed me enough yesterday. It’s only fair if I get to interview you.”
“Go ahead.” He says in a heartbeat, looking down at the bay the two of you were coming from. It was a good drop down, but considering how long it had been since you both started hiking, he would guess you are not even a quarter way done. “Who even is Johnny? What does he like to do? What does he not like? What is the one thing he can't back out of?”
He laughs at the curiosity that is in your voice, and at the questions before he starts answering. “Optimistically I’m a giant with way too big of a coffee and Coldplay addiction and love for photography, pessimistically I’m one tired guy that is long overdue a vacation, and realistically I’m just Johnny.”
Johnny sees you scrunch your lips and nodding. “That sounds pretty legit.”
That makes him laugh, and you do not hesitate to join him.
You two hike your way up to the volcano, and honestly speaking, it is maybe one of the coolest things he has done before. And you were right— there really are lots of beautiful sceneries with a three sixty view of the island, yachts in the water, the clouds, the colorful native flora and fauna, the crater of the active volcano for goodness’ sake, and the occasional wildlife that got close enough.
The hike takes around 6 hours. It is the evening by the time you get back to your resort and have dinner, and you only converse during dinner before calling it a night.
Next day you take him to Saint Vincent once again, this time to walk around the Botanic Garden. You tell him it is one of the oldest in the world, and that he can take photo-card-worthy shots, even film something if he wants to. He lets you show the way around ferns, palms, agave trees, cinnamon and breadfruit trees as parrots chirp and fly around. He learns that they are the national animal when a staff member spots him trying to take a photo of the birds and tells him, pointing at one colored blue, green and yellow before patting the flag on his work uniform. The middle-aged-almost-old guy laughs when realization dawns on Johnny and his mouth parts, with your sweet giggle in the background.
Johnny would not mind looking dumb if it gets you giggling that way again.
On the fifth day of his trip that rolls around way too fast, you to go to the market place on the main island. Not necessarily buying anything as most things sold are local produce, just looking for souvenirs of any kind, but all he ends up with is a magnet for each member and some baked goods because it is not strictly tourist season yet.
You take him to a restaurant that you know the owners of— which is kind of mind blowing to him how you can remember specific people after traveling to ninety three countries— and order a bunch of drinks with roasted breadfruit. You tell the family that owns the place that he is a friend of yours, a friend of yours who is visiting for the first time and has come from far away. And he hears the words Seoul, South Korea.
He cannot bring himself to listen to much after that.
Even when the older sister of the bartender that is serving you both tells him that the rums are quite dense in alcohol, and that one of the beers might taste a bit different to him since it is made of tree barks and spices, he does not care too much.
There are lots of shots placed in front of you, and you call for him to clink his glass with yours in cheers before he tries. He does what you say, but stops before any of you can drink. “How do you know where I came from?”
Johnny hears you chuckle airily before smirking a little and leaning towards him on the counter. “Well I’ve visited South Korea before, and it’s hard not to know when I’ve literally walked into your face at a mall. Went there for the library, originally.”
It makes sense. The Coex mall. A weirdly serious tourist attraction because of Starlight Library, neighboring his agency’s museum, which thought it is for whatever reason necessary to put digital screens everywhere with idols’ displays on them. The world is so small. Even when he is at a place so little that it is a literal dot on the world map, he is somehow spotted. But this time it does not feel all that serious.
“But I swear that’s not why I approached you at first. I didn’t even realize until I went over a few videos the other day and literally saw your face in one of them. Imagine the horror I went through.” You laugh lightly before clinking his glass again. “For a good minute I thought you’d think of me as a crazy fan or something.”
“I was about to, just now.” He sees your face change in shock and mocked hurt, and raises his glass a little in defense. “But I didn’t. Your explanation makes enough sense.”
You laugh. “Just down the drink, Suh. You need to get tipsy already.” He sees you down yours and smile a little afterwards, and you shrug, just as he brings his glass to his lips. “For the record, I don’t care. Like you said, realistically you’re just Johnny.”
He downs the drink with a dumb smile on his face.
The two of you return to the resort slightly tipsy that day, but it does not stop you from going out the upcoming day.
You go to Kingstown again and walk around looking at the buildings and the Gothic churches that seemed to be everywhere despite the town’s small size, taking photographs and interacting with the locals. He finds himself to be greatly inspired by the coexistence of the English colonial architecture that looks old, intimidating and grey, with the colorful, wooden and inviting local architecture— he photographs almost every street you two pass, sometimes even asking locals if he could photograph them. It is a generally more relaxing day as you hang out and eat and drink and speak and support the local businesses, dedicating time to each other.
On the seventh day, he basically gets dragged out of his room with you promising that you will give him the last two days of him to laze around. Until this point he had already skipped swimming in any way for 2 days, and he really wanted to have relaxed beach days with the comfort of a bed available to him at anytime because who knew when he would get another vacation like this.
But he internally shuts his internal voice up when your boat ride (a different kind this time) brings you to a waterfall inside a canyon.
Johnny comes to learn you are an adventure addict, one that likes to share her experiences. And he loves that about you.
Well.
Johnny comes to learn that he himself is a bit of an adventure addict when he kisses you on the night of the ninth day.
In all of his defense, there was a fair share of attraction. The initial attraction was undeniable. He would have liked to think it was mutual. And maybe it was, because you had kissed him back.
Not only did you kiss him back, but you let him hold your hand and lead you to his room for privacy. You let him caress you, your cheek and your waist as he kisses you against the wall. You let him lay you down on his bed. You let his hands roam around your body, and you roam your hands around his as well. You let him mark you up in his moment of bad, tipsy judgement, the plum colored bruises splattered around your chest and stomach where his hands bunch your top up. And maybe just to get even, you lay him down mark him up too, focusing on his collarbones. You both let each other elicit such sounds from one another, it is almost hard to believe that you two had just met several days ago.
It is a tipsy mistake at worst. Neither of you goes further out of mutual respect.
Yet maybe it is not the worst, because you sleep and wake up together. Still tangled in each other.
It is the tenth day. In a matter of hours, he has to be at the port to go to Bridgetown again and start the madness that is his way back.
“I don’t wanna leave yet,” He complains as he rubs your arm that is slung over his chest, getting a hum from you, though not the kind you had made last night. “Why?”
“My sense of time was just getting better,” That gets an unenthusiastic giggle from you. “Ouch.”
“Why?” Shrug. “I thought it was because of me or something.”
You are joking, but he does not get it. He looks down at you, meeting his gaze with yours when you tilt your neck up to look at him. Even better, he furrows his brows. “You’re part of the reason why. Probably the biggest part.”
Silence. But you smile softly, which makes him smile softly.
You can see the hope inside his eyes, and when he parts his lips, you cut him off. “Don’t even ask. Dating and traveling full time don’t exactly go hand in hand.”
What you say does not even faze Johnny. “I can imagine. But I’m willing to learn more about you, if you let me,” He mumbles sleepily. “I don’t mind waiting if we want something to happen. And I don’t mind having a kick-ass friend who’s traveled to 120 countries if we decide we don’t want something to happen.” This time, he shrugs. “Win-win either way.”
His fake carelessness makes you laugh even though you are too tired to laugh fully, and in the end you just end up smiling way too wide to the point where your cheeks hurt. You would like everything he just said and more. “If you insist. Are you ready to hear the classiest thing about me yet?”
“Hm?”
“You need to e-mail me or call me from Skype because half the time I don’t even have connection.” Looking at his sleepy, dumbfounded face you laugh a little, but he shrugs again.
“I could work with that.”
#nct imagines#nct scenarios#nct fluff#nct 127 imagines#nct johnny imagines#johnny imagines#nct x reader#nct johnny#johnny suh#johnny#if this doesn't get posted in tags like what happened with a piece yesterday i'm gonna sue#good night to meeee
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Silent conference equipment in Paris
Paris is a global commercial and business hub, home to numerous multinational corporations and the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Its location, history, and infrastructure contribute to its status as a center for trade and finance. The city's history dating back to the Roman Empire has created a strong business environment with a well-developed legal and financial system, making it a vital center for global markets. The city's strategic location in Western Europe and its rich history make it an attractive destination for businesses seeking global expansion.
Silent conferences in Paris are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, a number of organizations are now offering silent conference services in the city. These organizations can provide the headphones, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful silent conference.
#Silent Conference in Paris#silent conference equipment in Paris#headphones for silent conference#headphones for silent meeting#silent conference system#silent meeting system#silent meeting equipment.
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Keeping off the grass?
Canada's recent decision to legalise recreational cannabis use and the case of Billy Caldwell, the twelve-year-old whose epilepsy is treated with cannabis oil, has meant that the debate about the legalisation of cannabis (and indeed drugs in general) has come to the fore once again. However, the criminalisation of cannabis is, when one looks at how long the plant has been cultivated and used by humans (which is as long ago as 8000BC), an undeniably recent phenomenon, regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with its status as a controlled drug.
Medicinal use of cannabis by both the Greeks and the Romans was common. For instance, in the Histories of Herodotus (484-425 BC), the Scythians are described as indulging in cannabis vapour-baths (the equivalent of a modern-day sauna). Over the centuries the use of cannabis spread, and became commonplace in the Middle East and Persia. In 1619, hemp was being openly and legally grown on the banks of the Potomac in colonial Virginia. During Napoleon's 1798 invasion of Egypt, French soldiers, in a country where alcohol was not consumed, openly smoked cannabis instead, to the total lack of concern of the army's officers.
It is during the nineteenth century that one beings to see the first attempts to control cannabis; Brazil (1830), Mauritius (1840), Singapore (1870), Natal (1870), Egypt (1879) and Morocco (1890) passed laws controlling or banning the drug, partly in reaction to its use by labourers and slaves. Interestingly and in contrast, the Government of India in its "Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission" 1894-1895, observed that:
"Viewing the subject generally, it may be added that the moderate use of these drugs [cannabis] is the rule, and that the excessive use is comparatively exceptional. The moderate use practically produces no ill effects. In all but the most exceptional cases, the injury from habitual moderate use is not appreciable."
Piecemeal bans continued at the beginning of the twentieth century (the first in US being in the District of Columbia in 1906, and Jamaica in 1913), but it was during the 1920s that the first international moves were made to limit the trade and consumption of cannabis.
The International Opium Convention, signed at The Hague on January 23, 1912 during the First International Opium Conference, was the first international drug control treaty. The treaty was signed by Germany, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Persia, Portugal, Russia, and Siam. The Convention provided, "The contracting Powers shall use their best endeavours to control, or to cause to be controlled, all persons manufacturing, importing, selling, distributing, and exporting morphine, cocaine, and their respective salts, as well as the buildings in which these persons carry such an industry or trade."
A revised International Opium Convention International Convention relating to Dangerous Drugs was signed at Geneva on February 19, 1925. It introduced a statistical control system to be supervised by a Permanent Central Opium Board, a body of the League of Nations. However, in what proved to be a crucial intervention in the history of drugs, the subject of Indian hemp or hashish was presented to the Second Opium Conference at its sixteenth meeting by one Dr Muhammad Abdel Salam El Guindy, the Egyptian delegate and a physician and Secretary of the Royal Egyptian Legation at Paris and Brussels. He denounced "Hashism" which he said caused between 30-60 per cent of mental illness in his country. He said that
"... in support of this contention... there are three times as many cases of mental alienation among men as among women, and it is an established fact that men are much more addicted to hashish than women."
Hashish addicts, he said, were regarded as useless derelicts:
"His eye is wild and the expression of his face is stupid. He is silent; has no muscular power; suffers from physical ailments, heart troubles, digestive troubles etc; his intellectual faculties gradually weaken and the whole organism decays. The addict very frequently becomes neurasthenic and eventually insane."
Dr El Guidy's address was extremely influential, and as a consequence the Second Convention contained provisions that obligated the signatories to prohibit the use of cannabis (and other drugs) for non-medical and scientific purposes (III,5) and to take steps to prevent the international trafficking of Indian hemp (IV,11,(2)). It is from this convention (a joint accord if you will ...) that the basis for the modern control and criminalisation of cannabis can be found, as well as correlating its effects and undesirability (at least generally) with that of opium.
Cannabis became illegal in the United Kingdom on 28th September 1928 when the Dangerous Drugs Act 1925 came into force and it has remained illegal ever since. Medical and research use was mandated under s.7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 provided that authorisation is given by the Secretary of State, which is indeed what Sajid Javid did in the case of Billy Caldwell. Opinion remains divided on the issue. Some call for total legalisation (as has occurred in many countries). Others think that cannabis is harmful, with proven links to increased instances of schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness. What is indisputable is that cannabis remains, according to the United Nations' figures, the most widely produced, trafficked, and consumed drug in the world. Clearly, this is a debate that will not run out of puff.
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Sorry, Apple. These Are The Five Best Laptops for Travelers
Is the world’s best travel laptop dead? Ten years after Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air to the world, the laptop is on Apple Inc.’s back burner—and some fear that it’s being phased out entirely.
Rather than redesigning and upgrading the hardware like all of the tech giant’s other marquee products, Apple has left the Air to collect dust, and now the MacBook and MacBook Pro are taking the spotlight. While they’re more powerful, they’re not as convenient for frequent travelers.
On the surface, the MacBook and MacBook Pro measure up to the Air. They’re comparable in terms of size and weight, though they lack the superskinny, sloping gradient design that makes the Air so easy to slide in and out of carry-ons. But the new models lack the Air’s “chiclet” keyboard, with its silent and spacious keys. The replacement “butterfly” design has been so prone to malfunction and sticky keys that Apple recently overhauled its warranty coverage for certain MacBooks. And that’s not even taking into account these models’ smaller screens, shorter battery life, comparatively high price points, and designs that have barely changed in more than a decade.
Add it all up, and it’s no surprise that Mac-loyal warriors around the world are increasingly being seduced by lighter, sleeker, sexier, and more powerful laptops—ones that run Windows and Chrome OS.
These five MacBook replacements are guaranteed to meet your work and play needs, whether you’re bored in a business-class suite, dashing off PowerPoint slides in a hotel room, or banking on the Shinkansen. Based on a global road test that took us from New York to Los Angeles and Tokyo to Paris, these were the best of roughly a dozen new options—all standing out for their excellent portability, keyboard comfort, battery life, and computing power.
If Efficiency Is Your Middle Name …
… get the Google Pixelbook.
Why we like it: The supersexy, two-toned body, which features Gorilla Glass and brushed metal, won’t smudge no matter how many times you have to unpack and repack it around the airport. And at just 2.4 pounds, you won’t feel the Pixelbook in your carry-on. There’s top-of-the-line hardware inside this laptop, including quad-core i7 processors and 16 GB of RAM, making for ultrafast loading speeds and easy multitasking. In just 15 minutes, you can add two hours of juice to the nine-hour battery thanks to the Pixelbook’s quick charger. Dash off emails in laptop mode, use automatic tethering to your Pixel phone to work online sans Wi-Fi, or flip around the screen to watch movies in tablet mode. Besides the free security software, Google gives you 1 TB of complimentary online storage.
Caveat: While Chrome OS has become a nimbler, more versatile operating system in recent years, non-Google-owned productivity tools such as Microsoft Office and Evernote still feel clunky on this browser-based platform. The Crossover app offers a solid workaround.
The Specs:Weight: 2.4 lbsSize: 11.4″ x 8.7″ x 0.4″Price: From $999
If You Want To Turn Heads …
… get the Microsoft Surface laptop.
Why we like it: Call it the first laptop to give the MacBook Air a run for its design money. The Surface laptop comes in a bevy of sharp colors including burgundy, cobalt blue, and graphite gold, and the fabric trim around the keyboard is polished and sophisticated. (It’s also comfortable on the wrists and easy to clean.) The battery lasts an impressive 14 hours, which means you can spend a halfway-productive week in the French countryside without needing an outlet. But be sure to upgrade the hardware specs as you customize your model. For on-the-go professionals, the i7 CPU, 16 GB RAM, and 1 TB solid-state drive are best.
Caveat: The default operating system, Windows 10 S, is cumbersome; it limits you to Microsoft Corp.’s Edge browser and Office programs. Splurge on the Surface laptop commercial edition, which costs $300 more and ships with Windows 10 Pro instead.
The Specs:Weight: 2.76 lbsSize: 12.13″ x 8.79″ x .57″Price: From $799
If You Frequently Work in Cramped Quarters …
…get the Dell XPS 13.
Why we like it: Sometimes, adjectives like “slim” and “lightweight” translate to a far-too-tiny screen. Not so with Dell Inc.’s redesigned XPS 13. It’s five ounces lighter, 0.22 inches thinner, and about 45 percent smaller in volume than the MacBook Air—and yet the 13.3-inch screen is identical in size, thanks to a “virtually borderless” InfinityEdge display that you can order in touchscreen 4K definition. Despite those diminutive proportions, the XPS 13 doesn’t feel flimsy: The body is made of block-machined aluminum. And the small physical footprint means you can easily type away with the screen fully open, whether on an airplane tray table or airport shuttle bus.
Caveat: The built-in webcam is at the bottom of the screen rather than the top, which keeps the bezel thin but makes for bizarre and unflattering angles on conference calls. If you like to keep in touch with the office via video chat, be warned.
The Specs:Weight: 2.76 lbsSize: 12.13″ x 8.79″ x 0.57″Price: From $799
If You Never, Ever Unplug …
… get the Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1.
Why we like it: The sixth-generation ThinkPad Carbon X1 from Lenovo Group Ltd. is built for business, with an unparalleled 15-hour battery life. It also has the latest eighth-generation quad-core CPUs for faster performance, multiple inputs (USB-C, standard USB, Mini DisplayPort, and HDMI), fingerprint authentication and a sliding webcam cover, a richly hued HDR screen, and a stealthily quiet keyboard. This is a lean, mean productivity machine—it’s even shock-resistant, temperature-proof, and vibration-resistant, should you get stuck in turbulence. Oh, and did we mention it’s one of the first laptops to have built-in Alexa capability? That means it’ll read you the headlines or give you the local forecast while you’re packing your suitcase.
Caveat: With its signature black exterior and red TrackPoint mouse in the middle of the keyboard, the look is a little outdated.
The Specs:Weight: 2.49 lbsSize: 12.74″ x 8.55″ x 0.63″Price: From $1,367
If You Want the Best Bang For Your Buck …
… get the Huawei Matebook X Pro.
Why we like it: Don’t overlook this Chinese manufacturer. Like its phones, Huawei Technologies Co.’s flagship laptop offers significantly better performance for less of an outlay than its rivals. Even with the latest eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor and a high-speed solid-state drive, the Matebook X Pro tops out at $1,600—that’s $500 less than its closest competition. There’s plenty to love besides the price, including a superslim bezel, 3K-resolution touchscreen, and four Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers that offer the best audio quality on any laptop we tested. (In small hotel rooms, it’s almost like having surround sound.) Plus, the oversize track pad makes it easy to go mouse-free, while a spill-proof, back-lit keyboard takes the stress out of ordering coffee on your red-eye.
Caveat: Forgive the generic-looking aluminum alloy construction—along with the Gorilla Glass touchscreen, it ensures durability. The improbably placed webcam, like that of the Dell XPS 11, is harder to justify.
The Specs:Weight: 2.92 lbsSize: 12″ x 8.5″ x 0.6″Price: From $1,199
The post Sorry, Apple. These Are The Five Best Laptops for Travelers appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.
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Tereza Zelenkova : The Essential Solitude
“Literature connected since romanticism with the decadence of religion in that it tends to lay a discreet claim to the heritage of religion, is not so much cognate with the content of religion as it is with the content of mysticism which, incidentally, is an almost asocial aspect of religion. Similarly mysticism is closer to the truth than I can possibly say. By mysticism I do not mean those systems of thought on which this vague name is conferred. I refer, rather, to the ‘mystical experience’, to those ‘mystical states’ experienced in solitude. In these states we can see a different truth to that which is concerned with the perception of objects, or indeed of the subject, connected, as it is, with the intellectual consequences of perception. But this is not a formal truth. Coherent discussion cannot account for it. It would be incommunicable if we could not approach it in two ways: through poetry and through the description of those conditions by which one arrives at these states.”
- Georges Bataille, Literature and Evil [1]
There are places where time has ceased to exist a while ago through a careful and thoughtful maintenance of appearances. Then there are places where time has always had its way and corruption and decay has marked its every surface. How strange it is then that after spending some time in a painstakingly preserved interior of the former, one can after a short while recognize a faint odor of formaldehyde in the air and right after come to the realization that, in fact, he finds himself inside a body of an embalmed corpse. On the contrary, the rotting entrails of a seemingly derelict room can be surprisingly high-spirited. With death comes renewal; past, present and future co-exist together within the folds of decomposing upholstery and life and its counterpart can no longer be perceived as contradictions, but only as an eternal cycle of things. Like the Sun, decay brings both life and destruction. These photographs show one such room. Although at first sight a derelict ruin, it is also a folly created by someone who I’d like to imagine as the 20th century answer to Des Essientes, a decadent character from J. K. Huysmans infamous novel A Rebours, who transformed his house into a sensual feast in which he surrounded himself with historic interiors, carefully arranged objects and, of course, an array of smells and sounds. “Travel, indeed, struck him as being a waste of time, since he believed that the imagination could provide a more-than-adequate substitute for the vulgar reality of actual experience”.[2] A book as figure for an infinite knowledge, a room as a stage for imagination, “a room that is like a dream, a truly spiritual room, where the stagnant atmosphere is nebulously tinted pink and blue. Here the soul takes a bath of indolence, scented with all the aromatic perfumes of desire and regret. There is about it something crepuscular, bluish shot with rose; a voluptuous dream in an eclipse. Every piece of furniture is of an elongated form, languid and prostrate, and seems to be dreaming; endowed, one would say, with somnambular existence like minerals and vegetables. The hangings speak a silent language like flowers, skies and setting suns”.[3] And within there’s a figure - part female, part male; half deity, half whore; both immortal and corpse, and like Maldoror crouching in the depths of his cave, eyes closed, moves his neck from right to left, from left to right, for hours on end. “I cover my face with piece of velvet, black as the soot which gathers inside chimneys”[4], writes Lautréamont. The enigma of Isidore Ducasse, dying alone in a gritty room of one of the cheap hotels in the 19th century Paris, haunts these photographs as much as delirious visions of an anonymous opium eater, arms spread open on filthy sheets covering a makeshift bed. Baudelaire embarked on distant voyages running his long thin fingers through his lover’s hair (“If you only knew all that I see! all that I feel! all that I hear in your hair!”[5]); Rimbaud hadn’t seen the sea before writing The Drunken Boat; there’s no need to leave this room, which one man had dreamt out in the 1970’s London. What is irrefutable is solitude – the essential solitude of this room that no longer fits within its surrounding buildings of glass and steal, of the one trapped within; of a reader, writer, or of anyone else looking into the abyss on the reverse side of his eyelids - the essential solitude of inner experience. After each day comes night, there’s Moon to every Sun, like the blind spot that fascinates the understanding by denying the fullness of it.
- Tereza Zelenkova
[1] Bataille, Georges. Literature and Evil. Penguin Classics, 2012.
[2] Huysmans, Joris-Karl. Against Nature (A Rebours). Penguin, 2003.
[3] Baudelaire, Charles. Paris Spleen. New Directions Pub. Co., 1988.
[4] Lautréamont, et al. Maldoror and Poems. Penguin Books, 1988.
[5] Baudelaire, Charles. Paris Spleen. New Directions Pub. Co., 1988.
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Upon researching Tereza Zelenkova’s collection of works, I came across ‘The Essential Solitude’. In all honesty, I have not fully digested this deeply conceptual body of work. However, I trust there to be underlying links of absence and solitude that seep through visually. There is the physical presence of body, however, in the frames which remove the physicality of the human form, there is still presence there - almost mapping the trances of once was. This is an element I am wishing t take forward t=within this conclusion - take the body out of the frame, but still alluding to the presence of what was.
- my words
Tereza Zelenkova, I am the Sun, 2018
Full work avaliable at the following: https://terezazelenkova.com/The-Essential-Solitude-2018
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(128)UN Article 62 paragraph 1, 2, 3, & 4 consequently, the American Government has only ambitious war in the Republic of Vietnam, but it has never understood about the Southern Officers have been forced labor (129) without had limited the humankind burden of suffering in the concentration camps of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam's maltreated us. For example, each day, eating one of the three-parts the manioc, we were working from 7:00 AM to 8:00 Pm without had any rest time when we, each day, destroyed over ten forest hectare. But when we were sick, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam did not treat- therefore, so much of us have died by a jungle fever. Some of the inmates had not the tombs because of the Vietnamese communists buried them next to a river shore, so waiting for season flood, the rain ought to cleanly sweep both rivers shore to include the tombs of prisoners of war. Actually, no governments of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the American Government did carry out this Geneva Convention because the Democratic Republic of Vietnam didn't attend the United Nations at this time, but America does not only reorganize the United Nations meeting but also had represented an exemplary action. When the Government of the United States of America secretly combined with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, they secretly imprisoned to kill the Southern Officers. That is why America always interferes strongly to the internal foreign governments, but this event of the Southern officers was silent when an American leader who’s Kissinger said, “I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves. Henry Kissinger.” That is why America did not only violate the United Nations’ Article 73- paragraph a, b, c, d & e (130) but America didn’t respect Geneva
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(128) The Economic and Social Council may make or initiate studies and reports with respect to international economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and …
(129) The Detaining Power may utilize the labor of prisoners of war who are physically fit, taking into account their age, sex, rank, and physical aptitude, and with a view particularly to maintaining them in a good state of physical and mental health. Non-commissioned officers who are prisoners of war shall only be required to do supervisory work. Those not so required may ask for other suitable work which shall, so far as possible, be found for them. If officers or persons of equivalent status ask for suitable work, it shall be found for them, so far as possible, but they may in no circumstances be compelled to work.
(130) a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned… b. to develop self-government, to take due to an account of the political aspirations of…d. to promote constructive measures of development, to encourage research, and to co-operate with one another and, when and where appropriate, with specialized international bodies.. e. to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation
Convention’s also Article 54 (131). When America betrayed it’s allied the Republic of Vietnam, America could not win communism. America sold the Republic of Vietnam to communism but also imprisoned us. That is why it's against ethical conscience in one's self, but Mr. Kissinger and his government did not only trample down the Human Rights but also prohibited the freedom of thoughts of the Southern Officers and people, because, he and his government wanted to anti the right to life of the Southern Officers and the Southern people. Especially, an American leader who’s Kissinger has violated the Bill of Rights of his national own because of the Bill of Rights has respectfully the freedom of thoughts. But Mr. Kissinger has been persuaded the Southern Officers to fight anti- Communism, but, his national America to shall follow behind communism. In the meantime, Prisoners of war who always happen accidents in connection with work, or who contract a disease in the course of the labors, or in consequence of their work, shall receive all the care their condition may require that is why the Democratic Republic of Vietnam has had no treated normally us. The Detaining Power shall furthermore deliver to such prisoners of war a medical certificate enabling them to submit their claims to the Power on which they depend, and shall send a duplicate to the Central Prisoners of War Agency provided for in Article 123. To change a political ideology that is why the Government of the United States has forced us to fight against communism when America has to destroy the Republic of Vietnam. So, America has dedicated the Republic of Vietnam, the Southern people, and the Southern officers to communism when the charter of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice is against abusing the power that has violated Human Rights - Article 1 of The United Nations, but the United States Congress has agreed without had enforced American law to protect the Republic of Vietnam. In this event, the ethical conscience of the duty and the Responsibility of America was not perfect in all when the Government of the United States of America has needed us in war. So America has forced us to service war, but after the national core of interests of America has been done. The American Government did not only leave us on the battlefield but also lets the enemy imprison us when the American Government has looked other way to think us to look like the enemy of the American people. Just because through the imprisoned time, the American government has never had sending representatives come to visit us. When America donated us to the enemy, the Vietnamese Communists, and America together mistreated us. To prove, Part VI- Execution of the Convention-Section I- General provisions
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(131)The working pay due to prisoners of war shall be fixed in accordance with the provisions of Article 62 of the present Convention.
– Article 126 (132) which is why the American Government is a national modern civilized progressive than other nations of the world, but America has had no slightly respected the United Nations law and Geneva Convention of prisoners of war. So, we would like to ask a question - Which can the Charter of the United Nations protect worldwide people when the US Congress didn't respect human rights? Of course, America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam are together party joined members, they do not only solemnly sign the Paris Peace Accords but also approved treaties of Geneva Conference on 20 July 1954 and on 27 January 1973. With the view, the Republic of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam were deleted by America completely in a war game. Why did America abuse of power to deprive the rights of life of us? Why didn't America enforce international Agreement on July 20, 1954? If America enforced this international Agreement, we were not imprisoned by America policy. So yet both nations' America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam exist. In condition, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam has never had a legal government to follow with the trusteeship of the United Nations and the US Congress endorsed in which Article 75(133), but America and the United Nations have endorsed it from 1975 when North and South Vietnam is the same as one situation in which North Vietnam has supported the financial aid and the weapons by the Soviet Union and Mainland China. South Vietnam has been supported financial aid and weapons by the US Congress which is why America has kicked the Republic of Vietnam out of the war game. Whereas, America did not only have the main member of the United Nations but also America is one of the five Great powers which is why America oughtn't to request the United Nations that ought to review the violation Paris Peace Accords and Geneva Conference's 20 July 1954 together with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Vietnam - especially in North Vietnam has violated to Geneva Conference and the Paris Peace Accord for prisoners of war. For that reason, both International Agreements have no imprisoned any soldier - parties to conflict war during, the Democratic Republic of
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132) Representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have permission to go to all places where prisoners of war may be; particularly …Representatives and delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have full liberty to select the places they wish to visit…The Detaining Power and the Power on which the said prisoners of
(133) The United Nations shall establish under its authority an international trusteeship system for the administration and supervision of such territories as may be placed there under by subsequent individual agreements. These territories are hereinafter referred to as trust territories.
Vietnam has had violated these treaties. But America has been silent when the American Government has violated the prisoners of war by the Geneva Convention for the treatment to prisoners of war, like us to be maltreated by the American Government. Accordingly, No. 17512- Multilateral- protocol additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts ( Protocol I) with annexes, Final Act of the Diplomatic Conference on the reaffirmation and development of international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts date 10 June 1977 and resolutions adopted at the fourth session). Adopted at Geneva on 8 June 1977 authentic texts: English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, and Russian Registered by Switzerland on 23 January 1979- We, the Southern officers’ prisoners of war, would like to have viewpoints on the interpretation of this Geneva Convention within the self-evident truths. Because of the United States of America did not only approve this Convention but also had owned signed both International Agreements of the Vietnam War which is why America has maltreated the Southern Officers but also didn't respect these treaties when the super values of the American law and the Constitution have never had protected for the Southern Officers' prisoners of war. Because we, the Southern Officers' prisoners of war, were serviced the proxy war America by the United States Congress has enacted the law which is why the American Government has maltreated us, the United States of America did not enforce the American law, but America has no carried out this Convention to compensate the benefits of prisoners of war.
To follow with fourth Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 that many nations ought to protect the war victims, the especial of the Government of the United States of America did not only build the Vietnam war but also wanted to delete the war tracks to avoid out of the violated war. So the justice and the ethical consciences of the American Government had against its modern civilized when America has occupied the Republic of Vietnam by America law. But the compensation of the war victims did not dare pay; the super values of America are not corresponding for the national richest and modern civilized. That is why a super great power’s America refused the self-event truths with a small and weak South Vietnam, or the American Government ought to think about the Republic of Vietnam was deleted by powerful America. And therefore, the Southern officers’ prisoners of war were nothing to do with the Government of the United States of America compensation.
Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.PRISONERS OF WAR
Article 4 paragraph 1, 2, 3, &4 (134) in which described the right to life of the
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(134) Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. PRISONERS OF WAR
prisoners of war when the high contracting was respected the treaty between the Government of the United States of America, the Republic of Vietnam, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on the Paris Peace Accords. In fact, President Nixon has solemnly declared and said, “No one will be left behind." That is why most of the Southern Officers were imprisoned by America policy, but the high duty of the Government of the United States of America was not respected by this International Agreement. Therefore, we, the Southern Officers' prisoners of war, we are well-reasoned- speech to submit our settlement case with the Senate of the United States of America. (135) LEGAL STATUS OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT Articles 3 paragraph a, b & Article 4 have to describe that America has been occupied the Republic of Vietnam for a long time. So the Article 4 -LEGAL STATUS OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT- The application of the Conventions and of this Protocol, as well as the conclusion of the agreements provided for therein shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict. Neither the occupation of a territory nor the application of the Conventions and this Protocol shall affect the legal status of the territory in question Southern officers' prisoners of war have belonging to the duty and the responsibility of America. Of course, the Government of the US had not had an irrefutable American history reality in the Republic of Vietnam of the supreme law of the land which is why the United States Congress refused compensated war victims of the Vietnam War when America has illegally invaded the Republic of Vietnam. Therefore, we'd like to make a question; why reason did the United States of America occupy the Republic of Vietnam and build so much suffering to the Southern officers and people? When America has published for the Law of war in order to teach for the whole world to hold the peace, the Government of the United States of America has exemplary actions' number one which is why America did barbarously not only betray it's allied but also America had revealed the American belligerents in the Vietnam War. No one of the great powers of our modern civilized present time ought to occupy a small country to sell to other biggest powers. Let America protect the core of interests in the Vietnam War.
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(135) Articles on the Effects of Armed Conflicts on Treaties - Main ...
Office of Legal Affairs 2004, the International Law Commission (“ILC” or “Commission”) included it in its ... Article 2(b) uses the definition of “armed conflict” supplied by the decision of ... article 9, paragraph 3, nothing affects the right of another State party to object,
(136) Treaties, States Parties, and Commentaries - Additional... in which Article 5 paragrgh1, 2, 3,4,5,6,7 in which has to decide the high respect to this International Agree, which is why the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was together the United States of America to shred this Paris Peace Accords. North Vietnam violated Pairs Peace Accords and then, it imprisoned all of the Southern officers without had judged. Instead, the Government of the United States of America has never requested the United Nations to should solve the violation treaty of North Vietnam. After the twenty years have gone by, the United States of America didn't carry out any Geneva Conventions of the Vietnam War. But America has taken advantage of the Southern Officers' prisoner of war in order to exploit the cheap labor without had human rights of prisoners of war to the right to life.
In fact, REFUGEES Agreement on the implementation of the special released reeducation center detainee’s resettlement program, with annex. Exchange of letters at Washington and Hanoi August 18 and 28, 1989; entered into force August 28, 1989. TIAS (137) which is why a great power's America has declared, " We Had won the Vietnam war, but the Government of the United States of America has never dare spoken to protect its partnership's the Southern Officers of prisoners of war with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam when America was begging North Vietnam to sign a refugee program like the trader's slaves in the prehistory America when America was bullied the Republic of Vietnam to sign some of the multilateral and bilateral treaties by the great power of America. If America could not take used the Republic of Vietnam as a pawn, America would like to dedicate it to mainland China. To let America copy Chinese Socialism, America would be applied to Socialism in American society which is why a modern civilized and progressive America will be going behind Chinese Socialism, but the honorable face America has never had known shamefully. Perhaps, after near fifty years have been belligerent, America has made wind and rain in the whole world. When the ________
(136) PART I - GENERAL PROVISIONS ART. ART. 3. — In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as (a) The Conventions and this Protocol shall apply from the beginning of any situation referred to in Article 1 of this Protocol;
(137) Agreement on the implementation of the special released reeducation center detainee’s resettlement program, with annex- Exchange of letters at Washington and Hanoi August 18 and 28, 1989; entered into force August 28, 1989. TIAS
Government of the United States of America has been loaning finance from mainland Chinese, America, therefore, has sold the Republic of Vietnam to mainland China in order to subtract the loan. That is why the great power of America has not only demeaned American honors and American dignity to sign a refugee treaty with the oldest enemy of the American people, but America has betrayed its partnership allied of the Southern Officers who had been alive saved the American life in Vietnam war. With respect to SECTION II COMBATANT AND PRISONER-OF-WAR STATUS (138), SECTION II COMBATANT AND PRISONER-OF-WAR STATUS, let’s prove article 44 paragraph 2 says, “While all combatants are obliged to comply with the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, violations of these rules shall not deprive a combatant of his right to be a combatant or, if he falls into the power of an adverse Party, of his right to be a prisoner of war, except as provided in paragraphs 3 and 4..” let’s prove Treaties, States Parties, and Commentaries – Additional. Therefore, we, the Southern Officers of the Republic of Vietnam, were obliged comply the Paris peace Accords in which is the International law, but we have fallen into an adverse state party’s the Democratic Republic of Vietnam through an agreement of the Government of the United States of America to sell us to communism which is why the high duty and valued responsibility of the Government of the United States of America have to eject us out of prisoners of war program to let us demeaned body to making enslaves. Likewise, the Government of the United States of America is the very richest and a modern civilized society than the whole world, but which is why America is fooling for its allied partnership’s the Southern Officers’ prisoners of war with who is very poor and suffering life. It is true that SECTION III. TREATMENT OF PERSONS IN THE POWER OF a PARTY TO THE CONFLICT Chapter I. Field of application and protection of persons and objects - Article 75 paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5(139) in which revealed the inhumane policies of
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(138) 1 of this Protocol, persons who are in the power of a Party to …(a) Violence to the life, health, or physical or mental well-being of persons. (i) Murder; (ii) Torture of all kinds, whether physical or mental; …(iv) [Mutilation]; (b) Outrages upon personal dignity, (c) The taking of hostages; (d) Collective punishments; (e) Threats to commit any of the foregoing acts. 3. Any person arrested, detained or interned for actions.... 4. No sentence may be passed and no accused of such crimes should be …(b) Any such persons who do not benefit from…8. No provision of this Article may be construed as limiting or infringing …
(139) Unofficial United States Guide to the First Additional Protocol ...https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AUPress/Books/B_0157_UNOFFICIAL_UNITED_STATES_GUIDE_TO_THE_FIRST_ADDITIONAL_PROTOCOL_TO_THE_GENEVA_CONVENTIONS_OF_12_AUGUST_1949.PDFArticle 41 Safeguard of an enemy “hors de combat”. ......... 67 ... obligation or (2) not because of them. ... Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949; the Geneva ... State
America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam did not only violate the Constitution of the United Nations but also didn't comply with the customary law of war. For example, America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam also violated International Law when America secretly opened signal green to let North Vietnam attack the Republic of Vietnam. In fact, America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam secretly combined together with one when they'd not consider the Southern officers that imprisoned by America’s war game when we were maltreated by barbarous America? In fact, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam did think of us to be treason because we followed with America, it imprisoned us. But our children that have they had crime what the Democratic Republic of Vietnam when it maltreated our children? When I was Lieutenant Police of the Republic of Vietnam, My wife is a woman. She has not had a crime with America and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Why did they have together at one to punish my wife to be homeless? Another, the Government of the United States has never respected any treaties when America has signed on them. For example, America has not complied its the United States treaties with the Republic of Vietnam because America has not had the law of war and supreme law of land, but America's unwritten rule has used in the Republic of Vietnam in order to protect the blood belligerents America. Ironically, When the American children are freely going to many schools in order to study, why America has against the Vietnamese children to no right to go to Vietnamese schools? Why has America barbarously treated the Republic of Vietnam when we are allied partnerships with each other? Apparently, the Government of the United States of America did not only discriminate the national color skin but also prejudiced American law and the US Constitution with the Southern Officers' prisoners of war when from the American Courts and the United States Department of Justice to the United States Supreme Court and the United States Congress. If not, why did they deny to resolve the Settlement case's prisoners of war when they occupied the Republic of Vietnam? The mastermind proxy war was belonged by the United States of America's. For this reason, in Chapter II - Measures in favor of women and children, Article 76 paragraphs 1, 2 & 3 &Article 77 paragraph1, 2, 3, & 4 (140), in which my wife and my seven children that have they had a crime with America? Why did not my children go to schools
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(140) v protocol additional to the geneva conventions of 12 august ...
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.34_AP-I-EN.pdf II MEASURES IN FAVOUR OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. Article ... 3. This Protocol, which supplements the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 ..
1 Children shall be the object … 2. The Parties to the conflict shall take all 3. If, in exceptional cases, despite the provisions …
4. If arrested, detained, or interned for reasons related to …
to study anywhere after 30 April 1975? As a result, this International law in which America did not only have violated prisoners of war but also had against the right to life of the Southern Children. To illustrate, multilateral of the United States treaties have signed with the Republic of Vietnam in the past which is why the United States of America did not only have to not enforce the treaty but also had not published on the public expressly in order to open up the self-evident truth of the American belligerents.
(141) MUTUAL DEFENSE ASSISTANCE IN INDOCHINA-AGREEMENT SIGNED AT SAIGON DECEMBER 23, 1950; ENTERED INTO FORCE DECEMBER 23, 1950-V. SAI G. de LATTRE), when America, the multilateral Treaty, parties are attended by The United States of America, Cambodia, France, Laos, and Vietnam. However, this multilateral treaty had belonged to international law or also international custom law of the United States of America because of the basis of the law is 22 USC §§1571_1601 Pub. L 329-81st Congress, 63Stat 714, Approved -December 23, 1950, in which multilateral nations did not only acknowledge the sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam but also endorsed the Vietnamese properties through the United States Congress has approved this statutory. For this reason, the Government of the United States of America has been supporting the financial aid and military equipment for the Republic of Vietnam from 1950 to 1975 in order to fight anti-communism. Therefore, within the five articles and the nineteen paragraphs had no betrayed the Republic of Vietnam and no sent any Southern officers to any Vietnamese communist concentration camps, and no nationalized the Southern Officers. So, this treaty is to be International law, but the United States of America seemed to super values of this treaty to stop up the truths- therefore, we would like to call for the International custom law. We’d like to ask America. What did the Government of the United States of America defend the Republic of Vietnam to why America take advantage of the great power of America to deprive the rights of our life and our rights of Vietnamese patriots? In fact, two great powers France and America did not only acknowledge the sovereignty of three national Southeast Asian but also had guaranteed to protect security for us in the long run. That is why the United States of America self swallowed this multilateral treaty. For that reason, we ought to add this United States treaty would prove this treaty with the US Senate
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(141)This treaty has five (5) Articles and nineteen (19) paragraphs - All texts will be authentic text, but in the case of divergence, the English and French shall prevail. DONALD R. HEATH HUU VORAVONG. Agreement for mutual defense assistance in Indochina, with three annexes. Signed at Saigon December 23, 1950. Entered into force December 23, 1950. 3 UST 2756; TIAS 2447; 185 UNTS 3 Parties: Cambodia France Laos United States Vietnam 1
That Senate may understand the International law or the International Custom law. Because the US Senate has had a written law by the United States Congress approved this but also had introduced the whole world understood about this which is why the United States of America has fooled us three small Asian nations by this multilateral treaty.
In prove, both Great Powers' America and France did not protect the weakest people of the world that are Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnam when you hadn't to defend the smallest interests of us to the maintenance of our peace and to defense to of our independent nations and to of safe security of our nations but why did the United States of America have tore shredded this multilateral treaty in which has had main articles. Especially, the United States of America has had self volunteered to express a good heart with Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam when America has automatically furnished assistance Military types of equipment to help these nations. But that is why America had tore shreds this treaty to when all of the super values of American honors and the American dignities had cast into this sublime treaty? According to the great power of America of the worldwide ought to self-respect one's self, but America could not take the Vietnamese humans for playing hoax games to let America deprive rights of our life Because of this multilateral treaty of America had not had any articles to allow America to deny compromises in order to anti- any right to live' small nations to special the Southern Officers and the Southern people during the strongest guarantee of America ought to protect the rights of our life, properties, freedom, and peace, justice without had any traders to rob and to sell our wonderful nations to communism? Evidently, America has confirmed Treaties in Force that a list of treaties and other International Agreements of the United States in Force on January 1, 2019, which had not expired by their own terms of which had not been denounced by the parties, replaced, superseded by other agreements, or otherwise definitely terminated. Complied by the Treaty Affairs Staff, Office of the Legal Adviser, says U.S. Department of the State. Evidently, America has confirmed Treaties in Force that a list openly. Therefore, all of his properties, benefits of prisoners of war, and his intellectual property are surely protected by the Government of the United States. As a result, the self - evident truths of the bilateral of us would like to prove all treaties of the Government of the United States of America complied to meet one's self commitments with the Republic of Vietnam from December 23, 1950, to 30 April 1975, and for example, the American Government has given CLAIMS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION (142) policy at Saigon February 9, 1965, in which has an agreement relating to mutual waiver of government claims for
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(142)CLAIMS Agreement relating to mutual waiver of government claims for damages to government property and for injury or death of members of armed services. Exchange of notes at Saigon February 9, 1965; entered into force February 9, 1965. 16 UST 140; TIAS 5773; 542 UNTS 175
damages to government property and for injury or death of members of armed services. As a result, Bright Quang, he would like to ask for the US Senate to ought to enforce the American law. Exchange of notes at Saigon entered into force on February 9, 1965. 16 UST 140; TIAS 5773; 542 UNTS 175 in which has had with condition that the United States of America ought to build the peace and security national South Vietnam to must-win communism, but which is why the Government of the United States of America did not respectfully protect the Southern people, self - determination, and the independence of the Republic of Vietnam. In contrast, America did not enforce any the United States Treaties with the Republic of Vietnam but also sold the Republic of Vietnam to communism. In fact, the Republic of Vietnam had claimed with the United Nations by this treaty is VIET-NAM VIET-NAM^ Act of the International Conference on Viet-Nam. America has registered this multilateral Treaty with the United Nations office; therefore, the United States Senate ought to enforce this law with the Southern officers of prisoners of war. In condition, the sacred duty and responsibility of America ought to compensate for the prisoners of war benefits for an especially of ex-lieutenant Police of the Republic of Vietnam who is Bright Quang. As the valued dignity of America is no denying for compensated prisoners of war. No government of the worldwide stupid signed a bilateral treaty lets a great power come to their nations when the greatest power was freely assassinated their innocent people and destroyed all of the natural resources and environments and sold off their nations to other powers by a treason bilateral treaty. Ironically, the greatest powerful America has proudly been signed many multilateral and bilateral treaties, the international of relations protocols and American laws with the Republic of Vietnam which is why America shall not courage to force the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that it ought to repay in return the all of properties of the Southern Officers when it has nationalized on 30 April 1975. But the United States has established diplomatic relations with the Socialist of Republic of Vietnam on July 12, 1995, to sign the bilateral treaty in which CLAMS & DISPUTE RESOLUTION or so-called Agreement concerning the settlement of certain property claims. Signed at Hanoi January 28, 1995- Entered into force January 28, 1995. TIAS 12602 (143). As a result, this bilateral treaty of America with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam looked like fish on the cutting board because the Vietnamese communist regime does not only swindle policy but also fooled its innocent people. If the Southern Officers has returned to South Vietnam, they'd petitioned to retake their real properties. The
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(143) January 28, 1995. TIAS 12602 of the Government of the United States with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on January 28, 1995
Vietnamese communist regime must indict conspiracy to overthrow the regime. When it sent the ex-Southern Officers to jail, it did not allow relating any relatives or the American Diplomatic, or any lawyers to represent in the court. The political experience of America is very simple when America has signed this bilateral treaty with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in order to trap the Southern Officers again.
(144) DEFENSE 1, Agreement relating to the disposition of equipment and materials furnished by the United States found a surplus to the needs of the Vietnamese armed forces. Exchange of notes at Saigon March 1 and May 10, 1955; entered into force May 10, 1955. 7 UST 837; TIAS 3563; 273 UNTS 157.
The bilateral treaty’s the Government of the United States of America has signed with the Republic of Vietnam when all of the super values of America’s great power were cast into the three defense bilateral treaties of the American government with the Republic of Vietnam. Let America solemnly protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam, the transcendent self-determination of the Southern people, and the rights to life of the Southern people that look like the right to the American people to highly respect in all. In contrast, no one of the three defense bilateral treaties of the American government with the Republic of Vietnam had allowed America to sell the sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam to communism and to prison all of the Republic of Vietnam Army Forces, and to nationalize all of the southern properties. As a result, what matters did America defense the Republic of Vietnam? Why did America self swallow all of America treaties when America is proud of the great power of America to come to the Republic of Vietnam to fight anti-communism? Or does America defense its belligerent blood by the Vietnam War? As a result, America's agreement relating to the assurances required by the Mutual Security Acts of 1951, Exchange of notes at Saigon December 18, 1951, January 3, 16, and 19, 1952. Entered into force January 3, 1952, to be 3 UST 4672; TIAS 2623; 205 UNTS 127 which agreement relating to the disposition of equipment and materials furnished by the United States found surplus to the needs of the Vietnamese armed forces.
(145) DEFENSE 2, Agreement relating to the transfer of scrap to Viet-Nam as supplementary military assistance. Exchange of notes at Saigon November 8 and December 14, 1972; entered into force December 14, 1972. 23 UST 4263; TIAS 7534. America has understood the Republic of Vietnam that was invaded South Vietnam by North Vietnam and by communism block supported which is why America has transferred of scrap to Viet-Nam as supplementary military assistance, but America has never built any rolling-mills. What can we have modern guns to fight against communism?
(146) DEFENSE 3, Sep.3 and October 14, 1974 (25 UST 2906; TIAS 7953).
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(144) 7 UST 837; TIAS 3563; 273 UNTS 157.
(145) 23 UST 4263; TIAS 7534. and (146) 25 UST 2906; TIAS 7953)
For Bright Quang, he is a special alive witness and the miserable victim of the American proxy war when he understood America to look like the French invasion; he has experienced one hundred years of the French invader in Vietnam. Because Frank has equipped the weapons in which were less modern, the French were equipping the ten bullets for one gun to the Vietnamese soldiers. Now America has been equipped the guns of surplus and transferred of scrap to Viet-Nam as supplementary military assistance. Which things of America to support us to fight against communism block?
(147) No. 1832. TREATY 1 OF PEACE WITH JAPAN. SIGNED AT SAN FRANCISCO, ON 8 SEPTEMBER 1951 which is why, we, the Southern officers of prisoners of war, would like to prove that the United Nations treaty because the Republic of Vietnam is legal well-founded, but that is why America has self distorted the legal well-founded of the Republic of Vietnam to let America self build up the Socialist Republic of Vietnam because America does not only bully the Republic of Vietnam but also deprived rights of our life since America has occupied the Republic of Vietnam by the American Armed Forces. For the reason that we, the Southern Officers of prisoners of war, would like to prove the United Nations together with the United States of America did not only endorse the sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam but also had a legal well-founded by ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, etc. Treaty of Peace with Japan (with two declarations) Signed at San Francisco, on 8 September 1951 because this time Vietnam sovereignty was approved by the United States of America and the United Nations, after that, the United States of America had re-approved Vietnam sovereignty by a written law:
Exchange of Official Publications-Agreement effected by exchange of notes
Signed at Saigon April 4, 1961; Entered into force April 4, 1961.
The American Ambassador to the Vietnamese Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs-EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERCA
No. 152 Saigon, April 4, 1961, but which is why America does only bully the Republic of Vietnam to surrender North Vietnam during the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was not endorsed by the United Nations and the United States and by the international relations of protocols were not approved by the United Nations Organization and America. Why does America destroy the law of the United Nations Organization and self distort American laws of the Vietnam War? Uncertainty, a great power America is a very arrogant conspiracy theory when America does not only discriminate national color races but also had never respected human rights because America did not respect any laws of the United Nations and the American law and Constitution when the American president and the United States Congress had solemnly been approved the international law and the international Agreements because the United States has used jungle law. (148) As the great power of America of the worldwide has solemnly been signed all of the multilateral, bilateral, and the international of relations protocols, International Organization treaty, and enacted the law with the Republic of Vietnam from 1951 to 1974 when all of the super values of the American honors, the American dignity, and the sublime face of the Government of the United States of America had highly glorified the
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(147) this international treaty has endorsed the Republic of Vietnam sovereignty
(148)Paris Peace Accords said President Nixon, “No one will be left behind.” But which is why Bright Quang, Lieutenant Police of the Republic of Vietnam, imprisoned by this the United States Treaty and all of the treaties above.
Republic of Vietnam which is why America did not enforce all of them when America would like to glorify the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and declared this note: "The listing for Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are based on the last notice received by the United States Government from the depositary for the treaty or agreement in question. The United States has been informed by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that “. . . in principle, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is not bound by the treaties, agreements signed by the former Saigon administration. However . . . the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will consider the agreements, on an individual basis, and will examine adherence to those agreements, treaties which are in the interests of the Vietnamese people . . .” Why does the great power of America kneel under the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which does not only terrorize the United States of America but also made shame to the American people? Where are American honor and American dignity respecting?
(149) to follow with the legal well-founded of a superpower of America has solemnly been signed so many the multilateral, bilateral treaties, and the international of relations protocols, International Organization treaty, and enacted the law with the Republic of Vietnam when these the American honorable personality and the American dignity have closely bound with the Southern officers of prisoners of war, so the United States of America is nothing denying for the sacred duty and the honorable responsibility of the compensation of prisoners of war of the proxy war of America in the Republic of Vietnam. In the same way, the United States of America has easily fooled prisoners of war with the Southern officers in the Vietnam War, but the great power of America can not fool the Southern officers of prisoners of war within the Hague Convention treaties and the worldwide of opinions because all of the multilateral, bilateral treaties, and the international of relations protocols, International Organization treaty, and enacted the law with the Republic of Vietnam. Therefore, the United States could be torn shreds them, but the sacred duty and the honorable responsibility of America in the Vietnam War can not easily swallow the prisoners of war compensation and the American history because the American honors are big more than trillion-fold the compensation. In fact, when the US Congress has enacted American law and has signed so many treaties, America has occupied the Republic of Vietnam.
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(149) TREATIES IN FORCE: NOTE: 1The agreements listed below were in force between the United States and the Republic of Viet-Nam (South Viet-Nam). The status of these agreements remains under review by the United States. tif_01d.pdf
(150) we, the Southern officers, and the Southern people were brainwashed by the fifteen bilateral treaties of Agricultural commodities of the Government of the United States of America because the well-founded treaty, but the Government of the United States of America was played a trick on the Vietnamese people. In prove, the American bombs, aircraft, and warships had strongly been destroyed all of the Southern rice-fields when the Southern people were worried by the invaded war. Even worst, the Government of the United States of America did not only use modern weapons but also used the toxic chemical weapon that had spread in the middle - Vietnam. In the meanwhile, the Southern people hurriedly to cut and to run out of their fatherland and ancestors to refugee to the free zones which are why the southern peasants have never produced any rice to export to America, but the Government of the United States has surely been signed many bilateral treaties of the agricultural commodities. In fact, the proxy war America had completely destroyed all of the rice-fields that meant that America has bound the Southern people and the Government of the Republic of Vietnam must be bound to depend on the Government of the United States of America. For example, we looked like a horse that has joined the mouth by the lock-bridle when America holds the bridle to lead us. For that reason, in 1953, President Ngo Dinh Diem has supported the Nepal flood that was the fifty rice tons. In contrast, when the Republic of Vietnam has taken place war by America, we, the Southern people, were based on America's assistance aid from A to Z. Therefore, all of the bilateral treaties of America with the Republic of Vietnam had never effected when the masterminds America did not only destroy the Republic of Vietnam but also secretly fooled the Southern officers because of the lack of their education to realize a play a trick on the Vietnam War. They also do believe in the super great power of America than their patriotism. and here are: Only the basic agricultural commodities AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES 1 NOTE: 1
Agreements are listed hereunder. Amendments and related agreements, as listed in previous editions of Treaties in Force, are on file in the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs.
1. Agricultural commodities agreement with the memorandum of understanding and exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon June 17, 1958; entered into force June 17, 1958. 9 UST 977; TIAS 4066; 321 UNTS 35.
2. Agricultural commodities agreement with the exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon October 16, 1959; entered into force October 16, 1959. 10 UST 1868; TIAS 4351; 360 UNTS 271.
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(150) to include the fifteen bilateral tries
3. Agricultural commodities agreement. Signed at Saigon October 28, 1960; entered into force October 28, 1960. 11 UST 2518; TIAS 4637; 401 UNTS 3.
4. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon March 25, 1961; entered into force March 25, 1961. 12 UST 350; TIAS 4722; 406 UNTS 187.
5. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon July 14, 1961; entered into force July 14, 1961. 12 UST 1112; TIAS 4822; 416 UNTS 133.
6. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon December 27, 1961; entered into force December 27, 1961. 12 UST 3169; TIAS 4920; 433 UNTS 185.
7. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon November 21, 1962; entered into force November 21, 1962. 13 UST 3831; TIAS 5256; 469 UNTS 101.
8. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon January 9, 1964; entered into force January 9, 1964. 15 UST 13; TIAS 5514; 505 UNTS 173
9. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon September 29, 1964; entered into force September 29, 1964. 15 UST 1973; TIAS 5674; 531 UNTS 183.
10. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon May 26, 1965; entered into force May 26, 1965. 16 UST 838; TIAS 5821; 550 UNTS 3.
11. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon March 21, 1966; entered into force March 21, 1966. 17 UST 129; TIAS 5968; 578 UNTS 165.
12. Agricultural commodities agreement with exchange of notes. Signed at Saigon December 15, 1966; entered into force December 15, 1966. 17 UST 2321; TIAS 6177; 681 UNTS 63.
13. Agricultural commodities agreement with annex. Signed at Saigon March 13, 1967; entered into force March 13, 1967. 18 UST 1219; TIAS 6271; 685 UNTS 71.
14. Agricultural commodities agreement with annex. Signed at Saigon July 8, 1970; entered into force July 8, 1970. 21 UST 2443; TIAS 6983; 775 UNTS 107.
15. Agricultural commodities agreement. Signed at Saigon October 8, 1974; entered into force October 8, 1974. 25 UST 2891; TIAS 7952.
(151) the United States Congress has enacted H. RES.- 293 Recognizing the 42nd anniversary of the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 and H.Res 309 Recognizing 44th anniversary the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 and the
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(151) these bills reveal the discrimination of national color races because these are not enforced for American justice by the US Congress.
United States Congress has enacted the law H.R 7885 Pul. L 88-205 approved- December 16, 1963, to occupy the Republic of Vietnam. After that, America has sold off the Republic of Vietnam to communism which is why the US Congress is always proud of a modern civilized and progressive America, but even worse, the behavior betrayed of America has offered a fellow- allied close when not to know whether the heaven and earth existed or lost. This treaty has no allowed giving for the American Government to freely destroyed properties and injured damages or the deaths and imprison of the Southern Officers after America cut and run out of the Republic of Vietnam on 30 April 1975. In contrast, this bilateral treaty has revealed the cruel belligerence of the Government of the United States of America and also expressed the arrogance of great power's America to bully a weak small nation which is why when the first time the United States of America shouldn’t occupy the Republic of Vietnam, the Government of the United States of America would be pampered the Republic of Vietnam by 22 USC §§ 1571_1604 (152) or so-called Mutual Defense Assistance and 22 U.S. Code § 2151n (a).(153) Human rights and development assistance. Significantly, all of the super values of America’s honors had cast into this multilateral treaty and the high dignity of the American people was represented by this multilateral treaty and the great power of America and modern civilized and progressive were expressed by this multilateral treaty during the Republic of Vietnam is less developed nation and people which is why America was badly treated us. Also, the super values of American Human Rights highly expressed by this statutory which is why America did not have maintenance it when America has deprived the rights of our sacred life. America has sold our sacred fatherland and ancestors to communism when America had not respected the law of war and the supreme law of the land of The Hague Convention, which was approved by the American President. As a result, when America pushed the Republic of Vietnam going into a trap of the war game, the Government of the United States has bullied the Republic of Vietnam to ought to sign this bilateral treaty. Thus, no one of the laws of war has murdered, destroyed, and
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(152) MUTUAL DEFENSE ASSISTANCE IN INDOCHINA
AGREEMENT SIGNED AT SAIGON DECEMBER 23, 1950; ENTERED INTO FORCE DECEMBER 23, 1950 Signed in Saigon (TIAS 2447; 3 U.S.T. 2756) which was concluded P.L. 329, 81st Congress (63 Stat. 714, 22 U.S.C. 1571-1604).
(153) (a)VIOLATIONS BARRING ASSISTANCE; ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY PEOPLE
No assistance may be provided under subchapter I of this chapter, and no support may be provided under subchapter II of chapter 103 of this title, to the government of any country which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, or another flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, and the security of person, unless such assistance will directly benefit the needy people in such country.
injured damages, but no had compensated for the war victims. And No governments of the whole world had killed its civilians, destroyed the people's property, and violated war crime but without having compensation. So, only great power America washes one's dirty linen in public when the Human rights of America are nothing.
Therefore, this bilateral agreed treaty in which American Armed forces and the Republic of Vietnam have freely been assassinated the innocent Vietnamese people without had compensated in all when they were violated war crime and the law of war(154). Apparently, the bilateral agreement CULTURAL EXCHANGES, PROPERTY & COOPERATION (155) is between America and the Republic of Vietnam in which has agreed relating to the exchange of official publications. Therefore, America has had respected the culture of the Republic of Vietnam, but which is why when Bright Quang, he came to America, he created some pieces of artwork. The Government of the United States of America secretly created difficulties to anti- his artwork to exhibit- the especially property of both was endorsed by this bilateral treaty that is why the Southern Officers’ properties weren’t surely protected by the American Government for the long run that is why on 30 April 1975, America has welcomed to North Vietnam to take over the Republic of Vietnam in fact, the property of Bright Quang was nationalized by North Vietnam- therefore, The Government of the United States of America ought to compensate his property which was lost by this bilateral treaty that Exchanged of into notes at Saigon April 4, 1961, Entered into force on 4 April 1961 to be 12 UST 310; TIAS 4717; 405 UNTS 77(156) Or so-called PUBLICATIONS Agreement relating to the exchange of official publications. Exchange of notes at Saigon April 4, 1961; entered into force April 4, 1961. 12 UST 310; TIAS 4717; 405 UNTS 77 in which the Republic of Vietnam has had not allowed authorized the Government of the United States of America was freely taken the properties of the Southern Officers and the Republic of Vietnam to give for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as like 30 April 1975. For example, the sacred traditional culture of the Republic of Vietnam was protected by America and South Government together respected that is why America has free torn shredded this treaty when America ___________
(154) Investigation of the My Lai Incident - Hearings of the Armed ...https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/MyLaiHearings.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/Wiki/My_Lai_Massacrevote
(155) CULTURAL EXCHANGES, PROPERTY & COOPERATION Convention for the international exchange of official documents, scientific and literary
(156) Section 2: multilateral treaties and other agreements
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-Treaties-in-Force-
is great power and modern civilized of the world, but America has hurriedly signed this bilateral treaty in order to deceive the Republic of Vietnam and the Southern officers when we did believe the American policy.
(157).
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0 notes