#Terrorist attack alert

[persephoneflouwers]

@lthqofficial it’s time to drop the news besties

[head-post]

Netherlands raised its national threat alert to the second-highest

The Netherlands’ counter-terrorism agency raised the country’s threat alert level to the second-highest on Tuesday, announcing a “substantial” risk of terrorist attacks in the country, according to AP News.

The announcement came after the European Union’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, warned that Europe faced a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” during the Christmas holidays��against the backdrop of the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

The Dutch National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism and Security also stated that “the violent conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Quran desecrations in various European countries and calls for attacks from terrorist organisations have increased the threat from jihadism”.

Recent attacks in nearby European countries, such as France and Belgium, and arrests of suspected terrorists in the Netherlands and neighbouring nations served as reasons to raise the threat level. The report added that “the threat from right-wing extremism and anti-institutional extremism remains unabated.”

Read more HERE

[perfectlyvalid49]

I am afraid as a Jew.

I know that we are on the “how dare you say we piss on the poor” piss poor reading comprehension website, but the vast, vast majority of my original post is about the antisemitism that I experience in my life today, and the antisemitism that my ancestors experienced before Israel became a state. Zionism has little impact on either. If you can’t tell the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, it may be that your anti-Zionism is antisemitic, whether you mean it to be or not.

You said that something didn’t sit right with you when you read my post, and I think that something is a part of you realizing that some of your behavior in your advocacy for Palestine is the sort of behavior that I and many other Jews view as antisemitic and you didn’t like that. The good news is that the discomfort you felt can lead to growth, but only if you let it.

I appreciate that you have Jewish friends, but the Jews that show up to pro-Palestinian marches are the sort who are the most tolerant of antisemitism, and the most likely to not call it out when they see it. The Jews who will not tolerate antisemitism have essentially been forced out of the pro-Palestine movement in the last six months for being “Zionists,” regardless of their actual political beliefs. Because of this, I’m not sure you are as educated on the subject matter as you think you are. I hope you will read this and that it will give you some things to think about, and maybe choose to learn more about.

In this post, if I am conflating Judaism and Zionism (and I think that’s happening more in your head than it is in the text), it is because the people who are attacking “Zionists” are attacking Jews. I don’t think the people who might hurt me are going to ask me my opinion on Israel before they strike, and in fact, I have seen people on this website call anti-Zionist Jews Zionists for doing something as simple as pointing out antisemitism, so even if they do ask, I will probably be found wanting.

In addition, there are more Christian Zionists in the United States than there are Jews in the world. And yet, I have not heard of a single Christian Zionist being attacked for their beliefs, nor are Christians routinely called upon to defend their views on Israel in the way that Jews are. Meanwhile, I have watched a non-Zionist Jew lie though his teeth to his six year old about why we all had to leave our synagogue so fast because “they hate us” is so, so hard to explain to a young child.

I’m actually going to ask you to answer your own question. Why would a post about JEWISH TRAUMA feel the need to mention the displacement of JEWS in Israel, but not the displacement in Gaza, a place where there are ZERO JEWS? Or am I not allowed to center myself and my people in a post about my experience of our communal pain? If not, could you imagine asking that of any other minority group?

I think that if you can call Gaza a concentration camp, you need to study up on either Gaza or the Holocaust. I am not saying that conditions there were good, nor am I saying that I think that they should have continued as they were. And I’m certainly not advocating for them continuing as they are. But to say the two are equivalent is like saying that Earth and Jupiter are both planets, so they are the same size. There are some key differences that you are missing. I made a quick chart.

The antisemitism of BDS is well documented. In particular it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because the House Representative from the district next to mine came to several synagogues in the area, claimed to be pro-Israel, and didn’t mention that BDS was part of her platform until after she was elected (literally, it was not on her website until after she was elected). I know that’s just the actions of one person, but that, in association with the movement’s antisemitic rhetoric, makes it worthy of inclusion on my list.

I went and googled a definition of apartheid, and got this from Cornell Law: “Apartheid refers to the implementation and maintenance of a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights.” If Israel denies Arabs political and civil rights, how come Arabs serve at all levels of Israeli military and government, including sitting on their supreme court, holding office in the Knesset, and holding high ranking military positions? If your problem is with how Palestinians are treated, you must remember that Gaza and the West Bank are not actually a part of Israel (nor do they wish to be) and therefore the Palestinians living there do not live in Israel and are not Israeli citizens. Most countries have limits on what non-citizens can do, why should Israel be different? Palestinians should certainly be allowed to form their own country, and I’m in favor of a two state solution, myself. But it sounds like you don’t think Israel should exist. I’m curious as to why you’re in favor of Palestinian self-determination, but not Jewish self-determination.

It’s not genocide. Simply put, if Israel wanted to kill every man, woman and child in Gaza, there would have been no one left by the end of October. They would not have sent in ground troops, they would have just bombed them from the air. They would not have sent in aid, because why bother. The intent is to destroy Hamas, NOT the Palestinian people. Without the intent to destroy the Palestinian people, it’s war, and it’s terrible, but it’s not genocide. The fact that you either don’t understand that, or need to use the worst accusation possible to make your point is one of the reasons why I don’t think you’re as educated on the topic as you believe.

I want to know your definition of Zionism. My definition (one of the more common ones among people who identify as Zionist) is the right for Jews to have a self-determined state in the area now known as Israel, their indigenous homeland. Why should anyone with a conscience be against that? What part is morally objectionable? If you object to only the location, where should their homeland be, if not their land of origin?

Why do you think so many of those words were in quotes. The right hates the “other”, but I put other in quotes because people on the right will decide they don’t like you, and then work out how you fit into the category of “other” regardless of whether you’re different or not. Similarly, the left hates “privileged/elite/oppressors” IN QUOTES because people on the left will decide they don’t like you and then work out how you fit into the category of “privileged/elite/oppressors.” In this case, if you are Jewish and therefore a member of a minority with a history of oppression that goes back thousands of years, you will get called an “oppressor” by the left so that they can give themselves moral permission to attack you. I have a problem with actual oppressors, but the left has shown that they don’t believe that words have meaning. Holocaust, oppressor, apartheid, genocide – all of these words have definitions, and the definitions are being ignored so that the left has mean words to use against Israel. Until I can believe that the left is using words in a meaningful way, I will not hate a group just because the left says I should. You should consider doing the same.

You say that “the most egregious act of antisemitism since the 40s is the State of Israel conducting ethnic cleansing, massacres, apartheid, occupation, shoot-to-kill policy, theft of homes and land, and latest of all: genocide under the banner of the star of David.” That’s not Jew-hatred. That’s not antisemitism. That’s the excuse that people use for their antisemitism though. If you and others like you can’t help coming after Jews in the Diaspora as “oppressors” because of the actions of Israel, that’s not Israel’s fault. That’s the fault of the people who choose to be shitty to Jews “because Israel!” If a person can understand how attacking a Chinese American isn’t an appropriate response to the crimes committed by the Chinese government, but they can’t understand why attacking a Jewish American isn’t an appropriate response to the crimes committed by the Israeli government, then the problem is that the person is antisemitic and looking for an excuse.

If every oppressed person has the right to fight back, then you should be happy to know that there’s a long history of Jewish oppression in the MENA area. Consider the 1948 war the act of the Jewish people fighting off their oppressors and founding a new state where they could be free. Does that narrative make you feel better about Israel? It’s what you seem to be indicating that you want. Or is that narrative only ok if it’s the Jews being overthrown? Why might that be?

There are no laws in the United States aiming to reduce the rights of Jews or harm Jews right now. Two years ago, women in the United States had a constitutional right to abortions. Things change, and they can change quickly. And do you know where else there were no laws aiming to reduce the rights of Jews? Germany in 1930. The Jews have a long cultural memory, and part of the reason for that is because we ALWAYS need to run eventually, and so we need to remember what it looks like when it’s time to go. I think that if you don’t understand that every place that Jews have lived for the last 2000 years has been safe right up until it wasn’t, then you missed out on one of the major points of my post. Maybe read it again for understanding instead of just trying to find bits of it that you want to use to talk about how Zionists are terrible.

Not that I should have to defend my statements to you, and it’s really nitpicky for you to call it out, but here is a list of people I “know” in Israel:

My penpal from middle school – it’s been at least 20 years since we last wrote.

A handful of Israelis that I follow – I’ve even had positive interactions with some of them on Tumblr!

Some cousins on my mom’s side. They’re like fourth cousins and we’ve never met. But I know they exist! I don’t know if they know I exist.

My husband’s cousin’s wife’s family – we’ve met once, at my husband’s cousin’s wedding in 2009.

Does that explain how I can have family and acquaintances in Israel, but not consider any of them close (a clause that you very conveniently cut off in your quote)? I don’t talk to them, I’m not kept up to date of their activities. If something bad has happened to them, I haven’t been informed. Their existence hasn’t impacted the trauma that I was writing about.

Anyway, Am Yisrael Chai refers to the people of Israel – a name that Jews have called themselves for centuries prior to the founding of the state. In fact, the state was named for the people – “We are the people of Israel, so we will name our state Israel,” not, “Hey we named this place Israel for no apparent reason, I guess we’re the people of Israel now.” If you don’t know that, it tells me that you’re REALLY not as educated on the topic as you ‘re trying to make yourself sound. And given that there’s already been an extensive conversation about why people who don’t know what Am Yisrael Chai means jumping in to this post to attack Israel is antisemitic, in the comments section ON THIS POST, I don’t feel like going over the whole thing again. Either read the link, or accept this TL;DR on it: If you read a post about antisemitism and feel the need to redirect focus to Israel, you’re being antisemitic.

And honestly, reading through your response, the whole thing seems in bad faith. You’ve either deliberately missed the point, or given the worst possible faith reading to everything I wrote, and then came on to my post about how antisemitism is upsetting (deliberately on a joyous holiday) to talk about why you don’t like Israel, and how you think that things would be better for me if I were a Good Jew and just denounced Israel and the 40% of the Jewish population that lives there. I will not throw my own people under the bus to be kept as a favored pet for as long as I am willing to agree with you. There were Jews that did that in Nazi Germany, and they were killed just as surely as the Jews who did not. There were Jews who did that in Soviet Russia and it got them deported to Siberia just as surely as the Jews who did not.

Frankly, for someone who is so uneducated in Jewish history, I find your tone in this post condescending, and I find your claims of “I’m not antisemitic, I’m just an anti-Zionist,” to ring incredibly false. I think that at best, you’ve been drinking Hamasnik propaganda Kool-Aid at your pro-Palestinian marches and don’t realize how much false or biased information you’ve been told, and I think that more likely, you live in the West and have not interrogated just how much antisemitism is just present in Western culture and therefore present in you. Like I said at the top, I hope that you will maybe do some research involving conflicting viewpoints to your own and maybe learn something about Judaism before you hop on another post to lecture a Jew about something you don’t understand.

On being Jewish, and traumatized (It’s been 5 months and I want to talk):

Judaism is a joyous religion. So much of our daily practice is to focus us on the things that are good. I know that there’s a joke that all our holidays can be summed up as “they tried to kill us. We survived – let’s eat!”, and you might think that holidays focused on attempts at killing us might be somber, but they’re really not. Most are celebrated in the sense of, “we’re still here, let���s have a party!” When I think about practicing Judaism, the things I think about make me happy.

But I think a lot of non-Jews don’t necessarily see Judaism the same way. I think in part it’s because we do like to kvetch, but I think a lot of it is because from the outside it’s harder to see the joy, and very easy to see the long history of suffering that has been enacted on the Jewish people. From the inside, it’s very much, “we’re still here, let’s party” and from the outside it’s, “how many times have they tried to kill you? Why are you celebrating? They tried to KILL YOU!”

And I want to start with that because a lot of the rest of this is going to be negative. And I don’t want people to read it and wonder why I still want to be Jewish. I want to be Jewish because it makes me happy. My problem isn’t with being Jewish, it’s with how Jews are treated.

What I really wanted to write about is being Jewish and the trauma that’s involved with that right now.

First, I want to talk about Israeli Jews. I can’t say much here because I’m not Israeli, nor do I have any close friends or family that are Israeli. But if I’m going to be talking about the trauma Jews are experiencing right now, I can’t not mention the fact that Israeli Jews (and Israelis that aren’t Jewish as well, but that’s not my focus here) are dealing with massive amounts of it right now. It’s a tiny country – virtually everyone has a friend or family member that was killed or kidnapped, or knows someone who does. Thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel in the last few months – think about the fact that the Iron Dome exists and why it needs to. Terror attacks are ongoing; I feel like there’s been at least one every week since October. Thousands of people are displaced from their homes, either because of the rocket fire, or because their homes and communities were physically destroyed in the largest pogrom in recent history – the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust ended. If that’s not trauma inducing, I don’t know what is.

And there is, of course, the generational trauma. And I think Jewish generational trauma is interesting because it’s so layered. Because it’s not just the result of one trauma passed down through the generations. Every 50-100 years, antisemitism intensifies, and so very frequently the people experiencing a traumatic event were already suffering from the generational trauma that their grandparents or great grandparents lived through. And those elders were holding the generational trauma from the time before that. And so on.

And because it happens so regularly, there’s always someone in the community that remembers the last time. We are never allowed the luxury of imagining that we are safe. We know what happened before, and we know that it happened again and again and again. And so we know that it only makes sense to assume it will happen in the future. The trauma response is valid. I live in America because my great grandparents lived in Russia and they knew when it was time to get the hell out in the 1900s. And the reason they knew that is because their grandparents remembered the results of the blood libels in the 1850s. How can we heal when the scar tissue keeps us safe?

I look around now and wonder if we’ll need to run. We have a plan. I repeat, my family has a plan for what to do if we need to flee the country due to religious persecution. How can that possibly be normal? And yet, all the Jewish families I know have similar plans. It is normal if you’re Jewish. Every once in a while I see someone who isn’t Jewish talk about making plans to leave because they’re LGBTQ or some other minority and the question always seems to be, “should I make a plan?” It astounds me every time. The Jewish answer is that you need to have a plan and the only question is, “when should I act?” Sometimes our Jewish friends discuss it at play dates. Where will you go? What are the triggers to leave? No one wants to go any earlier then they have to. Everyone knows what the price of holding off too long might be.

I want to keep my children safe. When do I induct them into the club? When do I let my sweet, innocent kids know that some people will hate them for being Jewish? When do I teach them the skills my parents and grandparents taught me? How to pass as white, how to pass as Christian, knowing when to keep your mouth shut about what you believe. When do I tell them about the Holocaust and teach them the game “would this person hide me?” How hard do I have to work to remind them that while you want to believe that a person would hide you, statistically, most people you know would not have? Who is this more traumatic for? Them, to learn that there is hatred in the world and it is directed at them, or me, to have to drive some of the innocence out of my own children’s eyes in order to make sure they are prepared to meet the reality of the world?

And the reality of the world is that it is FULL of antisemitism. There’s a lot of…I guess I’d call it mild antisemitism that’s always present that you just kinda learn to ignore. It’s the sort of stuff that non-Jews might not even recognize as antisemitic until you explain it to them, just little micro-aggressions that you do your best to ignore because you know that the people doing it don’t necessarily mean it, it’s just the culture we live in. It can still hurt though. I like to compare it to a bruise: you can mostly ignore it, but every once in a while something (more blatant antisemitism) will put a bit to much pressure on it and you remember that you were already hurting this whole time.

On top of the background antisemitism, there’s more intense stuff. And usually the most intense, mask off antisemitism comes from the right. This makes sense, in that a lot of right politics are essentially about hating the “other” and what are Jews if not Western civilizations oldest type of “other”? On the one hand, I’ve always been fortunate enough to live in relatively liberal areas so this sort of antisemitism has felt far away and impersonal – they hate everybody, and I’m just part of everybody. On the other hand, until recently I’ve always considered this the most dangerous source of antisemitism. This is the antisemitism that leads to hate crimes, that leads to synagogue shootings. This is the reason why my synagogue is built so that there is a long driveway before you can even see the building, and that driveway is filled with police on the high holidays. This is the reason why my husband and I were scared to hang a mezuzah in our first apartment (and second, and third). For a long time, this was the antisemitism that made me afraid.

But the left has a problem with antisemitism too. And it has always been there. Where the right hates the “other”, the left hates the “privileged/elite/oppressors.” It’s the exact same thing, just dressed up with different words. They all mean “other” and “other” means “Jew.” It hurts more coming from the left though. A lot of Jewish philosophy leans left. A lot of Jews lean left. So when the left decides to hate us, it isn’t a random stranger, it’s a friend, and it feels like a betrayal.

One of the people I follow works for Yad Vashem, and a few weeks ago she mentioned a video they have with testimonies from people who came to Israel after Kristallnacht, with an unofficial title of “The blow came from within.” The idea is that to non-German Jews, the Holocaust was something done by strangers. It was still terrible, but it is easier to bear the hate of a stranger – it’s not personal. But to German Jews, the Holocaust was a betrayal. It wasn’t done by strangers, it was done by coworkers, and neighbors and people they thought were friends. It was done by people who knew them, and still looked at them and said, “less than human.” And because of this sense of betrayal, German survivors, or Germans who managed to get out before they got rounded up, had a very different experience than other Holocaust victims.

And I feel like a lot of left leaning Jews are having a similar experience now. People that we’ve marched with or organized with, or even just mutuals that we’ve thought of as friends are now going on about how Jews are evil. They repeat antisemitic talking points from the Nazis and from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and when we point out that those ideas have only led to Jewish death in the past they don’t care. And if someone you thought of as a friend thinks of you this way, what do you think a stranger might think? Might do?

The Jews are fucking terrified. I’ve seen a post going around that basically wonders if this was what it was like for our ancestors – when things got bad enough to see what was coming but before it was too late to run? And we can see what’s coming. History tells us that they way people are talking and acting only leads to one place. I’m a millennial – when I was a kid the grandparents at my synagogue made sure the kids knew – this is what it looked like before, this is what you need to watch out for, this is when you need to run. I wonder where to run to. It feels like nowhere is safe.

I feel like I’ve been lucky in all this. I don’t live in Israel. I have family and acquaintances who do, but no one I’m particularly close to. Everyone I know in real life has either been sane or at least silent about all of this (the internet has been significantly worse, but when it comes to hate, the internet is always worse). I live in a relatively liberal area – there’s always been antisemitism around anyway, but it’s mostly just been swastikas on flyers, or people advocating for BDS, not anything that’s made me actually worry for my safety. But in the last 5 months there have been bomb threats at my synagogue, and just last week a kid got beat up for being Jewish at our local high school. He doesn’t want to report it. He’s worried it will make it worse.

I bought a Magen David to wear in November. At the time it seemed like the best way to fight antisemitism was to be visibly Jewish, to show that we’re just normal people like everyone else. Plus, I figured that if me being Jewish was going to be a problem for someone, then I would make it a problem right away and not waste time. I’ve worn it almost constantly since, but the one time I took it off was when I burnt my finger in December and had to go to urgent care. I didn’t think about it too much when I did it, but I thought about it for a long time after – I didn’t feel good about having made that choice.

The conclusion I came to is that the training that my elders had been so careful to instill in me kicked in. I was hurt, and scared, and the voice inside my head that sounds like my grandmother said, “don’t give them a reason to be bad to you. Fight when you’re well, but for now – survive.” It still felt cowardly, but it was also a connection to my ancestors who heeded the same voice well enough to survive. And it enrages me that that voice has been necessary in the past. And it enrages me that things are bad enough now that my instinct is that I need to hide who I am to receive appropriate medical care.

I wish I had some sort of final thought to tie this all together other than, “this sucks and I hate it,” but I really don’t. I could call for people to examine their antisemitic biases, but I’m not foolish enough to think that this will reach the people who need to do so. I could wish for a future where everything I’ve talked about here exists only in history books, and the Jewish experience is no longer tied to feeling this pain, but that’s basically wishing for the moshiach, and I’m not going to hold my breath.

I guess I’ll end it with the thought that through all of this hate and pain and fear, we’re still here. And we’re still joyful as well. As much as so many people have tried over literally THOUSANDS of years to eradicate us, I’m still here, I’m still Jewish, and being Jewish still makes me happy.

Am Yisrael Chai.

[drabblesandimagines]

Trunk

Leon Kennedy x female reader (BSAA) for this request Fluffy, bit of mild spice, bit of blood, mention of panic attack, swears

It was meant to be straightforward surveillance ahead of the main op. Monitor the drop – the metal suitcase fitted with a tracking chip and three fake virus vials – note any observations about the pick-up, then inform the rest of the Wolf Hound Squad who would track the co-ordinates to find the terrorists’ base of operations.

You had pouted a little at being sidelined from the main action, but Chris needed someone stealthy to keep an eye over the drop and, with a squeeze to your shoulder, your track record meant you were the prime candidate.

You’d set yourself up in the eaves of the abandoned warehouse that served as the drop-off point, armed with a pair of binoculars, an ear piece and a couple of guns, as always, for if anything went south...

..which it did the moment you detected movement from the south-east corner. It took a few attempts to get them in focus, but your heart sank when you recognized the figure – one Leon S Kennedy of the DSO rolling between abandoned shipping containers, honing in on the one you’d placed the metal suitcase in a few hours previously.

What the hell is he doing here?

You press down on your earpiece and it beeps once, opening the line to transmit. “Alpha to Lupe. Got a problem. Over.”

Silence.

“Alpha to Lupe. Got a problem. Over.”

Nothing – again. Maybe your current position has poor signal, but there’s no time to troubleshoot when squealing tyres echo around the structure, alerting you to the two black cars swerving in and heading to the shipping container in question.

The cars stop, their engines remaining idle and five well-built and well-dressed men depart – three from one, two from another.

Through your binoculars, you see Leon head straight for them, gun raised.

Shit.

--

You are jolted back into consciousness when your crown smacks on something hard, before being ricocheted back down to your nose cracking against something firm, groaning as you come to.

“Finally awake, sleeping beauty?”

The voice is familiar and rumbles through your chest with the horrible realization that you’re lying on top of someone. You try and scoot back, whacking your head again and a sinking feeling as you feel plastic digging into your wrists, keeping them bound behind you.

It all comes flooding back.

Numerous gunshots go off as you slide down the ladder back to the ground floor, half expecting to find Leon bleeding out or even dead on the concrete. Instead, he’s being heaved up by his armpits, unconscious, and pushed into the trunk of one of the cars, half in, half out as one of the heavy-set men commences a search, confiscating a multitude of weapons with a scoff.

You can’t see any other bodies, which is strange. Is Kennedy getting slow in his old age?

At the other car, a man with a blonde pony-tail is bent down, talking through the window to someone you can’t see. “Go on ahead with the package.”

The driver seems to protest, but ponytail shakes his head.

“We’ll take the rat elsewhere, have some fun… We’ll join you back at base after. Go.” He thumps the top of the car with his fist to emphasize his point.

The idling car now hits the gas with gusto, the tyres burning against the concrete before it skids out of sight.

The heavy-set man seems to have concluded his search of the unconscious agent by then, finishing with what looks to be Leon’s phone. He considers it for a moment before he drops it to the floor and grinds it into the concrete with the heel of his shoe, the screen splintering and plastic cracking under his weight.

He then leans into the trunk before holding Leon’s arms behind his back and securing his wrists with what looks like a zip tie, before heaving up his legs and giving his ankles the same treatment.

You grit your teeth as you think – you don’t have much time. They’re not taking Leon to the HQ, so it’s not like you can catch up and let the rest of the squad know they’ve got a hostage.

The other car’s gone, one of the guys is distracted, if you just-

“Well, well…” There’s a gun pressed to the small of your back and your stomach sinks. You’d thought the two remaining were the ones you had in your eyesight, assuming three others had got back into the other car, but one seems to have been prowling. Fuck, you’re better than this usually. Are you and Kennedy both having an off day?

A thick forearm wraps around your throat in a headlock.

“Drop the gun.”

Before you can even think of how to get out of the hold, a knee is forced between your thighs, weakening your stance and preventing any sort of retaliation you might be able to achieve with your legs. The forearm tenses and cuts off all air, the order repeated and it is not until your grip on your gun goes limp, letting it drop to the floor that it relaxes, leaving you gasping for breath.

“We’ve already caught ourselves a rat this evening, suppose it makes sense we catch a mouse next.”

You try and throw your head back in desperation - if you break his nose he’ll definitely let go, but there’s not enough room and the arm around your throat squeezes again, but this time there is no relief, only a smug whisper in your ear.

“Sweet dreams, little mouse.”

 Everything went black.

You squint in the dark of what you assume is the car trunk – an eerie red glow emitting from the corners which you presume are the taillights – and your eyes slowly begin to adjust to find two icy blue ones staring up at you under familiar bangs. “Leon?” Your voice is a little hoarse, but it’s better than being dead.

“One and only. Gotta say, this is a surprise. Been a while.”

You try and roll off his chest entirely but it’s awkward and cramped. The trunk is not large enough to be accommodating two adults, let alone one as muscular as Leon. You manage to shift most of your weight off him, though your legs are somewhat still entangled, ankles crisscrossed together with the same zip tie treatment. You cough, trying to relieve the tightness in your throat. “What are you doing here? This is a BSAA op.”

“DSO had intel of a terrorist cell being supplied with virus samples.” He tries to shuffle back a little, take in your face after you lying atop of him unconscious for however long.

“It’s a fake – it’s our drop.”

“What?”

“I was doing surveillance to confirm they accepted the suitcase with the tracker – the rest of the pack is gonna intercept their base once co-ordinates are confirmed.”

You see him raise his eyebrow in the dim light. “Pack? Redfield still going by that wolf crap?”

 “Oh, because birds are so cool, right?” You retort, though you’re more annoyed at your situation than him.

“How’d they get you?”

“Does it matter?” You avoid the question, not wanting to tell him the real reason you’d got caught was because you’d been concerned seeing him being shoved into the trunk.

“We’ve gotta get out of these restraints. I can try and…” You trail off, your breath catching in your throat. You pull fruitlessly at the plastic holding your wrists, ignoring the sharp pain, and try and bring your knees up to your chest.

“Already tried, there’s not enough space.” Leon interjects. “Maybe if I was here solo…”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you mean to sound sarcastic, but with how you’re breathing it sounds more like a genuine apology. “I just thought it looked so fun when I saw you being kidnapped so I had to join in, you know?”

You’re breathing too heavy now, but it’s not getting down into your lungs. You’re not sure if it’s because your windpipe was crushed earlier, or that you’re on your side in an awkward position, or the fact that you’re stuffed in the trunk of a car with potentially limited oxygen.

Fuck.

“Hey.” Leon’s voice sounds foggy.

You shuffle as best you can, hoping a change in position might open up your airways, but it feels like as if the trunk is closing in around you.

“Hey. You good?”

“I…”

“You need to breathe deeper than that, okay?”

Deep down, in your logical mind, you know you do, but in the panic it’s just not happening, and your breaths grow only shallower. Your throat is too tight, the zip tie around your wrist and ankles is too tight, the space in here is too tight. Leon tenses his forearms behind his back for the umpteenth time, willing the plastic to break as he sees you falling further and further into distress. His words aren't getting through and he can't really touch you either, can't grab your hand or your shoulder and try and ground you for a moment to catch your breath. “I’m so sorry.” Leon throws his head forward and kisses you – not square on the lips, more at the corner of your open mouth, messy and awkward - but it’s enough to knock you out of hyperventilating as your scalp tingles.

“Breathe.” He orders, pulling back.

“You just-”

“Breathe. There’s plenty of oxygen in here – it’s not airtight. Breathe.”

You close your eyes and mouth and take a deep inhale through your nose, spluttering a little as you try to hold it. It takes a few cycles, Leon keeping silent as you gather your bearings, but eventually it steadies.

“Sorry.” You mumble, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry – I shouldn’t have kissed you, I just couldn’t think of how else to divert your focus.”

“No, it’s okay. Definitely worked.”

There’s an awkward silence before Leon shuffles ever so slightly.

“Promise you won’t tell Redfield? I’d rather not have my neck snapped.”

“Why would he do that?”

“You... You two aren’t a thing?”

“No.” Your brow furrows. “He’s my captain. My life’s already complicated enough fighting bioweapons without throwing in dating my superior.”

“Oh. I thought…” He shrugs as best as he can before you can see the infamous cocky grin. “Well, how about you and I grab dinner after this?”

“If there is an after this.” You try and swallow down the anxious feeling that’s crawling up from your stomach once more. “Being moved to a second location against your will is nev- Ugh!”

The car drives over a pothole but, thankfully, your head doesn’t collide with the top of the trunk. Leon groans as the impact threw him over onto his front before he mutters under his breath and starts to grind his hips.

“Holy shit.”

“What?”

“I think they missed a weapon.”

“Really?” Your voice perks up. “What?”

“A knife.”

“How’d they miss a knife?”

“Is that a complaint?” Leon scoffs.

“No, just seems a bit amateur hour. Can you reach it?”

“Not a chance, but, er…”, he clears his throat, “you might. We’re gonna have to try and adjust positions first, I’ll need your back to my chest.”

“Okay. Erm…” You scooch yourself forward with your hip and heel of your boot - easier said than done as the trunk grows narrower the further you go down, your knees bunching up towards your chest. “Like that?”

“Gimme a sec.” He responds through gritted teeth, trying to roll over again. Whatever make car this is, it’s not American – the trunk space is abysmal. Eventually, he manages it, shuffling himself forward until your fingers are pressed up against what feels like his chest.

“Hey!” He snaps with a poorly concealed laugh as your fingers twitch against the fabric. “That tickles.”

“Sorry – reflex. Where is it?”

“Well, put simply, my crotch.”

You give yourself a moment to let the words sink in.

“You keep a knife in your crotch? How have you not cut off your-?”

“It’s more a scalpel than a knife,” he cuts you off. “And it’s hidden away in the lining – in-built sheath – near the fly. Think you can find it?”

You close your eyes tight, thinking it might help you focus. Your thumb brushes up against something firm and you feel Leon tense behind you.

“Is that…?”

 “My jockstrap, thank you.” He clears his throat again. “Higher than that and more to the left.”

You try to follow his instructions, but it’s impossible to go any higher, unable to bend your elbows. “I don’t think I can. Can you shuffle down any?”

“Er…” He tries, shifting down an inch or so, his knees pressing into the back of yours in a spoon, his breath tickling your ear as he settles back down. “There. Bit to the left again.”

You close your eyes again, feeling the zip with your thumb and head to the left until you feel what feels like a thin tube.

“That?”

“Yep. Now, just try and bring it up and out. The blade’s at the bottom.”

That’s easier said than done as you press your thumbs either side of it and feel it move ever so slightly up. It’s a slow and steady process, not helped with the fact of how sweaty your palms are now getting with Leon pressed right up against you. “I think it’s nearly there. If the blade’s at the bottom, can you shuffle back? I don’t wanna slice you open.”

“You got a good grip?”

You swear you can hear the grin in his voice with that one.

“As good as I ever will.”

He scoots back a little, not as far as possible, but enough room so you can pull the scalpel implement up and twirl it around carefully in your grip so you can start to saw against the zip-tie.

“Got it.”

“Does it feel like it’s working?”

“Yeah. Just kinda awkwa-" There’s a stinging pain in your palm as the knife slices through and you hiss.

“What?”

“Got my palm.”

“Bad?”

“Had worse.” You bite your lip at the pain then, eyes squeezed shut again, trying to visualize what might be going on behind your back. Your movements are miniscule, a concern that that if you went any faster you’d slip in your enthusiasm and stab Leon.

It feels like hours when you finally feel the tension give and your wrists are free of the horrid plastic.  

“Got it. Just…” Mindful of your bleeding palm, you roll over with your good hand and lean up, pushing Leon face down so you can set to work on his wrists. It only takes a few confident saws, despite how slick your palm is with blood, before the agent groans and pulls his arms in front of him.

You pull your knees up to your chest and quickly slice through the restraints around your ankles, before handing the scalpel to Leon to do the same. His fingers pinch your other wrist instead, bringing your bleeding palm up close to his face to analyze in the dim light.

“Shit, that’s deep.”

“It’s fine,” you try and shake off his hold, but his grip remains firm.

“That’ll be the blood loss talking. Hold on.” He pulls up his shirt with his free hand and rips at the hem with his teeth, tearing off a rough strip, before he begins to wrap it around your palm in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

“There.” He announces, tying it off with a tight knot. “Not ideal, but it’ll have to do for now.”

“Thanks.” You cradle it back against your stomach and hand him over the blade so he can finally cut through the zip-tie around his ankles. It seems just in time too, as the car begins to slow.

“How do you want to play this?”

“You sit tight, I deal with whoever opens the trunk… then we go for dinner.”

“You know I am not a sit tight kinda gal, right?”

“We’ve only got one knife.”

“One scalpel.” You correct.

“Exactly.” The car stops.

“Roll over, face the back.” He orders, taking control. “I’ll go the other way – they won’t be able to see our hands. When they lean in to haul me out…”

The dulled sound of the car doors opening leaves you with no choice but to turn away as instructed and your hand brushes up against Leon’s as you tuck them back behind your back. With the hand that’s not holding the scalpel, he grabs hold of your uninjured hand and squeezes your fingers in reassurance.

The trunk opens.

Leon is peering through his lashes, bangs over his eyes, as his captor comes into view, gun raised. He nudges Leon’s shoulder with the barrel, watching the agent’s head lull back before holstering his weapon and preparing to heave Leon out of the trunk.

And that’s when he takes his chance, scalpel in hand, straight into the jugular, his other hand nabbing the gun out of the holster as he twists himself up and out of the trunk before the man can hit the ground.

Before you can get up to join him, he slams the trunk back down. You curse, hearing back and forth gunshots before the trunk opens again a few minutes later, Leon stood there with an apologetic smile.

“Coast is clear. We’re down at the docks – I can’t believe I let myself get caught by these amateurs.”

“Well, I can’t believe you shut the trunk on me!” You shuffle forward using your good hand, relieved to be sitting upright at last, legs dangling out from the trunk.

“I’m sorry - I know most guys bring their dates flowers,” he pulls another confiscated gun out of his back pocket – must be his prize from the other guy – and offers it out to you, “but something tells me you’d accept this instead?”

You take it with a smirk and a retort too good to pass up on. “You’re really gunning for this dinner date, huh, Kennedy?”

He leans forward and pushes you back into the trunk with a kiss.

--

This is so, so silly but I had fun x

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Commissions/Ko-Fi

[matan4il]

Update post:

The biggest thing everyone's talking about on the news in Israel right now is the finding of a MASSIVE Hamas compound underneath UNRWA's main headquarters in Gaza, and finding proof that UNRWA were supplying the compound with electricity and internet services, supply which allowed Hamas to develop their intelligence, used during the Hamas massacre among other things. When Israel published the finding of the compound, the head of UNRWA claimed they found nothing up until October, and weren't able to check anything since. Israel responded by pointing out that a compound so developed most likely took no less than ten years to dig and build, and that UNRWA was repeatedly told that Hamas is operating under its headquarters, but chose to ignore this. What I think is most telling is a tour taken by an Israeli journalist in the compound, where they showed him that the server farm in the Hamas compound is found directly under the server farm of UNRWA, and that cables from the latter were running down into the terror tunnel compound directly beneath it (source in Hebrew, here's a vid in English giving viewers a tour of the compound, I'll attach the vid itself below, too). Something like that doesn't happen by coincidence, and without the knowledge of those in the server farm above groud. Some of the cables were also cut in the UNRWA server farm, like someone realized the IDF was coming, and tried to hide the link between the two server farms. As one officer pointed out, if you're an innoncent, interenational humanitarian aid organization, you have no reason to cut the cables of your own server farm, or remove the name tags from the doors of the rooms inside your headquarters. You only do that if you have something to hide.

Israel's army has been fighting Hamas in all of Gaza, except the southern city of Rafiach (Rafah in English). There are a lot of Gazans there, who have been evacuated from other zones. There's also 4 Hamas regiments there, which means Israel will have no choice but to fight there. So the only question is how to fight in that city, in order to minimize the harm to the civilian population. There are reports that Israel's Prime Minister has asked the IDF to present plans both on how to fight Hamas in Rafah, and how to evacuate the civilians.

In that context, I got to hear a radio interview with an Israeli minister, who used to be the head of Shabak (Israel's equivalent of the FBI). When asked about the US warning for Israel not to fight in Rafah during the upcoming month of Ramadan, Avi Dichter said that it has never been a month during which Muslims have not fought in wars. In fact, in 1973 the Egyptians and Syrians (with soldiers from even more Arab countries fighting alongside them) chose to attack Israel on Oct 6, despite Ramadan that year starting on Oct 4, causing the war to be known in the Arab world as "The Ramadan War." More than that, in Israel Ramadan is always a time of peak alert, because so many terrorist attacks are carried out during it (here's an example from Mar 2023, when Hamas was encouraging individuals to carry out terrorist attacks during Ramadan, and here's another from 2022). Dichter suggested that if Muslims can carry out terrorist attacks during Ramadan (and it has happened outside Israel, too), the war in Gaza which was started by Hamas can continue during it.

On an Israeli TV news panel, someone shared the estimate that over 100,000,000 dollars (one hundred million dollars!) is the sum of money that Hamas made just since the start of the war from selling to the civilian population the humanitarian aid that was allowed into Gaza, and which Hamas stole from the Gazans (more than once, by using violence).

This is Chagit Rein.

She lost her son Benaya in the Second Lebanon War, back in 2006. I got to hear an interview with her following the fact that during this war, she decided she would try to visit the shiva (the mourning week following a burial) of every fallen soldier. According to her, she has so far visited the families of 400 soldiers killed on Oct 7 or since. "If they see me, then it's living proof that there can be a life alongside the loss. That was our kids' last will and testament. They died so we could live. So we have to live." When asked what she's asked most often when she visits the families, she said it was what she did first after her son's shiva. "My other son was being drafted into the army, so the first thing I did was to accompany him in that." She was asked whether there were moments when she was overwhelmed herself. She replied that she's seen wounded soldiers making incredible effortrs to come to the shiva of others who were killed, to offer their families some comfort. In one case, an injured soldier recognized her, and told her that it was thanks to her son Benaya that he was an officer in the armored forced. He tried to hug her, but was at first unable to get up or reach her from the stretcher he was on. Chagit recounted that she tries to make sure her visits would be about the families she's conmforting, not about herself, but that's when she broke down and cried.

This is Doctor Elai Chogeg-Golan with her husband Ariel and their baby daughter, Yael. On the right, their house in kibbutz Kfar Azza.

On Oct 7, due to Hamas' massive rocket attack, Elai was inside the bomb shelter in her home with her family from 6:30 in the morning, when Gazan civilians got in at around 1 in the afternoon. The Gazans tried to get the family to come out, but it wouldn't. Then, those invaders set the house on fire, probably thinking that would force the family out. Instead, Elai and the family tried to keep themselves safe using water. At some point, she recounts they even fought face to face with the Gazans, who tried to beat them with sticks from the outside. She said she managed to grab a stick, and beat them back. These Gazans then threw in two gas balloons into the burning house. Elai says that most of the burns she sustained were from the fire ball that that created. At some point, the Gazans moved on, and that's when the family got out, because the whole place was on fire, they were choking from the smoke, and even the roof collapsed. They hid nearby, but then baby Yael lost consciousness, and the parents decided to try and get out of the kibbutz. At the entrance, they met soldiers who helped get them to a hospital. Elai had severe burns on over 60% of her body. She was in a coma for 53 days, but incredibly, they all survived.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[mockerycrow]

SAFETY (Roommate!Gaz x GN!Reader)

gaz photo is by the wonderful @yumethefrostypanda

summary; you went out by yourself whilst gaz is home, and you aren’t answering your phone.

roommate!gaz masterlist

[WARNINGS; slight angst, vague description of deaths, paranoid militaristic thinking, anxiety, gaz is just anxious </3]

KYLE COULD not get himself to calm down. He swears in the back of his mind that his feet are burning holes into the wooden floor of your shared apartment as he paces back and forth in the living room, even circling around the couch a couple of times. There’s horrible worry eating away at his gut, tearing through his stomach like a lawn mower cuts through grass. Kyle isn’t.. used to being anxious like this. He’s used to being on edge, alert; ready for the next attack or target to appear. Kyle’s used to waiting around, but not like this at all. Kyle’s used to be waiting in thick bushes, laying down in his ghillie suit with his Captain by his side, waiting for a convoy to ride down a road he’s looking at through his sniper’s scope. He isn’t used to waiting at home with zero contact with you, waiting for you to get home.

He felt unbelievably useless because he’s texted you multiple times, called you—neither of them went through, meaning something is wrong with your phone. Are you okay? Are you hurt? You insisted on taking a walk which he didn’t want to go on, so did you get hit by a car? Did you get kidnapped? Kyle groans and he rubs his face, lightly slapping his cheeks in an attempt to get his bearings. “They’re fine, you git.” He whispers to himself, even though he doesn’t believe what he’s trying to tell himself. There’s so many damn possibilities that could be wrong that Kyle can’t help but torture himself with. Kyle sits down on the couch for a moment, his fingers resting on his thighs and taps against them, muttering that you’re fine a couple of times. 

Kyle grabs the TV remote from the table in front of the couch and he tries to lean back to relax. He doesn’t stop his leg from bouncing as he switches the TV on, and he knows he shouldn’t watch the news, it’ll make it worse; but he can’t help it. Kyle goes to switch to the news but he pauses—what if there was a terrorist attack and you’re there? What if there was a bomb, and you’re trapped under rubble, just like what happened in—

The front door opens and Kyle whips his head around to look, holding his breath. He lets out a shaky breath as he watches you shuffle inside, grumbling as you’re holding a closed, but wet red umbrella. “Bloody hell.” Kyle curses as he gets up from the couch, and he begins to approach you. “The fuckin’ rain is terrible,” You begin to ramble, unzipping your rain coat that Kyle bought for you last year. You’re looking down at your soaked pants and shoes, and luckily you’re standing on top of a mat you had half a mind to buy before the rainy season began. “My goddamn pho—”

Kyle wraps his arms around you, ignoring the way the water on your coat soaks into the gray long sleeved shirt he’s wearing. “You’re a fuckin’ arse.” Kyle grumbles loudly, the anxiety finally settling in his gut, his mind no longer shouting at him the warning signs. You huff, your hands trying to pry Kyle’s from your body. “I—Huh? I didn’t do anything, Kyle, you’re getting wet—“ You insist, but Kyle’s grip doesn’t budge. “I don’t give a fuck,” He says, tightening his arms. You sigh, your eyebrows furrowing in worry. “What’s happened?”

Kyle doesn’t respond for a moment; he knows it’s illogical. He knows it’s because he only came home from deployment about two days ago—where the mission was grueling mentally and physically. Kyle knows it’s because he watched a building collapse with the knowledge people were inside, civilians. You’re a civilian, and he’s terrified something will happen to you. He knows his fears are just agitated because he hasn’t calmed down from everything that had happened; so he doesn’t want to share—

You managed to squirm your arms from under his and your hands grab his head, forcing it back and then forward to make him look at you, causing him to blink rapidly. “Hey,” You utter. “What’s wrong?”

Kyle presses his lips together as he reluctantly lets go of you, but he doesn’t ignore the way your hands stay on him, drifting from his head to his shoulder; likely to keep him grounded. “You didn’t answer your phone.” Kyle breathes out, his eyes scanning yours. You blink and his stomach twists a bit at the way you laugh. “Oh, sorry, Kyle. It was raining, and some fucking asshole splashed me.” You respond, fishing your damp phone out of your pocket. “Phone’s dead forever.” His eyes flicker to your phone and he feels so unbelievably stupid. How the fuck did he think of you dying from a bomb before some other mishap with your phone?

Kyle groans and rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands as he curses under his breath, embarrassment flowing through his veins. At least you’re alright, that’s what matters.

[ghouldtime]

Let me pick your brain, if I may. A bit self indulgent but yknow. What if someone breaks in to neighbors home and she calls König.

My first instinct for some reason was to call my boyfriend rather than the police? I don't know why lol. It wasn't anything dramatic, just a guy shimmied my door open whole I was cooking dinner, looked at me said "wrong place" and left. Turns out he was looking for my literal next door neighbor. We live in an apartment building.

I feel like it could go one way, he'd grab a gun and calmly make his way over. Make sure everything is fine then ask why they didn't call the police. If it's like the situation I was in. But what if it was the real deal dangerous situation?

If he were to go in ready to fight then his neighbor might question how he can fight like that or shoot like that( doubt it would get to that point but I'm leaving it up to you). They'd only ever seen fighting like that in the movies. I like to picture him getting a little flustered (kind of like the name situation) and just saying like oh I learned it in fight club or something.

I don't know that he'd immediately call the cops for them, would he immediately go in to protection mode and let instinct take over? What would his instinct be? I definitely don't feel like he'd kick the door down and go guns blazing, i think he'd be too calm and collected for that. Being a colonel he's gotta be good about keeping his head straight and clear, otherwise he wouldn't be here, surely. It's not a terrorist organization he's gotta take down, just a neighborhood thug that got a little lost and confused, so to speak. He'll help them find their way.

Also, picturing your König just absolutely crushing a bad guy in his usual civilian clothing rather than his gear and hood just does something to me. Being like "i am on vacation dammit" (insert the frustrated Ben Afflect cigarette meme here)

Also, petition to change the phrase "that wasn't very cash money of you" and changing it to "that wasn't very KevinKönig of you." Or "Ghoul's König would NEVER-"

💚💚💚💚Hey, anon! Hope you're doing well :D Oh geez, that must've been a bit perplexing and scary in the moment. I'm glad nothing bad happened and that you're safe! But damn that would've given me a heart attack and a half if that happened to me. The closest I had was my brother would invite his friends over without saying anything to me, so some dudes just walk into my house, not even knocking or ringing the bell. And I'm like, well, either they're the worlds worst robbers or they know my brother. This happened MULTIPLE times, I'm not even phased if someone walks in anymore (Word of the somewhat wise, don't be like me. Probably immediately question why someone is there and don't just be like 'sup') It reallllly depends on the severity and what happened. Anything like that is something that does need to be taken seriously! Seeing in the neighbor Au that they live in the suburbs, it's something that's significantly less likely to happen or to be a mistake there. He's a touch paranoid about things like that, and would even take something minor like that as cause for concern.

He's a seasoned private military contractor, he knows very well that people can do things like that or feign innocence to scope out the layout of a house or even to test the door to see if it's locked for a future break in. He's paranoid of that sort of thing even if it doesn't seem like much.

The second ANYTHING of that sort is mentioned to him, he's going to be concerned, even if it's brought up casually. Because not only does that mean you and your house are unsafe, but there may be someone in the area potentially looking around for him. So naturally, he's already going on high alert for himself - and he's increasingly concerned for you too.

Since he knows that if any bad guys or terrorists or enemies alike had any inkling that he was friends with you and you meant something to him, he's going to ramp up security for you because he knows associating with him alone is enough to out you in danger. Seeing what they do, he knows their methods, he knows how they use hostages and people close to others as sickening pawns.

He's going to be installing a security system for you if you don't have one already, he's making sure you're armed and ready to defend, he's offering his own tips on how to stay safe and to prevent home invaders.

Ideally, he would do all of that BEFORE a break in or anything could occur, even though the area is safe. Prevention and protection is better than going into damage control. Truth be told, he'd be ramping up those security measures the moment he got close to you - especially if he knew he would be deployed soon. He sleeps better knowing you're safe.

I'm just assuming either that wouldn't have happened yet or something went wrong - he never keeps his phone on silent, especially during the night in case he's needed. So the second he's getting a call, even if he's half asleep, the ice-cold adrenaline is kicking in. That's all he needs to get up and head on over.

He's grabbing his handgun, he's going to be scoping the perimeter and trying to pinpoint any vehicles or anything out of the ordinary that can be a crucial detail as he makes his way over. If it's minor and a "false alarm", he'll breathe a sigh of relief, but it's still something to be taken seriously. He'd much rather have you call him and it's a nothing than have you afraid to call him in the event of a possible emergency. That stuff is VERY serious and he stresses personal safety like it's his job (technically, it's part of it).

Anyone can go in ready to fight, which is his explanation! Adrenaline is one hell of a hormone. When it takes over, people can do absolutely insane things. At that point, it's protective instinct and survival being on the line. Very unlikely it would end in a shoot out or movie level fight, but his ability to clear rooms effectively and scan the house are uncanny. He'll tell you he's trained in self defense (not a lie) and he would ideally rather you be too. They have classes for it and being able to protect and defend one's self is a valuable skill - it's those things that can save you.

He won't fluster because he IS confident in that part of him and having confidence in those things can help motivate dear reader to protect themselves and can help give them a piece of mind. Plus, he'll be happy to help! He knows it better than many and it's very much worth it to reassure you and to give you that extra level of safety at all times. The world is crazy and so are the people in it, its better to always be prepared! As much as he wants to be there for you all the time, its physically impossible, so helping you help yourself is another way he's trying to make sure you're safe.

He understands why you might not call the police immediately in any sort of break in situation. Police response times can vary vastly and if he's right there, he's trained with a firearm and knows what he's doing - he can be the faster and is your safer bet. Those few minutes can mean the difference between survival and the terrible alternative. Yeah, call him. He'd much rather have that than wait around when he KNOWS he can do something. Not to mention, he'll tell you when you get close you can always call him for things like that.

Hell, if he's around, you can also just call him if you want someone else in the home when there's repairmen dropping by. The world is scary, he's seen the worst of it. Being there and nothing happening is significantly better than assuming nothing will happen and the worst does. It gives him a piece of mind for your safety and his alike if you involve him in those sorts of things.

OKAY ANYWAYS BACK ON TOPIC, IF IT WAS a serious, active invasion. He's calling the cops as he readies himself and scopes things out. Alerting them and having backup or SOMEONE else, someone aware, is vital. Manpower is needed, especially if it's a group. Not to mention, it's for legal reasons too. Courts don't play around and it's something that needs to be documented.

At that point, everything is muscle memory and adrenaline blending together. It's just putting him putting his mind back onto the field. He's trained in urban warfare and while this isn't the same, it's still fighting in a house setting. He's checking out the perimeter, he's trying to figure out how many there are, he's trying to get it all together in his mind as he enters. His goal, at that point, is protecting YOU. No amount of valuables or items are worth your life. Getting YOU out of there or keeping you in a safe place until police are able to get there is what is most important.

He'd rather not engage unless absolutely necessary because of the fact that off the battlefield, shooting someone is VERY very different. He'd rather all parties live and he doesn't want to jeopardize himself unnecessarily and certainly doesn't want to do the same to you. He's not going to try and find them to fight, that's the police's job. He doesn't have a big head and isn't some wannabe try hard who has to prove a point. No, he's focused on living and safety. Ideally, he's getting you out of there ASAP and safely far away.

If they want to put up a fight though, if they so much as try to raise a gun of any type, they're going to be eating bullets. Shoot first, ask questions later, he's not going to negotiate when there's HIS life and YOUR life on the line. He's not taking that chance. Talking things over and having a reasonable conversation went out the window when they decided they valued your things more than their life. It shouldn't get to that but he WILL pull the trigger if needed, no hesitation. Hesitation is what gets you killed.

He'll be in his oversized forest green sweater with teddy bear patches sewn on, with the ugliest flamingo print pj shorts on, but make no mistake, he's as ready to put up a fight as ever and is making it known why he's a colonel. In or out of armor, he earned that title.

Afterwards, when things are actually wrapped up and those guys are apprehended, he'll have you staying over at his house for a while - or a hotel, if you still feel unsafe seeing as you are neighbors. You can stay in his house as long as you'd like, he's got a guest room for a reason. Such an experience can be extremely traumatic and he's there to help you through it as much as he can. You want the TV on when you go to bed? Sure. Want him to stay in the room? He doesn't have anywhere to be in the morning, why wouldn't he?

He's absolutely committed to making sure you're feeling alright. He's not the best with his words but he'll always be a shoulder to cry on and will offer his unwavering support. He'll check your house whenever you feel like going back to it and will personally see to making sure any security measures are tripled and you have the best of the best there. Testing it, quadruple checking, and SHOWING you everything to help quell any fears and worries is just another part of what he'll do to make sure you feel comfortable.

If you need him to attend any therapy sessions with you or just want him around as much as you can, he'll be there and will be as present as possible. He'll always be checking in on you, making sure you're feeling alright, and will be clear you're welcomed at his house anytime and can call or text him whenever. He's honored to be a trusted individual in your life and someone you feel safe with, so much so that you referred to him for help in such a terrible situation. So he'll do what he can to protect that trust and cherish it, trying to make the most out of an awful situation.

[tessa-liam]

Marabelle

Chapter 15 – Part 1 

Life Goes On - 1

Choices – The Royal Romance, AU – (cross-over with Rules of Engagement)  

Series Premise – An American teenager from New York City is introduced to the world of a small European country and its society of royalty, nobility, and commoners. How will her life story be transformed? Will this new adventure bring her happiness...or regret?  

Marabelle Series Masterlist, My Complete Masterlist  

Main Pairing – Crown Prince Liam Rys x F!OC Lady Sophia (Sophie) Taylor  

Other Pairings – Maxwell Beaumont x M!OC Daniel (from NYC), Drake Walker x F!OC Melanie Smithson  

Most characters belong to Choices- Pixelberry Studios  

Series Rating – M*🔞Warnings: this series will have NSFW material, drinking, crude language & innuendo, terrorist/gun violence 

Many thanks to @selina012 for pre-reading. 

Category – Alternate universe/on-going series/angst/fluff/cross-over with Choices Rules of Engagement  

Chapter Summary – It’s graduation night for Maxwell and during the evening, the venue is attacked by the “Sons of Earth”, an anti-monarchist terror group. After being alerted, Liam rushes home to Cordonia from an Italian political summit. 

Music & Title Inspiration: Life Goes On, Ed Sheeran, Luke Combs 

A/N1: Bethany Beaumont, Maxwell’s mother, is originally from the U.S. and is Barthelemy Beaumont’s second wife. Annabelle Beaumont (deceased) is Bertrand’s mother.  

A/N2: ‘Social Season’ in this AU series refers to a traditional period in the spring/summer for royalty and members of the court to take part in Balls, dinner parties and charity events.  

A/N3: Heartfelt thanks to @Selina012 for joining me in writing ideas and with dialogue for this chapter.  

Main Auditorium, University of Cordonia, Capital  

11:15 p.m. 

Sophie's POV 

It's dark now. The air around me is thick and stings the back of my throat. The sound of fireworks rings in my ears. There's an awful taste in my mouth. Something cold and metallic. It's blood. Where it's coming from, though, I'm not sure. The smell of it hits my senses in full and makes me feel woozy, as if I'm drunk. 

At first there are just shrieks of confusion, and the smell of gunpowder in the air. As it settles though, I realize that one of the sharp sounds is a scream. 

Then, out of nowhere, someone runs past. Another joins them, and then more and more people seem to flood the room. They're rushing in from what was, minutes earlier, the exit; and now it feels like a long and twisted nightmare. 

I see the figure of a man, dressed in black standing in front of me, frozen in place, as if there was a weapon pointed at him. "Watch the front", I shout, and dropped down to the floor, pulling Tom and Candy down with me. 

"Sophie---" Before Candy and Tom could react, there was a loud bang and a champagne tower behind us exploded, shattering glass and spraying champagne everywhere.  

Sophie had closed her eyes instinctively, and when she opened them, she saw Candy looking at her gratefully. 

"Thank you, Sophie." Tears welled in her eyes. 

"Don't give up. We'll get out of here." Sophie comforted them and that seemed to cheer herself up, as well. She whispered Liam's name in her mind, as if that would give her more strength. 

Finally, after a difficult trek, and not meeting those men in black again, they came to the emergency exit. Sophie pushed the door open forcefully; a breath of fresh air ...the smell of freedom greeted them. 

"We're out at last!" Candy cried, her tears falling. 

"Quick, get out of here; as far away as you can." Sophie urged them. Around her, other students and guests screamed in panic and stumbled away. Some were covered in blood, others were unable to walk, some supported by peers or carried on their backs. 

They saw the flashing lights and sounds of ambulances and police cars in the distance, and Sophie quickened her pace, almost with all her strength, and led them toward the light. 

Police cars and ambulances roared in as police with security forces moved in quickly to evacuate people while paramedics treated the injured. 

Sophie, Candy and Tom were quickly met by paramedics for aid and assessment. In the ambulance, nurses performed a simple dressing for the cut on Sophie's face and assessed the bruising that was starting to appear. Meanwhile, Candy and Tom lay on stretchers being taken care of by doctors. 

"How are you? Feel all right?" Sophie asked her friend anxiously. 

Candy managed to smile, though her body was still shaking slightly from the shock of the pain. "I'm fine -- just my arm still hurts and I'm a little dizzy." 

"...Tom ... how is Tom?" Sophie watched as Candy struggled to sit up, but she was soon stopped by the nurse who bandaged her. Tom looked pale and clenched his teeth, trying to bear the pain in his shoulder. 

He nodded hard. "I'm okay --Candy ... sweetheart. Just ... I hope my shoulder doesn't get damaged later." 

Sophie gently held the hands of the two friends, with a little comfort and positivity in her heart, "You both will be all right, and soon we will be sent to the hospital." She whispered to them. 

A few moments passed and the doctor's voice came from the front of the ambulance, "Sorry, you need to get off, miss. We have limited space and must give priority to getting more seriously injured people to hospital." 

Sophie nodded, and though she did not want to, she knew it was necessary. She gave her friends a meaningful look and then said firmly, "you must hold on. I'll be waiting for you." 

With that, Sophie is led out by another doctor and watched the ambulance drive away with Candy and Tom. Looking around the parking lot, she noticed that Maxwell and Daniel were nowhere to be found, having been separated from her during the escape. She turned her eyes to the crowd around her and searched, trying to find Maxwell and Daniel among them. 

Her heart was filled with deep anxiety and worry, as she silently prayed that Candy and Tom, and Maxwell and Daniel, would be safe. Other ambulances around her were open, and she saw medical staff treating the injured students and guests in a tense and orderly manner. Many of the students were injured and their bodies and clothing were covered with blood. Some were clutching their wounds while others crouched on the ground, their expressions contorted with pain. Some persevered through gritted teeth, though their faces were pale. Others cried out in pain, their voices filled with fear and despair; several others had lost consciousness and had been carried out by their companions, lying motionless on stretchers, lifeless in the crowd. However, she still could not find Maxwell and Daniel. 

Italian Parliament, Rome

Liam's POV: 

Bastien stood in the lobby with his hands clasped behind his back. He lifted his head when he heard my footsteps, "Your Highness," He nodded politely. After intense all-day meetings, I was looking forward to the dinner invitation at the home of an Italian statesman and his wife. Francesco di Pietro was married to a Cordonian noble; a friend of my late mother. 

"So," Liam began, walking at a quick pace, side-by-side with Bastien, "Did you track her location?" 

"Unfortunately, not, sir. It looks like either she didn't have her phone with her, or she switched it off." 

"Okay." Liam exhaled deeply. His heart fell, wondering why she did not answer his calls and messages. "Well, please keep trying. Let me know immediately when you are successful." 

"Understood, sir." 

As he exited the building, Liam spotted Rashad on the corner, talking with the limo driver and Rashad’s assistant. 

He caught sight of Liam as the staff and the driver bid goodbye. Rashad turned to the crown prince and clapped him on the back as they walked together. 

"Let me say again that it was a job well done, Li. The outcome of your meetings was exactly what we hoped. The Prime Minister himself will present the results in Parliament later this week." 

"Excellent," Liam replied, his mind clearly elsewhere. 

The pair rode together in the limousine, this time on their way to the reception. Rashad relaxed into the soft leather seats. He examined Liam and could sense his distraction. "You look agitated, Li." 

Liam's eyes refocused. He turned towards Rashad and exhaled. "There is something I wish to discuss with you." 

The atmosphere in the vehicle at once turned somber. Rashad's voice was steady. "Alright." 

"I need a financial audit completed of the duchy of Krona." 

Rashad pursed his lips thoughtfully. He reached into his breast pocket and produced a mobile phone. His long fingers rapidly punched numbers, and within seconds he spoke clearly. 

"Good evening. We need a financial audit conducted at the earliest. I will send you the details via e-mail later this evening. This is confidential." 

Liam settled into his seat, as Rashad confirmed an appointment for himself with the inspector general the next morning. As he rang off and returned his phone to his breast pocket, Rashad looked at Liam, "Consider it done ... can I ask if there is something in particular that you are looking for?" 

"Let's just say, I have a hunch."   

Arriving at the residence of Signore and Signorina di Pietro. Bastien opened the limo door and let the men out at the main entrance. The ambassador's residence was a grand marble palazzo surrounded by elegant greenery and flowers in the style of the gardens of Versailles. The Italian marble entrance was brightly lit, showing the rich texture of the red, white and pink-hued material. 

They were ushered inside and offered cocktails, as Francesco and his wife, Isobella, greeted them in the foyer. 

The meal was exquisite; the chef served them an amorous appetizer, risotto ai frutti demare, a seafood risotto, before serving the main course, porcini mushroom filled chicken in a truffle glaze, paired with a delicious wine from the estate’s winery. 

Even though it was exquisite and luxurious, it could not help Liam through his restless state of mind. He listened politely as Francesco’s wife, Isobella, told stories that involved her experiences with his mother and Cordonia. 

Francesco turned and raised a toast. "To Cordonia and our rich future of diplomatic and financial cooperation. May our new alliance continue to blossom, 'come un fiore al sole'." (Like a flower in the sun.) 

Liam responded graciously. "Grazie, and saluti." [thank you, cheers] 

Isobella held out her hand and her daughter, Carmella, placed it in her mother's. Carmella walked with a poised, graceful step towards Liam, her dark hair styled in a braided crown. She had almond-shaped brown eyes that gazed at him demurely. 

As she drew closer, Liam could make out her petite stature, a slim yet feminine figure underneath her blush-toned gown. 

"Buonasera, Vostra Altezza,” [Good evening, Your Highness}, she softly spoke, dropping down into a graceful curtsy. Liam nodded at her in greeting. “Buonasera Carmella, e un piacere incontrarti.” (Good evening, Carmella, it is lovely to meet you). 

Francesco addressed Liam warmly. “Forgive her timidity, Your Highness, she's not yet used to entertaining royalty." 

Liam flashed his charming faux smile and glanced at the beautiful girl before him. "The pleasure is mine." He bowed and nodded. 

Carmella flashed a coy smile and batted her eyes coquettishly. Her flirtations were unsuccessful, though. Liam politely kept his distance and turned his attention back to her parents. Francesco openly showed disappointment with Liam’s response to his daughter, “È adorabile, vero? Liam..”. [She is lovely, no? Liam...] 

"Oh my, have a look," Carmella announced loudly, interrupting her father. A look of horror dawned on her face as she motioned towards a mounted flat screen in the adjacent family room. 

Liam turned his attention to the breaking news to watch the images on the television screen, as reporters recounted in rapid-fire Italian, the events of a shooting incident at the University of Cordonia. Liam's mouth went dry, a sinking feeling in his stomach, as he heard the beating of his heart pounding in his ears.  

"Sparatoria di massa alla laurea dell'Università di Cordonia, numerose vittime." [“Mass shooting at Cordonia University graduation, multiple casualties.”] 

Liam gritted his teeth. The news video is shocking: the chaos, the panicked crowds, the victims.... Anger and grief mangled in his heart, and he felt overwhelming fury at this indiscriminately violent attack. 

He continued to listen, his heart stung by the reporter's words - “according to witnesses, there are student casualties at the scene.” Liam's mind flashed to Sophie's image as he absorbed this information. 

Liam was glued to the screen, looking for any clues that could relate to Sophie. But the reporter did not mention the names of specific victims. Nevertheless, his anxiety and worry had reached the climax. He knew that Sophie was not only someone he loved, but one of the people he cared about most in the world. If something should happen to her ... he dared not think further 

Rashad clapped him on the back gently, whispering "let's go, Li. Come on." 

Liam murmured a rushed farewell and left the room, his face flushed with anxiety. His hands were clenched into fists, his veins bulging revealing his inner struggle and determination. He must return to Sophie as soon as possible to ensure her safety and as Crown Prince he must personally deal with the vicious incident that has shocked the nation. 

Outside the estate, Bastien rushed to the door to meet Liam, who rushed into the limo and commanded calmly and firmly. 

"Prepare the jet." 

Within moments, the black limo was rushing through the streets to the private jet waiting for them at the airport. Liam knows that, as Crown Prince, he must remain unflappable and rational. But at the moment, he is just a man who loves Sophie deeply and cannot contain his deep concern for her welfare. 

 On the way to the airport Liam closes his eyes and contemplates, but his mind is in turmoil. He can't forget the shocking images in the news, the helplessness and despair of the victims. At the same time, every moment he spent with Sophie came back to him; those sweet, happy and romantic memories. He vowed himself that he must bring justice to the victims of the shooting and bring the perpetrators to justice; at the same time, he must find Sophie and protect her from all harm, no matter what the difficulties. 

Within moments, the black limo was rushing through the streets to the private jet waiting for them at the airport. 

Aboard the jet, Liam impatiently paced the floor, his thoughts racing and his heart thudding wildly in his chest. It was not long before Bastien came through the hatch with a folder in his hand. 

"I have the cell tower records for the past 12 hours. Lady Sophia’s mobile last pinged at 8:32 p.m. with no further activity since.  We also pinged it before the attack and after and checked the towers; it has yet to send out another signal" 

 Rashad watched Liam’s face pale. The evidence strongly suggested that Sophie is, as at that moment, missing. 

His heart was beating at the speed of a thousand miles per hour, the hairs on his nape rising, his chest tightened. 

"We just need to trust that they are alright," Rashad insisted as he looked through his tablet, his hands shaking as he stared at the horrific photos that appeared on social media, of the aftermath of the campus violence. He swore under his breath in French, wishing they would provide more updates on the situation. 

He handed Liam his device, nervously watching Liam’s reaction, his heart pounding wildly. 

"One of my informants gave me this footage before we left the statesmen’s home. I think you need to take a look." 

Liam watched the blurry security camera footage as dozens of masked figures, bearing firearms, stood just outside the building that was clearly recognizable as the auditorium where the graduation ceremony took place earlier this evening, as they lined up several of their colleagues the unmistakable emblem displayed, 'The Sons of Earth'. 

After receiving Bastian's firm and urgent phone call, Drake rushed into the airport his eyes quickly scanning Bastien’s solemn face. “Get on the plane, we don't have time,” Bastien ordered curtly and forcefully. 

Drake nodded and stepped quickly into the cabin without question. His eyes at once caught Liam in the front row. Drake walked quickly toward Liam, filled with concern and sympathy. He slowly sat down across from Liam, trying to control his emotions so as not to disturb his friend's heavy mood. 

“Liam, I just heard that Sophie and Maxwell ... This is so sudden, are you okay?” 

Liam looked up at Drake, slightly tired, but then turned firm again. “Not very well, but I have to stay calm. Sophie and Maxwell are in danger. I must find them and make sure they are safe.” 

His tone was tight, but every word betrayed a firm determination. 

Bastien stood to the side silently observing the interaction between the two men. 

“Your highness, we have done everything possible to ensure a smooth flight and the most important thing now is to get to Cordonia as soon as possible to understand the actual situation.” 

His words were short and powerful, adding a touch of confidence to the dreary atmosphere. 

Drake nodded and looked out the window at the receding ground, silently praying for Sophie and Maxwell.  

“We are all here for you, Liam. Sophie and Max are strong, and they will be fine.”  

He tries to comfort Liam with his words, even though he knows what this sudden disaster means. Looking at his best friend, Liam's expression remained unreadable. 

The jet started to move as it began to taxi away from the parking bay. As the plane accelerated down the runway, it soared into the air with a roar, piercing the thick clouds and soaring into the sky. 

Coming soon, part 2.

A/N4: This chapter had a mind of its own🫢, and is long ...so I broke it into 2 parts🫣. It's already written and will post in a few days...

Thanks for reading ❣️

@choicesficwriterscreations

@selina012

📌tags in the comments, please let me know if you want to be added or removed.

[evermoredeluxe]

If there's anything recent events have shown me, it's that a large percent of this fandom doesn't perceive her as an actual human being. From the Vienna thing to demanding Rep TV to be released, she always has to be "doing something" to be enough, and spoiler alert: if everything she's been doing isn't already good enough for them, it's never going to be. I just don't understand the kind of entitlement you'd have to demand an artist to openly speak about a planned terrorist attack while they're still actively on that very tour or begging for a new album literally 4 months after a double drop (which is technically 2 or even 3 albums by regular artist's standard) and a 3.5-hour world tour which she's been going for nearly 2 years.

I also wish more people would give her not only the benefit of the doubt that her silence is out of necessity and not a lack of care (literally so, so stupid?), but also the empathy that she herself was also a victim in this whole thing. Vienna fans, as disappointed as it must've been (and I'm not trying to make light of their pain), get to go home and be safe. She and everyone on the tour have to keep doing their job while still being extremely conscious of the possible threats. It's insane to me that she literally has to spell out that "Your need for acknowledgment and social media activism is not more important than my and my employees along with half a million people's safety".

it’s been like this for a couple years! i remember when the anti-hero mv came out and she literally had to change a scene because fans made her feel that struggles are traumatic for them. and of course i understand triggers, but you can’t demand that a person not talk about their experience for you, and not to mention a lot of it was just a bandwagon. all of this was so ironic because she literally posted a video saying that she doesn’t feel like a real human being.

and just little instances like this make me feel so upset because why are you not able to empathize with a person you supposedly love?

also, your second paragraph hit the nail on the head. i have never once questioned her dedication to fans. people love to treat her like she’s dumb, but more often than not, the reality is that she knows better because she’s the one who sees all the threats and potential dangers, not us. she is the one in-charge and she knows that it comes with immense responsibility. so idk lets trust her.

[mr2swap]

The incident: This man is my son

- Nate What the hell are you doing? -From falling my Briefcase to the ground while The funny creature that was in my new armchair began to bark without moving from its comfortable place in the muscular arms of my little son Nate, the long and smelly feet of my son stank the entire room with the musky odor of the sweat from his feet.

- Isn't it great dad? her name is Zoey, Mom and I rescued her on the way home, and don't worry about taking her for a walk I'm going to start jogging in the mornings before I go to school, and I'll pick up everything I do in the garden and I'm going to…- I made a hand gesture for her to stop and immediately there was silence, with the same hand I rubbed my hundred to try to alleviate the migraine that was beginning to attack me -Just... it's fine just don't put her on the sofa and clean what she does- I continued on my way towards the kitchen while Nate smiled at me with those lips hidden in a beard recently shaved by my wife Naina, in a second Nate wrapped his long arms around the dog and lowered her to the ground.

-And don't put your feet up on the table! - I yelled before entering the kitchen, once again Zoey the new member of the family barked at me and stayed while she and my huge and noisy son stayed in the living room, as soon as I entered the kitchen I almost tripped over one of my son's toys, put away the little red tricycle with a soft kick that my son usually plays with after coming home from the gym, maybe I should buy him a bike before he breaks it with his new weight of 265 pounds and his height of 6.5 feet tall but I should teach him how to drive it first just like I taught him how to shave.

The government psychologist assured me that it was only a matter of time before me to get used to my new son and his new body, but for me, it is still embarrassing to have to explain to the neighbors that the manly, muscular, shirtless white man who is playing basketball in our front yard is actually my little son Nate.

I couldn't do anything but get used to having another "man" at home, the government is trying to reverse the random exchanges but the terrorists altered the gas so that the effects would be indefinite, maybe forever, I went to the stove to prepare a chamomile tea, while I waited for the sound of the kettle to alert me, I tried to remember my life before that stupid accident in the subway.

Before Nate was the huge 6.5 feet tall hairy gorilla sitting in my living room he was an ordinary kid coming home to his grandfather from elementary school, the same way thousands of people inhaled the gas that a group of terrorists had stolen from a Swap Corp truck and when they woke up they found themselves trapped in the body of some stranger next to them!

The incident destroyed many lives and separated many families But Nate doesn't seem upset with his new body I don't think I've ever seen him smile so much now that he's a 33-year-old man, He doesn't have to go to school so while I and his mom are working he spends his mornings at the gym or playing video games but he still visits his old friends from elementary school to beat them at basketball and tell them all about his new life as a white man.

Of course, my father was also affected by the body-swapping gas, and right now he is spending his retirement money on his vacation in South Korea Before he left he said something about connecting with his new culture and his new age.

He was really lucky to end up in the body of “Yoon” a 25-year-old Korean man who was just at the station to take a couple of photos for his Instagram, at first Grandpa was puzzled by his adorable face and body. of a Greek god but now from all the pictures on the beach and in clubs on the other side of the world, it seems that he is having fun with his second chance. I can't say the same for the real Yoon, The term in my father's fat and old African-American body, and is living in a government asylum for people affected by the incident that's another story...

Hey folks! if you like bodyswap stories take a look at my patreon, I have a lot of more stories, and you can help me keep creating more stories!

[solinmoirav]

PtN New Main Story Update in CN Sever

Spoiler alert!!!

Well ppl, the new main story is being heck of a relatable one.

We have:

Real-time election on new president for Discity u can participate

Fem candidate joins the election after the current old man from her party quit

Male candidate getting shot during speech and being investigated for his financial condition and all

Terrorist attack and assassination attempt everywhere

A desperate mother from a place being raided all resources and had all of its children killed

Unexpected new friend

Well, yall see when yall get it. But if any of u want further spoilers, feel free to dm me 😈

[girlactionfigure]

⚫ TERROR x 2 - Real time from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

( VIDEO - IDF clears more Gaza buildings from the Netzer cross-Gaza protection corridor. )

🔪DETAILS ON THE TERROR TRUCK RAMMING IN GLILOT - CINEMA CITY..

.. The terrorist is an Israeli resident of Qalansuwa, an Israeli Arab city in the Central District of Israel.

.. 37 casualties: 1 fatal, 5 severe, 6 moderate, 22 minor and 4 light.

.. Ramming truck driver’s family says: "It was not an attack, he lost control because of a medical problem.”  However, video appears to show the truck stopping and waiting for a bus to arrive and start unloading before ramming (per Rotter).

.. Driver was shot and eliminated by armed civilians.

.. Among the victims at Gillot: elderly pensioners who were on a trip.

🔪TERROR RAMMING ATTEMPT - Hizma.. attempted ramming of soldiers in Samaria, car hit protecting blocks, terrorist exited car and drew a knife... and tried to carry out a stabbing attack.  Shot and eliminated.

▪️DEPORT THEM?  MK Almog Cohen: We will vote on the law to deport families of terrorists in the second and third readings in the Knesset this Wednesday or next Monday.

▪️SIGNIFICANT GPS JAMMING.. continues through much of Israel, including areas not previously affected.  BE SURE to set Alert apps for a specific location.

🔹IRAN’S LEADER SAYS.. Iran's leader Khamenei, in his first reference to the attack: "Israel made a mistake in its calculations”.

🔹SOCIAL MEDIA CRIME IN IRAN.. Iranian Revolutionary Guards: Transferring videos of the Israeli attacks to 'hostile' media puts the suspect at risk of 10 years in prison.

🔹A LEBANON LEADER SAYS.. A senior Christian in Lebanon: ''We are abandoning the idea that the south is threatened by Israel. This is a lie, and I will say something sharp. Israel did not attack Lebanon.”

⭕HEZBOLLAH ROCKET HIT - Tamra, 3 injured, 1 seriously - shrapnel to the chest by a 57 year old woman.  Tamra is an Israel Arab city in the North District of Israel 20 km east of Acre.

⭕ONGOING HEAVY HEZBOLLAH ROCKET FIRE AND BARRAGES.. continue in parts of the north, today heavy fire towards Nahariya and Acre areas, as well as constant fire at border towns.

♦️LEBANON - Fighter jets attacked Friday and killed the terrorist Ahmed Jaafar Maatuk, commander of the Bint Jabal sector of Hezbollah. A day later, fighter jets attacked and killed his replacement in the post.  In addition, in this attack, the head of the artillery of the Bint Jabal sector of Hezbollah was eliminated.

🔸DEAL NEWS.. Sources in Hamas to a Saudi channel: Hamas will offer the mediators in the talks in Doha, Qatar a comprehensive deal to end the war. The proposal includes an Israeli (full) withdrawal and an exchange deal under which the hostages will be released. ( This remains NO CHANGE in terms, full withdrawal including access to the Egypt border to rearm, and access up to the border edge right up agains the Israeli towns they attacked - terms Israel cannot accept. )https://t.me/Israel_Realtime_Updates/6446

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Daniel Greenfield

Some were shocked to learn that Israel’s successful ‘Pagergeddon’ operation had been the work of a female intelligence operative under thirty. But they shouldn’t have been.

Israel’s digital intelligence capabilities rely on the work of young women operating in arenas like Unit 8200 which monitors enemy communications, plants surveillance devices and puts together intel data to form a bigger picture, and Unit 414, the unarmed observers on the front line, many of whose members were killed and a number captured during the Hamas invasion on Oct 7.

Women from 8200 and 414 had sounded early warning alerts about Hamas training drills and movements that went unheard before Oct 7. And Unit 414 had lost 27 of its own on Oct 7.

Unit 8200, which is 55% female, had taken some of the blame for the failures on Oct 7. The assault on Hezbollah provided a unique opportunity for Israel’s women to strike back.

‘Pagergeddon’ went viral on social media but it was only a piece of a bigger puzzle. The Israelis had deconstructed the lessons of Oct 7 and turned them against the Islamic terrorists. Hamas and its Iranian masterminds had wrecked Israeli battlefield communications in the initial attack. Israeli military units were slow to respond, aerial units were unable to strike and hours passed before the military leadership understood the scope of the terrorist assault on the homeland.

The first thing Israel came after were Hezbollah’s communications. ‘Pagergeddon’ was a crucial last step that began with Israel infiltrating Hezbollah’s landlines and then its other communications. When Hezbollah leaders fell back on the pagers and handheld radios, also favored by Hamas, that had been rigged to explode, communications were fatally scrambled.

Hezbollah leaders were forced to begin meeting in person and retreating to bunkers which made it all too easy to take them out. With a broken leadership and communications structure, Hezbollah lacked the ability to decisively move its forces and quickly respond. Within a week, its protectors at the UN and the White House were frantically urging a ‘ceasefire’.

Destroying communications and the chain of command is standard military doctrine, and Israel’s successful implementation of it within such a short time and against one of the world’s largest Islamic terrorist groups will be studied in military academies for generations, but there was also something feminine about breaking apart Hezbollah’s social bonds before a bombing campaign.

While misleading photos and videos of female IDF soldiers carrying rifles circulate on social media, the burden of front line combat is largely handled by men. The killing and capture of unarmed Israeli female observers from Unit 414 remains a deep moral failure. The true role of Israeli women is to act as the invisible heart and soul of the country’s national defense.

When Iron Dome and other interceptor systems take down incoming attacks, the odds are very good that the country’s female air defense controllers are alert and responding. And the extent to which Hezbollah’s communications were penetrated and turned against the terror group owes much to nameless female ‘keyboard warriors’ who exposed the enemy’s weaknesses.

Hezbollah was uniquely vulnerable to these tactics because it was in the awkward stage between terror group and terror state, too big to hide in tunnels, too small to have an effective air defense system, and too dumb to realize that tens of thousands of rockets were still no match for what a first rate air force could do to all its infrastructure and weaponry.

[hungriestofbears]

People protesting Turkey now bc they retaliated against a terrorist attack despite supporting Turkey when it criticized Israel for doing the same thing is so funny to me. Goyishe are so unable to tell apart if politicians are being antizionist or antisemitic (spoiler alert: they're the same thing)

[matan4il]

Update post:

Most of this will be about the unprecedented attack of the Islamist regime of Iran against Israel, but first I have to take a second to mourn a 14 year old boy, who was murdered in a Palestinian attack on Friday. At around 6 in the morning, teenager Binyamin Achimeir led his sheep herd out of the farm he lives in, but a few hours later, the sheep returned to the farm without him. At first, it was feared that he had some accident, or was dehydrated, and thousands of people voluntarily joined the search for him. On Saturday, at around noon, the IDF found his body, with signs of brutal violence on it. Based on the forensic evidence, he was murdered by several Palestinian terrorists, and he fought back. The army is still hunting down the murderers. May Binyamin's memory be a blessing.

Right, back to the Islamist regime of Iran's attack on Israel. I posted about it as soon as the news started being aired here, in case someone didn't know about it. The news broke past the normal time when people watch news on TV in Israel, I noticed it by chance right before I was about to turn in for the night. I'm physically okay, but I didn't get that much sleep, I had to wake up early to take care of some stuff, so I AM very tired, which is why I'm not going to do the usual thing I do, which is to look for English journalistic sources for everything, but I have no doubt even the stuff I won't look up can all be easily found online.

On a personal note, I can tell you that at 1:43 in the morning I heard the first explosion, but no sirens went off. A few more explosions followed, and only then did we hear the sirens. It was scary, for a moment we couldn't tell whether we're hearing explosions of missiles from neighboring areas, or whether something went wrong with the sirens, and we need to hurry into the bomb shelter. It seems like in Jerusalem specifically there was some issue with the sirens, I heard a reporter mention it. Also, the alert app didn't go off, even though it should have, at the latest when the sirens did.

This is what the Temple Mount looked like from an Iranian attack that could have easily destroyed the al-Aqsa mosque (it's not in the frame, but it's right next to where this was filmed):

Quick background: Iran is the biggest financier of anti-Israel terrorism for decades now, including funding Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, all of which have been a part of a continuous attack on Israel since Oct 7 as Iran's proxies. Iran has sent its own military seniors to help and instruct those local terrorists, in places like Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Israel has eliminated them whenever possible, this is not something new. On Apr 1, Israel carried out such a strike, in which it targeted 7 Iranian army seniors in Damascus, Syria's capital. Iran claimed Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in this city, but diplomatic buildings are all publicly listed. Iran has an embassy in Damascus (in a separate location) and no consulates. That's why the magnitude of Iran's response to this has taken Israel by surprise, because the Israeli strike wasn't that out of the ordinary. In fact, the US assassination of Iran's military commander, Qasem Soleimani, back in 2018, was a far graver blow for the Iranian regime, and yet it did not lead to an attack as massive as the one launched against Israel last night.

It is now known that some of the attack waves against Israel were intercepted by other countries, including The US, the UK, France and Jordan. It's been said that there's at least one more Arab country that helped in intercepting Iran's attack, but it can't be publicized. Many countries denounced Iran for attacking Israel.

We don't have numbers regarding the full size of the attack. Out of all the countries who participated in curtailing this attack, we know that the US has intercepted at least 70 suicide drones and 3 cruise missiles, while Israel has intercepted at least 185 suicide drones, 36 cruise missile and 110 ballistic missiles (that last one is the missile type that causes the most damage). Israel's interceptions are said to have been 99% successful, but like I said, no defence system is perfect. A small number of ballistic missiles did land inside Israel. One hit an Israeli air Force base in the south. There's over 30 people who got injured when rushing to the bomb shelter in the middle of the night (elderly people, including Holocaust survivors, have died from such injuries), and over 30 more ended up in hospital due to severe mental health reactions. On top of that, there's a 7 years old Muslim Bedouine girl who was injured by interceptors debris. A friend of her family that I heard being interviewed said the family wanted to go to the communal bomb shelter, but before they even had a chance to make it out of the house, the girl was hit by the debris piercing into their home, and she is suffering from severe head injuries. The hospital is currently fighting for her life.

The estimate of how much it cost Israel to defend its citizens from this one attack last night is 5 BILLION shekels (which is over 1.3 BILLION US dollars). That's for one night.

Israel will respond. According to one reporter I heard, that was decided as soon as it was clear how big the attack is, so this isn't about how much damage Iran caused, it's about how it crossed several red lines. This is the first time Iran itself attacked Israel itself, it's not an attack on an extension of Israel, nor was it done by using proxy terrorists. Israel has had terrorist organizations attacking it continuously since 2001, but this is the first attack from a fellow sovereign country since Iraq (led by tyrant Saddam Hussein) in 1991, so that in itself is crossing a red line. The size of the attack is also considered an escalation on Iran's part. In 2019, Iran launched a smaller scaled suicde drone attack on Saudi Arabia, and the latter's western allies refused to launch a counter attack, which led to these countries being seen as unreliable, and some Middle Eastern countries renewed their ties with Iran. That's why how it would seen in the Middle East if Israel doesn't react to an even bigger attack, and how it might drive more moderate countries to grow closer to Iran, is another consideration in why Israel must respond. Not to mention that launching such a mass attack basically caused a paralysis of the country once the first intel became known. For example, all educational activity (schools, universities, you name it) has been canceled, Israel's air space had to be closed, every single ambulance across the country had to be manned, and so on. That is not something any country can simply shrug off. Not to mention, Israel financially can't afford this reality to become normalized.

Not to mention, Israel tried to contain Hamas, PIJ and Hezbollah's rocket attacks for decades. What we got for it was the invasion and massacre on Oct 7. The lesson for most Israelis is that containing mass attacks on our population only leads to worse ones.

That said, there's also no desire here of getting dragged into a war on another front while we're still in the middle of one in Gaza and with Iran's proxies on several more fronts. So, Israel is looking for a balanced response, one that won't let this mass attack slide, but hopefully doesn't make matters much worse.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Dear anti Zionists

I will try and make this brief and to the point since you often attack me without reading the entirety of my posts :

I’ve seen your recent posts about the trials in Haag, and the mockery you’ve made of the events of October 7th. That’s just disgusting. Freeing Palestine has nothing to do murdering Israeli civilians.

- This war was initiated by Hamas , a terrorist organisation on October 7th.

- You cannot deny that they invaded Israel and then massacred thousands of civilans , raped and mutilated women and children, kidnapped civilians , shot thousands of rockets, destroyed homes ….

There are currently 136 Israeli hostages still held in captivity, for almost 100 days. They’re held in underground tunnels and being withheld medical care and medications. The women are raped and the man tortured.

There are currently also hundreds of thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes due to the war.

-I will say it again: Literally every war or operation in Israel’s history was not initiated by Israel. It is always a matter of retaliation to foreign military invasion or terror attacks .

I’m only 22 and I have personally lived through one intifada, 4 wars and countless military operations.

We are all suffering because of Hamas. Once again- my city is often under attack and people I know are dead. And some of you here have absolute nerve to say that I’m privileged????

-Intifadas aren’t cute civilian uprisings. They’re violent terror attacks against civilians. Children’s Buses blowing up, restaurants blown up, shootings, stabbings, running over people…

read a damn book or something before you chant “Globalise the Intifadas🥹”.

-Have any of you here ever spoken to a Palestinian or an Israeli in your life? Do you even know anyone Jewish?

- Please give me actual example of the apartheid in Israel, I’m waiting. My Druze / Arabic colleagues , friends and I literally frequently joke about this claim.

-No, blockades between the West Bank/Gaza and Israel do not count.

There are ISIS affiliated/ Hamas terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza, territories that are not governed by Israel > there are borders check point. Israel has the right to defend itself against terror.

-by the way, Jordan and Egypt both have those blockades btw- I don’t see any of you attacking them? The hypocrisy…

- While I am not questioning the death and suffering of Palestinians , this has to be said:

The amount of Palestinian casualties during the Hamas-Israel war is estimated by unconfirmed sources , and isn’t corroborated by any neutral official organisation.

It was also proven that most of the casualties are terrorists.

The Gaza ministry of health= Hamas .

Al Jazeera= not credible &has been time and time again proved to be biased and anti-Semitic.

Furthermore, It’s been proven time and time again that Hamas terrorists work at UWNRA, and that Palestinian reporters in both Al Jazeera and western media outlets are in fact Hamas members/ supporters.

One of them literally joined the Al Qasam forces in their attack on October 7th, and was reporting rather enthusiastically on the murder of Israeli civilians. As the massacre continued around them.

You would rather believe terrorists & terrorists sympathisers than Jewish/ Israeli victims’ testimonies and the concrete evidence they provide.

-It seems like you’re ignoring what Gazans are saying in your attempts to “free Palestine”.

If Gazans themselves are saying Hamas are to blame for their terrible living conditions and war , why are you defending Hamas?

Why are you assuming that you know better than the people who are actually living this conflict?

-The IDF has been trying every tactic under the sun to alert civilians from incoming strikes. There are whole unites devoted to texting calling Gazan civilians. They have made millions of calls this war alone.

And yes, even the infamous flyers you joke about are used.

Do you know any other army that does that?

God I am so tired of the misinformation, lies and hatred here. So many of you are showing your true colours- ignorance and antisemitism.