#a. roche: unrest

[agentfascinateur]

Haïti, méfiez-vous...

Safe to say Zionists who historically don't have neither Black or indigenous interests at heart, are not coming to help but probably to assess the unrest his masters are stoking. And/or here to sell you weapons.

[limerental]

ficletvember 2024 - day 25

An unhinged mercenary insists on joining the Blue Stripes' operation in the Mahakam foothills, telling ghost stories of the Scoia'tael enemies that wait for them.

The mercenary rode a horse as white as the plait of her hair, its pale mane tangled with burrs from long weeks or months in the wilderness. The rider wore dusty but well-maintained armor and no crests or colors to declare her friend or foe, though she’d announced herself as an ally. A curved metal hook held the reins at the cusp of her right arm.

“What’s got you boys so wary?” the mercenary called, her horse prancing beneath her. “You’re here to put down Squirrels, aren’t you? I happen to be an expert.”

The Blue Stripes had been dispatched by royal decree to put an end to unrest in the Mahakam foothills.

It was a delicate thing, imperative that trade with the dwarves not be interrupted even as the violent non-humans were rooted out and punished. After their formation following the Peace of Cintra, their unit had engaged in minor skirmishes with small bands of Scoia’tael but never faced such a large and organized force as was said to be hiding in the foothills, attacking caravans to and from the mountains.

“And what would you expect to be paid if you joined us?” asked Vernon Roche, ignoring the unease he felt in being made to tip his head back to look up at her as her horse paced before him. 

The Stripes didn’t keep horses. Lugging grain and forage through the forest was tedious work, and one whinny at the wrong moment could ruin all chance of stealth. And Roche distrusted them, a sentiment that horses tended to sense. The animal’s yellowed teeth chomped at a silver bit as it tossed its head.

“I’ll be paid in rivers of Elven blood,” declared the mercenary grandly. 

Her grin twisted her disfigured face, scar tissue pulling at the missing nub of an ear. Roche didn’t trust her any more than her horse, but if her experience was what she claimed it to be, having fought and killed Scoia’tael after the siege of Vengerberg, surviving the brutal attack that had claimed her unit, then she would certainly be an asset to them.

“My name’s Rayla,” she said. “You’ll be glad for my help, I promise you. You’re up against several veterans of the Vrihedd, and I happen to have some affairs to settle with them.” 

She raised the curved hook of her missing hand, and Roche relented to allowing her to stay. He knew very little of what they were up against, reconnaissance in the foothills returning only unlikely rumors. It was common knowledge that the officers of the Vrihedd had all been put down like dogs following the Peace, and the whispers of one still alive were only idle gossip.

“There’s no women among us,” he said. “You'll have to pitch your own tent.”

The mercenary laughed as a boy came forward to grip the reins to assist her in dismounting. Her laugh was an ugly cackle, and she walked with a horrible limp.

“I'm no woman,” said Rayla. “Not a living one, anyway. Fortunately, I sleep better under the stars.” 

She joined the Stripes at the fireside after dark had fallen, having wet and combed out her tangles of white hair but not shed any of her armor. The men were uneasy around her, unusually subdued, possibly because of her scars or her sex or the way she wolfed rations like a feral beast or the inhuman look in her wild eyes.

With bloodthirsty enthusiasm, Rayla leaned close to the fire to tell stories of the many skirmishes she’d had with the elves. How she killed each one with all the gruesome slowness that they had maimed her, seeking her revenge for the slaughter of her comrades, for similar cruelties she had seen their twisted kind inflict inflict over and over again.

For his part, Roche had seen and endured violence and cruelty done by humans the same as non-humans, had found little reason to think the Scoia’tael were uniquely ruthless. He kept that thought to himself. 

This was a political conflict more than a racial one. Dol Blathanna had begun to welcome Scoia’tael after the war’s end, providing a peaceful haven for Elven kind, but for some stubborn stragglers, one valley wasn’t enough.

The chain of office around his neck still felt far too heavy, a cumbersome weight. Foltest had personally laid the cold chain over his head, naming him Commander in lieu of several more experienced contenders of noble birth. The king’s gaze had been a heavy weight itself, and Roche’s urgent need to live up to his expectations ached like a pressed bruise.

The manic pitch of Rayla’s voice rose and fell as she told her gory tales, moving on to describe the opponents that waited for them in the hills. Roche had heard enough tall tales from madmen to know there was likely as much exaggeration as truth in her unhinged ramblings. 

“Now, boys, if you think me ugly, you’ll change your mind once you’ve seen Iorveth’s mug. May as well be a fair maiden compared to that whoreson.”

“Iorveth’s dead,” Roche interrupted flatly. “Strung up with the rest as terms of the Peace.”

“Have you really fought so few Squirrels? The bastards shout his name as a rallying cry.”

“He’s a ghost story. They shout all sorts of nonsense. Aelirenn’s been dead a century, and they cry out hers plenty.”

“Maybe she lives too,” said Rayla, smiling her unsettling, crooked smile. “For now. Until I get to her, of course.”

“Good luck on your hunt for ghosts then,” Roche said. “Let’s hope an ordinary sword can kill them.”

He wasn’t here to chase specters or seek vengeance. He’d go where Foltest pointed, dispatch those hostile to Temeria’s interests with as few casualties as possible, and return seeking small morsels of praise from his king. He didn’t hate the elves as Rayla did, felt some empathy for the plight of their race at the hands of men, but he’d not hesitate to strike down any Scoia’tael who refused to give up their useless fight and bend the knee to Foltest.

Not a week later, fires still burning amidst the smoldering ruins of yet another slaughtered trade caravan and many of his Stripes, a living ghost slipped through the smoke to meet the strike of Roche’s sword, a feverish cruelty bright in his remaining eye.

Roche still didn’t hate the elves after surviving the bloody conflict and managing to drive out or cut down enough Scoia’tael to declare the foothills pacified, but he hated Iorveth like nothing he ever had or would again, didn’t think he could hate anything more, and in the end, was wrong.

[lunarbreaksblog]

ciri as empress of nilfgaard and roche as her loyal vassal and them dating...

Empress!Ciri X loyal vassal!Vernon roche

Note: normally don't ship this but I understand that people do! So enjoy :)

"God save the Queen"

Vernon was anticipating something, there was an unrest in Nilfgaard after Emhyr gave the throne to his daughter.

Ciri was a capable leader and fighter however she was like him in a way— both didn't have the heart for politics.

Vernon was only here in the castle since the Empress had kindly request for him. Which might've have been strange had it not been that Vernon was her Royal Vassal. As well as, Vernon was Ciri's lover... Well secret lover

It bothered Vernon but he understood the complications it would lead to in Nilfgaard. The horror on their faces if they heard a temerian was fucking their empress. A filthy stupid nordling, according to the whispers.

Soon, he reached the throne room, it was empty except for the empress.

"I dismissed the guards"

"You might be in danger"

"I can take of myself" Ciri muttered, brows frowned

Ciri hated being underestimated... especially by people she knew, even if Vernon came from a view that he wants her safe. On the other hand it made her warm, happy to feel someone she could now rely on.

They met in the middle of the throne room, Vernon wrapped his arms around his lover, who in returned cupped his scarred face.

Briefly, their lips met. It had been while since they've seen each other.

"I've missed you" Ciri spoke as she broke the kiss.

"I've missed you too"

[unitedbydevils]

United unveils new £7m women's facility at Carrington

Manchester United football club has unveiled a new "high performance" facility (their words) at the Carrington training complex in Greater Manchester.

United's owners have long been criticised for the lack of renovation performed on both Old Trafford and Carrington under their stewardship, so it's a welcome move to see additional space created for the women's side - at a time when the women's team is steadily growing in stature and success.

Speaking to the BBC, United's chief operating officer Collette Roche said: "The women's team is something we take really seriously at Manchester United," said Roche. "That is why we have backed this facility and we are all behind making sure our women's team is a success."

Back in May 2021 then-manager Casey Stoney quit as United manager following rumour of unrest behind the scenes regarding United's management as an organisation. A spate of injuries that coincided with her team being forced to train at Leigh Sports Village, near Wigan, rather than at the Carrington complex and additional problems such as inappropriate changing rooms and amateur facilities were also flagged up. Even when Stoney's protests forced a move to Carrington, the women's side then played second fiddle to the men due to the scheduling of facility usage.

Fast forward a few months to September 2021 and United's website announced planning proposals had been submitted to Trafford Council to approve a spate of changes, including two bespoke new pavilions (women's and academy), new toilets, floodlights, and a new all-seater stand. It's unclear how much of these proposals have been added now beyond the pavilions however.

Polly Bancroft, Head of Women’s Football, also spoke to BBC Sport, adding: "England isn't the only country that is investing in women's football, but now we have created a fantastic environment for players and staff to continue building. Obviously standards are getting higher, so this gives us a competitive advantage, domestically and internationally.

"We don't want this European campaign to be a flash in the pan. We want to be playing in Europe regularly. This is a new experience for us and we hope there are many more to come."

For more information you can see the official club video teaser of the new facilities below.

[mitch--douglas]

UNREST || closed

[[ It’s getting late, and the training hall is cold and eerily quiet. Mitch’s last mentoring session ended hours ago, leaving Mitch to his journal, his Echo pad, and his spiraling thoughts.

He’s replayed the conversation with Mei Zhu a million times over in his head. Her descent from stoicism to agitation, the hurt look in her eyes when he’d essentially accused her of protecting the very people who delighted in keeping Mitch and people like him under their boot. He closes the journal that he hasn’t really been looking at for over half an hour, anyway, setting it aside and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, face in his hands.

Mitch thinks back to the course of the parasite, and the time he spent without his ability. How the hollowed-out cavern in his chest had ached where that purpose had been carved away, the clumsiness in his body from the sudden disconnect from the world. He thinks about the time he’d spent genuinely entertaining the idea of asking for his Head of House position back to give him back some modicum of purpose, of usefulness. He’d nearly asked Cambie for her advice on the concept. Now he was glad he didn’t; it seemed so naive, so pathetic in retrospect.

The NWRF were never going to give him more power; they were only going to chip indelicately away at what he had left. Losing access to the labs is, of course, in no way as shocking or disheartening as losing his status as Calyset Head -- but it is terribly ominous.

God, he doesn’t want to think anymore. Mitch is tired of thinking. He’d only slept in fitful spurts last night. It’s times like these that make him understand why his biological father had felt the tug of the bottom of so many bottles. Mitch shakes off the feeling and pushes off of the lone chair sitting in the corner of a largely empty room, stretching his stiff back and opting for a different sort of self-indulgence.

The random assortment of objects used for telekinetic training are stacked neatly in the center of the wide, low-ceilinged room, so placed there by his last trainee as an exercise in precision. With a broad sweep of his arm, Mitch sends everything scattering and tumbling over with an invisible force, and much like a toddler having a half-baked tantrum, he does feel a bit better. He raises one hand palm-up to waist level, now lifting everything in tandem. This is one thing he’s had to put the most training in for, himself; control of so many objects at once. The movement of the individual items is clumsy, and everything seems to move in ripples or waves rather than in individual paths, but Mitch manages not to drop anything even with such a broad focus.

He thinks for just a moment that he catches a shadow, the shape of a body darkening the single square window in the door that opens to the hall, but he ignores it. Mitch doesn’t feel guilty; he doesn’t think this is ‘unsanctioned’ use of his ability. He can’t train others if he doesn’t take the time to sharpen his own skills -- or, so he tells himself.

The space between his eyebrows folds, and a twitch of his fingers sorts the items into categories; color, size, complexity. Mitch drops a pile of blocks in a clatter to focus on a few other worn-out toys instead, setting them down more carefully into a small, marginally meaningful scene with toy horses, and a barn, and a tractor. What’s left is some heavier objects, some more abstract. Piece by piece he sorts them into their own piles, and then he’s left with a single floating item -- an aluminum can, empty, likely left in the mix by one of his students.

He brings it closer and turns it to try and puzzle out the flaking label, suspending the can in a slow turn about three feet away. Then, purely on impulse and with a tightening in his jaw, Mitch makes a hard fist and abruptly crushes the can into an impossibly tiny ball, solidified and crushed into the smallest sum of its parts.

Having allowed himself that second, small flash of temper, Mitch nods wordlessly and lets the ball fall with a quiet click against the concrete. He turns to gather his journals and his Echo pad and, leaving everything else where it lay, he heads for the door.

Mitch nearly collides with his suspected audience right outside the door and, not realizing they’d stuck around, he lets out a quiet sound of surprise that melds into an automatic apology. ]] Oh-- I’m so sorry, excuse me. I didn’t think anyone else was in the building this late.

[usasharenews]

Mutinous soldiers detain Burkina Faso president

Mutinous soldiers detain Burkina Faso president

Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian has been arrested by soldiers staging an uprising, security sources said The president of Burkina Faso was arrested on Monday and detained by soldiers along with members of his cabinet, security sources said, one day after troops staged a mutiny in the jihadist-wracked country. “President Kabore, the head of parliament and the ministers are effectively…

[snowpiercer-recaps]

Season 2, episode 7: A Little Less Sixteen Hundred Candles

Spoiler alert!!! This is a rewatch recap of Snowpiercer s2e7: Our Answer for Everything. Naturally, it is full of spoilers for that episode. However, it also contains spoilers for some other episodes of season 1 and season 2. You have been warned!

This episode opens in the MOOЯ AƎT, with some quiet clips of various religious and Wilfordite objects and pictures. Till and her detective coat begin a monologue about the difficulties of coping with murder as she walks along a line of uniformed breach worker corpses. It’s completely fair to struggle with the brutality of murder, no judgment there! However, perhaps homicide detective wasn’t the smartest career choice in that case?

The colouring drains away for a flashback to Till and her detective coat AND her detective flashlight finding murdered breach worker Cherry. The trio also find a clue: a W button. In the present, Till hugs herself while some Brakemen bring in another body. In her monologue, she says “I want just one night where I close my eyes and I’m not afraid of what’s on the other side. One night where I don’t feel so alone.”

ANDRÉ LAYTON, HUG YOUR LITTLE SISTER RIGHT NOW!

After the opening credits (which I think sound normal again?), we’re treated to another gorgeous outside shot.

Pastor Logan is praying for the murdered breach workers, and Boki is crying on the floor. Till, her detective coat and Layton watch on and discuss the fact that this attack clearly indicates that Wilford has people working for him on Snowpiercer. Till (correctly) worries that the tailies are going to get the blame.

Roche enters to update us on the situation: the border is locked down, and Brakemen are all over the train in case something kicks off. Layton tries to talk to Boki, but Boki is too upset and tells Layton to get away from his fallen colleagues. Pastor Logan gives Boki a St. Christopher charm from his never-ending supply, then tells Till to leave - the pastor will take care of Boki. MHM.

Till and her detective coat visit her little brother and his new girlfriend, who are bossing another janitor around. LJ suggests Till should just pin the crime on some tailies, like she used to! Osweiller is having a rare moment of not being a dick, and comes to his sister’s defence. Till shows them the vintage, old-style W button that she found at the scene of the crime. LJ’s a little shit, but Osweiller knows someone who might be able to help. They’re going to visit Kayta!

Uptrain, Ruth is getting Layton, Roche and Zarah up to speed on Miss Audrey: she chose to stay, and Ruth isn’t sure why. She hasn’t completed her mission yet, so hopefully she’s just staying to get the job finished. But she may have defected - and that’s how it’ll look to the passengers.

Talking of Audrey, she’s having a nice soak in the murder bathtub. Wilford is chuckling away to himself while ignoring Bennett’s attempts to get him to pick up the radio.

I don’t like Bennett, and I don’t like Wilford, but I like it when they’re mean to each other!

The train will reach the Himalaya roundabout tonight, and they’ll head back for Melanie. Layton wants to speak with Audrey, and Wilford calls out to her. Instead of responding, she submerges herself. Relatable. Wilford then innocently asks about the alarms last night. Layton replies that there was some unrest, and not-very-subtly accuses Wilford of causing it. Audrey shows up, “fetching but grumpy” in a very fancy gown. One of Wilford’s, perhaps? She didn’t bring much luggage with her.

Layton checks in with Audrey, and offers to open the border for her. She replies, “not yet”. Wilford angrily disconnects the comms and tells Audrey, “Not good enough.” We should all be very concerned for her.

Bennett, Ruth and Layton dissect the call. Ruth, because she’s Ruth, suggests that Audrey might be “freshly shagged and bathing in rosewater.” Incredible! They agree to assume that Audrey has been compromised.

In the Big Alice canteen, Emilia asks Alex for updates on Snowpiercer: no one on Big Alice knows what the alarms are about, and Emilia is worried about a potential attack. Alex has been shut out of the engine, but notices Sykes walking by. She tries to find out more information, but Sykes won’t give Alex any answers.

In the tail, Pike is using a bong made out of a baby bottle while Z-Wreck, Murray, Strong Boy and Astrid discuss how dangerous the train feels today: Third think tailies killed the breach workers. Astrid tells us that Lights and Winnie moved to the Market this morning, which is very surprising given that Lights was the first person who said that it wasn’t safe for tailies uptrain! I’m glad she’s recovering fast.

Z-Wreck and Murray want to go and collect the tailies from uptrain, and bring them back to the tail where it’s safe. But they don’t make it far before running into Boki.

Wasn’t Pastor Logan supposed to be Boki-sitting?

Ruth and Roche take Boki to the lockup, and have a cute little bonding moment together. Ruth asks Roche how worried he is, and confides in him that Wilford invited her to Big Alice. She admits she wasn’t sure what to do - she has doubts. Wilford’s rules (though enforced by Melanie) provided order for seven years! Roche bluntly replies by asking Ruth if she wants to go back to taking arms. She clearly doesn’t. Then, she plays with his buttons in a move that I still cannot make sense of (?????), and then they head off.

Elsewhere, Osweiller, Till and her detective coat wander through the corridors and have a little catch-up. Osweiller has cuffed his shirt sleeves, just like his big sister. Awwww. He bumps into the pictures on the walls, and Till effortlessly catches them and straightens them again - y'know, big sibling stuff. Then, they enter Katya’s Antique Boutique.

This scene is fun! Katya is everything you could ever want from an elderly Russian antique dealer. She alternates between smoking and using an oxygen mask while her grandchild translates. Stunning. Till is all business, whereas Osweiller tries on an incredible hat pretty much as soon as he walks in.

Icons, both of them.

We learn that Katya was Wilford’s neighbour in Sheffield. Wilford was like her nephew - she used to take him to the park and the chapel, where he would light a red candle in the window. Ah. She has photos of him everywhere, in addition to a shit ton of Wilford-branded stuff and a load of little red lanterns. Her grandchild tells Till that they give the lanterns to customers, to light as a vigil for Wilford until his return. It doesn’t take Till long to figure out where the button came from: a jacket that was traded last week to a fancy, very tall woman. Lilah Folger’s ghost???

Next, Layton addresses the train. He tries to convince people that tailies didn’t murder the breach workers, and that their real enemy is Wilford. But he goes far too hard, and with far too little evidence. As the speech plays out, Lights, Winnie and some other tailies pack up to move back to the tail. Roche rolls his eyes. Jakes gets a Wilford chant started. When Layton steps out of the booth, Ruth warns him that the passengers probably won’t take his speech as it was intended - he practically just asked them to pick sides (yeah, it’s all about choosing rather than hope this episode). Zarah defends Layton, and Ruth strops off.

In Big Alice’s engine, Audrey and Wilford still aren’t getting along. He’s sad that she’s not with him yet, and she tells him that she needs to know what he’s up to before she joins him. He reveals that he went through her things when she was in the bath, and found her screwdriver. He asks what it’s for, and she replies he already knows. He does. He asks whether she did it. She didn’t. He follows up to ask whether she stayed to complete the mission. She denies it - she stayed because she feels a pull towards him, even after everything he’s done to her…

Wilford snaps and grabs Audrey’s wrist, which scares her. He doesn’t believe her. He tells her to get dressed, then he drags her by the hand through the train. She’s going to have to prove herself, like everyone else. Sykes opens a room marked “MEDICAL STORAGE”. Inside, Kevin is strapped to a chair, distressed, and telling Wilford to leave him alone. Sykes shoves Audrey into the room. Wilford makes a quick introduction, “This is Kevin. I need you to fix him,” and then shuts Audrey into the room. I hate this so much.

Back on Snowpiercer, Jakes and JAnnietor are riling up the crowd against tailies. LJ is loving the chaos! Layton checks in on Pike. He’s high as fuck, and has his hand in a hollowed-out loaf of bread?

Pike insists that he’s good. He likes the fact that Layton now owes him. Layton tries to encourage Pike to leave Third, but Pike is convinced that no one recognises him now that he’s shaved off his hair and beard. He makes a cryptic threat to Layton, then leaves.

Back in Big Alice’s engine, Alex wants to know where Wilford was, and what Audrey’s doing. He won’t answer. Alex accuses him of shutting her out, because he just wants to “mess around with [his] whore.” Alex!!! Don’t talk about your new stepmom like that! Wilford likes Alex’s nerve, but warns her against making this personal. Alex is feeling left out, and Wilford is feeling unappreciated. But instead of discussing it - perhaps with the help of the therapist that they just semi-kidnapped? - they argue!

Wilford knows that Alex showed Melanie to her bunk. He suspects they “had some lovely hugs.” What a weird thing to say! Alex doesn’t want to choose between Wilford and Melanie, but Wilford insists that she has to. He cracks out that saviour complex again! He thinks Alex should thank him every day for saving her from the freeze. If she wants to be included in his plans, she’ll have to remind him why he brought her along. (Why did he bring her? What does that mean? I’m very worried for Alex!)

In the medical supply/cult conversion room, Kevin is weeping and drooling and Audrey is trying to softly talk to him. I hate this scene, so here are the quick details: they briefly discuss the murder bath, and it breaks Audrey. She starts to talk about how Wilford saved Kevin (her), how Kevin (she) wants to be Wilford’s again, and how Kevin (she) was nothing before Wilford. Then, she starts to do a version of her Nightcar thing, helping Kevin to reconnect with what he’s lost - but this time, it’s to brainwash him back into the Wilford cult. FUCK.

Up in First Class Dining, Eugenia is enjoying a fancy dish of jelly cubes (?) until she’s interrupted by Till and her detective coat. Till’s dad and big brother are there to back her up, too. She confronts Eugenia about the lost button, then…

Honestly, under better circumstances, I could ship it! I’m also kinda impressed that Eugenia was able to take out Breachman Cherry? I didn’t think most Firsties seemed like good fighters, but clearly I was wrong!

Till asks who is calling the shots, and Eugenia hides her St. Christopher necklace as she tells Till that she can’t see what’s right in front of her. Then, she stands up and leans in. Layton and Roche rush over to prevent a fight/kiss/whatever. But there isn’t one - Eugenia just gets in Till’s face and tells her that she’s two steps behind.

When Eugenia is handcuffed, she has to let go of her necklace. She says that the train needs a new shepherd, and that the revolution is starting. Has Till finally figured it out yet?

Downtrain, there’s pro-Wilford and anti-Tail graffiti all over the corridors. Armed Thirdies are roaming around, on the hunt for Tailies. Dr. Pelton hides a group of escaping Tailies, just in time. Ruth and Zarah walk through the same corridor soon after, and encounter an angry group of Thirdies. Dr. Pelton lets Ruth and Zarah into the clinic, too.

Zarah uses the clinic phone to contact Tristan, while Ruth tries to make friends with the other people seeking refuge - such as Winnie. Winnie doesn’t yet know that Ruth is getting a redemption arc today, so she screams and runs to Lights when Ruth tries to talk to her. Ruth and Zarah can’t figure out why Winnie is so scared, until Lights reminds Ruth that she tried to take Winnie’s arm. She adds, “it wasn’t that long ago,” and it’s comforting to know that Lights has also given up on trying to accurately track the timeline!

Lights also tells Ruth and Zarah that Suzanne died following the de-arming, and Ruth doesn’t know what to say. Zarah tries to lighten things up by asking about Winnie’s brother, but he died in the revolution.

Lights stares Ruth down, and Ruth is very uncomfortable (as she should be).

Tristan knocks on the window for Ruth, and informs her that Tailies aren’t safe outside. When Ruth turns back to the room, she realises that Winnie is missing. How didn’t anyone notice the door opening!? Anyway, Lights immediately makes for the door, but Ruth stops her - Lights won’t be safe out there, so Ruth will go. She leaves Zarah in charge (as if Dr. Pelton isn’t obviously the person in charge in that room?), and heads out into the chaos.

Meanwhile, Winnie has found Pike! He’s high again, and calls her a dude which is a cute vibe for them. But JAnnietor and Jakes come around the corner, and they know that Pike is a Tailie! Winnie runs away while the Thirdies attack Pike and begin to carry him through the corridor. To hide, Winnie chips herself into the nearest door - the observatory!

Next, we catch up with the detectives. They’re walking through a different corridor, showing off their detective coats. Till is explaining to Layton that her number one suspect is now Pastor Logan. She calls Eugenia “First Class Bitch”, and I think it’s intended as an insult but I suspect it would probably get taken as a compliment or flirting? Layton wonders if the Pastor let Boki attack tailies on purpose, but he’s interrupted by Brakemen on their way to rioting Wilford mobs.

Back in the other unspecified Snowpiercer corridor, Ruth finds Winnie. She’s crying and remembering her mom. Ruth tries to take Winnie back to her friends, but Winnie won’t move. Ruth softens further - she apologises for being cruel and taking Suzanne away from Winnie, and gives us a little more backstory: Ruth also lost her mum when she was little. She continues to explain that she thought she was doing the right thing, by following the rules. But now she realises it was wrong, and wishes she could take it back.

Winnie is five fucking years old, so she doesn’t need to hear Ruth’s moral epiphany! She tells Ruth she’s hiding from the bad men, and Ruth changes tactics again: she tells Winnie that she’s clever, but that she doesn’t need to hide any more because Ruth can keep her safe. Winnie conceded, climbs out of her hiding place, and offers Ruth some well-timed redemption.

The next scene is a load of upsetting stuff with Audrey, Kevin and their murder bath flashbacks. So let’s skip that! When they’re done, Audrey and Kevin both thank Mr. Wilford for everything, and Kevin starts following Audrey’s commands like a dog - which is a different kind of upsetting! They enter the engine room, and Wilford immediately notices that Audrey looks “reinvigorated”. Audrey then makes Kevin lick Wilford’s slipper. I hate this whole thing of course, but credit where credit’s due: Kevin fucking commits to that slipperlingus!

Uptrain, there are more disturbing scenes! Some Thirdies are trying to de-arm Pike! Ruth drops Winnie off with Lights, then follows Layton on his way to help Pike.

Meanwhile, Till and her detective coat have returned to Pastor Logan’s Office for Converting Depressed Lesbians. He calls her Bess again, and it still feels weird. She asks who he was talking to before she barged in, but he has a great excuse lined up: God! Pastor Logan starts brewing tea, and Till confronts him: he’s the one working for Wilford, isn’t he? He tries to convert her again, and tells her that murdering eight breach workers is a small price to pay for peace.

Talking of peace - ha! Nope! Layton and Ruth arrive to a car full of shouting and struggling, where Pike’s de-arming is about to take place. Layton volunteers himself in Pike’s place, which is a thoroughly ridiculous move! Layton is the most hated of all the Tailies right now! Pike and Ruth try to talk him down (she even calls him Andre, and it's almost as weird as when the Pastor calls Till Bess), but the Thirdies are happy to take his offer!

Meanwhile, Ruth has been having flashbacks to Suzanne’s de-arming. Before Layton’s arm goes through the wall, Ruth starts yelling at everyone in such an angry teacher tone that they actually stop and listen to her.

Ruth reminds the people that de-arming is barbaric. If they don’t like the way the train is being run, then they should call for change. Ummmmm I think they’re still under martial law so… would that really work? No one challenges Ruth’s logic, though, so she continues her speech. De-arming people isn’t right. These people will never be the same again, after they’ve de-armed Layton. She knows, because she’s done it.

Ruth’s speech may or may not have changed their minds, but luckily it bought Layton enough time for the Brakemen to arrive. The Thirdies scatter, and Layton collapses against the wall, relieved that he didn’t actually just lose an arm to save Pike.

Back in the Pastor’s Office for Converting Depressed Lesbians, Pastor Logan is still trying to convert Till and her detective coat! I’m not sure why she hasn’t arrested him already, given that he just admitted to ordering multiple murders? Anyway, he blabbers on about stability and order and how suffering is temporary. She quotes one of his boxing lines back to him, and he seems impressed for a second - before she smacks him in the throat. Till really needs to stop attacking the people she’s supposed to be protecting!

Pastor Logan tries to hit Till back, but he misses. She punches him in the face, and he punches her right back. This is relevant because, when Till proceeds to throw Logan over her shoulder like Josie throws Layton onto beds, I can almost convince myself that it’s self-defence rather than police brutality and allow myself to enjoy it. The follow-up punches to his face definitely aren’t self-defence, though. Bastard cops!

Till isn���t going to kill the Pastor, because people need to learn the truth. Unfortunately, Pastor Logan has an accomplice who immediately tries to strangle Till. While Till and the accomplice wrestle in the MOOЯ AƎT, Pastor Logan runs back to his office and cracks out his Wilford Industries Emergency Suicide Kit. He’s already half-frozen his head by the time Till makes it into the office and yanks the bag off.

Next, we get a beautiful shot of the roundabout to demonstrate that the people of Snowpiercer are choosing sides. Red lanterns have been lit in some of the windows, indicating votes for Wilford. Wilford fetches Alex, and they look out of the window together with Audrey. Anne Roche asks whether they should light their lantern, but her husband isn’t sure yet. Zarah alerts Layton to the sight from the window, and they look out together. The train has chosen Wilford. He gives Sykes the order to tell the Headwoods to prep Icy Bob. And Alex still doesn’t like her new stepmom.

[fictionplumis]

I’m gonna have to write a fic for this pairing, aren’t I? 

Nevermind the fact I still haven’t finished my Eddie/Venom/Flash one yet and I can never just write a short fic, no, it has to be a Thing and I always go for the really small pairings.

I just have a lot of feelings about the concept of coming to know yourself through your shadow, and let’s face it, Roche and Iorveth are each other’s shadows. All the qualities they hate about each other are the same things that personally drive them. 

And it’s true for both of them but I just keep sticking on Roche for some reason, the loyal Temerian Hound, who committed a lot of wrongs at the order of a king who saved him, and then lost that king, and, uh... 

Look, I’ll be honest, I haven’t played the second game so I’m not too clear on what happens with Saskia and Vergen and Henselt (besides the fact he’s shit and Roche kills him, spoiler alert I guess), so I can’t really say how all that ties in to where he ends up in the third game, but in the third game he’s in a pretty shit situation, doesn’t seem all that concerned with the Socia’tael anymore, and is more than willing to kill Radovid for the sake of Temeria. I’m assuming the general idea is that Anais will take over the throne, and then what? 

What does Roche do from there? 

He has the blood of two kings on his hands and Emhyr isn’t exactly the kind of man to give into his promises without some kind of backhanded result. Making a deal with him is like the damn Monkey’s Paw, and it wouldn’t really be smart of any ruler to give Roche a position of power in a court. 

So we have a man who’s known nothing but war and following the orders of his king, who has decided one of his first acts WITHOUT orders is to kill another king for his country, and then really has no place in that country afterwards. 

We could obviously go down the PTSD and depression route very easily here, but I’m not the kind of person to just settle on that and Vernon Roche probably isn’t either. Now that he has no ties, it’s time for this bitch to go find himself. 

And maybe that means just wandering aimlessly for a little bit. 

And maybe that means coming across some wayward elves getting harassed. 

Roche, naively maybe, had thought that with Nilfgaard taking over, shit like that would have stopped. It was supposed to stop. The elves are allowed wherever they wish now, so long as they behave, and these ones clearly aren’t Socia’tael or the people harassing them would have been long dead. And that’s how Roche finds himself helping Aen Seidhe refugees under an alias and realizing how much of an absolute shit lord he had been. 

I know some people like to have it where Roche doesn’t hate non-humans, he just did it because he was ordered, but shit like that tends to be a bit more engrained. When you’re around someone, ADMIRE that someone, and they’re so flippantly disregarding the lives of people they consider OTHER, it rubs off. Roche is not immune to propaganda, nor is he necessarily a good person since there’s really no such thing. There’s just people, who sometimes try their best and sometimes don’t, and who sometimes change and sometimes don’t. 

So here we have Roche realizing the hate he felt for these people was never really his own. There’s nothing here to hate. The Socia’tael, yeah, maybe, but not the innocents he drove from their lands and sometimes killed if they didn’t obey Foltest’s ordinances. 

So he does a Personal Growth, which both makes him feel shitty and wrecked with guilt, and also makes him determined to help and be Better. 

And then fucking Iorveth shows up and nearly blows his cover to shit.

At this point, it’s still okay to hate the Socia’tael for Roche, because they’re war criminals and gods dammit, if he can be better, then so can Iorveth, Iorveth just chooses not to. But whatever, Roche has officially decided that he’s not going to pick a murderous fight over this because he’s not that kind of person anymore and it’s not his job to enforce the rules. He’s helping now. 

But, uh. Roche can have a little fistfight sometimes. As a treat. Because Iorveth’s face is very punchable and Iorveth is his usual haughty, smug self who takes way too much amusement from Vernon fucking Roche helping elven refugees. 

Only he’s not just very amused, he’s only amused to pissed off Roche, reality is he’s pretty confused and suspicious of this. Because HE would never go off and help dh’oine no matter how bad off they are, so obviously Roche wouldn’t go off and help Aen Seidhe without some ulterior motive. 

Iorveth bides his time and somehow manages to find a time that’s ripe for Talking. Not the goading shit-talking they do, but like an actual TALK. It maybe starts out as an interrogation, but Roche doesn’t raise to the bait like Iorveth assumes and then Roche is all sincere about shit that happens to relate a lot to what Iorveth has been feeling too, and oh gods damn it all, now he’s sympathizing with Vernon Roche. Empathizing, even.

Iorveth hates it. 

Roche doesn’t seem to particularly care how it makes Iorveth feel and Iorveth hates that too. 

Overall he regrets he even asked.

Then something something something they have to do a Thing together. I don’t know the exact details, probably has to do with displaced elves. 

Let’s just say Nilfgaard hasn’t fully conquered the North yet, like they’re almost there, it’s in that stage where they technically occupy the area but there’s a lot of unrest and certain people (racists) aren’t very keen on certain rules (rules telling them not to be racist) so they’re causing Problems about it. 

Maybe they get wind that there are some Witch Hunters holding a decent amount of elves hostage, but not quite enough for Nilfgaard to bother with them, so Roche is like, sure, okay, I’ve been getting better at this whole sneaky sneak thing, I’ll go sneak the elves out. And Iorveth is obviously not letting Roche go do that alone, because it’s Roche, and Iorveth still wants to be suspicious of him and doesn’t like him, and someone needs to be there to actually rescue the elves if Roche dies, also he kind of wants to see Roche die (he doesn’t, but semantics) so he goes. 

The sneaky sneak plan fails, go figure. And here’s where I might have to twist canon a bit because how well known is it that Roche helped plot against Radovid? Dunno, but we’re gonna say not too many people actually know, just those in power. And Temeria is established and under Nilfgaard, but Roche isn’t in a position of power there and when the sneaky sneak plan fails, he’s not wearing any indication that he’s WITH Temeria. So say someone that knows him from his Blue Stripes days sees him and they’re like, huh. Vernon Roche hates non-humans and didn’t immediately ally himself with Temeria and Nilfgaard. Clearly this is an ally. 

So at first getting caught is sort of fine, because now he’s making awkward conversation with a racist and getting introduced to other racists but no one is trying to kill him so like. Okay. Could be worse. 

And then the alarm sounds because Iorveth was spotted and they drag Roche to go corner him. 

Iorveth is fully expecting Roche to keep up his little ploy and he can’t even say he blames Roche, because it’s a good way to sneak in and save people, IF Roche isn’t seriously considering going back to being a shit lord just because it’s convenient. They’re pretty out numbered. Fighting would be a bad idea. Iorveth is still pissed, obviously, and feels betrayed, and he plans on giving Roche no end of shit about this later even if he DOES use the position to save the elves. 

Only Roche curses under his breath and turns his sword on the nearest Witch Hunter and all hell breaks loose. For the first time Iorveth finds himself fighting WITH Roche instead of against him. 

And it’s kind of fun. 

Just as thrilling. 

And they actually turn out to be a very deadly team together. 

So they rescue the elves and have every intention of escorting them back to the refugee camp they know of when they’re told about the camp these elves came from. One that was attacked by Witch Hunters. It’s a thing they’re doing now, kidnapping elves and destroying refugee places. So instead they point the elves in the direction of the camp they came from since the roads are all clear, and they go on their little crusade to save elves. 

And along the way they learn stuff about each other. 

Roche learns more about elves in general, and the uncultured swine actually starts finding himself more and more fascinated by the deep complexity and emotional connection to the world they have. He envies it, even, because even when Iorveth has nothing, he has that connection. Roche has only ever had Temeria and now, well. Only himself, really, and he’s still trying to figure out what to do with that. 

Iorveth takes the slightest amount of pity for the useless dh’oine, because the idea of not having that connection, that thing to moor him down, sounds intolerable. How do humans survive without that? So he starts making a half-assed (or at least he tells himself it’s half-assed) effort to help Roche recognize the natural world around him a bit more and have more respect for it. 

It’s the fact that Roche is TRYING, genuinely TRYING that really makes Iorveth feel a certain way. 

And he opens up a bit about himself, his past, why he joined with the Socia’tael, and after seeing everything he’s seen, and what he’s STILL seeing, Roche starts understanding it a bit more. The actions of desperate people pushed to the edge, what they do when diplomacy fails, when assimilation means death, the tactics they resort to because there is no fair fight otherwise. 

Now he can’t hate the Socia’tael either. He can’t even dislike them. Hell, he even finds himself admiring them. 

And Iorveth learns about humans. 

Nothing groundbreaking, exactly. Not about the species as a whole, anyway. Maybe that they’re capable of change, which is pretty revolutionary in his mind, and sometimes they stop into places and Iorveth sees that some humans do, indeed, have compassion for things that aren’t exactly like them. 

The most interesting and useful thing he learns is that human body hair isn’t that bad and against what he would have assumed, he actually kind of likes it? Especially the stubble that Roche can never seem to entirely shave off in the morning--because it turns out Roche is actually pretty cleanly for a human when he has regular access to be. 

The texture and burn of it scraping at his skin is nice, okay? It’s new and nice and maybe he can understand why there are so many mixed-elves running about despite how awkwardly bulky and clumsy dh’oine are. Also they’re warm. And, at least in Roche’s case, large. So yeah. He’ll concede the point that they make good bedpartners, and that’s ALSO something Iorveth learns about humans. 

[crunadh]

Tell me EVERYTHING about the Sequel 😍

Somehow I knew you'd ask that, dearest Dor! <3

Okay, where do I begin?

In my opinion, Ciri will have a very different style of ruling than Emhyr, because she knows that things will go more smoothly if you listen to the people and their concerns and cooperate with them instead of just playing the untouchable ruler. So I think the first thing she will do is putting together a new council, including some minorities in it as well as giving the newly conquered states in the North a say in the matter on how they will be ruled. She knows the people of the North better than Emhyr and knows that overruling and suppressing them will only lead to unrest.

So she needs trusted advisors from the North, especially including the formerly suppressed minorities. So what would be better than ask Geralt's trusted friends for help? Roche is still liked well enough among the nobles of Temeria that he should be able to provide insights for Ciri there. Dandelion is a noble himself and can pull so many strings that his help should be essential for her, if only they can get him to shut up (I actually headcanon, that he has quite the serious side that he hides by his constant overacting). Zoltan should be able to help with the dwarves, maybe even bring up one or two dwarves that actually have a say among their people. Regis could help with... how should I call it?... non-evil monsters and the subsociety vampires have.

Which leaves us with the elves. Those are scattered and even Francesca Findabair, who rules Dol Blathanna by degree of Emhyr, is unable to rule them all in, especially the various rogue groups of the North. Iorveth could provide help here, but Ciri cannot have a council member, who helped to slay a king, even if it was ordered by Emhyr. Besides, due to Iorveth's deeds not everyone likes him and Ciri needs someone that most, if not all elves will follow. Enter my OC, who is the child of a former High King of the elves, but decided to abandon the title for reasons and snuck off to live a lone life unknown and far from other elves. They believe that integrating into human society and co-habitating is the solution. Dandelion knows them by chance and knows about their heritage, so he calls them to a secret meeting taking place at Corvo Bianco, where Ciri is secretly trying to get a feel for her new planned council, without disturbing the existing council and government. Turns out that Iorveth and the OC know each other from far back when and Iorveth, being the rebel leader that he is, is pretty pissed at OC for what he preceives as abandoning their people.

The story takes off from there and follows Ciri as she puts together her new council and learns the precious balance between being nice and too nice. Meanwhile Iorveth and OC will hash their troubles out and Emhyr tries to learn that he isn't supposed to meddle in his daughter's reign anymore since he is now retired. The Hansa will make troubles all around and Geralt just wants some peace and quiet with Emhyr in Corvo Bianco.

[twicexbladedarchived]

𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 !

Vukovi umiru sami ( Wolves die alone ) by Boris Novković

Do zore je ostao još koji sat          Only a few hours left till dawn A vani nemir, k'o da je rat              And outside unrest, as if a war is on Oblačim kaput i odlazim                I put my coat on and leave Da sve zaboravim                         To forget everything

Of Wolf and Man by Metallica

Bright is the moon, high in starlight Chill is the air, cold as steel tonight We shift, call of the wild Fear in your eyes, it's later than you realized

Glitter and Gold by Barns Courtney

Do you walk in the valley of kings? Do you walk in the shadow of men Who sold their lives to a dream? Do you ponder the manner of things In the dark The dark, the dark, the dark

The Vagabond by Marcin Przybyłowicz

it’s not an actual song, but it fits geralt perfectly. as the title of the track says, he’s nothing more than a vagabond, he comes and goes, never stays in one place and travels wherever the path might take him. the track also wonderfully depicts the calm periods of geralt’s travels, where it’s just him, roach and the sun on the horizon.

The Lady of The Lake by Marcin Przybyłowicz  

this track holds a special place in my heart. the soft tunes and sweet, almost nostalgic melody slowly announcing geralt’s ‘retirement’ and him settling down, leaving the witcher life he knew behind after all those decades of a life filled with turmoils left and right.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 : @skjebne ( thank you! )

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 : @hollowedpie, @magecreated, @iorvethofdunwall, @commander-roche, @rottenmage, @conjuringimportunity, @conjunction-of-spheres and everybody else who wants to do it!

[mitch--douglas]

UNREST || mitch & andreya

@andreya-roche​

[Originally this was a trip out of the building, having stuck around after scheduled training and losing track of time amid the thumps against the boxing dummy and droplets of sweat pattering onto the floor. Exercise is a wonderful reliever of all things pent up inside after a long day, but with the Games coming up, she realizes something she didn’t think would be important to her: out in the Wastes, she may have been the head of the clan, but she was by no means a fighter. Being physically fit and being ready for an attack were completely different. Though by no means soft around the belly, she has come to the conclusion that a body built by survival is not enough – she wants to feel powerful in those moments of uncertainty, so she’s been focusing on training for strength, not just to get through the day.

In between strikes, she notices how late it’s gotten by how quiet it is. Her eyes lift to the digital clock on the wall, the colon separating hours and minutes blinking at a steady but irritating pace. As if it’s telling her to hurry up, quit it, and go take a shower. Andee peels off the gloves and foot wraps and losses them in the “to wash” bin. She barely slips into her trainers when she hears a crash of what sounds like many objects all at once.

Indiscreetly following the noise, she ends up at the doorway of the open gym, seeing from behind a man with unmistakable curly hair. Andee leans against the threshold to watch as he lifts the mess together, his control remarkable, and the toys seem to sort themselves. Meticulous, she thinks, confident. Just like the rest of him.

What follows is troubling, only because it feels so out of character – a slow expulsion of rage, the crumpling of a tin can like it was made of foam and feathers, so easy it’s frightening. What could he do to people, she wonders, if aluminum is that simple and fragile? The thought erases from her mind the second she sees him turn around, but even she’s not fast enough to withdraw before he comes through the door and it nearly makes contact with her face.

She scoffs inside a breath, shaking her head.] No, I’m sorry. I was being nosy. That’s very impressive, what you were doing in there. I couldn’t help but watch.

[[ One didn’t have to be as good at names and faces as Mitch did to know who Andreya Roche was. She has the sort of infectious popularity that Cambie and even he himself can claim to enjoy, where it’s exceedingly difficult to run into someone -- NWRF excepted, perhaps -- who has anything bad to say about her. Mitch finds it easy to admire not only Andee’s intelligence but her compassion, having heard from a number of his students how effortless it is to talk and relate to her.

As such, Mitch smiles and give his head a quick, amiable shake to reassure her when Andee admits she was being nosy, pausing for just a moment to lock the door behind him before stepping into the hall proper. ]] Oh, no-- not at all, I don’t mind in the least. And-- thank you. [[ He adds, with a mild air of diffidence that she considered his work impressive. ]] I was just mucking around, honestly, I don’t get a lot of time outside of training to practice. [[ There’s also the understood implication that Mitch doesn’t feel comfortable practicing at more reasonable hours, given the watchful eye of the NWRF. ]]

I see you’ve been doing some training on your own? [[ Mitch won’t say he finds that impressive as well, in its own right, because that might come across strangely -- but he does feel that way, as one without a lot of physical strength or stamina. Outside of the Games Mitch still hopes he wouldn’t have much use for training, and inside the Games, he puts his reliance in his ability. ]]

[globalhappenings]

Burkina Faso's president arrested by the military

Burkina Faso’s president arrested by the military

In Burkina Faso, President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré has been arrested by mutinous soldiers, according to security sources. In addition to Kaboré, the head of parliament and the ministers are also in the hands of the soldiers in a barracks in the capital Ouagadougou, according to several security sources on Monday. The West African country was already shaken by unrest at the weekend; shots were…

[snowpiercer-recaps]

Season 1, episode 3: Shifty Little Dodger

Spoiler alert!!! This is a rewatch recap of Snowpiercer s1e3: Access is Power. Naturally, it is full of spoilers for that episode. However, it also contains spoilers for some other episodes of season 1 and season 2. You have been warned!

Creepy Klimpt gets the opening monologue this time. He tells us all about how he deals drugs in exchange for antique hairbrushes because he’s lonely. Am I supposed to feel sympathy for him? I don't. While he drones on, we follow the journey of Sean Beef’s access chip. It initially gets traded for a razor, but then zooms up to First where it has a brief stint as a gambling chip. Eugenia slams a pair of queens down on the poker table and tells Mr. Lam to sashay away. Next, we watch her trading the chip for an orgasm against what looks like the same wall/door that Layton and Zarah used last episode? Finally, Osweiller trades a little packet (probably Kronole) for the chip, and takes it to Terrence.

After the opening credits, Layton is having another gold-tinted flashback-y dream about Zarah. They argue again: he’s worried about what Zarah might have to do in the nightcar, but she thinks it won’t be as bad as life in the tail. Just in case the opening scene didn’t contain enough references to trading, Layton gives Zarah his wedding ring - she might be able to trade it in Third. Then, she walks through the tail to a chorus of verbal abuse from her neighbours. No wonder she wanted to leave!

Till and Osweiller pick Zarah up, meaning that Osweiller has been in the job for at least five years. Shouldn’t he be better at it by now?

Layton is abruptly ripped from his flashback by two Jackboots. They stick a pillowcase over his head and drag him uptrain.

Un in First, we find out that the lack of internet means cat memes are now circulated via pneumatic tube. Representatives from all departments have gathered in the First class dining hall to see what Snowpeter’s been up to this week. Ruth tells the class to settle down, and then hands the message to Melanie. Apparently, they’re skipping the morning flirting ritual today.

Melanie opens by telling everyone that it’s been a tough forty eight hours. I am, once again, confused about the timeline of this show. She reads a speech from “Mr. Wilford”, and Grey accuses her of plagiarising Churchill. He also brings up the recent unrest - because of all the murder and the uprising. Luckily, Melanie knows exactly how to keep the people calm and relaxed: changing plans, and public violence! They’re going to bring Fight Night forward to tonight. Ruth tells her it’s a brilliant idea, then makes this expression:

The Jackboots bash Layton into every section of wall they can find on their journey to one of the hospitality rooms. Luckily for him, it's not the torture chamber! His new mom and dad Melanie and Roche are there to remind Layton that they are Very Disappointed in him for smuggling a lock pick in his ass yesterday. He’s not supposed to text his friends when he’s grounded!

They tell him that Sean Beef spied on the black market. Specifically, he was gathering information about the cool new drug, Kronole. Layton tells his mom and dad Melanie and Roche that Kronole isn’t new: it’s been in the tail for ages. That leads to this interaction:

Melanie’s powers of delusion are, quite honestly, enviable.

Layton sees an opportunity to take some of the heat off himself by getting his new stepbrother in trouble. He tells his dad Roche exactly how Kronole is getting into the tail: Osweiller trades it for blowjobs.

In the next scene, Till is waiting in the corridor for passers by to flirt with her. Or… no. One passerby in particular. It turns out Till is the reason Jinju was so happy in episode one!

Till starts to complain about work, but Jinju tells her to shut up: she just wants to fuck. When they’re finished with that, they cuddle for a while and discuss social mobility, because of course they do. Absolutely no one is surprised to learn that Till is the little spoon.

Then, it's time for the obligatory naked ass shot! Today, it’s Till’s turn. That’s three for three! Till continues their earlier conversation about work while she gets dressed, and uh-oh! Jinju lets slip that Nikki is not, in fact, unconscious. Jinju doesn’t want her girlfriend and her best friend/boss fighting, so Till promises to be sneaky about her illegal questioning.

Roche is furious with his son employee, Osweiller, and calls him a “shifty little dodger”. It’s nowehere near harsh enough in my opinion, but also very funny. It’s kinda cute that Roche is still surprised by police corruption after all these years!

Osweiller is busy pretending that he actually fought in the rebellion instead of getting thrown to safety by a Jackboot after taking a single punch. What a dick! His dad boss comes in with the truth, embarrassing him in front of his new friends. When they clear off, Roche clips him around the back of the head and accuses him of trading drugs for blowjobs. Layton gets in on the action too, giving his stepbrother another smack. Osweiller goes to hit him back, but his dad Roche restrains him.

Surprisingly, Osweiller has enough common sense not to tip Roche and Layton off to Terrence or Klimpt: he says he’s just trading the confiscated stuff. Then, in a move rivalling Melanie Cavill’s levels of delusion, he tries to claim that he was performing a humanitarian act. Given that we have just seen that Roche is okay with corporal punishment, I’m not sure how he resists the urge to smack Osweiller again.

Next, we have to suffer through another Osweiller scene! He’s dragged into a meeting with the mopping mafia, where Terrence explains that he makes his nail polish himself, because he loves what rattlesnake venom does to the colour. Osweiller convinces Terrence that he didn’t snitch, and he’s allowed back out to the lake to continue digging his hole.

In the chains, Roche questions Zarah: he needs to know what Sean Beef told her about Kronole. I’m not a professional spy or anything, but don’t spies have to keep information secret? Why would Sean tell his partners anything? Zarah insists she knows nothing, and Roche leaves. Then, with no further questioning, she immediately tells Layton - who is clearly working as Roche’s partner - that the janitors are dealing drugs. Zarah… why?

Up in the First class dining room/gambling den/playground, children are literally running around while Firsties gamble and strip. Did Mr. Wilford forget to pack babysitters, as well as homicide detectives? What the fuck!? Lilah Folger accuses Ruth of using the casino and Fight Night as a distraction from the insurrection, murder and extinction. Ruth doesn’t even try to deny it:

She is so fucking great in every fucking second of every fucking scene!

Back in the lockup room, Roche delicately unpacks his lunch onto a tiny tablecloth. Adorable. Layton asks about Roche’s family, and Roche explains that two of his kids died. That’s why he adopted Osweiller, Till and Layton. Layton, in a thoroughly astounding move, compares Zarah relocating to Third to the deaths of Roche’s children. Roche somehow keeps his cool, and offers Layton a slice of apple. After a quick summary of the Sean Beef dilemma, they chat about Wilford. We learn that the engine is biosecure: supposedly that's the reason that no one has seen Wilford since departure. Roche apparently doesn't know about the video link between the engine and the nightcar that gets used in season 2.

Before Layton can ask any more questions, Till barges in to let them know Nikki is awake. Roche isn’t interrupting his lunch break for anything: it’s already 2pm! He sends the kids off to play by themselves, as long as they’re back by curfew.

In the subtrain, Tristan drapes a coat around Melanie like the queen she is, and she gets an update from Bennett about the breaches. It’s not good. Bennett suggests uncoupling the tail, and Melanie responds by hitting him. She has nearly matched Mr. Wilford's record for most HR complaints in a single week, and this time she wants to break it! Bennett clarifies that he wasn’t suggesting genocide - they could relocate the people before dropping the cars. Melanie explains that it would probably lead to civil war, then laments:

Jinju calls, to tell Melanie that she maaaaaybe accidentally let classified information slip to that Brakeman she’s fucking? Oopsie! Melanie heads straight down to the clinic, where Till and Layton have just discovered that Nikki has some very similar symptoms to Kronole withdrawal.

Following Zarah’s trend of freely volunteering incriminating information without even being questioned, Klimpt admits that he’s been trading out suspension drugs. We don’t get much more information on that before Layton spots a bag of Miles’ hair in the drawers room. He immediately makes the relatively reasonable assumption that Miles is in a drawer, because why else would someone have a haircut in the drawer car? But Melanie assures Layton that Miles is fine! He’s an apprentice! The drawers car just doubles up as a barbershop for no fucking reason!

After a sweet but boring reunion between Layton and Miles, we finally get an update on what the tailies are up to: they've started a rock climbing club! There aren't a lot of rocks in the tail, but the tailies are used to improvising. Lights has made it all the way to the ceiling, which checks out: she seems like the kind of character who would have packed a carabiner or two in her apocalypse luggage.

She confirms that the train is running slow: they should have passed that mountain yesterday. Instead of assuring everyone that late trains are just a good old British tradition, Josie speculates that maybe all that shaking around yesterday was bad? From there, Murray escalates to potential power outages and water rations, and then another tailie suggests Mr. Wilford will kill them all. That was a quick spiral, friends! Let’s take a few deep breaths!

Josie then points out that they’ve gone seven years without getting uncoupled, so why would Wilford do it now? The revolutionaries agree to ‘double up to conserve heat’, and fanfic writers need to know exactly who shares a bunk with who, please? For… science?

Uptrain, Melanie tells Layton that he can’t see his friend/girlfriend until he finishes his homework! He can tell Josie all about Miles' new fork as soon as he IDs Sean Beef's killer.

Layton and Till decide they’re going to sneak out together to Fight Night. They need some more sibling bonding time! Till knows people, and they get to skip the queue. Maybe she’s not such a bad little sister after all? 

Inside, Miss Audrey and Clay are riling up the crowd. For this week’s mini challenge, the queens have to catch falling animal pelts! Eugenia tosses a fox fur off the first class balcony, and Clay takes the win! Miss Audrey isn’t fazed: she knows her runway look will save her, and she’s ready to lipsync her way to the crown if she needs to.

Meanwhile, Melanie has convinced Bennett to let her borrow the Wilford soundboard for half an hour. She’s surprised to see that there’s an audio file called ‘fight_night_speech’. Did she already do this? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d blacked out from lack of sleep and forgotten she’d already ticked an item off her to-do list. She hits play, to check how it sounds.

“Good evening, passengers of Snowpiercer. I would like to inform you all that I am a psychotic old goat. I wet the bed until I was thirty-nine and sometimes I fuck puppets.”

Melanie sighs, hits pause, and renames the file ‘fuck_you_ben’ before quickly pasting together a more appropriate speech.

Back in the nightcar, the passengers love hearing from Wilford. Melanie should really consider starting a podcast using the Wilford sound board: it'd be a hit! Despite the fact that Miss Audrey, Clay and a referee are all present at the fight, with microphones, it’s Melanie who announces the start of the fight over the PA system. Sure? The contestants immediately start throwing punches, and the crowd goes wild.

Layton senses another opportunity to get yelled at/laid, and tells Till that he wants to chat to Zarah alone. Till lets him go, and Lilah literally uses opera glasses to watch him walk to the bar, because of course she does!

Zarah closes the magical noise-cancelling curtains to the backroom, and gives Layton a quick who’s who of the mopping mafia. She returns his wedding ring - the one that he gave her in the flashback - in case he needs to trade it for anything. He says he still loves her, she says she loves him too, and I say I fucking hate this scene.

In the clinic, Nikki is getting restless. She decides to take herself for a nice little nighttime stagger through the train. We can all guess where she's going to end up!

Osweiller - who is decidedly not a janitor - has been elected as the janitors’ representative to talk to Layton. Osweiller’s a dick about it: he’s still pissed that Layton told his dad boss that he was dealing drugs. Layton is pretty confident that he’s the favourite child (maybe tied with Till, but he’s definitely higher ranked than Osweiller), so he threatens to tell their dad boss lies about Osweiller if he doesn’t set up a meeting with Terrence.

Nikki rocks up to Fight Night! How the fuck did she get past security?! Whatever! Till tries to deal with the situation, but she doesn’t manage to get Nikki out of the room before LJ notices her. LJ promptly tells her parents that Nikki is innocent, and neither of them seem to question how their perfect little psycopath could possibly know that.

Below them, the Fight Night fighting spreads to the crowd. The Firsties are fucking loving it. LJ throws a glass off the balcony, because she’s a little shit.

Meanwhile, Layton is escorted downtrain for a date with Terrence - never Terry.

Layton tells Terrence-Never-Terry that his drugs are poison, and that he should be ashamed of himself. Roche would be so proud of his son! Terrence-Never-Terry had no idea that Sean Beef was a Kronole spy. He tells Layton that he used to work as a janitor in a high rise building before the freeze, and the train is just like his old job. Layton then gives Terrence-Never-Terry and the viewers a quick citizenship lesson: Third and the tail total 70% of the train’s population. Terrence-Never-Terry then suggests that they could “see who’s in the penthouse” of the train. So, he’s clearly got some suspicions about Melanie, too. This list is getting long!

Finally, Terrence-Never-Terry gives Layton a big break in the case: Sean Beef was with a Firstie a few hours before he died. Layton responds by asking his new ally for one more thing: an access chip.

Roche is clearing the nightcar, and informing patrons that the border is closed. Also, the subtrain is out of order. Do some of these people have a five mile walk ahead of them? That doesn't sound fun! As he continues to herd the patrons out of the car, Ruth delivers one of the most Ruth lines yet:

Melanie and Ruth's daily flirting time has, apparently, been rescheduled for this evening! They divide up the remainder of the night’s work in between checking each other out. The Folgers are waltzing together (to silence - that’s how Melanie can tell they’re really good at it). Robert suggests that Mr. Wilford could cut the tail loose, and Melanie still doesn’t offer any explanation as to why she won't do it. I'm tempted to start a conspiracy theory that Melanie kept the tail because it contains the only car with a supply door, and she knew something about Big Alice the whole time.

Roche and Layton meet Melanie to tell her that Layton has a description of Sean Beef’s killer. Melanie agrees that he’s worked hard enough to be allowed to see his friend/girlfriend, so they pay a quick visit to the tail.

Luckily for Josie, Layton is still feeling a little delicate from yesterday's wire smuggling adventure. He has chosen to hide today's small contraband item in his mouth. He gives her a quick update on Miles, tells her that his love life is a mess, and then kisses her through the window. Melanie speaks for us all, and sends the Jackboots in to separate them.

Before she shuts the window, Melanie makes sure to take a good look at Josie. She must be bad with faces, because by episode seven she (supposedly) has no idea who Josie is!

Layton gets pinned up against the gate, and Melanie demands the killer’s description from him. But it’s too late! The dick hunter’s accomplice is already roaming the corridors of Snowpiercer, tying up loose ends. He takes out a guard, a clinic staff member, and then has a menacing little chat with Nikki and turns off her nightlight.

In the tail, Josie looks a little shell shocked as she walks back to her bunk. It’s okay, sweetie, the viewers didn’t understand half of that scene either! She puts her hand to her lips and smiles in a way that threatens to decimate her whole character - but then, she draws a tiny container out of her mouth. The little access chip that could has made it all the way from First to the tail. That scrap of wire must be so fucking jealous.

[implexis]

1966

Jan 1  In the Central African Republic a military coup ousts its first president, David Dacko, who had established a one-party state and enjoyed the support of France. Dacko is replaced by Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa and imprisoned.

Jan 2  According to the New York Times, President Johnson's greatest personal disappointment for the year just ended is the failure of the United States to convince Hanoi and Beijing of the sincerity of its desire for peace in Vietnam.

Jan 4  Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) has been a single-party state since independence in 1960. In response to student, labor, civil service unrest and a general strike, a military coup ousts its first president, Maurice Yaméogo. In agreement with demonstrators, General Sangoué Lamizana takes power as head of a "provisional military government."

Jan 7 In Hanoi, a high level delegation from the Soviet Union expresses unity with North Vietnam and its wishes for an early Communist triumph over the United States forces in the South.

Jan 8  In Vietnam, the US launches its largest operation yet – Operation Crimp – with 8,000 troops and tanks. The purpose is to clear away the Viet Cong and capture their base near the district of Chu Chi, just north of Saigon. The area is razed and no Viet Cong base found.

Jan 9  In Nigeria, ethnic and regional differences mixed with unhappiness over recent elections has created unrest. There is rioting, looting and the burning alive of political rivals.

Julian Bond

Jan 10  In the US, a duly elected young black, Julian Bond, is denied his seat in Georgia's legislature because of his opposition to the war in Vietnam.

Jan 10  In the Soviet Union, the Pakistani-Indian peace negotiations to resolve the Kashmir dispute has ended in an agreement. Pakistan and India sign a treaty. Signing for India is Prime Minister Shastri.

Jan 11 Prime Minister Shastri of India dies of a heart attack.

Jan 11 A journalist, Clyde Petit, has interviewed a couple hundred US servicemen in Vietnam. He passes along a statement from an officer that reads: "If there is a god, and he is very kind to us, and given a million men and five years and a miracle in making the South Vietnamese people like us, we stand an outside chance of a stalemate."

Jan 15 The Federal Prime Minister of Nigeria is kidnapped and two of the country's regional prime ministers are killed in a military coup.

Jan 16  Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi announces that he has accepted an invitation by the Council of Ministers to head a provisional federal military government for the purpose of maintaining law and order.

Jan 22 Ghana's President-for-Life, Kwame Nkrumah, officially opens his great dam on the Volta River.

Jan 24  In India, Indira Gandhi is sworn in as prime minister.

Jan 31  Responding to its displeasure with Ian Smith in Southern Rhodesia, Britain ceases all trade with what Smith calls Rhodesia.

Feb 6  Fidel Castro faults China for trying to spread hostility toward the Soviet Union among Cuban soldiers.

Feb 23  In Syria a group of army officers take power in Syria. The coup leaders describe their move as a "rectification" of Ba'ath Party principles.

Feb 24  Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana is visiting China. Nkrumah is allowing only a single political party. In Ghana, the army and police overthrow of his rule. It is an internally driven operation -- with support from the United States, via the CIA. The new regime cites Nkrumah's abuse of individual rights and liberties, corruption, dictatorial practices and the country's deteriorating Marxist-oriented economy.

Mar 2 Kwame Nkrumah arrives in Guinea and is granted political asylum.

John Lennon, 1966

Mar 4  John Lennon is annoyed and says, "We [Beatles] are more popular than Jesus." Some believe he is bragging and move to boycott Beatles music.

Mar 11 In Indonesia, Sukarno signs an order that transfers his presidential powers to General Suharto, while keeping his title as president.

Mar 22 General Motors President James M. Roche appears before a US Senate subcommittee and apologizes to consumer advocate Ralph Nader for the company's campaign of intimidation and harassment against him.

Mar 27 In South Vietnam, 20,000 Buddhists march in demonstrations against Saigon regime policies.

Mar 29 A Gallop poll for the past week has 54 percent approving President Johnson's handling of the Vietnam war and 31 percent opposed.

Apr 21 US Senator J William Fulbright, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is critical of President Johnson's efforts in Vietnam. He makes his "Arrogance of Power" speech at John Hopkins University and says that "Unlike the Republic of South Korea, South Vietnam has an army which [is] without notable success and a weak, dictatorial government which does not command the loyalty of the South Vietnamese People."

Apr 21  President Sukarno admonished his ministers not to view him "as a puppet."

Apr 29  US troops in Vietnam total 250,000.

May 4  Fiat signs a contract with the Soviet government to build a car factory in the Soviet Union.

May 6  The California Senate releases a report that describes the U.C. Berkeley campus as a haven for Communists.

May 12 In California, Ronald Reagan is running for republican nomination for governor. He has been listening to people complaining about wasteful government programs and "welfare chiselers," rising taxes, government regulation, arrogant bureaucrats and the unruly students at Berkeley. Reagan calls for the dismissal of those who contributed to the "degradation" of the university. He demands a legislative investigation of Communism and sexual misconduct at UC Berkeley, and he blames turmoil on the Berkeley campus on "a small group of beatniks, radicals, and filthy speech advocates."

May 13  In Berkeley, students are hard at work studying. It is spring and sometime around now I pass a little house a couple blocks from campus where a party has spilled onto the front lawn. Berkeley is still a friendly place and with few outsiders to detract from it being a student community, where people trust each other. I'm welcomed to the party where people are dancing, eating cheese and sipping wine. Maybe it was a birthday party. But the friendliness is about to change. Pot smoking is just beginning. Front doors have not yet closed. People are talking to each other at parties. Telegraph Avenue is still overwhelming filled with students going to and from campus. Outsiders have not yet flocked to Berkeley in significant numbers in response to media news and Berkeley's notoriety. People along Telegraph Avenue are still open, friendly and easy to meet. There is a sense of community. But this is about to change.

May 16  In China, an angry Mao Zedong has emerged from a semi-retirement and is still a venerated figure. He charges that a "bureaucratic class" is oppressing the workers and peasants. He has seen what he believes are counterrevolutionary expressions in art. His wife, Jiang Qing, has spoken of "poisonous weeds." Mao delivers a report to the Communist Party's Central Committee charging that "representatives of the bourgeoisie" have infiltrated the Communist Party at all levels. "Persons like Khrushchev, for example," says Mao "are still nestling beside us."

May 21-27 This week the American Council on Education names U.C. Berkeley the "best-balanced distinguished university in the country." Harvard is named as second.

May 24  The Nigerian government forbids all political activity in the country, a prohibition to last until 1969.

May 26  Guyana achieves independence from the United Kingdom.

Jun 1 Mao sides with a student rebellion at Beijing University. His wife, Jiang Qing, distributes armbands to the students and declares that they are a new vanguard of the revolution.

Jun 2  In the Republic of the Congo, four former cabinet ministers have been accused of plotting to assassinate President Mobutu. They are executed.

Jun 6  Civil rights activist James Meredith is shot while on his "March against Fear" from Memphis Tennessee, heading to Jackson, Mississippi. The march will continue, joined by an angry young activist Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King Jr. and many others.

Jun 13  The US Supreme Court, in Miranda v Arizona, rules that police must inform criminal suspects of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police.

Jun 14 The Vatican abolishes the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (index of banned books).

June 18  In China, a decree postpones university entrance exams for six months in order to refashion the education system. Middle schools and universities throughout the country are closed as students devote their time to Red Guard activities.

Jun 19  The Senate Internal Security subcommittee charges that Communists have played a key role in organizing campus demonstrations against the war in Vietnam.

Jun 28  In Argentina, Peronist gains in local elections and worker unrest concern the military. Another of Argentina's military coups deposes president Arturo Umberto Illia. The new military junta appoints General Juan Carlos Ongania as its leader.

June 29  US planes begin bombing Hanoi and Haiphong.

Jun-Jul ? Jacqueline Kennedy beats the chest of a friend from the days of the Kennedy administration, Robert S. McNamara, still Secretary of Defense, and asks him to "do something to stop the slaughter" in Vietnam.

Jul 4  North Vietnam declares general mobilization.

Jul 14  Richard Speck murders eight student nurses in their Chicago dormitory.

Jul 18-23  Days of violence in Cleveland's predominately black neighborhoods include arson destroying several blocks of homes and businesses. There are 275 arrests. Four people are killed and 30 critically injured. The Ohio National Guard reestablishes order.

Jul 28  Stokely Carmichael delivers a "black power" speech – a lecture to other blacks. Previously an integrationist allied with Dr. King's movement, Carmichael has turned separatist. He attacks whites helping the civil rights movement as "nothing but treacherous enemies." He says that what the "white press" has been calling riots are "rebellions not riots."

Jul 28 President Johnson announces that to meet" mounting aggression" in Vietnam he is increasing "our fighting strength from 75,000 to 125,000 men almost immediately." In month ago a Gallup poll showed disapproval of his handling of the war at 44 percent and approval at only 38 percent. Now his approval rating will leap back into the lead with 43 percent against 38 percent disapproving.

Jul 29  A power struggle continues in Nigeria. Another military coup, by northern officers, puts Lieutentant-General Yakubu Gowon in power. Thousands of the Igbo tribe flee from massacres in the north. The previous coup leader, Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo, and his host, Lietuenant-Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, are stripped, flogged, beaten and then machine-gunned to death.

Aug 1  At the University of Texas at Austin, a sniper, Charles Whitman, kills thirteen.

Aug 1  Mao Zedong supports the Red Guards in a speech to the 11th plenum of the eighth CCP Congress.

Aug 5  Martin Luther King Jr. leads a march into Cicero, Illinois, where whites live next to a black community to their south and fear integration. The march finds hostility from bystanders, and King is struck by a rock.

Aug 5 In Beijing, Bian Zhongyun, principal of a Girls' Middle School, is beaten to death by "Red Guard" students.

Aug 6  University students in West Germany begin to take interest in political activism.

Aug 6  In Bolivia, the popular Rene Barrientos takes office as president. He is helped by his fluency in Quechua and his oratory. He describes himself as a staunch Christian and appears to some as a revolutionary and to others as a law-and-order conservative.

Aug 9  In Lansing, Michigan, 200 or 300 black youths have rampaged for the second night. Governor George Romney denounces advocates of "black power" and threatens action.

Aug15  Syrian and Israeli troops clash for three hours on their border at the Sea of Galilee, otherwise known as Lake Genesaret.

Aug 21 Seven men are sentenced to death in Egypt for anti-Nasser agitation.

Aug 30  Following riots in French Somaliland, France promises the colony independence.

Aug 31  In China, Red Guards are traveling around the country, using free transportation and accusing local authorities of bourgeois transgressions. The Red Guards have begun a campaign to destroy "old ideals, old culture, old customs and old habits." Street names are to be changed, books burned and temples razed.

Sep 3  In China, Lin Biao rides the Maoist bandwagon and urges students to criticize those party officials who have been influenced by the ideas of Nikita Khrushchev.

Sep 6  In Cape Town, South Africa, Prime Minister Verwoerd is stabbed to death by Dimitri Tsafendas, who will be certified insane. Tsafendas, whose father was Greek and mother black, was classified as white but is said to have been shunned because of his dark skin.

Sep 9  In his campaign for Governor of California, Ronald Reagan lashes out at appeasement of campus malcontents by the California university system president, Clark Kerr, and appeasement by his opponent, Governor Pat Brown. He calls for keeping the university "isolated from political influence."

Sep 30  Botswana acquires independence from British rule.

Oct 27 Southwest Africa, a League of Nations mandate territory taken from the Germans after World War I, is ruled by South Africa. The United Nations calls on South Africa to withdraw from the territory.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Nov 7 The Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko opens a six-week tour in the United States.

Nov 7 At Harvard University, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara receives courteous treatment until he is set upon by around 800 organized by the Harvard chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society. Twenty-five of them get under his car to prevent his get away. The crowd jeers, screams and calls him a fascist and a murderer.

Nov 7 In California the campaign for governor ends. Reagan has heard Governor Pat Brown ridicule him for being an actor. Reagan has been campaigning against students who want to rebel rather than just study, against high taxes, wasteful welfare spending, air and water pollution and Governor Brown believing in "throwing money" at problems.

Nov 8  Ronald Reagan is elected Governor of California. In Massachusetts, Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.

Nov 13  The American Civil Liberties Union appeals to the nation's college and university presidents to block efforts by the House Committee on Un-American Activities to obtain membership lists of campus organizations critical of American policy in Vietnam.

Dec 7  The Caribbean Island of Barbados achieves complete independence from Britain.

Dec 16  The U.N. Security Council approves an oil embargo against Rhodesia.

Dec 31 There are now 385,000 US troops in Vietnam. There, 5,008 US military personnel died in action 1966, an average of more than 13 per day. Another 1,045 died from "non-hostile" occurrences.

to 1965 | to 1967