#Nina Protocol

[vitesse-x]

Just leaked another song off the record! Go stream "In Finding" exclusively on Nina Protocol today! Stream it here.

My 2nd album "This Infinite" is out on Friday!! Pre-order it here.

[memodumay]

here there's my latest work "desierto marciano" (JGP01). Music I made last days of 2023 for the web serie Atacama un desierto marciano. Available today in Nina protocol and soon in any streaming platform!

[ceaselessbasher]

I really wish Sam comes back but mixed with the Archivist

You can't have an alchemy story without a fucked up chimera!

[tuoshpreecq]

Anyone else having Fullmetal Alchemist flashbacks with this week's episode?

[lilaczx]

@helpimstuckposting That’s what I was thinking. In my Live Blog. I was calling the dog Nina.

The Magnus protocol just said “What if this was Isaac Newtons dog?”

[bylerlipglances]

FIREBALL

this could be the sound of Will shooting fireballs. The same OST plays 'She'll Kill You'

Will doesn't look too thrilled to use the fireballs but he can rise to the occasion when the time demands it. Till then, he'll stick to his wisdom. (possibly due to its adverse reaction, eg: nuclear bombs are potent but come with terrible side effects, irreversible damages). HE USES THEM WISELY. Foreshadowing his restrain.

*FIRE CAUTION*

Note: These might be little far-fetched. This is my failed attempt to understand why dialogues emphasised on color of fireball? i could be way off. i am following Marvel's interpretation since X-Men and Superman have been mentioned by the party.

GREEN LANTERN AND color of his ring theory

Green lantern powers(embedded in his rings) and parallel with will byers. 'Will' POWER is his actual power. Will is at the centre of his power.

Energy Projection: It can emit powerful blasts of energy, create force fields, and provide energy-based attacks for offense and defense. (electromagnetic field & fireballs?)

Data Analysis and Scanning: it can scan for information, detect energy signatures, and provide tactical analysis.(Nina project, IP?)

Teleportation: Some rings have the ability to teleport the wearer across vast distances. (true sight, now memories?)

Environmental Adaptation: It creates a life-support system for the wearer, allowing them to survive in extreme conditions, including the vacuum of space. (upside down?)

Time Travel the ring has been used to manipulate time. Wormholes and Spatial Warps: The power ring grants its wearer access to wormholes in space, enabling the ring wielder to rapidly cut time and distance needed for transport. The Guardians established at least one known wormhole to Oa, which once required the use of a power ring to enter. (Gates)

Weaknesses

Willpower Dependence: The ring’s strength is directly tied to the user’s willpower and emotional focus. If the user doubts themselves or loses concentration, the ring's effectiveness diminishes.

Limited Charge: The ring has a finite charge and must be recharged regularly using a power battery, which connects to the Central Power Battery on Oa. If it runs out of energy, the user becomes powerless. (Dustin's remark "Dead battery". eleven being drained)

speaking of charger, Mike is shown to be directly or indirectly associated with POWER SWITCH & SOCKETS ( source of energy? a charger ? a battery? for will?)

Vulnerability to Fear (Parallax Influence) : Lanterns' weakness to the 'COLOR YELLOW' came from the Fear entity trapped within the Green Lantern Corps' central power battery.

Mental or Emotional Instability: Strong negative emotions (fear, doubt, or anger) can interfere with a Green Lantern's ability to wield their ring effectively.

Mental Instability Protocol: Drug use, neural interference, vertigo or other forms of mental incapacitation can render the wearer unable to use their ring, rendered useless.

“I don’t know who’s been raising you, but I’m gonna get you some new crayons because it looks like he’s shooting cabbages.”

Is Will a Most Powerful 'Failed experiment'? like Madelyne Pryor?

Another green x-men, who is, possibly the most powerful, Goblin Queen (Clone of Jean) , X-Men Goblin Queen, Madelyne Pryor, X-Men's Most Dangerous, anti-hero. She unlocked her latent psychic powers. In addition to those, Madelyne also had the ability to perform sorcery, which she used to summon goblins and demons.

Madelyne eventually learns that she's a clone of Jean created by Mister Sinister. Sinister originally discarded her as a failed experiment, until the Phoenix itself gave Madelyne sentience.

Madelyne's powers are incredible hence the suggestion. might i add, a close parallel to will's alleged powers.

i am a more of a 'will byers is superman' kinda guy. but my personal favourite being will byers 'a divine deity/god' @greenfiend 's theory.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

connecting green lantern with Kryptonite: Green latern's ring can project beams of force powered by the will of the user. The ring can be used to 'produce kryptonite' and kryptonite radiation.

in context of SUPERMAN

Superman is a regular Kryptonian man, He gets his powers from our yellow sun, green kryptonite cancels that.

Uranium fluoresces green under U.V. light (Atomic Bomb theory correlation)

Green Kryptonite : It was a radioactive element composed of pieces of the exploded planet Krypton. Surviving natives of Krypton, Superman is weakened by exposure to Green Kryptonite. Prolonged exposure could result in fatal radiation poisoning.

Red kryptonite :Superman has suffered the following effects upon exposure to various pieces of Red Kryptonite: Transformed into a dragon, Rendered temporarily blind to anything colored green, Loss of power, Gained telepathy, Generated an evil doppelganger , Mental transference, Personality alteration

vecna mind lair is red toned

BLUE-K : most interesting one is Blue-K (Upside down is blue toned)

Blue Kryptonite can reverse the effects of Red Kryptonite and can work wonders on afflicted Kryptonians. Perhaps Will created upside down to save himself & hawkins? (Superman is credited for manufacturing Blue-K, to save fellow Kryptonian see the kryptonite handbook) Effects on Bizarro(Man of steel's doppelganger and a supervillain) Blue Kryptonite weakens Bizarro (does Upside Down weakeans Vecna, hence he needs tentacles to recharge?) in a similar way to how Green Kryptonite weakens Superman. It can also sedate Bizarro, allowing him to be apprehended. Blue Kryptonite can also have a calming effect on Bizarro, removing his rage toward Superman. Blue-k was created by reversing the ionic charge of green kryptonite.

[nausikaaa]

Female Character Poll Tag (?? idk what to call this)

@hurremsultanns since you said you tagged anyone who wanted to do this, don't mind if i do!

Rules: make a poll of your favourite female characters (no limits- as many or few as you want) and see which your followers like the most!

i tag @sunshinesalmon @forabeatofadrum @run-for-chamo-miles @that-disabled-princess @thewholelemon @artsyunderstudy @shrekgogurt @comesitintheclover @bookish-bogwitch @aristocratic-otter @ileadacharmedlife @larkral and @imagineacoolusername

[peakyswritings]

Reb!! First i want to thank you for reading the last chapters of my thg! series i read your comments and 🥺❤️. Promise to reply them as soon as I can.

Then if your requests are still open, would you write a Tommy x Nina using this prompt:

"i’m only here for the dog cat"

Maybe it suits them 🤭❤️.

Thanks in advance! And of course there's no pressure at all!!

A/N: thank you so much for sending this, Flor!🤍 and don’t worry about the replies, I’m much behind with them myself! I made a little AU for this one, and I had so much fun writing this! (I also got a bit carried away and became longer than intended lmao)

Nina Ferrante is the OC from my Tommy Shelby x OC series Heart, Body and Soul. This is not set in the series universe, so even if you haven’t read the series, you can read this one.

Summary: the Ferrante family temporarily moves from Sicily to Birmingham to conduct business with Tommy Shelby. However, soon he finds himself stuck with something that doesn’t belong to him.

Warnings: mentions of violence/killing, English is not my first language, no proofreading.

Word count: 1.2k

Send me a prompt and I’ll write something short☀️

Nina regretted not wearing a coat the moment she stepped out the Midland Hotel. The cold hair cut through her clothes, pricking her skin like a thousand tiny needles, setting deep into her bones. It would take more than a week to get used to that kind of weather, or to the stench of coal and iron that permeated the air. Small Heath was unlike the Sicilian village she had grown up in, in many different ways. But as she hurried past the grey buildings, and the crowded houses, and the factories, she found herself unable to pay much attention to it, or to the mud sticking to her shoes. She couldn’t even pay attention to the glances the men around her shot at her. Winston was her only concern.

She had been looking for him in her hotel room for over an hour. Above the closet, under the bed, even in the unlit fireplace, but he was nowhere to be found. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown when the phone rang and a familiar voice on the other side informed her that a certain black cat had sneaked into his office. Nina shouldn’t have been surprised, though. During her family’s business meetings with Mr Thomas Shelby at the hotel, Winston had seemed to manifest a curiosity - maybe even a liking - towards the gangster.

When she walked past the doors of the Shelby Company Limited, a big man with a grim expression stopped in front of her. He cleared his throat, looking down at her. “Who are you?”

“I’m here to see Mr Shelby,” she ignored his question, going straight to the point. She didn’t have the time nor the will for the formalities, and she didn’t like the way the brute was clearly trying to intimidate her.

“What do you want with Mr Shelby?”

“He has something mine.”

The man squinted his eyes in confusion, probably wondering what Tommy Shelby could ever take from a girl like her. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it right away, as if in the middle of some kind of realisation. Nina could almost see his brain cells working to put the pieces together.

“You’re one of those wops,” he noted, and the hint of disgust in his voice was enough to send a wave of irritation through her. Before she had the chance to say something, he reached over to her. “I have to search you, miss.”

“Keep your fucking hands to yourself,” she spat, taking a step back. She glared at him, silently daring him to try and put his hands on her again. Search her. Like Hell.

The man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s the protocol, miss.”

“You can stick your protocol up yo-”

“The lady’s fine, Scudboat.” A deep voice interrupted her mid-sentence. Thomas Shelby was standing in the middle of the room, his hands in his pockets, and Nina wondered how it was possible that none of them had heard him arrive. “Let her pass.”

“Yes, sir.” With a single nod, Scudboat moved out of the way, finally allowing her to walk further into the room. “Good luck with this one,” he muttered under his breath as he took his place by the doors again.

A heavy silence fell into the room. Shelby’s icy stare was studying her as he had studied her father and brothers during their meetings, and she would’ve lied if he had said that the thing didn’t make her at least a bit uneasy. He carried himself as if he held all the cards, and everyone else was just another pawn in his game. Even when it wasn’t him who had the upper hand. However, in this case, he did have the upper hand. Maybe going into his territory all alone hadn’t been her best idea. But it was too late to panic, and she still had her knife, safely hidden in her pocket.

Behind his placid expression, Tommy was somewhat surprised to see Vincenzo Ferrante’s daughter herself. He had expected her to send her father, or her brothers. Instead, she had walked through the streets of Small Heath on her own, and entered the doors of his company as if she were untouchable. He didn’t know whether to define her stupid or brave for that. Reckless, for sure. Rather impressed, he granted himself a moment to observe her. Dark strands of hair had escaped her long braid, and her nose and cheeks had a tinge of red due to the cold. She hadn’t even bothered wearing a coat. She wasn’t exactly in the position to make threats, and yet she had held her own with one of his scariest men. She was quite something. The young woman wavered for an instant, then she straightened her back and raised her chin.

“I’d like my cat back.”

Tommy’s eyes stared deep into Nina’s, and she held his gaze with fiery determination. Noting she wouldn’t look away first, he simply turned around, motioning for her to follow him. After a moment of hesitation, she did as he said.

It took Nina a few seconds to adjust to the dim light that filtered through the shutters of Shelby’s office. It was fairly big, furnished in dark wooden furniture, and it smelled like cigarettes, whiskey, and masculine cologne. His desk was scattered with papers and photographs, and a lit cigarette was still burning in an ashtray.

“There he is,” Tommy broke the silence, pointing to the dark fur ball curled up on one of the chairs.

Nina exhaled a sigh of relief, her heart finally finding some peace now that she knew for sure that her cat was safe. He was used to the peace of the Sicilian countryside, after all, and she wasn’t sure he’d survive the danger of the city. Winston raised his little head to look at her, but didn’t move from his comfortable spot. Traitor. He even meowed in protest when she went to grab him.

“Shut up,” she hissed.

Tommy Shelby, for his part, was looking at the scene with the shadow of a grin on his face. She was entertaining, that was sure. While she battled with the beast, he poured himself a glass of whiskey. “Want something to drink?”

“I’m only here for the cat.”

“Right,” he nodded, watching as she finally managed to pick up the animal. She snorted, pushing a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear.

With Winston tucked under her arm, Nina raised her gaze on Thomas. She couldn’t just go away without saying anything, right? He could’ve thrown the animal in the streets and leave him to his fate, after all. As if sensing she wanted to tell him something, Tommy patiently waited, but that only made the task of searching for something appropriate to say more difficult.

“Thank you.”

That was all. Nice and simple. Then she turned around and made her way towards the exit. But just as she was about to leave, a doubt arose in Nina’s mind, one she couldn’t help but voice. She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at him again. “How did you know what room I’m staying in anyway?”

“Ah,” Tommy scoffed, his lips curving in a smirk. “I own this city, sweetheart.”

“Scudboat,” Tommy called once Nina was out on the streets, catching the man’s attention. “Keep an eye on the girl, make sure she gets to the hotel safe. Can’t trust Birmingham.”

“Yes, sir,” the Blinder nodded, immediately going to obey the order.

“Oi,” Tommy called again, making him turn around. “Keep low and keep your distance, cause if she won’t kill you, her family will,” he warned him. “And you wouldn’t like the Italian way.”

Heart, Body and Soul taglist

@zablife @queenofshinigamis @raincoffeeandfandoms / @justrainandcoffee @call-sign-shark

@kmc1989 @babayaga67 @kmhappybunny240 @diorrfairy @mariaelizabeth21-blog1

@gaslysainz @brummiereader @loverhymeswith @fairypitou @prettywhenicry4

@mysticalbouquetwolf-posts @woofgocows @girlwith-thepearlearring @goblinjnr @outlanderuniverse

@citylights31 @neonpurplestars89-blog @red-riding-wood @evita-shelby

General tag list:

@iamngoclinh08 @lilywinchesterlove @fandom-puff @capitanostella @caelys

@lucillethings @peakyxtommy @queenofkings1212 @lyarr24 @kmc1989

@call-sign-shark @jomarch-wannabe @ce1iat

@red-riding-wood @optimisticsandwichgladiator

Tommy Shelby taglist:

@50svibes

[ninadove]

Nina reads Dracula 🦇

September 20th

I opened today’s entry thinking I knew what to expect, but apparently I did not:

Report from Patrick Hennessey, M. D., M. R. C. S. L. K. Q. C. P. I., etc., etc., to John Seward, M. D.

A bit of humour in the darkest of nights. And what a power move! I love that even minor characters are given such vivid personalities!

With regard to patient, Renfield, there is more to say. He has had another outbreak, which might have had a dreadful ending, but which, as it fortunately happened, was unattended with any unhappy results.

This is what I mean! Look how this man writes. Completely redundant. He has a unique “voice” and I love it!

I went down to see if I could make out any cause for his anger, since he is usually such a well-behaved man, and except his violent fits nothing of the kind had ever occurred.

I’m starting to think every staff member has a death wish.

It was, I am sorry to say, however, only another instance of his cunning, for within half an hour I heard of him again. This time he had broken out through the window of his room, and was running down the avenue. I called to the attendants to follow me, and ran after him, for I feared he was intent on some mischief.

YA THINK?????

Also, what was I saying about safety protocols the other day?

The other fellow jumped down and struck him over the head with the butt-end of his heavy whip. It was a terrible blow; but he did not seem to mind it, but seized him also, and struggled with the three of us, pulling us to and fro as if we were kittens. You know I am no light weight, and the others were both burly men.

IT’S WORKING!!!!! The DYI vampirism is working!!! Mark me down as scared and strangely proud.

The two carriers were at first loud in their threats of actions for damages, and promised to rain all the penalties of the law on us. Their threats were, however, mingled with some sort of indirect apology for the defeat of the two of them by a feeble madman. They said that if it had not been for the way their strength had been spent in carrying and raising the heavy boxes to the cart they would have made short work of him. They gave as another reason for their defeat the extraordinary state of drouth to which they had been reduced by the dusty nature of their occupation and the reprehensible distance from the scene of their labours of any place of public entertainment. I quite understood their drift, and after a stiff glass of grog, or rather more of the same, and with each a sovereign in hand, they made light of the attack, and swore that they would encounter a worse madman any day for the pleasure of meeting so 'bloomin' good a bloke' as your correspondent. I took their names and addresses, in case they might be needed.

Efficient crisis management. Have a sticker 🦇

Now onto the regularly scheduled horrors…

Only resolution and habit can let me make an entry to-night. I am too miserable, too low-spirited, too sick of the world and all in it, including life itself, that I would not care if I heard this moment the flapping of the wings of the angel of death.

About that —

And he has been flapping those grim wings to some purpose of late—Lucy's mother and Arthur's father, and now.... Let me get on with my work.

Oh so it’s official! Arthur’s father has passed! What a month!

Van Helsing was very kind to him. "Come, my child," he said; "come with me. You are sick and weak, and have had much sorrow and much mental pain, as well as that tax on your strength that we know of. You must not be alone; for to be alone is to be full of fears and alarms. Come to the drawing-room, where there is a big fire, and there are two sofas. You shall lie on one, and I on the other, and our sympathy will be comfort to each other, even though we do not speak, and even if we sleep."

That is very sweet.

There was a full moonlight, and I could see that the noise was made by a great bat, which wheeled round—doubtless attracted by the light, although so dim—and every now and again struck the window with its wings.

Hold on hold on hold on. I think Jack might be on to something here.

So far, we’ve seen Dracula target Jonathan and Lucy specifically and relentlessly. Yes, he also attacked the crew of the Demeter, but that was out of necessity (being stuck in the middle of the ocean with no other source of food) rather than choice; and he doesn’t want to feed on Renfield, who is older and “feeble” both physically and mentally.

So he is attracted to the light, metaphorically: to young people who are full of life and love. Because that’s what he lacks. Argh.

It was certainly odd that whenever she got into that lethargic state, with the stertorous breathing, she put the flowers from her; but that when she waked she clutched them close.

🥺😔

"She is dying. It will not be long now. It will be much difference, mark me, whether she dies conscious or in her sleep. Wake that poor boy, and let him come and see the last; he trusts us, and we have promised him." […]

When we came into Lucy's room I could see that Van Helsing had, with his usual forethought, been putting matters straight and making everything look as pleasing as possible. He had even brushed Lucy's hair, so that it lay on the pillow in its usual sunny ripples. When we came into the room she opened her eyes, and seeing him, whispered softly:—

"Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come!" He was stooping to kiss her, when Van Helsing motioned him back. "No," he whispered, "not yet! Hold her hand; it will comfort her more."

Say what you want about Van Helsing (SISTER), he’s showing incredible amounts of compassion in this chapter.

In a sort of sleep-waking, vague, unconscious way she opened her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said in a soft, voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips:—

"Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me!" Arthur bent eagerly over to kiss her; but at that instant Van Helsing, who, like me, had been startled by her voice, swooped upon him, and catching him by the neck with both hands, dragged him back with a fury of strength which I never thought he could have possessed, and actually hurled him almost across the room.

"Not for your life!" he said; "not for your living soul and hers!" And he stood between them like a lion at bay.

The next few entries are going to be fun.

Their eyes met instead of their lips; and so they parted.

Ouch.

"Ah, well, poor girl, there is peace for her at last. It is the end!"

He turned to me, and said with grave solemnity:—

"Not so; alas! not so. It is only the beginning!"

When I asked him what he meant, he only shook his head and answered:—

"We can do nothing as yet. Wait and see."

A heads up would be nice!!!

< Prev 🦇 Next >

[phneltwrites]

Sunday Snippet

This is from a new thing I'm working on, a time loop fic where Wilhelm has to keep reliving the anniversary of Erik's death. 🙈

“Something’s wrong with me,” Wilhelm whispers, and doesn’t mean like an illness. He means something fundamental is off.

She hums and kisses his head and doesn’t leave him.

He goes to therapy and says the same thing louder. His new therapist, Nina, is a patient middle-aged blonde woman who also works with high-profile athletes. He doesn’t know which ones, but sometimes he amuses himself by imagining who it could be. Olympic pole vaulters or singles tennis champions. 

She asks him why he thinks that and he can’t answer. Isn’t it obvious? Then she asks him where the feeling sits and he puts his hand on his chest, below his heart. Without meaning to, his hand forms a claw, fingers digging in like he could pop his ribs open and take out the organ that’s failing him. He’s heard he doesn’t need them all. He could get by without a spleen, with only one kidney, with only part of his liver.

Then, it clicks.

He’s summoned to a meeting in the Rose room, so named for the wallpaper, though most of the furnishings are green.

His mother waves him over. He walks through the room, nodding to Minou and Farima before he undoes his suit jacket and sits on the chaise next to her. His dad is also in attendance, on a chair on her other side. She puts her hand on the back of his head before returning it to her lap. If he was smaller, he’d snuggle in next to her, but he’s grown now and it would look comical even if it wasn’t inappropriate.

“Hi, gubben, how was school?” she asks. Her eyes are warm. She’s trying, and if he was better, he’d be able to muster more than the half smile he manages.

“It’s fine. I’m on top of my school work.” Wilhelm is, barely. He might still get a tutor thrown at him depending on how his next exam goes.

August walks into the room. He’s in his dress uniform even though he’s still in basic training. There’s probably some protocol reason for that, but Wilhelm doesn’t know it and hopes he won’t have to. He comes closer to them to greet mother and with every step August takes, the pit in Wilhelm’s stomach pulses, a murky wave. Directed energy, like a rotating neutron star. He wonders if that feeling will ever go away.

“Your Majesty,” he addresses her. “Crown Prince,” he adds quickly, and then steps to the side, finding a chair to sit in. 

Jan-Olof stands. He presses a button and the large black screen on a stand that has been wheeled in, turns on. “Your Majesty, your Royal Highnesses, we are here to go over the final itinerary and protocols for the one-year memorial commemoration for the former Crown Prince.

It hits him like a bowling ball, right in the solar plexus. He can’t stop himself from putting a hand on the spot.

And oh. That’s why it hurts. Not because something is in there that shouldn’t be, but because something is missing and can’t be put back.

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

The Phoenix and the Crow

part thirty-two

pairing: kaz brekker x fem!reader

genre: neutral

el's thoughts: again, thank you for being so patient with meee!! from a writing aspect, i'm almost done with the series! and it's wilddd i'm currently finishing up chapter thirty-five and my heart hurts knowing that i'm kinda almost done..

masterlist

Y/N stared silently at Kaz while he watched Inej intently, his bitter coffee eyes glittering in the light from the dome.

Inej explained how the costumes would be their masks. How the Fjerdans would only see a Suli lynx and a Kaelish mare. Not people, not even really girls, just lovely objects to be collected.

“It’s a risk,” said Kaz.

“What job isn’t?”

“Kaz, how are you, Matthias and Y/N going to get through?” asked Nina. “We might need you for locks, and if things go bad on the island, I don’t want to be stranded. I doubt you can pass yourselves off as members of the houses.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” said Kaz. “Helvar’s been holding out on us.”

“Have you?” asked Y/N.

“It’s not-” Matthias dragged a hand over his cropped hair. “How do you know these things, demjin?” he growled at Kaz.

“Logic. The whole Ice Court is a masterpiece of fail-safes and doubled systems. That glass bridge is impressive, but in an emergency, there would have to be another way to get reinforcements to the White Island and get the royal family out.”

Y/N and Jesper shared a smirk at the sight of Matthias’ baffled expression.

“Yes,” said Matthias in exasperation. “There’s another way to the White Island. But it’s messy.” He glanced at Nina. “And it certainly can’t be done in a gown.”

“Hold on,” Jesper interrupter. “Who cares if you can all get onto the White Island? Let’s say Nina sparkles Yul-Bayur’s location out of some Fjerdan higher-up, and you get him back here. We’ll be trapped/ By then, the prison guards will have completed their search and are going to know seven inmates got out of the sector somehow. Any chance we have of making it through the embassy gates and the checkpoints will be gone.”

Kaz peered past the dome to the embassy’s open courtyard and the ringwall gatehouse beyond.

“Wylan, how hard would it be to disable one of these gates?”

“To get it open?”

“No, to keep it closed.”

“You mean break it?” Wylan shrugged. “I don’t think it would be too difficult. I couldn’t see the mechanism when we entered the prison gate, but from the layout, I’m guessing it’s pretty standard.”

“Pulleys, cogs, some really big screws?”

“Well, yes, and a sizable winch. The cables wrap around it like a big spool, and the guards just turn it with some kind of handle or wheel.”

“I know how a winch works. Can you take one apart?”

“I think so, but it’s the alarm system the cables are attached to that’s complicated. I doubt I could do it without triggering Black Protocol.”

“Good,” said Kaz. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Jesper held up a hand. “I’m sorry, isn’t Black Protocol the thing we want to avoid at all costs?”

“I do seem to remember something about certain doom,” said Nina.

“Not if we use it against them.” Y/N spoke up causing Kaz to give her a nod. “Tonight, most of the Court’s security is concentrated on the White Island and right here at the embassy. When Black Protocol sounds, the glass bridge will shut down, trapping all those guards on the island along with the guests.”

“But what about Matthias’ rout off the island?” asked Nina.

“They can’t move a major force that way,” Matthias conceded. “At least not quickly.”

Kaz gazed out at the White Island, head filter, eyes slightly unfocused.

“Scheming face,” Inej murmured.

Y/N nodded. “Definitely.”

“Three gates in the ringwall,” Kaz said. “The prison gate is already locked up tight because of Yellow Protocol. The embassy gate is a bottle neck crammed with guests—the Fjerdans aren’t going to get the troops through there. Jesper, that just leaves the gate in the druskelle sector for you and Wylan to handle. You use it to engage Black Protocol, then wreck it. Break it badly enough that any guards who manage to mobilize can’t get out to follow us.”

“I’m all for locking the Fjerdans in their own fortress,” said Jesper. “Truly. But how do we get out? Once we trigger Black Protocol, you guys will be trapped on that island, and we’ll be trapped in the outer circle. We have no weapons and no demo materials.”

Kaz’s grin was sharp as a razor. “Thank goodness we’re proper thieves. We’re going to do a little shopping—and it’s all going on Fjerda’s tab.”

~

Y/N looked at her strange crew, barefoot and shivering in their soot-stained prison uniforms, their features limned by the golden light of the dome, softened by the mist that hung in the air.

What bound them together? Greed? Desperation? Was it just the knowledge that if one or all of them disappeared tonight, no one would come looking? Maybe Nikolai would send a few troops to search but that was out of duty. Y/N had no one to shed a tear and mourn her life. She had no family, no parents, no siblings, only people to fight beside. And she knew that was always something to be grateful for, too.

It was Jesper who spoke first. “No mourners,” he said with a grin.

“No funerals,” they replied in unison. Even Matthias muttered the words softly.

“If any of you survive, make sure I have an open casket,” Jesper said as he hefted two slender could of rope over his shoulder and signaled for Wylan to follow him across the roof. “The world deserves a few more moments with this face.”

Y/N was only slightly surprised to see the intensity of the look that passed between Matthias and Nina. Something had changed between them after the battle with the Shu, but she couldn’t be sure what.

Matthias cleared his throat and gave Nina an awkward little bow. “A word?” he asked.

Nina returned the bow with considerably more panache, and let him lead her away.

Inej gave the inferni a soft smile and slipped the recognizable pair of black leather gloves into her hands. The Suli nodded towards Kaz and slipped away to wait for Nina.

Y/N turned to face him and walked to his side.

“I have something for you,” she said as she held out his gloves.

He stared at them. “How-”

“I got them from the discarded clothes and gave them to Inej before she made the climb.”

He pulled the gloves on slowly, and she watched his pale, vulnerable hands disappear beneath the leather. They were trickster hands—long, graceful fingers made for prying open locks, hiding coins, making things vanish.

“When we get back to Ketterdam, I’m heading back to Ravka right away.”

He looked away. “You should. You’re too good for the Barrel anyway.”

She hummed and closed her eyes tightly in frustration. She didn’t know what she expected from him but she wanted more.

He reached down to hold her wrist. “Y/N.” His gloved thumb moved over her pulse, tracing the top of a burn scar she got when she miss caught her first flame. “If we don’t make it out, I want you to know … ”

She waited. She felt hope rustling its wings inside her, ready to take flight at the right words from Kaz. She willed that hope into stillness. Those words would never come. Hope is dangerous.

She reached up and touched his cheek. She thought he might flinch again, even pull away from her. He let her hand cup his cheek. His skin was cool and damp from the rain. He stayed still, just barely leaning closer to her warm touch.

“If we don’t survive this night, I will die unafraid, Kaz. Can you say the same?”

His eyes were nearly black, the pupils dilated. She could see his dazed gaze focus back onto her, still not pulling away. She knew it was the best he could offer at the moment and she nodded softly.

She dropped her hand. He took a deep breath.

Kaz had said he didn’t want her prayers and she wouldn’t speak them, but she wished his safe and sane nonetheless.

Matthias stood a few feet away from the pair, grabbing the Inferni’s attention.

“Let’s go, Kaz.”

~*~

taglist: @katherinereid @littlecat21 @jahayla-parker @maliciousbrekker @brekkershadowsinger @brekkers-desigirl @clunaes @wonderland2425 @bookloverfilmoholic @karensirkobabes @bookworm-center @el-de-phi @so-get-this-sammy @skittleabyss @crispy-croke @cometsghost @auttumnsayshi

[henrysglock]

You Speak Basic, Doc?

So. As a follow up to this post about the 2.08/2.09 HNL lights, I want to talk about something Wilbur just brought up in the server:

Very good fucking question. Why did he leave? And how did he end up in the stairwell that leads down to the basement?

Specifically, it's the same stairwell Bob just went down to reset the breakers and take the lab off lockdown:

(Which also, coincidentally, seems to be the same one El runs down in NINA to get to Henry and the tunnel out of the lab)

So...okay, cool. He was on his way to or from the basement after having left his little safe space in the upstairs security room.

That, however, brings me to another question: What is there for Owens to do in the basement?

Bob, as I said, went down there to reset the breakers and unlock the doors, because when the power cuts in HNL, the doors all lock. It's a lockdown.

So really...what else is there to do in the basement, besides no-scope demodogs and go "ooh" at the weird, pulsing mega-pussy gate? Owens doesn't have a gun, and he's been staring that weird, pulsing mega-pussy gate in the face for like a year now. Which means...it's probably not that.

So...could he have been trying to reinstate the lockdown by flipping the breakers Bob had fixed?

Well. Let's think about the "why"s of that.

First off, Owens knows firsthand that a lockdown isn't going to do shit against the demodogs.

A) The tunnels already allow them to circumvent the lab exits. Owens is aware of said tunnels.

B) The demodogs can smash through polycarbonate. Owens literally sees one do so.

So they could easily just tear right through any doors in their path. A lockdown makes no sense...for creatures.

No. Lockdowns are primarily for humans.

In fact...If I had to bet, the lockdown protocol in HNL has to do with the whole "keeping people from escaping the child torture basement" thing we see in ST4.

But...the prison-basement ended with El in 1983, right? So the question remains: What would Owens be locking down in the basement, and why hide his reasons for going downstairs?

Unless, of course, the prison-basement didn't end in 1983. And, of course, unless there's something worth securing down there that we're not yet privy to.

And along those lines: Why are so many demodogs staying in HNL? Why concentrate in the lab, when the tunnels will take them anywhere under Hawkins in pursuit of Will? There were more than enough to spread out and search. If it was about guarding the gate against El, they'd just leave some at the entrances, or swarm wherever she happened to be (which is where Will is, coincidentally). I thought Vecna could read minds even without an open gate. If he's supposedly involved in this...then why not just swarm the Byers house? Why still concentrate in the lab after they find out where Will is?

That is to say...what are they looking for, specifically in HNL, after they've found out that Will's left the building?

TL;DR: Owens...there wasn't someone down there that you needed to lock down, right? Someone to be retrieved later? Someone the democreatures might have a vested interest in finding?

[coniangray]

Whos watching life in Hawkins??

This hit me earlier when I realized all four stories of st4 had someone/ something being a know-it-all god or a heterodiagetic narrator watching and knowing everything all at once.

But not everywhere (pun intended)

All four storylines have both types of narrators:

A homodiegetic one, this being a character involved in the story and showing their prescription of things

A heterodiagetic one, aka the know-it-all god, recording and watching all the other characters.

Homodiegetic:

For the Hawkins plot it was max. For California it was Will and Mike. For the lab it was eleven, and for the prison it was Hopper (and I think Joyce on her way there, since the prison plot is somehow separate from Joyce and Yuri's plot).

I can tell, because we SEE all of those characters feelings displayed on screen in one way or another. Max was curious during the curse, therefore bringing the whole team together, Wills lingering in California was also shown through him only, Hopper's desparation and fear for joyce not making it safe ect.

The only one I'm on the fence about is Mike, since the last time we got a scene from his prospective was in s2 or at the rain fight in s3 I think. Aka, Mike's pov was not shown enough in s4, but it was there.

Heterodiagetic narrator:

This might sound tricky at first but it's not. Even though this narrator is not supposed to be a character at all: instead, they're just a messenger who convey the story from the writer to the reader (as all narrators do). They're a ghost, an entity, aka the camera of the characters.

But in this case, the narrator is in the show. Each plot has its own one, and that's what considered a god of their own nature.

I realized this from the security cameras and the memory storage of Brenner in Nina scenes. He was keeping and choosing which ones to show to El, aka choosing her path instead of her, which becomes clear in the show later on.

In Alaska, there was also security footage to which jopper had also access to later on.

As for California, they were also recorded/watched at some point. When? Right before the shooting.

The jokes about house arrest in this scene made me think the guards that were supposed to keep them same weren't just sitting, they were most likely recording the activity in the house due to protocol (at least i wanna believe it, considering Mike's house was anf might still be bugged since the end of s1 and the flashbacks in s2).

Also, in the van, they were most likely watched by El after she gained her powers.

And if all of these plots were watched by someone, then who was watching Hawkins?

Vecna.

I realized it from this video; vecna was legit searching for a source, another mind to curse in order to complete his plan.

The camera panning made me think he had access to anyone he wanted to. He could've chosen literally anyone in replacement of mike, but he went for Patrick instead.

Why? Because he knew he was in the same group with Lucas and Jason. As we saw, attacking Patrick triggered not just these two, but in total five people and the entire Hawkins team.

And became the wirters chose to plot wise.

My point is, the dynamics changed after his death, even in the slightest, bringing Lucas closer to max.

Now, because these gods are characters too, their own thoughts may interviene with what we see/ are shown, therefore leading everything back to homodiegetic or 1st person pov.

The main occupants here are Henry and of course, Brenner. Its like a domino effect, once brenner was watching one and now one is watching hawkins.

Their motives also beg to differ; Brenner was focusing more and only on logic, hence one disobeyed that rule and only relied on emotions, especially anger, to get his powers to their fullest potential, and thats what he also taught eleven.

But the main know it all god; The Mindflayer.

It literally watches everyone. Dustin said it himself:

A five star general that can open gates and watch. Tell us just His side of the story, messing with others memories, especially Wils, and everything related to him and el.

Aka, he can just change every detail he wants simply because he was watching.

Because his lenses were stronger than the other characters, and becuase he had and still has a devoted spy. A spy that can absorb information from inside.

And that spy is Will. even in season 4, even in the byler scenes, EVERYWHERE.

That kiiinda sounds like a hyperboly, but because the connection was there, it doesnt mean it was strong. The closer he got to hawkins, the stroger it got, thats why he felt him so intenesely at the cabin.

And here comes the unreliable narrator.

Most scenes are not shown excactly how things happen. Theyre not objective, theyre subjective, given how at least one persons pov is always involved.

This is also why there are a lot of variations of just one memory, why the void version of their timeline is slightly differrent, and why even though will saw mileven happy during the rinkomania skating scenes, an outsiders pov showed how they actually felt, dissapointed by everything.

One other thing id like to add, will MIGHT be playing the god role here too, taking in mind his ongoing connection with vecna and how this could eventually be displayed in vecnas mind if he wanted to. Hence the whole spy thing.

There was a post i read about El trading places with max and exchaging herself with a variant from another timeline, and that adds another layer to the unreliable narrator imo, thinking how the two days later el has different memories and knowledge than the el we knew from before and is now possibly dead.

The thing is, this unreliable narrator thing has SO many layers, and therfore shapes somewhat smalll plot holkes within scenes, especially in s1,2 and 4.

And it got even messier im 3 given hoe focusing solely on the mainstream 80's summer slasher movie vibe, some characters arcs were lost or outshined by others that had the chance to change their arcs for the better.

Yes, im talking about will who was sidelined a lot and then this was decided to be used as a weapon for the connection between him and the ud.

All the arcs are intertwined, but i CANT solve this untill we get s5. Its honestly frustrating like GIMME THE SOLUTION BRUHHHH

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

i adore reading your analytical posts abt soc so much jts not even funny; stumbling upon your account was like a coming across a goldmine 🙏 ALSO I RLLY WANT TO ONOW ABT THE SHE TREATS US LJKE MARKS ESSAY IVE NEVER THOIGHT ABT THAT RLLY also i loved the mr crimson post anw im sorry i’ll shut up now

Thank you so much, I’m so glad you like them!!

This is the first time someone’s submitted a question so bare with me because if there’s any way to do this wrong I’ll probably manage it, but here are my thoughts on the red herrings :)

She’s treating us like marks - an analysis of Leigh Bardugo’s use of red herrings in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom

*warning: CONSTANT SPOILERS AHEAD!*

I happen to be an absolute sucker for a good bit of foreshadowing, I think if it’s done well it’s one of the best literary techniques out there, so it’s something I always like to try and be on the look out for when I read. With books that I go back and reread, in this case many many times (seriously I’ve never specifically counted but I’m pretty sure I’m at over ten times each for the duology, it’s ridiculous), I like to find the things I didn’t realise were foreshadowing the first time round. When rereading six of crows and crooked kingdom, I realised that a lot of the things I expected to be foreshadowing didn’t actually come to fruition whilst other, seemingly less important, details were the actual foreshadowing. I LOVE IT! It’s genius, because it leaves the reader worrying about one thing so they’re too distracted to realise the groundwork is being laid for something else. But you know what that makes me think of? Kaz’s ideology of “What’s the easiest way to steal a man’s wallet? […] Tell him you’re going to steal his watch,” and “you have to let the mark feel like he’s won”. Leigh Bardugo literally cons us, and she tells us that she’s doing it in Crooked Kingdom when the group are certain that they know where Inej is being kept, but Kaz says “Too obvious. He’s treating us like marks”. GENIUS

So I compiled a few of my favourite examples (in no particular order), if you know of any I’ve missed please add more I would love to see them!!

The cannon at the Ice Court. When the Crows first arrive in Djerholm they see a cannon built into the the cliff face, a defence mechanism for the Court, and Kaz says what might be one of my favourite underrated lines of his: “I’ve broken into banks, warehouses, mansions, museums, vaults, a rare book library, and once the bedchamber of a visiting Kaelish diplomat whose wife had a passion for emeralds. But I’ve never had a cannon shot at me”. Jesper jokes that “there’s something to be said for novelty” but then continues to say that a cannon would be useless against a ship as small as theirs and that it’s designed for “invading armadas”. They don’t mention the cannon again, but it stuck in my mind when I first read it as a looming threat, a reminder that the danger wouldn’t end when they left the court. So when they arrived in the harbour was I expecting soldiers, or a heartrender, or for Nina to take parem? Nope, I was too busy worrying about the schooner being blown to pieces - especially when the Crows all have such specific painful and/or traumatic experiences linking to water, with 4 out of 6 of them being drowning related. But that isn’t to say that the waiting soldiers at the dock weren’t foreshadowed. All the way through Leigh Bardugo constantly reminds us that Matthias had never seen black protocol in action, and that his time in the prison sector had been brief, but she lulls us into a false sense of security by letting us believe that the secret bridge onto the White Island was all Matthias was hiding. We trust him by this point, so we don’t expect anything to be different to what he’s told us, even though this is an aspect he couldn’t possibly have predicted. Bonus points for the fact that Nina’s poor well-being in the aftermath of the drug is foreshadowed by a joke at the awful Inn they go to before the job; the food is disgusting and she says “when I don’t want to eat, you know there’s a problem”, and in Crooked Kingdom it’s many times emphasised that she’s unhealthily losing weight and her appetite has vastly decreased, with Matthias buying her chocolate biscuits “in the hopes she’d eat something”.

The poison pill. Leigh Bardugo worked very hard in Crooked Kingdom to make us think that Nina might die. We went into that book knowing there was a strong possibility that she wouldn’t come out the other side; we knew very little about how she was coping with parem withdrawal at the end of soc, but we had seen around a minimum of five grisha being destroyed by the drug so far. (That’s a guess I haven’t actually counted). So we went in with the idea that she was already in a precarious situation, and even though we begin to see her regain herself she struggles throughout the novel both physically and mentally in the aftermath of the drug. Matthias begins to dream of being lost on the ice in the worst storms known to Fjerda, knowing that she was out there somewhere and that he could not reach her. This sounds like it’s foreshadowing her death. Then when the pair go to the Ravkan embassy, Tamar gives Nina a small yellow pill that Genya made; she explains that it kills instantly and painlessly, saying “we all have them” to make sure they cannot be drugged and enslaved by the Shu government, who are hunting for grisha with the Khergud at the time. Matthias is terrified by this, but Nina just slips it into her pocket without a second thought. At that moment I thought that Nina would almost take the pill only to be stopped by someone else, because it felt too obvious that it would kill her, but I did wonder if the Khergud would be the ones to stop her and so she would still be lost. But the pill never gets mentioned again, except when the Dime Lions come for Nina at Sweet Reef and she briefly remembers that it’s still in her pocket. Then never again. And Matthias’ dreams were, of course, actually foreshadowing the FESTIVAL OF PAIN AND TORTURE that is chapter 40.

Mr Crimson. I’m so glad you like my Mr Crimson idea! Basically I posted saying I think that he represents death in the novels and I’ve also talked before about how I think the Komedie Brute costumes that the characters usually adopt are representative of their character; Kaz the Madman, Nina the Lost Bride, Inej and Wylan the Grey Imp, and Jesper and Matthias Mr Crimson. I won’t go into detail about all of them but if you’re interested the post is on my page, but with the idea that Mr Crimson represents death it’s very important to me that, although all of them wear his cloak at least once, he is the only Komedie Brute character taken on by Jesper and Matthias (at least to my recollection, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). So of course I would argue that Matthias taking on the image in Crooked Kingdom foreshadows his death, but in that case what does Jesper’s represent? I came up with two options but I actually think you could combine them into one: it’s a red herring to make us align him with the literal death of Matthias, whilst actually foreshadowing the metaphorical death that his addiction and mental well-being are driving him towards as he tries desperately to stop them - in his own words to Colm “I’m dying anyway, Da, I’m just doing it slow”

Oh god sorry that this is yet another long post I hope y’all enjoyed this enough for it to be worth the time it takes for you to read all my ramblings 😭

Tagging people who asked for this one in the replies to my essay titles post - @the-magnificunt @flerkenkiddingme @luridorangeandviolentviolet @snowblack-charcoalwhite

[abbybubbls]

It's a Mostly Girls Night!!!

Maggie is trying really hard to be quiet, Nina is calling out the stupid decisions characters have made, Mrs. Sandwich is spoiling the movie to Muriel, and Crowley ignored the bun protocol.

Working on this was so much FUN