Mister Midnight
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mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Mister Midnight
@mstrmidnight.bsky.social
830 followers 520 following 2.2K posts
🫘 A career NatSec professional that embraces America as a truly extraordinary place...with flaws and issues that need serious attention. Dedicated to the greater good.

Giving this Bluesky thing a try. Also on Spoutible. #leguminati4lyfe
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mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Yet more proof that Cap is still teh awesome in the Marvel Universe.

I love knowing that cartoonists were and remain the OG subversives, and that would-be authoritarians fear ridicule more than violence.
A picture of Captain America (Steve Rogers) giving the following statement: "Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. And when the move and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth and tell the whole world -- 'No, you move.'"
December 11, 2025 at 2:07 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Disciples, in this frantic climate under the Orange Regime, let us turn our collective meditation to the words of the esteemed master of serenity, Zach de la Rocha.

"F$ck you, I won't do what you tell me."
AI-generated image of a bald, older Caucasian man wearing a simple white robe, seated improbably on a rippling pool of water while meditating behind a generic lotus flower.
December 11, 2025 at 2:00 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Bonus points for hard mode with no Star Wars or Trek, LOTR, Marvel, Disney or Pixar.
December 9, 2025 at 4:10 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Morpheus sums up my views on emotionally infantilized men and their take on the friendzone.

Plus a blanket apology for my gender.
November 25, 2025 at 8:16 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Deep thoughts while scrubbing the basins.
A screen capture of the following text: After some consideration, I think I see why the Regime thinks the military is “woke.” If by “woke,” they mean an organization that requires its members to have integrity, honor, courage, and a sense of duty, and turns them away if they do not. One that judges its leaders from the very beginning of their careers on how well they care for the personnel entrusted to them. One that bases its identity on commitment to ideals bigger than any person – This We’ll Defend; Always Faithful; Not for Self, but Country; Aim High; Always Ready; Always Above. One that requires every member to think about the hard right over the easy wrong, and enforces that standard of behavior (not always, I’ll admit). I know a lot of military and NatSec personnel that scoff at the idea of being “woke,” but maybe we are, after all. Along with most of my colleagues, I’d fight to the last against any change in that status.
November 22, 2025 at 7:49 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
A snippet from a story I'm working on.
He landed with a thud that he felt rather than heard, his ears blasted into ringing silence by the explosion. Overhead, the sky swam with blue and gray, smoke and sunlight playing across his field of vision. And in the back of his shellshocked mind, an increasing sense of urgency, a pressure on his chest, a burning in his throat for something he couldn’t quite name, but knew was important. He didn’t even realize what he was dying for, until his lungs forsook his stupefied brain and sucked the air in with a single, heaving gasp. He convulsed, coughing until he expected to see his lungs before his streaming eyes, smoke from the fire tainting the air he grasped at for consciousness. He had things to do… the thought sparked from one side of his mostly-vacant mind to the other, but it was a thought with levers and action associated. It rolled him onto his side, then up to his hands and knees, and then to his feet. He wasn’t done. He needed to do…. something. Around him, other soldiers were stirring from their blastocysts, the places where the explosion had deposited them. He was the first on his feet, stumbling over to the next body strewn on the ground. “Are you okay?” The question was nonsensical, unreal, but it somehow connected them. Vague eyes met his, locked on, and focused. “Still in the fight, Sergeant!” His foggy brain translated her words into his native tongue, the sense of them impressed on his pliant mind. Did she say, “Still here and ready?” Or was it “I have not yet surrendered?” It didn’t matter as he pulled her to her feet, pushing her into the motion that separated the living from the dead. The kid gripped his arm, rolling upright with a single step. “Good, go left. I’ll go right.” The Culler released his grip, letting the girl sway, then recover. She had already reached for the next person when he turned to his own tasks.
November 18, 2025 at 4:16 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Post a book you love from the 80s. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky #bookchallenge #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #books
November 16, 2025 at 7:40 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
I likely don't have much in common with the great writers of the past other than cynicism, but sitting in my favorite bar in Bangkok, listening to jazz and drinking absinthe helps me feel a little closer.
A glass of Prado Absinthe.
November 7, 2025 at 11:54 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
It's good to wander back to my favorite place in Bangkok to savor a taste of the sweet amidst the bitter that is life - absinthe.
A fluted glass containing absinthe after mixing it with the sugar and ice. La Fee Bohemean absinthe at my favorite bar in Bangkok.
October 31, 2025 at 1:25 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
I was too crunched for time to participate in #DragonTuesday, because I'm busy following dragon lines.
Picture of the countryside near Lop Buri, Thailand.
October 29, 2025 at 12:57 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Or maybe....
October 28, 2025 at 12:47 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Gearing up for the [unfunded] life of guts and danger. Essential activities overseas must continue, even without funds.

At least I have something great to read on the plane.

@joycewhitevance.bsky.social
Photograph of Joyce Vance's stellar book, "Giving Up Is Unforgivable."
October 24, 2025 at 5:38 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
#DragonTuesday is starting early for me, so I'd best get this into the mix before life intrudes.

Re-thinking the trope of a princess offered as a sacrifice to a monster.
A re-imaging of the fable offering a princess as a sacrifice to a monster.
October 21, 2025 at 1:22 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
A cozy fire in the stove, a Cherie Priest novel to conclude, and a nice sipping whiskey to enjoy. A nice, quiet night before a likely hectic week.
A wood burning stove with a cozy fire in the background, a Glencairn glass of whiskey and Cherie Priest's novel "Dreadnaught" in the foreground.
October 20, 2025 at 1:42 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Wow. Just...wow.
October 19, 2025 at 2:50 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
I haven't seen these posted yet, so a shout out to #NoKings and @indivisiblelcnm.bsky.social in Las Cruces!

My son was kind enough to send these pictures.
A woman in an orange wig holding a sign reading "a clown trying to be king, so wrong! Resist!" A person in an inflatable frog costume with a badge reading "frogs together strong" holding a sign with a Normandy beach landing image and American flags reading "No Kings! These guys were antifa. They fought fascists. They didn't vote for them." A sign with a caricature of Donald Trump holding puppets reading "Authoritarian creep and his little helpers! no kings!" A photo of the crowd at the No Kings 2.0 rally in Las Cruces, NM. American flags and whimsy are very much in evidence.
October 19, 2025 at 2:39 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Olympia, WA
@evrgrn-resistance.bsky.social
@olyindivisible.bsky.social

I've spent more than half my life defending this country and I'm not quitting now. The battle-rattle is different, though. 😉
October 19, 2025 at 2:40 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
As a big, bald, ugly, mediocre white man afflicted with a terminal case of RBF, I don't get approached much.

At #NoKings, quite a few girls in princess outfits were overjoyed to take pictures with a black unicorn. It was a nice change from my usual.
Mister Midnight wearing a black unicorn inflatable costume at the #NoKings 2.0 rally.
October 19, 2025 at 12:52 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
For a rainy day in Olympia Washington, there sure were a lot of people that had strong opinions about TFG. Fed up, certainly, but joyful - there were a lot more laughs than sighs from the crowd.
#NoKings
A picture of a large crowd at the No Kings 2.0 rally in Olympia, WA. A picture of a large crowd at the No Kings 2.0 rally in Olympia, WA. A picture of a large crowd at the No Kings 2.0 rally in Olympia, WA. A picture of a large crowd at the No Kings 2.0 rally in Olympia, WA.
October 19, 2025 at 12:46 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
#DragonTuesday

In which a would-be hero learns of his destined role.
The dragon's neck swept back, his visage suddenly before him, the molten fury of its burning eyes spearing through him, freezing him in place with pure, undistilled terror. The monster's maw opened, its lips drawing back from its polished fangs, a flickering flame playing in the depths of the dragon's throat, a harbinger of the holocaust to come. "Let me be unequivocally clear, milord." The dragon spoke quietly for such a massive creature, the flame in its maw intensifying, the lambent glare increasing as it loomed above Sir Chadwick. The burning radiance flared above him, the dragon's eyes falling upon him like an apocalypse, the terror of its presence engulfing the fallen man in an unstoppable storm that encompassed every element. Like water, it swept around him, dragging him to new levels of fear; like fire, it blasted through him, destroying all of the barriers that his sense of self-importance had erected; like air, it surrounded him in ubiquitous presence, tormenting him with universality; like earth, it crushed him beneath an intolerable weight that destroyed any hope of restoration. The great beast loomed above the knight, the physical embodiment of dread and power, flames burning in its throat and a terrifying, hideous intellect burning in its gaze. "You exist now only because the princess has requested your life, milord. You will not have the chance for a second blow against me before I turn you into a flash of smoke and memory, should I choose to." The dragon brought its head in close, the burning eyes pinning the warrior to the ground, the cloth and leather binding his remaining pieces of armor smoldering under the intensity of the dragon's gaze and the heat of its breath.
October 15, 2025 at 2:34 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Found a few moments of sun in the Grey-t Northwest, and caught a glimpse of two unexpected neighbors. This is the first time I've seen a bald eagle anywhere other than a screen.
A pond rippling under autumn sunlight. A bald eagle looking majestic on a tree branch. A turtle taking in the rare northwest sun.
October 14, 2025 at 12:09 AM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
This one has been my go-to over the summer. I'm a terrible artist, so making a new sign is something of a struggle for me. 😆
October 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
Made a new sign for the occasion, just in time for DV Awareness Month!

#NoKings2.0
A protest sign showing a battered Statue of Liberty with a cut on her face standing defiantly. The text reads "No matter how many times you hit us...we won't stop getting back up. #Still_I_Rise, #RedWhiteandBruised" Red, White, and Bruised is an organization dedicating to end military sexual abuse and domestic violence.
October 13, 2025 at 6:21 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
It was nice to have a day during this government shutdown when I was not working. It gave me time to research the issues and candidates so that I could complete my ballot for the November election.
October 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
mstrmidnight.bsky.social
In defiance of the Big Red One's motto, some sacrifices are too great.
Shoulder sleeve insignia from 1st Infantry Division for a soldier's dress uniform.
October 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM