#Livia Vitale

[phoward89]

Jealous!Coryo x Reader, Odair!Ancestor x Reader.

Series Masterlist

WARNING ⚠️ Coriolanus Snow is a warning in and of itself. That man is a walking blood red flag waving heavily in the wind! engagement (not reader), smut, infidelity, love triangle, manipulation, stalking?, gaslighting, fluff, Head Gamemaker!Coryo, District 4 Cruise Ship Heir!Odair OC. Dark!Coriolanus, Jealous!Coriolanus, Dom!Coriolanus

Chapter 6:

It's been too long since you've been to the spa. You forgot how relaxing it is. And maybe what makes it even better is that Coriolanus is paying for it. That you can have all the treatments your little heart desires and he's footing the bill.

“It's good to see you here again. What happen, did Coriolanus and you get into a lovers spat and he cut off your spa allowance?” The esthetician asked, applying a much needed cleansing jelly mask to your face as you laid down on the comfortable bed like table.

“He's not my lover, Adara. He's actually my boss now, plus he's engaged to Livia Cardew.” You pointed out to your beloved skin goddess, the best esthetician in Capitol City.

“Oh please.” The violet and blonde streaked young lady loudly cackled. “Nobody believes that shame for a lousy minute.”

“What? But they look-” You start to say only for Adara to cut you off with, “Coriolanus looks absolutely miserable next to her in pictures. He seriously looks like he's going to strangle her.” Shaking her head and applying more of the thick vitalizing goop on your face, she adds, “And that blonde shrew might look sweet and smiley next to him but she bad mouths him every chance she gets. Some things she's said has even gone viral on Pan-Tok, Pan-Tube, and Pan-X. She even shit talked him while a bit tipsy on her friend's Pangram Live stream.”

“I didn't know this. Why didn't I know this?”

“Probably since the aspiring Senator Snow doesn't have social media and you only have a Panbook- that you haven't been on in like over a month.”

“Fuck! So she's dragging his name in the mud via social media?!”

“Yes.” Adara confirms while finishing applying your facial mask treatment. “And practically all of Panem hates her.” She informed you while putting cucumbers on your eyes for a finishing touch.

Sitting down in the stool next to your bed Adara, who was a friend of sorts to you, says, “Livia’s worse than her older brother and Livinius is always getting into shenanigans with the two Capitol losers: Odysseus Odair, the pretty boy that drinks too much, and Hector Heavensbee, the stoned cousin of Hilarious Heavensbee.”

“Wait, what? How do you know this?”

“Social media, duh.” The blonde-violet girl rolled her eyes at you, even if you couldn't see them since your eyes are closed with little cucumbers on them. “Girl, you're too young not to be on social media.” Adara seriously told you. “Listen up, after we're done with your mask we’ll do your manicure then your pedicure. And after that you're signing up for all the social media accounts.”

“Yes, I think it's overdue for me to have more social media then Panbook.” You told her, a calculating smile hinting your lips.

Oh you're going to be creating social media accounts, but solely for the purpose of finding out what damage Livia Cardew's doing to Coriolanus’ image. Once you find out, you'll have to tell him and then come up with a plan to address it.

You're hairstylist, Fabian, was currently with another client so you're scrolling on your phone; looking at all the crazy shit that Livia Cardew's been posting on Pangram, while sitting in the lobby of the high end salon. Oh God, she's such a stick up bitch. Such a shrew. She seriously posted a picture of a bubble tea while complaining that they're wasn't enough bubbles in the tea.

Oh hell…

The receptionist was sitting at the front desk, flipping thru a rag mag whenever she gasped. Whatever she saw must be shocking.

Flipping the magazine in half, she held it up to you and said in a scandalous tone, “That farce of a political pony show going on between your Coriolanus and Livia.Cardew’s going to ruin his reputation.” Waving the magazine in the are, she told you, “Look, paparazzi’s got some pictures of her drunk and stumbling on the sidewalk. The accompanying article says the picture were taken while she was ranting to her socialite friends about how her fiance’s a freak in bed that scoffs at her purity ring, asked if he could stick it up her ass to keep her virginity intact, and she even said that Coriolanus has a thing for dirty district women; chased that former singing victor all those years ago just to screw around with her before his fall semester of University.”

“What?!” You loudly exclaimed, jumping out of you seat and rushing over to the reception desk to grab that trash gossip magazine from Xandra. “Oh Andraste’s tit, let me see that!” You curse, snatching up the magazine that's freely offered to you.

As your eyes look at the damning pictures and read the article, the receptionist tells you, “That's one of the magazine's that get delivered all over Panem; even the Districts get it. Particularly the PK bases as I understand.”

“Shit…” You mutter under your breath. You feel both pissed and lightheaded at the sudden revelation of what Livia Cardew's actions mean for Coriolanus' Senate run.

Damnit…

And it was that moment that Fabian’s client left and the stylist with perfectly feathered hair came up to you. “Y/N, it's been too long.” The hairstylist greeted you with a kiss to the cheek, which you returned in kind. Leading you back to his work station, he asked, “It's been over a month since you've had your hair done. Did Coriolanus not like my work last time?”

“No, Fabian.” You shook your head. “We just got into a spat, so we weren't talking “ You explain, taking your place in the salon chair.

“I hope you worked everything out since he called to fit you in; is picking up the tab like always too.” Fabian told you while placing a colorful smock around you.

“We worked things out as best as we could considering I'm his new assistant now. I'm his new campaign manager too.”

“Oh that's wonderful. Now if only we could toss that horrible Livia into that toxic sludge river over in 8 then everything’ll be perfect.”

“Fabian, that's horrible.”

“Yes, but you know it's true. Now, what're we doing with your hair today? Blow out, keratin treatments?”

*I want an entire new look.” You told your hairstylist.

“Ooo, new look for a new era.” Fabian clapped happily.

“I want hair that says I'm a bad boss bitch.” You smirked.

“Oh, honey, I know exactly what you need. Just leave it to me.” Fabian told you before hurrying off to the supply room to grab some supplies to make your hair new and to die for.

Your hairstylist was going to give you new hair that'll be the envy of everyone in the Capitol. Your new hairstyle will even have Coriolanus down on his knees, begging you to take him back. Oh, Fabian knows that what he has planned cut and color wise for your hair’s going to drive Coriolanus up the wall with desire. That he's going to be going crazy when he sees you.

The hairstylist views it as his personal mission to make sure that his best client stays with the only man in the Capitol that encourages his girl to routinely get her hair done. Most men aren't so generous like that when it comes to expensive salon visits every handful of weeks.

After your getting your hair done, you went home and drowned yourself in endless social media posts across various platforms for Livia Cardew. It seems like some were worse then others, but none of them were any good for your best friend. As long as he's connected to her, well, his campaign's going to tank.

You saw that Festus and Persephone weren't following Livia on social media. The newlyweds, whose wedding Coriolanus dragged you a few months prior, seemed to have either never added her, stopped following her, or blocked her from their accounts. You also saw that the couple had started to follow you on the social media accounts that you created earlier in the day with Adara in the spa.

You’re done scrolling thru Livia Cardew's accounts and decide to call Coryo to tell him all about what you uncovered. After three rings he answers his phone with a professional, “Head Gamemaker Snow speaking, to whom am I speaking with?”, before he realizes it's you

“It's me, Y/N.” You tell him as you pop up on the phone’s video screen. “I thought you would've programmed my new number from my application into your phone.” You chuckle while sitting up straighter on your sofa.

“I didn't even notice it, I just hit accept hire after after looking over your education and work history.”

“Oh.” You simply nod.

Before you could even tell Coriolanus why you're calling, he gives you a dazzling smile paired with the compliment of, “I like what you've done with your hair. The new cut and color suits you, my darling rose.”

Fabian was right, the hairstyle and color he gave you was going to drive Coriolanus wild. How did he know, who knows? But right now Coryo's baby blues are flashing with interest and mirth; they're locked into your face- he's in absolute awe of your new hairstyle/color.

A lopsided grin appeared on the platinum blonde's lush lips as he suggests, “Why don't I take you out to dinner to celebrate hiring you as both the Head Assistant Gamemaker and my Campaign Manager?”

“Don't forget your PR Liaison as well, Aspiring Senator Snow.” You teased Coryo, who still hasn't styled his platinum curls yet. “Oh, I did some digging while waiting for my appointment at the salon and found out why your campaign’s tanking.”

“Well, what did you uncover, my darling?” Coriolanus asks, leaning back in his sitting chair. The one in his living room to be exact.

“The problem isn't you, but it's your fiance: Livia Cardew. Everyone hates her.”

“That doesn't surprise me; I hate the shrew too.” The imposing blonde man, who's been your best friend for nearly 2 decades, chuckled.

Shaking your head, you sadly sigh, “Well, I think she hates you more than you hate her considering she's posting a lot of hate about you.”

Coriolanus arched a perfectly shaped brow at your words, causing you to tell him the blunt truth of your discoveries. “She’s spewing shitty remarks here and there; not to mention ranting about you on her friend's Pangram Live.” You take a tiny breath, only to sigh and tell him the most damning information of all. “Oh and then there's a story and some pap pics in a very popular and well circulated rag mag that has her stumbling drunk and ranting to her friends about you wanting to stick it up her ass cause she's wearing a purity; how you have a sexual attraction to district girls too.”

“Fucking hell…” Coriolanus groans, raking his lake hands thru his platinum curls- a nervous habit of his. “That's very damning for my campaign.”

“Yes,” You nod in agreement, “it is.”

“Well, I've been wanting out of the engagement and I've found a way to end it without looking like the bag guy.” Coriolanus told you, his lips in a thin pressed line. “But I can't tell you until we're alone in my car, it's not something I want to talk about over the phone.”

A few hours later you find yourself alone in a sleek, black sedan with Coriolanus behind the driver's seat. Since it's early spring, he's in a light grey suit with a wine hued waistcoat. It pairs lovely and really makes both his platinum hair, whose curls he just lightly gelled to keep from being messy, and his cerulean eyes pop.

“You look beautiful, baby.” Coriolanus smiles, looking between you and the road, as he pulls out of the parking garage.

“Thank you, but flattery’ll get you nowhere. You already complimented me on my dress when you picked me up, no need to do it again.”

“And only you, my darling rose, has the audacity to get your feathers ruffles over receiving multiple compliments from your lover.”

“My lover?” You scoff sardonicly, rolling your perfectly made up eyes.

“Whether you want to admit it or not, it's what we are, Y/N.” Coriolanus tells you, his baritone a bit softer then usual, as his hand slides off the clutch and onto your thigh- a thigh that's covered by the peachy pink skirt of your dress. A dress that was designed for you by Tigris, that had small white roses randomly embroidered on it.

Pushing his large hand off of your thigh, you give him a leveling look and state in a solid tone, “I thought that we're childhood best friends, who had a situationship that got a bit messy, but decided to work together for your political dreams.”

“We're working on our political ambitions. Don't forget, I did promise to make you my First Lady.” The platinum man with looks rivaling that of the gods themselves had the balls to tell you, all the while taking your hand in his. With a smirk, he changed the subject by giving you his opinion on your manicure. “I quite prefer your nails long and red, baby. They look much better then the short French tips you were wearing during our month long absence from each other.”

Of course he prefers long red stiletto nails on you over the short square French tips. Man sure does love red. You're not even surprised about that.

You don't make a comment about him liking your nails, but you do comment on his little making you his First Lady remark. “Last time I checked, Head Gamemaker Snow, the First Lady's married to the President and you're engaged to Livia Cardew.” After the little reminder of his reality, you decided to twist the knife in his heart and hurt his ego (because he broke your heart) by adding in, “Oh, and right now I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on earth.”

Coriolanus’ Adam's apple felt thick and stuck in the hollow of his throat as a reaction to hearing your cruel words. He knows deep down in is black, head, shriveled up heart why you said that. That you're trying to hurt him because he broke your heart; his promise to you.

Except he's doing his best to right his wrong; to ensure that he keeps his promise to you.

Coriolanus’ Adam's apple bobs up and down as he swallows down the thickness trapped in his throat. Looking between you and the road as he weaves in and out of traffic lanes, he reveals, “I'm going to get out of my arranged engagement by framing the Cardew's for bank fraud.”

“What?” You blurt out, finding his idea to be a bit brash. “Can’t you just call off the engagement because of irreconcilable differences?”

“No, baby,” Coriolanus shook his head, “I can't just break it off due to irreconcilable differences.” He quickly switched lanes again, cutting off a car and getting honked at. “Livia’s being a frigid shrew and dragging my name in the mud; how do you think me dropping her like a hot potato’ll make me look? Hmm, how would it look for my campaign?”

Turning your head to give him an incredulous look, you ask, “So, what, you're going to destroy the family that runs the Capitol United Bank to effortlessly break off an arranged engagement and to gain sympathy votes for your campaign?”

“Yes.” The icy eyes man smiles widely, like a maniac. “It's a flawless plan, Y/N. I trust that as my right hand woman and future First Lady that I have your complete support with this.”

Honestly, it might sound horrible, but you didn't give a shit about Livia Cardew or her family. If Coriolanus had to destroy the top banking family in the country to end his engagement and save his campaign then so be it.

“You just do whatever you have to do to and when it's done I'll make sure that you come out smelling like a rose in the media.” You told the man next to you as he pulled over, without using his blinkers, into the entrance of the restaurant he's taking you to.

The Capitol Grille.

“Good.” Coriolanus nods while getting into the line for valet parking. “Tomorrow we need to start switching our banking accounts to the Capitol One Bank.”

You've been to The Capitol Grille a few times with Coryo, so when the maitre d greets you both with a smile and ushers you to a cozy table for two, while making the other patrons in line ahead of you wait, you're not surprised.

Coriolanus, like always, orders a bottle of the best wine and some glasses of water for you two. He also orders the go to appetizer for when you dine out at The Capitol Grille: shrimp cocktail. He also orders the usual for you two as well: the chef's suggestion of the slices filet mignon topped onions and wild mushrooms with cream spinach and au gratin potatoes. Oh, and he ordered the infamous Capitol made cheesecake the restaurant’s known for.

You didn't mind him doing the ordering since you two always got the same thing every time he took you out to eat at The Capitol Grille. You'd be shocked if he didn't insist on ordering, truth be told.

The waiter delivered both your glasses of water, wine, and the large shrimp cocktail to share all on one tray. Once he finishes delivering the items and pouring the wine, he assured Coriolanus and you that your food would be out shortly and left.

Coriolanus is fixing you up a small plate of shrimp cocktail and engaging in small talk with you about your upcoming job as his right hand woman in the Citadel whenever Odysseus’ voice reaches your ear from nearby as he smiles disparagingly. “I see it didn't take you too long to move on, sweetheart. But I didn't think you'd be moving on with Satan, or is he who you've been cheating with.”

“Oh, Odysseus Odair, I wish I could say seeing you while out celebrating Y/N’s new job as my assistant is a pleasant surprise, but then I'd be lying and I make it my utmost priority not to lie to or around my childhood best friend.” Coriolanus said in a very cool, calm, and collective way that has just enough zing to bite.

“Your what?” The bronze haired man asked, his voice hitched up in shock.

“I told you that I attended the Academy, Odysseus. Maybe you should've believed me instead of insisting I wasn't on the same level as you and Coryo.” You told your neighbor and new ex while gesturing between him and your Coryo with your hand.

“He what?” Coriolanus blinked his eyes slowly, like an offended cat. It reminded you of a cat you had as a child. Looking at you, he said with so much disdain in his deep baritone, “That manwhore insulted you by insisting you weren't good enough to attend the Academy?”

“Coryo, let it go.” You told him in a whisper hiss while Odysseus’ sea-green eyes bounced between you and the platinum blonde man you're dining with very suspiciously.

“I will not let it go, darling. He insulted you.” Coriolanus whisper hissed back.

Well, looks like chivalry’s not dead at all.

“I have a business meeting I need to attend, Y/N, but I'll call you later so we can talk things out.” Odysseus told you before booking it away from your table (since he didn't want to be around Coriolanus) and towards the table his father Posieden Odair, Mr. Larimer (a wealthy politician and investor) and Mr. Hearst (a wealthy newspaper mogul) was sitting at; waiting for him.

“You better not answer your phone when he calls.” Coriolanus tells you while making himself a small plate of shrimp cocktail with jerky, aggravated movements.

Grabbing a piece of shrimp from your plate and dipping it into the red cocktail sauce, you tell him, “I’ll answer it if I want to, Coriolanus. My relationship’s none of your business.”

Tossing the serving spoon back into the middle of the extravagant crystal serving bowl, causing some of the red sauce to splash up. Coriolanus face skewed up as he watched you eat your piece of shrimp. Taking his and dipping it into the sauce, he darkly chuckled, “I see you're going to play little minx and punish me for my arrangement by having a fling with the sluttiest man in all of Capitol City.”

“What's good for the goose's good for the gander.” You simply smirk, causing the man sitting across from you to nearly choke on his shrimp.

And then, as he's coughing and trying not to die from shrimp going down the wrong windpipe, Odysseus loudly tells somebody at his table to ‘Shut the hell up!’ before storming away from the table, right past yours, and out of the restaurant.

Hmm…

You wonder what happened at his table.

Coriolanus Snow, ever the gentleman, used his pristine white cloth napkin to spit his piece of shrimp that nearly made him choke and die. Folding his napkin and placing it back on his lap, he seriously told you, “He's a spoiled brat; I hope you get seeing him to punish me out of your system real fast because I don't like sharing what's mine, Y/N.”

“Last time I checked I didn't belong to you.” You smugly retorted while eating another piece of your shrimp cocktail.

Coriolanus leaned in close, nearly crossing the table, and declared in a low, dark timbre, “You’ve always been mine, baby. And, as you know, I'm going to ruin a family just to make you my wife; First Lady.”

Tags: @kuroosbby001 @purriteen @poppyflower-22 @meetmeatyourworst @whipwhoops @bxtchopolis @readingthingsonhere @savagenctzen @ryswritingrecord @erikasurfer @tulips2715 @universal-s1ut @thesmutconnoisseur @squidscottjeans @sudek4l @wearemadeofstardust0 @mashiromochi @gracieroxzy @belcalis9503 @shari-berri @aoi-targaryen @whiteoakoak @spear-bearing-bi-witch @gisellesprettylies @loverandqueenofdragons @qoopeeya @mfnqueen1 @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @v-love @swiftieblyth @joyfulyouthlover @harvey-malfoy @chxrrybomb22 @marvel-hiddles-stark @xjinnix @devils-blackrose @zombicupcake3 @dcylight-fciry @jacesvelaryons @tempt-ress @cherrybaird @blurpleuni-squid

[liviavanrouge]

Beaten

Livia: Is Papa scared?

Lilia: I don't know am I?

Livia: *Chuckles* I'm surprised you accepted my request to duel

Lilia: *Nods* Well don't be, you've gotten cocky lately, I'm just gonna knock you off your high horse...

Epel: Shouldn't we stop this?

Azul: No

Malleus: Agreed, my Beastie has gotten quite cocky....

Livia: *Lunges forward, summoning her rapier, gasping when Lilia blocked her*

Lilia: *Knocks Livia backwards then perks up when throwing stars came at him*

Lilia: *Lifts his sword, knocking them away with ease* You both weren't invited...

Kuro: This is my fault! I egged her on, so fight me instead!!

Kiara: W-We won't let her fight alone!!

Lilia: Very well, all three of you COME AT ME!!!

Lilia: *Tosses his sword at Kiara*

Kuro: NO!!! *Leaps in front of Kiara, his eyes wide*

Livia: *Shoots in front of Kuro, blocking the sword with her polearm, her eyes widening when it started moving on its own* WHAT!??

Kuro: LIV!!

Livia: *Dodges the sword and knocks it away only for it to come flying back, gasping when it nearly stabbed her in the stomach, her polearm blade blocking it*

Kuro: LILIA!! STOP!!! THAT'S GONNA KILL HER!!

Lilia: You know people who stand in one place are easy TARGETS!!!

Lilia: *Stomps his foot, rock pillars rising from the ground and rushing full speed towards the kids*

Kiara: *Yells in alarm, her eyes wide* WAIT!!

Kalim: *Gasps as the rock pillars smashed the three kids, sending the trio flying*

Lilia: Had enough?

Kuro: Not...yet...

Livia and Kiara: *Vanishes, turning into feathers and bits of shadows*

Lilia: I had a sneaking suspicion....

Livia and Kiara: *Leaps from the shadows with weapons in hand*

Livia: *Grins smugly and swings her polearm down* HAH!!

Kiara: I'M SO SORRY!!! *Lunges for him, aiming her dagger towards a vital point*

Epel: *Coughs at the dirt and dust that filled the air, waving his hand* Guys?!

Lilia: *Grips Livia and Kiara's wrists, looking unbothered*

Livia: *Gasps, Kiara's dagger pressed against her neck* AH!!

Kiara: *Trembles, Livias polearm aimed at her stomach* H-HUH!

Lilia: Are you apologizing for this sorry excuse of a sneak attack, a baby could do better than this....I'm disappointed..

Kuro: *Gasps* NO!!

Epel: *Steps forward, Malleus grabbing him* THAT'S ENOUGH!!

Lilia: *Tosses Livia and Kiara, taking their weapons at the same time*

Kiara: *Hits her side and rolls away grunting in pain* AH!

Livia: *Hits her upper back on the ground, tumbling away* WOAH!!

Kuro: *Charges at Lilia, grabbing his dropped sword* OLD MAN STOP!!!

Kuro: *Moves in front of Livia and Kiara, his hands sweating* D-DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU!! I SAID I EGGED HER ON! TAKE IT UP WITH ME!!!

Lilia: *Reaches forward and pats Kuro's shoulder* And I applaud you for taking responsibility...

Kuro: H-Huh

Lilia: *Grips Kuro's shoulder, forcing the boy down to his knees* But you can't always save your sister when her stupidity gets her in trouble

Kuro: *Gasps when Lilia released him, dropping his sword, sitting on his hands and knees*

Lilia: *Walks over to Livia and Kiara, staring them down then glances back towards Kuro* You all will have four hours of training rather than one, starting tomorrow

Kuro: *Bows his head* Yes..sir....

Lilia: *Looks at Livia* Get off your high horse, you're not as strong as you think you are.

Livia: *Stares then looks down* Yes....alright..

Lilia: *Looks at Kiara* You have a lot more to learn...

Kiara: Understood....

Lilia: *Turns and walks away* Nice try...

Kuro: *Sits between Livia and Kiara, pulling them into a tight hug, his wings wrapped around them both*

Malleus: *Shakes his head then walks after Lilia*

Epel: Liv?

Azul: I think they need to be alone....

Kalim: Yeah..

Epel: *Walks after Kalim and Azul, looking back at the three sitting on the ground*

Kuro: Sorry guys...

Kiara: I'm sorry too...

Livia: Same here...sorry...

@queen-of-twisted @yukii0nna @zexal-club @pekoetiikapu @teddymochi @marrondrawsalot @abyssthing198 @writing-heiress

[petertingle-yipyip]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

six - so what now?

tags: n/a // five // seven // masterlist

Pairing: Billy x Livia , Frank x Livia

Word Count: 7,682

Summary: Limits are pushed and more secrets pile up as she continues to pretend on both sides. When they creep closer to one another, can she maintain all of her lies and save face or will she be forced to pick what relationship matters most?

You and Lieberman got Frank onto a table in the small kitchen area before you shooed him away. You stressed that if he didn’t come back with Curtis, then he didn’t need to come back at all. You dug through your own bag seven times to try and find something to help, anything that might give you an idea to fix it, but you had nothing. Instead, all you could do was track the vitals you could feel with the small batch of equipment Lieberman had pulled, which luckily included a forehead thermometer and a stethoscope.

“Do I even wanna know what you’re doing here?” Curtis asked when he got there. Suddenly, you were hyperaware of the blood splatters still on your skin from earlier but at least you had changed out of the suit.

“BP hovering around 90/60 and temperature’s 104 and climbing.” You explained instead. “He’s been on fluids and antibiotics the entire ride back but it’s not helping.”

“Does he need blood? I’m a universal donor.” Lieberman offered and you rolled your eyes.

“So am I but I don’t think the blood’s the problem. I tried to pack his wounds in the field so he wouldn’t have that as a problem.”

“No, it’s not the blood.” Curtis confirmed, opening Frank’s lids to check his pupils. “I think he’s septic. That arrow’s a foreign body and his system’s trynna fight it off. Antibiotics are fighting a losing battle.”

“Okay, so we take it out.” You agreed.

“So you’re gonna just pull it out?” Lieberman asked.

“Pulling it out’s gonna do more damage than when it went in. All this swelling and inflammation means the arrow’s crowded now. You try to pull it out, you don’t know what you’re gonna tear up in the process.” Curtis countered. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Mhmm, yeah.” Lieberman nodded.

“He doesn’t do this often.” You explained and moved to stand at the head of the table.

“Well, you’re gonna have to help me hold him still so Livia can get it out.” Curtis explained and you rubbed your sleeves against your forehead to try and push them up.

“Right now?” Lieberman’s eyes went wide.

“Yes, now.”

The men shifted Frank to his side and you looked between the front and back, realizing the arrow didn’t fully penetrate. You made a face to yourself and gently pushed the arrow from the front, only to find tension and resistance. You came back to the other side and pressed your fingers firmly until you felt the protrusion of the arrowhead. You looked at your waist habitually for a knife but you were in your regular pants. Instead, Curtis passed you the scalpel.

Using one hand as a guide, you began to slice through Frank’s back. As the cut got bigger, the smell of blood began to permeate the small area and Lieberman looked like he would pass out.

“I swear to God if you don’t get it together.” You muttered without looking away from the task at hand.

“No, I’m good.” He sniffled from the other side of the table. “I’m good. I got this.”

“Do not lose your shit.” Curtis said firmly from your side. “Say it.”

“I won’t lose my shit.” Lieberman repeated and you laughed to yourself.

“Can you-” You began but Curtis was already reaching a hand to help move some of the muscle out of the way. He handed you a set of forceps.

“Put some pressure on the arrow.” You told Lieberman, watching for the movement on your end. “I see it.”

“Good.” Curtis said, peering over your shoulder. “Can you get it?”

You made a small noise as you tried to position the forceps. “It keeps slipping.” You grumbled and shifted your angle, trying to hook the forceps between the points of the arrowhead. “Wait, I think I- Yeah, I got it. It’s coming.”

You pulled gently and the arrow slid out the open wound. You dropped it on the plate behind you and dropped the forceps with it. You grabbed a small handful of gauze and wiped the excess stream of blood away. You looked over and repositioned Lieberman’s hands to put pressure from the front. Curtis moved you away so he could pour alcohol over the open wound before he stapled the wound shut. Lieberman backed away and made small exclamations of stress while Curtis cauterized the entry wound.

“What about you?” Curtis looked to you while Lieberman took the bottle. “You good?”

“Uh, yeah.” You nodded. “I saw most of them coming so I’m good.”

“Most of them.” He repeated with a small nod. “I’m guessing the blood across your chest was the one you didn’t.”

You hummed a small noise of question before you glanced down and realized you bled through your shirt. You closed your eyes and sighed slightly. When you opened them, you saw Curtis giving you an expectant look. He gestured for you to remove your shirt and you shook your head, to which he lifted a pair of scissors. You flipped him off quickly before carefully pulling your shirt over your head.

“Jesus, Livia.” He sighed and changed his gloves before he came closer to examine your wound.

“Don’t tell him you got me to take my shirt off that easily.” You tried to joke, pulling a face when he pressed on the tender area.

“I don’t think Frank’s gonna care that much.” He answered with a small laugh.

“I didn’t mean him. I meant our other mutual friend that I haven’t told Frank I know…”

“You haven’t…?” He looked at you with wide eyes and you shrugged innocently. “What do you think is gonna happen when he finds out?”

“Honestly?” You blew out an exaggerated sigh. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m just going day to day at this point.”

“Livia.” He groaned before placing a gauze square over the missing chunk in your shoulder. “It sounds like you’re trying to be someone different with every person you meet.”

“That’s what I was taught to do.” You shrugged your other shoulder while he taped the gauze into place. “Don’t worry about this. It’ll heal quicker than you think.”

“Do I wanna know how?” He sighed while you replaced your shirt.

“I don’t think you should.” You said honestly. “Every time someone finds out, they end up like him-” You nodded to Frank. “-or worse.”

“You say that like I wouldn’t get it.” He said simply as he turned to dress Frank’s wound.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Go ahead and look in the bag.” You gestured to your duffel while you moved to the sink to gather a wet towel to clean up some of the blood. “Seems to be the one thing people recognize.”

Curtis was quiet but you heard the shuffle of the material. You kept your eyes on your task, gently wiping away the excess blood, when you heard the heavy sigh.

“Y’know that explains a lot.” He said and you dared to look up at him. “Not everything, but a lot.”

“Explains how I keep up with him, why I can’t tell anyone how I can, and why I don’t talk about a good chunk of my life. Everyone looks at me differently afterward, like I’m suddenly not a person anymore. All they see is the blood.”

“I don’t.”

You offered a small, thankful smile. Leave it to Curtis to actually get through to you. He offered a small pat to your shoulder before turning towards Lieberman.

“Why’d you have to go after him?” Curtis asked plainly. It was a fair question, given the only real explanation you had was that the same people who came after Frank came after him - allegedly - for distributing the video of Ahmed Zubair.

Really, when you sat back and thought about it, Lieberman brought his so-called death on himself. You and Frank owed him nothing. You two had no reason to help him get back to his family. But if Lieberman was right and Agent Orange tried to orchestrate both of their murders, then Agent Orange killed Frank’s family. And that was the answer you were willing to chase down. Not for Lieberman, you hardly knew or cared for the man. Not for Sarah and her kids, mourning their dad who was mere miles away. But for Lisa Castle, Maria Castle, and Frank Castle Jr. For the family stripped away from one of your closest friends due to no fault of their own. For the innocent kids gunned down in Central Park. Kids you didn’t even know…

You didn’t know Frank’s family…

Why did their closure matter to you?

Then a new possibility hit you.

Closure.

You couldn’t get closure for Matt’s death so you wanted to help Frank get closure for his family. After everything, maybe you owed him that much.

The tension in the room had grown exponentially by the time you focused back on the conversation. The men seemingly had nothing left to say to each so Curtis offered you a small smile and nod before he left.

“You um.. You need anything?” Lieberman asked awkwardly, now just you and him in the small kitchen.

“Help me move him?” You asked simply. “I was planning on staying with him, at least for a little while.”

“Sure, yeah.” He nodded before managing to help you get Frank to the cot in the next room.

Lieberman brought you a chair first, then a sleeping bag and pillow. He apologized for the lack of comfort but you shrugged it off. For a while after he left, you sat in the chair holding Frank’s hand. The sound of the IV drip was all the noise in the room and it dripped steadily, like a metronome for your thoughts.

“Lieberman?” You called out after some silence. There was no verbal answer, just the sound of the desk chair’s wheels skirting across the floor. “We promised Gunner that we’d bury him… Think you can help us out?”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it.” He answered.

“Thanks, ‘ppreciate it.”

He went back to his typing and you leaned your forehead against your forearm, your free hand thumbing across your screen to flip through your phone. Your mind was finally slowing and you felt everything from the past few hours settling in. You seemed to finally realize Gunner had died in those woods. Whoever went after him had to have gone because you and Frank were going, but that conversation never left that hideout. You thought about that team a bit more.

You had assumed it was an Anvil team since Billy offered you the lead, but given their performance, that didn’t make sense. Billy may not have a completely elite roster at his company but they would’ve been smarter than those men were. But Billy knew, which could’ve meant that whoever sent that team told him. Either because of his relation to Gunner, having served together as well, or due to his relation to you. The first seemed more likely, given the assumption that whoever the alleged friend was was going to be Agent Orange, and that man would’ve known nothing about you or Exodus.

You were yanked from your thoughts when Frank shot up on the cot suddenly. You jolted upright and tried to calm him, but the words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. His eyes were wide but not seeing, muttering about him still being out there and that he had to go back.

“You’re alright, Frankie, okay? It’s just me.” You put your hands on either side of his face and turned him to look at you, the contact sending a shock to your palms. You shuddered at the sensation but gave no other indication of anything and after a few seconds, Frank’s eyes focused and he realized where he was.

“We’ve gotta go back.” He said quietly and you sighed softly.

“It’s okay.” Lieberman said from the small doorway and you leaned back in your seat when the tension in Frank began to melt away. “She took care of it.” He nodded towards you.

Your head turned quickly and you shot him a quizzical expression. Lieberman gave you a quick nod and waved his hand, signaling for you to not say anything. Your brows furrowed and you slowly turned back, though your eyes lingered on him for a bit longer. When you finally looked back to Frank, his expression was soft with appreciation. You offered a gentle smile and he laid back down, adjusting on the stiff material before closing his eyes again.

You gave it a few minutes before you got up and went out to where Lieberman was still typing and his eyes darted across the monitors.

“Why’d you lie to him?” You asked simply, though you made sure to keep your voice low.

“Didn’t.” He answered plainly. “You handled it.”

“No, I told you to handle it.”

“What difference does it make? He knows you. He trusts you. I tell him you took care of it, he’s gonna trust it more than if I said I did… Besides, if it was that big a deal, why didn’t you tell him?”

You sighed slightly and turned away, knowing he was partially right. You could’ve told Frank the truth, too. But with the state he was in, maybe it was easier to let the little white lie go. You were going to head back to the room when you saw the light reflecting off the blue lenses of the mask in your bag.

“Hey.” You began and looked over your shoulder. “The body cams they were wearing. Is there any way you could find out where they were streaming to?”

“If I had one of them, sure.” He shrugged. “Why? You have a lead?”

“Maybe. What if I had something that could mimic the signal?”

“Mimic? I don’t know, I’ve never tried that.”

You hurried to grab your mask and held it to your eyes, tapping the side to try and find the signal it captured earlier. Your mask had been able to get a vague direction, but it was too far for even your technology to do anything. You gestured between Lieberman’s computer and your mask and he allowed for it to be detected by bluetooth devices. You found the connection and transferred the data from your mask before sliding it into your pocket.

“This is…” He breathed out as his skimmed the newly shared information. “Wow. This is a good start, yeah. I mean I probably can’t get an exact location but I can get within a few mile radius, hopefully.”

“Great.” You nodded. “Work on that but don’t tell him when he wakes up. If this is what I think, it might do more harm than good.”

“Why?”

“Need to know basis, Lieberman.” You shrugged. “I’m actually gonna head out. He’s stable and now that he’s woken up, I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine in a day or two.”

“Yeah, okay.. If he asks, when should I tell him you’ll be back?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a leak somewhere. I’ve gotta see what I can find. Could be a couple days, could be sooner. But call me if something comes up on your end.”

He nodded quietly and you grabbed your things before you headed home. When you got into your apartment, you kicked off your shoes and pants almost immediately. You threw your bag behind the locked doors and threw on a loose shirt and sweats to sleep in. Once you hit the bed, you fell asleep almost instantly as.

—-------------------------

You drew your staff and stuck it out in front of Matt, causing Nobu’s weapon to clatter against it. He switched grips and slammed his elbow into your nose which made you stagger back. When he turned to slam the weapon into your stomach, you saw Elektra coming closer from the corner of your eye. She moved to step in front of your but you reacted quickly.

You grabbed the back of her collar and hooked a foot around her leg. You yanked her back quickly and threw her to the floor, just before the weapon pierced your abdomen.

A small whine left your mouth before you fired a sharp jolt from your Bites. As the electricity hit its mark, your knees gave out and you landed in Matt’s arms. His hands were as careful as ever to avoid the weapon still lodged in your side as he lowered you to the ground.

“You’re okay.” He said in a quiet panic. “You’re okay, I got you. I got you, you’re gonna be- Gonna be okay.”

“Matt..” You said quietly, but the simple syllable came out as a gurgled sound. “You should know…”

The night hadn’t been cold just minutes before. But as you laid on the rooftop, uneven breaths shaking your chest, you felt the cold creeping across your body. It started at the point where the weapon protruded and radiated out, soaking up every degree of warmth your body had. It was an illusion, your body’s way of telling you something was wrong. Realistically, your body wouldn’t go cold for a few hours, but in your head you were turning to ice at that moment.

“You can tell me later, okay? Stay with me.”

You reached for one of his hands and pushed your mask up. His fingers were shaky as he traced your features and you watched the tears gather in his eyes. His mouth opened and closed, trying to give shape to the words tumbling around his brain but unable to do it. He couldn’t say anything as you were dying in his arms and he recognized who you were.

“Alivia?” He said, hardly above a whisper. “Please.”

“I love you, Matty.” You managed before roughly coughing blood down your suit front.

“Don’t leave me.” He breathed and shook his head quickly. His arms pulling you closer. “You can’t. I- I need you.”

“You’re safe now.” You tried but there was no sound in your throat.

There was no air in your lungs.

There was no life in your eyes.

Rightfully so, you were dead.

————————————

The sharp bangs on your door woke you quickly. You pushed yourself up, noting a faint red line across your sheets. Glancing at your chest, you saw the red line seeping through your shirt and you groaned when you realized you had slept the later portion of your night away face down. You tried adjusting the shirt but the material was stuck to the scab beneath so it only tugged the skin. You gently rubbed at the line on your shirt with one hand and ran the other down your face as you shuffled across your apartment to answer the repeated banging.

You opened the door without checking and turned away quickly, looking down at your shirt and gently pulling at it again. You winced slightly and headed into the bathroom, hardly registering Billy’s voice in your living room.

You turned on your tap and wet your palm before pressing the water against the cut. You watched from the mirror as you dampened the material, in turn softening the scab beneath it. You sucked in a sharp breath between gritted teeth as you were able to peel the fabric off the injury, which allowed you to rid yourself of the bloodied shirt.

You stared at the newly exposed cut in the mirror, an angry red and irritated length of exposed muscle bubbling with droplets of fresh blood mingling with crusted patches of scab. You pursed your lips in a slight pout before gingerly prodding at the surrounding redness. There was no pain in the palpating so you took that as a good sign. You shrugged slightly before heading back into your living room, only to be met by Billy staring at you expectantly.

“Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” You confessed. “Start over?”

“What the hell is that?” He asked instead, gesturing to your chest. “What’d you do this time, Livs?”

“Some guy tried to get tough, I fought back, he pulled out a blade. I’m fine. What has you riled up?”

“Agent Madani.” He answered with a sigh. You gestured to the couch and he took a seat while you went back into your bedroom for a shirt.

“Little early for that, don’t you think?” You called out as you grabbed the first shirt out of the drawer, which seemed to be Matt’s. Again.

“Unless…” You popped your head out instead of thinking too much on the shirt. “You woke up with her, didn’t you?”

“Jealous?” He quirked a brow and you pulled a face before ducking behind your door again. “Anyways. You know she has a file on Frankie? And I can’t help but think she’s been using me to fill in the gaps, y’know?”

Frankie.

You paused for a moment when you realized you picked that up from Billy. And you said it out loud to Frank when he woke up in a panic. If he was lucid, he probably would’ve connected the dots. You forced yourself to shake the thought quickly and padded back into the living room to sit beside Billy on the couch.

“Yeah, I figured there was a file. She called me in to talk about how I knew him and the court case.” You explained as you folded your legs under you. “I didn’t tell her much.”

“She asked me about you, too.” He offered a small smirk. “I didn’t tell her much either.”

“Hmm. Makes me one of your better kept secrets then… What’d she say?”

“She asked about your past, where you came from and what you know how to do. I told her you could clear a battlefield on your own without breaking a sweat but the hell if I knew where you learned it.”

“I could’ve told her that.”

“Well she also said you seemed like a maneater.”

“A maneater?” Your eyes went wide. “I’ve never been called that before.”

“Really?” His brows raised teasingly.

“Not that I know of. And here I thought we really hit it off.” You pouted, which made Billy laugh. “Unless she just wanted to keep you all to herself. If that’s the case, I don’t blame her.”

“You want me for yourself too?” He kept the teasing tone and you shook your head with a small smile of your own. “Just gotta say it, y’know.”

You sighed loudly and patted his chest before you got back to your feet. He groaned slightly and dropped his head as you wandered to your kitchen.

“Hey, maybe she’s into you.” He called out and you snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, cause that’s how you talk about someone you wanna sleep with, huh?”

“Why didn’t you tell me Dinah called you in?” Billy asked and you glanced over to see him still looking at you with his head hanging over the back of the couch.

“I figured it would go away on it’s own.” You shrugged. “Most things regarding Frank Castle do. Why did you tell me what Dinah said about me?”

“Figured you deserved to know.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“I know.”

“Why’d you come to me about this whole thing anyway?”

“I…” He trailed off and shifted to face you. “You were the first person I thought of.”

You smiled slightly and suddenly the crater in your heart didn’t feel so deep.

The rest of your day was relatively normal. You felt your chest wound mending itself as the hours passed and you found yourself constantly checking your phone for a message from Frank or Lieberman. But there never was one. Billy didn’t stay long, blaming some investor meeting. You even tried checking in with Dex, but there was still deliberation on your official office given your training scores caught every SAC’s attention.

You made time to go to Curtis’ meeting, which you regretted by the end of it. The same man, O’Connor, was ranting about how weak recent veterans were.

“How real Americans are put at the back of every goddamn line!” He shouted and you made a noise of complaint. “Life’s tough, Princess. Learn your place and get over it.”

He spat the name sarcastically and it reignited an old fury within you. It was similar - but not quite the same - as when Fisk would refer to Exodus as his friend. Your hands made tight fists that were hidden since you had your arms folded. Your jaw clenched and your brows raised in a quiet challenge.

“Real Americans.” You repeated with a slow nod.

“Livia.” Curtis tried but you ignored him.

“See, I know my place.” You continued, shifting your legs so you could lean forward. Coincidentally, the movement made O’Connor lean back. “I’m your perfect, all-american bitch. And I’m grateful -so grateful - all the time, for men like you. For men who think they have a say in anyone else’s business.”

“There you go, with that feminist bullshit.” The man scoffed. “You wanna go print pamphlets and sing the Beatles? Huh? Tough shit, Princess. Words aren’t gonna win this fight.”

“Call me princess one more time and I’ll give you a goddamn fight you won’t win.” You warned firmly, but before anything else could be said, Curtis stepped in.

You weren’t even completely sure why you were angry. Maybe it was what the man was saying, maybe it was something else. Maybe it was everything. All you knew was that you were wearing yourself dangerously thin and you would break at any minute. You were too hollow, too breakable to keep going the way you were.

“You go through all this shit just to get patched up and so it all over again.” Curtis said with a slight edge in his voice. You didn’t need to look up to know he was looking at you, only a glance but you knew it was a pointed one.

You knew he was thinking of Frank. So were you. Maybe he was even talking about you.

Either way, you just had to keep going until you became like Curtis’ goat. Until you died from just too much.

The next morning, Billy was outside your building when you were on your way out. Initially, you were going to try and get in with Dinah to talk about Kentucky and what she knew of Gunner Henderson but he caught you before you had a chance. Conversation was casual as he drove you to a more secluded portion of a shipyard. There was a certain uneasiness from him that you couldn’t quite place but it stemmed from you, from what you may or may not know about Frank. And admittedly, you liked it. It made it easier to keep him from getting too close. Ensuring he couldn’t fully trust you meant he could never be with you because there would always be that uncertainty. The sideways glance at something you said, the hesitation due to something you brushed off.

Billy came around and opened your door, his hand landing on your lower back to guide you towards the secondary car. As you drew closer, you saw none other than Dinah Madani standing in front of you. She glanced between you and Billy and there a hint of green around her, which made you smile slightly.

“Hello, Dinah.” You said kindly, leaning into Billy for show. “Nice to see you.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Livia.” She nodded to you before looking at Billy. “Thank you for coming.”

“Great place for a romantic apology. Or mob hit, whichever.” Billy shrugged, though there was humor in his tone despite his annoyance.

Clearly, he was still bothered by Dinah’s confidentiality regarding her Kandahar and Castle investigation. You tuned out Billy’s short rant but came back into focus when you heard Dinah’s demand dressed as a request, as a favor.

“I want you to tell me about Frank Castle, both of you.” She said curtly, looking between you two. Despite the firmness of her tone, you felt her waver.

“You first.” You spoke simply, chin tilting up slightly as you stepped away from Billy. “Tell me what you know.”

“Castle’s alive.”

“Says who?”

“You didn’t know?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion but you stayed quiet. “Maybe you did, maybe not. I’m telling you that I know it.”

“How?”

“You think I’m lying?”

“No, I don’t think you are.” Billy spoke but Dinah’s eyes didn’t leave yours, alowing you to see the challenge within them.

“You didn’t know?” She asked again but Billy only answered with silence. “You strike me as a pair that would’ve protected him even if you did.”

“That’s the beauty of lawyer-client privilege.” You taunted with a small smirk. “Without a subpoena, I’m no use to you.”

“You and I both know I can get one.” She returned your challenge.

“On what grounds?” You nearly laughed. “You go pulling skeletons out of closest, someone’s bound to have a probem with it.”

“Someone like you?”

You simply lifted a brow with a small head tilt, only egging her frustration on.

“Why are you telling us this now?” Billy asked from behind you and you wondered why he hadn’t tried to move you back.

“I need to bring Castle in.” Dinah continued and you had to refrain from rolling your eyes. “If you already knew where he was, I was going to ask for your help. As it is, if there’s anyone who can find him, it’s probably one of you. Can you?”

“Can I, yes. Should I, well… You tell me.”

“Why should we?” Billy asked and there was a controlled anger from within him. Not directed at you or Dinah. Not at Frank for his secret survival. But at something beyond his control, something that was coming.

“I think he knows everything about my Kandahar case.” She explained and at that, you couldn’t contain the scoff.

“You’re still on that?” You laughed mockingly and her own anger spiked for a moment, like a flash in a pan before retreating.

“How does that help him?” Billy urged.

“It doesn’t.” You said flatly, earning another glare from Dinah that made you smile. “You’re so easy.” You taunted with a condescending smile. “It’s adorable.”

“Because I think he went after it himself.” Dinah spoke through you to Billy. “And somebody left him half dead on a mountain. I think he’s hurt and he needs help. The people he’s up against… He’s gonna get himself killed, Billy.”

“What do you know about these people?” You asked, sidestepping to block her path when she tried to move around you. “Frank’s just intel for you. You’ve already admitted it. Even if we find him, you’re gonna need to offer one hell of a deal to get us to hand him over.”

“Find him and I will.”

“Should’ve gotten that on record.” You mumbled and turned to the side, allowing her clearance to go to Billy.

“I’ll shake the tree and see what falls out.” Billy agreed and motioned for you to head to the car first.

You hummed in agreement and turned, giving one more look to Dinah. She didn’t like you and you didn’t like her, which you were fine with. You didn’t need more friends. You didn’t need more people to look out for. So let the conversations be tense. Let them be filled with undertones and condescension and disdain. Let there be rage and distrust and a lack of pleasantries.

“So what now?” You asked Billy as he opened the door for you.

“Got a few options.” He said with a small shrug. “You got any ideas?”

“Boat explosion was last news I heard.” You answered, which technically was true. There was no news stories on Frank Castle since.

“I’m gonna try something and we’ll see what happens, I guess.”

“You sure we should? What if she just tried to send him to prison after she gets what she wants?”

“He’s gonna need a pretty good lawyer then, huh? I think I know a lady.”

You clicked your tongue in fake disappointment before smiling slightly. “I don’t know, I heard her retainer fee is pretty steep. And her hourly’s up there with the best of them.”

He laughed slightly and pushed down on your head so you would drop into your seat.

You went back to Liebernan’s that afternoon. Being in your apartment still felt strange from the dream you had the night before. Lieberman didn’t bring up the signal and neither did you. Instead, you cleaned and dressed Frank’s side, chatting about nothing when you heard it.

In your head first, so you thought you hallucinated it, but then Frank acknowledged it.

It was Billy’s voice, calling out to someone.

“Blackbird to Raven, come in. Raven! Blackbird, come in!”

“What the..” You trailed off, shutting down your implant and still hearing it. “Is that a recording?”

“I’ve been monitoring radio chatter.” Lieberman explained as he toyed with the dials. “Just in case I hear something about us or one of our targets. Mostly it’s just been random shit, you know, dead air.”

“You know what this is?” You looked to Frank.

“Yeah. I’m Raven.”

You out there, Frankie?

“I figured that much but why is Billy Russo calling for you?” You asked, pointing firmly to the radio to punctuate your faux ignorance.

“Who’s Billy Russo?” Lieberman asked while Frank challenged you with “How the hell do you know Russo?”

“Does he know you’re alive?” Lieberman came around you to stand in front of Frank.

“No, I don’t think so.” Frank answered.

“See, that sounds to me like he does.” He said instantly, pointing at the radio before turning to you.

“I haven’t said anything but all the interest in you as of late may be allowing speculation.” You explained. “He knows about Madani’s file on you and Kandahar so maybe she’s convinced him to try.”

“Yeah and you-“ Frank groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but decided against it. “-didn’t answer my question, Princess.”

“I don’t have to.”

“Frank, Li-“ Lieberman began to say your name but the glare you shot his way made him backtrack. “Exodus. Do we need to worry about this?”

“I can handle Billy.” You waved him off as Frank argued “He’s my friend.”

“What kind of friend?”

“The life or death kind.”

“That’s all I get?” Lieberman scoffed. “C’mon, Frank. This is a serious development here, alright? Some guy - I never heard of him - all of a sudden he’s broadcasting your name all over the radio.”

“What did I just say to you?” Frank said firmly and you quirked a brow as the tension rose.

“Why do you think he’s calling?” You tapped Frank's shoulder to gauge his response to the situation.

“I dunno.” Frank shrugged. He longed for that familiarity, for the comfort of that close knit relationship, but he was also keeping himself from acknowledging it. Because acknowledging that desire made it real, made it dangerous. It gave power to those feelings and that was a risk no one could take.

“Okay.” You nodded slightly. “I’ll see what I can find.”

“Jesus Christ, Liv… Please tell me Russo isn’t one of your boyfriends.” Frank sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

“He’s not.” You shrugged. “Neither of them are. We worked together for a little while.”

“Neither, wow.” Lieberman muttered as he walked away.

You had half a mind to start an argument with the hermit but decided it wasn’t worth it. Instead, you pulled your phone out and tried to dial Billy. You had to wander around the compound to find somewhere with decent service, but ultimately decided to take the call outside.

“Morning chat and a phone call? Sounds like someone wants me after all.” Billy joked when he answered.

“Real funny, Blackbird.” You rolled your eyes. “What are you doing, Billy?”

“You heard..”

“You’re feeding a loop on every open radio channel. Of course I heard you putting his name out there. That was your great idea?”

“Everything with Dinah, it just got me thinking, yknow… He’s out there somewhere.”

“He’s not. He can’t be. The boat explosion was massive. There’s no way he survived. I don’t know what she’s on about but-“

“They never found his body, Livia. I just- Alright, look, you’re probably gonna be pissed at this one but what if there was even a chance your Matt was still alive? I mean, wouldn’t you wanna find him?”

“No.” You said flatly and the word was bitter in your mouth. You had to give up that thought quickly because while it was the same in the sense that his body was never recovered, you knew that not even you would’ve been able to cheat that death, let alone Matt. “Because if he was alive and he hadn’t come to see me, then he didn’t just didn’t want to.”

“You think I should cut it?”

“I think you need to be careful. If the people he’s up against are as bad as Dinah says they are, we’re all gonna be in deep shit before we know it.” You warned, though the tone you used made it sound like genuine concern. “Someone else may just hear this and think the Punisher is on his way back, which brings problems to your doorstep, in turn bringing them to my doorstep.”

“What would you say to him? If we manage to find him.”

“Billy..”

“C’mon, just humor me.”

You sighed slightly, but took a minute to formulate a response nonetheless.

“I’d ask what was worth throwing away the case.” You said honestly. If memory served, that was what you had first asked. “I’d ask if he got the bastard that took his family. I’d ask where he’s been. And I’d probably knock him on his ass for tanking my career… It’s a dangerous game you’re playing here, Bill. We don’t know every player in the game yet.”

“Yeah, I know.” He said carefully and you knew calling him Bill sparked something in his head. “Sounds like you’re worried about me.”

“I’m allowed to do that every so often.”

“I like it.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

You chuckled slightly before ending the call and making your way back inside. As far as you could tell, Billy was running solely on Dinah’s information. But in the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder if Orange had gotten to him, given that you didn’t feel any surprise from him when Dinah spoke. Only annoyance, maybe at the fact that she knew before he did or because of something with Orange.

You wanted to warn Frank to take Billy’s outreach with a grain of salt, but how do you convince someone that their best friend may be setting them up? You decided to keep it yourself for the time being but remain vigilant in the meantime. The second you had proof that Billy was connected to Agent Orange - willingly connected or not - you would bring it to Frank, whether he wanted to see it or not.

When you got back to the guys, they were talking about Thanksgiving. Lieberman offered to make one of the frozen meals from his stockpile but you refused it, saying you’d pick something up on your way home.

“What about you, hmm?” Lieberman gestured to you with his fork and your brows raised in question. “What were your Thanksgivings like?”

“I never had a real one.” You shrugged, though the admission stung your heart a bit. “I do remember when I was a kid, we took these pictures. It was me, my cousins Nat and Yel, my aunt Mel and Uncle Alex. There was one of me and Nat putting mashed potatoes on Yel’s cheeks and one where me and my aunt were breaking the wishbone… I wished for a real family, to protect me and care for me.”

You found yourself smiling at the memory, despite the fact that it was all for show and you had done a Christmas, Easter, and birthday photoshoot that same day.

“It wasn’t real, obviously.” You continued to ensure that the quaint reminiscing was cut short before the tears could embarrass you. “And I never really stayed anywhere with anyone long enough so that’s the best I got.”

“Well, uh, you can be a part of ours.” Lieberman gestured to the countertop before holding out a lazily closed fist.

“Thanks.” You nodded and gave him the fist bump he was waiting for.

“So uh..” He began before an awkward sniffle to buy time. “What do you know about this Russo guy?”

You blew out a long sigh, though you were thankful for the conversation shift.

“He’s a private military contractor.” You began simply, knowing there were both worse and better ways to describe Billy, but neither would’ve been what Lieberman wanted to hear. “Company called Anvil… He’s relatively well-connected. I think some of his contracts go overseas, too.”

“So my impression is that he’s not a man that’s gonna reach out to him-“ He gestured to Frank. “-unless he knows that he’s alive.”

“He doesn’t know.” You insisted on your earlier lie. “Suspect it, sure. I mean who wouldn’t when the body was never recovered, but he doesn’t know.”

“You’re not gonna call him?” Lieberman asked Frank, who finally looked up from his microwaved meal.

“We’re Marines.” He shrugged and you chuckled to yourself. “We can handle disappointment.”

“Maybe someone else knows you’re alive and they’re using Billy to-“ Lieberman had turned to you and you knew it was about the signal. He had found a source, and it wasn’t a good one.

“There’s something you need to understand, okay?” Frank cut in firmly. There was no edge or venom in his tone but there was no room for debate either. “I had two families, all right? I had Maria, I had my kids, and I had my unit. I was a father and I was a husband, but I was also a Marine. And I loved being a Marine. I loved that shit. There were times where I would’ve rather been neck deep in bullets and blood than be with my own kids. And that’s something I gotta make peace with, alright?”

“Yeah, you’re not the only one.” You muttered to yourself and were relieved there was a way to put words to the lurking feeling in your mind. “Some of us are wired differently. What’d you tell Red on that rooftop, that we don’t pick what fixes us?”

He looked at you for a moment with an expression that showed not only did he understand that idea, but also that he knew how much you missed him.

“Billy and I did eight years. He’s got my back, I got his.”

“It’s a hell of a coincidence. Don’t you think?”

“Billy Russo is my family, same as her.” He nodded to you. 

“As your friend, I want to say Billy reaching out isn’t a problem.” You said carefully, keeping your eyes on the countertop while you spoke to ensure that any eye contact couldn’t derail your thoughts. “But I know Billy, too. Differently than you, but I do. If Orange knows, then he could’ve reached out to Billy and be fueling his speculation.”

“You think Bill’s the kinda guy to let someone else tell him what to do?”

“I think Agent Orange is the kind of man to ensure leverage and manipulate people to think his idea was theirs.” You corrected and faced your friend. “All I’m saying is take this with a grain of salt, alright?”

“You don’t trust him?”

“Not enough.” You said truthfully and the response was almost automatic. You made a face to yourself but kept focus. “This whole situation is getting more convoluted each day, Frank. Everyone involved is connected to each other. Him-“ You gestured to Lieberman. “-you, Page, me, Madani, Billy, Curtis, Gunner, Orange. With this twisted fucking web we’re wrapped in, Billy and Orange are bound to overlap at some point. If it’s now, before he knows anything, I might be able to get close enough for a real name or a location or motives. Something that can help end this.”

Frank scoffed and took his plastic tray of food to another room. You made a face behind his back as he left, despite your button pushing being purposeful to get him to leave. When he was definitely out of earshot, you turned to Lieberman.

“You got something, didn’t you?” You asked quietly.

“Nothing exact but close enough.” He answered in the same hushed tone.

“Government?”

“Langley.”

“CIA.” Your brows went up in interest. “Any name on the device?”

“No, if I touched those firewalls, they would’ve had everything.” He shook his head. “But I did figure out it was probably a personal device. It’s gotta be Orange, right?”

“Mhmm… And that makes everything else more suspicious.” You nodded before you clapped your hands together and took a few steps back.

“Okay.” You announced loudly for Frank to hear. “There’s a leak somewhere. I’m gonna find it and plug it. Whoever has something new, find the other.”

You went home that night and collapsed from exhaustion. You hadn’t even done much that day but the mental power it took to ignore the deep rumbles that reverberated with every step, the haunting screens that echoed in every voice, the wet feeling of blood across your clean hands, the sick knots in your stomach while in your apartment. To remain heartless, to remain in the headspace of a Widow, it was harder than you thought. It had been easy before, more natural and subconscious. Now, you had to remind yourself every morning, every time your mind wandered, you had to yank your humanity back into the shadows. Push her into that chasm and step on the fingers she used to cling to the ledge.

But somehow, some godforsaken way, she hung on and clawed her way to the forefront of your thoughts whenever she could.

[triviareads]

Ever since I was mildly horrified that Colin Firth is a fancast for Lisa Kleypas's Lord Westcliff (by Lisa herself which.... come on, you need to pick someone who is not hot and yet inexplicably super attractive because of his "vitality" or whatever, Lisa), I've come to realize people actually liken Westcliff to Mr. Darcy, and even call It Happened One Autumn a 'spicy" version of Pride and Prejudice which.... well, we won't get into that particular suggestion, buuuuut I do think likening Darcy to Westcliff is kind of a disservice to both characters (and calling it "spicy" Pride and Prejudice is a disservice to both texts).

For all that Westcliff is shown as this perfect paragon of aristocratic virtue, he's honestly.... kind of not. Apart from him and Darcy sharing a sense of duty and a degree of aristocratic snobbery (which, tbh, most aristocrats or gentlemen would have at the time), they really aren't all that similar personality-wise

Do I think the narrative about Darcy being a brooding borderline douchebag was pushed by by fans post-1995 Pride and Prejudice? Maybe. To a degree. But let's be real here, Westcliff comes way closer to being a dbag than Darcy ever does, particularly his hot-and-cold behavior with Lillian (the time he calls her an easy target for St. Vincent and then immediately pounces on her and fingers her in his butterfly garden comes to mind). Darcy's behavior towards Lizzy is fairly consistent; it's just, they both misinterpret one another's actions until the proposal makes everything clear. That's not to say they don't change their attitudes afterwards, but there was always civility at the least.

And I don't think Darcy is a super broody type, but he is definitely shy around people he doesn't know (awkward too), and seems like the type to socialize with a few close friends (like I'm convinced his only confidantes are Bingley, and then his own cousin Col. Fitzwilliam). Westcliff on the other hand displays no qualms about socializing in large groups, in fact, he seems to command a lot of attention in large group settings like balls and the big house parties he hosts (routinely, based on Secrets of a Summer Night, where he's described as an accomplished host).

I know it's hard to compare a text with on-page sex to a text that is much older and has no point of comparison, but there was this detail in Secrets of a Summer Night that stood out to me:

This is veering into headcanon territory but the more generous headcanon I have regarding Darcy's premarital sex life is largely "widows" and "older women" and that too... I imagine it's a limited number (otherwise, he's a virgin. or partially a virgin; that's my favorite). What I'd never think Darcy would do is "join in" with any village wenches in Lambton (a combination of his shyness and upper-class snobbery about socializing with the lower classes for fun). Nor do I think he'd he exhibitionist enough to do things with paramours at parties where friends could see him. Interestingly, in IHOA, Livia comments that Westcliff has had a few discreet affairs and nothing more, but between a secluded sister and a friend who routinely goes around town with him, I believe Simon Hunt lol; that being said Westcliff is deffo more of a society affair type than a sex worker/courtesan mistress type. To be clear, this isn't me judging Westcliff for having sex with a lot of women, it's just, again, for all that he outwardly behaves in a proper fashion, he really isn't, and has relatively relaxed views on propriety, even as he judges Lillian for her lack of it at first.

In his second proposal to Elizabeth, Darcy basically said he understands that "no means no", while Westcliff..... does not quite understand that.

Ways Westcliff is similar to Darcy:

They both are brought to their knees by women who initially don't fit within their notion of a "right" spouse. But that's such a broad trope, as is the fact that they both "save" their heroines in some sense.

There's a decent amount of language in P&P describing Darcy as a a fair-minded master and "liberal"; while I don't know enough to speculate on his actual politics (though I have read some pieces that suggest he might be, based on, among other things, the real-life figure Jane Austen may have named him after, the Earl Fitzwilliam), what we do know is that he's liberal in the sense of being a very involved master at his estate, liberal with money where his estate and tenants are involved. Basically, he's not stodgy and backwards, just like Westcliff is when it comes to his estate and tenants. Kleypas takes Westcliff's liberal attitudes a step further by aligning him with progressive causes and progressive politicians.

Look, both Westcliff and Darcy are classist to a degree; both initially balk at marrying women with connections to trade, but ultimately, they a) go ahead with marrying them anyway and b) we know they like to associate with people in trade in other ways. For example, Darcy and Bingley are good friends in the way that Westcliff and Simon Hunt are friends. Plus, we know Darcy gets on really well with Elizabeth's Aunt and Uncle Gardner (who are in trade), to the point that they're frequent visitors at Pemberley after their marriage. Basically, their snobbery is not universal.

Westcliff and Darcy are good to their siblings but even here, the actual sibling relationships are different. Westcliff is closer in age to both his sisters so their relationship is (mostly) noninterfering (tbh Westcliff exercises remarkable forbearance when McKenna returns) and Westcliff is less high-handed than I imagine Darcy is with Georgiana who, based on their age gap, likely regards him as a second father of sorts.

[digeethegenie]

Kicking the Rat's Nest

Day 16 - Third Rate ARR - Lv. 30 - All Good Things

"Was kicking the rat's nest really nessasary, Livia?" Nero asked, his voice sounding even more tired than it normally did. It was hard to not sound tired after your fifth pot of coffee of the night, the previous four drunk as a result of the all night report writing session that Nero- as head intelegence officer- had to do as a result of Livia's unauthorised act of mass slaughter upon the Scions of The Seventh Dawn.

Livia shrugged. "Priority One defeated Titan. I simply took proactive measures to-"

Annoyed, Nero interjected.

"-To score points with Gaius."

The blade of Livida's armour graced Nero's neck.

The rest of Nero didn't even flinch.

"That is 'Lord' Gaius, to you. "

"To Score points with 'Lord' Gaius, then." he said with a sigh, prompting Livida to pull her blade away. "Point is, I know this verity of savage. They 'will' be gunning for your neck for what you pulled. If you're not careful…"

Livida stared into him. Her ever-vacant stare filled Nero with a sence of dread. "I will be fine. I need to be fine, for Lord Gaius' sake."

Nero pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine and well for you. But now that the lalafell is on the warpath, she is not going to be attacking the Sahagin or the Ixal any time soon. Without any reason for them summoning their Eikons, we're left without data- or the vital biological componets- for Ultima Weapon. You do understand that-"

The blade was again at Nero's neck.

"… oh, for fu-"

"What 'You' need to understand is that Arvina and I have it in hand. I will have that lalafell delt with and then Lord Gaius can calim the rest of these savage lands as his dominion with nary a second glance. If Priorty One dies, we can announce it, and with that dies the hope of the savages. We will not have to worry about your third rate plans going sideways or having the third rate war-machina from the old age that some savage in a robe gave us out of the blue self destruct on us and take out the entire castrum."

Nero wanted to debate the finer points of Ultimta Weapon, why his plans were not third rate, or why Gaius couldn't part the oceans with a mear wave of his finger and then do with the white armoured pain-in-the-arse whatever she clearly thought she deserved from him.

For the effort, and clear waste of time it was, however, he was also well aware he might as well try to walk up to the savages and try to personally sell them the benifits of joining the empire. Honestly, he thought to himself, he might actually enjoy doing that. Would ceratinly beat being in the same room as this lunatic, that much was ceratin.

He shook his head. "Fine. We'll play things your way. Just get your stupid toy off of my neck, already."

She smirked, as much as her ever dull face could allow, withdrew her weapon and left.

Nero rubbed his neck. "You godsdamned lunatic." he muttered and cleared his desk to work on his plans for Ultima Weapon in preperation for the moment Lividia's plan fell apart.

[bpod-bpod]

Vital Contact

Details of the interaction between two of a cell's organelles – the protein transporting endoplasmic reticulum and the energy supplying mitochondria – malfunction of which causes many disorders

Read the published research paper here

Video still from work by Maria Livia Sassano and colleagues

Cell Death Research and Therapy Group, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Journal of Cell Biology, February 2023

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[kitchenbrandstore]

Best Kitchen Chimneys Under 10000 with Amazing Features

We finalize each and every component of the kitchen after so many drawing room discussions for color and quality, and once it is ready to use, there is a risk of ruining it very soon in absence of the chimney. Off course the basic need of sucking out the cooking generated smoke and odor but also take away the grease which is invisible in the smoke but when it starts sticking around the corners, there is no worse feeling then this.

Since There are several components like various type of filters, shapes of chimney, suction power, several type of controls etc, deciding the Kitchen Chimney can be tedious task too, We have put up a guide to decide best kitchen chimney for your use.

Now coming back to the right chimney, The vital part to start and end with is our budget. Everyone would want it to be affordable and why not when there are plenty of options (we have 1500 chimneys models at this time and increasing day by day). There are few which possess several features and still comes for a price tag below INR 10000/-

Faber Mercury pro 60 Hindware Kylis/ Sabina/ Livia/ Myra elica WDAT Eica escg Faber Class Plus and pro Faber Glassy Plus PB 60 Faber Ray plus Glen 6000/6001/6002 straight line chimney Glen 6054/6055 hood shape glen 6075

Sunflame Bella/ Edge Sunflame Venza Hindware Venice

[chaienes]

It's time to read #ThePhantomMan duology by #ChaieneSantos.

Target: YA

Genre: Fantasy

Translation: Livia Rosa

Cover: Mirella Santana

EXCERPT:

When they were together, the old man would become a little bit of a child. Hence, why wouldn't Andrew grow a little bit older too?

"Grandpa, you promised to tell me more about the man who spoke to ghosts," said the boy, thrilled.

"Why, aren't you afraid of listening to stories like that?"

"Of course, I'm not! I always see spirits walking around and I don't care about it. I even talk to them..." he said lowering his voice as if he was telling a secret. "That's why I want to know more about the story you have to tell."

Old Jonathan widened his eyes as he listened to such an innocent revelation. A deep worry invaded his soul, and he decided that the time had come to let the boy know more about the spiritual world. This was vital to the child's protection. After all, Andrew knew that many supernatural creatures lived unleashed in the world of the human beings.

#ott #reading #Wattpad #Amazonkindle #originalcontent #publisher #amreading #streaming #storyfranchise #film #studios #executiveproducer #book #comics #booktok #transmedia #VFX #HQ #comic #animation

https://lnkd.in/dmnC-9g

https://lnkd.in/g-xSfi4

[jacksondom]

How Tailored Online Therapy Helps People Facing Life Challenges

Finding the correct support may be vital while dealing with life's issues in today's fast-paced environment, since tackling them might feel overwhelming. Customised online therapy is one of the best strategies to deal with these issues. This method provides accessibility, flexibility, and individualised treatment, all of which may be quite helpful to those dealing with a variety of problems. Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne is a standout among the numerous specialists offering this service because of her creative and compassionate approach to internet therapy.

The Rise of Online Therapy

As it has been pointed out above, the application of online therapy or teletherapy has attained popularity because of its efficiency and convenience. People’s lives have become different in the age of the internet and social media, including mental health services. Thus, with the help of internet therapy that has emerged today, a person can receive professional help from the comfort of their home without considering geographical, temporal, and travel limitations.

Personalised Support for Unique Challenges

The capacity of customised internet treatment to meet individual requirements is one of its biggest benefits. In contrast to traditional therapy, which could take a one-size-fits-all approach, internet therapy allows each client's preferences and particular circumstances to be tailored to. In order to properly manage life's obstacles, personalisation is essential since it enables a more focused and meaningful therapy experience.

Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne is a prime example of this individualised strategy. With her wealth of experience and dedication to providing client-centred treatment, she provides customised online therapy that is directed to meet each person's unique requirements. This approach insures that clients receive the help they require in a way that aligns with their requirements, regardless of whether they deal with anxiety, sadness, relationship problems, or other life obstacles.

Flexibility and Convenience

The adaptability of internet treatment is among the strongest arguments for its appeal. In traditional treatment, patients frequently have to go to the therapist's office and follow a rigid schedule. Those with hectic schedules, mobility problems, or geographic limitations may find this difficult. By enabling clients to attend sessions from any place with an internet connection, online therapy removes these obstacles.

Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne makes use of this adaptability to deliver customers practical scheduling choices. This implies that people who are juggling jobs, family obligations, or other commitments will find it easier to incorporate treatment sessions into their calendars. A client's capacity to regularly participate in the therapy process can be greatly impacted by having a variety of times and days to select from.

Enhancing Accessibility to Therapy

For people who may otherwise encounter obstacles, online therapy offers the potential to improve access to mental health care. Online therapy can fill the gap for those who live in rural places or have limited access to competent mental health specialists. Therapists like Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne enable customers to get top-notch treatment from anywhere in the world by providing virtual services.

Furthermore, people who suffer from social anxiety or have impairments may find that online treatment is very helpful. They may engage in treatment in a more comfortable and convenient way thanks to the virtual format, which spares them the hassle of having to find their way around a real location.

Building a Strong Therapeutic Relationship

The therapeutic alliance between the therapist and the patient is essential to its effectiveness. This relationship can be developed via phone sessions, chat rooms, or video conversations in online therapy. Despite the perception that virtual sessions would make it harder to connect, many clients discover that they are able to form a solid therapeutic bond with their online therapists.

The significance of this relationship is emphasised by Melbourne therapist Livia Marra in her work. Her method is intended to build rapport and trust so that clients feel heard and supported. Effective therapy requires that clients work through their issues in a secure and compassionate setting, which can only be achieved via consistent, individualised encounters.

Addressing Specific Life Challenges

Customised online therapy may help with a variety of life issues, such as stress management, trauma recovery, relationship enhancement, and personal development. Therapists can offer pertinent and effective techniques and treatments by concentrating on the individual's specific requirements.

For example, internet therapy may help clients who are having problems in their relationships by providing them with situation-specific advice on conflict resolution and communication techniques. Anxious people might investigate mindfulness practices and coping mechanisms that are specific to their experiences and triggers.

Through her specialised online therapy services, Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne provides specialised help for a range of life difficulties. Her method involves thorough evaluations and customised therapy programmes meant to assist patients in resolving their issues. Clients receive focused help that is in line with their requirements and goals thanks to this individualised care.

Overcoming Stigma and Encouraging Engagement

Sometimes people are discouraged from getting assistance because mental health is stigmatised. People may find it simpler to start the process of treating their mental health issues when they have the anonymity and privacy that online therapy provides. Online therapy's virtual format enables patients to participate without worrying about being observed or feeling scrutinised.

Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne is aware of how critical it is to provide a welcoming and nonjudgmental atmosphere. Her online counselling programmes are designed to be friendly and open, empowering people to ask for assistance when they need it. Client comfort and motivation to participate in therapy are increased when a supportive approach is used.

Conclusion

Customised internet therapy has transformed how people deal with life's obstacles by providing a convenient, open, and individualised method of mental health treatment. Through the skills of experts such as Livia Marra Therapist Melbourne, customers may gain tailored assistance that takes into account their particular requirements and situation. When it comes to helping those who are struggling with anxiety, relationships, or other aspects of life, internet therapy is a great tool for anyone looking for compassionate and efficient treatment. Online therapy has enormous potential to improve mental health and wellbeing for individuals dealing with a variety of difficulties as it develops further.

[imaginefinneganswake]

and their upturnpikepointand place is at the knock out of the park where oranges have been laid to rust upon green since devlinefirst loved livvy.

Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce

ChatGPT4o critical interpretations (Created ChatGPT):

This line, drawn from the richly evocative and multivalent Finnegans Wake, exemplifies James Joyce's method of layering meaning through dense wordplay, historical allusion, and mythic resonance. To unpack the line properly, let's break it down in stages, touching upon its linguistic texture, possible allusions, and critical interpretations.

1. Wordplay and Syntax:

The phrase "upturnpikepointand place" combines words in a Joycean fashion, blending nouns and prepositions into a stream of linguistic consciousness. The term "turnpike" suggests a road or a highway, implying a point of transition or passage, while "upturn" conveys a sense of reversal or upheaval. When Joyce fuses these words together, it implies a place of significance—perhaps metaphorically a juncture where something pivotal happens, whether in history or a narrative moment. The entire construct may evoke a journey, both literal and metaphorical, a characteristic theme in Finnegans Wake.

2. "Knock out of the park":

The phrase "knock out of the park" might initially bring to mind baseball, but it also carries broader implications of expulsion, completion, or success. In Joyce’s linguistic universe, it could equally refer to Irish landscapes, with "knock" playing on the Gaelic term for hill, referencing a geographical location. This line may thus evoke a rural setting, where forces—human or mythic—have reached a dramatic endpoint or climax.

3. "Where oranges have been laid to rust upon green":

Here, Joyce contrasts the image of "oranges" (bright, ripe, and full of vitality) with the process of "rust" (decay, oxidation). This juxtaposition reflects the cyclical nature of life and time—a central theme in Finnegans Wake. The contrast between the "oranges" and the "green" suggests the opposition between life (often represented by the vitality of fruit) and death or decay. Moreover, "orange" and "green" might allude to the political and sectarian tensions between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, Orange representing Unionism (Orange Order, derived from William of Orange) and green symbolizing Irish Nationalism.

4. "Since devlinefirst loved livvy":

This line brings us to one of the foundational love stories of the text. "Devlin" (a frequent name in Irish folklore and history) here likely represents HCE (Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker), the archetypal male figure in Finnegans Wake, while "Livvy" refers to ALP (Anna Livia Plurabelle), the river-woman embodying the feminine, often associated with the River Liffey. The phrase "since devlinefirst loved livvy" harks back to the primal moment of creation or love in Joyce's cyclical narrative, echoing Adam and Eve, Tristan and Iseult, and countless mythic pairings.

In sum, this reference encapsulates the ancient union of opposites: male and female, earth and water, history and myth. By pairing Devlin and Livvy, Joyce alludes to the primal forces that underlie both his characters' personal narratives and the broader historical currents of Ireland. This union, central to Finnegans Wake, symbolizes the eternal recurrence of beginnings and endings—lovers falling in love, civilizations rising and decaying, rivers flowing and eroding their banks.

5. Critical Interpretations:

Postcolonial readings emphasize the interplay between Irish history and myth in this line. The juxtaposition of "orange" and "green" has often been read as a comment on the ongoing Irish conflicts between Protestant Unionists (orange) and Catholic Nationalists (green). In this light, the "rust" upon the "green" might suggest a decay of national ideals or a reflection on the weariness of the Irish struggle for independence.

Psychoanalytic critics could interpret this line as an expression of the unconscious, with the imagery of rusting oranges representing the degradation of desire or the passage of time upon memory. The “knock out of the park” may signify a traumatic event or a moment of psychological rupture, drawing attention to the ways in which Joyce maps personal trauma onto broader mythological and historical patterns.

Mythic and archetypal readings highlight the primal relationship between Devlin and Livvy as one of the many mythic pairings that structure Finnegans Wake. Devlin as a stand-in for HCE suggests a fall from grace (perhaps a "knock" out of paradise or a mythic expulsion), while Livvy as ALP represents the eternal flow of life, memory, and regeneration. The "oranges" could symbolize the golden apples of the Hesperides or other mythological fruit, reinforcing themes of temptation, fertility, and cyclical renewal.

Environmental or ecological interpretations could focus on the imagery of nature reclaiming human artifacts: the oranges "laid to rust upon green" suggests a fusion of human culture (the cultivated fruit) and the natural world (the green of the earth). In this sense, the line could be seen as a commentary on the interplay between civilization and nature, decay and renewal, central to Joyce's depiction of history as a cyclical process.

Conclusion:

The line captures Joyce’s ability to evoke a wide array of historical, mythological, and symbolic references within a single sentence. It condenses the cyclical nature of history, love, and nature, with its imagery of decay and growth, while also playing with linguistic structures to create a sense of continual flux. Through its allusions to Irish history, mythic archetypes, and personal relationships, this passage illustrates the depth and complexity of Joyce’s language in Finnegans Wake. It invites us to reflect on time’s passing, the interplay between national and personal identities, and the endless recursivity of life’s processes.

[aquariusxiv]

Guild Wars 1 Blorbos: Prophecies Characters

Laurel Starling, Ranger Nadya Ravenwood, Mesmer

I settled on three characters in Prophecies (rather than my impulse of 4 to match the initial 4 character slots in base GW1) to easily make an 8-person party with the 5 iconic characters.

Laurel was undergoing military training at the same time as Erik, becoming fast friends. Nadya circa 1070 was helping organize royalist efforts at rebellion at the behest of her mother, Countess Ravenwood. (The 'Countess Nadya' that is a target of one of the LDoA levelling quests.)

Of course after the Searing the division between royalists and loyalists ceased to matter.

[[Plot of Guild Wars Prophecies goes here]]

After defeating the unleashed minions of the Flameseeker, Nadya remained behind in Ascalon to assist with the war. Erik could not forgive Adelbern and refused to return, and Laurel already felt most at home with the Shining Blade and the fight to free Kryta. Despite growing close over the years and the devastation, and both holding their Shining Blade allies in esteem, Erik was not keen to return to the life of a guerilla war. They embarked on one final mission together, to destroy the Stone Summit stronghold of Sorrow's Furnace - then Erik would answer the call to travel south to Cantha. Laurel remained in Kryta, helping Evennia and Bartholos fill the vacant leadership roles after the betrayal at Denravi. After nearly six years of fighting on her own, she's away from Lion's Arch at the time of the Emergence of the Destroyers - her experience with the Bloodstones led to her overseeing Livia's magical research with the asura, unexpectedly leading to a reunion with Erik as he follows the asura Vekk while organizing an offensive against the Destroyers.

Nadya's time in Ascalon was altogether short. Her past history against the King, as well as abandoning the kingdom once before, left her with a lot of loyalty to prove. Together with a treasured scout, she was assigned to the command of Captain Langmar, the same officer who so long ago had placed an official bounty on her family. She would accompany Langmar's Ebon Vanguard on their northern expedition. Her lengthy experience with the Shiverpeaks proved vital in setting up a mountain camp just outside of Charr territory, and she was present on the day that a young girl escaped the Charr work camp and found their camp seeking refuge.

[[Plot of Guild Wars: Eye of the North goes here]]

Reunited with their old friend Erik, and introduced to his companions met on his travels through Cantha and Elona, the group remained together for a time. When the Krytan civil war reached a boiling point, they were instrumental in getting Ebon Vanguard backup deployed into Kryta. They also travelled to Cantha, accompanying Master Togo's former pupil to deal with the remnants of Shiro's plague and contend with the Ministry of Purity. Afterwards, they went their separate ways once again - all having duty calling them home.

Erik and Laurel remained in Kryta - what had cooled over his absence had reignited after their reunion, and the two married. Like Erik, Laurel turned down a noble title, but unlike the jaded warrior she remained involved with the Shining Blade and newly-formed Seraph. Missions would take her away from home at length, leaving Erik to raise their son Rurik and see to their house until his illness set in.

Though Erik did not give his formal blessing until Rurik was old enough, he knew Laurel had been training their son with the intent that he follow her into the Shining Blade. He remained proud of the work they did, and they took to heart his caution to keep their eyes open for the truth as they fight.

In Nadya's case, she was the first of their number to have tragedy befall her. Though the Ebon Vanguard was stationed in the distant Ebonhawke fortress, she had joined the main forces at Ascalon City to hold back the Charr by the time of the Foefire, her soul now forever trapped by the man she'd once decried as a false king, long ago.

Despite the tragic fates of most of the other characters, Laurel I can't see dying of anything but old age. Like Erik she's named after a random ghost in GW2 Ascalon who has a line from the GW1 PC, in this case 'Laurie' which I lengthened a bit (Laurie is probably an affectionate nickname for her close friends). Elizabeth uses a longbow as part of carrying on Laurel's legacy.

Nadya is probably the only character I'm playing as part of a plot with someone else, but I kinda see that version of the character as slightly different (broad strokes are the same, but it's a version of the story with her as a main character instead of Erik, rather than sitting out of Factions and Nightfall). While in between the two games most of the human settlements outside of Kryta end up sucking for anyone there (and me wanting to inflict torments on my blorbos) Ascalon sure does suck the soonest. Her names are taken from Countess Nadya (her mom is probably egotistical and named her after herself) and 'Captain Ravenwood', a ghost who guards the jumping puzzle in Plains of Ashford - not a mesmer, but a close enough fate in spirit.

[concerthopperblog]

The Last Chapter of the Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar (Or How the Great Reuniting Matters to Dethklok)

Over the years, [adult swim] has given us so many incredible characters like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Primal, Rick & Morty, The Boondocks, and The Venture Brothers. But one show from [adult swim] has always been my go-to, and that show is none other than Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha’s Metalocalypse (2006-2016 / 2019- present). The band featured in Metalocalypse includes fictional members: Nathaniel Explosion – voiced by Brendon Small (vocals), Skwisgaar Skwigelf – voiced by Brendon Small (guitars), Toki Wartooth – voiced by Tommy Blacha and Mike Keneally (guitars), Pickles – voiced by Brendon Small (drums), and William Murderface voiced by Tommy Blacha (bass).

In 2013, Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha gave us the rock opera smash hit, Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera as the story picks up after the end of Metalocalypse season 4. For ten years, Dethklok had been relatively quiet with some live shows scattered around featuring creator Brendon Small (guitars/lead vocals), Gene Hoglan (drums), Pete Griffin (bass/backing vocals), and most recently Nili Brosh (guitars). Now in 2023, Dethklok has announced not only a new album (Dethalbum IV) plus a new movie closing out this epic adventure that features a companion soundtrack, Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar (released theatrically on July 21, 2023/Digital and Blu-ray on August 22, 2023).

Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar was written and directed by Brendon Small. The film stars Small, Blancha, Victor Brandt (Metalocalypse), Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner (Grammy® Award-winning musician), King Diamond (King Diamond; Mercyful Fate), Mark Hamill (Batman: The Animated Series; The Machine), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Jon Hamm (Confess, Fletch; Top Gun: Maverick), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Amy Lee (Evanescence), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), Juliet Mills (Passions), Laraine Newman (Saturday Night Live), Raya Yarbrough (Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem - a Klok Opera), and Livia Zita (2022 winner - Society of Voice Arts and Sciences Award). 

Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar follows the gallant rescue of Toki Wartooth from Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera where brutal frontman Nathan Explosion is dealing with some extreme trauma after the band battles their former bandmate, Magnus Hammersmith to the death. To make matters worse, the fate of the world now lies in Nathan’s hands as he has been tasked to write the “Song of Salvation”. As you can guess, this task weighs heavily on humanity’s embattled protector. So much so that Nathan’s character will undertake an arduous path to redemption and rebirth as he guides his bandmates through the ultimate battle of good versus evil. As Nathan would say, it just takes him “…a long time to learn stuff”.

After being anointed the new high priest of the Church of the Black Klok in Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera, Charles Offdensen will once again use his powers of persuasion to get the band motivated to write the “Song of Salvation”. Offdensen would tell Pickles, Nathan’s “trials are yet to begin” but he must first face the fear that “engulfs” him. Nathan might be the key to the salvation of humanity, but his bandmates are also vital to the prophecy. As foretold in the ancient prophecy, the Metalocalypse is upon us and all that is good will die. No biggie, right?

Dethklok will once again face off against well-known antagonists, The Tribunal which includes Senator Stampingston, General Crozier, Vater Orlaag, and most importantly, Mr. Salacia. As in previous episodes, Mr. Salacia and The Tribunal will once again make life very hard for Dethklok in their attempt to save humanity from the impending Doomstar. Unbeknownst to the band, the “Song of Salvation” is just a part of the prophecy to save humanity. Dethklok must also find the strength to look within to find the final piece needed to defeat the Doomstar. If Dethklok fails, then they cannot stop the impending doom of the Metalocalypse and the Great Reuniting. Will Dethklok complete the “Song of Salvation” in time to save the world? Well, you will have to watch Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar to find out.

Of course, as the saga ends, one would expect to see cameos from previous characters like Dethklok’s chef Jean-Pierre and music producer extraordinaire Dick “Magic Ears” Knubbler. But the most important cameo to grace their presence was none other than the self-proclaimed “rock and roll clown”, Dr. Rockzo. This scene will go down as one of the best Dr. Rockzo montages ever seen on Metalocalypse. Overall, Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar is a brilliant conclusion to the epic Metalocalypse saga that any fan of the series will instantly hail as a cult classic. I have already watched it a few times over the last weekend and even after this review is published, I will continue to watch it because it is that good. Some shows when they bring the story to an end, it feels rushed at times or maybe they do not tie up all the necessary storylines. Not Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar, this movie will leave the viewer satisfied knowing Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha were able to finish Metalocalypse as intended. Thank you, Brendon, and Tommy. Thank you for wanting to give closure to an idea that amassed dedicated fans across the globe.

On August 22, 2023, Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar will be available on Blu-ray and digitally on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, and more. Blu-ray special features will include a featurette entitled Behind the Metal Curtain. This in-depth look at the making of Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar will have interviews with show co-creator Brendon Small and his team of writers, animators, and musicians as they share their stories and experiences as they turn this [adult swim] series into its first feature film. Currently, MAX has the entire Metalocalypse series and Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera available to stream, so go get a Metalocalypse marathon going in honor of the release of the final chapter in this legendary saga.

Curious about Concerthopper? You can find more music-related articles, interviews, various photo galleries, indie music reviews, our ‘Bars & Bites’ section, our exclusive “She Said, She Said” column, or become a Concerthopper at www.concerthopper.com. Sign up for our monthly newsletter by following this link: The Setlist! Please ‘Like’ our page on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date in 2022, on all music-related events/festivals such as: Relix Presents Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, and Keller Williams and The Keels: Live at The Eastern, Riverworks, AmericanaFest (2023), Ghost RE-Imperatour U.S.A. with Amon Amarth: Ascend Amphitheater, The Babyklok Tour: BabyMetal & Dethklok @ Coco-Cola Roxy (Atlanta), Celebrating 20 Years of Ocean Avenue: Yellowcard @ St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview (N.Y.), Sweet Oblivion Tour - Baroness: Live at The Masquerade, The Used: Live at Buffalo Riverworks, Elder w/ REZN and Lord Buffalo: Live at The Earl,  Twins of Evil Tour: Boris & The Melvins @ Variety Playhouse, Beast in Black: Live @ Exit/In, It Still Moves Anniversary Show: My Morning Jacket @ Fox Theatre, Nth America Tour: Wolfmother @ The Eastern, and the 12th Annual Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival, following us on all social media formats: Concerthopper on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Also, you can follow my concert hopping on Facebook and Instagram for even more photos not available on Concerthopper.com.

[liviavanrouge]

Kids vs Queen

Livia stared at the angels with wide eyes, looking alarmed as Lilith stepped towards them. "You dared to attack me, I'll rip you all apart starting with your wings"Lilith threatens heels clicking against the ground as she stepped closer. "Mama Lilith"Kuro says stepping forward. Lilith narrowed her eyes, glaring down at the angels in front of her. The angels moved back, one standing up to shield the others their eyes wide as their bodies trembled. Running footsteps made her eyes narrow, eyes darting towards the noise. Hurtis lunged forward with his sword, aiming for a spot that'd knock her out without dealing damage. Lilith dodged him, blocking his sword with her arms, her eyes narrowed. "Hurtis-"Lilith started.

Hurtis bent backwards, narrowing dodging a stab to the chest from a spike, his eyes wide. He leapt up and brought his sword down only for it to get blocked again. A rapier flew her way only to get knocked back, thorns snagging the weapon and passing it back to Kuro. Lilith pushed Hurtis back, turning her gaze to Kuro and Kiara both wielding weapons. "Tag teaming..."Lilith scolds turning her full body to face them. She summoned the darkness visible in the room and sent a large sword flying at the two. Kiara screamed in shock, Kuro flaring his wings out to shield her. "NO!!!!" Livia moved in front of the two, blocking the attack with her thorn scythe.

A small hiss came from her, her hands gripping the scythe handle, the blade keeping the sword back. "Impressive, Livy, but not enough you know..."Lilith says. Flames shot up from the ground, blasting full speed towards the three kids. A yell came from Kiara, the trio being thrown back from the attack. "Will this be...enough"Kuro mutters his gaze darkening. Livia and Kiara vanished, turning into a shower of feathers. Kuro hit the ground and shot up to a kneel. "COME ON GUYS!!!" Livia and Kiara leapt from the shadows, weapons in hand aiming at knockout areas. Kiara gripped Livias lithic and lunged forward, her ears flattened back. "SORRY MAMA LILITH!!!"Livias yells swinging her scythe down. Flames bursted up, an explosion going off when the weapons collided with the fire. Hurtis stared with wide eyes, gripping the handle of his sword. Kuro scanned the smoke, his body trembling. "LIVIA!!! KIARA!!!"

Lilith stood there silently as the smoke cleared, one hand blocking Livia's scythe and the other gripping Kiara's wrist directing the lithic away. "Did you just apologize for this pathetic attack you both tried to pull on me?"Lilith demands looking disappointed. Hurtis charged forward suddenly, lifting his sword arm. Lilith tossed Livia and Kiara into Kuro and Hurtis, sending the four kids tumbling to the ground. She pointed to them, shadow spikes with heated tips surrounding the kids, aiming at vital points. "Stay there...."Lilith orders turning away. She stepped towards the Angel's, her eyes narrowed. The angels scrambled back, their eyes wide. The youngest tripped, moving back as the second eldest pulled him towards the rest of them. "Mama Lilith please! Wait!"Livia shouts reaching her trapped hand towards them, her eyes wide.

"They're just manipulated children who have been misguided when it comes to right and wrong!!" Lilith stopped, her eyes fixed on the angel children in front of her. "They just want to break free from their broken home and find a fixed one....misguidance is all they know, poor judgement is all they know! Killing them may make you feel better but doing so...MAKES YOU WORSE THAN THE ANGELS THAT HURT THEM!!"Livia yells her eyes wide, Kiara glancing over at her but I able to move. "So I'm begging you Mama Lilith....reconsider passing your judgement about them! DON'T HURT THE INNOCENT!" Lilith stepped forward, a scream of fear erupting from one of the angels. "Angels are hypocritical, always throwing one of their own under the bus, framing them and turning their backs on each other"Lilith mutters. "I am a demon, I am no angel, I don't turn my back so easily." Sniffles came from the youngest angel child, Lilith reaching towards him.

"MAMA LILITH, NO!!!!"Livia yells her eyes glowing. An explosion followed, her horn glowing as she rushed forward, putting herself between Lilith and the frightened angel kids. "I see you escaped"Lilith comments stopping for a second. Livia trembled, gripping her scythe trying to will her body to move. Her eyes darted down to her hands then up at Lilith, sweat coating her palms. A hand grabbed her shoulder, a gasp of surprise coming from her. "You're still not strong enough to beat me, Livia, you still didn't stand a chance even when I used one percentage of my power"Lilith states causing the kids eyes to widen in shock. She stepped past her and grabbed one of the angel kids causing them to turn into a human. "Unlike angels, I'm not always and everyday unnecessarily cruel"Lilith states transforming the rest of the kids to humans.

"They won't remember their lives as angels, and they'll be able to make new memories now"Lilith informs stepping away from the unconscious kids. The spikes lowered into the ground, Kuro and Kiara running over to Livia who sat on her knees trembling. "Sis..."Kuro says kneeling beside her. "Livy..."Kiara mutters looking worried. Livia coughed, nearly throwing up. Lilith stared at them then turned and walked away. "Take them back to your world, consider it a reward for standing so well against me"Lilith says. "And Livia should see a demon doctor." Kuro stayed silent, Kiara and Livia looking up at Lilith tired. Hurtis stared in surprise then diverted his gaze to the ground, looking somewhat ashamed. Lilith patted his head and walked away. "I applaud you all for challenging me...."Lilith smirked looking back at them. She turned and continued on her way, Kiara helping Livia stand up. Livia coughed, gripping her chest. "Let's get them out of here"Livia says looking at the now human kids.

@queen-of-twisted @teddymochi @zexal-club @yukii0nna @fair-night-starry-tears @writing-heiress @abyssthing198

[heyyoucaughtmeinacoma]

I just love the Ramones so much, they make me happy 💙

[theramseyloft]

Rescues in Quarantine

The most recent of these three arrivals is graphically injured.

Photos of the injuries are under the cut, but detailed descriptions are visible at the bottom of this post.

Glacier 2/7/22

Arrival Day

NPA 17 8 BA 2176

Ice Pigeon, Clean legged

Blue Barless cock

PMV and Paratyphoid boosters administered 3/6/22

Owner surrender.

A very husky 304g on arrival.

Moderately infested with lice, both Capilaria and Strongyloides, and a mild infestation of asymptomatic Trich.

He was, paradoxically, overweight, and dangerously thin.

He and the other bird that came in with him were fed on a fruit and nut wild bird seed blend for wood peckers and squirrels, most of which pigeons either can't swallow, or can't digest.

What they could both swallow and process in that blend is extremely high in sugar and fat.

Pigeons (Specifying Columba livia) can neither taste, nor process sugar. Especially not fructose!

It is not part of their ancestor's natural diet, nor was it introduced during the long process of domestication (Rock doves are almost exclusively seed eating, and grain was a food humans grew in abundance, do their diet didn't change as they were domesticated) so their organs have not adapted to process it, and they react to sugar in much the same way as a human with severe type 2 diabetes.

Fat is a vital dietary staple for pigeons, but not on it's own! Their diet should only be 4-5% fat.

Birds do not have space for much excess fat distribution, and they don't have a diaphragm.

Excess fat deposits usually form along a Pigeon's sides and around their liver and intestines, which puts pressure on their organs and eventually makes breathing hard.

He's been put on the weight restoring diet because he really needs his muscle tone built back up.

We've cleared out all but the last few bastions of the Strongyloides.

And he's down to 262.5g, which is faster weight loss than I wanted, but on the low end of ideal body condition for his breed.

He won't go anywhere until the worms are completely gone, and I'd like to see his breast muscle fill out a lot more.

Berg 2/7/22

Arrival Day

Ice Pigeon, Clean legged

Blue Barless

PMV and Paratyphoid boosters administered 3/6/22

Sex unknown

Same Owner surrendered.

Berg came in at what should have been a perfectly healthy 271 grams, but their keel felt like a butter knife.

It took them three days to even attempt to eat.

They were mildly infested with lice, but frighteningly heavily infested with Strongyloides and Trich!

Trich eats epithelial cells, and eventually cause painful lesions in the throat that make birds unwilling to swallow solids.

If they get into the trachea, the biofilm they form can block it off completely and kill the bird through suffocation.

I have a scorched earth policy in regards to Trich!

Between his garbage diet, the protozoan colony making eating painful, and the absolutely monstrous gut load of worms eating everything they could get down, Berg is a half step up from skeletal in that photo.

Feathers hide the body condition of a bird very well, which is why you absolutely must get hands on it to fully assess a pigeon in need of rescue.

Berg's lice and Trich have been cleared up,

But we've only knocked the worm infestation down from unbelievable to about what we expect to find in a new rescue.

Their throat is still very tender and while they do get more food down than they did, it isn't quite enough yet.

Their arrival weight is strongly suspected to be water retention, as they lost it very fast when their diet changed.

They are down to a worrying 237g. that seems to, at least, be entirely muscle.

Physical therapy will begin hopefully with in the week.

Storm 2/11/22

Arrival Day

Feral

Sooty Blue Check

This is the bird whose care has taken up the most significant amount of my time through out the month of February.

Her assessment photos will be under a cut because they are extremely graphic.

She came in weighing a skeletal 201.5g.

The inside left front toe was completely skeletonized by road rash, and a full third of the foot to which that toe attaches was ground off.

The left side of her beak has been extensively cracked into the sinus cavity.

And the left femur has been snapped nearly in half, with the two sections of bone parallel to each other, but making no contact.

This bird was very nearly euthanized on assessment.

That kind of break, positioned where it is, will not heal.

Best case scenario, it will require amputation at the hip.

And in her condition on arrival, she would not have survived an attempted surgery.

Her vet and I agreed to see if we could get her up to a safer body mass, but that we would be ready to euthanize immediately if she stopped eating or struggled to breathe comfortably with her beak closed.

She sent us home with instructions to keep her on metacam and apply SSD to the road-rashed foot to prevent infection in the mean time.

About a week later, we almost brought her back in to be euthanized because she was hunched and fluffed as if extremely ill, only changing our minds at the last minute because she perked back up when the AC vent in quarantine was covered.

She lacked the body mass to maintain a steady temperature in her own.

She was so severely emaciated that she could not even support worms.

But she did have trich, which has been treated and since cleared up.

We have not attempted to treat the lice, simply because her condition has been so delicate up to this point.

As of her most recent weigh in, she is up to 254g.

She has an assessment appointment this Friday to see where we go from here.

If she is assessed to be likely to survive it, we will begin preparations to get her bad leg amputated.

We will need to take her to UGA to get the procedure done, and it's $200 just to get a small animal in the door to be looked at.

I do not know what surgery will cost on top of that, so I will be selling hand made jewelry and boxes of craft feathers to raise funds.

Please bear in mind that there is a chance that she will still need to be put to sleep even if the surgery is successful.

If she ends up unable to adapt comfortably to movement on one leg without the weight of the other for balance, euthanasia will be the only kind course of action remaining.

Skeletal inside left front toe poking out of severe road rash.

Abrasion to the elbow of the left wing.

Impact break along the beak, crunching into the sinus cavity.

Break after scab and loose bone had been cleared so she could breathe.

Yes, that is her sinus cavity that you can see into.

Xrays showing her hideously broken femur

[italiangothicwriteblr]

1, 2, 5, 18, 25, 32, 33, 41 and 50 for both Nova x Livia and Niccolò x Enrico (welp, that's a lot)

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

What were their first impressions of one another?

-Livia's first impression of Nova is "someone's crying at Invernino, I should go see what's up!" followed by "Oh, she's really pretty and really funny and I want to get to know her, I'm gonna shoot my shot!" Nova's first impression of Livia is "Wow, this aristocrat is actually being really nice to me, maybe we can be friends!"

-Enrico's first impression of Niccolo is "He's really gorgeous and intimidating and I don't think I'll ever be able to form a full sentence in front of him." Niccolo's first impression of Enrico is "This guy's both kind of fun and kind of an idiot, I'm not sure if he'd be an asset or a liability, but he's cute so we're keeping him, Leo."

What was their first date like? If they haven’t been on a date yet, how would it go?

-Nova and Livia didn't really have a "first date", but they spend a lot of time traveling to court together, which I think counts because they talk a lot and really get to know each other.

-Niccolo and Enrico's "first date" happens when they're on a political trip to Vinoseta. Leonidas is engaging in actual discussions, but they are tasked with seeing what they can find out from poking around. It's not a conventional date but they have fun!

What’s their love language like? Are they compatible with one another?

-Nova's is words of affirmation, which Livia is really, really good at--she always knows exactly what to say. Livia's is quality time, because she doesn't have a ton of people to spend time with. Nova's always eager to hang out, because she loves being around people who care.

-Enrico's is also words of affirmation--man needs to hear he's not a horrible, unlovable monster. Niccolo knows how to do that--he's known Enrico long enough. Niccolo's always been more of an acts of service guy--he does stuff like fixing things without being asked/bailing people he likes out of tough spots.

How are they like on a road trip together?

-Livia's the kind of person who meticulously plans out every minute of the trip, down to the bathroom breaks, and gets very stressed out if her plan isn't followed. Nova likes structure, so she likes it in theory, but she's not always great at following the plans--if something comes along that sounds better, she'll want to do that.

-Enrico would be the one who forgets to back something vital and doesn't notice until they're at the hotel. Niccolo would be the one who somehow finds a place to get whatever it is Enrico forgot (food, toiletries, clothes, sometimes all three)

Pick a physical attribute that they love about each other.

-Livia likes Nova's hair--it's really long and soft and fun to braid/play with. Nova loves Livia's eyes--they're really purple and expressive!

-Niccolo loves Enrico's hands--my dude is a major handholder. Enrico also has a thing for eyes--Niccolo and Livia both got the "expressive eyes that are a color that doesn't happen in nature" gene (Niccolo's are gold!)

Your character is in love, do they confess? If not, how long do they wait?

-Nova probably wouldn't confess, unless it was to someone she was never going to see again. She hates making situations complicated.

-Livia would confess, if she was reasonably sure the other person felt the same way, and if she had an escape plan in case they didn't.

-Niccolo would confess, after hours of conferring with Leonidas about how he should do it, and if he thought the other person liked him back.

-Enrico would not confess even if he was being tortured.

Who was the first to say ‘I love you’?

As noted above--Livia and Niccolo. They're both people who believe that you should be honest, and say something if you feel it. While Nova was trying not to get too invested in the relationship, lest she be exposed, and Enrico would never confess feelings first--the insecurity is strong with this one.

What green flags do they have for one another?

-Livia's green flag for Nova is that she's not pretentious, like you would expect from an aristocrat from such an old family. Nova's green flag for Livia is that she's brave--you can't date a reantica aristocrat in this world without having nerves of steel.

-Niccolo's green flag for Enrico is similar to Livia's--aristocrats are assumed to be assholes until proven otherwise. Enrico's green flag for Niccolo is that he's honest. He's an impulsive, reckless little failure man, but he never pretends to be anything else.

Is there anything that scares them about their friendship/relationship?

-Hahaha. Well, Nova's naturally terrified that Livia will find out about her magic and she'll get burned at the stake. Livia's always a little wary about trusting people/letting them in, so that applies here too.

-Enrico's always worried that people will decide to randomly hate him, but he's also scared that the court will look down on Niccolo for being with him. Niccolo's scared of how strong his feelings are, because he's never had someone capable of breaking his heart before.