#forger big bad wolf guys

[folkhoax]

why is nobody talking about how "who's afraid of little old me?" might strongly be a reference to "who's afraid of virginia woolf?" by edward albee? a play about a couple in trouble? she's giving us poetry with TTPD, she's going deep with human existance and relationships. i firmly believe she's reinventing her lyric self this time.

[queenof-literature]

Something with Wind and Wild finding out Wild’s actually related to Wind? (It’s a personal hc of mine that they’re related due to vah medoh being named after Medli and the fact that there are rito in the first place + rito’s village theme being a variant of the dragon roost island theme)

Thank you for the prompt anon! That’s a fun headcanon and I did my best with it! I hope you enjoy!

I said in an announcement I’m putting shorter requests/drabbles in its own story and place in my masterlist to make things a bit more organized. Here’s the Ao3 link to that.

Related

“When will we learn to stop trying to figure out the timeline.” Warriors deadpanned to Sky as he watched the others fight.

“Do we ever learn?” Sky replied, laughing at the sight before him. He supposed there were benefits to being the forger of the Master Sword. His place in the timeline was relatively solid.

“No, no, no. We all know there are different timelines, there has to be.” Hyrule waved his hands.

“Yes, and you and Legend are in the same one, we know that at least.” Four nodded.

“Why does it matter?” Wild whispered to Twilight.

“It doesn’t.” Twilight said simply. 

“That’s funny coming from you! Legend pointed. “You have blood relation to prove your place in the timeline!”

“It’s Time’s fault for breaking the timeline in the first place.” Four accused.

“Hey! Blame the sages, not me.” Time spoke up, holding his hands up in defense.

“Do you know where you are in the timeline?” Twilight asked Wild curiously while the others fought around their campfire.

“It’s been 10,000 years since the last hero in my Hyrule.” Wild shrugged. “So, I mean, does it even matter in my timeline?” 

“I’ve never been big on blood meaning everything, the people in Ordon are my family even though I was found in the woods. But if you’re curious, we may be able to figure it out.” Twilight assured. Wild never knew how he and the others somehow always knew what to say to him.

The truth was, Wild wasn’t sure that he wanted to know the answer. The group had helped him understand that the events of 100 years ago was out of his control, even if he had a hard time believing it sometimes. But he wasn’t stupid, he saw the forlorn gazes the others cast towards the ruins of his Hyrule. Castletown was a ghost of itself, even if Zelda had plans to begin rebuilding, it wouldn’t be the bustling city the other Links knew for a long time, perhaps with the small population of his Hyrule it never would be.

But he loved his Hyrule. He knew every inch of the land yet it still managed to surprise him. The land nurtured him, and he nurtured the land. He ensured monsters didn’t destroy nature, and nature forgave him for letting wildfires. He killed animals for food and ensured he used every part. The others could make fun of him all they wanted, but it was a mutual bond he longed for when he was far from it. To see the others look at it with such sad gazes after a long journey… he understood, but it hurt.

“Meh.” Wild answered. “If we happen to figure it out, then we figure it out.” Wild ignored the suspicious look Twi sent him. Wolf boy was too perceptive for his own good.

“Well Wild and I are obviously in similar timelines!” Wind, with ever impeccable timing, proclaimed.

“Don’t sound so sure.” Warriors challenged. “Don’t forget that almost your entire world is water.” Warriors said, as if Wind could forget that. As if Wind could forget that his entire kingdom of Hyrule flooded, the kingdom Time worked so hard to protect.

“Yeah, no shit!” Wind cursed to let out some steam. “But water dries, I’ve seen entire places in other Hyrules that used to be covered in water.”

“Those are lakes and rivers, not entire oceans.” Legend spoke up.

“Yeah but Wild has said before that the last hero came 10,000 years before him! Who knows what has happened since my time! And before the hero who knows how long it’s been since I was there!” Wind puffed out his chest.

“What makes you so sure it’s you anyway?” Hyrule asked.

“Easy! Our Koroks are practically identical! I mean evolution takes time right?” Wind asked with arms wide. “And Vah Medoh, that divine beast Wild told us about, sounds like Medli from the Rito in my world. And you guys don’t even have Rito! Maybe they originated in my Hyrule and continued on in Wild’s Hyrule! The music they play and their instruments are really similar!” As Wind kept listing off points, Wild didn’t know what to think. Wind? His predecessor? Perhaps even his blood? How was he supposed to react?

“And what does Wild think of this theory?” Sky raised an eyebrow. Despite his teasing tone, Wild knew Sky was making sure he wasn’t left out of this conversation, and it wasn't for the first time Wild was extremely grateful for Sky. 

“Yeah Wild! What do you think?” Wind was practically vibrating with excitement and nerves. What did Wild think? He didn’t have any better theories, and besides, Wind made a lot of valid points. Wild bit his lip.

“W-well.” Shit, Wild could feel the words bubbling in his throat again. It’s been so long though! “I mean, I- well.” Wild tried to repeat what he had been thinking about, how Wind made great points and how the boy had obviously thought long and hard about this. Instead, with a frustrated huff, he raised his hands to sign, as usual he appreciated that no one interrupted him. ‘Sounds good to me.’ Wild signed simply, hoping his message came across well enough.

“Yes! I’m a grandfather!” Wind cried cheerfully, much to the shock of the other Links.

“We never agreed you were blood related-” Four tried to argue, only to be shushed by Wind.

“Shut it, sonny!” Wind pointed with a glare he most likely thought was threatening.

“You have to at least put a thousand ‘greats’ in front of that grandfather title.” Warriors lectured with an amused smirk.

“No one has time for that! I’m near the end of my life and you want me to waste time on that?” Wind shot back, as if they were the ones being ludicrous.

“Wind, you’re 14-”

“I’m old!” Wind cried out. “I’m decrepit! My joints ache! My knees pop every time I bend down!” Wind rambled.

“Looks like you’re being replaced.” Legend whispered to Time, who simply glared back. He did not sound like that!

Hyrule glanced towards Wild, slightly afraid this conversation would make him upset. Finding out where you were in the timeline was… odd. It was nice to know where you stood but the answer wasn’t always happy, or it wasn’t always what you wanted. Hyrule relaxed upon seeing Wild smiling and laughing at Wind’s antics with the rest of them, only getting louder as Wind continued on. Wait, didn’t this mean Wild was a part of Time’s line? And so Twilight’s as well? Oh well, better not go there tonight.

~

“Hey Wind?” Wild questioned turning in his bed roll to face the younger boy. The others had mostly turned in, and Wind had settled next to Wild’s bed roll, causing Wild’s chest to light up with an odd warmth.

“Yeah Wild?” Wind ceased his joking tone at Wild’s serious one.

“Are you… upset? That it's me who's your potential predecessor?” Wild asked hesitantly.

“Wild we’ve talked about this-”

“No, no, not that.” Wild really did not want to get into his, what Four called, ‘self esteem issues’. “But… I’ve seen the way you all look at my ruins. Aren’t you, you know, sad, that that’s what Hyrule turned into?” There was an awkward silence and Wild as glad Sky was probably far enough away for his watch he couldn’t hear them.

“Do you remember when we first got to my Hyrule, I mean the first time with you there?” Wind asked, and Wild didn’t see how this related but let the boy continue. “And you were stunned by how much water there was. I mean the look on your face.” Wind joked, but it was stiff and dry. “I was self conscious too. Especially with the Hero of Time there, I loved visiting my home but having Time there always made me nervous. I mean I was already suspecting that he was perhaps part of my timeline. What if he found out his Hyrule, the one he worked so hard to save, was flooded during my quest?”

“That wasn’t your fault-”

“I know.” Wind interrupted Wild, with a small smile that this time seemed genuine. “Still at the time, the way you were all were still talking about how much water there was, how irritating it was to go around on boats all the time, how odd it was that there were so few land masses. It scared me, I thought they all hated what their land had become.” Wild’s eyes widened in surprise. He never even knew…

“But Time knew something was wrong, of course he did. I couldn’t tell him yet, I had to be sure. I didn’t want him to know until I knew for sure, as excited as I was to meet the Hero of Time, I was so scared what he would think of me, of my Hyrule.” Wind’s voice trailed off into a whisper, and wrestled his arm out of his bed roll and placed it on Wind’s shoulder. That’s what he was supposed to do, right? He relaxed when Wind smiled and nodded in thanks.

“What he said, it stuck with me. I told him how I felt, how the others seemed to hate my Hyrule. You know what he said?” Wild knew it was a rhetorical question, still he shook his head. “He said ‘It’s not bad, it’s different.’ I know it's simple, but he’s right. We’re just not used to each other’s Hyrules, that includes you Wild. We’re not used to ruins, or Guardians, or insane lightning storms. But the giant mushrooms you have are amazing.” They weren’t really mushrooms, but it still caused Wild to smile. “And those super tall islands you showed us! And your Rito have an amazing village. You know how I see it?” Wind waited for Wild to tilt his head against his bed roll. “I think our Hyrules just prove that no matter what, we’ll endure. There’s been cataclysms, great floods, calamity, but no matter what, Hyrule finds a way. That’s pretty great, don’t you think?” Huh, Wild had never thought about it in that grand of a way. He knew that the people of Hyrule, all of them, Hylian or no, were strong. But Wind put it into perspective. Wild wondered if Wind knew how good he was. Just… good. A good kid, a good hero, a good person, a good brother. Just genuinely good. Wild didn’t know how to say that, especially without sounding patronizing, so he settled for something else.

“You’re right Wind, thank you.” Wind knew the words were simple, but the emotion behind them got Wild’s point across perfectly. Wind smiled brightly.

“That’s Grandpa Wind to you.” Wild had to muffle his laughter in his bed roll.

~~~

This turned out a lot more fluffy/little angsty I hope that’s alright anon! Thank you for reading all, I hope you enjoyed!

[pauperpedia]

What’s the future for Aggro?

Pauper will never be the same after Commander Legends. This has been the set everyone wanted, but at the same time it seems everyone is fearful of it, and rightfully so. We've gotten access to some very powerful cards in regard to control, midrange, and tron strategies which will shape the format for a long time to come. Aggro decks, however, did not get any new toys or bigger creatures with which to counteract all these new cards. So which cards am I framing here that could make aggro a less than viable option when figuring out a deck to play in the future?

Well, Pauper finally got the sweeper that people have talked about for years in the form of Fiery Cannonade. Now, if you look at the sweepers we had before, they mostly did one damage or gave -1/-1 to each creature until the end of turn, which was fine because most of the time these were sideboard cards you would bring in against token decks or go wide strategies. One could argue we already had Pestilence, Crypt Rats, and Evincar's Justice. My argument would be is that Fiery Cannonade is not only one mana cheaper, but a heck of a lot easier to cast when it comes to color requirements. It's also instant speed which is a huge deal when it comes to control decks or anything that runs Mystical Teachings. Some decks already run Suffocating Fumes in the mainboard, in part due to its cycle ability when it's dead, so I'm curious to see if any decks would run this mainboard as well. This set also opened up the playable color pie when it comes to Monarch cards. Monarch is a mechanic that was created primarily for multi-player formats. It is an effect that cannot be permanently removed from the game state once it's introduced. If a player controls the monarch, they draw a card at the beginning of their end step. The only way to lose or gain the monarch is to deal or have combat damage dealt to you via creatures. In multiplayer formats this is a fun mechanic that encourages people to attack in the face of any in game politics. The player holding the monarch becomes a target for other players to come after them. In a 1v1 scenario, however, this means that the main focus once the Monarch once has been introduced to the game state is to protect it. I think we can all agree protecting something against one assailant is a lot easier than protecting something from multiple. The main goal is to amass more resources than your opponent and eventually kill them in the long game. In order to protect the monarch, decks utilize fog tacticts to delay the game in the monarch's favor. This leads to long, drawn out, and uninteresting games for the aggro player once this situation presents itself. Commander Legends gave blue two very powerful monarch cards, Fall from Favor & Azure Fleet Admiral. Fall from Favor is an unprecedented enchantment-aura spell which can give a player the monarch for three mana. Being able to lock down a creature that would threaten to take the monarch away and give you the monarch at the same time doesn't bode well for any aggressive decks not holding up targeted protection. Then you have the Admiral, which not only gives you the monarch, but also makes it so that you can take it back relatively easy allowing you to set up situtations to lock your opponent out from getting the monarch back in the future. I guess Azure Fleet Admiral dies to Lightning Bolt and Savage Swipe, but any decent player running monarch cards will most likely have resources at hand to deal with that outcome.

So how will aggro decks adapt to overcome these hurdles? I've had the great plasure to chat with some of our formats well known players. A common concern regarding aggro decks is their ability to recover from board wipes now that Fiery Cannon is a thing. Stompy is the biggest deck that could suffer. Most of Stompy's creatures are 2/2s so they can take full advantage of Savage Swipe. As the deck stands now, it will hinge on whether or not they can represent lethal by turn three or have a creature big enough by casting Hunger of the Howlpack. The problem with that is that even a really good hand, presenting lethal by turn three is highly unlikely. Even having one big creature puts a Stompy player in a bad position due in part to Skred, Cast Down, Defile, and Snuff out to name a few removal cards that could be run alongside Fiery Cannonade.

Calpine, a notable Tortured Existence player and daily Pauper Twitch streamer, told me he thinks aggro decks will have two paths moving forward. One path relies on going even harder on faster kills, and ignoring midrange stuff like Elephant Guide, in favor of Groundswell. I wonder if perhaps Stompy will go back to its roots and focus more on one drops that go in for a quick kill? Calpine said another path is for aggro players is to build a deck with more resilient threats or rely on burn more. Calpine noted that creatures like Mogg War Marshall, Safehold Elite, Young Wolf, etc. will become more popular. He also said that red decks will lean more heavily on burn them out strategies. I think creatures like Viashino Pyromancer & Orcish Hellraiser are decent candidates that could see more play. Goblin decks could also run pirates which dodge Fiery Cannonade, so I think creatures like Fanatical Firebrand & Goblin Trailblazer have a chance at seeing more play as well.

Zimplfy aka NotGood on MTGO, host of the UnFamiliar Territory podcast & all around good guy, went on to say that Elves is definetely going to get hurt by Fiery Cannonade. There was some discussion floating around that Wrap in Vigor could be an option, but both Zimplfy and I don't think that would be good enough. So, like all good investigative reporters, I sought out an Elves expert to find out how Elves could adapt. Thankfully Walker735 was willing to give their insight. Walker735 went on to say that Elves already has a lot of answers. Hydroblast, Prohibit, Negate, Dispel, and previously mentioned Wrap in Vigor are the best examples. It's just a matter of which ones will end as the best answers moving forward as it pertains to the metagame. Walker735 said this about what they want from their protection spell suite: 1) 2-3 protection spells in the main that are useful more or less in every matchup. 2) A combination of 4-6 protection spells in the 75 for every relevant matchup. 3) The protection spells used in the matchups have to not only be effective, but also efficient. Post Fiery Cannonade, Elves will probably have to give up on some sideboard slots that used to be dedicated to other things. This is a shame because it will weaken the overall deck, but hopefully not too much. Walker735 said it's difficult to theorycraft a specific protection spell suite already, beacause we dont have the data for what the metagame will look like. They're confident, however, that with all the good options available, Elves will be able to come up with a suite of protection spells that meet the requirements.

As someone who loves playing the white slice of magic's color pie, there are only two options when it comes to aggro decks. You have Heroic, a deck focused on buffing your creatures and holding up protection, or you have White Weenie which can either go wide or try and play like Stompy albeit not as efficiently. I think its pretty safe to assume any White Weenie strategy is now most likely dead, if it was even alive to begin with. In order to combat an efficient sweeper like Fiery Cannonade, White Weenie decks would have to run mainboard protection spells like Hallow or creatures like Loyal Cathar and Doomed Traveler. The main thing holding White Weenie and Heroic back, is the lack of card draw playing white has to offer. There's no coming back from early removal followed by a boardwipe, there's no Winding Way or Lead the Stampede. Until pauper gets downshifts or new relevant white cards in the format that not only combat sweepers more efficiently, but spells that can bring you back from the brink, white will continue being a support color in pauper strategies. Moving Forward now that we have an interesting downshift in Champion of the Flame and a new card in Benevolent Blessing (a more efficient Cho-Manno's Blessing), Heroic could become a Boros deck. This could change could give Heroic more reach, but at the same time you run the risk of losing early tempo now that you run two colors. Hexproof is already a really good deck that often loses to its own manabase, and I think running Boros Heroic just makes the deck a worse attempt at what Hexproof already does.

I think early on in the Post Commander Legends era, aggressive decks will find it hard to grab a decent foothold in the metagame. I think the most viable aggro decks moving forward will be Hexproof, Affinity, and I think you might see a resurgance in Tireless Tribe if you could classify that as an aggro deck. All three of these decks have ways of killing an opponent early, dodge Fiery Cannonade, and have answers when it comes to fighting monarch style decks. Deluxeicoff, original deck designer & host of Pauperganda, stated that Benevolent Blessing will be a house in Hexproof. It will be hard to measure how many feel right in the deck, but the deck will just "feel better/more consistent. In addition to that, I’d like to add that Hexproof also has access to cards like Essence Harvest which it brings in against decks that try to fog combat or prevent damage with Prismatic Strands. The two paired up do sound nice. Affinity is already a strong deck that has been on a recent trend of playing Jeskai Colors. I think the new addition of Fiery Cannonade will force Affinity to go back to playing Myr Enforcer and Carapace Forger and forgo the white splash in Glint Hawk, Thraben Inspector, and Kor Skyfisher. Tireless Tribe is a fun deck that could see a rise in success. Benevolent Blessing is definitely a card that can give this deck a boost. The built in ability for Tribe to dodge sweepers and mainboard counters to beat fogs, could make Tireless Tribe a sleeper deck that could spike a tournament or burn through a league with good results.

Of course, all of the above is heavily reliant on Fiery Cannonade being the major factor when it comes to aggro's demise. It will most likely be an abundance of factors that combine the influx of newer and cheaper monarch cards as well as the new sweeper. Keep in mind, the sweeper hits non pirates only and the new relevant monarch creatures are both pirates. I actually had a dream where a new UR Pirates deck was running amok and was the new deck to beat. While this nightmare scenario is just that, a fictional nightmare, it's not that crazy. I think you will see UR Faeries try to make a comeback. You started to see the deck deploy a more robust land selection so that it could reliably cast Crown-Hunter Hireling. Let's be honest, while it did put up results briefly, Crown-Hunter Hireling is a horrible card. Now, you can have the monarch on turn three with Fall from Favor if you need it, and can continue to get the monarch back if you lost it thanks to Azure Fleet-Admiral. This kind of tempo and card advantage will spell disaster for opposing aggro decks. Only time will tell which will be worse for aggro decks; the introduction of an easy to cast three mana "sweeper" at instant speed, or the new monarch cards in blue which was already a strong color to begin with.

[kiss-my-freckle]

My prediction.

“He told you not to trust him.”

I predict the Wicked Wolf will find and gather intel from a single source.  

I’ve stood by my belief that S7′s tagline is for Tom Keen’s character. They have a choice among several characters they coud lead with, but I’ve eliminated several due to their likeliness. I unchecked Howard because he’s in prison. I unchecked Scottie because that alignment would be too powerful. Kirk is possible, but I feel him less likely, and he wouldn’t offer much intel for Tom Keen. Matias Solomon is too close to Scottie. This leaves Gina.

Reasons why Gina would be perfect:

1. She fits the half truth - whole truth concept that runs through the series. Add in the double go-box. If the mark is tied to the Townsend Directive, which I’ve been considering, definitely. 

2. The triple parallel. Wicked Wolf having lost her husband, Liz having lost her husband, Gina having lost the man she fell in love with. She may have moved on from Tom by now, but she’d still be a great source for intel. 

3. Dialogue parallel, 6x22 back to 3x17.

Agnes: Mommy, who’s that funny-looking man? Liz: It’s a long story. But we finally have time to tell it. 

Liz: You killed him? Tom: Uh, no. Actually, Gina did, but that’s a long story. 

4. The Tom - Wicked Wolf opposite parallel. 

Tom: I want out. Gina, I never thought I would, but I do. We don’t save people, Gina. We watch them drown. And I’m tired of hurting people. I want to start pulling people up instead of holding them down. And I can’t think of a better place to start than right here with you. So, I could end this right now. I could go find the Major, and I could end him too. Or we can just agree to just walk away. I don’t come after you, and you don’t come after me or my family. Gina: I should have said yes that night in Budapest. Tom: No, Gina. Listen to me. I’m asking you to help me walk away. Please. Someday, maybe someone will do the same thing for you. 

Tom: Look, what I want you to know is that it happened because I made it clear that I’m out. I’m done with those people and that life. But there are things that I did, and - and - and I might be done with those things, but I can’t promise you that those things are done with me. And I can’t promise you that it’s not gonna happen tomorrow or next week or - or five years from now. And I would understand, frankly, if you didn’t want to deal with any of -

Woman: Early in the morning. Still dark. You’d called me. It was a simple assignment. I was to drive a couple of miles into the city. I was to meet Dominic at Vukov Station. Give him a package. I was to sneak out.

Woman: I had to bring him in. Pyotr was so suspicious. He knew what my old life had cost me. But I couldn’t let you down. By the time Pyotr woke up, I planned to be back in bed as if nothing happened. But I was wrong. He knew if I was slipping out at 4:00 a.m. that I was back in the game. He kept screaming, “You were done! You were out!” I insisted it was my last job. An old friend had asked me for a favor. A desperate friend, someone who I trusted - someone I could never turn down. But you weren’t really my friend. Were you?

5. The frame parallel, back to Minister D’s episode. My Tom-domino for Liz's Cabal frame parallels Katarina framing the real Red. I believe Ilya and Wicked Wolf parallel Gina and Tom - two spies that were in a romantic relationship. Gina willing to take the fall for Fokin’s murder. Wicked Wolf willing to do one last job for Ilya. I believe Tom and Liz parallel Ilya and the real Rostova - our Red. Not true love, true friendship. Ilya putting them in danger with Dom’s Belgrade plan. Tom putting them in danger, and often. I could add plenty more parallels, but it would take a while for me to find them. Perhaps another time. 

6. The letter, deposit box, and photograph parallel. 

Ted King: Near the end, Virginia wrote her a letter. Uh, I don’t know if she wrote any other letters. But by that time, she was in hospice, so she asked me to mail it. It was her way of clearing the air, I guess. Get some closure before she - 

Liz: We have looked through all of Zanetakos’ phone messages, all her records. There wasn’t a single message from Tom. Red: Perhaps they exchanged letters. Liz: There’s nothing between them. My husband is innocent. 

--

Ted King: Well, anyway. She gave me the address, and I mailed it. Ressler: Mailed it where? Ted King: Post Office box. Upstate New York. Ressler: Do you remember the address? 

Tom: The key in the lamp I know you found it. Take it to Radford Bank. Box number 3929. 

--

Agent: Guys, you might want to check this out. Found this by her bed.  [Photo of Tom Keen] Ressler: Give us a minute ... This is evidence. Listen. Keen, whatever you think this may mean, I admire what you’re doing, standing up for your husband. But I think we both know it’s time for you to protect yourself. 

Tom: He had a lot of family photos in his office, but only one placed where he could always see it. And I didn’t think there was anything special about it until I realized that it was taken by someone very special to him. Lena: It’s not what you think. I can’t help you.

Ted King: I found a photograph between the pages of a book in the bedroom. She said it was the only photo she had of her daughter, and that they’d had a falling-out and that she hoped that they would reconnect at some point. 

7. The Keen glasses. Back to the glasses in the suitcase Tom stole in 5x8, and Garvey’s glasses in 5x19. Gina reintroduced the Keen glasses in S3 when they pulled their diamond heist. 

8. Her lead-in to their final big bad, which I’ve been predicting for quite a while now. Furthered by Kat dropping Agnes off in the S6 finale. Gina could easily pull Scottie in as the next big bad just as she pulled her in for Liz’s 3x17 wedding. 

Add in Matias Solomon. 

9. My Tom domino theory. Gina could (quite literally) reveal all of them:

Understand, these are my theories. 

Gina and Tom were lovers. I believe their affair could’ve continued after Tom and Liz married in 2011. Tom worked for “Constantin Rostov.” I believe Gina acted as his handler or intermediary. Rostov issued Tom’s three passports through Red’s trusted forger when he claimed they were issued by Red. Tom murdered Victor Fokin, a kill commissioned by Rostov. He framed Red and Gina for this murder in an effort to protect Rostov as well as himself. As a result, Red framed Tom for the murder of Diane Fowler by planting his record brush. Gina revealing the truth about Fokin’s murder would lead to the Fowler frame. 

Tom was hired by Rostov to locate and safely return the woman he believed was his long-lost child, Masha Rostova. Tom believed Rostov was Liz’s father. His 1x22 “Your father’s alive” whisper was in reference to Rostov. Tom had Rostov’s fabricated DNA report all along, while claiming to have found it in Kirk’s SVR file. He trusted in this report as Rostov had, which gave him reason to turn against Red. Tom’s attempt to rescue Agnes in Gaia’s episode pushed Rostov to take stem cells from her. Tom gave Liz the DNA report to exchange her as a donor. An effort to save Agnes from the dangers of a stem cell donation. Incompatibility caused Rostov to collapse in the orange box. 

The Cabal targeted Tom when he turned himself in for killing the Harbormaster, Eugene Ames. They preyed on his desire to protect Liz, which led him to reveal her born identity. This reveal caused The Director to advance the timeline for his plan to return the world to a Cold War posture. They continued their con, having Tom take part in Red’s assassination attempt. I believe they told him about the Fulcrum, led him to believe Red was using Liz to get it, so he pulled her into his warehouse to inform her of this. I then believe he signalled for Gina to follow Liz from his warehouse to her meeting with Red, and it was she who took the shot, putting a bullet in Red’s chest rather than his head.

I believe Tom took Liz to Dr. Krilov to hide his involvement in Red’s shooting, and Liz pulled his gun on Connolly while under the influence of Krilov-administered drugs. I believe Ressler is the father of Agnes, and her conception is hidden within this second memory manipulation. I basically believe Tom played the fool, helping The Director frame Liz, which set her on the run for her life - when all he wanted to do was protect her. I believe he tried to confess this to Ressler, twice. Upon his initial return in S3, and again at the cabin before Solomon and his men lit it up. 

10. All these dominoes in mind, I end with Constantin Rostov/Alexander Kirk. The biggest piece of intel that would be of use to Wicked Wolf. She could either return with this little bit of information, or reach out to Kirk for more. Reaching out to Kirk for more would get her killed. Even moreso because I believe Kirk would inform Red of this. Returning if she learns anything of the Red-Rostov war. Kirk let him go because he’s Katarina Rostova. 

Tom’s whisper back to Red’s whisper.