Collaboration with @silmarilz1701
Svetlana knew how to play the game. She'd been caught in the political drama of Stalin's inner circle since birth. The only child of one of Stalin's closest friends, she grew up in the limelight, scrutinized by frie...
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MY TONGUE IS A WEAPON
This one in our outline is literally called "Sveta the bomb." In the days leading up to Operation Varsity, Sveta's grown increasingly paranoid and angry. All of the memories of Beria's stalking in Russia are coming to a head. Sveta is convinced that Beria has a spy somewhere, but no one is there to listen and she's definitely not going to tell Zhanna. Even were someone willing to hear Sveta out, she probably wouldn't tell them, too afraid.
Unfortunately for everyone, Sveta's right. The chapter starts with the blonde war correspondent interviewing Easy's men. Sveta is tired of hearing their voices so she goes inside to her room. As she walks inside, she sees a full bouquet of roses and smells a very specifically Soviet perfume called Krasnaya Moskva. Full on panicking, she goes to check the bouquet and finds a note. All it says is "Svetochka" but that's enough for Sveta to know with little doubt that Beria is stalking her even here through a spy. She has intense flashbacks and is thoroughly in PTSD trauma mode.
That's the moment Zhanna accidentally chooses to walk in on her. Feeling totally alone, she falls into the mindset of a wounded, cornered, wild animal and lashes out at Zhanna. She lashes out at her for betraying Sveta's trust, for not caring about the Motherland, for not being a true Russian, and all the other accusations that she knows will hurt Zhanna. Sveta's panic and isolation turns her into an exploding powder keg. Completely blind-sided, Zhanna leaves Sveta's room and Sveta is left alone with Beria's threat.
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...a soft place to fall...
AdamantiumDragonfly
Far from the experimental branch of the military, the Airborne had quickly sprung into fame. The men involved were now entitled to some kind of prestige that, in Dick's opinion, inflated their heads more than anything. The weight of their own pride would make it difficult for their chutes to slow their fall.
While Dick endeavored to keep his paratroopers humble, it didn't really matter. Dick wasn't in the day-to-day operations of Easy Company anymore, something that pained him greatly. They were led by Speirs, a worthy candidate, and while Dick trusted his men and his company with the captain, watching them march outside his window was a constant reminder. Easy Company, like a child who had grown up, didn't need him anymore.
