#colonel kaplan

[thatbanditqueen]

Based on the comment section between you and @whositmcwhatsit on that ask 👀 what palm springs girl 🫣 and any interviews you mind sharing of him on downers that i can listen to? I’ve never really paid attention I don’t think

This is a 1972 interview where I can REALLY tell his is fucked up....

I found it here and orginally got that link from @lynettethemadscientist's amazing compilation of interviews and film links....

As for the girl... warning the guys say she was 14, but she was actually 18 and @whositmcwhatsit very kindly added a newspaper source in their reblog.... here is the excerpt from Alanna Nash' Elvis and the Memphis Mafia book .... as a side note, anything Alanna Nash wrote or interviews she did should probably be taken w a grain of salt.

MARTY LACKER: That year, ’71, was when the overdoses started. The worst one happened after a show at Tahoe. Sonny told me about it. Elvis saw this girl in the second row, and he was really taken with her. She was a teenager. Real innocent. A nondrinker, nonsmoker. Didn’t even wear makeup. And she was crazy about Elvis Presley. She and her mother would drive to Vegas to see him. And her mother was with her at the Tahoe show.

Elvis waved to her from the stage, and after the show, he told Sonny to bring her backstage. She sent her mother home, and she stayed with Elvis that night and, actually, for quite a bit of his engagement. He’d give her pills so she could keep up his hours.

One night after the show, they went to Palm Springs. Elvis was taking Hycodan, which is a narcotic, analgesic cough syrup. In large doses, that stuff’s dangerous. Elvis and this girl were drinking it out of champagne glasses. They didn’t go to bed until about four A.M., and when they did, they took their Hycodan with them.

By one o’clock the next day, Elvis wasn’t up. Sonny banged on the door. And when Elvis didn’t answer, he went inside. It was like a meat locker in there, Elvis kept the temperature so low. Sonny said Elvis was sprawled across the bed lengthways, and his breathing was real erratic.

Well, Sonny freaked out and went and got Hamburger James. And it took a while, but they eventually got Elvis up, and slapped him back to consciousness. Then he took some Ritalin and came out of it.

The girl was another story. She was in much worse shape. They couldn’t slap her awake, and she barely had a pulse. Sonny said she was dying right there in front of them.

They phoned Dr. Kaplan and he came up there and called an ambulance. He was shocked at how far gone she was, and he warned them that she probably wouldn’t make it. She was already turning blue. Elvis was telling him what to do, you know, “Just give her a shot of Ritalin and shell pop out of it.” I think everybody was pretty disgusted by that. But he used to just hand out Ritalin tablets to all of us in the late sixties. Elvis was just Ritalin nuts. He always thought no matter how bad you got, that’s all you needed. He also thought it was a good way to wake up.

Charlie was there, and he and Sonny followed the ambulance to the hospital. They pumped the girl’s stomach and hooked her up to life support, but Dr. Kaplan was still saying he didn’t think she’d live. But Elvis just waved it off. He said, “I told her not to drink so much of that.” And he went in the bedroom and called Colonel Parker and John O’Grady, I think, and Dick Grob, to make sure the Palm Springs police stayed out of it and that it didn’t hit the papers. And then they came up with this plan that if she did die, Charlie would take the rap. He’d say she was his date, and he’d given her the stuff.

Elvis and the Memphis Mafia

Well, something like seventeen hours later, the girl came to. Charlie and Sonny went to the hospital, and Sonny said when he touched her arm, she came halfway off the bed and started hissing at him like a wild animal. It scared the shit out of him. The doctor said she was suffering from oxygen deprivation to the brain. Elvis paid her hospital bill, and he had Joe get in touch with her mother and offer her some money. But the mother wouldn’t take anything. She said they’d never sue. They didn’t want to hurt his image.

The thing is, Elvis never got in touch with that girl. Didn’t go to the hospital and didn’t call her when she got out.

Later on, Joe ran into her and her mother again in Vegas. They were there for the show, sleeping in their car. He got a room for them at the hotel, and Elvis paid for it. Sonny went to see her, and she told him she didn’t hold Elvis responsible. But Sonny said her whole personality had changed.

Elvis and the Memphis Mafia

LAMAR FIKE: I think this thing with the girl in Palm Springs got really close to Elvis, and the fact that she almost died scared the water out of him. And I think he thought, “Holy shit! I really got off lucky here! So let’s not bring this up anymore. I don’t want to think about it.”

But pretty soon he was back to his old ways. Elvis could pick out a girl in the third row, six chairs over, and say, “She’s going to go down tonight.” And he’d be right.

BILLY SMITH: He had a lot of fear there. At first, it was fear that “God, if she had died!” And then it was, “That dumb bitch! She could have jerked me down right with her and ruined my career!” He totally denied the fact that he was the cause of it.

MARTY LACKER: Elvis was a very selfish person in some regards. He did what he wanted to do, and he didn’t give a shit the way it affected anybody else.

BILLY SMITH: I think to some extent Elvis lost touch with the feelings of other people. He changed from humble to hard. Deep down, Elvis was a good person. He was just a victim of a lot of things that changed him and made him the way he was. He got more depressed in later years. The drugs enhanced the pressures, made them seem a lot worse. But he didn’t deal with them directly. Instead, he chose to take more drugs.

There were a lot of times I hoped he would snap out of it and become the strong individual that I’d seen in the earlier days. When he really wanted to, he could still focus and say, “Hold it. This is the way it’s going to be.” But he did that less in the later years.

pages 517 - 520

I would like to point out that this was 1971!!!!!!!! And all those boys just kept on working for him......

The worst part of reading this for me is that yes, its scary and horrifying, but I also know if I was in active addiction drinking hycodan I could absolutely see myself wanting to share that with a play mate, get them on my level, and not thinking about how my tolerance was accumulated over many years and my own study of pharmacology.... when you are doing that level of drugs you become completely desensitized to what is normal and not normal behavior. I also relate to wanting to use my power to get someone else to take the fall.... Elvis was the first mega rock star in many ways, he didn't have anyone ahead of him whose example he could really follow.... Rudy Vallee? Bing Crosby? Johnny Cash didn't stay sober until 1992.... in many ways, through the shortfalls of his management, his film career, his drug addiction, Elvis was our sacrificial lamb to rock stardom... a Shakespearean tragedy....

The truth is, while I haven't lived that level of success or lifestyle, I can relate to Elvis in every aspect of his being, which is why I forgive him (is it my place, no, but I am one of his fans, so maybe yes?). Is it weird that I want him but also see parts of myself in him???? But also, when I write him in fic, I must confess that he is always an amalgamation of my own fantasies and my character study of him......

Sorry Bri - this got away from me, as it usually does.... here is a happy photo of him from 1977 to remind us it wasn't all dark, from Hawaii where he had luck kicking drugs for short periods of time....

xoxoxo Norah

[redhatmeg]

Maybe it's because I'm only ten minutes into the final episode of season 1, but so far Ceasefire felt more like a finale than Showtime.

I don't know, I think that season finale should have at least couple of subplots of big significance. I don't mean just the conclusion to certain storylines that were going on throughout the season (and M*A*S*H* S1 doesn't have something like that), but also some life-changing events that happen in last episode that may not change anything but force characters to face this possible change.

Ceasefire was perfect for S1 finale, because the titular ceasefire was such a life-changing event. Everybody was happy that the war is over and they will soon go home, but at the same time Hawkeye had to break up with three lovers, Frank and Margaret's love affair had to be cut short because Burns was going back to his wife and Radar was asking everybody to sign his scrapbook and the messages most of them were writing left much to be desired.

Now, in Showtime the only life-changing event seems to be colonel Blake's third baby being born (and maybe doctor Kaplan getting discharged, but he wasn't a remotely prominent character at this point). Other than that we have, like, little snippets of people talking with each other but nothing as major as Henry waiting for news about his wife and unborn child.

Edit:

And the whole subplot with Blake's baby gets resolved within couple of minutes. I thought it will take at least until the end of the episode for him to learn that everything is fine.

[angelo-tiger-woods]

Part 10 - Incoming Text for Liv Tyler (@misslivalittle) and Liam Hemsworth (@liamhemsworth) and Jessica ‘Simply Jess’ Marquez (@iamjessmarquez): “An Idea Worth a Billion Dollars”

Full Information About The Delta Force (1986)

Here are the Wikipedia pages links:

Delta Force (Military Unit) - (click on the blue link)

The Delta Force (1986 Movie) - (click on the blue link)

Key Film Details:

Title: The Delta Force

Release Date: February 14, 1986

Genre: Action, War

Running Time: 125 minutes

Country: United States

Language: English

Director: Menahem Golan

Producers: Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan

Screenwriters: James Bruner, Menahem Golan

Cinematography: David Gurfinkel

Music: Alan Silvestri

Editing: Alain Jakubowicz

Production Company: The Cannon Group

Distributor: Cannon Releasing Corporation

Main Cast:

Chuck Norris – Major Scott McCoy

Lee Marvin – Colonel Nick Alexander

Martin Balsam – Ben Kaplan

Joey Bishop – Harry Goldman

Robert Forster – Abdul Rifi (terrorist leader)

George Kennedy – Father William O’Malley

Shelley Winters – Edie Kaplan

Bo Svenson – Captain Campbell

Hanna Schygulla – Ingrid Harding

Budget and Box Office:

Budget: Estimated $9 million

Box Office Earnings: $35 million worldwide

Intellectual Property (I.P.) Ownership & Licensing for a Reboot

The rights to The Delta Force (1986) are likely owned by MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) or a successor company that acquired The Cannon Group’s assets after its bankruptcy. Cannon’s catalog has passed through multiple hands, including Warner Bros., MGM, and currently Amazon (since Amazon acquired MGM in 2022).

Who to Contact for Licensing the I.P.:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) / Amazon Studios

Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, so the rights likely belong to Amazon Studios’ film licensing division.

You would need to contact Amazon MGM Studios’ licensing and development team for rights negotiations.

Secondary Rights Holders (Warner Bros. Discovery / Other Distributors)

Some Cannon films are co-owned by Warner Bros., so it may require checking distribution rights.

Legal Representation or Film Agents

You may need to hire an entertainment lawyer or an agency specializing in film licensing to negotiate with Amazon MGM Studios.

How to Negotiate a Delta Force Reboot Adapted for the Ukraine War (2025)

A reimagining of The Delta Force in 2025 would involve the following steps:

Step 1: Rights Inquiry & Proposal

Contact Amazon MGM Studios and submit a formal inquiry to license or acquire remake rights.

Propose a modernized adaptation of The Delta Force focusing on special forces operations in Ukraine.

Explain the market demand for military action films based on real-world conflicts.

Step 2: Securing Writers & Producers

Amazon MGM may request script approval before granting rights.

Attach a screenwriter, director, or production company with a track record in military or war films.

Step 3: Structuring the Deal

Options:

Outright Purchase: Acquire full remake rights.

Revenue-Sharing Deal: Amazon MGM remains involved and profits from the reboot.

Licensing Agreement: Limited rights for a reboot with specific conditions.

Step 4: Talent & Casting Approach

Attach a strong lead actor to play the modern-day Scott McCoy (e.g., Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hardy, or a real-life military consultant-turned-actor).

Consider involvement from military veterans or advisors for realism.

Step 5: Studio Partnership or Indie Financing

If Amazon MGM does not want to produce the film, you may partner with another studio (e.g., Lionsgate, Universal, A24, or an independent production company) while still licensing the Delta Force name.

Plot Concept for a Delta Force Reboot in 2025: Ukraine War

Title: Delta Force 2025: Operation Ukraine

Premise: A group of elite U.S. Delta Force operatives is deployed to Ukraine under a covert NATO mission to extract a high-value target from behind enemy lines. The mission goes wrong, forcing them to battle Russian special forces and mercenary groups in a high-stakes survival operation.

Modern Themes:

Cyber warfare

Drone combat

Russian PMC (Private Military Companies) like Wagner Group

Moral dilemmas in modern warfare

Conclusion

If you want to reimagine The Delta Force for 2025 with a Ukraine War setting, Amazon MGM Studios is likely the first point of contact. A strong pitch, proper legal team, and potential studio partners will increase the chances of approval. Would you like help drafting an official licensing request?

Here is the Trailer: THE DELTA FORCE (1986) | Official Trailer | MGM

[finaliseur]

Out of touch was not exactly the phrase he would use. But Thanisson valued his career and his life too much to voice his opinion of someone so frighteningly volatile. ❝ Only if you vouch for me to Colonel Kaplan. ❞

“I suppose so,” Phasma said, laughing a bit. “Ren can be so out of touch sometimes. Come on, let’s get some caf.”

[armitagehuxsleepschedule]

"Can I copy your homework?"

"I'll help you with it!": Mitaka, Thanisson

"Yeah sure": Unamo, Kaplan

"Bold of you to assume I did the homework": Kylo

"Lol nope": Hux, Peavey, Canady

"✓ Read 17 55": Pryde, Phasma

[kylucc]

The First Order

Petty Officer Thannison, Liutenant Mitaka, FN-2199 “Nines”

Captain Phasma, Supreme Leader Snoke, General Hux

FN-2003 “Slip”, Cheif Petty Officer Unamo, Colonel Kaplan

[darthlenaplant]

Ok, I just had the weirdest fucking dream, like WTF

At first I was looking at a green lightsaber broadsword merch, and then a fucking TRAILER (or whatever the flying Sachertorte that was) started: (In German, translation in brackets) So, at first we see part of some sort of board with lines and stars, and some plastic figures, like some sort of chess-like game, someone slaps down a piece and goes like "Ihr Zug, Mitki." ("Your turn, Mitki." For some reason I think that was meant to be Mitaka, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) Then the camera looks up, and we see Hux, in a room full of Star Charts and projections of ships 'n' shit, with people walking in this and that direction. Someone says something, I couldn't quite understand it, I think it was something about "Wie sollen wir den jemals finden? In dem Chaos ist das ja total mühsam hier!" ("How are we ever supposed to find him? In this chaos here that's absolutely tedious!" I think they were referring to some kind of merchant/arms dealer/diplomat/whatever official or otherwise important person) and then Hux goes "Mr. Snoke macht mich noch wahnsinnig." ("Mr. Snoke is going to drive me crazy." Why the fuck "Mr."? WTF @mybrain...) while we see the camer zooming in on and turning around some sort of projected route and exploding ships left and right... My first thought at seeing the little plasitc piece being set down was "Oh mein Gott, wie süß, die benutzen ja echt noch so Plastikteile!" ("Oh my god, so cute, they still use actual plastic pieces!") WTF @mybrain again... I think my brain is trying to compensate for the lack of Hux in The Last Jedi trailer or something... ? ???

[armitage-hux-dameron]

Unfriendly reminder to all First Order Personnel:

It appears there has been some confusion, concerning what constitutes a valid reason to transfer Star Destroyer.

The following list constitutes legitimate reasons:

Transfers to expediate work-related operations approved by one's commanding officer

Special "Away Rotations" for medical staff in training

Marriage to an officer on the vessel one intends to transfer to - In cases of engagement, one must marry their fiancé(e) within 90 days of the transfer, or else they must return to their original assignment at the end of the 90-day period.

Formally approved transfers per recommendation from the Department of Reconditioning and Happy Thoughts - note that this is subject to veto by your commanding officer

The following are NOT legitimate reasons to apply for a transfer:

Dislike for your commanding officer - I can assure you, the new one you'll get on your next ship will be just as terrible as your current one.

Fear of Force ghosts haunting your current vessel

Fear of porg infestations

Fear of being too close to Kylo Ren - Someone has to work on the same ship as him. I am sorry.

Fear of Lt. Croy's Gaya Mix-Tape - We've told him not to play it on the Bridge anymore.

Fear of Colonel Kaplan's long-winded stories about the Galactic Civil War - Free wireless earbuds are available to all personnel for this purpose.

-- General A. Hux-Dameron

@theotaku

[ingek73]

Queen strips Prince Andrew of military roles and royal patronages

Move comes after more than 150 veterans request removal amid US sexual assault civil lawsuit

Ben Quinn

Published: 18:22 Thursday, 13 January 2022

The Queen has removed a range of military affiliations and royal patronages held by Prince Andrew, Buckingham Palace has said. The move, which includes the prince losing the use of “His Royal Highness”, comes after a US judge gave the green light for her second son to face a sexual assault civil lawsuit.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

A royal source said the prince would no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity.

The dramatic move comes hours after more than 150 military veterans wrote to the Queen to ask her to strip Andrew of his honorary military roles amid what they described as their “upset and anger”. The palace had said earlier on Thursday that it had no comment on their open letter.

Writing to her in her capacity as head of state and commander-in-chief of the army, navy and air force, an open letter from former members of each of the services said that it was “untenable” for the Duke of York to retain his position.

“Were this any other senior military officer it is inconceivable that he would still be in post,” they say in the letter, sent the day after a Manhattan judge rejected Prince Andrew’s efforts to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him. The duke denies the allegations against him.

The palace had said previously that the duke’s military appointments were in abeyance after he stepped down from public duties in 2019.

But he still retained the roles, leaving eight British regiments, including the Grenadier Guards, where he had held the title of colonel, in limbo for more than two yearsn.

His other British honorary military titles were: honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth; colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment; colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps; commodore-in-chief of the Fleet Air Arm; royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers; deputy colonel-in-chief of the Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own) and royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The veterans say in their letter, which was partly coordinated by the campaign group Republic: “Officers of the British armed forces must adhere to the very highest standards of probity, honesty and honourable conduct.

“These are standards which Prince Andrew has fallen well short of. It is hard not to see, when senior officers are reportedly describing him as ‘toxic’, that he has brought the services he is associated with into disrepute.

“We are therefore asking that you take immediate steps to strip Prince Andrew of all his military ranks and titles and, if necessary, that he be dishonourably discharged.”

The letter concludes with a pointed and personal request to the Queen, who has long been reported to regard Andrew as her “favourite” son. It states: “We understand that he is your son, but we write to you in your capacity as head of state and as commander-in-chief of the army, navy and air force. These steps could have been taken at any time in the past 11 years. Please do not leave it any longer.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan’s ruling means Andrew will remain embroiled in lengthy – and embarrassing – legal proceedings for the foreseeable future.

[cristobalrios]

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 spoilers

Default Post-S1/Pre-S2 and S2 Verse:

Default on this blog for S2-era stuff is the holos are not merged. Emmet stayed on La Sirena to look after the ship/help Seven out and they gave him additional subroutines to be an Emergency Swiss Army Hologram (or All Purpose Emergency Hologram). To explain any personality differences they might show later to indicate more of a merging of the holos, those subroutines came directly from the others so there might be some residual traits that hitchhiked into his system. The rest of the holos are on the Stargazer with Rios and his Stargazer crew will just have to get used to having holograms who look like their captain on board. It was one of Cris's conditions to returning to Starfleet. And so was Starfleet making an Alonzo Vandermeer Memorial building at Starfleet Academy or Starfleet HQ and restoring the Ibn Majid to the records, filling people in on the truth of that who were on the Ibn Majid, and somehow doing something for Vandermeer's remaining family.

Hugh is not dead. Zhaban is not dead. I don't know about the Picard/Laris thing, if Zhaban is not dead it's possible it's just Picard/Laris/Zhaban established three-person Romulan marriage as mentioned in Chabon's Romulan Culture notes that they don't seem to be actually using on the show, or there is nothing going on with Picard/Laris.

If and when Cris and the other holos return to La Sirena, they keep the ESAH settings available but detach them from Emmet. Instead, they add some basic tactical subroutines to it and leave it available in the system for any holo to reach in case one holo goes down and they need a back up, or for some reason they need two holograms to fulfill a specific role. Kind of like Doc's ability to switch between EMH and ECH. I suspect whenever Cris officially retires from Starfleet (again?) he and Seven will have to Work Things Out about who gets Sirena. Seven seems to think she's her ship, whereas Cris said to "look after her" (does this mean she's borrowing her or did he actually give her to her? Could Be Up For Debate).

Alternate Timeline Headcanons:

Kaplan Squadron: Alt!Rios really liked the design of the Kaplan F17 Speed Freighters so he took a bunch of old Kaplans and had his team convert them all into real fighting ships aka "Kaplan F17 Patrol Frigates." Hence, squadron of former-freighters-turned-mini-warships.

Alt!Holos: Either Emmet is completely covered in tattoos or he has no tattoos just for the contrast. Enoch would still be Cheery but he would be Cheery while Bashing Your Head In or something. Ian has made all kinds of cool weaponry for Emmet and Cris. Emil is an Expert in poisons, knows every species' weaknesses and how to use it against them. Alt!Steward is the most sadistic of them all do not mess with Alt!Steward.

The Confederation!Holos Were on Vulcan: What if the holo squad are Confederation Company Delta Seven who have the trigger to the Metreon Cascade they need to defeat the Vulcan enemy that the Vulcans have in the northern foothills of Mount something (I cannot make out the name there, it's cut off but it definitely has "ana" at the end).

AU - Possibility of the Confederation!Holos being human for no reason other than Someone needs to be sleeping in those apparent bunkbeds in the bunk and locker room area on CSS La Sirena. Also, precedence for this weirdness: Vic Fontaine in the Mirror Universe is Terran, not a hologram. I know, this isn't the Mirror Universe, and the Mirror Universe is an actual parallel reality instead of a divergent timeline of the Prime Universe, so there's a little more justification for this weirdness in the Mirror Universe than there is for the Confederation Timeline. Still, that's why "AU" is there. It's possible that they are holograms and that they just like to have beds (Emmet likes to sleep)? Or something makes holograms in this timeline require sleep in this timeline? I don't know, but Colonel Rios's squadron all have their own Kaplan F17 Patrol Frigates so it'd be weird for it to be their stuff, unless the ships are specific for this mission or new. If the Confederation!Holo Squad were the ones with their stuff in that room, that means one or more or all of them were fighting Borg before this (the Borg skull patch Seven tears off of that jacket).

Merged!Holos

Multiple Personalities Verse: When Seven merged the holos, Emmet continues to hear the others in his head. Eventually it develops into being able to see them, and they at some point they might even be able to have control of the body. Think, like, the Trill thing with the Rite of Emergence and their Zhian'tara (except within the same body instead of put into someone else's body).

Canon-Compliant Verse: I will do things with Merged Holos!Emmet, and if someone really wants the Merged Holos!Emmet without the quirks of having the others in his head, I can do just Emmet who occasionally goes into other holo modes without actually being them, as seen on the show.

@freckledliberty Lorios/Holorian Verse:

Post S1/Pre S2 to S2 Prime Timeline: As Angel said, In the verse with Lorian, Lorian is chief tactical officer, and Urtern is Lorian's second in command for Tactical/Security. Moshe is still XO, since Lorian preferred being head of Tactical and he was only XO on La Sirena because there was no one else. The crew not only has to get used to the holograms, but used to Lorian being married to the captain and the holograms. Emmet goes on holo-dates with them regularly and talks to them every day when possible. Cris and Agnes never dated since he was already married to Lorian and it's a closed poly relationship with Lorian married to Cris and the holos, no one else has or will have any other partner. As Angel discussed with @agnespjurati, Agnes instead dated Ezri Dax during this time.

Alternate Timeline: In the Alternate Timeline, Lorian was a prisoner/slave on Colonel Rios's ship from the Vulcan Wars. I think we decided we're not bringing any Alt!Holos into this unless they do (I doubt they will but we'll see next episode, probably).

@tongowheel Verse:

Post S1/Pre S2 to S2 Prime Timeline: In the verse with Eros's Enoch, it is only Emil, Ian and Steward who joined Cris on the Stargazer. Enoch joined Starfleet academy, and he's just slightly ahead of Elnor (@boundswordasqalankhkai ).

Elnor has also made friends with Scorpi, the first Cardassian to attend Starfleet Academy, and Scorpi is assigned to the Excelsior with Elnor and Raffi when they do their field studies. Enoch is of course assigned to the Stargazer.

Also, Zack, who used to work with Cris on the Ibn Majid but also retired from Starfleet afterwards has also returned to Starfleet and is now on the Stargazer with Cris (Zack knew a little, but not the full story, not even Cris's version of the full story, of the tragedy that caused the ship's decommissioning and subsequent erasure until after Picard S1 ended, when Cris tracked Zack down and told him the full story once he actually knew it; they then tracked down Jana and Beautiful Flower's bodies, after floating in space for ten years, and returned them to Coppelius -- at least, that was the plan, we didn't actually get that far in the thread but I'm assuming they were successful).

Basically the only people Cris still has contact with from his old Starfleet days (or got back in contact with, more accurately), is Nog and Zack.

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 12

Warning, if it hasn’t been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

Originally posted on my Ao3 Crystallclover (If you can’t find it here)

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7a | 7b | 8 | 9a | 9b | 10 | 11

Let me know what you think in the comments or my ask box.

Chapter 12: An Awkward Goodnight

You arrived back at your chambers, once inside Kylo removed his helmet and set it on the ashes. He no longer had your arm in his. This disappointed you—the lack of contact. He headed up the stairs to the bedroom and you followed.

He stood at the end of his bed awkwardly. You headed to your room, the door opened and you saw something in the room that wasn’t there earlier. A large bouquet of your favorite flowers was on the side table. You gasped turning toward Kylo, “Thank you. They are beautiful.”

You saw Kylo smile quickly before turning his head away from you. “You’re welcome. Goodnight.” You could see him trying to control his breathing. Taking deep breaths and seemed tense in his shoulders.

You shut the door to your room. Now alone for the first time all day you let out a breath that you didn’t know you were holding. You gathered your thoughts for a moment. Before thinking too much you moved to your bag and got ready for bed. You grabbed the pajamas and headed to the bathroom. It looked relatively normal to you with a vanity sink, a toilet, a large bathtub and a separate glass shower.

Finishing preparing for bed you headed over to the bed. You quickly unpacked and moved things into the closet, knowing you wouldn’t be able to sleep if things were out of place. When finished you moved to get into bed, you messed with the panel off to the side of the bed until the lights turned off.

You hoped that this day wasn’t just a dream. A lot happened and you were trying to remember it all, just in case, it was a dream. You moved to lay on your side and just stared at the flowers until you fell asleep.

The next morning you woke up with the slowly brightening lights of your room, squinting you wondered what time it was because you realized you forgot to set an alarm. You jumped out of bed looking for your phone. You found it, saw it was at 10% and that it was 9:00 am. This was the latest you had slept in since starting your full-time job. You weren’t able to plug in your phone as there were no plugins and you weren’t getting any service anyways so it did not bother you.

You got up and got dressed, a sweater and a pair of jeans, the ship was cold so you felt it was justified. You made the bed and left the room. You noticed Kylo wasn’t in his room and made your way to the kitchen but before you could do that there was a junior officer in the main living space.

“Oh, hello! Are you looking for the Supreme Leader,” you asked the short brunette man.

“Oh no, I’m sorry my lady. The Supreme Leader has informed me that I am to be at your service today,” said the man nervously.

“Ok, and your name is,” you asked.

He flinched at this, knowing he was probably supposed to introduce himself, to begin with.

“I’m sorry my lady, my name is Lieutenant Dopheld Mitaka,” he replied tightly gripping his hat in his hands.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I just woke up and have yet to have breakfast, have you eaten yet,” you ask.

The lieutenant seemed surprised by your question, “Yes ma’am I have, would you like me to help you order something?”

“That would be lovely, thank you,” you could tell that he was prepared to meet a different type of person than you. At first, he seemed scared but now he seemed to relax a little bit. He pulled out a small data pad from his pocket.

“Is there anything in particular that you would like to eat,” he asked.

“What do you have that is similar to Earth food?”

At this question, he seemed to frown not knowing what you were asking exactly. “Do you have pancakes,” you ask.

“Yes! Would you like some,” he asked unsure.

“Yes, with maple syrup if there is any and more importantly is there coffee?”

“Yes, ma’am I will order some right away is there anything else you need ma’am?”

“Not at this moment. Thank you, Lieutenant.” With that, he punched in your order on the data pad and you walked over to the dining table. You invited him to sit. “The Supreme Leader said I may return to earth today if I want. How would I go about doing that?”

“Yes ma’am, the Supreme Leader has requested that you be guarded by General Pryde and Commander Pyre with a squad of stormtroopers. Of course, I am to be at your service.”

You were surprised at the amount of protection that Kylo seemed to deem necessary. But you just nodded at the lieutenant. The door to the mailroom opened and the same droid from last night appeared with your food. You thanked it before it left and it beeped at you in response.

“Do you have access to the Supreme Leader’s schedule,” you asked the lieutenant.

“Yes, ma’am. He is in meetings most of the day, but he had set aside sometime in the late afternoon for you. He told me that it would be your decision as to what you wanted to do with that time.”

You wondered if there would be enough time for him to meet Carter and Hayden. But you thought better of it for now. Not knowing how he would react to meeting them. Plus it sounded like you would be near Earth for a while since things were behind schedule. You finished eating.

“I think I would like to return to Earth. Could you let the Supreme Leader know, and ask him if there is anything he would like me to do while I am there?”

The lieutenant nodded and sent a message through the data pad. “The general is currently on the bridge, would you like me to message him that you would like to leave or would you like to go directly to him?”

“Go to him I think. Last night the Supreme Leader gave meh a tour but I wasn’t able to really figure out the hallways.”

And with that, you both were off down the winding corridors of the ship making your way to the bridge. Just like yesterday officers ducked off to the side for you and stood at attention until you passed. You and the lieutenant came to the bridge, once again silence fell over the officers. You could tell this made the lieutenant a bit anxious, but General Pryde made his way over to you.

“My lady, I am guessing you have made the decision to return to the surface,” said the general.

“Yes, I was told that I need your escort.”

“Colonel Kaplan, you have command of the Bridge until General Quinn gets here during the Beta shift,” said the general to an older looking officer. He nodded to the general.

You all left the bridge and went to the hangar. There you saw a small group of stormtroopers and one that was decked out in gold armor. He addressed you, “Ma’am, General, we are ready to descend to the surface. The Supreme Leader sent back his command shuttle for you to use my lady.”

Once again Kylo surprised you, and apparently the general and lieutenant who seemed a bit shocked that the Supreme Leader sent back his personal command shuttle for you. You just followed the commander and boarded the ship.

You all sat and buckled in with the lieutenant on your right and the general on your left.

“The Supreme Leader answered your question, he would like you to stop at the White House as he would like to see you,” said Lieutenant Mitaka.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” you responded and settling back into your chair bracing yourself for the flight. Part of you was giddy that Kylo requested to see you even though you knew his day was filled with meetings.

The shuttle landed right outside the White House and you disembarked the craft. Crossing the lawn you could see Kylo’s tall frame coming towards the ramp. You could see the officers and troopers around you pause slightly as they prepared to greet the Supreme Leader.

Kylo reached you and took your hand, quickly paused and acknowledged the officers and lead you into the White House. He took you into the same sitting room you were in the day before. The junior officer in the room quickly left and shut the door behind them. Kylo then removed his mask and turned to you.

“How was your morning? How did you sleep,” he asked earnestly still holding your hand.

“Surprisingly I slept well. I had a good morning so far, haven’t done anything other than have breakfast and see you,” you responded.

Kylo seemed slightly bashful at your answer. He let go of your hand for a moment, to remove his glove to hold it again. This time with skin on skin contact. His hand was large and warm, you could feel calluses and scars. The back of his hand was soft and his thumb slowly messaged your knuckles.

He was mesmerized for a moment before clearing his throat to say, “You asked if there is anything that I would like you to do. All I want is for you to be comfortable and happy.”

This made you smile, you stepped closer to him saying, “I am happy, I just want to know if there is anything I can do to help you with the First Order? I just hate thinking your busy while I just sit around doing nothing.”

You swore you could see the wheels turning in his brain, “Why don’t you sit in on the next few meetings with me? They may be boring to you, but you understand this planet better than anyone in the First Order, you may be able to offer some insight.”

“Ok,” you said smiling at your little victory, being able to spend some more time with him even though you would be in a room filled with other people talking about other things. You just wanted to be near him—to know him.

He let go of your hand to put his glove and helmet back on. He took your arm this time and lead you out of the room and down the hall to a conference room full of different world leaders. Maybe this isn’t what you thought it was going to be.

[kayla1993-world]

Prince Andrew has been stripped of his military titles and royal patronages by the Queen after a US judge ruled his trial for sex offences could go ahead. The Palace stated in a statement: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.” According to ITV News, the 95-year-old Queen told Andrew in person on Thursday he would be stripped of his titles.

The move by the palace comes ahead of the hugely embarrassing proposition of Andrew facing a civil trial over the sex assault allegations from Virginia Giuffre, which he denies. On Thursday, a source close to the duke said he would “continue to defend himself” against Ms. Giuffre’s allegations.

Giuffre claims she was trafficked to have sex with the Queen’s second son when she was 17 and a minor under US law. A judge ruled on Wednesday the case could go ahead. The Duke of York will no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity, something he has used since birth, and represents the duke’s complete removal from official royal life permanently.

A royal source told the PA News Agency the issue had been widely discussed with the royal family, making it likely that the Prince of Wales, as well as Andrew, was involved in crisis talks over the matter. The source said the military posts would be redistributed to other members of the royal family, meaning Andrew’s removal from public life is a permanent one.

Reacting to the news the Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood MP, welcomed the news, telling the BBC's Newscast podcast. "Prince Andrew already had stepped back from many of his public duties—I think all of them, as well—so I think this was anticipated, indeed it was expected, from this perspective, so I'm not surprised."

The move to remove his titles comes after calls from veterans to strip him of his honorary military roles. In an open letter to the Queen, more than 150 former members of the Royal Navy, RAF and British Army described their “upset and anger” at Andrew retaining the titles, saying his position was “untenable”.

The letter said: “Please do not leave it any longer.” A former commanding officer of one of Andrew's former regiments made similar calls last week. Colonel Tim Collins, an Iraq War veteran, said at the time Andrew should "jump before he is pushed".

He said the publicity around the Giuffre lawsuits was "embarrassing" for everyone. The Queen is head of the armed forces, and honorary military appointments are in her gift. The duke had held the title of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, one of the oldest and most emblematic regiments in the British Army.

His other British honorary military titles were: Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Lossiemouth; Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment; Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps; Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm; Royal Colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers; Deputy Colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth’s’ Own); and Royal Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

On Wednesday, Judge Lewis A Kaplan dismissed a motion by the duke’s lawyers professionals to have the civil case thrown, out after they argued Giuffre had waived her right to pursue Andrew by signing a confidential settlement with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

A source close to the duke said he was unsurprised by the judge's ruling: “Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling. “However, it was not a judgement on the merits of Ms. Giuffre’s allegations. This is a marathon, not a sprint and the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.”

Andrew remains in the line of succession to the throne and as such is still a Counsellor of State. If the Queen cannot undertake her official duties as sovereign temporarily due to illness or absence abroad, two or greater Counsellors of State are appointed by Letters Patent to act in her place.

The role of Counsellor of State is undertaken by any spouse of the monarch and the next four adults in the line of succession, currently the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of York.

[kiss-my-freckle]

Rederina Rewatch: Vanessa Cruz

"Our ghost has a face." 

                   “Our ghost has a name.”

I decided to skip over to 2x18 in my Rederina rewatch because Vanessa’s hire somehow makes sense to me now. This post will include dialogues from other episodes, as well as dialogues that pertain to my memory wipe theory - since I believe Red’s shooting was the “truth” Krilov took from Liz two years ago. 

2x17.

It’s important I start here, since 2x18 runs fluid. 

I don’t know if this is my birthday.

This is her birthday. Red celebrates and mourns at the same time. 

How’d you find me? If I can, they can. They flagged you leaving Dresden. Your passports are burned.

Tom burns the passports that are burned. Ressler put a flag on all of Tom’s aliases earlier in the episode, but Major was talking about the Germans. 

Reminiscent of Red burning his burned identities during his war against Kate. 

And those are the charred remains of 16 false identities that Kate has somehow compromised.

Ressler put a flag on all of Tom’s aliases -

You know, not everyone’s so anxious to leave. Put a flag on Tom, all his known aliases - he hasn’t left.

His deleted scene after their Wing Yee dinner -

Looks like Tom’s in a little bit of trouble and he’s gonna bring that trouble to you, so ... be careful. 

Reminiscent of Red’s scene in 5x8 -

I believe Tom Keen is once again entangled in some nasty business, and I worry he may be involving Elizabeth.

Tom hits her doorstep. He wants his passports from evidence.

2x18.

I couldn’t come up with a theory as to why Red hired Vanessa Cruz. Her skill-set is framing people, which Red is more than capable of doing since he’s the one who created Edgar Legate. Rederina changes the view and offers a purpose. 

Red after looking through Liz’s birthday photos. Tom after burning his burned passports. 

Turning myself in to save you saved me. And not because the Judge let me go. I’ve been running since I was 14. It’s all I’ve known. And in that moment when the Judge let me go, I thought, “maybe there’s a world where I don’t have to run, where I could just - ”

Our Red has been running for 30 years. 

Red: I understand what it’s like to be drawn to something that is unhealthy to a part of yourself that you are afraid of. But I want you to remember what your life really was with him, and imagine all that it could be without him. Liz: I don’t have to imagine. Red: Good. Because I have a case.

Red is close to tears in this scene and desperate to get his hooks into Vanessa Cruz. Putting Red’s words into context since that’s his entire reason for handing Liz this case - hiring Vanessa Cruz. 

Remove the replies, and this is what it looks like:

I want you to remember what your life really was with him, and imagine all that it could be without him. Because I plan to hire Vanessa Cruz. 

This is coming straight from him looking over her birthday photos. 

Vanessa Cruz and Katarina Rostova. 

Two women with many names.  Vanessa's relationship to Abby sells it even more. 

Vanessa’s husband was framed -

Thrown off a bridge to keep him from blowing the whistle. That’s when you framed him, which is why she framed you.

Ressler: Why would I feel bad for them? They’re criminals. Liz: According to Reddington, they’re innocent - Framed after months, sometimes years of planning by a woman with a deep-seated hatred for the 1%. She doesn’t just take their money, she takes their reputations, their freedom, sometimes their lives.

Ressler: Drew Roberts. He was one of Cruz’s victims. He worked at Oakside Investments. Aram: And? Ressler: That was the firm that employed Cruz’s dead husband. Aram, I might have an idea what this is all about.

Ressler: It’s not about money. It’s about revenge.

Onto Red, from 1x9 -

Ressler: So, what’s it all about then, the Blacklist? Revenge? Red: Oh, revenge is too easy and over so quickly. I would hope for more than that. 

Our Red was framed himself, from 5x20 - 

Similar to Cruz’s husband planning to blow the whistle, our Red planned to take down the Cabal. 

Jennifer: So, you’re saying you were framed? Red: I’m saying a perfectly plausible narrative was created. Jennifer: By some shadow government called the Cabal. Red: And anyone close to a target of theirs becomes a target themselves. Jennifer: Family. Red: Especially family.              (Unless given up for adoption to Sam)

Abandonment, a long-standing issue with Liz. Parallel of a faked suicide. 

Hernandez: They found her folded clothing at Rockaway Beach. They never found a body, but I know she was dead. She’d never abandon me.

Red: Two months later, she went to Cape May and left her clothes on the beach, walked into the ocean and was never seen again.

Liz: Do you think she’s dead? Katarina? I know they say she committed suicide, but there was a man, Anton Velov. He was a Colonel in the Spetsnaz. He said she might still be alive. Dom: I never heard from Katarina after she left for America. What really happened to her - I think there are some people who want to keep ­that information a secret. And I think they will do whatever is necessary even now to keep it that way.

Same was said of Katarina. By Jon Bokenkamp. 

Is Katarina really dead? I don’t know how to answer that. Is she really dead? She really walked off into the water and was never found. So there’s that. I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer that anymore. I’m sorry. 

Vanessa’s ghost references. 

Conway: Over 278 people lost everything because of some ghost. Aram: The detectives and the lawyers may not have found anything conclusive on their own, but if you put the photos they found together - our ghost has a face.

Liz: Our ghost has a name - Vanessa Cruz. 

Red was referred to as a ghost many times throughout. Specific in 4x2 when he shoots Kaplan. 

“And I will never be set free as long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see”

So was Liz in 5x9.

I think uh, she was -       A ghost. Life’s full of ’em.

Opposite with men. 

Hernandez: Some women make the same mistakes with men over and over again.

Vanessa’s husband was framed.

Katarina: It wasn’t your fault. He was a bad man. 

Red: Men like Tom don’t change. 

Cooper: I wonder what his angle is. Liz: Sir? Cooper: Reddington. Why give us this case? What’s his interest in this Cruz woman?

Kaplan: Mrs. Cruz, my employer is a longtime admirer of yours. He understands your gambit has run its course. The FBI knows what you’re up to. They’re looking for you now, which means you have one of two choices - Run and hide, or accept his help.

The only thing Vanessa has that our Red doesn’t, is her gender. Not so easy to seduce and betray both genders since he’s no longer Katarina Rostova. I believe Vanessa’s hire has everything to do with Red’s framing by the Cabal. She has no problem in the seduction and betrayal department. 

To the future. 

I don’t think it’s about revenge with Vanessa’s hire. I think it’s about clearing Red’s name. Her know-how goes deep. That expertise could help on the opposite side of the frame. Especially since she figured out her husband’s enough to seek vengeance. Her being wanted was the only reason Katarina had to “die” in the first place. As long as she continued to exist, Liz would be hunted and killed. 

Tom and the Cabal. 

Red took Hobbs’ vote in 2x17.

Red: Well, maybe you didn’t save mankind from an untimely death, but someday you may be able to spare me from one.

2x18.

Hobbs: I’ve been quietly lobbying on your behalf.

Tom sounds like Connolly in 2x19.

Connolly: I appreciate your loyalty to Agent Keen, Harold, but you have to admit there’s a possibility she’s being completely manipulated by Reddington. What if the reason he chose her in the first place is because he wanted to get his hands on this thing? What if that’s the real reason he turned himself in? All this talk about some personal connection between Reddington and Keen, why he chose her, some shared history - what if Reddington doesn’t care about Agent Keen and it’s all been a manipulation?

2x18.

Tom: You know, I’m no worse than your buddy Reddington. Liz: He’s not my buddy. And you are worse. Tom: You don’t get it. Even after all this time, Reddington Is dangerous, and he is playing you.

Interesting since Red traced the Orea bombing back to the Harbormaster trial, where Connolly allowed Tom to walk on all charges - including those committed on behalf of Berlin.

Scene cut.

From Tom trying to pin the passorts on Berlin to the Diector going off about Hobbs' betrayal.

Tom: Do you think it’s possible for uh - someone like me to start over, to become something else?

The Director: Reddington did not make you! We made you!

Tom: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I can’t. Not about this.

The Director: We put you in the game, and you betray us? You betray me? I treated you like family. I supported you.

The Fulcrum.

Hobbs: Listen to me, Red. The Fulcrum - If you have it, if you can prove you have it, do it now. Your life depends on it.

Red: This is simply about me trying to survive. I’m perfectly happy to put you in touch with someone who deals in shelf corporations, but I need the Fulcrum.

Tom: Reddington. I’ve been thinking about what you said - about needing to tell you the truth. So I’m gonna tell you the truth. The passports - the passports came from Reddington. Liz, there’s more.

Dembe: Agent Keen wants to meet regarding the Fulcrum.

Liz: Here. This is all you wanted. Now you have it. I just want this to stop. I want it all to stop, right now. Take it!

Lying to Liz about the passports was easy since they came from Red’s trusted forger in Warsaw. Hard to disprove that. The fact that one of them is for his Keen alias and Red hired him to enter her life, even more. Claiming Red issued the passports would’ve been enough. “Liz, there’s more.”

In 2x19 -

Liz: I thought you’d be gone. Tom: That was the plan. Then I thought maybe if I stayed, I’d have a shot at a normal life.

Rederina fits into Vanessa Cruz’s episode. If I’m right about the memory wipe and Vanessa’s reason for hire, then I suspect both will return in S6.

[elena-captain-moving]

One thing I liked about the original trilogy was the acting of some of the background characters.

Admiral Piett had what I felt was an amazing performance throughout the trilogy, especially when he got promoted, right next to his dying predecessor.

After saying they’ve disabled the Falcon’s Hyperdrive, and Piett’s reaction to Lord Vader watching the Falcon jump to hyperspace. That look, where he’s scared of what will happen next, because he could die.

Then up to his last moments at the Battle of Endor.

I felt like he did really, Really well.

But despite my more neutral opinions on some of the new trilogy, I did really enjoy some performances. From Captain Peavey, Captain Canady, Colonel Kaplan (Even if he only had one line) and the Officer who informed them about the shuttles.

I also, even though he wasn’t a background character, really enjoyed Hux’s performance when he was actually being a General and not some form of comic relief.

[cosleia]

Named First Order side characters’ duty stations seen in TFA + current status

Lt. Mitaka: Finalizer bridge/reporting to Kylo Ren elsewhere on the Finalizer; possibly choked to death but if not, assuming the Finalizer was not destroyed, he should be fine

Chief Petty Officer Unamo: Finalizer bridge; presumably still alive

Colonel Kaplan: Finalizer hangar bay; he dead

Petty Officer Thanisson: Finalizer hangar bay; he also dead

Colonel Datoo: Starkiller Base control room; he is probably dead

Lt. Rodinon: Starkiller Base control room; he tried to evacuate so he might be alive

[ruthlessambition]

“Yes, well, that is advice that we can all live by. I certainly…”

A blinking light appeared on Hux’s datapad along with a curt line from Colonel Kaplan.

“I’m needed on the Bridge.” Hux said, rising from his seat.

Things never seemed to go according to plan these days. Armitage Hux was accustomed to that much. Over the years, he’d devised a battery of strategies, until the impossible was finally coming within reach.

But the news of Snoke’s apprentice and the even worse news that they’d be commanding the same ship challenged all of that. He’d find out the extent of the damage today. It was his first briefing with Kylo Ren, their first meeting alone without Snoke looming over them. While Hux still hated the idea of reporting to another man on his own ship, he tried to see this as an opportunity.

So, as Hux awaited Ren’s arrival, he told himself to be patient. And above all, he reassured himself that he was still in control. He’d come too far to fall back so easily.

@temptedbythelight