#I know there is no Ivan but he was a difficult one

[grandpa-kita]

Disclaimer: Stacy the camel is making this blog reach new heights and I don't even know what is happening at this point, I tried to tell her but no and I can't even use heavy drugs as an excuse because everybody knows she only eats Jellos

Neoborg bladers as top models

Yuriy Ivanov as Irina Shayk, effortless elegant and sensual, women and men would pay to be literally spanked by him

Boris Kuznetsov as Sasha Luss, could kill you within a second while you are still distracted by the colour of his hair

Sergey Rybakov as Natalia Vodianova, blonde hair and simple natural beauty, doesn't need embellishments

Kai Hiwatari as Kate Moss, the only non Russian model of this series for someone who is not Russian either but shares with her the same iconic wild attitude

[shakingparadigm]

Hiiii!!! I’m relatively new to ALNST (as in I watched it all in one go in one night and cried) and I was wondering if you have any opinions or information about this,

What do you think about Till and Sua’s relationship? Do you think they’d share anything in common? Do you think they’d like each other? I’d like to think there’s at least one thing they share in common that’s led to be on good terms.

Sorry this is a bit long, thank you!

First of all, thank you anon. I've had thoughts on this for a while! Thanks for giving me a chance to talk about it!

Till and Sua don't often interact in canon, so it's pretty easy to assume that Sua would hate Till's guts because of his crush on Mizi (especially since that art of Mizi playing with Till includes Sua looking jealous on the side, sulking in the next page).

But something to note about the characters in ALNST is that they're actually quite respectful of each other despite the crush conflict (further seen by Ivan and Mizi being very friendly despite Ivan knowing Till loves Mizi). Everyone in the garden knew Till had a crush on Mizi, the goodbye notes state that it was very obvious.

Yet despite that one instance of Sua pouting at Mizi and Till together, Sua is never shown to dislike Till. In fact, she seems to be more conflicted with Ivan instead. In the few official arts we have of them together, they seem pretty neutral.

(Sua's collar is green, showing she's comfortable/doesn't mind Till. Till's collar is orange most likely because he's a little nervous/awkward.)

In the official Anakt Kit goodbye letters, Till and Sua write messages to each other. They're short and seem more of a polite gesture than an actual goodbye between friends, but nothenless it shows that they're pretty amicable. Till writes that Sua has a nice voice and that he hopes she gets a high score in Alien Stage, while Sua tells him to take care and that she'll see him there.

I think that Sua and Till actually have the potential to be pretty good friends, strangely enough.

As for similarities, there are quite a few!

The most significant similarity I see between Till and Sua is that they're both deeply sensitive. Due to this, they've developed different defense mechanisms in order to protect their feelings.

Till is actually known to be timid, rather closed off and "cold" to others. In an early stream, he's even stated to be the most timid character of the cast. He only reveals his energetic and fiery side when he's putting his full passion into something like performing his music, when he's provoked, or whenever Mizi is involved (she makes him "strong", the creators say). Of course this standoffish and aggressive behavior is a front for his softer, more vulnerable feelings. He was heavily mistreated as a child, which led him to become distrustful of most people. This plus other factors regarding his rebellious nature and more eccentric personality result in him being a "friendless idiot". Of course, once people get to know him they'll find that Till is actually quite the sweetheart, albeit a bit awkward.

Sua is quite similar in this way. The creators describe her as soft-hearted, which is why she tears up so quickly in the IvanSua comic and the aforementioned art of Till and Mizi playing together.

Sua, just like Till, seems to be mistreated by her alien guardian. Although to a less violent extent than Guardian Urak, Sua's parent is seen to aggressively handle her without care, grabbing her by the head and shoving her forward. She's also placed in uncomfortable clothing and neglected without consideration for her own feelings. It may be due to this cold and lonely upbringing that Sua learned to hide her emotions as a coping mechanism.

It's been said that getting to know more about Sua is very difficult, as she's closed off and only ever opens up to Mizi. She seems cold on the surface, but the truth is she is hiding her sensitivity so that she won't get hurt. Sua is also very timid in nature, seen in how she only writes in the corners of people's yearbook pages with small font, putting in extra effort to not take up too much space.

But just like Till, Sua has her bolder side. Occasionally she's known to say very blunt and suprising things that other people would not expect of her, and she feels very deeply for the people she cares about. Sua may be the more cool and collected half of MiziSua, but we must not forget that she was tender-hearted to the point where she could not imagine living a life without Mizi in it, thus her sacrifice.

Both Sua and Till's original colors are white, and both are the only characters in the main cast who have ear piercings/earrings. They're both prone to tears and play the role of "god" in their respective relationships.

Something I really like about the ALNST offrec/actor AU is that among all the characters, Till and Sua were chosen to be the seniors!! I found it really cute! Sua, who is the most petite and smallest of the cast + Till, who in canon is the youngest in age. These two are actually the experienced seniors of the actor AU! It's so fun to me lol

Anyways, sorry for all of this, maybe it was a bit much, haha. Till and Sua are my two favorites, and I've always seen similarities between the two of them. I think there's similarities across several of the characters in ALNST, actually, which I hope to talk about in the future!

Thank you for the ask!!

[m1ssunderstanding]

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day 18

Staring John Lennon, as that kid I should’ve been nicer to in first grade who always smelled like PB&J and was never to be seen without his pokemon cards

The dancing is really too cute. They’re just absolutely giddy. Making each other laugh AND an excuse to touch? John and Paul’s heaven. 

John saying he was too excited after yesterday to go to bed. Like a fucking kid on christmas.

Everybody is serving today. While the candy-land suit is fun, I actually just love that vivid purple so much that I think it’s better without the coat over it. Billy looks extremely suave and classy.  And those red polka-dots on Ringo. Red suits him, and I think with his very frank, masculine aspect, he looks so beautiful and bold in feminine fits. Paul and John are both just wearing what they wore yesterday. Yeah. But John is still a cutie, and Paul, well, you all know.

The advice chain about finishing a song while you’re working on. Paul → John → George

Paul honestly does a great job being supportive of George and his work. Coming over and grooving with him, then hopping on drums then guitar (right-handed, may I add). Just to give George musical atmosphere to flesh out his song and start thinking of arrangement ideas, I assume. Then letting him bounce ideas around. And the whole time being overly-enthusiastic to build George up. Look how happy George is with the love and attention. 

John helping move some equipment in. We love a man who sometimes doesn’t think he’s too good for manual labor. 

Yes, clean that homeless man’s palm sweat off your instrument. Probably smart. 

TFW you made Paul McCartney jealous of your musical abilities. 

John really knew so well when to be his little impish self and when to be hard and intimidating. Exhibit A, going from, “Can we have our microphones, oh, mister, can we please?” to “And get one for Billy too.” In a matter of seconds.

George Martin stepping in when they’re all getting panicky about the sound and they need an authority figure to reassure them in ways that someone like Glyn Johns never could. Just, perfectly cool and collected, puts everything right as they’re all shouting at him like school children who’ve just had a terrible time in PE. 

“Believe me, when I tell you.” “Oh, I do.” Oh, good. He did put it in. That’s nice. Right, and this is the moment Yoko decides to tell John her divorce has come through and pull him in for a big smooch. Honestly, it just shows how threatened she feels by Paul. Nevermind her whole, “good thing Paul isn’t a girl or he would have been a great threat,” quote. Clearly, he just is a threat regardless of sex.

And then John, “I’m freeeee.” At Paul. Honestly, the amount of things they direct specifically and aggressively at each other that should’ve just been general statements if there wasn’t some weird thing between them. It’s really something. Normally, you’d announce something like that to the whole room. But it seems John specifically wants to impress upon Paul that he and Yoko could get married right now if they wanted to. I mean, it’s a little difficult to make the point, because John and Paul almost aways seem to be talking only to each other. But through the whole discussion of Yoko’s divorce, John does not take his eyes off of Paul. 

Oh my gosh, Ivan Vaughn is here? How many emotional support boyfriends does Paul need to make up for John having Yoko? Glyn, Linda, George Martin, Dennis, Robert Fraser, and now Ivan? Fuck’s sake, Yoko, you’re a powerful woman.   

Paul’s Strawberry Fields piano. Let me be as vulnerable and broken as possible in my singing, since I can’t show you any other way that you’re killing me. Do you remember this song? That you wrote when we were at the height of our partnership only two years ago? How happy we were then? How beautiful the world seemed for that one brief moment? And John can’t look at him, because, yes he fucking remembers and yes he knows he’s hurting Paul. But for whatever reason, (my theory is he wanted something more Paul couldn’t give him. What that was and whether it was ever specifically vocalized I don't have a guess) going back to that time would be more painful to John than this has been.  

So they’ve been goofing off and Paul gives this little speech to get them back on task. “Alright Chawn Love. I’ve gotta call order, John, now, valuable time, here, son. Cool down, son.” But John’s response, “Don’t let me down, babe” completely switches Paul’s gears. He now thinks it’s important enough to get in this little snatch of a *meaningful* cover, “Take these Chains from my Heart,” reversing the course of productivity he’d got them on and ignoring the fact that they were about to do a take on two-shilling-a-foot tape. My interpretation of this moment is a bit tin-hatish and long, but suffice it to say, John is not happy with the message.

Everyone convincing Paul to do another take of his song is surprising, considering everything we always hear about how Paul was a tyrant task-master who just forced everyone to keep doing his lame muzak over and over when they all clearly hated it. Mal, “You can always go back to it.” Paul, “Do you want your head kicked in?” John, “We’ll never get a chance to do it again.” Paul, “Okay, honey bunch. Let’s hit it one time, tutti-frutti.” 

Yoko watching Paul check out her boyfriend’s ass. Classic. Also the fact that she literally copied his outfit? I get so much second-hand embarrassment for her, and it’s not when she’s being a weirdo and a statement-maker. It’s the having to physically stick the gum you were offering your boyfriend into this hand because he won’t take his eyes off his boyfriend for two seconds to look at you. 

Everyone laughing at Perfect Paul being out of tune is so funny to me. Like when the nerd finally gets a question wrong and the whole class is all “ooooohhhh!”

Ringo having a grand old time on the drums. I love that he just knew that’s what he wanted to do from such a young age and he never wanted to do anything else. And why would he? He’s a genius at it.

Paul. “John’s got something at 1:30 and so have I.” Smirk emoji. Side-eye emoji. George is with me. “Yeah we've got something too. I’ll do Ringo at 1:30.” I'm dead.

This moment right here hurts me. Paul’s enjoying a nice cuddle with Ringo until he remembers the camera. You’re not going to get in trouble for having your friend’s arm around your shoulders, Paul. Why are you like this? 

[cenorii]

Drunken theory about EYES

Let's get away from game conventions and the fact that Capcom could have trivially forgotten or left something out. I wrote this theory under temperature, so there is a certain level of absurdity present, especially since I dreamed it and that was the reason for writing it. I warned you!

Until there is an official explanation, this article is up to date.

What is this theory about? It's about both Wesker's eyes and PG67A/W. It's about why his eyes change color and what it depends on.

So, let's talk about PG67A/W first. It is not officially known when exactly this serum was created, but I believe it is definitely after 2003. That's when Wesker merged with Tricell, because the syringe has their brand label on it. He needs PG67A/W to «stabilize the force». But what is this «stabilization» really? We don't really know what happens to Wesker without the serum. The game says that he loses strength without it and so he needs the serum to stabilize his body, but I have a different opinion, which I'll tell you in a moment.

Between 1998 and 2003, Wesker is unable to use PG67A/W because it has not yet been invented. However, the powers he gained from the virus have not left him during these 5 years, he is far beyond a normal human. While fighting Sergei and his Ivans in 2003 (Umbrella Chronicles) he displayed his standard set of abilities. The only thing he lacked was speed, the same speed in re5.

We conclude that he only needs PG67A/W to have speed. It was speed and reaction that he «lost» when Chris and Sheva injected him with an overdose of PG67A/W in re5. However, the strength remained the same, thanks to it, he punched the rocket with Uroboros with his arm.

In fact, if you give him an extra dose of PG67A/W, he doesn't lose any of his abilities, including his speed. Wesker's body is only overloaded, which causes a severe headache as his body tries to cope with the strain. His powers then increase even more, causing them to become difficult to control. When Chris injected him with an extra dose again, his strength became not just difficult, but impossible to control, and he gave up speed altogether, because it was trivially useless.

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

Now that we've dealt with how the serum works, let's talk about the abnormality of his eyes. Wesker's eye color is closely related to his ability status. I'll go into detail in a moment.

To make it easier to understand what I'm talking about, we need to trace the entire history of the change. In the fandom, it is commonly believed that his eyes were originally blue, and after the virus injection, they became permanently red-orange. But what if I told you that they change color all the time?

Re1 it's simple - blue. This is the very beginning of the story, so this color is taken as the standard color.

Then the Umbrella Chronicles plot happens, where his eyes changed color for the first time (in the timeline of the story).

The red glow is something similar to re5, however it momentarily goes out, returning his eyes to a blue color, but why? It's really unclear why they're still blue here if the game was released in 2007, long after Code Veronica (2000), in which his eyes were redesigned long ago.

Is the old color persisting not because of Capcoms inattention, but because of canonical processes in his body? The eyes can't instantly change their appearance and need time to fully mutate? We'll come back to that.

Ibid, in Umbrella Chronicles, his eyes are no longer blue in the official material.

Wesker then appears in Code Veronica and there his eyes have the familiar orange look for the first time (according to the games release chronology), like on official Umbrella Chronicles materials.

Given that the events here take place in 1998, like re1, one can really assume that Wesker needed some time to mutate fully.

In 2002, Wesker appears in Operation Javier (Darkside Chronicles, 2009), his eyes blue again.

In 2003, one of the storylines of Umbrella Chronicles and Prelude to the Fall, his eyes came back to design from Code Veronica.

In 2005, when re4 released his eyes are blue again. I could say that this was allowed by accident, when Wesker's model, from the re1 remake, Capcom simply forgot to change the eye color. But that theory is ruined by one small fact... the remake.

In the re4 remake, his eyes aren't orange either (actually they are orange, but human).

They're not blue, of course, but different from Code Veronica, suggesting that his eyes probably do lose their inhuman appearance over time, slowly turning into normal eyes. In Code Veronica, they're orange because Wesker is at the peak of his powers, but over time he weakens, his eyes change, and he needs PG67A/W to get things back to the way they were, only with bonuses like reaction and speed.

And by the way, in the concepts for re5 there's a shot where Wesker's eyes regain their blue color. If even at the stage of game development Capcom thought about this feature, when the developers already had several games where his eye color varied, then it can be considered a canonical feature. We take into account not only this concept, which was not included in the game, but also the eye from the remake of re4, which does not look like Code Veronica or re5 at all.

In standard form, after taking PG67A/W and\or at the peak of his powers, Wesker's eyes look like this. Essentially identical to Code Veronica, it just looks better due to the graphics.

My conclusion: the color of his eyes directly shows the state of strength. Weakened body - first the pupil changes, becoming round again, and then the color already changes, gradually «dimming» in approaching the original (blue) color. After taking the serum - red or orange color with a narrow pupil. The blue color could mean complete weakness, but judging by re4r, he doesn't drive himself to that extreme state, so it's unlikely Capcom will ever show such a thing again. The only time his mutated eyes have been blue canonically is Umbrella Chronicles, but there it's due (presumably) to the mutation not being completed yet, and also in Darkside Chronicles.

Yes, I actually had a dream that I was writing this theory, but I had to do some brainstorming to turn it into something readable, as well as gather material. Don't take it too seriously.

[dokk-fukuro]

may i req “your relationship” w fyodor?

۞₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪۞     A/N: f!reader, smut(?), some sort of toxic relationship, slight yandere, Fedya is an abbreviation of the name Fyodor  ۞₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪۞ Dostoevsky as your friend:

• Your relationship is very hard to call friendly, because he does not see anything remarkable in the relationship between people;

• At such moments, Gogol acts as his personal translator. But we all know that you can't take anything he says seriously. Can't it?..

• Fedya treats you as a tool that should play a role in his plan, and then disappear, because it is customary to get rid of unnecessary things;

• However, it cannot be denied that in some way Dostoevsky treats you a little better than the same Ivan he got rid of, Gogol or Sigma. He saw something in you;

• You rarely communicate in person, as his reluctance to be declassified and caught outweighs his desire for a face-to-face meeting. Plus, the role played by excessive caution and safety. To do this, you have a private secret communication channel;

• Even towards you as a friend, he can be abusive, covering it up with concern for you as a friend;

• In fact, Fedya simply does not know about the nature of human emotions and relationships, it is difficult for him to trace the logic and meaning in this, therefore, when you tell him that you are friends and for this very reason you help him, you can sometimes catch a slight bewilderment in his gaze;

۞₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪۞    

Dostoevsky as your boyfriend:

• Feelings are not about him. He doesn't know how to love, at least he doesn't know how to do it right, as is accepted by society. His “love” is more like an obsessive desire to have you;

• He is still cold towards you both in public and in private meetings. It is not clear why Fyodor behaves this way towards you, but who, if not you, knows for sure that this is another of his manipulations;

• Dostoevsky is a manipulative and jealous person, although he denies the latter even for himself. Feelings should not be something that will be "at the helm". He wants to believe it. Just pay attention to the way he looks at you during your talks with Gogol or Sigma. Dostoevsky is ready to tear and throw about in fact, even if outwardly he seems calm;

• You are the one who drags him to bed so he can sleep. Behind his great plans and constant monitoring of the processes, Fedya may not notice how he spent more than two days without sleep. He also suffers from occasional nightmares;

• His kisses are greedy. From the outside it may seem that he is trying to work his way under your skin in order to be closer, to be one with you literally;

You watch what's going on outside. You don't know how many days you haven't seen the sunlight, but for some reason you don't mind at all. Where you and Fyodor are, it's pretty quiet. There is no city bustle around, which is already tired. His icy palms move upwards along your body as Fyodor kisses the curve of your neck with his lips, leaving new marks on top of those that have almost faded away. He doesn't like the way Gogol behaves towards you. Always so rowdy, eager to impress. Even allowed you to attend the execution of the rest of the Rats of the House of the Dead fighters. Like he's declaring he'll kill anyone for you. That is why you will never see him again. “Would you like to take your eyes off the view outside the window and look at me?” It comes near your ear, and your breath catches as soon as Fyodor grabs your chest. His other hand is stroking the inside of your thigh, which is more than enough to stop focusing on anything but touch.

• Sometimes he plays the cello for you. Secretly from you keeps some compositions that he wrote himself, looking at you;

• Told you the reason why he wants to destroy the espers and create a new world without them, because he has chosen you as the god of this world. And after that story, you understand that Dostoevsky is actually terribly lonely.

[ddarker-dreams]

Lock, what DO you love and like so much about Dostoevsky's work? I don't think you've ever talked about that. Please, I want to know !!!

^o^

(christianity mention jump scare below proceed with caution)

i thought this would be an easy to answer but figuring out how to put my feelings into words proved difficult .

the beginning is always a good place to start, so let's go with that. by chance, i happened upon this video on youtube and gave it a watch. about halfway in i decided i had to read notes from underground for myself. i struggled to understand what the narrator was trying to get across. the unique writing style, where the reader is addressed directly, as if in challenge, helped me preserve.

i think part of what makes his work special to me is his depiction of people. and they really do feel like people more than characters, even if some of their characteristics are unique to the era dostoevsky wrote in. everything else about them transcends time. i can see myself in some of them. whether it be the titular idiot, prince myshkin in his naivety; alyosha, who goes from devout to doubting; and ivan, whose bitterness toward religion masks his disappointment at the state of the world. 

that's why the brothers karamazov touched me in particular. for some context, i grew up in a christian household and was heavily involved in the church (american northeast white baptist strand of church). around when i was 11 or so, the introduction of left-wing politics through social media had me undergo a looooong identity crisis. these new ideas felt at odds with what i'd spent my entire life believing. what i grappled with the most relates to ivan's anecdote, the grand inquisitor, where the goodness of god is called into question. the bitterness, the disappointment from crushed expectations, all those sensations resonated strongly with me. reading it as an adult who (supposedly) 'healed' from that time period in my life was like opening pandora's box. i'd never seen my thoughts and struggles so accurately described, or treated with more than a 'his ways are higher than our ways' type platitude. i stuffed these concerns of mine away because they only ever served to make me feel worse.

i won't delve deep into the Depressing Lore. the only reason i mention it is to stress how profound an impact the work had on me. throughout the remainder of TBK (and in most of dostoevsky's discography), the best and worst of humanity is shown. our hypocritical nature, capacity for evil; nothing is shied away from or made more palatable. and yet, throughout it all, our potential for good is shown too. whether it be in the little acts or monumental self-sacrifice. sometimes those acts are honored, or ‘worth it,’ sometimes they aren’t. it’s cheesy but whatever i’ll say it — choosing to love and serve others is my greatest joy. i don’t really need a definitive answer to those problems i struggled with. that’s the takeaway i’ve had from his work. it might not seem like a big deal, but not feeling guilty for having certain doubts or anxious over those doubts never fully being resolved was. very significant for me. and healing (for real this time). 

so that’s the sentimental perspective GJSDLKFJS from my writer’s perspective, i can only describe him as brilliant. his grasp on the human psyche is incredible. he can accurately describe so many emotions, worldviews, and give the context necessary for each one to feel organic and real. it’s vivid, too, in a way i can’t properly get across. everyone’s unfiltered and messy. characters contradict themselves in the same sentence. they’ll murmur, go off on tangents, tell stories, misquote the bible (or many other significant works), and just be overall disasters. aka how people actually are. 

the man’s also funny as hell. the protagonist from crime and punishment has a mental breakdown spanning multiple pages over a sock. yes, there’s context, but that’s still the gist of things. then there’s the issue of the hedgehog in the idiot. hedgehog drama. 

ultimately, his work is so very human. there’s commentary on issues that are prevalent to this day, multiple centuries later. the topics he touches on tend to align with what i care about most. whether i agree or disagree with what i’m reading, there’s always something i glean from it. something meaningful that sits with me long after i close the book. i’ll mull over it and bother people in my vicinity until they mull over it too. no one is safe. whether it be a co-worker or my dad who drives noticeably faster to reach our destination and be free of my many questions.

i could keep going but this ended up being long enough GJSKDF i hope at least something here makes sense?>?? i apologize for the incoherent ramblings. it's what the dude does to me.

[mc-lukanette]

Ladybug just barely managed to squeeze through the window of the Liberty without being seen, her groan overtaking the sound of her detransformation. Finding places to hide as Marinette was simple when she could so easily slip out of a group, but when Ladybug got so much attention from everyone, it was nearly impossible to get back to where she was before. As it was, she'd had to use her aqua powers to hide in the water until she was sure it was safe to leap into the Liberty.

Maybe I should start carrying the mouse, she thought, slapping her cheeks to try and snap herself back into focus. Her mind whirled as she tried to remember what her excuse had been so she could follow up on it.

She was pretty sure it’d been snacks; she’d told everyone that she was heading downstairs to get snacks and drinks for them.

Heading over to the door leading to the deck, she opened it back up and hurried to grab some trays to put snacks on. Fumbling to gather things to make up for the time she was away, she tried not to get distracted by the conversation she could faintly hear up on deck.

"Haven't you wanted to change your look? It's been months now," came Mylene's voice. "Those costumes are starting to get old. I don't know about everyone else's, but Ivan's is starting to get beat up."

Marinette froze. Even without hearing the specific words, she knew they were talking about Kitty Section's costumes.

"We could ask Marinette to fix them up?" Rose suggested.

Alya dismissed the idea. "She's been busy all week! There's no way."

She wasn't wrong. Marinette tensed, already thinking about what'd just happened. She was living three lives - Marinette, Ladybug, and now the guardian - so it was only logical that she couldn't keep up.

"Oh," Zoe piped up. "If it's the costumes, I could find someone who's worked with real bands before on costumes? You could get a designer who could make something that'd last for a long time."

"Really? That's right, you even know the mayor!"

"That'd be awesome!"

"As long as you don't let Chloe hear, okay?"

Marinette fidgeted with the tray, hating the fact that a familiar jealousy was stirring in her chest. She and Zoe were friends, with Marinette being the one who vouched for her in the first place, so she had no one to blame but herself. Zoe was a great person: she was friendly, not awkward, and was even building a better relationship with the mayor of Paris. Anyone would want her company and Marinette couldn't compete with that.

It was inevitable that the costumes could get worn or damaged too, even by accident. She breathed up, steeling herself for the topic as she took the trays of snacks and started heading up to the deck.

Then, she heard Luka chime in, "They're Marinette's designs. We worked on them together and those two weeks are a verse I never want to forget."

"You don't have to throw the costumes away or anything," Alix interjected, confused by the emotional weight behind the words. "You'll just have new designs."

He paused, then directed his voice elsewhere as he asked, "What do you guys think?"

Some hums sounded amongst the rest of Kitty Section, Rose speaking up first to say, "New designs just mean we have more designs, right?"

Ivan added on, unsure, "I thought it was cool of Marinette to make these for us. It's kinda hard finding stuff that fits me."

"Mm," Juleka hummed noncommittally. "I like the worn look..."

"I guess it would be up to the band," Mylene pointed out. "Maybe we could vote yay or nay?"

"We're not getting anywhere like this," Alya countered. "All I'm saying is that it'll just put pressure on—"

By that point, Marinette had already stepped into view with the trays. She'd taken time and focus so as to not topple anything by accident, but was still wholly aware of the conversations. All eyes darted to her and it was difficult to tell who felt awkward and who was simply waiting for her to speak.

Keeping her expression as flat as possible, she went over to the nearest table and set the trays down. Standing straight to face everyone, she told them, "It's like Alya said: I'm busy. I'm not reliable enough to make repairs or new ones either, so..." She shrugged as casually as she could. "Those designs were made on a time crunch anyway, and I want you guys to have the best."

"See?" Alya gestured at Marinette whilst looking at Luka. "She thinks so too."

Having just been Ladybug a few minutes ago, Marinette had already had more than enough attention for the day. Preferring not to involve herself further, she turned on her heel and started heading back below deck, leaving Zoe free to use her connections without guilt of her watching.

"Marine—" Luka called behind her, but stopped short. She heard his footsteps follow after hers, but didn't discourage him and continued walking.

As she re-entered the lounge room, she went straight for the couch; not around, but straight ahead for the backrest. Putting her hands on top, she hefted herself over and plopped down onto the cushions, allowing her to lay back and stare up at the ceiling. A click of the door followed and Luka's face soon hovered over her from above the backrest.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Why? You were trying to defend me."

He put his forearms up on the couch, allowing him to lean forward more. "You're part of the band too, to me. I shouldn't've said anything without you there."

"You don't believe me." It wasn't a question.

"I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something deeper to it."

As deep as a bottomless pit, Marinette lamented, wanting to scream but not having the voice to. Instead, she waved her arms about and continued to insist, "Look, I really am busier than when I made you those outfits! That's why we we couldn't date!"

His eyes widened at that, and it took her a moment to realize why: she hadn't specified that part when they'd broken up. She'd been tired, emotionally drained, and not thinking particularly clearly at the time, so the actual reasoning had been left out.

"When you're ready, I'll be here, Marinette," was what he'd said then, but the actual timeline after the fact was a little fuzzy for some reason. She guessed it was also related to her exhaustion.

She sat up to be closer to him, talking again before she could think further on it, "I'd feel awful if Kitty Section had to keep holding itself back because I don't have the energy for it, okay? You guys need new costumes and Zoe is the best for the job, so don't do this for me—"

"Zoe?" Luka's brows drew together in puzzlement.

"...Yes?" She tilted her head, equally confused by his response. "She's the one who offered. She has connections that I don't."

He shook his head. "That's not it. She's not the best for the job, she's just finding someone else to do it."

Marinette stopped halfway to a reply, having been caught in her mindset. Either he was that observant or she was extremely transparent about it. She planted her soles on the floor, turning so that her back faced him.

Luka walked around the couch to sit next to her, keeping a careful distance but being close enough for them to talk comfortably with each other. "Zoe can't do what you do, Marinette." Then, thoughtful, he assured, "But we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Except that was just the thing. She wanted to - always wanted to - yet there were never-ending obstacles to that. Everything she said had to be carefully calculated or she'd run the risk of causing everyone more trouble, but sometimes the choice would just be taken from her anyway if she waited too long. It was a tightrope walk of balancing words she should say with words that she shouldn't.

And she wanted off.

"I—" She grit her teeth, hands gripping the fabric of her capris. "It's not... it's not about what she can do. It's about what she doesn't have to. She doesn't have to worry about a packed schedule, or dealing with responsibilities she didn't ask for, or making time to do something for a friend because she can find someone else to do it."

Luka let out a hum of acknowledgment. She saw his hand reach over out of the corner of her eye, hovering silently over her hand closest to him. When she didn't pull back or express displeasure, his hand dropped onto hers and squeezed.

"There's nothing wrong with being jealous," he told her.

Stiffening, she pulled away from him on the couch and stood back up, arguing, "But there is! Zoe hasn't done anything wrong and I'm not allowed to want you after what happened, especially not when she's just a better me!"

"...What?"

She groaned, messing up her own bangs just so she could fix them again. "A better me. She was bullied too, but she's not—she's not like me. No one teases her or makes fun of her for what she does, but I'm such a disaster with everything that—"

"You want me?" he clarified.

Marinette met his gaze, having thought that was obvious from having told him why she'd had to break up with him. "Yeah? Who wouldn't?" Paying no mind to the blush that appeared on his face, she continued to throw her arms out and vent, "But I don't make people happy! I don't fit! Zoe doesn't get upset like I do, she doesn't have to run off all the time, and she doesn't make people argue over costumes since she's not the one who makes them anyway!"

She couldn't even look at Luka anymore, too ashamed to face him directly. She couldn't recall how she'd made the connection between her own issues and Zoe's, but finding out that she was jealous was another matter. It took time to properly recognize the feeling, but only because her initial experiences with jealousy were different.

Specifically, with Adrien. Whenever it came to seeing other girls around him, she'd wanted to interfere, to stop it at all costs. The exception had been Kagami at times, but due to a mixture of guilt and a desire not to lose her friendship with someone who'd openly told her (openly told Ladybug) that she prioritized pursuing Adrien over said friendship.

With Luka though, she'd never felt any rivalry or animosity towards anyone she deemed a "better fit" for him, and she never thought to act out on it. While Zoe had never made attempts to go after Luka herself, Marinette imagined it was only a matter of time if Zoe was indeed a better her, and she'd find it hard to complain if it ended up working out.

The difference in her states of jealousy was obvious: one was an obsession - "eyes on the prize," so to speak - while the other was a genuine love and desire to see the person she loved be happy. It hurt thinking about how it would all end regardless, but she was prepared to face it.

"...Marinette," Luka began slowly, still piecing his words together. He inhaled, exhaled, then finally said, "You can't decide that."

She faltered, scared to look at him directly in case she had an unpleasant expression on, but too confused not to do something. She turned her head just enough to peek at him through her bangs.

He continued without her asking directly, "No one makes me happy the way you do. Not Zoe, not anyone. You can't decide who fits me best just like everyone else can't decide what to do about the costumes without hearing you out first."

"But..." She shook her head despondently. "It was a nightmare dating me? I don't want you to want me if it'll just lead to that."

"What if you're the musician?"

That got her to look at him, in sheer befuddlement if nothing else. She'd registered the oncoming metaphor, but still failed to follow it to its conclusion. "What do you mean?"

"What if you're the musician, and I'm the guitar you had to stop playing because the music didn't sound right?" He put his hands in place to act as if there was a guitar in his lap. "Then you see a newer, fancier guitar that comes with all sorts of accessories, and everyone thinks you'd look great with it."

She gaped, horrified by the thought. "I-I wouldn't want that!" She sat down next to him again, huffing. "Just because it's new and fancy doesn't mean it'd work for me, and I already have memories with the guitar I have now! Maybe the music didn't work but—"

Something clicked. Luka must've seen it in her expression too, his frown making way for a smile instead.

"...There's nothing wrong with the instrument," she finished quietly.

He nodded. "Yeah. It was bad timing. Even the best musicians can get the timing wrong when it matters."

Sliding closer to her as she'd done earlier to him, he gripped her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug. Marinette gasped sharply, suddenly surrounded by warmth when she'd felt so cold before. It really was as if he'd never let her go so long as she didn't move.

Whispering so as to not break the moment, Luka questioned, "Do you know what it was about my dad?"

She gripped onto whatever fabric was nearest to her, uttering a soft, "M-mm?" in response.

"I know he left, and it hurt me, but he came back in the end. He wanted to make it up to me. He could've decided that I wasn't worth it, or that he still wasn't interested in being around me, but he didn't." He rubbed her back, seeking to soothe her. "I believe in second chances, and if someone wants to ask me for one, then it's my choice to let them back in. I'm choosing you, Marinette."

She blinked rapidly, feeling potential tears coming on. While reluctant to pull apart from him, she broke the hug momentarily to see his face again. The temptation to jump on the offer was strong, but she admitted, "I...I don't know how to convince myself that it's okay."

"I can show you," he offered. "We'll take it at whatever pace you want, and I'll show you that it's okay."

Her eyes give him the answer before her mouth did, her body stunned still by the gesture. She'd really thought that she'd lost him for good and that there wasn't any hope left, but he stuck with her anyway.

She wanted to kiss him in gratitude, but it didn't happen right away. The close contact made it easy for her to let her hands wander, fingertips trailing across the bare skin of his forearms. Luka accepted all of it, reciprocating by touching her face and feeling along her cheekbones as if he hadn't already memorized every centimeter of them.

They were the kinds of touches that she'd - that they'd - wanted since they got together in the first place, but never did. They're gentle yet eager, tentative yet meaningful.

The kiss followed afterward, somewhat clumsy when their noses bumped, but they weren't deterred from continuing. They held each other, relishing in the contact they hadn't gotten to have the first time they'd attempted it at the cinema. Even the soft 'click' as they pulled apart became ingrained in Marinette's memory as something special.

Luka touched his lips with his fingertips, feeling along the surface, but stopped to point out, "You've been worrying about me this whole time."

"H-hm?" She also had to stop herself from touching her lips to reply.

"What about you?" he prompted, staring at her directly. "How do you feel?"

Her lips quivered, but she was smiling. Knowing that he knew the answer already, she threw her arms around him to return his hug from earlier.

She felt happy. She felt like she could safely talk to him about things without fear or repercussions. She felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders, even if it was only for a moment.

Most importantly, she felt loved.

[hetalia-angel]

Hey, I love your work! May I please request some headcanons with yandere! England, France, Italy, Russia, Romano, and Spain with a super cuddly s/o? (I'm sorry if this has already been requested.)

Yandere headcanons with a cuddly s/o

England

England is a strict worrying yandere. He’s one of the more intense yanderes to live with. But with a s/o that’ll willing cuddle with him constantly his darling’s leash will become a lot longer.

Arthur sees cuddling with his s/o as a bonding activity. The more cuddling and skin to skin contact the better. He views the cuddling as sign of her trust and reliance on him.

Arthur has a bad habit of infantilizing his s/o. He’s still bitter about losing his precious colonies. He’ll be tucking in his s/o and cuddling her close every night and cutting out time of his day to read with her on his lap.

France

France is a delusional yandere. He truly believes that his darling loves him but is still in denial. So when his darling starts cuddling up with Francis immediately believes that his suspicions have been confirmed. And that she’s totally okay with being kidnapped by him.

Francis is the most romantic yandere ever and he loves to spend long hours on the hill tops with his darling in his arms. This cuddling will no doubt gain his trust. So if you’re his darling expect to go on picnics a few times a week at least and spend all of it in his arms.

Russia

Russia sees his darling’s affection as her accepting her new place as his s/o. Ivan loves cuddling and physical touch more than anyone else. So he’ll be clinging to his darling 24/7. Ivan will be hugging her in the kitchen, bathroom, and everywhere else.

Sleeping next to the Ivan in the same bed is difficult to say the least. He’s a big guy that takes up a lot of space. But he’s insistent on cuddling his darling all night long. His darling might be cuddly but she’s got to feel smothered by the Russian giant.

Romano

Lovino is like a cat in terms of his personality. His darling will cling onto him for hours at a time and he’ll do nothing but complain and tell her that she’s being annoying. But the second she lets go Lovino will be glaring and freaking out as to why she stopped holding onto him.

Lovino will always tease his darling for clinging onto him. He secretly loves it and his darling knows too. Lovino will never admit to loving her embrace.

Italy

Feliciano will no doubt match the energy of a cuddly darling. He’ll be cuddling up with her at every chance he gets. Feli will be so ecstatic every time his s/o hugs him every time.

Feliciano like Ivan is a bedtime cuddler. He might as well get a smaller bed since he doesn’t need that much space. Feliciano just cramps next to his darling is a small space anyways.

Spain

Antonio is also like a cat but in the exact opposite way of Romano. He’s calm and sleepy constantly. He’ll relax with his darling in his arms. Iron grip

Antonio will always humor his darling’s attempts of cuddling and hugging him. While he’s cooking for the two of them he’ll often be snuggly wrapped around her waist keeping her as close as possible to him.

[goldtracing]

APH Russia – Headcanons I

I would like to point out that I originally wrote this before 24.02.2022 and didn’t publish this until now due to current event. Now I have decided just to go ahead these are low-budget anime characters that I’m talking about and f anybody who links this to ongoing geopolitical events

Is surprisingly proficient in German and French. Both were court languages of his at the one or the other point in history, his German also being spread amongst the wider populace and influencing Russian. Speaks both languages with a bit of an accent, yet if he puts enough effort in it, his accent can be nearly untraceable.

As for other languages – he is also fluent in Tatar and Mongolian, although in the later he is far better with speaking and listening than writing. This is also the case with all the other languages spoken in his territory. This is due to his past under the khans. As for English and Chinese – with both he tends to be on the very formal side, with his speech precise and usually devoid of slang and abbreviations. It is because he learned much of those two languages from literature or also scientific reports.

When it comes to Russian he can be very eloquent, having a preference for puns and other plays of words. Can and will criticise others for their grammar, although if he is public and in a formal setting, he would be more tactful and quiet about remarking it.

Has a penchant for literature and opera and plays. Visits the theatre regularly and knows all the ballets by heart. Personally keeps a small notebook where he critiques and rates books and performances. Sometimes he sends them in to a newspaper or an online site.

Writes poety in his free time and sends some of them to his sisters or humans that are close to him at the time. Can also recite all of Pushkin’s poems in his sleep.

Aside from that, he has a love for fairy tales. Not the sanitised, censored versions that Disney and the Grimm brother’s have made so popular, rather the cautionary tales as they were actually intended, The brutal versions where people suffer and suffer and suffer.

Else has written multiple essays and the human condition, often taking characters for classics to elaborate on his points. These are texts that near nobody has seen. Ivan has split them up and hidden them on his various properties.  

Has taken formal dance lessons in ballet and the classics. Loves to dance at balls and is surprisingly elegant while doing so for somebody his size. However, he really shies away from dancing tango, salsa and other dances where both partners get really close and even handsy with each other. If at all, he would have to be really close to his dance partner to even contemplate to doing the Latin American dances.

Other than that, he is also good when it comes to folk dances and possess enough stamina to dance dances such as the Barynya for hours. Has the appropriate leg muscles and flexibility.

Surprisingly, (or not) his dancing skills translate into his fighting style. Can go on for hours without taking any enhancements or sleeping, all while remaining smooth and precise in his movements, like they been choreographed and practised time and time again. He can make difficult movement seem easy.

For centuries he favoured combat with a sword. One of his favourite ones was a curved sabre – a kilij – that he stole as a war trophy from Turkey when the latter was the Ottoman empire. Later, he evolved to be a crack shot with the pistole – he got caught up in a lot of duels when they came into fashion. During the WWII, he was part of a tank crew. Due to the tight space of the T-34, he often suffered sore joints and cramps in his muscles. Also developed an especially thick skull during this time, both literally and metaphorically.

Ivan has participated in the making of multiple movies as an advisor. He makes sure that historical films are historically accurate. Seeing that Russia is big on war movies, Ivan has a lot to do.

Additionally, he is quite a patron for the arts. He has multiple oil paintings in his old mansion. Personally, he paints either an impressionist art style or in the vividly coloured art styles that are native to Russia, such as Gzhel, Khokhloma and Zhostovo.

Adding on to that – there is nothing in his homes that is really plain. He has a sense for the aesthetically pleasing and even opulence. The woodwork is carved and whittled, the ceramic adorn with paintings and the metal work ornate. His living surroundings might have been a bit plainer during Soviet times, however I think he would have pulled a few strings that would have allowed him to keep his old possessions.

[marvelmusing]

In Another Life

Part Nine

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova x Alternate Universe!Reader

Summary: After a dramatic arrival into West Ravka, your group travels to Os Kervo, and you recruit a pirate privateer to join you in the search for the sea whip.

Warnings: canon level violence.

My Masterlist • Series Masterlist • Next Part

With the passengers on the skiff still reeling from Aleksander’s manipulation of the Fold, you’re provided with the opportunity to carry out the next stage in your plan.

Whilst no one is looking, Aleksander bends the shadows around you in an attempt to conceal you from vision.

Glancing down at yourself, you don’t notice any difference. Aleksander is still looking at you, and it’s only when Alina moves closer, asking him where you had gone, that you realise he had succeeded. You’re invisible.

Aleksander must still be able to see you, as his eyes still find yours whilst you’re cloaked in his shadows. Giving him a small nod, you move to the edge of the skiff.

Once Zoya brings the skiff to a stop at the docks, you slide away unnoticed by anyone but Aleksander.

It’s easy enough to weave your way through the crowd, though it’s difficult to remember that people can’t see you. There’s a few instances in which someone almost barrels right into you, as people move around frantically.

You can’t imagine how frightening it must have been, seeing the Fold rushing towards you, running away even though you know there would be no chance of you outrunning such a monstrosity.

A shiver runs through you, as you realise that Novokribirsk is still standing because of you. If the story had unfolded as it should have, this entire town would be consumed by darkness, it’s people torn apart by the volcra.

It doesn’t take you long to find General Zlatan. His brows are furrowed as he speaks with some rather unnerved looking First Army officers. From the looks of it, they seem rather reluctant to carry out whatever Zlatan wants them to do.

They stay at the edge of the docks, as Zlatan straightens himself and moves along the wooden structure towards Aleksander as he steps off the skiff.

You trail close behind Zlatan, unseen. A few dignitaries that had been on the skiff breeze by the General, followed by Ivan and Fedoyr, as well as some other passengers.

“General Kirigan.” Zlatan calls out in greeting, to which Aleksander nods with feigned politeness.

“Zlatan.”

“That was quite the entrance.”

Zlatan’s fingers are fidgeting with the grip of the sword that hangs at his side. Aleksander’s display of power has clearly shaken the First Army General.

Then he straightens, evidently seizing some courage, and grasps at his sword. Only for you to get to him first.

His sword is half unsheathed as you seize a fistful of his hair, yanking his head back as you press your knife into his side, right against the artery, like Fedoyr had showed you.

Aleksander loosens his hold on the shadows surrounding you.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.” You warn Zlatan in a low voice.

His eyes are wide and startled at the sight of you, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. You press your knife harder against his side when he attempts to struggle.

Glancing over at Aleksander, you see him nod his head, and you release Zlatan, shoving him backwards hard, where Fedoyr waits to grab him. From the grimace on Zlatan’s face, you can tell that Ivan also has a hold on his heart.

“Take him to the town’s holding cells.” Aleksander orders them.

“You have nothing on me, Kirigan.” Zlatan spits out angrily, but you can see the fear in his eyes.

“Don’t I?” Aleksander retorts calmly, raising a brow at the increasingly frantic looking Zlatan. “Your acquaintance, Arken Visser, sends his regards.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zlatan protests. “Let me go.”

His dissent soon falters as Ivan and Fedoyr drag him through the crowd, away into the town. First Army officers stand aside, though most of them are too captivated by Alina to even notice their distressed General.

A few people are kneeling, while others raise their arms in thanks to the saints. All around you, whispers of prayer and piety rise from the people. All for one person.

Sankta Alina.

»»---------------------►

Os Kervo smells of the sea.

West Ravka is smaller than East Ravka, so the journey to the country’s port city is quicker than riding from Os Alta to Kribirsk, which you’re thankful for.

The boarding house that you’ve secured for the length of your stay is in a quieter area of the city, and your room has a view of the sea. As you’re settling in, you open up your window to hear the distant sound of waves lapping at the shore, and gulls soaring above.

“I know we’re here on a mission. Not for fun.” You say lightly, as Aleksander sits writing at the desk in your room. He lifts his head, eyes narrowing faintly at your tone.

“But?”

“But, there’s a patch of beach a little further down the coast.” You fiddle with one of his pencils, twirling it between your fingers. “Alina’s never seen the True Sea.”

“This isn’t another ploy to bring myself and Alina closer together?” You shake your head, looking down a little sheepishly.

“When I was younger, there wasn’t a summer that went by without a visit to the beach and… well I miss it.”

He studies your face for a long moment, considering your words as he places his pen down and folds his hands together.

“Will tomorrow afternoon suffice?” He asks. “I have a meeting with the First Army Kaptain here in the morning, but we can leave after that.”

You look up at him, surprised.

“You don’t have to come with us.”

“You can’t go alone.”

“You could ask Ivan, or someone, to keep an eye on us.” He shakes his head.

“I will go with you.”

The next morning, Alina is positively giddy once you tell her about your trip, and she immediately ropes Mal into joining you as well.

Whilst Aleksander is meeting with the local First Army Kaptain, you make the necessary preparations for the four of you to ride down the coastline towards the patch of beach you had heard about.

When you see Aleksander approaching as you see to the horses, you immediately notice the tension in his shoulders, though that loosens once he catches sight of you through the people milling about on the street.

“How was it?” You ask in a low voice, and Aleksander dips his head down as he takes his horse’s reins from your hands.

“Later.” He assures you in a murmur. “We should enjoy the afternoon.”

The two of you look up at the sky, a cool layer of cloud shielding you from the sun.

“Hopefully it won’t rain.”

“I don’t believe it will.”

Aleksander is usually right about the weather, and you wonder if it’s a benefit of his immortality. He’s seen the sky before every storm over hundreds of years, if anyone can read the weather it would be him.

You take one of the less known roads out of Os Kervo, meaning that the ride down to the remote stretch of sandy shoreline is rather peaceful. The chilly breeze stings your cheeks, and you breathe in the fresh salty air with a content smile.

Alina is ecstatic to see the True Sea so close, and she’s the first person to dismount once your horses begin to tread over the sand.

“Come on.” Alina urges you with an eager smile, tugging on your wrist.

As you turn to dismount, you catch Aleksander’s gaze as he scours the surrounding area with a small frown. He gives you a reassuring nod, and you instantly know that it’s safe for you to let your guard down.

With a grin, you slide down from your horse, giving Alina a light shove before you take off running, calling out a delighted,

“Race you.”

She sprints after you, followed by Mal. He ends up reaching the sea first, and you roll your eyes at his triumphant grin, while Alina splashes him in response.

The three of you run, and chase each other, laughing and shrieking like children as you wade through the cold sea. It isn’t long before you’re shivering, but your enjoyment keeps you warm enough to continue.

Once you’ve exerted yourself, you return to Aleksander’s side, and the two of you walk along the length of the beach as Alina and Mal continue to run through the freezing water.

When you shiver, Aleksander unclasps his cloak and settles it around your shoulders. A grateful smile tugs on your lips as the soft fur brushes over your cheeks. As subtly as you can, you dip your face down to inhale Aleksander’s scent as it lingers on the fabric, and a warm feeling floods through your body.

You watch where you’re stepping as you walk, eyes scouring over each pebble and shattered sea shell that has been washed up to shore. A sudden sense of nostalgia seizes you.

“When I was small, I used to hunt along the sand for pieces of treasure.” You say softly.

The person from a small town in East Ravka that you’re pretending to be has never seen the True Sea, but you can share this memory with Aleksander. The only one who knows who you really are.

The corner of his mouth lifts fondly.

“Treasure?”

“Smoothened pieces of glass or broken pottery mostly.” You admit. “Though one time I found a clay milk bottle that was almost intact.”

Aleksander’s smile widens.

“I used to do something similar. When I was a boy, we were living in Novyi Zem for a few months.”

The two of you turn sharply at the sound of Alina crying out, but it’s only in protest of Mal carrying her in his arms and threatening to drop her into the water. So, Aleksander continues.

“There was an area of coastline, full of rocky crags, and I used to climb over them to search through the rock pools.”

The image of a miniature Aleksander, clambering over rocks and seaweed to peek into rock pools in search of hidden treasures has a smile growing on your face. Even with hundreds of years separating your childhoods, the two of you still have plenty of common ground.

A few times you bend down to examine a shell, or a particularly nice looking stone. Aleksander makes his own findings, turning them over with the tip of his boot until you can pick it up and admire it.

Once you’ve walked far enough, the two of you turn and head back to where you had left the horses. Aleksander has been quiet, and you know he must be thinking deeply about something. His brows are furrowed as he stares out at the sea.

“Something is bothering you.”

He looks over at you.

“The Navy is rather reluctant to assist us in our search.” Aleksander explains with a small sigh as he stares down at the sand beneath your feet. “The only ship large enough for our needs will be unavailable until summer.”

That’s too long to wait. You don’t say it aloud, because no doubt Aleksander is already thinking such a thing. Instead you say,

“I may have an idea.”

The corner of Aleksander’s mouth twitches with the hint of a smile, and amusement softens his previously dire expression.

“What is it?”

“Have you heard of a captain named Sturmhond?”

»»---------------------►

Aleksander did not like the idea of you going into Os Kervo’s roughest tavern in search of a pirate, especially alone. But you had insisted that if he, or even any of the other Grisha, came with you then you would be recognised. Hiring Sturmhond would require some subtlety.

Though you can’t help but agree with Aleksander’s sentiments, as you weave through the crowded bar, trying to find a spot to sit and observe. Especially when you feel the weight of your coin pouch leave your pocket, and you seize hold of someone’s wrist.

“I think that belongs to me.” You state as calmly as you can, keeping a tight hold of the man’s wrist.

He attempts to stare you down for a long moment, but you’re not afraid of a thief, not when you’ve faced Aleksander head on without knowing whether he would have you killed.

Then a man laughs from his nearby seat at the bar.

“Come on Bradshaw, if you’re gonna pick pockets don’t get angry when someone calls you out on it.”

The man, Bradshaw, looks between your determined expression and the fixed stare of the newcomer. Between them both, the newcomer suddenly has the majority of your attention.

He seems tall, and well built, with muddy red hair and green eyes. A familiar combination of features, that you’re certain you’ve read about. Bradshaw seemingly decides on the safest option, handing you your pouch back before he disappears into the crowd.

Sliding your money into your inside pocket this time, you nod towards the man who had come to your aid.

“Thanks.” He shrugs away your gratitude and gestures to the seat beside him.

“Have a drink with me?”

“I don’t accept drinks from strangers.” You reply smoothly.

“Well then, how about I introduce myself?” He says with a smirk lingering on his lips. “Sturmhond, at your service.”

Also known as the Second Prince Nikolai of Ravka, though you hope you won’t have to use that information to blackmail him.

“Sturmhond? The pirate?”

The corner of his smirk twitches as he feigns offence, and he corrects you,

“Privateer.” Raising your hands lightly in mock surrender, you smile.

“Do forgive me.” He grins.

“How about that drink then?”

With a nod, you accept the seat beside him, and he orders a drink for you both.

“As a matter of fact, you’re exactly the man I’ve been looking for.”

His eyes run over you in response to your words, no doubt trying to get a read on you under the guise of flirting.

“You’re not the first to tell me such a thing.”

“Are you always this cocky and self assured?” You remark with a raised brow, as the bartender places your drinks down in front of you both.

“High praise indeed. You must want something from me.”

Deciding not to waste any time, you state your demands.

“A ship and crew, to take myself and a small group along the Bone Road.”

The corner of his mouth twitches in amusement, as he traces his pointer finger down the length of his glass.

“Why do I suspect this is something to do with the appearance of the sun summoner, and a certain Second Army General?”

“And if I told you that said General was interested in hiring you?”

He leans closer to you, lowering his voice as he says,

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I’m currently wanted by the Ravkan government for piracy.” You can’t help but remark teasingly,

“I thought you were a privateer.”

There’s a spark of laughter in his eyes before he leans away from you with a shrug, taking another drink.

“Needs must, sweetheart.”

“You’ll be paid handsomely. On our return to Ravka we can part ways, no consequences on your end. I can assure you.”

“You speak for the Darkling?”

Something in you bristles at Aleksander being called the Darkling. You know it’s the most common name used for him among Ravka’s everyday people, but it still has you feeling unsettled.

Nevertheless, you nod.

“Yes. I do.”

Sturmhond leans back on his elbow.

“Rumour has it you’re searching for the sea dragon. You’re asking me to risk my time, resources, and crew for the sake of a myth.”

“A few months ago the sun summoner was a myth.” You reason, but you can see he needs more of an incentive. “No one else is up for the challenge, but you seem like a man who would enjoy doing the impossible.”

Challenge sparks in his eyes, and you know you have him now. He leans closer, remarking with a confident grin.

“I prefer the term improbable.”

»»---------------------►

marvelmusing Tag List: @dreamlandcreations @blanchedelioncourt @idaofinfinity @slytherheign @ellooo0ooo @vixenofcourse

In Another Life Tag List: @parabatai-winchester @dangerousbluebirdpoetry @jambolska-grozdova @mxacegrey @budugu @cynthianokamaria @scarlettqueen190 @aikeia @eloquentree @hufflely-puffly

Aleksander M Tag List: @nyctophiliiiiaaa @jazmin2211

BB Characters Tag List: @rachlovesactors @noortsshift

[luashinazugawa]

┄─̸─̟┈┄┄┄┄┄┄┄🇧🇷┄┄┄┄┄┄┄─̸─̟┈

My Brazilian Girl

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─̸─̟Warnings: None, just a beautiful romance💗

─̸─̟┈┄ Wow!😱 I'm so glad I wrote this, I wasn't planning on doing anything considerably big, so there will be a part 2! probably roll SMUT in the next chapter. Enjoy and I'm reading all the ideas you sent me and planning your plots, this will probably end up becoming a series.💗

Sorry if I hear mistakes, I'm not fluent but I did my best! 🇧🇷

Explaining some things you can read: Paraná is a Brazilian state, located in the south.

Bora!, it's a slang used throughout Brazil, which basically means let's go!

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It had been 2 months since you got your British citizenship, you had been in London for 2 years and arrived in the city decided to have a life outside Brazil, after all you got an exchange program to finish college in London, and you already saw yourself in an internship at a small local team in the city that was financed and supported by a few companies. As soon as your college and internship ended, you found yourself looking for a permanent job, lucky for you the coach of the football team had a contact at Tottenham, who was one of the great supporters of the team. You found yourself so grateful for that kind man, and the team of young people with a bright future ahead, all of whom would stay in your heart.

You knew that it would be difficult to get that job at Tottenham as a physiotherapist, after all you only had experience with the team of young athletes supported by them, and they would probably have more qualified people in front of you, who probably already worked in other clubs. You felt like running away from your interview that day, but luckily for you everything worked out, as the coach of the team where you trained was a good friend of your new boss in physiotherapy, whose name was George.

After that day you went through a few more conversations with some of the club's staff, to sign all the legal paperwork, and terms of employment; What has been 3 days since your interview, but lucky for you you would only work the other week, and today was already that day. You were so excited and nervous, you had little knowledge of the Tottenham players but you knew Son, Harry Cane, Emerson and Richarlison.

As soon as you arrived at your work environment, you found yourself organizing your own room to get ready for the athletes you were going to attend, and after that you changed your clothes for the uniform left to you by Tottenham in your room. Your living room was cool so you wore a black tank top and team shorts, you didn't know if you wore the full outfit so you just got the shorts and your white lab coat instead of the jacket.

You found yourself looking in the mirror for a few seconds, and then you smiled when you saw the Tottenham crest on your shorts. "I really don't know if I should wear this lab coat… what if it's too formal?" - I was soon taken out of my little conversation by the door being opened, as soon as I turned around I was face to face with 2 athletes, these being Son and Richarlison, God help me not to panic! Son had one hand around Richarlison and his arm around her neck.

"We are so sorry Doctor..." - "y/n please, what happened?" - I said worried going to them and helping Son to sit Richarlison in my chair, as soon as I sat down he touched his thigh hissing in pain.

“We were at the gym talking after training and God, we were sitting on the floor and Ivan was going to put the gym weight in the right place, but he accidentally fell and landed on Rich thigh" - He said running a hand through his hair, he was worried about Your Friend.

"We haven't found anyone else from the physical therapy team, could you take a look at him?"

"Don't worry, I'll take a look." - I nodded and knelt beside Richarlison, before touching him I looked at him "I'm going to lift your shorts a little ok? And let me know if anything hurts" - He nodded and I gently pulled her shorts up As far as I could, the area was starting to swell and turn red.

With subtle touches I felt the area with both hands, and as soon as I touched it lightly he hissed in pain "Sorry...I'll finish now, Son, can you tell me how heavy the object was?" - I get up going to the drawers and taking out a refreshing spray that would relieve the local pain, and then going to the small fridge that had ice packs.

"I think it was a 4kg...it wouldn't break a bone like that right?" - The Korean said leaving close and giving me space to kneel again beside Richarlison, and so I passed the spray.

"It doesn't hurt a lot anymore when you fall, which leaves the place swollen and painful, it's like hitting your thigh accidentally... hold the ice pack now, okay? It will help to deflate.." - I held his front and he took a while to take more accepted putting on his leg.

"I'm relieved that it's nothing serious, I'll let our colleagues know, our training starts soon, but I'll pack up his everything and take him to his apartment" - he smiled at me and then touched his friend's shoulder who stared at him. "I'll be right back, okay?" - Son said slowly to Richarlison who nodded in agreement and soon left the room.

And so I took a sheet and started making a situation report. "Doctor I...play?" - Richarlison said and I looked again, I didn't understand what he said because I was distracted "Can you repeat that?" - then he did a kick with the other leg. "Play...sabe (You know?)" - He said staring at me, and I then realized, of course, Son said slowly because Richarlison wasn't so fluent in English yet.

I let out a small laugh at my mistake, and he stared at me blankly. "Oh desculpe Richarlison, não sabia que você não era tão fluente em inglês (Oh sorry Richarlison didn't know his English wasn't fully fluent)" .

He then stared at me surprised by the sudden Portuguese "Você fala português, que impressionante, você é Brasileira(You speak Portuguese, how impressive, are you Brazilian girl?)" - Richarlison let out a relieved smile.

"Sim sou Brasileira mais vivo em Londres a 2 anos, sou do Paraná, nascida em Curitiba (Yes I'm Brazilian girl but I've been in London for 2 years, I'm from Paraná, born in Curitiba)" "Que incrível... bem vinda ao Tottenham (How amazing..welcome to Tottenham Doctor)" - He extended his hand and I approached him squeezing, both with a smile on your face.

"Me chame de Lua por favor, como esta sua dor? (Call me y/n please, how is your pain? )" - I said softly touching her wrist to withdraw her hand and then ran my fingers gently over the area.

"Suportável agora.. (Bearable now..)" - He said and then we stared at each other for a few seconds "Isso é bom.. (That's good..)" - I quickly broke the look embarrassed, but kept my composure.

"Quero que venha aqui todo dia pois presciso avalia-lo ate o inchaço sumir e faremos exercícios para ajudar na recuperação, lamento dizer mais nada de treino por 3 dias e nesse período não faça muita força ou exercícios. (I want you to come here every day because I need to evaluate you until the swelling is gone and we will do exercises to help with the recovery, I'm sorry to say no more training for 3 days and in that period don't do too much strength or exercises)".

"Esta bem y/n (It's ok y/n)" - He said my name with so much good that I could swear his smile had ulterior motives.

"Bem.. prescisa de muletas por hoje certo, não quero nenhum peso sobre sua perna (Well..need crutches for today alright, don't want any weight on your leg today)" - I walked over to the corner cupboard where there were two pairs of crutches, I picked them up going to him.

"Vamos achar Son, esta de folga Richarlison (Let's find Son, he's off today Richarlison)" - He agreed and then got up with the support of his hand on the chair and then stood on one leg, when he got up he was so close to me that his chest his collided with my breasts. We both stared at each other again and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, God this room was cool but why is it so hot right now.

His gaze was so serious but at the same time so calm about me. "B-bem deixe-me..ajudar (W-well let me..help)" I said and pulled away a bit putting the crutches under each of his arms.

"Sim... e obrigada y/n (Yes..thank you y/n)" - he said softly "É..so meu trabalho (It's..just my job)" - Said silly and soon the door was opened, we both looked and saw that it was Son.

"I took his things Doctor, bora? (Let's go?)" Son said with a smile to his friend and I couldn't help but laugh hearing him say bora.

"Bora! Bye y/n vejo você amanhã (Let's go! Bye y/n see you tomorrow)" - Richarlison said with a smile to me and I waved to both boys saying goodbye.

As soon as they left I fell to my knees on the floor with my face in my hands.

"Oh God... what a hot man... "

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Leave a comment to know what you think!

[rebouks]

Previous | Next

Transcript:

Ivan: C’mon Dourpuss, it’s just you n’ me now-… Bruno: I don’t want to talk about it. Ivan: Pfft.. it’s non-negotiable, same as you being a good person.

Bruno: Tch. Ivan: I ain’t lettin’ you beat yourself up about the past forever n’ ever. Bruno: [sighs] There’s so much that I regret though.

Ivan: Listen.. y’care about those closest to ya, y’good with kids n’ animals, y’help people who’re goin’ through what you’ve been through, even though y’not much of a people person-.. y’care about me, more than anyone else ever has. Bruno: None of that cancels out the things I’ve done.

Ivan: I ain’t sayin’ it cancels anythin’ out, shit ain’t as black n’ white as that.. y’know? No singular choice makes someone bad; it’s everythin’ mashed together, right? My Pa was a good example; complete asshole, couldn’t raise a kid for shit-.. but he wasn’t all bad, he just got lost n’ never found his way again. That’s why I still loved him, took care of him n’ stuff.

Ivan: [sighs] Would y’rather turn yourself in, risk goin’ back t’prison? Bruno: No, but it’d be nice to get it all off my chest-.. like you said. Ivan: So, do it…

Bruno: I hate how easy it was. Ivan: Yeah? Bruno: Like in a film? The good guy stands there; hands shaking, agonising over pulling the trigger-.. but I just fucking did it.

Ivan: Why? Bruno: One was an accident, but the other-.. I knew who he was, what he was like; he was an abusive rapis-… Ivan: Okay, so the world’s better off without him.

Bruno: Nothing gives us the right to take away someone’s life like that. Ivan: Leah killed Arturo, was she a bad person? Bruno: [pauses] No.

Ivan: What about war veterans n’ stuff? Bet they’ve killed a bunch o’ folk, some get medals for it an’ all. Bruno: How the hell is that comparable? Ivan: They’re just followin’ orders, right? Who’s t’say I wouldn’t have ended up killin’ someone if I stuck with the Navy?

Bruno: You’re making this difficult on purpose. Ivan: Yeah, ‘cause I’m challengin’ your logic. Bruno: You’re biased, it doesn’t count.

Ivan: Okay, I don’t much care for Wyatt, but I wouldn’t have judged him if he shot Arturo-.. hell, I would’a choked the shit outta him if he’d actually shot you… Maybe we’re more violent than some, but our intentions are good. Bruno: I still feel guilty about Silas…

Ivan: I know. Bruno: I should’ve made sure he got away safely. Ivan: Why didn’t you?

Bruno: [sighs] I was still mad at him; annoyed with myself for letting him walk all over me, again… So, I brushed him off n’ said staying any longer would be dangerous-.. which it was, but I was happier to spend the night with you n’ Oscar. Ivan: It was his decision not t’leave sooner, wasn’t it? I don’t want you blamin’ yourself anymore.

Bruno: [sighs defeatedly] Alright. Ivan: You’re a package deal, B; I love you and your past, okay? Bruno: [nods] I love you too…

[morningglory-sims]

No Sunshine at Rainy Day Entertainment 🌦️ (Part 1/2)

Ivan joins Owen, Nate and the rest of the team for the week, let toxic workplace politics ensue! Let's see where everyone's least favourite ex-boyfriend and golden child makes Monday the worst day of the week 😬

Previous Story Post/ Next Story Post

Transcript under the cut:

[MARCO] Hey Ivan! Thrilled to have you with us for the week!

[IVAN] Hi Marco! Happy to join you all.

[IVAN] This has been a really fun project to freelance on, so l'm looking forward to seeing it come to life.

[MARCO] That's great to hear!

[MARCO] I'm about to head into a meeting with Dirk, Rob and Chris but Nate and Owen are happy to show you to your workstation.

[IVAN] Sounds good, thank you Marco.

[OWEN] Well, well, well! Long-time, no see Mr. Conley!

[IVAN] Hey man, happy Monday!

[OWEN] Glad to have you in office. I'm excited for you to see your awesome work thus far come to life before the next phase!

[IVAN] Yeah, I’m looking forward to it!

[NATE] My guy Ivan! Welcome to the city! Did you find a coffee spot to suit your tastes?

[VAN] Hey Nate! Yeah, I did, it was excellent.

[OWEN] Cool! Where did you get coffee from?

[IVAN] Spiced Cafe. Caroline suggested it, and she told me her friends own it.

[NATE] Oh good! Caroline knows all the good spots.

[IVAN] *chuckles* She basically gave me an entire itinerary on places to hit in San Myshuno.

[OWEN] *raises eyebrow* How very Caroline of her…

[IVAN] *blushes* She was very happy to share her wealth of knowledge, a-and I appreciate that, big time.

[OWEN] Oh, she's the best when it comes to that!

[NATE] A whole itinerary, eh? Real nice of her!

[IVAN] *clears throat* So, gentlemen. What sort of office atmosphere should I be expecting? I've only really worked with you two and Marco virtually.

[NATE] We have a great team! You'll meet Rob shortly. He's a super class-act guy.

[OWEN] And I would imagine Dirk and Hope will want to meet you. Akira is on vacation this week, Olivia will be in this afternoon... 

[OWEN] And then there's Chris Williams, unfortunately. Wait, you probably have some sort of history, huh? Or your parents?

[IVAN] *clicks tongue* Yeah. I don't know how much Ben has told you, but his family likes to cut corners in order to make money.

They're easily threatened by anyone who will come against them.

[NATE] We know they royally screwed over your family for calling out their shit ethics.

[VAN] So Ben has told you everything, good. Beyond that, Chris has always had it out for me and I don't know why.

At first, it was just childish jabs that I ignored, but that turned into him trying to accuse me of plagiarism while we were at Foxbury. Luckily I had enough proof to get him in deep shit, but due to his family's influence all he got was a slap on the wrist.

[NATE] Shit dude! Just to spite you?

[IVAN] Yeah. I've never understood it

[OWEN] As if I couldn't loathe him more than I do! I'm sorry that happened to you man.

[NATE] You'll notice quickly that Owen really doesn't like Chris!

[OWEN] I can't stand people who suck, can you blame me? And don't get me started on what he did to my sister...

[IVAN] So how does he have a job still despite so many people finding him difficult?

[NATE] His dad is one of our shareholders!

[IVAN] Shit, for real?

[OWEN] We have to be really careful with what we say around Chris, and I mean anything.

[NATE] Let's get Ivan to his desk before he runs away screaming, shall we?

[IVAN] *chuckles*

[OWEN] Here you go, man! Nate's right behind you, and Rob is to your right, and I'm behind Rob.

[IVAN] So you three will shield me from Chris? I'm kidding, thanks man.

[OWEN] No kidding, huh? I think I hear Rob leaving a meeting...

*Door to office swings open*

[council-of-beetroot]

Do you have any headcanons about languages/how the nation-people learn language?

I believe there is a universal nation language however, it's only understood by nations, it's rarely used and it's pretty rudimentary. Nations can refuse to speak it, say Ivan wants to enforce Russian in his household, he can by not speaking the standard and through other methods of "reinforcement."

I've watched videos about leaders and speaking different languages and often the more nationalistic, the less likely a leader will speak in a different language other than the primary one used in the country. French politicians are notorious for this. For example, Vladimir P.utin and Angela M.erkle speak eachother's native language however in clips of them interacting it's usually through translators as being leaders neither wants to stumble on a language they may not know as well. I see that with nations as well because language is power.

I prefer a common language among all as it doesn't prioritize one language over another. I said this in another post but not having a common language would make it so English or French or the like would be the main language among these characters which puts characters such as Feliks for example at a disadvantage compared to native speakers.

I think it can take varying periods for a nation to learn a language. I think if they have a stronger connection with a linguistic group they will have an easier time.

Nations can forget their own native language if they don't speak it frequently.

Languages I think Feliks understands

Native tongue: Polish

Knows: French, Yiddish, (Russian and German but he usually avoids speaking in it) Latin, English he learned in the 20th century and is not fully proficient.

Probably knows Silesian, Kashubian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech/Slovak (Might not know it fully but he can understand it due to similarities)

Languages I think it would be cool if he knew: Turkish, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese (I headcanon he was in Vietnam for a period of time) Haitian Creole (If he was sent to Haiti)

Lithuanian: He originally didn't put much effort into learning it, so he didn't, however over time to show Liet he cares he has learned some. However it's a difficult language and Feliks doesn't get it one bit. He doesn't understand insults and swearing perfectly curteousy of Tolys thinking no one understands what he is muttering under his breath

[paintedgrilledcheese]

The inspection

(Ivan has to deal with a OSHA inspector)

Everything was pure bliss. Ivan twirled around the slick floors with the mop, as he dance to the classical music on the gramophone. There was no better way to do chores than with the sound of strong violins colliding with the loud brass instruments. An graceful and elegant battle between the instruments. Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93: II. Allegro. One that Ivan has heard many times before. He could feel his left hand subconsciously move to the position of the cords as if he was playing his violin along.

The music was loud and fierce, Ivan couldn't hear anything else. That is until the faint sound of the company's phone range, snapping Ivan out of his blissful state. He spun on his toes to the phone, holding the mop in one hand and gracefully scooping up the phone in the other. His hair waterfalls down to his side as he tilted his head.

"This is the RITHOTD, Head chamberlain speaking. How may I assist you?" Ivan asked, having perfected that introduction hundreds of time. His voice was soft and elegant.

The voice on the other end sounded high pitched and feminine. "Hello? This is Ms. Cheese. I work for OSHA. I uh... I been assigned to come inspect the RITHOTD work place. I don't know if I was supposed to come unannounced but I felt bad if I didn't give you guys a heads up about your appointment. So I'll be coming around at 3, be prepared." She spoke, unsure and unprofessional. As if this was her first day on the job.

She then hung up quickly, barely giving Ivan time to process what she just said. After a moment of realization, Ivan looked around to see what he needs to prepare and clean before inspection. He wasn't too worried. How could he be worried when he's in pure bliss 24/7? The music resumed, he glides over the wet floors as he continued to dance his way through his chores.

Soon it's 3 o'clock, perfect time for afternoon tea. No one else was at the base, at the moment. It was just Ivan and his music. Eventually the expected guest finally arrived. Upon opening the front door, Ivan found a small 4'11 women with big blue eyes and pink hair. She wore glasses and a orange vest with the words OSHA on the back. Ivan was a little taken aback to see he had to look down to make eye contact. Such small people.

"Alright it's OSHA INSPECTION TIME! You better be prepared!" She greeted a little loudly, his high pitched voice still prominent. This must be Ms. Cheese from over the phone. She tried to look serious but her big eyes were making it extremely difficult to seem intimidating.

"Prepared as always." Ivan replied with a hum and a smile, allowing Ms. Cheese in. Ms. Cheese has a glance around the entrance, carrying a sparkly blue gel pen with her and a notepad. She starts scribbling down some stuff. Actual words or not? Ivan doesn't know.

Ms. Cheese continued to scribble down her thoughts and observations. "Why are there firearms left out so haphazard for anyone to grab? This is dangerous for young children and workers. They should be locked away somewhere convenient and safe. Violation number one! Show me the kitchen." She scolded and demanded. Ivan felt some of his confidence shot down as they manged to already get a violation under 5 minutes.

"Ah- er- understood!" Now feeling awkward Ivan guided Ms. Cheese to the kitchen. She had a look around and smile in approval. Ivan took extra care and time working on the kitchen before inspection. He felt a little proud for his hard work.

"Hmmmm clean so far. You guys have a new fire extinguisher and the sprinklers aren't blocked.... but wait what is that?" Ms. Cheese turned her head towards something dead by the oven. Ivan's eyes widen, a rush of panic came over him as he saw the dead rat by the oven. "Can you explain to me why there's a dead rat here befor I give you a health violation?" Ms. Cheese demanded.

"..... Ah.... Must be one of master's-" Ivan cuts himself off, hoping the OSHA employee didn't hear him. The rat must have been one of Fyodor's. How it escaped it's cage, Ivan has no clue. He'll have to find a replacement from the sewers later. Ivan clears his throat. "Er, we were, filming! And we used that for... realism! No food is cooked without inspecting the area first." He lied.

It was such a obvious lie, anyone with two brain cells would have figured that out. But after staring at Ivan and back at the very dead rat, Ms. Cheese suddenly smiled. "Oh so it's just a prop! I see. Very well. This area has a clear pass." She goes back to scribbling on her notepad. She didn't even ask any further questions. It can't be that easy, right?!

Ivan blinked a few times in shock still, but who is he to complain when he just dodged a bullet back there. Ms. Cheese looked back at Ivan, after scribbling more, with a smile on her face. "May you please show me the bathroom as well? That area must be inspected as well." She politely asked, chewing on the tip of her pen.

Ivan though for a moment. The bathrooms were fairly clean, but he remembered that his bloody bandages were still hanging out the trashcan, since he forgot to change out the trash can. Ivan shakes his head, his hair long swaying side to side. "The bathroom is currently occupied! Would you like to inspect anywhere else, though?" He asked, trying to stall from showing her the bathroom.

Ms. Cheese chewed her pen more, tapping her fingers on her notepad. "Hmmm what does this company specialize in? I need to see the working conditions how the employees are being treated. You know, pay and wages, stuff like that." She answered with a shrug.

"Does terrorism count as a specialty?" Ivan muttered to himself before coughing purposely. "...Ch... Charity! We...- our leader- my master- is working to create a better world and also offers people a place to stay with better living conditions. His organisation is full of people he has helped. We work in return for food, clothes, etc. If we need to buy something, however, master is more than happy to hand us the money we need." Ivan explained.

He was trying so hard to not get this operation shut down or fired. He couldn't imagine being separated from Fyodor, all because of one little pink hair woman with half of a brain cell gave them a few violations. Then again she only gave one so far. But still, that's a lot of money already lost.

Ms. Cheese smiled, buying into Ivan's cover up stupid easily. "Oh how nice! I never heard of your charity work until now. It's so good to be provided for the unfortunate in a away that doesn't involve work place abuse." She goes back to scribbling on her notepad. Ivan had to restrain himself from laughing at the mention of non work place abuse.

Oh dear is she saw the true nature of this place for a second, they would have been shut down immediately. . The amount of times Ivan was allowed to whack his fellow coworkers with a metal tray was far to many. Not to mention the fact Fyodor was much worse when it came to his own men.

"Now may I ask you a few personal questions about the company? How do you get along with your coworkers?" Ms. Cheese asked curiously, still scribbling and chewing on her pen at the same time.

Ah yes, Ivan's coworkers. Most of them were tame and alright, though to add to the workplace abuse, he did kick a few down the stairs one time. Ivan smiles at the thought of his coworkers, all of them weren't bad. "I get along quite well! I often make them tea and things of the sort to bond with them." He answered with the same warm smile.

Ms. Cheese smiled in approval, continuing to ask more questions. "Great to here. Are your coworkers interesting in anyway? Any odd behaviors? I ran into one earlier. Though he's a little delusional and talks about birds a lot?"

Oh crap, she ran into Nikolai earlier?! When did this happened?! Ivan's smile became larger as he panicked internally, he would look like a mad man right now with his expression on his face. Stupid lobotomy, making him smile at the worst situations.

Odd behaviors? Hahaha that's so funny, Ivan thought to himself. If this place was anything it would be the jackpot of odd behaviors and suspicious activity. Heck Ms. Cheese is talking directly to the CEO of odd behavior.

"Oh, that's not our coworker, merely a friend of my master's. No odd behaviour here! We're all very sane people." Another lie he spewed, waving his hand dismissively. Ms. Cheese tilted her head to the side, pushing her glasses back up.

"Sane people huh? What about that Nathaniel guy who was pacing back and forth outside. He didn't look sane to me. Is

your boss providing any sort of therapy or

medication for this 'chairy'?" She assumed and asked suspiciously. She was actually starting to get suspicious. Looks like she has half a brain cell after all.

Ms. Cheese comment about Nathaniel made Ivan feel slightly upset. How dare she assume and offend one of his friends like that? Ivan frowned angrily. "It's very rude to assume he doesn't look sane, that's just how he is! >:(" Ivan defended.

Ivan then put a hand on his chest and proudly exclaimed, "And master does provide joy! I am actually one of the people master has made happy!" He said with pride. Glossing over the fact he had a lobotomy performed on him.

Ms. Cheese eyes widen and she held her palms up in a backing up motion. She didn't mean to offend Ivan or Nathaniel. "Oh my apologies. I was just concerned when saw his eyes. They seem hallowed and terror. It looked like he seen things." She starts to scribble on her notepad again, about to change topic. "So you said your master has made you happy? That is very good to see chairys like this can

provide resources and and joyful moods to the unfortunate without expensive medication or brain altering lobotomies."

She's so dumb! Ivan is crying on the inside. Girlie LOOK! Use your half of a brain cell and LOOK. How can she cleary not see the bandages around Ivan's head?! Is she blind?! That would explain the glasses she wears, but even those glasses can't even show her how oblivious she is!

It's so obvious! She quite LITERALLY look UP to have eye contact. The fact that she can't see his bandages just blows Ivan away from how dense this lady is!

Ivan starts to sweat at the mention of lobotomies and laughs nervously. "......Ahahah, of course not, that would be ABSURD. I mean-that's so silly, ahah wh- hah.-..imagine THAT." Ivan clasped his hands together and smiled. "Well! Are there any more questions?" He wanted to get this overwith quickly.

Ms. Cheese continued to chew her pen. "Two last things. I still haven't inspected the

bathrooms yet and I would like to meet your boss. Nothing to serious in meeting him. I just want to know what drives him to have such a wonderful charity like this :D But if he's not here or too busy that's alright." She was buying into all of it.

Oh thank God this inspection was almost over. Ivan has singlehandedly dodged 29492 bullets in less of a hour, he was quite impressed that he's managed to prevent the organization from being shut down so far. Fyodor better be proud of his hard work, if not at least Pushkin should.

"Unfortunately master is a very busy man, but his religious views drive him to be a good man! He believes people should not suffer from sin, and therefore he saves them." Ivan said with a smile, not mentioning that fact how Fyodor "frees" his victims from suffering and sin. "As for the bathrooms, right this way."

Ivan guides Ms. Cheese over to the bathroom, all sparkly clean from his chores earlier. Ivan stood in front of the trash can to hid his bloody used bandages from Cheese's sight while she gives the room a top down inspection.

Everything was looking good and she hum and approval. "Hmmm everything seems to be in fine and clean condition. All the cleaning products aren't so easily accessible and nothing seems to be broken. Oh but what's this?"

Out of EVERYTHING she could have spotted, of course she nitpick a tiny wet spot on the floor that wasn't dry yet from the mopping. "Tsk tsk tsk. No caution wet floor sign? Employees can easily slip and that wouldn't be good for the medical bill if they break their back. Tsk tsk tsk. Violation." She shook her head and scribbled down a violation on her not pad.

Ivan threw his hands up and huffed before collecting his cool and smiling again. "Oh, forgive me, I was rushing to prepare

everything for when you come along. I must have missed it, but I clean everything

thoroughly!" He defended.

"Hmmm well put a sign there next time." She replied before scribbling more for a long time. After a time of "deep thinking", even though there isn't a single thought behind those eyes, she turned back to Ivan.

"Alright, that concludes this company's 6 month OSHA inspection. So far this place seems to be standing well and only two violations, but nothing too bad to be shut down. I give this the stamp of approval." She torn off the page of her notepad and stamped it with a green approval stamp. She gave it to Ivan and who took it with curiosity.

It was all chicken scratch! He couldn't read any of this! But who was he to complain when they manged to pass. Ms. Cheese turned her heel to walk away, yelling out as she exits the building. "I shall be off! And next time I'll show up unexpectedly. Farewell, take care. Lock those fire arms away and buy some wet floor signs."

Just like that she was gone. "Farwell!" Ivan waved goodbye with a smile. But the moment that door closed her turned around and clutched his chest tightly, finally letting his guard drop and de-stressing. "How was that so easy?" He mumbled to himself before laying on the couch.

It's been less than a hour, but it felt like a whole day went by. He was exhausted. Perhaps he'll order take out for the men tonight.

The End.

[kayhi808]

Darkling's Pet - 2

Previous

Nataliya tested positive for the Corporalki Order as a child. She became a very powerful Healer, with an added gift of being able to manipulate a person's mood by touch alone. It comes in handy when healing the injured or easing one's fears as they lay dying. Not many know of her gift, but the Dark General knows.

*****

The Second Army was ambushed. They were outnumbered and barely got out with their lives. Nataliya was sent to the camp to tend to the wounded. Climbing out of the carriage with 2 other Healers who were also dispatched from the Little Palace, they hurried over to the medical tent that was set up & got to work.

The Darkling took it as a personal affront that they had to retreat from the Fjerdan attack. He silently stalks the campgrounds checking on his people before he can even think about having his injuries tended to. A young Squaller writhing in pain, is making it difficult for the Healer to tend to her. "Nataliya! Nataliya!" A healer crosses the tent to assist and Kirigan stops in his tracks. He's heard of her skill as a Healer, but no one mentioned her beauty. It calls to him.

Nataliya kneels by the young girl's side, "Shhhh, I know." Removing her gloves, she rests a cool hand over a fevered brow. The Squaller is still in a lot of pain, but her movements still & Nataliya nods at the Healer to continue. "You're so brave. We'll have you up and about in no time. I promise."

From the tent doors, the General watches Nataliya move from patient to patient. After his observations, he turns to Ivan, "That healer, there. Bring her to me." Ivan nods & goes to retrieve Nataliya.

******

Pushing back the flaps of the General's tent, Nataliya step in, "General? Ivan said you wanted to see me." There was a excited thrill that ran through her body at being singled out by their handsome leader. Tall, dark & handsome doesn't even begin to describe the beauty of this man.

"Yes, come in." He stiffly leans against the table.

Her mouth turns down in a frown, "Sir? Are you hurt?" Hurrying to his side, the General slowly lifts his shirt to expose his side. His ribs are an explosion of reds & violets. Nataliya hisses through her teeth. Raising her eyes to meet his onyx gaze, "May I?"

"It is why I called you here," in a soft pained whisper.

Gulping, "Of course." Nervously, she concentrates on mending the cracked ribs & bruising. Once she completes healing him, she trails her fingertips across his skin, thinking to soothe him.

Being an amplifier, General Kirigan can feel her latent gift. An odd feeling of calm & peace spreads through his being. Not recognizing the feeling he pushes back against it. Nataliya gasps in pain. It's like a rubberband snapping back at her with her power. She realized her mistake seconds too late. It was the General rejecting her power vehemently.

Wide-eyed with shock, she tries to pull away, but the General quickly covers her hand with his, pressing it against his side, taking more of her gift than she wanted to give. His will overpowered hers and she lost control of her gift. He was in control. She feels....violated in a sense. He's taking something from her against her will. She growls and Kirigan releases her. Glaring, she stumbles away from him. "Nataliya."

Unable to make eye contact with him because of the rage inside her. He's the most powerful Greisha & could kill her in a blink of an eye. "Your ribs should be fine. There shouldn't be any lingering pain." Backing away from him, "Is that all, General?"

Softly, "Yes. Thank you, Nataliya."

She quickly slips from his tent returning to the medi-tent. How was he able to do that? No one has ever done that to her before.

******

Her shift at the infirmary isn't until the afternoon, so Nataliya has time to forgage in the nearby woods & gardens for herbs she needed to make her salves, tinctures & teas. It's a warm day for Spring so she's happy to be out in the sunshine.

"Ugh! You little thief!" A small rabbit is making a buffet of the gardens while a fat lazy dog is laying on his back in a patch of sunshine. Putting her basket down, she goes to chase the rabbit out. It's so quick that it has her running in circles but refuses to leave the garden. Damn it! To mock her, it continues to chomp on the leafy vegetables. Giving up, Nataliya plops down by the dog, out of breath, scratching his belly. "And you, Sir, are useless!"

"Don't be so hard on him. He was quite noble when he was younger. He's an old dog now."

She whips her head in the direction of that velvety voice. Quickly standing, brushing off her skirt & looking for a quick escape, ready to flee. "General."

Dressed casually without his kefta, he doesn't look like a formidable Greisha General. He crouches down to pet & scratch the lazy dog. Squinting up at her because of the glare of the sun, "You remind me of the bunny there." Nataliya looks over to see the bunny finally hopping away. The General imposing more of a threat than she did evidently. She growls & rolls her eyes. "I mean you no harm, Zaya (bunny)." He stands with his hands behind his back. "I wanted to apologize for the other day. I never felt a gift like yours. It surprised me."

"I only wanted to ease your pain."

Rubbing a hand over his heart, "It calmed me. My life is never calm, and i didn't recognize the feeling. Instinct took over. I didn't mean to hurt you." He keeps his distance, not wanting to frighten her. "But once I recognized it, I craved more. " He gives her a sad smile, "I should never have taken advantage of you like that. Forgive me."

His sad smile touched her. To not know peace & calm in your life. What type of life is that? "Is that how you apologize? 'Forgive me.' It sounds like a command, General."

"Maybe it is," shrugging, "You must forgive me." Turning away she laughs, missing the predatory smile that appears on his lips, before donning an expression or remorse. He steps closer, offering his elbow, making sure not to touch her. "May I escort you back, Zaya?" Biting her lip, trying to hide her smile, she slips her hand in the crook of his elbow.

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