Vatheon Application
[ Player Name ] : Aster
[ Personal LJ ] : firemirage
[ Age ] : 19
[ Timezone ] : Pacific
[ Other Characters ] : slyhandmonk, suzakubandit
[ Character's Name ] : Sven Vollfied
[ Character's Age ] : 31
[ Series ] : Black Cat
[ Canon Point ] : Post The Final Chapter
[ History ] :
At about the age of 23, Sven was an investigator of the International Investigation Department. He worked to put criminals and thugs away based on what crime scenes were left at their aging wake. He came off somewhat distant at first glance, and even a bit too serious for someone his age. The only real connection he had was with a friend named Lloyd who worked in the same field. Being in this business one can expect a sticky situation to occur, and one did.
One night some thugs approached Sven in a group while he let his guard down. It was merely a distraction as another came from behind and knocked him out. The blow was heavy enough to ruin the sight in his right eye, and knock him out. The next thing he knew, he was in a warehouse of some sort confined to a pole. Lloyd came to his rescue knowing he would die in the process. In exchange for his life, Lloyd used his body as shield so Sven could bring his foes down to make an escape. Later he told Lloyd that if he knew, he shouldn't have done it.
Thus Sven visits his grave every year, Lloyd's right eye donated to him and now a memento of their friendship to the very end (and past that.) During a scene, Sven mentions to himself "I can't let his dream die." Believing that he was given this power, the vision eye, to protect people from events that he had experienced.
Two years later he register to become a sweeper, otherwise known as a bounty hunter. Traveling the world where his next bounty takes him. It's to my belief that he chose this profession thinking it was the best way to rid the world of wrong and protect those who have no part in harms way from criminals. It's only three years after that, he meets his newest partner.
In Goat Town - Sven was in town looking for leads while he was getting food. Enter Train being all badass, riding in from his motorcycle with a daring gaze. THEN! Collapse! He fell over due to STARVATION! Sven simply stares at him all "..."-like and asks if he's okay.
Sven feeds Train and saves him from his empty stomach illness. They exchange a few words and Sven learns that Train has only been a Sweeper for three months. Furthermore, he isn't very useful, as he's only been 'touring the world' on his bike. Sven's mouth gaped a bit at that. In addition, Sven informs him that if he isn't serious about sweeping, he should quit. He then explains the history of an A-Class bounty for a reality effect.
At this time it is revealed that Sven at the age of 28. He claimed he has been sweeping for three years.
Sven goes to the base, leaving behind Train with lunch as parting gift. When he gets there he is ambushed by Parodem's gang because the citizens of Goat Town ratted him out. Train follows not far behind Sven and just as Sven was about to resort to his Vision Eye, Train crashes in with his bike. During this process he takes out each of the thugs (without killing them of course) and neutralize the situation.
Train's bike got thrashed in the process. Train relays to Sven that killing isn't what he's about. Something about this stirs Sven, and he offers a ride to Train, and Train takes him up on this offer. Three days after that, they became partners!
The story stuff.
[ Personality ] :
Sven follows his own brand of chivalry. "Be kind to women, children, and the weak." He will make an exception to this if the women are dangerous and pose a threat toward him. The best example of this is toward the beginning of the series when Rinslet tried to play him and Train. When Train went off to go handle the thugs, Sven took a complete 180 in his attitude and began interrogating her. Sven is also not quick to trust other people, especially if they carry suspicious traits that makes him question their actions and overall behavior. Although, despite his constant alertness, Sven doesn't appear to be paranoid in sense where he can't think clearly when he needs to.
Sven was more industrialized before Lloyd's death. Only doing what his job demanded of him to put criminals behind bars where they belonged. He was a bit stale and though, soft. Not very aware of things around him. Perhaps it was his own ignorance that lead to his demise that night, or a miracle in disguise. Either way, after the death of his former partner and best friend, Sven adopted a new goal. Beginning the start of a new journey to help protect others with the power given to him by his friend. It was a strong growth in his character and part of what made him today. A different part of what made him is also the small realization of something so small when he spoke with Train. A realization that you can protect without killing, and that anything possible when you set your mind to it. In this they bonded fast.
As Train's partner, and his own personal gain (perhaps.) Sven doesn't aim to kill when he fights his opponents. Like Train he only aims to apprehend them after they've been rendered vulnerable. It's relayed several times thorough the series that a sweeper's job is not to kill the target, but to capture them. He lives by this code too and doesn't kill anyone he fights even if they wish to kill him. Accompanied with this is Sven's desire to be an admirable partner in battle. He is a aware that Train surpasses him in skill and such. This, however, does not weakened his demeanor.
In all this time, Sven has restricted his ability and kept himself from becoming stronger in the fear of his own weakness. As the series progressed he learned that it was more than just about sweeping when it came to apprehending Creed. It was about surviving. As Train's partner, Eve's protector, and the will to become stronger it was shown that before the deadline to face Creed - Sven trained for nine days straight with the help of Rinslet. He push his body and his eye to its limits. Born from that was the development of his Vision eye, his durability, and his passion to help Train where ever they may go. That is loyalty at its finest.
Something notable about his appearance is the fact that he always has a cigarette. Sven is an incredibly heavy smoker. He'll have a one after every bounty, or job in general. You could even call him a chain smoker for that matter, since seldom will you see him without a cancer stick. He doesn't seem to be without one at any point. Much like his beloved fedora. He seems to be very much attached to such a hat that he even carries around spares. When Dr. Tearju spilled burnt omelet on his hat he retreated for one panel, only to be shown the next couple over with a new one.
Since he use to be investigator of the International Investigation Department, everything Sven does is done with caution. He's very accustomed to living his life as if he's always in danger. He kind of is since his partner is The Black Cat, and the two travel abroad catching bounties. Sven is also attuned to what's going on around him. Always vigilant and observant, he's pays attention to everything. If someone is stalking him, he'll know about it, or if he's being watched he'll know about that too. Nothing suspicious gets past him when he's alert.
Sven likes to handle situations thoughtfully and well in advanced. Also, Sven is the type to do his research before conjuring up any plan of the sort. If he can help it, everything is planned. He also likes to take the simple routes when available. Always plagued with debt he does he very best to apprehend his targets as soon as possible as quickly as possible so he can move onto the next one. Of course he'll resort to the more complicated option if he absolutely has to, but often he will do what's best for him and his partners.
If it's one thing that can completely annihilate his profession composure, it is Train! Together their personality traits clash now and then. While Sven likes to be quick and clean, Train prefers the more thrilling approach. Because of this Sven ends up chewing out or blowing up at Train for his reckless behavior. This generally leads the two sweepers losing their prey and thus causes Sven to harp on Train about their debt.
Additionally to this. Sven is the responsible one of the group (as well as the oldest.) He looks out for everyone else and sees to it that their safety comes before his own. Train he doesn't worry as much though it's still there. However, his over protective behavior makes him a little blind about Eve's feelings. He's keen on keeping her safe and out of danger even though she insists to help. This makes him blind to her feelings as a whole, and it's shown a few times over the series that he's not quick to learn from it. With this he is also oblivious to Eve's constant attempts to gain attention from him (which leads her to be Trains rival in that regard.)
Furthermore, he is also very protective. Possibly over protective. This mostly regards his concern towards Eve (and other children.) He will go out of his way to protect, even when it's not necessary. He treats her like his daughter in fact. Always concerned for her safety and thinking about her well being. He does this with Train to, though not as obvious and not as lovingly. While he does get angry at Train and even sulks about it from time to time, he can't stay mad at the guy.
[ Strengths/Weaknesses ] :
Strengths:
Sven has donated cornea (from his friend Lloyd) called the Grasper Eye, formally known as the Vision Eye, but far more developed. He can slow anything within his field of range to 'slow motion' for about five seconds. It gives him a hefty advantage in battle of being able to dodge practically anything in sight. Additionally unlike the vision eye, the grasper eye is much less draining on him. He can use it for a longer period of time without passing out shortly after. It's a much better advantage in battle than the vision eye and something he has actually come to rely on only when the situation calls for it.
Sven is smart and innovative. Coming up with new things is something he's good at. He's a self proclaimed Clever Weapons engineer, and he has earned the title rightfully. Sven has come up with things such as ammo, smoke bombs, knock-out spray. Even his attache is a weapon to be dealt with things such as a missile launcher, a electrocuting wire, machine gun, and even a high water pressure cutter. His weapons are incredibly versatile, and even his ammo varies between different functions. He may not use his own functions as much as Train, but he does utilize his attache a lot.
He is incredibly sturdy for only being human. Toward the beginning of the series before Eve became an ally, she put a hole right through him. Despite loosing as much blood as he did that could have killed him if he lost anymore. He was able to regain consciousness in less than 12 hours. Hell he could even move around and fire a gun for that matter. So even with serious wounds it's not incapacitation, just slightly handicapped. His huge durability makes him a hard target to take down, and partnered with Train they're team to be dealt with.
This sweeper is exceptionally competent and vigilant. He's keen to detail and seemingly always on the look out. Sven is skilled in being able to tell whether or not he's being followed. He can even tell if the stalker is a professional or an armature. It's just as difficult to sneak up on him or catch him off guard. Disguises do little to fool him and he can generally tell when one is acting. Perhaps it's because his former profession, and his new one. While not overly shown, he can pick up clues and figure things out if given enough proof and time.
He doesn't let his past way him down and everyday he works at becoming stronger. Sven has a strong desire to protect the people he cares for, he even works to protect people he doesn't know just as Train and Eve do. His emotional state is strong and confident. It takes a lot to get him down, and he's hard to corner. For Train as a partner, he has little to worry about and his only real stress seems to be debt. Even then his money worries dwindle by the end of the series.
Weaknesses:
While his Grasper Eye is not as much as a weakness as his Vision Eye, it was still noted that accelerating his body takes a toll. Also because it's not something he wants to wildly advertise, as someone could probably figure out a weakness for it. Having said that he seldom uses it, and even though he has mastered it's ability Sven still hides it behind his trademark eye patch.
His chivalry is a weakness all in it's own. While people can't play him with this, he still falls a little soft if one becomes a hostage or something to that extent. This is more or less a situational weakness as it doesn't always apply but it still exists. It's not as if he hides his chivalry either. Sven makes it rather clear, so it may one day be easily taken advantage of.
Sweeper or not. Strong or weak, nothing excuses the fact that he is still capable of dying just like everyone else. He is not immune to any one thing and his injuries, if fatal enough, can kill him. Of course landing such a hit will take little more than some effort, but it's by no means impossible. Given his profession he faces danger every day. The fact that he has such weaknesses may have lead him to build the things he does. His attache is practically an 'all purpose' use of attacking with things you would never expect it to have.
Sometimes Sven lets his emotions get the better of him. While he's sensible, smart, strong, and even reliable. His human emotions cause him to do some pretty stupid things even if he does come out of it alive. Much like when Sven just had to see Eve one more time. Train didn't want him to risk his life twice in one day. The only way Train would agree to Sven accompanying him was if he Russian Roulette Train's hand. (Which he did without hesitation .)
[ Other Important Facts ] :
[ Sample ] :
Sven's first response to his new situation was not to draw attention to himself. He knew better than that. When he awoke in this strange place he immediately looked into everything. Surely enough his scoping paid off, for he found this strange communication device that resembled that of a phone. It wasn't far off from where he awoke. Several things struck him as odd. The fact that he was surrounded by water, the lack of sun light, the fact that he was wet, and this strange fairy thing that accompanied him. "Hn." Sven fiddled with the device, learning how to use its functions. Surely enough he found a couple of things. One of which was a contact list.
Quietly the sweeper skimmed through the list and a few names painted him familiar. Kyoko. He wondered if it was the same one who promised his partner she would no longer kill. Then Train Heartnet himself. If his partner was in this contact list, he could have been here, but there was no guarantee. Nevertheless, he kept it in mind. Lastly Saya. She was supposed to be dead, wasn't she? So why was her name displayed too? Sven found it highly unlikely that both he AND Train could be abducted like this, and where was Eve during all of this? It didn't sit right with him at all.
"It can't be Creed..." How mind-boggling? Should he call the number in this phone titled "Train"? It could have been an elaborate trap for all he knew, but he didn't know anyone with a big enough grudge to go through all this trouble. Not even bounty wise. "I don't like the looks of this." He mumbled to himself as he glanced around for a second observation. The sweeper leaned over and picked his wet fedora up from the ground. Maybe what did this wasn't human, though his possibilities weren't annoyingly limited.
[ Questions? Comments? Concerns? ] : N/A
[ Personal LJ ] : firemirage
[ Age ] : 19
[ Timezone ] : Pacific
[ Other Characters ] : slyhandmonk, suzakubandit
[ Character's Name ] : Sven Vollfied
[ Character's Age ] : 31
[ Series ] : Black Cat
[ Canon Point ] : Post The Final Chapter
[ History ] :
At about the age of 23, Sven was an investigator of the International Investigation Department. He worked to put criminals and thugs away based on what crime scenes were left at their aging wake. He came off somewhat distant at first glance, and even a bit too serious for someone his age. The only real connection he had was with a friend named Lloyd who worked in the same field. Being in this business one can expect a sticky situation to occur, and one did.
One night some thugs approached Sven in a group while he let his guard down. It was merely a distraction as another came from behind and knocked him out. The blow was heavy enough to ruin the sight in his right eye, and knock him out. The next thing he knew, he was in a warehouse of some sort confined to a pole. Lloyd came to his rescue knowing he would die in the process. In exchange for his life, Lloyd used his body as shield so Sven could bring his foes down to make an escape. Later he told Lloyd that if he knew, he shouldn't have done it.
Thus Sven visits his grave every year, Lloyd's right eye donated to him and now a memento of their friendship to the very end (and past that.) During a scene, Sven mentions to himself "I can't let his dream die." Believing that he was given this power, the vision eye, to protect people from events that he had experienced.
Two years later he register to become a sweeper, otherwise known as a bounty hunter. Traveling the world where his next bounty takes him. It's to my belief that he chose this profession thinking it was the best way to rid the world of wrong and protect those who have no part in harms way from criminals. It's only three years after that, he meets his newest partner.
In Goat Town - Sven was in town looking for leads while he was getting food. Enter Train being all badass, riding in from his motorcycle with a daring gaze. THEN! Collapse! He fell over due to STARVATION! Sven simply stares at him all "..."-like and asks if he's okay.
Sven feeds Train and saves him from his empty stomach illness. They exchange a few words and Sven learns that Train has only been a Sweeper for three months. Furthermore, he isn't very useful, as he's only been 'touring the world' on his bike. Sven's mouth gaped a bit at that. In addition, Sven informs him that if he isn't serious about sweeping, he should quit. He then explains the history of an A-Class bounty for a reality effect.
At this time it is revealed that Sven at the age of 28. He claimed he has been sweeping for three years.
Sven goes to the base, leaving behind Train with lunch as parting gift. When he gets there he is ambushed by Parodem's gang because the citizens of Goat Town ratted him out. Train follows not far behind Sven and just as Sven was about to resort to his Vision Eye, Train crashes in with his bike. During this process he takes out each of the thugs (without killing them of course) and neutralize the situation.
Train's bike got thrashed in the process. Train relays to Sven that killing isn't what he's about. Something about this stirs Sven, and he offers a ride to Train, and Train takes him up on this offer. Three days after that, they became partners!
The story stuff.
[ Personality ] :
Sven follows his own brand of chivalry. "Be kind to women, children, and the weak." He will make an exception to this if the women are dangerous and pose a threat toward him. The best example of this is toward the beginning of the series when Rinslet tried to play him and Train. When Train went off to go handle the thugs, Sven took a complete 180 in his attitude and began interrogating her. Sven is also not quick to trust other people, especially if they carry suspicious traits that makes him question their actions and overall behavior. Although, despite his constant alertness, Sven doesn't appear to be paranoid in sense where he can't think clearly when he needs to.
Sven was more industrialized before Lloyd's death. Only doing what his job demanded of him to put criminals behind bars where they belonged. He was a bit stale and though, soft. Not very aware of things around him. Perhaps it was his own ignorance that lead to his demise that night, or a miracle in disguise. Either way, after the death of his former partner and best friend, Sven adopted a new goal. Beginning the start of a new journey to help protect others with the power given to him by his friend. It was a strong growth in his character and part of what made him today. A different part of what made him is also the small realization of something so small when he spoke with Train. A realization that you can protect without killing, and that anything possible when you set your mind to it. In this they bonded fast.
As Train's partner, and his own personal gain (perhaps.) Sven doesn't aim to kill when he fights his opponents. Like Train he only aims to apprehend them after they've been rendered vulnerable. It's relayed several times thorough the series that a sweeper's job is not to kill the target, but to capture them. He lives by this code too and doesn't kill anyone he fights even if they wish to kill him. Accompanied with this is Sven's desire to be an admirable partner in battle. He is a aware that Train surpasses him in skill and such. This, however, does not weakened his demeanor.
In all this time, Sven has restricted his ability and kept himself from becoming stronger in the fear of his own weakness. As the series progressed he learned that it was more than just about sweeping when it came to apprehending Creed. It was about surviving. As Train's partner, Eve's protector, and the will to become stronger it was shown that before the deadline to face Creed - Sven trained for nine days straight with the help of Rinslet. He push his body and his eye to its limits. Born from that was the development of his Vision eye, his durability, and his passion to help Train where ever they may go. That is loyalty at its finest.
Something notable about his appearance is the fact that he always has a cigarette. Sven is an incredibly heavy smoker. He'll have a one after every bounty, or job in general. You could even call him a chain smoker for that matter, since seldom will you see him without a cancer stick. He doesn't seem to be without one at any point. Much like his beloved fedora. He seems to be very much attached to such a hat that he even carries around spares. When Dr. Tearju spilled burnt omelet on his hat he retreated for one panel, only to be shown the next couple over with a new one.
Since he use to be investigator of the International Investigation Department, everything Sven does is done with caution. He's very accustomed to living his life as if he's always in danger. He kind of is since his partner is The Black Cat, and the two travel abroad catching bounties. Sven is also attuned to what's going on around him. Always vigilant and observant, he's pays attention to everything. If someone is stalking him, he'll know about it, or if he's being watched he'll know about that too. Nothing suspicious gets past him when he's alert.
Sven likes to handle situations thoughtfully and well in advanced. Also, Sven is the type to do his research before conjuring up any plan of the sort. If he can help it, everything is planned. He also likes to take the simple routes when available. Always plagued with debt he does he very best to apprehend his targets as soon as possible as quickly as possible so he can move onto the next one. Of course he'll resort to the more complicated option if he absolutely has to, but often he will do what's best for him and his partners.
If it's one thing that can completely annihilate his profession composure, it is Train! Together their personality traits clash now and then. While Sven likes to be quick and clean, Train prefers the more thrilling approach. Because of this Sven ends up chewing out or blowing up at Train for his reckless behavior. This generally leads the two sweepers losing their prey and thus causes Sven to harp on Train about their debt.
Additionally to this. Sven is the responsible one of the group (as well as the oldest.) He looks out for everyone else and sees to it that their safety comes before his own. Train he doesn't worry as much though it's still there. However, his over protective behavior makes him a little blind about Eve's feelings. He's keen on keeping her safe and out of danger even though she insists to help. This makes him blind to her feelings as a whole, and it's shown a few times over the series that he's not quick to learn from it. With this he is also oblivious to Eve's constant attempts to gain attention from him (which leads her to be Trains rival in that regard.)
Furthermore, he is also very protective. Possibly over protective. This mostly regards his concern towards Eve (and other children.) He will go out of his way to protect, even when it's not necessary. He treats her like his daughter in fact. Always concerned for her safety and thinking about her well being. He does this with Train to, though not as obvious and not as lovingly. While he does get angry at Train and even sulks about it from time to time, he can't stay mad at the guy.
[ Strengths/Weaknesses ] :
Strengths:
Sven has donated cornea (from his friend Lloyd) called the Grasper Eye, formally known as the Vision Eye, but far more developed. He can slow anything within his field of range to 'slow motion' for about five seconds. It gives him a hefty advantage in battle of being able to dodge practically anything in sight. Additionally unlike the vision eye, the grasper eye is much less draining on him. He can use it for a longer period of time without passing out shortly after. It's a much better advantage in battle than the vision eye and something he has actually come to rely on only when the situation calls for it.
Sven is smart and innovative. Coming up with new things is something he's good at. He's a self proclaimed Clever Weapons engineer, and he has earned the title rightfully. Sven has come up with things such as ammo, smoke bombs, knock-out spray. Even his attache is a weapon to be dealt with things such as a missile launcher, a electrocuting wire, machine gun, and even a high water pressure cutter. His weapons are incredibly versatile, and even his ammo varies between different functions. He may not use his own functions as much as Train, but he does utilize his attache a lot.
He is incredibly sturdy for only being human. Toward the beginning of the series before Eve became an ally, she put a hole right through him. Despite loosing as much blood as he did that could have killed him if he lost anymore. He was able to regain consciousness in less than 12 hours. Hell he could even move around and fire a gun for that matter. So even with serious wounds it's not incapacitation, just slightly handicapped. His huge durability makes him a hard target to take down, and partnered with Train they're team to be dealt with.
This sweeper is exceptionally competent and vigilant. He's keen to detail and seemingly always on the look out. Sven is skilled in being able to tell whether or not he's being followed. He can even tell if the stalker is a professional or an armature. It's just as difficult to sneak up on him or catch him off guard. Disguises do little to fool him and he can generally tell when one is acting. Perhaps it's because his former profession, and his new one. While not overly shown, he can pick up clues and figure things out if given enough proof and time.
He doesn't let his past way him down and everyday he works at becoming stronger. Sven has a strong desire to protect the people he cares for, he even works to protect people he doesn't know just as Train and Eve do. His emotional state is strong and confident. It takes a lot to get him down, and he's hard to corner. For Train as a partner, he has little to worry about and his only real stress seems to be debt. Even then his money worries dwindle by the end of the series.
Weaknesses:
While his Grasper Eye is not as much as a weakness as his Vision Eye, it was still noted that accelerating his body takes a toll. Also because it's not something he wants to wildly advertise, as someone could probably figure out a weakness for it. Having said that he seldom uses it, and even though he has mastered it's ability Sven still hides it behind his trademark eye patch.
His chivalry is a weakness all in it's own. While people can't play him with this, he still falls a little soft if one becomes a hostage or something to that extent. This is more or less a situational weakness as it doesn't always apply but it still exists. It's not as if he hides his chivalry either. Sven makes it rather clear, so it may one day be easily taken advantage of.
Sweeper or not. Strong or weak, nothing excuses the fact that he is still capable of dying just like everyone else. He is not immune to any one thing and his injuries, if fatal enough, can kill him. Of course landing such a hit will take little more than some effort, but it's by no means impossible. Given his profession he faces danger every day. The fact that he has such weaknesses may have lead him to build the things he does. His attache is practically an 'all purpose' use of attacking with things you would never expect it to have.
Sometimes Sven lets his emotions get the better of him. While he's sensible, smart, strong, and even reliable. His human emotions cause him to do some pretty stupid things even if he does come out of it alive. Much like when Sven just had to see Eve one more time. Train didn't want him to risk his life twice in one day. The only way Train would agree to Sven accompanying him was if he Russian Roulette Train's hand. (Which he did without hesitation .)
[ Other Important Facts ] :
- Sven is actually a good cook.
- His left eye is hazel-brown, and his right eye is a soft green.
- He's a self-styled ladies man, not a womanizer.
- Nagging Train is his show of affection. ♥
- Sven makes a great father figure.
[ Sample ] :
Sven's first response to his new situation was not to draw attention to himself. He knew better than that. When he awoke in this strange place he immediately looked into everything. Surely enough his scoping paid off, for he found this strange communication device that resembled that of a phone. It wasn't far off from where he awoke. Several things struck him as odd. The fact that he was surrounded by water, the lack of sun light, the fact that he was wet, and this strange fairy thing that accompanied him. "Hn." Sven fiddled with the device, learning how to use its functions. Surely enough he found a couple of things. One of which was a contact list.
Quietly the sweeper skimmed through the list and a few names painted him familiar. Kyoko. He wondered if it was the same one who promised his partner she would no longer kill. Then Train Heartnet himself. If his partner was in this contact list, he could have been here, but there was no guarantee. Nevertheless, he kept it in mind. Lastly Saya. She was supposed to be dead, wasn't she? So why was her name displayed too? Sven found it highly unlikely that both he AND Train could be abducted like this, and where was Eve during all of this? It didn't sit right with him at all.
"It can't be Creed..." How mind-boggling? Should he call the number in this phone titled "Train"? It could have been an elaborate trap for all he knew, but he didn't know anyone with a big enough grudge to go through all this trouble. Not even bounty wise. "I don't like the looks of this." He mumbled to himself as he glanced around for a second observation. The sweeper leaned over and picked his wet fedora up from the ground. Maybe what did this wasn't human, though his possibilities weren't annoyingly limited.
[ Questions? Comments? Concerns? ] : N/A