#lejuene

[mccncreatures]

The rain fell in a relentless drizzle, turning the streets of New Orleans into a maze of shimmering reflections and deepening shadows. Rory sat in his car, parked on the side of a narrow street, the wipers moving in a slow, rhythmic arc as he stared at the precinct in front of him. He could feel the weight of the day pressing down on him, a heavy, suffocating blanket that made it hard to breathe. But it wasn’t the weather or the long hours that were getting to him. It was the phone call he’d received just two days ago o, the words that had shattered something deep inside him.

“Jackson’s dead.”

The words had hung in the air, heavy and final, as if they had the power to stop time. Rory’s heart had frozen in his chest, his mind racing to catch up, to understand, to make sense of it. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wrap his head around it. Jackson, his partner, the one person who had managed to break through the walls he’d built around himself, was gone.

He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. Jackson had been more than just a partner; he had been a lover, a confidant, the one person who could stand alongside him in the darkest moments without flinching. Rory had always been the one off, the detective who preferred to work solo, but Jackson had been different. Jackson had understood him in a way no one else ever had, and Rory had come to depend on that understanding more than he had ever realized.

The door to the precinct opened, and Rory watched as a figure emerged, huddled under an umbrella. He recognized the man—a lieutenant with a reputation for towing the line, for doing what needed to be done to keep things running smoothly, no matter the cost. Someone who pocketed for profit and didn’t care much for the men and women out on the streets. Someone who he knew would buy his way up the ladder and sell every last man and woman out. Rory’s stomach twisted with a mixture of anger and dread. The conversation they’d had earlier was still fresh in his mind, the way the lieutenant had brushed off Jackson’s death with cold efficiency.

“Accident,” he’d said, his voice flat and detached. “Nothing more to it.”

But Rory knew better. He’d seen the crime scene, the telltale signs that had been hastily covered up. The bite marks, the drained blood—evidence of a vampire attack. The way Jackson was viciously ripped up and dumped in the alley, images burned into Rory’s mind forever. Jackson had been walking back to Rory’s apartment to spend some time before another shift. Time where they could just exist. Bled dry, like some prey. And yet, the official report said nothing of the sort. Jackson’s death had been chalked up to a mugging gone wrong, a case closed before it had even been properly opened.

Rory’s pulse quickened with anger, his blood boiling as he thought about the cover-up. The higher-ups had decided that it was easier to sweep it under the rug than to deal with the truth. They didn’t want the public to know about the dark underbelly of the city, about the monsters that lurked in the shadows. But Rory knew. He had known for years, had seen the truth with his own eyes. And now, that truth had taken someone he cared about.

His father’s words echoed in his mind, spoken in a hushed tone over the phone just a few hours ago. “Rory, please...just let it go. It’s too dangerous.”

Rory had driven straight to his father’s house after leaving the precinct, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. His father had always been a voice of reason, a guiding light in the chaos of his life. But tonight, there had been a tremor in his voice, a fear that Rory had never heard before.

When he’d arrived, his father had met him at the door, his face lined with worry. They had sat in the dimly lit living room, the rain tapping against the windows like a distant heartbeat.

“Dad,” Rory had begun, his voice hoarse, “Jackson was...he was more than just my partner.” His father had nodded, his eyes filled with understanding. “I know, son. I know.” He laid a hand on his son’s shoulder, grasping it firmly, trying to steady him. “I can’t just let this go,” Rory had continued, his voice rising with frustration. “They’re covering it up. They don’t care that he was killed by one of them. I don’t care that it would flip everything we’ve had going on here. I don’t care. They just want to keep it quiet, to pretend like it didn’t happen.”

“Rory, please,” his father had pleaded, reaching out to grasp his hand. “You don’t understand how dangerous this is. These people...they’re not like anything else. They don’t play by the rules. If you dig into this, you’ll be putting yourself in danger. And I can’t...I can’t lose you too. Your mother and I, we loved Jackson. Because even if you didn’t say it, we knew you loved him so much.”

The words had hit Rory like a punch to the gut, the fear in his father’s eyes a mirror to his own. But the anger, the sense of injustice, had burned too brightly within him to be easily extinguished.

“He was the only one who ever understood me, who ever tried to see past...all of this, he didn’t see some fucking hermit, some… some recluse.” he gestured to himself, the layers of armor he had built over the years. “And now he’s gone because of some monster, and they’re just going to cover it up like it doesn’t matter. Like he doesn’t matter.”

His father’s grip had tightened on his hand, his own voice trembling with emotion. “I know how much he meant to you, Rory. But please, I’m begging you—let it go. I’ve seen what happens to people who go after them. It never ends well. This has been going on for longer than I’ve been around and will keep going. You need to stay out of it.”

But Rory couldn’t let it go. He couldn’t just walk away from this, from the truth that had been staring him in the face for years. Jackson’s death had ripped a hole in him, a void that threatened to swallow him whole. And the anger...the anger was like a living thing, a beast that clawed at his insides, demanding to be unleashed.

He had pulled away from his father’s grasp, standing up abruptly. “I can’t, Dad. I can’t just sit back and do nothing. I have to do something. I owe him that much. I have to at least do something about him. His family deserves the truth. A better fucking explanation than this.”

Now, sitting in his car outside the precinct, Rory felt the weight of his decision pressing down on him. The rain continued to fall, blurring the world outside his window. He could see his own reflection in the glass, his eyes dark and hollow, the lines of his face etched with pain and anger.

Jackson had been the one person who had seen past his rough edges, who had accepted him for who he was. And now he was gone, taken by the very thing Rory had spent his life trying to ignore, trying to pretend didn’t exist. The anger surged within him, a wild, uncontrollable force that he had no outlet for.

He slammed his fist into the steering wheel, the sharp pain shooting up his arm doing nothing to quell the storm inside him. The void Jackson had left behind was like a gaping wound, raw and festering, and Rory had no idea how to fill it.

The rain drummed against the car roof, a relentless rhythm that matched the pounding of his heart. He had no answers, no solutions—only the burning need for justice, for revenge, for something to make the pain stop.

But deep down, he knew that nothing would ever fill the void, that the anger would never truly be satisfied. Jackson was gone, and Rory was left to pick up the pieces of a life that felt like it had been shattered beyond repair. And as the rain continued to fall, Rory felt the weight of his father’s words, the fear in his voice, and the impossible choice that lay before him.

Stay silent and let the darkness consume him, or fight back and risk everything.

[dora-winifred]

my cousin who my siblings and i grew up pretty close with did rotc and just graduated college and like is going to officer leadership course in january (for the army) and there's like no way i can talk about this in a normal way. i think it's so awful for him to participate in and also like potentially so harmful for him. and we're supposed to be like congratulations! so proud of you! like i feel insane

[newleasemusic]

Song of the Day: I Will Praise Thy Name - Michael Upshaw (ft. LeJuene Thompson)

Song of the Day: I Will Praise Thy Name - Michael Upshaw @MrSong2u4u (ft. LeJuene Thompson @Madamebuttrfly)

Singer-songwriter, producer and record label owner, MICHAEL UPSHAW was inspired by God in the writing of the new single, ‘I Will Praise Thy Name’, released now on all digital platforms. After writing this powerful praise and worship song from the scripture Isaiah 25:1, Michael reached out to his friend and church member and keyboardist, Austin Woodlin to work with him on the producing side.…

[mccncreatures]

Rory came in, still ruffled from his interaction with Caroline and tired from talking to informant after informant. “Not exactly but it wasn’t an absolute failure. New group in town is calling themselves the collective, fuck knows what that means. We’ve got two Mikaelson in town, maybe three. And we’ve got a fuck ton of dead bodies and my patience with people on thinner ice than ever.” Shrugging he sighed. “How about you? Anything good?”

"Unless you have a Presidential pardon, I really don't care who you are. What I do care about is you shutting your mouth." It was just another day, another asshole in the cell. It wouldn't be the last, but it felt like a losing battle—there were never any wins.

He spotted Rory approaching, which was a good thing because, in another moment, he might have shut that guy in the cell up himself with his fist to the guy's face. "Hey, I’m guessing you didn't get any info out of anyone about that little mission I sent you on?"

@mccncreatures (rory)

[thespotfloridastyleseafood]

Attention Family. Here is the schedule for the rest of the week. We can't wait to Serve You Dat Good Mood Food!!! #camplejuene #lejuene #onslowcounty #jacksonvillefleamarket #jacksonvillenc #nc #ncseafood #richlandsnc #swansboro #maysvillenc #crab #shrimplover #shrimp #seafood #seafoodnachos #insta #instafoodie #yum (at The Spot Florida-Style Seafood) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDT1Z-oJq_-/?igshid=nafsetpvr34j

[michellerlgr]

[usafphantom2]

The YAV-8B was a 1978 McDonnell Douglas conversion of an AV-8A as a prototype V/STOL ground attack fighter for the USMC – Operation Ski Jump was the test taking off of a Marine Corps YAV-8B Harrier aircraft, from a specially built ramp constructed by the Bridge Co., 8th Engineer Support Bn., 2nd Mar. Div., Fleet Marine Force, Camp LeJuene, N.C. (Photo Source: US Department of Defence)

[the-obiwan-for-me]

I'm going to tell this story because it is by far one of my favorite family lore stories.

My dad enlisted in the Navy during Vietnam thinking he'd avoid getting deployment to the war (he did not. He was a hospital corpsman with the Seabees). But during basic training/pre-deployment he was sent from his rural dairy farmland town in Wisconsin to Camp Lejuene. He met a guy there who was from a town in WV, and one weekend, while on leave, he accepted an invitation back to his new friend's hometown (I think it was something about how far they could go while on leave, and WI was too far). His friend's girlfriend promised my dad a date with one of her friends so they could all go out together.

Well, the original date's parents said absolutely not, you will not be going out with some sailor (I also think my dad's friend was a bit of a hell raiser during high school and had a bit of a reputation around town). So, the girlfriend calls my mom in a panic and begs her to go on this date.

My mom wasn't really all that interested in a blind date, but didn't have the heart to say no, so she went down to ask her parents, knowing they would absolutely say no. She told the story to her parents and after a moment of consideration, my grandfather (a WWII vet and dare I say war hero, which is a whole other family lore story) looked at my grandmother and said, "Well, why the hell not, Carrie Ellen? It's not like she's going to marry the man!"

They got married 18 months later. He proposed via letter from Vietnam. They spent a total of 30 days together prior to their wedding, two weeks of it spent on her tour of WI and Michigan, meeting Dad's large extended Dutch protestant reform dairy farming family.

They would have been married 56 years this coming June (Dad died in 2003, from an aggressive cancer, most likely caused by his exposure to Agent Orange).

(Wedding picture attached. They were babies. The 60s were wild, man).

I watched When Harry Met Sally yesterday so now I'm curious how everyone's parents met. Any and all stories are welcome!

[oldsalt1169]

In Twenty One Days...   I will celebrate 'My Second Birthday'...   No Matter Where I Am and What I May Be Doing...   It has been almost 40 years since I received My Eagle, Globe and Anchor...   I knew then (as well as now) The Corps isn't perfect...   But IT IS FAR BETTER THAN ANYTHING IN THE FIRST CIV DIV!   So I WILL don The Attire, read General Lejuene's Message, Cut a Cake, Shed a Tear, Drink Like Hell and REMEMBER MY MARINES!   And somewhere, Chesty Will GRIN...   Good Night Marines, Semper Fidelis & God Bless!  

[thethinkingman]

10 November is the Marine Corps birthday. An institution born in a bar that continues to honor that history every chance it gets.

Some say we are a cult, some call us a gun club while others say we are a brotherhood of the world's greatest fraternity. What ever you chose to call Marines be it Devil Dogs, Jar Heads or crayon eating window lickers just know this, our enemies have always warned others to stay away from us.

Our history is full and colorful from places like Montezuma, Tripoli, Belleau Wood, Khe Sanh, Chosin Reservoir, Guadalcanal, Okinawa to Fallujah and a thousand little known places from the Philippines, China to Haiti. We specialize in places most people can't find on a map.

Our enemies have called us Teufel Hunden in WWI, North Koreans called us Yellow Boots, Somalis called us black boots. These were how they identified Marines from other units to warn their comrades to avoid us.

Our history is forever deeply tied to the Navy. This tie has brought us names like Leatherneck for the leather collar worn around the neck to protect from swords while defending Naval vessels. The Navy has taken us to exotic places like Tripoli to put down the Barbary Pirates or to Nicaragua in the days of Chesty Puller. It has given us words like head, port hole, ladder well, captain's mast, brig, pogey bait and many more.

We will always honor those among us who have stood out. Names like Dan Dailey, Archibald Henderson, Chesty Puller, "Red Mike" Edson, John A Lejuene, John Basilone and Ira Hayes are forever among the names passed on to the next generation of Marines.

Marines have provided photo ops in the course of operations that have gone down in history. The flag raising on Iwo Jima to the Marine feeding a kitten with an eye dropper or passing out candy to hungry kids.

Marines embody the warrior ethos and are not afraid to show compassion to the innocent. We don't mind leveling a few city blocks then passing out food to refugees fleeing oppression.

Whatever generation you served, what ever the year was that you stood on the yellow footprints, you earned the title. Hold your head high and know you are a Marine.

Happy Birthday Marines!

#USMC #Marines #Marine Corps #birthday #military #celebrate #history #legend

#10 November #1775 #America #Leatherneck #jarhead

[mccncreatures]

Oh boy did he hate coming here, to her. Knowing what she was gave him the heebie jeebies but boy, howdy had the buzz been clear, she’d also been at the party. He knocked on the door, and stepped back sniffing. When the door opened, he glanced at the blonde haired woman, huffing. “Listen, I know you’re not my biggest fan and the feelings mutual. But I got questions, so…” he cleared his throat and nodded. “May I come in, ma’am?”

@devouredxmuses

[jelly-drop-buttons]

Sure, I’m game!

Duvet - Bôa

Mos Thoser - food house

Alberto Balsam - Aphex Twin

Melatonin High - Dan Mason

Vanguard - LeJuene

Voices - Disturbed

Nü - YuUtsu

Mother Mary - Mr. Kitty

Bimbo Doll - Tula Tsoli

Couture - Epsyle

Tagging: @lex-n-weegie @bloodstained-roberts-wife @mine-shipping @pinkiemeowstic89 @elextricangel @octaviaember @sapient-nes @truebobbian @thalassomania @brittklein18 - and anyone else who wishes to participate.

Sharing 10 songs and tagging 10 people! Tagged by @soulnottainted

my pals and I actually made playlists that tried to encapsulate the entire range of our music tastes a couple weeks ago, so I'll just use that

This is Carbo (Spotify playlist link)

Girls in the Hood - Megan Thee Stallion The Hills - The Weekend Griftwood - Ghost Northwest Passage - Unleash The Archers Rocket GIrl (Feat. Betty Who) - Lemaitre Loverboy - Adam Lambert Danger and Dread - Brown Bird In the Woods Somewhere - Hozier Lies - MARINA For Every Mountain - Kurt Carr

ummmmmmm idk if I can think of 10 entire people but I'll tag @limey-self-inserts @wisp-herr @candyheartedchy @bees-self-ships @shiny-self-shipping @sunshine-sunderland and if u wanna do it and i didnt tag u just pretend i did, it'll be our lil secret

[bkbro69]

LeJuene Thompson - "Stand and Proclaim"

[survivingdomesticviolencenpd]

Living A Lie

I can’t really describe the way that it feels to realize that your life has been a lie.  That you had built your existence around the well fabricated facade of the person you love only to find out that the person who you thought they were never existed.  It was all a charade that they had carefully crafted to lure you in.  Once they had you firmly rooted, they took total control of your life, made you think that you were crazy, and that you had brought this on yourself.  I still remember him saying that he “could be that person” that I married when he was begging me not to file for a protective order.  While then crying that he “was a good person” and “didn’t deserve this”.  Like we deserved what he had done to us over the years and what he continued to do after we left.  As if we weren’t good people that deserved the truth, deserved to be loved, to be respected, to be treated well and not used and abused.

The first lie.  He was a single father of a daughter who’s mother was bipolar and had given him a hard time since they split.  She had used him, not paid bills, ranked up huge amounts of debt in his name while he was recovering and had cheated on him multiple times while he was serving his country.  He took her back because he wanted to save his family.  He loved them so much.  She had even contacted him after their divorce while she was in a toxic relationship with a Baltimore County cop asking that they run away and resume their life together for the sake of their child.  Only to then find out via social media that she was pregnant and engaged to the very cop she claimed had beat her and their daughter.  He was heartbroken and didn’t know if he could ever be in relationship again as he now had trust issues from everything she had put him through.

The second lie.  He was an MP with the Marines and was on a convey escort in the Middle East when he was injured and had to be flown back to the states to have his shoulder repaired via surgery.  He was medically retired after that by the Marines when he was getting to re-enlist.  He had no idea what he was going to do with his life.  He thought he would be a Marine for life.  He was trying to live with survivor’s guilt and PTSD.   He wasn’t sleeping, he was on medications that made him gain weight and he was finding it harder and harder to look himself in the mirror.  After everything that he had been through, his wife had left him for a man that she had been having an affair with while he was at Camp Lejuene recovering from his injuries.  When she tried to go out of town with this man and take their daughter, he told her that she was not taking her with them.  According to him, the next thing he knew, a cop was at his door serving him with a protective order.  When they went to court, she had a lawyer and he didn’t.  The judge believed her story and she was granted the protective order for a year.

Very early on, he pitted me against his first wife with the stories of how she almost broke him at the lowest time of his life.  How she brainwashed their daughter and didn’t take care of her.  How she had relationships with men who abused her and their daughter.  Then his family would tell you stories about her, they would talk about her in front of their daughter.  It made you feel so terrible for what these two had gone through because of her and then I found out that his family had been telling his version of the story.  That the things they had all been saying were not the actual truth.  That he had painted himself as the victim time and again.  Three weeks after I left and we had gone into hiding, his first wife contacted me.  She asked me what he had done.  She said that she would have thought that he learned his lesson the last time he did this.  Imagine my surprise to find out that he had not only done this before, but that he had been lying about all of it.  

To find out about his affairs.  That he was texting me begging me to come home while he was texting his first wife asking her to send him naked pictures of herself to him.  Simultaneously asking my girlfriend to accompany him to his cousin’s wedding as he was talking to all these women online and telling them how they could “help” him get through this hard time.  To be told that he had never been deployed and he was not injured in the Middle East.  Just one shocking reveal after another.  To the point that I felt like our entire marriage had been a lie.  This man that I married never truly existed.  That I was just another victim that he had used, abused, and wanted to make sure that no one believed me by starting a smear campaign on social media when I said that I was going to the police.  The absolute horror that I felt paled in comparison with the hell that he had put us through.  I attended Wounded Warrior events with him while he pretended to understand what these other survivors had endured.  Telling them that he knew what they were going through.  That civilians just didn’t get it.  I sought out multiple health professionals to help him with his own guilt over watching two of his men killed in front of him as well as his PTSD and trust issues.  I encouraged his treatment of his first wife believing that she did all these things that he said.  None of it was true.  He had lied and lied and lied.  When I choose to take a stand against him, hold him accountable for the things he had done, he then made himself the victim and painted me as the lying, cheating wife who has done all these terrible things against him while he has already moved on to his next supply. 

[ravnlghtft]

Two out of the eight water supplies at Camp Lejeune were contaminated with highly toxic chemicals for over 30 years.

Cleaning solvents, fuel pollutants made their way to Camp Lejeune wells and water supplies, along with pollution from leaking underground storage tanks.

The concentration levels were 280 times the amount accepted by safety standards, causing civilians, military, and families to potentially get sick, and even die.

The Honoring our PACT Act of 2021 has passed the House and addresses health care issues and other matters related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act will be placed within the larger PACT Act of 2021 and will allow veterans and their families to file reimbursement claims in federal court.

[coghive]

Rising Talent John Jay Releases “Better” Radio Single From Forthcoming Album the Dreamer’s Session – Live

Atlanta, GA —  Singer John Jay is passionate about earnestly creating his unique musical footprint in a sea of creatives and talented individuals and groups.  John is an Ohio native born into a preaching and musical family, which nurtured his adaptive creative skills and storytelling techniques.   “There was hardly a time in our house where there was no music playing,” he recalled. “I can still hear the static from that old record player’s worn-out needle.”  By his early 20s, Jay was touring with a Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award-winning group and spent several years in an international Christian band before going solo in 2011. He recorded his first concert album The Dreamer’s Session – Live, in 2016, but it took an epiphany to convince Jay that the time had come to share it with the world.  “I wasn’t sure if I would release it but was inspired by a message preached by Bishop T.D. Jakes,” he explained. “He spoke about how some people go through life and never give themselves wholly to anything or anyone. I felt convicted, and a new hope was sparked.”  THE DREAMER’S SESSION – LIVE features songstress LeJuene Thompson on “Watch Him Work”, and The Bakery Nashville Orchestra on “Big Things Start Small.”  John’s father and renowned Gospel organist, John “Binky” Flowers, provides a special interlude on the album.   “The road to success is never easy. I’ve had many challenges, but the biggest was my inner struggles,” says John Jay. “I want my album to inspire and motivate people to push beyond negative emotions and take hold of every good thing God has for them, just beyond their doubt and fear.”   John’s radio single from the album is “Better,” a song of empowerment and encouragement wrapped in a moving rhythm and vibe.   “Better” contains lyricism to keep listeners uplifted and motivated.  John Jay engages his powerful vocal ensemble to set the tone and groove for the single laced with nostalgic Hip Hop and Go-Go influences. Pushing the boundaries of his talents, John Jay is also adding new layers to what Gospel music can be with his THE DREAMERS SESSION – LIVE. You can experience his carefully crafted and poignant musical compositions by pre-ordering the album and streaming “Better” now. Listen Now; https://youtu.be/YNWw3LdwKXQ Read the full article