#ajility writes

[ajitated]

Giving Up Ghost Hunting by Ajility

DP one-shot, 1.2k words Written for @faedemon for Phic Phight 2023, Team Ghost!

What do you do when your nemesis makes a really good point about wasting time and how exhausted you are? What do you do when it turns out he's right, and you don't need to be putting yourself through this? Valerie doesn't know, but she'll figure it out.

(Read on ao3, or keep reading below!)

Valerie has three upcoming tests, two papers, and a never-ending list of homework and practice problems to get through. Despite being part-time, she’s been scheduled to work for five of seven days next week — definitely over 20 hours. And there’s been at least one ghost attack every. single. day. 

She’s running on fumes, but at least she’s doing a good job hiding it. 

…or at least. She thought she was doing a good job hiding it. 

“...what did you just say?” she demands through gritted teeth, her ecto-gun aimed and ready. 

Phantom holds his hands up in mock-surrender. “Nothing!” He says automatically, then pauses and sighs, letting his hands drop. His usual taunting demeanor drops with them. “...just. You look tired.”

She looks tired? Ha! What would he know about that? It’s none of his business, and she has a mask on, and-! 

…and she is tired. 

“Well if you’re worried about my beauty sleep, why don’t you start running?” She scoffs. “The quicker we get this over with, the quicker I can work on my paper and go to bed.” 

Phantom just sighs again. “Or you could skip chasing me and go work on your paper now.” 

Valerie growls and gives a warning shot just a few inches to the left of his head. He doesn’t even flinch. “Nice try, ghost. You’re lucky I’m even talking to you right now, I’m not gonna just let you go.” 

“Yes, you will. Because you always do. Because if you ever actually caught me, you’d have to deal with all the ghosts in this town, by yourself.” Phantom says flatly. “You’re barely keeping up right now. You have tests to study for, papers to write, and work. That’s a lot even without the ghost hunting.” 

What? “How do you-” she starts to say, but he cuts her off. 

“I handled the ectopus today. I handled Kitty and Johnny earlier in the week. I dealt with Boxy and there wasn’t even much property damage this time. You got there late every single time because you’re so tired, you’ve started falling asleep in class. Stop being stubborn and wasting both of our time, and take a break before you get yourself hurt. Your paper is due tomorrow, you’re already not getting sleep tonight.”  

He turns and flies off before she’s even finished processing all that… which unfortunately means he’s gone before she can shoot him for it. 

Who does he think he is, telling her off like that? She’s handling everything perfectly fine, thankyou-very-much! She has plenty of time to- to… tomorrow? 

Today is Tuesday, the paper isn’t due until… oh. Oh, no. Today is Thursday. The paper is due tomorrow. 

She lowers her gun and speeds home; she doesn’t have time to figure out where Phantom went tonight or how he knew all that. 

--- 

On the upside, Valerie does get her paper done and manages to turn it in on time… on the downside, Phantom was right: she doesn’t get any sleep. 

It grates on her nerves, but… without him right in front of her, it’s much easier for her to admit he has a point. She is exhausted. She does have too much work to get done. She has been arriving to ghost fights late, and she’s been making stupid mistakes. She’s going to get herself — or someone else — hurt. 

She can’t risk someone else getting hurt. 

…which is also why she can’t just leave the ghost fights to Phantom. He’s a ghost. He clearly doesn’t understand, and isn’t going to protect everyone properly! She can’t trust human lives to a ghost. 

Except… she kind of has been, unintentionally. By showing up late to fights. And no one’s gotten hurt yet. If she’s going to keep being late and keep risking people’s lives… maybe she should take a break. So she can be ready when she’s actually needed. 

Maybe- just for a week? 

Dammit. 

She hates that Phantom has a point. 

---

A week goes by. Then two. 

Valerie doesn’t hunt any ghosts, including Phantom. 

No one gets hurt. 

She gets her papers turned in, passes her tests, catches up on sleep… She feels good. 

Good, but empty. 

Phantom was right, she doesn’t have to exhaust herself chasing ghosts, she doesn’t have to exhaust herself chasing him, and the world keeps turning… Ha. That’s messed up, isn’t it? 

She kind of wishes someone got hurt. Not because she actually wants anyone hurt, of course, but- because it’d prove she’s needed. 

Instead, the exact opposite has been proven: she can put her hoverboard down, leave the ecto-guns hidden away, and Phantom will handle all the ghosts juuuust fine — if anything, things are going better now that she’s not hunting him. She isn’t needed. At all. 

What does she do with that info? 

Now that she doesn’t have a billion normal life things to worry about, now that she’s caught up with school and things have calmed down and she has free time — what does she do? 

Ignore the fact she’s not needed and go back to hunting anyway? 

The few patrols she’s gone on, she hasn’t seen more than a blob. Shooting blobs isn’t any fun, it just makes her feel mean. That’s why she’d been leaving them for Phantom even before this… 

And- she doesn’t think she can go back to just hunting Phantom. As much as she hates him, as much as she wants to… he was right. And he hasn’t let anyone get hurt. It doesn’t matter if she knows he’s awful, as long as he’s keeping people safe and doing just as good a job as she had been. 

But then- what does she do? 

Valerie grits her teeth. She’s not going to start crying in the school library over this. She’s not. 

She’ll find a hobby. Maybe she can start… painting. Or photography. Or something. 

The A-listers are at least neutral towards her again — maybe she can make new friends, now that she has the time and won’t be making excuses to get out of plans because she has to deal with another ghost-bear. 

This line of thought is not helping. She rubs at her eyes and groans, then looks around to make sure no one’s paying attention to her… and spots Danny Fenton hunched over a book, a few tables away. 

She bites her lip. She hasn’t properly talked to Danny in months, he’s one of the people she could potentially try befriending… and he looks exhausted. More than she did a few weeks ago, before she stopped hunting ghosts, which is as worrying as it is impressive. 

She knows he struggles in a lot of classes (everyone knows that) and the portal is in his basement… even if he’s not hunting ghosts, he probably has to deal with them a lot. Honestly, she’s surprised his parents haven’t made him get into ghost hunting yet. 

Maybe- maybe that’s what she can do: help Danny Fenton. It might end up getting her involved with ghosts again— but there’s no guarantee so it’s fine, it doesn’t count. 

Besides, she should pay it forward right? Phantom helped her when she was exhausted, so… she’ll help someone else now. And this could go towards a ‘make new friends’ goal too, so even if she does just end up helping him with studying and school work, it’ll be a success. 

Mind made up, Valerie stands up and makes her way over to Danny’s table. She’s got this, she doesn’t need ghost hunting, she can help friends with school instead.

(ao3)

[ei-w]

up to reclaim the missed (11799 words) by ei_w Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Danny Fenton, Pariah Dark Additional Tags: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Clockwork (referred), Sojourn (referred), Phic Phight (Danny Phantom), Phic Phight: Team Ghost (Danny Phantom), No Beta We Die Like Danny's Wits, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Phic Phight: Team Human (Danny Phantom), Implied/Referenced Stabbing, Shapeshifting, Fright Knight (briefly), Manipulation, Ghost Hybrids, She Has a Point Though..., Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Ghosts Are Dead People If That Was News, Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, Time Travel, Pariah Is A Bitch - If That Was A Surprise, Ghost Cores (Danny Phantom) Series: Part 6 of lost time Summary:

As the new Ghost King, Danny has been put in charge of reforming the former King, Pariah Dark – which, knowing his luck, of course, doesn’t go as planned. (based on Andro's prompt) (and other prompts by every chapter) Chapter 2: Danny surprisingly gets good advice from an unlikely source. (Warvik's prompt) Chapter 3: Danny expected to deal with a lot of problems when he was crowned Ghost King... but dealing with a judgmental Pariah Dark was not one of them. (Ajility's) & Write a fic inspired from any song released in the last six years. (10gig's prompt) Chapter 4: "Clockwork made a mistake. How would the Master of Time react to it and are there consequences for his action? (13thcat's) & “Oops” (Mossy's) & "Pariah Dark has spent time in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep before. Last time, he plotted his revenge. This time... Maybe he should think about things a little differently, now." (ectoblastfromthepast's)

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[dragoknitter]

Catch these fuckin’

Danny Phantom One-Shot Recs

I’m gonna plug my own one-shot in here first, then go in reverse through my history. This list is probably gonna have more fics, so buckle up. There’s (surprisingly) only one crossover, and I’ve also put the GothMoth fics into a section by themselves. Because they’re special.

Coincidentally by Dragoknitter - Miles and Tucker are cousins, and Tucker basically says, “Y’all need a support system, lemme hook you up.”

Is This Just A Thing that Girls Do? by newdog14 - Middle school girls are terrifying, and this is definitely something I might’ve done if given the right motivation.

Pushing Buttons (Until They Break) by ObsidianCreates - Danny’s parents aren’t the best at feelings, and press on way too many sore spots. But! There’s a sequel and they make up for it!

Day Three: Cryptid by JadeNoRyuu - Astraphobic Danny + supernatural thunderstorm + helpful senior student = a fun little story that is just *Pacha 🖐👌Meme*

The Green Gremlin by NikaylaSarae - Some top-notch character building for Dash, although this author mostly writes for Sanders Sides

Parental Woes by DarkNymfa - Very nice premise! Clockwork and Pandora are awesome, but don’t really Get human stuff. Danny is embarrassed.

Of Tweets and Twats by DarkNymfa - Twitter convos discussing Amity Park, featuring people from Amity Park!

Flickering Yellow and Green by dragonrayy - Danny gets hit with something by Technus that messes up his eyes, so he goes to a ghost optometrist.

Grabbing Smoke by thatgirl_youknowtheone - Lovely characterization for Kitty! Also has Jewish Sam!

Growing Pains by ayjayar - Ghost puberty! Ghost puberty! But not for Danny

What Can Be Found by ajility - Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt. Or, in this case, a dream ship in the Ghost Zone.

Facing Facts by ajility - I get the feeling this author just likes writing Danny in denial about his parents’ neglect…

The Things We Hold Dear by Alana_Kitty - Nice little story about Danny fixing Ember’s guitar!

Bang Babies got nothin’ on the Ghost Kid by anthrop - Look. I loved Static Shock as a kid and seeing him completely overwhelmed by Danny’s OP ass is wonderful.

Core by GhostWriterGirl1 - F in the chat for Danny. Boi gets messed up by a solar flare. The author added in the reasoning behind the headcanon too, so that’s neat!

Shots Fired by RedGhost1010 - This is definitely NOT what you should do in the event of a school shooting, but who cares about that when you’re immortal?

Lightning Scars and Listening Ears by GoingDeceased - A little angsty, but hey! Danny finally has some adults on his side!

Electricity by lexosaurus - Danny has PTSD, and peer pressure is a bitch

GothMoth Fics

Spooky Sin Scholar - Danny is a polyglot and teaches classmates to swear in Ghost.

The Fright In Halloween - Danny is a little shit, but what else is new?

Mimicry - Mostly just shitting on radical Christianity’s policy of “unnatural things must be eradicated, we must send them back to Hell where they belong”, at least that’s my takeaway

Fashion Flame War - Uniforms are only convenient for schools, and are a crime against expression of self. Casper High can never do things the easy way, though.

In My Veins Flows Chaos, But I Could Do Without It Being This Obvious - *plops ectoplasm into Danny’s hands* He glows!

Nip Trips Nips - Ah, ghost nip. And implied Val/Ellie! (Ellie is my preferred name for her because Dani and Danny is just so confusing)

Ecto Upgrade Start - Ghost puberty, for Danny this time!

Gala Glamour - Richness and pettiness are a given combination, after all, why shouldn’t Vlad use his ridiculous wealth for the entertainment of teenagers?

Poised To Go Splat - Don’t drink glow sticks, kids. Or let your insane ghost-hunting parents make an anti-ecto fog machine for the school dance.

What Qualifies As A Few Too Many Words? One - Ah, the unfortunate circumstance of a ghost needing Danny’s help, luckily (or unluckily) the ghost doesn’t speak English.

Would You Like Some Bullets With That, Sir? - Vlad is insanely rich. People don’t like him. Failed assassinations are just annoying when you’re immortal.

Phabulous Phashion - Danny should not be allowed to shop for clothes by himself.

Little Nibblers - Accidental ghost edible consumption, and baby fangs.

[ectoberhaunt]

Meet the Mods: Aj

Name: Aj

Pronouns: they/them

Blog: @ajitated

ao3: ajility

Fave DP Character: hmm… probably Clockwork? But the Ancients in general are a lot of fun :3c

Order or Chaos: Both of course, you can’t have one without the other — chaos wouldn’t be chaos without order, and order on its own is monotonous

What is your Phave Prompt this year? Hunger/Harvest!! I’m really excited to see what people do for em 👀

When did you join the Phandom? February 2021, after reading Mortified (^ ^”)

What fanwork are you most proud of? One of the oneshots I did for 2021 phight, What Can be Found. I like how it turned out, it was fun to write, and I still like the concept a lot~ I also really like this ‘blob ghost with mushrooms’ digital art

Do you have a phavorite DP phic trope?  I like stuff that goes into world building and building up the Zone, and I like exploring the Ancients as a concept — but for ‘named’ tropes, I like Ghost King aus!

What are you going as for Halloween?  Y’know, I have no idea. Maybe Poison Ivy? 

Why did you pick your mod role?  I don’t have a front facing role, but I’m helping with stuff behind the scenes! I made the calendars this year, as well as the tracking spreadsheet, which I hope people are finding useful. I’m also tracking stats and participation for the event — as of tonight (Oct 9th), we have 83 participants and 319 prompt fills (Chaos is ahead by 11 prompts 🤫) — and I’ll be keeping an eye out for ways we can improve the event for everyone :3c

[k-a-cook]

Fiction: A Gift of Naming

This story is set in a fantasy universe where everyone has a secret name given from birth, one shared with trusted kin both blood and chosen. This is seen as a way to lessen the risk of magical and eldritch binding by naming. Instead, most people have an additional common or use name used in general day-to-day interaction, a shroudname, which can be given by others or chosen by the bearer. People can change a heartname if consenting kin will gift them, in priestly ceremony, their new chosen name.

Ze looks down at hir muddy boots, mumbling the words. “I want, I need something different. This name isn’t...”

Me.

Names don’t possess inherent gender any more than pronouns, but even in Ajille they’re not free of historical assumption. Hir current name, meant to bind hir to the Sojourner, tastes of sawn wood, hot metal, the ring of hammer against nail, the bitter-salt smell of sweat. Qualities, too, that are no more gendered than any other, but there’s something ineffable and unique in how a name rings in its relationship to that person’s gender. Hirs doesn’t. Not to hir, and isn’t ze the only one able to judge?

Ma didn’t give hir a bad name at birth. Good or bad are boxes into which names shouldn’t fit, a reckoning both irrelevant and simplistic.

It just doesn’t speak to hir of a new life, one of hir now sidestepping gender as relevant to hir shape and sense of personhood. A new name, a new beginning, a new turning in the road. Ze wants a name that sounds like early morning dew, the soft drape of cloth over hir forearms and legs, the green vibrancy of an unfurling leaf. A name that feels like walking under dizzying cathedrals of mountain ash, their straight trunks exuding a strength indifferent to human concerns and fears.

Ze finds the Sojourner closest to hir when a distant canopy dapples the sunlight.

Priest Illa says a soul bears only their name from this world to the next, so shouldn’t it sing to the person that bears it? If one’s parents provide a shirt that tears when tugged over their child’s shoulders, isn’t it cruelty to force the wearing, however well-intended the gift?

Names should be offered in generosity and kindness, taken back without resentment or bitterness. Does love truly lie in the giving if a child cannot return a present that no longer sits comfortably on their skin?

I love you, Ma. It just doesn’t describe me.

Names, in binding child to parent and soul to god, weigh more than shirts. Ze sees no mistake with the metaphor in theory, but sweat slicks the calloused skin of hir palms and fingers, hir nervousness putting a lie to the ease of comparison.

Ma, still in her chair, says nothing.

“I want,” ze blurts into the silence, “something that better matches me, now that I’m not... I...” Ze draws a breath, releases and wipes hir hands on hir skirt, the new one with the lace trim. Ze felt green the first day the soft floral fabric swished over hir knees and shins. Green in the sunshine and shade alike, loose and free. “I’m scared Ze ... the Sojourner, that They won’t find me, if my name isn’t...”

Me.

“Please.”

Ma rests her hands, a contradiction of narrow phalanges and swollen knuckles, on her knees. “My first name belonged to my grandfather. He wasn’t angry that I asked, but he never forgave me that I had Mother change it to something outside the family.” She lowers her velvety voice, echoing a man known only to hir by Ma’s memory. “‘If you’re going to change, have the decency to use another family name!’ I could see the anger in his eyes, every time I corrected him, as if I’d dismissed him.”

Ze stiffens, jerks a nod. An elemental terror has hir look to the closest door. How many people before hir, in asking to change a heartname or pronouns, needed to know the fastest escape from dismissal and denial? Names have a history of gender; that history was once deemed inflexible. Hir teacher spent lessons highlighting the differences, the damages wrought by a binary culture held up as an example of never again, but now ze feels that ze walks in the footsteps of transgender people not quite a hundred years past, their terror still hirs.

Sometimes it’s enough to know of the songs of hate, as though one can never be free of their scars until the lessons are so universal history needn’t serve as a warning.

Sometimes it’s enough to know that in the north, in Astreut and Ihrne, this conversation still can’t take place without rejection.

“Ma...?”

“I’m sorry! I was trying to think how to say it. I understand him a little better, now, but I promised myself that I’d never do that to my child. Never.”

Ze looks up to find Ma’s eyes fixed on hir face.

“You’re not dismissing me. How can it be your fault that I named you before you knew who you were?”

Relief dizzies hir. Ze steps sideways and leans against the kitchen bench, trying to steady hirself.

Ma brushes a strand of grey from her cheek, her fingers stiff and clumsy. Something ephemeral and sad, like regret or memory, flickers through her wavering brown eyes, but her voice rings sure and gentle. “Do you have a name in mind?”

Ze swallows, struggling to find hir voice. “Ash for the heart.” It feels sweet and loud on hir lips, good. Not enough to yet erase all doubt, but enough that ze thinks the name will become, given water and sunlight and room to grow, the right one.

“Ash. And?”

Ze nods, thinking of the pictures ze’s seen in books—the tree relying on another’s strength for its own immensity. One day, ze will see it with hir own eyes, touch it with hir own hands. The name, then, if not hir real one, will shape a promise between hir and the Sojourner. “Fig for the shroud.”

Ma’s lips curl into a laughing grin. “You would!” She stops, nods. “You would, Ash.”

The word sounds loud and stressed, raw like a scab peeled away from the itching skin beneath.

Tears still burn hir eyes.

Ma raises her hands, beckons. “Come here, Figgie. We’ll have Illa tomorrow, and then you can write out all the letters to the family.”

Ze creeps closer to her chair, entwining hir fingers around hers like a banyan around its host tree.

“Do you think Illa will complain overmuch if we walk her and a notary out onto the trails?” Ma’s eyes glint above a wicked smile.

“Yes!” Ze laughs, tracing the deep grooves of Ma’s palm with hir thumbnail. Ma’s ankles, thick and swollen, keep her in the kitchen chair most days, yet she won’t offer up such a gift, the naming made under the canopy, unwillingly. Priest Illa, possessed of unwavering health, dislikes any venture not held inside walls and roof and says as much with frequent enthusiasm. “She will. Thank you. I’ll lead your pony out. And I’ll promise to weed Illa’s garden to make up.”

“You’ll be weeding for months ... Figgie.” Ma squeezes hir hand. “I name you, now and tomorrow before the Sojourner, Ash Fig Walker, so that She will know how to find you.”

Fig sinks down to the tiled floor, resting hir head against Ma’s bony knees.

Ash Fig Walker.

Me.

[ansixilus]

You know how so many words in English are spelled so much weirder than they sound? How there's more exceptions than rules? Largely a result of the French nobility back in English history. Some examples: (and in advance, anything in slashes like /this/ is in IPA, the international phonetic alphabet, which is what you'll see in the pronunciation guide in wiktionary)

Debt (the B is silent?)

Abattoir (the OIR goes WA? Why not just have a WA?)

Abysmal (why a Y instead of an I?)

Words like accent, accept, accelerate (a C that goes K right next to one that goes S? And that's a freaking rule?) alongside accolade, accompany, accord, and accomplish (is "CC goes KS" supposed to be the rule or the exception here?)

Ace (which isn't spelled ÆS, why?) and acid or acerbic (whose A's go AH like /æ/ instead of Æ like /eɪ/ the way that "ace" does, and we're supposed to know that how?) alongside acute and academy (whose C's go K instead of S)

Acquit and acquaint have that C there, but why? There's already a QU, which already goes KW, so why the extra C? To make it go KKW? Nope, just because, since neither language uses /k'k'/ click duplication, ever. I'm not even sure that any natural language does.

Action isn't spelled AKSHUN, why exactly? Or any other word ending in TION?

Adage. There used to be the perfectly serviceable letter Ezh, which went /ʒ/ and looked like ʒ and could have made adage be written adaʒ, or precision be presiʒen, but no. The letter never appeared in French, so the English nobility didn't use it, so scribes and printers didn't use it, so we're left with a word that looks like it should go /ˈæ.dɪg/ but instead goes /ˈæ.dɪdʒ/, and we're just expected to know that.

How about adolescence, science, and words like that? If both C's are already going S, why bother putting an actual S there? If it's supposed to mark the sound, then why use C's?!

How about words like advantageous or gorgeous? That ending there? Why write EOUS when the sound of it is just US? What are the E and O doing beyond taking up space, ink, and time?

Advocacy. [Rubs temples] How about advokasy? Instead of more of this C-which-is-K-right-next-to-C-which-is-S nonsense?

Agate, whose G goes /g/, alongside age and agility, whose G's go /dʒ/, and aggravate, who uses two G's to tell you it only goes... /g/. Because agate can't do that why? Age isn't spelled ÆJ, agile isn't AJIL, or maybe AJIEL? Can anyone give you a reason why? Nope.

Affair, affect, affiliate, affirm, affiance, affinity, affable... afraid? Where's the second F in afraid? Did it get scared away? Or should that be normal, and all the others just have an extra F for no godsdamned reason?

Aileron and air have A's that go /ˈɛə/, but aim goes /eɪm/, and aisle goes frikken /aɪ̯l/? Also, since when do S's go silent? Just for that one word? Dafuq?

Allegation has a G going /g/, but allegiance has one going /dʒ/? Oh, it's marked by the following vowels being IA, which is a rule followed in exactly what insane dimension? And that IA goes UH? Beg pardon? The word isn't spelled ALEJUNS becaaaaause...?

Amateur. Which isn't AMACHUR, because someone made an amateur mistake.

Ampoule isn't AMPYUL, and I don't know why. Back in the Latin, it was ampulla, which went AMPOOLA, which at least followed the rules of the language. In English? What rules.

Muse, and amuse. So, discontent with C stealing its place in language, S had to run off and steal from Z now. At least in Classical Latin the S went S, but the French took this cue from the church, so I suppose this one can be chalked up to the muckery of the Catholics and Christians, but that's an entire other rant that I shouldn't start off on right now.

Also, noir? Which goes NWA? Wut. Whatwhatwhat?

Analyse goes ANALAIZ but analyst goes ANALIST? So the S took the Y along with it to sound reassignment surgery?

Andouille really should just be ANDUÏ. That's all. (By the by, the dots above the I mark a syllable separation, like in naïve. They're called a diaresis, or diaeresis [DAI-A-RE-SIS]. Yes, they're visually identical to the Germanic umlaut found in the word über, but they do a wildly different thing. And an actually useful thing.)

Aplomb, apology, apostle, appear, appeal appal. Come on, one P or two, make up your damn minds.

Applique. If you don't know in advance, that looks like it should go APLEEK. But no. It goes APLIKAY. Wait, what? Vowels in a French word that aren't silent? What witchery is this?

Appreciation deserves special mention for having two things go SH, when neither of them is an actual SH.

Aquatic has a QU going KW, as normal (ish?) for English, but arabesque has its QU just go K. Gods and madmen only know why. And I'm reasonably sure that if the French were gods, they might have won a war or two.

Archery and architect. Not even CH is safe from the French mutation curse.

Why does armoire go ARMWA?

Arable, aroma, are, arid, arraign, array, arrears, arrive, do we need a double R before a vowel or don't we? Also, how is the G in arraign silent?

Artesian and artisan, are, somehow, ARTEEƷEN and ARTISAN. Why? Because French.

Ascertain and ascribe can't make up their mind about what sounds are made by an SC cluster. Askance, however, knows how to be sane.

Attach: ATACH. Attaché: ATASHAY. Someone explain why this was necessary.

I'm only two thirds of the way through A words. Hopefully I've demonstrated the atrocities committed upon English. And English, like an abused child, grew up to become a monster in turn, actively absorbing rules and words from other languages no matter who gets hurt by it. So, yeah. The French fucked up English but good.

the damage freud did to the reputation of psychoanalysis is akin to something but i dont know what yet

[ajitated]

(Originally posted: 21 May 2021)

Summary: Everyone has wings, ghosts included. A ghost's wings are connected directly to their core, and can tell you a lot about the ghost. Pariah isn't very happy with how Clockwork has been treating their own wings.

Written for DannyMay Day 19, Wings!

[ei-w]

up to reclaim the missed (9065 words) by ei_w Chapters: 3/4 Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Danny Fenton, Pariah Dark Additional Tags: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Clockwork (referred), Sojourn (referred), Phic Phight (Danny Phantom), Phic Phight: Team Ghost (Danny Phantom), No Beta We Die Like Danny's Wits, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Phic Phight: Team Human (Danny Phantom), Implied/Referenced Stabbing, Shapeshifting, Fright Knight (briefly), Manipulation, Ghost Hybrids, She Has a Point Though..., Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Ghosts Are Dead People If That Was News, Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, Time Travel, Pariah Is A Bitch - If That Was A Surprise, Ghost Cores (Danny Phantom) Series: Part 6 of lost time Summary:

As the new Ghost King, Danny has been put in charge of reforming the former King, Pariah Dark – which, knowing his luck, of course, doesn’t go as planned. (based on Andro's prompt) (and other prompts by every chapter) Chapter 2: Danny surprisingly gets good advice from an unlikely source. (Warvik's prompt) Chapter 3: Danny expected to deal with a lot of problems when he was crowned Ghost King... but dealing with a judgmental Pariah Dark was not one of them. (Ajility's) & Write a fic inspired from any song released in the last six years. (10gig's prompt)

[alajilautoparts]

mg auto spare parts dealer supplier in dubai

Al Ajil Auto Parts is the go-to destination for all your automotive needs in Sharjah. As a trusted MG auto spare parts dealer and supplier, we pride ourselves on offering a comprehensive selection of top-quality parts and accessories for MG vehicles. Our extensive inventory ensures that you'll find everything you require to keep your MG running smoothly. Whether it's replacement components, performance enhancements, or routine maintenance items, Al Ajil Auto Parts has you covered. With our commitment to customer satisfaction and competitive pricing, we are your one-stop shop for MG auto spare parts in Sharjah. Trust Al Ajil for reliability and excellence in every purchase. For more details you can write to Email : sales@alajilautoparts.com or call on 06 543 2784 or visit here https://www.alajilautoparts.com/

[alajitautoparts]

mg auto spare parts dealer supplier in dubai

Al Ajil Auto Parts is the go-to destination for all your automotive needs in Sharjah. As a trusted MG auto spare parts dealer and supplier, we pride ourselves on offering a comprehensive selection of top-quality parts and accessories for MG vehicles. Our extensive inventory ensures that you'll find everything you require to keep your MG running smoothly. Whether it's replacement components, performance enhancements, or routine maintenance items, Al Ajil Auto Parts has you covered. With our commitment to customer satisfaction and competitive pricing, we are your one-stop shop for MG auto spare parts in Sharjah. Trust Al Ajil for reliability and excellence in every purchase. For more details you can write to Email : sales@alajilautoparts.com or call on 06 543 2784 or visit here https://www.alajilautoparts.com/

[political-affairs]

Lakhdar Brahimi

Lakhdar Brahimi (Algerian pronunciation: [læxdˤɑr bræhiːmi]; Arabic: الأخضر الإبراهيمى‎; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations envoy and advisor, and since August 2012, the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria. He is also a member of The Elders, a group of world leaders working for global peace.[1] Brahimi is a member of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and law. He is also a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world. He is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a governing board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Early life and education

Brahimi was born in 1934 in El Azizia near Tablat, Algeria about 60 km south of Algiers. He was educated in Algeria and in France where he studied law and political science. He joined the campaign for independence in France in 1956, representing the National Liberation Front in South East Asia for five years.[3]

Career

Brahimi was the United Nations special representative for Afghanistan and Iraq. Before his appointment in 2001 by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, he had served the U.N. as special representative to Haiti and to South Africa. Before coming to the U.N., Brahimi, who represented the National Liberation Front in Tunis during Algeria's 1956–1961 independence movement, was an Arab League official (1984–1991) and the Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1991 until 1993. Brahimi was also chair of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, which produced the influential Brahimi Report.

On a visit to Baghdad in April 2004 to help determine how and when Iraqi elections can be held, he said that the recent violence threatens to delay Iraqi national assembly elections—the national assembly is to pick the president and write a constitution.

"The elections scheduled to take place in January 2005 are the most important milestone," Brahimi said. "There is no substitute for the legitimacy that comes from free and fair elections."(Witter, 2004)

Brahimi suggested that the Iraq Interim Governing Council should be dissolved, and that most of its members should not have any role in the new government. Though the council was in fact dissolved early, some of its members will have major roles in the new government. The president, one of the two vice-presidents, and the prime minister are all from the council. Most prominently, his criticism of Ahmed Chalabi has led to Chalabi's claim that Brahimi is an Arab nationalist who should have no role in determining the future of Iraq. At the same time, close allies of Chalabi have been pushing claims that various world leaders and the UN took bribes from Saddam Hussein under the Oil for Food program.

In May 2004, Brahimi was supposed to play a large advisory role in the appointment of candidates, which ended up selecting as Iraq's new interim President and Prime Minister: Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer and Iyad Allawi, respectively. However, Brahimi expressed serious disappointment and frustration about his role. "Bremer is the dictator of Iraq, He has the money. He has the signature. ... I will not say who was my first choice, and who was not my first choice ... I will remind you that the Americans are governing this country." According to a person who spoke with him, "He was very disappointed, very frustrated," al Dulame said. "I asked him why he didn't say that publicly (and) he said, `I am the U.N. envoy to Iraq, how can I admit to failure?'"[4] Brahimi announced his resignation, resulting from "great difficulties and frustration experienced during his assignment in Iraq", at the UN in New York on 12 June.[5] While serving as the United Nations envoy to Iraq, he described Israel's policy towards the Palestinians as "the big poison in the region".[6]

On 5 February, Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon appointed Brahimi to lead a panel investigation on United Nations staff security in the wake of the December 11, 2007 Algiers bombings.[7] He was one of the founders of the French language Journal of Palestine Studies called La revue d'étude palestinienne.

Main article: Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan for Syria

On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing Kofi Annan.[8] [9]

Career history

National Liberation Front Representative to Indonesia: 1956–1961

Ambassador to Egypt, Sudan and the Arab League: 1963–1970

Ambassador to the United Kingdom: 1971–1979

Diplomatic Adviser to the President: 1982–1984

Undersecretary General of the Arab League: 1984–1991

Arab League Special Envoy for Lebanon: 1989–1991

Foreign Minister of Algeria: 5 June 1991 – 3 February 1993

Rapporteur to the Earth Summit: 3 June 1992 – 14 June 1992

United Nations Special Envoy for South Africa: December 1993 – June 1994

United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti: 1994–1996

United Nations Special Envoy for Afghanistan: July 1997 – October 1999

Chairperson of the Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations: 7 March 2000 – 17 August 2000

United Nations Special Envoy for Afghanistan: 3 October 2001 – 31 December 2004

Chairperson of the Bonn Conference: 24 November 2001 – 5 December 2001

Special Adviser and Undersecretary General of the United Nations: 2004–2005

United Nations Special Envoy for Iraq: 1 January 2004 – 12 June 2004

Visiting Professor of the Institute for Advanced Study: 2006–2008

Member of The Elders: 2007–present

Chairperson of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of United Nations Personnel and Premises Worldwide: 5 February 2008 – 9 June 2008

United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy for Syria: 2012–present

From 1996–1997, he also undertook a series of special missions to Zaire, Cameroon, Yemen, Burundi, Angola, Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan and Côte d'Ivoire of behalf of the United Nations.

Distinctions

In 2010, Lakhdar Brahimi was Laureate of the Special Jury Prize for Conflict Prevention [10] awarded by the Fondation Chirac, a foundation which was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac in order to promote world peace.

Personal life

Brahimi is fluent in Arabic, French and English.[3] He is married and has three children.[3] His daughter, Rym Brahimi, who was a CNN correspondent in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq War, is married to Prince Ali of Jordan..[2]

[dazy-den]

I Found it!

  Okay so I was searching for an old story I used to write from when I was around 8 and I found it! If you guys want to make fun of my third grade spelling skills, here ya are!

 chapter 1

                                                          The Super Special Supries

________________________________________________________________________

Anna, her little sister Rosie, and her seven year old broher Blake waved bye to thier dad, who had to leave for buisness . "I miss him already," Anna stated sadly . Rosie had tears in her eyes, but she was only three . "He will be back by dark," their mom calmed them. Blake missed him too, but he did hide it well. "Now Rosie, Blake ran upstares, Anna get ready, Clar will be here soon," thier mom ordered "Yes, Mom" the kids said together and ran to their rooms.

Anna looked at all of her dolls. "You!" she  . Anna grabed Leah and she looked out her bedroom window. She smiled at her BFF Clar . Cookie ,Clar's horse, looked up and whined,  Clar got out of the carrige to calm her. Clar didn't have a car, but Anna liked the horse and carrige much more. Anna ran down stares.                                              

She stoped in the kitchen, opened the fridge she got some carrots for Cookie. "Cookie, hmmmmm I'll get some for the road," Anna thought to herself, so she got some cookies from the pantree and went outside.  She squezed Leah's hand and gave Cookie the best carrot, for a horse, she could find. She hopped into the carrige and popped a cookie in her mouth.Then, the carrige started to roll.                          

Pepper, Clar's active dalmation, hopped into the back. Anna scrached behind her black ears and stroked her spoted back. Clar pulled out a dogtreat and "threw it" into the front she opened her hand and giggled, the treat was still there, Anna smiled. There was silence for a minute, Then the driver or, Clar's dad pulled out his phone and played some music "Let it snow!" streamed thew the air "This is my faveorit song!" Anna and Clar yelled togeher.

There was chit-chat for a long time after the song went off. They talked about what they were going to do when they got to Clar's house and Anna showed Clar Leah's new dress. "I have a S.S.S. for you!" Clar exclamed.   "A what?" Anna asked. "You know  a Super Special supries but I can't  tell you what yet," Clar replied. "Of course you can't then it wouldn't be a supries," Anna said as they pulled into the drive way

As Anna got out of the carrige Clar grabed her arm. "You ready" Clar stated with a smile. "Noooooo!" Anna yelled being pulled towards the stable. When they came to a stop Clar let go. Anna tried to get her arm back in it's socet. "Let me try" Clar said and bounced her arm making a loud noise. "oww"Anna said "sorry" Clar replied "well thank you" Anna said "ok S.S.S" Clar smiled and opened the door.

Anna's face lit up at the shight of 3 little fouls in the stable. Anna wanted to run in but she know it would  scare them."They like you" Clar said from outside "what is her name" Anna said strokeing a cestnut colered female foul with white coming down from the same colered mane to her snoute. " Dixie" Clar replied "And thats Buttercup and Chocolate lets go we don't want to overwhelm them" Clar said  and they left quietly.

they talked as they walked to the house. As Clar opened the door Pepper looked up and bonded out. "Anna stay" Clar said chasing after the active dog. Anna watched Clar chace and chace Pepper in circles. finaly she got a hold on Pepper's coller. and walked her inside. Anna walked in after.      

Clar was breathing threw her moulth "Bad dog" she said out of breath. Twilight, Clar's sweet blueish cat silantly walked up.  Anna nor Clar saw.  "Ok Anna follow me " Clar said . Anna slowly nodded and they ran towrds the landry room. Twilight shoke her head as to say no and ran after them.Twilight got there first, when Clar opend the door Twlight hissed and air scrached.

Clar picked her up and put her outside the room. Anna noticed a box on the floor. Clar walked in and shut the door and said "Look in the box".Anna did as told. Six adorible baby kittens squirmed around the box. two looked like Twilight, blueish gray and fuzzy, two like thier dad, Tiger, smooth yellow and tabby patterned with white paws, and two smooth and gray with white paws and stomach.

"You can hold one" Clar told her. "Thank you" Anna said happily and picked up a blue fuzzball. " That one's a girl" Clar said. Anna put her down "There you go"  Anna sweetley said. " I can keep one" Clar told her "But I don't know which one to pick" "defenitley the mix" Anna ansered "There the cutest of all"

Clar picked the small mix up, and looked all over it."girl, seems ajile, awwww she's so sweet" Clar listed and put her on the ground. "Next kitty" Clar said. Anna picked the next mix up and handed it to Clar. "Girl" Clar listed but the kitten scrached her right after so Clar put her down  "The small one definitley" Clar said.

"What should we call her?" Clar asked "How about, Mittens, because she looks like she has little mittens!" Anna replied "I like it" Clar fineshed "C'mon, I want to see your new room I heared you moved it" Anna said a little excited. Anna opened the door and geuss who ran in ,Twilight, Clar stoped Anna on her way out. " Do you have any idea where your going?" Clar asked. Twilight jumped in the box. "I have an idea but no where is it?" Anna replied.

Clar opened the door to her new room. Anna handed Mittens back to Clar,Clar asked Anna to carry her down to her room before they left."Wow" Anna said as she walked in. The walls where a light pink, they used to be brown and the bed was smaller, but proboly more comfiy.  There was a poster on the wall,  it said, "Clar loves Anna"  with the word BFF all around.

"Honk" a car horn honked in the distence "Clar, Anna" Clar's mom yelled from the kitchen. Both girls knew what was going to happen. They ran down stares.  At the door , Anna waved  goodbye not forever of course and hopped into the car "Bye" Clar said as she waved.

Anna walked into the house, and guess who was on the couch, her dad was back from his bisness trip.  Anna ran to hug him. "I have a gift for you" her dad said and pulled out a heart shaped gold and dimand necklace with a gold string "Thank you " Anna loved the gift.                

Soon it was time for bed, and Anna ran to her room. The necklace was too pretty to take off. Anna climbed into bed and fell asleep almosty instently. The necklace began to glow magic ran throw Anna's vains and finally reached  her heart it was pure,and  full of love, and the magic went in.

                                                            capter 2

                                                            Quick Flicks

___________________________________________________________________________

Anna woke up and felt good and then she rembered, it was the first day of school. Anna craled out of bed, slouched to the closet. then pulled down a zebra print dress with a purple bow on one side and left the closet dress in hand , set the dress on the bed, pulled off her P.J.s and the dress on, and did her hair in a pony tail .

     Anna sliped on her black shoes and walked over to the vanity and grabed a lip bom. Anna walked down stares Blake was watching T.V. ,Rosie was asleep ,and thier mom was in the kitchen  Anna walked over to the bar, where there was a bowl of cereal waiting for her. Anna quickley gulped it down , brushed her teeth, grabed her fabulus backpack, and wakled down to the bus stop.

Anna pulled her butterfly watch out of her backpack, it was 8:20 the bus did not come tell 8:40 . She put the watch on and walked to the park behind her.  Jenna, Anna's friend from school , was on the swings. Anna ran up as quick as ligtning. " How did I do that" Anna started to panik, but she hopped on the swing.

Twinty minutes later the bus pulled into the stop.  Clar had gotten there about five minutes before the bus. Anna, Clar, and Jenna hopped on the bus and sat in the fifth row. Anna missed riding in her mom's car, but they had agreed that when she was in 4th grade she would take the bus.

Clar and Jenna ran to catch up with Anna, on the way inside. Anna wasn,t going as fast as before but faster than usual. As they walked inside they saw a friend from preschool named Loana. that made the day good untell they got their teachers. Anna and Loana got Mrs.White and Clar and Jenna got Ms.Johnson. That had been the first year ever Anna and Clar had different teachers and to make things worse they switch classes for the first time ever!

Anna had become good friends with Loana by the end of the day, but by the time she went home she was glad that she still got to ride the car back with Clar! They had decided to car pool at the begining of kindergarden. On the way home Anna and Cair plaied a game they made up called skip. When they got home Anna told Clar she had some thing to show her. Cliar ran to Anna's room, but Anna walked not wanting to reviel her secret.

Anna had been practicing during the day in privit but she still coulden't control it when she ran. When Anna got into her room Clar asked,"Hey, what took you so long?"  " You were the fastest kid at recess!"

[derechointernacionalpublico]

The Dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo Region

The Dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo Region

Introduction

On 29 March 2018, Guyana filed an Application against Venezuela before the International Court of Justice (‘ICJ’) concerning the two States’ long-standing dispute over the Essequibo region. This Application was filed after the UN Secretary General decided on 30 January 2018 that the dispute between Guyana and Venezuela should be submitted to the Court. The Secretary General’s decision was welcomed in Guyana and received support from Caribbean countries. But it was received with some hostility in Venezuela. A decision by the ICJ could be the final act in a dispute which has, sometimes bitterly, divided the neighbouring countries for over a century. The dispute between the two States includes both procedural and substantive elements.

Procedurally, the parties disagree (and have disagreed for some time) as to whether the ICJ has jurisdiction to hear the dispute. As will be discussed below, the Secretary General’s role in the dispute is based on the provisions of the Geneva Agreement of 1966 between the UK (the colonial power in Guyana at that time) and Venezuela. Under this agreement, in the event that bilateral efforts to solve the dispute fail, the Secretary General is empowered to choose ‘…another of the means stipulated in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations…’. However, questions arise as to whether the Secretary General may submit the dispute to the ICJ in a manner which is binding on both parties. As for the substantive aspect of the dispute, the parties disagree as to the alleged nullity and invalidity of an arbitral award handed down in 1899 which found that the Essequibo region lies on British Guiana’s side of the border with Venezuela.

The resolution of the dispute is of significant economic interest to the parties, as the area is rich in natural resources: the world’s largest untouched oil reserves lay in the east of Venezuela, around the Orinoco river delta, close to the disputed border with Guyana. Natural resources are also present in the (as yet undelimited) coastal waters, and Guyana’s exploratory activities in the area have been protested by the Venezuelan government. In 2015, a Venezuelan Presidential Decree (1787, as amended by Decree 1859) laid claim to Atlantic waters off the Essequibo coast, and Venezuela’s navy has intervened in the disputed area on numerous occasions. The Decree met with protest from Guyana. As is common in these disputes, nationalist sentiment rides high as sovereignty over the area is seen as a matter of national honour and pride, and the rhetoric concerning the dispute has intensified on both sides. Venezuelan officials and civil society (see here and here) have decried the UNSG’s decision to submit the dispute to adjudication by the ICJ as a ‘hostile’ act against Venezuela. In Guyana, where Venezuela’s conduct is often perceived as a form of bullying by its more powerful neighbour, the Government is organising a public awareness campaign, including educating schoolchildren about the controversy.

The dispute has a long and complex history, so in this post we will offer only a brief outline of its historical context and the main issues now in contention between the parties, including the question of the ICJ’s competence to hear and determine the issue.

Background and the Paris Award of 1899

The disputed area between the two States lies roughly between the Orinoco and the Essequibo Rivers. Venezuela lays claim to this territory as successor to the Spanish Empire, from which it declared independence in 1810, on the basis that the Spanish established sovereignty in the late-16th century by discovering, settling and exercising political control over the region. The British, on the other hand, claim to have acquired the territory from the Dutch by a formal cession under the terms of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. According to the British, Dutch subjects had settled in the area in 1616 and continued trading on the Essequibo and other rivers in the vicinity in the following decades. Dutch sovereignty over these settlements was recognized by Spain in 1648 when, as part of the Peace of Westphalia, the Spanish and Dutch signed the Peace of Münster to end the Eighty Years War between them. Under Article 5 of the Peace of Münster, Spain agreed that the Dutch would retain all of the ‘lordships, cities, castles, fortresses, trades and lands in the… West Indies’ under their possession at that time, but the treaty did not specify the boundary dividing their respective possessions in the region. From the 1650s onwards, the Dutch expanded their settlements and trading activities in the area, and the Dutch West India Company controlled the coast between the Essequibo and Orinoco rivers. The British seized the Dutch settlements in 1803, and in 1814 the Dutch formally ceded to them the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice, though, again, the boundaries of these colonies remained undefined. In 1831, the British consolidated these settlements as British Guiana.

In 1840, Britain commissioned a German surveyor, Robert Schomburgk, who had previously explored the area, to delineate the boundaries of British Guiana (the ‘Schomburgk Line’). Venezuela disputed Schomburgk’s line, and in 1850 the parties agreed not to occupy the disputed area. Despite this, in the late 19th century, British citizens settled in the area, prompting renewed protests by the Venezuelan government, which later broke off diplomatic relations and sought assistance from the United States. In 1897, the parties agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration. A tribunal was constituted with two British members, two Americans, and the Russian jurist Fiodor de Martens as president. The tribunal sat in Paris and, during the proceedings, Venezuela was represented by American counsel. The tribunal issued a short, unanimous award in 1899, offering merely a description of the course of the boundary line, without giving any reasons for the decision. The award granted Britain almost 90% of the disputed territory, but assigned to Venezuela a valuable portion at the mouth of the Orinoco river. Under Article XIII of the Treaty of Arbitration, the parties had agreed to consider the result of the arbitration as ‘a full, perfect, and final settlement’ of the issue, and Venezuela did not protest the award after it was delivered. The border was subsequently fixed by the Anglo-Venezuelan Boundary Commission in 1905.

Claims of fraud and the Geneva Agreement

On 8 February 1944, Severo Mallet-Prevost, a junior lawyer in the Venezuelan legal team before the Paris Tribunal, wrote a letter which was posthumously published in the American Journal of International Law in 1949 ((1949) 43 AJIL 523). The letter contained allegations of impropriety by the tribunal, claiming that the award was the result of a secret deal between the president of the tribunal and the British arbitrators. In 1962, Venezuela declared that it would no longer abide by the 1899 Award on the basis that it was null and void. It claimed that the decision had not been based on a fair arbitral process, but was the result of a political deal made behind Venezuela’s back. The claim was communicated in writing to the UK and was also made, publicly, in the UNGA. The two States held talks and in 1966 signed an agreement to resolve the controversy (the ‘Geneva Agreement’). Article I of the Geneva Agreement provided for the establishment of a mixed commission, tasked with seeking ‘satisfactory solutions for the practical arrangement’ of the dispute. Furthermore, pursuant to Article IV, in the event that the mixed commission failed to reach a solution after four years, the parties would be required to select one the means of peaceful dispute settlement in Article 33 of the Charter to resolve the conflict. In accordance with Article VIII of the Agreement, Guyana became a party to the treaty when it gained independence in 1966.

The mixed commission referred to in Article I of the Geneva Agreement was established in 1966 and, after holding 16 sessions, its term expired in 1970 without a resolution to the dispute. In that same year, the parties agreed the Protocol of Port-of-Spain, which suspended the operation of Article IV of the Agreement for 12 years. The Protocol expired at the end of its term in 1982, after Venezuela decided not to renew the agreement.

In 1990, in accordance with Article IV(2) of the Geneva Agreement, the parties sought the Good Offices of the UN Secretary General in an effort to move the dispute forward. In 2016, the UNSG announced that absent significant progress towards a solution of the controversy by the end of 2017, and unless both parties jointly request that he refrain from doing so, he would choose the ICJ as the next means of settlement. As noted, after a series of unsuccessful meetings between the parties, the UNSG announced his decision to submit the dispute to the ICJ in January 2018.

Present dispute

The dispute between the two States includes both substantive and procedural elements.

Substantively, this is not a straightforward territorial dispute. Indeed, the parties disagree as to whether a territorial dispute exists at all. The current issue turns on the meaning and implications of the 1966 Geneva Agreement. Venezuela’s understanding is that the Geneva Agreement constitutes an implicit acknowledgement by the parties that the 1899 Award is invalid, with the result that the dispute between the two countries concerning sovereignty over the Essequibo remains unresolved (see here, here and here). According to Guyana, the Geneva Agreement carries no implications concerning the validity or nullity of the 1899 Award; in its view, the only subject in dispute between the parties is whether the 1899 Award is, as Venezuela asserts, null and void (see here). Indeed, in its Application, Guyana has asked the Court to confirm that the award is valid and binding.

Procedurally, the situation is certainly unlike any other, as noted by our colleague Mike Becker on Twitter. In Corfu Channel the UN Security Council recommended that Albania and the UK refer their dispute to the Court. But in this case, the UNSG seems to have the power to decide which means of dispute settlement to pursue: pursuant to Article IV of the Geneva Agreement, the UNSG ‘shall choose’ the means (absent agreement by the parties). The question is whether as one of those means, the UNSG can choose judicial resolution by the ICJ.

The parties have long disagreed on whether the ICJ has jurisdiction to hear the dispute. The Geneva Agreement does not expressly mention the ICJ as a means of dispute settlement. Rather Article IV(2) states that:

If, within three months of receiving the final report, the Government of Guyana and the Government of Venezuela should not have reached agreement regarding the choice of one of the means of settlement provided in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, they shall refer the decision as to the means of settlement to an appropriate international organ upon which they both agree or, failing agreement on this point, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. If the means so chosen do not lead to a solution of the controversy, the said organ or, as the case may be, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall choose another of the means stipulated in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, and so on until the controversy has been resolved or until all the means of peaceful settlement there contemplated have been exhausted.

Article 33 of the UN Charter does not expressly refer to the ICJ either, but it mentions ‘judicial settlement’ as one of the means for the pacific settlement of disputes. It seems logical to interpret, as the UNSG has done, Article 33 as including judicial settlement by the ICJ, seeing that it is the principal judicial organ of the UN, and that both States are parties to the ICJ Statute. On this interpretation, Article IV of the Geneva Agreement could be read, as Guyana has done in its application to the Court, as a compromissory clause which confers jurisdiction on the ICJ, albeit indirectly.

This interpretation is, however, disputed by Venezuela for four main reasons (which it has raised at different times: see here and here). First, because the decision of the UNSG exceeds its competence as a ‘good officer’ as agreed by the parties. Second, because such an interpretation of Article IV would contravenes the spirit, purpose and object of the Geneva Agreement which is, as stated in its preamble, to amicably resolve the dispute in a manner acceptable to both parties. Third, because a judicial resolution of the dispute would be unacceptable to Venezuela since, in accordance with its longstanding reservations about third-party dispute settlement, it does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Court either generally or for this dispute specifically. Finally, and this is more properly a question of admissibility, because the means of dispute settlement referred to in Article 33 of the UN Charter are successive, with the result that adjudication may not be pursued until attempts to seek a solution by diplomatic negotiation have been exhausted.

It also remains to be seen whether Article IV of the Geneva Agreement grants the Court jurisdiction to hear all of the claims submitted by Guyana, since Guyana has included in its Application, along with the question of the validity of the 1899 Award, claims that Venezuela bears responsibility for the infringement of its territorial sovereignty, its territorial integrity and for the threat or use of force in the disputed area. Guyana’s Application would seem to require the Court to decide these matters on the basis of customary international law, since the Geneva Agreement does not include any of these rules.

What the next practical steps are remains somewhat unclear. In particular, it is uncertain whether under the Geneva Agreement either of the parties can seise the Court unilaterally or whether they need to do so jointly—which raises issues similar to those considered by the Court in Qatar v Bahrain. A joint application was most unlikely, given Venezuela’s vehement and repeated objections to the UNSG’s decision. Guyana’s only option would have been to file the claim unilaterally, which it has now done. As expected, this choice was objected by Venezuela in a diplomatic note of 30 March 2018, in which reiterated its position in respect of the ICJ’s lack of competence to hear the dispute. Venezuela also suggested the resumption of diplomatic negotiations to resolve the dispute and to evaluate whether to continue with the UNSG’s good offices to this end. Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister has since refused Venezuela’s request, stating that Venezuela would have to abide by a decision of the ICJ. Given Venezuela’s distrust of international dispute settlement (it has recently withdrawn from the ICSID convention and the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights), it would be unsurprising if it decided not to appear before the ICJ in the proceedings unilaterally commenced by Guyana—though one would hope that the Government will not choose this course of action.

[via EJIL: Talk!]

https://www.dipublico.org/109365/the-dispute-between-guyana-and-venezuela-over-the-essequibo-region/

[alajilautoparts]

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