#and i can also say ''based on what little information we're given it seems very likely that their relationship was toxic and that daniel +

[faline-cat444]

An image of what seems to be the main cast for Wonderful.When it comes to the little bit of details being expressed so far it's a mix of weirdness but I generally have a good feeling over the upcoming season's theme and execution.The main idea is showing us that our leading Cure is actually a dog who gains the ability to transform into a human girl and of course a Pretty Cure.I can excuse her name being Cure Wonderful thanks to that,if anything thanks to the pun it might be better off calling her Cure Wan-Derful.

For past experiences her voice actor has taken credit for that's a character I know she's supposed to be Kanna from Dragon Maid.So using that for reference this isn't her first time dealing with what I think can classify as "Shapeshifter".Her dog genetics also say she's the Papillon breed which being more of a cat person I don't really have much experience to but a page on the American Kennel Club website did provide some handy statistics that might be worked into her character.

As I said already the naming scheme for the initial Cure Status Quo feels a bit weak compared to the motifs of previous seasons but I can excuse that when your team leader is an actual dog most of the time.

Bringing us to our next most major Cure we have a bit more info on,Iroha Inukai aka Friendy.Her name in magical girl form is likely rooted to how dogs get referred to as "Man's Best Friend".

Design-Wise I'm not quite sold on her default outfit and hope the fashion she'll get later on(When the seasons change or similar) and I think the hat would look better if it covered her whole head rather than being a tiny thing on the side.Her voice apparently being who does Anya [Forger] among a few other characters makes me really want her to be worthy of my ever expanding list of favorites and shows this isn't her first time being a magical girl or dealing with a weird dog.

Similar to the season we're closing off on we don't have true details for Nyammy and Lillian but it isn't too hard to put the clues together.

"Nyammy" contains Nya which is how Japan tends to express what English would call "meow".There is a white cat named Yuki present along with her owner,Mayu Nekoshiyama.

The pink ribbon placements sort of remind me how Blake concealed her cat ears in the first volumes of RWBY.With how order is place in the quartet Yuki is going to be the one who transforms first followed by her owner.Not too sure how much of a time skip this will be in the grand scheme but the little bit of info presently given on Mayu says she recently moved into the town."Lillian" might also be an odd choice of name considering the limited knowledge at the moment for it's a name that seems rather human instead of descriptive or constructive(Then again,Laura just used her last name) and seeing the meaning of it as a girl's name it's supposed to give a sense of peace and passion but at the same time it's based on lily flowers...Which I have seen several informative sources say are HIGHLY TOXIC TO CATS and it might be very telling that a cat is possibly implied to have assisted in her owner's Cure name.

Our last duo in the visual is currently more for the hypothetical theories right now than outright stated from initial visual choices.If it's going the way they're wanting us to think they're who I am really pinning the money on.

Glasses Boy is Satoru Usayama while his bunny's name is Daifuku

The former is definitely hinting to have a lot of those marks I said I'd want for a male cure successor for Tsubasa:

Classmate to one of the main characters(So he does attend the school)

Outfit hints he's going to fill the niche of the yellow/orange/gold member to the team

Ends up needing to be a secret keeper about the girls' being Pretty Cure

If he keeps his glasses or they turn into a monocle when the time comes and everything checks out that's perfection in my book.In regards to his rabbit...

Apparently that's one brave bunny not that I can read that going by the facial expression the first impression is giving.Need to wait for the show proper to truly see the loppy lapin in action.

Now for the final shreds of detail that more-or-less are "public"...

Whatever role these animals will be serving they very much seem a bit like an extended cast including recolors of the animals from Healin' Good

Lastly is our first shot at one of our monsters of the episode which this time around are starting out with the name of "Garugaru"

This might very well be best viewed as the Pretty Cure spin on some subject matters Animal Detectives Kiruminzuu dealt with and all we have to do is wait for the fourth of February to see it start to unfold

[monathedefiant]

ricky september is racist but there's hope for him. . .

right?

ricky might not be racist in the same way as lindy and her little friends. but he's grown up in the same white supremacist culture as everyone else. there's nothing in the culture he's exposed to that's challenged the racist ideologies that he's grown up with as just a part of life. he's not racist on purpose, That's Just How Things Are and that makes his brand of racism just as bad if not worse in some ways.

it's the kind that sneaks up on bipoc when we feel safe and when we've let our guards down. a moment that happens so quickly that we can almost tell ourselves we're being ridiculous. . . until it happens again, and again, and again. like when the doctor tries to explain the codes to ricky who then cuts him off to assert his own knowledge while giving a skeptical up and down look. as if he's perturbed that someone that looks like the doctor would assume they have knowledge he doesn't.

HOWEVER!!!

ricky's reaction could also come from feeling underestimated. he's a pretty boy pop star who's brand is bright, flashy, and geared toward teenagers. he's probably used to people assuming he's dumb because of his outward appearance, despite the fact that he goes out of his way to learn and take in knowledge.

so, part of ricky's reaction is "how dare someone who looks Like That speak to me That Way" and the other part is "i may be pretty and popular but i know things and don't need to be coddled about something so simple".

i say this because ricky's interactions with the doctor (for the most part) don't feel that different than his interactions with ruby. he gives them both the same boyish grin he gives lindy when they first meet. he doesn't do a double-take at the doctor's presence. ricky doesn't make the doctor feel out of place in conversation or question the doctor's knowledge. to a certain point, he doesn't even seem rejecting of the information the doctor's giving him. more just overwhelmed and pretending not to be. hence the hand by the ear thing which reads more as self-soothing that anything else.

that being said, i can't read that skeptical up and down look as anything but a manifestation of the passive racism he's unknowingly learned to live by all his life. that look says "who do you think you are" in a way it doesn't toward ruby and i can't ignore that.

just as important, though, is ricky's potential to go against the grain of what's been ingrained in him. the world he lives in has been whitewashed to hell and back. the history books favor the "victors" (read: oppressors) over the Ugly Truth. i doubt it describes the Great Abrogation as anything but a benevolent necessity (when it was clearly an act of colonialism). we don't see anyone with anything close to radical ideologies, and they definitely aren't there to share those thoughts with any of the named characters. not to say they don't exist (and isn't that the perfect nugget for fic based off this episode??) just that they get no air time. even if ricky feels that something is off in this society, where would he learn the type of truth that could truly radicalize him?

while we don't get ricky the anti-racist, i still see potential in him. he frequently takes breaks from social media to touch grass and read books. he's open to new experiences even when they're scary or difficult. we see how lindy struggles that first time not depending on the dot and bubble even just walking around. let alone seeking out information. ricky put himself through that multiple times (ON PURPOSE!!) to learn how to walk and to gain an appreciation for reading.

which tells us he's willing to learn ideas that challenge the status quo. he's also willing to share what he learns with others. if given half the chance, ricky might've been just as bad as the rest. maybe i've got my head in the clouds and am refusing to face the Very Clear Facts.

but the man is dead and we'll never known for sure. so, i'm choosing optimism because like why tf not ya know. plus, i just like the idea that even someone steeped in a shitty society can still unlearn the bad and do better. i do after all live in the u.s. and support palestine so *shrug* i'd like to think ricky's no more damned by being born into a White Supremacist Wonderland than i am from living in a Nationalist Nightmare Zone.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Personality through quote

Thanks to @theprissythumbelina here and @mysticstarlightduck here!

Rules: give a quote from your OCs based on the prompt, then tag people with a new prompt!

[A quote about pets/animals]

Lexi: "Animals are so cute! I would love to get a pet one day! Not sure what I'd get though...or how much is too many... I think I can keep up with at least one dog and a cat!"

Maddie: "I can literally turn into animals. Yeah, of course they're cool. Big cats are my favorite. Did you know that cheetahs can't retract their claws? And also, the smallest tiger is the Sumatran. And also snow leopard's paws act like snowshoes? And--"

Ash: "Our house is a little crowded for an animal right now. I'm not sure how responsible I'd be with them, anyway, haha."

Gwen: "Oh, um. A few months ago our cat got really sick and...well there wasn't really a humane option. Um, anyways, we're not quite ready for another pet right now."

Robbie: "With my parents' schedule and me and Sammy losing track of time and everything around us, please don't get us a pet. Akash would have to take care of it, and I don't wanna do that to him."

Akash: "I would love to have a dog one day. Never had one growing up due to, well, everything going on. But I'd really like a pet one day."

Jedi: "I have always wanted a pet ferretsnake, actually. My sister wanted a kitsune. Having both would have been wonderful."

Carmen: "Atsila had Custos, and that's the closest I'll have to a pet." (She loves Custos and Custos loves her)

[A quote about their relationship with money (in the past and nowadays)]

Lexi: "I mean, I'm not suuuper familiar with how money works, but I definitely will be one day. Knowing myself, I'd probably be very organized. Whenever my mom gives me money to like buy something at school or the mall or whenever I go out with friends in general, I always budget beforehand and plan accordingly. But if I'm secure enough, I'd love to buy some clothes or supplies but also gifts for my friends!"

Maddie: "Similar to Lexi, I guess. I mean, I think I'd save up money so I can use it on big things later! A Lego set or something like that. But the patience for that sounds literally impossible."

Ash: "I am also fond of the idea of saving to splurge later. Splurging sounds fun, but you can't do it without saving unfortunately."

Gwen: "My parents have saved money for me to go to college since I was born. I think that's a noble cause. I think using money on schooling or pursuing what you care about, what your purpose is...that's good."

Robbie: "My mom has given me so many lectures about having a secured footing is important, and I get it, but man, it's hard to focus on that. I'd love to go on exciting experiences and all that. Me, Akash, Sammy, Lexi, Gwen--like all of us traveling around the world together. That sounds dope. Awesome. But Mutti says I have to save for that. I really need to focus more on her lectures. Maybe if she made a PowerPoint...."

Akash: "I am probably going to have to do Robbie's taxes and also give him financial advice. I have it in my four year plan for high school to take a semester long financial course in junior year. I plan to use that information wisely."

Jedi: "Saving money for a good cause is something I have always done. My education, Inutilia rights, the Aequales, charities. I believe money can do as much good in the world as anything else."

Carmen: "Pfft, I'm responsible with my money. I'd be an accountant if I had to [she would be miserable]. Make sure everything is paid off, then maybe spend some money on making life a little more comfortable. Like home organizers. Because some people can't seem to pick up after themselves."

Tagging @sparrow-orion-writes @talesofsorrowandofruin @writernopal @awritingcaitlin @winterandwords @drchenquill @keysandopenmind @pluppsauthor @pluto-murphy-writes @writingamongther0ses @willtheweaver @calicohyde + anyone who'd like to

Your prompt: [A quote about a hot summer day.]

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

It's not like I have this on my schedule, but somehow it seems like I end up making a list with thoughts in the middle of the week. They pile up and most of the time, a lot happens in one day.

Someone sent me an ask about Taemin and Key making colorist remarks towards Minho because of his tan. It's also been extensively talked on twitter currently. Yes, it did happen and Shawols are sharing their thoughts, making extensive use of Weverse. No cursing, death threats or cancelling anyone immediately. I think that's an admirable behavior from a fandom that expects certain standards from their own members, but also the kpop artists they like. The remark was indeed wrong to make. Just because something is rooted in a country's history, it doesn't mean it can't be criticized. Our behavior and mentality changes with the times and it is our duty to be informed as members of society and to take into consideration prejudices we have. We're also connected globally and we know what's around us. We also shouldn't sweep under the rug or consider it part of the culture as a way to excuse various -isms and -phobias. But so far, I've witnessed a respectful debate over this, which is very good. Cancelling someone immediately is a waste of time, especially without given the chance for them to learn from it. This could be a more sensitive topic for other people and they have all the right to share their thoughts. For me, Taemin and Key are still the artists that I like and if they do something regarding their remarks, then I'm hoping it turns out well.

I'm not interested in those popularity awards and all the voting efforts because it's not the way I wish personally to engage in a fandom, but I've briefly seen what is happening with the voting for Fact Music Awards. I'm not surprised at Army's behavior and the choice to deal with it the way they do. It all tracks with the usual modus operandi. Perhaps I'm naive once again, but isn't the most obvious solution to just let people simply vote for who they want? Do personal choice and thought have again little importance in that fandom? Or is this pettiness because JM and JK are usually more popular? Absolutely ridiculous issue, but once again it leads to obscene comments which is usually the worst outcome and the most common.

I don't have that much more to say about Jungkook's collabs and how army in general has been responding to that. I'm also done with having that fandom be the center of influence. I find it all irelevant. Everyone can see there's no unity and most of it it's a facade in terms of those who are actively engaging online. Whatever happens, they can twist and turn in order for their current opinions to make sense.

JK's career choices are very far from everything I'm interested in and so be it. I wasn't on tumblr back then, but I would have said the same thing about Jimin and his involvement with the Fast X soundtrack collab. A mess that I almost refuse to acknowledge. The only way I can understand it is he did it for the money and because it's a famous movie franchise. Which I get wanting the money, I really do (at least he released his album that is 100 percent Jimin). I'm not gonna praise everything my fave does just because I'm his fan. Just as it's the case with Jungkook now. It's his choice to release these songs which are deals that involve a lot of money and Western exposure and it's my choice to not like it and talk about it. That's it. I'm also not canceling him, lol. How could I?

For the first time, I find myself liking an idol only based on his looks and it's so refreshing to not know almost anything? I don't care about his music, his ships, any potential drama, nothing. It's just Jeonghan and is beautiful hair and thanks to Paris FW and the YSL show in early 2023, now I follow focus accounts with cute pictures 😊 Oh, he's a libra like Jimin and born in the same year 👀

I've started watching Cassandro, I'm only half way through it because I had to prepare dinner and then I read for a bit. But it reminds me once again how good of an actor Gael Garcia Bernal is and how his filmography is so freaking cool, from beginning until today. He's always taken "risks" and it paid off.

And speaking of reading, there's this article in The New Yorker (I'll link it below). It takes a bit more than an hour to finish, but it's worth it and I really recommend it. The subject focus is Evy who at the age of nine, spent a few months in the 1970s in a villa with other children where doctors/researchers did experiments. What the article is actually investigating, alongside Evy's journey as well, it's these institutions that were opened in Austria in the second half of the 20th century and which were basically places of torture. And as barbaric as it sounds for that period, the existing mentality of some researchers at that time was that in order for children to grow up as functional members of society, they had to learn how to behave. Forcefully. The focus was mostly of sexuality and how expressions of it must be eradicated through punishments and medication. Coming from a working class background, living in an orphanage, having too much energy, were all elements that had to be punished and converted. It ties with fascist ideology not only through ideas, but also with the people who used to run these experiments. There's a lot more in the article, some of it shocking and heartbreaking and it's hard to grasp how those kids had to live with that trauma.

[pbandjesse]

I'm just leaving the museum now. Today was really good! I feel really happy about everything that I accomplished today. I am also very tired and now currently driving directly into the sun which I don't love. But hopefully it will dip below the skylines soon.

I did not sleep amazing. Waking up was very hard. I did not want to get out of bed and I was pretty miserable. But I got myself together and I felt pretty cute. I love this jumpsuit. It just fits me really well and felt very happy in it. James and me would leave the house on time and we stopped for breakfast which took forever. The person in front of us cut us off and then proceeded to order a coffee with six creams and six sugars. But I guess they really needed it.

Once we got to the museum James help me set up. They carried all of my stuff over it for me because they're the best. And they would print out the teddy bear hospital flyer I made. And then it was kind of slow. I mean there was a lot of people but I wasn't making a lot of sales. I wasn't that concerned though. I just want by the end of the season to have made approximately $100 a market. And by the end of today I had exceeded that goal. A lot of it though is because I had done so well the first week that I was able to make under $100 for the last two weeks and still even out to 100 on average. And the sales that I made today were nice. People were really kind and I got a lot of really good comments and people telling me how cute my stuff was. And that always feels good. And I was approached by someone to possibly be on their podcast about being an entrepreneur. So that's cool. I also just had a really nice time creating my knitting projects and working on a craft.

I actually told that to Stanley earlier that besides everything else it is nice to have dedicated craft time. Dedicated sitting outside in the nice breeze and making things. And it was pretty windy today. I was actually a little worried because sometimes when it's so windy it becomes an exhausting day. But I did really good keeping everything on my table and I didn't have to chase things. A couple of my pins did get blown away but people were brought them back and it was not a big deal.

I had some really nice conversations too. Me and Ann talked a lot. And I told her that my plan today was to follow through on trying to get that tortoise. And I got nervous at one point and I was like well I can't commit commit because what if somebody beats me to him. He's going to be on sale 50% today and maybe somebody else wants him and they get him before me and that's just the universe saying that it wasn't time. But I had high hopes.

The day went pretty quickly though and I felt good with my sales and when I packed up Stanley help me carry my boxes over because he's a gentleman. And then I went inside to check on James. Jenny had given us some extra baked goods so I brought James cinnamon bun. And then I was off to Petco.

When I got there I went directly to where I knew the Russian tortoise was. The one I had seen weeks ago. And he was still there. He was a boy. You can tell by their tail curling around their leg. Which is an interesting tell. And I went and found a worker and I was like hey I'm here for that tortoise. And they got so excited. Both the girls that work there were like he used to have a partner in the box and that turtle got sold and he seemed so lonely and we're just so excited that he's going to get a new home and they had some good information about him really liking kale but not liking fruits. Which I don't think they naturally eat fruits so that is totally expected. And they said he spicy but not bitey and is very social. And I was just so excited. He was a little dirty. I think because he was nervous he had pooped on himself a little bit. But she boxed them up for me and took them to the front. I walked around the reptile area a little longer and got two different types of substrate based on my research. And then I also got a nice rock water dish for him. I should have gotten the hide but I thought I had one so that is something I will have to fix tomorrow. But for now at least he has enough substrate to bury himself in. And if we know anything from Samson the box turtle that is very important to their well-being.

I was so excited to bring him home though.

I left there with my new friend and went straight home to get his enclosure set up. My plan tomorrow is to work on an outdoor enclosure and try to build that out but for now I have a tank inside that I thought would be good. And it's not as wide as I think I will like in the future. But for now it is a good option.

When I got back home my neighbors are outside and I was like I got to show you guys my new tortoise. And I think they thought I was very silly but they were excited for me. And then I went inside and I put our tortoise in the sink. I didn't know where else to keep him and I thought that I could at least clean them off. I have a dedicated toothbrush for that and he was scrubbed up all clean. And while he was getting cleaned off I also was soaking the compressed coconut fiber substrate. I did not soak it for as long as it told me to but instead I broke it up by hand and squished the water into it and that worked really well.

I put the forest floor substrate in first and then I put the coconut fiber on top. And then I put the little dish in and I started putting some fake plants in. And I definitely want to make like a more tricked out enclosure so that he has lots of opportunities to climb on things and just has enough enrichment. But for now I think that this works just fine.

Once he was cleaned off in the tank was set up I brought him over and I put him in and he immediately started digging. So that made me really happy. And I cut up some lettuce for him and by the time I was getting myself ready to go again he was eating and seemed very happy.

Definitely hard to tell on a creature with no eyebrows but he seemed good.

I played with CP for a little bit and I had a little frozen pizza. I cleaned myself up and I fix my makeup and 10 it was basically time for me to go again. I left the house and I drove over to locust point. I stopped at the dollar store and I got a frame and a piece of candy. I walked around for a little bit to see if there was anything that I thought I could use for the turtle but didn't see anything great so I paid and headed to the museum.

I was really excited to see James when I got there. They gave me a big hug and told me I was pretty and then they went home to play a game with their friends and meet our new tortoise. We weren't sure what the name was going to be but at that point we had a couple options. Frank short for Franklin, quiche, focaccia, and bug. But none of them felt right. Franklin was the closest because of the television show Franklin the turtle but I still wasn't feeling it. I really wanted a food name but the ones that we had thought of just didn't feel correct in my mouth.

So I would tell Merrill and Jesse about the tortoise and ask them for some ideas and the name crab cake came up. And honestly it feels perfect. He's kind of shaped like a crab cake and it has really good nickname potential. CC is a really good nickname. Lump. Little lump. Just really good overall name plus it's Baltimore. And it's a food. So I think that is what the name I'm going to go with if I don't come up with something better by the end of the evening.

So I was very excited to talk about my tortoise and then I would run off to the print shop to make the couple a nice print with their names. But I would also make one with their last names just for us. So we celebrated the Cox Johnson wedding and honestly it was a great time.

I was only there to be an educator. But even in doing so I got to hear about Merrill finally getting an actual contract that everyone's happy with and I now have some more clarity on what my guaranteed hours will be in September. And I'm pretty happy with it. I definitely would like more hours but it is a good step forward and it is at least progress in the conversation. So that feels good.

And the event was fun. I was only there for 3 hours but I talked to a lot of good people and I gave my talks about the fire and the machine shop. I didn't feel like as amazingly on like I did the last time but I think that was partially because I was having people that were coming in in the middle of my talking so then I would have to like circle back and that is always hard for me. But I still having a really good time and people were really interested in and they kept thanking me for telling them stuff and they love that they were learning. And that always feels really good.

I also decided to wear my new Crocs today. Which I kept referring to as my formal props because I wore them to a wedding. But they make me feel so tall and they're very comfortable. I definitely think I prefer wearing them with socks then barefoot but I think being barefoot will have its place. Like when things are wet. Like at the beach. But in general I think this is going to be a sock situation. They are comfortable though on my feet feel really nice.

At 6:30 the guests all went to dinner and I went to the front desk. I would drop off my drink and then went to find Merrill and Jesse and we would go and eat some of the appetizers. There really wasn't any vegetarian options so it's mostly just eating the crackers. Little bruschetta. And we just chatted and things were good everyone was busy. Merrill was in charge of this event so Jesse was back and Mr platt's office in the cannery writing contracts. And after he had gone back there me and Meryl were sitting at the front desk talking but at 7:30 approached and it was time for me to go I went back to say goodbye to him and he was wearing the full Mr Black costume. Hat tie and vests. It was so funny. He's so silly. But it was definitely a good night and while I wish that I could have been there for the entire thing because I really do enjoy doing the events I am a little tired from working all day and just a lot of activities so it's nice that I get to come home.

And that's where I am now!! I'm home and looking forward to hanging out with my husband and my animals. I feel tired but happy.

And I hope you do too! I love you all. Goodnight!!

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 41

And now we get to see how the heist was pulled off!

With the information from this chapter, we can say that it was Barry's idea to break Maria Ross out of prison but Roy was the mastermind responsible for everything else, including the Super Heist and the process of smuggling Maria Ross out of the country.

We're shown that Maria Ross's prison bracelet had been cut off by Havoc. One thing I'm surprised about is how neither Roy nor Ross got hurt by the explosion Roy created. It was a big blast seen for several blocks and Maria Ross was standing right by the dummy.

Breda was also a major contributor to the heist and probably acted as a liaison for the Super Heist setup before heading east. He was the one who told Armstrong to meet him in Resembool, and he probably told Lin about the Super Heist plan, and Lin may or may not have informed Barry.

I do have to wander what they would have done if Barry hadn't met Lin in the prison though. Barry broke Lin out because he realized they hadn't figured out what to do with Maria after the breakout and suddenly, they had a potential solution.

Since the followup plan was to rendezvous in Cselkcess so all parties could exchange information, they may have been planning to smuggle Maria Ross to Xing regardless of if they happened to bump into someone from Xing who can help her out.

And it also seems Ed being dragged along by Armstrong was not part of the plan but it is a welcome surprise. Admittedly, most of the information Ed could provide either overlaps with Armstrong's information, was discovered during the Super Heist, or isn't relevant anymore. The only thing of interest from Ed is Greed had some connection to those involved in the conspiracy and Bradley had every one at the Devil's Nest killed despite them potentially having information on things.

The three biggest pieces of info Breda took interest in are Dr Marcoh's location, the raid on the Devil's Nest, and that picture of Lust.

Meanwhile, Maria Ross is just there.

And just because Roy wanted to cover all his bases, Breda was ordered to kill Maria Ross in case she actually killed Hughes. This little part just proves how Envy's profile of Roy is completely wrong. While Mustang does want to avenge Hughes, his primary goal is to discover and stop the conspiracy that decided Hughes must die. Finding the guy who shot him would just be a bonus. If Roy had been convinced Maria Ross was the killer and she was executed for it, Roy would just declare that case closed and move on to finding out who all the other conspirators are.

You know Ed realized how much he screwed up when he doesn't react to Breda calling him a little runt.

Ed still doesn't know how to move forward, but after all this, he's regained the resolve to do so. Or maybe he's putting more on himself again. He's moving forward because of everyone else's actions and encouragement. He hasn't actually given any reason for himself.

...he says while gripping his right arm and sitting in front of a cross.

Maria Ross leaves promising to one day return to repay Colonel Mustang for saving her. She salutes Breda and Armstrong but shakes Ed's hand telling him to take care. Ed told her and Danny they don't need to worry about formality or rank with him. She still remembers that and gives Ed a goodbye as a person who cares about him.

That submission hold Ed puts the Ishbalan man in is very similar to the one Izumi put Loa in in chapter 28. Like teacher, like pupil.

The elderly woman, Mistress Shan, may be one of the priests Scar's master had said fled to the Eastern desert. All the people there talk about the Rockbells so most of them had likely been saved by them. And we learn Scar was responsible for their deaths.

And with this the heist, and the subsequent Super Heist, are concluded.

Also we get to see Breda being scared of a dog.

back

[gunsli-01]

Hey Gunsli, sorry to break in like this, but I’m out of insulation to munch on. If you had the chance to have a fourth trial for any particular Milgram prisoner, which would you want the most? I kind of want Fuuta because I like the pumped up feelings I get from his songs. But I also want Mikoto because I have so many questions.

And it’s a little late, but I hope you’re enjoying the wintry holidays!

I know this answer is probably a bit late and I hope you're able to see it! The winter season is going- So, that's definitely something! Winter is my favorite season so it's always pretty decent, but holidays can be hectic. Sadly, my dad and I both got colds of some sort which sucks because we barely leave the house, but it is good because neither of us want to do that anyhow and colds are a great excuse not to.

So, if this answer seems a bit disjointed that's why. I've kinda been wanting to see some of the Milgram characters interact with the Caligula Effect 2 ones lately. Since the game has managed to pick up my interest now.

If there was a fourth trial hm... That's difficult. I think a lot of prisoners are set up well within the three-trial system. Like they've all given pretty sufficient information within the two trials so far and I think even more will come out from the third. So, I'm very excited for all the rug pulling about to be done and hoping it doesn't disappoint.

Under the circumstances that fourth trial was about their response to their verdicts outside of Milgram i.e. if they'd go to offend again or change due to the experience very similar to what occurs within Caligula Effect ones ending... I'd want them all to have a fourth one but I think it'd be better if those results, we're shown through another Es song having us go full circle in a way.

If it's just based on songs. There's a certain amount of catharsis that I get from Mikoto, Amane, and Futa's songs. So I'd like for them to have more but I'd also enjoy them having the pairs do songs together at a point or them doing group songs. Out of left field though-

If only one of them absolutely only one could have a fourth trial in full. I'd want it to be Mu. Because I like her voice and her covers are always really good. Plus, she always says something interesting in her voice dramas. Like for all the faults I could find with her character she's very genuine in her communication and displays the pitfalls of anxiety with girls that contrasts well with Futa's display. I tend to like the fact that her songs have this immense presence with this understated feeling of fear that says stop looking at me but please keep watching at the same time.

So, I'd put her through one more trial. Though I doubt it would give much new context. Mikoto too if he or no one else gets pseudo hope syndrome. Hoping one of these fucking smokers gets it at this point so it can have new instrumental no one is thinking about Pseudo Hope Syndrome false I always am. Always. Reversible campaign was good though. Also damn no one has gotten Cinderella or Zombies yet here's hoping-

[jackienautism]

In the prologue when Max and Laura and checking the car and talking about "curling up next to a big ol firepit" you get a very brief five second shot of someone watching them from behind a tree and if you listen really closely you can hear them breathing. It's implied the thing on the road was Silas so I assume he must've dipped after almost dying for the nth time and probably wanted to check if they were okay before leaving. But it's 12 AM in-game + Eliza has no reason to sound out of breath so can Silas just not kill people for six hours? Doesn't this completely shatter the whole "we need to cure X tonight" bs if the werewolves can do that? It'd explain why we don't hear shit about skinny bears with albinism killing people at night but it's still odd given that everyone turns immediately after being fully infected. (Maybe it's cuz he's the only NPC with critical thinking skills)

yeaaah i always took that the like. whole little intro thing where we're going through all the trees and forest and stuff? i always took that as being from silas' (or at the very least. another werewolf) pov due to how erratic the camera movements were. meaning yeah, that definitely was silas checking laura and max out from behind a tree. why he didn't straight up attack them though, i dont know

i believe silas mustve been already turned by the time they almost hit him? because for the full moon in august (where the bulk of the game takes place) its a bit after 9:00 when abi and nick encounter the first werewolf. and since it was a full moon when laura nd max went to camp, 12 AM is definitely well past the transforming point i suppose

and just like. based on that and the following confrontations, it SEEMS that werewolves attack without second thought. so, you're right, why doesnt silas attack them in the prologue as theyre checking out the van's damage? why does it take chris so long to actually attack max in the storm shelter? why didn't he go for laura instead, seeing that he was constantly closer to her? so many things contradict one another and just. man. id ont know fjkdgdg

i think they say we need to cure whoever tonight due to what the poem told them (whose information also comes out of nowhere, i dont understand why we're supposed to just accept that the poem appeared out of travis' asshole). i dont know why exactly but it MUST be a full moon to successfully cure someone infected, meaning they can't do it during the day or on another night. and i assume they wanna cure X that night because if not they'd have to wait another whole month and i assume it'd be a bit unpleasant knowing that you'll turn into a mindless deadly creature once more

im terribly sorry if this is FAR from what you were telling me, im tired rn and a little dense nd stupid. so if you wanna clarify if i didn't really answer what you were saying, please feel free! im always down to talk and stuff, thank you for sending something in in the first place though :]

[fallonash]

What's in a name?

I am concerned that season 2 of Redemption will utterly torpedo all my headcanons for Sophie's backstory so I have cobbled them together into a mostly chronological thing here. (or on AO3)

~~~

Her very first alter ego is given to her at the tender age of eight when her new classmates in a new country first laugh at her accent, and then they laugh at her name. They can't pronounce Boglárka anyway, so when the teacher suggests they call her Lara instead she grits her teeth but nods. Her mother strokes her hair when she gets home. ”Maybe this way, things will be easier for you.” She looks sad when she says it, but from then on her mother writes Lara on all the forms.

A few weeks later most of the other children have moved on, and that one brat who still calls her Bogroll gets caught with Mrs Richard's purse in his desk and gets transferred to a different classroom, even as he wails that he never took it and doesn't understand how it got there. Revenge is sweet.

It helps that she has an ear for accents, and a head for languages. She listens to the other children, the way the words take shape in their mouths, the way the teachers will sometimes wrinkle their noses at some of them, and tell them that people will take them more seriously if they pronounce a certain word this way or that. Once she gets a firmer grasp of the language, soon she's able to mirror someone's accent back at them. The children notice and get annoyed with her, but the teachers praise her, how fast she's learning, how good her pronunciation is.

They move often, her mother has a hard time finding a stable job, but each time it's easier to slip into the persona she chooses for her new school. She borrows bits and pieces of other people's lives to create Lara anew, to make her life seem unremarkable, to fit in. Even much later in life the easiest characters she plays are the ones where she envisions the individual she bases them on and just steps into their lives. She says the things they would say, acts the way she's seen them do.

'We're going to visit Grandmother for Christmas,' she tells Kitty who has the desk next to her. 'In Coventry.' Kitty nods, and tells her how much she hates the viola lessons her mother is making her take. Never mind that they don't even celebrate Christmas and she has never been to Coventry. She goes to the library on her way home and borrows some books for research. She knows a few things from listening to Peter at her old school talk about his summer visit to his aunt there but needs more detailed information to ensure she gets it right.

It becomes a game, finding the perfect balance with what she can get away with without anyone catching on to the falsehoods. Adults will believe anything, she finds, but other children are much more difficult, they will twig unconsciously when something isn't just right, freezing out this person or that at the drop of a hat. Not only does she become good at fitting in, slipping between the cracks to make them believe she's always been there, but she also becomes good at misdirection. If anyone is paying a little too close attention she can get the other children to turn on them, thinking all the while it was their own idea.

She spends a lot of her time listening, watching, paying attention to the exact inflection people have when they're telling the truth. How much detail to include to make it credible, but not too much. The kinds of things people say that makes other people nod their head, how to become relatable. The people who lie for attention become easy to spot, they're always exaggerating, and eventually she learns to spot the good, the measured, liars too. Only very rarely do they spot her. She usually gets her revenge on them anyway, and then she fixes it, whatever it was that made them notice her.

When she's twelve she starts a school in Norwich that has a drama club and she joins it mostly so she doesn't have to go home to their empty flat in the afternoons. Anthony on the ground floor always wants to talk to her too long, tries to invite her for tea. But she finds that she likes the theatre, getting up on the stage and pretending to be someone else. Suddenly she gets encouraged and praised for being able to put on accents, making up stories and characters at the drop of a hat, instead of shoved on the playground and being called a liar.

Christmas ends up being a very useful holiday. Her mother sometimes offers to work, which, if played the right way to the right people, can get you sympathy, and by extension invitations to spend Christmas at fancy country estates. Her mother isn't thrilled about her ostensibly accepting charity, but it doesn't feel like charity when she comes home with pieces of jewelry, the odd bit of silver, one time a whole painting from a stack she finds in a dusty room with covered furniture in the 'oh, we don't go into that wing, dear' section of the house. It could be another century before anyone finds out.

The trick is to find the things nobody will notice are missing. She makes an early mistake once when she tries to nab a figurine – a small thing in bronze, but her school mate's cousin twice removed who hasn't visited in three years and must be the only person who cares or it wouldn't have been so dusty, asks for it, and then she has to quietly sneak in and return it, knocking it behind a photo on a massive mantlepiece before hastily retreating to a different room with a book as she listens to the lady of the manor berating the housekeeper for being clumsy. Her pulse beats in her throat and she can taste the adrenaline, but her hands are steady on the page. She is terrified and exhilarated, and she can't wait to feel like this again.

She keeps the things she steals for a while and then she takes them down the street to pawn them. She makes up different stories for different pawn shops, enjoys keeping track of the different reasons, though most are variations on her having to sell off family heirlooms to pay for her mother's medicine – that last part is not a lie.

When she's fourteen her mother's cough gets worse and she starts having trouble with the stairs, but she still refuses to give up smoking. The doctor just shakes his head at them, tells her mother she needs medicine, but it's more expensive than they can afford. She learns about corticosteroids and bronchodilators, pays for the prescriptions with her newly won wealth, and tells her mother the pharmacist gave them to her at a discounted price.

She's seventeen when her mother dies and they're living in Derby. The congregation at the synagogue is small, but they all help her with the shiva, and women from her mother's knitting circle bring her food and speak to her softly in Hungarian. She goes back to school just long enough to spread the story that she has an uncle in Southampton and she's going there to stay with him and his family, talks her landlord into giving her some money for the furniture she leaves behind in their flat, flirts with the boy at school whose brother sells the fake IDs so that he gives her four different ones, and then she packs what little she wants to keep and gets on the train to London.

. . .

After her first truly close call she takes her bruised body to the storage unit where she keeps the last remnants of her family, hidden behind a false wall in a cupboard. She goes through the few photos her mother had, the documents, writes down what she knows of them. All the names and dates she can remember, leaving only herself out. If she should die, sometime in the near or far future, eventually when the payments stop coming someone will open up her storage unit. This one doesn't hold valuables or stolen masterpieces, just random items collected over time she might someday have need for. Some of it might be sold, but most of it will probably be thrown in the garbage and everything will be destroyed. Or worse, someone will come after her and find them, use them to track down her scattered family members in a bid to find her. She commits every single image to memory, and then she donates all of it anonymously to the newly formed British-Hungarian Society. Better her family be remembered by strangers, than not at all.

~~~

Hit me up with your thoughts. I have so many of them. Also, the outlines of something of a family tree. And a bunch of assorted research. And feelings. All of them. (Also, I realize that some of this isn't entirely unlike Gina's backstory, but in all honesty I took a fair bit of inspiration from my grandparents. They weren't Hungarian or Jewish, but they had the "wrong" nationality and the "wrong" names and were treated badly because of it.)

[teamsunfluff]

(@ask-a-staravia) "Do you have any friends here in Cosmos town?" Mukudori asked the pair of Shaymin. "Or, um, at least Pokemon you know? What are they like?" He added hastily at the end.

"Oh yeah, we know a fair amount of residents due to how involved the whole town is with the refugee program here," Kaji said. He gestured towards the bar across the room, where a Tinkaton was cleaning out some glasses. "We already introduced her, but that's Ilva. She's the owner of this café, The Gigaton Brew. She can come off as a bit brash at first, but she's just very passionate about her job and confident in her craft.

"Then there's Prisca. She's a shiny Mightyena Absol crossbread who is a traveling merchant that comes by Cosmos Town every once in a while with rare materials. She really enjoys spelunking, so she finds all sorts of stuff, ranging from evolution stones to maps for other dungeons, the works. Normally she only stays in Cosmos Town for a week before she heads out again, but due to the recent incident at Sky Peak, she's settled in for a time until the guild can ascertain how safe it is to venture out of the town's radius again.

"Speaking of the guild, the Cosmos Town guild is run by a shiny Rapidash named Hrímfaxi. Guildmaster Hrímfaxi is a pretty stern guy, but I think that comes with the territory of being a seasoned explorer. He's seen some things and doesn't want to see those mistakes or tragedies repeated. He's also in charge of investigating what happened at Sky Peak, which is why we're staying at the guild currently. We're key witnesses," Kaji explained.

"He's tried to be gentle with us though, I can tell," Avin cut in. "The incident was... extremely traumatic, so while he definitely wants information from us, I think he's trying to let us adjust to being here first before he does any sort of interrogations."

Kaji nodded. "Much to the chagrin of his vice guildmaster, Mefitis. The two of them were apparently famous explorers once upon a time as Team Midnight? We'd never heard of them but when the Rapidash Scolipede duo opened up a guild, their reputation was enough that they had people in a line out the door and down the road. Or so Ilva says.

"We've also met a fair few of the guild members. Not all of them, since a lot of the teams operate out of their own bases, but the apprentices and staff all stay on site so when we were first given a tour we got to meet all of them.

"Firstly, there's six main staff members: Circe, Otrera, Cluri, Arnold, Roksana, and Kiko. Otrera is the primary doctor on staff, with Circe being her apprentice. The two of them make for a great healing duo since Otrera has natural healing abilities as an Audino, while Circe can handle some patients that Otrera can't, like ghost-types or ones who can only be reached via flying. They usually stay on site but sometimes are sent out during major disasters, like at Sky Peak," Kaji elaborated.

"Cluri is the main chef for the guild. Supposedly her name is short for something but in all candor, she kinda scares me. I can’t decide if it’s just the creepy vibes she gives off as a Morgrem or if it’s because she seems to intimidate the other recruits too, but, she seems like the type you don’t want to mess with, at least in my opinion.

“Arnold and Roksana are the tag team that handles sentry duty. That Boltund Watchog duo can't be beat! They're also an exploration team that graduated a few winters ago, which probably explains why they have such good synergy. Supposedly they caught a couple outlaws who were trying to mascarade as a guild team last year, all because Arnold recognized their scent!

"Then there's Kiko. She's in charge of changing out the job mission and outlaw boards. Apparently she's got a cousin who changes out those requests at a guild in the west too? She often talks about how cool it is that she can go into the ocean when he can't. I'm not really sure what she means by that, but if it makes her little Wiglett-self happy then so be it!" Kaji said with a laugh.

"Oh and then," Avin interjected, "There's the other apprentices. Besides us, there's eight other apprenticing members at the guild that make up three teams. There's Team ZipZop, which primarily focuses on water rescues and missions. Cosmos Town is really close to the ocean so having a team consisting of largely water-types is handy for that. Being a Dreepy, Lich is really fast so they're able to scout out ahead for any danger or people in need of rescue! Then Dre, Rami, and Ju can come in and perform the rescue itself. Between Dre's flotation devices, Rami's schooling ability, and Ju's swift flying and diving, they're able to pretty quickly get people out of the water and to safety!

"Then there's Team RockyShock. Their leader is Fen, an older apprentice at the guild, who took Deli and Vulcan under his wings to form the team. And I do mean that literally, since Fen is an Oricorio. They're currently operating mostly in the Northern Desert region, since Deli and Vulcan are rock and ground-types respectively and still need to get used to the ins and outs of exploring. It's a bit rough on Fen, but he says they're doing pretty well for being newer apprentices.

"Lastly, there's Donahue, a solo explorer and the only member of Team X-Scissor. You wouldn't think a Ninjask would be able to hold his own, but Donahue's a really skilled fighter and rescuer. He's also the apprentice that's been at the guild the longest, so all the others sorta look up to him. I think he's set to graduate soon too? I'll need to ask him more about it."

Kaji lightly smacked his paws on the table in excitement. "Oh! And of course we can't forget-"

"Adam!" Avin said excitedly. The two Shaymin laughed together before turning to Mukudori. "Adam was one of the first non-guild members we met in Cosmos Town. He actually really wants to be part of the guild, but he's failed the entry exam three times already because he gets too scared and runs away. We were thinking of offering to help him train to see if it would calm his nerves down a bit."

Kaji nodded. "He seems like a really nice guy. You wouldn't think a Garchomp would be so easily intimidated by the entry exam, but given we didn't technically take it ourselves... well... we don't actually know what it entails, so best we can do is help him train and hope it works, right?"

"Sorry, I know that was probably more than you were expecting," Avin said with a chuckle, "Did you want to ask about any particular details?"

Ask Hints have been Updated!

[anders-hawke]

when u have an argument about flying to england for a bogus case and ur bf goes w/o u and you both regret ur actions but now ur miles apart yearning for each other but still too knuckleheaded to concede that u were wrong in that argument

[backslashdelta]

What are your favourite things about Kurtbastian? :) what makes them so appealing to you?

Hello and thank you so much for this ask! I love any opportunity to gush about Kurtbastian <3

So I think before I get into it, I want to preface with a few things. Not so much for you specifically, but just for anyone who happens to read this.

Kurtbastian is my favourite ship. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that I think it's objectively (or even subjectively lol) better than other ships. It's just my personal preference, not any sort of statement of objective quality.

I'm also aware that most of what Kurtbastian is, especially on Sebastian's end, is based in fanon. I understand that some people might take issue with me ranking something based in fanon over canon ships. I'm not trying to say that a non-canon ship is more valuable than a canon ship, because I certainly recognize the value in canon ships. That being said, I also don't think that canon ships are objectively better than fanon ships; I think they're just so different it's really not comparable. Again I think this just comes down to personal preference, and I'm just trying to share my perspective.

This is very specifically my opinions. I'd like to think that a lot of other people who ship Kurtbastian would agree with at least some of the things that I say here, but I'm not trying to speak for anyone else or say that these are the reasons other people should like them; these are just some reasons that I, personally, like them.

Alright, with that out of the way, let's get to it! I'm going to break it into three main sections. First Kurt and Sebastian as individuals, then their dynamic together. I considered talking a little more broadly about why them being fanon rather than canon appeals to me, because that is part of it too, but I decided against it because a) this was already getting kind of long, b) it's not really a Kurtbastian-specific point, and c) I think it would involve a lot of drawing comparisons with canon ships to properly get some of my thoughts across, and I wanted this post to focus on the merits of Kurtbastian on their own as opposed to relying on comparisons to other ships. That being said, it is a topic I'd be more than happy to discuss elsewhere if you're interested in that conversation!

The Kurt of it all.

This is the most straightforward and obvious part of why I love this ship so much. Anybody who has taken even a moment to glance at my blog probably knows that I am deeply and irrevocably in love with Kurt Hummel. I think he's a fascinating character and I love love love exploring him and how his mind works. I really relate to how he often deals with (or rather, doesn't deal with) his emotions by kind of burying them or putting up walls and not letting people in or pushing them away until it can't be ignored anymore. I love angst and drama, and seeing how that can build up and pile onto him until a breaking point is something I really enjoy and also in a way kind of feels therapeutic to me. I could elaborate more, but I think that a) Kurt is such a well fleshed out character than it's not super necessary, and b) it's probably more informative to spend more time talking about the things about Sebastian and then Kurtbastian together that make them appealing to me, because that's the part that we don't really get in canon so is the part that people are more likely to not understand.

The Sebastian of it all.

So, the Sebastian we're given in canon is... questionable at best. I'm not here to argue that, and I don't think any other Kurtbastian shipper would, either. Sebastian is not a great person, he says and does so much shit that is absolutely not acceptable. And then he gets a sort-of redemption where he apologizes, says that he realizes he's been wrong, and he says he'll change. He ends up helping out with Blaine's proposal and everyone seems on good terms at that point. This redemption has been met with mixed opinions; you can argue that it's canon and he's becoming a better person, or you can argue that it was just for show and he hasn't really changed. Personally, I don't really care what's canonically the case (though for what it's worth, I think he probably makes an effort to be less shitty in some cases but is still kind of a shitty person at other times, because it's kind of hard to pull a complete 180 like that). What I find interesting is thinking about if he did, in fact, decide to work on himself and become a better person, what would that look like? And not only that, but why is he a shitty person in the first place? Obviously some people are just... shitty, with no underlying "reason". And having bad shit in your past is never an excuse for shitty behaviour, nor does everybody with some kind of trauma or negative life experiences end up being a shitty person, obviously, lots of people deal with varying degrees of past trauma and are still amazing and wonderful people. But it can affect people in a way that makes them lash out at others in inappropriate and harmful ways, and this is fiction and a safe place to explore that, and doing so isn't equivalent to making a statement about the morality of that kind of behaviour. And I think there is value to be had in showing stories about imperfect characters - and, yes, even deeply flawed and morally objectionable characters - growing and changing and realizing their past wrongs. It doesn't mean their past mistakes don't matter, and it doesn't mean that those who previously wronged them need to forgive them by any means, but even in real life people make mistakes and wrong others all the time. And just because you've done shit you're not proud of doesn't mean you can't move forward and grow and become better, you know? And Sebastian, well, the boy has a lot of room for growth. I think it can be a tricky line to walk because I feel like people could interpret this as trying to justify his actions and say "oh they're okay because he changed", but that's really not it. It's about change and growth and learning to move on even with that past and having to deal with the baggage that comes with that. I feel like I could talk myself in circles trying to explain this while clarifying the things I'm not saying, so I'm going to stop now, but as a tl;dr: Sebastian is kinda fucked up and I like to think about why he's that way and what the process of change and growth might look like for him.

The Kurtbastian of it all.

I guess this is the most important part. Because obviously you can love two characters, but to ship them there needs to be something about the dynamic between them that really ties it together. We're given some interactions between them in canon, and they're pretty much all some flavour of hostile or antagonistic or wary at best. They don't like each other ("I don't like you." "Fun, I don't like you either.") and they only barely play nice in front of Blaine. And I. fucking. love. it. They play off each other so damn well. They are always trying to one-up the other with their words and I think it's just so interesting to see.

When Kurt feels threatened, his best defense has always been his words, and when he's faced bullies in the past they were never really a match for his wit, and he knew it, and it gave him a way to feel superior to them so that even if they could push him around he still knew he was better than them. Is "feeling superior" to others a great coping strategy? Well, that's not the point, but I never said Kurt was perfect anyway; he's just a kid going through way more shit than one person could ever deserve and trying to cope however he can manage. Anyway, back on topic, the fact that Sebastian can match him in that realm is a challenge. It's new, and I think it's really fun to see that back and forth. Also notably, Sebastian isn't actually a bully to Kurt, in my opinion. Generally I think of them as enemies-to-lovers in a shipping context, but I think "rivals" is probably a better word to describe them. I don't think they'd really get along in the first place anyway, but they'd probably pretty much just leave each other alone if it wasn't for the Blaine of it all forcing them to be around each other.

For Sebastian's part, I think he sees it as more amusing. It seems fun to him, the rivalry they have going on, like it's a game. He's always grinning or smirking and he wants a reaction and he loves it when Kurt gives back just as good as he gets. I think he's a little surprised with Kurt, honestly, and I like to think that could turn to something akin to fascination/intrigue. I love the idea of their verbal sparring matches, on his end, becoming less about Blaine and more about Kurt. And what I mean by that is, initially this is happening because Sebastian wants Blaine, and Kurt is Blaine's boyfriend, so Sebastian is acting this way toward Kurt because of that, but then over time maybe that's less of a factor and it's just that he wants to interact with Kurt and doesn't care so much about Blaine anymore, though he'd of course still use it as an excuse because he is absolutely not about to admit that any part of him likes Kurt in any way.

And then beyond the dynamic we're explicitly given in canon, I like to think they're more alike than they think, and of course they'd both be absolutely appalled to hear that, but it's true (in my headcanons, anyway). I think they both use their words and their wit as a defense mechanism. I think they both have masks that they put on and hide behind, and they don't like to let people too close. And the idea of two people like that slowly learning to open up to each other, to me is just so interesting. Because they can see those traits in the other person, and they can recognize that it's important to let down those walls and to open up, and I think that also helps them see that it kind of needs to be a two-way street. And on top of that, they wouldn't be afraid to call each other out on their shit. I think that's good for both of them, because in my mind they're both kind of shit at communicating their feelings if something is wrong, but what they're not shit at communicating is when they see something is going on with someone else. And I think that would be really good for both of them, to have somebody who will call them on that and make them face their issues and help them deal with the problem. I think they could frame issues and solutions to those issues in a really logical way that makes sense to both of them, but the one with the problem maybe just didn't even consider as an option because they were so wrapped up in it. I think they'd be really good at grounding each other, very call-it-like-it-is, very complimentary in a way that still challenges each other to be better. In season 6, Kurt makes a comment that his therapist said that men fight to stay connected; I don't think that's true, but I do think that Kurt and Sebastian are both the kind of people who are at their best when they have someone on their side who isn't afraid to start conflict if it means calling out a legitimate problem, and I could see them each being that person to each other.

In summary.

So I guess, in summary, what it really comes down to is a) I love Kurt, b) I love the potential I see in Sebastian, c) I love their little verbal sparring matches and the way they can play off each other (we call that chemistry), and d) I love the specific ways that I imagine their strengths and flaws could interact, and the challenges and growth they could face as a result. It does make for a specific kind of story, but it's a specific kind of story that I personally find fascinating and am really drawn to, and that's why I love them so much. Hopefully this makes sense, and hopefully I didn't miss anything crucial, though I probably didn't cover quite everything. And if there's something in particular that I said that you (or anyone else!) would like to talk more about, or want me to elaborate on, I'm more than happy to do that as well.

[cahir-cathere]

A timeline for Fringilla

I am going to preface this by saying that trying to sort out the timeline for any Witcher media is an absolute disaster-- there's a ton of conflicting information! Because this is show based, I'm using Netflix's established timeline-- which can be found here-- however for supporting information I will be referencing back to the books and games.

Anything in green is either canon or highly likely; anything in blue is a little more conjectural in nature. I've also included an estimate for Fringilla's age in parenthesis () next to the dates.

ca. 1190: Fringilla born.

As per the Netflix timeline, Yen was born in 1192, and as she and Fringilla were in the same class, presumably they are around the same age. I like to think that Fringilla is a few years older, as this explains her feelings of inferiority as Yen starts to excel.

1206: Education at Aretuza begins. (~16)

Again, this is based on Netflix's stated timeline.

1210: Graduation from Aretuza; assigned to Nilfgaard. (~20)

The series describes Fergus as being both "effective" and easily suggestible-- a very accurate assessment. Over the course of his reign (as we'll see below), Fergus did accomplish many military victories, but he didn't lead with a steady hand. He was over-reliant on the expertise of others, vindictive, and uncaring. For the Brotherhood to have any influence at all in Nilfgaard, the court mage assigned there would have to have been very assertive... which, we know Fringilla wasn't in her youth. Instead, Nilfgaard's generals had the king's ear.

1216: Nilfgaard invades *Etoloa (~26)

With Fergus relying on support from Nilfgaard's military instead of its mages, its expansion continued. In 1216, it invaded and utterly decimated the kingdom of Etoloa in a particularly brutal war that left the region devastated. Fergus made an example of Etoloa-- a message that was received, as the nearby kingdom of Vicovaro, knowing they would be next, elected to willingly join the Nilfgaardian empire soon after.

*(Etoloa is spelled as Etolia in the role playing games, however it appears written as Etoloa on the maps used for the Netflix series, so that's the spelling I'm using.)

1226: Nilfgaard invades Gemmera (~36)

Next, Nilfgaard set its eyes on Gemmera, one of the largest producers of dimeritium in the south. With the support of its two newest provinces, Etoloa and Vicovaro, Nilfgaard invaded, and won itself even more land.

1228: Unrest and political dissent intensify (~38)

Fergus's warmongering was not universally popular, especially if his victories came at the cost of regular citizens' quality of life, which seems likely given what we know about him previously wasting the kingdom's money "while his people starve[d] to death" (S1E3). Philosopher Vysogota or Corvo wrote a scathing manifesto railing against Fergus and his government, and sparked a potential uprising as grievances were aired. Fergus responded by convicting Vysogota and his supporters of treason, executing those who didn't flee.

1237: Fergus is deposed; Emhyr forced to flee (~47)

Eventually, Fergus's over-reliance on the military came back to bite him, as one of his own generals staged a coup, with the support of several aristocrats.

(The Usurper's name and identity are never confirmed in the books; the detail about him being one of Emhyr's generals comes from Gwent/the RPG.)

At first, the Usurper tried to force Fergus into willingly abdicating by torturing his son Emhyr, but Fergus refused. Instead, the Usurper had his mages curse Emhyr, and he took the throne by force, killing Fergus.

ca. 1245 - 1249: Fringilla is imprisoned (~55-59)

Now, we're getting into truly speculative territory here. We know that sometime after the Usurper's ascension, he started imprisoning mages, but I think that Fringilla avoided this fate, at least for a little while. In the books, she mentions briefly meeting Cahir when he was around seven, which would imply that she managed to stay free a few years after the takeover. We don't have an official year of birth for Cahir, but in Time of Contempt (which is set in 1267) Geralt estimates that he's "no older than 25", which would put him as being born around 1242. However, the Netflix series has condensed the book timeline considerably, so it's possible that as a result they intended for Cahir to be around 25 at the start of the series, in 1263, which would put his birth year closer to 1238. This gives us a timespan from 1245-1249 for this meeting to take place.

Now, all that we really know for certain is that Fringilla was imprisoned before Emhyr's return in 1257-- we don't know exactly how long she was trapped in the playhouse. She says that she was there for "years" (S2E2), and I personally think that a 8-11 year span of time would track well with Fringilla's attitude in the present. To me, she seems out-of-step with her surroundings and her place in the world, which would make sense if she spent almost an entire decade imprisoned.

1257: Emhyr returns and ousts the Usurper; Fringilla freed (~67)

Per Fringilla and Cahir's conversation in S2E6, she was still imprisoned when Emhyr returned to Nilfgaard, and was only released after he dethroned the Usurper. Fringilla says that it took her "a while to be freed," which implies that Emhyr carefully vetted all political prisoners before their release.

1263: Invasion of Cintra (~73)

And now we're at S1E1! This is where the official, present-day timeline for the series begins, all of which is on the Witcher Netflix site. So for now, this is where we're stopping-- if anyone wants, I can attempt to make another covering the present-day events, but that's a project for another day!

[talkfantasytome]

Going to delete ask posts that directly linked other people's posts, based on this feedback and suggestion (which I thoroughly appreciate!), as I'm not trying to point fingers at anyone or directly tell a specific person they're wrong. I'll repost the general content, with a summary of what was asked, starting with this post.

Anon Ask: Some people are saying that SJM has confirmed Vassien by saying that she'd like to do retellings of firebird legends, swan lake, and Vasilisa the Beautiful, using some shots of her comments. What are your thoughts on this? And the time on facebook that Sarah said E\ain and Lucien have a lot of "tension, growth, and healing to be found (together)".

The most important thing to consider here is timeline. Both of the twitter shown were made in April of 2015. The first one is, honestly, fairly irrelevant. First of all, she's just saying fairy tales she might like to retell. And, for the record, she has also said she'd like to do a retelling of The Little Mermaid, yet often people disregard that as an argument for Gwynriel. So, either her comments on what she'd like to do a retelling of matter, or they don't.

And, if they're saying that those comments are foreshadowing a Vassa + Lucien book, then clearly The Little Mermaid comments are foreshadowing a Gwynriel book. And then...where's E\ain's?

E\ain is getting a book, so which fairy tale gets the short straw?

Or, maybe, the story won't be exactly like the fairy tale.

I do think that both of those comments are important, but Sarah said she wants to do a retelling.

That could literally mean anything. All that tells us is that she will take themes and ideas from the story. I'm not saying Vassa won't be important in a later book, but Sarah can retell the story any way. She could have Vassa betray E\ain, get Koschei to transfer the curse over to the middle Archeron, and now E\ain is the swan on the lake (cause, come on, E\ain's def. a bit swan-like), and Lucien has to rescue her. Or, maybe Jurian is the one that rescues Vassa while Lucien and E\ain deal with Koschei?

There are so many options in a retelling that to say SJM telling us she wants to do a retelling of these stories is a clear sign that Vassa + Lucien are endgame is, honestly, not a very critical analysis.

I'm going to address this tweet next:

This twitter exchange happed April 30, 2015. ACOMAF was published in May of 2016. This post can not be used as foreshadowing of Vassa + Lucien, because it happened before we found out E\ain and Lucien are mates. That "at some point further down the road" literally means "any time after book 1".

People keep using this tweet and presenting it as if Sarah's response came recently. They're spreading misinformation - it may not be purposeful, they may not have seen or noticed the date, but this twitter exchange can't be used as proof that Lucien's person has to be someone other than E\ain, because when it was made we did not know about the Lucien and E\ain possibility.

That doesn't mean it definitely is talking about E\ain, but my point is that this is not proof of Vassa + Lucien, of someone else + Lucien, because of when it was posted.

As for other comments on retellings Sarah would like to do - it's the same argument as the first one. Sarah said she wants to do a retelling of the firebird and swan like. We all know this. It's not new information. People who are saying Vassa + Lucien won't happen aren't ignorant of this fact. We're well aware, and we're also well aware of every other thing Sarah has said, mentioned, foreshadowed, and we're tying it all together. Focusing solely on stories Sarah has mentioned she'd like to retell - not confirmed she will retell - and ignoring everything else doesn't provide a solid analysis. You have to weave how those stories would fit into the grander scheme, and look at the other surrounding factors as well.

And, again, we need to remember that Sarah can do whatever the hell she wants in terms of the story and how she chooses to retell a fairy tale. I mean, how often is Little Red Riding Hood turned into a werewolf story? And sometimes even Red is the wolf?

Writers use fairy tales as a base, a foundation, but then they make it their own. No writer is going to tell the fairy tale exactly how it first was. They're going to adjust it...a lot...to make it their own story.

I'd also like to point out that both times she mentions Vasilisa, she says "Vasilisa the Beautiful". The first time she also said 'the Brave', but the second, solely 'Beautiful'. Vassa is beautiful, of course, but one of E\ain's defining characteristics is her beauty. Even in ACOSF it was again mentioned, discussed, about how her beauty made others hate her.

Could Vassa be Vasilisa...of course. However, I think people are a bit blinded by the similarities in names. Remember, Vasilisa the Beautiful wasn't the firebird - those are different stories. And, honestly, after doing a bit of research into the tale, I'm starting to get more and more sure of the thought that the character who would portray Vasilisa is E\ain.

I think I'm going to do a post on it...

In the later comment on retellings she'd like to do - which we know came after the first as the first came out in August 2015 and that story she's telling was given after the second set of books was confirmed - I also find it interesting that she said Vasilisa the Beautiful (specifically) and Swan Lake, subbing out the firebird.

Why would she do that? Perhaps because she's already brought in the firebird pieces she planned to bring in. We already know that retelling, and how it's come to play. Vassa is a firebird by the curse.

I'm not saying it couldn't end in a Swan Lake thing, as that is what the curse reminds me of. But, personally, I think the fact that she's saying Swan Lake now is also symbolic of something more, possibly another character getting trapped by Koschei.

As for the other piece you asked about, I don't have much to say about it, because it feels like the closest we'll come to an elucien confirmation.

That was also posted a while ago, back when ACOMAF came out. So, it's not like this is recent information Sarah is providing us. However, we know that Sarah can sometimes end up choosing endgame based on gut and things that just hit her. Cassian and Nesta - literally didn't know about them until she wrote them on the same page and was like "oh shit". So Sarah saying that she and Lucien didn't see E\ain coming...I'm sorry, but that feels almost more telling than even the next part of the sentence - where she says they have growing and healing to do together.

That's so huge. And we haven't seen that yet. We've only really seen the tension.

Sarah said this back when ACOMAF came out. And it was around writing or publishing ACOWAR that she got the okay for the second set of books (I think?). Which means she was likely thinking about the longer-term stories before that. Which would explain why we didn't get that growth and healing in ACOWAR.

Instead, she left them in a spot where it seemed like a possibility, and then for the later books has just added more tension. But that journey is still there. She's had it planned for so long. And yes, maybe she could change her mind, but we only know of two cases where she did just that:

Az and Mor

Nesta and Lucien

For Az and Mor it was because she decided to make Mor bisexual and unable to be in an emotional relationship with a male. This was due to complaints over diversity. It's the closest Sarah's probably come to 'fanservice' - except, admittedly, this is so not fanservice. Fanservice is doing something like, say, having Voldemort and Bellatrix have a secret love child despite the fact that Voldy never once came off as having any form of romantic or sexual feelings for her or anyone, ever. (Seriously, that guy was asexual and that is a hill I'll die on.)

Adjusting a character due to legitimate complaints and concerns on diversity, not just fanservice. It's more a full on social service, really, to try and provide that representation better. Yes, it wasn't done in the best way, but she did make an attempt.

The second one - Nesta and Lucien. That was her general plan, until she put Nesta and Cassian on page together. Then it all went out the window. Just like all of Nesta's thoughts when she saw Cassian. Just like Cassian's entire brain when he saw Nesta. 👀

And we get it, because we see it too.

So, while Sarah could have changed her mind about E\ain and Lucien, the only reasons she'd do that don't yet apply. She's already made a change for the diversity complaints, and I don't see her doing that with these two. As for finding out they actually belong with someone else when she sees them on page - well, that hasn't happened yet. She made the E\ain + Lucien decision after we see E\ain and Azriel interact, so clearly Az is not that for E\ain. And we've seen Lucien and Vassa on page together. There's nothing there except Lucien being pained about her curse - which, yeah, she's his friend. How often is one IC member described as looking pained for another? Or thinks about how much it hurt them to see their friend hurt?

But we know what it looks like when the chemistry is so undeniable it will adjust Sarah's plans. And if you're not sure - go back and read all the Nessian scenes in ACOMAF. And then see the one scene where Lucien and Vassa are on page together - I think you'll find there's another male there that, with Vassa, rings closer to the Nessian home.

There was no on page chemistry between Vassa and Lucien, and certainly not enough to change Sarah's mind. Which would also mean E\ain already wasn't meant for Az, which is likely why no one arguing for Vassa + Lucien seems to care as much about that, because most people who ship them are already dead set on E\ain + Azriel.

So, there you have it, my point of view/rant on those two pieces. But it's always important to look at the context of a post, and especially the "source material" people use to provide proof. It's why I tend to stick to the text where I can, and only use SJM statements that don't have an expiration date to their importance. SJM saying something about how she loves happily ever afters, for example, no expiration date. SJM telling us in 2015 that there is someone special for Lucien down the road - an expiration date after the first sign of a possible love interest for Lucien. Once E\ain was declared to be his mate, that statement became irrelevant, because regardless of whether it will be E\ain or not, you can no longer state that it's clearly hinting at someone else, since E\ain is a love interest for Lucien.

[the-twewy-sequel]

TWEWY: The Animation - Episode 1 Review

Like a bolt from the blue, it’s time for the TWEWY Anime Review!

After a lot of anticipation, it's finally here, and I sure do have a lot to say. So no stalling—let's get to it!

The show starts off right about where you’d expect it to—Neku waking up in the Scramble Crossing—and to me, a strong feeling that “the animators did their research”.

From the early scenes where Neku dodges incoming traffic in a movement style reminiscent of his dodge animation in TWEWY, to the poses and facial expressions of the characters introduced so far, the way the show is presented and paced feels not only natural, but authentically “TWEWY”.

Remember this pose? She also does the hand-wavy thing too, but animated, and it's great.

Of course, the foundation of this authenticity is the amazing art style that we knew we were being treated to from previous trailers—not just colorful and vibrant, but endearing through its simpleness, immersive, and an overall pleasure to look at. Then, throw in the excellent voice acting from some notable voice artists, well-executed dialog that feels accurate to the characters, and thankfully, actually treating partners like they're both important—I was admittedly sort of worried they would make Shiki seem a bit too weak/helpless, but she's moving around, fighting, and carrying her weight like I'd expect her to—and you get something that I think is, at the very least, trying to do justice to the source material as best as it reasonably can.

However, while the art style is pretty great when there's not much movement going on, it does take small hits from the usual pitfalls of 3D/CG animation. The variance of thickness in the lines and slight heaviness in the movement as the models are rotated in combat scenes feel like they give themselves away, and it can sometimes be a little bit difficult to process what's happening in fight scenes. I felt this was especially evident against the bear-like noise where Neku and Shiki do the anime's version of "syncing up" for the first time.

However, as long as you're not analyzing it too much, it shouldn't be a deal-breaker or anything. It's not like the CG jumps out at you or anything, right?

Story-wise, it's an adaptation of a game, so it's given it's going to cut some corners and simplify some things—but again, I don't think anything that's a deal-breaker has been cut-out yet. Smartphones are updated, missions might be simplified a bit, and Rhyme can apparently shoot energy-somethings around, but I think it's paced so that people who haven't played the game won't lose interest, which I think is fair given that RPGs can be a bit "slow" to get interesting.

Further more, even though we're only a single episode in, we've already established the core cast of both player characters and antagonistic ones, and just enough information has been given to give us a sense of what the characters relationships are—or in some cases, could be.

Rhyme and Beat seem to get along fairly well, while Neku and Shiki... well, don't, actually, but also Shiki is so forgiving and flexible it kind of works out, and Neku DOES show signs that he's not a jerk at heart.

And like in the game, Neku adds a bit of tension to everything, but the goodwill of everyone else keeps things going for the moment. In the mean time, the viewer is getting used to the whole premise of this "death game", what the enemies are like, and more, and I think just setting things up like this is all we could ask for in an intro episode.

Beyond the story and visuals though, it would be a disservice not to mention the music, which features both familiar and original tracks that I think are mostly used well—one could maybe argue the game songs don't perfectly fit an animation context, but if they continue a balance of hitting us with the soundtrack-based fan-service and playing music that fits the actual context, there should be nothing to worry about.

While I don't have too much to say on the general sound design, it definitely felt fine and fitting enough that... well, I don't have anything to say. Sometimes saying nothing is a good thing, yeah? Just not necessarily in Neku's case...

Given that it's the first episode, me and everyone else watching are forming first impressions, but it'll be exciting to get comfortable in this visually mesmerizing show (the scenes that don't clearly look like CG are seriously, seriously beautiful IMO—I'm actually kind of moved, haha) and see how the pacing adjusts as we go through the... well, you all know how many days it is, right? ;) For now though: thanks for reading, I look forward to your thoughts, and I'm excited for the next episode! --- First Impressions: 7.5/10 if I'm trying to be objective about it (it's a game adaptation, it can only be so good imo), but 9/10 because I'm a diehard TWEWY fan XD

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Back on it' : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"Back on it"

"Sometimes, I'm feeling so free, forgetting about the big problems I have in my life because you're there for me and I just want to enjoy those rare moments with you."

Chapter Summary : After paying her respects to Lazar, Yirina is finally going to Laos with Park to join Woods team to work against Naga.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +3500

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I didn't know of what Park was planning but she did right today, she managed to give me an moment to finally pay my respects to Lazar himself at Tel Aviv, his homeplace. Even if I still feel that guilty in me of that particular day for what happened, I still remember the positivity of Lazar's behavior that he was showing to me, he was really my brother....it's been 3 years since he's gone but he is never forgetten by me & Park. I wished things to be differents but it happened sadly. I hope that he found better peace at where is he now....He can't be forgotten !

It was hard for me to leave the cemetery and it was the same thing for Park too but we finally managed to get out, still having tears on our faces as we were going back into the plane that was awaiting for us, ready to fly away from the city to get to our destination : Vientane in Laos. Since we left Tel Aviv at nearly 10 AM, we should arrive in the Laotian capital after midnight. I didn't sleep too much on the flight, mostly checking up my diary and everything I did write for almost 2 months and also writing down that memory about meeting up with Naga.

Like I thought, we arrived at Vientane after midnight at 1 AM and to say, we were an bit tired of the flight as we didn't take an nap for the large part of it, hoping that we could get to the place Woods is awaiting for us. Me & Park were surprised to discover that Garrett was awaiting for us at the airport, asking if we did have an good flight and how I was feeling after what I did. We did answer his questions before we could leave the airport, our equipment with us to the direction of Woods's team safehouse.

"Wait, where's the safehouse ?" I was asking that question to Garrett who was driving, Park on the front passenger seat and me on the backseats as I could see that we were getting out of the city limits, 5 minutes after we left the airport.

"Yes, where it is ?" Park added as she didn't know like me.

"Okay, you're ready to hear this ?" Garrett started, his eyes quickly looking at us before getting them back on the road in front of him. "Let's just that the CIA managed to reuse an old Laotian Air Force base for them." He replied, making my eyes go wide...how did they succeed ?

"Are you kidding ?" Park raised an eyebrow to him.

"Not at all !" Garrett scoffed, removing his right hand from the steering wheel for an few seconds to strectch his fingers.

"But the governement is communist !" I exclaimed, having some history knowledge about the country in my head. "They will found out that the CIA is here."

"Maybe, the CIA is bribing the governement to keep their eyes shut." Garrett said, his right hand passing through his lips before putting it back on the wheel. "Since Naga is hiding in the jungle, having an old base at our disposal is helping us." He then looked through the mirror to me. "I heard that Woods briefed you an little on that."

"He didn't tell much about it." Park told him, looking outside in the darkness of the night as we were leaving the Laotian countryside to enter its jungle "He said that he will make an full briefing for us tomorrow."

"He's right since everyone is exhausted after today." He stated to us. "We had an mission today and it was very long." He looked at an roadsign outside before he take an turn to the right on an dirt path. "We shouldn't too far from the base now." He added before he start to make some signal with the car lights, shutting it down and lighting them up in an quick succession.

"What's that for ?" I demanded, pretty curious.

"Signal code to say that we're friendly." He responded as from afar we could see the entrance of the base that was looking pretty old and its gates opened. "It's the best way to make sure that we aren't greeted by bullets."

"Because they're shooting at sight ?" Park asked to him, an bit confused.

"Why they wouldn't be ? They want to keep their presence an secret and no one want to have problems here with the local authorities." Garrett expressed, nervous about thinking about it, that could be heard in his voice and his face. "And also because it's the CIA." He continued as he was parking the car in an parking space, filled with military trucks. This base was guarded like an normal one with military personal on watchtowers and guards patrolling around.

"Yeah...because it's the CIA !" I thought to myself, saying it in an very low voice, knowing well of the CIA's bad business...well, everyone in his car know about it. "This place is looking well to not be old." I proclaimed, looking outside to see the base that was in an good shape.

"Of course, they renovated the place down." Garrett breathed before he got out of the car with us too. "They even decide to use some Huey helicopters." He pointed to us in an direction, discovering some helicopters that were checked up by crews.

"Looks like some people here wanted to relive the Vietnam War." I spoke up, seeing those helicopters, having flied in some of them...in my fake memories of course and I'm sure that we will have to use them in the future. I was thinking of it as we were unloading our own bags from the car trunk.

"Some of them are from the US reserves and two of them are belonging to the Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force." Garrett told us, helping us to get our bags out of the car. "We can thanks the CIA's bribes to the governement." He sighed in relief before he closed the trunk. "Okay, let's go join the team." He started to move away from the car as me & Park follow him inside the main building of the whole place that was looking like an big hangar.

"Here you are, you two !" An strong male voice said as we were entering the hangar with our bags in hands, it was Woods himself dressed in civilians clothes coming towards us. "Welcome to Laos." He offered his hand to me & Park and we shook hands with him separetely, getting our bags on the ground.

"You did miss us, it seems." I scoffed in an funny voice and Woods rolled his eyes around.

"Both of you ? Well...yes." He admitted, sounding not sure. "Before we start...."

"Yes, we know the warning, Woods." Park stopped him as she knew of what he was going to talk along with me...don't be too public, girls !....."It's good to see you too."

"Fine, since you know that....It's still for you too, Garrett." Woods continued to his statement, pointing at Garrett.

"I know but Song is been away with Sims, Mason and an small part of your guys in the jungle." Garrett expressed to him and me & Park were pretty curious and he could see it on our faces. "Woods send them for recon, should be back in the afternoon today." He added, giving us details about it...until I saw from afar, Hudson himself, arms crossed and leaned against an wall, looking at us, me especially, he wasn't willing to get to us to say something...he's kinda creepy....must not look at him, now...

"They should come back here with intels about where this little drug warlord is hiding inside the jungles." Woods stated, crossing his arms to look to, what I suppose to be his desk as he walk to it. "But there's something you two should see." He sniffed as he was taking in his hands two playing cards before getting back to us. "You need to watch your back." He told us, handing the first card to Park

"What the fuck ?" Park started, looking at the playing car that she was given : an picture of her on it, she was the Queen of Hearts. "Helen Park : To be captured alive !" She repeated, seeing the inscription on the photo.

"You're not the only exception, this is your playing card, Yirina." Woods gave me the other cards and I could see that I was also the Queen of Hearts alongside Park.

"Yirina / Bell : To be captured alive !" I whispered with the same inscription Park had on her cards. Now the whole Perseus Collective know that I'm alive and well. "Where did you find them ?" I demanded to Woods.

"From the Perseus agent that allowed us to know about Naga." He replied, leaning against his desk behind him. "The same thing like Adler, you became Perseus targets." He added.

"Yes but you know well that we ain't going to hide." I spoke up, giving my thoughts to Woods about it. "And besides, they think that I'm 'Bell'." I continued, seeing this name alongside my real name even if it was troubling me to be honest. "Damnit." I sighed, pulling the card in my jacket.

"Seems that someone needs some Bourbon !" Another voice came in and when I look around, I could discover an old face I didn't see for an month..

"Wolf ?" I breathed, amazed to see him here.

"I heard that you worked with Wolf an month ago in the New Orleans and Sims asked for him to come so I agreed." Woods explained as we were shaking hands with Wolf, he didn't change in an month to say.

"It's good to see the two of you here." Wolf said with an smile to me & Park before he look at Woods. "Any news from the recon team ?"

"No, we should have informations about them in the morning." Woods responded before he removed himself from his desk. "Anyway, you might want to take an look around." He suggested to us as we just arrived and we nodded.

Once we nodded, Woods took us for an little tour around the place and also outside, presenting the base like if he did live there, he did also gave an workplace near Garrett's desk and we learned that we were going to sleep in an dorm with everyone....great ! All of that while been watched by Hudson himself, still at his same spot, looking at us with his eyes hidden by his usual sunglasses, he's looking like Adler in my first days in that safehouse 3 years ago.

When the whole presentation 'à la Woods' was finished, we got our gear out of our bags and put at our personal workplace with Park until it was time for everyone to go take an nap but not for me as I wanted to do something before actually going to sleep. So, as Park & the other were going to sleep, having an little kiss from her before she left for the dorm, I decided to go see Garrett that was the only one with me to not go directly to sleep.

"Garrett ?" I started in an low voice, walking towards his desk with joined hands. "Is there any secured lines here, I would like to make an call." I explained to him.

"Oh, an call ?" He whispered, getting up from his chair. "Yeah, sure, follow me." He gestured as I follow him behind and then, we arrived in a another room where there were some phones on an table. "Who do you want to call ?"

"Zasha !" I replied, getting myself near an phone.

"Good...well, I will leave you to it then, Yirina." Garrett smiled at me and it was reciprocal until he left the room, not closing the door behind him as I start to dial Zasha's number from their office in Century House. It's one of the numerous things I have noted in my diary, not wanting to forget about it....one ring.....

"Zasha Smirnov !" I could hear their voice in an rapid moment, having heard only one ring, meaning that they were near the phone at their office.

"How's my best friend at work ?" I said in an good mood, trying to think positively. Because of timezones, it was only the beginning of the evening in London.

"Oh, Yirina !" They exclaimed, sounding happy that I called. "I'm so happy that you're calling, you arrived in Laos ?" They demanded.

"Yes, it's almost 2 AM in here, what about you ?" I responded, checking if no one was coming in in case.

"Almost 8 PM, I was going to join Portnova at her place of work." They replied, making me smile, knowing that today was the first day of job as an maths teacher in the University of London. "Hopefully, your call was well made because I was ready to leave." They stated.

"Well, guess that I'm lucky !" I said before I make an little laugh and they did the same too. "How's work, Zed ?"

"Honestly, it's perfect, very nice." They answered, hearing them having an breath and sounding very good. "The people I'm working for are very nice." They added, sure of their words.

"That's the main thing, I knew that you will like the MI6." I stated to them.

"Hey, today, they brought me to play an little game during an break." They told me, getting my attention on it and removing my eyes from the door.

"Really ? Explain." I said, very curious.

"They called it 'Bullshit'." They started, narrowing my eyes as I thought that they were insulting me before realizing that was the name of the game. "It's hard to explain but I will try : we're playing with an deck of 52 and we had to get rid of the cards that we were given" They breathed as I heard it before they continue. "You have to play cards in an order but if you don't have it, you have to lie but if you get caught lying, you're taking the pile and if you're thought that someone was lying didn't cheat, you take the pile."

"That's sounds an great game to say." I exclaimed, sounding happy that Zasha was able to have an good animosity with their new friends at the MI6.

"At first, I thought I was so bad at it but then, it worked and I won by an lot." They admitted to me, laughing about it. "The others were either focused on calling out the others instead of me."

"Now, you got very lucky !" I scoffed, making them laugh through the phone.

"I have an lot of fun to be real, it's wonderful." They told me. "It's sure that me & you are going to make an game."

"Count on me & Park !" I affirmed to them, raising my index finger.

"By the way, me & Portnova are....well, we're organizing an little private wedding party to celebrate our union and you & Park are invited." They revealed to me, making my eyes goes wide.

"Really ? I....Zasha, it's amazing." I was in an loss of words, feeling the happiness in me about hearing that idea from them. "When it will be ?"

"Since you're in Laos for undetermined time, it will be the 4th of June." They responded and I nodded to myself before I look around....to see Hudson standing at the door and looking at me.

"Okay, Zed, I will be there, don't worry." I smiled before Hudson creepiness remove that smile, making me look away from him. "Listen, I have to go...say hello for me & Park to Portnova." I demanded.

"Don't worry, I will, give my regards to Park too." They asked.

"Good, I will call you later, bye Zed !" I told them.

"Bye, Yirina." They said before I hang up the phone, finding myself alone in that room with Hudson who, when I turned around, was still there near that door.

"Are you going to stand there and still looking at me as an creep or you're going to talk ?" I asked to him, serious in my voice and clenching my fists

"No." He answered briefly before he took an pack of cigarettes in his hand. "Follow me, we need to talk." He ordered in an harsh tone, gesturing at me before he walk away.

I could have tell him to fuck off and going to bed for good but then, I found myself obliged to follow him and wanting to know what does he want with me. I thought that he was going to talk with me near his desk or mine but instead, it was outside that our talk was going to take place, near the big door of that hangar. He stopped himself once stepped outside, to light up his cigarette but he wasn't talking at all.

"What do you want ?" I directly ask to him after an few seconds of weird silence.

"Need to talk things about you." He responded, blowing some smoke out of his mouth, his eyes focused on looking in the horizon.

"Really ? You're suddenly interested in knowing me better ?" I said, offusqued as I was crossing my arms, looking away from him. I wasn't pleased to be with that guy.

"Listen, there's things I'm sorry with."

"Oh yeah ? Like you're sorry that you worked with Adler to brainwash me ?" I asked him rhetorically.

"Do you think that I was pleased with that ?" He got his eyes back on me as I was doing the same by hearing his words, getting my attention. "It's not because I'm Adler supervisor means that I did agree on that." He added to his statement as I was keeping an straight face. "Believe me, I wasn't happy about that at all."

"But still, you still treated me like if I was only an terrorist." I exclaimed, remembering the few little talks I had with him in the past and they weren't good. "You're the one who ordered Adler to terminate me...why aren't you finishing the job since Adler wasn't doing it ?" I questioned him, sure of my words.

"I have my reasons, Grigoriev." He responded, taking an deep breath.

"Wow, I'm not 'Bell' for you, anymore ?" I breathed, faking to be amazed towards him as inside of me, I was wondering what make him change his mind to call me by my real name. "Are you going soft or it's maybe one of your usual lies ?" I continued, wanting to know even if I could prevent in advance that he wasn't going to respond. "It's sure that you don't believe someone that isn't an american."

"Yes." He simply whispered.

"For you, you need to know that I'm an british-russian woman but I guess that it doesn't change an thing for you, still staying the good american patriot, right ?" I stated clearly in front of him, remembering some words that Park used to describe him.

"What I wanted to say is that it's good that you're here." He affirmed to me, making me narrow my eyes. "I know that Adler did brainwash you, left you for dead and an lot of things but you know well of the dangers of letting Adler in Perseus's hands." He continued, trying to convince me of 'Adler's good side'

"It doesn't please me but since 'I have no choices'." I quoted the numerous times I think about that possibility. "Isn't strange to see the brainwashed woman trying to rescue the man who has broke up her brain ?" I demanded, not wanting any answers from him and I even gestured that he didn't need to respond, it was strange to be sure.

"Do you have memories back ?" He chuckled, changing the subject as he crush his cigarette with his feet.

"Yes." I replied in an low voice. "Why do you want to know ?" I added.

"I just wanted to know about this, wondering what was your past." He answered, scratching the back of his bald head.

"Sometimes good, sometimes bad." I sighed, thinking of all of the memories I did relived, it was an lot of them. "Things that I can't talk about and if I do, it's only to my closest friends." I admitted, making him sure that he's not part of that category.

"I understand." He breathed before I decided it was time to get back inside and to go to sleep. "Grigoriev !" Hudson stopped me before I could have one feet inside the hangar. "How do you feel right now ?"

"Right now ?" I repeated, an bit confused of that ordinary question from him, my hands right on the door handle. "I don't know, been to an place that I thought to have set an foot in my 'old times', it's making me nervous." I said, mentioning that fake memories I had in my head. 'Bell' knows Vietnam...not me. I then put my right feet inside before I stopped to look at him witn an serious glare....

"I'm just trying to redeem myself and make the good, Hudson, keep that in mind !"