#Alex Alma

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Bulletin/Novus: Nine out of ten foreign-born people have holidayed in their country of birth

By: Alex Alma

[ Note: Auto-translated from Swedish ]

A new survey from Novus shows that over 85 percent of foreign-born people have at some point traveled back to their country of birth for a holiday. Among those who came to Sweden as refugees, the proportion who have holidayed in their old home country is 79 percent.

Holidaying in the country you fled from has become a topic of discussion in European countries in recent years. Bulletin has commissioned Novus to investigate how foreign-born people view repatriation, their children's growing conditions and holidaying in their country of birth. The sample consists of 1050 foreign-born people and the survey was conducted between 18 and 24 August.

The survey shows that only two percent of foreign-born people plan to return to their country of birth in the future, while 16 percent answer maybe. 76 percent believe that they intend to stay, among those who have come to Sweden from a non-European country, the proportion is 81 percent. 53 percent of foreign-born people believe that Sweden is a better country for their children to grow up in compared to their home country, while 9 percent believe that Sweden is worse than their home country. 33 percent answer neither.

Holidays in the country of birth

In the Bulletin/Novus survey, 85 percent of foreign-born people have visited their home country as a holiday destination at some point. Among those who came as family immigrants, 92 percent have traveled back to their country of birth to holiday at least once, while the figure is 79 percent among those who came as refugees. The group of foreign-born people with the highest proportion have never holidayed in their country of birth are the adopted, where 41 per cent have not visited the country of birth since they came to Sweden.

Novus points out that it is in the nature of things that those who participate in their surveys are reasonably well integrated in Sweden, since they answer questions in Swedish. The political conditions in their countries of origin may therefore have changed as time has passed.

But 79 percent is still a very high figure considering that we are talking about those who have come to Sweden and claimed that they are refugees.

In Norway, Aftenposten reported in 2018 that 24 percent of immigrants from Somalia, 40 percent of immigrants from Afghanistan, 55 percent of immigrants from Iran and 71 percent of immigrants from Iraq regularly traveled to their home country. According to Aftenposten, the data had been produced by Norway's statistical authority SSB. A difference with Bulletins/Novus is that the Norwegian figures are the proportion of immigrants who regularly holiday in their home country, while the Swedish figures report those who have travelled at least once.

Most countries allow people who have become citizens to return to their home country on vacation. At the same time, the fact that so many who originally came as refugees are returning indicates that the need for protection no longer applies, or perhaps never was so great.

The regulations for asylum seekers who have not been granted citizenship differ depending on the country. In Sweden, there are no restrictions for refugees who have been granted a permanent residence permit to travel back to their home country. However, refugee status can be revoked if it turns out that the person no longer needs international protection from their home country, and in cases where asylum seekers have been found to provide incorrect information about their need for protection. Other countries have stricter regulations. Switzerland, for example, does not allow asylum seekers to travel back to their home country to see relatives or vacation, except in very special circumstances. If this happens, the foreign-born person loses the right to continue to have a residence permit in Switzerland, according to UNHCR.

In Germany, too, asylum seekers' holiday trips to their home country became a political issue, as holiday trips were considered incompatible with the claim that one is fleeing for one's life and seeking protection in Germany due to danger in the home country. In a statement in 2019, Germany's then Interior Minister Horst Seehofer warned refugees that they would be investigated and stripped of their residence permits when traveling to their home country.

"If someone, a Syrian refugee, regularly vacations in Syria, he cannot honestly claim to be persecuted in Syria," he said, adding "we would have to strip him of his refugee status."

According to DW, for example, in 2016, investigations led to 66 refugees from Iraq and Syria being stripped of their residence permits, and were no longer considered to be in need of protection because they had gone on trips to their home country.

Angela Merkel has also criticized refugees' holiday trips to their home country, and said that it could be interpreted as meaning that the need for protection should be reassessed.

CORRECTION: The article previously stated that Sweden does not have restrictions for those who have been granted asylum to return to their country of origin. The Swedish Migration Agency has pointed out: "That statement is directly incorrect, refugee status can be revoked if it turns out that the person no longer needs international protection from their home country or if they have provided incorrect information about such a need." The text has been corrected.

==

Legal immigration and legitimate asylum/refugee protection are all good things.

But western societies are being taken for a ride by people who are exploiting their empathy. When you claim to be fleeing a toxic ideology but then have no problem wandering back, we're justified in assuming you're not on the side that you claimed to be or that benefits us.

Revoke status and deport.

[pandorafallz]

The Western Frontier

Here's my Fannon map, including both DLC maps of the Heart of the Plains and the Spires. I've done my best to judge the distance and possible rivers but I'm no expert at really showing terrain differences but I'm happy with what I've put together so far and i'm ready to finish it :)

I do plan to post another to show the pathway of my Alma of her exile journey if you folks are interested XD

What do you think?

If you're interested in using this in any way, like a reference for example, you can but please credit me and link back to this post. :)

Bigger view of the three main maps:

[citrusscale-remastered]

Magisterium Actors AU

[The Bronze Key]

Call: I keep on forgetting that this house isn’t real

Aaron: Did you shit in the fake toilet again?

Call: Again??

Call: No I was trying to turn on the water

~~~~~ Alex, bopping Aaron on the head with the Alkahest: Cain instinct

~~~~~ Call, holding a crystal: Dude guess where I just got this from

Jasper: Wait where

Call, pointing back at the chandelier, missing several crystals: It’s sugar glass and it’s so good

~~~~~ Kimiya: Hey babe, how are we feeling about dying

Jennifer: The contour’s going crazy, I’ll be the deadest corpse in the water

~~~~~

Tamara, sneaking through the cave wall set: *hums mission impossible*

~~~~~ Alex, holding out the Alkahest: Whoosh! Kablam!

Rufus: Cut!

Aaron: Stop making mouth noises! This is the fourth time I’ve had to die!

~~~~~ Tamara, pointing at a fish: Hey Captain Fishface, it’s your twin!

Call: I’m demoting you to petty officer fishface now

~~~~~ Call, gesturing to the truck of animals: Wow!

Call: Look at all these chickens!

~~~~~

Call and Aaron: *eyes closed, intensively focusing*

Alma, whispering: Jen?

Jen:

Call, cracking open an eye: Jen are you fucking asleep?

Jen:

~~~~~

*Alastair napping with Havoc on his lap*

Call: Dads when they didn’t want a dog

~~~~~

Alex: So… I just wiggle my fingers?

Alma: Yes, the CGI’s going to put everything in later

Aaron: You look so stupid doing that

Alex: This is literally why I kill you

~~~~~

Jasper, vlogging: Hey guys, this is the storeroom

Jasper: This green noodle is gonna try and kill Call

Tamara: And this green noodle is my sister!

~~~~~

Call, filming Panopticon scene: Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room, a rubber room, a rubber room with rats and rats make me crazy.

Anastasia: The youth of today

~~~~~

Iron Trio, imitating poster behind them: Hang in there!

~~~~~ Tamara, behind the camera: Me when I pretend to be straight

*phone pans over to Jasper and Celia’s date scene*

Jasper: -so this ferret, yeah?

~~~~~ Part One Part Two

[reds-skull]

Bringer of Demise - Chapter 6

[PREV PART] [AO3]

I was worried this chapter is gonna end up short as well, until the final day of writing, where I added like 1.1k words in one sitting lol.

I am so excited about the next chapter... When I say I've been waiting months to write it..... >:)

Anyway, this one is "The Abandoned"

… Farah has a brother? Didn’t she say-

“You-” Commander Karim wheezes, “I am not your sister, you are nothing but dirt, a lowlife dog-” she trembles as coughs cut her off.

The revenant doesn’t react like Soap expects. With a sad upturn of his brows, he says, “we will always be family, Farah. It doesn’t matter, that you hate me.”

Soap attempts to push off the floor with shaky arms, only to be stopped by a soldier cocking their rifle towards his head. The revenant, Farah’s brother, stops him. “Revenant of Destruction. Bullets don’t do much to kill you, do they?”

“Yer welcome teh try.” Soap snarls.

“I’ll take your word.” Farah’s brother walks away, crouching down beside her. When he reaches for her arm, Farah grabs his wrist, shoving it off with a growl. “Let me help you, sister.”

“I don’t need your fucking help, Hadir.” she spits, eyes wide and furious, “I had hope, before, that you would see reason, but taking our own brothers and sisters, experimenting on them for- for an American bastard, you’re beyond saving.”

Hadir sighs. “We both know this war can’t be fought with only our forces, anymore. Price’s taskforce is here for a reason, no?” he directs a look at Soap. “The American has his uses. And so do the revenants.”

Farah barks a mirthless laugh, “is that how you see our people? Nothing but a tool for your gain?” she bares her teeth, voice barely restrained, “you’re no better than Barkov.”

That seems to finally set him off. Hadir rears back, breath hitched, endless flow of gas ceasing for a moment. He inhales slowly, exhales slower. Soap notices a new shine in his green eyes.

“There is no other way to face what lays in our future, sister.”

Farah scoffs, “there is always-”

“There is none. You know me. You know it pains me to do this as much as it pains you to see it. I would never even contact the General if I had a choice.” Hadir looks away, his breath picking up, “it is this evil, or a monstrosity beyond our comprehension.”

He offers a hand to Farah, with gentleness that is soured by the noxious gas filling their lungs. “With you, and the revenants of the 141, we may have a chance. Join us-”

“No.”��

Hadir winces, “sister, please listen to me-”

“No. You will let us go, and you will not intercept the evacuation of the revenants.” Farah’s voice lowers, “and next time, it will be you we are coming after, so I suggest you and the American scum you call an ally keep away from my people.”

Hadir frowns. Retracting his hand, he nods. “For the last of our family, I will do that. I have a request of my own, however.”

“You’re in no positions to make requests.”

He ignores her, “let me talk to Alex. I know he’s here.”

Farah freezes. She looks back at Soap, and he shakes his head. Whatever the history between these three is, it goes far beyond this facility. Giving intel to Hadir would be unadvisable.

The Commander seems to disagree, and in a move that surprises both him and Hadir, unclasps her radio and hands it to him.

At Hadir’s confused expression, she huffs, “Keller knows where the line is, and when not to cross it. Nothing you say will convince him otherwise.”

“I know.” Hadir clicks the radio on, and Alex’s voice comes through, “-Reapers damn it, answer me! We got the hostages out, we’re waiting on you-!”

“Alex. Farah is safe, you have nothing to worry about.”

“... Hadir.”

“I am not going to take long, though it has been… a while since we talked.” Hadir motions his men away, the soldiers leaving through the door they first burst out of.

“I will not ask you to join our forces, I understand your loyalties are blinding you at the moment. I simply wish to warn you. Makarov has in his ranks revenants that see through your powers. Do not attempt to infiltrate any of his bases.”

“And how do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You don’t. But I have no reason to lie to you, brother. We may not be on the same side anymore, but I don’t wish to see you die to him.” he lowers his gaze, “I don’t wish to see any of you die by his hand.”

Hadir gives the radio back to Farah before Alex can answer. They share one last look, and he leaves.

Commander Karim lowers her head, heaving for breath. Soap allows her a moment, before speaking.

“What are your orders, Commander?”

Karim gets up, slinging her rifle over her shoulder with weariness, “the hostages are out, mission accomplished. Time to exfil, Sergeant.”

Alex meets them first. Appearing out of thin air, he startles Soap so much that he almost loses the precarious balance he barely maintained throughout their walk out of the warehouse. Farah is no better off in that regard, but she’s more used to Keller’s abilities than him.

He catches Soap before he can fall, “need med evac?”

“No.” he groans, “jus’ air.”

Alex keeps an arm around him, helping him along, “You’ll feel better in a few, first time is the worst.”

“You’ve inhaled it too?”

“Had the honor to, yes. The Russians use the same type of gas. That’s how he died.” Keller mutters under his breath. Farah scowls.

Soap pauses for a moment when they come across a group of Al-Mudahiyn’s soldiers. The hostiles, however, ignore them. Hadir kept his word. They move past them, silently, and he hears them whisper Farah’s name.

They manage to get to the helo soon enough, and Soap lets Keller go and help Farah, who has been listing to the side for a while now. Doesn’t matter if you’ve inhaled it before, can’t build tolerance to that kind of gas.

Seeing Ghost, Gaz and Price again feels like the band around his chest finally loosens, allowing him to take deep breaths once more. They look concerned, to put it mildly, but not surprised. Keller must’ve radioed in.

“Mate…” Gaz starts, getting out of his sit to help Soap up, but he shakes his head. He can walk, most of his wounds are healed by now.

He drops next to Ghost, whose eyes haven’t left him, still as a statue.

“What happened, Sergeant?” Price starts, but Soap shakes his head again. He’s tired, his lungs burn, head both light and heavy.

He lets his head hit the back of the helo with a dull thunk, and closes his eyes. “Can’t. Not now, sir.” the ‘please’ is left unsaid, but the Captain can probably hear it all the same.

Blessedly, Price lets it go, and the helo takes off. Soap opens his eyes only to make sure Gaz is fine, finding him holding the straps around his chest tightly, with his stare burning a hole in the floor. If he had any energy to, Soap might’ve felt afraid as well. As it stands, though…

He tries to rest, tries to find comfort in the still figure next to him. Never drifting into sleep, instead staying in a sort of limbo. Not the one that he wants to be in, not one that makes him feel safe.

All he wants to do is forget this mission, the images seared and reignited in his mind. He doesn’t deserve to forget.

Remembering his sins is the only way to make sure they are never to be repeated.

Ghost doesn’t talk when he drags him to medical. Doesn’t react when Soap tells him he’s fine. Once the medic checks him over, confirming that there is nothing she can do for him, Ghost takes his shoulder and stirs him away.

After a few turns, Soap realizes he’s taking them to the barracks.

Gently, Ghost pushes him through a door, into a dark room, lined with two bunk beds. He flicks a light on, the bulb yellow and flickering, and moves to stand in front of Soap.

“... Ghost?” Soap asks, worry bubbling up the longer he stays silent. Ghost’s fingers wrap around the straps of his tacvest, working on unclasping them and taking equipment off. “Simon-” he tries again, and snaps his mouth shut when Ghost growls.

More roughly than before, Ghost takes the vest off, his hands not leaving his body, instead moving to the holes littering his shirt. It strikes Soap after a few moments, that he’s counting them.

Guilt wrapping tight around his heart, Soap understands Ghost is angry at him. He takes the hands roaming his torso in his own burning ones, making brown eyes look at his.

“Ah’m sorry, Simon.”

Finally, Ghost responds, spitting the words, “don’t you fucking dare apologize.”

Soap frowns, “then why are ye-”

“I’m mad that I couldn’t stop it. Mad that I followed orders, when I knew it risks you more than anything. Mad at that fucking doctor, Mad at-” Ghost’s hands clasp his tightly, “I- fuck, Johnny-”

Soap cuts him off, dragging him into an embrace, singeing the fabric of his shirt. Ghost lets out a shaky breath, before burying his head in his shoulder.

“I’m not easy to kill, mo chridhe.”

“That’s not why I’m- I know.” Ghost struggles to find the right words, sentences ending before Soap can really understand what’s making him feel like this, “I’m just- I can’t-”

“I’m fine. With you, with Gaz and Price, I’ve never been safer-”

Ghost snarls, pulling back and forcing Soap to face him, “that doesn’t mean bloody anything! What they did to you before-”

“Then what is it? Talk to me, tell me what’s wrong.”

With a flurry of movement, Simon rips the mask off his face, pressing his forehead to Soap’s so forcibly that it almost hurts. In a low voice, so weak and defeated, he whispers through bisected lips, “this is what you were used to, right?”

“This?”

“Pain. To be hurt and heal, only to be hurt again. I can’t- I can’t stand by and watch you get used to it again.” Simon chokes out, his thumbs caressing Soap’s cheeks.

He blinks up at him, “you’re worried about that?” such a small thing, his comfort, when the rest of the world’s fate is on the other side of the scale.

Simon’s lips turn downwards. “I don’t know what you were before the 141, but if it was anything like me, I never want to see you like that.” he leans down, pressing his lips to Soap’s hairline. “To be made less human, to lose yourself.”

Soap shudders, his thoughts going back to a headless body. Control is something he has to maintain at all times, an unnegotiable fact about his powers. To lose it would mean to destroy without distinction, to lose himself would mean to lose Simon.

And he can’t lose Simon. He can’t. He can’t.

The memory of a headless body beneath his hands flashes in his mind. He did lose control there, for a moment, of the raging monster lurking beneath his skin. A wildfire that stops for no one. A black hole, hunger unending, has no limits.

He can’t let it happen again. For Simon’s sake, for Gaz and Price, for everyone here.

“It won’t happen.” he grinds between bared teeth, Simon’s lips grazing his cheeks, “Ah won’t let it happen.” fire crackles in his hands.

Simon’s voice is low in his ears when he answers, “I know you won’t. Because I will not let it happen as well, love.”

‘I got you’, slips between the words.

And it scares him, how easy it is to believe that.

“If we want to get to Shepherd, we’ll need to get to Hadir.” Farah begins, arms crossed and shoulders tense, “to get to him, we go through Al-Mudahiyn. It won’t be as easy the second time - they know we’re coming, and they know the revenants in our ranks.”

“Then we just find a place where the element of surprise won’t matter.” Price grunts, the Commander nodding in agreement.

The Captain fiddles with the laptop in the middle of the table, “have you gotten any intel on his location, Laswell?”

Laswell types something on her keyboard, face lighting up for the first time in weeks. Soap feels a pang of empathy for her, when he remembers she has to work practically 24/7 while her wife is still in the hospital. He hopes the CIA gives her some vacation time after all of this is over…

“If we can’t surprise them, we overwhelm them.” she brings up a few maps on the screen, the group of soldiers having to huddle together to see them.

“Those are the borders between Al-Mudahiyn and Russian territories…” Farah mutters, “you want us to capture Hadir while he’s fighting Makarov’s forces.”

“Correct.” areas marked by red and yellow flash on, Laswell continuing, “with his men spread thin by Makarov, you’ll be able to take Hadir easily.”

Gaz clicks his tongue, “that’s bloody risky, though. What if Makarov is there?”

“Makarov himself can’t hurt you, Sergeant.” Laswell stares at Kyle, oddly confrontational. Price butts in before Gaz can say another word.

“The likelihood of him being there is low, especially when we got reports of him in Finland less than a day ago. Konni isn’t like the ULF or Al-Mudahiyn, their leader doesn’t fight unless he has a reason to.”

“We could be givin’ him one…” Soap says, deciding to back up Gaz. “Bastard can see the future.”

“Do you have a better idea, MacTavish?” Laswell replies with a sharp tone. Soap opens his mouth to shoot back when Price stops him.

“Let it go, lad. Kate’s right, even if it is risky, we don’t have any other leads.”

Soap sighs. Fine. They better get that fucker Shepherd soon, or he’ll start saying some things Price will really hate-

“Better keep ‘em for later then, hm?” Price echos in his mind.

He shoots the Captain a side-eye, before remembering Laswell is waiting for an answer.

“... No. What’s yer plan?”

As their mission is planned for the following week, the 141 finds themselves with a bit of free time. After the debrief, Ghost and him go to their barrack room. Apparently, Gaz is also staying with them, but he had to go “cool off” according to Price. Which could mean a million things, but if he needs to be alone, Soap isn’t going to bother him.

A hand pulled him back as he was going to climb to the top bunk. Wordlessly, Ghost nodded towards the bottom one. It would be absolutely cramped, the tiny cot barely fitting one of them.

Soap finds himself with a handful of Ghost, the big bastard curling around him like a content kitten.

He drifts off to dreamless sleep, mind empty in a way he can’t achieve by himself anymore. He hadn’t known such tranquility can exist before Simon held him for the first time. It’s maddening. It’s perfect.

It’s hard to tell the hour in the mountain base. Unless you look at a clock or go all the way out, the lights are always on, soldiers always ambling around in the halls.

Soap has found Gaz after waking up, floating just above the treeline, staring off into the horizon. If he wasn’t muttering out loud, he wouldn’t have noticed him.

Kyle had a talk with Price, as it turns out. Told the Captain that he has a bad feeling about Laswell’s plan, in a way he never had before. That something’s off with her. Well, more off than it already is.

Soap didn’t have much to say about it. He doesn’t know Laswell like the rest of them, their shared history mere months to the years the 141 worked with her. Not for the first time, he feels that speck of otherness. It comes up occasionally, when Gaz and Ghost share a private joke, or Price recounts a mission from the past.

He shakes it off fast, though. It doesn’t matter that he hasn’t been here that long, when it feels more like home than any other place on earth.

So he does the only thing he can do for Gaz - distract him by shooting the shit. Which turns out to be pranking people, by having Kyle hang from the ceiling and scare anyone unfortunate enough to pass by.

“Wait- Gaz wheesht! Someone’s coming!” Soap suppresses his giggles, pushing at his friend’s back.

Gaz floats back up, and Soap goes to his hiding spot behind a corner, a hand on his mouth. Two highly-trained soldiers, and they can’t even keep quiet for one minute.

Just as their next victim turns to the hallway, Gaz drops with a little “boo!”, before freezing.

Soap can practically feel the smile melting off his face when he sees who it is. Commander Karim raises an eyebrow at them, her eyes turning to look at him, and back at Kyle.

“I was wondering who was messing with my soldiers. I know you have nothing better to do, but they do, so I’d suggest you find a different hobby.” Farah says, the message clear.

“Aye, Commander. We didn’t mean to do any harm.” Soap says, elbowing Gaz when he keeps staring at her.

“Y-yes! Sorry, won’t do it again.” Kyle startles.

Farah gives them a half-smile, “no need to be so serious, Sergeant.” she tells Gaz, who looks away. “I was actually searching for you, Soap.”

He perks up, “Samara wishes to talk to you. About your Reaper, I assume.”

“Samara-? Oh.” right. She’s probably been here since the rescue mission. “Where is she?”

“Outside. Was cleared by medical just a few minutes ago.”

He nods, clapping Gaz on the shoulder, “come up with a new thing teh do by the time I’m back, aye?”

Gaz scoffs with a smile, “fuck off. ‘Least you won’t be bored out of your mind.”

He’d rather be that, if he’s honest.

Samara hears him before he can gather his thoughts, his footsteps loud as they crunch branches and leaves. She motions to the remaining space on the fallen log she’s sitting on, and Soap settles, his knee beginning to jump up and down almost instantly.

He doesn’t look up from the ground, even when he feels her stare boring at him. “I don’t believe we had a proper introduction, John.”

Soap winces at the name, “right.” he offers his hand, “John MacTavish, Sergeant at taskforce 141, SAS. Ye can call me Soap.”

“Samara Jalal. Former ULF fighter. They called me “Pathfinder”, but I intended to leave that name in the past,” Samara shakes his hand, uncaring for the flames licking her skin. Probably doesn’t even feel them…

Soap inhales deeply, his leg shaking faster, “Commander Karim said ye wanted to talk about our- your Reaper.”

“It is ours. At least… I believe it is.” Samara frowns, “Destruction told me about you and another person, a ‘Simon Riley’, before leaving, but I haven’t been able to find them.”

Hearing Ghost’s name being thrown around so casually feels wrong. “Simon is… most people don’t know him by that name. Ah can pass a message to him, if ye want.” he registers the second part of her sentence, “wait, what do ye mean by ‘leaving’?”

Samara sighs, a short laugh falling from her lips, “after… what you did, whatever it was… I haven’t been able to talk to Destruction. It told me… it told me our deal still stands, but that we have to be abandoned.” she narrows her eyes at him, “I asked it for your names, how many of us are still out there. Didn’t think I’d have a chance to meet you, but I was curious.”

“I…” Soap’s leg stops bouncing. Destruction abandoned them? What could it mean, for Samara?

How could it just… leave them?

“I’m sorry.” he says, and it feels like it means nothing.

“Don’t be. I don’t care. Destruction… it has a way to make you feel…”

“Out of control?”

She smiles, “you got it. It probably goes for all Reapers, but Destruction’s gifts feel like a double-edged sword.” her expression becomes somber, “the things I survived… there are times I felt like I shouldn’t have.”

“... Feels like a curse.” Soap whispers, his chest squeezing uncomfortably.

Samara looks away, “there is an end to it, Soap. Retirement, family. Love. Things that give you a reason to live, beyond chaos and war.”

He huffs, “not to be an arsehole, but it didn’t end up well for either of us.”

“I suppose it didn’t, did it?” Samara chuckles, “but I believe it could.”

Soap doesn’t answer, letting silence settle between them. He wants to call Samara naive for hoping so surely, but he understands it doesn’t come from lack of awareness.

And a part of him can’t help but agree, when he thinks of his team. With them, he does see a good ending, among the million bad ones he conjures in his mind.

If he has to, Soap will carve that ending himself, burn any red string that dares stand in his way to it. Perhaps, his powers can be used for good, for once.

As long as it’s not over yet, they have a chance.

[alexa-mwll]

My oc.

Mexican nationality.

Place of birth: Baja California, Mexico.

Name: Nathaly Rubio.

Face claim:???

Height: 1.57.

Age: 25 years.

Date of birth: March 9, 1999.

Job: Special Reaction Forces. Mercenary.

Rank: Lieutenant.

Affiliations: Special Forces, Los Vaqueros, Task Force 141, Shadow Company, Tyler Rake and Nik Khan.

Biography:

-NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD.-

During his stay in the Mexican Army, Nathaly trained in combat and survival techniques. Nathaly is the favorite of the Sedena High Command. She was one of the only women in the battalion and faction to complete all Special Forces courses. The best of the best.. she worked with Task Force 141 in Urzikstan and the Farah Liberation forces in 2019 and 2020.

5 years after her courses, she met Colonel Alejandro Vargas and his soldiers, with whom she was in charge of removing trash from Las Almas México, thus meeting Philip Graves (Shadow Company) with whom she had an affair which left her marked by betrayal. .

The rest is history, betrayal and revenge…

Personality:

Nathaly tends not to share any information about her personal life and maintains a fairly low, if not non-existent, social life. According to many, this woman is a psychopath, since with the power she has over the city of Las Almas she could make anyone disappear without leaving any trace; However, she is kept in line because as a lieutenant, she has to maintain an image of respect for the city and its "laws." She tends to get attached very quickly to the people she meets. She is a person loyal to her loved ones, and also very distrustful when it comes to meeting someone, due to the betrayals she has suffered in the past. Determined and relentless, resourceful and strategic. Pragmatic and adaptable.Emotionally protected.Brave and fearless.

Tastes:

She claims to hate music, but she actually loves the song "Barbie Girl." He hates hugs, but deep down she wants a hug. In her life she has only had two crushes with Commander Phillip Graves of the Shadow Company and certainly even though she tries to hide it, she is attracted to Vladimir Makarov. She likes dark colors. And she loves to cut her pixie hair.

Close people:

Alyssa Martinez @alypink

Sofia “Berlin” Lopez @theqreatorsworld

Lieutenant Cat @cyberghostdraws

Damien Whitlock @kaitaiga

Alejandro Vargas

Rodolfo Parra

TF141

Captain Jhon Price

Kyle Garrick

Jhon "Soap" Mactavish😞

Simon "Ghost" Riley

Laswell

❤✨

[doodling-doodle]

Los Reyas De Las Almas, Ch.2

Rodolfo hadn't stopped thinking about what he saw... The Prince was in love with his personal guard. They had kissed...

They had to tell the Kings what they saw... they had to know

“Mi Estrella, there you are!” Alejandro called out when he saw Rodolfo in the dining hall in the morning. He wasn’t able to find him for a while, he was getting a little worried.

“I’m sorry, Mi Amor, I got caught up in a rush…” Rodolfo said as he walked back up to Alejandro.

“Are you alright?”

“I… saw something last night and… I don’t know what to do.”

Alejandro nodded, “We’ll talk about that later, alright? Lets go ahead and eat, get the celebration going again.”

Rodolfo nodded, and they went to eat while Alejandro kept an eye on him, seeing just how worried he looked.

“Mi estrella… Tell me what's wrong.” Alejandro said, holding onto him as they got to their room.

“I… last night, I was looking for Prince Kyle, His Lady and Sir Alex… He and Sir Alex were in the garden, alone, and…”

“No… You don’t mean…”

“They were dancing… they kissed…”

Alejandro blinked, sighing and pulling back, starting to pace.

“Do we tell the Kings?” Rodolfo asked.

“We should… But do we?”

“They deserve to know…”

“But their son and his love should be safe.”

“They would be found at some point anyway.”

Alejandro sighed, “Okay… Let’s tell them.”

Rodolfo nodded, “let's find them after breakfast is over… we'll tell them in the war room.”

As they went back to the dining hall, they saw King John and King Phillip going to sit at a table, Prince Kyle, Sir Alex and Lady Kaida sitting on their own.

“Your majesty’s.” Alejandro said as he and Rodolfo approached King John and King Phillip's table.

“Alejandro, Rodolfo. Good morning.” King Phillip said, smiling, “The festival last night was wonderful. I hope you enjoyed it.”

“Oh we did.” Alejandro said as they sat down, “I hope you were, as well.”

“Are you feeling alright, Rodolfo?” King John asked, “You look as though something is troubling you.”

“Oh… Well, I suppose something is… I’m afraid we need to speak to you after we eat.” He said, “I found something troubling last night… I think I need to inform you two of it…”

“What…?” King Phillip asked, looking so worried, “Is our child okay? His guard and His Lady?”

“Well… They are okay, but it is about them…”

King John and King Phillip looked at each other worriedly, then at their child sitting across the room.

After they ate, they went to the war room, where both Kings sat down, and King John immediately asked, “What did you see?”

“I…” Rodolfo started, taking a deep breath, “I was the one that saw it. I was going through the garden, I was looking for The Prince and Sir Alex, and… Well, i found them… They were dancing together. They… They were talking, but I didn’t hear them…” he sighed, sitting down.

“They kissed.”

The looks that the Kings gave him… shocked him. It wasn’t hurt, or anger, or sadness. It was panic. And shock.

He kept talking…

“They’ve clearly been together for a long time- That kiss was passionate. I-”

“You don’t need to say more.” King John said.

He panicked. He knew this likely couldn’t end well, he just was hoping that they wouldn’t let go of their son, that he would be safe in the end…

“You don’t need to worry, your highness.” King Phil said, “We know. They just don’t know we know. We don’t want them to know yet.”

Now they were the ones to be shocked.

“So… you won’t exile them?” Alejandro asked.

“Of course not!” King Phillip said, almost jumping out of his seat, “We would never do that! That’s our child and his guard. We couldn’t do that… I couldn’t do that. I can’t exile my son and I can’t execute his lover and best friend.”

“Neither could I.” King John added.

They weren’t too shocked. But what did shock them was the instant denial of it.

King Phillip sighed, “Gods… I suppose I never told you about my past, did I…?” He leaned back in his chair, looking down.

“No… You haven’t.” Rodolfo replied.

King John held King Phillip’s hand softly, sighing and looking at him.

“I… was wrongly exiled from my old kingdom when I was fifteen.” King Phillip said, “I was accused of killing my father… and exiled immediately, without seeing my mother and my sisters again… I was wondering for months until I found The Rose Gold Kingdom, and that’s when I met John… the rest is mostly history.”

Rodolfo blinked, “I… Phillip, I’m so sorry, I…”

“I never told you. How would you have been able to know? But… yes, that’s why I won’t exile either of them. I know what its like.”

There was a long silence, King John holding onto King Phillip softly…

“We will make sure that no one finds out about your child and his lover.” Alejandro said.

“Thank you.” King Phillip said, “We leave in about a week. Don’t seem suspicious, they might catch on to something going on…”

Rodolfo nodded, “We will make sure that no one finds out.” He said, smiling. 

“But they need to be more subtle.” Alejandro said, looking out the window, causing the others to go and see.

Sir Alex and Prince Kyle were in the garden again, and they were dancing together again, the guard gently taking his Prince’s crown off and holding it close to kiss him.

Rodolfo felt himself smiling softly, watching the two young lovebirds dance around in the garden, not a care in the world until Lady Kaida came to get them and they left the garden.

“We will get them married, even if they never tell us about this relationship.” King John said.

“It seems like they're very in love.” Alejandro said.

“Oh they are. It solves problems for us, so we’re going to let it happen.” King Phillip said, shrugging.

“We have more festivities soon.” Rodolfo said, “We should probably go out to the courtyard.”

The week went on, and before they knew it, The Rose Gold Kingdom had left at the end of the celebration.

No one had found out, even with the two young lovers not being the most subtle. If they were in a crowd, it just seemed like Sir Alex was instructed to be next to Prince Kyle at all times. Alone in a hall or in the garden, it was clear it was more than that. 

But King John and King Phillip were happy to just move along. It solved the problem of who The Prince would marry if they had to arrange it. 

Who were they to judge? They weren’t parents, they had no reason to say anything about how they parented their child. 

So they let it go. It just meant they had time to plan wedding gifts.

[moviemosaics]

Ghostlight

directed by Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson, 2024

[eddiemelrose]

My VA Next Gen OCs ~ Alex Dragomir.

The phrase “just do what makes you happy” is what he lives by. He’s the baby of the family, why waste his time with all that political nonsense? There’s so many things to try, and so many places to go. There’s more to life than expectations and politics as far as he’s concerned.

[loudestcloud]

🪷Kanda & Alma🪷

Sarah by Alex G.

This took me ages because I had to redownload the file of clips I made, then I split them into 3 parts; Lotus clips, coffee colour clips and memory clips. I also did this one verse by verse so I ended up with 4 chunks of clips to put together and then add text over, it was actually a really good method so I definitely recommend it. Anyway,Alex G just seems to have a D gray man emotional vibe in my mind cos this is the second time ive used them now. My favourite but is Alma reaching to for the promise because it was completely unintended and then also the "Yu, be my guest" cos i thought that was very clever of me 💅🏻

[clubkidandcollectives]

[spacecrew]

Ghostlight, 2024

Directors: Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson

Writer: Kelly O'Sullivan

Cinematography by Luke Dyra

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30321095/

[pandorafallz]

Where are the Spires located??

Here's my estimation of the Main Map and where the Heartlands could be. It's all speculation and no clear indication but it's assumed not of the Upper plains. I suspect a little North-east.

The Spires, where the other Kame'tire clan, i had no idea where to put it due to the fact that we enter the Map from the Leftside of the map and clear it to the right.

If we were to part the spires beside the clouded forest, it seems more likely that we should have entered the region from the Rightside and go left (basically, the map should be reflected to how that based on how we could move from the mountains to the spires.) Unless it is on the right but we have to go north or south and go the long away around the map to get to the 'entry' way of our map.

It's possible that the Spires are north of the Clouded Forest, above the Yava and the Sarentu Moot site and neighbours the Heartlands but... south of the spires is water and wetlands and the upper plains are strict moutins.

Could the Spires and the Heartlands share an ocean? Or a lake or a large body of water? The south of the spires ends with water, much like the Kinglor Forest. North of the heartlands starts with water so there could be a connection between the two and why the player enters from the left side than from the right. The Heartlands is a lot of broken-up land in its north-west and the spires is a canyon region so... it's a possibility.

We know from Dialogue between the members of the second Kame'itre clan and us that the Kinglor forest is 'so far away' so we know the spires (and heartlands) are distant from sharing an ocean with the south of the Kinglor forest.

tbh, i really want to know or get an estimate of locations for my Alma fic.

What are your thoughts of where the Spires could be in reference to the Main story line Map?

[reggieponder]

Ghostlight Directors Kelly O'Sullivan & Alex Thompson: Interview

I had the opportunity to speak with the directors of the movie Ghostlight, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. Ghostlight is currently in theaters and “centers on Dan Mueller, a blue-collar father and husband trying to cope with the suicide of his son a year earlier. When an actor named Rita draws Dan into her small community theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, Dan meets a group of…

[themnmovieman]

Movie Review ~ Ghostlight

Ghostlight Synopsis: When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.Stars: Keith Kupferer, Dolly de Leon, Katherine May Kupferer, Tara Mallen, Hana Dworkin,…

[edsonjnovaes]

9 FILMES DE FICÇÃO CIENTÍFICA QUE AS PESSOAS ESQUECERAM

Desde sempre, a ficção científica nos ofereceu um prisma para ver o mundo de forma diferente. Seja tecendo críticas à alienação e ao controle da população ou imaginando um mundo de possibilidades ilimitadas, o gênero sempre andou no limite entre a maravilha e o grotesco, com mistérios descobertos graças à tecnologia e à ciência. GUS FIAUX – Legião dos Heróis THX 1138 (1971) Muito antes de se…

[doodling-doodle]

The Rose Gold Kingdom has many ally's, and about as many enemies. But one of their best is The Kingdom Of Souls. El Renio De Las Almas.

King Alejandro and King Rodolfo. Lost Reyas De Las Almas.

But something troubled them during a visit from The Rose Gold Kingdom... The Prince and his relationship with his personal guard...

Los Reyas De Las Almas, Chapter two

April 7th