#China buying agent

[chinabuyingagent]

China Sourcing Agent, China Products Sourcing, China Inspection Agent, and China Supply Chain Management

[dolphinyw8]

Benefits of Hiring a Yiwu Buying Agent for Sourcing Products from China

When it comes to sourcing products from China, particularly from the bustling market of Yiwu, hiring a china yiwu buying agent can offer numerous benefits to foreign buyers. These agents play a crucial role in facilitating the sourcing process and ensuring a smooth experience for businesses looking to import goods from China.

Expertise and Market Knowledge

One of the primary benefits of hiring a Yiwu buying agent is their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the Chinese market. These agents are well-versed in the intricacies of sourcing products from Yiwu, including understanding local suppliers, navigating cultural nuances, and staying updated on market trends. Their experience can help foreign buyers make informed decisions and avoid common pitfalls associated with sourcing from China.

Cost-Effectiveness

Another significant advantage of working with a Yiwu buying agent is cost-effectiveness. These agents can negotiate prices with suppliers on behalf of their clients, ensuring that they get the best deals possible. By leveraging their relationships with local suppliers and understanding market dynamics, buying agents can help businesses save money in the long run.

Quality Control and Assurance

Ensuring product quality is paramount when sourcing goods from overseas. Yiwu buying agents play a crucial role in quality control by conducting factory inspections, monitoring production processes, and verifying product specifications. By overseeing these aspects, buying agents help maintain quality standards and reduce the risk of receiving subpar or defective products.

Efficient Communication and Logistics Management

Effective communication is key to successful sourcing operations, especially when dealing with language barriers and cultural differences. Yiwu buying agents act as intermediaries between foreign buyers and local suppliers, facilitating clear communication and ensuring that requirements are accurately conveyed. Additionally, these agents assist in managing logistics, including shipping arrangements, customs clearance, and delivery coordination, streamlining the entire procurement process.

Time-Saving Benefits

Sourcing products from China can be a time-consuming endeavor, particularly for businesses unfamiliar with the market landscape. By engaging a Yiwu buying agent, companies can save valuable time that would otherwise be spent on supplier research, negotiations, and logistical arrangements. Buying agents expedite the sourcing process by leveraging their networks and expertise to efficiently locate suitable suppliers and streamline procurement activities.

Risk Mitigation

Importing goods from overseas inherently involves risks such as product quality issues, delays in delivery, or miscommunications with suppliers. Yiwu buying agents help mitigate these risks by providing professional guidance throughout the sourcing process. From conducting due diligence on suppliers to overseeing production timelines, these agents work to minimize potential risks and ensure a smoother importing experience for their clients.

Peace of Mind

Ultimately, hiring a Yiwu buying agent offers peace of mind to foreign buyers seeking to source products from China. With an experienced agent handling various aspects of the procurement process, businesses can focus on core operations without worrying about the complexities of international sourcing. Buying agents provide reassurance that orders are being managed professionally and efficiently, leading to a more seamless importing experience.

FAQs:

1. How Can a China Yiwu Buying Agent Benefit My Business? A China Yiwu buying agent can streamline the sourcing process by leveraging their expertise in the Yiwu market, ensuring efficient supplier selection, negotiation, and quality control.

2. What Services Does a China Yiwu Buying Agent Provide? China Yiwu buying agents offer a range of services including market research, supplier identification, price negotiation, sample procurement, quality inspection, and logistics support.

3. How Does Hiring a China Yiwu Market Agent Save Time and Resources? By outsourcing sourcing tasks to a China Yiwu market agent, businesses save valuable time and resources that would otherwise be spent on researching suppliers, negotiating deals, and managing logistics independently.

4. Can a China Yiwu Buying Agent Help with Language and Cultural Barriers? Yes, China Yiwu buying agents are fluent in both Mandarin and English, bridging communication gaps between international buyers and local suppliers, thus minimizing misunderstandings and cultural barriers.

5. Are There Cost Savings Associated with Using a China Yiwu Market Agent? Yes, China Yiwu market agents often have established relationships with suppliers, allowing them to negotiate favorable prices and terms on behalf of their clients, resulting in potential cost savings.

[solutionssupplybase]

A China sourcing agent is your single point of contact for managing your international supply chain needs. Whether your organization is new to importing products from China or requires specialist products in large quantities, a sourcing firm may make your life much easier. To know more visit our website.

[elaine19day]

To those who are confused as to where and how to buy OldXian's new artbook and merchandise, let me try to break it down for you.

A few days ago, OldXian announced the pre-sale of their new artbook which comes in two versions.

Variant A (regular) includes: - the new artbook - a poster - 2x postcards

Variant B (deluxe edition) includes: - the new artbook - a poster - 2x postcards - 4x buttons - a shishiki board - a sticker sheet - a 24 page booklet

Furthermore there's two new acrylic standees which can be purchased separately. A tianshan and a zhanyi version.

The cost of these items is as follows: Artbook (version A): 89 Yuan [roughly: 13 USD | 12 Euro | 10 GBP] Artbook (version B): 189 Yuan [roughly: 27 USD | 25 Euro 21 GBP] Acrylic Standee: 49 Yuan (each) [roughly: 7 USD | 7 Euro | 6 GBP]

All of these items are available for purchase in their taobao store now, under this link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?ft=t&id=786971367604

But if you have trouble creating a taobao account or your country isn't on the (very short) taobao shipping list [China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand] then you have several other options to get your hands on these new items.

1. You could use aliexpress, koonbooks or any other China-based shopping app/website to buy these things from a 3rd party seller.

Now, keep in mind that these sellers obviously want to make a profit, so you will pay more than in the original taobao shop. However, on the plus side, they usually offer free shipping, which is nice considering that items like artbooks are heavy and shipping costs are based on weight, so if you pay over, some of that money also goes towards covering the shipping costs, which is not bad.

The risk of ordering with such a website is obviously that the independent seller could turn out to be a scammer and keep your money and not send you the goods. I have no idea about koonbook's policies, however in the case of aliexpress you are at least protected by such practices and should you not receive what you paid for, you will be refunded and get your money back.

Also keep in mind that the artbook and merch is still in production at this point! But Old Xian said the merch will be shipped out BEFORE May 20th. That's less than 4 weeks from now.

That being said - in some cases the merch will be cheaper on aliexpress after official ship-out, because there will be more people offering it, competing for best prices.

However there's obviously also a risk that the deluxe edition will sell out before that or that these re-sellers only ship the artbook itself with none of the extras.

Here's two links where you can have a look at potential resellers, but carefully think about all the pro's and con's I gave you before you consider to buy. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006893284852.html https://koonbooks.com/products/old-xian-19-days-art-collection-3-chinese?variant=46493038674166 2.

The other option you have is using a taobao shopping agent. If you google that, you'll find dozens of websites offering their services. I myself have used parcelup, 42agent and superbuy before. Here's links to all of them: https://www.superbuy.com/ https://parcelup.com/ https://www.42agent.com/ What all of these agents have in common is that you need to create an account BEFORE you can start searching and shopping. All you need for that is a valid email address. I'll show how it works with superbuy screenshots here. After you signed up, you can copy the taobao-link I gave you earlier and paste it into the search-field.

What will come up is an embedded view of the taobao listing where you can pick which variant you want and then add it to your shopping cart.

Once you have added everything you want, click on the shopping cart and simply follow all further payment instructions.

They will also ask you if you want them to keep the original packaging or if you want them to remove anything unnecessary and repack everything in order to make it weigh less so shipping will be cheaper. It's up to you. You will then be asked to pay for items, domestic shipping (so mosspaca studios can ship the goods to your agent's warehouse) and in some cases a service fee. For example, superbuy has no service fee, however they stopped offering paypal as payment method recently so you'd need a credit card or other online methods to pay for your order and everything. Parcelup, however, still offers paypal, but they also charge service fees. (They are fairly low though, if you ask me.) So after you paid for your goods, they will order the items for you and then you'll have to wait about 4-5 weeks for them to arrive, because keep in mind - like I said earlier - everything is still in production and Old Xian aims to ship everything out before the 20th of May. There's hundreds, if not thousands of parcels arriving to all agent's warehouses every day, so it will take them a few days to sort through things after your order arrives. You need to be patient!! They will get back to you with pictures of your order, trust me. When this happens you need to look at the pics and if everything is okay, you can reply to them to proceed. You will then be presented with shipping quotes. Usually they offer more than one shipping method and some are tracked, others are untracked, some will take only a week or two until they arrive at your doorstep, others will take 6 weeks or up to two months. Choose wisely which method you want and consider what is in your budget. (Obviously fast shipping with tracking is more expensive than slow shipping without it, however personally I'd always recommend a tracked service.) Just to give you an estimate on what to expect when it comes to international shipping - parcels with that amount of merch and weight, will always cost me about 50 USD or more to ship from China to the UK, where I live. (So keep that in mind before you order. International shipping is very expensive!) But once you picked a shipping method, you pay for it (that's your 2nd payment) and once they have processed that - your goodies will be on the way to you within a few days. And that's it. Sit down, eat your food and wait patiently for it to arrive. If you have further questions, just plop them into the comments and I'll try to answer them.

[alicerosejensen]

ha ha ha! Here's another portion of Papa Leon's headcanons. I hope to write more sad text, but so far only headcanons. This idea has been in my head for almost 10 days.

warning: Leon is a single dad; Loss of wife/girlfriend (S/O) due to zombie bite; The child is female; Leon's daughter is implied to be immune to viruses.

- When Leon found out that he would become a father, he was surprised, excited and very worried.

- He had long lost hope of starting his own family, but he was glad that he met you after China.

- You understood that the child meant the end of your relationship, but you also wanted a family, so having gathered all your will into a fist, you announced that you intended to leave the baby. Plus, you knew he still had feelings for Ada.

- It was painful and scary for you to admit it to him, but you had the strength to tell him about everything that had accumulated in your soul.

- Despite the fact that two people are involved in the conception, Leon does not have to bother with the duties of fatherhood. You yourself are raising YOUR son or daughter.

- This is what you said to him without even letting him utter a word.

- But Leon also wanted this child.

- There was a quarrel between you, the reason for which Leon did not understand. Yes, it will be hard, but he is ready to take responsibility for little Kennedy and whatever you think he loved you very much.

- There could be no question of any separation!Leon wants you to keep the baby, and if you mentioned abortion, he might flare up.

- So you were preparing to become parents together.

- During your pregnancy, Leon was very afraid that something could happen to you. He said the only weight you can carry is your baby. All the time while he was not distracted by work, he helped you get through the difficult time of pregnancy and read various literature himself. He also took some cute pictures of you talking and stroking your belly. He will definitely print them out later.

- You furnished the children's room, bought a crib and a lot of things. You were waiting for the doctor on the ultrasound to tell you the gender of the child.

- And when you did find out, you made Leon a kind of gift.

- The work of a government agent is dangerous and full of surprises, so no one knew about you and your child except for a narrow circle of people. Everything was strictly classified.

- But returning home from work, Leon heard you say that there was a present waiting for him on the table.

- A paper bag with a girly jumpsuit and a photo of an ultrasound with the caption on the back: Baby girl says hello to busy dad!

- Girl! Leon had already decided that she needed extra protection from future bullies.

- Everything was too wonderful that it began to seem like a sweet dream: he will soon become a father who will have the most beautiful daughter in the world. You will give him the family that Leon dreamed of for so long and was deprived of.

- You said there was nothing to worry about. There is still a whole month before the birth and that Leon will still have time to return to his girls, if he does not delay with his super secret mission.

- But Leon should have been worried.

- Because just two days after his departure, another outbreak occurred in the city that B.S.A.A and D.S.O did not have time to prevent. And the world is again flooded with zombies.

- You didn't even feel the first two bites when an infected shop visitor jumped on you while buying water. You pushed the zombie away by tearing it away from your hand, but he immediately knocked you to the floor, biting into your shoulder.

- By some miracle you managed to fight back. The only thing you were worried about was your daughter, so you struggled to your feet, holding your big belly, and got to the car to go home.

-People yelled and pounced on each other, biting into the throats and devouring the flesh. The sounds of an ambulance siren, police, and then shots were heard all over the streets ... You just wanted to get straight home along this crazy road, but you felt a sharp pain in the lower abdomen.

- Should I go straight to the hospital? You felt your seat getting wet, but despite the pain, blood and madness reigning, you still went to the original goal: home. The place where Leon will look for you first.

- You didn't close the door behind you. Tried but grappled with a distraught neighbor, who was also not averse to feasting on your flesh. You had no weapons, you were torn in half by hellish pain and your child... an innocent child should not die before being born. A loud volley of gunfire deafened you as Mrs. Jones stopped attacking you.

- And thick still warm blood stained your face and dress.

- It wasn't Leon. Ada.

- Seeing a lot of bites on you, including on your thigh, there was only one way out: put another bullet in the forehead, but you were pregnant. Ada wanted to find Leon, but found her (former?) friend's pregnant girlfriend.

- Leon would never forgive her for yours and the death of his unborn daughter. But damn it, you've been bitten at least three times already! Ada aimed the cannon and immediately lowered it when she heard pleas for help.

- Reluctantly, she helped you give birth, hoping that the child did not mutate into some kind of monster. But the room was filled with the usual cry of a child.

- But you already succumbed to infection: swollen black veins; pale gray skin and one eye began to become cloudy.

- "Do not tell anyone I ask you ..." - you croaked in a voice that was not your own, smiling terribly when Ada held your daughter. She quickly handed over the umbilical cord. - "Tell Leon she was born after my infection. She's not sick, I know."

- Ada wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and reached for her gun again. The hand didn't shake when you asked her to kill you until the conversion happened. Ada fired, and you blood from your head splashed on the wall after which you fell to the floor forming a crimson puddle under you. The girl was screaming at the top of her lungs, but what she definitely didn't want was to mess with a newborn baby during an outbreak of the virus.

- But she couldn't leave the baby just like that, despite the fact that the original plan was to give Leon some information.

- All right, Kennedy girl, you better not turn into one of the critters.

- Ada took her away, making something like a sling for convenient carrying of the child, so that in parallel it was possible to defend.

- Maybe Ada should have waited for Leon at home, but it was too dangerous, especially since more infected people ran in somewhere on the ground floor.

- So she escaped through the second floor.

- Taking the penknife with which you fought off the zombies. Before the shooting, you asked Ada to give the knife to her daughter.

- "Plans have changed Leon" - Ada's voice came from Leon's earpiece. - "Meet me somewhere else and I have a little gift for you."

- But Leon's priority was his beloved with a child. What was the horror when he saw that the doors of the house were open wide and the moans of zombies could be heard from there. Leon dealt with them and together with his partner (it was Helena) went up to the second floor. But you weren't in the bedroom or in the bathroom. However, when Helena opened another room and went deep into it, she froze in place, losing all words, looking at your body.

- Helena noticed a few bites, but still your death was not a conversion, but a bullet in the head. Besides, it was clear from the huge traces of blood on your thighs that you had recently given birth. She barely forced her voice to be louder to call Leon, and when he immediately entered the room, the weapon fell out of his hands.

- "She's infected. Was infected…" - Leon wasn't listening. He picked you up in his arms, pressing your dead body to his chest. Now that he couldn't protect his family, he didn't care about anything. His beloved and his daughter, but Helena assured that the baby had clearly been born, because the umbilical cord was cut, and the baby was nowhere to be seen. - "We need to find the baby. Ada said you were supposed to meet at your house, but what if she took your baby?"

- "And put a bullet in his mother's head," Helena did not voice it out loud.

- With difficulty, but Helena gave her partner a goal to move forward despite all his heartbreak. Tears were streaming down Leon's cheeks and all he wanted was to put a bullet in himself. He. Didn't. Protect. You. This house was supposed to be your island of peace and love in which your daughter grew up, but it turned into another piece of hell.

- But he can still save his daughter!

- Therefore, when he met Ada at an abandoned station, his stomach dropped from the baby's crying. Ada was sitting on some old stool, almost like a mother, clutching someone else's child to her. However, without further ado, as soon as Leon broke into something similar to a rest room, she immediately said that he should drop the gun if he did not want to frighten his daughter even more.

- "Miss Kennedy herself" - Leon immediately took his daughter in his arms. Ada immediately realized that Leon knew what had happened at his house. "I'm sorry about what happened to her mother."

-There was an option to lie or tell the truth, given that this child's life depended on it. But Leon didn't seem to be listening anymore, but his partner was…

- "Relax," - but Helena remained tense. "She was born after her mother was bitten. I'm sorry, but I was too busy with the baby to protect your S/O. Of course, her mother did not feed her with her milk. I'm going to have to send you a bill for baby food and babysitting, Leon."

- In the end, Ada left as if nothing had happened, and Leon had to transfer the child to safe hands for the duration of the mission, but his thoughts were still confused.

_____________________________________________

- He had the idea to put his daughter in good hands. So that D/N has a full-fledged family, and not a loser father who could not protect her mother.

- D.S.O got into the situation and gave him a good vacation so that Leon could fix everything and find a kindergarten or a babysitter for his daughter. Actually, Hannigan, on her own initiative, offered several good options.

- If it wasn't for D/N, Leon would have preferred to get drunk in some bar, mourning his beloved, but he had to mess with diapers, baby food and put the baby to bed. And he coped abominably.

- Stomach cramps, newborn stubble with which he had no idea what to do… Leon was driven crazy by constant screams and he hardly slept until Claire came to the rescue.

- Being a free nanny and a good slap on the head for a dumb father, she took it upon herself to calm the D/N, and, to Leon's surprise, the child stopped crying pretty quickly.

- Claire sent Leon to a well-deserved rest and she cleaned up the house and took care of the baby. Leon found them in the evening in the bathtub where the baby was bathing, while Claire was shaking a rattle in front of her, talking funny.

- "She has your eyes. Did you know that?. And she'll grow up with pretty blonde hair."

- He smiled wearily as he watched D/N squeeze Claire's finger with a small hand.

- "I'm thinking of putting her in foster care."

-"You… WHAT?! - if not for the presence of the child, the younger Redfield would have cursed Kennedy with various obscenities. - "You're crazy! While some are risking their lives (a reference to Ethan - I adore him) for the sake of their children, you are like the last coward running away from the duty that has fallen on you! I know it's hard for you! Y/N died, but it's not your fault! No one is to blame for this, especially D/N, and you want to deprive her of her last loved one! Don't you dare do that, Leon! Or I'll put your stupid head in the toilet!

- Despite all the arguments that Claire considered as stupid as possible, she was really ready to dip Kennedy in the toilet, but she remembered about the baby and wrapped the girl in a towel, taking her to the room for later care: baby cream, tummy massage, a clean diaper for sleeping. Claire changed into a D/N ironed bodysuit and gently began rocking in her arms while she was preparing baby formula. Leon watched her actions, once again making sure that he was a shitty father.

- But is it right to give up your child by giving it to strangers? Claire made him think about his decision until he committed a fatal stupidity that he would regret for the rest of his life.

- And Leon has really put that decision aside for now. Thanks to Claire's advice, he began to cope better with the situation and fully blossomed when his baby girl smiled at him for the first time. Maybe she wanted to show her comfort in this way, but Leon literally shone like the brightest star.

- Actually, the older D/N got, the easier it was for him.

- Cartoons really save Papa Leon.

- Leon knows how to tie complicated knots and would also cope with the first pigtails.

- Claire still helps him a lot and they often go for walks in the park together. Being a single father is difficult but real.

- Alas, Claire also devotes herself to TerraSave, so Leon's daughter often stays with a well-tested nanny (Hannigan and Leon took care of this together). Yes, it's a big expense, but Leon has no problems with money.

- Leon buys his baby coloring books, various books, pencils and markers so that she does not get too sad in his absence.

- The new house is littered with all possible toys. D/N loved dinosaurs the most. Leon thought it was a temporary hobby, but all the dolls were quickly forgotten when his baby had an allosaurus given to Claire.

- Now baby Kennedy has a love only for all possible kinds of dinosaurs. Even bed linen and pajamas.

-"This is all temporary," - Leon told himself, handing his daughter a recently purchased toy. This time Velociraptor.

- Good. At least the girl is busy watching some kind of documentary about dinosaurs while her dad calmly cooks dinner.

- And Leon had to learn to cook, because no one else does it for him (maybe sometimes Claire).

- Maybe Leon doesn't always manage to be a good dad, but he tries for the sake of his baby and really scolds himself for thinking that he once wanted to give her to another family.

- Leon is definitely not getting married and D/N will be his only child. He will have one-night stands, but it will never happen at his house. The only woman he really loved was you, but now he only has a daughter left.

- Claire is still only his friend (I only see them as friends, sorry). A friend who helped him get up from his knees when he was depressed by your death and wanted to give up the child.

- Actually, she visits the Kennedy house quite often and can be considered to some extent a mom for D/N.

- Leon does not know that his daughter was born when you were already bitten three times, which is why doctors tell him about the high ESR in the blood D/N. No one understands what's going on because the girl behaves quite normally and feels pretty good.

- Some kind of anomaly. Maybe these indicators persist due to frequent colds?

- Because gradually they decrease, however, never to the norm.

- Frequent trips to the doctor have already become a routine with which he has come to terms. In the end, without noticing that something was wrong with his daughter, these tests were halved.

- When D/N grows up, it will be much easier for him to cope. The Kennedy family cleans the house together, or the Pumpkin (as Leon calls it) helps to cook (chop carrots or stir soup in a saucepan, add a little seasoning, but everything is under strict control). In addition, Leon tries to teach her to be independent, but it is difficult for him to do this because he constantly wants to spoil her so that she is happier.

- Leon keeps all drawings and children's crafts in a special cabinet in his desk. However, there are a couple of drawings on the refrigerator on a magnet.

- He can't always attend children's events where his daughter performs, but he tries to make up for lost time when he returns home.

- Sometimes he falls asleep with his daughter watching TV. When D/N falls asleep, he will take her to bed without waking her up. And be sure to turn on the night light (with a dinosaur).

- Leon doesn't mind if the girl runs to him at night, because she had a terrible dream. Leon knows all about nightmares, so let her stay close and tell some kind stories so that she calms down and falls asleep again.

- Someday D/N will want to know something about his mom, but for Leon this is always a closed topic. He won't tell anything except that you were a wonderful person and loved her very much.

_____________________________________________

And now the teenage period (D/N 13 years old) .

- The topic of mom is forbidden.

- Perhaps due to the frequent absence of her father, the girl has a bit of a rebellious character, but she does nothing to cause problems for her dad.

- On her birthday, D/N found a small box under the door. Thinking that it was Dad who sent the gift, he and Claire quickly started unpacking, but inside there was a rather elegant folding knife that looked very expensive. And a short note: "Your mom asked me to give you this. I think you're old enough for such a gift. Happy birthday, young Miss Kennedy."

- Claire turned pale when she saw a familiar object and a strange note. Leon would never send that. But the girl was thrilled to get something that had to do with her mother.

- Leon did not comment on the gift at all, but he recognized the handwriting on the note. He didn't want to spoil his daughter's mood, especially since he was late for her birthday, but the next questions began to annoy him.

-"Who was she? Also a secret agent? Did she save the world from bad guys? Look what an awesome knife! My mom must have been really cool! Maybe her partner gave me a gift?"

- Leon tried not to get angry, but the fucking knife still made him flare up. He quarreled with his daughter and immediately got a scolding from Claire when D/N ran to room. He understood that you can't be angry with a child who just wants to know something about his mother, but Leon never let go of that situation.

- He definitely needs to apologize to his daughter.

- As an additional gift, Leon, after a long conversation with his pumpkin, will eventually give her your photo. One of the few that he was able to keep.

- And ask not to play with a knife because it's not a toy.

- I think Leon's daughter likes to play guitar and her favorite song is "Wayfaring stranger"

- Therefore, a new guitar (exactly the one she wanted for so long) will be a gift from her beloved dad.

- Dinosaurs are still the most beloved creatures, why can we have a pet dinosaur?

- But in order to finally win his daughter's heart, he takes her to the dinosaur museum on a day off. Of course they will take Claire with them - she has long been an unspoken member of their family.

- And in the evening, the three of them will sit down to watch her favorite movie with a delicious dinner, which they will order from the restaurant at home.

- D/N is more like you - her mother-but her eyes and hair color are from her father.

- You knew that she would grow up beautiful and become even more beautiful with growing up. Before you died, you were sorry that you would never see it.

- Leon is calm when his daughter likes famous guys from these series and movies. However, the cardboard king from some movie that stands next to the bed began to confuse him

- "Come on Leon! Many girls love sugary boys." - Claire laughed, finding it funny. - "Wait until she starts going on real dates."

- Well he has a DSO database for that.

- In fact, Leon finds it soothing when his daughter is in her room playing the guitar while trying to sing at the same time.

- She still has bad blood tests with elevated ESR and leukocytosis, and Leon really doesn't understand what's going on, given that there is no malaise.

- Leon's weapon is always kept in a safe under a combination lock, however, when he forgot it one day on his desk after returning home, D/N wanted to support him in his hands admiring how cool it is but at the same time heavy.

- Of course Leon was scared when he saw his daughter with a gun in her hands and ordered her to put it back immediately.

-"Let me shoot!" - she said when she watched her father put things in the safe. - "I want to be like these guys with guns from movies. There was one Yakuza who had such an awesome gun with a pattern! Da-ad?"

- "No!"

- The password could not be peeped. And the birthday didn't come up either. But D/N got a scolding when she climbed into her father's office without permission, trying to get his gun.

- The restless child does not want to shoot herself or her neighbors at all, she just watches too many militants, believing that shootings are cool.

- Leon doesn't comment on it at all, considering what's going on at his job. But when pumpkin says that she will work with him after she finishes school, she can't stand this long hard look from her father.

- Maybe Leon really should teach her how to shoot and use a knife, but the thought that someday she might need it scares him. It's easier for Leon to keep his daughter in the safest place away from all this virus-parasitological shit.

- But still, after much persuasion, it brings her to the shooting range and even shows you how to hold and shoot correctly.

- Oh, it's a delight! She hit the target a couple of times and already considers herself the best shooter. But Papa Leon still praises her even for these two successful shots.

- "If the apocalypse happens, then I can watch your back!. I will make such a drawing in the form of a poster where we are next to each other against the background of a green world freed from people".

- Leon can't help but smile. This blonde-haired miracle is the only thing that really makes him happy. Therefore, even talking about the apocalypse does not cause anything but laughter.

- And if there's another outbreak, Leon will be Joel saving his Ellie. Even if him have to go against the government.

_____________________________________________

I'm a little sick, I have a lot of debts at the same time, but I like the topic of "father-daughter" relationships so much… Fuck, I also passed the "Last of Us again", and God, like the first one, I'm crying at the moment where Joel saves Ellie (I think he did the right thing and no one will dissuade me from this)

Now I literally want to write and read about "Leon and his daughter". Because this guy would do anything to protect his little pumpkin.

I will definitely make a couple more posts on this topic later. Maybe even a full-fledged fan fiction with an already invented name for his daughter (her name is Lara, yeah).

I love everyone who reads this and he likes it 💖

[rainbowsky]

Perspectives on a debate

I see a lot of people still steeped in the debate about GQ.

There are a lot of claims being spread around about GQ, including:

They are huge GG antis

They posted hateful slander about GG

They were one of the primary agents of 227 and GG's cancellation

They boycotted GG

They keep bringing up 227 to hurt GG

Here are the primary pieces of 'evidence' of these claims:

Two articles published by GQ, one in 2020 shortly after 227, and one a year later. Both consist of interviews with a media/culture scholar who specializes in danmei and fan culture, discussing the phenomenon of 227 and some other related sociocultural topics.

I urge every fan to read these articles and draw your own conclusions about whether they constitute 'anti-GG slander'.

Initial article

Follow-up a year later

Once you've done so you can read on if you're curious to hear my thoughts on the issue. (Please don't read my thoughts until you've read the articles and formed your own perspective.)

My thoughts

These articles are overall pretty rational, intellectual and inquisitive. The conversation primarily revolves around fandom and fan culture, and GG isn't even the central focus. Particularly the second article, which only mentions him briefly at the beginning.

Instead, the articles cover a broad range of entertainment business and cultural topics, and ponder the factors that played into 227.

They are not critical of GG, so much as they are critical of his fans, which is why his fans are so angry about the articles. It's not 'slander against GG', it's a critique of fandom and fan behavior.

I suspect this is why XFX have been so vocal about spreading the rumor of a GQ vendetta against GG. Because saying, "GQ has been critiquing XFX" wouldn't garner nearly as much sympathy or outrage.

Most people don't actually bother digging into or examining these claims. Instead, they take it all at face value and assume the claims to have at least some merit, and buy into the narrative that GQ is out to get GG. They in turn spread the word about GQ's supposed vendetta against GG, thereby doing free XFX legwork.

The reality is that 227 was a very big deal at the time. A massive cultural phenomenon. Of course those interested in culture would reasonably want to discuss and examine it. It's been discussed all over the world, not just in China.

It's not unreasonable for a magazine to do this type of examination. We can agree or disagree with some of the opinions presented in the article, but they're not anything unusual for that region of the world. However, in my view, characterizing them as anti-GG slander is just a bridge too far.

[captaindibbzy]

The thing about England stealing tea from China is tea was a monopoly at the time. It was completely controlled by China, and China could charge what they wanted for it, and what they wanted was silver.

So litterally everyone on the planet had to buy their tea from China, and it was a state secret. It was punishable by death kind of state secret, the hack you in to little pieces and your family too kind of state secret: like silk worms (another cool spy story out of china). Cause this is what made the Chinese Government wealthy and powerful. China was completely self contained. It had its empire, it had more peasants than you could count, it had all the resources it needed, and it didn't need anything else, but you want something from them? Well then, what's it worth to you?

So the story of how England got tea out of China is actually really cool and it involves secret agents sailing up rivers, paying people, smuggling, but also these people did not know that green tea, black tea, white tea, all came from the same plant, so there's a point where there were reports coming back that they'd found the green tea plant and were still looking for the black tea (it's all in the processing). People risked their lives for this. This is "if you are caught you will be tortured for information" level of James Bond shit.

And they did it, you know? They did it and now tea worth so little it probably costs you more to heat the water. Tea still has to be harvested by hand if you want it to be any good. It's evergreen and it has a few harvests a year, but it's only the very top of the new growth that will do anything worth drinking.

Tea was worth more than gold. In Europe tea chests had locks and keys and the mistress of the house had that key and it was as valuable as jewellery. Like sugar, like salt, these are things that are so ubiquitous today that we don't understand how valuable it is. It was a health drink, because you had to boil the water so it killed the diseases in it. People didn't know that's what did it, so these people who drank tea got sick less often, got better quicker.

Tea was introduced to the UK by Portuguese nobility, I think? Cause they had shipping that went to the other end of the world. The story of tea involves the silk road, and how empires along that refused to sell in to Europe so they had to find other ways to get what they wanted, and it involves war and Empire, and it's so very interesting.

And did you know tea is drunk differently all over the world? Like there are so many tea ceremonies! And that's what the "British" way of drinking tea is, it's a kind of tea ceremony. Taking tea with people in a ritualised way, with a tea pot, with special snacks. It's as special to us as "the way of the tea" is in Japan.

And when you step away from Camellia sinensis which is the "tea" plant it gets so much wider! Like Rooibos and Yerba Mate are two that come to mind.

Humans be like "would you like some leaf with your hot water?" And then we made it a whole thing over and over and over and over again.

I'd write a god damn book on this if I could focus long enough.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Robert Taft at The Guardian:

Republicans responded to Hunter Biden’s conviction on Tuesday of lying about his drug use to buy a gun by doubling down on conspiracy theories that many senior party figures have been using to try and damage his president father. Despite the fact that Joe Biden’s son could now face a hefty jail sentence, Donald Trump’s election campaign and its surrogates repeated unfounded attack lines that the conviction was part of a conspiracy to deflect attention from more serious crimes and represented the use of the Department of Justice (DoJ) as a political weapon.

Republicans have long sought to use Hunter Biden’s woes and business dealings as a political weapon against Biden, ignoring the fact that Trump himself is also now a convicted felon whose own business empire has been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for fraudulent practises.

That tactic continued in the wake of Hunter’s guilty verdict. “This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. Matt Gaetz, the far-right congressman from Florida, was distinctly dismissive, posting on X: “The Hunter Biden gun conviction is kinda dumb tbh.” That was echoed by Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, who derided the conviction as a distraction from worse crimes he claimed have been committed by the president’s family. “Hunter Biden guilty. Yawn,” Kirk wrote. “The true crimes of the Biden Crime Family remain untouched. This is a fake trial trying to make the Justice system appear ‘balanced.’ Don’t fall for it.” Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman for South Carolina, implied that the verdict was a sham. “Timing is everything. The veil of fairness in the justice system under Potus,” she wrote.

Stephen Miller, one of Donald Trump’s closest advisers during his first presidency, went further still, posting: “[The] DoJ is running election interference for Joe Biden – that’s why DOJ did NOT charge Hunter with being an unregistered foreign agent (FARA) or any crime connected with foreign corruption. Why? Because all the evidence would lead back to JOE.” The negative drumbeat underscored how the prosecution – and now conviction – of Hunter Biden has undermined a Republican narrative that the justice department has been “weaponised” by Biden’s administration to pursue a vendetta against Trump, who was last month convicted of 34 counts of document falsification to conceal hush-money payments to an adult actor. Trump’s case was led by a New York state prosecutor, who does not work under the department’s jurisdiction, while Hunter Biden was prosecuted by the DoJ, which is part of his father’s administration.

Wah wah wah!!! Republicans whine about the 3 Hunter Biden guilty convictions (even after hoping and praying for him to be guilty) and play poutrage games in order to hurt his father Joe’s election chances.

See Also:

HuffPost: Republicans Complain About Hunter Biden Guilty Verdict

Daily Kos: Hunter Biden is convicted, but the GOP is still big mad

Public Notice: Hunter Biden's conviction destroys key MAGA conspiracy theory

[bonesandthebees]

hi bee :) semi-new anon here just hoping that you’ve been doing okay <3 i wanted to say that i absolutely adore your writing, and will happily read it, no matter what fandom it is you’re writing for, or if you’re just writing original works /gen!! your writing has always inspired me heavily hehe, it’s wonderful.

also, on the topic of original works, do you have any good novel recommendations? i’ve recently gotten back into reading and have been super into fiction, but i’m down for any sort of recs. one of my favourites at the moment is good omens :)

here’s your daily message to go have some water or tea and take care of yourself !! 🌷

hello hello!! I'm doing pretty alright now, feeling a lot better than I was this past week :) and that's so sweet of you to say, it's so reassuring knowing I have so many of you guys willing to read my silly stories no matter which fandom they're about (or even if they're original)

and yes I do have some recs!

I made a post about two months ago now talking about books I'd read that I really enjoyed so there'll be some crossover here but also some new ones I've read since then

one of my new favorite novels is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. it's a heavy fantasy story following 4 different intertwining POVs. the fantasy world itself is made up of several different countries all inspired by various real world cultures that's not just limited to western europe which is incredibly refreshing. the world itself is incredibly fleshed out and interesting, the characters are all very diverse and have so much depth, and there's also a very beautiful sapphic romance <3 I'm reading the prequel to priory right now and I'm also loving it so far

another book I really enjoyed is actually a duology—The Radiant Emperor series by Shelley Parker-Chan. the first book in the series is She Who Became the Sun which I really enjoyed, however the sequel book He Who Drowned the World is the one that absolutely blew me away. just letting you know in case you're not comfortable with it, both books contain sex and some graphic violence. the story is set in 14th century China when it was ruled by the Mongols, and it's an incredibly well done queer retelling/fictionalization of the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor who ushered in the Ming dynasty. the text engages with so many themes of the expectations of masculinity and femininity and how they restrict people, and really dives into gender expression and how it can be wielded in different ways. again the first one was really enjoyable, but the second one was on a whole other level and I'm still reeling over how good it was and how much it emotionally hurt me.

ok and then last one for now

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - I know we all heard about this one thanks to the iconic bigolas dickolas wolfwood on twitter but also they were so right about this book. it's gorgeously written. the book itself is mostly written as letters exchanged between two women who are time traveling agents on opposing sides of a war for who controls the timelines. it's a beautiful love story, it's sci fi but with a heavy bend towards spec fic which I personally really like, the world concepts are incredibly fascinating, and it plays around with time travel in a very intriguing way. it's a very short book so it's an easy one to burn through. I checked this one out from my library but I'm highkey tempted to go to a bookstore and actually buy a physical copy for myself just because there were so many gorgeous lines I want to highlight

hope this helps!! my taste in books is usually: sci fi/fantasy/spec fic with sapphic women so hopefully that's something you enjoy as well lmao

[eretzyisrael]

by David Christopher Kaufman

In the 1950s, lists naming accused communists and homosexuals were used as tools for blackmail, influence-peddling and ruin.

Clandestine dossiers played a part in the Rwandan genocide that claimed the lives of 1 million ethnic Tutsis 30 years ago, as well the purges of elites and intellectuals during periods of political upheaval in China, Cambodia and, of course, Nazi Germany.

Today, the woke left are putting together their own lists of the “Zionists” in our midst. These lists are just as dangerous, just as disgusting.

8“Wild” author Cheryl Strayed — left, with Reese Witherspoon who played her in the movie version — has been called out as a Zionist on the “is your fav author a zionist?” list.WireImage

Last weekend, a Google doc detailing the supposed Israel affiliations and adjacencies of nearly 200 well-known authors — including some who are dead — made the rounds on social media.

Titled “is your fav author a zionist?” the document features a rainbow flag’s worth of categorized color-coding: Red for “Pro-Israel/Zionist” at one extreme, blue for “Pro-Palestinian/Anti-Zionist” at the other. In regards to the former, it calls for us to “stop buying their books … streaming their shows or promoting their work on any social platform.”

8The author blacklist encourages users to “stop buying” books and streaming projects related to writers including “Wild” memoirist Cheryl Strayed.

Progressive bête noire J.K. Rowling is firmly in the red camp, singled out for being “pro Israel for a while.” (“She’s also a terf so conversation over right there,” her entry reads.)

Also in the red are Emily St. John Mandel, author of “Station Eleven” (“talks favorably about [Israel]”), and Taylor Jenkins Reid of “Daisy Jones and the Six” fame, who apparently “posted pro-Israel content that had no mention of the lives in Gaza.” “Wild” author Cheryl Strayed and Nicholas Sparks of “The Notebook” fame are both outed for posting “a pro-Israel graphic.” 

8A screen-shot from the “is your fav author a zionist” list color-codes boycott levels.

James Baldwin, who passed away nearly 30 years ago, gets a pass as “pro-Palestine.”

The X account Zionists in Film has called out Keanu Reeves — the poster child for Hollywood civility — for transgressions: Attending a 2014 Malibu party where Benjamin Netanyahu was also in attendance, and being trained by an ex-Mossad agent for combat scenes in the “John Wick” franchise.

[brechtian]

if ur ever in china they have so much haikyuu merch😭🙏 im seeing it everywhere but its been years since ive seen it LMAO. seeing hinata on a tshirt like.. hi old friend

help omg that’s so cute… no literally I liked it in middle school then didn’t think about it for almost a decade then in December I awoke like a sleeper agent n now I’m like this :/ anyways how funny would it be for me to go to china not for any natural or cultural beauty but to buy haikyuu merch like could u actually imagine.

[solutionssupplybase]

Businesses can negotiate prices with suppliers with the aid of a sourcing agent, which can help them save money and get the best return on their investment. China sourcing agents can help companies find the best suppliers for their particular needs by utilizing their vast network of contacts and industry knowledge. Businesses can gain from a sourcing agent managing the logistics and shipping process to guarantee that goods are delivered on time and in the right location. Please visit our website to learn more.

[all-hallows-street]

Guess whose financial mistake arrived early...

I will give more in depth looks later (I have to work to afford such questionable purchases), but a quick individual review of what I got:

Neil Demon Plushy

Not a plush toys collector at all; my closest reference is the IKEA shark. He is heavier than he looks, very sturdy (?) if that makes sense. Doesn't seem like he will deform any time soon. The details are adorable and I don't see any glaring defects.

All Saints Street Hoodie

Surprisingly large for me. I was worried they only had one size made for the Chinese market. I'm 1.7m (5 foot 7) tall for reference and this is still a bit too big for me. Will likely get too small for anyone over 6 feet tall. The quality is good! Very soft. Velvet interior. I don't know much about shirt stamping, but since it's not in the fabric I'm guessing the stamp might start to crack after multiple washes.

All Saints Street Vol. 1-3 Collection

Now this is something I can talk about more. The sleeve was unfortunately damaged in shipping and the books have very minor damage in the spine and vol 2 has a minor case of dog ears. The quality of the paper is great! It is color paper, not glossy one you see in comic book issues, but it's thicker than the black and white you see in manga. Would still make sure to have a dehumidifier if your storing place is not dry. I've already experienced book wrapping and it's painful.

Each volume contains around 80 chapters with one extra chapter not on bilibili. They also contain a message from Lingzi and WSJ's editor, plus all character bios even for ones we never got one (Enrique, Eduardo ans Anthony). And if a Weibo post is correct some might have been updated from the ones online (Axel grew 1 cm in the book bio).

Of course later I'll look over everything to see if there are any significan changes to make a note of. Also it came with this lol.

I have the Alice in Wonderland art somewhere, I'll post it later as well.

All Saints Street Anniversary Playing Cards

The playing card decks from the 6th and the 7th anniversary. As you can see I haven't opened the 7th, but I got the 6th a while ago on AliExpress so I expect them to be similar.

This is something else I can review more in depth, coming from a family that loves playing poker. The quality of the prints is beautiful, however I keep them in the box all the time because the quality of the cards itself is not good!

The cards feel like store bought cardboard; good playing cards are made out of cardboard, but this deck doesn't have the same treatment. They are so fragile, even by just handling them to get the face cards I've already made slight damage to the edges. I wouldn't play any game with them, much less shuffle them. I don't even want to imagine how much they will bend. Also the Crystal card came with damage (the small white spot on the edge) from the store. Pain.

Anyways. I'll frame the face cards because they are so pretty and I want to keep them in the best condition... I don't know what I will do with the rest of the 36 cards. Maybe practice magic tricks? Lol. Before all this I've been working on how to scan all the face cards and post them, but it's been more difficult than expected. If you have ever tried to digitize prints you will know. Once I have them, I'll post them alongside high quality scans.

When it comes to my review of PandaBuy... On one hand it was an excellent service and experience. On the other... I don't even want to reveal how much the shipping was. I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it unless you are stupid with your money (like me), even then

I would advice to do your own research. PandaBuy and all agents to buy from China are definitely better when you buy in bulk. My package was 'only' 2kg. Many people buy over 10kg to make it worth it. I'm already committed so if new volumes come out I will buy them, and maybe also get counterfeit Gucci shoes or something since that's what most people use this agents for...

That's all for now. Feel free to reply or send any questions you have.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Hello, Anon, this is your Oldie Chinese Diaspora Anon™️. I am sorry to keep you waiting. As you’ve probably noticed, vinyl and non-resin dolls are usually not my forte. It took a while to dig up some information for you, but I hope to be able to answer your questions.

The advent of “Cheaper, affordable MJDs” didn’t come from the desire to make BJDs affordable. In fact, the technology that really elevated the production of this kind of MJDs started from what we understand as vinyl collectibles. These small figurines are made from a combination of PVC powders as well as a series of other emulsifiers, lubricators and activators (From the factory that produces them, here: http://www.dgzhonglinhb.com/news_content-859681.html ) Different companies have slightly different recipes, which would explain the different pliability of their final products. The technology was first created as a way to create memorabilia that are of limited edition and they were first considered as collectibles. They’re known internally as “Urbanvinyls” and include signed trinkets that can go for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Some examples would be KAWS, Kidrobot, Tokidoki, Bearbrick etc.

With the rise of “Made in China” soft power, the internally patriotic sentiment had fostered local artist-designed vinyl collectibles, which had eventually ballooned into the blind box craze that we see in the last 4-5 years. It also opened a door for vinyl/PVC based MJDs. I do not think they were specifically made to usurp the DD/SmD market, but since “moe sells”, a lot of the new doll companies go with the cute, anime-inspired aesthetic while the blind boxes cater to more design elements. These newly designed MJDs tend to be small, usually 1/12 and 1/6; larger ones exist, but they are rare. In all, they are created to be much more like their direct inspiration, the “blind box collectibles” than what we would usually consider to be articulated dolls. It also meant their target demographic is very different as well. The lower price point allows more people to impulse buy out of FOMO; these are things you buy on a whim instead of saving up to buy.

In this arena, Imómó is not alone in terms of aesthetic, pricing or packaging. Other companies in this group include Hüa Jüan, Tïny Fóx, UFdóll, CNDóll, Kimdóll, Pópmilk, Mónst and the upcoming YünLai/LückyDoll, etc (but not YMY – who has lost a battle with Piccodo for copying their body design recently). These dolls are created with a higher number in circulation in mind – but still limited enough to stimulate the FOMO behaviour – with shared features (sharing bodies, design elements, etc). To keep the production cost down, these dolls would be considered rather threadbare compared to BJDs. I have seen box opening videos where the floating “blind box” heads were packaged in a brown shipping box and wrapped around in clear plastic bags with no other packaging material. The “accessories” for these dolls are usually close to none as well – no or very simple COAs, basic box, air-filled tubes instead of fabric cushions, etc.A snapshot in time in online stores shows that Imómó is definitely not an outlier in the new era of MJDs: https://weibo.com/1448114577/Nj9fqfog3

https://www.dollyteria.com/product-list/58?page=1

If there’s something that really made Imómó stand out, it was the rumours that spread within Chinese doll collectors earlier in the summer of 2023 about the company not issuing legitimate receipts (usually with the intention to cook their books to pay less in taxes). They accuse Imómó of being a “Three Nothings” company (no date of manufacture, no QC and no source factory) with really awful customer service. They had registered the company as an “overseas-based” one so they would be in a different tax bracket. Some collectors also accuse the owner and their family members infiltrating doll collector groups to hype up their own products and downplay the complaints. A popular agent, SWDólls, were also implicated in helping them to not issue traceable receipts. (Details and screen grabs can be found here: https://weibo.com/7303299294/N8lHE6wGE?type=repost ) I have also heard of owners who complain about the parts not fitting well, the seamlines were wide and uneven as well as other imperfections that should’ve never passed QC, if there was a QC.

I understand that most of us, who are looking in from the outside, would wholly welcome a new era of articulated dolls that are affordable. They are a great entry point for people who want to get into BJDs or just want to collect these dolls on their own. I personally think they are great the way they are, because they are starting to populate a brand-new market for people who like dolls in general. However, the first company that most folks encounter in this group was probably Imómó. I cannot comment on the accusations made by the Chinese collectors; all I can say is, I am hoping that the other named companies start to make headway into the overseas market. We’d been waiting.

Note: The write up here didn’t include previously existing vinyl dolls such as Azóne and Obitsü or the vinyl versions of resin dolls such as Kinókó Jüice and Püyüdolls. This write-up only includes MiC, PVC-based, original, MJDs. My understanding is that they are not on par with the company in question in terms of price range, target market and country of origin. I didn’t think they’d make for a fair comparison, but your mileage may vary.

~Anonymous

[themirokai]

Here it is, the last story so far in His Professional Capacity (my Mystrade spy series, that I wrote back in 2021). In case you missed it, I’m posting the stories from the series here on tumblr in anticipation of putting out a new story in the series. 

The four previous stories are: one, two, three, four. 

This fifth one is short and light, and was really down to the fact that lots of people in the comments of Protégé really loved Peter Romer, and he needed an encore. 

The Assist 

Greg gets some unexpected help when making an arrest. 

Tags: Greg’s day job, Banter, Light flirting, Mycroft’s work kids

1,545 words

Note: If you’re just coming to this one, I recommend you go read Protégé first. 

Read it below or on AO3. 

~*~ 

Greg pounded down the pavement after the arson suspect. His muscles were straining and his lungs were struggling. He kept himself fit, played football when he could, but this bastard was fast. Greg glanced over his shoulder to see the constables a few steps behind him. At least he could still keep ahead of those youngsters. Greg looked in front of him again, just in time to round the corner… 

...into a flea market filled with people, none of them running. “Ah fucking Christ on a stick!” Greg pulled up, scanning the crowd for his suspect. After a moment of peering about fruitlessly, he leaned over, grabbing his knees and panting to catch his breath. 

“Sir?” The constables were beside him. 

“Spread out!” Greg shouted. “Find him!” The constables waded off into the crowd and after a moment Greg set off as well, muttering curses to himself all the way. 

He had just peered into his third stall when a familiar Scottish accent reached his ears. “Oi! Silver Fox!” 

Greg turned to see Agent Peter Romer approaching, pushing the suspect in front of him.

“Romer?” Greg squinted. 

“Nice to see you too, Silver Fox. And you’re welcome.” Romer’s hair was longer than when Greg had last seen him, worn in a small ponytail at the back of his head. 

“What the hell are you doing here? Is Mycroft here?” 

“Nah, boss is stuck in Whitehall all day, far as I know. Ya got some cuffs for this arsehole, Silver Fox? They’re not in my standard kit. Got some for the bedroom ‘course, but they’re more of the fluffy variety. You should probably arrest him too, since I’m not technically doing that.” 

Greg was already pulling out his handcuffs and dragging the suspect around to put them on him. “John Hayden, I’m Detective Inspector Lestrade of the Metropolitan Police, and you’re under arrest on suspicion of arson. You are not free to leave,” Greg growled at him, then turned to Romer and jabbed a finger at him. “No disappearing. I want to talk to you.” 

Romer gave him a mischievous grin and a raised eyebrow. “You want me around, Silver Fox? Then wild horses couldn’t drag me.” 

Greg rolled his eyes and pulled out his radio to call the constables back. After a few minutes they had taken the suspect away and Greg turned to where Romer was ostensibly perusing the merchandise in the nearest stall. 

“Mycroft lets you wear your hair like that?” 

Romer’s hand immediately flew to his ponytail and his look of dismay appeared genuine. “Ya don’t like it?” 

Greg tamped down his first reaction to soothe and crossed his arms over his chest. “No, it’s awful. What the hell are you supposed to be?” 

Romer’s grin returned. “Nuh uh, Silver Fox. The boss raised your clearance for matters pertaining to his safety and yours. My current project doesn’t qualify.” 

“And does your current project involve tailing me?”   

“Maybe I was just shopping for -” Romer grabbed a rhinestone-encrusted trumpet from the counter beside him, “a snazzy new bugle?”

“Try again, Romer.” 

The young man relinquished the trumpet, then shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking backwards away from Greg. “Maybe I wanted to buy you a drink?” 

Greg shook his head as he followed. “I am working. And aren’t you prohibited from flirting with me on pain of being exiled to China?” 

“Nah,” Romer said with a grin, then turned around to walk beside Greg, facing front, “can you imagine all the trouble I could get into without the boss keeping an eye on me? He’d never send me that far away.” 

Greg scrubbed a hand over his face. “Christ, and I thought him having to keep track of his brother was bad enough.”

Romer stopped walking and turned to Greg, touching his arm. “No, Lestrade, it’s not like that. I’m just fooling.” He shook his head, brow furrowed. “I never intentionally cause problems for him, I promise. I’m good at the work … or at least I try to be. Credit to the Service and all that.” 

Greg snorted. “But sometimes you push the boundaries a little so he pays more attention to you?” Romer wrinkled his nose and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck in response. Greg chuckled and patted his shoulder. “Yeah, I get it, kid.” Greg started walking again and Romer stuck by his side. “Alright out with it, Peter. What were you doing chasing down my suspect?” 

“You know we’ve been keeping an eye on ya ever since ya moved in with the boss, in case someone tries to use you to get to him.”

“Right,” Greg said, “but I didn’t think I had a security detail.”

“You don’t. But we generally have an idea of what you’re working on and your whereabouts.”

Greg sighed. He had long ago accepted the fact that Mycroft was under surveillance at all times for his safety. He had more recently come to terms with the fact that Mycroft was a valuable enough target that someone could conceivably try to get to him using Greg, and this meant that Greg merited some level of security. What he wasn’t quite comfortable with was the idea that “security” included agents from Mycroft’s unit “keeping an eye on” his work. Greg knew some of them, and recognized them all by sight once they had rotated through Mycroft’s security detail. A few of them, like Romer, were assigned to Mycroft’s unit long-term, but others spent a few months in the unit taking rotations on the security detail and other shadowy assignments, then moving back to MI6 or MI5 or wherever they had come from. It bothered him that he didn’t know how they remained aware of what he was working on. Was his office bugged? His computer monitored? He was pretty sure that if he asked Mycroft he would get a straight answer, but he wasn’t certain that he wanted to test that. 

“So did Mycroft or one of you lot deduce that we would lose Hayden? Does he teach you how to do that?”

“He has taught me some. Says I have a good instinct for it,” Romer said, beaming proudly. “But no one’s as good as him. And that’s not what happened here. Hayden the arsonist is on the very fringes of a massive criminal organization we’re tracking. Don’t get excited,” he cautioned, seeing the look on Greg’s face, “he’s really just at the very fringe. You won’t be able to flip him to anyone bigger, otherwise we would have brought him in.”

“Any chance I can see your file on the organization?” 

“Not my call,” Romer said, with a twinkle in his eye, “but maybe if you put on some tight jeans and unbutton your shirt a bit when the boss gets home-” 

“Watch it, kid,” Greg growled. Romer laughed and put up both hands placatingly. Greg shook his head. “Alright, so you knew I was going after Hayden, and?” he prompted. 

“And given that this organization might be getting a hint that we’re on to them, the boss wanted to make sure that the arrest went smoothly just to make sure they hadn’t made the connection between him and you and Hayden and them.” 

“Did you volunteer for this, Peter?” 

Romer grinned. “I was available. And I’m quite good at finding people; it’s how I ended up in the boss’s unit. So he thought I might be able to help. Which, even you have to admit, I did.” 

“Yeah,” Greg sighed, “you did. Glad you were around.” He chuckled at Romer’s bright smile. “So nothing nefarious going on other than me and my constables not being fast enough to catch him before he ran into a flea market?” 

“Nah, looks like that’s the extent of it.”  

“Good.” Greg turned to Romer and held out his hand. “Thank you, Peter. I appreciate the assist.”

Romer’s smile stretched ear to ear as he shook Greg’s hand. “My pleasure, Silver Fox. And uh, you’ll tell the boss, yeah?”

“Sure, kid,” Greg chuckled, “I’ll tell him.”

---

Late that evening, Greg was lounging on the sofa watching a football match and drinking a beer when he heard Mycroft come in. “There’s takeaway in the fridge,” he called. 

A few minutes later Mycroft - shoes off, waistcoat unbuttoned, and tie loose - entered and plopped ungracefully onto the sofa. He swung his feet onto Greg’s lap and began applying chopsticks to the contents of the takeaway container he had brought with him. 

“Rough day?” Greg asked, starting to massage a foot with one hand. 

“Politicians,” Mycroft replied after a few bites of stir fry, “all damn day. Even the ones who have clearance high enough for my briefings are insufferable these days.” 

Greg made a sympathetic noise. 

“I hope Romer behaved himself?” Mycroft asked after eating a little more. 

“I don't think we would have made the arrest without him,” Greg admitted. “And he wanted to be sure you knew that.” Mycroft snorted. “That kid thinks the sun shines out of your arse, darlin’.”

“Mm, are you saying it doesn’t?”

The foot rub turned into tickling, forcing Mycroft to abandon his food and straddle Greg’s lap for a kiss.