#especially because how much dima cares for them :')

[fauville]

thinking abt dima introducing nate to his snakes. that is all

[mostlymarvelsstuff]

To Call You Mine

Chapter 12

Authors note: Getting back into the swing of things! I hope lol, enjoy the update!

Word count: 4738

Nat Masterlist Marvel Masterlist TCYM Masterlist

Nat walks into the bedroom to find you standing in front of the mirror by the closet. You've already got your black suit pants on and your suit jacket is lying on the bed with your tie. She watches for a few moments while you work on buttoning up your gray dress shirt and you quirk a brow at her in the reflection.

“See something you like, Omega?” you tease

She smirks at you before taking a few steps forward, “Oh I most certainly do, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing you in your security uniform again”

You turn around and look into her eyes, “Oh, is that so?”

“Mhm, what can I say? I’m a sucker for a girl in uniform”

Right now you want nothing more than to smash your lips against your mates and spend the rest of the evening and well into the night worshiping her. But you're getting dressed up for a reason, and that reason prevents you from doing anything

“Damn Tony Stark and his stupid galas”

Nat chuckles, “Don’t worry lyubov'(love), we’ll have time to do whatever it is you're thinking about this weekend”

“I’ll hold you to that, Natty” you tell her, sending a wink her way

Her cheeks turn the adorable shade of pink that you've come to love, “How about you hold me?”

You chuckle at her, but indulge her and wrap your arms around her, careful to situate her bump appropriately, “You alright?”

“Mhm” she mumbles against your neck, “Just going to miss you tonight”

“I’ll miss you too detka(baby), but I should be home before you know it with Yelena and Kate here to keep you company”

She chuckles a bit, “I know they're going to be here to make sure Dima and I stay safe, but I honestly think I’m the one watching them tonight”

“Well, Clint can’t keep them out of trouble all the time” you joke earning a smile

“Oh don’t I know it, especially because he encourages them”

Just then the doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of the two being talked about. Nat pulls herself away from you and you watch her head out of the room before going back to getting ready. Down the hall you can hear the excited voices of your mates sister and her friend as they greet her, and soon the voices get even more excited as they walk into the living room and spot Dima.

Your pup was equally as excited as you could hear him cooing and repeatedly asking for his Aunt Lena to pick him up. You assume she must do so as soon his giggles are echoing around the house along with a few of Kates. Your mate takes this moment to slip away from them and back to you.

“You ready lyubov'(love)? After work traffic will be pretty heavy right now, don’t want you to be late.”

“Yeah, just gotta get my shoes on” you assure her with a smile

She smiles back before a slight pout overtakes her features, “I’ll miss you tonight”

“I’ll miss you too, my Omega” you tell her as you make your way over to her, “I shouldn’t be home too late though since this is a benefactor party. Midnight at the latest”

“But I suppose you’ll tell me not to wait up”

“I think I’ve become too predictable with you.” you chuckle, “True I’d prefer you to get your rest, especially since your carrying two little ones- ”

“Shhh” she cuts you off, “if Yelena finds out through your big mouth instead of from me later, I’ll make you take the couch tonight”

“Okay okay, geez.” you laugh, “My point was, yes I’d like you to sleep as much as possible. But I know you don’t sleep well without me and I also know that with those two goofballs out there that a late night is most likely going to happen”

Nat smiles again, “Well, you can at least take comfort in the fact that Dima will be going to sleep at his usual time”

You laugh again, “Oh good, at least he’ll be getting his rest”

She giggles and you finally wrap your arms around her. She nuzzles her face into the crook of your neck as she wraps her arms around you in return, and a soft purr escapes her as your hand comes to rest on her belly. The two of you take a moment to just enjoy each other's embrace, letting the sound of her purrs fill the space.

After a few minutes you reluctantly pull back from her, “I should get going love”

“Drive safe, and have a good night” she tells you before leaning in for a kiss

You of course indulge her in this and kiss her back before you both head out to the living room. You exchange quick greetings with the two Betas and thank them for coming to spend time with your Omega while you have to work, and then you make your way over to the pup. You affectionately ruffle his hair and kiss his forehead as you say goodbye to him and though there's no need to as he's always been well behaved, you remind him to be good for his Mama.

Your mate walks with you as you head to the garage and the two of you share in another quick hug and kiss, “I’ll see you later baby, have fun with your sister and don’t worry too much about me”

“I’ll try. Just text me when you get there and when you're leaving for home, please”

You nod, “Of course my Omega”

And with that you hop in your car and pull out of the driveway. Natasha watches the garage door shut before she returns to the living room, where she finds her sister bouncing Dima on her lap while Kate is indulging Liho in her attention seeking by playing with one of her toys with her. Nat can’t help but chuckle as she joins them on the couch

“Setra(sister), how are you feeling?” Yelena asks, shifting her focus but still bouncing the pup

“I’m good all things considered, this pregnancy hasn’t been as rough as Dimas was. At least so far. I’ve had morning sickness a few times and I of course have the normal body aches and pains but Y/n is really good at keeping everything I need to ease those nearby”

“That's good! I’m glad your Alpha is caring for you well!” Kate exclaims, and Yelena nods in agreement, “Have you guys gone to find out what you're having yet?”

Natasha can’t help the wide smile that breaks out across her face, and one matching it shows up on Yelena's face, “ Well come on, tell us!”

“We’re having two pups, both girls!”

“Oh setra(sister), that's wonderful!” Yelena exclaims, wrapping her one arm around her as the other secures Dima, “And did your Alpha like this news?”

“She's just as excited as I am, If not more” Nat laughs, “I’ve had to help her calm down a few times while we’re putting together their nursery in our room. She doesn’t read the instructions properly in her excitement”

“Sounds just like what I witnessed with Clint when Laura was with Nathaniel” Kate laughs

“Might be worse” Nat admits, “Because this is Y/ns first time getting to care for me and prepare for pups with me”

Yelena gives her a soft look, “I've never seen you so happy”

“Well, I have everything I’ve ever wanted. Dima and I are safe here with Y/n as our Alpha, and she's so good to us. She's everything I knew she would be, and more. She gave us little Liho and now we’re growing our family” she states, rubbing her belly, “I couldn’t ask for a better mate, or a better life”

“I’m glad you got this sestra(sister), I truly am. Seeing you so happy, thrills me”

Kate nods in agreement, “It's good to see you smile again.”

“Thank you both. Now then, I can hear my boys tummy growling. Lets get dinner started, shall we?”

“Okay, but you are letting Kate Bishop and I do most of the work. You just tell us what needs done”

As your mate begins to prepare dinner with the two Betas you are still on your way to the city. The drive isn’t too long, but you do feel a bit restless. Likely because this will be the longest you've been apart from your mate and pup. The knowledge that her sister and friend are there with them does at least bring you comfort, as you know she's safe. But still the anxiety of being apart from them remains. You decide to turn the radio on in the hopes that it either calms you or distracts you. It seems to work, for now at least, and you drive on with a sense of ease.

But outside your house, there is indeed a reason for this anxiety to linger. Because parked just down the street from where your mate currently cooks with the Betas sits a car. And in that car is a very familiar and unwelcome Alpha along with two Alpha friends of his.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna just grab him tonight? I mean we watched the Alpha leave, and two Betas aren't a threat at all.” the Alpha in the front passenger seat says

“For the final time, yes I am sure.” Bruce answers, his grip on the steering wheel tightening

“But why?” the other Alpha in the backseat questions, “Isn’t your Omega in there?”

Bruce growls, “That bitch has me so angry right now that if I saw her, I’m likely to snap. And while I’d love to snuff the life out of her beloved new mate, that's not a fate I want for Natasha.”

It falls silent for a while before one of the Alphas speaks up again, “So we just watch then?”

“Yes, we learn their routines. And we wait.” Bruce continues, “As soon as Y/n leaves this house with my son, she's as good as dead and Dima is as good as mine again.”

The car continues to sit there for a while but does eventually pull away and leave, coincidently around the same time you had texted your mate about your arrival at Stark Industries. You're now in the employee elevator heading on up to the floor the party is being held on. As soon as the doors open you spot Tony, wearing his signature shades even though he's indoors. He spots you too

“Y/n!! Good to see you!!” he shouts, causing Pepper, the chef, Happy, and a few of the other security members to look your way

“Hey Tony!” you greet with a wave and make your way over to him, “How many are we expecting tonight?”

His face scrunches up in thought, “Well I had a couple hundred invites sent out, but they all included an additional plus one, so really, could be a hundred could be triple that!”

“Oh, wonderful” you mutter, graciously taking the tablet Pepper passes to you

“This is a layout of knights event, Happy already added his suggestions on where tonights additionally security should be placed, you just have to sign off on it”

“Okay great. I’ll look it over.” you assure them, “Are there any guests we know of that will for sure be here that we need to keep an eye on?”

“Just Justin Hammer, as usual” Tony says, “Keep him away from any of my tech. That includes computers and tablets. As usual.”

You nod, “Right. Let me just look this over then and we can get everyone in place before the first guest arrives”

“Wonderful”

A few hours later and the gala event is in full swing. The floor is now filled with rich and well off guests who are mingling and drinking while a live band plays off in the one corner. Servers have been rushing around all night to provide everyone with enough drinks and the bar alone was not meant to handle this sheer number of people, and hors d’oeuvres have been flowing out of the kitchen at a steady pace.

Thankfully it's been business as usual and nothing out of place or suspicious has occurred. You're still on alert though as it is quite literally your job to be, but you must admit that you do still have lingering anxiety about your family. You're able to push past it though, and focus on the crowd before you.

Back at home your Omega has just finished tucking Dima into bed and is now preparing to watch a movie with the two Betas. Kate has a large bowl of popcorn on her lap while Yelena has some nachos.

“Where did you even get those?” the redhead asks with a chuckle

“I made sure to bring them!” Yelena exclaims, “I was in the mood for them tonight. There's still more out in my bag if you want some, or if Kate Bishop doesn’t share the popcorn”

“Hey, I can share!” she exclaims, “Besides the bag I made this from was from Nats pantry, If i didn’t share I’d be a terrible guest”

Yelena shrugs, “I just know how you are with snacks thats all”

“Oh? And how am I with snacks, Yelena?”

The blonde gulps as she tries to take her foot back out of her mouth and looks to her older sister for help. But the Omega has no plans on getting in the middle of this, “Well, I think it's time I go make myself some nachos”

Natasha can feel her sister's glare in her back as she walks out of the room and she chuckles when she sees Liho down by her feet, joining her on her trek to the kitchen. Once they reach the kitchen counter she stops to pet the adorable furball, who is quickly growing, before grabbing a plate for her nachos. By the time she got her plate ready and walks back into the room, whatever words that may have been spoken have already been exchanged and Nat has to bite her tongue to avoid teasing Yelena for looking like a kicked puppy or teasing Kate for looking so smug.

“Alright, what Bond film are we starting with?”

A few more hours and a few Bond films later Natasha can feel herself getting a bit antsy. Its growing later and is nearly the time she lays down for sleep, her body is growing tired but her mind is well aware of the lack of her Alphas presence.

“Why don’t you go get your blanket from your nest, that should have enough of Y/ns scent on it to comfort you” Kate offers, having smelled the slight discomfort coming off your Omega

“Yeah, good idea” she mumbles, getting up to go get it. While grabbing it she spots the two stuffies you'd bought her sitting in her nest as well and she finds herself reaching out for the lion one

When she returns and gets all snuggled up under the blanket neither Beta mention the stuffed animal that now sits on the Omegas lap getting cuddled against her, but she's aware of the small knowing smiles that appear on their faces.

Back at the Gala it's finally time for donations to be made, which means you and the rest of the guests will likely have to hear a few speeches from both Tony and the benefactors. Thankfully your boss was usually able to avoid being long winded, but the others weren’t as reliable.

As the third donator drones on you spot some unusual movement off to the side of the crowd. A young man seems to be slipping past everyone, making his way towards the front where the stage and Tony are. You aren’t alerted right away, as perhaps he was with the press and trying to get a better shot or something. But the longer you look at him, you find yourself unable to find any sort of press badge or even a camera

“All hands, be prepared. I have a fellow acting strange here on the right side of the crowd, moving up”

Your ear piece is full of other security members saying they understood followed by the ones closest to that region saying their eyes were on him and they were ready to move at your notice. Having not actually done anything yet and still being a ways away from Tony you tell them to just remain vigilant for now. But then he's lifting his suit off his chest with his left hand and his right makes a move to go into the space just created, as if he was reaching for something concealed.

“Move in now!” you order, quickly breaking away from your own position in order to form a barrier in his line of sight to Tony

As soon as your infront of him his eyes widen but he doesn’t have the time to do or say anything before your men are grabbing him and forcing him to the ground. The crowds attention is of course grabbed by this and their eyes all fall on the scene instead of what was happening at the front of the room.

“Nothing to worry about, please carry on!” you assure, sending your boss a thumbs up

He nods, “Well, I’m sure whatever my security just dealt with was riveting but please folks, let's get back to the matter at hand”

The gala goes back to its regular activities as you and a few men escort the now hancuffed man out of the room and to a small room where you can question him and hold him until you figure out if the police need to be notified.

Your men sit him down a bit harshly at the small table as you speak, “What the hell were you thinking out there?”

The man remains silent and his gaze shifts away from you and down to the floor. That was fine with you. He didn’t have to explain himself, you could simply search him and figure out what he had on him and piece together his motives. But as you reach for his suit he starts to squirm

“Hey, back off! You can’t touch me! I know my rights!”

“Then you're well aware that its within the law for a private security team to search you once your in custody to determine you have no weapons and pose no threat”

This proves to only upset him further however and without warning his leg shoots up and his foot hits you in the gut. The sound of all the air leaving your lungs fills the room as you stumble backwards a bit and without saying a word your men move to hold him down.

“Get off me! I said let go!”

You scoff at his behavior and again reach for his suit. You pull it back and reach inside, expecting to find a shoulder slung holster and pistol which is exactly what you find. You whistle as you pull the gun out

“My my, what have we here?” it's a rhetorical question, which you answer yourself while checking to be sure the safety is on before removing the magazine, “A Glock 17 huh, oh and look at that, you even had one in the chamber ready to fire. Boys sit tight here, I’m going to call in the police to deal with this guy”

After a few more hours, half of which was taken up by paperwork, police paperwork and an interview, the gala finally seems to be winding down. Majority of the guests are either making their way out or are currently grabbing their belongings to make their way out. And a sigh of relief slips past your lips. Tonight had been more daunting than you anticipated, especially with someone actually managing to get a firearm inside despite all measures taken. If you hadn’t spotted him, you're unsure how well his plan to shoot Tony would have gone and that makes a chill run through you.

But you had stopped him and that's what mattered. Now all that was on your mind was getting back home to your Omega. You wanted nothing more than to just get nice and cozy in her nest and hold her close. And this was apparently written on your face

“You know, you don’t have to come in for a while” Happy says as he comes to stand beside you, “I can handle the set up, and its easy enough to just email you plans to double check”

You ponder it for only a second, “No, this is my job Happy and I can handle it.”

“Kid, this job has a bit of danger to it, as we were reminded tonight, and you have a pregnant Omega at home. What would she think of the situation you just had to deal with?”

You sigh, “She’d probably panic”

“Right. And my guess is that she's already nervous enough when you just leave the house for groceries, let alone your job.” your silence on the matter proves his point and he continues, “Take some time off. Be there for her during the pregnancy and give her that piece of mind. At least until the pups are born, but hell id wait until they were a year if I were you”

“I can’t just take a year off from work!” you exclaim

“You won’t be taking it off, you’d just work remotely. Do everything from your home office instead of being the hands on guy here. And hey, if it works well for you, being a family Alpha now, you might just wanna make that a permanent position”

You think about what he's saying, and it does make sense. You have a family now, why put yourself in harm's way and stress your mate out by doing so. And why stress you both out by being apart from her when you really didn’t need to be

“Yeah, you're right. I’ll talk to Tony about it before I head home tonight. Thanks Happy”

“Anytime kid”

Finally you're pulling into your own driveway. It's an hour later than you had told your mate to expect you, but you know Nat won’t hold that against you. Especially when Tonys parties are known to be long.

You're greeted by Liho as you enter the house and quickly reach down to pet her, “Missed you too little one”

You can still hear a movie playing in the living room, which puzzles you a bit as you hadn’t gotten a response from your mate when you said you were on your way home so you had expected to find everyone in bed. You stop petting Liho, much to her displeasure, and make your way further into the house. There's no sound to indicate that anyone is even home, let alone watching the film and you honestly start to worry a bit. But that all goes away once you actually enter the living room, and a soft smile spreads across your features as you take in the scene before you.

A Bond movie is still playing on the tv but all three of the women that had once been watching it are now fast asleep on the couch. Yelena is in between your mate and Kate, who both have their heads resting on the blonds shoulders, and Nat is all wrapped up in your blanket from her nest. She even has her lion stuffie cuddled up against her chest. You can’t imagine how hard you being away from home must have been for her considering how hard it was for you tonight.

You take a moment to just watch the three before you reach out to cup Nats cheek, “lyubov'(love), I’m home”

Her eyes slowly open and she looks at you in the most adorable groggy way, “Alpha?”

“Hi baby”

She smiles and reaches out for you, “Missed you”

“Missed you too” you reply, instantly wrapping your arms around her, “Why don’t we get you into your nest”

She hums in agreement so you shift your hold on her, one arm bracing her back as the other slides under her legs. You lift her with ease and she wraps the blanket closer as she snuggles into you. You both continue down the hall in a comforting silence, but when you attempt to set her down in the nest alone she looks at you quizzically

“You’re joining me, right?”

You chuckle, “I will be. I just gotta make sure your sister and Kate make it up to the spare room. And I’ve also gotta get out of this suit”

“Okay” she huffs, “Just don’t take too long”

“I won’t, love. But go to sleep if you need to, don’t wait on me” you tell her as you slip back out of the room

You head back down the hall and into the living room to find a groggy Yelena looking at you, “Y/n?”

“Hey Lena”

She blinks away some of her sleepiness, “What time is it?”

“Time for you and Kate to head upstairs and crash in the guest room” you reply, making her chuckle

“Yeah, okay. Go ahead off to bed with my sister, I’ll take care of sleepy head” You nod and turn to leave but halfway down the hall you have to hold back laughter as you hear the sound of a pillow hitting something followed by Yelena whisper shouting, “Kate Bishop! Up!”

Now back in your room you find your mate checking in on your pup via the monitor, but her attention quickly shifts to you, “Dimas still in a deep sleep”

“Good, because sending those two up near him may bite us in the ass otherwise”

She chuckles and watches you fondly as you change out of your work clothes and into your pajamas, “How was the gala?”

“It went well. I think he earned more than double what he asked for in donations. It will be nice to see what internship programs he builds with the funds and what charities he’ll donate to” You answer, finally climbing into the nest behind her

Her own hand covers yours as it comes to rest on the swell of her belly, “No security concerns?”

You let out a sigh, knowing you had to tell her, “I’m telling you this because I don’t want you seeing it on the news tomorrow and panicking”

She stiffens slightly, and her grasp on your hand tightens, “What happened?”

“There was a guy acting suspicious and heading towards Tony. I stopped him and my men detained him. He had a gun. Was probably planning on shooting Tony on stage” She immediately turns around to face you and her hands cup your face. You can instantly sense her mild distress and do your best to soothe her, “Nothing bad happened though, I’m okay. Everyone is”

“You could have been shot” she says, her voice a mere whisper

“But I wasn’t”

“But you could have been” she stresses, “It could have gone differently and you could have gotten really hurt, and I could have…could have lost you”

“Omega…” you croon as your thumbs delicately wipe her tears away, “Things could have gone differently, yes. But they didn’t. I made it home safe and I’m here with you right now. Focus on that”

“How can I when you have to go back again for the next gala, or for an autograph signing, or a private group tour, or an outing to the race track, or anything else Tony decides he needs you for? It's hard enough watching you leave the house now that I’m with pups, but now that I know just how much danger you're in….I don’t know if I can do it, Alpha”

“You won’t have to” you assure her as you bring your forehead to rest against hers, “I’m still his head of security, but I no longer need to work events. I just do online meetings, schedules and event set ups now. I just have to go to my office now. No danger.”

“Promise?”

“I promise” you tell her,placing a soft kiss against her lips, “Now get some rest detka(baby), you three need it. I’ll be right here.”

Taglist: @wandaromamoff69 @mmmmokdok @nataliasknife @natashasilverfox @when-wolves-howl @danveration @naomi-m3ndez @sheneonromanoff @sayah13 @likefirenrain @nighttime-dreaming  @readings-stuff @chaoticevilbakugo @crystalstark02 @wackymcstupid @xchaiix @iaminluvwithnat @lovelyy-moonlight @blackwidow-3 @mistressofinsomnia @that-one-gay-mosquito @yomamagf @yourfavdummy @justarandomreaderxoxo @scoutlp23-blog @whoischanelle15 @lissaaaa145 @eline03 @wizardofstories @imthenatynat @marvelonmymind @fluffyblanketgecko @bitch-616 @dakotastormm  @zoomdeathknight @rayeofmoonlight @aeroae @sashawalker2 @naslt @lattayhottay16 @yelenabelov-ed @thatonebrazilian @that-one-gay-mosquito @marvelwomen-simp @wannabe-fic-reader @tashakink @whitewidowsbite @smromanoff

[everydayyoulovemeless]

I know you've already done Nick and DiMA, but I'd love to see some fatherly Hancock headcanons if you're up to it. If not, no worries! Thanks for keeping us fallout fans fed with your writing.

Hancock As A Dad

➼ Word Count » 0.6k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ A/N » I'm loving all these father HCs !!

A part of him doesn't think he deserves to care for someone in a fatherly way. I mean, just look at where he lives- look at his life choices, does someone like that really deserve to have that much responsibility in someone else's life?

He shelters you a lot more than you'd think. Drugs? What are drugs? Papa just has a bit of schizophrenia and needs to take his meds. He can try can play it off as much as he wants, but the only people he's fooling are the ferals down the road. He can try to shield you from certain things from the outside world, but he partakes in too much of it himself for it to really be effective.

Sure, he's an addict, but he ain't a deadbeat. Hancock's the type to show up to anything important to you. You've decided to start up a new shop in Goodneighbor? Consider him your first customer! Just bought a new gun and want to test it out in an alley? He'll be right behind you, doing his best to help you aim! He's there to support in any way he can, no matter what it is.

He's always going around telling people that you're his kid. It's just a constant flow of, "You see that one? That's my kid! :)"

Despite how he feels toward McDonough, he'd never want to send too much ill intent his way. He tones down his hatred for his brother a lot when you're around, only because he feels that he's your uncle, whether the two of you are related or not. Family's important to him, and he rather you come up with your own opinion rather than him tell you how you should feel.

Ruffles your hair whenever you do something he's proud of.

He's not overprotective by any means, but if anyone ever were to start pushing you around, he'd gladly rough 'em up for you.

He loves it when you talk about your interests with him. It makes him all fuzzy inside and helps give him better ideas on how to involve himself with those activities more often. He loves being a part of your life, especially when it involves your passions.

Most of the residents in Goodneighbor will wave and greet you by name. It holds the same energy as if a family friend were to come over for dinner.

It might be slightly ironic, and he fully understands how it might seem, but you aren't allowed to do drugs till you're at least 30. He'd hate for you to ruin your life so early. Live a little, then he might reconsider.

He'll take you out to one of the settlements and teach you to throw knives. Just something fun for the two of you to do outside. He might even tell you tales of his own childhood.

He throws the best pity parties. If you're ever feeling depressed, he'll lock the doors leading to his room, and he and Fahrenheit will do everything they can to distract you. They'll play games (mostly chess), give you a bit of alcohol, or even just sit out on the balcony and people-watch.

He's one of the most gently honest people there is. He'd never lie to you, and he sure as hell wouldn't ever want anything he says to come off as rude, so you end up with these incredibly sincere statements laced with the sweetest tone.

Hype man?? Bro is always ready to spit compliments at you whenever you need them. It's almost impossible to feel insecure with a father figure like him constantly checking in on you.

Hancock loves you to bits and wouldn't know what to do with himself if you ever disappeared from his life. He wants the best for you and would do everything he can to ensure that you're happy.

[iudiex]

🌈 ⭐️ 💻 🌼 🎙️ 📚 🎀 🥇 😍 📌

🌈 ― aesthetically pleasing blog

@fatedriven - ain't nobody does graphics like neo tbh and i love feasting my little eyeballs on whatever fun styles they come up with this time!

⭐️ ― convincing portrayal of a canon character

@kikun - i have loved gem's wanderer for... almost a year now? how long has it been? still one of my fave portrayals of any genshin character to date. i love him so much.

💻 ― excellent writing

my beloved @cloudhymn / @wulvend. i don't care how depressed or sick or dead in the water with a muse i am. nine's writing and portrayals will ALWAYS pull me (and my muses) from wherever the hell i am to want to instantly respond. truly such a privilege to rp with this little cryptid and develop my muses alongside them. nine's excellent writing has made me a better writer as well, and for that i cannot thank them enough.

🌼 ― creative headcanons

@caelune and every single one of rei's muses! i love love LOVE seeing what they come up with (from jy's leonine traits, to childe's love languages). it's always such a fun little treat to behold and then see how said headcanons influence their portrayal down the road.

🎙️ ― great to talk to

@dhahabibi - compelling characters, compelling ideas, and compelling conversation. i have spent half of our plotting giggling and twirling my hair. i loooove discussing plots with muns that are passionate for their muses, and i can definitely get that vibe here! <3

📚 ― nice threads to read

@ayahimes - i'm an astrid simp and would spend half my night reading anything and everything they wrote if my adhd didn't constantly have me pulled away. everything astrid touches turns to gold, and i love reading their writing - ESPECIALLY regarding female muses. they are all so powerful and diverse, and it's something i absolutely ADORE digesting.

🎀 ― all-around kind person

@baishouqijia - light of my life. i have known you since i joined this rpc, dima, and you are one the kindest - funniest bitches i know. even when we aren't writing i greatly value your friendship and the life advice and ears you've given me. a real one, my pantalone.

🥇 ― well-developed oc

@holyfell - and any original character that owen produces tbh. every. single. one. of. them. i don't think i have a favorite because they are all so unique and provide unique relationships to my muses at well. it's always so fun seeing what you come up with owen, from graphics to headcanons to back stories and is honestly a privilege. zhongli misses his husband tho.

😍 ― admiring from afar

@galactia - 👉👈 the kaeya and zhongli portrayals are really a fun little privilege to read, and though we haven't interacted, know that i love your stuff and enjoy seeing what shenanigans you come up with.

📌 ― a staple on the dash

@resolutepath - catch me following charlie from any blog at anytime, anywhere! it is simply a given, and you can pry this multimuse from my cold, dead hands.

[redrumrose]

For the wholesome ask meme!

1 for Dima and his brothers

4 for Anara

14 for Chayne

20 for Sunny

And 42 for Em!

1. (For Dima and his brothers) What is their go-to comfort food?

Dima's comfort food is actually blini/crepes with a sweet filling, he also LOVES milkshakes!

Danila loves any kind of dumplings x3

Pyotr likes bbq (or more so he just likes to cook it… FIRE)

Pavel just likes tea (in his favorite cup and saucer is a bonus haha)

4. (For Anara) What is the thing they like the most about their friends and what is the thing their friends like the most about them?

So the only true friend Ana has at the hospital is probably Natalya (the head nurse) ^^; Ana likes Natalya because… I guess the best way I could describe it is, she's like an overly caring and nice aunt xD She's always inviting Anara over to her place for lunch or to gossip about things. She also helps Anara out a lot around the hospital (especially when she was brand new).

Natalya loves Ana because of her charm. She loves how kind, optimistic, and talkative she is (with her and everyone she meets in the hospital). And also how she's not afraid to break Pavel's rules xD

Aaand Pavel… I wouldn't really call them friends, but it's very much a teacher whose proud of their student kind of thing. Anara appreciates his honesty and no bs/blunt approach to stuff (though she does admit he can be too strict/harsh sometimes).

And Pavel appreciates that Anara is open to learning and trying anything, and her determination. Even if she fails at something, she'll bounce back and try again 10 fold. He sees great potential in her in the world of mad medicine.

14. (For Chayne) Quickly, let them give us some life advice!

(oh Chayne pffft)

20. (For Sunny) What is their hidden talent? Is that a skill they’ve been practicing since childhood or just something they happen to know and never had the chance to show? Was it something forced upon them, taught by someone close, or they picked it up themselves?

Singing was his hidden talent for a bit. He only really sung in groups/or with his mom growing up. But once he was in college and needed some extra funds (so did Chayne), they started singing/busking on the side. Sunny also can play ALOT of different instruments! Most were self taught, other times people in the hippie commune taught him, or his dad.

42. (For Em) Let them vent for a second, without the fear of being judged. What would they like to say?

Eeeey, ya'll get a small sneak peak of what I've been cookin haha xD

(some WIP sketch panels ^^)

[odd-kid-42]

For the WIP game- 💗👻📝

💗: Is there a scene you can’t wait to write for a WIP?

Since you like “Mediocre Dads”, I’ll talk about that. At some point, I need to drop the fact that Willy is Barry’s adopted older brother in that AU because Hildy returned from Oak Ridge and immediately broke down the Stampler household door to assume care of the notorious, but recently orphaned, San Dimas Cat Strangler. I think Hildy parenting Willy would have been enough to settle his sharper habits before Barry was born. Fourteen years is too much for the two to be incredibly close and it is not as if Willy stuck around after he became an Adult (TM), but I do imagine that at some point, teenage Barry had become enough of a hot-head that he was sent to become twenty-eight year old Willy’s problem for a summer because Hildy knew Willy had that delicate balance between not outright killing him but never being impressed. They came to enough of an understanding that Barry cooled off about being a spiritual leader and Willy became 0.01% less opposed to the idea of being a father one day.

Along that line, the inevitable moment when Frank and Willy realize that their father and uncle, respectively, died in “the 1939 nuclear accident but also people were clearly murdered outside the crater area” event that Hildy had been caught up in and Frank’s mother had investigated when pregnant with him.

👻: Is there a scene that you find intimidating that you have yet to write?

More so with that fic, I am trying to figure out what I want to do with pacing. I don’t like writing transitions of “A week later” because shoot, what has happened with the other kids and their fathers during that week? I don’t want to set up problems and then not do anything with them or leave it sounding like “Barry struggles with communication and that goes on at the same level as the other characters are focused on.” Especially since they are the bad dads and there is the ambiguity of what daily life actually looks like, ie how frequently is Willy losing his temper at Ron. Stuff currently on the back burner as I work on “Alternate World”.

📝: Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

Remember several months ago when people were imagining an evil Henry who stayed to rule Oakvale? I wrote three chapters of evil Ron, but for evil Henry, I only cared enough to write Hen Ry’Oak finding and adopting his sons in the standard “twins are abandoned by their father and found” fairytale setup:

[Hen Ry’ glanced back to check if anyone watched, and none did. He cast Detect Magic and found no difference between them. They were simply twin boys, a fluke of nature— a cell that had split in two threatening their existence.

Amongst the quiet of their sleeping breaths and silent oaks, it began to snow.

Hen Ry’Oak stood watching the two young boys cling to each other in their sleep, their faces relaxed, and something deep ached within him. Snowflakes fell on their peasant-long brown hair and remained, a gentle promise of the weather to make the abandoned twins disappear.

He didn’t want them to disappear. He was king. Entering his land, they were his.

Hen approached and squatted down before realizing what he was doing— how he should call someone to touch the dirty foundlings.

Despite what befit him, he gently eased a boy against each shoulder and lifted. He found them heavy but not as heavy as they should be. One mumbled, “Father.” against his shoulder, and Hen Ry’ held the half-frozen children within his winter robes tighter in fear of what he was accepting.

Entering the proximity of the village, the outer guards offered to take them from him, but he deferred one to alert inner tower that he wished his bedroom heated, bath drawn, and no one to disturb him.

He found the tower empty according to his command, raised the elevator up to the top floor, and entered his warm bedchambers. After a pause of consideration, he eased the boys onto the bed.

One of them blinked awake— Hen could not tell whether the one who had threatened or one who had called him father— and looked at him. Hen Ry’Oak straightened but glanced away beneath the lost stare. “You may spend the night. Your brother and you.”

He glanced back and watched the young boy blink heavily with true exhaustion. He reached for his still-sleeping brother’s hand and held it as he fell back asleep.

Hen watched the unconscious gravity of the two boys to each other. Momentarily, Bear ‘Ry’s sins were expanded to never having had a second son for him a brother. He dismissed the childish thought, going towards the drawn bath and filling a bowl with the water. He would only have had to kill the brother with his father.

He set the bowl by the bedside, dipped a cloth into the water, and strained it. He gently brushed the hair out off the forehead of the closest boy— the one who had awoken briefly— and wiped the cloth over his head. The boy frowned in his sleep, but Hen shushed him gently— gentler than his father shushed him and he felt himself treading on new ground. He was watching himself with interest in the sensation— what being gentle towards these boys felt like.]

Having the twins as non-biological sons to Hen felt right. Part of the original setup for the premise anyway was that the moms are in a mercenaries-for-hire group and aren’t related to the story or kids except as opposition. The twins as the soft spot in Hen’s dispassionate façade appeals to me because it still grounds him as Henry. He can be a Barry figure expanding Oakvale outward, but he is going to raise his sons knowing one or both are likely to stab him for the kingdom when they are old enough.

[chaosnsparks]

San Dimas - CA 🇺🇸 Sofia Chudzik Bauer | IG: @sofiacbauer

🇧🇷 PT_BR

O caso de João VS nós prova algo intrigante: não importa quão fictícia seja a sua vida, parece que fingir ser alguém que não somos, apenas para acumular seguidores e curtidas, supera a honestidade de mostrar a realidade. Surpreendentemente, mesmo quando suas aventuras são genuínas, a maneira como ele as compartilhou revela que, às vezes, a busca pela vaidade supera a necessidade de ser honesto e transparente em como alcançamos nossas conquistas. Sempre tive esse receio.

Em um mundo onde as "métricas da vaidade" muitas vezes valem mais do que a verdade e a autenticidade, testemunhamos muitas pessoas incríveis abandonando as redes sociais, especialmente o Instagram. Elas o fazem por terem números modestos ou por não conseguirem competir com a vida aparentemente deslumbrante de alguns influenciadores, cujas vidas falsas e imagens perfeitas têm causado sérios problemas de saúde mental para aqueles que vivem vidas reais. Parece que ser "milionário" ou ter um corpo esculpido é o que mais viraliza, tornando todos os outros praticamente anônimos.

Por muito tempo, hesitei em compartilhar aqui não porque achasse minha vida desinteressante, mas porque ela não se encaixava no padrão luxuoso e fitness que fazia as pessoas parecerem interessantes. Mesmo que eu não me importasse muito com números, me sentia como se minha vida fosse menos do que era na realidade. Depois de quase três anos de autoimposição dessa pressão, percebi que nada disso realmente importa. Agora compreendo que o que importa é como me sinto em relação ao que compartilho e faço. Isso fala mais alto do que viver uma mentira que, eventualmente, será desmascarada, como aconteceu com João.

Não há nada como a paz de viver uma vida real, sem medo de ser autêntico, sem o receio de uma exposição negativa súbita. Aqui, as pessoas conhecem quem você é, incluindo suas imperfeições e defeitos. Nada do que revelamos seria uma surpresa, porque, afinal, somos seres humanos, com nossas falhas e virtudes, tudo ao mesmo tempo.

🇺🇸 EN

The case of João VS us proves something intriguing: no matter how fictitious one's life may be, it seems that pretending to be someone we're not, just to accumulate followers and likes, outweighs the honesty of showing reality. Surprisingly, even when his adventures are genuine, the way he shared them reveals that sometimes the pursuit of vanity outweighs the need to be honest and transparent about how we achieve our accomplishments. I've always had this concern.

In a world where "vanity metrics" often hold more value than truth and authenticity, we've witnessed many wonderful people quitting social media, especially Instagram. They do so either because they have modest numbers or because they can't compete with the seemingly glamorous lives of some influencers, whose fake lives and perfect images have caused serious mental health issues for those living real lives. It seems that being a "millionaire" or having a sculpted body is what goes viral, making everyone else virtually anonymous.

For a long time, I hesitated to share here, not because I found my life uninteresting, but because it didn't fit the luxurious and fitness-focused pattern that made people seem interesting. Even though I didn't care much about numbers, I felt as if my life was less than it actually was. After nearly three years of self-imposed pressure, I realized that none of this really matters. I now understand that what matters is how I feel about what I share and do. That speaks louder than living a lie that will eventually be exposed, as it happened with João.

There's nothing like the peace of living a real life, without the fear of being authentic, without the worry of sudden negative exposure. Here, people know who you are, including your imperfections and flaws. Nothing we reveal would be a surprise because, after all, we are human, with our faults and virtues, all at the same time.

[penguin--person]

I’m mad happy your fic is still up I thought it got taken down or smth 😭 I literally requested to have an acc on AO3 just so I could read your fic. It is very good, feeds the brain worms

omg thank you so much!!!!:3!!!!! teehee!!!! i appreciate it so so so much!!! im writing another pafl fic rn (temnova centered) so tomorrows chapter is . not gonna come out tomorrow so sorry . but !! but . the temnova fic is p swaggin if i do say so myself.. n its already like halfway done ! wont take much longer n right after ill go n continue swap:3 ill also draw smth for it maybe... bc your nice words rlly made me happy . m. im gonna ramble about these two under the cut, and how i hope to portray them (mostly through yuras perspesctive tho, not gonna be having much of dimas for some time) n such !! teehee

so !! cleave by tart is a good song n it made me. delve into yura x dima a bit. while im not a big fan of the ship, i Am a fan of the song! i wouldnt have made yura crush on him if i wrote it now lol BUT i still think its cool . so . this also might be a bit spoilerish?? but god this fic is long i wanna talk about it!!!

dima, does not recipocrate. he does not feel the same as yura. does not like him all that much, if hes being honest. yes, he fed him and gave him a place to stay for the night, but, come on have you seen yura !! most suspicious guy around. thinks he's up to something, that he knows he's a mutant, that he wants to report him etc. yura doesn't know this though. yura himself doesn't even rlly knows how he feels towards dima. its. dima is a mutant - yura can't like him, yea sure lapses in reason can be pretty fun, but, he can't like a mutant, especially not one so lame, yea? especially one that sucks so bad at hiding that he's a mutant. but. even though he can't like him ... he can't help but blush ... he can't help but feel silly around dima ... little does he know what he feels isn't rlly love.

so. yuras messed up. depression n all that. speaking from experience, it's easy to feel like you're beyond saving when depressed and such, that you've fucked up too much, that this is it, nothing will ever get better, all that shit. he sees dima, this mutant on the run that throws up every five minutes. and it's obvious he's worse off than yura. so. in a lapse of reason. he thinks, "Oh! If i can help him, if i can take even the slightest care of him, if i can get him better, then. that means i'm not beyond saving, either. if i help him it'll mean i'm ok. that i still have a chance." . and just . smth like a bit of a hero complex moment. but dima is a BOY and yura is a boy TOO so he CANT LIKE HIM!!! because that will be GAY and yura is a young slavic teen lol of course hes got some homophobia shit going on. internalized, repressed, whatever it is its NOT good !!!

yura doesnt rlly love dima as much as he loves the idea of proving that he can prove something to himself, in short ❤️or Something like that. only knew him for a week anyway and for half of it dima wasnt all that concious. dont know if this makes sense. 👍

dont know if any of this makes sense but !! thank you again!!! :3 i appreciate it lots!!!

[glowingbadger]

I loved the Ashe, Sylvain, and Hilda modern-day HCs. So….can I ask for….Marianne, Dima, and Claude now? They’re so so good.

Here's a quick list of the places I've touched on ModernAU stuff with these characters before, for anyone who's interested! General Modern HCs (Dimitri) W/ insecure Reader (Claude, Dimitri) W/ insecure Reader (Marianne) Soft HCs (Dimitri)

I'll try not to repeat myself too much, but the SFW portion might be a little sparse because I've written a good deal of my thoughts on that already :3

Marianne, Dimitri, Claude x GN Reader

Modern/College AU headcanons

SFW (not sfw under the cut)

Marianne:

- Definitely a veterinary student who has an incredible, intuitive way with animals. One of those "gets along with animals better than people" types. As a result, many others in her classes see her as aloof or difficult to talk to. Fortunately, when Hilda drags her to a party one night, you notice her keeping to herself and come to make casual conversation. It takes a bit for her to open up, but she's soon grateful for pleasant, relaxing company in the midst of the loud chaos.

- She needs a good amount of reassurance in a relationship, as she's so convinced you could do better. Marianne is totally the type to apologize for not being good enough for you, then apologize for bringing it up, then apologize for apologizing. But her love and admiration for you are so very clear. She'll shyly take your hand in hers, and just the way she looks at you, it's like you're every star and every sunset she's ever seen.

- Marianne spends some of her free time volunteering at a local animal shelter, and one of your earlier dates would involve her introducing you to some of the animals in her care. Here, it's like you see a completely different side of her- she's so much more confident and firm when she speaks to the animals, and she smiles so brightly and laughs adorably as she watches you attempt to make a good impression on them.

Dimitri:

- We've chatted about Modern! Dimitri a good deal so far- but I will double down here on the fact that, while he's outwardly extremely intimidating to your friends when you first start dating, you know (and they learn) that he's absolute Malewife material.

- He loves sitting on video calls with you and just staring at your adorable, lovely face. He's an excellent listener, and will gladly hear about your entire day from start to finish, even if you insist it was nothing special. He's just so soothed by your voice, and the chance to see you. While he's honestly not very good at social media in general, he does have a couple hundred pictures of you saved. Not to post anywhere, just to look back at with a goofy grin on his face.

Claude:

- Claude is the guy on campus that everyone likes, plenty of people want, but no one can really nail down. He seems to know everyone, but he's only actually close to a few good friends, and for the longest time, even they assume that he's the "doesn't believe in serious dating" type. It starts much the same with you- he figures you're interesting and cute as hell, so he may as well spend some time having fun and getting to know you. And then... the feels TM creep in.

- You'll be caught up in a sort of... friendly flirtation with him for a while. The kind where it would be easy to play off all of the corny innuendos and knowing glances as "just kidding around." Then, one night, after a long group study session or just lazing around with drinks and games with his friends, he offers to walk you back to your dorm. When you get caught in a sudden downpour and have to duck under the nearest building's awning for shelter, he gives you a strange lingering look that's so much heavier than any you've seen. And without a word, he leans down to kiss you. When you part, he's wearing a slanted smile, but he's fidgeting a bit when he says, "Hey, uh, Y/N. I wanna be with you- for real. So uh... how 'bout it?"

- Claude is just the most fun boyfriend ever. He's got an active and curious mind, so he's always game to try anything you're interested in, and you'll never be at a loss for date ideas. He's the kind who gets okay grades, though nothing incredible, but his brilliance shines in how he latches on to new information, turning a topic around in his mind until he's seen it from every angle. It's especially charming when he asks to hear about your interests or areas of expertise- he asks all the right questions and the conversation becomes lively just about instantly.

NSFW 18 + v

Marianne:

- You're definitely her first sexual partner (she hasn't even dated seriously until you), and she's going to take a long time to get comfortable freely exploring the physical side of a relationship. She's a big cuddler, once you've assured her that you like it too- she finds it immensely soothing to rest her head on your shoulder or on your chest, just listening to your breathing and feeling you warm against her. But as for sexual affection, she'll start slow, testing things by letting her gentle hands tentatively wander just a little further than before, or deepening your kiss a little more than usual.

- Best practice with Marianne is to let her be the one to suggest or initiate things, but to respond enthusiastically when she does so she knows you're happy with it and you want her as much as she wants you. Your approval and encouragement fills her with warmth she's never felt before, and a sense of bold desire she hadn't even known she was capable of. There's plenty of communication with her- there has to be -but in a way, that becomes its own sort of eroticism. Soft murmurs of, "is this okay?", "does that feel good?", or "can you take more?" mix in with affirmative sighs and moans, turning the negotiation of comfort into a wonderful, slowly escalating path towards satisfaction.

- She's absolutely mortified by the idea of sexting or sending nudes, but if she sends you an outfit she's considering and reply with a coy "You look amazing- can't wait to take that off of you" (honestly the cheesier the better with the pickup lines- being too smooth would intimidate her)- she'll only respond with a single blushing emoji, but you bet she'll be wearing that outfit to your next date.

Dimitri:

- Everyone on campus, including your friends/roomates see Dimitri as such a pure cinnamon roll that you might be surprised to learn he has a rather healthy sex drive underneath all of that sweetness and affection. Granted, he's definitely most likely to desire you when he feels emotionally close to you- but that won't stop him from fucking you nice and deep until your bed creaks. The first time someone overhears you practically screaming out his name, rumors start spreading that your ever-devoted Malewife is actually legendary in bed. It's mostly a raunchy joke, but as far as you're concerned, they're not exactly wrong.

- He's too nervous to actually save any of the spicy pics you've sent him to his phone, but that doesn't stop him from regularly scrolling back through your message threads to find them. Masturbating to porn is fine and good, but when he can look at you biting your lip as you show off your body to him, he pumps his cock and bucks his hips against his hand until he cums far harder than he's used to. Dimitri especially gets a thrill out of the implied part of this- the fact that you wanted to flaunt yourself to him like this and made sure that he would linger on the sight of you.

- A very fun game is to comment or imply something about how good Dimitri fucks you while you're hanging out with his friends. He stammers and turns bright red when you mention how, "Oh don't you worry, Dimitri keeps me nice and satisfied, don't you babe?" with your eyebrows quirked playfully. His buddies nudge him and laugh, and as timid as he appears about it, he'll need you as soon as you're alone together, and he'll hold you extra close and pound into you a little harder than usual.

Claude:

- Alright. Claude is hot, and Claude knows he's hot, and he has no problem using this to his advantage. He'll absolutely send you gym selfies, or raunchy messages when he knows you're with friends or family. During minor disagreements or when you're pretending to be mad at him, he'll slip an arm around your waist and nibble at your ear, whispering, "C'mon babe, don't be like that..." before pulling you close and kissing you until you can't think straight.

- He absolutely doesn't care if people overhear you- in fact, he'll tease you about it, murmuring in your ear that you can't keep moaning for him like that or you'll be heard. But the fact that he's fucking into you harder and deeper as he says it tells you clearly that he wants you to cry out for him. In general, he's pretty shameless about your shared sex life if you allow him to be. He'll practically strut out of your room to clean up in just his boxers, not caring a bit if your roommates get an eyeful. He's handsy in public as well (again, depending on your comfort with it), and will absolutely grab a handful of your ass while you're on a date together, or trail his hand up your thigh during a movie.

- Claude is adventurous and open minded about sex in general, as I've mentioned a couple times. Hell, he'll even send you a porn clip or a bit of smut, along with a brief "we should try this ;)"- and he obviously loves when you do the same for him. He sees no reason to be shy with his partner about your mutual pleasure. Communicating your preferences will make sure you both enjoy yourselves, and the process of even talking about it can be pretty hot on its own.

[hamliet]

The Crows Summon the Sun

Or, Hamliet’s review of Shadow & Bone, which gets a 4.5/5 for enjoyment and a 3.5/5 in terms of writing.

The true heroes of this story and the saviors of the show are the Crows. However, the problem is that the show then has an uneven feel, because the strength of the Crows plotline highlights the weaknesses of the trilogy storyline. But imo, overall, the strengths overshadow (#punintended) the weaknesses. 

I’ll divide the review into the narrative and the technical (show stuff, social commentary), starting with narrative.

Narrative: The Good 

It’s What The Crows Deserve

I went into the show watching it for the Crows; however, knowing that their storyline was intended to be a prequel, I wasn’t terribly optimistic. And while it is a prequel, the characters have complete and full arcs that perfectly set them up for the further development they will have in the books (which I think should be the next season?). Instead of retreading the arcs they’d have in the books, which is how prequels usually go, they had perfect set up for these arcs. It’s really excellent. 

Jesper, Inej, and Kaz are all allowed to be flawed, to have serious conflicts with one another, and yet to love each other. They feel like a found family in the best of ways. Kaz is the perfect selfish rogue; he’s a much more successfully executed Byronic hero than the Darkling, actually. Inej is heroic and her faith is not mocked, yet she too is flawed and her choices are not always entirely justified, but instead left to the audience to ponder (like killing the girl), which is a more mature writing choice that I appreciated. 

Jesper is charming, has a heart of gold despite being a murderer and on the surface fairly greedy, and MILO THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT GOAT WAS THE BEST THING EVER. I also liked Jesper’s fling with Dima but I felt it could be better used rather than merely establishing his sexuality, like if Jesper and Dima had seen each other one more time or something had come of their tryst for the plot/themes/development of Jesper. 

Nina and Matthias’s backstory being in the first season, instead of in flashbacks, really works because it automatically erases any discomfort of the implications of Nina having falsely accused Matthias that the books start with. We know Nina, we know Matthias, we know their motivations, backgrounds, and why they feel the way we do. It’ll be easy for the audience to root for them without a lot of unnecessary hate springing from misunderstanding Nina (since she’s my favorite). Matthias’s arc was also really strongly executed and satisfyingly tragic. Their plotline was a bit unfortunately disconnected from the rest of the story, but Danielle Gallagan and Callahan Skogman have absolutely sizzling chemistry so I found myself looking forward to their scenes instead of feeling distracted. Also? It’s nice seeing a woman with Nina’s body type as a romantic and powerful character. 

Hamliet Likes Malina Now

Insofar as the trilogy storyline goes, the best change the show made was Mal. He still is the same character from the books, but much more likable. The pining was... a lot (too much in episode 4, I felt) but Malina is a ship I actually enjoyed in the show while I NOTP’d it in the books. Mal has complexity and layers to his motivations (somewhat) and a likable if awkward charm. Archie Renaux was fantastic. 

Ben Barnes is the perfect Aleksandr Kirigan, and 15 year old me, who had the biggest of big crushes on Ben Barnes (first celebrity crush over a decade ago lol), was pretty damn happy lol. He’s magnificantly acted--sympathetic and terrifying, sincerely caring and yet villainous in moments. Story-wise, I think it was smart to reveal his name earlier on than in the books, because it helps with the humanization especially in a visual medium like film. Luda was a fitting (if heartbreaking) backstory, but it is also hard for me to stomach knowing what the endgame of his character is. Like... I get the X-men fallacy thing, but I hope the show gives more kindness to his character than the books did, yet I’m afraid to hold my breath. Just saying that if you employ save the cat, if you directly say you added this part (Luda) to make the character more likable (as the director did) please do not punish the audience for feeling what you intended. 

I also liked the change that made Alina half-Shu. It adds well to her arc and fits with her character, actually giving her motivations (she kinda just wants to be ordinary in a lot of ways) a much more interesting foundation than in the books. Also it’s nice not to have another knock-off Daenerys (looking to you Celaena and book!Alina). Jessie Mei Li does a good job playing Alina’s insecurities and emotions, but... 

Narrative: The Ehhhhhhh

Alina the Lamp

Sigh. Here we go. Alina has little consistent characterization. She’s almost always passive when we see her, yet she apparently punches an officer for calling her a name and this seems to be normal for her, but it doesn’t fit at all with what we know about her thus far. Contradictions are a part of humanity, but it’s never given any focus, so it comes across as inconsistent instead of a flaw or repression. 

I have no idea what Alina wants, beside that she wants to be with Mal, which is fine except I have no idea what the basis of their bond is. Even with like, other childhood friends to lovers like Ren/Nora in RWBY or Eren/Mikasa in SnK, there’s an inciting moment, a reason, that we learn very early on in their story to show us what draws them together. Alina and Mal just don’t have that. There’s the meadow/running away thing, but they were already so close, and why?  Why, exactly? What brought them together? The term “bullies” is thrown around but it isn’t ever explored and it needed to be this season. If I have to deal with intense pining for so many episodes at least give me a foundation for their devotion. You need to put this in the beginning, in the first season. You just do.

A “lamp” character is a common metaphor to describe a bad character: essentially, you could replace the character with a lamp and nothing changes. Considering Alina’s gift is light, it’s a funnily apt metaphor, but it really does apply. Her choices just don’t... matter. She could be a special lamp everyone is fighting over and almost nothing would change. The ironic thing is that everyone treating her like a fancy lamp is exactly the conflict, but it’s never delved into. We’re never shown that Alina is more than a lamp. She never has to struggle because her choices are made for her and information is gifted to her when she needs it. Not making choices protects Alina from consequences and the story gives her little incentive to change that; in fact, things tend to turn out better when she doesn’t make choices (magic stags will arrive). 

Like... let’s look at a few occasions when Alina almost or does make choices. For example, she chooses to (it seems) sleep with Kirigan, but then there’s a convenient knock at the door and Bhagra arrives with key information that changes Alina’s mind instantly despite the fact that Bhagra’s been pretty terrible to her. If you want to write a woman realizing she’s been duped by a cruel man, show her discovering it instead of having the man’s abusive mother tell her when she had absolutely no such suspicions beforehand. There’s no emotional weight there because Alina doesn’t struggle. 

When she is actually allowed to carry out a bad choice, the consequences are handwaved away instead of built into a challenge for her. Like... Alina got her friends killed. More than once. I’m not saying she’s entirely to blame for these but could we show her reacting to it? Feeling any sort of grief? She never mentions Raisa or Alexei after they’re gone, just Mal, and I’m... okay. They were there because of you. Aren’t you feeling anything? Aren’t you sad? The only time Alina brings up her friends’ deaths is to tell Kirigan he killed her friends when they were only there because she burned the maps. She yells at Kirigan for “never” giving her a choice, but she almost never makes any, so why would he? Alina has the gall to lecture Genya about choices, but she herself almost never has to make any. 

Which brings me to another complaint in general: Alina’s lack of care for everyone around her when they’re not Mal, even if they care for her. Marie dies because of her (absolutely not her fault of course) but as far as we know she never even learns about Marie. She certainly doesn’t ever ask about her or Nadia. Alina seems apathetic at best to people, certainly not compassionate or kind. 

The frustrating thing is that there is potential here. Like, it actually makes a lot of psychological sense for an orphan who has grown up losing to be reluctant to care for people outside of her orbit and that she would struggle to believe she can have any say in her destiny (ie make choices). It’s also interesting that a girl who feels like an outsider views others outside her. But the show never offers examines Alina’s psychology with any depth; it simply tells us she’s compassionate when she is demonstrably not, it tells us she makes decisions when it takes magical intervention to do so. It’s a missed opportunity. This does not change between episodes 1 and 8, despite the episodes’ parallel structures and scenes, which unintentionally reinforces that Alina had little real development. 

Inej and ironically Jesper and Kaz embody the concept of “mercy” far better and with far more complexity than Alina does. The Crows have reactions to the loss of people who even betray them (Arken, etc), learn, and course-correct (or don’t) when they are even loosely involved in having strangers die. They’re good characters because they change and learn and have their choices matter. When they kill we see them wrestle with it and what this means even if they are accustomed to doing so. Jesper can’t kill in front of a child. Kaz wonders what his killings do to Inej’s idea of him.

Narrative: The Mixed Bag

Tropes, Themes, Telling vs. Showing

So the show’s themes in the Alina storyline are a mess, as they are in the trilogy too. Tropes are a very valuable way to show your audience what you’re trying to say. They’re utilized worldwide because they resonate with people and we know what to expect from them. The Crows' storyline shows us what it wants us to learn.

Preaching tells, and unfortunately, the trilogy relies on telling/preaching against fornicationBad Boys. It’s your right to write any trope or trample any trope you want--your story--but you should at least understand what/why you are doing so. The author clearly knows enough about Jungian shadows and dark/light yin/yang symbolism to use it in the story, but then just handwaves it away as “I don’t like this” but never does so in a narratively effective way: addressing the appeal in the first place. If you really wanna deconstruct a trope, you gotta empathize with the core of the reason these tropes appeal to people (it allays deep fears that we are ourselves unlovable, through loving another person despite how beastly they can be), and address this instead of ignoring it. Show us a better way through the Fold of your story. Don’t just go around it and ignore the issue.

The trilogy offers highly simplistic themes at best--bad boy bad and good boy good, which is fine-ish for kid lit but less fine for adult complexity, which the show (more so than the books) seems to try to push despite not actually having much of it.

Alina and Mal are intended to be good, we’re told they are, but I’m not sure why beyond just that we’re told so. Alina claims the stag chose her, but in the show it’s never explained why at all. Unlike with Kaz, Inej, Jesper, and hell even Matthias and Nina, we don’t see Alina or Mal’s complex choices and internal wrestling. 

Like, Inej’s half-episode where she almost killed the guy they needed was far more character exploration than Alina has the entire show, to say nothing of Inej’s later killing which not only makes her leaps and bounds more interesting, but ironically cements her as a far more compelling and yes, likable, heroine than Alina. We see Inej’s emotional and moral conflict. We can relate to her. We see Kaz struggling with his selfishness and regrets, with his understanding of himself through his interactions with and observations of Inej, Alina, the Darkling, Arken, and Jesper.

We don’t explore what makes Mal or Alina good and what makes them bad. We don’t know what Alina discovers about herself, what her power means for her. We are told they are good, we are told she knows her power is hers, but never shown what this means or what this costs them/her. Their opportunities to be good are handed to them (the stag, Bhagra) instead of given to them as a challenge in which they risk things, in which doing good or making a merciful choice costs them. Alina gets to preach about choices without ever making any; Inej risks going back to the Menagerie to trust Kaz. Her choices risk. They cost. They matter and direct her storyline and her arc, and those of the people around her.

Production Stuff:

The Good: 

The production overall is quite excellent. The costumes, pacing, acting, and cinematography (for example, one of the earliest scenes between the Darkling and Alina has Alina with her back to the light, face covered in his shadow, while the Darkling’s face is light up by her light even if he stands in the shadows) are top-notch. The soundtrack as well is incredible and emphasizes the scenes playing. The actors have great chemistry together, friend chemistry and romantic when necessary (Mal and Alina, the Darkling and Alina, Kaz and Inej, Nina and Matthias, David and Genya, etc.) All are perfectly cast. 

The Uncomfortable Technicalities Hamliet Wants to Bitch About:

The only characters from fantasy!Europe having any trace of an accent reminiscent of said fantasy country's real-world equivalent are antagonists like Druskelle (Scandinavia) and Pekka (Ireland). When the heroes mostly have British accents despite being from fantasy Russia and Holland, it is certainly A Choice to have the Irish accent emphasized. The actor is British by the way, so I presume he purposely put on an Irish accent. I'm sure no one even considered the potential implications of this but it is A Look nonetheless.

The Anachronisms Hamliet Has a Pet Peeve About: 

The worldbuilding is compelling, but the only blight on the worldbuilding within the story itself (ignoring context) was that there are some anachronisms that took me out of the story, particularly in the first episode where “would you like to share with the class” and “saved by the horn” are both used. Both are modern-day idioms in English that just don’t fit, especially the latter. The last episode uses “the friends we made along the way.” There are other modern idioms as well.

IT’S STARKOVA and Other Pet Peeves Around the Russian Portrayal 

Russian names are not hard, and Russian naming systems are very, very easy to learn. I could have waved “Starkov” not being “Starkova,” “Nazyalensky” not being “Nazyalenskaya,”  and “Safin” not being “Safina” as an American interpretation (since in America, the names do not femininize). However, “Mozorova” as a man is unfathomable and suggests to me the author just doesn’t understand how names work, which is a bit... uh okay considering a simple google search gets you to understand Russian names. They aren’t hard. I cannot understand why the show did not fix this. It is so simple to fix and would be a major way to help the story’s overall... caricature of Russia. 

Speaking of that... Ravka is supposedly Russian-based, but it is more accurately based on the stereotypes of what Americans think of Russia. Amerussia? Russica? Not great. 

The royals are exactly what Americans think of the Romanovs, right down to the “greasy” “spiritual advisor” who is clearly Rasputin and which ignores the Romanov history, very real tragedy, and the reason Rasputin was present in the court. The religion with all its saints is a vapid reflection of Russian Orthodoxy. The military portrayal with its lotteries and brutality and war is how the US views the Russian military. The emphasis on orphans, constant starvation, classification, and children being ripped from their homes to serve the government is a classic US understanding of USSR communism right down to the USSR having weapons of destruction the rest of the world fears (Grisha). Not trying to defend the Soviet Union here at all, but it is simplistic and reductive and probably done unconsciously but still ehhhh. 

However, I’m not Russian. I just studied Russian literature. I’ve seen very little by way of discussion of this topic online, but what I do see from Russian people has been mixed--some mind, some don’t. The reality is that I actually don’t really mind this because it’s fantasy, though I see why some do. I'm not like CANCEL THIS. So why am I talking about this beyond just having a pet peeve?

Well, because it is a valid critique, and because it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The Grishaverse is heralded as an almost paragon for woke Young Adult literature, which underlines itself what so frustrates me about how literary circles discuss issues of diversity and culture. Such praise, while ignoring its quasi-caricature of Russia, reflects a very ethnocentric (specifically American) understanding of culture, appropriation, and representation. All stories are products of their culture to various extents, but it bothers me on principle what the lit community reacts (and overreacts sometimes?) to and what people give a pass to. The answer to what the community reacts to and what it gives a pass always pivots on how palatable the appropriation is to American understandings and sensibilities. There’s nuance here as well, though. 

I'm not cancelling the story or thinking it should be harshly attacked for this, but it is something that can be discussed and imo should be far more often--but with the nuance it begs, instead of black/white. But that’s a tall ask. 

[markoslostgirl]

𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏' 𝑼𝒑 (𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑺. 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏, 𝑬𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆)

Requested by: @ringa-starr

Pairing: Bill S. Preston, Esquire x fem!oc

Word count: 2,110 words

Warnings: none, I think? Unless you count fluff

Summary: Bill’s girlfriend, Deidra, is sick, so Bill takes care of her

Author’s note: I feel so honored to write this for my friend, and I had a fun time writing it since we love the curly-haired angel, Bill S. Preston, Esquire. I’ve been working on this for 5-6 months, but I honestly think I could’ve done a better job with it so don’t come at me. Deidra, I hope you love it, and that you enjoy reading it. GIF isn’t mine, and it holds no significance to the imagine. I just couldn’t find one suitable.

Deidra sat up in her bed, letting out a sigh as she glanced up at the ceiling in boredom. She was sick, feeling miserable beyond compare. It wasn’t allergies, or even the flu. No, it was just a measly cold. Okay, so maybe she had made the most foolish decision of falling asleep with her hair wet while the air conditioner was running full blast.

Saturday had been a particularly hot day in San Dimas. Of course, it was always hot, but the one day on the weekend was uncomfortable. So, Deidra, her boyfriend—Bill S. Preston, Esquire—and her best friend, Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan, went to Waterloo to beat the heat.

Bill and Deidra had been dating for months now, and it had gone incredible. The first time Deidra had met Bill, she instantly became captivated by his sweet demeanor and charismatic personality. She gravitated toward him as if it were like a magnetic force pulling her in. Deidra didn’t know what it was, but there was just something about him she found so...alluring. Bill was boisterous and endearing, as well as goofy. He never failed to make her smile or laugh at his goofy jokes.

Deidra also had become entranced by the way he spoke every word with such genuine innocence, and it made her heart flutter. His beautiful, forest green eyes held such optimism, always sparkling with excitement. He had incredibly golden, curly hair, and cheeks dusted with a naturally rosy blush. His bright, cheeky grin was adorable, and it made Deidra’s soul lift up out of her body every time he flashed his Cheshire grin whenever he spoke. She was convinced he was the Greek God Apollo.

Since Deidra had been holed up in her room for days, she was about to go insane due to the palpable tediousness. While she kept herself busy watching reruns of “I love Lucy” and “The Brady Bunch”, or listening to music, she could only tolerate so much in order not to grow lack of interest.

Deidra hadn’t been able to see Bill, since she spent half of her time with him at Ted’s house watching them practice. She missed hanging out and spending time with them outside of school. The trio were a tight knit group, always together as they kicked around having the time of their lives. Other than spending time in Ted’s garage, Deidra spent the other half of her time at her house with Bill or going on dates with him on their own time. So, the time she had to stay away from him was the most heinous thing ever.

Bill was incredibly charming—always planning the most creative, romantic gestures for Deidra in his own special ways with the help of Ted, of course. It never failed to make Deidra melt at just how much of a gentleman Bill was. He always took her on cute, simple dates—whether it’s to the mall, Waterloo, or even McDonald’s. They spent time together as much as possible since they always had the most fun of times.

Deidra let out a yawn as she laid back down, stretching her aching limbs out wide at her sides. A loud sneeze erupted from her nose, causing her to groan and let her head fall back on the pillow due to the heavy weight on her head from lifting it up. She reached over and grabbed a tissue out of the box on the nightstand, blowing her nose before tossing the tissue in the small bin beside the nightstand her mom had placed there.

Deidra sniffed, staring back up at the ceiling with watery eyes as Elvis played faintly in the background. The sound of the front door closing echoed through the house, filling her with panic. Both of her parents were at work, and if they were home, they would let her know as soon as they stepped foot inside the house. All of the sudden, a familiar figure appeared in the doorway, filling her with relief.

“Greetings, my most bodacious babe Dee!” Bill exclaimed, his arms full of what appears to be food, games, and medicine. Bill had rushed over, filled with worry once he heard how sick Deidra was over the phone, and he wanted to take care of her instantly. “I brought some things I know you’d enjoy during your time of need.”

Her whole face lit up, her eyes twinkling. “Bill!” Deidra croaked, her voice raw from the amount of coughing she had been doing. “What are you doing here?” She asked. “I’m sick, which means you’re not allowed to be here,” she told him, a frown on her face.

“Dee, babe, I haven’t been able to see you for days,” Bill reminded Deidra. “I’ve really missed you, and I know you must be going insane trapped in your room. I figured I’d come cheer you up,” he admitted as he stepped inside the room.

Deidra smiled at his sweet confession. Bill always went out of his way to do things like this for the people he absolutely cared about, including Deidra and Ted. This was just the kind of guy Bill was, and it made her fall in love with him even more.

“I really appreciate it, Bill,” Deidra told bill, honesty in her voice. “I’m sick. I would hate to have you in the same situation, especially because of me. It’s most egregious,” she tried to convince him.

“I’m not going to get sick, you baby” Bill denied with a playful glare, causing Deidra to roll her eyes with a fond smile at his humor. “Just let me take care of you until you’re a hundred percent better again,” bill insisted before placing the items on the bed.

Deidra felt a stinging itch radiating from her throat, causing her to hack violently into her arm. The sensation of her throat feeling like it had been ripped to tiny shreds by a chainsaw was searing in waves of splitting pain. Once the coughing ceased, she squeezed her eyes shut as a sigh escaped past her lips.

Shrugging off his shoes in a lethargic way, Bill sat down beside Deidra, a concerned look etched on his face. He couldn’t help but notice her pale skin, the dark circles underneath her eyes, or her nose red with irritation. The look of pure misery vanished once bill placed a feathery, soft kiss on her forehead.

“Dee, you’re burning up!” Bill voiced as he pulled away, placing a cool hand on Deidra’s forehead, causing her to shiver due to how warm her body felt. Bill brushed the stray, baby hairs away from her forehead. “You stay here, babe. I’m gonna go and make you some soup,” he stood up from the bed with a smile before retreating downstairs to the kitchen.

A small grin graced Deidra’s lips, finding how adorable and sweet it was for Bill to become worried, especially whenever it came to her. Even at his own risk, Bill was a deeply compassionate person by helping when Deidra was in distress. She couldn’t help but feel naturally content, delighted, and safe in his presence.

Deidra crawled out from the warm cocoon of her bed, moving toward her record player and turning off the music of Elvis. She plopped back down on her bed and pulling back the covers closer up to her neck. It didn’t take long for Bill to finish making the soup, as he made his way back into the room, carefully holding a bowl of soup and a spoon. Deidra sniffed the air, the delicious smell of the soup wafting through her nose.

“Here you go, babe,” Bill softly spoke, carefully handing his girlfriend the bowl of hot contents and a spoon. “You need to eat a little bit so you can take your medicine.”

Deidra settled the bowl on her lap, the weight of the bowl full of soup feeling heavy in her hands. She placed one hand around the bowl, her index finger resting on the rim to keep it steady on her lap. Timidly, she took a spoonful of soup, bringing it up to her mouth and carefully blowing on it before taking a bite.

Deidra shivered at the warm feeling flowing through her body from the hot soup. Bill took his place beside her as he watched her continue to eat the soup. Noticing his beloved was almost finished, bill took the spoon and guided it to her lips.

Deidra blushed, eyeing the spoon bill was holding up to her lips. Bill often fed her from time to time, whenever they went on dates, but this time it was obviously under different circumstances. She was more vulnerable. Of course, neither of them seemed to mind, as it was a loving gesture bill did with patience.

The curly-haired angel pushed the spoon past the girl’s lips, letting her finish the last bite of soup. She leaned over, placing the bowl next to the cup of tea she had made a while ago, already sure to be cold now. Deidra glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand, knowing it was time to take her medicine once again.

After she finished taking her medicine, Deidra grabbed the bottle half full of water and took a big sip of it to wash the horrid taste down. She eased herself back under the covers in order to lie down, sighing in content from the warmth the soup and the covers provided her with.

Bill outstretched his arms for Deidra to envelop herself into his embrace, causing fear to cross her face as she shook her head in protest. “Bill, no, I don’t want you to risk yourself more than you already have.”

“I don’t care,“ Bill excused. “Just let me hold you.” Deidra bored her eyes into her boyfriend, biting her lip as Bill fluttered his eyelashes with an expectant smile before shuffling closer to him and curling into his chest. He gazed into her eyes with such fondness, causing a flush to creep up her face as she knew he was thinking of her.

“I’m only doing it because you’re cute,” Deidra commented, causing bill to form a smirk on his lips once he took notice of her sticking her nose in the air.

A moment of silence passed before bill spoke up. “Do you feel a little better, Dee?” Bill asked, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. The warmth from the blankets combined with the heat from cuddling up to Bill enveloped her with a blanket of comfort. “Are you warm enough?”

The brown-haired girl hummed, nodding her head. “You’re soft and warm,” she murmured. “I don’t want you to move.” Bill did manage to make her feel a little better than how she was feeling before. He lifted her spirits once he showed up, so needless to say, she wasn’t feeling as miserable as she had been. “I’m so glad you came over. Any time without you is far too long.”

Her voice dripped with exhaustion from the medicine, the state of drowse sinking in as a side effect. Bill’s mouth lifted up into a smile as he played with Deidra’s hair, tracing through her long, wavy locks softly with his fingers.

“Don’t stop...” Deidra mumbled in a languid tone, causing bill to hum in question. “Your fingers in my hair,” the girl clarified. “Feels really nice...”

“You’re adorable,” Bill crooned, his mouth curving into a soft smile. “You know I’ll always be here, right?” Bill quietly vowed in a gentle tone, causing Deidra to hum in content. There were times where Bill struggled with expressing how he felt about the green-eyed girl, but they both knew he loved her so much.

As the day progressed, Bill made sure Deidra consumed her medicine regularly when she was supposed to. After watching Lady and the Tramp and playing board games, Bill and Deidra started reading together. Bill absentmindedly tangled his fingers through the dark tresses and down her back as he reads to her in a soft voice.

Bill peered down at Deidra, only to see she had dozed off once he noticed her eyelids flutter shut. The corners of his mouth twitched up as he gazed down at her, before closing the book and pulling her closer to him. He nuzzled his face into her hair, before placing a tender kiss on the crown of her head.

“I love you,” Bill whispered softly into her ear. “I hope you know this.”

“I love you, too,” Deidra declared, her voice just barely touched of a whisper. It nearly would have been too silent, yet bill had heard it loudly by the tiny grin curving on the corners of his lips. It just reminded how in love he fell with her more everyday.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

So, that’s it for this imagine! Bill is so cute, and as a Bill girl, I wish I lived in a universe where I was sick so he could take care of me! What do you think? Like I mentioned before, I really think I could have done a better job with this. I’m honored my best friend Deidra came to me to write this, and I hope I did it justice!

With love, from Audrey <3

[heytheredeann]

Oh my gosh sorry for the like spree but like major grom plague doctor is just so good???

I mean I had a feeling I would enjoy the movie but I was still so pleasantly surprised! The cgi is solid, the camera work is STUNNING, all the characters are good, even the villain(s?) and the minor characters like the kid who turns into a plague doctor truther and the boxing crime boss.

The fact that Igor's overthinking is a legit superpower? Iconic! The fact that Yulia would risk her own life for a good story? Legendary! The fact that Dima is honestly just trying his best and thriving at it? A short king!

Also I'm not really versed on Russian politics but was surprised to see the movie (and the comics I suppose) stance sometimes? The police are doing shit for justice. The justice system is flawed because of corruption. The rich do not care about the city and it's people. I mean wow! And even though doctor plague turned out to be wrong (on the movie's pov, not mine #EatTheRich) the whole thing still pushed a bunch of reforms on police and the laws overall. That sounds progressive, doesn't it?

Anyways lastly the main trio dynamic is just so good? And you're absolutely correct when you say that the last scene could've easily featured just Igor and Yulia but it also had Dima and that means something!! I would personally headcanon Igor as aromantic but that's is just me projecting tbh🤣🤣🤣

Regardless of the nature of their relationship Igor, Dima and Yulia are together in the end. And if the sequence ever comes we know for sure they'll still be :D

@topherfoxtrot hi! There's no need to apologize, I LOVE witnessing like sprees in my notes <3

I too walked in thinking that I'd probably enjoy it, but I really wasn't expecting to love it so much! I 100% agree on the minor characters, and the kid especially! I felt for him, he wasn't on screen much but my heart didn't care. The boxing crime boss was a lot of fun, and I also loved what we saw of Fyodor, he's just has Tired Dad Energy LOL.

One of the things that stayed with me was also the reveal scene when Sergey realizes he was the Plague Doctor all along and he keeps spiralling, with the big frizzling screen behind him, like I can remember the soundtrack perfectly and that whole thing shook me for some reason. Also, the opening song! So good!

I too wasn't expecting it to so aligned with my political views, I loved it so much and I was pleasantly surprised.

The main characters and the relationships are all excellent tbh, and really shout out to Igor and his overthinking. He's so dramatic, he literally pictured his own funeral and himself in the grave asdfghjkl.

I love how he's portrayed throughout the movie, how we are shown his isolation but also how it's kind of self-inflicted, because he does have a bit of a support system and some family to have dinner with when he wants company, and I LOVE how this movie goes all Power of Friendship(TM) on us with the trio. Like Igor wants to do everything alone, even after those two literally BREAK HIM OUT OF PRISON he tries to leave them behind, because he's only going to risk his own neck... he locks Dima away to make sure that he doesn't follow and he assumes that he can trust Yulia to be smart enough not to risk herself for him, but NOPE, these two are ride or die and they come to the rescue. And I just love that ultimately he tries to sacrifice himself for them and he just. doesn't account for them not letting him. and then he proudly introduces them as his friends. POETIC CINEMA

But I also have a lot of feelings about Yulia and how yes, she's willing to do pretty much anything for a story, she's so fearless and cutting and YET she's also so soft for Igor???? Like I love how touchy she is, like when she hugs him goodbye or when she cups his face after rescuing him in the final fight. But also she's so smart and I just love her so much (she saved his ass by bugging him, I love). Also important: how does she look so good in literally every hairstyle she tries.

And Dima is precious and must be protected, probably the sanest out of the three of them but NOT REALLY THAT MUCH TBH, he's just so ride or die that he's going to end up involved in whatever mess Igor and Yulia have managed to get themselves into LOL. But also he's just. always throwing himself heart and soul into everything he does??? He was so enthusiastic about a bunch of missing fridges, protect him

This trio is just so GOOD, and though the relationships we see the most are Igor/Yulia and Igor/Dima there's just so much potential for Yulia and Dima too, like. he's a fan. she saw this random guy trying to advocate for Igor in the middle of the police station, and next we saw them they were breaking him out of prison. LIKE HOW DID THAT CONVERSATION GO

Dima just saw this internet celebrity coming up to him and go "Sooo I have a crazy proposal" and then they just started committing crimes together???? Excellent.

And there at the end, in that scene that DEFINITELY didn't need to have Dima in it (bless. BLESS.), he immediately recognized the line when she quoted her own video, I just think that he probably watched it a million times and he's very supportive of her work, and it's all very adorable.

Last but not least, AROMANTIC IGOR IS EXCELLENT TBH. You can never go wrong with aspec headcanons as far as I'm concerned, and when I ship characters I literally don't care if it's romantic or queerplatonic or what, so. I very much enjoy the idea of aro Igor, A+++++.

......so yeah. I love this movie a normal amount and I hope we do get a sequel LOL.

[mostlymarvelsstuff]

NSFW Alphabet: TCYM, Omega Nat

Authors note: this is my first nsfw alphabet, and I really hope you guys enjoy! If this is something you'd like to continue to see with other fics of mine, please let me know!

TCYM Masterlist Nat Masterlist Marvel Masterlist

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

She's very soft after sex, wanting to be cuddled and cared for. She loves being held close to her Alpha, wrapped up in your strong embrace as you scent each other and you whisper praises to her. Whenever you run a bath for her afterwards, she insists that you join her because, though she won’t say it out loud, she just needs you close by.

She never wants you to be left out in aftercare either so she makes sure to reassure you that you made her feel good and took good care of her. She likes to run her hands through your hair, or rub your back as the two of you cuddle. Giving you kisses is also a necessary thing for her.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Her breasts are definitely her favorite part of hers. They're just so sensitive since she's had Dima, and having them played with just feels so good. Especially when you suck on her swollen nipples after teasing them. And the feeling of her Alpha drinking from her is nothing like anything she's experienced before.

Her favorite body part of yours is your arms. Not just because she loves when you wrap them around her but because of how muscular they are. She loves how easy it is for you to manhandle her during sex, how effortlessly you can carry her, and how turned on just flexing your muscles makes her.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Though she's shy about admitting it, she loved the taste of her own cum. Back before she had a mate, when her heats would hit, she’d spend a lot of time just cleaning her essence off her toys and fingers after pleasuring herself with them.

Your cum, she's crazy about it. Of course her most favorite place for it is her pussy, she loves the feeling of it filling her up and dripping out of her. But she also enjoys its taste. Having you fill her mouth and pour down her throat leaves her a needy mess for you.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

She secretly wishes to someday be able to peg her Alpha. The idea of being the one inside you, causing you so much pleasure that your cock hardens and leaks before you end up blowing your load drives her insane.

She's thought about it a lot, and is currently working up the courage to ask you about your interest in such a thing. 

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

The only experience she had before Bruce forced himself upon her was with a vibe and medium sized dildo in the comfort of her bedroom. That being said, she was no longer allowed such toys after Bruce got a hold of her. Still, she knows a lot of what she likes and doesn’t like, but she still has a few things she wishes to explore.

With you, she knows a fair bit about what she's doing. She can easily turn you on, work you up and make you feel good, but there's still a few kinks and interests she's yet to discover.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Her favorite is missionary, as she loves the intimacy of having you so close to her and highly enjoys being able to look up into your eyes as you pound into her. 

 But she's also a big fan of doggy and cowgirl. 😉

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

She's truly a mix. She can be quite serious, able to focus only on the combined pleasure of the two of you. But she can also be silly, usually feeding off of you if you are. She's able to laugh and joke about funny things that happen. But nearly all of the time, she's just very soft.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

She keeps herself trimmed, as having hair down there doesn’t bother her, she just likes to keep it neat. And yes, the carpet matches the drapes.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

She's very romantic. For her, it's all about loving words and actions as well as the pleasure. Even in heat, when she's consumed with need, she cares more about romance than she does a quick fuck.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

She currently feels incredibly guilty when masturbating. Because, though it was a rather normal occurrence in her college years, that all stopped with Bruce. He viewed it as disgusting and when he caught her, he would be very mean. He became violent and would break and throw things while calling her a whore. Ultimately, it just further proved how fragile his ego was, and how inferior of an Alpha he is. 

You, on the other hand, are trying to get her back into exploring herself. You've assured her multiple times that it's healthy and normal and it would never upset you, and you've even helped her pick out a few things to try. Though she's still a bit hesitant she has at least given into the urge a few times. 

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

She loves being praised, it's probably her favorite. She’s also into small bits of degradation as long as you're possessive about it. Such as: “My slutty Omega”, “My good little cumwhore” and so on. 

Another big one for her is her lactation kink that you share with her. She loves the feeling of your mouth on her nipples, and knowing that you're turned on from tasting her milk makes her feel so good.

She's yet to try this one with you, but she's absolutely turned on by the idea of double penetration. She wants to feel you deep in one of her holes while you use a toy to fill the other one.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

While with pup, her nest is her absolute favorite place. She loves how soft it is and how it has the perfect mix of her scent and yours. But she also enjoys it in bed, mostly because your scent is super strong there.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Any breast stimulation from you is an instant turn on. Sometimes a possessive grab of her hips will have her swooning as well. Your words are good at it too. Not just dirty talk either, but things like “good girl” or “my good Omega” are basically like pushing a start button. Oddly enough though, even seeing you being a good parent to Dima can turn her on. 

Currently, with her high hormone levels, just seeing your muscles flexing or your bulge in your boxers is enough to have her aching with need.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Impact play, choking, and weapon play are definite off limits due to everything she's gone through at the hands of Bruce. 

Anything more than mild and still loving degradation is also off limits.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

She enjoys receiving oral. The feeling of your mouth on her most sensitive parts never fails to fog her brain. And when you add your fingers to the mix, you’ll have her coming undone in no time. And you look so hot with her cum on your face.

She also enjoys giving oral. She loves making you feel good with her mouth and tongue. Looking up at you to see the look of pleasure on your face while getting to feel your cum spill down her throat always leaves her soaked. 

Her skill level is decent. She can easily make you feel good and always has you cumming, but she does still struggle at times to take your full length and she doesn't always know what to do with her hands. But she's learning.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

She usually enjoys it slow and sensual, but recently she's become more open to the idea of trying it fast and rough on occasion. 

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

She loves quickies, and while pregnant they are a very frequent occurrence. When not pregnant, she still enjoys them, but she's not as often.

To her, it just shows how in love the two of you are that you just can’t seem to keep your hands off each other whenever thoughts tend to wander.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

She's willing to experiment, but with Dima in the house it's a bit harder to be risky about what's done and where it's done. That being said, she’d love to try having sex in your car and in the backyard under the stars.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

She has impressive stamina, even while pregnant. Sometimes she can go multiple rounds over several hours. This is practically doubled when she's in heat. But like all things, it's not always the case. There are days where one round is more than enough for her.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Yes, she owns toys. Though using them was much more common when she was back in college and without a mate. With Bruce toy owning and usage was absolutely off limits, but you're trying to get her comfortable with the idea of using them. There's no shame in toys. 

You’ve bought her a vibrator, some nipple clamps, and a dildo specifically made to look and feel exactly like your cock. You know they interest her, as you have used them on her and she really enjoyed them. But solo play is understandably still hard for her.

And unknown to you, she's also bought a harness and dildo in the hopes that she’ll get to use them on you some day. 

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

She enjoys teasing you quite a bit. Your natural dominating actions and soft possessiveness turn her on a lot, and she finds that you really let that show when she does something to you. 

She’ll do things like purposely: bend over naked in front of you, wear something to show off her milk enlarged tits, brush her ass or hand across your crotch, say something suggestive while looking up at you through her lashes, pump out her pheromones in order to overwhelm your senses, and start touching herself when she knows you’ll walk in and catch her. 

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Having a pup, she's learned to control her volume. But when alone, she lets herself lose control. She can be very loud. She moans, whimpers and purrs a lot during sex. But her favorite thing to do is moan your name, so you know how good you're making her feel. 

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

She's very eager to try roleplaying. Specifically with you in your security uniform from work. Something about seeing you in your element stirs something inside her, and all she can think about is you ‘detaining’ her and fucking her senseless.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

She has some old scars from her rough childhood before Melina and Alexei adopted her, but thankfully they're few in number. During college she had her belly button and nipples pierced, but she hasn’t worn any of her jewelry since becoming pregnant with Dima. Where her neck meets her collarbone is her claiming mark from you that covers up her now faded one that Bruce forced upon her. She has a small red star tattoo on her right ankle, to symbolize her Russian upbringing. Yelena has a matching one.

Her breasts are larger than they’d normally be as she's making milk for multiple pups now, and there is of course a swell to her belly where your pup is currently growing. 

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Currently, it's through the roof. Having pups inside her has her horny very often, and the only thing that can help her find relief is her Alpha.

Usually, she has her horny moments, sure, but she can contain herself until Dima is out of the house or nighttime comes around. Unless it's during her heats, during that time it's just easier to have Yelena watch the pups so you can give her your attention and sex almost constantly the whole time.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Currently, very quickly. Being with pup already takes a lot out of her, so once she cums she's pretty spent. And then, having you cuddling her just affirms how safe and loved she is, so it's very easy for her to just nod off.

Usually though, she doesn’t tire so easily. She can go a few rounds with you and still has energy to spare. Letting her attend to other things that either need done or is just something she wants to do.

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[whispelanix]

Some thoughts on Far Harbor

Spoilers but uh, as much as I like that there's the ability to have peace among the factions of Far Harbor, I just really don't like that ending. I honestly prefer it when Dima dies. Don't get me wrong, he's a good character and I like him, but there's no sense of justice I get from the ending where he makes peace.

Dima and Nick are two VERY different people. Nick achieves justice through means of the truth, but Dima achieves justice through manipulation. When you side with Arcadia in order to achieve "peace", it's all just for show. The very thing that Dima did in order to "achieve peace" way back when, before he hid the memory from himself so he didn't feel guilty, is the very thing he asks you do in order to "achieve peace" again. Dima killed Avery and replaced her with a Synth who had her memory wiped, before he wiped his own. Now, after you confront him with the holotape and give him those memories back, he's sad for a moment, but then goes right back being all "if it worked once it'll work again" kind of mindset, and all guilt he felt is now gone again.

Regardless of whether you care that the High Confessor was replaced with a Synth or not is irrelevant, since he wasn't the best of character himself and you can choose to kill him or make him leave Far Harbor, but keeping Dima alive undermines the murder of the real Avery and the Synth's who identity was stolen from her in order to fill in the shoes of a dead woman. Dima is a hypocrite.

The peaceful ending makes me feel like I've been sworn to secrecy, and that everything is just a lie. Especially if you tell Avery she's a Synth, because then she has to live out the rest of her life knowing that the man, or lack thereof, who destroyed the lives of her and the person who she thought she was is still alive and doing well.

The first time I ever played the DLC, I had Dima confess his crimes to the harbormen and women of Far Harbor, as they deserved to know the truth, but I also told Avery in secret about who she really was as well. Nick had gotten to know Dima as well. I enjoyed the outcome because I respect how everyone living on the docks stands up for all the right the Sole Survivor does for them when you call out Allen on his bs, and how Dima let's it be known that the synth replacement is a victim in this too. And the short speech Avery gives after all has been said and done? It's just so satisfying to watch.

So I know you're probably thinking why even let Dima and Nick get to know each other if Dima's just gonna die anyways? It's extremely hard to put into words, but I think it goes back to the whole justice thing. Nick and Dima are two sides of the same coin, and well, I think it's like a lesson to be learnt, that justice comes at a price.

Dima's peace comes with a price, and that price leads to another person being killed in order to obtain a facade as well as the lack of justice for an already dead person and the individuality of another who cannot reclaim their lost identity.

Justice for the Harbor comes with the price of Nick's long lost brother he just met being taken away from him again. To me it's all morality based, and I think that's very powerful and what makes this route the best in the DLC. Even doing something that benefits everyone can come at a cost.

[indianamoonshine]

chapter ii | sundaes and princes

summary: every summer you work on your father’s strawberry farm with your three sisters. it’s a way to take a break from the big city but summers in the midwest are hot and they linger. this year, your father’s old and mysterious friend shows up to stay on your land for a reason yet to be determined. din djarin seems dangerous, but kind enough, and the two of you quickly become…well, let’s fact it…smitten. rating: m (18+) for future and explicit sexual content. author's note: reader is well over eighteen for obvious reasons. i won’t ever go into physical detail about the reader’s appearance because we include everyone. this fic is pretty much a mix between pride & prejudice and call me by your name except without the und*rage crap we do not condone. warnings: drinking, a bit of blood mentioned because of a slight accident.

dinner was loud, as expected, which made it difficult for you to hear the guest sitting beside you.

you'd been zoning out ever since din's eyes met yours from across the table. he'd been kind enough to listen to a woman named dima who was known to be a bit of chatterbox. she meant well, but most of the time she spoke it was about her family or her dog which had a tendency to put anyone sucked into her trap into "rest mode". nevertheless, din listened carefully and nodded when nods were appropriate and smiled when smiles were pertinent. the man was pleasantly charming, grin faint but with affable disposition. it wasn't any wonder when those around him continued to ask questions about himself, to which he answered with vague reserve.

while dinner was entertaining enough, it lagged on more than you'd anticipated. the roast was tender and well seasoned, simmering with heat, and the company praised your culinary skills with hearty acclamation. afterwards, the guests separated into their respectable groups, jubilant conversations echoing about the yard. your sisters were busy amongst their own crowds with faces familiar since childhood, letting out a chorus of laughter whenever someone said something amusing. they were your confidants as well, but you were so distracted by the mess left behind that you couldn't help but start tidying it up.

it wasn't long until madeline set her hand atop your own while you reach for a dirtied plate. she gave you that look she bore when she felt you were doing too much, eyes heavy with exasperation at the idea you'd even considered cleaning at a time like this. you pause and smile feebly at her, a little guilty.

"we can do that later." she takes the plate from your grasp, setting it back down a little more forcibly than you'd like. "enjoy the party. grab a sundae at the bar - it was your idea to set it up."

you glance at the setup near the house. an ice cream station with dozens of toppings and syrups beckoned you temptingly.

you sigh and pat her hand. "alright," you murmur in defeat. "do you want one?"

"sure, i'll take one." she links her arm within yours and places a kiss on your cheek.

the two of you go a little crazy with the ice cream. you've piled it high with chocolate and vanilla scoops, decorating it with colorful sprinkles, and dousing it in raspberry syrup. madeline decides on plain vanilla with chocolate curls.

"you know..." she begins, voice a bit too playful in its caution. "i saw him looking at you."

you freeze, like the ice cream, but shake your head. so you hadn't imagined it. "i don't know what you're talking about."

"is it such a strange idea that a man might be interested in you?" she proposes, placing a long-handled spoon in both of your glasses.

"yes," you reply with a small, bolshie laugh.

she says your name in pest. "you're beautiful and sweet. charlie once called you enchanting.

charlie was a childhood friend - like most of them. he was also bestowed the nickname "charming charlie" and it wasn't just because he was blond, handsome, and had the reputation of a casanova. charlie complimented everybody - especially women.

you remind her of this with a scoff as the two of you sit on a log beside the river. the water laps gently against the banks, rippling slightly from the hop of a bullfrog in the distance.

"charlie may be charming but he doesn't lie." madeline takes a spoonful of her ice cream and then rolls her eyes in ecstasy at the sweetness. "this was the best decision i've made tonight."

"don't think i haven't noticed tommy giving you bedroom eyes throughout the entirety of dinner," you clap back. you also moan in rapture at the taste.

madeline blushes in the moonlight. "don't change the subject."

tommy was your favorite of madeline's many endeavors (she had a bit of reputation in town). the tall, brunette was a hockey player with freckles splattered along the bridge of his nose. you'd been interested in him first, but as soon as you saw how quickly the two of them hit it off, your attraction to him fizzled. he was a hockey player which was admittingly one of the reasons why you found him so appealing. madeline felt the same way. the two of them have been inseparable ever since his first college game.

a millisecond before a quip can escape your lips, rhea comes bounding down the beaten path, long legs skipping with ease and hair swaying behind her.

"come join us, you hermits!" she titters blissfully, obviously tipsy on wine. that's what you deduce anyway; she preferred red rather than hard liquor. you couldn't relate. "come drink with me!"

both you and madeline exchange a look but it's in good-humor.

"i see you've already started!" madeline yells across the distance.

rhea blows a playful raspberry. "it's no fun being drunk without you guys." she gesticulates with a wag of her finger. "come ooooon! they're playing elton!"

this peaks your interest. she knew the king of rock n' pop would convince you to dance badly which is exactly what the alcohol was for.

madeline pursues her lips and cocks an eyebrow at you. "i think that's a great idea," she says suspiciously.

you didn't trust her tone, but when you heard the beginning rift of saturday night's alright (for fighting) blast loudly from the distant speakers you were possessed.

"alright," you laugh as rhea grips your hand and drags you backwards.

the three of you giggle in the night. |||

you didn't drink very often, but you did it enough to know not to wear a sundress while doing so.

in your defense, you hadn't known you'd be drinking tonight - or this heavily, anyway. you wanted to be sober enough to be aware of any stupid ideas that may creep in your head in the event you oogled over din long enough. drunk you was not sober you.

drunk you was a flirt. but not just any kind of flirt - a tease. and no matter how much you may or may not have caught din djarin's attention, he didn't deserve to have debauched eyes - clouded with drink - making him feel any sense of discomfort.

but dammit, he'd been drinking too.

how much, you couldn't be sure, but he had nursed at least two glasses of whiskey at the bonfire. he sipped slowly, relishing in it, and wise enough to know it was dangerous to scarf it down. you tried to convince yourself that it was okay to be this irresponsible while throwing back your third shot of vodka. after all, you were in your twenties and could hold your alcohol better than your sisters. life was too short, youth was too fleeting...all of that bullshit your elders had lied about.

sir elton john certainly didn't help nor did freddie mercury. by the time don't stop me now began to play, you were spinning in circles with charlotte, head thrown back in whimsical laughter, and stumbling upon the ground. the two of you laid back - despite the dirt - and held your bellies in order to settle the maniacal chuckling.

your sundress might've been too short for such ruckus but you couldn't find yourself caring. no one was looking anyway, right? a breeze lifted the hem and you shrieked playfully. charlotte is startled by the sudden gasp. she lets out a throaty chortle.

"you're such a sloppy drunk," she accuses, but slurring all the same.

"am not," you protest in a faux whine, but giggles edge the corner of your voice.

the two of you continue to volley insults back and forth, all in good fun of course, before charlie and tommy hover above you with quizzled, but humored brows. they were handsome, but unfortunately not enough to distract you from the way din kept throwing swift glimpses at your pathetic display. his intense features loosened when he found you joking, albeit drunkenly, with friends.

madeline joins the group and leans her head on tommy's chest, apparently brave enough to admit something to herself. "let's play hide and seek," she suggests, words a little rushed and lazy.

tommy and charlie were both as intoxicated, but tries harder than you girls to pretend otherwise. they shrug at one another, interested in the idea, though tommy may have been catering to madeline's pleads.

"alright, bet." tommy presses a kiss to madeline's forehead. "i'll be seeker."

"rules?" you ask, attempting to get up from the ground and failing miserably. charlotte takes your hand, clumsily pulling you to your feet. you knock yourself against her. the two of you almost topple to the ground again but she steadies herself with you in her arms.

"the pond is as far as you can go," charlie interjects. he motions to the willow tree in the center of the back yard. "that's the counting place."

the five of you agree enthusiastically, separating from one another like a football team does before their play.

it might have been strange (even reckless) to someone in the east - or west - to take part in such a game in the dead of night. after all, the moon was your only source of light in the woods, its beams illuminating the thicket and branches with a faint glow. but in the midwest, such games were a right of passage. forests were to be memorized, danger to be reckoned with. hide and seek in these conditions were elementary.

by the time tommy starts counting in a sonic boom, you've already begun sprinting in the woods. you were somewhat aimless in your pursuit, eyes frantically searching for a hiding spot worthy enough to be considered. you were the master at hide and seek - always have been. it once took charlotte an hour to find you and, when she did, she caught you wedged between a rack of clothes in the basement closet. you had a reputation to uphold.

but, alas, vodka was stronger than your sense of pride. while running through the entanglement of abundant undergrowth, you lost your footing and tripped over - what you can only guess - a shrub riddled with thorns.

"jesus christ!" you scream, immediately grabbing hold of your foot to inspect the damage. it was enough to sober you up to squint through the darkness. why the fuck hadn't you worn shoes?

you can't see the thorn - the night is too thick with darkness. you curse again just as loud as the first time in attempt to gain someone's attention. you weren't terribly far from the house, so you prayed to the gods that your cries of help would be heard.

because, much to your chagrin, you couldn't walk.

you did try but it proved fruitless because of the thorn. you realized how stupid that was because it pushed in further. god damn this drunkenness you whined internally.

a rustling of leaves startles you. you decide this was the end - you'd die in the middle of the forest you once trusted with your life. you've accepted the gory fact that your father would find your body mangled by the paws of a coyote in the morning.

"i don't wanna die a virgin," you moan tearfully.

a heavy voice full of worriment slices through the darkness. "let me see," he says.

oh no. oh no. oh no, no, no.

din djarin leans down upon his knees, taking your foot in a gentle fashion, before squinting at the damage. his fingers prod carefully against the arch, wiggling something foreign from the meat of your skin. you squeak pathetically at the intrusion, shifting away from his makeshift surgery. finally, he pulls out the thorn and holds it up to the light of the moon.

"a rose thorn," he confirms. you watch as a hint of blood glistens against the lunar rays. he smiles tenderly and then presses the pad of his thumb to the wound. "you'll be alright."

you gulp, all drunkenness suddenly scrambling your thoughts like eggs. instead of thanking him like a normal human being you can only mumble, "i can't walk."

din allows a full bodied smile and your heart skips a beat. he is princely and it takes everything in your pie-eyed body to stop from saying it.

"grab a hold of my shoulders," he instructs, leaning down a bit more so you can reach. you do so, very hesitantly, because there's no way in hades he'll be able to carry you.

but din is full of surprises. he lifts you almost effortlessly as you're slung bridal style against his chest. you must be joking.

with your arms wrapped around his neck, you gaze softly into his eyes. it's hard to see them, but you're close enough to watch as his pupils dilate, mouths almost pressing against one another. gods, you want to kiss him. you really do, but the very little percentage of your brain sober enough to reason with you decides against it. you'd regret it in the morning.

"thank you," is what you meekly say.

his stare is a bit more serious now...but not in an icy way. no. he looked...just as charlie once said...enchanted. his lips part just slightly, considering his next move, but then falls short. he nods in chaste before turning towards the break of the woods.

this was bad.

||| this is just the beginning of the night, ya’ll. more fun to follow! :-) tag list: @dancingwiththeplanets​ | @t3a-bag​  |  @dodgerandevans​

[kj-1130]

HIRAETH

Chapter 6

Main Masterlist

     At 19, Christine never expected to be where she currently was. Instead of spending her time at college parties or planning out her marriage (something her parents wished for her to do), she was attempting to run away.

     She just wanted to do her own thing. She was tired of trying to fit everyone’s standard of who they wanted her to be. She was tired of considering everyone’s thoughts and feelings and opinions except her own. 

     Christine was just utterly exhausted.

     There was only so much more she could take until she snapped. 

-

     At age 21, Christine began to make a name for herself. 

     At first, it was making street medicine. When people caught wind of what she was doing, many were crawling towards her, desperate to do her bidding and help themselves grow as well. 

     It was where she first started really. One person suggested the idea of making it a small gang and everything just seemed to grow from there. 

     The gang developed from street deals into the very beginnings of a whole cartel within just a year. With that ‘pre-cartel’ brought a lot of enemies and people who were envious of Christine’s success. 

     She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget how her first taste of revenge felt. 

     On October 31, 1996, someone thought it would be a good idea to try and sabotage her. Christine had been sabotaged one too many times whether that be self-sabotage or by a member of her previous community. 

     The fact that they thought they could trick her--that they thought she was so foolish. It made her angry. Absolutely livid. 

     The woman watched as her henchmen dragged in the scum by the shoulders and dropped him on the floor. She watched them kick him in his ribs. She heard each satisfying pop of his bones. 

     She watched as her right-hand men forced him to stand. And then, she watched him slit his throat with a kitchen knife. 

     Christine remembered tilting her head, watching the man bleed out. Then, she grinned. 

     Watching him suffer made her happy. What a great birthday that was. 

-

     It was December 31, 1998.

     Christine had thrown a party for the New Year. Her place was filled to the brim with high-up partners and clients. Strobe lights flashed and the floor vibrated with the bass of the music.

     She had just pushed one of her wing-women against the wall, nipping at her neck. It wasn’t uncommon for her and Adeen to mess around every once in a while. It was a great stress reliever in their opinion.

     At the entrance, two bulky men stalked in, looking as if they were hunting for their next meal.

     They searched the dance floor, trying to avoid the sweaty bodies and sky-high patrons who could barely stand on their two feet. 

     Just as Christine was placing her lips on the woman in front her, a tap reached her shoulder. The leader dropped her head down with a sigh, before turning around to face the men with an annoyed look. 

     “What?”

     “We need you to come with us.” 

     After a moment’s consideration, she turned back around towards Adeen and tapped her cheek. She gestured towards her henchmen and leaned towards her ear. 

    “You know what to do,” Christine whispered. 

     Her wing-woman nodded in response and walked off, but not before giving the two men that interrupted their time together a dirty look. 

     The leader waltzed off of the floor and headed towards her private office without so much as a glance. 

     “What can I do for you, boys?”

     “Bogomolov has a proposition.”

-

November, 2000

     Christine watched as the other scientists strapped down the young boy to the metal slab they called a table. 

     The woman couldn’t care less about his little screams of terror or the thrashing of his limbs. She just hoped they wouldn’t have to sedate him because she had other ‘projects’ of hers that needed to be tested and not enough time in the day. 

     “What number is this?”

     A gravelly voice spoke. 

     The scientist looked to her right and connected gazes with a tall man that had a dark and mysterious demeanour.  

     She looked back down at her tablet after assessing him with her eyes.

     “I don’t care about who it is. I just need him to sit still so I can see if this stuff works or not.” 

     The man whistled lowly and raised his eyebrows in response. 

     “Feisty,” he muttered. 

     Dropping her arms to her side, Christine looked up at the stranger with an annoyed look on her face that she didn’t even bother trying to hide. 

     “I’m sorry. Did you need something?”

     “Nah,” he said, shaking his head with a small smirk. “Just wanted to meet my new lab partner.”

     “Excuse me, new what?”

-

January, 2003

     If there was one thing Christine hated, it was James. They had been working together for almost three years now and she still couldn’t stand his cocky little attitude. 

     They had just been called Bogomolov’s office and walked on opposite sides of the hallway to get there (well more so Christine than James. He just found it all amusing.).

     When the two arrived they were greeted with the older man and files. 

     “You two have an undercover mission.” 

     “Ah,” Christine interrupted. “I don’t do missions, especially not with him.”

     “I wasn’t asking,” Dima responded, raising an eyebrow as if challenging her. The woman huffed and flopped back into her seat. 

     “As I was saying, I need you two to grab some intel for me.” 

     “May I ask where?” 

     The old gentlemen turned towards James with a blank face. 

     “Alaska.” 

     James looked at him in confusion.

     “Now stop interrupting me. You’re going undercover as a couple. A party in Canada.” 

     “That’s quite vague,” Christine mumbled.

     “You leave tomorrow.”

     The two stood and made their way to the exit, one with a frown on their face, the other with a giddy smirk. 

     “Oh cheer up, princess. You get to spend some one-on-one time with me!” 

     “Yeah, that’s the part I’m dreading.”

-

February, 2003

     She hated James. Hated him more than anything on the planet at the moment. 

     How dare he let her sleep with him while they were both drunk. I mean, yeah it was good but that doesn't mean she necessarily wished for it to happen!

     Storming down the hall, Christine banged on his bedroom door. After a couple of seconds, the door swung open and the woman barged in. 

     “If I end up pregnant, it is all your fault!” 

     “Woah, woah, woah,” James exclaimed with his hands raised in mock surrender. “Cool it, princess.” 

     Deeply annoyed, Christine took in a deep breath to contain the urge to knock out his stupid, perfectly straight teeth. 

     “Wh-why did we do that?” 

     “Well you were all up over me, mama,” James said with a cocky grin. “I was just following your orders.” 

     The woman opened her mouth to reply but instead was fighting the urge to gag. 

     “I am too nauseated to continue this right now.”

     Christine made her way to the man’s bathroom and hunched over the toilet. 

     “Fuck you, James!”

-

December 22, 2003

     Christine screamed in agony as she was told to push another time. 

     “I’m going to chop your testicles off!” 

     “I’m sorry! What do you want me to do?” 

     “Just hold my hand.” 

     James held out the appendage and winced as the woman in labor latched onto it with a death grip. 

     It was five grueling hours that Christine had been in labor and she had only recently started pushing. 

     It was another hour until the woman held her baby for the first time. 

     As the newborn drifted off to sleep, the scientist looked up at James with a small smirk on her face. 

     “You thinking what I’m thinking?” 

     With an identical expression, the man locked eyes with her. 

     “You know I am.” 

-

     “So she was born into HYDRA,” Sam started. “That means there most likely won’t be many records of her existence.” 

     “Poor girl never stood a chance,” Natasha muttered, flipping through the few notes they were able to retrieve. “Says here, they were attempting to create connections with the deceased.”

     “With everything we’ve experienced, I wouldn’t be surprised if they found a way,” Wanda stated, slumping back in her spot.

     As everyone continued to look through box after box, Bucky sat in his seat trying to remember. 

     A lot of it was fuzzy, but thankfully there were a few breakthroughs.

     He remembered hearing Karima and whoever W1498 was, having many conversations together. He remembered the countless times one tried to take the punishment for the other. 

     But the most prominent thing was when they talked about the voices. 

     Bucky can still faintly hear the whispers of Karima saying, ‘the voices are so loud,’ or ‘can you keep it quiet, Zee?’

     “W-we never talked about why she was doing this,” he spoke up.

     “Didn’t you say you were pretty sure these were revenge killings?”

     Steve asked. 

     “Buck’s got a point,” Sam spoke. “I mean, if it was revenge, wouldn’t she have been at least a good halfway through the staff by now?” 

     They all sat back and thought. 

     “You did say she was talking to this ‘Zee’ person when she said she wanted to make them hurt like they hurt them, right?” Natasha asked. 

     “Yeah but we can’t ignore the part where she said it felt like her heart stopped,” the former winter soldier spoke.

     “My thing is,” the red-head started. “Is that if these were revenge killings, why would she go after W1498’s handler? They probably rarely made any contact.”

     Steve turned to face his friend who had his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. 

     “Any more memories, Buck?”

     “I remember Karima talking about voices and asking ‘Zee’ to make them stop.”

     Rustling paper broke them out of their little huddle as they directed their attention towards the witch.

     “Says here that W1498 got moved out of that base around Christmas of 2018.” 

     “Didn’t Fury start sending surveillance over there around January this year?” the captain spoke.

     Wanda nodded in response and flipped through more documents. 

     “Last record of movement was said to be around February. Doesn’t say what happened to all of the people or why the base was suddenly abandoned.”

     “So if our girl was close with W1498,” Tony started. “It coulda really pissed her off when they moved ‘em.” 

     “What if Karima’s looking for her?” Sam suggested suddenly. “I mean, you have W1498’s relocation which Karima would’ve suffered from. ‘Zee’ practically helped her with whatever ‘voices’ Bucky was talking about. They took the one good thing from her; it would make sense if she snapped.”

     “That would explain why she went after their handler,” Natasha added. “She had no idea of her friend’s whereabouts ,the obvious choice would be to go to their handler and at least try to get some information.”

     “What about the sudden abandonment of the base?”

     “We don’t know the full extent of her powers,” Steve said. “We don’t even know how she killed the agent.” 

     The captain looked around at the few Avengers who were spread out across the common room as a pang of hurt stuck him. 

     He simply took a deep breath and stood. 

     “Let’s take a break. We’ll regroup either later today or tomorrow.” 

     With that, everyone left, ready to take advantage of the rare relaxation they had.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

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