#she is not exempt and neither am i

[medicshope]

Alright, I am gonna say this, while curly isn’t a good person, he isn’t a bad person either. He is morally gray, and did what was best for the whole of the group; not for one person. You have to take in consideration.

One, jimmy is the co-pilot. He can’t separate jimmy from everyone or kill him or whatever, curly needs jimmy to fly the ship. That control panel is massive, too big for one person. The ship is big too, you gotta think. So no, curly couldn’t have killed or separated him from the crew.

Even if you were to do that, and have someone else be co-pilot, you wouldn’t. Anya is..well, not suited for controls like that, she wouldn’t be able to memorize it. Daisuke would be overwhelmed by it all and let’s be honest, both of them are too incompetent to fly a ship. Swansea is a mechanic, not an engineer. No one would be able to fly it aside from jimmy and curly.

Also putting in a complaint is a pain in the ass and nearly impossible too. Pony express was kicking the bucket way before Anya told curly. He wouldn’t be able to put in a complaint or a notification because I wouldn’t be surprised if pony express already shut down and had no contact with the ship after that transaction. To the words of the official wrong organ post, and a teaser to put in a complaint is quote “ANY COMPLAINTS MUST BE MADE IN WRITING, SIGNED, AND STAMPED BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OFFICER OF A DESIGNATED PONY EXPRESS COURIER POINT NO LATER THAN THE END OF THE FIRST WEEKDAY OF SECOND WEEK IN ODD MONTHS AND NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD WEEKDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK ON EVEN MONTHS. HOLIDAY EXEMPTION RULES APPLIED.”

Even if he was able to put a complaint in somehow, even if pony express didn’t kick the bucket, what would most likely happen, is one…NOTHING! They are in space, there is no jail, no backup co-pilot, no abortion protocol on board, neither is there other ships because pony express was one of the last manned freighters. At most, he could be arrested after landing. But if curly would report it, jimmy would still crash the ship.

Even if the murder thing came into play, curly couldn’t and wouldn’t do it, again, stench, dead body, and the murder of a crew-mate could cause pony express to dock all of their pay. Daisuke wouldn’t be able to stomach it, and swansea didn’t really care what jimmy did. He only went after jimmy after daisuke was put to rest, not when he first heard about it. Anya was the only one with a valid reason to kill him, but her entire thing is that their worst actions don’t make them monsters.

Again back with curly, he is morally gray and thinks for the ship, not for people. Doing any action against jimmy would most likely dock pay from members above, so he tried to keep everything off records to keep everyone’s resumes, reports and backgrounds as clean as possible. He did try to fix things, but there’s only so much you can do.

(I’m drunk rn so this is probably bullshit.)

[recurring-polynya]

I have this love-hate relationship with whenever the Bleach anime tries to pad out canon events. On one hand: more world-building! Yay! I love world-building! On the other hand: it so often doesn't fit with/straight-up contradicts canon in a way that makes me insane. I know that usually when I get like this it means I've watched #46: The Worst Field-Trip Ever, but today I want to talk about

~The Lieutenants' Meeting from Bleach #227~

[rest under a cut because I am extremely Back On My Bullshit]

As you may know, the most precious chapter of Bleach (to me) is 0.side-B the rotator, the little flashback that appears in the middle of the Advance Team Arc (it's collected at the end of Vol 23) where we learn that Rukia's mission to Karakura was her first solo assignment and she was very nervous about it and didn't even tell Byakuya she was going, and also where Renji gets his promotion notice, but decides not to tell Rukia until she gets back. This was adapted not once, but twice by the anime, neither in the correct place.

The first time is in Episode 109, the final episode of the Bount arc. Even with 0.side-A the sand, it's not really long enough to make a full episode, but they intersperse it with some Kuchiki Manor hijinks and a bunch of Bount wrap-up stuff.

The second time, is episode 227, which is in the middle of the Fake Karakura town, although it's the first of a handful of standalone episodes and then the Zanpakutou Rebellion Arc, so I guess they were stalling for the manga to catch up. Anyway, it's completely re-animated for some reason, and the also added in Ch. 0.8, the Mizuiro flashback story and it still wasn't long enough, so they also threw in a Lieutenants' Meeting. This is exactly what I would do if I were a writer on the Bleach anime.

Bleach loves a Captains' Meeting, but Lieutenants' Meetings rarely merit screen time. There were two during the Soul Society invasion arc, but those both seemed to be pretty ad hoc emergency deals. There was a third one at the beginning of the Blood War that never got animated, which was also an emergency one, and had a distinct "hang out while the captains have their meeting" vibe.

So what does a normal, no-wartime-exemption Lieutenants' Meeting look like? Citizens (me) demand to know!

First of all, back up. One does not simply smash cut into a Lieutenants' Meeting. Apparently, each lieutenant brings a report to the meeting, which gets run by their captain first. It's unclear if it's required or just a courtesy. In any case, they give us this Goofus and Gallant style juxtaposition of Hinamori delivering her report to Aizen, along with some calligraphy she's done. This is followed by Hitsugaya tracking down Matsumoto by the smell of her booze and demanding the report (she was too drunk to write it and apparently also too drunk to go to the lieutenant's meeting).

Okay, now we can go to the meeting! It's held at Squad 1.

Hinamori is...late. I would not expect Hinamori to be a person who is habitually late, but then I remembered that she was late to a meeting and knew a short-cut that time she found Aizen's fake corpse, so maybe she is habitually late. I suppose it's possible that Aizen dawdled over approving her report, but it's also very funny to me that a good half of the lieutenants have executive dysfunction, so I am going to assume that Hinamori is one of those people who is ready 20 minutes early but it's too early to leave and then she gets distracted and ends up 5 minutes late.

Back to the meeting!

Holy moly, it's the same room that they used for the Soul Society Invasion Lieutenants' meeting! Remember this place?

It's got the green paneling, the white-with-gold-diamonds frieze, the criss-cross windows that Renji jumped out of once, and the map of the Seireitei. Also, a drop ceiling with elementary school style fluorescent lighting, apparently!

The most exciting part, though, is this fantastic purple table and chairs. Obviously they need this because the Lieutenants' Meeting also features snacks, which is noted have been provided by Oomaeda. (Do you think he always brings snacks because he's rich and loves snacks, or do they have a rotation??) Perplexingly, since this flashback takes place before the Soul Society Invasion, did they...did they move the table and chairs out for the Emergency Meeting? So that it would look more serious??? Like. That is a big table. That would take some effort.

Aside: The room doesn't actually look like this in the manga versions of the Soul Society Invasion arc meetings. It's got the wood paneling, but the windows are different and it doesn't have any other details. However, it does look like this during the TYBW meeting. I guess maybe Kubo liked it and adopted the design??

Back to the meeting at hand!: Sasakibe gives Hinamori some grief for being late. Matsumoto's absence is noted and attributed to being hungover, which leads to Iba complaining about his hangover.

This is so unserious. I love it. I love all of them.

We skip back to Karakura Town for a bit, but when we come back, it is business time. Isane is reading her report to the group. Anyway, first order of business: Karakura Town needs a new resident officer. Apparently the previous officer was from Squad 4, but had to be relieved due to "cramps." The reporting is sort of directed toward Sasakibe, but it's not very formal because we keep getting interruptions from the peanut gallery, which is to say that Kira and Oomaeda then start arguing about cramps. There is definitely the vibe that Kira hates sitting next to Oomaeda and is willing to throw hands about anything.

Anyway! Kiyone volunteers Rukia for the position on behalf of her captain, and Sasakibe goes for it. Importantly, we get a loving close-up of my beloved Seireitei map.

More importantly, all of this is bullshit. Squad 4 doesn't station people in the World of the Living (except for Hanatarou that time). Karakura Town is Squad 13's turf, it has been since Isshin's day:

I don't even know what the anime was going for here. We've already met Kurumadani (Afro-san) by this point. I guess they wanted to have a reason to discuss this at the Lieutenants' Meeting? I guess so Hinamori and Kira would have this information to tell Renji later?? This really could have been smoother, Bleach anime!!

Let's move on to the next order of business, which is...Renji's promotion! Actually, first, let's consider a shot of the room from a different angle:

In case it wasn't obvious earlier, everyone sits around the table in numerical order. I'm honestly a little worried about that back corner with Hinamori, Renji and Iba and Hisagi across from them. Troublemaker corner. They got Nanao back there, to keep them from cutting up, I spose. Yachiru is asleep. Matsumoto still hasn't shown up (nor will she, in case you were hoping).

Anyway, Isane announces that "the Captains' Meeting has chosen Abarai Renji, Sixth Seat of Squad 11." a) of all, why is this part of Isane's report?? And why isn't Shirogane here, anyway? You would think Squad Six would require a transition plan, but I guess he just noped out and left Byakuya in the lurch. (Real reason is likely because that would have required them to remember what Shirogane looks like and get him a voice actor. If the Bleach anime loved me, they would have done these things). AHEM! Also, what is this "the Captains' Meeting has chosen" bullshit? Captains choose their lieutenants, which Aizen mentions while gloating over Shinji in TBTP, and then Kyouraku brings up again when he bullies Central into letting him have two lieutenants. It is extremely funny to think about the other captains saddling Byakuya with Renji. They would never let the captains have a PVP mode, though, their hate game is worse than Tumblr's. I will be generous and say that perhaps what Isane meant is that it was announced at the Captains' Mtg, and since all the captains canonically love Renji, no one had any objections.

All the vice-captains love Renji, too--this announcement is met with delighted gasps. Wait, no, Oomada hates Renji:

I unironically love this, mostly because it sets up the Renji-Oomaeda beef from Diamond Dust Rebellion where Renji calls him an otter-face.

Oomaeda claims that Renji is "a punk" and "will scar the name of the Gotei-13." Granted, Renji does commit treason shortly thereafter, so he's not exactly wrong. No one cares though and Yachiru starts drawing on his head halfway through this rant.

And that's it! Altogether, this took less than 5 minutes of screen time, but hopefully this was very helpful and informative if you, like me, love to write fanfiction about lieutenants' meetings. Don't forget to include snacks!!

[putschki1969]

Hello, I’m really glad to read your article and see that you’re speaking up for Kalafina. It wasn't until they disbanded that I realized I actually prefer Kalafina over YUKI.

I was really sad when YUKI kicked KEIKO out of FJS. If it was due to a scheduling conflict with Kalafina, then I can understand. However, when YUKI unfollowed HIKARU and KEIKO on Twitter, it clearly seemed like a personal decision, and I could feel she was angry.

There’s currently a trend online where YUKI is always seen as being right. No matter what she does, it’s considered correct, and anyone who dares to disagree is attacked by her fans. It's almost as if YUKI is treated like a goddess. Her fans tend to blame everything on SC and Kalafina, as if YUKI is the victim in all of this. I don’t think that’s right. Clearly, it’s the three members of Kalafina who have been the most hurt.

Although I don’t know what exactly happened between them, looking back, when WAKANA stayed with SC, she was criticized by fans for many years. HIKARU followed YUKI out of SC and has been largely neglected all these years. I can’t help but wonder, was WAKANA really in the wrong? Maybe SC wasn’t as bad as fans made it seem. WAKANA seems to have been living well these years.

The revival of Kalafina was not only the wish of the three members but also the wish of the fans. KEIKO and HIKARU have asked YUKI multiple times to bring Kalafina back, but it never happened. It’s been seven years, and they’ve waited long enough. Now, there’s a company that can make this wish come true, which also fulfills the fans’ wish, and everyone should be happy about it. Yet, YUKI is upset. Fans are even blaming SC, which I don’t understand. Does YUKI see them as her instruments, and if they don’t obey, she just discards them?

But they aren’t instruments—they are people, and they have the right to make their own choices. YUKI’s fans seem to think YUKI is all-powerful, and that it wouldn’t matter if she replaced all the vocalists; she would still make a lot of money. But I believe the three of them are irreplaceable, and FJS is no longer the same as it once was.

The worst outcome would be if Kalafina can’t reunite, but no matter what, I hope they live good lives. I will always support them, and I believe they will do just fine, even if they leave YUKI.

💯

Honestly couldn't have said it better, I 100% agree with everything in your message.

For me, the members of Kalafina have always come first and I've never made a secret out of that. While I do respect Yuki Kajiura for her craft and contributions to the group, I certainly don't see her as some sort of sacred being completely exempt from any form of criticism.

We are seeing a very typical case of celebrity worship here. Someone as talented and accomplished as Yuki Kajiura is naturally idolised by her fans. There's nothing wrong with looking up to a person and admiring them but once you put them on a pedestal and are convinced that they can do no wrong, it becomes an issue. And before anyone is trying to accuse me that I am doing the same with Kalafina, I am actually not. Do I love them? Of course! Do I feel protective of them? Sure! Do I try my best to see the good in everything they do? Yup! But I will never pretend that they have no bad qualities or that they are incapable of making mistakes.

I honestly don't understand how anyone who has been around for all the drama during the past seven years, can still believe that Yuki Kajiura and her team are completely innocent and are not at fault for anything that has happened. People need to become aware that a feud like this doesn't continue for such a long time if only one involved party is petty and difficult. It is so plain to see that Yuki has always been part of the problem and the current situation with Keiko makes it even more obvious. The higher-ups at Space Craft aren't victims here and neither are Yuki or her Mori guy. They can continue their childish fighting until the day they die for all I care but I wish they'd stop using the Kalafina members as cannon fodder to get one over on the other.

Everyone is always so quick to come to Yuki's defense as if she weren't the most powerful person among everyone involved. She doesn't need anyone's help, she's more successful than ever, she gets to do whatever she wants, she is well-respected in the industry and continues to be hired for prolific jobs, as far as she is concerned, her separation from Space Craft was probably the best thing that could have happened to her. At no point was her reputation ever at risk of being tarnished, it was always Space Craft (and the girls) who got the short end of the stick. So why is she still being framed as the victim (by herself and her fanbase)? I don't know.

In my opinion, those who see the Kalafina members as nothing more than replaceable instruments automatically disqualify themselves as Kalafina fans. You can call yourself a Yuki Kajiura fan all you want but don't even pretend to know anything about Kalafina. My only hope is that those people stay far away from my little fandom corner because I will not stand for this sort of attitude.

We don't know if Kalafina will reunite after this, I'd certainly hope so. Right now, I hope they can focus on their solo activities and do something that makes them happy. As long as we support them, things will be fine.

[thefirstknife]

I love all the little details that directly quote Books of Sorrow this season.

Eris in the cutscene last week:

All things must prove their right to exist. The rest will die in terror. There is neither escape nor exemption. Simple. Essential. Beautiful to know.

Books of Sorrow:

I’m glad I learned that the universe runs on death. It’s more beautiful to know.

Eris in her chat with Drifter:

Books of Sorrow:

I am war, and you have conjured me back with war. ... I am trickery, and you have conjured me back with trickery.

And this week, with all the mentions of the species they exterminated, but especially the Ammonites:

The "bait stars" goes back all the way to when they were still krill, from a life form (stormjoy) on the Fundament that Xivu (then Xi Ro) was proving herself against by cutting off the ends of the tentacles called "bait stars" from them:

A STORMJOY. A stormjoy is a living cloud. When it passes over our continent, it lowers its feeding tentacles. On each tentacle are the BAIT STARS. Although light makes you happy, you must avoid it. You will be eaten. A stormjoy is a good way for an old person to choose death. Also, a daring knight can cut the bait stars from the tentacles. I have six!

It seems this has turned into some sort of a saying in their language given what she said in the radio and also in Books of Sorrow later:

These are the bait stars the Sky uses to blind its slaves.

The story of how the Ammonite hero, Chroma-Admiral (called Rafriit) went to protect the Leviathan:

...is also in the Books of Sorrow:

The Leviathan has broken cover. The old priest is in open space, moving towards the Ammonite home moon. Chroma-Admiral Rafriit and his elite guard move with it. Rafriit is the hero of his generation, an Ammonite of peerless battlecraft. He’s danced circles around Xivu Arath… but now he has to protect his holy Leviathan.

This is, for the record, the Leviathan from the Fundament. Once the Worms were free, it fled to try and help the Ammonite, as well as still pleading with the Hive siblings to think about what they've done, and also ominously asking them to truly think "who made you monsters" and "who summoned the wave."

I'm sure there's more, especially in Sororicide lore book, and/or that there will be more. I feel like this is such a nice way to tell these old stories that many people have probably not have had the chance to read or even know about. It gives just enough details about some ancient wars to make you interested and maybe point you in the direction to ask someone about it or start looking for more and then stumbling on Books of Sorrow. Like a crash course about this ancient history-rich universe that awakens a sense of wonder and maybe interests you into reading some lore.

Unfortunately, Books of Sorrow have never been readable in the game (either of them), but I hope that stuff like this presented in the main storyline for everyone to hear will motivate people to look deeper into the lore. It's basically like a little teaser and I love it. For us who know, it's such an honor to finally hear this being narrated to us by those that committed these acts, and for those that are hearing it for the first time it should spark curiosity about these ancient tales and battles. I hope so at least! If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the whole Books of Sorrow which are up on Ishtar in their entirety.

[voxina]

disclaimer: This is just a translation (not mine) of the Infobae article. I will link the original source at the end.

The head of the Criminal and Correctional Court No. 34, Laura Bruniard, investigated this Tuesday two of the accused of having sold cocaine to Liam Payne , the former One Direction member who died on October 16 after falling from the third floor of the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This is Braian Paiz , who met the late singer when he was a waiter at a restaurant in the Puerto Madero neighborhood, one of the most luxurious areas of Buenos Aires. On that occasion, the musician was accompanied by his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy , and two other people.

The other defendant who was investigated for Payne's death on Tuesday is Ezequiel Pereyra , an employee of the CasaSur hotel where the singer died two months ago.

Following the investigation, the two defendants were charged with the crime of supplying narcotics for payment , which carries a sentence of 4 to 15 years in prison, and the judge now has 10 working days to decide their future in the case.

"The hearing lasted three minutes , literally, because neither of them spoke. They only presented a written statement ," sources in the case told Infobae .

However, this media outlet had access to part of what was said in the document presented by Paiz's lawyer, Fernando Madeo Facente , to prosecutor Andrés Madrea and Judge Bruniard. It should be remembered that the Court of Appeals revoked the exemption from prison that the accused had presented and that the crime of which he is accused is not excarcelable.

Paiz, 24, from the Buenos Aires town of Berazategui, did not include anything in the document that he has not previously said publicly. He denies having sold drugs to the singer , and admits that they shared a private environment where there was no compensation.

“At one of those times, he approached me, asked for my contact, I gave him my Instagram and he sent me messages because he wanted to get high. He was already high and I think he was going to a concert ,” Paiz recalled in an interview with Telefé about that October 2 when she said they met.

The accused also defends himself by saying that his cell phone, which was seized by the courts, contains evidence of everything he said , according to the document that is already in the hands of the judge and the prosecutor; and where the accused rejects the accusations about the nickname of dealer that earned him insults from the victim's fans, based on his statements.

The courts believe that the chats between Paiz and Payne are the key to the accusation against the waiter who was fired from the Puerto Madero restaurant where he worked - and where he met the former One Direction member last October - after being accused of the musician's death. Security cameras are recording the conversations.

Payne checked into the CasaSur hotel at midnight on October 13. The courts accuse Paiz of having supplied the musician with cocaine on two occasions on October 14, two days before his death at the hotel: at 3:24 AM and at 10 AM.

“In the chat between Paiz and Payne from the early morning of October 14 , there is a photo of the 5-gram bag of cocaine that he offers him . In the one from the morning of that same day, he tells the singer that he has 3 grams and 7 grams. Payne takes a taxi and goes to get the drugs ,” sources with access to the file told Infobae .

Pereyra and the USD100

The second to present a written statement in his statement on Tuesday was Ezequiel David Pereyra , 21, an employee of the CasaSur hotel who on the day of the tragedy “was suspended from his job for 30 days for having given drugs to a guest,” according to sources in the case.

He is also accused of having supplied him with cocaine, but in this case on October 15 at 7:25 AM and October 16 at 3:47 PM. “He received 100 dollars and in the chat on the day of death, the deceased asked him: '7 grams more than what you gave me yesterday' . Then, he gives it to him by blocking the elevator door in the basement and that is on video,” said the sources of the case.

This Wednesday, Rogelio Luis Nores , 36, who lives in Boulogne and works in business consulting and management, will be questioned by Zoom. He accompanied Payne during his stay in Buenos Aires and now faces charges of abandoning a person in conjunction with the supply and facilitation of drugs.

"He claims that he never saw Payne use drugs and that he was unaware of his addiction problems," those who had access to his initial statements in the case told this newspaper.

The prosecution attributed the supply of substances to Nores and the other defendants, after toxicology tests on Payne revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant , indicating polydrug use in the hours before his death.

The last investigations this week will be into Esteban Reynaldo Grassi and Gilda Martín, the head of security and the manager of CasaSur who were present on the day of the death. The man was the one who made the call to 911 that alerted about the crisis that Payne was going through before his death.

[original source]

[theerurishipper]

I’m gonna wait to see the special before drawing any more finale conclusions but for the moment everything we got from the leaks is just so… weird? and nonsensical? 

So the only reason why our Marinette didn’t turn evil was because of Alya. Which contradicts everything TA and his team have been saying about abuse. Why does Alya being a positive influence for Marinette works but Audrey being a negative influence for Chloé doesn’t? They had Mylene say, “Having a bad mother doesn’t justify your actions” so neither should bullying. The lesson with Chloe is that abuse is ok and children that turn out ‘wrong’ because of it should just be left alone with their abusers because they somehow deserve it by not being able to turn out perfect on their own. Why shouldn’t the same logic apply to Emonette and Emodrien? (I believe they’re the names the fandom’s been using but I’m not sure) You’re being bullied? Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t lash out and become evil. It’s 100% on you now. Like seriously, am I missing some piece of information here? If I am please correct me! Because as of now it just doesn’t make sense to me. The lessons TA wanted to teach its fans is that sometimes people are just bad and no amount of tragic backstory justifies their actions, but every single choice he’s done from season 3 is just proving over and over that this logic only applies when it’s time to diminish Chloe. Chloe is 14 and has decided to be evil. Emonette and Emodrien are 14 have decided to be evil. “But they tried to show Chloe the right path and she didn’t take it, she’s evil” Gabriel seems to be a good father in the other universe, so shouldn’t be this the same for Emodrien as well? How did he even end up being a ray of sunshine with an abusive terrorist father but ends up being a villain with a good father? How does that even work? I really hope there’s more to the special because if they’re really going for the message that somehow Gabriel’s abusive parenting was a good thing for Adrien… I’m going to scream. 

Like, I understand the story they were going for with Chloe. Unfortunately, it's true that some people don't change. But then they began stating that she's not an abused child and it's not the influence of her mother that made her this way, it's just that she's Evil™. And her "consequences" ended up being more abuse. It's so fucked up.

And you're exactly right about Chloe being exempt from the justifications and explanations that the rest of the cast receives. Emonette gets to commit terrorism, and all this can be explained away by her having been bullied by Chloe, but Chloe isn't influenced by her mother's abuse, oh no, she's just born evil and is unworthy of change! The Chloe equivalent of Emonette's story would be for her to be sent back in disgrace after committing all her crimes to be bullied by Chloe some more, but you just know that ain't gonna be how it goes down. The characters are going to downplay Shadybug and Claw Noir's crimes, offer them compassion and insist that they are good people, and they're gonna get off scott-free. And of course, Emonette wouldn't deserve more bullying as a consequence, and that's the truth. But apparently Chloe's deserved ending is more abuse? It's horrid.

And the Gabriel-Adrien implications are a step further into the abuse apologia category. I just wrote a whole post about it, but you're right on the money about the implications. And I really think that's what's going to be portrayed, unintentionally or not. It sucks.

Thank you for your ask!

[moe-broey]

As I've been writing down dialogue going through Book 1. I feel like. There's almost a reoccurring bit, when it comes to Moe.

I'm way too tired to elaborate too much or at all eloquently, but like. It goes like this. Moe's seething frustration at the Situation is just CONSTANTLY increasing. Boiling under the surface. But bc it's in a new location, new people, new social rule set, ect ect, it is ALSO figuring out Okay. What is my personality, here. What am I meant to do? And how do I ensure I don't get thrown out?

Book 1 Moe is just. Horrible combination of off its meds and fake ass bitch protection mode, with the temper and bluntness of an autistic guy who hasn't had to mask in years. It's mostly observing and trying its best to take in as much information as it can, but beyond that. The Seething Struggler (... polite style???)

But the BIT. That just Keeps Happening.

Moe's Anger is Increasing. It is about to go ALL IN to start biting anyone and everyone (it is ESPECIALLY mad about everyone's attitudes towards Veronica. It doesn't care that she's committing various atrocities she's 13 and I'm going to fucking kill you. No I won't tell you why. Actually I already told you why were you not listening?)

But then. Completely unintentionally. Just, extremely bad (good?) (good bad?) timing. Alfonse will say something like the "I suppose we don't know much about your world. And how rude of us not to ask until now! 😊" lines, with that surprisingly warm smile, that throws Moe off completely. Just. Entirely redirected. Moe was This Close to threatening to defect just to see what happens, unsure if it should be throwing rocks at Alfonse (literal prince) or Anna (the boss here, clearly) (... Sharena is curiously exempt from Moe's ire.) -- and then it gets hit with the Alfonse being so nicies super genuine style beam. And NEITHER of them have even an inkling of the big storm coming, when it comes to. Gestures broadly at everything to come.

[your-corvid-girlfriend]

Ok I apologize if this is formatted badly I’m very autistic, but please read the whole thing before passing on judgement about me.

Because someone blocked me over it, yes, my fiancé is israeli. I’m sorry yall but to be frank she’s the one who educated me on how Zionism is evil and subsequently prevented me from becoming one, I’ve several times had doubts about the idea that “israel” shouldn’t exist and the only solution to this “conflict” is to dismantle it (which is true) and she calmly talked me out of it by outlining how it was a genocidal settler state from the very beginning and its continued existence will only ever harm Palestinians. I’m very susceptible to propaganda so if it weren’t for her I genuinely would have been a Zionist.

She did not serve in the IDF due to being lucky enough to get an exemption (not that she was going to if she didn’t, she was prepared to be thrown in prison if it meant not shooting Palestinians for the crime of existing), and is actively working on leaving the country so I’m not sure what else im supposed to do, she saved my life on many occasions and is the best friend I’ve ever had, so am I supposed to just dump her because she was unlucky enough to be born into a genocidal state as a member of the oppressor class? I’m sorry to be violating anti-imperialist principles but like… I can’t do that, I love her and need her and she’s doing everything she can to make the best of the situation.

We don’t choose our birth conditions and neither did she, she could have been yet another in the endless amount of genocidal Zionists but no, she unlearned and escaped that fucking death cult and is personally responsible for changing the hearts and minds of dozens when it comes to “israel”.

You can block me if you’d like, that’s fine, I just wanted to get this out of the way for my followers and mutuals so they’d have the full picture of who she is and why I’m associating with her despite being antizionist.

[merryfortune]

Nice Try

Written for the Rare Kink Buffet / posted for Hikaru's birthday

Prompt: Human/Alien — The alien’s culture requires them to marry anyone who defeats them in battle. The human finds out this also applies to board games.

Bonus points for F/F.

Title: Nice Try 

Ship: Lala/Hikaru

Fandom: Star Twinkle Pretty Cure

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,637

Warnings: None

Tags: Mid-Canon, Humour, Interspecies Relationships, Fluff, Getting Together

   Upon mutual agreement to play Uno together, neither thought much of it. It was probably just going to be a fun few rounds of the card game until one or both of them got bored. For now, it seemed better than staring at the walls until the other girls arrived at the rocket ship to hang out.

   For Hikaru, the citizens of the planet Saman were all sticks in the mud with a superiority complex. Lala was no doubt going to be delightfully competitive, though she was secretly baffled that her folk had any concept of fun. After all, they thought things through logically as dully with overreliance on AI. Though, the double edge in thinking that was, at least Lala was going to pick up the rules of Uno quickly and stick to them. 

   For Lala, meanwhile, she perceived humans as a lesser species. They were whacky and lawless, primitive in the brain and technology. She was honestly surprised they had concept of rules and law at all since they were so behind on development that the Earth was exempt from intergalactic alliances and the like. So, she saw so issue with sitting down with Hikaru to learn the game Uno despite knowing something that Hikaru did not know about the game.

   “Oh my goodness, uno!” Hikaru cried out as she placed her final card on the pile.

   Lala’s eyebrow twinged. This was the end of all their games. Every single game so far had resulted in the same outcome: Hikaru wins and Lala loses. It didn’t matter who cut the deck, who was dealer, and what the starting hands looked like. Lala could have had the advantage for most the game and then out of nowhere, Hikaru would become the underdog. Their friends would be here soon so this was now the final outcome of all their games as it was unlikely there would be enough time for one more round. As Lala had been begging the past five rounds.

   So now, Lala was at the end of her wits. The pile of cards was high and so were tensions. Fraught debates on if “add four” and “add two” cards stack, and they totally do of course, and the tension of keeping an eye on each other’s shrinking hands. It had been a long fight, a terse back and forth full of passion and intensity.

   Lala’s heart pounded out of her chest whilst Hikaru treated it far more casually. She wasn’t a sore winner or anything, laughing and smiling, though her expression changed as something twigged in Lala’s demeanour. Her trembling shoulders, her blushing expression.

   “Y-You have won, lun.” Lala stammered. “Every. Single. Game.” She sounded as thought she were seething.

   “...Yeah, something the matter?” Hikaru asked, blinking owlishly. “Do you want to play again or do you wanna play something else…?”

   Her voice trailed off in confusion as she watched Lala abruptly stand up from the table in the central control panel of the rocketship. The table and chairs bustled as Lala got to her feet and her expression underneath her fluffy bangs of cyan were unreadable.

   At this point, she was scaring Hikaru who could only watch as Lala snapped.

   And lowered herself to the floor.

   On all fours, hands planted to the metallic tiling, Lala announced, “Hikaru! I am in your care, lun. Please take responsibility and marry me, please, lun!”

   “Huh?” Hikaru exclaimed, amazed in her confusion.

   See, that tricky little extra detail that was known only to Lala, an eligible adult woman of Saman, was that this game counted towards her home planet’s marital and courting rituals.Why wouldn’t it? 

   For any Saman over the age of thirteen, all games were prohibited unless one was certain they would win or wanted to marry the loser. That is how it had worked for the past thousand years. The traditional, uncivilised bloodbath had been a bygone relic for the Samapedia pages for centuries at this point. 

   These days everything from stars-data-asteroids to hopscotch counted, even the AI encouraged the matches that it made to play these games to prove the projected compatibility. Her parents had become betrothed in this manner playing marbles.

   Thus, for all intents and purposes, this game of uno which was a thrilling intellectual challenge with a swirl of luck and chance had been perfect for deducing one’s compatibility and affirming betrothal. Regardless of it Hikaru had known it or not because Lala had been determined to win. After all, only losers pledged themselves to the winners. Not vice versa. Losing on purpose was considered ignoble in all circumstances.

   All circumstances meant all circumstances, after all. There was no room for black and white thinking or nuance amongst the Saman. Lala hadn’t escaped her programming that far yet so, that meant, if she had lost to a human on Earth playing Earth games that counted all the same as if she had lost to a Saman on Planet Saman.

   Besides, for Lala, the thought of having to return to that place and marry anyone but Hikaru hurt her. She didn’t know what these feelings were but they were welling up inside of her at unprecedented levels. She loved Hikaru: her one true friend, her first friend at all. A human who challenged her and the rest of the worlds out there in outer space. She punched her way through injustice and villainy, all with a smile and a beautiful singing voice.

   It could only be Hikaru, Lala was certain. She had given her all to defeat her and yet the cards came crashing down with the word uno, cascading in red, yellow, green, and blue.

   Therefore, there was nothing that Lala could do, as stubborn and prideful as she was, than submit to Hikaru who was bewildered beyond all belief. Her ears began to redden as Lala’s words sank in and she tried to understand what the heck was happening.

   “Wh-What? Lala, slow down, what are you talking about?” Hikaru’s hands waved a flurry in front of her as she panicked.

   Lala looked up from the floor where she knelt. Her eyes gleamed with determination. There was a pink mark on her forehead from where it had been touching the floor begging for this marriage.

   Her seriousness only served to scare Hikaru further, however. Hikaru’s heart pounded like crazy in her chest and she blushed. 

   Lala inhaled deeply, her body tensed, and upon her exhale, her exclamation was loud enough to echo through the insides of the rocketship - as well as Hikaru’s ears. Hikaru’s eyes began to all but spiral in her confusion. She was flattered, she was nonplussed, she was everything and more to Lala as her hand in marriage was asked for. Those five words resounded.

   “Will you marry me, lun?” Lala asked.

   “I-I can’t!” Hikaru squeaked.

   Lala’s expression furrowed, “Why not, lun?”

   “I-I’m only fourteen.” Hikaru murmured, shy.

   “So?” Lala tilted her head. She stood up and her hands curled into fists by her side.

   “The age of majority in Japan is eighteen, that’s why!” Hikaru protested.

   “But not on Saman, lun.” Lala pouted. “On my planet, it is normal for our age group to find one another, even marry, lun. We have laws, we have rules, if you are defeated in these fateful game, you must ask: will you marry me, lun.”

   Hikaru stood up and sighed understandingly. Her expression softened and she drew in closer to Lala. She took her hands, played with them, swung them left and right.

   “I know at the moment,” Hikaru murmured, “it feels like we only have the here and now, yeah? ‘Cause one day, it’ll be all over. You’ll have to go home and I’ll have to stay here. I-I can’t go with you, I can’t marry you, Lala. N-Not yet, anyway.”

   Lala stared. She was visibly disappointed by the outcome. Her shoulders slumped, her lips quivered. However, Hikaru’s non-committal stance did, at the very least, inspire hope. Lala tightened her hands underneath Hikaru’s and her hands slipped along the edge of her slender fingers. She traced her knuckles and drew the shape of stars on her skin to soothe her.

   “Hikaru, lun… I really like you, I’ve never felt this way before about anyone, lun.” Lala mumbled.

   “I really like you, too, Lala! Then let’s make a promise.” Hikaru said. “When the day comes that Earth can join the alliance, that’s when I’ll marry you.”

   “B-But that’s so far away, lun!” Lala argued. “That could be ten, twenty, even a hundred years from now, lun!”

   “Then we’ll have to keep doing our best as Pretty Cures so it’ll hurry up.” Hikaru giggled.

   Lala considered Hikaru’s proposal. It didn’t exactly delight the instant gratification centres in her brain now that she had accepted that she wanted to marry Hikaru for more than the rote reasons of society and culture. She had lost the games but she didn’t want to lose Hikaru to time, to the stifling rules of the Intergalactic Alliance.

   Regardless, Lala sighed. There was nothing she could do about it. She had to respect humanity just as much as Hikaru was making the effort to respect her own origins.

   Lala lifted her antennae. The yellow orbs crackled with electricity. She blushed ever so slightly in her disappointment.

   “I will wait then, lun.” Lala huffed, stubborn as ever.

   Hikaru giggled and she raised her hands. Her fingers, save for her index finger, curled in against her palm. She pressed the pad of her index finger against Lala’s antennae and she shuddered. Hikaru felt more than just a jolt of mild electricity at the gesture: she felt all of Lala’s fingers. Complicated, dramatic, and uniquely hers in confessing her tender feelings.

   “For what it's worth,” Hikaru teased her, “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to marry you.”

[likeadevils]

Ok I have been SCOURING your tags for the last hour (super fun tbh, the amount of history and memories I get on your blog is my favorite thing), so I’m sorry if this is something you’ve answered, but I’m wondering if you’re planning to do a ttpd timeline/something along those lines? I saw you answered an ask with a vibes based timeline and that was super interesting, and I know for most songs we don’t have a concrete “this was entirely written and recorded on XX/XX/XXXX” but I always love your thoughts

thank you so much! i am planning on it in the sense i collect info on it and it is not exempt from me falling down a research rabbit hole (though there is literally no album exempt from the research rabbit hole), but i dont currently have plans to post anything. mainly because there’s not enough information on when things have been written atm— the majority of the songs would be marked speculation, and not even speculation based on her artistic process, but speculation based on what was happening in her personal life, and like, anyone could do that. really it’s not even speculation, it’s something below that, cause like… idk king of my heart was written before delicate, emotions aren’t linear and neither is inspiration.

the vibes based timeline does have basically everything i know atm, aside from thank you aimee being the sole song credited to the studio she posted a video from on october 23, 2023 (sharp sonics), so i have thank you aimee down as oct 23 (inferring) on my spreadsheet

[girlactionfigure]

The Fake Spaniard: Samuel Skornicki

His name was Santos Montero

Samuel Skornicki was a Jewish lawyer from Poland who became legal advisor to the Spanish Consul and saved hundreds of Jews and non-Jews from the Nazis.

Samuel was born in Poland in1899 to a family of secular intellectuals. He married Raizel Sliwinsky from Lodz, and they moved to Paris in 1923, where Samuel studied law and became a civil attorney. Their daughter Arlette later remembered, “My father wanted to live in France, the land of freedom and human rights.”

After the Germans occupied Paris in 1940, the Skornicki family moved to Toulouse. As the situation became more dangerous for Jews in France, Samuel and Raizel left Arnette with a Christian family where she would be safe.

Samuel had something everybody wanted – a valid passport and a visa to the United States, where his mother and siblings lived. Instead, Samuel chose to remain in France and help the resistance movement. In Toulouse, Samuel ran a textile factory and distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets and provided Jews with false documents. A master networker, Samuel made connections with important people in Toulouse.

He met with the Spanish Consul, who was overwhelmed with the amount of visa requests from Jews trying to leave France. With legal training and organizational skills, Samuel was well-positioned to help the Consul, and he was appointed legal advisor to the embassy in St. Etienne. Samuel and Raizel were given new identities as Spanish citizens: Santos and Rosa Montero. Neither one of them spoke any Spanish.

In 1942, the Consul returned to Spain and appointed Samuel/Santos as his replacement. Before leaving France, the Consul threw a lavish farewell party where the guests included top officials of the collaborationist Vichy Regime, German Army officers, and off-duty Gestapo storm troopers. The event featured an official swearing-in ceremony where “Santos Montero” was installed as acting Spanish Consul. The Nazis present didn’t realize they were celebrating the promotion of a Jew.

As the acting Consul, Samuel turned the Consulate into a center of the Resistance. He supervised the forging of documents and hiding of weapons, and provided refuge for Jews and members of the Resistance. Meanwhile, he was conducting diplomatic meetings with local Nazi officials, including Gestapo officers with lists of Jews scheduled for deportation on their desks. Samuel read the names upside down and memorized them so he could warn the people on the list.

Since Samuel didn’t speak Spanish, he relied on the Spanish Consulate staff to keep his secret. They were mostly Republican opponents of Spain’s ruler, the fascist Francisco Franco, who was allied with Hitler. As part of that alliance, Franco was sending thousands of Spanish citizens to Germany to provide labor. Samuel and his staff got exemptions for thousands of Spaniards.

In March 1944, the French Resistance attacked a German train near St. Etienne. Determined to catch the French perpetrators, German policemen conducted a house-to-house search. They reached the Spanish Consulate, and before they could even knock on the door Samuel burst out angrily and kicked a German police sergeant! He shouted at them, “Get out of here! I am the Spanish Consul!” The policemen were embarrassed and quickly left. That night, the German Police Chief of St. Etienne visited the Spanish Consulate to apologize in person, and to give Samuel a gun for protection against the dangerous Resistance. Samuel gave the gun to the fighters who’d attacked the train – and were hiding in his cellar!

France was liberated in 1944, and the Skornickis returned to Paris. Since he’d hosted Nazis at the Spanish Consulate, Samuel was suspected of being a collaborator, but people he’d saved wrote letters of thanks proving that he’d been a hero rather than a villain. One of the letters, by Itzkin Rubin, who was hidden in the Consulate, read, “How can I express my gratitude, and the gratitude of my family, for all we owe you? You didn’t hesitate to risk your life in order to save ours. Knowing that we were being hunted by the Gestapo and the (French) Militia, you hid us in your home in those pivotal months before the liberation. If we are fortunate enough to live in peace and to be free, it is thanks to your heroic goodness and your courage. At a time when so many of our friends were tormented or died in terrible physical and emotional suffering, while so many children were separated from their parents, I am blessed to be surrounded by my whole family.”

For saving hundreds of lives after boldly taking on a fake identity, we honor Samuel Sknornicki as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[batteredrugosa]

WIP Wednesday game responses

Well I got so many requests tonight on WIP wednesday that I figured I would put each WIP in it's own post for ease of reading

This is an exerpt from Chronicles my original novel for @auburnlaughter new bits are in green.

Ioan paced the room, his muscles tense, shoulders raised and hands balled into fists as he moved. He reminded Aaron of a large hunting cat; if the taller man had a tail it would have been thrashing. “What has you so tied in knots?” He kept his words soothing and his body still, leaned casually against the wall by the door. “If your control was even a moment less strong, we would have a windstorm in here, and neither my wardrobe nor research notes deserve that chaos.”

Ioan shot him a burning glare without breaking stride. He raised his fists to his face, spreading his fingers across his  eyes and rubbing  hard before  grabbing and lifting the curls away from his neck, pulling. “Its that thrice damned Leanna. I don’t understand how someone as beautiful and delicate as she is could also be utterly uncouth, grating, obtuse and simply rude. Why does she insist on asking these ridiculous questions?”

Aaron worked hard to hide his smile. Of course it was her. Leanna occupied much of Ioan’s attention from the moment he had stumbled across her freshly washed floor. “Leanna wants to understand everything about magic. Its one of her passions; part of her nature is to throw herself into what draws her heart. It's not her fault that she did not grow up with tutors and a library at her disposal.” Aaron raised one eyebrow in question at his friend, letting just a hint of his amusement show through with a gentle curve of lip. “ Are you sure that it is her intelligence and her questioning that has you so worked up?”

Ioan tossed his hair back and shook his cramping hands, trying to relax. “You are right, I do not begrudge anyone the desire to know, or the opportunity to learn, but she just… she argued with the Falconer this morning. Argued with him, in his own lessoning! How could she, could any of us, dare to claim his understanding of the Circle’s lore was faulty? He was there. He was part of the last calling. He before anyone of us should know what we face in this undertaking. Don’t you see?”

Aaron moved away from the wall at that. He felt the fear underneath his friend’s anger in that moment; not an attraction, or at least not just a romance, but a fear for thier lives and the lives of all who depended on them and the magics that they were learning. “But Ioan, for all that he is very old and very wise, Joreth is still mostly a man. A lonely one at that.  His circle fell. His working was incomplete, or ill conceived. He has never lied to us about that, nor claimed that his ways were the complete or correct answer. If we never question the teachings, how will our working be any different?” Aaron crossed to the bed and sat, inviting Ioan to join him. “Leanna’s strength comes in part from being raised in a different world than you or I. She lacks the understanding of how things should be done that was instilled into us by our tutors and our station.” He laughed disparagingly eyes dropping as he remembered his own childhood and the struggles to be good, be quiet, be a correct young lady. “Hell’s gate man, the fact that you all accept me with no question still comes as a surprise. I am hardly following the rules or doing what’s menat to be done.” He felt the weight of Ioan settling onto the bed beside him. He tapped Arron’s foot with his own, pulling his attention upward. “You are our Aaron. All of us here are exempt from the machinations of court and kingdom. Why would I want to force you into some preconceived…” he trailed off, confusion crossing his face. Aaron raised that questioning eyebrow again, encouraging his friend to see the point he had just proven.

“And Leanna does deserve to be so shoved? Do you want her to be a quiet servant, polite and unassuming? Or do you want her to stoke the fire that lends us her passion and her magic?” Ioan flopped flat on his bead, huffing an exasperated sigh. 

“Of course I want her to be whole and to stoke her fire. I don’t hold truck with that destined to be a servant nonsense. But even so, she just always seems so… abrupt. Dismissive, sarcastic. Rude!”

“Scared?” Aaron’s question silenced his friend in a moment of surprise and confusion. “Have you ever wondered what all that anger seeks to keep at bay?”

[thetonethetollandthethunder]

Arc of A Scythe analysis, chapter 6-10

—

Chapter 6!

-Ooo! This is the chapter we see the new order scythes!!!

-99.9 percent on-time service…stuff like this makes me wish i was in scythe—

-I find it very funny that the middle seat is just as bad as disease and government, Neal always makes this small funny bits intentionally or not

-GODDARD ID RECOGNIZE THAT ROBE ANYWHERE

-Elegy of scythes <3

-This is fucking terrifying though, imagine you’re finally on your way home, you can’t wait to see your family, they’re all waiting for you, all you want is a nice flight home, and then it’s announced you’re gonna die. Thats fucking scary man

-This scene really shows how fucked up Goddard and is Elegy are, how cruel they can be

-Yes business man, gleaning is necessary, but not in this way, this way is just despicable

-Chomsky is too excited for this PUT THE FLAMETHROWER AWAY SIR

-Oh god Goddard is using the word Alpha, do you think he considers himself an alpha male? I do NOT wanna think about that

-“Yet even in dreams I often find myself gleaning…” god almost all scythes must be so fucking traumatized man-

-Jesus what a good chapter, a great way to start the new part!

—

Chapter 7!!

-Faraday is lowkey a good professor, no wonder you high school au freaks like using him for that /hj

-I for one, CAN imagine Faraday with a mace, he’d look fucking awesome

-Banned weapons are encouraged, that is SCARY!!!

-No wonder a lot of scythes (esp young ones in the new order are bloodthirsty, it’s this cycle of encouragement and being exempt from the rules of society, sure the older scythes preach about gleaning with honor but when you’re young, especially around citra and rowan’s age, you’d be hard-pressed to listen and be much more interested in the bloodsports of Goddard. That’s how he gets you!!!

-Also as someone who has started journaling my scythe journal would be UNREADABLE I have AWFUL handwriting

-Killing 5 people a week, and 260 a year is INSANE!! Again it’s no wonder a lot of scythes are so desensitized to this shit, and even revel in it, you kind of have to, just for your own sanity

-“Good scythes don’t get days off.” *COUGH COUGH* GODDARD *COUGH COUGH*

-“The idea that not all scythes were good was something neither Rowan or Citra had ever considered. It was widely accepted that scythes adhered to the highest moral and ethical standards. Even the ones who sought celebrity were seen to deserve it.” OHH YOU FUCKERS HAVE NO IDEA I LOVE WHEN I HAVE FORESIGHT THE CHARACTERS IN THEIR CURRENT PRESENT TIME DONT!!!!

-“If you do not cry yourself to sleep on a regular basis, you are not compassionate enough to be a scythe.” OUGH THAT LINEEEEE!!!!

-“She doubted rowan cried himself to sleep.” It all happens on the inside, citra!

-“I prefer to see each person I glean as an individual deserving of an end that is unique.” I love how the first book shows how compassionate and truly worthy of the title Scythe Faraday is. It’s that compassionate that makes him stay as one even after the title is gone. Because that’s what he truly is.

-“I find fire a horrific way to glean and would never use it.” ROWAN WOULD DISAGREE OHOHOHOOOOO—

-Its here where I think Rowan gets a lot of his moral code, or at least starts to think about it, to him Faraday is a model scythe, the scythe anyone should strive to be, and when he eventually sees scythes the complete opposite of him, his way of thinking as Scythe Lucifer becomes more clear.

-“I am an accomplice to the world’s oldest crime, and it will only get worse.” AAAA THAT LINE MAN

-“All they do is play games and watch cat holograms.” Oh Neal you really don’t know shit about how people actually use technology—

-I think me and Rowan would have similar handwriting (bad)

-“Rowan found it increasingly hard to parse his feelings about her.” ROWAN FELL FIRST AND HE FELL HARD MAN!!!!!!!!!

-Ben mention :(((((

-This entry of Curie’s journal really fucking hits you man!!! Especially the “I don’t know” at the end like UGH!!!!

-AMAZING CHAPTER AS ALWAYS!!! It’s really laying the groundwork for future character development!

—

Chapter 8!!!

-We get some foreshadowing to Citra’s gleaning method! The theater part if you can recall!

-Also the “No, I lost. Twice.” Is SO funny

-“It was the only time in all my years as a scythe that I had been thanked for what I do.” And you’ll be thanked SO much more soon Faraday!

-Them becoming more violent and thinking about gleaning is SO interesting esp since its so early, just shows how much it can affect you.

-Foreshadowing to where Rowan chooses which Scythe he chooses to glean when he becomes Scythe Lucifer

-GOD you can FEEL his guilt of having to choose between these 4 people!! How horrible and awful he feels to take their lives away as he learns more UGH

-AND he’s thinking about Bias’s unlike SOMEONE *cough cough* SCYTHE GODDARD *cough cough*

-“Does it ever get easier?” Rowan asked. “I certainly hope not,” the scythe said.

-Bradford Ziller is such a shit name lmao

-Rowan not wanting to admit he’s the one who chose him is soooo!!

-“They had bitten her. Good for them.” HAH that’s such a fun line

-Oop! There’s an error on my copy of the book! There’s a quotation mark at the end of “How was any of this fair?” When there shouldn’t be because it’s not dialogue! Interesting right?

-Even if he has a stupid name, you can really feel the terror and panic on Bradford, really good stuff

-The fact he wants to be aware and awake when he dies is sooo interesting man

-Rowan and Citra’s love is continuing to blossom!!

-“I fear for all of us if scythes begin to love what they do.” *STARES AT GODDARD*

-Amazing chapter as always!! Two more to go!!

—

Chapter 9!!

-Esme!! I always remember her being an underutilized character, let’s see if I was right though!

-Idk why but I hate mentions of food, esp greasy foods in books, makes me ick a lot idk I’m weird

-“Well, she could learn self-control tomorrow. Today she wanted pizza.” ICONIC LINE!! Such a mood!

-Luigi mario :)

-Elegy of scythes are back!!!

-Oh Esme there’s gonna be *so* many mass gleanings later on you have NO idea

-VOLTA

-Esme you’re life is gonna be FUCKED GIRL YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!

-A utopia where everything is perfect would be boring, most ppls lives in Scythe are boring, that’s what I think makes Scythe interesting compared to other dystopian books because its a utopia that turns into a dystopian whilst giving ideas of how that utopia itself was already a dystopia even if it wasn’t a tradition one

-Shorter chapter! Still good tho, not as interesting as others however

—

CHAPTER 10!!!!!

-TYGER!!

-Rowan you’re scaring people—

-Rowan’s disobedience is what makes him soooo interesting to me mam!!

-Lmao Rowan is worried about Tyger stealing Citra, already getting jealous!

-Apparently ppl ship Citra and Tyger which…I don’t see??? At all????

-We get some more Citra-Rowan interactions!! Very nice!!! Makes my Citran heart happy <3

-Emo-Nanites <3

-“We are not the same beings we once were. So then, if we are no longer human, what are we?” UGH ANOTHER GOOD LINE!!

-Another short chapter though not as short as the last one! Liked it more than the last though!

—

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, but here’s the next 5 chapters, those last two chapters didn’t have much but everything else was great as always!! Next time we’ll be doing chapters 11-15! Hope you’ll join me for it!!!

[bluespring864]

I just read this insane thing and thought the folks of tumblr might appreciate it

The European Parliament is a peculiarly Byzantine place, which is all the more baffling for an assembly that only sprung into life in 1979.

It’s replete with obscure working groups hived off from real committees, opaque voting procedures, feeble attempts to keep tabs on the Commission, and dull, empty plenary sessions taking place weeks after the news trigger has passed. And don’t forget the gift vault on floor 5 ½. 

And the article in full because it is insane:

Inside the European Parliament’s gift vault

APRIL 17, 2023 4:00 AM CET

BY EDDY WAX

BRUSSELS — Down a curving corridor on floor five and a half, there’s a dark alcove hiding an unmarked door. 

This is the final resting place for the European Parliament’s would-be bribes. 

The secret chamber is piled high with diplomatic gifts, all carefully labeled and left to languish in bureaucratic limbo under lock and key — neither accepted nor rejected. 

There’s the opulent; there’s the bizarre. One cupboard contains a Taiwanese wristwatch given to a Polish EU lawmaker. Another holds a pot of French mustard, a miniature Saudi Arabian door and a commemorative plaque from the Indonesian parliament.

Expensive bottles of wine, children’s toys, wireless headphones, books, stationery, figurines — five dusty containers are brimming with the forsworn freebies that governments and parliaments from all over the globe have showered on EU lawmakers. 

The crypt — essentially a glorified janitor’s closet — has sat largely unperturbed since the collection began almost 15 years ago. But in recent months, it has taken on a new significance due to revelations over alleged bribes that countries like Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania were funneling to EU lawmakers. 

The scandal, dubbed Qatargate, has prompted soul-searching within Parliament, which is now squabbling over how to revise the code of conduct that governs lawmakers’ behavior — including what they should do when offered a gift.

But here, in room 55A031 of the labyrinthine Paul-Henri Spaak building, remain the gifts given but not received.

Too small a room

Outside, there is no indication about what the room contains. It is permanently locked.

Besides the renounced gratuities, the room stores old MEP files.

POLITICO’s access to the vault was facilitated by the office of German Green MEP Daniel Freund — a vocal proponent of tougher transparency rules in the institution — plus three European Parliament officials, including a spokesperson.

“It’s a bit anticlimactic if you expected some kind of treasure trove,” Nurminen said, standing on the squeaky linoleum floor of the vault as the air conditioning thrummed in the background.

With MEPs rushing to declare many more gifts than before in light of the Qatargate scandal, this storage room could soon become too small. Between 2009 and 2014, EU lawmakers declared just 15 gifts — but in this parliamentary term, which began in 2019, they’ve already registered 266.

The higher numbers are largely due to a massive dump of gifts by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who declared 170 gifts since the start of the year — most recently a traditional shirt from the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament and a decorative box from Harvard University.

The president’s gifts are either displayed in her office, stored in this gift vault — or already long gone. When it comes to gifts of chocolates, wine or crunchy snacks, some have been “served in the course of Parliament’s functions,” i.e. consumed during official work meetings.

Even though she missed the internal deadline to declare many of the gifts, Metsola — who has been Parliament president since January 2022 — argued she was being radically transparent by declaring the gifts and turning them over. This broke with years of the institution exempting the president from declaring gifts on the public register.

Because of this change, many gifts given to previous presidents and kept in boxes by a set of civil servants called the “protocol service” are now being transferred to this room from undisclosed locations. The Parliament spokesperson described this gift vault as the only dedicated room where such gifts to former presidents are kept.

Just 17 gifts to presidents past and present are on display in glass cabinets at the Parliament’s seat in Strasbourg, next to a tiny kiosk selling Roberta Metsola-themed stamps. They include a statuette of a horse from the United Arab Emirates’ National Council; handmade artwork from the president of Nigeria; a silver bowl from top U.S. politician Nancy Pelosi; a peace-themed mosaic from Pope Francis; and a vide-poches or decorative tray from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Manfred’s mobile

For now, the gifts in the chamber in Brussels are essentially in limbo — neither displayed nor used — a fate that might perhaps make lobbyists or foreign dignitaries think twice about going to the trouble of making any such gesture in the first place.

A case in point is a Huawei smartphone that was worth more than €150 when given to European People’s Party chief Manfred Weber by the Chinese tech company — in 2013. It’s been gathering dust here ever since.

The “end of life” rules, as Parliament speak would have it, means dead but not buried.

According to the current rules, EU lawmakers can keep these gifts permanently if it can be proved they have no “obvious” value to the Parliament. Or they may be temporarily displayed in their offices if the president gives her blessing.

In theory, parliamentarians can also bid to buy back their gifts in a public tender — but such an auction has never happened.

At a later stage of the ethics reform plan initiated by Metsola, senior parliamentarians could at some point tweak the code of conduct to allow the gifts to be given to charities — as happens with used furniture and food waste from the canteens. But such a tweak is currently not under consideration.

“If you have more presents handed into the institution, there needs to be a way to process them. So the existing 2013 rules might be revised,” the spokesperson said as the door quietly closed.

 source: politico.eu

[roadtogracelandx45]

Courage Under Fire|Pre War 9| Band of Brothers

part 8

masterlist

ao3

Wattpad

Word count: 5,900

@marycorleone

April 1st, 1942

 Charleston,  South Carolina 

Olivia smoothed her hands over the crisp white skirt of her uniform, she was standing in front of the floor-length mirror in her bedroom, studying her reflection, she had been sworn into the Army Nursing Corp late in March by Elizabeth Forbes using the war-torn bible that her great-great-grandfather had carried with him into several battles of the Civil War including Gettysburg made it seem real.

Putting the dog tags around her neck didn't seem real, neither did putting on the uniform but doing that made it seem real.

She and Alice had gotten orders to go report to Fort Benning for OCS on the 2nd of April and it started feeling more real.

And for the first time, she was flattering in her decision to join.

"You good Bean?" Her Uncle Michael's voice came from the doorway, he had been busy in DC, so he hadn't been able to come down for her swearing-in like Helen had been able to come. 

"Uncle Michael! What are you doing here?" She spun around to look at him, her green eyes dancing in excitement. "Helen called and told me you were going to Benning." 

Olivia nodded her head, "No idea why y'all putting this much confidence in me. I could fail out. Like that." She snapped her fingers causing him to laugh.

"You will do good, Liv, this is what you are meant to do. Does this sudden change of heart have anything to do with you seeing Katherine?"

"Aunt Helen told you about that?"

"Mhm, how did she react to you enlisting?"

"Said she hoped I died." She shrugged her shoulders, "After she got mad at Daddy for signing the papers. They want me to testify for the State against her. Same with my brothers." 

"But they are all shipping out or at boot camp, right?"

"Except for Bobby." She motioned to the letter that was lying open on the desk, "He and Bill are going to enlist together as soon as they get out of school. I guess they both were going to have an exemption because of the factory they were working at, but they tore it up and threw it away."

Michael laughed again. That sounded about right for both Bobby and Bill. 

 "Have you heard from Lewis?" She pointed to the letter underneath the one from her twin, "He is in California. Says I would like it, always warm. Not cold like Philly and here."

"Where are you going with that?" 

"I told him after the war if either one of us weren't with someone else I would marry him. I do love him."

 "But you aren't  in love with him?" Michael asked, unable to help himself.

"I am 18 years old, what do I know about love?" She returned.

"More than what you think. You are a smart girl, Bean; you will figure it out.  Finish getting ready, I am going with you and Alice to the train station. And someone from Benning is going to meet you there."

Olivia nodded, "And two other girls are coming, right?"

"From what Elizabeth said, yes, one is from New York and the other is from California."

"Oh great, another damned Yankee." She complained with a small laugh, Fredrick had not been shy about his hatred of the Yankees and called Andrea that to her face and to her kids' faces. Same with Helen but they all took it in stride because of the love and respect they had for him.

 Her uncle smirked before leaving the room to let her finish getting ready. He had tried to get out of Elizabeth information about the other two girls that were joining Olivia and Alice, but Forbes said that it wasn't fair for Olivia to have the advantage. It was already bad enough that she was handpicked for this, because of her family and her skills.

 And some of these girls could hold that against her and could cause a lot of problems for Olivia. But they had faith in the girl and knew she could handle herself, she just needed to believe that she could do it herself.

**

Train

 From Los Angeles California.

**

Betsy Michaels glanced out of the window again before she yawned and stretched her arms above her head. She had been on the train for almost three days, and she was tired of it. It had been a mistake, the train instead of the bus or taking the Army up on the offer, to fly from Fort Ord to Fort Benning. But being on the train in her own little compartment gave her time to think and really decide if losing her family in order to serve her country was the best idea. And the more she thought about it the more it seemed like it

 was the best idea for her.

Don't get her wrong, she loved her family, but her father was too controlling, and her mother was too weak to stand up for her children or herself. She didn't want to end up like her mother or even her oldest sister who was in the same boat their mother was in.

There was a knock on the sliding door startling her out of her thoughts and she slid open the door on the other side was a dark-haired man with bushy eyebrows, wearing a smirk. "Are you Betsy Michaels?" He asked. "I am. And you are?" "Lewis Nixon. I was told by command to check in on you." She raised an eyebrow and stepped away to let him enter the compartment. "It's been almost 3 days, Mr. Nixon." Lewis managed to look sheepish, he had found the bar cart and spent a lot of time in it.

His way of coping.

"Sorry about that.'  He shrugged, he had gotten a letter from Kathy claiming she was pregnant and that he had to make up his mind about either her and their child or the little tart Olivia. He couldn't bring himself to make that decision yet. Sure, he cared for Kathy and wanted to try

 and be involved with his kid's life but at the same time, he loved Olivia and the light-heartedness she gave. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" She prodded, "You look like you need to talk." 

"There has only been one other person that calls me on my stuff like that is Olivia." 

"Your girl?" She monitored for him to sit across from her, she could just tell by looking at him that he needed to talk, and she was always a good listener. And after the course was over, they probably would never see each other again. 

"Well, you could say that."

**

Columbia, Georgia

*

The first three people that Amber Scott met when she stepped onto the train platform were Elizabeth Forbes, a woman whose respect was demanded right from the start, a woman who was in charge of the program they were entering, and the other two nurses like herself both from Charleston, South Carolina. Olivia and Alice. The latter of the two seemed to be nice and Amber could see herself being friends with her, but Olivia couldn't.

There was something about her that she didn't like. She carried herself with confidence and arrogance that it was almost off-putting. Olivia turned her head and muttered something to Alice who swallowed back her smile and nudged her hip with hers.

"We are waiting on one more girl to show up, from California and we will get you to Benning." Elizabeth started. Something must have clicked in the blonde's head because a beaming dimpled smile formed. And the general offered her a gentle smile in return. 

"Do you know her outside of this ma'am?" Amber asked, unable to help herself. Elizabeth looked at her and then at Olivia, "Yes, her godfather and I go way back. But that has nothing to do with her being in the program."

 Amber turned back to look at Olivia to start Interrogating her, but she had already started moving towards a couple. "Lew! Lewis!" 

 "Does she know him?" 

"Extremely well." Alice laughed, as much as she wanted to stop Olivia from making any sort of decision when it came to her, and Lewis couldn't. Olivia loved him and he loved her. At least that's what Olivia had repeatedly told her.

Hearing his name, Lewis spun around and smiled, "Olivia!” 

Betsy, who was walking next to him, paused and smiled when the woman who she had spent the last few hours hearing about darted across the busy lobby and into Lewis's arms. He picked her up in a hug and pressed kisses to her cheeks and jaw. Careful to avoid her mouth, he knew as well as she did that if they saw that she would be sent home, and he wasn't going to be the one to get her sent home.  

"I missed you." He whispered before he sat her down on her feet.

"I missed you too." She grinned before looking at the girl standing next to him.

"I am Liv." She held her hand out to her. Betsy studied her for a brief second before returning the bright smile and taking the extended hand.

"I am Betsy. Lewis  told me a lot about you."

"Whatever he said, don't believe it. They are half-truths."

"All he told me was that you saved him from marrying a woman that he didn't love." She supplied as the other girls and the General joined them.

"Well, someone had to help him." She paused, "General, this is Betsy."

"Michaels, ma'am."

"Perfect, Lewis." The general inclined her head in the man's direction.

"I am going to meet up with the others, Liv, I will see you there." He pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Betsy, thank you."  Betsy nodded her head before glancing over at Olivia who was watching him walk away, a hint of sadness in her smile. 

"Are you okay?" She prodded softly.

 "Yeah, just the last time someone I cared about walked away in a uniform he ended up dying in Pearl Harbor.' Olivia shook her head and took a breath steeling herself, she hadn't let herself truly mourn for her brother, her uncle, and her great-great-grandfather.

Sure, she had cried in Lewis's arms when she found out, but she threw up walls around herself to protect herself.   She had to be the perfect picture of a well-brought-up Southern Girl. Alice grasped Olivia's hand and squeezed it. 

Thankful, Olivia squeezed it in return. She had been so thankful for Alice being with her from the time she got back from South Philadelphia with the ring that Bill insisted that he didn't lift from the store underneath the one from Lewis and was fighting to keep herself together to get sworn into the Army Nursing Corp to now OCS. She would have fallen completely apart and not have cared if it wasn't for Alice and her grandparents.

***

The bus was groaning and creaking down the gravel road towards Fort Benning, and Amber was fighting nausea, and it was getting worse the closer they got and listening to Olivia tell a story about her twin brother and someone named Bill to Alice and Betsy.

 "That boy is trouble, Livia." General Forbes commented, underlying amusement in her voice.

 "Which one? The one I share DNA with or the one I dated?"

"Both." Both Alice and the General answered with a laugh, neither one had actually met Bill but from the stories that Olivia had told them. But Bobby, they knew how much he coaxed his sister into doing things and quickly talked them out of trouble.  

There was a sad smile on her face as she twisted to look out of the window at the approaching camp. 

"Bobby is Olivia's twin brother," Betsy informed Amber, figuring she hadn't been listening to what she was saying, "From what I understand, this is the farthest and longest they have been separated." 

Amber shrugged her shoulders, she really didn't care about any of the other girls' lives before this. She was told that she had to do good and get that pay raise that was supposedly coming down the ranks for the women to help pay off her father's gambling debt. She wasn't there to make friends.

It would be better if she didn't. 

**

All the boys who had exited the bus in front of the 4 nurses paused and stared at them, they hadn't expected to see women in their program. "Ladies, if you will follow me." One of the instructors said cutting off the stares, they knew that the girls being there with them would be a distraction to them, and vice versa, but it was good for them to learn not to act on those feelings.

"I am Lieutenant Harding. You are going to be under my direct command for the next 12 weeks. I am sure you understand how unique this opportunity is."

"Yes sir." They all returned, Olivia and Alice, exchanging a look. they had at least a little bit of understanding of what was going to happen to them during these 12 weeks. Thanks to Olivia's family and Elizabeth Forbes. 

Alice liked to joke that Olivia was born right into the Army with how much the Stewart household was run like the Army. "This is where I leave you girls, good luck, I will see you in 12 weeks at Camp Meade.' She shook each of their hands, only lingering for a second with Olivia, squeezing her hand, "Write if  you need anything, you got this."

 "Thank you, ma'am." Olivia returned softly, squeezing her hand, "Tell Uncle Finn, I will be fine."

"Who is Uncle Finn?" Betsy asked curious as they started to follow Harding towards the barracks. "My grandfather's brother, and my godfather." She answered quietly, "They are worried about me, especially after losing Nicholas and Great-Great Granddad." 

"Nicholas was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor." Alice informed for her friend, who looked sad at the mention, "Same with her uncle Thomas." 

The Lieutenant who was leading them towards the barracks paused, interested, he had gone to WestPoint with Michael Stewart and knew that he had numerous nephews and nieces, and had kept in touch with him enough to know that he had great nephews now.  

"Aunt Helen is having a baby, she is dead set on naming it, Nicholas for a boy and Lydia for a girl."  

 He turned to look at the girls once they were outside of the small barracks, "Stewart, Michaels, this side.' He pointed to the two beds on the right-hand side of the room, "Scott, Anderson, other side. The roll call is 20 minutes. Good luck ladies." Harding nodded at each one of them before exiting the room. 

**

"Oops! I am so sorry!" Olivia exclaimed as she collided with a solid body, she had wanted to get to formation and she wasn't paying attention. 

"It's okay." Dick Winters returned steadying her, "No damage done.' "Still, I am sorry, I should have been paying more attention. I have a bad habit of not paying attention to my surroundings when I am focused on something"

"You will have to excuse her," Lewis's voice came from behind her, "She likes to ramble when she is nervous." 

"She is fine." The redhead man said, stepping away from Olivia who he had still been holding upright.

"She also has a name, Olivia.' She cut in annoyance, "And you know that Lewis." 

Lewis glanced down at her and smirked, he knew it all too well, the last night they had spent together, he had gotten a hotel room, and whisked her away, much to Bill's frustration. She got good at certain things. Things that he wouldn't mention to a complete stranger, and things that would embarrass Olivia to have known, and she didn't need that, especially after the last series of letters he got from her detailing her visit with her mother at the prison for women in South Carolina, and how she was embarrassed by Katherine for everything.

Little and big. 

"It's nice to meet you then, Olivia, I am Dick." "You too, Dick, you too.' She offered him a smile and took a step back to Lewis who quickly threw out, seeing the curious look on Dick's face, "Her uncle is married to my cousin.  And she stopped me from marrying Kathy."  Olivia winced and pulled a face that led Dick to believe that Kathy was a miserable person to be around. 

"Figures you would find Lewis, Livvy," Alice commented as she joined the trio. "He found me." Olivia returned, "Alice, this is Dick, I didn't get his last name." "Winters." Dick supplied just as the music was starting to play throughout the camp, signaling that they needed to go to roll call.  

** 

Lieutenants Harding and Anderson started walking up and down the formation, while the Captain, Sanders, was giving orders to them. Olivia oddly felt like she belonged, she had grown up with her grandfather doing inspections of their school uniforms, and their bedrooms every morning before they had breakfast. It was a normal thing in the Stewart household, Alice who started living with them on and off for several months when her parents were struggling had a hard time adapting to it.

Harding paused next to Olivia, his dark eyes flicking over her uniform and then studying her face, "You know, Michael said he had a niece, but he never said anything about how pretty you are." Olivia's green eyes sparked with surprise.

"Sir?" 

"Michael and I went to school together. I am Alex." She thought for a second and then she remembered, "I remember him mentioning you sir."

As if the other two girls felt how uncomfortable Olivia shifted a little closer to her. Harding was impressed that two of the three others were willing to step up and protect their fourth member. They were going to need that sense of commandery when things started getting

 tough. And with the OCS program, it was going to get a lot more tough.

"You are dismissed!" Sanders announced, causing Betsy to rush up to Olivia's elbow, "Are you okay Liv?" She asked urgently, her heart was up in her throat. "I am fine, Bets, it was nothing. Just saying that he went to WestPoint with my uncle.'

Lewis and Dick who had talked into joining them for dinner, appeared, "Come on Liv, it's dinner time." He slung his arm over her shoulder, relieved that he had already said that they were related by marriage so his touching her wasn't out of the norm. He didn't think he could go 12 weeks without touching or being near her. 

The 3 months had been bad enough. 

"We got to talk.' He muttered lowly in her ear. "About what?" She returned, stopping their stride, letting Dick and the girls who were pulling him into shy awkward talk.

"Kathy is pregnant."  It was short and straight to the point, he knew that he didn't have to dick around with her and he was thankful for that. 

 "What? Is she sure?" Olivia questioned, her heart dropping to her stomach, "Is, is it yours?"

"The timeline  adds up." He pulled his flask out of his pocket and twisted the lid open, "Ladies first.' Olivia took it and took a long swallow off of it before handing it back to him. "What are you going to do?" "No idea. But this isn't going to change anything between us Liv, I meant what I said, I love you." 

"I know Lew, I love you too." She started softly, "Whatever you want to do, I will support you. 100%" Glancing around making sure that they were fully alone, he pressed a kiss first to her lips then to her forehead. "Come on, let's go to dinner."

**

June 5th 1942

Fort Benning, Georgia.

***

Amber Scott had enough of everything that had to do with this stupid school that she got selected for. She was tired of getting screamed out for stupid reasons, like the sheets and blankets not being tucked into a certain inch, 6 compared to 7 that it was at a regular camp. Her boots were never polished correctly nor were they in the proper position when Sanders and Harding came into check. The other three, especially Olivia, seemed to be flourishing. They passed their tests with ease and had gotten stronger with the map reading and physical training. Something that Amber had fought hard against for the first few days, they were nurses they didn't need to know this stuff. 

She glanced around the barracks, looking for something to destroy, a habit that she had gotten into thanks to her father. He had a habit of destroying everything in his path when he was drunk and upset. Her brown eyes landed on the letters that were neatly stacked on the end of Olivia's bunk, no destroying letters wouldn't do any good, as much as she hated hearing about the characters in Olivia's life, they were entraining. Even the stories that she, Lewis, and Alice reenacted after a few too many shots at the bar on pass were on par. 

Then her eyes landed on the foot locker that was embellished with Olivia's surname and the US ARMY NURSING CORP logo on it. There had to be something in there that she could use that would make  Olivia as upset as she was.

Quickly, Amber crossed the room and flipped the lid open, thankful that Olivia hadn't locked it like she had in the past after Harding and Sanders had gotten into it. In the small box was a worn leather diary with the initials FJS on it. It was curious that she had something like that, she had known that Olivia's were OFGS, Olivia Franklin Grace Stewart, don't ask her how she knew, she just did. She flipped it open and the first date written on the page was from 1860. Even more curious, she flipped through the pages skipping over the letters and pictures of her family and of her and Lewis at her debutante ball to the later pages that were dated from 1940 on.

**

"Excuse me, Lieutenant. this came for you." One of the runners for the HQ for the OCS interrupted handing Olivia a sealed envelope from the Office of the Navy. 

"Liv? What is it?" Lewis asked. 

"I am not sure, I don't think I can open it.' Olivia returned, "Can you open it?"

 Dick who over the last few weeks became a good friend to not only of Lewis and Olivia but of Alice and Betsy as well, came over closer to Olivia, his hand catching hers. Normally doing something like this would make him nervous and make him blush but he felt oddly comfortable with Olivia. Like she was the little sister he had always wanted. 

 They had been informed the day before that the Navy was making a move on some island in the Pacific and everything was hush-hush about it. All they had been told was that the Enterprise, the boat that Olivia's second favorite brother, James was stationed on and flying from was involved in it. And since then Olivia had been sick with nervous energy. 

Lewis had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach as he slid his finger underneath the flap of the envelope. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Stewart and family. We regret to inform you that your son James Andrew Stewart was killed in action during the battle of Midway.”  He quickly folded the letter back and pulled Olivia into his arms as the news hit and she started trembling. She was trying so hard not to break down. “It's okay, baby, it's okay.” he smoothed his hand over her hair that had come loose from her braid, and down her back. Dick pulled the crumpled letter out of Lewis’s hand knowing that down the line she would want to read the whole thing.  

“I need to be excused.”  Her voice was coming out in short spurts. “I need you to take a couple of breaths first,”  Betsy ordered,  worried about how sporadic her breathing was. Not even with all the tests that they had taken over the course of the last 8 weeks had she seen Olivia get so out of sorts. 

“Is everything okay? “ Harding asked them to come to a stop. “Just got a letter from the Navy.” Olivia pulled herself away from Lewis and took the handkerchief from Dick to dry her eyes and wipe her nose, “My brother James was killed in Midway. I will be fine in a moment. “ She wiped her cheeks off again. 

“No, you won't.” Amber’s voice came as she joined them looking like the cat that ate the canary. “What are you talking about?” Olivia asked. “Meaning you have been sleeping with him.” Betsy grabbed a hold of Amber’s arm and started pulling her away hissing that this wasn't the time or place to announce anything like that. 

“It's not true, Lieutenant Harding, not since we have been here,” Lewis explained, quickly lying, in hopes it would stop the two of them from getting into trouble and from Olivia getting kicked out of the program. That was the last thing he wanted after she worked so hard on passing the tests. They all did. Except for Amber, she managed to screw everything up.

"Stewart, is that true?" Harding asked, looking at the girl who nodded her head adamantly, teary fury in her eyes. "What is going on here? This has been going on for far too long. You two are working this out now." "Everything is fine, sir." Amber threw in.

"No, it's not," Olivia said at the same time, causing Harding to turn to look at her.

She never voiced any complaints, she kind of went with everything. They had all figured it was because she grew up in a military household. "Explain Stewart."

"Scott has been trying to get me to quit for the last few weeks, talking badly about my family and how I only got here because of my last name. And I understand that it helped a lot, but I am sure I have proved my worth." Alice, who had joined them, slipped between Harding and Betsy and grabbed a hold of her friend's hand. "Well reading what was in your journal, I know it." All in the instant the grief and sadness were gone, and anger was there.

"Watch you say, next Sergeant," Olivia ordered.

"Liv." Lewis started,the more they went through the training the more Olivia was finding herself and the more Lewis found that he was falling in love with her. It was making that decision of what he wanted to do with Kathy and the baby so much harder than it needed to be. 

"What are you going to do? Huh? Ol-iv-ia." Amber taunted, her eyes going to the letter that was in Dick's hand. The familiar typewriter print read out Olivia's name on it. 

"I am sure your dearly departed brother is going to be so disappointed in you carrying on after an almost-married man."

 "Do not talk about my brothers, or I swear to god, I am not going to be held responsible for what I do."

 "Why do you care so much huh?" Olivia closed her eyes and counted to 10 trying to calm herself down but Amber's taunting got worse, she had tried to give the girl the benefit of the doubt.  But she could honestly see that it was a mistake. 

“About you? Or about her brothers?” Alice snapped for her friend. 

“Her brothers.” Amber returned, in the deepest pits of her stomach she was surprised that Olivia would be able to care about her for her how she treated the other three during the 8 weeks they had been there. 

“Sergeant, I am warning you one final time, to watch what you say.”  This time it wasn't Olivia who warned her, it was Lieutenant Harding who did. He had quickly figured it was going to be better for the girls to work it out now before they were all shipped off to Camp Meade, Maryland. They had to be untied in front of the other girls especially since they were going to be the ones that knew what was going on. 

“I am just saying sir, she is a disappointment.” Amber couldn't finish saying anything about Olivia and how her brothers and parents were probably disappointed in her for what she was doing when Olivia’s fist connected with her nose. A satisfying noise like a cigarette pack crumpling and the blood rushing to her ears was the only sound that Amber could hear. 

When the ringing stopped and she was able to see through the stars, she saw that Olivia was being pulled back by Lewis and Dick. "I am fine." Olivia said, "I am good."

"Well, I am not! You broke my nose."

"You fucking deserved it!" She spat as Lewis lowered his mouth by her ear whispering that everything was okay and that nothing was going to happen. 

"Lew, I will kill her if I have to be in the same room with her again."

 "I know, I know." "Nixon, Winters take her to your barracks." Harding ordered, "Sanders and I will come and talk to her after we handle this. Michaels, Anderson stay here."

"Yes sir." Lewis agreed, turning her around and frog-marching her toward the barracks. He knew that she wouldn't do anything else to cause a scene but it was better to be safe than sorry.

**

"Lew, I am fine. I promise I am not going to go back out there and do anything." Olivia said once they were back in the barracks, that momentarily moment of weakness, and she lost her temper.

Dropping his hands from her shoulders, Lewis stood near her, "Liv, I am.'

 "Don't please. Don't tell me you are sorry. I can't hear it again." Olivia said hugging her body, "We all knew this was possible right? Dying?"

"Yeah, it's a big chance," Dick added he had been quietly following them into the barracks, and as she protested saying she was fine. She was clearly not fine, and while he felt like he knew her, he didn't feel comfortable speaking that out loud. 

"It doesn't make this loss any harder. It's okay to mourn his death, Olivia.'

 "She didn't let herself mourn Nicholas' death or Fredrick's death." Lewis directed over her head, she had shifted closer to him for the physical comfort and since it was just the three of them in the room, he felt okay with providing it. 

"Have to be the picture perfect of the Southern Lady." She sniffed, fighting back her tears, "Nana and Gigi would have a heart attack if they saw this." She motioned to the trousers that Harding had secured for her and the other three girls. It was hard for them to do the PT in their

 dresses. 

After struggling through a full day through everything they had to do, Harding took matters into his own hands and got them uniforms that were a little baggy for them but they worked. "Can't have emotions, we have to be steel magnolias, can't dress like a boy." 

"But." Lewis prodded, his hand rubbing down her back, his eyes on Dick, he wanted him to know his Olivia. Dick was starting to become important to him and he wanted them to be important to each other. And for that to happen, they need to know everything.

"But, Papa and Granddaddy, they think that I can do whatever I want. Does that make me and Marla a little spoiled and down the road little Katie? Absolutely. Because of them I climbed trees in dresses and chased after all of my brothers."

"James and her twin especially." "Jimmy was very proud, I got a letter from him yesterday actually. Said he was so proud of me for first facing my fears in flying."

Dick nodded his head, Lewis had come back from their last weekend pass drunk and proceeded to inform him about everything that had happened between him and Olivia and how he went down for her debutante ball. Then Olivia stopped his wedding to Kathy and their confessions and he flew with them to Charleston and spent the holidays with her and her family.

"And for joining the Nursing Corp. He would love to hear about that punch. He and Bobby have been on me to come out of my shell more and become who they know me as and who Lewis knows me to be."

The rest of what she wanted to say was cut off by Harding coming into the room and Lewis and Olivia separating, and the latter using the now crumpled handkerchief to wipe her cheeks off.

"You are going to stay in here for the time being Stewart, and Sanders is going to want to talk

 to you." 

"Yes, sir." She returned. 'Are you okay?" He asked, Michael had written to him once after he found that Alex was in charge of the girls and wanted to make sure she was okay. Like he knew that she was going to do this act. 

"If Uncle Michael wants to know, I am fine. Scarlett O'Hara front. He will know what that means." Harding nodded his head, "We will come and get you in a bit.” “Yes, sir.” She returned, lowering her eyes so he didn’t see her sadness and embarrassment. She hated that she lost her temper and took it out on Amber, regardless of if Amber deserved it or not.  “Don’t worry too much Liv, this is your first offense.” Lewis assured her, “They won’t throw the book at you just yet.” 

“Oh, real assuring Lew, thank you.” 

**

“Come in Lieutenant Stewart,” Captain Sanders said when he heard the knock on the frame of his door, the girl was standing in the doorway, already changed back into her normal white uniform for her nightly rounds in the hospital.  

“Sir.” She returned, stepping into the office after saluting him. 

“I am sorry about your brother, “Lieutenant Harding told me that you two were close.” 

“Yes, sir, he was 3 years older than me and my twin brother, so he was there for everything. Other than Bobby, James was my favorite.” She answered, “I know it’s not your job to care about that. I know I am here for punching Sargent Scott and breaking her nose.” 

Sanders had to hand it to her, she didn’t try and skirt around what she did to Amber like she had done. “It was 8 weeks of verbal abuse, she went through my belongings and read letters and journal entries. I warned her twice not to bring James or my family into it. She didn’t listen.’ Olivia shrugged her shoulders helplessly, “So I punched her. And I would do it again.” 

He swallowed his smile back, “You are going to have to latrine duty with Nixon and a few others for it, and we will mark it on your file. The next step is getting General Forbes involved and then.” 

“We are out of the program. Got it. Best behavior from here on out, sir.”  

[am4zon]

❝ --- I am sorry. ❞

Regret colors her cheeks rosy. A blunt tongue exempt of kindness is not one Diana ever wishes to speak with. Lost love has made her neither bitter nor wise, but it has broken her. It has stolen her gilded perception of the world and painted it in horrific shades. She carries ghosts in her chest where her heart should be. Everyday, she seems to collect more of them, yet it is him who haunts her the most all these years later. Steve. The first innocent she failed to save and the last innocent who would die because of her naivety. She loves him, still, and losing him stings, still.

She and Clark are still strangers in many ways. He knows not of her history, and there may be many more moons until she can find the words to share it with him. But she knows a thing or two about truth, and even more about love, which is all she needs to understand that Clark and Lois have souls entwined by the gods of old.

She who is made of love has never experienced a love quite like theirs. But she knows this: ❝ Every moment with her is worth every moment without. ❞

@wreporter / continued.