#nadya stark

[rainwingmarvel7]

A huge thank you once again to the amazing @murmel-malt for drawing my GoT OC, Queen Nadya Stark! She looks absolutely wonderful! I can’t get over how great this looks!

#game of thrones #got #game of thrones oc #got oc #murmel-malt #nadya stark #queen nadya stark #nadya dormaire #she’s from the same fic as nahia dayne #if anyone wants to know more about her or nahia feel free to ask! #my oc #oc: nadya stark/dormaire #asoiaf oc

[imogenkol]

Winter Wonderland at The Lodge

words: 2.1k warnings: none tags: holiday fluff, werewolf girlfriend acts like a puppy

okay so I may have cheated and combined a few prompts, but I really liked the idea of having a small little holiday fic for them because I used to do it every year. The prompts are: snowball fight, kiss under the mistletoe, and cuddle in front of the fireplace requested by @adelaidedrubman @inafieldofdaisies @aceghosts @cassietrn thank you all so much, hope you don’t mind!

Nadya reveled in the wonderful sensation of snow beneath her boots. The sound was immensely satisfying, like all of the times she went out of her way to step on a fallen autumn leaf just to hear that one of a kind, delicate crunch, only now it was every step on the mountain trail. Not enough wolves or game had cleared the path of white powder, so the human trudged on through it with a beaming smile that not many understood in this particular weather. 

The last time Nadya had been in the snow she was nearly too young to fully understand it. Blurred memories surfaced as a light flurry came down around her, the tiny snowflakes melting almost instantly once they landed on her shoulders. She recalled a lumpy clump of ice in her palm that she had attempted to mold into a snowball, but lacked any coordinated technique given that her hands were so tiny. She kept trying, but it annoyed her how fast her fingers went painfully numb until, eventually, she just gave up. A shiver accompanied the memory and Nadya adjusted her beanie and pulled her coat tighter over the layers she wore to keep the winter’s sharp bite at bay. 

A soft rustle in the trees drew her attention. Nadya scanned the woods, but couldn’t see much in the dense white landscape. The trail didn’t go near any patrol routes, so she doubted it was a werewolf. Even if it was, they would give her a wide berth out of courtesy. Jayde made sure of that. Must be a deer or some other critter scavenging for scraps. She pulled her camera out of her bag and continued on. 

Nadya didn’t keep track of all the photos she took, but she started to wonder if she would run out of all the film she received as an early Christmas gift. The magical winter forest was just too beautiful not to appreciate both in person and behind the lens of her camera. From the sugar dusted landscape to large paw prints along the trail, Nadya captured it all. She was so engrossed, in fact, that she almost hadn’t noticed the snap of a twig close by, soon followed by another several paces from the first.

Whatever it may be, it was moving fast.

This time she felt certain that something out there watched her. The feeling crept up her spine and caused a deeper shiver than the cold did. Nadya lowered her camera and searched the woods around her once again. Her instinct felt too strong to ignore and she did not appreciate being stalked. 

“I can hear you,” she called out. “Do you need something?”

Silence overtook the forest. 

Nadya backed away as she tried not to let unease settle too heavily in her gut. Perhaps it was only a deer. She couldn’t imagine any werewolf would dare toy with her like this. 

The human was about to turn around and walk back up the trail towards the Lodge when her legs connected with something large and soft behind her. Nadya jumped back with a startled yelp. She flipped around to see a massive white wolf stood in her path, tail wagging and tongue lolling out in a wolfish grin. It had been her all along.

“Are you serious?” Nadya yelled, though laughter broke through her irritation. 

Jayde sat on her haunches and looked far too pleased with herself. The stark white color of her fur blended seamlessly with their surroundings. She probably didn’t even need to try that hard to slink around unnoticed in this weather. Nadya never would have spotted her at a distance.

“You scared me, you know,” she complained and put her camera away.

Jayde let out a short bark and bowed playfully as if she were an energetic puppy and not a werewolf who could rip a grown man to shreds in seconds flat.

“That’s how you wanna do this, huh?” Nadya bent down and scooped up a handful of snow. Unlike her past self, her hands were bigger and much more deft now. She easily shaped a perfect sphere of snow. The wolf barked again and dodged in the blink of an eye, but Nadya had already launched the snowball in her direction and it impacted with a dull thud. With a triumphant laugh, she said “I might not be a softball lesbian, but I still have damn good aim!”

Jayde frolicked around her and Nadya scrambled to make another snowball. She feinted left, but Nadya anticipated the move. All of their training sessions taught her what to expect from Jayde, even in a play fight. This time, the clump of snow connected with her face and she shook it off with an indignant snort.

“I know all your tricks by now,” Nadya boasted and quickly sent another volley at her.

They went back and forth – the werewolf running in sporadic circles to avoid incoming attacks as the human used tree trunks as cover while she built her arsenal. Snow now caked the thick white fur of Jayde’s coat, making her look even fluffier than usual. She could pass as a polar bear, Nadya thought. She landed another hit and realized Jayde had enough of losing. 

Nadya saw it coming. “Don’t do it!” she shouted, but had no power to stop her girlfriend’s retaliation. 

Jayde leapt and her massive wolf body tackled the human into a pile of soft powder. Nadya’s startled cry became a giggle, which quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter as Jayde’s snout poked at all of her ticklish spots. She tried to wrestle her head away, but Jayde was relentless. Then Nadya wrapped her hands around her muzzle and firmly clamped it shut, causing an indignant growl to rumble in the wolf’s chest. 

“What are you gonna do now?” she challenged.

Jayde tried to shake her grip loose, but Nadya held on tighter, forcing her to use one of her giant paws to pry the girl’s hands off. Nadya knew full well that Jayde needed to be gentle with her and she took full advantage of that, shrugging her claws away. Jayde knew it, too. After a frustrated huff out of her nose, another more intimidating growl vibrated throughout her whole body like a clap of thunder, but it had no effect on the human at all. Nadya simply cocked a brow and placed a quick kiss on the werewolf’s nose. That shut her up fast. 

However, just when Nadya was about to claim victory, Jayde’s eyes twinkled mischievously and she plopped herself down right on top of her like a Great Dane who thinks it’s a lap dog. Nadya became completely pinned to the ground, sinking further into the pile of freezing snow that melted rapidly under their combined heat. She lay there groaning for a few moments before the weight became too much. 

“Alright, alright. Truce?” she suggested in a strained voice. 

Jayde nodded and stood up at the same time Nadya released her muzzle. The girl sat up and shook her head with an exasperated sigh, staring into the glowing amber eyes before her. There was an anticipated pause. 

“Well, hello,” Nadya finally greeted with a giggle and held her arms out.

The white wolf immediately fell into her embrace, nuzzling against the human and knocking her beanie askew. Nadya ran her hands through her fur, enjoying the soft, insulated warmth of her wolf form. Jayde was definitely built for this kind of weather. It made Nadya want to curl up with her somewhere quiet in the pines with the smell of campfire smoke in the breeze, but the melted snow had started to soak into the layers of her clothes. She shivered again. This time her teeth chattered as she held the wolf closer for comfort. Jayde whined in concern. 

“Yeah,” Nadya agreed and reluctantly pulled away to stand up. “Maybe we should head back. I think I need to rest by the fire.” 

That idea brightened the wolf’s demeanor. Her jaws carefully snatched onto Nadya’s sleeve, pulling her in the direction of The Lodge. Nadya chuckled again and eagerly followed. Just in time, too, because the snow storm returned with a vengeance by the time they got back indoors.

They went to their room first so that Nadya could shed her wet clothes and Jayde to change back into her human form. For Jayde, the process barely took a minute, two if she hadn’t shifted in a while. To this day, it fascinated Nadya to see. The ease with which she flowed from one form to the other and back again. Her breaking bones seemed to bother her as little as cracking joints. 

Nadya always loved to touch her after a shift – to lace their fingers together, hold her close, and feel the residual wild heat of the animal that still lingered just beneath the surface of her skin. If she looked closely, she could see shimmers of gold in the fibers of her midnight blue eyes. That’s what she loved the most. And Nadya knew how to draw the wolf back out whenever she wanted, too.  

“Did you look up?” she asked, lingering halfway out of their room as they started towards The Den. 

Jayde flashed a crooked grin. “Didn’t need to. I could smell mistletoe from down the hall.”

Almost as soon as Jayde left for patrol that morning, Nadya opened the package she had hidden in the closet and hung it right above the doorway. She knew if she didn’t act fast, Jayde in all her romantic tendencies would beat her to it. For once, Nadya wanted to jump the gun for their first real Christmas season together. 

Without further hesitation, Nadya leaned in. Even the way Jayde kissed her felt more intense after a turn. Jayde’s lips were warm enough to chase away any chill. She grabbed onto the girl’s hips with retrained strength, but her fingers still dug desperately into her skin. Her passionate cadence had that underlying primal hunger, which compelled a human like Nadya to surrender to it, but she was well accustomed to the desire of a wolf and knew how to calm its restless spirit when needed. A gentle caress down the sides of Jayde’s neck drew out a low, inhuman sound similar to a growl, but not quite as harsh. A submissive sound, Nadya thought. It slowed the ardent push and pull into something more tender, dulling both of their minds in an utterly blissful stupor. 

As they pulled away, Nadya smiled at the bright golden irises that stared back at her. In a blink, they faded. 

“You did that on purpose,” Jayde said.

Nadya gazed at her not so innocently. “Will you make me cocoa?”

The blonde laughed and pulled her girlfriend along. “Anything for you.”

With a winter storm raging outside, The Den started to gain more wolves in search of leisure time. Some were at the bar, others at the pool tables, but Jayde and Nadya claimed their usual spot right in front of the fireplace. Flames crackled and popped as they danced against the blackened brick. 

Nadya sat in between Jayde’s legs on an old leather couch, leaning back against her chest and happily sipping on a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Jayde always went above and beyond to make it gourmet style for her. Fancy chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, homemade whipped cream, festive sprinkles. Most importantly, she made it with love. It put those cheap packets to shame and Nadya practically lived off of those every winter at her old apartment.

“How was patrol?” Nadya asked, placing her hand on Jayde’s knee and giving it a warm squeeze.

“Boring as hell,” she answered and nuzzled against the side of Nadya’s head in much the same way she had as a wolf earlier. “Until I found a no good human on the wrong side of the property line.”

“I hope you took care of that,” Nadya replied with mock-concern. 

Jayde hummed into the curve of her human’s neck. “I’m afraid she’ll keep causing me trouble.”

The brunette scoffed. “Not nearly as much trouble as you give her.”

“Well, there’s a new year coming. Who knows what might happen?”

A warm, content grin came across Nadya’s face at the hope she heard in her girlfriend’s voice. Almost as if Jayde actually looked forward to another year. Perhaps she did. It certainly felt that way when her arms tightened around Nadya’s waist as they watched the fire together. 

“As long as you stay with me, I think it’ll all work out, Jay.” 

“I think so too, love,” she agreed softly.

tag list (ask to be added or removed!): @florbelles @marivenah @simonxriley @shegetsburned @voidika @kyber-infinitygems @v0idbuggy @eloquentmoon @statichvm @socially-awkward-skeleton @carlosoliveiraa @risingsh0t @unholymilf @thedeadthree @jackiesarch @gwynbleidd

#oc insp: nadya bishop #oc insp: jayde thatcher #ship insp: woven and thatched #me mostly posting fluff of these two for the mutuals to see: they don't even know half of the horrors I've put them through :) #but god I am so incredibly happy to get back to some festive fluff #this is big for me ok

[woaddragoon-nadya]

Thank you to @redwayfarers !!

— B A S I C S

Name: Nadezhda Hollow

Nicknames: Nadya (Almost everyone calls her this), Dezha 

Age: Start of ARR, 20. As of Stormblood 23-24

Nameday: 17th Sun of the 1st Umbral Moon

Race: Midlander Hyur

Gender: Female

Orientation: Bisexual

Profession: Warrior of Light, Dragoon

— P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C T S

Hair: Stark White

Eyes: Dark Blue

Skin: Unnaturally pale for how much time she spends in the sun

Tattoos/scars: Cross scar on her face

— F A M I L Y

Parents: Unknown

Siblings: None

Grandparents: Unknown 

In-laws and Other: No in-laws. She considers the Leveillur twins to be her younger siblings. 

Pets: Her chocobo, Artemy. 

— S K I L L S

Abilities: Naturally talented with combat, great diplomat (almost everyone is too scared of her to argue)

Hobbies: Dancing, Weaving

— T R A I T S

Most Positive Traits: Optimistic, Perceptive, Quick Learner, Quiet Charisma

Most Negative Traits: Bad temper, Distrustful

— L I K E S

Colours: Woad Blue, Dalamud Red

Smells: Espresso, Cardamom, Rose, Copper

Textures: Suede, Warm Metal

Drinks: Espresso, Black Tea

— O T H E R    D E T A I L S

Smokes: No

Drinks: Used to drink a lot, sober

Drugs: No

Mount Issuance: Artemy, Immortal Flames

Been Arrested: Yes…

#ffxiv #nadya hollow #ffxiv wol #ffxiv tag game #tag game

[luneevenfall]

Nanowrimo day 2!

The Baron has his first girl dinner! Ah, what a wonderous occasion! For context, when Nadya uses the Baron persona, she goes by he/him pronouns :)

It would be best if he were to attract as little attention as possible, but he still wanted the attention of a special lady – there just had to be one to notice him. One such woman obediently fell into his lap after a little while; a woman around his age, in a pink dress, long, black curls done up with a beautiful hairpiece. She approached curiously, coming to a stop in front of him. “A new face? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” She smiled. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir…?” “Now now.” He was surprised at how different his voice sounded; what was this feeling? “This is a masked banquet. Naming myself would ruin the purpose, would it not?” She was enamored with him, receptive to his advances almost immediately. She did not attempt to move away when he put his arm around her waist, pulling her in a little closer. “If you wish to have something to call me by…” He paused for a moment, speaking the first thing that came to mind. “I suppose you can call me “the Baron”.” “I see… Baron.” She stared up at him with bright eyes. “You do fit the bill. Say… why don’t we go talk somewhere more… private?” “You are an interesting woman.” He muttered, placing his hand under her chin. “To think that you would be the one to suggest such a thing.” “I see something I want. I take my chances. That’s all.” She smiled, and the two of them retreated from the busy room to a quieter, darker place. It was the first time since that night he had indulged in pleasures with other women; she was warm, a stark contrast to his cold hands. Still, she did not seem to mind as they locked lips, fading ever further into the darkness. He was not sure how, but he instinctively knew not to aim for that same spot on the neck where his marks were proudly displayed. She curled up against him, lost in the sensations, and that’s when he took his chance, baring his fangs and biting into the corner between her neck and shoulder. She gasped, but instead of pulling away, her hands pressed against the back of his head, urging him, begging him to go on. No words were exchanged between them, and he could freely let his mind wander to the woman of his dreams as he indulged himself in her body; it came to him all too easily, but it was what he had to do. It took a saint’s patience for him to stop before it got too far, detaching his teeth from her skin; the marks were beautiful, divine. He wanted to make more, but knew that he shouldn’t feast too much, lest it affect her well-being. She was quick to recover, finding his cheeks with her hands and pulling him in for a kiss; there was no need to rush, after all. Plenty of time for them to get… comfortable. The darkness cloaked them, any sounds muffled by the palpable shadow engulfing them.

#my ocs #oc #original character #sapphic #sapphics #lgbtq+ #my writing #lesbian #nanowrimo #nano 2023 #nanowrimo 2023 #nanowrimo2023 #national novel writing month #mystery #suspense #romance #queer #writing update #writeblr #writerblr #fantasy

[blvdless]

Name: (Lady) Avalon Nadezhda Mulciber Aliases: Avy, Mulciber/Mulci, Nadya/Nadenka/Nadka (with mother’s family) Gender/Pronouns: Female, She/Her Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Bisexual Age: 22 Birthdate: Dec 31, 1999 Occupation: Dancer (Royal Ballet, corps du ballet)

Height: 5′5 Build: Athletic, lean Skin Tone: Fair Hair: Blonde, waist length Eyes: Hazel Identifying Marks: Large scar just above left knee Appearance: Tidy, elegant Personality: Reserved, proper, aesthetically motivated, hard-working Best Qualities: Charming, loyal, quick-thinking Worst Qualities: Petty, unafraid of minor violence, duplicitous

Alignment: Death Eaters, Mulciber family, Carrow family Inspirations: Aaron Minyard (All For The Game), Camilla Macaulay (The Secret History), Serena Clarke (Villains series), Rosalie Hale (Twilight), Declan Lynch (The Raven Cycle), Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones), The Great Gatsby, press coverage around Melania Trump, light academia, videos of ballet dancers destroying pointe shoes to break them in, performative academia, Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos Family: 

Owain Mulciber, 17th Earl of Pembroke (father)

Nadezhda Mulciber, the Countess Pembroke (née Ivanova) (mother)

Caius Mulciber, Baron Cardiff (twin brother)

Alcaeus Carrow, the Earl Berkeley (actual father)

Amycus Carrow, Baron Berkely (half-brother)

Lady Alecto Carrow (half-sister)

Bio:

The whole mess goes back to when Owain Mulciber brought a fiancée back from a business trip. Nadezhna Ivanova had been a model with a regional-level career, but Bulgaria in the ‘90s wasn’t the easiest place to start a career in a luxury industry. She’d thought that London would be her ticket to everything-- especially with her new husband’s money.

Owain didn’t like the idea of his wife working, though. He didn’t like the idea of a lot of things, controlled his household with an iron fist and a very specific vision of what his family should look like.

It shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise as it was when the Mulciber kids came out looking a lot more like Owain’s best friend than Owain himself. By the time Caius and Avalon were old enough to follow around Amycus and Alecto-- twins run in families, it’s worth mentioning-- it was obvious what had happened.

Divorce would have meant admitting to being cheated on though, or losing permanent residence, or splitting inheritances. Owain and Nadezhna continued on in silent agreement to act as though nothing had happened, though Owain’s desire to control his wife and children’s every move became stronger.

A decade later, Alcaeus Carrow thought it’d be rather funny to tell the kids. 

Avalon’s whole life has been scheduled for her as long as she can remember-- tutors and day schools and lessons and stilted scripted family dinners. There was never much of a choice about attending Hogwarts, her father’s Alma Mater, even though it didn’t make much sense in her situation.

She’d rather have left and gone to a ballet academy, but that wasn’t part of her father’s vision. Instead, she was attending hours of ballet class before and after Hogwarts’ school days. 

It was frustrating, and she was tired, and the whole situation was bound to boil over in some way. Especially when surrounded with people who were essentially intruders intro her world, who didn’t understand the gilded cage she was trapped in. At least, that’s what she said when asked why she pushed Mary MacDonald down the stairs. 

Upon graduation, she became an apprentice at the Royal Ballet and has since become a member of the corps du ballet. 

#( your beauty never ever scared me :: avalon )

[in--somnium]

Nadya hadn't seen him without the suit or without a shirt before. Not that she had expected to anytime soon. But he had gotten banged up pretty bad on this last go round and he had little in the way of familiar faces here.

She had offered to help him if he needed it. So when he showed up in the middle of the night, bleeding, she had applied everything that her mother had taught her about this.

It had taken her some time to get him cleaned up even after he was out of the top half of the suit. She had never seen it before, the scar, but that made sense. It was fairly nasty. "How did you get this?"

She shouldn't be asking but her curious nature had gotten the best of her at the moment. She finished cleaning up the new cuts and bandaged what she could. Then her fingers traced lightly over the scar almost in a ghost like fashion.

@forgivingtouches

He wanted to go home. The thought was suffocating. The things he'd left behind. The people he'd abandoned. Was his Aunt May okay? After what happened here, to younger Peter's Aunt May... the thought wouldn't leave his head.

But between long nights of attempts to get back, he did what he could to help the other Peter keep this place safe. He owed him at least that much. Besides, having something to do in his down time kept his mind occupied. It also, however, meant that he got hurt from time to time.

Nadya wasn't his first choice of person to get help from. Not because he didn't like her or appreciate her or anything, but because he didn't want her worrying or anything. Besides, they'd been getting a little closer lately and Peter knew the risks that ran with it. He couldn't stay here. She couldn't go back with him. It was useless to get attached.

And yet here he was, letting her tend his wounds, letting her bandage him up. He really shouldn't be here.

When she asked about the scar on his back, he shrugged, "Don't remember, honestly." It could have been any number of things at this point, he'd been at this for years back home, after all. In fact, it could have been scars overlapping, injuries in the same place again and again tearing new scar tissue. But truth be told, even if he couldn't see for certain which scar she was talking about, he was pretty sure he knew. And that was a story he didn't really want to tell today.

Then her fingers ghosted over the old, faded, injury and he knew with certainty, now. He pulled away quickly, like her touch had burned, and grabbed his t-shirt. Immediately, he changed the subject so she wouldn't have a chance to ask, "Sorry, again, for showing up so late. I'm an idiot, didn't notice the time, you know?" A forced chuckle as he slipped the t-shirt back on, "Thanks for the help, though. I tried to do it myself but I couldn't quite see back there." He'd told her this already, when he'd gotten here, that he'd tried to patch himself up but had struggled with the injuries on his back. He realized that he was saying it again now as just a way to keep talking so she couldn't, "Anyway- I should get going. Got a lot of, ya know, stuff to do tomorrow. Breaking barriers between realities without messing everything up and whatever is a little harder than we expected. So I have to head to Stark's place early. The other science guy- uh... dark hair? glasses?- Bruce! Bruce is gonna be there at, like, 7am. Don't wanna keep him waiting in case he gets impatient and goes green, right?" Once more, a forced chuckle to accompany a forced joke, grabbing his backpack off the floor. Rambling. He did it whenever he was uncomfortable or anxious. Right now, it was a bit of both. He was feeling things he knew he shouldn't be feeling, and he needed to suffocate it.

"Really, I appreciate the help." And now the quick words had slowed, become softer, more sincere. But he still took a few steps closer to the door before turning to look at her once again, "I'll be more careful next time." She might not have realized it, but he meant to be careful about more than just fighting.

#reply:Peter (TASM) #forgivingtouches

[tomsmusictaste]

Here’s a list of even more female, frontage band and female musicians. Absolutely loved your list, but here are some I think should be recognized not all of these aren’t necessarily see music, but they fall under the category of alternative.

Jesse, Jo Stark

Pinkshift ( lead singer Ashrita Kumar ) ( poc band as well)

Spiritbox ( lead singer Courtney Laplante )

Kelsy Karter

Siiickbrain

Nova Twins ( poc )

Mothica

Stand Atlantic ( lead singer Bonnie Fraser )

Scene queen

Nessa Barrett

Pale Waves ( lead singer heather Barnard Gracie )

Royal and the serpent

Dorothy

BABYMETAL

The Linda Lindas ( poc ) all members are minors, so be respectful.

Hevenshe ( Jenna from tonight alive solo project )

He is we

The Regretts ( lead singer Lydia night )

Eyes set to kill ( lead singer Alexia Rodriguez )

Haim

Hoity toity

Pussy riot ( lead singer Nadya Tolokonnikova )

Måneskin ( bassist Victoria De Angelis )

Lilith czar ( Juliet Simms of Automatic Loveletter )

IC3PEAK ( lead singer Anastasia Kreslina )

Good list anon!! Extra shoutout to all these acts.

I do know of a fair few of these, but don’t listen to them as often/like them as much as the others, so putting them in my personal top 30 would have felt somewhat disingenuous ✌️

Although I do wanna point out Stand Atlantic very much were in my top 30 😂 in my top 3 even. That is very much a place that Stand Atlantic did feature.

But fuck it, they can get shouted out twice! 🖤🤘

#stand atlantic #bonnie fraser #asks #anon

[42wallaby-way-sydney]

A day in the life of the ocs as they celebrate the winter holidays! A tad late but there may be more to add to it later.

Playlist: // Last Christmas // Something About December // Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah // Christmas Eve With You // All I Want For Christmas Is You // Holiday With You // 

@gangstertogangster

#the ocs #domestic au #the ocs aesthetic #the ocs social media #the ocs playlist #my edit #a day in the life of the ocs #ian stark rogers #veronika belova romanoff #francis barton #maddie nelson #toly ranskahov #andrey ranskahov #vasilisa ranskahova murdock #marie li #nadya tchaikova #rikki barnes wilson #richard fisk #honor alvarez #lucy rand #michael moretti #peyton li

[clansayeed]

Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ― Chapter 31: The Last Act part 2

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ⥽

While struggling with nightmares of lives she’s never lived, a shadow from the past looming over her city, and the proposed idea that her life may just be a little bit too weird to handle alone, Nadya makes sure to tell herself that everything is perfect just the way it is. If only. When the self-proclaimed King of Vampires (and Maker of her sometimes-girlfriend and always-boss, can’t forget that little tidbit) Gaius Augustine returns intent on claiming Manhattan as the throne that was promised, she and her friends find themselves forced into the task of saving the world. But with millennia-old vampires and an Order of hunters on their heels as well as allies hiding catastrophic secrets at their backs… it won’t be an easy task. Too bad destiny didn’t exactly ask for her input.

Bound by Destiny II and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

TAG LIST: @googlesentmehere, @cess02, @hellyeah90sbaby,

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny II tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Gaius has sent Isseya to Paris with one mission: bring Nadya back to him at any cost. Things go about halfway as planned, and Cadence unwittingly rekindles an ancient rivalry. The fate of New York is revealed.

[READ IT ON AO3]

“Allez, for fuck’s sakes will you two move faster!”

They hear the crash and shatter of glass doors through the still-open window. No time to close it now. No time to do anything. Oh god.

“It’s a delicate-fucking-process!” Cadence snaps back, fangs bared, but this time Serafine meets him eye for eye and, well, fang for fang.

“Then be delicate, but be quick about it. We’ll try to stay together, but if splitting up becomes necessary, we meet up in the heart of the city as planned, yes?”

Nadya’s no use, still a little weak in the knees and there’s no way she was going to be able to help carry Lily in the event of an emergency evacuation from their hiding hole anyway. She hangs back, makes sure to stay out of the way, but keeps looking back and forth at the moving vampires hard enough to crack something in her neck.

“Nadya —” Serafine shoves a duffel bag into her hands; she fumbles but manages to hold onto a zipper, “— to the kitchen. Get as much of your blood as you can carry.”

She sees the flicker of hesitation in Nadya’s eyes, the way she looks over the woman’s shoulder to where Adrian and Cadence shoulder Lily’s limp weight as fast as they can without too much disturbance.

With a huff, Serafine grabs Nadya’s upper arms hard enough to hurt. Fresh bruises, that’s why it hurts. Fleetingly she remembers Valdas; the fingertip-touch.

“I need you to trust me right now. Trust that we will get Lily out of here safely. Please, petit. We are in more danger than you can fathom.”

She can fathom it pretty well, thanks. But Nadya nods and bolts off to do whatever (little) she can.

There’s a collective regret about the open window again — the next sound to catch on the wind sounds like banshees shrieking at midnight.

They’re getting closer.

“Argh,” Adrian growls in frustration, “just give her to me, here — watch the head.” He cradles Lily like a long and gangly baby; but does it all on his own. Cadence flashes him a questioning look.

BANG!

That would be the stairwell door. But which floor?

“You’re the strongest of any of us right now.” Adrian rasps in one harsh breath. His struggle and care to keep the young vampire in his arms as stable as possible is taking its toll on his still-starving body. “You’ve taken her on before, can you do it again?”

Serafine stops, rope in a loop over her shoulder (where did she… nevermind). She looks between the pair with growing panic as it dawns on her, suddenly, that they aren’t nearly as panicked about their incoming visitors as she is.

“That harpy of Les Trois Amants is the least of our problems right now —” she looks at them all in a whirlwind, “— or don’t you recognize the man at her side?”

Jax shrugs. “It’s not the other guy with a buzz-cut, right?”

“This isn’t the time for jokes!”

Serafine’s voice croaks; she lets out a strangled noise. Adrian shifts, wants to reach out for her, but has to think better of it for Lily’s sake. Nadya doesn’t let his sacrifice go unnoticed.

“Calm down, Serafine. Who is this guy?” And it pains her, that much is obvious, but she tries.

“That is Marc Antony, you fools.”

Another BANG! punctuates the silence; how they take in the reality and gravity of her revelation.

Nadya clears her throat. “You mean, like…”

“Like Gaius’ consolation prize after he failed to secure Caesar for his Court. Arguably a better choice for the King; and a terrible sentencing for the world.”

BANG! And this one is louder than the rest. They’re at the end of the hall. Probably not anymore.

“Processlater—runnow!”

Nadya turns and the door splinters open at her back. She grabs for the duffel strap across her chest, barely one foot off the ground—

Then the world is going sideways, Nadya’s going backward, and her head slams into the dated plaster hard and heavy and hurting. She slumps down, head hanging forward, and struggles to swallow down her bile.

Black boots come into view, their owner looming over her.

Isseya crouches down, dusting plaster from her leather pants. “Hello again, little Bloodkeeper.”

A familiar pain ignites atop her head. Isseya’s nails like claws raking over her scalp to yank her up by the knotted locks in her hair. Holding her on the tips of her toes like a puppet on strings.

“You—don’t—” teeth clenched, burning tears in her eyes keeping the woman a dark blur of red eyes and shining fangs, “—please—don’t do—this—”

Isseya snarls and leans forward, the soft whisper of her lips a stark contrast to the raw wound of her words.

“I gave you a chance to avoid this, girl. You wasted it—you did. Don’t tell me I don’t have to do shit. You’ve given us no other choice.”

Nadya can only sob; words beyond her now.

“Isseya!”

The woman whirls around at her name; shouted over the crack of splintering wood as Serafine and Antony move as blurs only distinguishable by color and size. Splinters of wood cut into Nadya’s cheeks and she tries to recoil, turning her face away in just enough time to see Cadence braced in the doorway to the kitchen.

Surprise—pain—loss—anger—hatred. There one instant and gone the next in a whirlwind. Isseya can’t tell who she wants to hate more; him for calling out to her with that voice he knows she could never ignore or herself for falling for it time and time again.

Jax comes out of seemingly nowhere at her side. Doesn’t give Isseya the moment’s rest to decide where to aim her anger as he shoves his boot in the middle of his chest. A powdery print left in the center before she goes flying backwards into the far wall.

“Nadya! Come on!”

Everything ringing in her ears.

“Get her out of here!”

Jax’s hand on her wrist, pulling her towards the open window. Adrian clings tightly onto the fragile form still in his arms, one foot over the wall and out into the night but he’s frozen in place, fixated; focus pulled to the iron-wrought grip Antony has on Serafine’s sword arm before he snaps it at the wrong angle.

“It’s been some time, Serafine.”

She snarls, bestial; in a way Nadya had previously thought only reserved for Cadence and Cynbel. “Not—nngh—long enough, I assure you!”

He laughs, deep and rich and so damn casual for the moment at hand. “You wound me!”

“Not to worry—I’m trying!”

A tight grip on Nadya’s upper arm makes her jump violently — Jax rounds in front of her hard and resolute.

“Go, follow Adrian. I’ll be right behind you.”

“But—” Back to Serafine who resorts to shouldering the older vampire through the wall of what was temporarily Nadya’s bedroom. To the thud of Cadence as he collides back to the floor, Isseya wrenching herself out from under dust and the upended coffee table to bear down on him in fury. “—Jax I can’t—”

“NO, Nadya! Not this time!” He shakes her roughly. “Do you understand me?! They want you, they can’t get you! Now GO!”

Nadya is turned and shoved towards the open window before she can get another word out. Adrian’s body angled towards her, reaching out the only way he can. He jerks his chin down to the knot of rope pooled at his feet. “They’ll cover us for as long as they can. Come on.”

“We can’t leave them!” Because surely if anyone—anyone—understands, it’s him.

And he does. It’s all over his face; and covered with the same resolute decision he had tried to pull on her back in the Cathedral.

“I—I know. But this…” His gaze drops down to her feet and goes wide with shock; fear. “Nadya, you’re bleeding.”

Huh? She wipes her hand over her head but it comes back dry. Nothing over her front, then she feels the trickle down the back of her leg. Looks down in horror to see the blood seeping into the carpet at her feet.

The duffel.

Her blood!

Isseya had slammed her into the wall and the collision must have broken the seals on the blood bags inside. “We can’t go without it!”

“Nadya—no—”

“Lily doesn’t stand a chance without it—and I did not go through that hell to lose her now!”

Adrian tries to grab her but catches himself at the last second — swooping one arm back under Lily before her body hits the floor. Nadya can hears him shout behind her but his words are lost in the chaos. She’s already skidding on her knees through the fallen doorway to the kitchen.

There’s no time to be squeamish now. Not even with the coppery smell hits her nostrils, bag hurled back over her shoulder and already dripping red through the nylon. Nadya grits her teeth and starts yanking the old bags out to scatter on the floor. You’ve literally held your own guts in with your bare hands, she reminds herself with bitter determination, this is for Lily—don’t forget this is for Lily.

Inside the fridge there are only a handful of bags left. She had grabbed as much as she could and look how that turned out. The rest is useless; smeared, splattered in uneven patterns over the tile around her. The cold plastic slips through her red fingers; once, twice, and with a scream of wordless noise the third time she manages to get them close enough to scoop into the bag at her feet.

“Come on… come on…” Stupid fingers stop slipping on the stupid zipper! Fuck! She has no other choice she can see, and bends down to bite hard on the metal and yank the duffel closed.

Yes! Once the bag is securely back around her Nadya scrambles to stand, to turn and run as fast as her legs will carry her back to the window and Adrian and—

And instead she collides with a vampire as solid as stone for the second time tonight.

“A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Miss.”

Nadya looks up just in time to see the last of Serafine’s attack knit closed across the curve of Antony’s cheek. He shakes it off like one might a pesky fly; all of his focus trained on the heavy hands he rests on her shoulders. “The infamous Bloodkeeper… you really are the talk of the Court. I found myself unable to pass up the opportunity to meet you in person.”

She tries to break free; even when it feels like he’s pressing her down so hard she’ll break through the floor she tries as hard as she can. But the tile is slick with blood and he’s two thousand years old and at this point she’s experienced this enough to know exactly how badly it can go.

“Can’t say the feeling’s mutual.”

Antony’s amusement falters; the barest betrayal of a frown. “I see. Best we take care of this swiftly, then.”

Before he can move the sound of a cracking neck breaks the strangely echoing silence.

“My sentiments exactly.”

Then there’s a different grip on Nadya’s wrist — people need to stop manhandling her this is getting ridiculous — and it’s tugging her to the side just in time for a blurred movement to send Antony soaring through the air and back into the interior wall.

The lights flicker once—twice—and die. The room plunged into darkness. Sparks flashing from torn wires in the hole in the wall, the electricity crackling violent and intense.

Gooseflesh prickles over her arms and Nadya holds her hands up, like that’ll defend her from anything, but no touch comes.

“Are you okay?” asks Cadence; and when her eyes adjust to the lack of light she finds him on one knee in front of her; looking over her blood-soaked clothes to see how much of it is freshly spilled. “You should have listened to R—”

The sound of shifting wood and rubble cuts him off. Antony stands from the mess with tears in his suit and a piece of his lower jaw sitting at an odd angle. He sets it with a quick twist of his neck and steps out of the heap; eyes leveling bright and red on Cadence’s face with an unfamiliar recognition.

Cadence locks with tension in front of her. She knows that reaction all too well, now. Both of them do.

“I admit none of us really believed in your miraculous return, Pathicus,” Antony muses, cracking his knuckles on each hand, rolling his shoulders; proving he can shake them off with barely a thought.

“I’ll give you cover,” hisses Cadence without turning back to look at her, “when I say run… you run.”

“But on the bright side, I’m glad for it.”

“Cade—”

“No arguments. Yes?”

“Yes.” She finally says, and only then does he let her go.

Cadence stands, feet planted and shoulders squared. Something about the sight makes Antony’s upper lip curl.

“I would have loathed not to have been there to do the deed myself.”

“You and quite a few others.”

“Seniority rules.”

Nadya swallows her heart back into her chest. It pounds so fast, so loud — she nearly misses it.

“RUN!” He shouts, moments before the heel of Antony’s palm slams into his lower jaw.

Blood splatters in droplets on the floor. Tiny little garnets that slick and smear underfoot as strength battles strength battles something else — something a little more like the will of survival.

Cadence collapses back, limbs flailing, and collides with the small kitchen table. The wood is weak, can’t bear the full brunt of his weight, and together they crash to the floor violently. The loud noise is enough to shake Nadya from her stupor and send her practically dancing back on both feet to avoid being caught in the heap.

She’s terrified. Again. That seems to be happening a lot lately.

But she doesn’t want to abandon him like this — no matter how strong his opponent is. The last time she did it hadn’t been Cadence who came back.

What if this time is the same?

Perhaps the scariest part is how human Antony’s eyes look as he swing his head around. Gaze level, watching Nadya brace herself in the middle of the doorway trying to decide whether to run forward or back, and still that same warm brown color. Not how a vampire is supposed to look, she thinks.

But this isn’t a vampire. This is… yeah she’s still trying to wrap her head around the reality of how that sentence ends. Marc Antony, the vampire.

“Shame you don’t listen very well.”

Marc Antony, the vampire; who is no longer across the room and instead right up in Nadya’s face. Who snatches a hand out and grabs her wrist hard enough to break. “I won’t say this is my favorite part. But those of us who know how the game is played… we don’t break the rules when we don’t need to.”

There’s a blur of darkness over his shoulder; movement too fast for her mortal eyes. Then Nadya cries out in surprise; sharp pain, bright white behind her eyes squeezed tightly closed, and the hold on her wrist is gone in the next instant.

Bloodied knuckles in a grip tight around a tanned throat, the wounds already healed over. The no-doubt expensive leather of Antony’s boots squeaking against the floor, trying and failing to gain his footing. But Cadence is taller and holds him aloft and pinned against the far wall with ease.

That… is Cadence, right?

Because she’s not sure. Between the safe at Persephone and the top part of the Feral’s head torn off and flying across the Manor hall and the way there’s no comparison—none at all—when Jax is backhanded hard enough to fly through the air and every warning Serafine ever screamed through her tears; she just isn’t. Countless times, all of them unmatched — and what they meant about who—or what—was actually standing in front of her now.

“C—” She tries to call out a name, but her voice freezes on which one to say. She doesn’t know.

“You know… there were more than a few times I was beaten to a pulp by Carlo’s men.” And the sheer relief when she recognizes the name from New Orleans is enough to punch the air from Nadya’s lungs; tears salty on her tongue while she cradles her wrist close.

“I was fresh from the war. Still new to this life, or so I thought. They had been in the de la Rosa family for a generation, some of them longer. Between then and now… I think I get it.”

Strands of blond hair fall thin in front of Cadence’s eyes. Nadya can see the bright red of them reflected in the backdrop of the night sky from the kitchen window. He lifts Antony higher and with no effort at all.

“I lost to those men because I expected to lose; because I thought there was no other option. I thought I was younger, so my body acted like it.” Shoulders tensing, rolling back; for the first time a flicker of concern wavers Antony’s steady frown. “Following that same logic now… I’ve got quite a few centuries on you, don’t I, domine?”

He tosses Antony aside like a doll; like he weighs nothing at all. A flick of his wrist that sends the former Roman general right in the path of the fridge. The metal catches him, cradles him; door bending inward and the contents of the shelves joining the mess on the floor. The lightbulb inside shatters under the pressure and the distant, white-noise hum of the fan splutters and dies.

But this time Antony was ready. This time he leaps back to his feet without respite and brushes the fall off of his shoulder with a flippant hand. “There’s that look. That arrogance. I prefer it this way — better a fair fight than none at all.”

Everything shifts; the air, the tension, the looks on the vampires’ faces. So fast Nadya almost misses them. Maybe she would have — were she not the Bloodkeeper. But she is, and she doesn’t miss a thing.

Because she can feel it all.

Centuries piled on in staggering weight and animosity; changing both everything and, outwardly, nothing at all. But he’s leveled the playing field now. Nadya feels it. Antony, too.

They all do.

“What… are you?”

His shoulders sink slightly, but he doesn’t turn around at the sound of Isseya’s voice. Not when it’s a whisper, and not when it’s a cracked, splintered fragment of a scream. “Answer me!”

“I don’t have an answer to give.”

“Lies.”

“If I did, I would. Everything would be so much easier on all of us.”

The vampiress steadies herself on the door frame, impressions of her fingertips pressing down and breaking the drywall.

“‘All of us,’” she repeats — like she doesn’t know the language, “meaning…”

The blond vampire looks up and Nadya’s heart stops.

It’s an opening Antony cannot and will not waste. Rushing forward, fangs bared — but even he isn’t fast enough to avoid the hand that catches him by the back of the neck. Claws piercing flesh, blood spotting along his collar. He tries to turn, to see the face that caught him by surprise, but doesn’t get the chance before the grip closes down and his neck snaps with a sickening crack.

Antony’s eyes are closed before he even makes it to the ground.

Isseya steps over his body — still a body, Nadya notices, not a pile of ash — and closes the gap between herself and Cadence. One hand with fingertips still stained with Antony’s blood comes up and strokes the cut of his jaw.

The pair share the same look; like reflections. Longing, loss, pangs of regret. After a moment, Cadence finally reaches up and presses his palm against her cheek.

“I’m not him.” He whispers hoarsely.

Together they stand still; years stretching through the passing seconds. Finally Isseya lets her eyes flutter closed. The tears clinging to her dark lashes finally get the chance to fall.

“I know.” She shudders a gasp; breathes through the daggers in her chest sharper than they were all the years before. “Consider this to be my last act of free will.”

So that’s what Valdas had meant.

There’s a shine in Cadence’s eyes. He parts his lips, looks for a moment like he’s going to do it — he’s going to tell her about the Cathedral, about what happened, about…

The moment passes when Isseya steps away.

“He won’t stay down for long, resilient bastard,” she looks over her shoulder to Antony’s unconscious form, “though I’ll admit I’ve been waiting to do that for weeks now. It’s not as satisfying as I thought it would be…”

Nadya swallows. “Is he still…?” But Isseya’s sharp look cuts her off with a flinch.

“Yes, he’s still alive. And I can’t be gone when he comes to. Not if I have any intention of returning to Valdas.”

There’s no question about it. So why does Cadence ask?

“What if you came back with us? We could —”

“No.” The sharp edges, barely easing up, are back without warning. Isseya’s glare is cold and growing all the more distant. “I wouldn’t — I couldn’t. But—neither can you.” She looks between Nadya and Cadence both. “It would be a death sentence, and would make this, here, look like a kindness. Surely you know by now.”

“Nadya!”

Shit.

The anger in Jax’s growl breaks any spell that might have held them all there — maybe for eternity if they weren’t careful. Nadya dashes back into the living room and gasps, hand coming over her mouth, at the mess of mangled bruises and gaping wounds riddled across Serafine’s body.

Jax is kneeling at her side; looks up just in time to push every ounce of his frustration in one long look, before he jerks his chin up at her.

“The blood. Now.”

Nadya struggles to pull it over her head fast enough, skidding to her knees beside Jax in time for him to grab it and rip the zip apart with brute strength. He grabs one bag and forces it into her mouth; thankfully it doesn’t take much more than that for her survival instinct to kick in and fangs to descend and tear the plastic open. She takes several long drinks before her hands have the strength to grab on; reaching desperately for the second and tearing it from Jax’s grip without hesitating.

His sigh is weak, croaked and now without effort. With tentative fingers Nadya reaches up and brushes away some of his hair matted at his temple where a cut still oozes thin blood. There’s one blood bag left — she doesn’t think twice before all but forcing it into his hand.

“You too,” she insists — thankfully for them both he’s too exhausted and weak to decline.

It’s not much between the pair of them. Enough to stop the bleeding and fade most of their bruises to mottled greens and yellows but not much more. Nadya would offer her wrist, neck, ankle up to help any more if she could but she still has a few wounds of her own and her wrist is most likely very broken and not at all palatable.

Serafine slowly comes to, French mumbled and thick on her tongue as she tries to take in her surroundings. “Ad…ri…”

“He’s fine,” Nadya says — and throws a look to the window and the rope still draped over and out, “he got away. He’s safe, probably heading to the meetup point. Take it easy, you’re still healing… but…”

But she hesitates because saying anything more would be akin to lying.

Jax eases himself up with grunts of effort; helps Serafine do the same only when he’s steady on both feet. “If you think this is gonna go undiscussed, Nadya, I swear to god…”

“If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have anything to heal with, so I don’t wanna hear it.”

“If you hadn’t—”

Cadence and Isseya shuffle out of the kitchen together and Jax practically bites off his own tongue, cutting himself off. Nadya can feel Serafine grow stony behind her and reaches out in a meek attempt at reassurance.

“What are you idiots still doing here?” Isseya snaps. Looks briefly like she has much more to add to it but she bites her tongue instead. “You are weak, and ill-fed, and need to leave. Neither Antony nor I are gravely injured. If you’re still here when he wakes up, you’re fucked.”

“What’s going on here?” Jax snarls, but the question is aimed principally at Cadence.

“She’s giving us an opening. We need to take it.”

“She came here to kidnap Nadya!”

“No, Jax, he’s right.” Nadya doesn’t smile at the vampiress — after all the pain she’s felt at the hands of this woman she doubts she ever could. But they aren’t in any position to be looking gift horses in the mouth. “I don’t trust her, but…” The look she gives him is imploring.

What other choice to do we have right now?

“This is bull —” Jax stares at each of them in disbelief. “— this is insane! We’re not trusting her. And we’re not running. We get Adrian and Lily and we get on the first plane home. I’ve had enough of this shit. I’m taking the fight to him.”

“Returning to New York is no longer an option.” Isseya meets the rebel’s glare with her own.

“I beg your fuckin’ pardon?”

The Trinity vampire sweeps a long look over them, the furrow in her brow slowly easing from disgust into… disbelief?

Raw, unfiltered disbelief at that. “You don’t know.”

“We’ve been… not here.”

“Obviously.” And both Jax and Serafine look ready to shoot down any questions she might ask, but Isseya surprises them both — she doesn’t. “Otherwise it would not have been so easy to find you, I see now. If you had known what happened… only the suicidal would have stayed somewhere he knew to find you.”

Cadence stands hunched, eyes trained down at his shoes and the bloodstains in the carpet. She’s already told him what she keeps withholding from them — awesome.

“What do you mean… what happened?” asks Nadya warily. No one else does.

“Three days ago, the last of the resisting faction was captured at the harbor. The ones you called your Clans — those who did not immediately bend the knee. I wasn’t there myself, but there were thirty, maybe forty left who were captured and taken before the Godmaker at his Court. Those who swore fealty to him were allowed to live. Those who did not…”

Her words are left hanging, but it’s not exactly hard for them to fill in. Just like it isn’t hard for Nadya to know she’s full of bullcrap — she has to be. No, really, she has to be. Because if she isn’t, that means…

That means…

“Enough of this. Go—run—hide wherever you can for as long as you can. But do not dare show your face back on his shores. He wants the Bloodkeeper,” she nods to Nadya, “he would not say why, but I don’t dare to guess. Whatever you must do, do it. But he cannot have her.”

“Tell me you’re not believing this,” mutters Jax under his breath, and from the looks of it he fully expects Serafine to take his side. Only… she doesn’t.

“Maybe not everything… but I know better than to think she would be so willing to send him to his death.” Cadence shifts under the scrutiny of the woman’s glare. Isseya, however, doesn’t seem all too perturbed by it.

“If he comes with us, we will at least be safe long enough to regroup.”

Three days ago… Because Nadya still hasn’t quite let that part go. How could they?

“Allez, Nadya, allez.” Serafine keeps a firm hand at her back, all but shoving her towards the window and the rope to freedom(?)

Instead she digs in her heels and tries to look back to Isseya, who lingers one last look at Cadence’s back before she makes for the kitchen.

“Isseya!” She calls, but goes ignored. “Isseya, wait! What happened to those who didn’t join Gaius?”

“Help me,” growls Serafine, then there’s another pair of hands helping urge Nadya out into the night.

“Isseya!”

“Nadya — stop.”

“No—shut up! Isseya! Tell me what happened!”

The shadows of the apartment swallow her up before Nadya can get her answer.

“We have to go back.”

“No, Nadya.”

“No—she needs to tell me what happened—”

“I’m sorry.”

Jax has never apologized to her before. Not even when they were facing an army of Ferals. He shouldn’t be apologizing now.

“Jax… she…”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, and pulls her into a one-armed embrace for safety before he begins the rappel, “I’m so sorry.”

“…No…”

He holds her tight and kicks off. Serafine and Cadence keep pace on either side; agile movements down rails and pipes towards the rapidly approaching ground.

Without another word they disappear into the night.

#bloodbound fanfiction #choices fanfiction #kamilah x mc #adrian raines #jax matsuo #lily spencer #serafine dupont #bloodbound mc #mc: nadya al jamil #oc: cadence smith #oc: isseya #marc antony #fic: oblivion bound #oblv: bound by destiny ii #oblv: new chapter #; my fics

[rainwingmarvel7]

Basic Nadya Dormaire Lore

Born: 281 AC, Raven’s Keep

Parents: Edwyrd Dormaire and Marah Tyrell

Siblings: Alistair Dormaire, Victyr Dormaire, Erwyn Dormaire (Snow)

Love Interest(s): Robb Stark (S1-S3, husband), Jon Snow (S1-S8, husband), Theon Greyjoy (pre-S1 & S5-S8, paramour), Jaime Lannister (S4 & S7-S8, husband (annulled)), Tyrion Lannister (S4 & S7-S8, paramour), Oberyn Martell (S4, paramour)

Children: Carlyle Snow (w/Theon Greyjoy); Ren Stark, Lena Stark, and Eddard Stark (w/Robb Stark); Gwyndolyn Lannister (w/Jaime Lannister); Jaime Lannister (Waters) (w/Tyrion Lannister); Robb, Talisa, Margaery, Theon, Edwyrd, and Lyanna Stark (w/Jon Snow)

Titles: Noblewoman of House Dormaire (S1-S8), Queen in the North (S2-S3), Lady of Casterly Rock (S4), Queen Consort of the Six Kingdoms (S8)

Weapon(s): Lady’s Courage (sword gifted to her by Jon Snow), Queen’s Wrath (sword gifted to her by the Tyrells)

Fic: As the Raven Flies

#game of thrones #got #game of thrones oc #got oc #asoiaf #nadya stark/dormaire #oc: nadya stark/dormaire #nadya x robb #nadya x jon #nadya x theon #nadya x jaime #nadya x tyrion #nadya x oberyn #robb stark x oc #jon snow x oc #theon greyjoy x oc #jaime lannister x oc #tyrion lannister x oc #oberyn martell x oc #as the raven flies #fic: as the raven flies #nadya stark #nadya dormaire

[themidtowners]

winter:

the snow makes the silence so much more unbearable. it envelopes midtown in a thick layer of grey-white slush that wets sneakers and freezes toes ice cold. no one walks home alone anymore. the sign in front of the grossout looks brighter nowadays. the green neon reflects off of the snowbanks and it basks the area in a harsh glow that makes the old grocery store look two parts inviting and one part ominous. when the “midtown three” ditch class they smoke cigarettes to keep warm. they don’t know if they’re blowing out cigarette smoke or breath fog. ari and nadya skip the musical that year, decide that the sissy spacek version of carrie was the only one that mattered. after they hear about what happened to midge, they’re glad they opted out. the two sides of town go to war again, and this time there’s a casualty. love makes people do stupid things, and so does fear. fangs fogarty dies, but really doesn’t die, and ari asks him how that makes him feel. nadya looks like an angel in the snow, draped in a leather jacket far too big for her petite frame. her lipstick is smeared and her smile is wry and maybe this meant that good things could get better. there’s a few weeks where its too cold to hang out at the tracks; everyone feels aimless without being attached to their anchor. dead ophelia puts out an album and ari cries the first time she hears it, proud that the fruits of her brother’s labor are paying off. abandoned houses are the perfect place for album-release shows. dima tries not to think about all of the people entreating on the one space that truly feels like his own. cherry blossoms didn’t smell sweet anymore. ari was starting to hate the color red. saw how blood looked when it mixed with the stark white of the snow. it was sterile, like the hospital. when they found her they couldn’t tell if she’s breathing; it’s hoarse, too shallow. winter was the season of reconsidering; what did i do to deserve that? why do i feel like this? how do i take comfort in my identity when it’s ever-changing? nadya refused to go back to the gas station. she refused to get out of bed some days.  she refused to inhabit a body that was so grotesquely violated. winter breaks relationships into fractals, like the ice on top of shadow lake. when nadya can’t help but retreat, ari ventures out; finds out that girls taste sweet but boys do too. fangs fogarty was golden in every sense of the word. he brought the kind of warmth that was needed to break the time-capsule stagnancy around midtown. he and ari pass around a flask of cinnamon whiskey. it stings when they kiss but no one really minds. “i think you’re the type of person who could keep me warm.” fangs doesn’t ask what she means. dima asks abraham if he any “friends” who could sell him a gun. when he gets it he does target practice in fox forest and balances glass bottles on old tree stumps; he like the sound it made when the bullets broke through the glass. liked how it looked when the thick glass rained down from the broken bottles. christmas was good…almost too good, like maybe the world had finally decided to cut the three kids some slack. they’re all too anxious to enjoy it, caught up in the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. friends fight. it’s ugly, they know how to hit where it hurts. friends fight but they always make up; it’s a white-flag peace offering, ari walking across the street in her slippers with a bottle of wine and an 8th of weed tucked into her backpack. she knows that she’ll be welcomed warmly, knows better than to make idle conversations in the foyer. three knocks on nadya’s bedroom door: one for herself, one for nadya, and one for dima too. the two girls skip the pointless apologies, both slipping under the covers of nadya’s big bed. ari braids nadya’s hair like always, finishes off the thick plait with a pink hairband. nadya uncorks the bottle of wine with her teeth, she doesn’t really like white wine but it’ll do. dima knocks on the wall to announce that he’s coming over, that his sister and his best friend better make room for him. it’s a moment that feels right, and things haven’t felt “right” in a very long time. new years eve comes around too quickly, but that’s what happens when time passes right before your very eyes. you can’t keep up with time, and you don’t want to catch up to time. ari and nadya are an immovable unit, creeping around the masses of riverdale high students that were crowded into the living room at reggie mantle’s house, counting down the seconds to midnight.  the girls do bumps of ketamine off of ari’s car keys. dima bought some pills; he’s laying on the mantle family’s manicured lawn staring at the moon and complaining that the world feels too heavy, and he’s right. gus katz and his best friend robbie are hit by a drunk driver. new year’s day is spent in the ICU. recklessness was no longer as enticing, no longer felt like second nature. actions had consequences, healing took time. spring would be better. they would all try harder. they would have to.

#here lies court's post #midtown au #the midtowners #riverdale au #riverdale fic #sweet pea x oc #fangs fogarty x oc #moodboard made by m #words by c

[knowshisowna]

the thing about rodolphus is that his facade is so perfect. smooth , without seam or fissure , he can look you in the face and tell you the most beautiful lie , and you would be none the wiser. more so , you wouldn’t just believe it , you would WANT TO. the lestrange family has long since been well respected and highly admired in europe , but their views on purity were more of a rug in their bedrooms than a fountain in front of the house. they had far more intriguing and intellectual investments to busy people with , and in truth , while antares has always had a very stark view on people of impure blood , he is , at his roots , an entertainer. he and nadya are hosts above all else , and their connections extend beyond the wizarding world and on up to european royalty and foreign diplomats. their events and occasions are legendary , and antares bred his son to be , first and foremost , an icon. from that , rodolphus molded himself into something akin to both mother and father although it never overshadows who he has become in his own right. he is smooth. he doesn’t have fear. his emotional range is limited to begin with. he is constantly forced to take small doses of emotions and interpret them in his own way , and when necessary , he has to manually modify and magnify these emotions so that he can properly display them. this is true of the full spectrum , but he does it so well. one would never think he was in any way insincere. it is why he becomes so dangerous within the ministry , so efficient in his reconnaissance. he wears the best mask ,  and it isn’t the one fitted for him by tom. this one , he tailored himself. 

#meta. #meta: rodolphus. #Development. #i. development: rodolphus lestrange.

[learningrendezvous]

Violence Against Women

UNLEARNING SEX

By Zanah Thirus

Told through a deeply personal lens, this film explores sexual assault and trauma - and how these experiences intersect with race, class, and sexual orientation - with complexity and sensitivity.

Sexual assault and trauma -- and how these experiences intersect with race, class, and sexual orientation -- are rarely discussed in our society. Zanah Thirus's bold new film, UNLEARNING SEX, explores these topics with complexity and sensitivity, simultaneously raising awareness and opening the door for important conversations. Thirus bravely takes us on her six-month journey through sexual trauma therapy and the reclamation of her body in hopes of lending strength and inspiration to others. While told through a deeply personal lens, including intimate audio recordings of Thirus's therapy sessions, the film tells a story that is at once unique and universal. The addition of video interviews with a neuroscientist, sex educators, and therapists lend expert insight into sexual trauma, misconceptions surrounding sexual assault, consent, intersectionality, and sex education. This film will inspire people of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, and races to speak candidly about this sensitive issues.

DVD (Color, Closed Captioned) / 2020 / 81 minutes

I'M MOSHANTY - DO YOU LOVE ME?

Director: Tim Wolff

The world's second largest island, Papua New Guinea is one of the most dangerous places to be a woman, with 70% reporting that they experienced domestic violence and sexual violence before the age of 15. Sorcery accusation killings and family violence take the lives of thousands of women every year and HIV infection rates are the highest in the Pacific. Transgender women are most often homeless, unemployed, denied education and medical care and living under the constant threat of robbery, rape and murder.

I'm Moshanty - Do You Love Me? Is a musical tribute to the late, legendary South Pacific recording artist and transgender activist Moses Moshanty Tau and the LGBTQI community of Papua New Guinea. With their lives still haunted by colonial-era sodomy laws and deadly religious bigotry, Moshanty stands as a beacon of hope for the transgender and LGBTQI community of the entire South Pacific.

Filmed over a weekend in the fall of 2017 and including her last live performances, the film celebrates the transgender activist with a mother's heart, teeth of gold and a voice like a coronet. Hear her journey from a tiny Motuan village to the top of the regional music industry. In her last interview, she shares her personal truth and her greatest desires as a woman with her millions of fans.

In 2017, a diagnosis of throat cancer threatens to silence the activist and a failed surgery leaves her unable to sing. Finally, an entire nation, from ordinary citizens to Ministers of Parliament, is asked to grieve for their brightest light and their most heavenly voice. Who could ever sing the songs of Moshanty?

DVD (English, Tok Pisin, With English Subtitles) / 2020 / 57 minutes

FEMALE PLEASURE

By Barbara Miller

#FEMALE PLEASURE accompanies five extraordinary women around the globe fighting to reclaim female sexuality.

The film introduces us to author Deborah Feldman from Brooklyn's Hasidic community, sex educator Vitika Yadav in India, manga artist Rokudenashiko in Japan, Somali activist Leyla Hussein, and former nun Doris Wagner in Europe, courageous women who are all struggling to end the harmful cultural practices like genital mutilation and the shaming of the female orgasm that lie at the root of rape culture and patriarchy. Not only highlighting the issues that have contributed to the sexual marginalization of women, the film also calls these atrocities, embedded within cultural and religious norms, by their actual names: rape, assault, child trafficking, abuse. We witness these female activists who were taught to be silent confronting the very entities that have oppressed them.

Both an urgent call to action and an empowering plea for self-determined joyful female sexuality, #FEMALE PLEASURE is ultimately an inspiring tool to help women, no matter their cultural or religious background, to reclaim their bodies and celebrate their sexuality without shame or suffering.

DVD (English, Japanese, German, Color, Closed Captioned) / 2018 / 101 minutes

GULYABANI

By Gurcan Keltek

Set against the backdrop of the most violent period of post-Republic Turkey, Gulyabani from acclaimed filmmaker Gurcan Keltek (Meteors) tells the harrowing story of Fethiye Sessiz, a famous clairvoyant from Izmir, Turkey.

Through her diary entries and letters to her estranged son, the film relays her survival from abuse, kidnapping and violence. As Sessiz recounts her story in a hypnotic voiceover, stark, desaturated images of trees and water blend into footage of the Anatolian desert, ancient religious sites, and elliptical reenactments of Sessiz's childhood memories.

Blending documentary and experimental fiction, Sessiz's memories are interspersed with short texts from Terry Eagleton and W.G. Sebald. The film's ominous imagery draws in richly coloured shots of the Turkish landscape and found Super 8 footage, eventually giving way to an unforgettable final sequence of increasingly abstract monochromatic images where memories of the future and fragments of the past converge.

DVD / 2018 / 34 minutes

HOME TRUTH

By April Hayes and Katia Maguire

Filmed over the course of nine years, HOME TRUTH chronicles one family's pursuit of justice, shedding light on how our society responds to domestic violence and how the trauma from domestic violence tragedies can linger throughout generations.

In 1999, Colorado mother Jessica Gonzales experienced every parent's worst nightmare when her three young daughters were killed after being abducted by their father in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Devastated, Jessica sued her local police department for failing to adequately enforce her restraining order despite her repeated calls for help that night. Determined to make sure her daughters did not die in vain, Jessica pursued her case to the US Supreme Court and an international human rights tribunal, seeking to strengthen legal rights for domestic violence victims. When her legal journey finally achieved widespread national change and she became an acclaimed activist, Jessica struggled to put her life and relationships back together.

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 72 minutes

PRIMAS

By Laura Bari

PRIMAS is an evocative and poetic portrait of two Argentine teenage cousins who come of age together as they overcome the heinous acts of violence that interrupted their childhoods.

When Rocio was 10 years old, she was dragged from her bike by a stranger, raped, set on fire and left for dead. Now a teenager, she still grapples with memories of the nightmarish assault that left her body scarred. Together with her cousin Aldana, who was sexually abused for years by her own father, she lives, laughs and shares her story. Traveling through Argentina and Montreal, the two cousins embark upon a program of theater, dance, and circus that helps them process complex emotions. Little by little, they manage to rebuild the lives that were so brutally stolen from them and free themselves from the shadows of their past.

A humanistic exploration of familial love, creativity, and courage in the wake of sexual violence, PRIMAS is a moving tribute to the deep strength of resilient women.

DVD (Color, Spanish) / 2018 / 95 minutes

THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME, A

By Sahra Mani

A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME is an awe-inspiring verite documentary that tells the story of a young Afghan woman's fight for justice after experiencing years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father.

Khatera Golzad was brutally raped by her father for thirteen years, resulting in numerous pregnancies, most of which ended in forced abortions. But two reached full term. Despite her many attempts to file charges, neither the Afghan police nor the legal system helped her. In 2014, she appeared on national television to publicly accuse her father, finally succeeding in bringing her case to court despite threats from male relatives and judges who labelled her a liar.

A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME sheds light on the broken Afghan judicial system and the women it seldom protects. In a country where the systematic abuse of girls is rarely discussed, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani presents a story of one woman's battle against cultural, familial, and legal pressures as she embarks on a mission to set a positive example for her daughter and other girls like her.

DVD (Color) / 2018 / 52 minutes

BETTER MAN, A

By Attiya Khan & Lawrence Jackman

From Executive Producer Sarah Polley, A BETTER MAN follows a series of intimate conversations between a woman and her former boyfriend when she confronts him about their history of domestic abuse. More than 20 years have passed when filmmaker Attiya Khan asks her ex-boyfriend, Steve, to meet. Steve abused Attiya every day during the two years they lived together. She finally fled out of fear for her life, and has carried the emotional scars ever since. Now, Attiya wants to talk to Steve - on camera - searching to answer a question that is both simple and incredibly complicated: Will Steve take responsibility? A BETTER MAN follows this bold and radical exploration of restorative justice. Through emotionally raw conversations, Attiya and Steve begin a new recovery process - and illustrate a new paradigm for domestic violence prevention. The film offers a fresh and nuanced look at the healing and revelation that can happen for everyone involved when men take responsibility for their abusive behavior.

DVD (Color) / 2017 / 79 minutes

BREAKING SILENCE

By Nadya Ali

Three Muslim women share their stories of sexual assault - and, in a deeply personal way, they challenge the stigma that has long suppressed the voice of survivors. Throughout America, many Muslim communities persist in stigmatizing all discussion of sex-related subjects. Even though sexual assault and abuse are widespread, conversations about it are rare - and the pressure for victims and their families to "keep it a secret" helps perpetuate abuse. BREAKING SILENCE takes a radical and humanizing approach to the emotional scars of sexual assault, giving women the space to share their voices without shame. Deepened by the perspectives of Imam Khalid Latif of The Islamic Center at NYU, the film challenges stereotypes and cultural beliefs held by both Muslims and the non-Muslim public. It is indispensable for those dealing with sexual assault and abuse in academic and non- academic settings, courses on Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and Women's Studies, and for any discussion of violence against women.

DVD (Color) / 2017 / 40 minutes

MAMA COLONEL

By Dieudo Hamadi

Colonel Honorine Manyole, commonly known as "Mama Colonel," works for the Congolese police force and heads the unit for the protection of minors and the fight against sexual violence. Having worked for 15 years in Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she learns she is transferred to Kisangani. There, she finds herself faced with new challenges.

Through the portrait of this extraordinarily brave and tenacious woman, who fights for justice to be done, this film addresses the issue of violence towards women and children in the DRC and the difficulty of overcoming the past war.

DVD (English, French, Color, With English Subtitles) / 2017 / 72 minutes

WHAT DOESN'T KILL ME: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE BATTLE FOR CUSTODY

By Rachel Meyrick

Every day, 5 million children in the U.S. experience domestic violence, either as witnesses or victims. Due to a horrific system that favors abusive fathers, a shocking number of mothers who seek to protect their children (and themselves) end up losing them. Most Americans are unaware that an abusive father, who contests custody from a protective mother, will win 70 percent of the time. This bold and provocative film is a long overdue exploration into why the most powerful country in the world is not protecting its most vulnerable mothers and children and thus enabling generations of abusers to continue their abuse.

Along with intimate personal stories, family revelations with hard hitting facts and frank discussions on the child custody issue with feminists, lawyers, judges and domestic violence experts we follow the indomitable 86-year-old Charlotta Harrison, a survivors' advocate who herself survived a 60-year abusive marriage. She speaks hauntingly about the pressures and fears that make it so difficult for women in danger to leave. With Charlotta, we meet women and children who have been separated, silenced, and pushed to extreme methods of escape - and who are fighting back.

DVD (Color) / 2017 / 81 minutes

CHILD MOTHER

Directors: Yael Kipper & Ronen Zaretzky

Child Mother tells the story of elderly women, born into Jewish communities in Morocco and Yemen, forced to become brides when they were still little girls.

Conversations between mothers and their families reveal haunting histories of women forced into marriage as young children. Born into Jewish communities in Morocco and Yemen where child marriage was a culturally sanctioned custom, these women's voices were largely unheard. When they were only five or six or ten years old, their parents snatched them from the playground and handed them to much older men? to be married. They recall the violence and fear they were subjected to, the pregnancies at the age of eleven or twelve, becoming mothers when they were still little girls themselves.

It was an open secret but one they put aside forever, because revealing it might tear their family apart, causing commotion and creating chaos. The memories of their tragic childhood never healed - they were simply suppressed for the sake of their children, their livelihoods, and their husbands. No more.

DVD (Hebrew, Moroccan, Yemeni Arabic, With English Subtitles) / 2016 / 90 minutes

FACES OF HARASSMENT

By Paula Sacchetta

FACES OF HARASSMENT is an experiment in storytelling about trauma. When the hashtag #MyFirstHarassment swept across Brazil, it showed not only the widespread experience of sexual harassment, but a widespread hunger to bring it out of the shadows. FACES OF HARASSMENT amplifies this movement, by opening space for women to speak their own truth. The film was shot in a mobile storytelling van, parked in rich and poor neighborhoods alike across São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and open to any woman. The van was a free, autonomous space, where women spoke to the camera directly, no interviewer or other influence present. FACES OF HARASSMENT offers an honest and unflinching look at the scourge of sexual harassment - and at the radical possibilities for dignity and healing that can happen when women are free to speak completely for themselves.

DVD (English, Portuguese, Color) / 2016 / 82 minutes

OVARIAN PSYCOS

By Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle

Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of color. The film intimately chronicles Xela as she struggles to strike a balance between her activism and nine year old daughter Yoli; street artist Andi who is estranged from her family and journeys to become a leader within the crew; and bright eyed recruit Evie, who despite poverty, and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a newfound confidence.

The film Ovarian Psycos rides along with the Ova's, exploring the impact of the group's activism, born of feminist ideals, Indigenous understanding and an urban/hood mentality, on neighborhood women and communities as they confront injustice, racism, and violence, and take back their streets one ride at a time.

DVD (Color) / 2016 / 72 minutes

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER

By Kristy Guevara-Flanagan

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER is a forensic exploration of our cultural obsession with images of the dead woman on screen. Interspersing found footage from films and police procedural television shows and one actor's experience of playing the part of a corpse, the film offers a meditative critique on the trope of the dead female body.

The visual narrative of the genre, one reinforced through its intense and pervasive repetition, is revealed as a highly structured pageant. The experience of physical invasion and exploitation voiced by the actor pierce the fabric of the screened fantasy. The result is recurring and magnetic film cliche laid bare. Essential viewing for Pop Culture, Women's and Cinema Studies classes.

DVD (Color) / 2016 / 15 minutes

DREAMCATCHER

By Kim Longinotto

"You got any dreams you wanna catch?" Sundance award winner DREAMCATCHER takes us into a hidden world of prostitution and sexual trafficking through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute with a drug habit, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community, and works to help women and young girls break the cycle of sexual abuse and exploitation. DREAMCATCHER lays bare the hidden violence that devastates the lives of these young women, their families and the communities where they live in Chicago and Brenda's unflinching intervention that turns these desperate lives around.

With unprecedented access, multi-award winning director, Kim Longinotto (SISTERS IN LAW, ROUGH AUNTIES, SALMA) paints a vivid portrait of a community struggling to come to terms with some of its most painful truths and of the extraordinary woman who uses her past to inspire others to survive. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none in the four magic words she offers up to everyone she meets: "It's not your fault."

DVD (Color) / 2015 / 98 minutes

PRIVATE VIOLENCE

Directed by Cynthia Hill

PRIVATE VIOLENCE explores a simple but deeply disturbing fact of American life: the most dangerous place for a woman in America is her own home. Every day in the U.S., at least four women are murdered by abusive (and often, ex) partners. Through the eyes of two survivors - Deanna Walters, a mother who seeks justice for the crimes committed against her at the hands of her estranged husband, and Kit Gruelle, an advocate who seeks justice for all women - we bear witness to the complex realities of intimate partner violence. Their experiences challenge entrenched and misleading assumptions, providing a lens into a world that is largely invisible; a world we have locked behind closed doors with our silence, our laws and our lack of understanding. PRIVATE VIOLENCE begins to shape powerful, new questions that hold the potential to change our society: "Why does he abuse?" "Why do we turn away?" "How do we begin to build a future without domestic violence?"

DVD (Color) / 2014 / 77 minutes

BRAVE MISS WORLD

By Cecilia Peck, Inbal B. Lessner & Motty Reif

In October 1998, eighteen-year-old Linor Abargil was stabbed and raped while working as a model in Milan. Weeks later she was crowned Israel's first Miss World. Over the course of five years, director Cecilia Peck (Shut Up & Sing) follows Abargil, on a mission to confront the trauma of her past, including a hunt for other victims of the man who raped her, preventing his parole. Abargil, a poised, magnetic and supremely empathic advocate travels from Hollywood to rape crisis centers, American college campuses and the townships of South Africa to share her story and inspire others to confront shame and to heal. Emmy nominated BRAVE MISS WORLD is a call for justice and a startlingly honest portrayal of how personal tragedy can be transformed into a global awareness campaign against sexual violence.

DVD (Color) / 2013 / 88 minutes

GREY AREA, THE: FEMINISM BEHIND BARS

By Noga Ashkenazi

THE GREY AREA is an intimate look at women's issues in the criminal justice system and the unique experience of studying feminism behind bars.

Through a series of captivating class discussions, headed by students from Grinnell College, a small group of female inmates at a maximum women's security prison in Mitchellville, Iowa, share their diverse experiences with motherhood, drug addiction, sexual abuse, murder, and life in prison. The women, along with their teachers, explore the "grey area" that is often invisible within the prison walls and delve into issues of race, class, sexuality and gender.

DVD (Color) / 2012 / 65 minutes

RED WEDDING: WOMEN UNDER THE KHMER ROUGE

By Lida Chan and Guillaume Suon

The Killing Fields in Cambodia became known to the world but little is known about the struggles of the women left behind. From 1975-79, Pol Pot's campaign to increase the population forced at least 250,000 young Cambodian women to marry Khmer Rouge soldiers they had never met before. Sochan Pen was one of them. At 16, she was beaten and raped by her husband before managing to escape, though deeply scarred by her experience. After 30 years of silence, Sochan is ready to file a complaint with the international tribunal that will try former Khmer leaders. With quiet dignity, she starts demanding answers from those who carried out the regime's orders.

To tell a story little known outside Cambodia, Cambodian Lida Chan and French-Cambodian Guillaume Suon include Khmer Rouge era footage underscoring war's traumatic legacy for Sochan's generation of women. Awarded two prizes at Amsterdam's prestigious International Documentary Film Festival, RED WEDDING demonstrates the liberating power of speech and memory in the quest for justice.

DVD (Cambodian, Color) / 2012 / 58 minutes

DUHOZANYE: A RWANDAN VILLAGE OF WIDOWS

By Karoline Frogner

During the 1994 genocidal campaign that claimed the lives of an estimated 800,000 Rwandans and committed atrocities against countless others, Daphrose Mukarutamu, a Tutsi, lost her husband and all but two of her 11 children. In the aftermath she considered suicide. But instead, she took in 20 orphans and started Duhozanye, an association of Tutsi and Hutu widows who were married to Tutsi men. This powerful documentary by award-winning Norwegian director Karoline Frogner recounts the story of Duhozanye's formation and growth - from a support group of neighbors who share their traumatic experiences, rebuild their homes, and collect and bury their dead, to an expanding member-driven network that advances the empowerment of Rwandan women. Featuring first-person accounts by Daphrose and other Duhozanye widows, the film shows association members helping women victims of rape and HIV/AIDS, running small businesses and classes in gender violence prevention, and taking part in national reconciliation through open-air people's courts where they can face, and often forgive, their loved ones' killers.

DVD (Kinyarwanda, Norwegian, Color) / 2011 / 52 minutes

INVOKING JUSTICE

By Deepa Dhanraj

In Southern India, family disputes are settled by Jamaats - all male bodies which apply Islamic Sharia law to cases, without allowing women to be present, even to defend themselves. Recognizing this fundamental inequity, a group of women in 2004 established a women's Jamaat, which soon became a network of 12,000 members spread over 12 districts. Despite enormous resistance, they have been able to settle more than 8,000 cases to date, ranging from divorce to wife beating and brutal murders. Award-winning filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj (SOMETHING LIKE A WAR) follows several cases, shining a light on how the women's Jamaat has acquired power through both communal education and the leaders' persistent, tenacious and compassionate investigation of the crimes. In astonishing scenes we watch the Jamaat meetings, where women often shout over each other about the most difficult facets of their personal lives. Above all, the women's Jamaat exists to hold their male counterparts and local police to account, and to reform a profoundly corrupt system which allows men to take refuge in the most extreme interpretation of the Qur'an to justify violence towards women.

DVD (Color) / 2011 / 85 minutes

PRICE OF SEX, THE

By Mimi Chakarova

An unprecedented and compelling inquiry into a dark side of immigration so difficult to cover or probe with depth, THE PRICE OF SEX sheds light on the underground criminal network of human trafficking and experiences of trafficked Eastern European women forced into prostitution abroad. Photojournalist Mimi Chakarova's feature documentary caps years of painstaking, on-the-ground reporting that aired on Frontline (PBS) and 60 Minutes (CBS) and earned her an Emmy nomination, Magnum photo agency's Inge Morath Award, and a Webby for Internet excellence.

Filming under cover with extraordinary access, even posing as a prostitute to gather her material, Bulgarian-born Chakarova travels from impoverished rural areas in post-Communist Eastern Europe, including her grandmother's village, to Turkey, Greece, and Dubai. This dangerous investigative journey brings Chakarova face to face with trafficked women willing to trust her and appear on film undisguised. Their harrowing first-person accounts, as well as interviews with traffickers, clients, and anti-trafficking activists, expose the root causes, complex connections, and stark significance of sexual slavery today.

DVD (English/Russian/Turkish/Bulgarian, Color) / 2011 / 73 minutes

SAVING FACE

By Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

SAVING FACE is a harshly realistic view of some incredibly strong and impressive women. Every year in Pakistan, many women are known to be victimized by brutal acid attacks, with numerous cases going unreported. With little or no access to reconstructive surgery, survivors are physically and emotionally scarred. Many reported assailants, typically a husband or someone else close to the victim, receive minimal punishment from the state.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad left his prominent London practice to return to his home country and help the victims of such attacks. Two of these women, Zakia and Rukhsana, are victims of brutal acid attacks by their husbands and in Rukhsana's case, her in-laws as well. Both attempt to bring their assailants to justice and move on with their lives with the help of NGOs, sympathetic policymakers, politicians, support groups with other acid attack victims and Dr. Jawad. SAVING FACE also depicts a Pakistan that is changing - one where ordinary people can stand up and make a difference and where marginalized communities can seek justice.

DVD (Color, Urdu, With English, Subtitles) / 2011 / 40 minutes

http://www.learningemall.com/News/Violence_Against_Women_202105.html

[valkyrie-echo]

Project Echo, Part 2: Chapter 13 (Tough Decisions)

Part 2 Summary: A new enemy surfaces with a team of the Avengers’ greatest foes, hand-picked for their destruction. Meanwhile, Inessa’s pre-Hydra past begins to surface, casting doubt on where her loyalties truly lie. 

Chapter 13: Tough Decisions

"Enough sleep, time for our run," Natasha knocked on Inessa's door and waited for the sound of the child getting up. Nothing. "Inessa? Sleeping in?" she opened the door to an empty room.

Natasha checked the bottom drawer of her dresser- the shoes were there, so she wasn't waiting downstairs already. Had she gone for a walk? Lost track of the time? "Bucky," she waited for her comm to connect to his.

"What do you need?"

"Can you check Tony's gear in the barn? Nessa isn't in her room."

"Have you searched the house?" Bucky was already headed for the stairs.

Natasha left the room and went to the main floor of the farmhouse, "I'm looking now, but she's always in her room."

Bucky wove his way around the worktable and over to Tony's main computer. On it was a constant feed of Inessa's implant. The readings were all blank. "JARVIS, what's the range on this?"

"The prototype transmitter works over a range of one hundred miles sir."

"Did you get that, Nat?"

"Yeah, so she's in the Valley," Natasha sounded weary, "maybe."

Bucky frowned, "You don't think she'd run away."

"No, of course not," Natasha couldn't say what she was worried about- Inessa showed no signs that she remembered anything the morning of her episode. What if she did though? What if she'd been looking for Berny to help Natasha and gotten herself captured? What if she was lost somewhere, trapped?

Natasha was back upstairs in a second, pounding on Tony's door. Steve opened it, dressed and ready to go for his run. Sam's door across the hall opened at the commotion. Natasha could hear the other Avengers stirring, "I need to talk to Tony."

"Tony needs to sleep," Tony snapped. Natasha pushed past Steve and walked around the dressers- which for some unknown reason had been moved to the center of the room between Tony and Steve's beds. "No crossing the line!" Tony snapped, "You stay on his side of the room!"

"I need to know if you can extend the range of Nessa's implant. She isn't here and I'm worried."

Stark rolled away from her and faced the wall, "She's just playing with her shadow, give her a break. I can't track anything in the Valley."

"I just want to make sure that's where she is. Going off with Bucky might have given her a taste for adventure and it's not safe for her out there." Natasha snapped. She felt a hand on her shoulder- Clint had come out of their room.

"She's fine, Nat," Clint was as confused as the rest of them, "Nessa will turn up any minute. You'll see. Just be patient. Yesterday was a big day for her."

A phone rang downstairs. "I'll grab that," Steve ducked out. It wasn't like Natasha to get overly excited about anything, what was her issue with Inessa taking a morning off from running? He picked up the phone on the fifth ring, "Holless Ranch, Grant speaking."

"Steve, Agent Simmons speaking," she sounded cheerful, as always, but there was apprehension there too.

"Agent Simmons, good morning. What can I help you with?"

"I was wondering- are you by any chance missing Inessa?"

Steve sighed and put his hand over the mouthpiece, "Natasha! Come down here!" he uncovered it again, "Did you find her?"

"One of our Agents picked her up around an hour ago in Gambell on Saint Lawrence Island."

"Where is that?" Steve waved Natasha over and covered the mouthpiece once again, "SHIELD has her," he whispered.

"Between Russia and Alaska. It's nearly three in the morning there now. Agent May has gone to retrieve them. There was a Hydra base under Gambell, not the largest we've seen, but nothing to laugh at. Based on what our Agent saw, Inessa used her wolves to wipe the base out."

"What?" Steve was incredulous, "That can't be right. Your Agent has to be wrong."

Simmons took a deep breath, "I trust her word. The only survivors reported were a handful of people from their research department- all of them test subjects or prisoners.

"Oh my god," Steve rubbed the bridge of his nose where a headache was already beginning. "Can you redirect Agent May and Nessa to us?"

"The order was already given," Simmons assured him, "I just wanted to give you forewarning."

"Well, thank you, we owe you one."

"Take care."

"Yeah, you too." he hung up.

Natasha waited impatiently, "Well? Why does SHIELD have Inessa? And why is May bringing her back- why doesn't she just come home?"

"I didn't ask," Steve glanced up as the others came downstairs. He tapped his comm to open a channel to Bucky, "SHIELD has Nessa," he explained to all of them at once. "Based on what Simmons told me, it sounds like Inessa went on a field trip to Alaska. She- Nat, you're not going to like this- she let the dogs loose and took out everyone on a Hydra base- save SHIELD's agent there and some human experiments."

"No," Clint was shocked, "no way."

"Why would she do that?" Sam asked, incredulous, "I mean, I get why, but why?"

"We'll ask her as soon as she gets here," Steve was still processing the shock, "How many bases has she done this to? Since when is she a killer?"

"It has to be Tony's machine," Natasha glanced at him, "it's affecting her in some weird way."

Banner held up his hands, "Now let's not jump to conclusions, alright? Is it so hard to believe, after what she's been through, that she'd want to stop Hydra? We need to be fair about this-"

"Oh, yeah, that's fair," Bucky came in through the kitchen, slamming the door behind him. "I'm Hydra's monkey and prisoner for 70 years and I can't even get away with threatening to kill a drunk piece of shit, but Inessa might have just killed dozens and she gets 'we need to be fair'?"

"Well, you didn't have to live with Zola," Natasha snapped.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, you know what she meant. You got to come out of it and live with friends. She comes out of it and we're asking her to sleep a couple hundred yards from the guy who traumatized her."

Bucky was incredulous, "That isn't an excuse for murder."

"It's hardly murder if it's Hydra," Tony pointed out, "When you're dealing with them, it's justice."

"Cause you're so qualified to be any kind of judge or jury," Sam snapped.

The lights flickered and suddenly the room filled with static. Steve felt the hairs on his arms standing up, unbidden. The Avengers continued to argue until, without warning, there was a loud clap of electricity and everyone received a large (and exceedingly painful) shock.

"What. The. Fuck?" Banner was taking very deep breaths, but his skin had a decidedly green tint- he would Hulk-out soon if he couldn't get it under control, then he'd see if these idiots wanted to insult him- no. He tried to let go of the thought. If he listened to Hulk's voice, he'd change for sure.

Thor stood in the doorway with his hammer still spinning. He was prepared to deliver a second shock, if need be. Bucky's metal arm still crackled with static, but it was dissipating in small snaps of lightning. "Was your anger in earnest, friends, or caused by the creature Inessa beheld?" he honestly couldn't tell. He'd been woken by Steve's report over the communications device. By the time he got to the farmhouse they were already fighting. Without knowing the origins of the argument, he couldn't know if it was natural or not.

"Maybe both," Banner felt the Hulk's grasp easing. He won this time.

"Bucky, I'm sorry," Natasha half meant it, "I shouldn't have said that."

He nodded, still angry.

"Let's just get the report from Agent May and whoever found Inessa. Maybe there's a reasonable explanation. If not, we'll have to figure out a suitable response. Until then maybe we should steer clear of one another? In case it was whatever creature Inessa saw before causing that- or feeding it."

No one was satisfied, but all walked away to wait for May and her cargo. Tony headed straight for his lab and began to work.

"Everyone to the living room, we've got incoming," Tony announced as soon as JARVIS reported SHIELD's helicopter within weapons range. He barely made it to the farmhouse himself before May was flying away again and a young Agent was knocking on the door. Natasha opened it to see her and Inessa standing side-by-side. Inessa looked stressed, scared shitless, and guilty.

"Nadi, give me a few minutes with them, alright? No running off with Peanut Butter, got it?" Inessa nodded, resigned. She shared a quick hug with the Agent and walked past the Avengers nearest the stairs. "May I come in?"

"Of course, please do," Clint came forward and Natasha stepped aside, stunned. She spoke to Inessa with such informality, and what was more unbelievable, Inessa responded quickly, and readily.

"I'm Junior Agent Mallory Ivanou, by the way," she waved nervously to the other Avengers. Everyone shook hands and introduced themselves, getting the pleasantries out of the way as quickly as possible.

"Do you know Inessa? She just- she seems oddly normal around you, if you'll pardon the word choice," Sam asked what most of them were wondering.

Agent Ivanou nodded, "I know Nadya. We grew up together in Chicago- best friends pretty much since birth."

"Why haven't you come forward sooner?" Tony demanded, "SHIELD knows we've been looking for any of Inessa's associates. And why would she kidnap the JIF?" Steve looked at him, confused, "'No running off with peanut butter'," Tony quoted back.

"It's what I call the shadow-wolf, Peanut Butter. She never bothered to give it a proper name and it sticks to her like peanut butter. And for your first question- I've been working undercover for SHIELD pretty much since the Hydra uprising, I don't get news alerts unless Hydra gets them too. I didn't even know why I was in New York until the day of the attack. I'd have blown my cover pretty damn fast if they made me fight."

"Tony, everyone, let's settle a bit," Steve hushed the room, "Agent Ivanou, we are immensely interested in anything you know about Inessa's past, and we'll probably drive you insane with a hundred questions later, but the issue highest on the agenda is what she did to that Hydra base. Can you fill us in? I don't know how she is with you, but the kid was so traumatized by Hydra, we can't even get her to make eye contact, let alone speak to us. It's just hard to believe the Inessa we know is capable of taking on an entire base alone. She can barely be around more than three people most days."

"I was wondering what was with the sign language. As to what happened with Hydra- it's not the first time she's done this."

"That's what we were afraid of," Banner sighed.

"When we were kids Nadya would have these nightmares about scientists and labs and experiments, scared the crap out of her half the time. Eventually we figured out what was happening was a kind of sleepwalking- Peanut Butter-" Tony snickered, "-well what do you call it?"

Bucky shrugged, "Nadya."

"When we tried calling Inessa by her given name, she insisted we give that name to the wolf."

Ivanou frowned, "Is it too weird for you if I call them by the other names?"

"It makes it funnier," Tony prompted.

Natasha silenced him with a look, "Please, call them whatever you want."

"Alright. Anyways- P.B. is the alpha of an entire pack. She gives Nadya some semblance of control, but those things are too close to feral for my liking. If Nadya didn't focus on keeping her abilities in check, a shadow would open somewhere and one of these creatures would get loose until she closed it again. Nadya's nightmares were taking her to a place where the door was weak or where the wolves were coming out. When she realized they weren't dreams, she freaked. She started watching for it. I didn't know she had it in her, but she'd literally kill to try and protect the victim. She told me she had managed to save five people- and evidently put herself on SHIELD's radar in the process."

"After I got to SHIELD's academy I found a file from a few months before Nadya vanished- reports of monsters attacking from the shadows. Some were accidents, some were intentional. My guess is Hydra ran with it, somehow found her, and brought her in. All I know about what's happened since then is they had the Winter Soldier- an assassin with a freaky robot arm they used up until the Triskellion disaster- try to turn her into an Asset- if I'm right in guessing she's what Hydra calls 'Project Echo'." Mallory looked to the Avengers for verification.

There were several uneasy glances, "You're right. Also, in the interest of honesty-" Bucky had introduced himself by name, but he was wearing a hoodie and kept his left hand in the pocket. Now he held it up and pulled the sleeve back.

"Nadya hasn't killed you yet, so I won't, but we'll have words later."

"Understood."

"Anyways- from what I know, two Hydra bases were raided by an unknown enemy one month ago, they lost four guards and two experiments. After that another three were completely wiped out- but no bodies were found, and no blood. Security cameras turned up nothing as well. Based on what I saw in Alaska a few hours ago, I'd have to say Nadya is back on-mission, and she's using her abilities to hide the bodies. Before we left on the helicopter she handed over two people she was keeping tucked away because they were too dangerous to be around others for now, and indicated she has sent six others back to their families. At least, if I'm understanding her correctly- I can only get one-word answers out of her most of the time, and I don't know sign language."

"She must have great trust in you," Thor nodded, "she spoke once, to James Barnes, but beyond that we have heard nothing."

"I'm not surprised," Agent Ivanou side-eyed Bucky, "I can only guess what all he did to get her to talk."

"It was after that," he looked down, "in New York."

Steve glanced at the others, "Agent Ivanou-"

"Mallory, please."

"-Mallory. Would you mind giving us some time to discuss this amongst ourselves? Keep Inessa occupied? Maybe take her for a walk around the farm or something. We'll let you know when you can return."

"Sure," Mallory glanced at a coat closet nearby- the door was slightly ajar, "Come on, Nadi."

Bucky jumped- no one had felt the shiver that usually accompanied her appearance, at least not that they noticed. Inessa stepped out of the darkness and walked quickly out of the house with Mallory, ashamed. They knew the truth now. They knew she was a bad person- a killer and a liar. She thought she could kill to keep her secret- to keep hunting through the shadows for people to save. Before, she would only take the person back, she'd exaggerated to Mallory- the wolves killed, she couldn't stomach it. After? After it was more than just a mission- it was a desperate scramble to save people before Hydra took them beyond saving. Now it was all for naught- they'd kill her or imprison her for sure.

It took record time for the Avengers to agree on what should be done- only half an hour. A remote Suit informed Mallory and Inessa that it was safe to return to the farmhouse. Inessa opened a door in the first suitable shadow and they stepped out into the hallway of the farmhouse. Her insides rolled. She was terrified. Most of the group was looking away. Clint was pale, but he looked determined. They wouldn't meet her eyes- and for once she wished they would. Steve alone watched her, and his gaze scared her even more. Mallory stood back, waiting to hear what the Avengers had decided. If she disagreed, she was taking Nadya and leaving.

"Inessa, Natasha offered you a permanent place here. Do you still want it?"

Yes.

"Even if it means you can't keep attacking Hydra?"

She inhaled sharply and looked back to Mallory, alarmed. "I know more Hydra bases than you. SHIELD is putting together a joint strike force to start flushing them out. Nadi, I know what this means to you, especially now, but- I hate to say this- you have to let the grown-ups fight this war."

"Same. Age." Everyone was shocked by Inessa's harsh whisper. She spoke through clenched teeth and put great effort into the words. Her voice was rough, unused.

Mallory just shook her head, "Not anymore. As far as I'm concerned, you're only 16. After what you've been through? You could be 14 still. Nadi, we're trained for this. We're better equipped to handle both Hydra and the people they are hurting. We can't let a kid risk her life against these bastards. Even if you can rip them apart without so much as a stubbed toe."

Steve drew her attention back, "Until you are 18, you don't get to fight. You can be an Avenger one day, but for the next 2 years we focus on getting you better, and on training. Then you attack when we all agree to attack. Do you still want to join?"

Inessa looked from Steve to Mallory, lost. "SHIELD has ways to block your powers now, and we are willing to share them with Hydra to keep you out of harm's way," Mallory lied. Inessa looked at the Avengers one-by-one. She knelt by Clint and began to sign for him to translate.

I can save people. They can't hurt me- I can save people!

"That's not what we're discussing," Steve shook his head, "You're a kid. Just because a kid can fight a war, doesn't mean we make them soldiers. If you walk out now, SHIELD gives Hydra the ability to lock you out for good. If you agree to training and professional help getting through all of this, then you can resume the fight as an adult. Which one do you chose?"

She gaped at the group and tried to read their expressions. Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Banner were all united with Steve. Bucky and Sam looked less certain, and Tony was just on-edge about the whole thing. That frequency- the one Hydra used to use- she knew it had something to do with why she had been locked out of the Valley- she couldn't risk them using it to keep her away for good. The only way for her to get her revenge was to give it up- for now.

Fine. Inessa turned her back on the Avengers and pushed past Mallory on her way to the stairs. She didn't want to look at them.

"Inessa- there's one more thing," Steve's voice was soft. Inessa stopped with a foot on the steps. "We want to trust you- really we do. But the same rule applies to you as Bucky- you have to earn that trust again. Until then... Until then, you're grounded. Tony, go ahead."

She didn't have time to wonder what he meant by 'grounded' before Tony activated the device. It felt like someone had punched her in the side of the head. Inessa cried out and fell onto the steps. She grabbed her aching head, struggled to breathe. Her muscles were locked tight and straining. Tony dialed it down carefully and walked over to her. "The implant- as a feature I added a low-range speaker. It was supposed to act like a comm, since you don't have one of your own. I'm sorry, I calculated the frequency too high. You'll feel a little out of it at first, but I promise that will fade as we fine-tune the signal."

"You're grounded to this plane," Clint came over and put a hand on Inessa's back. She was panting, kneeling on two steps and holding herself up by the stair rail. "Until we're sure you'll keep up your end of the deal, you won't be able to go into the Valley. No more doors. No more windows."

The enemy-

"For your own sake, we'll risk it," more than anything, that had been what made the Avengers hesitate in their plan. If they were in someone's cross-hairs, did they really want to take out the one person who could see their enemy? She was still a kid. It always came back to that- no matter how grave their need.

Inessa strained to open a door to the Valley- but it was like she was hitting a glass wall. She reached back and tried to pull out the implant, desperate. A series of shocks emanated from it. The Avengers stood back and watched sadly as the implant defended itself and effectively tazed the attacker. Inessa gave up before the shocks reached too high of a voltage- it would knock her out if it needed to to make sure she kept it in.

Betrayed, confused, angry, Inessa scrambled to her feet and threw herself at Clint, knocking him over. She ran out of the farmhouse at full speed towards the heart of the cornfield- from there she would turn sharply, change her course. She couldn't leave the farm- not with Tony's suits on patrol, but she could hide until she found a way to remove the implant.

The Avengers watched her flee in silence, ashamed. They didn't doubt their decision, but every one of them regretted it. "She'll come around, Nadi's always been very level-headed. She'll understand, once the shock wears off." Mallory promised.

"Mind if we have that talk now?" Bucky asked, "Being yelled at might make me feel better."

Chapter 14: What Comes Next

#avengers #marvel #my writing

[ink-leaves]

Review: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Title: Wicked Saints

Author: Emily A. Duncan

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

Publish Date: April 2, 2019, by Wednesday Books

Tarot Card Drawn: Ace of Pentacles

Star Rating: 2/5

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*This review does not contain explicit spoilers but does contain some light spoilers.

The premise of the story – a girl, a prince, and a monster, whose fates intertwine under the shadow of a long holy war –  greatly interested me, but there wasn’t something about it that was desperately pulling my attention. Therefore, I believe that I opened Wicked Saints with level expectations.

The book immediately throws you into the conflict when Nadya realizes, on the third page, that the monastery she calls home is being attacked by Tranavia; the enemy country of the holy war. It’s a compelling opening that successfully catches your attention, but from there the story’s grip loosens.

The chapters are split between following Nadya, the cleric, and Serefin, the prince of Tranavia. Although Nadya is touted as the main character I found Serefin’s chapters to be more interesting than Nadya’s. This is mainly due to the fact that Nadya’s chapters become repetitive and bogged down with copious amounts of awkward sexual tension with Malachiasz, who is the monster. About three-quarters of the way through the book I began thinking to myself: “Nadya isn’t even the main character of her own chapters”.

I think what is so disappointing about this is that the whole branding for this book was touting a bad-ass female character that is ruthless in pursuing her goals. When you take the jacket off the hardcover book the words “let them fear her” is LITERALLY embossed on the cover. This was supposed to be a story about a girl with a formidable and unique ability, but we never get to see it realized. Despite the fact that Nadya has divine wisdom, is talented with her divine abilities, and has been trained since childhood to execute divine judgment, Wicked Saints becomes just another story about a girl that is too naïve (narrator’s words not mine, page 361) to not be pulled in by a guy’s charms. In the end, none of Nadya’s practical ability or training matters because Malachiasz is just so tall (page 241) obviously there is no way she could ever resist him (sarcasm intended). It’s so frustrating to read over and over Nadya saying she doesn’t trust Malachiasz, but she’ll make out with him anyway on multiple occasions.

In addition to feeling cheated of a cool female lead, I found the writing of the story generally difficult to follow for a few reasons.

First, there is practically zero scene-setting. This style works well at the beginning of the book because, as I mentioned earlier, the reader is quickly pulled into the conflict. But when this is consistently done throughout the story it makes it harder to get immersed in the narrative and characters. Now, I had a theory on this. I felt that details were purposefully scant in order to keep the story efficient and moving forward, something that I can respect. But at the same time, there are numerous instances of repetition such as characters actions and even repeated words. If the intent was to keep the story lean, as a reader, I felt these repeated instances achieved the opposite effect. If keeping the story lean was not the author’s intention, then I feel that the story lacks in detail and world-building.

Second, the dialogue between characters is frustrating in its own right. When there is an actual conversation between characters, it seemed like the characters’ responses to one another were obviously designed to get to a certain place, instead of them sounding like natural conversation. It made reading the scenes really jarring because there was no flow, which is interesting considering that these characters are trying to make plans to end a war. I actually found that there was a stark contrast in the flow during chapters twenty-six through twenty-eight (which is the longest chapter in the whole book) where the story takes a breather and actual discussions are had. I felt like these three chapters were more interesting than any others because the reader is finally given a bit more of the story to chew on. As opposed to most of the other chapters that are short and don’t go into detail, which left me feeling shortchanged upon finishing each one.

Although this book didn’t do it for me, there are some aspects that I liked. The Slavic influence is something unique and not seen much in the American young adult genre. Specifically, the Slavic inspired names and languages, which are a refreshing take in this current surge of fantasy genre books.

Additionally, I thought the settings within the world were great. Kalyazin being covered in mostly snowy mountains and forest made a great setting for the beginning of the book where one can almost feel gentle snow falling around them. However, that brief atmosphere is quickly lost once the plot is put into motion.

I also genuinely liked Nadya’s interactions with the gods. Specifically, each having their own personality, conditions, and the application of their magic. I thought it was very creative, and a new way to interpret a classic magic system that I have not seen very often. This along with the use of spellbooks by the blood mages of Tranavia created an interesting contrast that I wanted to see more interaction of.

Final Thoughts | Wicked Saints has great potential for a thriller of religion and politics further down the series. This book didn’t catch my interest as much as I was hoping for due to a female lead lacking in agency, as well as a style of storytelling that, for me, was weighed down. I don’t think I’ll be picking up the rest of this series.

#wicked saints #young adult #reviews #fiction #fantasy

[rainwingmarvel7]

Does your OC have a Best Friend? If they do then how long have they known each other and how did they meet? If they don't then do they have a close group of friends they love equally? Or are they more of a loner? -- for Nadya

Thanks for the ask! Ok, so Nadya actually has several very close friends that she would consider best friends throughout her life, so this might be a bit long!

In the fic I’m writing with my friend, her best friend is Nahia “Jasmine” Sand (Nahia is her Dornish name, Jasmine is her Westerosi name), who is my friend’s OC. They met in Winterfell, as Nadya came at a young age to foster there for potential marriage prospects, and Nahia’s father was a member of a prominent Northern house, so she was allowed to come stay with the Starks from time to time. It took Nadya some time to warm up to her, and she was definitely a bit jealous of Nahia’s relationship with Jon, but they eventually became very close friends and remained so for the rest of their lives (well, in one version of the story…)

As for my own fic, there’s several close friends of Nadya’s:

The first is actually Ros (much to the chagrin of her mother) who she became close with after coming to Winterfell as a young girl. The two were formally introduced by Theon when he took Nadya to a brothel, and Nadya was definitely nervous to befriend Ros at first, given her profession. But they began to talk and grew to genuinely like each other as they continued to meet with Theon and on their own. Ros eventually became Nadya’s closest confidant in Winterfell and is the only one to know her deepest secrets. They even developed a secret code using roses, to know when to meet with each other, after Ros discovered that Nadya’s mother was a Tyrell. There was definitely a bit of romantic interest between them too. Nadya was sad to see Ros leave Winterfell and was devastated to learn of her eventual death at Joffrey’s hand.

After Ros, it was Talisa. They met after Nadya returned from the Stormlands with Catelyn and Talisa had joined the Northern army. Nadya was definitely a bit wary of Talisa at first, as she was unsure of her relationship with Robb, but once she realized that Talisa was much more interested in her brother Alistair, she had no problems with her, and they became fast friends. Nadya even appointed Talisa as her personal companion and handmaiden after she became pregnant with Ren and Lena. Unfortunately, Talisa was killed during the Red Wedding while defending Nadya, so she lost another best friend.

However, Nadya’s true and final best friend is Sansa Stark. The two had been close ever since Nadya had first come to Winterfell, and Nadya had served as an older sister figure to Sansa for most of her life. They only grew closer as they grew older, especially after everything they had endured together, including the Lannisters and Ramsay, and at one point, Nadya had even sworn to defend Sansa with her life. They’re the definition of “real queens fix each other’s crowns”.

Nadya has a lot of other close friends throughout her life, but those three (four counting Nahia) are definitely the ones she would consider her best friends!

#rainwing talks #game of thrones #got #game of thrones oc #got oc #ask game #ask prompt #nadya stark #nadya dormaire #oc: nadya stark/dormaire #friendships are very important to nadya #so she has a lot of them #but these are definitely the ones that have mattered to her the most #asoiaf oc