#day 45

la perle la perle la perle la perle

Ceasefire Day 45 | Day 83 Iran War (Operation Epic Fury / Operation Roaring Lion) - May 22, 2026

1. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier on Thursday there were “some good signs” for a deal.

2. US President Donald Trump warned of “very drastic” action if Iran does not give up its uranium stockpiles.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranians are reviewing the latest U.S. proposal to end the nearly three-month US-Israel war on Iran.

4. Israel continued its air strike targeting Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure in south Lebanon.

5. CENTCOM continues to strictly enforce the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, with American forces redirecting 94 ships and disabling four to ensure full compliance.

Updated cumulative deaths/injuries/displaced people in Iran War as of May 22, 2026:

Iran (3,636-6,000+/26,500+/ 3,200,000), Israel (51/8,618), US (15/538), Lebanon (3,042/9,301/ 1,050,000+), Hezbollah / PMF (1900+), UAE (13/227), Kuwait (10/115), Bahrain (3/42), Iraq/PMF (119+/361), Oman (3/17), Saudi Arabia (3/29), Jordan (0/29), Qatar (0/20); Turkey (3/0); Syria (4/1); Azerbaijan (0/4); Palestine West Bank (14/15); Kurdistan (18/93); UNIFIL in Lebanon (2 French, 4 Indonesians death/11 injured); Southeast Asian Workers: Philippines (2/0), Bangladesh (2/1), Pakistan (1 death), Nepal (1 death), France (1/7); Chinese national (1 death in Iran); Seafarers: India nationals: (4/0) Indonesian (2/1 missing); Iranian sailors (87/32, 61 missing from US submarine sinking of IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka).

Drift, however, was a victim of the poor system of the functionists, living on the streets. He wasn’t pristine white (like Wing), he couldn’t just leave the planet on a whim (not like he would have wanted to), and he definitely wasn’t blind to the misdeeds of the senate. Not to say Wing wasn’t, but experiencing and knowing are very different things.

The point is that, before the war, the chance that these two would have ever crossed paths would be extremely low, never mind being friends. But, now that the wars happening, the lines are blurred, and now most of the Cybertronians are now of equal standing. Drift and Wing, opposites of the system, are now of equal standing. Though not to say that the prejudice was gone.

Drift probably met Wing expecting him to be uptight, insensitive, or maybe even arrogant in a way because he came across as high-caste (and, in his eyes, perhaps even a functionist (because neutral). However, he soon got proven wrong and found that Wing was the complete opposite.

Because a lot of the neutrals were high-cast and/or functionists (or at least I like to think so), I imagine meeting Wing knocked Drift off course. Wing didn’t disregard his feelings, didn’t judge him for being on the streets, his only issue was the destruction of Cybertron through the violent acts of the war.

It would probably have been a shock to Drift as well seeing a city of Cybertronian culture without the functionist regime, with many bots being against the senate and there ways despite not being victims of it themselves. Seeing a society that he probably dreamed of coming true.

Drift probably couldn’t fully accept the City as it was as it probably reminded him of all the things out of his grasp, which is why he hated the idea of it at first. Wing made Drift accept it, showing Drift that this luxury wasn’t out of his grasp, wasn’t even meant to be a luxury, but the norm.

I imagine they both gave each other valuable lessons because of their different backgrounds, and they are now experiencing and seeing Cybertron differently. One seeing its flaws and consequences on a more personal level, the other learning that not everyone was against them, not all of pre-war was bad.

Drift taught Wing to understand his situation more, to understand why the old Cybertron wasn’t as perfect as many believe, as many were blind too. That the old Cybertron was flawed and needed to be changed, in more ways than Wing probably understood until meeting Drift. To understand why the war/revolution was necessary (to an extent), considering he called the war efforts ‘ideological’ when they both first met.

Wing taught Drift to not judge people by their cover, to not clump people together because of their background. Wing showed Drift that there were good parts of Cybertron, that not everything had to be gained by violence. That Cybertronian culture was good but was tainted (a taint that Wing himself wished were gone, that many were against).

Anyway what I’m trying to say is that these two came together despite their differences, and changed for the better because of each other. It’s a relationship that could have only happened during wartime, a relationship that allowed each other to grow and let go of past prejudice, to become better people (to become more understanding of each other, and of their situations and/or past).