#nadia vole

[icebearinacornfield]

Rating Alex Rider Villians on a scale of 1-10 on how supportive they'd be of me telling them I'm Agender:

[Just so we are clear, the concept for this came from a TikTok-er who does a good amount of Alex Rider content/analysis!)

Harod Sayle: 5/10 He's too focused on his own revenge plot against British school children to care and he wouldn't entirely understand it, but I get the vibe that he'd ask some follow-up questions about what I meant and then just be like "ok cool IG". He'd misgender me a lot, but it wouldn't be from a place of malice, it would just be because he forgot. He'd be quick to fix his mistake though. All in all, Harod Sayle's just too spiteful to have the energy to expend on being transphobic/enby-phobic/agender-phobic (I never know the right term to use, please send help!), so he simply wouldn't be. If I were British, however, he would be the most transphobic person on Earth to me!

Nadia Vole: 10/10 She'd ask for pronouns upon introduction and always make sure that she's using the right ones! If nothing else, Nadia Vole is a professional, and professionals use people's correct pronouns, names, and honorifics. I also get the vibe that she'd not put up with anyone's bullshit if they're intentionally going around not respecting other people's identities. She also just gives the energy that she's queer (especially in the graphic novel), but then again it might just be me projecting.

Mr. Grin: 5/10 Bro's literally just doing his job and couldn't give less of a fuck. He'd respect my pronouns and stuff, but it'd be out of total indifference to me. Just like, he doesn't have the energy to waste, so it wouldn't matter to him whatsoever.

Dr. Grief: -10/10 He's a racist/nazi/white supremacist/fascist jackass (probably a stronger word would be better suited for this, but I don't feel like putting it in), so going off of what we know already, I can make a very educated guess as to what his stance on me not fucking with gender would be...

Eva Stellenbosch: -10/10 Same with Dr. Grief. She'd also just straight-up hate crime me for fun, so there's that too.

Alexei Sarov: 8/10 He'd be a little confused/not know entirely what being agender meant, or even what it is for that matter, but after it was explained to him, he'd make an effort. He'd read up on the subject, he'd ask questions, he might mess up on pronouns and such pretty regularly, but there'd be an effort on his part and that's what matters!

Conrad: 1/10 He's a chaos gremlin of pure hatred and murder. He is alive solely out of bitterness and spite. He'd purposely misgender me/be actively transphobic just to feel something. Anything. Conrad just wants to watch the world burn and he's got the gasoline.

Damian Cray: 20/10 There was no heterosexual explanation for that man to begin with! I also can't see him being super big on gender in the first place. He'd be out there actively fighting transphobia and showing his support for all of the LGBTQIA+ community! He'd validate me and he'd be aggressively supportive as well!

Nikolai Drevin: 0/10 Y'all saw how he was to his son Paul Drevin. Paul has been head-cannoned/heavily implied to be gay and we all saw how THAT turned out... I just feel like Nikolai Drevin would not hesitate to force me to go to conversion therapy. That's it. Maybe he'd pretend to be supportive at first to lull me into a false sense of security so he could kidnap me for conversion therapy, but it'd be a complete and total act. Believe me, this man IS ABSOLUTELY NOT an ally!!! That being said, he wouldn't outright kill me/other type of hate crime me. Not that conversion therapy is ok or anything, but the bar is so low on this list at points and I'm forced to give credit where credit is due. He'd kill me because I beat him at something which is something he does with everyone else so it's an equal opportunity thing.

Desmond McCain: 3/10 He'd try and do an exorcism of me. not necessarily because of the whole agender thing (not that that would hurt his decision though), but just because of me as a person. I don't care if he's not that kind of religious, but that wouldn't matter to him. He'd become that type of religious. Desmond McCain would also try to talk me out of being agender (not that that's someone that can do) by telling me that "God didn't intend for you to reject your natural calling as a woman." which isn't something that I think that God would agree with because I just don't... Either way, he'd say that I was a sinful person and going to super-hell when I eventually and he'd mean it too even if he's just faking being a Christian.

Dominic Royce: 4/10 He'd be on the quiet side, but don't let that fool you! He'd actively be doing everything in his power to pass anti-trans laws even though legislating is not part of his job! He'd refuse to acknowledge my saying anything about being agender and say condescending shit like 'You're too young to know that!" or "It's just a phase!" and would be calling me "young lady" or "Ms./Miss" a lot which would just be super uncomfortable.

Owen Andrews: 2/10 Bro totally leaves Reddit comments about how being trans/non-binary/agender isn't real/is a mental illness or some bullshit like that in his free time for fun and probably believes it as well. That being said, however, I don't see him being super transphobic out loud to my face. He'd definitely misgender me every time and place he got, but I could probably beat him in a fight and he knows this.

Darcus Drake: 6/10 He'd use the right pronouns, he'd be respectful enough, but mostly he wouldn't be too bothered with any of it.

Dr. Raymond Feng: 5/10 He'd be skeptical about it, but he'd hear me out and just accept it. I get the sense that he'd be thinking 'oh is this internalized misogyny or childhood trauma or something?', but I stand by my statement saying that he'd ultimately be accepting and validating to me more or less. Not a strong ally, not a transphobe, just a man who presumably has a doctorate in psycology with no quams about imprisoning and interrogating a thoroghly traumatized child. And I for one think that's beautiful. (Not actually, I just wanted to put that last part down there.)

Dwain Garfield: 1/10 He's a Trump supporter. 'nuff said. Source? Trust me bro.

Vladimir Sharkovsky: -5/10 He'd hate crime me or, more accurately, have somebody else hate crime me for him.

Harry Bulman: 2/10 Bulman would've been out there writing transphobic AF articles LONG before meeting me. Harry Bulman would be writing articles about how being trans/non-binary/agender was the latest 'fad/trend', go out of his way to make fun of the trans experience, and spread misinformation about how "gender/women are under attack!". Now, I don't think that he'd actually believe what he's writing (except for the whole thing about it being a 'trend' or mental illness or whatever), he's just in it for the money/the clout. Not that this makes it any better, if anything that makes it worse. In any case, he'd laugh in my face when I say I use they/them pronouns and then tweet about it or whatever and call me a 'crazy, blue-haired liberal' or whatever despite me not having blue hair. In short, metaphorically (never literally) fuck Harry Bulman!

Colonel Aubrey Sykes: 1/10 He'd just call me a 'snowflake' and say that he identifies "as an attack helicopter" because like many transphobes, he hasn't evolved much since 2016-2017. Also, since I'm not a veteran or active service member of the military and an American, I just get the vibe that he'd already have had absolutely zero respect for me in the first place even if I was cis. Also, he just gives extremely misogynistic vibes too, so whether or not I was cis wouldn't change much.

[Probably going to do a separate list for SCORPIA members and the Nightshade board. The same goes for MI6/CIA/ASIS characters. It'll be fun maybe!]

[spiritandthephantoms]

Part 10 of amazing fanfic quotes

 "...Mate, this is a pet shop. What do you want me to do? Feed a hamster steroids?"

[proodence]

I’m watching the 2006 Stormbreaker movie for the first time right now and I can sincerely say that this is the strangest movie I have ever seen LMFAO

[barrenceallence]

@bisexualtedlasso sorry tumblr is not letting me reply so I’m just making a post BUT YES THERE ARE GRAPHIC NOVELS!! The first started out as a adaptation of the movie but then ones after that are adaptions of the books. I remember reading up to eagle strike and I’m not sure if they went beyond that

[welcome-to-ratterrock]

Out of curiosity, a few questions

1. Are mice/rats and bats the only types of animal there are? Or are there others such as cats or dogs?

2. What kind of bats are Big and Cas?

3. Has a bat ever tried to kill a mouse or rat?

And lastly 4. If there ARE other kinds of animals, or with the bats and mice/rats, do bats eat them?

Baji and I have talked at length about what rodentdom looks like in the world of this story - our rule of thumb is that if it’s similar enough in size to rats and mice, they can be found in the story. Thus, bats and voles and chipmunks and other small rodents can be seen in this world. Larger animals like cats and dogs aren’t the focus of this story, and Saltscratch is actually special in being one of the few places where mice consider safety expected, not just something to hope for. Why is that? You shall see…

2. Bogdan and Casimir are technically hybrid bats, since their father was an outsider who joined Nadia’s colony when he was injured in a storm. But Baji found a bat species we both really love for them - the spectral bat!

Fun fact about spectral bats, they’re also known as the great false vampire bat. Not that that will assuage any suspicions and fears the mice of Saltscratch possess…

3. While I cannot speak for bats outside of the Saltscratch and Ratterrock region, the Duke of the Night Court colony has made it coldly clear to all of his brethren just what would await them if they caused lethal harm to an outsider. Dropping annoying, disrespectful mice agents of the crown into the sea is one thing. Killing one of them, or any mouse subject of the crown? That would invite far too much trouble and intrusion. Night Court colony uses threats and intimidation and terrifying but non-lethal drops from great heights, not murder. That’s Bogdan’s stance, however. Casimir…?

4. The bats in our story dine on insects and occasionally fish or other seafood. Bog is especially picky about his diet, only the finest moths and crickets, while Casimir loooooves fatty grubs and worms. It’s a common rumor that bats like to attack mice or other small animals to feast on their blood - not only is it untrue, it’s also extremely offensive to a majority of bats. There are a few who like to play up the terrifying image of bloodthirsty creatures of the night…but they know not to do it around Bogdan or Nadia.

[paperori0]

the gremlins

Julius = Serial Designation J, or J for short

Yassen = Serial Designation Y, or Y for short

Nile = Serial Designation N, or N for short

John is Serial Designation H, and Alex is just Alex :/

Ian is obsessed with doors, Jack just wants to keep Alex safe, and Tom does not care whatsoever but is scared of the murder drones, Sabina grew up inside the safe zones and thought murder drones was just a myth to keep children behaved and Kyra is curious about them. James and the other kids from Point Blanc are worker drones that live in the safe zones, just a different section of it.

-Villains-

Harold Sayle - a worker drone obsessed with experimenting on viruses, only works for money, lives outside the safe zones in a mansion that keeps the murder drones out

Dr Grief/Greif - a worker drone employed by humans to create/experiment on murder drones and worker drones. Creator of Julius/J

Alexei Sarov - a human that lives on Copper 9 and wants to wipe out all rogue worker droves with a nuclear bomb

Damian Cray - a very popular worker drone known for his hatred towards drugs and alcohol and just like in the original au he is a pop star

Julia Rothman - the Tessa of the au. She is more crueller tho and likes to torture and kill worker drones

Nikolei Drevin - a human that lives on another planet. He hates rogue worker drones and has a son named Paul.

Desmond McCain - also a human that lives on another planet. He is married to Myra Bennett and owns a zoo of Sentinels (in the original AU, he owns crocodiles)

Winston Yu - a worker drone (?) that lives with the humans and works with Julia Rothman. His body is fragile and he wears gloves

Abdul Razim - a human that also lives on another planet. He is emotionless and likes to torture people and measure their pain. He worked with Julius/J before

-Side Villains-

Mr Grin - a worker drone that works with Harold Sayle

Nadia Vole - a worker drone that also works with Sayle

Eva Stellenbosch - a worker drone that works with Dr Grief to create Murder Drones

Walter Baxter - helps Dr Grief create replacements or clones of murder drones that are destroyed

Conrad - a worker drone that was repaired after being devoured by murder drones, he hates murder drones because of that, he helps Sarov

Kasper/Magnus - a human that works with Drevin

Erik Gunter - a human, he worked with Julius/J and Razim before

Ash - a human, Alex’s godfather, killed John due to him going rogue

Njenga - a murder drone that works with McCain

[adamwatchesmovies]

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006)

Most movies are obviously good or bad. Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (or simply Stormbreaker in certain regions) has what it takes to entertain young teens but its low points are subterranean. I hesitated to call it a miss until I saw the villains. This adaptation of the book by Anthony Horowitz is derivative of every spy movie you've ever seen. Even if you can forgive that, there’s no way you can take the bad guys seriously.

Orphaned at a young age, Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer in yet another bad YA Novel adaptation) is recruited by MI-6 when his uncle (Ewan McGregor) is killed in action. His mission? Pose as a contest winner and get close to billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) to find out the real reason he created “Stormbreaker”, a computer system he claims will change the world.

It’s ridiculous to believe a 14-year-old would be recruited by a government agency but that’s part of the fantasy. Turns out Alex has been subconsciously trained by his uncle for years. He can stand toe-to-toe with ruthless thugs (in cleverly conceived action scenes by John Woo that are unfortunately not convincingly shot). He just needs the chance to prove himself. Then he’ll have the opportunity to get his revenge… and save the world too. In Bond-like fashion, Alex is given a variety of amusing gadgets disguised as everyday “kid” objects. A yoyo, a pen and a Nintendo DS (available in stores now!). Those are pretty cool.

Whenever Stormbreaker starts winning you over with its teenage charms, a disappointment is unfortunately right around the corner. When they introduce Mickey Rourke’s Darrius Sayle, you’ll be flabbergasted. With pimp-like clothes, a cane, a ponytail and blue eyeliner, he looks like a caricature. You think that’s as bad as it’s going to get but then Missi Pyle as Nadia Vole opens her mouth. Her accent is so bad and cartoonish it’s like she’s in a comedy sketch.

And then, there are the contrivances and coincidences, not to mention the poor planning. Sayle has a personal vendetta against the Prime Minister (Robbie Coltrane) so he’s filled the Stormbreaker computers with a deadly virus. Not a computer virus; a green liquid that will kill millions of children when his old enemy presses a big red button as part of the launching ceremony. Said big red button is encoded to launch the virus only if the Prime Minister presses it. This means Sayle couldn’t release the virus (the literal virus. I can’t get over it) even if he wanted to!

This sort of logical head-scratcher isn’t alone. It’s accompanied by a double-whammy of bumping into the right person, at the right time. To prevent the big button from being pressed, Alex desperately needs help. Who happens to be at the ceremony providing security? None other than the soldiers he was training with a week ago. The authorities must’ve had a great deal of confidence in them considering their first mission is this high-profile. Alex uses one of their weapons and destroys the button. His evil scheme down the toilet, Style runs away. Alex goes to pursue him but oh no! Traffic! How could he possibly catch up? Well by asking his school crush, Sabina (Sarah Bolger) for a ride! She just happens to be riding a horse right outside the building! Sure, why not?

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker is not a Harry Potter ripoff in the same way as the Billy Owens or Percy Jackson franchises but it’s pretty clear it wanted to cash in on the craze. An orphaned boy who discovered he belongs to a secret organization, access to special powers/resources, a film series whose leading man is destined to grow into a hunk for the girls, action scenes to appeal to the boys, a twist on an old formula to make it fresh (in this case, James Bond). Yeah, it fits. Unfortunately, this first chapter has none of the metaphorical magic needed to have lasting power. Plus, it’s just not a good movie. Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker is yet another mid-2000s flick that ends on a note promising a sequel that never happened. (July 31, 2020)

[icebluecyanide]

Hello hello! For the author commentary: "When Yassen spoke again, it was in quiet German.“Ist Sayle zu sprechen? Wir müssen einige Dinge klären.”Alex didn’t let himself react. He knew German well enough to have understood Yassen’s words, but Felix Lester had never been to Germany and would not be able to make sense of it.“Herr Sayle ist im Haupthaus,” Nadia Vole replied."

For the fic commentary meme. Thanks for asking! :D

Side note, but I love the mini game of trying to remember which fic each fragment belongs to haha. This is from A Meeting That Could Have Been, which is a Stormbreaker AU where Alex runs into Yassen the morning after he arrives on the submarine.

In this fragment, Yassen addresses Nadia Vole (one of Sayle's underlings) in German because I wanted to show Yassen speaking many languages and I wanted to have him exclude Alex (since he doesn't know Alex speaks German) when he asks about Sayle.

I had planned to add a translation when you hovered over the text but ao3 wasn't cooperating, but basically it translates to 'Is Sayle available? We have some things to discuss' and Nadia replies he's in the main building. Honestly, the details aren't that interesting, but the fact that Yassen mentions speaking with Sayle lets Alex know that Sayle must be aware that Yassen is here (i.e. they are working together).

I also just love the fact that Alex speaks multiple languages and I wanted to include it here. And he's still undercover so he has to pretend he can't understand.

Also many thanks for @polarnacht1 for helping me with the German in this fic! She was great in getting me a more natural sounding translation so it didn't sound like Yassen was asking if Sayle was conscious. xD

[corolune]

Breathing Underwater Chapter Three: Lightning

AO3 / Tumblr Alex had always known he wasn’t like other children. They didn't hear the song of the ocean in their ears, or feel the thrumming rhythm of the waves in their hearts like he did. Then he finds a silvery coat made of seal fur, glistening and calling him to slip it on — and everything he thought he knew about himself washes away like foam on the sea. Alex Rider is a selkie, and this is the story of how a seal becomes a spy. Prologue 〰 Chapter 1: Zephyr 〰 Chapter 2: Nimbus 〰 Chapter 3: Lightning

light·ning — ➀ the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity; ➁ a sudden stroke of fortune

Only weeks after his fourteenth birthday, Alex woke to a dark sky pierced by a red and blue glow. Everything was still and silent, in that part of the night when everything was asleep. As he blinked his eyes open, he peeked through the soft curtains near his bed, and saw that the flashing lights came from a police car sat in their driveway. As he heard the doorbell ring downstairs, he could feel a sense of unease, the same way he felt when clouds started gathering and he was stuck outside. A sure sign of a storm to come.

Now fully awake, he could hear the soft sound of Jack’s slippers padding down the stairs to the door. Letting the curtain fall back over the window panes, his eyes fell on his fur coat, still on his desk chair from where he’d left it to dry after school. He wasn’t sure what was going on yet, but he didn’t want to leave it lying there if anyone happened to come inside. Shoving aside his sweatshirts and trousers, he pushed it into a hanger in the very back of his closet and slid the door shut.

He heard Jack open the front door with a rattle of the chain, and tiptoed down the stairs to peek into the foyer.

There was a policeman at the door, and Jack’s quiet words floated down the corridor.

“A car accident? But Ian was always so careful…”

Sitting down heavily on the bottom step, the words washed over him, and he felt the first thunders of the storm to come. Just like his parents, his uncle had died in an accident while traveling. Distantly, he found himself wondering if that was what would happen to him, too, dying on his way to somewhere else, a victim of someone else’s carelessness.

As sunlight bled into the sky, he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly happened to his uncle. Where had Ian been going so late at night? And how would he, the same man that drove like an eighty year old, forget to put on his seatbelt? The more he thought about it, the more he found things that didn’t add up.

Tom and Jack put it down to shock, but he knew there was something wrong. And like always, he was too curious to let it go.

A few days later, seated in a drab, grey office opposite an equally grey Alan Blunt, Alex was regretting that he’d indulged his curiosity.

“There’s something we’d like you to do for us,” Blunt said.

“My uncle died because of you. What makes you think I’m going to help you?” Alex crossed his arms and glared at him and Mrs. Jones.

Ever since he had woken to that bleak policeman’s doorbell, he had been adrift in the choppy waves of a stormy sea. At first, it had seemed like the storm would soon be over, but now he saw it was only the beginning of many, like the rains of the monsoons.

“You’ve already proven yourself to be quick, resourceful, and most importantly, curious.”

Curiosity killed the cat, Alex thought to himself as they went on to explain about some billionaire called Herod Sayle, and his plan to give away thousands of Stormbreaker computers.

“All you’d need to do is look around and report back to us,” Mrs. Jones said.

“I’m not doing it.”

All of a sudden, Blunt shifted, and when he spoke next, there was none of the forced friendliness from before. For the first time since Alex had walked into the office, he saw the cunning shark that lay beneath the man’s skin.

“Your uncle left the Royal and General Bank in charge of your care. Certainly, Ms. Starbright is no longer needed, especially with her expired visa. I’m sure Mrs. Jones could find a suitable institution that would handle your living and schooling.”

“Are you blackmailing me?” Alex scoffed in disbelief, yet somehow he’d known this was coming. The storm in his life had finally broken, and now he had these people on one hand, ready to pull him out from drowning in the icy waves. If he didn’t do as they said they would push him back into the water.

Mrs. Jones spoke around yet another peppermint. “Alex, if you only helped us with this, we’d be able to let you stay in your home with your housekeeper. Otherwise, there’s just nothing we can do.”

“You haven’t really left me a choice,” muttered Alex, with a resigned sigh. “It’s just to look around, you said?”

〰〰

He’d done much more than just looking around. When Alex crept back into the room he’d been given at the sprawling Sayle mansion, he snatched up the gadgets Smithers had given him. After some thought, he pulled his sealskin out of the bag and slipped it on, too. If things went badly, he didn’t want to leave it behind, and surely it was safer on him. After his night time adventure in the submerged tunnel, he was coming to realize it could be useful in more ways than he had initially thought. He shuddered, thinking of how the cold and dark water would have been much more comfortable and easier to navigate with his warm seal fur and sharper eyes.

Pulling the silver fur closer to himself, he quietly opened the door, only to come face to face with Mr. Grin — and then, with a sudden jerk backwards, his eyes slid shut and he saw only blackness.

When he woke, he was cuffed tightly to a hard metal chair that rested against the vast, glass wall of the aquarium. Left alone in the room, after Sayle and his assistant had left, he had the distinct feeling of being just as trapped as the restless jellyfish that was held captive in the deep tank behind him. The glow of coloured lamps cast the undulating form of the sea creature in flickering shadows onto the tile in front of him.

As he wrestled with the metal cuffs, he heard the click-clack, click-clack of heeled shoes. With a feeling of dread, he looked up to see Sayle’s other assistant, Nadia Vole.

Moments later, that dread turned into panic, as he was thrown into the winding passage and splashed into the cold tank, only metres away from the Portugeuse Man of War.

The salt water burned at his scraped and bruised wrists. The jellyfish drifted languidly while Alex spluttered and slapped at the water, keeping his head afloat in the small pocket of air.

“I hope you can hear me, Alex,” he heard from a speaker somewhere above him. Through the thick glass, he could see Vole’s cruel smile. “I am sure you will have seen by now that there is no way out of the tank.”

As he looked around, he saw there was indeed no path for escape — the metal structure holding everything together was screwed tightly, and the glass seemed too thick to shatter with his weight. All the while, he kept an eye on the dark, mauve tendrils ever reaching through the drifting current. When he turned his attention back towards Vole, she was still droning on. “Soon, you will get tired, Alex. You will drown. Or perhaps it will be fast and you will drift into the embrace of our friend. You see him...no? It is not an embrace to be desired. It will kill you.”

Kicking in the water to keep afloat, he remembered Sayle’s words describing the stinging cells dotted along the long mass of tentacles. In the neon coloured lights, the circular nodes glowed ominously.

An unforgettable death, Sayle had said.

There was an echoing beat, like a drum, and he realized it was his own heart hammering away in his chest. Flowing water rolled towards him as the current changed, drawing the creature closer, and with a quick push against the wall, he managed to evade it. The glass stretched behind him, some twenty or thirty feet of it, but the man-of-war itself was close to ten feet long.

Its tentacles had danced through the current, just inches away from his arms. He broke through the water, spluttering in his shock. As he gasped for breath, trying to keep still, something clattered against the artificial rocks that were set into the massive aquarium. Through the rippling water, he could see something shiny and metallic winking back at him in the flickering lights.

Vole’s blurry figure seemed to be laughing at him from beyond the thick glass. Suddenly the water shifted, a strong current making small waves and bringing the jellyfish back towards him. More water splashed into his face, and he felt himself being dragged with the flow, his fur coat heavy on his back. With a sharp breath, he ducked underwater, swimming towards the metal object.

Distantly, Alex heard the song of the ocean thrum through his blood. As the water closed over his hair, the hood of his sealskin floated over his head, and he felt himself fall to the rhythm that was pulsing in his heart.

There, he saw what had fallen out of his pockets — Smithers’ zit cream — and breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, the pressure of the water had lessened, and his lungs had stopped fighting for air. When he reached for the tube, he realized why — instead of rounded fingers, he saw five stout claws, attached to a furry, grey flipper.

Alarmed, he looked through the rippled glass at the bottom of the tank and met Vole’s shocked, round eyes. Breathing out slowly, he shook his head — Vole knowing his secret would only be an issue if he found a way out of the aquarium, and it was easier to focus on the problem at hand. A quick look up, and he could see the tentacled creature still drifted near the top of the water. Hopefully the current would keep it there, long enough for him to spread the cream onto the metal frame keeping the glass in place.

He snatched up the tube from where it lay amongst the rough hewn rocks, and scrabbled at the cap, struggling to get a strong grip on it with his claws. A few failed attempts, and he resorted to holding it in his flippers, and twisting it open with his teeth.

The white cream burst out, and he smeared it onto the metal that was closest to him. He followed the seams, squeezing the tube firmly and rubbing the paste into the joints with his claws. Dodging the enormous jellyfish, he swam quickly to the other side, his back flippers beating the water powerfully, and spreading the cream onto the other side of the frame.

Now, he would only have to wait, and hope that Smithers’ cream would work just as well underwater as it had in his office. He floated into the far bottom of the tank, away from the tangled tentacles and the front wall that would soon shatter.

〰〰

A lean, fair haired man stood silently in front of a helicopter. Though he was irritated at Sayle’s habit of delaying, he looked just as bored and indifferent as the rest of Sayle’s staff. The breeze rustled the leafy trees nearby as the helicopter’s engine rumbled in wait. An inconvenient, and supposedly urgent, phone call had had Sayle scurrying off of the aircraft, and he could see the short man waving his left arm wildly. A thin, shrill sound screeched out of the phone, and he recognized it as Vole’s voice.

Yassen Gregorovich was starting to regret taking this job, and he found himself wondering how many more madmen he would have to look after before his employers realized he was better suited elsewhere.

Sayle was still on the phone as he hurried off the helipad. Sighing, Yassen climbed into the aircraft and switched the engine off, watching the older man’s silhouette disappear into the hedges. It looked like they wouldn’t be departing anytime soon. He might as well stretch his legs.

As he passed through the open archway of the house, he heard an enormous, deafening crash from Sayle’s office. Was this what had caused Sayle to hurry back inside? What was that man up to now?

In a few quick strides, he had a sinking feeling he knew what had happened.

A steadily growing stream of water puddled on the persian rug in front of the office door. It seemed that Sayle’s grotesque jellyfish had finally met its match.

He opened the door slowly, letting the water flow out to equalize the pressure before stepping inside to a scene of complete wreckage, like a seaside town after a storm.

Water gushed through shattered windows, escaping the house. Lavish furniture floated by in broken pieces, and ornate frames with priceless, soaked artwork hung crookedly on the walls. Everything was covered in a fine sheen of liquid, and droplets trickled down from where the spray had hit the ceiling. He spotted the Vole woman prone on the floor, the man of war clinging to her head like a monstrous wig, and couldn’t suppress a grimace.

He delicately picked his way through the debris, careful to keep away from the venomous tentacles, which floated lifelessly in the shallow water that still flooded the room. The front wall of the aquarium was in pieces, as if something had blasted its way through.

A shape in the corner of his eye moved, and he whipped around to face it.

Something dark and furry disappeared under a floating bronze sculpture. Grateful for his combat boots, Yassen made his way towards the corner. He hadn’t been in Sayle’s office in some time, and wouldn’t be surprised if the man had added a new creature to his collection. Kicking aside a toppled candelabra, he sloshed around the heavy wooden desk only to come to an abrupt stop.

He blinked. There, hiding under the remains of Herod Sayle’s desk, was a large, fat, grey seal. As he stared at it, the seal spread its mouth into a smile. Impossibly, the creature lifted its paw as if to wave hello, before shuffling forward with a small splash.

Yassen watched it come towards him with apprehension. Perhaps it wasn’t a fully grown seal, but the thing would easily weigh over a couple hundred pounds, enough to cause serious harm. Clearly, enough to break the supposedly high-strength glass that now covered the floor in broken shards. Had Sayle decided to house a seal in the same tank as the jellyfish? The man was truly an idiot.

The man of war was highly venomous and any animal in close contact with it would succumb to a painful death. Almost every rich person Yassen had had the misfortune of coming across in his life had the most peculiar tastes, and more often than not, their whims bordered on idiotic cruelty.

Round eyes stared up into his, and he found himself feeling a bit sorry for the animal. It was lost, stuck in an unfamiliar world, but it was a strong and brave creature. Instead of succumbing to its fate, the seal had somehow managed to smash its way out of the tank, and now, instead of cowering in fear, it bravely looked up at him, asking for help.

Somewhere deep down, the seal reminded Yassen of himself, but he brushed that thought away before it had a chance to fully form. He bent down, stretching his hand towards the furry animal, and was pleasantly surprised when it bumped its head against his skin. Its fur was soft and warm.

As he looked closer, he saw a shard of glass had pierced into its flank, a bright red line of blood marking it out from the rest of the silvery fur. Now he understood what the clever creature had been asking of him.

“Are you hurt, little one?” He murmured softly, looking into the seal’s eyes as he slowly moved closer. For a fleeting moment, he thought he recognized something familiar — something he couldn’t quite place — in those dark eyes.

The seal huffed quietly, a low grunting sound, in answer to his voice. Compared to Mr. Grin and Vole, he supposed anyone would seem friendly to the poor sea creature.

The glass wasn’t embedded too deeply, and would be easy enough to pull out. Glancing around the room, he saw the sheer curtains that lined the heavy brocade drapes — they were still relatively dry. Tearing them from the windows, he ripped off a wide ribbon of the white cloth, and snatched up a heavy throw from the remains of an armchair.

With a few careful folds of the knitted blanket, his fingers were protected from the sharp edges of the large shard. With his other, free hand, he gently stroked the seal’s side, carefully assessing the best angle to extract the fragment. A quick, sharp tug, and the glass was free — but drops of blood fell into the water at his ankles, blooming like ink.

The seal was breathing quicker now, and as Yassen reached over to grab the strip of linen curtain, he saw the seal watching the blood trickling out of the wound. Swiftly, he folded the cloth around the cut, pressing hard until the blood flow slowed.

That was when he realized that binding the bandage would be a problem. He could wrap it around the top of the seal but he wasn’t about to endanger himself by trying to roll the animal.

Well. He’d done his best, and that would have to be enough. He supposed he could call someone who actually knew what they were doing. Who did one ask for, to help a randomly appearing seal, anyway? This job was ticking a lot of firsts on his list.

Seals, it turned out, were much more intelligent than he had originally thought. The furry animal pressed its flipper against the cloth covering the wound, and rolled in the shallow water, before attempting to tie the bandage itself.

The seal slapped its flippers against the water, and let out a loud, indignant bark. Yassen was shocked to see it grab the ends of the cloth in its claws and wave it at him, and couldn’t hold back a startled laugh. Shaking his head, he bent down again and tied the bandage securely.

For such a clever and brave creature, he would have to find someone to take it to safety, away from Herod Sayle, even if he wasn’t exactly being paid for it. But first, he had a deadline to keep, and a billionaire to prod back onto schedule.

Later, a bewildered animal worker would arrive at the scene after receiving an anonymous tip, but by then the seal would be long gone, as if it had never been there.

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[indielightuk]

Movie Review: Stormbreaker (2006)

Stormbreaker (which was retitled as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker in America) is a 2006 action spy movie, the screenplay was written by Anthony Horowitz, who I was lucky enough to interview a few years ago while at college, who also wrote the book ‘Stormbreaker’ on which the screenplay and movie was based on back in 2000. This was the first big screen adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, and was intended to be a franchise, however it bombed at the box office and failed to recoup its budget.

It starred a phenomenal cast of actors including Alex Pettyfer (noted for his roles in I Am Number Four, Beastly, and Magic Mike) as Alex Rider, Mickey Rourke (noted for his roles in Man on Fire, Iron Man 2 and The Expendables) as Darrius Sayle, Bill Nighy (noted for his roles in the Underworld franchise, The Pirates of the Carribean and Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy) as Alan Blunt, Sophie Okonedo (noted for her roles in The Secret Life of Bees, Christopher Robin and Doctor Who) as Mrs. Jones, Alicia Silverstone (noted for her roles in Clueless, Batman & Robin and American Woman) as jack Starbright, Sarah Bolger (noted for her roles in The Tudors, The Moth Diaries and Once Upon a Time) as Sabina Pleasure, Stephen Fry (noted for his roles in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and V for Vendetta as well as being the host of popular British quiz show QI) as Smithers, Damian Lewis (noted for his roles in Band of Brothers, Homeland and Wolf Hall) as Yassen Gregorvich, Missi Pyle (noted for her roles in Galaxy Quest, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story and Impulse) as Nadia Vole, Jimmy Carr (noted for being a stand-up comedian, and hosting the British panel shows 8 Out of 10 Cats and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year) as John Crawford and Ewan McGregor (noted for his roles in Trainspotting, Star Wars and Moulin Rouge) and Ian Rider.

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[eliotquillon]

why the hell does alex hand over his phone willingly to nadia vole bae i know it’s 2001 and you’re 14 but how are you passing sas training and pulling this

[lupitovi]

Grise Cornac, Denis Péan et Nadia Nid el Mourid - Le peuple du vent

Tant d’verts, tant d’bleus à travers champs couchant les blés du soleil fuyant dans la plaine dévalant les jaunes sifflants à grandes enjambées aux vents heureux s’envolent les sables en grain des dunes en or se reforment ailleurs de l’autre côté de la frontière et au passage retournent toutes les têtes des roses trémières car le vent balance chaque herbe en son sens car le vent balance chaque herbe en son sens. À force de vent tournent les moulins glissent les oiseaux, souffle dans le dos, les voiles se font seins voguent les bateaux, sous chaque seconde les accents d’éphémère balaient le monde.

Ici la vie s’immisce et l’oiseau légendaire aux 4 vents  des péchés capiteux, des 7 poisons capitaux. Aux 4 vents qu’y puis-je ? À la forêt d’éventails, au chaman à 3 bouches, et tous les sens. Au grand désir la vie est haubanée, qu’y puis-je ? Aux 4 vents je dilapide des trésors volés à de beaux crépuscules. Je vole au vent sa cargaison d’étoffes, le sel de lointains amours. Qu’y puis-je ? Que n’ai-je eu vent de vous ? À la mer, au pollen, au sang, qu’y puis-je ?

Ton sur ton coulisse passe le gris fer, les feux de dieu. Ton sur ton coulisse sa herse filante dans mes cheveux. Il sème en dessous à mesure que je mouds et je garde en meunière ses petits grains sur mes genoux. Dans l’écume de l’aube, à l’heure de la rosée, je pars avec toi, je pars avec toi là où doucement tout reste, là où doucement tout reste, là où tout s’en va.

[phimnhanhtv89]

Stormbreaker

An outwardly ordinary teenager finds himself suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances upon discovering that his entire youth was part of an elaborate plan to create the perfect super spy in director Geoffrey Sax’s action-packed adaptation of author Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling series of novels featuring an adolescent secret agent. Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) always though that his kindly uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor) was your average, everyday nondescript bank manager, but when Ian was murdered by notorious assassin Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis), everything young Alex thought he knew would be forever changed by one simple bullet. A deadly martial artist, skilled linguist, steady-handed mountaineer, and deadeye marksman, Alex realizes that his uncle has been secretly training him in the art of espionage when he is recruited by MI6 Special Operations agents Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo). It seems that billionaire Darius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) has generously offered to donate a complimentary Stormbreaker supercomputer to every school in Britain, but while his philanthropic offer is welcomed with open arms by the struggling school system, MI6 fears that something nefarious is afoot. Assigned the task of infiltrating Sayle’s impenetrable lair by posing as the winner of a computer magazine contest, Alex makes the acquaintance of shady Sayle sidekicks Mr. Grin (Andy Serkis) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) before getting a special sneak preview of the remarkable Stormbreaker’s true powers. His cover subsequently blown, Alex is given a key piece of information regarding the remarkable computer before being thrown to a giant jellyfish by Sayle and his henchmen and left to die just as the prime minister is about to push the button that will activate Stormbreaker computers all across Britain. With no time to spare and the fate of a nation hanging in the balance, Alex must now enlist the help of his trusted housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and faithful classmate Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger) in ensuring that the Stormbreaker system is not activated and revealing Sayle for the true villain that he is before the young super spy’s breathless first mission becomes his fatal last.

The post Stormbreaker appeared first on Phimnhanhtv - Xem phim nhanh tv online trực tuyến vietsub.

source https://phimnhanhtv88.com/stormbreaker/

[xemphimhay89]

Stormbreaker

An outwardly ordinary teenager finds himself suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances upon discovering that his entire youth was part of an elaborate plan to create the perfect super spy in director Geoffrey Sax’s action-packed adaptation of author Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling series of novels featuring an adolescent secret agent. Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) always though that his kindly uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor) was your average, everyday nondescript bank manager, but when Ian was murdered by notorious assassin Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis), everything young Alex thought he knew would be forever changed by one simple bullet. A deadly martial artist, skilled linguist, steady-handed mountaineer, and deadeye marksman, Alex realizes that his uncle has been secretly training him in the art of espionage when he is recruited by MI6 Special Operations agents Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo). It seems that billionaire Darius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) has generously offered to donate a complimentary Stormbreaker supercomputer to every school in Britain, but while his philanthropic offer is welcomed with open arms by the struggling school system, MI6 fears that something nefarious is afoot. Assigned the task of infiltrating Sayle’s impenetrable lair by posing as the winner of a computer magazine contest, Alex makes the acquaintance of shady Sayle sidekicks Mr. Grin (Andy Serkis) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) before getting a special sneak preview of the remarkable Stormbreaker’s true powers. His cover subsequently blown, Alex is given a key piece of information regarding the remarkable computer before being thrown to a giant jellyfish by Sayle and his henchmen and left to die just as the prime minister is about to push the button that will activate Stormbreaker computers all across Britain. With no time to spare and the fate of a nation hanging in the balance, Alex must now enlist the help of his trusted housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and faithful classmate Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger) in ensuring that the Stormbreaker system is not activated and revealing Sayle for the true villain that he is before the young super spy’s breathless first mission becomes his fatal last.

The post Stormbreaker appeared first on PhimHay89 - Xem phim hay online - Phim mới trực tuyến - phim nhanh vietsub.

source https://xemphimhay88.com/stormbreaker/

[reseau-actu]

Alya a été torturée par la Hisba, police des mœurs féminine de l'État islamique. Elle raconte son traumatisme.

Le visage fin, encadré de longs cheveux ébène, Alya*, 32 ans, relève la tête pour découvrir des yeux d'un noir profond. Ils portent la douleur d'une femme traumatisée par la folie de l'homme. « Si je ferme les yeux, j'ai ces images qui me reviennent, c'est insupportable », murmure Alya dans un souffle.

En mars 2016, Alya et son mari, Younès*, arpentent en silence les rues de Mossoul-Est, sous le joug de l'État islamique depuis juin 2014. Il ne faut pas qu'un autre homme puisse entendre la voix de Alya, c'est interdit. Interdit également de se maquiller, de découvrir un centimètre de chair, interdit de vivre. Alya et son mari survivent. Ce jour-là, la jeune femme lâche un instant son mari du regard et se tourne vers la façade d'un bâtiment en ruine. « Je me suis perdue dans mes pensées, c'était encore la seule liberté que j'avais, celle d'imaginer les choses, puisque là-bas on ne nous disait rien, on ne nous informait pas », explique-t-elle.

Elle souffle alors une phrase à Younès, qu'elle croit être à ses côtés. Il s'agit en fait d'un passant, qui s'indigne, « il m'a qualifiée de prostituée, a commencé à crier et à appeler les soldats ». À ce souvenir, Alya frémit, « je savais ce qui m'attendait, les hommes n'ont pas le droit d'entendre ma voix ». Les soldats de l'EI encerclent la jeune sunnite, prise au piège de ces hommes et du silence qu'on lui impose. Elle ne peut s'expliquer, au risque d'aggraver davantage son cas.

(Lire aussi : Nadia Murad et Lamia Haji Bachar, d'esclaves sexuelles de l'EI à porte-paroles des Yazidis)

Younès, témoin impuissant de la scène, tente une approche, mais est rapidement stoppé par la garde. L'homme serre les poings, « ils m'ont interdit de m'expliquer à la place de ma femme, j'avais envie de crier, mais je ne pouvais rien faire ». Les soldats appellent des membres de la Hisba, police des mœurs féminine constituée de femmes ayant prêté allégeance à l'EI. Alya comprend qu'elle n'en sortira pas indemne, « ce sont des monstres, les pires de tous ». L'une des femmes saisit Alya par le bras, si fort qu'elle en gardera des contusions des semaines durant, et la traîne jusqu'à l'échoppe la plus proche. « Elles vous font croire qu'elles vous évitent une humiliation publique, mais elles veulent juste éviter de retenir leurs coups », martèle Alya, interviewée par Skype.

À genoux sur le sol, la jeune femme attend son sort. Sous son niqab et sa sira, voile fin qui permet de voir sans être vue, Alya laisse échapper ses larmes : « J'étais morte de peur, j'avais envie de perdre connaissance, d'ouvrir les yeux après le calvaire. » Encadrée de deux femmes, une troisième entre dans l'échoppe, un objet métallique dans les mains. Alya plisse le front, « c'était une sorte de piège à loup, j'ai hurlé ». On l'insulte, on la gifle pour la faire taire.

Alors que deux femmes la maintiennent, la troisième dévoile la cuisse droite de Alya, agrippe une large bande de chair au moyen de la mâchoire métallique et la lui arrache. La plaie n'est pas assez profonde pour atteindre l'artère et la tuer, mais bien assez pour que la douleur éteigne la jeune femme. Younès, maintenu à l'extérieur de l'échoppe par la garde masculine, entend le hurlement de sa femme, puis le silence, interminable. Le sang de Alya se répand sur le sol, quand s'échappent les larmes de Younès, intarissables.

(Lire aussi : « Le même homme m’a violée chaque jour pendant un mois »)

« J'étais fou, fou de rage, fou de douleur », lance-t-il, mâchoire serrée. Alya inconsciente, la Hisba continue la séance de torture, mordant à plusieurs reprises la jeune femme, à l'épaule gauche cette fois. « J'ai découvert ça lorsque j'ai repris connaissance, par la suite », explique-t-elle. Quand Alya ouvre les yeux, l'une des femmes lui explique que tout cela n'est qu'une « simple leçon, pour le bien de tous ». « Je n'ai pas su réagir, et puis, il n'y avait rien à dire, ce sont des animaux, elles n'écoutent pas, elles mordent », murmure-t-elle. Lorsque la jeune femme évoque cette épreuve, les larmes coulent sur ses joues, sa voix tremble. Son mari lui serre la main, ne la quitte plus du regard. « J'ai cru mourir, j'ai voulu mourir, parfois je le veux encore. »

De retour chez eux quelques heures plus tard, la jeune femme souffre le martyre. Elle enrage, pleure, frappe les murs, elle craque. Alya marque une pause, reprend son souffle. « Je ne comprenais pas, je ne comprends toujours pas comment des femmes peuvent infliger un tel supplice à d'autres femmes. Elles m'ont détruite. » La blessure infligée à sa cuisse mettra un mois et demi à se refermer, quand son épaule s'infectera à plusieurs reprises, avant de laisser une grossière cicatrice encore boursouflée, sur quinze centimètres.

Ce traumatisme, Alya le revit encore et encore, chaque matin : « Quand je me lève, la première chose que je vois dans le miroir, ce sont ces cicatrices qui ne me quitteront jamais. C'est comme si la Hisba était là, tous les jours, pour me rappeler que j'ai eu le malheur de me perdre en rêverie pendant quelques secondes. » Enceinte de cinq mois au moment des faits, Alya perd son enfant quelques jours plus tard. « Il y a une certaine logique, je crois que mon corps a compris qu'aucun enfant ne devrait grandir dans un monde pareil. »

Mossoul-Est est libérée, Alya est désormais réfugiée à Erbil, mais la jeune femme reste, en quelque sorte, prisonnière de l'EI. « Elles m'ont tout volé, mon corps, mon enfant, jusqu'à ma liberté de rêver. Je suis détruite, jamais je n'oublierai. »

*Les prénoms ont été modifiés.

[youraufildespages]

La cité de l'oubli de Sharon CAMERON

La cité de l’oubli de Sharon CAMERON

Tous les douze ans, les habitants de Canaan subissent l’Oubli, un mystérieux phénomène qui efface leur mémoire. Pas celle de Nadia. Elle seule n’a pas oublié. Elle seule se souvient que se père a profité de ce bouleversement pour l’abandonner… Le nouvel Oubli approche. Nadia doit percer le secret de cette fatalité avant que sa famille ne vole à nouveau en éclats. Avant que la ville ne sombre…