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dollielliot · 4 months ago

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𐙚ྀིྀ ⠀︵　info on the Apalchee highschool shooting that happened today, 9/4/24˖ ㅤ૮𐔌ྀི ´ ཀ ྀི 𐦯ྀིა⠀

The 14-year-old suspect in the fatal mass shooting at a Winder, Georgia, high school has been identified as Colt Gray, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at an afternoon news conference. The suspect is a student at Apalachee High School who will be charged with murder and will be handled as an adult as he moves through the criminal justice system, Hosey and Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith added.

Two teachers and two students were killed, Hosey said. Nine other victims were taken to hospitals, according to the officials. The gunfire sent students and faculty desperately scurrying for cover as schools across the county went into lockdown and parents scrambled for information. Wednesday’s shooting is the deadliest of the 45 school shootings so far this calendar year, according to a CNN analysis. It is one of 11 school shootings with four or more deaths since 2008 when CNN first started tracking school shootings. Authorities said the first report of an active shooter came in at 10:20 a.m. ET. A school resource deputy assigned to Apalachee High confronted the shooter, who got on the ground and was taken into custody, Smith told reporters.

The witness sat next to the suspected shooter

Lyela Sayarath, 16, told CNN the alleged shooter sat next to her in an algebra class. She said he left class early, around 9:45 a.m., but didn’t take a bathroom pass. She thought he might be skipping. Toward the end of class, someone told her teacher over the loudspeaker to check their email, she said. Shortly after, Gray was outside the classroom door, which was shut, Lyela said. Another student who went to the door jumped backward when she saw he had a gun. "I guess he saw we weren’t gonna let him in,” Lyela said. “And I guess the classroom next to me, their door was open, so I think he just started shooting in the classroom.” At first, she told CNN she heard a burst of gunfire – maybe 10 to 15 shots – and then they were “kind of just Students dropped to the floor and crawled to the corner, Lyela said.

“It seemed like this wasn’t something he planned too well or that he wasn’t really strong with the gun because he didn’t try and shoot our door. Once he saw he couldn’t get in our room, he just went to the next one.”

Latest developments

The high school had received an earlier phone threat, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. The phone call Wednesday morning warned there would be shootings at five schools, and that Apalachee would be the first. It is not known who placed the call. It was not immediately known whether the assailant had some connection with his victims, the sheriff said, though officials stressed that will be part of the investigation. Schools in Barrow County will be closed for the rest of the week.

Student texted mom: ‘I’m scared’

Erin Clark was at work Wednesday morning when she got a series of text messages from her son, a senior, who was attending class at Apalachee High School.

“School shooting.”

“I’m scared,” he wrote.

“pls” “I’m not joking,”

“I’m leaving work,” Clark replied. “I love you,” her son, Ethan Haney, 17, wrote back.

“Love you too baby,” his mom texted before racing to the high school.

Clark told CNN her son heard eight or nine gunshots before he closed his classroom door and, with the help of another classmate, moved chairs and tables to block the door.

Clark told CNN she was “absolutely terrified” when she read her son’s messages. “Just kept praying he’d stay safe,” she said.

Schools in the county went into lockdown

As emergency responders came from several counties, video from outside the school showed at least five ambulances and a large law enforcement presence at the campus, and at least one medical helicopter could be seen airlifting a patient from the scene. At the football field, where authorities had students gather, people lowered their heads and formed a prayer circle in the end zone, standing on the letters for “Apalachee” as their classmates milled around the field. All schools in the Barrow County School System, which includes the high school, were placed on lockdown and police were sent out of an abundance of caution to all district high schools, according to the sources, but there are no reports of secondary incidents or scenes. Some of the critically injured were removed by helicopter, and additional helicopters are on standby.

Atlanta Trauma Center and other hospitals take patients

Grady Health System – a Level 1 trauma center in Atlanta, about an hour's drive from Winder – received one gunshot wound victim from the incident who was transported by helicopter, a hospital spokesperson told CNN. Earlier, a source with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak to the media, told CNN Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in North Georgia received two victims from the shooting. The source said one victim was an adult with a gunshot wound to the stomach and was in surgery, and another was a minor with unspecified injuries. Three gunshot victims were taken to nearby hospitals following the shooting, according to a hospital official, and five other patients reported to the hospital with symptoms related to a panic attack. Two gunshot victims were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow with non-life-threatening injuries, Northeast Georgia Health System spokesperson Layne Saliba said. Four other patients came with symptoms related to panic attacks.

Another gunshot victim was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville with non-life-threatening injuries, Saliba said, and an additional patient came to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton with symptoms related to a panic attack.

Georgia governor sends prayers and says he can send resources

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has directed all available state resources to assist at the scene, he said in a statement on social media. The governor urged “all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.” President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, the White House said, offering federal support to state and local officials.

“His administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information,” the White House said in a statement. Attorney General Merrick Garland similarly said the US Department of Justice “stands ready” to support the community after the shooting. “We are still gathering information, but the FBI and ATF are on the scene, working with state, local, and federal partners,” Garland said at a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.

Winder had a population of about 18,338 as of the 2020 census, according to the US Census Bureau The Barrow County School System is the 24th largest school district in the state, per the district’s website. It serves about 15,340 students, 1,932 of whom are enrolled at Apalachee High School.

#tc community #tcc tumblr #tccblr #teeceecee #truecrimecommunity #school shooters #tcctwt #true cringe community #tcc fandom #mass shooters #mass shooting tw #dollielliot 💥💣

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ihavemanyhusbands · 8 months ago

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High Risk

PART ONE: STAR PATIENT

Mini-series masterlist

Also on AO3

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter x Nurse!Fem!Reader

WC: 3.5k words

Series Summary: You, a nurse at Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, are assigned to the newest inmate -- none other than the Chesapeake Ripper, otherwise known as Hannibal Lecter. He is nothing short of charming, but the dangerous mysteries that lurk beneath are equally alluring. So much so that you can barely resist the urge to uncover them all.

Warnings: MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY, canon typical violence (mentions and some descriptions), slight canon divergence (here frederick is still director of the hospital), corruption, manipulation all around, eventual smut, secret affair(ish?), sort of power imbalance, ongoing murder investigation (the red dragon), cursing, not-so-slow burn, hannibal being hannibal pretty much, aaand that’s all I can think of but lmk if something should be added!

—————

“A woman being never at a loss…. The devil always sticks by them.” — Lord Byron

———-

Much like the Minotaur’s labyrinth, Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane was designed never to let one escape. At least, that’s how you viewed it, even if you were a worker and not a prisoner there.

Still, you weren’t sure that was any better.

The place’s immaculate cleanliness was almost unnerving, but it was fitting. The walls were a glaring white, and the floors were always polished until they shone. The hallways were meant to confuse those who hadn’t actively tried to memorize them, every corner seeming the same.

Your uniform had to be impeccable too, lest you made the place look bad. It was absurd how much laundry you had to do, and how much time you had to spend on your appearance. All for it to go to waste whenever things got messy with rowdier inmates.

But despite it all, there was a certain allure to the place that made you want to return each day. Something morbid, almost sinister, like a secret waiting to be uncovered. It was irresistible, and it would be until you found it out.

Doctor Chilton had just given you the rundown about the new inmate, stressing the importance of following protocol when dealing with him. He’d handed you his file to look over and on the very first page, there was a picture of the man they called the Chesapeake Ripper — Hannibal Lecter.

You were taken aback for a moment, not expecting him to look like that. Luckily, the Doctor did not seem to notice your reaction, and you quickly made sure your expression was neutral once more.

Despite having worked there for a few years, witnessing all sorts of things, you were a little rattled by the way he spoke about him. Especially after mentioning he didn’t want to lose any more nurses, alluding to the incident with a former inmate, Doctor Gideon.

As it turned out, Hannibal was also a doctor, and you couldn’t help but shudder at the prospect of some macabre pattern forming.

Of course, none of the other nurses wanted to be assigned to him, but Doctor Chilton trusted you to handle things well. You did what was asked of you and never caused any trouble. Truthfully, it wasn’t because you were particularly driven, but you wanted to fly under the radar and take it day by day.

And yet, it had still led you there, despite your efforts.

You took the elevator down from the top floor, reading the file as you went. It was noted that the risk of him being violent was quite high, but he had thus far been cooperative with the staff. In fact, he had even turned himself in to the police, which was a detail that stood out to you.

Considering his numerous horrific crimes, along with Doctor Chilton’s psychological assessment of him, he did not seem like a man who would let himself be apprehended so easily. It would gnaw at you, but you weren’t sure if you’d get the answers you suddenly seeked.

You left the file at your station to finish reading later, trying your best to ignore the looks of fear and pity some of the other nurses shot your way. Hopefully none of them would try to give you shallow words of affirmation, knowing you’d be the subject of gossip for the next week or so.

The maximum security cells were on the basement floor, but you stopped by the kitchen first to get his meal tray. You steeled your nerves as you passed through the extensive clearance, continuing down the hallway until you reached the very last cell, which was behind a set of double doors.

Was the light dimmer there, or were you imagining things? You could see shadows lurking in the corners of the room, an ominous feeling curling in your stomach. A cool gust from one of the AC vents made you shiver, but otherwise, you willed yourself to stay composed.

Finally, you dared to look into the actual cell. It was much nicer than most of the other cells, equipped with two bookshelves, a large mahogany desk, and some elaborate sketches that were taped on the walls. Perhaps part of a bargain struck with Doctor Chilton based on his cooperation with the authorities.

Then again, he was the new star patient, so that probably earned him a few more privileges. Despite those small luxuries though, you knew it’d be hard for him to forget that he was incarcerated.

Hannibal himself was lying down on his cot, reading, but he sat up as soon as you entered. He was even more handsome in person, almost rakish, and you allowed yourself the smallest pause to continue looking at him.

He had a fine nose, dark eyes, and an aristocratic air to him. Not to mention, a full, obscene mouth that was surely meant to cast impure thoughts.

Somehow, you had to admit that even his slate gray jumpsuit fit him quite well. If he truly was the Devil, then word of his burning, unholy beauty was not a lie.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted with a smile that you were sure had charmed many in the past.

“Good afternoon. Stay where you are, please,” you said firmly but politely, returning the smile just slightly. “I’ve brought lunch.”

He obeyed, hands resting on his knees. Slowly, tentatively, you made your way to the slot in the glass where you could deposit the tray.

“Please don’t retrieve it until I’m gone, and let a guard know when you’re done so they can collect it.”

He nodded, smile still in place. “Thank you.”

You began to retreat, feeling his gaze fixed on your back. It wasn’t until your hand was on the door knob that you realized your heart was racing. Adrenaline was dancing beneath your skin like little bolts of electricity, but at least your breathing was even.

What was it that had affected you so deeply? Was it the thrill of looking into the eyes of pure evil?

No, that was far too simple, and therefore what you had expected… but that wasn’t all you’d been able to see. It was hard to decipher just at first glance, but you hadn’t been brave enough to hold eye contact for long. And you certainly weren’t any braver when you returned to deliver his supper later that evening.

He was still all smiles and charming obedience, but you noticed his eyes wandered a lot more. It might have been a little amusing, if you weren’t so nervous. If anything, to have his attention was both intimidating and bewitching.

It made you want to say something more, but you weren’t sure what. Still, you knew better than to engage too much outside of protocol.

Or at least you thought you did.

--------------------

Moonlight slipping through the foliage, anointing the darkened world in silver. A deer silently drank from a stream, unaware the hunter had spotted it. Head bent, throat long. It would be an easy shot, arrow cleanly piercing the jugular.

It ran, but it did not get very far. Its wide, ink-black eyes were looking up at the beautiful face of the moon, silhouetting the hunter. Its weakening heart leapt at the sight.

The last thing it saw was his knife.

---------------------

You woke up with a start, panting and confused. Sleep slid off you slowly, like a veil uncovering your eyes. Your hand unconsciously went to your throat, but unsurprisingly, you found no arrow’s fletching.

Two weeks had passed with nothing especially of note. You had read the entirety of Hannibal’s file, the details of his brutality leaking out into your life beyond Baltimore State Hospital.

It was hard to peel off all the misery embedded in its walls, especially being exposed to it daily. It was easier to compartmentalize instead, letting your mind go blank at the end of the day. But the dreams were an inevitable torment, nonsensical and intensely vivid.

You sat up in bed, rubbing your eyes and sighing into the silence of your small bedroom. You stared into the middle distance for a few minutes, mentally preparing to start your day.

In the time that had passed, you had exchanged a few more words with Hannibal that were not part of protocol. He had asked your name, his tone kept carefully casual, and you thought it only fair to tell him.

After that, he had ventured to ask more innocuous questions about yourself, perhaps trying to test the limits of your interactions. You had answered most of them truthfully but vaguely, worried about him psychoanalyzing you.

Something told you he'd also know if you were lying, so you figured it’d be mostly useless to try. But you were entitled to your secrets, too, and you preferred keeping your cards close to your chest.

Yet you were also aware that it would not deter him, but unbeknownst to him, you were just as headstrong.

Later, after having slipped on your mask of cool indifference and clocking into work, you brought down his breakfast. You found him at his desk, sketching. He glanced up without moving his head, pencil still moving.

“Good morning,” he greeted. “Is it nice out today?”

“Depends on what you consider ‘nice’,” you said mildly, making slow work of depositing his meal tray. “It’s been intermittently raining since last night, and I don’t think it will stop any time soon.”

“Not bad at all,” he said, his tone ever so slightly wistful. “I do quite enjoy rain. I hope you didn’t forget your umbrella.”

Strangely, you couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for him. The sudden loss of freedom was an unbearable thought to you, and you didn’t really wish it on anyone. But that wasn’t to say he didn’t deserve to be in the position he was in.

He noticed you hovering but not saying anything. Finally, his pencil halted and he looked up at you, leaning forward slightly. His assessing gaze pinned you in place, but your body was tense and ready to flee.

“You sound tired. Did you sleep poorly?” He asked.

You blinked in surprise, the question snapping you back to the present. Lowering your gaze, you inclined your head.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” you said politely. “I should get going, I’ll be back in an hour.”

He pursed his lips in what seemed like irritation, but he didn’t press you. Instead, he stopped you once more by changing the subject.

“Before I try to talk to Frederick about it, there’s something I’d like to ask you,” Hannibal said.

You looked at him with apprehensive curiosity. “I cannot promise you anything, but you may ask me.”

“I would like to draw you, if you’d model for me,” he said. “Simple stuff, all of it appropriate. I promise. I’m just in dire need of a muse.”

“What makes you think he will say yes to such a request?” You asked, not yet processing everything in your state of shock.

He smirked. “He needs my help with certain things, so it’s only fair I get something in return.”

You crossed your arms over your chest. “And… Why the interest in me, specifically?”

“It would be a sin not to immortalize features like yours.”

Heat crawled up to your face and your arms tightened against your torso, but you kept a mostly neutral expression on your face. You weren’t sure if he was being serious or just toying with you to unnerve you, but you had a feeling it was a mixture of both.

You weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of a bigger reaction, but it was likely he could still tell he’d rattled you. The worst part was that deep inside, you also took his interest as a compliment, but there was no way you would let that show.

“I’ll give it some thought,” you said slowly, unsure why you were even considering it. “Pending Doctor Chilton’s approval, of course.”

“Of course,” he said with a nod. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here.”

With that, you left, floating down the corridor as if detached from your body. The whole situation had a feeling of unreality to it, and you kept expecting to wake up once again.

As you got to the nurse’s station, another nurse told you that Doctor Chilton had summoned you to his office. You blinked at her in surprise. Impossible… Had Hannibal really been so fast?

Next thing you knew, you were knocking on the door to his office, turning the knob when you heard him grant you access.

“There you are,” Doctor Chilton said, one hand resting on his cane. “Close the door behind you and take a seat, will you?”

You dipped your chin in compliance and mechanically followed instructions. For what seemed like an eternity, he said nothing, studying you instead. You shifted slightly in your seat, instinctively returning the favor if only because you didn’t want to be the one to look away.

He himself had been a victim of Hannibal’s more than once, and his body bore all of the evidence. Still, the Doctor had an undeniable obsession, using any and every opportunity to brag about Hannibal’s capture.

Clearly, the impact had been more than skin deep. No one ever dared to outwardly gossip about it, but it was well-known regardless.

It wasn’t often that you dealt with him directly, and you were being painfully reminded of why you preferred it that way.

“Did…” you began, but he interrupted.

“I watched it all through the cameras. He knew I would be when he asked you that.” He leaned forward on the desk, hands clasped. “Wise choice not to give in just yet.”

You couldn’t help but balk at this. “I beg your pardon?”

He raised an eyebrow. “It must have been a tempting offer, to be the Devil’s muse. I would not blame you if you were at least a little flattered.”

Your eyes, just like your resolve, were like steel. “Why have you called me here, if I may ask?”

His smug, easy grin faded as he let out a long sigh, his patience wavering for a moment.

“Hannibal is right about my needing him, though I am not the only one who does. The reason why is classified, as you can imagine, so I cannot tell you much,” he said, keeping his tone bored as if he couldn’t be bothered to explain it to you. “What I’m trying to understand now is why he wants you in return.”

“I’m just as confused, trust me.”

“From what I have observed, you don’t speak much, even if he has tried. I wonder if the challenge interests him…” he drifted off thoughtfully for a moment. “Though I suppose he’s always liked to surround himself with pretty things, too.”

You stiffened, taken aback by the strange compliment. “And so you are expecting me to say yes?”

“I’m not expecting, no, but I’m sure you’ve gathered that this goes beyond Baltimore State. Of course, should you choose to assist us, you would not only be generously compensated, but I would be immensely grateful, as well.”

You thought about it for a moment. The additional income would definitely be helpful, but you had to admit you were also growing more and more curious about the whole thing. What else did you have going on, otherwise?

Still, you had to try and cover all your bases first. You couldn’t make it too easy for him, after all.

You slightly tilted your head to the side.“Grateful… so you could call it a favor, then?”

He raised both eyebrows. “A favor?”

“Yes, Doctor. He’s a highly dangerous patient and you are asking me to spend longer periods of time – I’m presuming alone – with him. The safety of all staff should be your top priority, right?” you said pointedly, crossing your arms over your chest. “What use is money if no one’s alive to collect it?”

His green eyes narrowed as he seemed to weigh his options. Your face remained implacable, though there was also a challenging shade in your features that he did not miss. Otherwise, he could not get a very good read on you, and that suddenly intrigued him. Perhaps you’d be more useful than he’d originally thought.

“Right… You make a good point,” he finally conceded. “Well, I am a man of honor, after all. Anything you might need, you can always ask.”

You smiled as genially as you could. “How gracious of you, Doctor Chilton. Thank you.”

His false smile was more like a sneer. “Of course. You don’t have to give your final answer now, but…”

“I accept,” you said, cutting him off. “I am honored by the opportunity.”

—-----------------------------------------------------

“How close are you able to get to the glass?”

“Up to ten paces away,” you said, taking your cardigan off and draping it over the back of the chair you’d brought. “Should be close enough, no?”

“Not nearly,” Hannibal said with a small, flirtatious smile that you did not return.

Still, he could see a flicker of amusement cross your face, softening you infinitesimally. It only made him ache all the more to see you up close. He felt a sudden thrill that warmed his extremities — a feeling he recognized but had not felt for some time.

“Doctor Chilton has given us two hours, so I’d advise you to use the time wisely,” you said, slightly lifting an eyebrow and setting your hands on your hips. “How would you like to start?”

“Just as you are, at your most natural,” he said, picking up his pencil. “Let’s see…”

It was strange at first, to have him stare so intently at you. You, who were seldom cowed by anything, could still barely keep eye contact with him. As an excuse, you offered your profile, turning your body to face the wall.

He complimented the elegant swoop of your neck and you rewarded him with a demure glance and soft words of gratitude. His grip on the pencil tightened, his heartbeat spiking. You caught the way he shifted slightly in his chair, swallowing hard.

Despite your icy exterior, you felt a thrill at the effect you seemed to have on him.

You hadn’t been instructed to do anything but show up, but you knew instinctively that it would take more than that to keep Doctor Chilton’s favor… and Hannibal’s interest. Luckily, you were well versed in the art of slow seduction – giving just enough, but then withdrawing in equal measure.

Not to mention, it felt safer to do so on the other side of the glass.

Once or twice, he gave you brief instructions on how to pose your arms or which way to angle your head. You fell into a sort of meditative state, the reality of the whole situation slipping away from you, as well as the passage of time.

When your watch’s timer went off, he seemed to snap back into focus at the same time as you. You looked up, startled at the sight of all the sheets of paper strewn about the desk. You noticed his hands were stained with graphite as he set his pencil down.

Curiosity got the best of you, and you took a step closer if only to try to get a glimpse. There was an almost frantic quality to the sketches, as if he was worried he might not be able to trace all the lines he wanted to in time. You weren’t able to gather many details from that angle, but you did not doubt his talent. Something about those hands…

“Productive first day,” you said, lightly teasing him to distract yourself from other thoughts passing through your mind.

A smile and the faintest dip of his chin. “I have not been so inspired in a while.”

“You flatter me too much. I’m sure it wasn’t just due to me,” you said, looking behind him at his bookshelf. “What are you currently reading?”

He seemed momentarily surprised at your interest, glancing over his shoulder and slightly raising his eyebrows.

“Byron, actually.” He chuckled as he saw your reaction to the poet’s name. “The irony of it is not lost on me, trust me.”

You looked away. “You’re finding beauty where you can. I understand.”

“I always have, in my own way,” he said. “I have a feeling you might relate.”

“In places like this, there is no other choice,” you said, noncommittal. “Not if you want to survive it.”

“The great object of life is sensation,” he quoted. “To feel that we exist, even though in pain.”

You let out a short exhale as you slipped your cardigan back on. How curious that he would be a romantic, but you supposed, in a way, it made sense.

Free of being a so called muse for the day, you withdrew back into yourself. He’d gotten the barest glimpse of another side of you — softer, more open — and that had to be enough for the time being.

Had to leave him wanting more, after all.

“I will see you bright and early tomorrow, Hannibal. Get some rest.”

------

#hannibal lecter x reader #hannibal lecter x nurse!reader #hannibal fanfiction #hannibal smut #hannibal lecter fanfiction #minors dni

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croquis-el · 2 months ago

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Self-addressing of minor male characters in Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) / Personal pronouns

We've talked about the main male and female characters, but we shouldn't forget about the minor male characters who accompany us throughout at least each part of the Ace Attorney (GKS) series

The first man who accompanies us throughout the first trilogy is Itonokogiri Keisuke (Richard/Dick Gumshoe)

And here's an interesting point. His pronoun is "jibun" (自分)

自分は、刑事課のイトノコギリという者ッス。

Jibun wa, keiji ka no Itonokogiri to iu mono ~tssu.

I'm from the Criminal Affairs Division. My name is Itonokogiri.

This is a rather rarely used pronoun; it literally translates as "self", although it has the meaning "I/me".

Jibun is used by about only 14% of men and 1% of women. This fact makes the pronoun gender-neutral, but predominantly masculine.

Compared to other first-person pronouns, the nuance of 自分 is introspective, and it's often associated with the military or athletic community, which have strong hierarchies. This suits Itonoko's personality very well, considering that he is a subordinate of the prosecutor and rarely thinks for himself.

Also, "jibun" can be an indicator of the Kansai dialect (Osaka), where it is used to denote both the first and second person. But, since Itonoko's speech was not noted to have any dialect (there are other features), and he was born and raised in the same city (and the city is from the Kanto region), this option is out of the question.

Interestingly, even after Itonoko realized that detectives should do their own investigations rather than rely on directions from prosecutors, and began making decisions on his own, his self-address did not change. Probably a matter of habit.

自分は、何をしたらいいッスか････

Jibun wa, nani o shitara Ī ~tsuu ka...

What should I do...

___________________________________________

Next is our dear friend's father, Mitsurugi Shin (Gregory Edgeworth)

His speech is very formal (like his son's), and he uses the formal personal pronoun "watashi" written in kanji.

私は弁護士の御剣信と申します。

Watashi wa bengoshi no Mitsurugi Shin to mōshi masu.

My name is Shin Mitsurugi, a lawyer.

___________________________________________

Let's not forget about Mitsurugi assistant - Shigaraki Tateyuki (Eddie Fender, almost wrote Raymond Shields)

Most of his dialogues take place with Mitsurugi and young Yatagarasu, and he stubbornly continues to call himself "uncle". (オジサン - ojisan)

オジサン、アトでここの館長に文句言っとくから。寒すぎだって。

Ojisan, ato de koko no kanchō ni monku I~tsu toku kara. Samu sugi datte .

Uncle going to complain to the director of this place later. It's too cold.

It was not easy to catch his personal self-addressing with other people, but not impossible.

In dialogues with others, Shigaraki-san uses the polite male pronoun "boku" (like Naruhodō/Wright)

ぼく、その････! がんばって助けますからッ!

Boku, sono! Ganbatte tasuke masu kara ~Tsu !

I, well...! I'll do my best to help you!

___________________________________________

Let's not forget about our permanent presiding judge (here is someone who, with rare exceptions, is always with us)

ええ!わ、私がですか?

ē! Wa, watashi gadesu ka?

What? Me?

___________________________________________

The new generation is first represented by rock star and hard-working prosecutor - Garyu Kyoya (Klavier Gavin)

Despite his prominent image as a musician and rock star, Kyouya uses the polite masculine pronoun "boku" (the same one used by Naruhodō/Wright).

ぼくも楽しみにしているんだ。

boku mo tanoshimini shite iru nda.

I'm looking forward to it too.

His speech is generally polite, and in the original he uses various English phrases in his speech, written either in Latin or Katakana. These phrases, by the way, are often used at concerts of musical groups whose first language is not English. (In the localization, as you know, German was used as a substitute).

オーケイ、ベイビー!

ōkei, beibī!

Okay, baby!

___________________________________________

Mr. Garyu Kirihito (Kristoph Gavin) uses the personal pronoun "watashi", which is written in kanji, indicating formal speech and an adult character.

___________________________________________

The second prosecutor from the new generation is a master of psychological manipulation, Yugami Jin (Simon Blackquill)

To be honest, his image as a samurai somewhat clouded my eyes, and I expected some self-addresses inherent in this category (for example, "yo")

But no, Yugami-kun uses the crude male pronoun "ore" (like Odoroki/Apollo)

それと、俺は検事ってェ立場上、おめえさんに手は貸さねェからな。

soreto, ore wa kenji tte ~e tachiba-jō, o-me e-san ni te wa kasa nēkara na.

Also, because I'm a prosecutor, I won't help you.

We don't know when he started using this designation (there are no monologues from him before his arrest), but judging by his characterization from other characters, he behaved very noble and politely, so perhaps he could change the personal pronoun to a more rude one to maintain the image of a "cruel criminal".

His manner of speech is, in principle, extremely interesting, and, I think, worthy of a separate post. In short - he speaks in a dialect + uses obsolete words + he has a special way of addressing other characters

___________________________________________

The third prosecutor from the new generation, who is also a monk from the kingdom of Khurain - Sahdmadhi Nahyuta (his name was not localized, thank you)

But this young man has an extremely interesting way of addressing himself.

"Sesso" (拙僧) literally means "inept monk".

This is a VERY modest form of address that was used by Buddhist monks.

拙僧がこの事件の担当にふさわしくないと････?

sessō ga kono jiken no tantō ni fusawashikunai to?

Are you saying I'm not fit to take charge of this case...?

But, this is very different from his speech. Canonically, he is a foreigner, so he does not know all the features of the language in which the hearings are held. Therefore, Nahyuta uses, either unknowingly or intentionally, quite rude vocabulary and manner of speech (at the first hearing with him as a prosecutor, the judge, Odoroki and Kizuki were shocked). Even a native speaker, whose walkthrough I watched, was surprised and commented on this moment.

___________________________________________

Well, that's probably it for now on the topic of personal pronouns, but if you're interested in someone specific that I haven't mentioned, give me a sign.

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chemhorse · 4 months ago

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Role swap aus where Ambrosius is the one framed is so funny to me(I love them and want more). Because like I firmly believe he could not make a plan to save his life. That man would have literally walked into the Directors office demanding to know if she was a murderer and gotten murdered with no proof to show for it if he hadn’t been beaten to the punch.

In my version of the au Ambrosius would still have his arm because he was knighted before Ballister so the positions wouldn’t have been right for him to lose it. Nimona wouldn’t want to be his sidekick cause he is still a descendant of Glorith and she wouldn’t want to get burned again but she’d still be helping him out and causing chaos, cause this is the most excitement the kingdoms seen in a long time and man does Ambrosius suck at being a criminal.

Ballister would be very suspicious from the get go, “Ambrosius couldn’t have killed the Queen, there was too much planning.” Ballister wouldn’t have been knighted because the Queen died so he’d be in a weird gray area while the institute conducted the man hunt leaving him to his own devices. Ballister would be doing his own investigation.

#nimona art #nimona au #ballister x ambrosius #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #nimona #my art

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contemplatingoutlander · 1 month ago

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Patel is a very dangerous conspiracy theorist. Putting him in charge of the FBI will destroy the independence of that institution. Patel will likely turn FBI agents into 'enforcers' for the Trump agenda that will be used to investigate and intimidate his critics.

“We will go out and find the conspirators — not just in government, but in the media — yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. “We’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice, and Steve, this is why they hate us. This is why we’re tyrannical. This is why we’re dictators.... Because we’re actually going to use the Constitution to prosecute them for crimes they said we have always been guilty of but never have.” Kash Patel (Dec. 2023) on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast

Indoctrinating Children Into MAGA Beliefs

I don't know if Patel is just corrupt or he actually believes the conspiracy theories about the 2020 election having been rigged, or that "federal bureaucrats in the 'deep state' tried to overthrow the former president."

Regardless, Patel actually wrote a series of children's books whose purpose was to indoctrinate children into the belief that the Democrats had created terrible "plots" to prevent Trump from becoming and remaining president

Here are the book series titles: The Plot Against the King (April 1, 2022),The Plot Against the King 2000 Mules (Aug. 29, 2022), The Plot Against the King 3: The Return of the King (Sept. 9, 2024).

Furthermore, the article above claims the book series features Patel "as a 'wizard' defending “King Donald.'”

Below is the cover from the third book. You can see Patel as the "wizard" on the left:

I'm sorry, but anyone who stoops to indoctrinating children regarding MAGA conspiracies should NOT be in charge of the FBI.

For a humorous take on the second book in the series, by a left- leaning TikToker SnoozeAlarmMom, see this POST.

[Below the cut are some excerpts from the article. It's one of the more thorough articles out there about Kash Patel, so I highly recommend reading it.]

President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he would pick Kashyap "Kash" Patel, a 44-year-old loyalist with little significant experience in federal law enforcement, to serve as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [...] A former senior law enforcement official who interacted with Patel in the past said he was not qualified for the position.

"It’s ridiculous. He’s arguably the least qualified person ever nominated for a senior position in federal law enforcement," said the former official, who asked not to be named citing fears of retaliation from Trump. "I don’t know anything significant that he achieved at the DOJ. He was not well regarded as a prosecutor." [...] Patel has promoted the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump as well as the baseless conspiracy theory that federal bureaucrats in the “deep state” tried to overthrow the former president.

Patel has called for replacing “anti-democratic” civil servants in law enforcement and intelligence with “patriots” who he says will work for the American people. In his memoir, "Government Gangsters," he described the current political moment as “a battle between the people and a corrupt ruling class." [...] Patel has also echoed Trump’s rhetoric labeling journalists as traitors and calling for “cleaning out” of allegedly disloyal federal civil servants. In an interview last year with longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, Patel vowed to go after “conspirators” who he claimed had abused their positions in government. “The one thing we learned in the Trump administration the first go-around is that we have to put in all-American patriots top to bottom,” Patel told Bannon.

“And the one thing that we will do that they never will do is that we will follow the facts and the law and go to courts of law," he said. "And correct these justices and lawyers who have been prosecuting these cases based on politics." “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media — yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections," Patel said. "Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’re going to figure that out — but yeah, we’re putting you all on notice."

A “wizard” defending “King Donald”

Patel joined Trump on the 2024 campaign trail and has promoted his memoir, a film adaptation of the memoir and a line of children’s books featuring him as a “wizard” defending “King Donald.” [...] A former senior federal law enforcement official who served under Trump during his first term said that the Patel and Gaetz nominations were signs of Trump's disdain for the DOJ and FBI and both agencies' efforts to not be used to settle political scores.

"He's just going to run roughshod over them," predicted the former official, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation by Trump. "He’s thumbing his nose at the DOJ and FBI with these nominations. He’s going to effect his will regardless of our norms."

#kash patel #nomination #director of the fbi #donald trump #the plot against the king #children's books series #indoctrinating children into maga conspiracy theories #nbc news #snoozealarmmom

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probablyasocialecologist · 8 months ago

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The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal. Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories. That investigation, launched in 2021, culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the country’s conduct in its war in Gaza. The prosecutor’s decision to apply to the ICC’s pre-trial chamber for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, alongside three Hamas leaders, is an outcome Israel’s military and political establishment has long feared.

[...]

Cohen, who was one of Netanyahu’s closest allies at the time and is emerging as a political force in his own right in Israel, personally led the Mossad’s involvement in an almost decade-long campaign by the country to undermine the court. Four sources confirmed that Bensouda had briefed a small group of senior ICC officials about Cohen’s attempts to sway her, amid concerns about the increasingly persistent and threatening nature of his behaviour. Three of those sources were familiar with Bensouda’s formal disclosures to the ICC about the matter. They said she revealed Cohen had put pressure on her on several occasions not to proceed with a criminal investigation in the ICC’s Palestine case. According to accounts shared with ICC officials, he is alleged to have told her: “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.” One individual briefed on Cohen’s activities said he had used “despicable tactics” against Bensouda as part of an ultimately unsuccessful effort to intimidate and influence her. They likened his behaviour to “stalking”. The Mossad also took a keen interest in Bensouda’s family members and obtained transcripts of secret recordings of her husband, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Israeli officials then attempted to use the material to discredit the prosecutor. The revelations about Cohen’s operation form part of a forthcoming investigation by the Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, revealing how multiple Israel intelligence agencies ran a covert “war” against the ICC for almost a decade.

28 May 2024

#israel #mossad #palestine #zionism #international criminal court

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queer-geordie-dyke · 7 days ago

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I've posted about this before but in the current climate, especially, a signal boost can only be a good thing.

There is an excellent organisation here in the UK that I have an ongoing donation to, Campaign Against Antisemitism.

From their website:

"HOW WE FIGHT ANTISEMITISM

Campaign Against Antisemitism consists of eight directorates which collaborate closely to expose and counter antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law:

1. Investigations and Enforcement

We work closely with police forces around the country, the Crown Prosecution Service, regulatory bodies and the government to ensure that antisemitism is detected, investigated and punished with the full force of the law. We focus on criminal antisemitism and antisemitic acts committed by professionals or institutions which are subject to special regulation, such as lawyers, teachers, sportspeople and charities. We also provide training and advice to the authorities, whilst also scrutinising their performance and holding them to account when they fall short.

2. Awareness and Communication

Working closely with senior journalists and advertising professionals, we run proactive campaigns to ensure that the public is aware of anti-Jewish racism and the immense societal danger that it poses. Through our advocacy work we seek to mobilise public support for the fight against antisemitism, whilst also generating pressure on the authorities to pursue a policy of zero tolerance for antisemitism. We also provide information and comment to the media through our media centre.

3. Outreach and Education

We strive to reduce anti-Jewish prejudice by providing education and training to all in society who wish to find out more about being Jewish, antisemitism, and fighting racism. We also reach out to other minority communities and anti-racist groups so that we can work to strengthen each other.

4. Public Affairs

We have forged links with the government, local authorities, regulators, police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as with companies such as the major social networks. We meet at the highest levels to tackle the roots of antisemitism and ensure that the law is upheld effectively, consistently and firmly.

5. Mobilisation

Antisemitism is a societal problem and we believe that individuals should be at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism. We recruit, train and mobilise volunteers, empowering them to leverage their talent and expertise against antisemitism.

6. Litigation

We have recruited some of Britain’s most formidable and acclaimed legal minds. Our lawyers give their time to provide guidance on specific cases and also takes action to hold the authorities and private companies to account when they fail to act against antisemitism effectively. Our legal experts include specialists in criminal law, charity law, regulatory law, administrative law, employment law, media law and litigation.

7. Organisation and Finance

Our volunteers need central support in every area from systems administration to finance. Working with senior professionals, we ensure that our volunteers receive the support they need, and that our charity complies strictly with regulatory and financial requirements.

8. Fundraising

We are proud to operate with extremely low overheads, relying almost entirely on volunteers, however our work costs money, whether it is to pay court fees when we litigate, or to commission important research. We fundraise throughout the year to raise the sums needed to enable our work to continue."

They also have a podcast that recently aired its 100th episode, that I highly recommend. They talk about the current work they're doing, media bias, representation, and over 5 seasons have included interviews with Jewish public figures, Holocaust survivors, and more recently, survivors of Oct. 7 and family members of hostages:

https://antisemitism.org/podcast/

#campaign against antisemitism #signal boost

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27moremoons · 19 days ago

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Press Statement

In light of the criminal Zionist occupation's lies and allegations on the presence of resistance fighters and combat equipment in the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the northern Gaza Strip, the Hamas Movement emphasizes the following:

- We categorically deny any military presence or fighters inside the hospital, whether from Al-Qassam Brigades or from any other faction, as the hospital was open to all including the international and UN groups that know the hospital very well.

- The enemy's lies about the hospital are to justify the heinous crime committed by the occupation army today of vacating it and burning most of its sections, in application of the plan of genocide and forced displacement.

- The Zionist lies and deception are not new, as it previously promoted the same allegations against the hospitals that the occupation army had destroyed in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which international investigate reports proved the occupation's false claims.

- We demand the UN to condemn the occupation army’s destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital and form an investigation committee to examine the extent of the crime committed in the northern Gaza Strip, which is witnessing a fully-fledged genocidal and displacement plan. We also urge to provide medical services to our people after the occupation's destruction of all health facilities in the north.

Islamic Resistance Movement

27 Dec

Official website - Hamas movement

Statements by Ismail Thawabteh, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza:

- The crimes of the occupation in the Northern Gaza Governorate and Kamal Adwan Hospital are a disgrace to humanity.

- Shame on the world that failed to prevent the Nazi occupation from burning the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

- The occupation burned 34 hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the course of its genocidal war.

- The occupation has been committing genocide against our people in Gaza for 450 days.

- The occupation has reached a level of decline that cannot be described in words in its disregard for international law.

- We hold the Security Council and the international community responsible for what is happening in Kamal Adwan Hospital.

- We have lost confidence in the international community that has been cracking our heads with talk about international law.

27 Dec

Official website - Hamas movement

#palestine

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dontforgetukraine · 4 months ago

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"In response to attacks and accusations being directed at our film, 'Russains at War,' and myiself, I want to be clear that this Canada-France co-production is an anti-war film made atg great risk to all involved, myself especially. I unequivocally believe that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, illegal and acknowledge the validity of the International Criminal Court investigation of war crimes in Ukraine. The suggestion that our film is propaganda is ludicrous given that I'm now at risk of criminal prosecution in Russia. I also understand and empathize with the pain and anger that the subject matter may provoke in those who have suffered from this conflict. My mother emigrated to Canada, from Russia, so that we could live in a country that is devoted to freedom of expression and human rights. My hope is that our film can be assessed and discussed based on its scope and not agendas and assumptions beyond its frame, and that ultimately such discussions contribute to the war's end." —Anastasia Trofimova, Director/Producer, Russians at War (Source)

Bullshit. She's a director and producer for RT with most if not all of her films funded by RT. I guess she apparently wasn't vetted by the Canada-France co-producers.

Even if promoting Russian propaganda wasn't her intention, it can't be separated from the content. The damn trailer has soldiers saying propaganda narratives in it. (Kyiv Independent)

"Russia and Ukraine have always been inseparable. I miss the brotherly Union" reinforces the false narrative that Ukraine cannot exist as an independent state, that Russia and Ukrainian history are inseparable. Even Putin has said similar things.

“I came (to war) today so that my kids don’t go tomorrow,” conveying the belief that their military aggression in Ukraine is somehow just.

"An order was given. We went." Ah, yes, I was just following orders. Where have we heard that one before, I wonder. Not only that, it reinforces the narrative that ordinary Russians are powerless and blameless in this conflict. This isn't their war, but Putin's war. Fuck that. We know many sign up willingly such as for the money or a clean slate if they are a convict.

You can't separate the propaganda ordinary russians have been stewing in for decades and don't fight back against from this film, sweetheart. It's part of the damned context and you don't get to ignore that. Either she actually realizes that but doesn't want to say it, or she's a useful idiot. It doesn't matter which, because the result is the same.

"The fog of war is so thick that you can't see the human stories its made of."

Yes we can! This isn't the era of WW2. We can see it on Telegram! All the war crimes that are willingly committed and recorded and posted pridefully! All the ethnic slurs said to Ukrainians! All the interviews between journalists and POWs. The translations by volunteer translators showing what "ordinary Russians" on the street actually think about Ukrainians and the war. Even what the families of russian soldiers think. Never before have these stories been more accessible. That's not agendas or assumptions.

We. Can. See. It.

Just because you don't like what's in the information space doesn't mean it's not supremely relevant to the topic you're trying to shape into a narrative.

#Ukraine #russians at war #russia #russian propaganda #Anastasia Trofimova #article in link

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thekatebridgerton · 5 months ago

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Today on Bridgerton aus I'm too sleep deprived to write: Serial killer Prison Break au

Kilmartin high security prison, the place where evil goes to die. Has 6 highly dangerous individuals that are contained in unknown cells deep underground under strict supervision. 6 killers who happened to form the scariest family of domestic threats that ever plagued the British Isles.

Anthony, mastermind infiltrator terrorist, once held 5 international world leaders hostage in the parliament until they capitulated to his wishes. Benedict, genius artist, leader of the largest art counterfeit ring in the nation, Colin, charming butcher, brutal serial killer, (number of victims, still unknown). Daphne, high profile Jewel thief, rumored to still have the crown jewels somewhere in her possession. Eloise, prolific arms dealer and explosive weaponry engineer, (victim number still unknown) and Francesca, biotechnology scientist, responsible for the latest biological threat that quarantined the nation and surrounding areas.

It took a collaboration between all known and unknown security and law enforcement agencies to take them down but finally they were caught and buried in Kilmartin... That is, until they broke out, in what had to be the most horrible prison break of the century.

Authorities reviewed the footage from all that went down in the prison in the day and weeks preceding the incident and narrowed down the list of suspicious individuals, among them, several whom were taken as hostages.

First is detective Kate Sharma, the cutthroat officer who is in charge of tracking down the state secrets Anthony stole from the parliament and has a grudge against him for setting her sister up as a scapegoat when he committed that crime. Next, is Doctor Sophia Beckett, the struggling prison doctor who was forcefully made to take care of Benedict after several prison fights left him repeatedly wounded. Penelope Featherington, the journalist is also on the list of suspects as her investigative visits to Colin ( and subsequent articles about his killings) fell way too close to the dates where Colin would act out and get put in solitary. Then there is Simon Hastings, the business Tycoon whose visits to his death-row father got suspiciously more frequent after Daphne was moved to the cell next to his. Phillip Crane was almost dismissed as a suspect, being that he was attending a guided tour trough the safer parts of Kilmartin when the prison break happened, if not for the fact that Eloise used to have a strange flower arranging hobby, and the greenhouse Phillip owned happened to be her main supplier of plants. Finally, the least likely of suspects, Michael Stirling, director of the prison, retired army veteran, who ran Kilmartin like a tight ship, so much that only one guard noticed how he was giving Francesca more privileges for good behavior than he gave other inmates.

Out of these suspects, Phillip, Sophie and Michael were kidnapped and are still in the group of hostages taken by the Bridgertons as insurance. Simon, Penelope and Kate, were not on the premises that day, but had in fact visited in different days the week before. The question that law enforcement is asking is: which one of these suspects was the accomplice who set the criminals free, and which ones were simply innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Ps: Violet Bridgerton, safely absconded in her private island in the Caribbean with her two teenager children (and the entirety of the fortune, weapons and international secrets amassed by her older ones) would also like to know as well... She wants to have grandbabies you see, and whoever aided and abetted that prison break might be her only chance at them.

Your turn dear reader, who do you think did it?

#bridgerton #Bridgerton au #prison break au #kanthony #benophie #polin #saphne #philoise #franchel #cell block tango

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gaytrash-back-in-a-paperbag · 3 months ago

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Just One Reason (Chapter 2)

Just One Reason

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Natasha Romanoff x Wanda Maximoff x GN!Reader

Summary: Y/N has been working hard as a criminal investigator and always comes home to their lover Nat. When they come home tonight, however, something is different.

Chapter summary: Y/N definitely wasn’t expecting to end up in between an investigation and the Avengers’ issues, but yet. Suddenly secrets are uncovered and you can’t keep everything the same anymore.

Warnings: Cheating, implied sexual interactions, swearing, lots of implications to abuse, murder, blood/gore, PTSD, anxiety attacks, alcohol , self-harm, kidnapping, (stay safe loves <3)

A/N: Chapter 2 hits the site :)) See you guys soon for the next chapter!

AVENGER’S COMPOUND

SUNDAY, 7:47 AM

14 HOURS SINCE THE TEXT

“This, Director Fury, was not a funny hoax,” You growled at him from the back of your throat. The text had come from him, and he didn’t even know their location. It had taken everything in you not to punch his good eye until he didn’t have one.

“Officer Y/L/N, you must understand that we knew it was the only way to get you in here,” He insisted in his usual cool and calm voice. You frowned, your entire face just one big scowl.

“Because your efforts are beyond the laws and completely reckless and unethical! If you weren’t a group of powerful people, you’d all be in jail for life. And I’d enjoy being the one to do it.” Crossing your arms, the rest of the elevator ride was in complete, and utterly blissful might you add, silence. Entering the actual compound for the first time had you fuming from the very beginning. You had been taught by the NYPD that the Avengers were ruthless with the law and they never abided by the government-placed laws. You glared at everyone in front of you, scanning the area for any signs of the redhead or the witch, but nothing seemed to show they were there. You knew you shouldn’t care, but it couldn’t be helped at this point, you were still way too caught up in everything work related that you hadn’t really flushed out the remaining emotions towards the women.

“What is it you want, Fury? I don’t have all day, you fucker. If you’re here to fix something, you aren’t going to succeed, so you can just let me leave.” Your words were so bitter, even Thor himself looked mildly taken back. Clearly, they knew about what had happened a week ago, but they hadn’t expected a reaction like that.

“We have no intention of getting into that side of the business, but as you are likely aware, both Wanda and Agent Romanoff haven’t been on the scene since Wednesday.” He paused, waiting for your reaction. You just gave a solemn nod and waited for him to continue. “We have no ideas on their whereabouts as they left on their own accord without our knowledge. We did not send them out on a mission of any sorts, and thus, they have been put as MIA.”

The Avengers around you looked sorrowful. You hadn’t seen any of them this way since the war against Thanos, in which Bruce Banner and Clint Barton had sacrificed themselves for the better half of the population that had been snapped away. They were acting like the two women had died or something, and that made you slightly uncomfortable.

“Give me access to their rooms. I’ll begin an investigation,” You said at last, turning to face Director Fury. He gave a nod, and began to guide you into the dormitory area of the compound. It was just you and him at that point, and he decided this would be a great time to push you around a bit.

“I’m aware of your secret, Y/N. It never went under my radar.”

You turned to look at him, a look of distaste on your face. “If this is a ploy to get me to join your little mismatched group of heroes, it’s an automatic failure.”

“No ploy, no trickery. I am just stating I know about you. I know your secret, your little power of yours.” He gestured towards your back, causing your face to heat slightly, out of both anger and embarrassment. He knew about your power, sure, but he shouldn’t know about the scars.

“Will you explain it in more detail, Officer Y/L/N? Or must I continue?” He pushed further, taking note of the way you gritted your teeth together and clenched them in anger.

“My ability to see into the multiverse is none of your concern, Director Fury. Nor are the things I do within it. It has only happened twice, and I have no intention of doing it again.”

He smiled now, only slightly, because this is Fury we’re talking about. You were so furious that you thought you might punch a hole in the wall, until you reached the door of Natasha’s room. Opening the door, you slammed it in his face. You turned your attention to the room you were in. It reminded you of her too much, the way it even held the same smell of her hair, that smell of poppies and vodka, and somehow that smell was good. You bit your lip, holding back a flood of emotions. It pained you to see all the things that you had seen her wearing on dates, all lined neatly on her bed as if she had just unpacked. You noticed a few of the things you had bought her were in an organized chest by her bed, but when you opened the chest more, you found some of the most important items missing. The picture you took on your first date, the one she carried in her pocket at all times, wasn’t in there, and neither was the pair of matching converse you had gotten custom designed with the black widow logo on them. Had she taken them with her, or did she just throw them out? You swallowed down the thoughts, thinking, Come on Y/N, you have a job to do. Don’t be moping over a girl who spent her entire relationship cheating on you.

You slapped your face a couple times, lightly, and went back to checking for any clues on where she had disappeared to. When you entered the bathroom, you were surprised to find many of the photos the two of you had taken taped to her mirror, and you had to suppress your soft smile. Maybe she did care, just maybe you took things the wrong way, maybe you should have let her talk. Then, you had that urge, that sting on your back, and you sighed deeply. Lifting up your shirt, you turned your head as you glanced at your back through the mirror. Hundreds, probably, of scars littered it, with most old, but a beat red one on your lower right side meant only one thing to you.

“There goes another one…” you muttered to yourself, wincing as it stung once more before fading into just another old scar, like any other on your back. Rolling your shirt back down, you noticed a note out of the corner of your eye. It was in such an odd spot, as if whoever wrote it knew only you would be able to find it. Pulling it out from its odd position behind a tile in the bathtub, you unfolded it and began reading its contents.

“Well, I guess Director Fury will probably send Y/N to find you, don’t you think Natasha? It’s okay though, I think that’s what we both want. They’ll come running to save you, won’t they? Like a dog on a leash, eh? You really had them fooled, you did Ms. Romanoff. You didn’t mean to, but you put them right into your grasp and maybe now you can wring them dry. Unless you’re actually in love with them. Oh, that would make things so much more fun, yeah? Take your little witchy girl too, she’ll be fun! And to think you could have both, oh dear Natasha, you can’t have either.”

You must have read it four or five times for it to really stick in your head. What the fuck was that? Didn’t mean to have you fooled? Was Natasha up to something and dragging Wanda into it? You frowned so deeply that it physically hurt your face. Something wasn’t adding up. It was a type note, god damn it, so there was no way of identifying anyone through means of handwriting, and there wasn’t enough for someone to depict anyone’s writing style for a hit. You gripped the side of your head with your free hand in an act of frustration, before standing. Turning to leave the room and report back to Fury, you paused by the mirror again. Your eyes found one photo in particular, it was about three months after your first night with Nat. She had taken it while you weren’t looking, you were shoving a hamburger down your throat at your favorite dinner. She was grinning and trying not to laugh, and the way her cheeks squished into her eyes, you couldn’t help but feel like she was actually happy there. You hesitated, then grabbed the photo and shoved it into your pocket. Exiting the room, you almost crashed into the playboy himself.

“Woah, watch where you’re standing, robot!” You hissed as you collided into him. He was just as surprised as you were, and you both hit the ground with a thud. You stood first, and did not offer him a hand, so he pushed himself to his feet, grumbling something about you being a bitch. It took all your mental power to not just grab at his weirdass heart thing and pull it out. Stuck up asshole. You said to yourself in your head, for once mildly sad Wanda wasn’t there to giggle at it. You cursed at Fury mentally for not being there and making you walk around the compound looking for him. Finally, after one or two more awkward conversations with the Avengers, you sighed with relief when you saw the eyepatched man.

“Director Fury?” You asked, trying to pull his attention to you. He turned to face you, raising an eyebrow at what you wanted. You silently showed him the note, and after he read it, asked, “Do you know who wrote this?”

“No. I have no idea. This is… not something I’ve heard about from her.” His response made you a bit upset, now you felt yourself getting slightly worried.

“That’s alright, I’ll just take this back to the station and have the NYPD deal with i-”

“I’m afraid you can’t do that, Mx. Y/L/N. This investigation stays here,” Fury warned, rewarding him with one of your meanest glares. “I apologize but the police have a way of putting things into the public eye and we cannot have that. We told the press they were on an official hiatus. If it gets out that they are actually MIA, it will send the public into a panic.”

“The public will panic over anything, this is no exception. If anything, it’ll get your little squad of random heroes a bit more of public excitement as this investigation will keep everyone on their toes. Isn’t that what you guys love? You guys seem to really enjoy the attention. Why is this different? Because they’re missing and you’ll be seen as failures for your lack of protection over a former Russian assassin and an unstable witch who can’t always control her damn powers. I’ve seen this before Fury, and in that universe, that witch ripped through your world like it was paper,” you retorted. You weren’t lying, you had seen this in a different universe, but the circumstances were different. It was obvious though, whatever was going on, this could go horribly wrong if either of them got seriously hurt enough for Wanda to lash out.

He had no response for that, and so you left the building. You drove yourself back to your old apartment. You knew if Nat had left, she left something behind here for you to find. You felt like you were playing a mix of hide and seek and a scavenger hunt, and by God you hated it. Glancing around, you knew not much had changed since the last time you had come, other than the tons upon tons of vodka bottles scattered around the rooms. Apparently you weren’t the only one drowning your problems with alcohol that was for sure. That same old Nat smell filled every part of the apartment, but it also had the smell of Wanda, the cherry cola and the scent of lavender. Somehow, the scents together still made you feel comforted, despite the circumstances. You just wanted to curl up with Wanda and Nat and have them hold you and let you relieve yourself of all these pent up emotions. You missed them both, and you loved them both. You didn’t understand how Nat could be so distraught by what happened if it meant nothing to her. Because it had to have meant nothing to her, if she never even told you about Wanda.

You hit the wall with your fist, and you hit it again. Before you even knew it, there was blood trickling down your hand and around your wrists and your knuckles were gashed open. Tears streaked your face, you tried to wipe them away but the stains were already there. Heaving a hefty sigh, you felt a strong urge to go into your living room. Following your gut, you entered to find that same gut feeling pulling at the couch. No, not at the couch. Under it. You knelt down, getting on your knees and leaning down to see another note. Expecting to find the second note to be written by the same person as the first, you were utterly surprised to find Wanda’s handwriting. Well, partially. It was shaky, much shakier than hers was even on the worst nights of drinking or, well, anything. It had you nervous as you read the lines of what was Wanda’s true worst nightmare. It didn’t make sense, she had written, that somehow it was like seeing double. How were they here when they had just left my life, for a second time? It’s like the multiverse is playing some cruel joke on me.

You pouted at the word “multiverse”. You were hoping that what you thought it was, that it couldn’t be that. It shouldn’t be possible, you had rid yourself of that ability, had you not? No, Y/N. Don’t second guess yourself, you did it right. It had worked, you saw it. You assured yourself that it was just a trickery of Wanda’s eyes, that this was just a mistake in her head. You stood, folding the note carefully, and placed it securely in your jacket pocket. Making your way into the bedroom, you began looking through drawers, searching for anything else they had left behind. Opening one drawer, however, left you with a malfunctioning brain. There lay the two hoodies you had been missing, messly tossed back in there like they had just been worn but not enough to be washed, or maybe, they didn’t want to wash them. One had Nat’s unique smell, and the other smelled of the witch herself, and you found yourself surprised to still find the faint smell of your favorite beer still on them, probably from a spill or something. You choked back even more tears, before picking one up and putting it up to your nose. You ended up burying your face into it, this one smells like Wanda, and allowed yourself to curl up on the bed and cry once more. The tears fell, and you just let them. You hated that you still loved them, they had broken your heart, both of them, and yet, you wanted nothing more than to be with them. You wanted their love, their words and their kisses, their affection, you wanted their issues and their problems, you wanted their drunken asses and their emotional breakdowns. You wanted it all, just once more. You had left behind this feeling of longer in the old universe, and you made the deal with yourself to switch, to be free from that. This universe was supposed to be different. Then why wasn’t it?

The sting on your back brought you back to reality. There went yet another one, you groaned at the thought. Why did this have to be you? You didn’t ask for any of this, and you definitely didn’t think anything like this would happen when it started. Everyone always talked about Wanda and Strange and how brilliant their powers were, and even America Chavez, who you hated with all your guts. Oh their powers are revolutionary! Brilliant even! Never before been seen! Yeah, well, never before been seen in this universe. You knew that they weren’t that special, that everyone has them in some universe. An endless multiverse, who were they to think they were unique? You, now, you were unique. You weren’t like them, you were special. Multiverse after multiverse, and you never found anyone else with this ability. This… was it an ability or a damned curse? You felt like it was both a gift and a curse. You got to jump multiverses and live your lives whenever you pleased! But you had to trade with the you from that multiverse, and once they switched, their destinies changed and their fates could leave them dead. It’s not like you knew their fates before you swapped, but it always hurt to find out they died. Even when you don’t swap with them, you still get those fucking scars on your back at their deaths. You could only blame yourself, your single upset in your original universe sent you spiraling and you did anything you could to get away.

You laughed hollowly at the thought, remembering in one universe where the Avengers were just a made up story, the movie they had released that showed Wanda tearing the multiverse apart. You remembered the universe where that actually happened and you could only roll your eyes through the movie as this version of Wanda stated a couple of very Wanda comments and it almost felt like that actor could have been Wanda. Probably because in every other universe, she is. But you still got a laugh out of it. You sighed, pulling yourself back together as you set down the hoodie. You smiled at the thought that they had kept them. You definitely had this whole thing wrong. Looking at your watch, you hadn’t even realized that the day was basically over and you had gone the whole day without a single thing to eat. On top of that, you could hear your phone ringing for what was probably the ninth time in that hour. Kate and Yelena were definitely worried, especially when you never came home for dinner that night, and didn’t show up the next morning, not to mention you ignored all their texts for the entire day today. Yeah, they were going to be pissed. Huffing, you got to your feet and grabbed at your phone in the living room.

“Hello?” You said into the phone, bracing yourself.

You needed that bracing because Kate came at you with full force, “Where the fuck have you been, Y/N? We have been worried sick, you asshole! Yelena, come here, you don’t have to call the police anymore, this dipshit finally picked up.”

You muttered some sort of an apology, but Kate grumbled that you needed more than an apology to save you. You tried to defend yourself, to explain, “Look, Kate. I wanted to go home last night, I did, but I got caught up in something.”

“Caught up in what? What could it have been that made you not even answer any of our texts?” You could hear Yelena shout from probably five feet away, trying to make sure she was heard. She didn’t seem angry as much worried, she was never one for lack of communication. You and her had gotten extremely close when you became a friend of Kate’s. You had similar personalities, though she was much better at controlling her anger than you. Probably all those years of the Red Room, which had been taken down long ago, but she was always the one keeping you from throwing the first punch.

After a moment, you grunted, “The Avengers.”

Silence rang for way too long before Kate spoke, “What the fuck do they want? Can’t they see you don’t want anything to do with them? You literally just broke up with Nat, you dated Wanda, and you’re a part of the NYPD, who are basically their biggest enemy. They’re practically asking you to punch Fury in his one-eyed face!”

The sigh you let out was enough for Kate to soften her voice, choosing to let that go. “Where are you right now, Y/N? We’ll meet up with you for dinner tonight. Have you eaten?”

“At my old apartment, grabbing some last things that Nat had forgotten,” It wasn’t entirely a lie, you were at your apartment and you were going to take the hoodies. “No. I haven’t eaten. It’s been a hell of a day, I completely forgot about it.”

You heard shuffling from the other line, before you heard Yelena take the phone from Kate. Her voice made you feel better in an instant, the blonde Russian had a way of doing that to you. “Meet us at Mel’s Pizza. We’ll pay, you just eat, дурак (stupid).”

This gave you a slight smile and you nodded, “Alright. See you there, пончик (donut).” You could hear her smirk at your nickname for her. It was one of the few words you could remember in Russian, and it stuck with her.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, Умник (nerd).”

The call ended. You could breathe again, thank goodness. You were so thankful for some pizza that you almost left the apartment without the hoodies. Grabbing them and rushing out the door, you couldn’t help but feel like you’d need to come back. Like you were missing something. You ignored the feeling, happily driving to Mel’s Pizza. You made it there about five minutes before Kate and Yelena, so you grabbed a table and sat down, scrolling through your phone. Then a message popped up at the top of your phone from your head officer.

“We found something in the Bronx Zoo case. Surveillance footage shows that based on the autopsy report of death at 15:09 pm on Sunday, July 16th of 2023, our prime suspect was on 21st Street, meaning there was no way he could have been there during the time of the murder. We’re back at square one.”

A frustrated sigh left your lips and Kate pulled the phone from your hands, turning it for her to read. Wait, Kate? Oh shit, they must have gotten here while you were busy in your thoughts. Yelena slid next to you, sharing that side of the booth, she threw an arm over your shoulder and squeezed lightly, her silent sign that she was there. You took your hat off and plopped it on her head, giving her your best grin. She gave you a smile in return, before flagging down the waitress, who you might add, was very hot. She ordered a beer for you, a vodka for me, and a water for Kate, who just rolled her eyes as she watched the two of you debate over the best alcohol types. For a moment, it all felt normal, like your life was returning to normal for just a moment. You could feel at peace without worrying about your ex-girlfriends or any curses, or powers whatever someone would phrase it, and just enjoy the time you’re having with the two best friends in the world. Deep down, you knew the three of you could never fully like the Avengers, with Nat leaving Yelena in the Red room, Clint giving himself up to save the world and in return, leaving his wife, kids, and Kate all alone, making Kate’s dream of becoming the next Hawkeye an empty goal, and yourself, who had your heart torn apart twice by two Avengers.

The pizza came and, within twenty minutes, had been absolutely devoured by the three of you. You felt full, thankfully because God, you had been so hungry. Grinning from ear to ear now, probably because you had drank at least 4 more beers than Yelena and thus you had won your little drinking game, you let out a chuckle. In your head, you felt in that moment, free from all the guilt that had been building up in your consciousness for so long now. The guilt of all of your deaths, the guilt of the pain you had caused by switching lives with them, because you knew it was all over now. You wouldn’t switch again, you couldn’t! You were happy here, for the first time in who knew how long, you were happy with this life, happy with this universe. The haunting trauma of your original universe slipped away in that moment, you couldn’t even remember it. You didn’t have to envision the look in your father’s eyes, the pooled blood, you could just look in your friends eyes and their smiles could make everything okay. Because everything was okay, wasn’t it?

Well, if you ignore that both your exes are currently listed as MIA and you still had a murder case on your hands. That you still had to fix all the problems that were piling up, and that other than Kate’s apartment, you were borderline homeless. Okay, so maybe things weren’t entirely okay, but in your drunk state, you couldn’t really care too much. Yelena, who had stopped drinking before she got too drunk, decided to drive home in Kate’s car and Kate would drive you home in your own car. You sat in the passenger seat, hugging the two hoodies and sniffing into them occasionally.

“What are you doing, Y/N?” She asked you, to which you responded in a slurred tone, “Smelling them…” You hiccupped. “They still smell like them.”

“Smell like who?”

“They smell like Natty and Wans.”

Kate visibly cringed at the nicknames and rolled her eyes. “I thought you hated them.”

“I doooo.” You insisted, grumbling and lolling your head back. “I hate them so much, but I miss them, Katey!” You bit your lip, trying not to start crying like a loser. “What if they didn’t actually mean to hurt me?”

“They both cheated on you with each other, Y/N. How could they not mean to?”

“Well, I mean,” you hiccupped, “If they wanted to hurt me, why would Nat keep my hoodies? Why would there be vodka bottles scattered around,” you felt another hiccup slip out. “That doesn’t seem like someone who wants to break a heart does.”

Kate couldn’t entirely argue with that logic, and thus, the rest of the car ride was filled with music. The lyrics to the song Yelena had taught you floated through the car.

“Bye, bye, Miss American Pie. Drove the Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, ‘This'll be the day that I die’. This will be the day that I die”.

When you got home that night, you were exhausted and very, very drunk. You didn’t really care though, as you flopped down on your bed. You didn’t feel the blood on your arm at first. You didn’t notice until the morning. You had gone to take a shower, and you were examining your back, completely ignoring your arm until you felt a sharp pain on your forearm. Glancing at it, you found that there on your arm, carving into your forearm’s skin, was the black widow’s symbol.

And a message, of sorts. There were no words, but the symbol said it all. It said only one thing,

You. Deserve. This.

#wanda x nat x reader #yelena belova #kate bishop #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #wandanat #just one reason #wanda x reader #wanda x natasha #natasha x reader #marvel fanfiction

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mariacallous · 11 months ago

Text

Six months into the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, in September 2022, the director of Liza Batsura’s college arrived at the dormitory where Batsura lived and told the students to pack up their things: They were going to Crimea. If the students refused, they would be put in the basement, Batsura said, speaking through a translator. The director gave no further explanation.

The next evening, they were taken to a camp called “Friendship” in Crimea, which was occupied by Russia in 2014. Although she couldn’t have known it at the time, Batsura—now 16 years old—was one of almost 20,000 children the Ukrainian government estimates have been deported or forcibly displaced to Russia. Only 388 have been returned.

Initially, the prospect of a couple of weeks by the sea didn’t sound so bad. But Batsura quickly began to realize that that wouldn’t be the case. The food was terrible, the days were long, and the children were pressured to sing Russian songs, including the national anthem, which made her very uncomfortable.

Foreign Policy is unable to independently verify Batsura’s account, but her experience closely tracks with the findings of investigations by the United Nations as well as researchers at Yale School of Public Health and other human rights groups who have documented a “systematic” effort to relocate and reeducate thousands of Ukrainian children over the course of the war. She also recounted her story to Reuters as part of an extensive investigation into the deportations.

Batsura was one of five Ukrainian teenagers who visited Washington last month with representatives of Save Ukraine, a Ukraine-based nonprofit that helps to rescue Ukrainian children from Russia and the territories it occupies. They stoically recounted the stories of their abductions again and again for journalists, members of Congress, and attendees at public events.

It was the group’s first visit to Washington. Batsura felt like she was in a movie, she said.

With long limbs and round cheeks, the teenagers filed into the conference room of a Washington-based nonprofit with their minders from Save Ukraine for an interview with Foreign Policy. Once the Wi-Fi password had been secured and the bathroom located, they began to tell their stories.

They were teenagers like any other you’d see hanging out with friends at a cafe or shopping mall. Yet they were also victims of Moscow’s large-scale deportation of Ukrainian children—a potential war crime and the reason that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, in March 2023.

Like Batsura, they all hail from regions of eastern Ukraine that were quickly occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war. They recount being coerced or forced, sometimes at gunpoint, to go with Russian forces, and they were taken to schools and summer camps where they were held for several months and faced pressure to accept Russian citizenship.

In many instances, Ukraine’s most vulnerable children have borne the brunt of Russian deportation. Before the war, Ukraine had one of the highest rates of child institutionalization in Europe, with more than 100,000 children living in residential institutions. The vast majority have living parents but were placed in institutions because of poverty, difficult family circumstances, or because the child had a disability, according to Human Rights Watch.

The deportations have been carried out in plain sight. Early in the war, Putin signed a decree making it easier for Ukrainian children to be adopted and to be given Russian citizenship. Lvova-Belova herself claims to have adopted a teenager from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and she has spoken publicly about her efforts to Russify him. In November, a BBC investigation found that a 2-year old girl who went missing from a children’s home in Kherson when she was just 10 months old had been adopted by 70-year-old member of the Russian parliament, Sergey Mironov.

Lvova-Belova has made a number of visits to institutions holding Ukrainian children, including to a college in the occupied Ukrainian city of Henichesk, where Batsura had been transferred from Crimea and placed in a culinary arts program.

The dormitory where Batsura was placed was freezing cold at night, she said, and the teenagers were forbidden to close the doors to their rooms. Russian troops patrolled the halls.

Lvova-Belova offered the children 100,000 rubles, roughly $1,000, and the opportunity to study at a college in Russia on the condition that they remain there. Batsura refused. Officials tried to find her a foster family, and she feared she would be sent to a remote region of Russia and would never be able to return to Ukraine.

For eight months while she was in Russian custody, Batsura had been unable to contact her mother, but she learned through a friend that her mother was working with Save Ukraine and applying for a passport so that she could travel to Russia and collect her.

With the border to Russia closed since the invasion, families face a daunting overland journey through wartime Ukraine, traveling into Poland, Belarus, and then Russia and—in Batsura’s case—down into occupied Ukrainian territory.

In some instances, children are turned over to their relatives without too much difficulty once the family members arrive to collect them, but the Russian authorities have also been known to present obstacles, said Olha Yerokhina, a spokesperson for Save Ukraine. The organization has helped families retrieve 240 children to date.

Officials at the school told Batsura that the journey was too arduous and that her friend was giving her false hope that her mother would ever arrive. “I didn’t believe them, and I kept telling myself that ‘No, my mom can do it, my mom will come,’” she said.

In May 2023, Batsura was rescued by her mother and now lives with her in Kyiv, where she is working with psychologists to process her experience. She is back in school and describes her hobbies as writing poems and making TikTok videos.

I asked her, given the atrocities that Putin has been accused of committing in Ukraine and during his presidency, how she felt about the fact that it was experiences like hers that had led the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for the Russian leader.

Yerokhina, who acted as our translator, interrupted to say that because she was rescued after the court order was issued, Batsura had likely missed the news about the ICC arrest warrant.

After Yerokhina explained the court’s decision, Batsura said, “It’s just.”

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