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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 2 months ago

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By: Dan Morrison

Published: Sep 28, 2024

WASHINGTON − Hassan Nasrallah, the revered and reviled longtime leader of Hezbollah, was killed Friday in an Israeli airstrike, the Israeli Defense Forces said.

Nasrallah, "the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF," the Israeli military said in a statement Saturday.

"Following precise intelligence," the statement said, fighter jets "conducted a targeted strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which was located underground embedded under a residential building in the area of Dahieh in Beirut."

Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death, saying it would continue its battle against Israel "in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people."

An underground meeting, and a massive crater

The decapitation attack on Israel's strongest neighboring foe was a political earthquake for the region, threatening an armed response against Israeli and U.S. targets from Iran and its proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

"It’s huge," said Mohamad Bazzi, director of the Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies at New York University. "It’s a tremendous blow to Hezbollah. It's a blow to Iran."

Nasrallah was among the most important leaders in the Middle East, commanding tens of thousands of fighters and armed with missiles supplied by the Shia Islamist movement's patron, Iran. Hezbollah governs southern Lebanon and its nearly 1 million residents independent of the weak Lebanese government.

"The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel," the Israeli statement said.

Friday's airstrike on Dahiyeh shook Beirut. A security source in Lebanon told Reuters the attack − a quick succession of massively powerful blasts − had left a crater more than 20 yards deep. It was unclear how many people were killed.

It was followed on Saturday by further airstrikes on Dahiyeh and other parts of Lebanon. Huge explosions lit up the night sky, and more strikes hit the area Saturday morning. Smoke rose over the city.

The death of the militant movement's longtime leader came after a week of Israeli attacks that Tel Aviv said were meant to neuter Hezbollah's military capabilities and allow 60,000 residents of northern Israel to return to homes evacuated due to months of rocket fire from over the Lebanon border.

For almost a year, the Iran-backed militant group has intensified firing of rockets into northern Israel. Tensions on that border have increased since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Israel responded by launching military strikes on Gaza that have killed about 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry.

U.S. officials are concerned that a ratcheting up of tensions could lead to a broader regional conflict in the Middle East and have been trying to negotiate a cease-fire.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in Lebanon in the last week, and more than 90,000 displaced, on top of 100,000 forced to flee since October.

A key figure in the 'Axis of resistance'

Among supporters, Nasrallah has been lauded for standing up to Israel and defying the United States. To enemies, he was head of a terrorist organization and a proxy for Iran's Shia Islamist theocracy in its tussle for influence in the Middle East.

"No doubt, he is a particularly important figure," Bazzi told USA TODAY. "He’s very charismatic, an excellent orator."

Still, Bazzi said, "His star has fallen in the Middle East since Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war," when Hezbollah fighters were key to the survival of Bashar al Assad's brutal government.

Nasrallah's regional influence has been on display over nearly a year of conflict ignited by the Gaza war, as Hezbollah entered the fray by firing on Israel from southern Lebanon in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, and Yemeni and Iraqi groups followed suit, operating under the umbrella of an Iran-led "Axis of Resistance."

"We are facing a great battle," Nasrallah said in an Aug. 1 speech at the funeral of Hezbollah's top military commander, Fuad Shukr, who had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Pager blasts and a change in fortune

Yet when thousands of Hezbollah members were injured and dozens killed, when their pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in an apparent Israeli attack last week, that battle began to turn against his group.

Responding to the attacks on Hezbollah's communications network in a Sept. 19 speech, Nasrallah vowed to punish Israel.

"This is a reckoning that will come, its nature, its size, how and where? This is certainly what we will keep to ourselves and in the narrowest circle even within ourselves," he said.

He has not given a broadcast address since then.

Israel has meanwhile dramatically escalated its attacks, killing several senior Hezbollah commanders in targeted strikes and unleashing a massive bombardment in Hezbollah-controlled areas of Lebanon, which has killed hundreds of people.

Israel said Friday's strike also killed Ali Karki, who it identified as the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, and other leaders.

Iran on Friday accused Israel of using U.S.-made "bunker buster" bombs in the attack.

'Serious security breaches'

"There have clearly been serious security breaches in Hezbollah," Bazzi said. "It begs the question of how and why he was moving around at this point."

"This is severe, decapitating in some ways." Still, Bazzi added, "They are also set up − Nasrallah has made this point himself − as an organization that will continue as leaders get killed."

Recognized even by his enemies as a charismatic orator, Nasrallah's speeches were followed by friend and foe alike.

Wearing the black turban of a sayyed, or a descendent of the Prophet Mohammad, Nasrallah used his addresses to rally Hezbollah's base but also to deliver carefully calibrated threats, often wagging his finger as he did so.

Life comes at you fast.

🤣😆😂

Time to finish off both Hezbollah and Hamas.

#Hassan Nasrallah #Hezbollah #islamic terrorism #islamic terrorists #islam #israel #lebanon #am yisrael chai #exterminate hamas #exterminate hezbollah #religion is a mental illness

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sissa-arrows · 1 year ago

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Quick history lesson about how the very same police squads that are killing North African and Black men in France originate from a police squad meant against Algerians especially.

In 1923 an Algerian man is accused of killing two people. The medias make into a huge thing and claim that he did that because he is Algerian and that Algerians are dangerous. Because you know the countless white murderers were individuals but an Algerian alleged murderer has to represent ALL Algerians.

As an answer in 1925 the government decide to create the “BNA” la Brigade Nord-Africaine (The North African Squad) Their job is to control Algerians specifically (1), excessive identity check, excessive surveillance… they pressure employers into firing Algerian workers. Their goals is to make Algerians live Hell on earth and they their methods are illegal but they are left alone by the government. Almost all of the cops in said squad are white colonizers who used to work in the French police in Algeria to be sure they won’t see Algerians as humans.

WW2 starts and then the Nazis occupy France. This squad collaborate with the Nazis (2). WW2 ends and you know the fact that the squad collaborated with the Nazis added to white communists (white French communists used to be allies I know it’s crazy given how they behave nowadays) being like “you do realize that we just fought the Nazis we cannot have an anti Algerian police and pretend to be different from them” the BNA comes to an end in 1945. Algerians are still targeted by the police by there’s no squad dedicated to this.

1953 comes. On July 14th Algerians protest alongside white French communists. Asking for the independence. 6 Algerians and one communist are killed by the police. The government create the BAV “anti violence squad” their job is the same as the BNA but more violent and this time they pretend that their targets are not Algerians but all violent people and it’s not their fault if Algerians are violent. They target specifically Algerians who want the independence and equal rights. It’s dissolved in 1962 after the independence of Algeria (3).

1971. The prefect of Seine Saint Denis (the department with the most diversity in France and back then it was mostly Algerians) create the BAC “anti violence squad” to replace the BAV. The prefect is a senior official who did most of his work in the colonies and in 1967 he was responsible of the death of 100 people (majority of them Black) killed in Guadeloupe during a protest. At first the BAC only work in that department but then it extended to all of France or rather all of the neighborhoods with North African and Black people.

The BAC still exist and they are the one doing most of the killing and beating up against young men of color today.

The police is racist because of its history they were created to control colonial subjects and they see us as colonial subjects of the interior not as equal citizens. That’s why I talk about French colonialism because the current racism in France exist because they refuse to acknowledge what they did and they refuse to try and fix things.

One day I’ll talk about la Police Nationale and how it was created… spoiler alert it happened under Nazis occupations and French Nazis helped creating it.

If you want to read the notes they are under the cut.

(1) Despite its name the targets were not North Africans in general but Algerians specifically. There’s disgusting articles written before the independence and still available on Le Monde calling Algerians savages and dangerous. One of those articles regret the end of the BNA because “There’s a problem with North African violence” and say “When we say North African you have to understand Algerian. The Moroccan and the Tunisian stay in his country. He is a good established settled worker.” Before saying that the problem is that Algerians were given rights after WW2.

(2) For the record if you don’t know the history of the squad the name let people believe that it was a police squad with North African cops not that it was an anti North African squad. To these days some people say “the North African squad collaborated with Nazis” as a way to imply that Algerians were pro Nazis. Meanwhile historically the people who collaborated with the Nazis learned all they needed to know about oppressing a minority by doing it against Algerians. But we’re not supposed to talk about the overlap between white colonizers with leading position in Algeria and Nazis collaborators.

(3): They really think we are stupid they created it to replace the BNA after a protest for the independence of Algeria, dissolved it after the independence, but to these days they deny it was an anti Algerian police.

#france racism #french racism #colonialism #police violences #police brutality #Anti Algerian racism #police history

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alex51324 · 1 year ago

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Want to see something cool, but also kinda sad + anger-inducing?

Today I went to a nearby state park, and hiked to this cabin:

Hand-built by a local man named Armar Bordner in the 1930's, it was occupied by Mr. Bordner until his death in 1994. It's not for rent or anything; it's just sitting there, with all the doors and windows open, for anyone who's up for a mile-and-a-half hike to stop in and have a look around. There are a few framed photos on the walls showing how it looked when he lived there, and a couple of signs explaining the history.

And that's kind of a bold move, considering that, if you have any ability to read between the lines, the parks department really comes off bad in it.

Here's the sign:

A clearer and more detailed version of the text is available here, the site of a private conservation organization that maintains the cabin.

Mr. Bordner, who was an Industrial Arts teacher, bought the land and built the cabin by hand, with some help from friends and students, over a 2 1/2 year period ending in 1939. All of the logs for the cabin were felled and hewn by hand, he used local materials, mostly obtained at the site, and was reportedly inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

In the 1970's, the state decided that they wanted to create a state park in the area. The original plan was fairly elaborate, including damming the creek to create a lake for recreational boating, fishing, etc. (PA state parks have a lot of these "man-made lakes," mostly built in the CCC era or shortly after WWII.) Under eminent domain, the state seized private land--mostly hunting camps--for the project.

One of the seized properties was Mr. Bordner's cabin. He fought the seizure--I mean, who wouldn't?--and at some point the state apparently decided that it was not a great look to force a senior citizen out of the family home that he built with his own two hands, and granted him the privilege of continuing to live in it for the remainder of his life, for what is described as a "nominal fee."

Mr. Bordner went on to live two more decades, passing in his cabin in 1994, at the age of 90. During the decades since his cabin technically ceased to belong to him, the park project kind of fell apart. The park was officially formed in 1987, but it was considered an "undeveloped park"--meaning, it was public land, but the state wasn't doing anything to encourage people to visit it or accommodate them if they did--until 2012, when the parks department took an interest in developing it.

Now, in 2023, the park has several hiking trails, three parking lots with port-a-potties , and that's about it. (Most state parks here have things like campsites, picnic grounds, etc.) Some of the trails--the equestrian trails and the Swatara Rail-Trail--are on park land but maintained by other groups. As is the cabin itself, which was allowed to fall into disrepair after Mr. Bordner's death, and was restored by a group called the Swatara Watershed Association.

It's an absolutely beautiful cabin, in a lovely setting, and I'm glad I got to see and explore it--but once you learn the history, it's hard not to feel that it should still belong to Mr. Bordner's daughter. (Or, if she didn't want to live there or keep it up, to a group that Mr. Bordner had chosen while he was alive to preserve it and make it available to the community.)

Anyway, here are some more pretty photos:

Here's a big porch-balcony that looks out over the stream and waterfall:

Sophie and I sat there to have a little snack after our hike:

Then we got to exploring the inside. Here we're in the main room looking out toward the waterfall:

And here we are on the other side of the window, looking in:

The main room, here, faces the creek/waterfall on two sides, as the stream wraps around it. Over to the right (from this POV), there is a small room that might have been a bedroom or kitchen. (There's a photo of a large woodstove for cooking in it, but the watershed or site seems to say it was a bedroom?) The balcony from the earlier picture is to the left, and at the far end of the cabin there's a staircase leading up to a loft, with some little bedrooms tucked under it.

Here's one of the framed photos on the wall, showing how this area looked at one point during Mr. Bordner's time there:

And my attempt at re-creating the photo from the same angle:

Here we're looking down from the loft, at the fireplace that Mr. Bordner built with stone collected on the site:

Another look at the fireplace:

Surprisingly, there are no signs saying not to light a fire in it.

Here's a photo from the wall showing one of the small bedrooms:

And the room today:

And here's Sophie hanging out next to the post for the library hiking program:

That's about all I have--I thought I took some pictures of the waterfall, but I guess I didn't. The Watershed Association site has additional photos, if you want to see more. I definitely want to go back and see it another time.

#cabin #state parks #eminent domain #hiking adventures #history

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year ago

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 16, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

This morning, the Justice Department announced that the United States has reached a settlement with the plaintiffs in the case of Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a class action lawsuit filed in 2018 over the Trump administration's policy of separating parents and children at the southwest border to deter migrants. That policy, implemented in 2017 and 2018, resulted in more than 5,500 children being separated from their parents.

In 2018 a judge ordered the families reunited, but it turned out the Trump administration had not kept records of the family members. As soon as he took office, President Joe Biden appointed a task force to accomplish the reunifications, but 85 children are still separated from their families. The task force also found that 290 of the children removed from their parents were U.S. citizens.

The lawsuit charged that the policy broke a number of U.S. laws—seeking asylum is legal, and taking children away from their parents without cause is not—and the settlement seeks both to heal the victims of the policy and to make sure it never happens again. The affected families will have a different process for applying for asylum than other migrants and will have access to benefits such as work authorization, possible housing assistance, immigration lawyers, and mental health care to address the trauma of the separations, and the government will agree not to turn back to such a policy in the future.

“The separation of families at our southern border was a betrayal of our nation’s values,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “By providing services to these families and implementing policies to prevent future separations, today’s agreement addresses the impacts of those separations and helps ensure that nothing like this happens again.”

The judge will need to approve the settlement.

MAGA Republicans seem unconcerned with what the law says. Indeed, they have been working hard to discredit the law in order to protect former president Trump, attacking the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After Trump has publicly attacked prosecutors and witnesses in the case over his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Judge Tanya Chutkan today prohibited him from such attacks on the court’s staff, witnesses, testimony, and prosecutors.

Last week, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) called for shutting down the government in November unless Democrats agree to cutting all spending for processing or releasing into the country any new migrants. He says the demand is “non-negotiable.” But U.S. and international law require the U.S. to process asylum requests, even if a migrant arrives in between legal points of entry.

Former senior Department of Homeland Security lawyer Tom Jawetz told Greg Sargent of the Washington Post that Jordan’s plan “would be both illegal and a practical impossibility.” Administration officials “are legally obligated to process people for asylum on request,” he said. “It’s not a choice.”

But therein lies the heart of today’s Republican Party: its extremist leaders no longer believe that rules apply to them. Jordan, a staunch ally of Trump, was key to the former president’s efforts to steal the 2020 presidential election. He is now gathering votes for a bid to become the speaker of the House of Representatives after the MAGA extremists threw former House speaker Kevin McCarthy out.

In 2017, former Republican House speaker John Boehner told journalist Tim Alberta: “Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator going back to his days in the Ohio House and Senate…. A terrorist. A legislative terrorist.” In 2021, he clarified: “I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.”

After a secret ballot showed that 55 of his colleagues would not support him in a floor vote, Jordan has insisted on a public vote, putting his colleagues under pressure to support him and thus to support Trump. They are caving, one at a time.

But Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) called out the MAGA group that revolted repeatedly against the Republican conference and now is demanding Republican unity for the unpopular Jordan, forcing the party to fully embrace Trump. “I can’t abide by the fact a small group violated the rules to get what they wanted [and] now I’m supposed to play by the rules,” Bacon said. “I think we’ve got to have consequences, and you’ve got to stand up for this. That’s what Americans do.”

We used to be able to assume that Americans did, in fact, play by the rules, accepting the principle of the rule of law. That principle is now openly challenged here in the U.S.

That principle is also at stake around the world. In a piece in The Atlantic on October 9, foreign policy journalist Anne Applebaum noted the fragility of the rules-based international order, a system of norms and values established after World War II in an attempt to create a system for resolving international disputes, preventing territorial wars, and ending no-holds-barred slaughter.

A series of agreements, including the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Genocide Convention, and the Geneva Conventions on the laws of war established those rules, and while they have often been flouted, they offered grounds for challenging those nations and military personnel who broke them.

Applebaum pointed out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians “are both blatant rejections of that rules-based world order, and they herald something new. Both aggressors have deployed a sophisticated, militarized, modern form of terrorism, and they do not feel apologetic or embarrassed about this at all.” They feel justified in ignoring the rules-based international order and sowing terror and chaos among civilians.

Their “goal is to undo whatever remains of the rules-based world order, and to put anarchy in its place. They did not hide their war crimes. Instead, they filmed them and circulated the videos online.” Applebaum suggests “we might miss the Geneva Conventions when they are gone.”

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have made no secret of their determination to strengthen the rules-based international order, and tonight the White House announced that Biden will travel on Wednesday to the Middle East, where he will visit Israel before traveling to Jordan, where he will meet with the country’s leader King Abdullah II, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas.

We might miss the idea of the rule of law here at home if we continue to empower MAGA Republicans. Voters in Poland missed it, and yesterday 73% of them turned out to oust from power the nationalist-conservative party that, Anne Applebaum notes in a different Atlantic article, “turned state television into a propaganda tube, used state companies to fund its political campaigns,… politicized state administration[,]… altered electoral laws and even leaked top-secret military documents, manipulating their contents for electoral gain.”

Opponents of the ruling party, which took power in 2015, came together in a coalition that rejected angry nationalism in favor of civic patriotism, met in demonstrations around the country, featured women prominently in their campaigns, promised to end Poland’s strong abortion restrictions, and offered closer cooperation with Europe.

Rebuilding democracy will be neither fast nor easy, Applebaum notes, but “Poland shows that autocracy is not inevitable.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #Poland #Israel #rule of law #US House of Representatives

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beardedmrbean · 4 months ago

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Two top leaders of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel have been taken into custody by United States authorities to face charges for their role in leading the group's vast drug trafficking enterprise, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of "El Chapo" Guzman, were placed under arrest in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"Both men are facing multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel's criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks," Garland said in a statement.MORE: El Chapo conviction upheld

"El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States," Garland said.

Zambada faces multiple federal indictments for his alleged role in the cartel and has been on the run from U.S. and Mexican law enforcement for years. His fellow co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzman, was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.

"Today, the FBI and DEA arrested two alleged cartel leaders who have eluded law enforcement for decades. Ismael Mario 'El Mayo' Zambada García and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, will now face justice in the United States," Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

"Garcia and Guzman have allegedly overseen the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. along with related violence. These arrests are an example of the FBI's and our partners commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel," Wray said.

The circumstances behind Zambada and Guzman Lopez being taken into custody were not immediately clear as of Thursday evening, however, the men were arrested in an operation that ended on U.S. soil.

"El Mayo" thought he was headed to inspect a clandestine Mexican airfield, of which the Sinaloa cartel has many in the country. Instead, according to a Homeland Security Investigations official, a senior ranking member of the cartel tricked him and flew him to El Paso instead.MORE: El Chapo's sons purportedly ban fentanyl in Mexico's Sinaloa state

Upon landing on the tarmac, agents from HSI, along with the FBI arrested "El Mayo" and Guzman.

The HSI official tells ABC News the operation had been planned "for months."

They were placed in handcuffs by FBI agents during an operation culminating at an airstrip not far from El Paso.

"The arrest of Ismael Zambada García, better known as 'El Mayo,' one of the alleged founders and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast. El Mayo is one of DEA's most wanted fugitives and he is in custody tonight and will soon face justice in a U.S. court of law," said Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram.

"Joaquin Guzman Lopez, another alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the son of 'El Chapo,' was also arrested today -- his arrest is another enormous blow to the Sinaloa Cartel. In 2017, he and his brothers, the Chapitos, allegedly took control of the Sinaloa Cartel after El Chapo was extradited to the United States. DEA will continue to seek justice for any American life that is lost and will work tirelessly to prevent more needless deaths and pursue those that are responsible," Milgram said.

The U.S. government had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Zambada.

"Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl," President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday morning. "Too many families have been broken and are suffering because of this destructive drug. My Administration will continue doing everything we can to hold deadly drug traffickers to account and to save American lives."

Guzman Lopez's brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was charged last year with two dozen others as part of a crackdown targeting a global drug trafficking network run through Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. According to the charges, the cartel used precursor chemicals shipped from China to fuel the fentanyl crisis plaguing the U.S.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez had been wanted by U.S. authorities since 2019 and was captured by Mexican armed forces in January 2023 in a small town just outside the city of Culiacán, the capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

He was captured in an overnight raid that had been in the works for more than six months, officials said at the time. The arrest followed an infamous incident in 2019, in which authorities briefly detained Guzman Lopez at a home in Culiacán, before word spread and heavily armed gunmen flooded the city. Massive shootouts occurred between cartel members and Mexican armed forces around the city. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered Guzman Lopez released in order to avoid more bloodshed.

Their father is serving a life sentence in the U.S. after being convicted in 2019 of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, including large-scale narcotics violations and a murder conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracies, unlawful use of a firearm and a money laundering conspiracy.

#nunyas news

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starcrossedlovrs · 4 months ago

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Marauders meets My Chemical Romance: The fan fiction: “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love” by me, starcrossedlovrs (AO3)

In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, Sirius Black grapples with guilt and addiction while haunted by his brother’s transformation into a vampire. Alongside his friends, they confront supernatural threats and their own inner demons. As they delve deeper into the shadows, their bond is tested by a dangerous pact. Can love and loyalty prevail against the darkness threatening to consume them?

Excerpt from chapter two “The Two Of Us”:

Later that evening, at 8 PM, they turned on the news. Instead of the usual broadcast, there was a special report, introduced by the Breaking News theme music:

“Good evening, I’m Alex Johnson. Our top story tonight: a nationwide crisis as vampire attacks surge across the country. For the latest on this alarming situation, we go live to our Senior Correspondent, Eldred Worple.”

“Thank you, Alex. In a shocking development, authorities are now confirming that vampire sightings and attacks have dramatically increased, leading to widespread fear and panic. Reports suggest that these nocturnal predators, once relegated to the realm of folklore, are very much real and becoming a serious threat.

“In just the past month, over 50 vampire attacks have been reported, spanning from isolated rural areas to coordinated urban raids. Victims have shown classic signs of vampire bites, heightening the urgency of the situation. Witnesses describe these creatures as not only fast and strong but also alarmingly intelligent.

“Local law enforcement, already overwhelmed, is receiving additional support from the National Guard, which has been mobilized in several states to aid in combating this new threat.

“To protect themselves, residents are being advised to avoid travel after dark and to use traditional vampire deterrents like garlic, holy water, and crucifixes. Many communities are taking matters into their own hands, with neighborhood watch groups forming and curfews being implemented to safeguard their areas. Emergency shelters with vampire deterrents are also being established for those in need.

“In a national address, President Albus Dumbledore urged citizens to unite against this unprecedented threat. He emphasized the importance of solidarity and resilience in the face of the vampire menace.

“President Dumbledore stated, ‘We are facing an unprecedented threat, one that we can only overcome if we stand united. We must protect our communities, our families, and our way of life from this growing menace.’

“In response to the crisis, the government has launched vampire hunter training programs designed to prepare individuals to effectively combat this threat. These programs will cover hand-to-hand combat, specialized weaponry, defensive tactics, and the identification and neutralization of vampire nests.

“Those interested in joining these efforts can register through their local community center or the official government website.

“For more details on how to protect yourself and your loved ones or to find out about the vampire hunter training program, visit www.vampirehunter.gov or contact your local community center.

“Back to you, Alex.”

“Thank you, Eldred. As the situation develops, we’ll continue to bring you updates. Stay with us for more on this and other stories.”

Remus turned the TV off.

“Poxy vampires,” Remus spat out with disgust.

Sirius nodded and said, “I bet James wants to join the Vampire Hunters,” and just as he had spoken it, he got a notification alert.

It was a message from James: “Did you see the news today? I want to join the vampire hunters training program. Will you?”

“Absolutely,” he texted back.

“Yeah, James wants to join,” Sirius stated, putting his phone down.

“Do you want to?” Remus asked.

“Of course. I can’t let James get all the fame, and since most of my family are vampires, this could be my revenge.”

Remus didn’t look happy about it. “I don’t want you getting yourself in danger.”

“I won’t. There is this whole training program before you get assigned to real missions.”

“I can’t let you do this alone. I’ll join, too.”

Sirius was shocked. “No, you won’t. It’s too dangerous, and what about your bookstore?”

“Someone else will take it on. Perhaps she’s my best employee. And if you go, I go. Together or not at all.”

“Then, I will protect you,” Sirius promised.

“Protect me? I think it’s the other way around. I’m the taller one.”

“And I’m the faster one.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.”

“Should I show you?”

“I think it’s not a good idea to go outside when it’s dark anymore.”

“Then you just have to accept it.”

“Accept that I’m taller and faster?”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

Remus chuckled. “How eloquent.”

Sirius grabbed a pillow and threw it, aiming at Remus’s head.

“If that’s how you’re gonna threaten the vampires, then I’m deeply concerned.”

“I hate you,” Sirius said, hiding a smile.

“You love me.”

If you want to continue reading, here is the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56978692/chapters/144893479

#marauders #wolfstar #my chemical romance #fanfic #i brought you my bullets you brought me your love #sirius black #remus lupin

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shootout-at-university-fair · 6 months ago

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Four Years' Worth of Ramblings (and Pondering Life at Twenty)

It’s been about four years since I was even remotely active on here, even longer since I’ve made original content on this website. Well, in those four years since I’ve last used this blog, it’s safe to say I’ve officially grown up. I think I made this account when I was about 13. At that time, turning 20 genuinely felt like it would never come. As time tends to do, of course, it progressed - so here we are.

Given that I live in a country that would rather focus on banning social media apps and protecting genocidal governments that line their own pockets instead of, you know, helping its own citizens like a government is supposed to do, and one that is certainly fucked no matter who we end up electing this year, it just felt right to return to the website that radicalized me in the first place (especially when really the only other option is… *shudders* twitter).

I must say, it simultaneously feels weird and comforting to come back. As I enter my senior year of college (has it really been that long?), I’ve begun to look back at what has shaped me into the woman I am today. I know this website certainly had a hand. As I previously stated, this website truly formed my moral compass, at an age that I desperately needed something to. To those who have followed me in the past, and might still be lurking here today, I genuinely thank you for making me the woman I am today.

Now… what exactly has happened in these last few years? Well, a lot. These last four years have simultaneously been the best and worst years of my life so far (and seriously, from how my 2024 has mostly been going, fuck 2024). Let’s start with the negative and end with some positive things, shall we?

I've certainly had my share of shit thrown at me over the last few years, from having to file not one, but two Title IX complaints at my college within three years and going through my fair share of manipulative and abusive relationships (both platonic and romantic), to having - and overcoming an eating disorder. Somehow, I've survived (albeit with some added mental health medications and diagnoses - I expected most of them, but definitely not the borderline diagnosis).

It hasn't been all bad, though. Actually, some of these last few years have been really great. I finally have some real friends IRL (they're a bunch of losers - one is @hunter-blossom-5 if you want to see what the vibe is like, but they're my losers and I wouldn't trade them for the world), and I've fallen in love. Well, I mean, I've fallen in love several times over these last few years, but for once, I've fallen in love and know it's the right type of love: the love where even if the world is ending, it doesn't feel like that because you know that they will be beside you the entire time, and even more after? Yeah, I'm talking about that love. I know he has an account on here, but he's never told me what his username is. I hope that if he's reading it, he knows who I'm talking about - I love you, babe; always have, and always will.

I'm not sure exactly why I stopped posting, but I just did. I actively tried to distance myself from my days on here IRL. If you told me even two months ago that not only would I be revisiting so many of my old interests from my teenage years in my twenties, and being so open about my love for them, I would have thought you were insane. Something in the last few months in my brain just itched and longed for who I once was, the version of me I was when I was on here the most. Throughout a lot of these four years, I was incredibly rude towards the younger me present on this account, trying to bury her deep down to fit in more. I think I've been too harsh on her in my past, and just wish that I could go back in time, take back all the negative shit I've said about her, and just give her the largest hug - she definitely needed that more than the criticism I leveled instead. Well, time travel doesn't exist, and Back to The Future has taught me to never have yourself at two different ages meet. I think coming back here, showing her that as you get older you can still be you, is the best I can do for her in our universe.

Most of you have known me simply as mutantjediavenger on this platform. Some of you have known me as Ella, but for all who comes across this blog today, you can just call me El. You've earned it.

#life update #revisiting the past #mutantjediavenger #mental health #tw: ed mention #borderline personality disorder

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raincitygirl76 · 1 year ago

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I could scream. Last night, I was going through my queue, and there were 5 or 6 posts where I had written additions, but either hadn’t finished the additions, or wasn’t quite happy with them yet. So I wanted to tweak them a little, and transferred those posts from Queue to Saved as Drafts.

This morning, I went into Drafts, as I had some time on my commute to finish tweaking one of the posts (having actually gotten a seat, which never happens in rush hour). And what do you know? Those posts disappeared from my Queue, but none of them are in Drafts. So they’ve just vanished. Along with my additions which were almost ready to post.

P.S. I’m officially old. I got a seat today because a very nice young man (who couldn’t have been more than 22) stood up and gave me his. I was simultaneously relieved and thinking “I’m only 46. I’m not some senior citizen you have to give your Skytrain seat to!”

I consoled myself with the fact that I had a lot of stuff today: overstuffed laptop bag over one shoulder, capacious purse, reusable shopping bag with my lunch and a 1 litre stainless steel water bottle. Maybe he didn’t give me his seat just because I’m a wizened old crone, maybe it was also because I was laden down like a pack mule.

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mariacallous · 8 months ago

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An Army spy operating at the heart of the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland probably cost more lives than he saved, a report has found.

Operation Kenova investigated the agent known as Stakeknife.

It said speculation he had saved hundreds of lives was wrong; it was more likely between high single figures and low double figures.

It found the security forces failed to prevent some murders to try to protect their agents in the IRA.

But, the report pointed out that it was the IRA leadership that had "commissioned and sanctioned" the actions of its so-called internal security unit - of which Stakeknife was a member - and "committed brutal acts of torture and murder".

The £40m investigation took seven years to examine the activities of Stakeknife, who was Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci.

The interim report called for apologies from the UK government and Irish republican leadership on behalf of the IRA.

Lawyer Kevin Winters, who represents the families of 12 victims, said the report was "a damning indictment of the state".

"The staggering takeaway message is that the state could have intervened to save lives," he said.

"We are left with the horrendous conclusion that both state and the IRA were co-conspirators in the murder of its citizens."

The report's author, senior police officer Jon Boutcher, highlighted many failings of the security forces and the UK government, but acknowledged they were acting in an extremely stressful and violent environment.

Multiple murders

Operation Kenova linked Stakeknife to at least 14 murders and 15 abduction incidents.

Despite it being widely known that Scappaticci was Stakeknife, the Kenova Report did not officially confirm that. A further, more detailed report is due to be published by the Kenova team later this year.

However, the interim report said Stakeknife was "undoubtedly a valuable asset" to the security forces who "provided high-quality intelligence about PIRA [Provisional IRA] at considerable risk to himself".

The 208-page report added: "Albeit that his intelligence was not always passed on or acted upon and if more of it had been, he could not have remained in place as long as he did."

Mr Boutcher, who is now chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said claims Stakeknife saved hundreds of lives were based on "unreliable and speculative" assessments.

Mr Boutcher said murders that could, and should, have been prevented were allowed to take place with the knowledge of the security forces.

'You were not mad'

"Morality and legality of agents doing any harm - with the knowledge of the state - is something that we would never, ever allow today," he said.

Mr Boutcher also referred to the decision not to confirm Stakeknife's identity in his report.

"Stakeknife's identity has been exposed to Kenova, subject to confidentiality which I remain bound by and I cannot make his name public without official authority," he said.

So far the government has refused to give such authority.

But Mr Boutcher added that in his view this position was "no longer tenable" and he expected the "government to authorise Kenova to confirm Stakeknife's identity in the final report".

Referring to Stakeknife's victims, Mr Boutcher said many of them had endured "endless delays, setbacks and unfulfilled promises in their search for the truth".

He said his report confirmed what many families had suspected - patterns of state intervention and non-intervention in the torture and murder of people accused of being state agents during the Troubles.

"You were not mad. This was happening and this should not have happened," Mr Boutcher told them.

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girlactionfigure · 2 months ago

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🟪 Thursday - events from Israel

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

( We occasionally get bitten by autocorrect, yesterday Nes Harim was changed to New Harim. )

▪️MK THREATENS A TERRORIST.. MK Zvi Sukkot accidentally discovered during a visit to the Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem that the terrorist who carried out the attack in Givat Assaf in which a soldier was murdered was there for treatment. He arrived at the terrorist's room and yelled at him: "We will make sure that the State of Israel kills you. We will pass a law that will execute you.”

▪️CALL FOR FUNERAL ATTENDEES.. “*I wanted to tell you about Geri Gideon Henghal* A heroic soldier who worked very hard to get where he was. Struggled a lot to be a warrior. He had a lot of difficulty with the Hebrew language but he didn't give up. And succeeded! Yesterday he fell at the Givat Assaf intersection. Israeli citizens, I urge you to come and pay your last respects to him. He deserves it. The funeral will take place today at 15:00 at Mount Herzl.

▪️IRAN BELIEVES.. An Iranian source: The Iranian missile attack in April was not really intercepted as described in the media. Most of the missiles that were launched simply fell on the way and did not even reach the territory of Israel. A month ago, several test launches of surface-to-surface missiles were carried out after undergoing upgrades/repairs.

▪️US FORCES WITHDRAWING.. US Secretary of Defense ordered the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier battle group to leave the area. The destroyer USS Russell will also leave the area.

▪️NATIONAL BUDGET (1).. the Minister of Finance will propose to close five unnecessary government offices and propose that each of the coalition parties choose one of its ministries to close.

▪️NATIONAL BUDGET (2).. Finance Minister Smotrich presented the state budget for 2025. The budget will include NIS 160 billion for the war's security expenses, NIS 44 billion for civilian needs, and NIS 20 billion for reconstruction. In order to finance the budget, the Minister of Finance announced a series of measures, including cuts in government offices budgets, freezing Bituach Leumi benefits (pension, disability and poor) and raising the income tax.

▪️REAL OR FEAR MONGERING? An official in southern Syria warns: "The Houthis are on their way to the Golan border, there are terror tunnels from Jordan."

▪️SWITZERLAND & UNRWA.. Swiss Parliament decided to stop funding UNRWA.

♦️TARGETED ELIMINATION - LEBANON.. 2 eliminated on a motorcycle in south Lebanon.

♦️TARGETED ELIMINATION - SAMARIA.. 3 eliminated in a strike overnight in Tulkarm on a car. 3 terrorists, at least some of whom are classified as senior, were successfully eliminated.

♦️SYRIA - COMMANDO RAID? (Enemy reports - reliability is questionable but via multiple channels) during the unusual attack in the area of Sayaf (מציאף, Masyaf), commando forces landed from helicopters and operated in the area. The forces operated in the area at the same time as heavy attacks that prevented access to the area. Syria TV: Israeli helicopters landed forces in the area of Mezaif with heavy air cover and captured 2 Iranians.

( This is very far north in Syria, it would be surprising for Israel helicopters to operate that far into Syria. )

❗️INFILTRATION ALERT last night - Avnei Hefetz.. (Israeli town across the Green Line, near Tulkarm) infiltration alert, residents instructed to lock themselves indoors after a breach discovered in the fence. Alert squad activated.

⭕ HEZBOLLAH ROCKET BARRAGE yesterday, over 100 rockets fired at northern towns yesterday.

#Israel #October 7 #HamasMassacre #Israel/HamasWar #IDF #Gaza #Palestinians #Realtime Israel #Hezbollah #Lebanon #Iran #Syria

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candied-cae · 2 years ago

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And Who Are We At The End Of The World? - Please, Be Gentle with My Breaks - 1

Chapter 16/? - - - Read it on AO3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Word Count: 5,204

Summary: There's a difference between being broken and having a few breaks. But a lot of these kids and been dealt a lot of blows, and not just from physical monsters of the Upside Down. There's stuff hidden just under the surface that they haven't been able to show just yet.

More ST Fics

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“And in a shocking turn of events, there’s a new story coming from southern Indiana to explain the strange occurrences that have been captivating viewers in recent days. With Hawkins’ own Nancy Wheeler running it.”

The news reporter spoke from behind the studio desk. Lifting up a copy of the very newspaper she was referring to as she read,” ‘The Truth to the Hawkins’ Murders: Eddie Munson’s Impossible Innocence.’ This article explains the convoluted web that led the small-town community to believe one of their own was guilty of a crime he was actually only a witness to. Edward Munson, Eddie, a senior at the high school who runs his own club and plays guitar in a local band, was the victim of a city-wide manhunt as the citizens looked to find justice. His crime? Wandering a little off the beaten path - or being sort of strange, by most folks’ standards - argues Nancy Wheeler.”

An image of Nancy, the school picture taken for the yearbook, appeared on the screen.

“The teenager herself is an honors student, the head of the school paper, and considered one of the town’s most promising young minds. She describes her own investigation, during which she questioned the suspect, his guardian, police officers, and even serves herself as one of many alibis accounting for Eddie Munson’s whereabouts while he was in hiding. She even writes a profile on the subject with comments from local figures including teachers and even the returned ex-chief of police, Jim Hopper, who many believed to be dead until today. Wheeler details the testimony she passed on to the police that they went on to verify against physical evidence. And, as of just earlier this morning, that testimony and the findings in the field have been used to officially strike Eddie Munson as a suspect in the crimes. The current Police Chief, Powell, explained the department’s side of things in further detail during their press release this morning, which we’ll run momentarily, but if you’re looking for more background on what exactly happened, per the people themselves, look no further than a local newspaper stand or try the collections bins outside the Hawkins High School to read these students’ own accounts of what has to be one of the worst Spring Breaks anyone’s ever had. Now onto the footage from this morning’s release…”

Following the mention of Nancy’s article, they played the news team’s recording of Powell outside the police station. Many camera crews had gathered and questions were being thrown at him from every direction. By the end of his statement, there was a little more clarity on “what really happened.” At least as far as the general public was allowed to know about.

The good news rang through thousands of homes that morning. There would still be some objections, of course. People would point to him being a known dealer as proof that he was no good. And Chrissy’s parents didn’t like the truth that she’d been looking to buy drugs that Friday night. Jason’s didn’t like the idea that he’d been the volatile one instead of the town freak. Patrick’s parents had been heartbroken to hear he’d gotten swept up in something too fast and turned on when he tried to walk away.

Most of the popular folks and those close to them didn’t want to accept the “slander” against the people in their inner circle.

But at the end of the day, it was just a couple dozen people and their opinions. Legally, Eddie was home free. The cops closed the case. And if anyone wanted to cause him any real trouble on their own… well, they had a Party that regularly kicks interdimensional ass they’d have to get through first. And they’d be hard-pressed to find lawyers to push a case like this one. Safe to say, it wouldn’t be very easy for anyone to harass him or do worse, if they were so inclined. He had people watching his back.

And one of the households that caught the news running that morning had been the Wheeler’s.

Ted was reclined in the living room in front of the TV while Karen whisked around the kitchen getting breakfast laid out. Holly and Amber were giggling back and forth on the couch between whispers and pointed fingers. Holly sat between Nancy’s legs while the older sister braided her long blonde pigtails, with promises made to the guest that she’d be next, of course. Amber’s parents had been downstairs on the phone all morning, still talking to family and insurance, making plans for how they’ll come back from their share of the disaster.

As the reporter referred to her article, Nancy could hardly believe it. Even when she said her name, it still didn't seem real. But then her picture appeared, and Holly turned around in her hands to look up at her sister, matching the face on the screen to the one sitting behind her. Nancy smiled and scrunched up her nose, leaning in close to her face and swiping little butterfly kisses between the tips of their noses as the girl erupted into further fits of laughter. And that felt real. Holly saw it too.

"Did they say 'Nancy Wheeler'?" Karen called from the kitchen, pride painting her voice.

Ted didn’t say anything.

He watched the news, cast his gaze her way, and continued watching. Didn’t say “sorry” for assuming she didn’t know what she was talking about. Ted Wheeler didn’t really do that sort of thing. But he saw it.

"They did! They did!" Holly sang joyfully instead.

And maybe Nancy felt smug as she tied off her hair band and tickled her sides before the girls switched places.

They did. They said her name, said she was right, and people knew about it. Ted knew just like the rest of them, even if he wasn’t going to admit it.

From the days of “Nancy Drew” only being allowed to run lunch orders to having her name recognized by a real news organization… the latter was a way better feeling.

She did that. While not exactly all on her own, she did that with her own two hands. There wasn’t anyone who told her what to do along the way, no one to steal the credit for the story she hunted down. She found the truth, and even if that wasn’t exactly what she could publish, with what she could she helped someone who deserved it.

She’d thank Robin, of course. And also Steve, Hopper, Powell, Jonathan, and Argyle. Vickie too, she supposed. They all helped make it happen.

But before any of that, she wanted to show it off to the person it was all about.

She ate breakfast with their household carefully crowded around the dining room table. After Mike wandered down from his bedroom sporting a messy bedhead and joined them, that is. But afterward, she’d decided that she needed to see the subject of her biggest story yet.

Nancy arrived at the hospital to find Eddie comfortably laid out in his bed, flicking the channels on the tv with an expression of mild boredom on his face. She slipped into the room quietly and threw down the paper onto his chest. Perching herself in the chair next to him before he’d even looked over to see who came in through the door. His eyes fell to the thin stack of paper on his sternum. Setting down the remote and picking them up with a quick look over the title. A grin spread across his face.

He’d caught the news story before he started looking for more entertaining television, and now he had the real thing right in front of him.

“So there it is…” he mused, a finger running under his name in big, bold print.

“There it is.” Nancy echoed, watching the way his eyes ran down it, taking it all in, not yet reading it word-for-word.

“It’s smaller than I thought it would be. It’s such a big deal, thought it’d be like twenty pages long.”

“If I made it that long and no one would read it,” Nancy told him. It was a big story with so many moving parts to overlap just right. It could’ve easily been longer. But even the few pages it took up between the pictures felt like quite a lot.

“I don’t know…” Eddie hummed, flicking the corner of the paper,” Suspect of a triple- quadruple- whatever murder seems like a pretty interesting read. I think you coulda gotten away with padding it out a little. I mean, was there even room to mention my sick, lifesaving guitar skills?”

“Oh yeah, don’t worry, we squeezed in an ad on the back for your little band.” She nodded.

Eddie’s eyes lit up and he quickly flipped the paper over in his hands. Disbelief and shock colored his voice as he started,“ You did not-”

Nancy couldn’t help the teasing chuckle at his disappointed expression when he met the end of the article, no real mention of Corroded Coffin,“ You’re right, I didn’t.”

“Ohhhh…” he dropped the paper onto his lap,” That was a mean, mean trick, Wheeler.”

“I needed the laugh.” She sighed, her eyes catching on his IV before she asked,“ How’re you feeling?”

“Patched up. Not really looking forward to duking it out in the next big battle, but I would like to get back to my leisurely days in the Shire at this point. So, bring on the army. Let’s get ‘er done.”

“Well, we still have prep to do. We’re going to try to do a better job than we did last time.”

“What’s the plan?”

“We’re still putting one together. I’ve been told Murray is making a mess of Steve’s spare bedroom with papers pinned along every wall trying to sort something out. But before we can do any of that, we need to make sure you’ll have your back covered. Need your favorite song.” She nodded, once more reaching for the notebook tucked in her purse with the rest of the list.

“Oh. That makes sense.” Eddie only barely nodded in turn.

“It does. So, hand it over. We need everyone geared up with headphones to make sure our big bad doesn’t get anyone else like he did…”

A quiet came up between them. Max had just been moved into Eddie’s room that morning before her mom had to go to her job. Eddie told Susan he’d keep an eye on her, along with all the other people who’d probably stop by over and over again until she woke up. Nancy took a peak past him at the girl in her bed. “Make sure he doesn’t get anyone like he did Max” was the sentence that went unfinished.

“Favorite song, huh…”

Nancy bristled and looked back at him, clicking her pen to refocus,“ Yes? What’ll be yours?”

“I don’t know…” he mumbled into his hand,” How does someone pick just one favorite song anyway?”

“Just, whatever seems right for you.” She gave a light wave of her hand.

“But there’s so much that would go into a decision like this, Nancy!” he burst out.

“Okay, Eddie, it doesn’t need to be that big of a deal. You can have a couple different options on the lineup, I’m pretty sure we’re all gonna squeeze as many of our favorites on our own tape as we can. But we do need your best guess to make sure someone can help you if they need to.”

Eddie remembered the fear that hit the seven of them when Nancy just stopped answering. They scrambled and panicked and yelled through his trailer, without any clue what to use to help. Feeling so helpless and terrified. Thinking they were about to lose one of their own, right when they thought they were safe. It was up there with facing down the tornado of demobats as being one of the scariest moments of his life.

He knew it was important to pick one. But knowing it was so serious made it even harder to choose. Because what if he got it wrong?

“But, I mean, do I want to pick one of my favorites that I’ve loved for a long time? Like should I pick something from my childhood- is nostalgia gonna help me in this case? Or one I’m really into right now? And this is going to be my soundtrack for charging into war, so maybe I wanna pick one that has a good vibe for that. Or is it more important that it’s something that’ll bliss me out, rather than rev me up? Or-”

“Eddie-”

“Okay! What about- What songs did everyone else pick? How’s the team mixtape shaping up already?”

It didn’t really make sense. What everyone else was going to listen to didn’t really matter for what he should decide on. The “team mixtape” didn’t need to mesh well together.

Nancy shook her head with the thought, but began to answer him anyway,” Well, your little mini-me said he liked ‘Highway to Hell’ because of the cassette you lent him.”

And as if that was the most important topic of conversation - not finding his own savior song - Eddie’s head cocked to the side slightly.

“He did?”

“Yeah? Is something wrong with that?”

He wondered to himself,“ No, I just… I know he’s still getting into my stuff, but I didn’t really peg him for that one. At least not as, like, a favorite or anything.”

Nancy shrugged and continued,“ Well, Dustin and Lucas made more romantic picks. Stuff that reminds them of their girls, of course.”

“Alright, fair enough for those two lovesick nerds, and what’d you choose, Wheeler?”

His whole face quirked up into a strange expression when she answered. Like even more than he didn’t believe Mike Wheeler really liked the AC/DC track, he didn’t believe Nancy Wheeler really liked ‘Take My Breath Away.’

He eventually asked her to clarify,“ You mean that love song from Top Gun?”

“Yeah. What? I like Tom Cruise.” She gave a joking huff and continued when his face didn’t really settle,” Okay, now what?”

“I don’t know. Guess I was just expecting something else.”

Eddie considered it to himself. Sure, Nancy Wheeler, the one he saw around the halls of the high school, would like a love song aimed at her favorite celebrity crush. But Nancy Wheeler, the one that led a campaign through desolate wastelands and commanded her team to make it back home? Twice? Was it really just a slow, drawn-on love song that made that girl feel… alive? Or fulfilled? Impassioned?

He wasn’t sure he bought it. And maybe he should have, because they’ve barely interacted before he was on the lam. But, in the time he’s spent near her since, in the time he’s had to see her exist in a different way than she usually did… well, he became sure that there was more to her than that.

“Maybe you don’t know your Wheelers as well as you thought.” She hummed,” Well? Have you been inspired?”

Eddie picked back up the newspaper and thumbed at the front page. Under his name was a picture of him. Blown up from the ones they’d taken of all the Hellfire members at the beginning of the school year to advertise the club. It wasn’t the one where he tried to look tough, it wasn’t the one where he tried to look wild, it wasn’t even the one where he’d been smiling so stiffly for five minutes that his cheeks hurt because no one would stay still for a clear shot.

It was the one where he turned to the side, looked at Jeff making a dumb face, and laughed so hard he had to brace himself on Bruce’s shoulder. His whole face was getting red because he couldn’t even breathe.

It was a good one. Genuine laughter and joy instead of the character he often played up. “The Freak” was someone he’d grown to know pretty well since it was given a name. But sometimes it felt like he lost track of the other stuff. Sometimes it felt like he barely knew the real guy printed on that page. What was that guy’s favorite song? He honestly wasn’t sure.

Nancy followed his gaze to the image of his own open mouth smile, eyes scrunched up by his flushed cheeks. And in some strange way, she knew what sort of thing he was feeling. Because maybe she knew how it felt to be so unsure of who was really smiling in all her pictures.

“Well…” she broke the silence that had bloomed between them again,” I guess if you need a little longer to figure it out, we don’t plan to waltz back into the Upside Down tonight or anything. But you can’t procrastinate. Because, if Venca comes back before we’re ready for him, you’re not going on the battlefield without a lifeline.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” he gave her a stiff salute, which she returned with another roll of her eyes.

The two of them ended up chatting a little longer. Nancy had only really planned on stopping by for a bit and then heading off to help the rest of the gang fix up Hop’s cabin, but she found it surprisingly easy to talk to Eddie. They hadn’t really spoken at all before Spring Break, and they hadn’t had any time during to see how well they got along... but turns out, they did.

Plus he did need to know the school’s plans. There were calls rung around town about starting classes back up on Monday. That was news he was a little less eager to hear. Compared to an article trying to repair public opinion of him, returning to the halls of Hawkins High School wasn’t an exciting thought.

He let out a groan and scrubbed his hands down his face,” Shit… I was kinda hoping they’d just call the whole year a wash and let everyone graduate anyway…”

“Come on, it’s just a couple more weeks to push through, and then we’ll all be out of there. Should be way easier than saving the world as an extracurricular.”

“For you, it might be. I’m sure with your stellar grades you could practically check out for finals and still pass just fine.”

“Well, that’s exaggerating a little bit-”

“Whereas, I’m going to have to bust ass between demon fights to even scrape by.” Eddie dramatically slumped back into the bed,” Fuck, man. This next month and a half are gonna be so awful, I’ll actually be able to say it was worse than hell on Earth.”

Nancy looked at him wallowing in his woes for a second before she wondered,“ So why don’t we get through it together?”

Very quickly, Eddie sprang back up a few inches,“ What?”

“Well, I’m still waiting for your answer on what your favorite song is, and it’s always easier to study with someone else there. More fun too. So, surely we can pull each other through finals and safely into graduation.”

“I feel like you’re signing up for the lion’s share of pulling, Wheeler.” Eddie pointed out.

She just raised an eyebrow at him,“ Are you saying no?”

“No! I am not saying no. Nancy Wheeler helping me drag myself through Ms. O’Donnell’s end-of-year essay sounds like way better odds than I was previously rocking with.”

“Oh… you’re stuck in Ms. O’Donnell’s?” Nancy’s voice pitched with pure sympathy. The woman was pretty well known as the one English teacher to avoid getting assigned to if students wanted to pass their classes and have any kind of social life over the last quarter of the year.

“Yup.” Eddie popped the “p” and knocked his head to the side,” I tried to get ‘em to move me into Mr. Fitzpatrick’s instead - you’d think on a third go around they could throw a guy a bone - but the front office still put the witch on my schedule anyway.”

“But you’ll get through it this time,” Nancy assured him. And there was just something about seeing Nancy Wheeler declare such a thing. She seemed so sure about it that he just kind of had to believe her.

But Eddie still shrugged,“ If I don’t, you can just let me bleed out on the battlefield this time. No, siree, I’ve been swearing for years now that I’m going to flip off the principal when I walk across the stage, so Eddie Munson isn’t coming back at all if he can’t shove it to Higgins at the end of all this bullshit.”

“Deal.”

It was a little bit morbid. To joke about leaving him for dead the next time considering it was such a close call to get him back at all. But it was funny, and Nancy needed the laugh. Somewhere along the way she ended up saying the "thank you" she’d thought about when she was sure it was over for them. For giving Mike a safer place to be a freak, where he wouldn't get hurt. Eddie laughed and said he didn’t do much. He was just some guy who prowled the halls for the other nerds he could snatch up.

Nancy named it a noble calling.

They both laughed some more.

Nancy ended up at Hop’s Cabin with the rest of the crew to get to work later.

She’d been set with Jonathan to work on covering up the empty windows - they planned to get the glass replaced down the road. The kids were mostly unpacking the house of all its items and broken furniture, throwing it out into the clearing in front. El was organizing the things that survived, and Will swept out the dusty, dirtied floors. Argyle had apparently spent much of the morning wandering around the wooded vicinity and exploring the local foliage. But since then, he’d taken t looking over the scrap pieces and making claims like “Yeah, yeah, I could make something work with this…” Seeming to think he was going to rebuild a whole family’s worth of home decor from the trimmings left behind by the meat monster.

Murray was sitting on a box, tugging at wires and making notes of the setup running through the house. Fussing over the electrical while Hopper worked on getting running water out of more than just the kitchen sink. And by the time Robin and Steve finally rolled around after looking over things at Family Video, most of the working day was done. Excuses of well-worn backs from cleaning up the store and figuring out how to run the place filled the air as they leaned against the wall and watched Joyce and Jim bicker about if the shower pipe was actually rusted stuck or just not being wrenched hard enough.

As the sun began to set around them, folks made their goodbyes and started heading back for home again. The boys had plans to go call the other Hellfire members and visit Eddie and Max the next morning. Erica vowed she’d be there too, but Will and El said they’d help Steve and Robin finish sorting the tapes on the shelves and mailing back the ones corporate was supposed to send a list for. And they'd carry all the supplies they were going to buy at Radio Shack for Murray’s idea of combining radio comms with the cassette players. Dustin also wanted to get in on the action with developing, much to Murray's protest.

When Steve and the rest of his houseguests drove up towards his house, there was already another car in the driveway. Two people stood outside on the concrete, their backs to the street, looking up at the house number over the front door while holding a map out in front of them. They both turned around as soon as they heard the beamer and pizza van begin to roll into their usual parking spots and not merely pass the house on the corner lot by.

The taller of the two had to be in his thirties or forties. Short, dirty blonde hair and a defined mustache over his lips, dressed in loose-fitting jeans, boots, and a peach-colored tee-shirt that said “Grand Canyon, 1986” over his slightly muscular build. The shorter of the two was clearly a teenager. He had a curly mop of lighter blonde and was leaner. Sporting light wash denim shorts and a black long-sleeve top, printed with a stylized landscape of, assumably, the Grand Canyon in shades of terracotta orange and red.

The two of their eyes watched him pull into place before they looked at the car behind him. Hopper rolled down his window and shouted out “THERE YOU TWO ARE!” in joyful greeting. The older man’s lips immediately curled into a smile. Haphazardly closing the map and throwing it into the seat of their car, stepping up to those just arriving.

“Almost thought you’d given us faulty directions, American. No one answered the door.” He’d said, thick Eastern European accent on display as he approached.

Hop climbed out of the van and fired back,“ I have a life now that I’m out from behind bars, don’t you know?”

As the stranger laughed, they closed the distance with a quick hug. The kind where they both smacked a hand on the other’s back before they parted. Kind of like old friends, but more like brothers of war. Which is closer to what they were to each other, in some sort of way.

“I take it you made it over okay?” Hopper asked him, casting a look at the boy standing just behind him.

“Oh, yes, it was a smooth drive from California,” he assured,” No speeding, no policemen. But perhaps we made a stop or two along the way. We are first-timers to the country, after all. Said we should ‘see the sights’ while we had chance to.”

“Didn’t think defeating monsters beyond all conceivable horror was a good enough reason to get here as urgently as possible?” Murray questioned the man with crossed arms and a judgmental tone.

“What? If the monsters ended up no big deal, figured you’d have the problem all cleaned up by time we arrived. Otherwise, you’d still be in trouble, and I help out now. You all look fine as I last saw you, so first option?”

Hop scoffed,” Like it’d be that easy.”

Eventually, they all run through the necessary introductions; Dmitri and Mikhail to Steve, Will, and El. They all helped unpack what was really Joyce’s car that’d been stuffed with more clothes and personal effects for the journey across half the country. Boxes and bags were loaded into the house along with a tour to the second guest bedroom that the father and son would be sharing in the meantime, while Karen’s provided lasagna started getting reheated in the oven.

They ran through updates about what had been figured out over the last few days and gathered around the dining room for dinner.

Maybe about twenty minutes into casual getting-to-know-each-other topics, Steve thought about music.

“Oh, we’ll need to make sure we have songs for you two too. Nancy’ll want to know-” but then a thought occurred to him that he hadn’t really considered before,” Wait… did you guys even have music over there?” Joyce, Jim, and Murray had mentioned all the sorts of stuff their smuggler had at the warehouse - peanut butter being treated like a controlled substance seemed ridiculous - so how much did they have?

Immediately, Dmitri’s expression fell. He set his fork down on the plate and put his hands together. He was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke again it seemed like his accent was heavier, more sullen than it had been just a minute before.

“Oh no. In Soviet Union, we have no songs. Only national anthem.” He’d said, English more broken and stunted than Steve had heard from him throughout the evening.

Next to him, Mikhail piped up.

“Only national anthem,” he repeated from his father,” Is only song I ever heard in whole life. They made sure, for propaganda to take. Only fascist tune, otherwise peasant revolt.”

Steve was stunned to hear such a thing,“ Wow… that’s…”

But then Dmitri and Mikhail’s grim faces began to break under the pressure. Smiles bubbled up and broke through the surface as they both started snickering.

“Wait a minute…” Steve narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, little American, that was a joke.” Dmitri admitted as the rest of the table fell into laughter around them,” We had music back there. They only tightened up on such things in recent years. I myself much enjoyed The Beatles. Had many albums back home. Mikhail always said I played them too much-”

“Because you did-” the boy tried to point out.

“And you liked tempting fate, nearly trying to get in trouble. He liked the rebellious things. Always running off or sneaking away to some secret concert in those- those rock revolutionaries' circles. Lucky he never actually got caught at any.”

“I am quick on my feet,” the kid said with a hint of a cocky attitude.

Must’ve performed that stunt enough times that he thought he was invincible, but his dad knew much better than that. Dmitri ruffled his hair and told him not to act like a big man when he was still a child. Mikhail rolled his eyes and shoved his dad’s hand away.

They seemed good. Steve hadn’t admitted the thought to anyone, but he’d been a little worried. Russians in their town again, one that used to be a prison warden… it could’ve been familiar. People talked about that kind of stuff, soldiers being shellshocked and triggered even after they made it home. Even if Steve was safe in his house, surrounded by people he knew wouldn’t just let something happen to him, it could’ve made the memories too fresh again. Brought back nightmares he thought he laid to rest.

But, thankfully, so much between Dmitri and Mikhail was different from the bowels of the Starcourt Mall. He met them outside, basked in the warm sunset glow, wearing touristy clothes and smiling with sincerity. It wasn’t like being trapped, inside cold walls and dim lights, surrounded by uniforms and cruel expressions. Steve wasn’t starving and covered in drying blood. Steve wasn’t alone, or thinking that someone was going to die because of him.

It was very, very different. And that made it all the easier to be in. To laugh and joke, because it didn’t feel the same.

And while they might’ve not been able to find the same artists Mikhail had enjoyed back there, they started making plans to get him some stuff to listen to by musicians they had playing in the States. Maybe Eddie’s tapes would be making all the rounds, or maybe he’d like the kind of songs some other member of The Party held on to. They’d just have to explore.

So Mikhail was assigned the homework of playing through tapes like a wine tasting, and Dmitri was going to help with things around the house and Hopper’s cabin.

#This is going to be 'please be gentle with my breaks' part 1 of 3!#We're taking a minute to focus on all of our older teens - letting them bond - and exploring some of the deeper parts of them #And we're kicking it off with some more of that Eddie & Nancy blooming best friendism #I just love their dynamics so much and have SO MANY plans for them #And a shoutout to one of my irl besties for the “we only know the national anthem” joke #She said it while I was telling her about my plans for this fic and it was so funny I had to put it in.#And we'll continue to see some more of the Russians in the background!#Btw - I'm roughly picturing Jeremy Sumpter in Peter Pan (2003) as Mikhail #If that's helpful at all #Next chapter is going to be another Eddie-centric one #But with Steve instead!#Steve Harrington #Eddie Munson #Steddie #Steveddie #Steve x Eddie #Nancy Wheeler #Robin Buckney #Ronance #Robin x Nancy #The Fruity Four #Stranger Things #Stranger Things 4 #Stranger Things 4 spoilers #Stranger Things 4 volume 2 spoilers

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