#i doubt it was really connected to the price but the event was like a good omen or something idk

[wilwheaton]

So we have two issues we need to examine here. First, the astonishingly offensive remarks Trump made Thursday night about Jews. His Jewish support should start sinking like a stone. But there’s one Jew who clearly loves him, and other events this week have to make us wonder whether Bibi Netanyahu is trying to start a war with Lebanon and maybe Iran to raise gas prices and screw up the economy (right after Jerome Powell made a move to ensure that doesn’t happen) to help Trump win, but that’s another column, if I get around to it. The second issue is one that must remain front and center in the American political media: Trump is really losing his marbles now. Was that statement about the crowd going nuts for him at the debate a normal Trump lie? Or was it a fantasy of which he has convinced himself? If we hooked him up to a polygraph and he repeated that line, would his pulse quicken? Would he change his speech patterns, avert his eyes, cover his mouth? I doubt it. He wouldn’t even think he was lying. The mainstream media still treats comments like this with diffidence: “Oh, that’s Trump.” No. These are defining comments. They tell us about his mental fitness. They matter. They should be covered. I can’t find evidence that The New York Times or The Washington Post covered those remarks. This sanewashing must stop. Voters need to be informed when Trump makes statements with a tenuous connection to reality at best. He’s disqualifying himself from the presidency every day that he opens his mouth, but much of the mainstream media is ignoring the words coming out.

Donald “Blame the Jews” Trump Is Truly Losing His Sh*t Now

[sevs-corner]

Quick one shots on: Tf 141: Mafia AU

Link to prev (connected part to this!)

So, last part ended with you and your first date with Price (well at least you hoped so) and this time, take a walk with me as to how it went with Ghost.

Let's make it clear though that he was one of the last people to "fully" accept you within the family under Nonna and Nonno's guidance.

Despite that, he was the fastest to be so down bad.

Man is so inexperienced- just like the others- but to him, himself

He feels like a man failure

And he tried to make it up to you by getting a plushie...

That he kind of commissioned from one of friends from the knitting group he was in (yes that is his hobby on the side, but he's not gonna let anyone be privy to that information besides the 3- now 4- people he trusts)

He, lowkey, is still shy of showing his own creations- hence, the commission

Of course he also tries hiding this fact from you, but seeing you hold it with so much love and care made him feel more confident and want to create more things with and for you

Not to say you were shocked, but you were…

Shocked.

Gobsmacked?

Befuddled?

Anyways, speechless, from how Ghost had just willingly asked you to come along with him.

“To…” you began hesitatingly, “where…exactly?”

You see him fidget, arms tucked into his hoodie- which you were also surprised by from how casual his fit was. From the jeans, flats, and the plain medical mask on his face- quite a contrast to the fancy suits he’d usually wear while on the job or when visiting the bakery, or whenever you see him really.

You see him mask move but no words come out so you ask if you could repeat it.

He didn’t reply, huffing before tugging you out the door.

“Woa-woah hey!”

Ghost, in all of his bulky self, managed to slip through the ajar door and pull you through it as well with ease.

“Ghost-!” You try and pull to stop him, “Ghost! Wait- I have to change!!”

Though he wouldn’t budge, forcing you down your apartment’s stairs and out the front, and straight in the shotgun of his car. Once you got situated in, he buckled you up, patted your thigh and closed the door.

You didn’t know if you quite missed something when you last talked to the guy.

Or… you finally the crossed the line and they were gonna get rid of you—!

No- no, don’t go there.

They’ve already proven as much that they would never ever do that to you. So, benefit of the doubt, maybe it was an emergency.

Well, it is an emergency-- for Simon, that is.

Simon is in a panic.

Why did he have to drag you outside your own room?!

You were going to hate him for sure…

But he’s a committed man, what happened- happened, and he’s going to stick with the schedule for today (to which he forgot to share with you in his anxiousness and just assumed you knew.)

He also thought that you didn't need to change? You were already dressed up as far as he knew (no you weren't by your standards), he was wearing his 'house clothes' himself, you know?

No, you didn't. You would have assumed that he was alike you in the sense that you had clothes distinct for staying at home and going out.

Too bad for you that this man can't tell the difference! ('cause all he's seen you in are your work clothes for the bakery and the type of clothes you wear now when he visits your apartment.)

Once he rounded the car, he shuts those thoughts out and enters the vehicle, hoping to start off fresh--

"g'mornin'."

He grunts out and you looked at him, quite confused at the timeline of events, but greeted him all the same.

"Good morning to you to, I guess?" You watch him hum and nod, switch the stick to drive, and just-- drive off from your apartment.

"So," you ask, "are you gonna tell me where we're going?"

He grunts again, and you think that's his only dialogue option until he talks a couple minutes later, at a moment when you least expect it when you were gazing at the passing buildings.

"To the park," you hear him mumbled, "didn't you read the itinerary?"

"the what?" your turned aghast, "run that by me again-- the itinerary?"

"Did you not get one?" Ghost looked at you for a moment, his face looking quite pale and similar to his moniker.

"Shite, didn't I send you a text last night?" He speaks a bit more quickly, which makes you in turn and panic yourself because you've never seen this man act like this.

So you check quickly, "just your usual good night cat meme message!"

Which makes him more frustrated, "are you serious? not a link to a document or anything?"

"Seriously!"

You then shoved your phone to his peripheral, but not in the way of his driving, but just enough that he can glance at it to check it himself.

Damn did he wanted to sock himself in the face so much right now.

"Oh," you could see his tense shoulders slump, "m' sorry, prolly' forgot to send it to ya' then."

Clearing the confusion took the whole car ride, from him worryingly planning everything to you reassuring that it was fine and you were even excited to go out with him!

Of course you wanted to get to know better this recluse of a man (for your safety but your curiosity needed to be satiated as well) and find out a way to repay him for taking care of you so far.

(As Soap sometimes drunkenly whispers to you how Ghost would go out of his way and be late to their meeting just because he sometimes passes by your apartment to get rid of some drunkards or teens that's hoping to sneak in to your apartment building to party or what not.)

So, you thought of this as the perfect opportunity to do just that!

Once you arrived at the park hand-in-hand, you quickly pulled him towards the pond where some of colorful ducks where at. You always would coo at them whenever you pass by the area and the ducks seemed to squack back in response! Some even swam towards the shoreline, albeit slowly, still wary of your presence.

Ghost, oh dear his poor heart.

From the way you intertwined his clammy hand in yours and just pulled him without much effort and then now to you, acting so cutely with the ducks.

He swear he could burst at any moment.

But then he sees you turn to him, waving him over with a bright smile, the light bouncing off your hair, your eyes reflecting the clear blue waters-- he swore to himself that he never speed-walked that fast in his life.

He kneels besides you, quite awkwardly because he didn't know what to do there really, and watched you pet the duck, cooing at with the duck honking happily on your lap.

Your giggles, they were so light and uplifting, it just felt like cotton in his ears, bouncing in his brain as if they were echoes.

"Simon?"

Your voice snaps him out of his stupor and he looks at you, one eyebrow raised with a hum.

"Would you," you offer your hand to him, "like to pet... Quaker flakes?"

He chuckles, "why the hell is it named 'quaker flakes?'" Despite his quip, he offers his hand to you anyways, with you grabbing it and gently laying it on the duck's back.

"Well, it's yellow and looks crunchy!"

He raises his brows in amusement and he couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips.

"Crunchy?" He asks, "Already hungry?"

He sees your cheeks blossom but immediately misses it when you turn away in a huff.

"Am not!"

"Really now?" He continues to tease, now sitting more comfortably as he got closer to you.

"Yes," you curtly replied, "even though you snatched me away as I was about to eat my breakfast."

This time Ghost pouts at this, throwing an arm around your shoulder so he could use his outstretched hand to swivel your head back to him and he could see your eyes widen by a cinch at how smooth it was.

"Why don't I..." he moves in closer to your ear, "...treat you then?"

His own eyes sparkle at your reaction, squirming and tense- usually he'd take delight in this reactions from the people he tortured but from you... jeez, something was stirring at pit of his stomach.

"For free?"

Yet that look didn't last long with your cheeky grin on your pink chapped lips, and he swore beneath his breath, eyes rolling at how 'you' the response was.

"Yes," he grins, "just this time."

You pout- stop tempting him- and ask, "just a one-time offer?"

He was just inches away from you, one shove from either of you and it would close the distance.

He was hoping, praying, that the would be strong enough to do it because he sure as hell wasn't.

"Just," he bops your nose, "this once." Then pulls away, with him standing up and dusting his legs- hoping you'd miss how dilated his eyes were or how his cheeks and ears felt insanely hot at the moment.

You giggle to yourself, scrambling after him as you both left the pond and duck who honked for you as you left.

Now happy and filled, eating by the bench and the food stand, Ghost decides to hand you a box.

"What's-" you swallow your food quickly, "this for?"

You scrambled to get a napkin, surprised that Ghost- himself- was giving you something out of nowhere.

"A present," he grumbles, "the napkins are here."

With a quick, "thanks," you wiped your hands clean and looked at the box more closely. The wrap was a soft pastel blue with a yellow foil ribbon on top, it just being the size of Simon's palm.

You gazed back at him and you saw the expectance in his eyes so you inhaled and slowly unraveled the wrapper.

Carefully peeling it apart until you opened it, gasping at how cute the crocheted coaster was. It had a flower pattern as the base, colored blue as if it was the water you'd seen earlier, a tiny duck sat at the edge with two small mint green plants besides it, and some tiny flowers around its base.

"I got it made," Ghost explains voice tight, "do...you like it?"

His voice gradually became softer and you had to turn to him, you had to face him when you said--

"I love it, Simon."

Ghost- no, Simon... became a very happy man.

Even more so with your promises to keep it safe, to use it at home when you study, and to take care of it with so much careful consideration because it came from him.

Yeah, you could say that he's definitely downbad now.

Picture of the gift from Ghostie hehe

You can check out more of my works here in this masterlist !

[margareth-lv]

🤕 No pain, no gain 🤕

There's an old saying that goes something like:

You know, the idea that everything ultimately has a cost and nothing in life is truly free.

In this context, the comment @auburncurlslass under my Saturday note gave me food for thought:

Another thought…..how did the B list actress score a seat next to the lead A list actor?? Does Bradley really know Caitriona? If so, how or what is the connection?🧐🧐🧐🧐

*** *** ***

Perhaps my reasoning is too simple, too simplistic. Perhaps the flow of my associations is also too simplistic, perhaps by simplifying I am making a mistake in my reasoning. I take this into account. Especially since I'm making my argument based on a few photos published on Instagram, not based on hard data. But what do we see from a few photos on Instagram?

(By the way, let's not forget that Sam flew to the USA at the time, so there's no doubt that Sam and Caitriona lead completely separate lives and have nothing in common. After all, nobody remembers that they both dropped off the radar in previous weeks. Sure, they weren't in the SM, but they couldn't have been together in real life at the time, as they lead completely separate lives, as they have repeatedly emphasised).

*** *** ***

Well, the course of events, reconstructed from several photos published on Instagram, is that on Wednesday 29 November 2023, Caitriona was standing (with a strange expression on her face) next to a half-dead and unwashed PA (a man who has always and for years had no career and no social media presence). She allowed her (and her PA's) photograph to be taken and published by GettyImages.

They appeared together at the special screening after party for 'Leave The World Behind'.

By the way, isn't the title significant?

This is proof #1.

*** *** ***

Two days later, on Friday 2 December 2023, a completely transformed Cait, with a beaming smile on her relaxed face, poses for a photo with the actress who plays one of the main roles in the film 'Maestro', Carey Mulligan.

We later learn that Cait was invited to an 'intimate lunch' organised by agency Finch+Partners to celebrate #MaestroFilm, directed and starring Bradley Cooper.

[Side note: ‚Maestro’ centers on the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre. The film stars Carey Mulligan as Montealegre alongside Cooper as Bernstein. The film was scheduled for a limited theatrical release on November 22, 2023, before streaming on Netflix on December 20. It received positive reviews from critics. Source: Wikipedia]

During the lunch, Caitriona sits at the table next to Cooper, in front of Carey Mulligan (can you think of a better place to sit at the table?) and laughs at the jokes Charles Finch tells. How did she get there?

This is evidence #2.

Of course, there's no sign of the PA at lunch, it's a meeting in a small circle of trusted people. Caitríona doesn't flinch nervously, but laughs out loud.

*** *** ***

I search Google for a while. The agency Finch+Partners has Lionsgate as a client.

As well as Chanel and DeBeers, among many others.

The connection between Finch+Partners, Cait and Lionsgate is obvious.

Could it be that Wednesday's PA photo was the price she paid for the opportunity to have lunch with Bradley Cooper?

No pain, no gain. And there's no such thing as a free lunch.

The Finch+Partners connection to Cait, Chanel and DeBeers is more fun.

It leads straight to Eleanor May Tomlinson, 31, an English actress.

After all, both Cait and Eleanor are kissing the same guy. This is bound to lead to some amusing associations.

... like the same jumpsuit from Finch+Partners client, Chanel.

*** *** ***

And two years earlier, a shared presence at DeBeers Jewellers London Flagship Store opening event (24 November 2021):

Without a doubt, this is a small world.

💰💰💰

And you see: obedience pays.

If you know your place in the ranks, listen to your bosses and stick to the script of your life written by psychopaths, you can expect to reap the rewards.

Lunching with Bradley Cooper.

Wearing the beautiful clothes of Chanel.

[December 4, 2023]

[fwckriley]

QUICK CHAT ABOUT COD CHARACTERS AND THEIR MBTI TYPES PT 1.

Hi!!! So, I was just scrolling through Tumblr late at night and I saw some headcanons, where the creator mentioned Ghost's MBTI. It reminded me that I had a word file saved, discussing about the characters and their MBTI. But, I haven't finished it, so I'll just ramble some of my thoughts here instead.

I want to begin with Ghost. Seriously, I genuinely want to understand why people type him as an INTJ, the guy is not a Ni dom at all. And also, let’s just exclude here any chance of him being an INTP. But, I do see Ti and Ni in his functions. In my opinion, he is an ISTP 5w6. For those unfamiliar, ISTPs have Ti (dominant), Se (auxiliary), Ni (tertiary), and Fe (inferior) in their functions.

I'll be honest, this inferior Fe makes me doubt a bit because Ghost seems much more like a Fi user. However, considering that Fe is inferior and theoretically his weakest function, it makes sense. And, to me, what makes ISTP the most obvious choice is that this man really isn't a Ni dom or a Ne aux type. But like I said, I do see some Ni in him, but very weak, which excludes the possibility of him being a Ni dom, and adds the possibility of him being a Ti dom. But, he has zero Ne, so he can’t be an INTP. Just to clear things up, I don't think analysts can't be impulsive or that sensors are dumb, not at all. But they do have some tendencies, and you can see differences in how they deal/view the world.

So, let me give an example of a character who's an analyst: Laswell. She's the embodiment of an INTJ. Price and Ghost deviate so much from her. Both of them should have both Ni auxiliary and Ni dominant, respectively. The way both of them deals with Shepherd and Graves betrayal makes it very clear how they aren't intuitive types for me. They’re incapable of seeing the other side of the situation. And I know it might sound like a crappy argument, but speaking as a Ne aux, I always open myself to possibilities even if I DISAGREE, especially if I can benefit from it. You know who else does that? Laswell. A Ni dom. It's very clear her Ni/Te, and that's why compared to Ghost, I don't understand why people type him as an INTJ. Personally, I think Ti and Ni can be easily mistaken. And for me, Ghost's Ti is pretty obvious, the way he is practical, and how he analyzes things, and his Se aux helps him to be very aware of his surroundings (of course, there are more than that in Se aux). But to me? there's nothing more Ti/Se than that. I'll just drop here two brief descriptions of Ti/Ni dom that make me pretty sure Ghost isn’t a Ni dom.

"Introverted Intuition seeks underlying patterns that can predict how events will unfold in the long term. The primary goal is to understand cause and effect accurately, enabling confidence in problem-solving and avoiding causing issues. Individuals with this dominant function tend to be 'perceptive,' often capable of 'seeing through' situations by finding the 'real importance' or 'essence' or 'root' or 'meaning' of things and understanding the fundamental factors that will influence how situations unfold, connecting past, present, and future considerations in non-linear ways. They unconsciously seek vaguely familiar patterns of contextual variables and tend to gather multiple perspectives to synthesize and visualize 'the true truth' or a better version of life. In this way, they tend to be quite certain about how they want their lives to unfold, usually aspirational in pursuing meaningful goals with focus and determination as they seek to realize their personal potential."

"Introverted Thinking seeks to discover rules or direct formulas based on facts to guide thinking and behavior towards greater consistency and coherence. People with this dominant function tend to be highly analytical, preferring to adopt positions/judgments that are as free from biases or undue influences as possible. They often enjoy building skills and accumulating technical knowledge by systematically analyzing and deconstructing ideas/situations, preventing and solving problems, and manipulating systems to fix or enhance them. In this way, they can be dispassionate and self-sufficient in approaching situations with their refined knowledge, often admired for their calm and competent approach to solve problems. However, they may also become emotionally detached from situations due to the excision of the human perspective, incorrectly assuming it is irrelevant to their analyses. When people don't know how to use Ti properly, they tend to be overly reductionist, seeing only a simple cause for a complex situation and unable to recognize the gaps/flaws in their own reasoning process, especially when trying to understand issues in relationships and social contexts."

“The reason the two get confused so often is because, one: they are both introverted functions which makes them hard to see and distinguish, and two: they are both abstract. Ni collects and stores abstract information, while Ti makes abstract connections and conclusions.”

“Ni is a 'perceiving' funtion, which is different from Ti because it does not do the 'judging' which is Ti's role. Ni in simple words is seeing and thinking about things very deeply to find connections and therefore form certain hunches or predictions. Many Ni dominants may have a conclusion which they got to, but they don't know how to explain the way they got to it. Ni uses more subconscious thinking than Ti does. Ti on the other hand analyses even more than Ni does, and sorts certain ideas, sort of like Pros and Cons, it is usually what can be the deciding factor.”

*Quick reminder: Ghost never anticipated Graves' betrayal, and didn't give any reasons that he suspected of Graves before that. He seems unfazed when the betrayal occurs, but that's because it's not something new to him.

So, while I can argue that his lack of Fe may simply be because it is an inferior function, hence less dominant and developed function (though I think he showed a lot of Fe during the whole Mexico situation) it’s hard to argue his lack of Ni because it's a DOMINANT function. And when we talk about dominant function, when is undeveloped, it doesn't indicate a lack of, but rather an unhealthy mode of acting/thinking/coping.

So, about Price... I think he's an ESTP. Stereotypically, he's not the typical ESTP. Unlike Ghost, who has a weak/undeveloped inferior Fe, I think Price has his inferior Ni very well developed, and that's why I think the fact that he is an ESTP is not so noticeable. Just as I compared Ghost to a character who shared the same MBTI type that was attributed to him, I will now compare Price to Makarov. In my opinion, Makarov in this game is a good example of an ENTJ. If you compare the characters and the way they behave, you’ll see that Price has a liiittle more difficulty seeing beyond the obvious, and for me, if he had Ni aux as many point out, he would have anticipated many of Makarov's actions. And I go further, I also believe he would never have let Makarov live back in 2019, recognizing the threat that Makarov was, if he were and ENTJ. Because ENTJs tend to thinking ahead, if they have a problem they’ll think in a way to solve pragmatically, effectively and definitively for once and all. Also, Price is highly reluctant to work with Shepherd, showing a lack of Te/Ni, working with his enemies to achieve his goals is not his first thought (but it’s Laswell “first” thought, a Ni dom). It's not about trust, but personal/team/world gain. Again, he’s incapable of seeing the big picture. And, of course, he has a significant amount of Fe, the way he is a great leader, communicates effectively with people around him, and bond with his team proves that.

I think all the quotes I put up above really show how neither Price nor Ghost use Ni in their first two stacks. But both of them use Ti. There's this stereotype that sensors aren't that smart, so when you've got two characters who should be the best of the soldiers, really smart and skilled, people tend link them with the “best MBTI types” and type them as Ni users (completely bullshit, they just do this because they don’t know how functions work). And again, when you compared them with two Ni users (Laswell and Makarov) you can see how different they are.

I'm gonna do a part two and post it later because I wanna talk about Gaz and Soap too (and some other characters, but the two of them are my main goal now), but I think this one ended up slightly longer than I planned.

[androidcharles]

Hey did you know that soon-ish is now? I'm sorry, I was just so proud of how I wrote this part that I had to kiss and tell, so here's a small sneak peek at the next filler story (or at least the first chapter) in the android!Charles series!

Amelia was about to finally leave in two hours. Dr. Vinschpinsilstien just had to run some diagnostics and she would be out of her hair. But there was something itching in the back of her mind while she was waiting. And it concerned Charles’ boyfriend.

The name Rupert sounded very familiar. Almost a little too familiar, like she had heard the name before in conversation or in passing. What about it was so familiar that she felt like it warranted a bit of further investigation?

So she decided to ask her dad about it. He’d been running the clan for a few years and had been in it for a lot longer. So he would know something about this Rupert person.

GlitterToppatGirl: Hey dad can I ask you a question?

ToppatKingReg: Yes, what’s your question dear?

GlitterToppatGirl: Do you know who Rupert is?

ToppatKingReg: You’re going to have to be more specific.

GlitterToppatGirl: I think his last name was um Prince or something?

ToppatKingReg: Price

GlitterToppatGirl: So you do know him!

ToppatKingReg: And I babysat him when he was quite young. Though I highly doubt he recalls it. Rupert Price, along with his mother are two very valuable people.

GlitterToppatGirl: How so?

ToppatKingReg: In the fact that Rupert and Minerva both share blood with a Toppat. An agreement was signed that in the event that if one of the two got into law enforcement, for better or worse, they shall not be captured.

GlitterToppatGirl: Really? Is that why we always ignore him?

ToppatKingReg: Yes, indeed. There are a few more people like that, your little boyfriend for instance, but Rupert is one of them. Which may become a problem later if he becomes captain. Although, back in the day, the government did sometimes rub elbows with us for information…

GlitterToppatGirl: Does Rupert know about this?

ToppatKingReg: That’s only if his mother told him. But for the last few years of that certain Toppats life, she kept him as far away from the clan as possible.

GlitterToppatGirl: Why?

ToppatKingReg: A multitude of reasons I can’t get into right now. Just know that if Rupert doesn’t know, then he has to find out through his mother. And she hasn’t told him well I can only hope he takes the news well.

Amelia sat in silence before thanking her dad for the information and signing off. She read over the chat log over and over again, trying to think about the best way to bring this up to Charles as a door appeared in her room. It opened and Charles peeked in, grinning really wide.

“Hey, Amelia!”

“No you can’t borrow my body.”

“Like I’d want to! I just wanted to see how excited you were to get back out there because-”

“Charles did you know that Rupert is related to Toppats?” Charles’ eyes widened as he glanced from side to side, as if someone was going to come and sedate him.

“Who told you that? Wait you’re a Toppat so of course you’d know…”

“Yeah, obviously!” Amelia lied, “So you knew too?”

“Um… it came up in conversation at the base when Rupert was being recruited. I was doing background checks for his mother in case she was up to no good and she still had connections to the Toppats. But apparently the only connection she had was the fact that she was related to a former leader,” Charles explained.

“Which one?” Amelia asked, her voice a bit wary.

“Jaques Kensington,” Charles answered.

“HIM!? The guy with the really creepy painting, oh my greater ones, aaaah…” Amelia covered her ears as Charles chuckled.

“It’s true, he’s related to him. Apparently it’s his uncle,” Charles said.

“So does he know he’s related to Toppats?” Amelia asked.

“Uh, no… I mean when he first joined, I asked him if his mom talked about the Toppats, but he just gave me this sour look. If his mom talked about it, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t anything good,” Charles said.

“So you never told him…” Amelia said, “Doesn’t that feel wrong?”

“No, not really. I highly doubt the government forces even care if he knows but… I know they’ve really been keeping him under a microscope because of me. I’d hate to be the reason he doesn’t become a captain, but if he finds out he’s a Toppat…”

“Maybe he’ll be fine with it! I mean, as annoying as it is, he’s still a good guy, right? There’s no way he’d go nuts because he found out he’s related to a former Toppat leader. I think he’ll be fine. Maybe you should talk to him about it,” Amelia suggested.

“What? Why?” Charles said, “I know that it’s not technically secret and I don’t HAVE to keep it secret, but what if he finds out and he spirals?”

“He seems a lot more mentally stable then Dave. And he still jumps every time he sees my dad,” Amelia said before looking at her UI, “I gotta go plug in. But think about it! I mean it can’t hurt to let him know right?” Charles summoned a door and exited Amelia’s headspace, heading back to his own quickly as he sighed, pondering what Amelia said.

Maybe he should talk to Minerva about this first. So he could get a good idea of how to approach this...

[thepermanentrainpress]

CONCERT REVIEW: COLDPLAY W/ H.E.R. AT BC PLACE - SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Coldplay has been consistently selling out stadiums worldwide for two decades, and for good reason. Their live shows are more than a concert: they are unique, colourful, active participation events. The audience does not just experience the show, but they become an essential part of it.

Opening acts comprised of hip-hop artist Bobby Gonz, pop-rapper 070 Shake, and R&B singer H.E.R.. H.E.R.’s set was especially fun, featuring a full band. The artist played multiple guitars and even the drums while singing, and performed multiple rock covers. A mashup of “I Love Rock 'n Roll” and “We Will Rock You,” followed by Lenny Kravitz’ “Are You Gonna Go My Way” to close the set really warmed up the energy for the main event.

Of particular note for this tour was the efforts Coldplay took in social responsibility and sustainability. Videos detailed how the tour dollars went to support global environmental initiatives, and how much of the show was powered by renewable energy. The set was opened by members of local First Nations, who gave a speech welcoming everyone to their shared lands. The young people and elders on stage gave gratitude to Coldplay for being the first group to create this space for Indigenous peoples of the area.

Each audience member was given a biodegradable LED bracelet that lit up in different colours. Throughout the show, a sea of lights soared across the stadium. This created a really neat, gorgeous visual effect. Thousands of pinpoints blinking in tune and hue. It’s really unlike anything I’ve seen at a concert, particularly with the number of people involved and the amount of detail put into the synchronization. There were lasers and balloons as well, as if BC Place had become a giant rave party.

The majority of Coldplay tracks are upbeat, dance-worthy tunes. But even the mellow piano-focused tracks (“The Scientist” and “In My Place”) were accompanied by a sing-a-long of thousands, creating a unique, warm energy in the vast room. In fact, every single track – no exaggeration – featured people singing along. I’ve never experienced a show quite like that.

No doubt, part of Coldplay’s longtime appeal is their direct, personal connection with the fans. It’s obvious these guys are so grateful to be on stage and appealing to so many two decades later. Chris Martin profusely thanked everyone for their work in making the show happen, from stage crew to bus drivers. He gave gratitude to the audience for enduring the high prices of tickets to parking to beer – and for giving the band their Friday night. 

Chris scanned the pit for signs and flags, trying to shout out as many as he could. “You came from Australia, you came from India... Wow! Happy birthday! Happy anniversary!” As with every show, they brought someone from the audience up on stage – in this case, a young married couple. They joined Chris by doing backup vocals for “In My Place,” the lady going so far as to have written the chords on her arm to help. It was a sweet, endearing way to bridge the gap between artist and audience.

Perhaps “Yellow” was the biggest shine of the night. The whole venue lit up with tens of thousands of bright yellow points as the band performed their most popular song. The loudest, most intense singing, dancing, and rocking occurred at this time. It was physically impossible not to smile and feel the joy in the room. Any energy that hadn’t been captured yet was released at this midway point.

The visuals got extra strange towards the end of the set. The band wore alien head masks and LED motorcycle helmets for “My Universe” – part of the concept for their whole Music of the Spheres album. The last song of the main set was “A Sky Full of Stars.” We were politely asked to put “our hands in the air and our phones in our pockets” for this one, leading to a phone-free, shared moment of 50,000 people, shining lights, and a chanted chorus across the stadium. It really did resemble a sky full of stars.

The encore did not let up with the energy and visuals. Large balloons resembling planets floated around the pit, as if the floor was a solar system. This echoed the theme concept for Music of the Spheres. At this point, the band brought out a surprise guest: Vancouver music icon Bryan Adams. Apparently this was a last-minute decision made by everyone backstage. They all performed “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” primarily sung by Bryan and backup vocals joined by H.E.R.. It was a big hit with the crowd. 

Even the grand finale was an impactful image. For one of their latest singles “Biutyful,” Chris was joined on stage by a female alien puppet known as Angel Moon, part of the album concept. It was rather odd – particularly if one doesn’t know the context – but also “biutyful” in an alien way. 

I was a little disappointed to not hear more of their earlier work, especially with only one track played from Viva la Vida. But with nine albums and dozens of singles, there’s always going to be some shuffle. There’s truly nothing like a Coldplay tour: whether a longtime or new fan, casual or devout, few artists bring people together and create memories like these men. Their style may have evolved, but this tour has proven the show is only getting bigger and better. I already can’t wait to see them again.

Written by: Cazzy Lewchuk Photographed by: Timothy Nguyen

[sulietsexual]

I saw you rebloging content about Daisy Jones and the Six, I was curious what were your overall feelings/thoughts on the show? I really enjoyed it personally, I’m a fan of the book but I was able to have a lot of fun despite some things obviously being pretty different

Oh man, I have so many feeling about this series, not all of them good, but I'll start with the positives.

I have a major '70s fetish, have since I was a kid, and so I automatically enjoy media set in that time. While I didn't think the series leaned into the decade as much as it could, I did like the obviously '70s musician influences on the costuming (particularly with Daisy's Steve Nicks looks and Cami's Bianca Jagger-inspired wardrobe). I also loved all the '70s music used and the way the series captured the spirit of music and live shows of that decade.

I really liked the original songs as well, particularly The River, Honeycomb and Let You Down Easy. I loved that all the actors actually sung and played their instruments for real and jesus does Riley Keough have some pipes on her! Those Presley genes are strong!

I also really liked most of the characterisation. Even though so many of the characters were so messy and at times highly unlikable, they were also charismatic, well-written and portrayed in such a way that you really empathised with them and understood their motivations. Daisy is a particularly strong character and I think Riley was perfect casting. I also find Sam Caflin to be quite charming, so Billy became a much more endearing character because of him, despite the fact that he is such an ass.

A favourite character of mine is Simone, and I've heard that she's much more fleshed out in the series than she is in the book. I absolutely love her character arc, her exploration and eventual comfort with her sexuality (her relationship with Bernie is honestly the best relationship in the series) and her dynamic with Daisy. I absolutely love the way she calls Daisy on her crap and the way she is also so supportive of her.

Also Teddy Price is awesome and his relationships with Daisy, Billy and the band are amazing.

The series has a good pace and I think every episode is written well and moves well. I like how we see Daisy's journey paralleled with The Six's until the two finally converge. Also, the way the series opens is amazing, I loved the whole tease of why did the band fall apart?

With all this being said, I have one big fat issue with the series (from which stems many smaller issues) and that is the ending, which gave me horrible echoes of the How I Met Your Mother finale. The minute Older Billy said to his daughter "And when your mother got sick" my stomach just dropped because I knew where we were headed, and yes, the series went there, and had a dying Camila tell Billy to essentially be with Daisy. And I know this is somewhat true to the book, but it just drove me crazy.

I don't know how different it is in the books, but the entire series was built around this "soul mate" connection between Daisy and Billy; I mean, even before they meet they are linked together by music, events and the trajectory of their lives. We see their similarities long before we even see their connection, and once we do see them meet onscreen, it's obvious that the series is about them. Everything revolves around their dynamic and the way it affects the music and the band, both positively and negatively. Everyone interviewed talks about how the two of them are electric together and both Older Billy and Older Daisy talk about one another in terms of being The Other Half.

Which, for me, makes Camila's story that much more tragic.

I don't doubt that Billy loved Camila and their initial courtship and relationship is very sweet. But, for me, once Billy cheated on her on the first tour, there was really no going back. I understand narratively why Camila stayed with Billy initially; this was the '70s, she was pregnant with his child and didn't have the options women have today. She also loved him and, like I said, I do believe that he also loved her. She saw him get sober and work on himself (to a certain extent, at least) and their initial reconciliation was sweet and they do have many sweet moments after.

But once she realised the depth to which he and Daisy had fallen for one another, once she confronted both of them about it, once she had confirmed that Billy loved Daisy - I don't understand why she would ever take Billy back. How could she ever go back to someone knowing that she was second choice, that the only reason he stayed with her was because she represented stability whereas Daisy was nothing but chaos?

And I know that the series was maybe trying to show that Billy was making the "right" choice with Camila, that he was choosing the stable and happy path, as being with Daisy at that moment in time really would have been disastrous for them both. But, again, this doesn't work for me, because it really comes across as Billy settling. The entire series kept telling me that he and Daisy were soulmates, that they were two halves of one whole, which makes his love for Camila seem second-best.

And I don't think that this was actually the intent of the series, nor the book. I'm guessing this was supposed to be a tale of how even though we connect with someone, it doesn't mean that we're supposed to be with them, which is fine, and I think that works for the Daisy and Billy storyline, but I just don't agree with him getting back together with Camila. She deserved better.

In fact, both she and Daisy deserved much better from Billy, as he really treated both women like crap at various times. So the ending of the series, where Billy gets to play Happy Families with Camila until she dies and then gets to reunite with his "soul mate" essentially lets Billy have both women and this ends up feeling very uncomfortable.

I would have preferred for both women to leave Billy, permanently, and for Billy's redemption to be through his daughter; in fact, I liked that they somewhat worked this angle in, when Billy says that he never missed a soccer game or dance recital. But I think the series would have been better had Camila divorced Billy and gone on to have a good life of her own, maybe even marrying someone else. Then, when she's older and maybe feeling nostalgic or reflective as she's dying, she tells her daughter that her father has become a good man and deserves to be happy, and that maybe he should call Daisy.

Also, just as a last annoyance, I really didn't like the reveal that it was Billy and Camila's daughter who was interviewing the band, as that made everything so weird, like, why are these people telling this young women who they knew as a child and watched grow up all these intimate details of their lives, not to mention, all of them are basically telling her "Oh, your Dad's soulmate is actually Daisy, not your mother." Again, I don't think this was the intent and I would like to read the book to see if this maybe comes across differently. But it bugged me.

So, to sum up, I did very much enjoy the series but the ending does bring it down for me, and I think some of the intent got muddled, possibly due to moving from page to screen.

[wristbandsblog]

Customised Wristbands for the Snow beat Festival

Around a week ago, I decided to order 100 custom wristbands for an upcoming snowbeat festival that I was organising. The name of the event is Snowbeat Festival and it's being held at an outdoor venue in UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS. The idea behind these concerts is that there will be no headlining acts, but rather local bands are showcased as headliners through different stages to create unity among the performers. I wanted to really make our local acts the focus of the event rather than some act from abroad who has no connection to the city.

My idea was to make customised wristbands with our band's logo on them so that people would know who we were and what we were doing while they were at the concert. I ordered my custom wristbands from Wristbandseurope.com and they were exactly what I was looking for in terms of the product.

I was incredibly impressed with the work that was done. The custom wristbands are top quality and the design looks excellent. The quality is amazing, and the writing is really clear to see – even in the dark! No doubt it was also great value for money as they only cost me 10€ including the customized print. I paid more for plain wristbands last year from another company and am so glad I found these guys. I got a lot of positive responses from people who have seen them. Some people even thought they were official wristbands due to how professional they looked.

The person that I dealt with at Wristbandseurope.com was extremely responsive, quick to reply to emails, and willing to work with me on every step of the order. Overall, it was a good experience and I would like to thank Wristbandseurope.com for helping me put the finishing touches on my project. I wanted everything to be perfect for the festival and thanks to the team I was not disappointed. For next year I might even include a QR code on the wristband that links to the band’s Facebook page so people can follow our page and keep up to date with gigs.

My order was completed within a week and the wristbands were delivered to me in Amsterdam via DHL so I could pick them up locally. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the outcome of my order. I will use Wristbandseurope.com services again in the future. I just wanted to say that the wristbands were a great hit at the festival, and I think we could have done a lot more promoting with them than what we actually did since they were such an eye-catcher.

Importance of wristbands in festivals

Festival Wristbands have become a popular trend in the concert scene. They ensure that visitors are able to attend the right shows and have access to freebies and other amenities. Wristbands also help festival organisers with accurate attendance numbers, event logistics, and barcode scanning opportunities. Here is everything you need to know about them!

For many people, their first experience with wristbands was at a music festival.  The plastic bracelet on their arm meant that they were allowed entry into the show and even if they didn't like what was happening on stage, the branded accessories were enough of a draw for them to stay until the end of a set time. Of course, most people loved the music too and the wristbands were a little memory for people to take away after the event was over.

The popularity of wristbands has grown as technology and event management processes have improved. Today, they are available at all kinds of events and venues for music, sports, and even hotels. While my small Snowbeat event used wristbands most of the biggest festivals in the world use them too such as Tomorrowland, Glastonbury, and others. I hope our event will grow and become similar to some of those amazing brands.

After a quick search online, it was clear that www.wristbandseurope.com has the best quality and price! They even have an in-house print shop which means they can customise any order to your own specification. The online designer allows customers to add logos and text and see a live preview of how the band will appear. That’s great as I was able to show it to my partners before moving ahead and placing an order. Thanks for the great work guys and hopefully next year I will need even more wristbands for the event!

[davidxhall]

David could easily tell how much admiration Mike had for his mom after that short exchange – and honestly, he could understand exactly why he felt that way. Moms were tough. A lot of kids should give them more credit than they did nowadays but that was how things were. They would always want what was best for their own children – while at the same time allowing them to pursuit their dreams and aspirations. “Moms are tough. We might view them as fragile beings because they are our moms and we only know that soft side of theirs but…” They could be really damn tough. Having to accept their son’s career choice even if they didn’t probably wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to do… but they always succeeded in seeing the long run. Whatever made their kids happy, would make them happy. David chuckled and nodded at Mike’s words, giving the other man a quick smile as he admired the strength he mentioned from his mom. “I have no doubts in my mind that your mom is an incredible woman. I mean, she raised you.” And as long as their kids were happy… so would they. It was just that easy. At the mention of running in the family – the politician genes that is – David could only nod in silent response, considering the weight of Mike’s words. Maybe it was something genetic or maybe the concept of following their father or mother’s footsteps had been ingrained into them since an early age. Honestly, David didn’t know if he followed politics because he wanted to or because it was a way to connect to his father. His mother… she was a stay at home mom. Typical politician wife with her well trained smiles and waves – knowledgeable enough to organize fundraisers and other public events that would further boost her husband’s career. Like the saying went – behind every powerful man there was an even more powerful woman. “I think deep down… she just wanted for me to live my life. And while she accepted my own choice to follow in his footsteps, she knew better than me at the time of the price to pay for it.” No actual freedom to say or do whatever he wanted. To have his life dictated and controlled by a very precise schedule that he needed to maintain. Public opinion was in the end… everything for a politician. Clearing his throat, David could feel his cheeks burn even more once Mike’s hand covered his own, almost as if reassuring him that it was ok to brush his leg against his own under the table. No harm done – not like he had kicked him in the balls or something. To be like that with another man – to be able to speak freely and not having to second guess his ever choice of words or actions was something that would take David some time to get used to. It was ok to touch a man at the Haus. To touch their hand or walk with their arms linked or even smile at one. No one would judge him there. No one would point a finger and gasp in a rather audible way. He needed to make sure to remember that. To remember that at the Haus… he could be who he wanted to be. “T think I’ll ask for the same as you. Burger and onion rings. It has been a long time since I ate a burger, honestly. I barely remember what those taste like.” And as the question about what he would do if he had a choice, David could only lower his eyes to the menu and feel that faint smile creeping on his own lips. He had thought about it. What he would do if he had a choice or even if things had been different.

“Promise you won’t laugh? I…. I always wanted to like… be a teacher. Maybe highschool or college level. I… don’t know exactly why but… y-yeah.. That’s what I would do if things worked differently, I guess.”

Hearing Dave's statement, Mike softly chewed on the corner of his lip and he flicked his brows, "I mean...yeah." He admitted softly, "I never really...asked her about it, I guess. It was just how it was." Now he felt bad for not thinking about his mother more in that situation but there was really no changing it now. "My mom is tough. She's been married to my dad for over forty years. She's used to it." He mentioned with a nod. His mom was a great lady. It was a shame that over the past decade, Mike rarely got to see her. And now that he was retired, he was spending all his time on some island in the middle of the ocean. What a shitty fucking son he was.

He nodded in understanding as the other spoke of his father situation. While their lives were different, they seemed to be able to understand what it was like growing with a father expecting something so big of you, "I feel like... a lot of politician families don't." He mentioned with a frown, "It's just something that runs in the family. I imagine it's difficult to separate the two aspects of your life." Mike really had no idea, but it seemed like it would be hard. At least his mother accepted his job. That was one, small win.

His brow raised at David's next question before they immediately furrowed as well as his lips pressing together into a tight line. Mike had never thought about it. He just knew that the FBI was his future. The next question seemed to be tougher for Dave, especially after he accidentally brushed his leg against his own. It was obvious that the other got nervous about those types of things, but it was really nothing. Reaching out, Mike softly patted Dave on the hand, his way of saying 'everything is fine' before he looked down to his menu again, "Well, I think I want a burger and some onion rings. I can't recommend those more." He mentioned, then dropped his menu and folded his hands, "The job question though...that's hard." He admitted and sighed, shaking his head, "It never occurred to me want to be anything else..." How stupid was that? "It's all I've known." Mike frowned a bit, suddenly feeling like he missed out on something important, "What's yours?" Maybe that would trigger something in his mind.

[edenmemes]

skyward sword sentence starters

more to be added !

❝ you promised to meet me before it starts, remember? ❞ ❝ you seem pretty...relaxed about the whole thing. ❞ ❝ is something wrong? what’s the hurry? ❞ ❝ sometimes i just don’t know what’s going on in your head. ❞ ❝ i'm not like you. i fail at everything i try. ❞ ❝ a shrimpy boy like you hardly looks the part of a hero. ❞ ❝ swatting a few monsters will be no trouble for you. ❞ ❝ run and play this time. get in my way again, though, and you’re dead. ❞ ❝ don’t even pretend that was an accident! ❞ ❝ do you doubt these eyes? i look upon your shirt and i see a single thread loose on your sleeve stitching. ❞ ❝ this is no place for one such as you. and yet here you stand. ❞ ❝ i need to vent all this unhealthy anger,     and your agony is such a great stress reliever. ❞ ❝ remember what we discussed. restrain yourself. focus on the task at hand. ❞ ❝ do my words anger you? do my words sting? let them. ❞ ❝ you don’t come by here just to see me, do you? ❞ ❝ what’s wrong? you just made a face like you wanted to say something. ❞ ❝ oh, i get it. you’re trying to weasel out of having to practice. ❞ ❝ i guess it’s not all bad. at least i’m getting paid. ❞ ❝ there’s something i’ve been meaning to talk to you about.... ❞ ❝ would you wake up, straighten up, and grow a backbone already? ❞ ❝ nice try, but you’re not fooling me. ❞ ❝ i...i have to go. i’m sorry. ❞ ❝ folks were always cheering me on like it was a parade. but as you know, time passes. ❞ ❝ you keep some very strange company, friend. ❞ ❝ i don’t know if it’s safe yet...i’m going to stay here awhile longer. ❞ ❝ oh no. you’ve done it now! there’s no escaping this one! ❞ ❝ so, what now? are you going to cry? ❞ ❝ i can’t begin to tell you how sorry i am for pulling you into all of this. ❞ ❝ what is wrong with you? just look at what you’ve done! ❞ ❝ what we’ve seen here today defies explanation. ❞ ❝ you put up more of a fight than i would have thought possible out of such a soft person. ❞ ❝ did you really just draw your sword? foolish. ❞ ❝ should you heed the call of destiny,     i don’t know what dangers you may have to face. ❞ ❝ i can’t help being such a coward...i’m really sorry. ❞ ❝ i fear i spent far too long teasing and toying with you. ❞ ❝ you do your people proud. ❞ ❝ how long do we have to live in constant fear? ❞ ❝ i'll just beat you within an inch of your life! ❞ ❝ dawn is drawing near. it has been a long night for the both of us, hasn’t it? ❞ ❝ you were limp and unconscious. i feared the worst. ❞ ❝ what do you think you’re doing sneaking out with that? ❞ ❝ such a beautiful day, but we’re too busy to enjoy it. some things never change. ❞ ❝ i guess you’ll never learn unless you run into trouble one day. ❞ ❝ look at my face. if that’s your idea of a joke, i’m not laughing. ❞ ❝ you appeared to be relishing that snooze, so i declined to wake you. ❞ ❝ huh? oh, uh, nothing. really, i was, uh...talking to myself. ❞ ❝ you’re looking a little pale... ❞ ❝ i imagine you and i will cross paths again. until then, do not lower your guard. ❞ ❝ you certainly are persistent... ❞ ❝ all that may be well intentioned and true, but it doesn’t mean it’s right. ❞ ❝ i’m prepared to pay the price for what i’ve done. ❞ ❝ i had no idea we were fated to carry such a heavy destiny. ❞ ❝ i need your strength to tip the scales in our favor. ❞ ❝ all this training, and no results! ❞ ❝ all i’ve hears so far is a bunch of babbling about destiny,     but that’s a load of garbage. ❞ ❝ when night draws her tenebrous curtain across the sky, i come here. ❞ ❝ what in the world just happened? did you use some kind of magic? ❞ ❝ please, see it through and prove the legends true. ❞ ❝ i was happy just spending my days hanging around with you. i wanted that feeling to last forever. ❞ ❝ you are vital to a mission of great importance. ❞ ❝ the chances of that happening are just about less than zero. ❞ ❝ i hate to break it to you, but today’s the day i bust up this adorable little fantasyland you’re living in. ❞ ❝ this is a war, and the fate of the land hangs in the balance. ❞ ❝ i know you, and you’re no hero. ❞ ❝ you’re messing with me. say it again, i dare you. ❞ ❝ you float through life with your head in the clouds. ❞ ❝ i don’t do charity for wimps. ❞ ❝ what’s this...? what is it that my eyes behold? ❞ ❝ don’t even think about it! are we clear? ❞ ❝ the point is your work here is done. i got it covered from here. ❞ ❝ my eyes foresee a hazardous, thorny road ahead for you... ❞ ❝ you...this is your fault, you know. ❞ ❝ my heart is bursting with thoughts of you. ❞ ❝ i have a serious dilemma on my mind right now, and you’re distracting me. ❞ ❝ i’ll make you proud. you’ll see! ❞ ❝ feels dangerous. something could jump out at us at any moment. ❞ ❝ we’re talking about a tale that’s been passed down over a lot of years, so i wouldn’t put much stock in it. ❞ ❝ i have the right to experience an unfettered and passionate love, don’t i? ❞ ❝ i’ll tell you, it gives even a big guy like me the creeps. ❞ ❝ oh...how can i get you to notice me? ❞ ❝ i get the feeling nothing i can say will talk you out of it. ❞ ❝ my love for you is wider than the horizon and deeper than the clouds. ❞ ❝ trust my piercing eyes...listen to my pure and innocent voice. ❞ ❝ i feel so excited, so cheerful, so full of life. ❞ ❝ i sense a silent power dwelling somewhere in your frame. ❞ ❝ this turn of events has left me with a strong appetite for bloodshed. ❞ ❝ there’s no doubting it. the gears of fate have begun to turn. ❞ ❝ i'm sorry. i was lost in thought there for a moment. ❞ ❝ don’t men open doors for a lady anymore? how long am i supposed to stand here waiting for a little chivalry? ❞ ❝ i hate even saying this, but i guess you got it all figured out. ❞ ❝ you must not push yourself. you’re still recovering. ❞ ❝ you think you’re pretty suave, don’t you? ❞ ❝ i know you’re in a hurry, so i really appreciate you taking the time to help. ❞ ❝ i saw it, but i was able to escape by the seat of my pants. ❞ ❝ do you have any idea how that made me feel inside? furious! outraged! sick with anger! ❞ ❝ you’re really something else. i could never imagine myself doing what you’re about to do. ❞ ❝ i must aid you in fulfilling the great destiny that is your burden to carry. ❞ ❝ i should have believed you...i’m sorry. ❞ ❝ lately, when i think about you, my head gets all fuzzy, my heart races, i get short of breath, and i feel all dizzy... ❞ ❝ you should know better than that to fret about me. ❞ ❝ thanks for jumping in there to rescue me. ❞ ❝ hey, hold on there! what are you trying to pull all of a sudden? ❞ ❝ your face cries out in earnest wonder, and that cry is: ‘what’s this?!’ ❞ ❝ i promise up front not to murder you. ❞ ❝ you...didn’t hear any of that, did you? there’s no way you heard, right? ❞ ❝ i tell you, all sorts of weird things are going on lately. ❞ ❝ calamitous visions appear before me... ❞ ❝ you...make me so happy...i think i’m going to keel over... ❞ ❝ i wanted you to be the first to see me like this. ❞ ❝ i can’t imagine a more fitting color for you. it’s as though you were born to wear it. ❞ ❝ i bet you can’t even decide what to have for lunch on your own, huh? ❞ ❝ amazing, right? wrong! it is beyond amazing! ❞ ❝ it can’t be easy for you, can it? ❞ ❝ you’ll see in time that you have your own role to play in all this. ❞ ❝ trust in fate to guide your feet. ❞ ❝ i bet you’re here just to check me out, right? ❞ ❝ i just hope nothing has happened. i’m worried sick thinking about it. ❞ ❝ whoa...you’re kind of imploding my mind right now. ❞ ❝ if you wanna live again one day, you should head for home. ❞ ❝ you have a great journey before you, and those clothes...they don’t look up to the task. ❞ ❝ did you manage to get even a wink of sleep last night? ❞ ❝ ever heard of banging your knuckles against the door? it’s called knocking. ❞ ❝ so, uh...yeah. just how long have you been standing there? ❞ ❝ honestly, it’s almost as though you become a completely different person when you worry about me. ❞ ❝ you showing up here must mean we’re connected somehow. like fate. ❞ ❝ sorry to put you through that. i guess i owe you one now. ❞ ❝ to tell you the truth, i’m feeling a little frustrated, and right now i just need someone to vent to. ❞ ❝ what’s with you? leave me alone if you don’t want anything. ❞ ❝ hearing that is such a...huge weight off my mind. ❞ ❝ though your journey will put you in harms way, you must endure. ❞ ❝ i'm just deadweight. what kinda use is that to anyone... ❞ ❝ seriously, what is that thing over there?! ❞ ❝ before i say another word, i feel like i owe you an apology. ❞ ❝ during your long journey, you’ve grown so much. ❞ ❝ from the moment i laid my eyes on you, i could tell you had a gentle and generous heart. ❞ ❝ oh dear...i don’t know what’s come over me all of a sudden... ❞ ❝ you don’t appear to have any serious injuries. for that much we can be grateful. ❞ ❝ i can see into those dopey eyes of yours. ❞ ❝ i can finally smile and laugh again! thank you ever so much. ❞ ❝ i think i might of broke something. ❞ ❝ is that it? i thought it was going to put up more of a fight. ❞ ❝ i thought we were goners this time. sort of glad i was wrong about that. ❞ ❝ what? i don’t seem like my usual self? ❞ ❝ this place needs a name. a name fitting for this rugged, adventurous wilderness. ❞ ❝ what were you thinking? you scared a year off my life! ❞ ❝ care to explain just what you meant by ‘our special moment alone’? ❞ ❝ my advice? work hard and wish with all your heart. ❞ ❝ say, you look all flustered. ❞ ❝ i fear we can’t dwell on our success. ❞ ❝ the world is bursting with undiscovered surprises, isn’t it? ❞ ❝ you're not exactly mr/mrs.perfect either, are you? ❞ ❝ this is easily as scary as i thought it would be. ❞ ❝ i swear this neighborhood’s getting crummier every day. ❞ ❝ you ain’t as dumb as you look. ❞ ❝ i was going to ask if you wanted me to take care of you forever... ❞ ❝ i need to learn how to keep these delirious dreams in check. ❞ ❝ maybe you should forget about everything that happened here tonight. ❞ ❝ can you imagine a more gruesome fate? ❞ ❝ there are more monsters about than before, so be careful. ❞ ❝ human desire is an insatiable, fearsome thing. ❞ ❝ i sense an evil presence on the other side of this door. ❞ ❝ you understand, don’t you? i’m not wrong about this, am i? ❞ ❝ i never wanted to lay eyes on you again. ❞ ❝ i would have gotten discouraged if you hadn’t come by to cheer me on. you gave me motivation. ❞ ❝ who do you think you are, getting involved in my business like that? ❞ ❝ i just wish there was more i could do for you... ❞ ❝ i don’t even understand how you could make such a wild accusation! ❞ ❝ it was at that moment i finally realized. i realized that...i love you. ❞ ❝ make sure you come home every now and then. nothing like a good sleep in your own bed. ❞ ❝ you’d better not keep me waiting. ❞ ❝ make sure you put your heart into it! i won’t stand for anything but your best. ❞ ❝ how could you be swayed by the temptation of material gain?     do you have no honor? ❞ ❝ you really want to hear about all my troubles? that’s kind of you. ❞ ❝ you...weren’t supposed to see that whole spectacle. how embarrassing... ❞ ❝ you have only succeeded in buying us a little more time. ❞ ❝ watch it! that’s no way to talk to someone who just saved your life! ❞ ❝ you look like you need to get something off your chest. ❞ ❝ know that all the questions you have now will be answered in time. ❞ ❝ there is nothing natural about these tremors. ❞ ❝ you might just be the person i need! you seem pretty good with the ladies. ❞ ❝ it’s great to hear you’re so confident in me. ❞ ❝ ideal love is unfettered and passionate. anything less than that can’t really be called love at all. ❞ ❝ you're incessant buzzing around my head like some irksome gadfly when i’m this busy is...making me very disagreeable. ❞ ❝ you may not have noticed, but i’m trying to hide here.     could you please scoot along? ❞ ❝ you'd better keep your eyes to yourself, if you know what i mean. ❞ ❝ have you come to laugh at me in my miserable state? ❞ ❝ you...you came to see me! i’m so happy. ❞ ❝ your job is simple! you make sure none of these monsters lays a claw on me. not...one...claw. ❞ ❝ now is not the time to be picky about who will help you. ❞ ❝ watch carefully while i demonstrate what a real hero looks like. ❞ ❝ you are something else! there is nothing you cannot do. ❞ ❝ if you think about how often we meet, you have to admit that our relationship has gone beyond friendship, you know? ❞ ❝ i’ll make the affair so excruciating, you’ll deafen yourself with the shrill sound of your own screams. ❞ ❝ i was right, then. there is something special about you. ❞ ❝ i should have reprimanded you the last time we met, but instead i was...soft. ❞ ❝ ha-ha! you didn’t see that coming, did you? ❞ ❝ you really are a snake in the grass. ❞ ❝ you are indeed worthy of being called a hero. ❞ ❝ i’m not used to getting stared at like this. it’s making me blush. ❞ ❝ i can’t hide anything from you, can i? ❞ ❝ the longer i train, the more i realize i’ll never measure up to you. ❞ ❝ whoa...you took out every last one of them. ❞ ❝ i know how bad this must look to you right now, but i assure you i mean no harm. ❞ ❝ it’s all very strange, but i doubt there’s much of a connection between these things. ❞ ❝ you're a weird one, climbing all the way up here. ❞ ❝ don’t cry --- it’s perfectly, mostly safe! ❞ ❝ you and i, we’re bound by that thread of fate. destined to fight. ❞ ❝ meet me in battle, and the thread of fate that binds us will be soaked crimson with your blood. ❞ ❝ i do not wish to dwell on what may have happened if you hadn’t been here. ❞ ❝ you have awakened a wrath that will burn for eons! ❞ ❝ you really like those fantasy stories, eh? ❞ ❝ there is one teensy, tiny thing i lack...namely, mercy. ❞ ❝ i must warn you, i won’t go easy on you this time. ❞ ❝ i might be willing to forgive and forget if you’ll strike a deal. ❞ ❝ since i know i can be honest with you, i’ll admit i got a little sulky. it was frowns all around. ❞ ❝ i see you’re still among the living. ❞ ❝ i saw them dragging you off unconscious, so i tailed them. ❞ ❝ i want you to visit me at my house tonight. ❞ ❝ you don’t have to say a word. i can see how you feel by the spark in your eye. ❞ ❝ you’ll see. i’ll be as tough as you in no time. ❞ ❝ it’s not like ‘oh, hey, that person’s back! i’m so happy!’ or anything like that... ❞ ❝ whoa...that’s some really terrible handwriting. ❞ ❝ i would very much like it if you would go out with me. ❞ ❝ truly? you choose me? ❞ ❝ i swear to you, whatever it takes, i will drag you into an eternity of torment. ❞ ❝ you and i, we’re bound by a thread of fate. ❞ ❝ i’ll watch over you, protecting you from afar. ❞ ❝ until then, we’ll keep our love secret. ❞ ❝ this news has just filled my heart with rainbows! ❞ ❝ this place seems strangely familiar... ❞ ❝ don’t you gotta take care of your own business first? ❞ ❝ they’re not going to do anything nice if they catch you. ❞ ❝ it’s not humane to tease someone this bored. ❞ ❝ i’m not some sideshow for you to gawk at. ❞ ❝ it’s weird to say out loud, but that’s just how i feel right now. ❞ ❝ you can’t break me with interrogation. you’ll never make me talk. ❞ ❝ word is there’s a huge treasure hidden in these here ruins... ❞ ❝ what? that’s not weird to say! ❞ ❝ ...i understand your true feelings. better than you know. ❞ ❝ all the fairytales that we heard growing up...they appear all too real. ❞ ❝ do i look sad? no, i’m doing what i want to do! ❞ ❝ i don’t know what came over me! i had no clue i had the talent to make something like this. ❞ ❝ you shouldn’t be out here in the open with no way to defend yourself. ❞ ❝ you do have the tendency to cause trouble for those you ‘help’. ❞ ❝ as far as i’m concerned, i got nothing but time. ❞ ❝ don’t you play coy with me. i know that you know, so why not let me in on the fun? ❞ ❝ so you really think a sob story like that is going to work on me? what a joke. ❞ ❝ i’d take pleasure in punishing you, but i have no time for recreation. ❞ ❝ sorry to leave you on your own, but you look like you can handle it. ❞ ❝ remember --- it’s a secret to everybody. ❞ ❝ it isn’t as action packed as what you’re doing, but maybe this is my destiny. ❞ ❝ don’t you just love the way it smells down here? ❞ ❝ defending the land...it’s my purpose, i think. it’s why i’m here. ❞ ❝ what do i know...you might just surprise me. ❞ ❝ fibber! you’re a fibbity fibber! ❞ ❝ you needn’t even say it. i can tell from the look of sheer astonishment on your face. ❞ ❝ you have had this destiny thrust upon you without warning...    or choice, for that matter. ❞ ❝ don’t do anything heroic and get yourself caught. ❞ ❝ ...you want to tell me but you can’t? ❞ ❝ you know, i really worry about you. it’s a weakness of mine. ❞ ❝ try not to get in the way of my shots, ok? ❞ ❝ i haven’t slept a wink in...ahhh...i don’t even know how long. ❞ ❝ i had my suspicions, but until now i wasn’t sure. ❞ ❝ you seem a good deal stronger than the last time we met. ❞ ❝ i would be remiss if i didn’t let you know of the weight on my heart. ❞ ❝ i have a reputation to protect, you know. ❞ ❝ listen closely. do you hear that? ❞

[poisonmaximoff]

BELATED FATE (Elizabeth Olsen x FemReader).

The whole story: here.

Chapter 14. Two women, one me

Y/n's POV:

After parking my car, I immediately go to the entrance of the club. To say that I'm nervous would be an understatement, because I haven't seen Taylor for a couple of months and now she suddenly calls me of all people to take her home.

I came here as quickly as possible, because I still care about her as a person. We had a lot of connections in the past and she did a lot of good things for me, so even though she's my ex now, I still can't leave her in such situation.

Getting inside, I ask the security guard where the bar is, assuming she's still there. Making my way past dozens of sweaty bodies dancing to almost deafening music, I begin to look through the eyes of the person I need.

And there she is. I expected that she wouldn't be in the best condition, but it turned out to be even worse. Now she looks like she's a 40-year-old loser, who was abandoned by his wife and forbidden to see his children, and therefore decided to go on a drinking binge for three months. I mean, she's still pretty of course, but her bewildered sad stare into nowhere and drooping posture give her such a look.

Yeah, I think I actually have a soft spot for older alcoholic blondes, who I can't build a normal relationship with, but what can I do about it? Whatever, probably the heart wants what the heart wants.

Collecting my thoughts, I go up to the woman and lightly tap her back so as not to scare her. I doubt she'll even understand who I am, given that she's still holding an unfinished cocktail in her hand, but after a few seconds, she looks up at me and her lips break into a drunken smile.

"Y/n? What are you d-doing here?" She asks slurring, as if she didn't call me half an hour ago herself.

"You asked me to take you away from here, so here I am. Let's go, I'll drive you home," I almost yell, because of the loud music almost nothing is heard.

"We're going home?" she raises her eyebrows in surprise, staring at me with her senseless drugged eyes.

"Yes. I hope you can at least walk to the car, yeah? Come on, get up and let's go." With a deep sigh, she somehow gets up, staggering, and I take her to the parking lot, putting her hand on my shoulder so that she doesn't accidentally fall.

"My life is a total mess," I think, looking at the blacked out body in the back of my car as I drive down the familiar route to Taylor's house. I still can't fully understand my own thoughts and desires, and then one woman, who constantly makes me extremely confused with her behavior falls on me out of nowhere, and a woman from my past, for whom I have ambiguous feelings appears in my life again. I must have sinned really badly somewhere.

When I finally get to her house, I get out of the car to wake Taylor up and let her know that we've already arrived.

"Hey, drunk ass, wake up, we need to get you to your house," I say, shaking her by the shoulder and hear only a disgruntled growl in response, but she still opens her eyes, which reflect only confusion as she tries to get out of the car.

With toil and dread, I lead the stumbling woman to her room and lay her down on the comfortable bed, after helping her remove her coat and shoes. A small "thank you" said in a whisper is the last thing I hear before she falls into a deep sleep. I guess, I'm going to stay here for the night, because I don't want to find out the next morning that Tay felt sick and something happened to her, since there was no one to help. Guilt wouldn't let me sleep for the rest of my life, so a night here is the lowest price I can pay for a possible avoiding that.

With that thought in my mind, I sit comfortably in the large armchair opposite the bed and sink even deeper into the reasoning that has haunted me all the way here. Why is everything so complicated? Am I really this bad at understanding things in my own head, that I can't put everything in its place?

So many events and unwanted feelings in one evening don't allow me to relax and just sit in silence or even scroll through social media. I know for sure that I'm attracted to Elizabeth, but at the same time seeing Taylor so vulnerable and helpless caused the need to take care of her suddenly appeared in my heart. Again.

She really helped me a lot, for example, in overcoming some of my insecurities and mental health issues. She gave me a bunch of happy memories, the opportunity to love and feel loved. She is the only person I wanted to lose my virginity to, because it just felt right. So I can't just get her out of my head once and forever, no matter how much pain our relationship has brought us both.

And now Elizabeth has come into my life, who causes me the same feelings, the same butterflies in my stomach and the desire to be there for her any minute she needs it, completely giving a piece of my heart to her for ever and ever. But the pain, that comes from knowing that I'll never have this opportunity, squeezes my chest so hard that the only thing I want to do is forget about this woman and my stupid feelings, that should never have appeared inside of me.

The sudden thought that I need to get back with Taylor in order to forget about El flies into my head, making me seriously think about it. But no, that would be a disgusting and vile act towards both women and towards myself too. I know for sure that there are no romantic feelings left in me for Tay and love, locked in my heart, has already begun to find its solace in my green-eyed blonde colleague.

After torturing myself with all sorts of overthinking, scenarios of future events and possible distractions from my overwhelming emotions, a few hours later my body betrays me, allowing itself to fall into a slumber.

She stands between my legs as I sit in the chair and her slender fingers gently brush over my face, causing my eyes to close in pure delight.

"Open your pretty eyes, honey," her hoarse, seductive voice causes a damp stain to form on my underwear. I obey and meet her piercing emeralds, which are examining me with pure hunger and desire in them.

A thin translucent fabric that cannot even be called a dressing gown falls to her feet, revealing the perfect curves of her body, covered with black lace. My tongue refuses to obey me and I seem to be unable to utter a word, dumbfounded by the heavenly beauty that is just a few inches away from me.

"Only you and me exist today, Y/n," she takes my chin with two fingers, "make sure to be as loud as you can, baby, and then you'll be rewarded." Her smirk fuels even more desire in me, accompanied by a new flow of wetness between my legs.

"Now be my good girl and lay down on the bed for me." Elizabeth's authoritative tone almost orders me, leaving no choice and no chance for any objections. Once again, I obey and silently do what she wants me to.

Humming approvingly, she gracefully climbs on top of me, pinning me to the bed with her thighs on either side of my body. Lifting my T-shirt, she begins to trace patterns on my stomach, slowly moving her finger towards my chest. Reaching for my nipple, she teasingly circles my areola before suddenly squeezing my entire boob in her hand, causing my mouth to let out a loud needy moan.

"Please!" My desperate cry is only now making me realize how unbearable the burning knot in the pit of my stomach is. Elizabeth just chuckles softly at this, looking at me with a victorious look.

"Just one touch and you have already turned into an obedient pliant slut." She enjoys my weakness for her too much, completely ridding me of my T-shirt and leaning to my ear, taking a lobe in her mouth. I feel one of her hands go down to my panties, detecting the wet proof of her influence on my body.

"All for me, isn't it, babygirl?" I can only nod my head back at her, staring pleadingly into her eyes. She warmly smiles at me and barely touching my lips with hers whispers: "Good. We both know that only I can turn you into such a mess."

My body shudders when I sharply wake up in someone's room, not understanding what is happening and where I am. After giving my brain a few seconds to recover, I realize that I'm sitting in the same chair in which I fell asleep several hours ago. "So it was just a dream," I think, still feeling her touches on my skin and see that the wall clock shows only 6:38 a.m.

Turning my gaze to the woman ten feet away from me, I see that she is, thankfully, still sound asleep, snuffling from time to time. If she didn't feel sick at night, then she will be fine until waking up, which means I can already go home. Walking out of her room on tiptoes, I quietly head to the door and go outside, locking it with a spare key.

Getting home after another almost sleepless night and sitting on a chair in the kitchen, I pick up my phone and see a few unread messages.

Liver:

"dont tell me it was THIS taylor you ran to"

"y/n u know that i love u but i'll beat yo ass if u get back together with her"

Mads:

"Bitch, you better be joking"

"Leaving in the middle of conversation cause your drunk ex called?"

"I swear i'm gonna kill you if i know that you spent the night with her"

Elizabeth Olsen (Colleague):

"Are you home already?"

Oh my god, typical besties. Rolling my eyes at their messages, I answer both of them that anything like that isn't going to happen and they should relax. When I see El's message, I'm genuinely surprised, because firstly it was sent at 2:31 a.m., when she should have been asleep, and secondly, I didn't expect her to be interested in such stuff, especially after what happened.

"yes, i'm home already, thank you for caring :)" I press a "Send" button and decide to make myself some breakfast.

Her answer isn't long in coming, although again I thought that she should be asleep on Sunday morning.

"Did you come home just now?"

"yes :)" I answer without attaching much importance to it and start making my sandwiches.

The next day, as usual, I came to work, but surprisingly in high spirits, probably because I finally got a good night's sleep. I swear, I slept for probably 12 hours and the alarm clock barely woke me up. If it weren't for it, I probably would have fallen into hibernation.

Sitting at the table and doing different origami out of boredom, I suddenly remember one important thing and immediately quickly head to Elizabeth's office, hoping that I will find her there.

The blinds are closed, so apparently she isn't there, but I still decide to knock on the door to make sure of it.

"Come in" is heard from behind the closed door and I pull the handle in surprise, entering the office. Elizabeth is sitting at her desk, intently typing on her keyboard, and doesn't even look up to see who has entered her cabinet.

"Hi El, I have to tell you something." I kind of fucked up, because I forgot to reschedule one of Elizabeth's appointments today. Well, she never gets mad at me, so I hope I can get away with it.

"What is that?" She asks in an indifferent tone and it's weird, but she still hasn't even looked at me.

"I forgot to tell Mr. Baker that you won't be able to meet him today at 1 p.m."

"And what do you want me to do about it?" The cold voice and clenched jaw tell me that this time she is really displeased with me.

"Nothing, it's just almost 12 p.m. and I can't cancel it this late..." I say, looking down at the floor. Now I'm really ashamed of my irresponsibility.

"I missed the part where it's my problem. Can't you handle such a simple task?" Well, she has the right to be mad at me.

"El, I'm really sorry. Can't you just go there at the agreed time?" I ask in a small voice, hoping that she will now calm down and forgive my oversight.

"Can't you just do what you're told and not point out what to do to your boss? And it's Ms. Olsen here, not El," she gives me a fleeting glare and my heart goes right through my feet. Excuse me?!

"What? Elizabeth, what's wrong with you today? You've never talked to me like that before." Now it's my turn to get annoyed at the attitude I got from her.

"I clearly should have then." I meet her heavy gaze, which makes my skin covered with light goosebumps.

"Did I do something wrong or are you just in a bad mood today?" I try to smooth things over and ask this in a softer tone.

"It's none of your business, Y/n," she replies, as irritated as before, getting up from the table and grabbing her purse.

"Thanks for ruining my plans for today." This is the last thing she says before she leaves the office, slamming the door right before my face and leaving me completely puzzled.

A/n: a demo version of smut and angry miss olsen😳

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

A Failed Betrothal (5)

This is going to be the last part I am going to post in a while. My school is finally starting up again and I am sure to be swamped with homework. Without further ado. Enjoy ❤

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 4)

-----------

Damian laid in bed, thinking about the recent turn of events. Lady, who told them that they can call her Marinette since they might as well get acquainted while the Waynes were in Paris. She had found out Jason’s identity after a few google searches and by extension, the rest of the Bats while they both were taking a shower. It had taken a few arguments and one sentimonster attack that cut one of the arguments short to trust the Dupain-Chengs with their secret identities. His bride was apparently a superhero too. Has been for a few years. In a different world, he might have actually dated her out of his own free will and fought crime with her together.

Damian shook his head at that thought.

That was the curse talking. Get a hold of yourself, Wayne. Resist. Don’t think about Marinette and her blue eyes.

Back to the akumas, Paris had been under the control of a magical terrorist for years. Lady Noire, formerly known as Ladybug, formed a team to battle against him. He also found out about the Guardian who chose Marinette and someone else, who wasn’t spoken about much except that his name was Chat Noir and she now wields his ring temporarily, to fight against Hawkmoth as partners. The same Guardian that promised her hand-in-marriage in exchange for protection from the League of Assassins. Sabine, the Blue Reaper, had to be restrained from killing the old amnesiatic man by her bear of a husband who was reluctant to do so and also wanted to help her.

Hawkmoth also had a partner who went by the name, Mayura, with a power similar to his and could create sentimonster out of negative emotions. Their top suspect was Gabriel Agreste, with much evidence pointing his way but they had difficulty trying to confirm it and had the time to gather evidence to do it. The local authorities were helpful but getting a search warrant for a famous, rich designer who was a known recluse with circumstantial evidence is not possible.

After informing their father of their kidnapping and the situation in Paris (and racking up the Dupain-Cheng's phone bill), they were told to stay there and help as much as they can. Tim, who was coming to Paris for a vacation (suspicious), got his plans hijacked and was now going to help uncover Hawkmoth’s identity.

When the Justice League had reached out a few years ago, they were rebuffed by the Mayor. Nightrunner got into contact with the one of the heroes, Ladybug who asked for a meeting outside of Paris with Wonder Woman and Batman came along, to assess her. They didn’t expect a young girl to be Paris’s heroine.

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

3 years ago…

“Bonjour, Princess Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolayta, it is an honour to meet you. And you too, Batman.” The spotted heroine greeted both of them with Nightrunner besides her. Their meeting point was in the gardens in the Palace of Versailles.

“The pleasure is all mine, Ladybug. But I am confused as to why you have refused the Justice League’s help.” Wonder Woman was worried that the Ladybug Miraculous was active again and for many good reasons.

“I would be glad for some help but Paris is run by an incompetent fool. He wants no one outside of Paris to think that the city is unsafe due to Hawkmoth and keep the tourism numbers high. The other reason is that my Miraculous Cure can restore any physical damages done during a fight and involving you might result in more damages than I could cure. But I also think it would be better if there were less powerful heroes in Paris, akumas amplifies one’s power and I don’t want to fight you after you had a bad day.” Ladybug explained. Nightrunner murmured in agreement.

“Do you know how Hawkmoth operates?” asked Batman. He had read reports of the situation but wondered the true extent of it.

“Have Wonder Woman explained to you about the Miraculous?”

He nodded.

“Hawkmoth has the butterfly miraculous, and it has the power of transmission. In the right hands, they would be used to grant ordinary people powers as the user’s champions. But in the hands of Hawkmoth, he targets people with high negative emotions, a girl after a bad break-up or a student with a failed grade. He grants them powers to use for revenge or some obscure version of justice. In return, he asks for mine and Chat Noir’s miraculous. With our two miraculous, he can make a wish but wishes always come with a price so it is best if we keep it out of his reach.”

“How have you not captured him yet?”

“Hawkmoth is a coward who rarely comes out to face us. I have never met him face-to-face. He uses people to get what he wants. Not very honourable. The Mayor has refused to help my attempts to stop him or prevent more akumas because his bratty daughter isn’t given a Miraculous to be a hero. I don’t have the time or resources because I am still in school and have other obligations outside the suit. I can’t tell my family and ask for help because the Guardian’s ,the one who gave me the Miraculous in the first place, secret identities rule and some magic thing that makes me unable to tell them.”

The adults were all horrified at what the girl was going through.

“We could help in other ways. Not fight the akumas but provide you the resources to track down and capture him. Do you have any training? From the footage we have seen, you know martial arts and how to use some weapons.”

“I was raised in a forgotten temple somewhere in Asia with brutal training everyday before I ran away. I met someone on my way out who took me in and adopted me.” She said it seriously enough that they have no room for doubt.

“Batman, she just said she was adopted. She may have the features but the answer is no.” Wonder Woman said with a knowing look in her eyes.

“I wasn’t thinking about it. She has a duty to Paris right now and I am not going to take away from her life here. I don’t adopt every black-haired and blue-eyed child I see.” Batman denied.

“I am confused.” Ladybug said, tilting her head.

“Batman here has a bad habit of adopting kids with a tragic past, especially kids with black hair and blue eyes.” Nightrunner explained to his fellow Parisian hero.

“Well, Mousier, you will have to fight my parents for custody. While I have training, Chat Noir doesn’t and he hinders the battles with his ‘help’. I would give him some but he sees them as dates even though I have told him it’s not.”

“His incompetence is a liability. Why is he your partner?”

“The Guardian chose him too like he chose me through some stupid trial I somehow passed the requirements for. I am just hoping that there is a really good reason for choosing Chat Noir. I have some questions on how you are-”

“Ladybug, what are you doing?” A sharp voice cut in. An old man who appeared to be dressed as a tortoise landed in front of them.

“Master Fu, this is Princess Diana of Themyscira and the world’s greatest detective, Batman. I am asking for their help in finding Hawkmoth.” Ladybug explained, confused why Master Fu looked upset.

“Ladybug, that was extremely foolish of you. This is a matter of the Order. You shouldn’t have involved other heroes in it. We can resolve this on our own. I apologize on behalf of her for wasting your time.”

“But, Master-” “We will talk about this later, Ladybug. You are young and don’t understand things yet.”

“Guardian, with all due respect, my mother was a Ladybug wielder herself and the Amazons will lend a hand to any miraculous holders in need.”

“It is appreciated but Ladybug, Chat Noir and I can do it on our own. Come along, Ladybug.”

“Let me at least apologize for my mistake, Guardian.”

“Very well. Meet me later.”

“I am sorry but it looks like I have to fight Hawkmoth without your help. That being said please don’t try to look further into Hawkmoth’s identity and leave any notes of your leads in the mouth of the gargoyle on the northside of Notre Dame where I usually rest after I finish patrol. Salut, Princess Diana, Batman, Nightrunner.” She left using her yo-yo to swing away after giving them a wink.

Batman smirked. He had to give it to Ladybug, she was clever and resourceful and Diana was right, he wanted to adopt her.

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

Present time…

(Words in bold are French)

Now that the previous Guardian was out of the picture, the Miraculous team would gladly accept any help they can get.

Damian and Jason had picked up Tim from the airport and they had already set things up in one of the Wayne penthouses in Paris. Less chance of nosy maids than in a hotel.

Bilal had already handed over all the evidence he could find. He was also one of the Miraculous team’s trainers when Sabine couldn’t make it. Jason and Damian were going to help in training and be back-up heroes when needed. (Bilal wore a miraculous once to help out. And that one time was weird enough to last him a lifetime and he was never doing it again.)

Sadly, all the magic users who were allies or part of the JL were busy with other missions or MIA so they couldn’t break Damian’s curse yet. Bruce didn’t see the problem with the curse so unless it causes major problems or someone is free to break it. They couldn’t go back to Gotham until they got the necessary things in order so it looks like they were going to be in Paris for a while.

The next morning, Tim was nowhere to be found. Because they were paranoid Batboys, they tracked his phone to see him at the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery with Marinette and a group of other people, having breakfast.

“There you are, Replacement.” Jason shouted as he entered the bakery, “So, this is where you were? I see you have already figured out who Ladybug is and met her.”

Marinette looked at Damian and Jason, then at Tim and back at them again.

Oh.

Oh.

She face-palmed as she connected the dots and realized what the nagging feeling she had around Tim was about.

“Oh my Kwamis, you are Tim Drake, adopted by Bruce Wayne aka Batman. Jason and Damian are your brothers. And judging by your build, you are Red Robin. I feel so stupid.”

Thankfully, there were no customers around yet to hear some of the world’s most important secrets being out.

“I am- We are not- Bruce isn’t- How?! How the hell did you find out? And you are Ladybug?!” Tim was floundering at Marinette’s words and the caffeine from his first coffee of the day hadn’t kicked in yet. He looked at her friends, who were looking at the Wayne boys with shocked expressions….and looked similar to the rest of the Miraculous Team.

The caffeine finally kicked in.

“Oh my God. I was talking to the entire Miraculous Team and I didn’t know it. That means Chloe Bourgeois is a hero. That bratty blonde I met as a child is a hero.”

“Speak for yourself, Timothy, my childhood friend is a hero too. I can’t believe we are all heroes.” Chloe said in total disbelief.

Introductions and alter egos were exchanged.

Nearly everything went swimmingly if it weren’t for Chloe jokingly elbowed Marinette and said, “You get to date a hero too. No need to worry about flaking out on dates.”

“What do you mean dates? Dupain-Cheng and I aren’t dating.” Damian said, “My mother wanted us to marry each other, not date.”

“Mari, looks like you need some explaining to do.”

Marinette gave the short story on how she met Damian and Jason.

“So you guys are absolutely not dating? Cool. Tim, are you still open to being Mari-bug's fake boyfriend?” Chloe asked. Tim looked at her incredulously.

“You called me all the way here to fake-date your friend. Why? Not that I am complaining about her or anything.” “There is this boy in our class, Adrien Agreste and he has a little obsession with Marinette.” Chloe explained. “Romantic Soulmates.” Nathaniel chimed in, doing air-quotes.

“So I volunteered on your behalf to be my best friend’s long-distance boyfriend in America who has video-call dates with her once a week. You are going to have little romantic dates coincidently where our classmates are going to be, especially Adrien. It might put him off from pursuing Marinette for a while. After you leave, we are just to mention you every now and then to prevent him from getting any ideas.”

Damian felt a hot, burning sensation in his chest and clenched his jaw at the thought of Marin- Dupain-Cheng holding hands, cuddling and doing all those romantic actions with Drake of all people. (No, he wasn’t jealous. Not at all. Don’t be stupid. )

“Tch, Drake is going to be busy trying to find Hawkmoth. He can’t go around Paris, being Dupain-Cheng’s boyfriend. Besides, he can’t be a proper boyfriend even in his most lucid moments. I will be her boyfriend instead.”

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(PART 6)

[cyborg-franky]

Hi there! I'm here for the event. Congrats on running this marvelous blog. Always giving us *chef's kiss* content. So, May I request Law and prompt number 5? I was something like... The outcome of "reader" coming out alive of it barely, and Law's reaction (angry, angsty shit, i know i make my man's suffer...) after they treated them. G/N pronouns are fine, thanks for reading, op. <3

Thank you <3 I try really hard to do something I enjoy doing but also making stuff others enjoy reading. I apperiate every kind comment <3

Law x GN Reader SFW Prompt: Injured in a big battle TW: medical stuff Word Count: 625

Law had always been confident in his abilities, on the battlefield and in his doctoring, there wasn’t much that he couldn’t do with or without his devil fruits power. But his confidence as a doctor and captain had been shaken. Leaving him for the first time in years uncertain, stumbling, grasping for threads of hope. He’d never doubted how you could handle yourself; he’d seen you lay waste to marines before, you could hold your own and with that he had become complacent.

And you’d paid the price for his lapse in judgement. The battle had been hard, many of his crew had suffered, even he had almost lost a limb if not for his fruit’s properties. The guilt that wayed down his heart made him ache, his tired expression didn’t match how emotionally exhausted he really felt.

His knee nervously bounced as he sat by your bed, watching with constant nervous anticipation that your chest would rise and fall, allowing him the reassurance you at least didn’t need the machines on you any longer.

He chewed his thumbnail, watching you sleep. He couldn’t lose another person in his life, not someone he cared for so dearly, especially due to his own shortcomings. He blamed himself for losing Cora-san and he’d blame himself if he’d lost you.

Law hated the fact he knew he’d done everything possible, that it all hinged on how your body would fit together and fight to get over the hill. After the battle he’d put you under, he didn’t want you to see or feel what he was about to do, how your heart had been in a light blue cube while he poked and prodded it, patched things up so meticulously.

His arm draped over his stomach, feeling the dull ache of his own injuries, he’d live, he knew he wasn’t in critical condition, able to focus his attention on you fully was the goal. Sighing he leaned forward in his chair, biting his nail harder, his foot tapping on the surgery floor.

“That’s so annoying, fuck” You moaned, voice shallow and pained. The sound of agitated taping had stirred you from a pained sleep. You attempt sitting up was foiled when Law pressed his hand on your shoulder softly, pushing to lay back.

“You got hurt bad, you need to lay still” His tone was firm, strict, leaving no room for an argument but you could also hear the waver in his tone, it must have been bad if Law was shaken.

“Are you ok?” You mumbled, coughing softly, you couldn’t even move your hands, wires coming in and out of you. “I’m fine” Law mumbled, he adjusted the pillow behind you, allowing you the slightest elevation.

“Thank you for saving me” He flinched at your words, he didn’t deserve the thanks, he’d not been the one to find you at the critical moment. “It wasn’t me; it was Bepo who brought you here in time” You rolled your eyes despite how the action irritated your eyes.

“Was it Bepo who patched me up too?” You saw the dark-haired man shake his head.

“Then thank you”

He moved the chair closer to your bedside, sitting once more and watching as your eyes fluttered closed, you were going to be ok, you’d be out of action for a few more days but you’d live. He watched you slip into a peaceful sleep once more, needing your rest. His inked hand reached over, placed gently over your own.

Law wanted you to know he was here for you, would be still here when you woke up, the selfish part of his heart wanted the connection, needed to feel your warmth, that he wasn’t alone, that you weren’t going anywhere either.

[nabrizoya]

honestly would LOVE to hear your thoughts on the nikolai duology because i really only see blanket praise or blanket hate for it whereas I see a lot of wasted potential. Bardugo's actual writing was beautiful as ever for the most part, but the choice of the plot/beats feels baffling to me. I love Nina, but her parts felt so separate from the rest of the book until the very end, and even that felt off. I liked the first 2/3 of KoS enough, dealing with the monster, political tensions, 1/2

and even the cult of the starless saint was at least interesting because dealing with people trying to rewrite the narrative of their greatest enemy (who hurt these young leaders in deeply PERSONAL ways) was really compelling (making him literally come back was. a choice) but I feel like somewhere in the last third, KoS went in a wholly differeent direction, and RoW has this vibe of feeling like she definitely wrote it after reading the show scripts or even seeing some footage. idk. 2/2

I will try to be brief (1/12)

Hey anon! Thank you so much for asking this even though it took 38756588247834 years to answer this I’m so sorry !! The Nikolai duology was good—wonderful too maybe because of the myriad of themes and topics it discussed and explored, all in addition to how beloved these characters are. For me, it’s the end of KoS as it is for you, and the entirety of RoW in particular that irk me the most.

I have very little issue with KoS, and I agree with everything you’ve said. The political tensions, the sort of urgency in trying to secure a country at the cost of personal reservations, preparing for a war that seems unforgivably near the door, etc. was all thrilling. After all, it is the first installment in the duology, and it’s supposed to set the course for the upcoming books.

KoS managed to introduce the stakes and the circumstances, lay the rails for what the characters will face and what it might mean to a vast set of entities connected to the events. And it’s hardly out of sense to expect Rule of Wolves to pick up where the previous book left off and carry forward the themes and plot points introduced in the first book.

Except, RoW failed spectacularly in that aspect.

Rule of Wolves: the second book, and the supposed finale to the Grishaverse and the Nikolai duology; it fails to continue the other number of threads that KoS set up for it, effectively compromising the characters, their characterizations, the themes and other political tensions and stakes. The due importance that should be given to the heavy set of topics that get brought up in the povs are not through, nor are the small details that Leigh added to the conversations evolve into something worth talking about, which are the actual points that could have been given some more page time to explore than just making them facts or points of nostalgia for the characters.

If you take a step back and analyze the whole timeline, events, characterization, objectives of the arcs and the plot points etc. etc., all the way from Crooked Kingdom to Rule of Wolves, there’s so much that is left out and tied in, quite haphazardly, which leads me to believe that Leigh wanted to attempt writing a duology that is more plot-driven than it is character driven. And we know that Leigh writes character driven stories brilliantly, and SoC, CK and TLoT are testament to the same. Heck, even TGT has more consistency than whatever TND has.

So, objectively? Plot possibilities? Characterization? Potential? Personal goals? Addressing the very serious themes it brought up, in little or major light, but give no proper elaboration about them?

The lost potential readily compromised the characterizations of many characters, and it all amounted to their arcs being very underwhelming.

I’m dividing this into four parts and here’s the basic outline.

Writing and Plotting

The Plot, Possibilities and Potential.

Characters, Characterization, Character Potential.

Remedy (what I think would've worked better to tie this all up)

This can get very looong, so be forewarned.

I. Writing & Plotting

Now, Leigh Bardugo’s writing is exceptional, no doubt. The sentences are short and flowy, and convey the tone, psyche, environment and the setting and its effects on the pov character marvellously. It's also immersive. It’s the same in Rule of Wolves, except, a little or a lot weaker.

The two main parts of this is that one, that Leigh slightly overdid showing a lot more than telling, and two, that the RoW (and perhaps KoS too), was more plot driven than character driven, the latter of which is actually Leigh’s strength.

In Rule of Wolves, Leigh’s writing seemed very choppy and snappish. The descriptions were lacking, or maybe that’s just me wishing for more internal conflict and dilemma, and going back and forth in one's own head for a bit. It felt like she showed more than she told.

Example being how Zoya ‘snaps’, ‘drawls’, ‘scoffs’, or ‘scowls’ less, and even if that’s supposed to be show Zoya beginning to be a little less unpleasant than she usually is, the tone in those chapters was not strong enough to distinguish how and why the character was acting a certain way. Nor pinpoint an explanation on what brought that change about. (And there were many instances like this with many other characters), which resulted in the characters themselves feeling so off to me.

Leigh’s characters are important to the story. They carry tremendous weight and actively contribute to the plot. Except, by focusing a lot more on the plot, some parts of these characters’ relevance was not up to the mark. It is greatly due to how weak the plotting and pacing of the book was, tbh, more than just her writing.

Consider: Mayu Kir Kaat. She is integral to the story, but she is thrust into responsibilities, and that doesn’t give us much time to see her as a person, and then as a person with a duty, like we see with most other characters. Whatever parts of her we did see were very circumstantial and timed, which is probably the reason why not many we’re unable to appreciate Mayu as much as we should. (Maybe fandom racism also plays a part, so, well,,,).

Like, we know from Six of Crows and with The Language of Thorns, how great care went into describing the characters’ state of mind, which further heavily influenced their choices and decisions. This time though, I think she wanted it to be more plot driven, hence the whole crowded feeling of the book and general worry about oh my god too much is happening, how will all this be solved and all that.

And this, I think, greatly hampered Leigh's writing, leading to unsettling and rather unsatisfying character arcs. Not to mention that there was quite little space given for the characters to develop or let them grow in a satisfying way which touches on most of the elements and themes that get brought up with regard to their powers and potential,,, and when it was indeed brought up, it was all in vain since they were never followed through.

That's one of the biggest problems for me in RoW: Plot points brought up in KoS were not brought forward in RoW.

II. The Plot, Possibilities and Potential.

Phew. Truly buckle up because this train has too many coaches. And to discuss them all, let’s keep the starting point as Crooked Kingdom.

a) Parem

Now, by the end of Crooked Kingdom, we know some important things about the parem.

It's dangerous asf for the Grisha who have to sacrifice their will and capabilities for a short time superpower high that they didn’t even ask for

Which means they are more often than not forced to consume the drug

Shu Han is the creator of the Parem and are also creating a new kind of soldiers called Khergud (who additionally require Ruthenium, but we’ll talk abt that later)

Fjerda snatched the formula after kidnapping Bo Yul-Bayur, keeping him away in the Ice Court and in their possession, and used the Parem to further their own heedlessly heinous agenda

I think it’s easy to understand how KoS started off on the right track, considering that Kuwei Yul Bo is mentioned, the antidote and jurda is brought up and so come the political tensions alongside it (what with the impending war, the demon, the lack of funds in the coffers and security and peace for the country alongside safety for the Grisha).

The point is, parem is a character of its own. CK was its inception, and its fate was decreed along with its lifespan and its doom. Ideally, by the end of RoW, parem should have been vanquished while addressing its nature as a deadly drug, the addiction and aftermath, and the key person who will guide the plot: Kuwei Yul Bo.

Parem is a political tool that pitted countries against each other, making one another their allies or enemies. (Though parem is not the only one factor). Ravka doesn’t yet know about Kerch’s neutrality. The Shu made their move to assassinate in the end, just as Fjerda cleared the air about their goals.

Point is, parem is weapon, a new kind of warfare that keeps getting alluded to in KoS. The first book gave a glimpse of how the Shu and Fjerda are using parem, thereby exploiting, prejudicing etc. the Grisha in their countries. Khergud whose humanity is washed away with parem + ruthenium, and the Fjerdan Grisha (are targeted) drugged and exploited while be subjected to torture, training and imminent death, parametres of these outcomes being severely gendered.

Ravka too wanted to weaponize it and create a usable strain that would still give the Grisha their powers but at a minimal cost, until Nikolai’s conversation with Grigori convinces him out of it and to use only the antidote for the Grisha.

And when are the contents of this conversation brought up again?

Never.

Another aspect of parem (that the conversation also covers) is this: that what was once merzost, parem is its strange cousin. Parem parallels breaking the bounds of Grisha norms unnaturally, while merzost takes it a step further to break the bounds of nature itself, which comes with a heavy price. They're both the same with little differences. Amplifiers are in tune with this discussion, hence the conversation between Zoya and Nikolai about how, and whether or not the abomination in him, the parem, and the amplifiers are tied together. This gets brought up again in the conversation with Grigori.

Parem parallels the superpowers, something that Zoya too manages to achieve once the corruption of the amplifier business is resolved, which makes her realize how in tune with nature the Grisha must be, and how limited the Grisha powers until then had been. And why the amplifiers were a corrupted piece of magic.

Zoya was supposed to be the conduit in that sense that she reversed the Grisha norms and understood the importance and nature of small science. This is alongisde parem getting abolished or resolved in the least, be given a redressal.

Yet instead in RoW, we barely see any of Zoya’s powers, nor even her experimentation and hunger for power which would give her protection. We don't see how she begins to realize that while power was indeed protection, it was also a responsibility. Not clearly, anyway.

So like, not only is this entire discussion thrown away in Rule of Wolves, but no matters are resolved either. Parem did not reach its end like it was supposed to. Merzost with regard to parem would have been an excellent thing to address, with or without the Darkling being present, because the blight is there. But that doesn’t happen.

What happens instead? We get one chapter of Grisha getting the antidote during the face off at the start of the book, the women in Fjerda are not brought up again and instead we jump to Shu Han. Kuwei is also conveniently forgotten because hey, the Zemeni are here so it’s all sorted!

RoW could have (should have actually) sought to address both the political and medical (?) aftermath and implications. Maybe it did succeed in showing the political side of it, with regard to Mayu, Ehri, Makhi and Tamar’s storylines. But that’s only in Shu Han, whose state of affairs we had NO idea of until RoW. No idea, so much that it was completely out of the blue.

And what we did know (get to know about in KoS) is Fjerda and the affairs there remained… unsolved.

(...sorry).

b) Grisha Powers

Re: From the conversation between Nikolai and Grigori, and Juris and Zoya, about how parem and the amplifiers are parallel to each other in terms of being abominations, a corruption of Grisha powers. Now the theory of it is not entirely explained, but we do know that the parem and whatever Zoya learnt from Juris was meant to move along in the same direction.

But we don't see another mention of it, except maybe we could dig a little deeper and realize that it all adds up because Zoya is the Grisha Queen of Ravka, Summoner, Soldier, Saint, all of it rushed and unnecessarily magical in a war so dire and realistic in RoW.

Welp.

c) Spy business

Just… genuinely what even was Nina up to in RoW? A spy, sure, but only to garner information on the pretender?

Why couldn’t there have been two responsibilities for her to uncover: the lies or truths about the pretender while the Apparat causes hindrances, and Nina trying to seek out more documents of the locations and labs where the Grisha women are being tormented and the other Grisha being weaponized? It could have been a leverage to discredit Fjerda in front of everybody in the Os Kervo scene. Imagine if Nina whipped out the documents of Grisha labs and brought the truth of the exploitation and killing and kidnapping etc. in front of the convention of all nations. All of it together would have upped the political tensions by quite the notch.

Even then, there’s a possibility that it wouldn’t matter either because the Grisha aren’t exactly valuable to all the nations. But killing and exploiting is still wrong so maybe it might have worked? Or see, even if it wouldn’t have, the slow and sluggish realization of Mila’s identity by Brum, and alongside writing it as a tragedy where Nina’s efforts seem to have gone to waste, or where Nina is telling Zoya about not accounting for Prince Rasmus’ word and she informs her about the documents she has snatched? Something could have been done here?

The point is, KoS focused on Fjerda and its unraveling, and it wasn’t continued with and through in Rule of Wolves. Instead it sought to find the problem in a whole new country, Shu Han, and fixed it within the same book leaving the other country as it is.

d) Ruthenium and the Blight

Ruthenium, the metal that is an alloy of regular metal and Grisha made steel, could have been utilized more significantly in the books.

I mention it in association with the blight because while on one hand it is true that the blight is an area full of nothingness, ruthenium as a metal could have been utilized to show the effects of rushed industrialization that is leading to the ground losing its essence. This is supposed to be advanced warfare after all. Besides, Makhi loses someone very dear to her. Perhaps ruthenium is more dangerous in Shu Han because the Shu use it to create the khergud, so the constant manufacturing of it has been leading to the metal leeching the lands of their fertility, along with the blight.

And so also to broker peace, Ravka could have provided aid in some ways. :

1) The Darkling sacrificed himself, as a result of which the blight vanishes. While the blight took away her niece, the possibility of a blight persisting despite the ending of RoW could be attributed to ruthenium.

2) Ravka could provide the reversing effect to the alloy of ruthenium and metal using Grisha and otkazt’sya engineering and ingenuity to replenish the lands.

All in addition to whatever will be Shu Han’s policies to bring lushness to their lands.

e) Women and War:

Holy fucking Shit, where do I start with this?

Whatever we saw in Fjerda was haunting, and we see it from Nina’s chapters. There’s literally no resolution for it, nor is it ever brought up again, at all. In Zoya’s chapters, we see through her eyes the brunt that Grisha faced with the war, and in a country that has refused to recognize Grisha as the citizens and considers them expendable.

Add to it her own narrative of how the women are never mentioned, let alone the ones that she has lost or has known to suffer, at the hands of the war, at the Darkling's torture and powers. The description of these women suffering, often being forgotten and thrown aside as mere casualties… where or when was it ever going to be brought up again?

Like, switching between such horrifying things happening in Fjerda to whatever was happening with Zoya and Nikolai and Isaak is such a contrast, horrifyingly demeaning and insulting, even more so when it failed to align with the importance of parem and offer a solution to both these problems.

Now switch to Rule of Wolves, where the Tavgahard women immolate themselves on Queen Makhi’s orders. Not only is that such a cheap and insensitive thing to do, it gets treated a simple fucking plot point in the book, and it barely gets addressed afterwards. Women in Asia have a vastly complex and complicated history with fire, and this is a serious criticism that culturally affects readers in personal ways. And what gets done about it? Fine, Zoya feels baaaad, sorry oops why would the women do that?!?!?

Where is the adequate sensitivity to the topic? Where is the continuation of the pain Zoya feels for many people, despite them being the enemy? How does she honour them? Where is all that dilemma and pain? Why does she not think of them or just get a line or two to talk about them?

Where is the due importance for this suffering given? Structurally and culturally?

f) Soldier, Summoner, Saint / Yaromir the Great

We never really get any explanation for why Zoya deserves to be the Queen, and why she is the best. But we do get to see why Nikolai isn’t the one supposed to be on the throne, and it’s not just because of his parentage but also because of his failings and doubts and the need for acceptance with the secrets he carried.

Here's the thing though; it’s not just about her showing mercy. It’s very subtle, and in good sense, should actually have been given a little bit more importance that be loosely brought up at random times.

Keeping aside the fact that Zoya is representative of Ravka—a woman, a Grisha, a Suli girl who changed the course of war and who knew what it was like living in poverty, being as an underprivileged person of the society in addition to the trauma from then and the state of living at her aunt’s place—which is meant to be covertly apparent, the other reason tracks back to Yaromir the First, who with the help of Sankt Feliks of the Apple Boughs—the one who raised the thornwood—lead Ravka at that time into the age of peace.

The Darkling testified that in his POVs, that while Feliks and Yaromir worked in tandem for Ravka, Aleksander worked for safeguarding the Grisha. In one sense, Zoya is supposed to reflect that moment in history in the present moment, except she is Queen and Sankta, and Grisha, all three at once.

It is brought up in one of the Darkling’s POVs and once in the conversation with Yuri in KoS. Other than that, we never actually get any more hints of this explanation in the text, which is the reason why the entire ending felt so so rushed, and like a fever dream, that even if it was a plot twist, it was kinda very baseless when it should have been more ohhhhh sort of a thing.

g) The Starless Cult and Saint Worship

This cult had immense potential to blossom into many things, some of which were indeed touched upon in KoS when Zoya says that she saw a bit of herself in Yuri, and brings up time and again how easily she’d been led and had not been aware enough of what’s right and wrong, just as she supposes Yuri is too. And to some extent, there is truth there, because in the Lives of Saints, we do see why Yrui comes about to hail the Darkling and how it parallels Zoya’s, of being helpless and ten being saved by a different power/ their own power, respectively.

That’s where it forks, that Zoya is older and realizes the path that Yuri has chosen and understands that it won't happen until he realizes it himself because the Darkling’s crimes are so obvious.

Even then, there’s still more potential: This cult could have been the mirror that would make Zoya reflect on the questionable methods of the Darkling, and the ways in which she might be mirroring them, despite or not it is the necessity because of the war. How she is training soldiers too, just as the Darkling did, and while the need to take children away from their homes just as soon as they were discovered Grisha was abolished, it was war, and they needed soldiers.

So like, there’s quite a big narrative going on here, how mere children are pushed into one path of becoming a soldier and the whole system that was that the Darkling followed to train the Grisha and all of that. All of this in addition to the juxtaposition to the Grisha being seen as elite despite them being hunted, and the people who are not Grisha frowning upon them. This is also the work of the Darkling, which actually paves the way to see how there can be a world where the Grisha are not feared or seen as abnormal, despite or not they are given a Saint-like narrative.

This cult could also have been the segue to discussing Yuri and his brainwashing, and the sort of cult-ish behaviour of believing in something firm when you couldn’t believe in yourself, or not seeing the magnitude of the crimes of their supposed Saint, alongside always staying focused on becoming a soldier only and never actually thinking beyond what is told.

Some of these are very subtle and some are brought up, but never given too much of an explanation.

Genya brings up another good point in the funeral chapter, about how Fjerda seemingly taking into the whole Saints thing could mean that if the Darkling moved there, he could very well sprawl his influence there to bring in supporters. Which leads to another discussion that gets brought up towards the end of the book: about Nina telling about the Ravkan Saints to Hanne and therefore to the Fjerdans,,, which doesn’t exactly sit right with me. It’s still a very nascent topic, and I think SoC3 will explore this path of faith and personal beliefs etc. but leaving it just there, while talking so much about Saints in both the countries,,, don’t exactly know how to put it into thoughts here.

But regardless, the cult of the Starless had different potential to talk of (blind) worshipping of an ideal without critically examining why the person must be put on the pedestal in the first place (and if it is simply power, then there is actually a narrative right there, which RoW gets right, about the people valuing the power still, as a result of which the monarchy still persists at the end of RoW. Even then, there’s more discussion awaiting there).

Not sure if any of this makes sense, but I’ll leave it at this here for now.

edit: 05/07/2021 | I think what I was trying to say here is that we do not have any kind of narrative evidence to seeing how and why it seems right that the Fjerdans will worship Ravkan Saints; is it merely because they are all Grisha? Or is it because of the segue explore this path of faith and personal beliefs and all of that, of the talk of the monastery and the Grisha there being of all identities, that a monastery is in Shu Han, that it has Djel's sacred Ash tree so far away from Fjerda... much to think about.

III. Characters, Characterization, Character Potential.

Mostly going to be about Nina and Zoya, but I’ll bunch up the rest of them at the end.

a) Nina

*head in hands*

I severely mourned how poorly Zoya was written in RoW, but then I realized that more than Zoya, it’s Nina whose potential was severely undermined and wasted. On one hand, I’m glad she uses her powers and quick thinking,observation and her own tactics to analyze the population and opt for the best way to make them see the truth she wants to show them (eg: making Leoni and Adrik and Zoya saints and also showing that the Grisha are the children of Djel via people’s belief to Joran and Rasmus’s mother).

But then, it’s like you said; her parts were so offbeat and outpaced and completely disjointed, when in fact, Nina is the thread that ties all the characters, their plotlines and potential, together. Nina is connected to Zoya and Hanne, two equally important characters and main characters of the duology. Whatever scope Nina has, they are greatly in parallel to Zoya and Hanne. And it’s all literally there, in the text! What a waste.

Though keeping aside these parallels, Nina’s own journey from Ketterdam to Ravka to Fjerda, while is spoken about, doesn’t touch some other parts that I see potential in. Or this is just meta.

Nina has grief not just from Matthias’ death but also from the loss of her powers as Heartrender. So much of the Second Army was built on being a soldier, and perhaps the Darkling was not outright disdainful of racial differences in his army, yet he still stripped every part of the children away until they weren’t children anymore in his view. They’re all soldiers… (albeit his soldiers, preparing them to do his bidding because hey, give and take right?). Nina was a soldier, and she is a soldier still under Zoya’s role as a General, but an ‘other’ of a soldier. That’s her only identity, and the loss of her powers means that she’s a different kind of soldier.

I imagine that this entire time, some small part of Nina longed for normalcy, or whatever settled as normal for a life like hers. In the sense that she wants to go back, but what is back and where exactly did she want to go back to? What was the before and after and where did things go wrong or change? There’s tragedy in the realization that whatever you were before what you became is not a place you can return to, and that’s a different kind of loss that she has to bear, and all by herself. She has powers over the dead now, a strange power she learns to grow to, but all the places she has been, all the lives she has led and people she had been, everything might seem like they’ve all been locked away in some strange place leaving her barren and indisposable.

She’s off to Fjerda as someone she isn’t, figuratively and literally. In KoS, Nina brings up many times how odd she feels as Mila and in some capacity longs to be Nina Zenik again. This ties in with the previous point of returning to somewhere, but where?, but is also a segue towards body dysmorphia, the thing that Nina and Hanne’s storylines parallel and connect too with in a small way. It’s a great line to follow to discuss what her discomfort with her body means to herself while it means something entirely different to Hanne, who is also not entirely comfortable being who they are. (This discomfort further which leads to gender dysphoria, while for Nina, it will be about learning to accept her powers. I’ll add on to this in a bit,).

I'm mourning the lost potential of that experience being a parallel to Hanne’s own feelings, of a discussion between people being uncomfortable with their bodies, something that can mean multitudes to each person and on their own accord.

In parallel to Zoya, I like to draw it from the fact about Nina wanting to go back to who she was, while Zoya actively tries to lock her past away and drown it somewhere or throw it to the storm, never to hear of it again. She has no identity other than being a soldier, and that’s enough for Zoya, because who she was before she was a soldier is not pleasant. But moving from being just another expendable shell of soldier under the Darkling’s rule, Zoya becomes the one third of the Triumvirate, and then the King’s general, all of which bring self-awareness of Zoya’s capabilities and challenges that are bound to excite her. But all of these also compel Zoya to be many other people to others as she slowly grows to realize that power is not just protection but also a responsibility, and it will inadvertently mean confronting her past of her lost identity, realizing the how of the Darkling, and how harmful it was. As Genya puts it perfectly in Rule of Wolves, that they were all taken away when they were young kids, not even barely children, and then thrust into responsibilities that didn’t allow them to be anything else other than what the Darkling told them to be.

Back to Nina; a few other great parts about Nina’s arc could have been about her connection to languages, as language being a mode of strengthening identity, in addition to growing to her powers. In RoW, there’s this line that goes ‘how sweet it was to speak her language [Ravkan] again’, and the feeling of homesickness. Like, Nina is trying to connect to Ravka through what she knows best—language, and then stories. In that, Nina realizes a part of her identity, which could also act as a segue to Zoya reclaiming her own heritage and ethnicity. Not only that but Zoya and Nina’s stories are literally so intertwined that it’s hard not to see how their choices and line of thought affect one another’s arcs, in the grief they have and how they choose to treat it, and also show why Zoya is particularly protective of Nina (and keeps wishing that she doesn’t become the monster Zoya had become, in the sense that Nina is more mature in handling her grief than Zoya was and the entire mercy plotline ties Nina, Zoya and even Genya together. More meta, haH).

And that’s why the ending doesn’t make sense. Even though the part about her not being comfortable as Mila is not brought up many times in the continuing chapters (and that’s why perhaps naming Nina’s discomfort as body dysmorphia may be wrong), there’s still the part of Nina readily accepting to be who she was a Mila and remain in Fjerda that seems iffy to me. Especially when Nina and Hanne literally a few chapters ago think about running away (it may be just another alternative they might be fantasizing about, but I think it still means that they both want to be their true selves without hiding any parts of it away). So her staying as Mila… well, it doesn’t exactly add up.

I’d also add the part of Nina’s story mirroring Leoni’s, and how she is from Novyi Zem and being a part of the Second Army meant that she had little to no connection with her past, her culture etc. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part that Leigh went for that arc.

edit: 05/07/2021 | I don't agree with my point anymore about Nina not having the kind of ending I assumed she might have, considering that it is very well possible for Nina to treat her identity as Mila as a fresh start, as a Grisha with a command over the the dead and begin a new normal that is suited for her. You can read more here.

b) Zoya

For one, white passing Zoya is not canon to me. I simply pretend I do not see it.

See, her race was handled very badly. Making her half-Suli was supposed to show the struggles and the trauma that the ridiculing of her identity by other people has caused to her. Except, not enough time nor text is given to thoroughly discuss it. Not to forget how problematic of a narrative in itself it is to make Zoya white passing.

It would have made more sense to make her dark skinned and predominantly Suli-looking than whatever yt bs she was put through. Her not being white-passing would have led to conversations about tokenization, or people caring little about her and not giving her any respect because she is Suli. Or being called beautiful to the face and praised just for it or a harmless tumble in their point of view.

So like, instead of making the ‘mistake’ of seeking for acceptance, seeking appreciation and love, from her mother at first and then the Darkling, Zoya instead makes herself someone to be feared, if respect was not what she deserved. The iciness is a part of her and has always been, but all of it soon became a shield, an armour that she vowed to harden her heart with. Just the sheer impact of this narrative and her reluctance, and seeing Nikolai love her for beyond who she thinks she is… if all of this was canon, I’m pretty sure I’d have built a shrine for this duology.

Let’s now talk about her grief, and...

…

Okay it’s not for me to point fingers at how Leigh chose to write about grief because there’s no one way or one proper approach to go through that pain, and if that’s how she chose to write about grief for Zoya, fine! But I really wish we’d have gotten a little more into her head to see how the trauma has affected her thoughts and how she struggles against why and what exactly it is that Juris wants her to do. That enough time and text was dedicated to Zoya’s feelings and the mayhem it caused her, as a result of which the dragon’s eye took its cue and made things more unbearable to her because she was the only one to bear them all.

Like, I feel like Zoya was overwhelmed throughout the book and in between she had some skyhigh responsibilities to discharge and it’s all so inconsistent and poorly woven,,, it completely dissolved her character from KoS and made it 10000000x more miserable for me to read her POVs. And honestly, what even were her assignments that the Kirkus review mentioned? Never an inch of text in RoW is given to decipher her complications of her mind, the muddled sense of hopelessness and fear that grips her time and again. Why overwhelm her so much that you fail to do her mental state and capacity any justice?

I’m not going to be harsh about how much David’s death bothered me-- no actually fuck that; what’s the point? Fine, he died. All because you wanted to make his death a plot device to make Zoya reconcile with loss and deal with it? Where was Genya’s grief? Literally no point of having a death in the book at all, and it didn’t even achieve anything. (I’m still trying to wrap my head around why David’s death was important and maybe if I find some straws, I’ll consider…)

There were so many other ways around it; could have brought back Lada and killed her off, or have the Darkling piss her off so badly or just. Something. Instead of whatever happened with David. I think this is too harsh and insensitive of me to say about Leigh, but still… there’s a myriad of other ways to have gone about it. Helping Zoya deal with her grief with Nikolai at her side, to understand that the rage that was fueled from her loneliness, like it had been in the past, could now be a weight that Nikolai was willing to carry with her… Helping someone with their grief, staying and choosing is also a love language you know?

So in that regard, I won’t regret saying how flat the garden scene was to me. Zoya’s lines, though tinged with grief, were so out of what I would expect KoS Zoya to say. Maybe it’s also because of how bitter I was reading about David's death, despite that part being spoiled for me.

The cost shouldn’t have been David’s death, especially not when his death too wasn’t properly handled at all, and Genya’s grief was never spared a second thought beyond bringing Titanium.

+

Now let’s talk about how Out of Character Zoya was throughout the book. Her punchy attitude was missing, and even if she was warming up to her friends, we see little of the iciness she continues to retain. Another part of this is about exploring her relationships, particularly with Nikolai and her growing feelings for him. I wish we’d have seen them grapple with more of their confusion and propriety, if only for the yearning™. Besides, no matter how cute their scenes were, they were mostly (like maybe some. 70%) awful to read them, simply because it felt so odd to see Zoya be so open with Nikolai, all of a sudden.

A part of this definitely has to be the fact that we don’t know just how much time has passed between the end of KoS and the start of RoW, and we never, never see any description of they regarded their feelings for each other and how they understood it themselves. I don’t actually know how exactly I can put this into words in a manner that will make sense, but the only scenes where I appreciated Zoyalai were in the Ketterdam chapters, ONLY. The rest was… bleh lmao. Their scenes were so cute and brilliant, and if only we’d seen more of the internal conflict and had given some more time for them to practically approach their feelings but still end up in the puddle of it. If only.

Their scenes apart were the good ones, because that’s where we finally see Nikolai feeling the loss, no matter how temporary (on the verge of being permanent since it’s the war), of not having Zoya with him, of not being there with Zoya because who else would it be if it wasn’t her? Zoyalai had good scenes but they barely lived up to the mark lol. Their feelings are never thoroughly explored, nor their mental capacities.

While we’re talking about Zoyalai, let’s also talk about how lame it was for Zoya to say that Nikolai was the golden spirited hero all along, from the very start, when canonically we know Zoya had little to do with him in the earlier books, that she may have only been physically attracted to him and never saw him as more than just some guy with a responsibility to manage, and had sooooooo much distrust about him. And that it was only in the next few years of working with him and alongside did she grow to recognize his efforts and relish in the hope that he was building for Ravka, inadvertently making Zoya hopeful too.

Nope. Instead, we’ll just throw in some destiny bs that he was the one all along rather than show that the beauty of their relationship did not stem what they perceived of each other, but was instead built on strong respect and admiration for one another and their capabilities. 100% destroyed their relationship for me.

+

Some good parts about Zoya’s arc in RoW was how she acknowledged her past mistakes, and the nuance that was touched upon in seeing sense in becoming a soldier from the start, that offered her a chance to be anything other than a bride. That some part of her was grateful for the Darkling for teaching her how to fight, while still keeping Genya’s words in mind about how they were mere kids, children who had only one path to traverse because the Darkling (who wanted their acceptance and loyalty) nor the Kings of the country let the Grisha be anything else other than pawns of the war. That she recognizes her mistakes as a teen and how self centred she was, that her being snotty had at times cost some peoples’ lives too. And she doesn’t take the blame all up on herself, because it’s not hers alone to bear. Super good.

Also, the way Zoya comes to view power as responsibility instead of merely as protection was something cool to read about. It’s not clear in the books, but Zoya actively tried to not be the Darkling while still continuing to build an army for the war out of necessity, and actually sharing some parts of the dream that the Darkling had for the Grisha. I can’t articulate this so perfectly, but the point is, Zoya trying to avoid becoming a tyrant like the Darkling was an active process that she was constantly trying to change, and where Zoya could not recognize her own feelings and inherent thoughts about warfare that in some ways did mirror the Darkling’s, by the end of book, Zoya is much more self-aware and conscious of herself and her power than she was at the start of the book. And this was well done.

+

Now, what is up with YA and making people turn into giants or animals lol wtf. Why couldn’t we have seen Zoya use her dragon powers in a way that symbolizes the conditions of her dragon amplifier and the power of the knowledge she obtained from Juris? She is a Saint, and we’ve seen that their powers allowed them to cause ‘miracles’ and such, as we see at the start of KoS and at the end.

Why couldn’t we have seen Zoya dabble with her newfound powers and completely lose her shit in anger during the wae, only to rein back in mercy, just as someone from Fjerda begs for forgiveness since they see her then as a Saint? Adrik and Leoni used their powers in Fjerda, so having Zoya bring about a conundrum of all orders and do something about it would also have been cool, wouldn’t it? In the funeral scene we see her turn water into ice, thereby making a path for Genya. Why couldn’t we have had more exploration of the importance of the dragon’s eye and the general nausea of being overly empathetic every. damn. time? Why didn’t we get to see her powers? Why couldn’t we have seen her fail in them and realize that the reason she was not perfect was because she was trying to be strong on her own and was not relying on others and joint effort?

Her turning into a dragon was genuinely the most baffling part bc here’s a war that’s so serious and dire with metals and bombs, and then here’s this magic that will solve all of it entirely. Like I’m not saying it was bad, (I am actually saying just that) but I also don’t know what I am saying, except that the ending felt like a fever dream.

…?

Not sure if I’ve managed to convey it properly, but well. Zoya felt out of character throughout RoW, and that the only place I saw KoS Zoya was in the final Os Kervo scene where Zoya finally agrees to be the queen.

c) Nikolai

Nikolai’s arc was very satisfying and brilliant to read about in RoW. In KoS, he seemed very much like a passive character, one of the reasons why his stunt with the Shu in RoW was appreciable, no matter how ill-timed of a plot turn it was. His journey throughout this book was also introspective to see why others deemed him unfit as the King, and even if they were his enemies who thought that in want to dispose him from the throne, Nikolai realizes that him being on the throne is not of much value and that this book was entirely about him seeing his privilege and making decisions to counter and correct the mistakes he’s made. That was nice. Oh, also his father not being an antagonist was a pleasant surprise.

I don’t have many complaints about him, except perhaps wanting some more internal conflict and elaboration about his feelings for Zoya. Them being apart was where it was satisfying, and then in the Ketterdam chapters. His arc could have been better in KoS, but that’s to blame the plot for the characterization.

d) Hanne

Now, from the very start, their arc was super good and it only got better and better until… the ending. Except it’s so odd that Hanne, a poc, has to now live as white person, while feeling comfortable in their transmasc identity. Icky, no? That you need to eliminate one part of your identity in order to feel safe and comfortable about another? Add to this the whole white-passing Zoya thing,,, doesn't exactly send off the right message.

Together with Nina, the ending seems uncharacteristic for both of them. Them coming to accept their powers and knowing to use their powers on their own accord was brilliant, though the entire husband business felt very,,, eh to me, even if it did make sense. The ending about their name and their new identity was too vague.

e) Genya, Leoni and Adrik, Kuwei, Mayu,

Genya is the one who faced the most disservice along with David. While there were exceptional parts to both of their plotlines, it's still sad that even if David's death was necessary, we don't get to see the entirety of her grief and the possible anger, and that her kindness is simply used as the justification for lack of portrayal of grief.

It really did take me by surprise, mostly because I wasn't a fan of the original Shadow and Bone book, but seeing David's conscience and self-awareness, along with Genya's (and Zoya thinking of how she wouldn't let any harm come to them, which shows a bit of her development towards her character development), was plenty refreshing. David and Genya were genuinely the highlights of the book and to kill David off was just. doesn't sit right with me.

Leoni and Adrik deserved more page time. They’re saints and immensely capable (no wonder they’re now the Triumvirate), but a few more pages for them to shine would not only have been nice, but also a necessity.

And now, Kuwei...

....

I mean,,, parem should have been the plot, alongside the entire weaponry and the discussion of making a city killer. But uh… that didn’t happen.

There's not much I have to say about Mayu, Tamar and Ehri, except that their plot was superb, only very badly timed.

There's more to talk about them in the remedy tho.

IV. Remedy

Here’s the deal. Before KoS release, there should have been a Nina novella.

Nina is a very important character. All of her potential, alongside many other parts of her personality--from dealing with grief, to accustoming to her powers, to growing stronger--there could be so much to do with her as a protagonist, alongside another character: Mayu.

A whole book dedicated to Nina in Fjerda with Hanne? Brilliant. Show Stopping. Mind blowing. It gives SO much page time to explore not just Nina and Mayu, Hanne, but also Zoya, Leoni and Inej. All together.

How?

Nina’s plotline carries the entire medical effects of the use of parem, just as Mayu’s will carry the pain she feels about her brother being a part of the khergud program. The novella will give ample time to flesh them out as characters and protagonists, each dealing with plot problems and problems of their own--like the loss of ones powers and newfound responsibilities, and the shared loss of a beloved person in parallel, even if neither Nina or Mayu interact on page.

Fjerda and Shu Han could be tied together with one chapter as a POV from Zoya (or maybe two), who, along with the Triumvirate and Nikolai, are completely at loss with the political scenario in the country, and are debating over what should be the course of action. Zoya receives news from the scouts, and missives from Nina, and Tamar takes care of the information she garners from the rest of the network, including Shu Han.

Like, the entire surprise of finding a Zoya POV, from a character whom until CK we’ve known as cold hearted and stern and not giving a fuck about anything or anyone, be humanized in that one chapter, thereby building up the anticipation for her arc,,, the very potential,,, *chef's kiss*.

And by the end of book, we could have an POV--or maybe a cameo if not a POV--of Inej meeting Nina on one of her travels of slave hunting. Inej could help take care that the women that Nina has rescued (as Nina does in KoS) reach the Ravkan shorelines safely. But, for a price.

The entire parallels between Leoni and Hanne and Nina could be set up, while also building up the narrative for the Saints’ plotline with Adrik's, Leoni's and Nina’s powers (like it was at the end of KoS). KoS and RoW would thereby continue it by tackling the weaponization and the antidote, Sainthood and the rest of the politics of it all.

Coming to Shu Han: one key aspect that I’d love to have explored would be the importance of art, during or despite the war. Of how war or pain chips away culture, while detailing on the ill effects of it from the commoners' perspectives, from the soldiers etc. Art is integral to Shu Han and could be portrayed by Mayu’s pain finding balm in poetry, of seeing glimpses of Ehri poring over poetry also mayri ftw, of politics that Makhi is weaving against Ravka, etc.

Or also add some more length to Zoya’s POV and explore a bit of Tamar and Tolya and Kuwei’s interactions and perspective added to it, of missing a home that they seemed to not know, or know; of discussing culture and differences on the basis of where they’re from (maybe the twins are from the borders, while Kuwei grew up near the capital or somewhere distant from the borders etc.), all while directly pointing at Zoya’s heritage and how it ebbs at her conscience, no matter how much she wants to bury it.

POTENTIAL !!!

Like,,, Nina novella would have been too powerful. It would have been perfect. I think I’d excuse bringing back the Darkling too if this was the case. (Or maybe not).

But welp.

Hey, thanks for reading! Not sure if you could make it this far, but if you have, you honestly deserve a medal for sitting through this all. I can’t imagine how tiring it must be to read through this, considering it seemed to take it more than month to compile this there’s also me procrastinating on it too so i’,mbhbdhshfsdn

Drop an ask if you want to talk more about this!

Sincerely, thank you!!!

[kurowrites]

"you asked me to the store with you and your child, and now my distant relative we met thinks im married with a baby" for wangxian :3

I doubt this was the thing you expected, but ... [smashes keyboard]

---

It had been a coincidence, really, nothing that he’d planned. He’d just been on his way out of the door to get his groceries done when he came across one of his neighbours in the entrance hall; the really handsome one with the cute little toddler that always smiled at him. The one where the mother of the child had probably left the picture, because he’d never actually seen her.

Quietly, he wondered what woman would leave a man that was so obviously caring well for his child, and a toddler so friendly and cute, but then, that was really none of his business.

In any case, when he ran into them in the entrance hall of the apartment building, the toddler was having a big temper tantrum (that was a first), and his father, despite his best efforts at calming the child, was completely unsuccessful in stopping the wailing. His usually neutral face was, for once, wrinkled in concern and apparent helplessness.

Wei Ying knew the feeling too well, from similar situations with his own family. Recently, it had been happening particularly often because of Jin Ling, his beloved nephew who had taken an unfortunate page from the book of his father and had started an early ‘nonono, I don’t want to’ phase.

So Wei Ying automatically did what he always did with Jin Ling: he made a stupid face at the toddler, and when the toddler looked at Wei Ying in momentary confusion, Wei Ying grabbed him, lifted him up, and wheeled him around. The kid let out a sound halfway between annoyance and enjoyment. Wei Ying took the chance he got, and folded over with the biggest grin on his face, tilting the child upside down with him. Then he flipped back up, and did it again. By the third time, the child was laughing.

“Again, again!”

Wei Ying did it again, and then tried to set the child down, but it was too late. Quick as anything, two hands grabbed him with surprising strength, and he now had a spider monkey on his hands. The child clung to him, eagerly asking for more parentally inadvisable acrobatics.

Wei Ying looked at the father apologetically, who had witnessed the whole event with the earlier frown still on his face, shrugging a little as he held the little monkey in his arms.

“Sorry for barging in like that,” he said. “It’s just something I picked up from handling my nephew. It works with him every time, so I started doing it automatically. You’re probably busy, I should let you go.”

He tried to hand the boy back to his father, but there was no budging. The child clung to him like a leech, whining at Wei Ying to play with him.

“I am sorry,” the father said, clearly unsure how to handle the situation and his uncooperating child. “He is usually not that difficult. Today is…”

He trailed off.

Wei Ying smiled encouragingly. “Hey, parenting is hard. Tell me, where were you going? I was planning to go to the supermarket near the park, and if you’re heading in the same direction, we can walk together until he’s calmed down a little.”

Wei Ying was almost sure there was something akin to relief in the father’s face.

“I was also heading out for groceries,” the father replied. “If it is not too much to ask…”

“Hey, no biggie,” Wei Ying smiled. “If you carry my groceries, all is well.”

He winked at the boy in his arms.

“Always get others to carry your things.”

“Gege is carrying ME!” the boy exclaimed excitedly, and Wei Ying laughed.

“I see, I see, you are a smart one!”

Wei Ying winked at the father, and after assuring him that he was perfectly fine carrying a toddler around, they walked to the grocery store together.

On the way, Wei Yin learned that the names of father and son were Lan Zhan and Lan Yuan, respectively. They hadn’t been living in the apartment building for very long (Wei Ying had suspected as much), and had recently relocated because Lan Zhan had changed jobs.

Wei Ying felt the urge to ask about the child’s mother, but managed to suppress his curiosity.

It was none of his business, he told himself sternly. He had no place nosing around in a stranger’s private affairs, even when the man in question was particularly handsome, and the toddler particularly cute.

---

Shopping turned out to be way more fun than it usually was. Lan Yuan was still stuck to Wei Ying, unwilling to give up the prime real estate in Wei Ying’s arms, so Wei Ying carried him through the supermarket like a little king, and together, they commanded Lan Zhan what he needed to buy.

Lan Zhan was a strict man that was extremely picky about the foods that he put onto the plate of his child, Wei Ying learned quickly. But he was also a father that very clearly loved by his son, and everything Lan Yuan said was considered seriously, even when it was eventually turned down. Wei Ying almost felt bad to ask Lan Zhan to help him with his groceries, since his eating habits were… nowhere near Lan Zhan’s, that was for sure.

Lan Zhan himself frowned a little when he saw all the stuff that Wei Ying was planning to buy, and though he was evidently trying to restrain himself from commenting, he eventually cracked.

“You do not cook for yourself?” he asked, as Wei Ying snatched another box of frozen food out of the freezer one-handed, balancing Lan Yuan on his hip.

“Not really,” Wei Ying replied lightly. “I’m a horrible cook. My sister banned me from her kitchen.”

“Fresh vegetables are important,” Lan Zhan said, clearly not approving of his dietary choices.

“I know! I have them when I visit my sister. She makes the best food.”

He smiled at Lan Yuan.

“Always eat your veggies, mister, if you want to grow as tall as your dad.”

“I’m gonna be taller!”

It was spoken with so much enthusiasm and conviction that Wei Ying had to laugh.

“You have a lot of work to do and many veggies to eat, then!”

“What about Gege?” Lan Yuan asked. “You also need to eat veggies and grow taller.”

“I’m not going to get any taller now, I’ve reached my maximum height already,” Wei Ying replied. “Not everyone gets to be as tall as your dad.”

That opened an entire new can of worms, because now Lan Yuan wanted to know why Wei Ying wasn’t as tall as his father, and why people were tall or small or fat or thin, and Wei Ying found himself inundated with questions he might have been able to answer more easily if he had been able to pull out his mobile phone and search for some scientifically accurate answers.

But Lan Yuan seemed to enjoy the explanations that Wei Ying could give, so honestly, all was well. He’d apparently completely forgotten the reason why he’d had a meltdown in the entrance hall of their apartment block, and seemed to enjoy being babied by someone other than his father, for once.

“A-Yuan is such a good child,” Wei Ying sighed as they left the supermarket (Lan Zhan carrying Wei Ying’s groceries as promised). “If I ever have children, I also want to have a child like A-Yuan.”

Lan Yuan hugged Wei Ying with a smile, and Wei Ying had to squish the little boy, overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of intense affection. He was just too precious. Dammit, he didn’t even have a partner, he couldn’t go around getting baby fever.

“Wei Ying should adopt me!” Lan Yuan exclaimed with enthusiasm. “Like Baba!”

Now that was… Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan, confused about that little nugget of information.

Lan Zhan, not looking at him but at Lan Yuan, chastised his son gently.

“A-Yuan, you cannot simply ask unrelated people to adopt you. I am your cousin. We were family before I adopted you. The same cannot be asked for from unrelated people.”

It was a very rational explanation, Wei Ying thought. It also answered a few questions about the apparent non-existence of a mother. But it also seriously underestimated Wei Ying’s particular brand of free-spiritedness combined with a healthy dose of disregard for societal conventions, so Wei Ying lifted Lan Yuan higher and gave him a cheeky grin.

“For what it’s worth, A-Yuan,” he declared, “I would totally adopt you if given the chance. I don’t think your father would give you up for any price, but just know that I would.”

Lan Yuan gave him the biggest smile in reply, and Lan Zhan gave him the most severe frown he had ever seen in his life, but he didn’t care.

Lan Yuan was just too cute, and Wei Ying was entirely honest when he said that he would adopt a child like him in a heartbeat. Of course, a decision like that would be a big responsibility. Taking care of a life.  But he had never been the type to think about such things carefully before jumping right in. He had always wanted a family. And he had experience in handling kids. He could do it, he knew.

Maybe I should really start to consider having a child, he thought to himself, snuggling Lan Yuan a little tighter, resting their heads together, even without a partner in the picture. I have Dajie too, I can rise a child on my own.

(He did not notice Lan Zhan’s considering gaze.)

---

“Are you a homewrecker now?”

“Hello A-Cheng, it’s nice to hear from you, I’m doing very well, thank you,” Wei Ying sang into the receiver. “Why are you calling?”

“You were seen with a father and his child at the supermarket,” came Jiang Cheng’s angry voice from the other side of the connection. “Flirting inappropriately. Really, now? Don’t tell me you’re sleeping with a man that already has a toddler.”

“Ouch, A-Cheng, who do you think I am?” Wei Ying asked theatrically. (If he was honest, the sentiment hurt a little.) “He’s just a neighbour, I was helping out like good neighbours do. He is in fact not married and the child is adopted, so even if I was sleeping with him, which I’m not, there would be nothing inappropriate about it. Also, I have never slept with any man of my acquaintance and I’m not sure why this is coming up now.”

“So that means we don’t have to reserve a seat for him at the next family dinner?”

Wei Ying spluttered. “Wha- what??”

“My sister was really excited at the thought of getting a nephew. I guess it was too much to ask. If you start fucking him, don’t tell me, but I need to know if I have to make more reservations than usual. That’s all. Bye.”

The next moment, Jiang Cheng had hung up, and Wei Ying stared at his phone beeping at him in disbelief.

What the hell?

How had Jiang Cheng even found out he had gone shopping with Lan Zhan and Lan Yuan?

Still shaken and repeating the entire conversation in his head, trying to make sense of it, he heard the doorbell ring. He threw his phone aside and scrambled to get to the door.

As soon as he opened the door, A-Yuan threw himself forward and latched onto Wei Ying’s leg tightly, grinning up at him.

“Gege! Play with me!” he shouted in lieu of a greeting.

Behind him stood Lan Zhan, all prim and proper, with his arms folded behind his back.

“He said he was missing you,” he said with an apologetic bow.

Slowly, Wei Ying bent down and lifted A-Yuan up to settle him on his hip. He stared at Lan Zhan, standing there and staring back, and thought about the strange phone call that he’d just had.

Of course he was happy that A-Yuan wanted to see him again. And of course he was happy that Lan Zhan had come to actively seek him out.

And of course he thought that–

Well.

Quietly, he wondered what it needed to make Lan Zhan accept an invitation for family dinner.

Well, maybe not a family dinner, first thing. Something a little more private was appropriate.

He gave A-Yuan a small kiss to the crown of his head, and saw Lan Zhan following the movement intently.

Hm, he thought giddily. Maybe not quite as much as I thought it might.

He smiled at Lan Zhan.

“Why don’t you come in? I doubt I’m getting this little one off of me very soon.”

[welldonekhushi]

Me, trying to sleep:

My mind: What if you created Price as a villain?

Me, opens my eyes wide and remains restless: Really?

Soooo, here you go, guys! Finally, I did my take on how Price would look as a villain, but basically, he's not like "those" villains who would try to threaten or destroy anything much like Zakahev and Makarov's deadly intentions. He wears a formal kind of suit to keep himself mysterious, and a mask on his face to conceal his identity, more like a vigilant.

This story takes place after the events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where Price went MIA after Zakahev was killed. Soap, being the only possible survivor, couldn't understand where could the Captain had went away. Time passed, and new reports claimed that there was a mysterious presence who became a barrier for the SAS and stole away the intel they wanted or already acquired.

The fear or doubt remained imminent that the mysterious presence might be stealing all the data for keeping it secure from the Ultranationalists, but what makes it more suspicious, when it was also stealing every single necessary intel from the hidden Ultranationalist offices, leaving no traces or evidences behind — but, by leaving a white rose on the ground. One of the soldiers saw the figure escaping once from the window after killing off a another soldier when they were investigating the office, so he was named as "The Masked Vigilant" because it's appearance was of a formal suit with a black hat and a cloth over it's face.

So, the real question arose within: why would the mysterious person be doing all this so? This was pretty much a challenging task for the task force. Regarding the disappearance of Captain Price, the things weren't being connected well without any piece of proper evidence, except having a white-colored rose as their proof.

On a fateful day, it was a matter of time, Soap would put his eyes over the vigilant one time, and try to catch them up before he escapes. They did had a little fight sequence, but when things were now coming to a reveal, the mask got removed and.. it was the time when Soap realised who the one behind the mask was..

Soap looks in pure surprise, and shock filling his face. ".. Price?"

That familiar face, that Soap cannot forget at all. Price didn't say anything, and proceeded to wear the cloth back over his face, and escaped, without Soap trying to catch him back again.

A lot of questions wandered in the mind of the Scottish soldier. He couldn't believe the man he was trying to chase, was none other than his missing Captain. But.. why would he be doing all this, by being against the SAS too?

This would be remained as a mystery.. until now.

.

Haha, so that's the story of my Price AU! I think it doesn't look as strong as it's supposed to but, hope maybe you guys can also take your assumptions what could happen next! ;)

I hope you like it! <3