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d0wnb4df0rf1cm3n · 1 year

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Still be here in the morning?

Nikolai Lantsov x F!Reader

Summary: You drive Nikolai wild. You want him to see you, to see you, but you're scared. If you give in to your desires and you let yourself fall, will he still be there in the morning?

Word Count: 2.9K

Warnings: SMUTTY SMUT, LOTS OF SMUT, lots of teasing, a lil bit of angst, and some fluff. Also the reader's nickname is Mouse - but it's not a size thing, it's an occupation thing *thumbs up emoji*

Author's Note: This started off as a smut thing but became a whole story thing so enjoy ;D

It was safe to say you drove Nikolai wild. You hardly listened to his rules, questioning your Captain in his every decision and driving him crazy with your constant bickering. You knew that you could, you were Nikolai's star crewmate and he would never risk firing you. No one was a better diplomat, marksman, or sailor - except perhaps Nikolai himself. You were a good detective too - you were the only one of his crew to have figured out his true identity.

You had teased him about it on a brief visit to West Ravka - an old family painting had given it all away.

"You'll never guess what I found, Cap." You said, waltzing into his quarters and jumping up onto his desk. He tilted his face up to you - indicating that he was listening - but kept his eyes focused on the maps laid in front of him, studying new routes out west. You were only docked in Os Kervo to collect a round of new supplies - enough to keep you afloat to Novyi Zem or even further.

"Tell me, Mouse. What have you found that is so worth sharing that you break into my quarters?" He used the affectionate nickname you had picked up since joining the crew - you were quiet, almost undetectable when need by. Of course, Nikolai knew how annoying and boisterous you could get when you were comfortable. Still, the nickname had stuck. In fact, you were almost certain that aside from Nikolai, and the twins, no one could remember your true name. It didn't matter. You had moved on from that life.

"Well, Tolya and I spent most of our afternoon in the galleries in Os Kervo-"

"-leaving Tamar to collect the supplies? Yes, I heard about that. Just because you keep us out of trouble with the law does not mean that you get to delegate all your duties to someone else. We work together, Mouse, you'd do well to remember it."

"Yes, yes, she said she was fine with it. Something about getting Tolya's poetic arse off her back for a few hours," Nikolai chuckled at that, "And anyway, the interesting thing is what I found in the galleries. You see, despite the Fold, West Ravka is still a united nation-"

"I'm aware."

"Stop interrupting me!" You swatted him with a loose piece of paper on his desk, "It's rude. You'd have thought that you had some manners - what with your pretentious nature."

"Is there a point to this, Mouse? Because I suggest you get there soon."

"Well, what I was saying was, I came across a portrait. A new one - well, sort of. It had the King - Pyotr, that is - and his wife, and their sons. Did you know that they had 2? I had simply forgotten." A cheeky grin had snuck onto your face and Nikolai was now looking directly at you. You leaned in close to his ear, "I'd say they did the younger son a disservice, wouldn't you? Your Highness?"

Nikolai moved swiftly, clamping his hand down over your mouth. "Does Tolya know?"

You move his hand off your mouth, "Of course not. I'm not one to be going around spreading rumours that are not mine to spread."

"Good. And you're going to keep it that way. Especially if you want to stay on this ship."

"Oh, Nikolai. You're not going to fire me. You won't risk having the biggest threat to your secret not on your side. I'm a diplomat - I know how intimidation works," Nikolai fixes you with a stare, "Ok, I was a diplomat, whatever. Semantics. Point is, you're not going to fire me. Your secrecy depends on it."

After that day, your teasing had increased ten-fold and Nikolai's patience with you had decreased just as much. He hardly spoke to you if he didn't have orders to give you. And it pissed you off.

To be perfectly honest, you made his blood boil. Nikolai didn't know what it was about you, but you knowing who he was had tipped him over the edge. He thought that he was untraceable - a new persona, a new look. He'd made a point to never dock in Ravka - but needs must and there was no way they'd survive a trip to Kerch. They'd been running on fumes. To be honest, the trip had gone better than expected. But of all the people to find out, it just had to be you. He stewed alone in his chambers. They were currently in Novyi Zem, planning to head further west. Ravka had no power further west than Novyi Zem, a notion which many - including you - were grateful for.

He'd never taken the time to understand what you were running from - almost everyone in his crew was running from some demon, but you had never once let slip who you were before you joined Sturmhond's crew. He knew that you were a diplomat of some kind and that you were half-Ravkan, but beyond that, you were a mystery to him. Perhaps that's what pissed him off. That you knew exactly who he was and who he had been and he knew nothing about you.

A knock came at his door. Who the fuck could that be? To his knowledge, everyone was out partying in the taverns. Who could resist a peaceful night out when you spent every other night on a ship sailing in the middle of an ocean? Nikolai could. And so could this mystery person apparently. Nikolai opened his door before the guest knock again, groaning when he caught sight of who it was. You were standing at his door - coat and boots discarded and your shirt haphazardly untied. You pushed past him and made yourself comfortable in his chair, smiling as he ran a hand over his face.

"Awhh, don't look too happy to see me, Sturmhond. Or should I say, Nikolai?" You'd taken to teasing him in the privacy of his room, where you were sure no one could hear you.

"What do you want, Mouse?"

"I just wanted to see how my dear Majesty was holding up. It has been a rough week for us all."

"Cut the bullshit. I know you're here to piss me off. Not tonight, Mouse. Please."

"Ooh. I like it when you beg. Do it again." You grinned at him. You knew you were getting under his skin.

"I said not tonight. Get out, Mouse. Go piss off some drunkard in a tavern." Nikolai said, nearly pushing you out of the door. "Maybe he can fuck the attitude out of you," he whispered under his breath.

"Make me."

"I'm sorry, what?" Nikolai said, turning around to face you again.

"I said, make me, Lantsov."

"I told you to stop fucking using that name," Nikolai growled, pushing you up against the wall, his arm pushing under your boob. You flushed pink, heat pooling in your stomach.

Nikolai grinned, "Oh, I see." He looked you up and down, scanning your figure. You could feel your underwear soak with every second of his gaze.

"What do you see, Captain? Need me to get you a spyglass. Could help you-" You were cut off by Nikolai's lips on yours. They were soft, gentle, and yet demanding at the same time. It was nice. This was nice.

"Is that what you wanted, Mouse? Attention from your Captain?" The honourific felt dirty coming from his mouth. You felt the desire to push him further - to piss him off until he gave you what you wanted. What you needed.

"Are you sure it's not what you wanted Captain? You seem to be a lot more excited by this than I am."

Nikolai nearly growled at that, attaching his lips to yours again, before slipping your belt off. He slipped his hands down to your core, feeling the wetness and smirking.

"Not as excited as me, huh?" He rubbed a circle around your clit and watched your defenses crumble. You grabbed a fistful of his jacket in your hand as your hips bucked away from him.

Nikolai lifted you up easily, depositing you on his desk, "I wanted to fuck you that day. When you hopped up on this desk and threatened me the first time. Should've done it. Should've shown you exactly who the boss is around here."

He grabbed the small knife he kept in his breast pocket off the desk and flicked it open. You gasped. Nikolai grazed the knife against the outside of your hip, slicing cleanly through your underwear. You were glad you'd taken off your stays earlier - you weren't sure if you could survive him ruining your most comfortable stays.

He placed a gentle kiss on your throat before pulling your shirt off. He gazed at you, momentarily starstruck, before latching his mouth onto your nipple. A hand came up to toy with the other, and you dissolved into a moaning mess.

He pulled away from your nipple to grin at your state. You looked at him breathlessly, grinning, "Is that all you've got, Lantsov."

His stare turned dark. He dove down and buried himself in your pussy. He licked and nipped, flicking your clit with his tongue. He played you like a well-tuned instrument. He fucked your hole with his tongue - alternating between stroking your walls with his tongue and sucking on your clit.

Your orgasm washed over you unexpectedly, sending waves of pleasure through your veins. You clamped your thighs around Nikolai's head, throwing your head back as you cried out.

Nikolai lifted his head up, eyes glinting dangerously, wetness smeared all around his lips. He looked devious. In that moment, he was not Nikolai Lantsov, spare to the Lantsov name, but Sturmhond, masterful privateer, Captain of Volkvolny. You loved him for it.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble, Mouse."

"What are you going to do about it?" You bit your lip, hiding a smirk.

He threw his coat off, carrying you towards his bed. You were lucky that no one else was on board - if they heard what was going on you'd never live it down.

Nikolai laid you on the bed, stripping his clothes off at extraordinary speed. He was quickly inside you, eliciting whimpers from you at every movement. He gave you a moment to adjust before he started to thrust. His hips snapped into you at an ungodly pace and it was all that you could do to not fall apart on his cock.

Nikolai grinned at your silence, his eyes scanning over you. Your face was blissed out, eyes rolling to the back of your head every so often. Sweat glistened on your skin, as you rocked forwards at the force of his every thrust. He couldn't help the small praises that fell from his lips as you moaned lowly.

"Look at you, so fucking beautiful under me, spread out for me like a whore. That's what you are, my beautiful little whore." You moaned at the filth dripping out of his mouth, "What's wrong, sweetheart? Have I fucked the little mouse stupid? No words left to taunt me now, huh?" You moaned softly, your mouth almost stuck in the shape of an 'O'. "Maybe I should do this more often, keep you quiet for longer." You nodded your head, head too foggy to come up with another smart-ass response.

Your second and third orgasms crashed over you in quick succession - Nikolai clamped his hand over your mouth as you screamed 'Nikolai' over and over again. He promised that next time he'd fuck that name out of your brain, before pulling out and cumming all over your chest.

You lay on his bed - dazed from the intense fucking you just received. You were surprised to find yourself alone in Nikolai's bed - he'd disappeared moments after cumming. He'd said something but you were still coming down from your last high when he moved away. You began to spiral. Of course, he was only fucking you to teach you a lesson - why else would he be interested in you? You idiot! He's the prince of fucking Ravka and the Captain of this ship. What do you have that would interest him, apart from your bratty mouth and attitude? He said it himself - the attitude pissed him off.

You were startled when something cold made contact with your chest. You looked up to find Nikolai with something in his hand - a wet washcloth, maybe? - and a sheepish grin on his face. He was still naked, his hair still tousled and his face still flushed. An involuntary beam broke out across your face. He didn't leave you after all.

Nikolai was taken by surprise at the tears that gathered on your lash line. He pulled you up into his chest when you were clean, sitting on the edge of his bed with you held tightly in his arms.

"Hey, hey, hey." He said, drawing mindless shapes on your back as tears streamed down your face, "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He was confused - surely, if he hurt you, you wouldn't be seeking comfort in him.

His heart slowed slightly when you shook your head, but the confusion remained.

"Talk to me, Mouse. What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"It's stupid."

"It's not. If it matters to you, then it matters to me. Tell me, whatever it is, I'll fix it." Another wave of emotion washed over you. You climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest.

"I thought you were mad." You whispered quietly, almost hoping he wouldn't hear you and that he would let it go.

"Why would I be mad?"

"You left." You shrugged, "You left and I thought you were gone for good." He pressed a kiss to your temple and pulled your head into his chest.

"Oh, Mouse. For all your genius, you are oblivious." You looked up at him, confused. "I love you, Mouse. I always have." You shook your head, "What?"

"You're just saying that." You said, tears filling your lash line again as you tried to pull away, "You're just saying that 'cause you fucked me and you don't want me to leave." You tried to move out of his arms but he held you firmly. You hit his chest, trying to force yourself off him, but he stood his ground. Eventually, you just melted into his arms - he held you as you cried, hands stroking your hair soothingly.

You calmed down slowly, chest heaving as you tried to replenish your lungs. You stayed relaxed in his arms. He laid his head on top of yours. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

You shook your head.

"Do you trust me?"

You nodded your head.

"Do you trust me enough to believe me when I say I love you?"

You hesitated.

"Well, we've found our problem."

"You don't love me."

"How do you know? You been inside my head? Pretty sure even Grisha can't do that." You chuckled.

"You hate me. You can't even look at me - let alone talk to me for long enough to fall in love with me."

"I can't look at you because if I start looking I'll never look away. I can't talk to you because I look like a fool every time I try and string two words together in front of you. Ask Tolya - he'll tell you how hopelessly in love with you I am. And for someone who's not interested in romance, he's a fucking hopeless romantic." His words involuntarily brought a smile onto your face.

You looked into his eyes, "You're sure you love me?"

"Honey, you drive me wild."

You nestled into his arms, and he leaned you both back onto the bed. Your head hit his pillow and suddenly you're surrounded by him. His arms wrap around you tightly, his pillow smells like him, his face is right next to yours. It's nice. Comforting.

You looked up into his face, studying his features while he slept. He was pretty - objectively. His face was long - pointy. Someone had done a terrible job of fixing his broken nose - but it seemed off at a second glance. He seemed so different than the paintings in the gallery - more difference than age alone could bring. His eyes were the giveaway - they were muddy green at first glance but under the right light and if you stared long enough, they were the same hazel green as the ones in the painting. You reached up to stroke his face. How long would this all last? How long until he wouldn't be able to play pretend anymore? How long until he had to go back to being Prince Nikolai Lantsov of Ravka? How long did you have with him in this beautiful bubble that you had created? You could already hear the rest of the crew filtering in from their nights out.

A hand came up to wrap around yours, "Sleep, Mouse. I'll still be here in the morning."

You smiled. He'd still be here in the morning.

fin.

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downbadf0rficppl · 4 months

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still be here in the morning?

Nikolai Lantsov x F!Reader

Summary: You drive Nikolai wild. You want him to see you, to see you, but you're scared. If you give in to your desires and you let yourself fall, will he still be there in the morning?

Word Count: 2.9K

Warnings: SMUTTY SMUT, LOTS OF SMUT, lots of teasing, a lil bit of angst, and some fluff. Also the reader's nickname is Mouse - but it's not a size thing, it's an occupation thing *thumbs up emoji*

Repost

You had teased him about it on a brief visit to West Ravka - an old family painting had given it all away.

"Well, Tolya and I spent most of our afternoon in the galleries in Os Kervo-"

"I'm aware."

"Stop interrupting me!" You swatted him with a loose piece of paper on his desk, "It's rude. You'd have thought that you had some manners - what with your pretentious nature."

"Is there a point to this, Mouse? Because I suggest you get there soon."

Nikolai moved swiftly, clamping his hand down over your mouth. "Does Tolya know?"

You move his hand off your mouth, "Of course not. I'm not one to be going around spreading rumours that are not mine to spread."

"Good. And you're going to keep it that way. Especially if you want to stay on this ship."

After that day, your teasing had increased ten-fold and Nikolai's patience with you had decreased just as much. He hardly spoke to you if he didn't have orders to give you. And it pissed you off.

"Awhh, don't look too happy to see me, Sturmhond. Or should I say, Nikolai?" You'd taken to teasing him in the privacy of his room, where you were sure no one could hear you.

"What do you want, Mouse?"

"I just wanted to see how my dear Majesty was holding up. It has been a rough week for us all."

"Cut the bullshit. I know you're here to piss me off. Not tonight, Mouse. Please."

"Ooh. I like it when you beg. Do it again." You grinned at him. You knew you were getting under his skin.

"Make me."

"I'm sorry, what?" Nikolai said, turning around to face you again.

"I said, make me, Lantsov."

"I told you to stop fucking using that name," Nikolai growled, pushing you up against the wall, his arm pushing under your boob. You flushed pink, heat pooling in your stomach.

Nikolai grinned, "Oh, I see." He looked you up and down, scanning your figure. You could feel your underwear soak with every second of his gaze.

"Are you sure it's not what you wanted Captain? You seem to be a lot more excited by this than I am."

Nikolai nearly growled at that, attaching his lips to yours again, before slipping your belt off. He slipped his hands down to your core, feeling the wetness and smirking.

"Not as excited as me, huh?" He rubbed a circle around your clit and watched your defenses crumble. You grabbed a fistful of his jacket in your hand as your hips bucked away from him.

He pulled away from your nipple to grin at your state. You looked at him breathlessly, grinning, "Is that all you've got, Lantsov."

Your orgasm washed over you unexpectedly, sending waves of pleasure through your veins. You clamped your thighs around Nikolai's head, throwing your head back as you cried out.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble, Mouse."

"What are you going to do about it?" You bit your lip, hiding a smirk.

He threw his coat off, carrying you towards his bed. You were lucky that no one else was on board - if they heard what was going on you'd never live it down.

Nikolai was taken by surprise at the tears that gathered on your lash line. He pulled you up into his chest when you were clean, sitting on the edge of his bed with you held tightly in his arms.

His heart slowed slightly when you shook your head, but the confusion remained.

"Talk to me, Mouse. What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"It's stupid."

"I thought you were mad." You whispered quietly, almost hoping he wouldn't hear you and that he would let it go.

"Why would I be mad?"

"You left." You shrugged, "You left and I thought you were gone for good." He pressed a kiss to your temple and pulled your head into his chest.

"Oh, Mouse. For all your genius, you are oblivious." You looked up at him, confused. "I love you, Mouse. I always have." You shook your head, "What?"

You calmed down slowly, chest heaving as you tried to replenish your lungs. You stayed relaxed in his arms. He laid his head on top of yours. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

You shook your head.

"Do you trust me?"

You nodded your head.

"Do you trust me enough to believe me when I say I love you?"

You hesitated.

"Well, we've found our problem."

"You don't love me."

"How do you know? You been inside my head? Pretty sure even Grisha can't do that." You chuckled.

"You hate me. You can't even look at me - let alone talk to me for long enough to fall in love with me."

You looked into his eyes, "You're sure you love me?"

"Honey, you drive me wild."

A hand came up to wrap around yours, "Sleep, Mouse. I'll still be here in the morning."

You smiled. He'd still be here in the morning.

fin.

buy me a coffee

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apollos-olives · 6 months

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i really liked hearing you talking about the geography of the west bank. id love to hear more about what you love about palestine if you want to talk about it. if not i hope u have a good day! i’m sorry anons are being so weird to you and i hope this ask doesn’t cross any boundaries

i've talked about a lottt of different things i love about palestine, but i can talk a bit more about the old city in nablus if you'd like :)

the old city is where you go if you want to find anything and everything. there are hundreds of shops and vendors and you get to meet so many different people and experience so many different things, it's so cool. over the shops and buildings are decorations and long cloths and banners that are colored in so many different ways, and they provide shade on hot days and sometimes the colors reflect off of the buildings and the ground so everywhere you go you're engulfed in bright and beautiful colors as you walk through the streets.

you can find a lot of different shops there, and they usually have huge portions of their products on display so you can pick and choose personally and serve yourself on what you'd like to buy. people who sell spices or nuts have HUGE bags of them and you get to grab a plastic kilo bag and fill up as much as you'd like. people who sell candy and gummies do the same thing, so you get to choose however much you want to fill up your bag. my family almost never is able to eat gummies where we live because it's not halal, so whenever we're in palestine we fill up kilos upon kilos of gummies in bags so we can take them back home and eat them :)) my uncle says the gummies they sell in palestine aren't halal either but whatever man where is the whimsy 😔😔 let us have this. the last time my dad went, he came back with a kilo bag of gummies after i asked him to bring some when he returned, so for months i kept the bag of gummies and slowly ate them. i finished the bag a while ago but i loveeeee gummies and whenever i find ones i'm allowed to eat, i'm very excited about it. i cannot escape my inner child.

there are many refreshments that you can find too. in the summers lots of vendors sell ice cream and slushies (as most places do, i assume) and different juices, one of them is 'tamar hindi' which is a drink you'll often see around ramadan and eid. there are stores that sell different pickled vegetables in barrels, and they'll even let you take some out directly and eat them so you can taste and choose which ones you prefer. of course there are lots of food places, but ohhhh my god there was one shawarma place in nablus that i went to that had the BEST shawarma i've ever eaten in my life. like by FAR it was one of the most delicious things i've ever eaten in my entire life and i'm not exaggerating. i yearn for a shawarma as good as the one i had in nablus. wallahi it was genuinely mind blowing. yall don't understand how good it was. i cry and sob over it all the time.

you can also find lots of clothes!! from our traditional palestinian abayas to modern t-shirts, you can find tons. a lot of the stuff that is sold in palestinian territories is bootleg, because real brands are hard to find their way in through the occupation. because of that, some of the more "modern" stuff is really low quality. i bought a belt from the old city and only was able to wear it once before it literally crumbled in my hands. it CRUMBLED. for 50 shekel too 😭😭😭 absolute shame. that's why i think it's more reliable to buy the traditional stuff, like tatreez designs, because at least that stuff is actually real.

there are jewlery shops too!! they're full of gorgeous designs and you can often find evil eye jewelry in a lot of places. i absolutely love the evil eye design and i have a lotttt of evil eye jewelry. some muslims disapprove though, but whatever. i just think it looks nice. i like its meaning too. interesting stuff to me.

palestinians use different types of currencies too!! we often use the israeli shekel, but that's slowly becoming out of use 🤷‍♂️ but we also use the jordanian dinar, and we even use american dollars, usd, to buy stuff.

OH LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE KNAFEH SHOP !! nablus is famous for knafeh. we're like. THE knafeh city. there's a very VERY famous old white-bearded man who owns the famous knafeh shop of nablus and you can almost always find him every day making knafeh. his place always has a huge amount of people there, watching him as he makes the knafeh right in front of them and then serves it out to everyone. genuinely THE knafeh of all time. him and his knafeh are a very cherished part of our city.

i'm sure there are MANY more things i can go on about, but i hope this was interesting to you! thank you for asking :)

#palestine

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naushtheaspiringauthor · 2 months

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~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- mentions of what happened to Baghra, slight mention of poisoning

A/N- I'm feeding y'all with the lil convos😼😼let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n @marauders-wife @evelyndane @el-de-phi

Ch-51 ~The monastery~

Upon entering the room, Anaya looked around with a wide-eyed gaze. The place was truly impressive.

It's not even a room, she realized. They were standing at the top of a hollowed-out mountain. She now understood that the frost fingers were actually enormous bronze columns cast in the shapes of people and creatures. They towered above them, bracketing huge panels of glass that looked out on the ocean of cloud below. The glass was so clear that it gave the space an daunting sense of openness, as if she could walk straight through and fall down into the abyss.

The room was teeming with people. Some bunched in groups where drafting tables and bits of machinery had been set up. Others were marking crates of supplies in a kind of makeshift warehouse.

Another area had been set aside for training. Soldiers sparred with dulled swords while others summoned Squaller winds or cast Inferni flame. Through the glass, Anaya could see terraces protruding in four directions, giant spikes like compass points, north, south, east, west. Two had been set aside for target practice.

This place had no comparison to the White Cathedral. Unlike that hellhole, this place was bustling with life. Anaya had never thought she would miss being among people so much.

“So much glass” She heard Alina whisper

“But no frost,” Mal noted.

Anaya found herself wondering the same, but David spoke out her conclusion before she could.

“Heated pipes” he said. “They’re in the floor. Probably embedded in the columns too.”

“There are boilers beneath us,” Nikolai said. “The whole place runs on melted snow and steam heat. The problem is fuel, but I’ve been stockpiling coal.”

“For how long?” Anaya asked

“Two years. We started repairs when I had the lower caverns turned into hangars. It’s not an ideal vacation spot, but sometimes you just want to get away.”

.............................................................................

Anaya was given a room that she was entirely grateful for. She was glad to have a place to herself. It wasn’t as big as her quarters at the Little Palace but it was nice enough. And more so, as she was finally in a place with windows. She changed out of her dirty clothes and put on a fresh pair that had been left on the bedside table for her. She went outside after she finished brushing her hair.

However upon going out, she found out that Sergei had apparently let Genya’s name slip, something they’d agreed not to do. Even though he was still grieving, he’d done a massive thing and had basically jeopardized their position with Nikolai.

A group of soldiers with blue armbands were making attempting to arrest Genya but David was standing by her side. Tolya and Tamar had blocked the soldiers’ way and the rest of them arrayed behind them. Anaya couldn’t see Sergei anywhere, which she believed was better since she would’ve strangled him if he'd been there.

“She’s here!” Nadia called when she caught sight of Alina approaching.

She went straight to Genya. “The King is waiting,” said one of the guards.

“Let him wait.” Zoya snapped back

Alina put her arm around Genya’s shoulders, leading her a little back. Anaya could hear her and Mal attempting to console Genya.

"The king demands her presence right this moment, they can't just-" one of the guards began

"She will present herself to the King when she is ready" Anaya cut him off, her voice having a familiar old jaggedness.

The three of them shortly returned to the group. David looked questioningly at Genya, and she reached out to take his hand.

“We’re ready,” Alina said to the soldiers. Mal and the twins fell into step beside them, but Alina held up a warning hand to the rest of them.

“Stay here,” she said, then added quietly, “and keep alert.”

Genya had conspired with the Darkling and had gone against the throne, even though she didn’t have much of a choice, though no one would ever be considering that. And she’d somehow attempted to poison the King. Surely he wouldn’t have liked the idea of her being alive.

When they’d come back down the hall, David was murmuring to Genya about the properties of vegetable alkaloids and such. Genya appeared bolder and far more relieved than she’d been before leaving, which displayed that she might’ve not been charged with anything.

When Anaya had finally got the opportunity, she asked Genya as to what had happened. And she told her about how she poisoned the King, and how Nikolai had literally forced the King to write an abdication letter and exiled both him and the Queen to the southern colonies.

“Quite bold of him” Anaya spoke at the news. “But I’m glad you’re alright” she said to Genya pleasantly

“I’m grateful to Nikolai for it. I’m surprised but he’s actually a lot better than this family. And, he even seems to care for the way he dresses” She chuckled

After Genya pointed it out, Anaya also thought of how no matter the situation, the boy’s clothing was always immaculate.

“Well, if given the opportunity I’d be looking immensely endearing as well” She shrugged. “Not that I don’t do right now” she added defensively

Genya chuckled at her statement, “Really?” she raised an eyebrow, grinning

“Oh please, have you seen me in midnight blue?” Anaya said in a dramatic voice

“Maybe once this is over, I can have you try something in the colour and we’ll see for ourselves yeah?”

“Sure yeah” Anaya lifted a shoulder

…………...........................................................................

Anaya walked through the halls of the Spinning Wheel. She'd soon learned that the place had originally been a monastery of Sankt Demyan and had been an abandoned observatory until Nikolai had found a use for it.

The view of the massive mountains was quite daunting because of the height at which they were. However, she found herself being able to relax as it was far peaceful here, and it even provided her with the illusion of safety.

Anaya was observing the various sections of the place from the terrace when she heard a voice from behind.

“I believe you’re quite intrigued by this place” She turned around to see Nikolai in a long overcoat with his blonde hair shining in the sunlight.

“Well, it is quite impressive what you’ve transformed this place into” she said, raising her eyebrows

“Ah I know I’m very impressive” he began grinning

Anaya rolled her eyes, “Not you, just your work” she said

“Eh we’ll get there” he winced

She spoke after a short moment as a thought struck her mind, “Did you bring Baghra here?” she asked.

She'd heard of what the Darkling had done to her. How he'd punished her for attempting to save Alina. Though she'd heard from Alina that she'd asked Nikolai to take Baghra with him.

“Oh yeah. And I'm very much regretting it” Nikolai chuckled

“Ah so you've had the pleasure of conversing with her?” She raised an eyebrow

“She is a menace” He responded dramatically. “I wonder what method of torture she's found for Alina now”.

“Oh I'm sure it's far worse than her previous ones” she frowned

Anaya looked around at the massive glass windows as she began to wonder. "What kind of glass is this? It appears far durable than normal glass" she asked

Nikolai's face lightened up on her question. "It's actually not normal glass" he began with great enthusiasm. "I'll show you" he paced towards one of the windows. Anaya fell into step with him, paying close attention to his words.

"Instead of the usual alkaline silicate composition, it has potassium nitrate in high quantities, making it a lot more durable" he explained, gesturing to the window.

"Impressive" Anaya said, utterly fascinated

"It is" He beamed. "I was also intrigued by their structure when I first visited this place, so I did some research. It's truly impressive how well-built a monastery is" he paced around the windows as he continued.

Anaya was paying close attention to his words, when she noticed the significant number of people gathered near one of the terraces. She could pick out Harshaw's red hair amidst the crowd, and Oncat perched up on his shoulder. Zoya was standing behind him.

"What are they looking at?" She wondered, loud enough for Nikolai's attention to turn to her.

"Let's see for ourselves" He said.

They strode forward to find the crowd gathered around Alina, who was attempting to hack off the peak of a mountain by forming the cut.

She caught a glimpse of Baghra standing with her stick in her hand and a little boy by her side. Upon seeing Baghra, she realized how true Alina had been. Her smooth and flauless skin now appeared wrinkled and old and her shiny black hair had wholly turned gray. She appeared as if she'd aged several decades in the matter of a few months.

But the most noticeable and startling change was in her eyes. The irises that were once a gleaming black, now appeared hazy and clouded.

He has blinded her, Anaya realized with a slight tremor. She knew that the Darkling wouldn't have liked the idea of his mother assisting Alina in escaping, but she truly hadn't expected him to do something like this to his own mother.

Despite knowing one to be a monster, you can never truly anticipate as to what extents they might go to.

“It’s too far,” She heard Alina grumble. “And it’s huge.”

“It is not too far" Baghra sneered. “You are as much there as you are here. The same things that make the mountain make you. It has no lungs, so let it breathe with you. It has no pulse, so give it your heartbeat. That is the essence of the Small Science.” She thumped the girl with her stick. “Stop huffing like a wild boar. Breathe the way I taught you, contained, even.”

Alina's face brimmed with embarrassment at her words. The woman had clearly not been devoid of her venomous words.

She closed her eyes and in a brief moment, lashed out with the Cut. It struck the side of the mountain, sending a sheet of ice and rock tumbling with a dull roar. A cheer went up from the crowd.

“Hmph,” said Baghra. “They’d clap for a dancing monkey.”

“All depends on the monkey,” Nikolai chimed in . “And the dance.”

“Better?” Baghra asked the boy.

“A little,” he spoke grudgingly.

“A lot!” Alina protested. “I hit it, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t ask you to hit it, I told you to take its head off. Again.” Baghra said

“Ten coins says she doesn’t make it,” called one of Nikolai’s rogue Grisha.

“Twenty says she does,” shouted Adrik loyally

“Thirty says she can hit the one behind it.” Mal spoke, leaning against the archway, his arms crossed. “That peak is over five miles away,” Alina protested “More like six,” he said Alina focused her attention back on the mountain. When she brought her arm down, the arc she made shone bright as it pierced through the haze of the clouds. There was an echoing thunder at a distance. The sky seemed to vibrate. Slowly, the top of the far mountain began to move.

It slid inexorably to the side, snow and rock cascading down its face, leaving a perfect diagonal line where a peak had once been.

The crowd began to whoop and cheer. Anaya gave Alina an amused grin as her gaze met with hers.

The little boy was jumping up and down, crowing, “She did it! She did it!”

Anaya then glanced at Baghra again. She needed an answer for something that'd been nagging at her brain for a long while.

#nikolai lanstov x reader #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x oc #nikolai lantsov fanfiction

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fiercynn · 7 months

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steven w. thrasher writing for mondoweiss on november 6, 2023:

As I recently heard Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique author Sa’ed Atshan say in a talk, pinkwashing falsely presumes not only that LGBTQ life doesn’t exist in Palestine but that LGBTQ Palestinians aren’t ever affirmed by their families or each other. And much as feminism is necessary, Atshan argues, queerness is fundamental to imagining a free Palestine into being. Perhaps most relevant to the ceasefire the Queer Bloc marched for this weekend, pinkwashing obscures how LGBTQ people are being tortured, starved, and killed daily by the Israeli Occupation Forces. If just five percent of the 2.3 million people in Gaza are LGBTQ, that means at least 115,000 of queer Palestinians are being directly terrorized right now and about 500 have been killed (to say nothing of their families). This has been most heartbreakingly documented by people in Gaza using Queering the Map, a community-generated platform that “provides an interface to collaboratively record the cartography of queer life—from park benches to the middle of the ocean—in order to preserve our histories and unfolding realities, which continue to be invalidated, contested, and erased.” In Gaza, queer people have been using it to honor their dead, post what they imagine to be their final messages before their own deaths, and make promises to find each other in the afterlife. Queer theory and contemporary gay life were formed in the shadow of death caused by AIDS in 1980s; now, queer people in Gaza are living in a far more urgent shadow of death—one in which the grim reaper won’t come in the form of HIV killing them over years, but in an instant, when a bomb is dropped from one of the American made jets or drones constantly flying over Gaza. However, because they are Palestinians, pinkwashing tries to erase the need for their safety from the global LGBTQ community.

more resources on israel's pinkwashing and queer palestinian liberation

pinkwashing at decolonize palestine

a liberatory demand from queers in palestine at mizna

beyond propaganda: pinkwashing as colonial violence at alQaws

"i'd rather die in the west bank": lgbtq palestinians find no safety in israel by tamar ben david and lilach ben david at +972 magazine

a palestinian trans woman's story peels away israel's pinkwashing veil by sharona weiss at +972 magazine

palestinian liberation is queer liberation by kayla kumari upadhyaya at autostraddle

say no to pinkwashing at bds movement

palestine as a queer struggle at the u.s. campaign for palestinian rights

pinkwashing settler colonialsm: how settler-colonial states co-opt gay rights to legitimize occupation by emily zak at briar patch magazine

pinkwashing exposed: seattle fights back! an hour-long documentary directed by dean spade and edited by amy mahardy

filmmaker pledge at queer cinema for palestine

#free palestine #pinkwashing #genocide #anti zionism

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 1 month

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The Portions for the Tribes

“Now these are the names of the tribes:

At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion bordering the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and running on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extending from the east side to the west side.

Asher will have one portion bordering the territory of Dan from east to west.

Naphtali will have one portion bordering the territory of Asher from east to west.

Manasseh will have one portion bordering the territory of Naphtali from east to west.

Ephraim will have one portion bordering the territory of Manasseh from east to west.

Reuben will have one portion bordering the territory of Ephraim from east to west.

Judah will have one portion bordering the territory of Reuben from east to west.

Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary.

The special portion you set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide.

This will be the holy portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center will be the sanctuary of the LORD. It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. It will be a special portion for them set apart from the land, a most holy portion adjacent to the territory of the Levites.

Bordering the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. The whole length will be 25,000 cubits, and the width 10,000 cubits. They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it and will have these measurements: 4,500 cubits on the north side, 4,500 cubits on the south side, 4,500 cubits on the east side, and 4,500 cubits on the west side.

The pastureland of the city will extend 250 cubits to the north, 250 cubits to the south, 250 cubits to the east, and 250 cubits to the west.

The remainder of the length bordering the holy portion and running adjacent to it will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city. The workers of the city who cultivate it will come from all the tribes of Israel.

The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. You are to set apart the holy portion, along with the city property.

The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the holy district toward the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. And in the center of them will be the holy portion and the sanctuary of the temple.

So the Levitical property and the city property will lie in the center of the area belonging to the prince—the area between the borders of Judah and Benjamin.

As for the rest of the tribes:

Benjamin will have one portion extending from the east side to the west side.

Simeon will have one portion bordering the territory of Benjamin from east to west.

Issachar will have one portion bordering the territory of Simeon from east to west.

Zebulun will have one portion bordering the territory of Issachar from east to west.

And Gad will have one portion bordering the territory of Zebulun from east to west.

The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea. This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Lord GOD.

“These will be the exits of the city:

Beginning on the north side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. On the north side there will be three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.

On the east side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.

On the south side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.

And on the west side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.

The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be:

THE LORD IS THERE.” — Ezekiel 48 | The Reader’s Bible (BRB) The Reader’s Bible © 2020 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. All rights Reserved. Cross References: Genesis 13:14; Genesis 14:7; Genesis 30:7-8; Genesis 30:18; Exodus 1:1; Leviticus 8:35; Numbers 34:20; Joshua 13:15; Joshua 13:24; Joshua 13:29; Joshua 15:1; Joshua 16:5; Joshua 18:21; Joshua 19:10; Joshua 19:24; Isaiah 12:6; Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 42:2; Ezekiel 42:11; Ezekiel 45:1; Ezekiel 45:5; Ezekiel 47:13; Romans 8:23; Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:3; Revelation 21:12-13; Revelation 21:16; Revelation 22:3

#the portion for Priests #the portion for Tribes #portions for the remaining tribes #the city gates and dimensions #Ezekiel 48 #Book of Ezekiel #Old Testament #BRB #The Reader's Bible #Berean Bible #Bible Hub

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stromuprisahat · 1 year

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The market reminded her of Os Kervo, the bustling town that had served as capital to West Ravka before the unification...

Crooked Kingdom- Chapter 13

“No indeed,” said the count, seating himself at the end of a long rectangular table engraved with the West Ravkan crest—two eagles bracketing a lighthouse.

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 5

Tamar’s spies had brought them news of the Fjerdan prince’s public collapse, and it didn’t bode well for Ravka. They’d renewed diplomatic talks, but Nikolai knew Fjerda was holding separate conversations with West Ravka and trying to encourage them to secede. Jarl Brum had been steering his country’s strategic choices for years, and a weakened Prince Rasmus would only embolden him.

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 12

Remind me again, why did destruction of the Fold mean “unification” of Ravka, when the West was obviously basically sovereign state, the East was weak, vulnerable to any kind of attack, fighting both of their neighbours, with zero resources and newly easy to attack from the west too?!

Why didn’t the richer part easily declare independence and/or crush the east?

#Grishaverse #grishanalyticritical #West Ravka #Ravka #The Fold #CK Chapter 13 #RoW Chapter 5 #RoW Chapter 12 #books #quotes #Crooked Kingdom #Rule of Wolves #Leigh Bardugo #V #The show had the Darkling kill Zlatan and his people #what about the books?

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collapsedsquid · 7 months

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The extraordinary violence unleashed by Hamas on October 7 exposed the horrifying reality of deep antisemitic and anti-Israeli hatred bred by the prevailing regime. It made unmistakably clear how hollow are the promises of security offered by the status quo. As cool-headed strategic analysts have pointed out, the threat is not that of 1973. Egypt and Syria, once Israel’s main enemies, pose no threat to Israel. Egypt’s decline was the subject of Ones and Tooze a couple of weeks back. But the sheer nightmarish violence of the Hamas attack induced an existential shock and not only in Israel. That shock has been compounded by the scale of the Israeli reaction. Israel has conducted a mobilization that at least according to The Economist is larger in quantitative terms than 1973 - 360,000 reservists, or 8% of the country’s workforce. Even assuming the possibility of a Hezbollah assault this seems hard to justify in purely military terms. One wonders whether beyond military necessity it is designed to recreate a sense of a “nation in arms” - a solidaristic national militarism that has become attenuated in recent years. Whatever the motivation the impact on the economy is so serious that it has been compared to that of the COVID pandemic. The tech lobby in Israel estimates that a tenth of its workforce has been mobilized. Construction is paralyzed by the quarantining of the Palestinian workforce in the West Bank. Consumption of services has collapsed as people stay away from restaurants and public gatherings are limited. Credit card records suggest that private consumption in Israel fell by nearly a third in the days after the war broke out. Spending on leisure and entertainment crashed by 70%. Tourism, a mainstay of the Israeli economy, has come to an abrupt halt. Flights are cancelled and shipping cargo diverted. Offshore the Israeli government ordered Chevron to halt production at the Tamar natural gas field, costing Israel $200 million a month in lost revenue. In response to this real economic dislocation, the finance ministry outlined plans to ramp up defence spending and provide for those pushed out of work. Meanwhile, in the markets, the blue-chip TA-35 index of Israeli shares has sold off and the shekel has fallen to the lowest level since the last major confrontation over Gaza in 2015.

#toozin

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beautifulpersonpeach · 1 year

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I don't call myself army, just a music fan, like to follow grown up fans of kpop and other groups and honestly up until now I thought your characterization of kpop fans and multis behavior to BTS was very one-sided and overblown. But now I'd like to offer you an apology Bpp. I keep up with a bunch of kpop podcasts run by kpop fans and black women and I follow this 30+ black woman whose whole shtick is being in kpop for vibes, not engaging in fanwars and overall being above the gross behavior from immature racist armys. So imagine my horror when I open my Twitter today and the first thing I see is this:

https://twitter.com/SideShowShit/status/1647483768423464961?s=20

My heart is so heavy and burdened by this I don't even know where to start bpp. Just last week I saw a Shinee/taemin/multi fan say the hate against Jimin should 'show give those armys a taste of what they do' when Jimin has been the target of overwhelming hate from the same shinee fans since his debut. I'm thinking to just leave kpop completely because this kind of brain rot in adults over nothing makes me depressed as fuck. I sympathize more with armys now more than ever. I love Jimin and don't want to stop actively following him. How do you deal with all this hate? Seriously how do you do it?

***

Hi Anon,

Your link.

Abridged answer: "I got no worries because you can't stop me lovin' myself" - reference linked here. :)

Long-form answer:

Like I've said before, if you've managed to make your way to the podcast side of k-pop stan environments you already have my condolences lmao. I won't state the exact reasons for that here but you're already experiencing a few of those reasons it seems.

That user is actually familiar to me - she's a black woman who works in the US entertainment industry, Hollywood to be exact, in a semi-administrative role. That person is a Blink who runs in the same circles as Ash - a k-pop writer/podcaster and multi in the US; Carrie - an Exol and Shawol in Toronto who writes K-drama/film reviews; Tamar - a Jewish Blink and multi who is a k-pop journalist; and a bunch of other k-pop writers, journalists, DJs, and otherwise 'grown-ups in k-pop' who can't seem to speak even in a neutral capacity about BTS, let alone ARMY, despite many of them deriving their livelihoods from the spread of k-pop in the West spearheaded in a large part by BTS. It's partly why ARMYs are extremely skeptical of k-pop journalism because oftentimes these content creators, journalists or reviewers are just stans of other groups with barely concealed animus for BTS. And also why the quality of critical conversations in k-pop fandom is so poor. I mean, how can you trust the opinion of an adult Black woman who should intimately know the implications of racism, calling Jimin, Oli London, unprovoked? It's all so comical but also kinda tragic lol.

You sent me this ask just as I was publishing this post so perhaps you hadn't yet seen what I've said about the dominant behaviours of k-pop stans in fandom.

I understand how painful it is to see things like that but I suggest you ignore them, report and block the account if it bothers you that much, but otherwise focus on celebrating Jimin and the things you love about him. I keep saying that hate does nothing but create more of the same. Many of the people who belong to rival fandoms, especially the fandoms that have a history of being abusive to BTS and ARMY since as far back as 2014, including fans of Shinee, EXO, Beast, Super Junior, and since 2018, BlackPink, many of the people in those fandoms default to hating anything connected to BTS, and it fascinates me even now how it's like a social contagion.

If seeing opinions like that really distress you, it's okay to step back from k-pop completely. In fact I recommend it for people who tend to get really emotionally connected to the artists they support, because none of those people are going to learn to do better, and chances are you could begin mirroring their behaviour if you get too attached. I'm friends with many people from those fandoms because they've known me since before I became ARMY, they know what I think, value, and tolerate, and they share the same values as me. But a few of those friends have been sort of 'excommunicated' from their fandoms because they refuse to engage in the hate towards BTS, and this happens far more often than you think.

I write as much as I do about this topic because I get it. Nobody wants to see shit like that. But at the same time, those sentiments towards Jimin and BTS have always existed and Jimin is still happy, thriving, more concerned with knowing what his fans think about his music, so if he's the reason you're here, then focus on him.

For me it's really that simple.

#Juwon Park too used to run in their circles since she's a VIP who doesn't like BTS and ARMY #That was until she said something anti-black and they realized she had very limited access to the industry anyway #You'll see these sorts of characters from time to time the longer you spend time outside ARMY spaces #If that bothers you then I strongly hope you detach from k-pop completely because it will only get worse the longer BTS remains on top #kpop #kpop fandom #multis #bts army #fandom behaviour #fandom behavior #bts #jimin #park jimin

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singlecrow · 7 months

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🦈🦋💌!!

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

I was going to say, ahh, well, I cheat at things and don’t write for characters I find tough to write. But I find Margaret Houlihan hard to write and have been doing her a lot lately. She’s tough because you have to keep her interior monologue straightforward: Margaret doesn’t like words, she likes action, emotion. It’s hard to keep paying attention to that.

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

Well if recent months indicate anything, probably Hawkeye Pierce. (probably it’s always been Hawkeye who’s my favourite!) How much fun, to write a character who loves wordplay and silliness and wit, is well-read enough that you can throw literally anything into his dialogue as a literary allusion, and can honest-to-god make a speech and capture room. He canonically speaks for paragraphs at a time and then goes silent again for pages. I love Hawkeye. I tend to write him largely in line with my own interior monologue, and no one has ever complained.

As well as him, though: Hilary Tamar. Hilary (gender unspecified) is the main character of a series of detective novels by Sarah Caudwell, which come up as a yuletide fandom every year and I love them and I love writing for Hilary in particular, but it is impossible to explain why without an example. Here is me, writing in Hilary’s voice:

“Further to your last: there is no necessity in the slightest that you return. Your postscript in particular embodied the magnitude to which you have misconstrued the situation in London. I have no doubt that the lawyers of Edinburgh and Glasgow, should there be any such, continue to have need of your expertise and a precipitate departure will neither endear them to you nor assist with matters here. I assure you that Julia is quite well. Now the charges are dispensed with she is wholly at liberty. There has been no injury to life or limb. There was a perhaps some trifling damage to the fabric of the building but the litigation arising thereof may be dealt with in camera, if one may repurpose the term, and there is no reason at all for concern.

However, if it should set your mind at rest such that you may lecture unimpeded, if I recall aright, on the Purpose and Perfidy of the English Chancery Bar, I may perhaps offer you the following account of events.”

I was particularly proud of the Purpose and Perfidy of the English Chancery Bar.

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

SADNESS. No, that’s not true. Actually, it’s Star Trek and daemon AUs. I’ve done about ten Star Trek AUs, all for fandoms that aren’t an obvious fit (my favourite ones are the MASH one, the West Wing one, and the Big Bang Theory one - yes, I had a weird time in the summer of 2014 and wrote a lot of Big Bang Theory fic without ever seeing the show, it was bad, it was a bad time, but it’s a good story). The daemon AUs are fewer but just as tropey, again my fave is the MASH one but the Star Trek one is also good fun.

I also love a five-things fic and am always unhappy they’re now well out of fashion. My last two have been “four things that never happened to Jonathan Sims, and one thing that never happened to everyone else” and “five times Aziraphale attempted to tempt humanity and failed, utterly and completely, in service of God’s plan”.

(you can still ask me things!)

#mash #tma #hilary tamar #my fic

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pennyvalleyrailway · 2 months

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Penny Valley Profile: The Railway

The Penny Valley Railway is a heritage railway in South-West England. The line runs from a shared station with Network Rail at Totnes down through Rattery, Avonwick and Ivybridge before reaching the town of Plymouth. Through Plymouth, the rails run parallel to the main line, sharing Plymouth Station and Dockyard Station with Network Rail, the PVR sometimes receives freight contracts from the various shipping companies in the docks, giving the resident pair of heavy freight engines something to do. Beyond Dockyard Station, the railway follows the mainline as far as the River Tamar before it branches off, having a completely separate stationof it's own in Saltash. From there, the railway finally reaches it's namesake town of Penny. From Penny, a line branches off to the towns of Tillworth and St. Harriet’s, with a colliery at the bottom of a 5-mile 1:50 gradient at the end of the line.

The line began life as the Penny & Tillworth Railway Company in 1864 running between the towns of Penny and Tillworth with an extension to St. Harriet’s to profit from the colliery. At the 1923 the grouping, it was absorbed into the Great Western Railway and all of the company's original designs were sold for scrap, by which time it had grown to it's full length. In 1948, the line was nationalised under the Western Region of British Railways. In 1964, the line was declared redundant and closed to traffic. A small group of volunteers, not willing to let their railway die away, rallied in the town of Penny in 1965, selecting the wealthy business partners of Mr. Jones Luke and Mr. Stephen Hughes. The pair had made their fortune in the shipping industry and had always wanted to move into railways. With countless long hours from the volunteers and thousands upon thousands of pounds, the railway opened again in 1967, the first train being hauled by a banged-up, raggedy Caledonian 264 by the name of Craig. From there, the railway's fleet grew and grew, but that's a story for another time.

#ttte #ttte au #ttte oc #althistory #railway

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downbadf0rficppl · 6 days

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still here in the evening

Nikolai Lantsov x Reader

Summary: Part 2 of still here in the morning - Nikolai's mad at you. You don't know why. Maybe an injury will help secrets come to life?

Word Count: 2.2K

Warnings: Violence - guns, gangs and bullets, Blood, Injury, Misunderstandings.

The wind whipped through your hair as you looked out over the deck. You were less than half a day’s travel away from West Ravka - where you’d dock and stock up on supplies before heading back out to Novyi Zem.

You sighed. The past few weeks had been weird - ever since you and Nikolai had woken up together, he’d been ignoring you. It was almost as if you’d ceased to exist for him. No matter. Things should be back to normal after this stop in West Ravka. You could both forget it ever happened.

It was almost midnight when you finally tethered the ship to a dock in Os Kervo. Tamar and Tolya grabbed your arms and practically dragged you to a local inn to celebrate. You’d had a lot of successful missions over the past few months, and just because the Captain was opposed to any kind of revelry, doesn’t mean you should be.

You knew the truth. Nikolai was too scared of being discovered here in West Ravka - where people still knew what the monarchy looked like, even if they had been hidden away on the other side of the fold for years. Still, you let Tamar and Tolya drag you away and had a few beers to celebrate. Maybe more than a few beers.

Meanwhile, Nikolai was sat at his desk on the ship, nursing a pint of ale. He’d tried to distract himself with work - checking the ship’s logs and inventory, making a detailed list of everything they needed before they set off on their next adventure. This would be their longest trip yet, and they were going to need a lot of supplies, especially if they kept picking up new teammates. It wasn’t enough.

His mind kept drifting back to you. Mouse. His Mouse. Nikolai couldn’t recall when you went from being just another shipmate, to the only person who was ever on his mind, but he wasn’t complaining. Still, the words that passed between you and Tolya rung clear in his head.

“He’s no one… Someone from back home.” You didn’t like him like that. You were waiting from someone back home.

Nikolai shook his head trying to clear his mind. Obviously, a girl like you had someone waiting for them back home. That was why you chose to take an extra long pit stop every time you were back on Zemeni soil. It was obvious, wasn’t it? He turned back to his logs, trying to catalogue everything they had done over the past few months since they had been here in Os Kervo.

He had thought you were the one. The past few weeks had been difficult, trying to avoid conversation with you, trying to avoid being under your gaze. Nikolai knew that he had no self-control when it came to you - one look in his direction and he’d crumble again. And he deserved better than someone who just used him to ‘break his 'I don't sleep with crewmates' rule.’

He should’ve known something was up when you disappeared from his bed in the middle of the night, he thought, putting his journals away for safe-keeping and taking another swig of his ale. People don’t just disappear when they actually like someone.

He just didn’t think you capable of leading someone on so maliciously.

But maybe he read the signs wrong. You never explicitly said you wanted to sleep with him, did you? Nikolai racked his brains for anything you’d said to give him that impression, but nothing came to mind. Maybe his own feelings clouded his judgment.

Nikolai took another swig of his ale. The light buzz that accompanied every thought of you now made him reckless. Nikolai clenched his jaw, determination etched across his face, as he set out towards the bar where Tamar and Tolya had taken you, his mind racing with concern and unresolved questions. The dimly lit streets of Os Kervo blurred around him. He just wanted to get to you.

You slipped out of the bar, your heart pounding in your chest as you tried to keep your steps light and silent. Tamar and Tolya were relentless, always watching, trying to stop you from seeing Nikolai. They insisted that he wasn’t worth your time, that he was just in a bad mood, though they wouldn’t tell you why.

The moon hung high and cold above the narrow streets of Os Kervo, casting long shadows in the alleys. You didn’t dare look back, afraid that one glance would reveal your escape to Tamar and Tolya. The bar’s raucous laughter and clinking glasses faded behind you, swallowed by the city’s nighttime murmurs.

You turned a corner, your mind racing with thoughts of Nikolai. What had you done to deserve his wrath? Every attempt to remember came up empty, a frustrating blur of confusion. You didn't see the men until it was too late.

A flash of metal, the sound of a gun cocking—it snapped you out of your reverie. You stumbled, your boot catching on the uneven cobblestones, and you fell to your knees just as the first shot rang out. The alley exploded into chaos, bullets whizzing past you, ricocheting off the brick walls.

"Get down!" someone shouted, but the voice was lost in the cacophony. You scrambled to your feet, ducking low and trying to find cover. Two rival gangs, by the looks of it, were locked in a deadly exchange, their faces twisted with rage and fear.

You pressed yourself against the wall, breathing hard, your eyes scanning for an escape route. Another shot grazed the wall near your head, sending a shower of brick dust into your face. You wiped your eyes, blinking rapidly, and saw an opening—a narrow gap between two buildings, barely wide enough for a person.

Without thinking, you dashed for it, your heart pounding in your ears. A sharp pain tore through your shoulder, and you gasped, stumbling but not stopping. You squeezed into the gap, your shoulder screaming in protest, and kept moving, pushing through until you spilled out onto another street.

The shootout was behind you, the sounds of gunfire muffled by the buildings. You leaned against the wall, panting, clutching your shoulder. Blood seeped through your fingers, warm and sticky.

You collapsed to the ground, arm still covering the wound on your torso, but you couldn’t keep your body up any longer. You were close to the docks. Someone would find you.

“Hey, hey, hey…” A familiar voice floated across the heaviness, bouncing around in the back of your head. “Don’t move. I’ve got you.”

What did he say? Why couldn’t you move? You didn’t try though, instead nuzzling into the warmth of their hand.

“…didn’t hit anything important, you’re okay…”

What didn’t hit anything important?

“You’ll be fine. We’ll get you back to the ship and get you right.” A warm hand pressed down on your abdomen, putting pressure. A sharp pain cut through the fuzziness in your mind. Your eyes met familiar muddy green ones. Ones that you knew all to well.

Everything came rushing back, your train of thought screeching back into coherence, and you gasped, face pressed against a warm shoulder. Nikolai’s shoulder. Pain flared in your abdomen like lightning, and you cried out, gripping Nikolai’s arm.

“Easy, now, sweetheart,” he grunted, gathering you further into his arms as his hand turned more and more red. “Can’t have you move right now.”

Fuck, it hurt. You let out a small whine as Nikolai adjusted his hand. This pain was unlike you’d never felt before - you’d been stabbed before but it didn’t hurt like this.

“Nik- I- I…-” you stammered.

“Hey, it’s okay, mouse. You’re okay. Just focus on breathing.”

You bit down another cry, forcing air out through your nose, burying your head further into his shoulder.

“Good, that’s good… Can I move my hand, mouse?”

You caught a glimpse of him ripping off a section of his shirt - somewhere in the back of your mind, you were disappointed. You liked that shirt. It was a shame to ruin it.

“Nik, it- fuck…” You were really feeling it now, warm and sticky blood seeping down your stomach. Nikolai tried to tie the strip of fabric as tight as he could but the pain seemed to deepen with every movement, spreading up through your torso to the rest of your body, and you gritted your teeth to halt a pained scream.

Nikolai glanced down at your fear-stricken face with a mix of guilt and shame, but quickly offered you a tight-lipped smile. “Nothing new to us, huh, sweetheart?”

The nickname wasn’t lost on you, but you didn’t have the energy to comment on it. You felt woozy again, as if you were slowly floating away from your body. His muddy green eyes were getting harder and harder to focus on, your body begging for the respite of unconsciousness.

Nikolai moved quickly, carefully lifting you into his arms, his expression tightening as you winced. Despite the urgency, his touch was gentle, his concern evident in every movement. The streets of Os Kervo blurred past him as he made his way to the ship, his mind racing with worries and questions.

By the time you reached the ship, Tamar and Tolya were already there, alerted by some unspoken bond or perhaps just the unmistakable sense of something gone wrong. Tamar’s eyes widened when she saw you, and she immediately set to work, her hands moving quickly as she tried to staunch the bleeding and mend the torn flesh.

“They need to rest,” Tamar said, her voice firm despite the strain of her efforts. “They’ve lost a lot of blood.”

Nikolai nodded, his face a mask of controlled emotion. He watched as Tamar worked, feeling a knot of anxiety tightening in his chest. The thought of losing you, without ever understanding why you had caused him such pain, was unbearable. As Tamar finished and stepped back, Tolya helped her move you to a more comfortable position.

Nikolai paced the small cabin, his thoughts a whirlwind. He needed answers, but for now, he needed to be prepared for the worst. Turning to the twins, he took a deep breath. “I need to ask you about their… person back home,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “In case they don't make it.”

Tamar and Tolya exchanged confused glances. “Their person?” Tolya echoed, frowning.

Nikolai nodded, frustration creeping into his tone. “I overheard the three of you talking. They mentioned someone. If something happens, we need to know who to contact.”

Tamar's eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to recall. Then, a look of realisation dawned on her face. “Oh, you mean Nikolai.”

Nikolai’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his face impassive. “What do you know about him?”

“Not much,” Tamar admitted, glancing at Tolya, who nodded in agreement. “Just that his name is Nikolai. They mentioned him once, but not in detail.”

Nikolai’s mind raced, connecting the dots. They didn’t know. They had no idea that the Nikolai you spoke of was him—Sturmhond, the privateer. He felt a strange mix of relief and guilt. Relief that his identity remained safe, but guilty that all of this had been a misunderstanding. “Thank you,” he said finally, his voice softer. “That’s… helpful.”

Tamar frowned, sensing his unease but not pressing further. “They’ll pull through,” she said confidently, more to reassure herself than anyone else. “They’re strong.”

Nikolai nodded absently, his gaze fixed on your pale face. As the night deepened, he slumped into the chair, needing to be near you, so he could apologise.

When you next awoke, the pain was pretty much gone, and you were decidedly not dead. It was a good start.

You were lying in a bed. For a second, the sun filtered through the windows and you thought you were in your bed. All the way back home in Novyi Zem. Your sister would run in in a moment asking for you to make her tea - you did it the best, not too milky and not too sweet. You opened your eyes to the sight of dark wooden panels. You were on the ship. The bed was familiar, though. The last time you were in it, a warm heavy arm had been resting across your chest. Your heart ached at the thought.

You looked over to the sight. The Captain was curled up in an armchair next to the bed, head cupped in his palm, his hair, loose and unkempt, clearly having had a hand run through it over and over. He must have nodded off at some point during the night. You were happy to see him sleep - he looked so calm and peaceful, unlike the past few weeks.

His eyes fluttered awake, almost as if he felt your gaze over him. His flickered to your covered waist before meeting your eyes. His gruff expression melted into one more sympathetic, and he reached out to squeeze your hand.

"You're still here?" You croaked.

"I promised you I'd still be here in the afternoon."

fin.

#grishaverse #nikolai lantsov #netflix shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov fluff #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov being kind #nikolai lantsov fanfic #nikolai lantsov my beloved #no y/n #shadow and bone #shadow and bone fanfic #siege and storm #nikolai lantsov imagines #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai x reader #nikolai lantsov imagine #shadow and bone x reader

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naushtheaspiringauthor · 5 months

Text

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- none 😽

A/N- Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @nadeleine123n

Ch-24 ~Unexpected manoeuvre~

Later that night, Anaya was jerked awake by Tamar calling her name

“Time to go,” she said.

“Now?” Alina asked blearily. “What time is it?”

“Coming on three bells.”

“In the morning?” she yawned and got out of her hammock

“Where are we?” Anaya asked hoarsely

“Fifteen miles off the coast of West Ravka. Come on, Sturmhond is waiting.” She was dressed and had her canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

As Anaya was putting her kefta on, Tamar handed out a tawny coat in front of her, "I'm sure those people won't exactly be happy to a see a grisha from the little palace"

She put on the coat and left her kefta on her hammock, stuffing her notebook in the inside pocket.

On deck, Mal stood by the ship’s starboard rail with a small group of crewmen. It took Anaya a moment to realize that Privyet had been wearing Sturmhond’s garish teal coat. The boy would've been hard to recognize if he hadn't been the one giving orders. He was swaddled in a voluminous greatcoat, the collar turned up, a wool hat pulled low over his ears.

A cold wind was blowing. The stars were bright in the sky, and a sickle moon sat low on the horizon.

“What’s happening?” Alina asked.

“We’re going ashore.” Mal responded

“In the middle of the night?”

“The Volkvolny will raise my colors near the Fjerdan coast,” the captain spoke. “The Darkling doesn’t need to know that you’re back on Ravkan soil just yet.”

Sturmhond bent his head to conversate with Privyet

Anaya looked up at the starry sky. Whatever sort of trouble was coming their way, she was ready to face it. And whatever the mad captain intended to throw their way wouldn't be much of a surprise to her, she'd already seen worse.

She looked over at Rabeah, who'd been talking to the fabrikator from a few nights ago.

She noticed Alina and Mal speaking in low voices. Mal bent to kiss her, a sight that made Anaya grimace. Sturmhond’s voice cut through the dark. “Can we get to the cuddling later? I want us ashore before dawn.

Mal took Alina's hand and they returned to the group.

Sturmhond gave Privyet an envelope sealed with pale blue wax, then clapped him on the back. They boy appeared as he was about to cry. Tolya and Tamar slipped over the railing, holding tight to the weighted ladder secured to the schooner.

Anaya looked over the side. She was surprised to see a smaller structure, similar to the sketches she'd seen in Sturmhond's cabin, floating alongside the Volkvolny. IIt was quite an extraordinary ship. Its two hulls looked like a pair of hollowed-out shoes, and they were held together by a deck with a giant hole in its center.

Mal and Alina followed, stepping onto one of the craft’s curved hulls. They picked their way across it and descended to the central deck, where a sunken cockpit was nestled between two masts. Sturmhond gestured Anaya to follow and then leapt down after them, then swung up onto a raised platform behind the cockpit and took his place at the ship’s wheel.

Anaya looked around but was quickly relieved to find Rabeah standing near the cockpit, glancing in her direction with curiosity

“What is this thing?” Alina asked the question building up in Anaya's mind

“I call her the Hummingbird,” he said, consulting some sort of chart. "Though I’m thinking of renaming her the Firebird "

The girl's expression quickly changed but the bloke only grinned

"Cut anchor and release!” he ordered

Tamar and Tolya unhitched the knots of the grapples that held them to the Volkvolny. Anaua saw the anchor line slither like a live snake over the Hummingbird’s stern, the end slipping silently into the sea.

“Make sail,” Sturmhond called

The sails unfurled. Though the Hummingbird’s masts were considerably shorter than those aboard the schooner, its double sails were huge and rectangular, and they required two crewmen each to maneuver them into position.

They pulled farther from the Volkvolny.

The captain shook himself, then called out, “Squallers!”

A Grisha was positioned in each hull. They raised their arms, and wind billowed around them, filling the sails. Sturmhond adjusted the course and called for more speed. The Squallers obliged, and the vessel leapt forward.

“Take these,” the privateer spoke He dropped a pair of goggles into Alina's lap and tossed another pair to Mal. He then handed similar pairs to Anaya and Rabeah.

They looked similar to those worn by the Fabrikators in the workshops of the Little Palace. All of the crew seemed to be wearing them, along with Sturmhond.

Anaya pulled them on along with the others.

The boy soom called for more speed, he seemed to be in a hurry.

The Hummingbird sped over the water, its shallow double hulls skated from wave to wave, barely seeming to touch the surface of the sea.

“All right, Squallers,” commanded Sturmhond, “Take us up. Sailors to wings, on my count.”

Anaya looked around in confusion, unable to comprehend what was going on

“Five!” the captain shouted.

The crewmen started to move counterclockwise, pulling on the lines.

“Four!”

The Squallers spread their hands wider.

“Three!”

A boom lifted between the two masts, the sails gliding along its length.

“Two!”

“Heave!” cried the sailors. The Squallers lifted their arms in a massive swoop.

“One!” Sturmhond yelled.

The sails billowed up and out, snapping into place high above the deck like two gigantic wings

Sturmhond was laughing like a lunatic. The Squallers were calling out to each other in a volley, making sure they kept the updraft steady.

That was when Anaya finally realized, They were flying.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai lanstov #nikolai lanstov x reader #nikolai lantsov x oc

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