#And now with the Empire his missions may or may not involve hunting down children

[thepatchycat]

:(

[kyber-heart]

Feeling a touch nostalgic today...

So I’m gonna self indulgently prattle on about my very first Legacy of SWTOR OCs

I first started playing the game in earnest in mid 2015 after I graduated High School. I had been feeling very depressed and unsure of my path going forward. Thus I reverted back on things that made me happy as a child and preteen. Most prominently, Star Wars. I had known about the existance of SWTOR for years even prior to it’s release as I followed it’s development because of it’s connection to KOTOR. I was very skeptical of it being an Online game at the time, and when I first tried it in 2012, I wasn’t impressed. In 2015 though, I dared to give it another shot and I’m glad I did. It spawned perhaps some of my favourite moments of the last 5 years, introduced me to some amazing friends, and even this year allowed me to make new friends here on tumblr dot hell 

So cookbook recipe anecdote out of the way, let’s discuss the OCs. My very first Legacy was called The Furcifer Legacy. Furcifer meaning “Rogue” in Latin, I don’t speak Latin, I’m just a try-hard. Being F2P at the time, I only had two characters for most of 2015, and they were these two:

Reyal Bradack

Reyal came first. He was a Gunslinger Smuggler and admittedly a somewhat self insert. His name came from a “What is your star wars name” meme (you know the ones that are like “The first two letters of your surname + first three of your forename”) He was a child slave after his father ran out on his mom shortly after Rey’s birth, his mom sold him to the Hutts on Nal Hutta to repay a drugs debt. As a teen he managed to escape on to a Smuggling freighter. The smuggler captain took pity on the teen and took him as an adoptive son. The Smugglers were members of The Black Sun and Rey was introduced to a life of crime. He met his future Husband who was one of the Crew Members, a Chiss named Nalin. His life got thrown into disarray in 10 ATC when The Hero of Tython and Coruscant Security Force raided The Black Sun headquarters and began killing and making arrests. His husband and adopted Mother died from an explosion, he and the other member of the crew, Zoee, were taken into custody and given a choice, serve the Republic or life imprisonment. Both chose the former and were made to help with the ground work for the liberation of Balmorra. It was here on Balmorra that Rey would make a shocking discovery...

Atzethel “Zeth” Rist 

My second ever character, and for a long time, my main character. A Jedi Shadow Consular, he has gone through many iterations (which I may share someday). Zeth is the younger half-brother to Reyal. Both share the same father. At some point, the “Furcifer” patriarch found himself on Alderaan, in the employment of The Rist family. Despite dying under mysterious circumstances, he conceived a child with Lady Tharra Rist. Zeth was born with an unusually volatile connection to The Force, he was taken only days after The Treaty of Coruscant to be trained on board a Jedi Praxeum ship. The boy excelled due to his strange connect, however it caused him to be irrationally dangerous and as such, was ostracized by his peers and a topic of contention for his masters. He was taken under the wing of a Jedi Master, Nede Vaa, a togruta who sought to teach him patience and direct his urges. She was successful and trained him in the arts of The Jedi Shadows, hunting down and destroying The Sith from within. He and his Master were assigned to help lay the foundations for the Liberation of Balmorra. He discovered his brother Reyal on Balmorra, and after their mission was completed, requested to join his brother, though he kept his relationship to Reyal a secret. Begrudgingly accepting his request, Zeth worked with Reyal in uncovering several other Imperial threats and securing alliances with The Republic and certain criminal syndicates. During the Battle of Corellia, Zeth met another member of his family that surprised even Reyal to see.

Drrunn’al’inrokini “Nalin Bradack”

The first extra character I made upon subscribing, was a Chiss bounty hunter. He became a member of the smuggling crew, and Rey’s husband. While it was suspected that he was killed on Coruscant, he narrowly escaped with his life. He wandered the Underworld for a couple years after his ‘death’ believing that Rey and the rest of the crew had died. He eventually came across a mercenary, Loyabe Lealta, who claimed to have met a Reyal Bradack on Balmorra. The pair began searching for Reyal, eventually tracking him to Corellia. What should have been a joyous reunion was cut short when Reyal was hit with a poison dart by Loyabe intended for Zeth. Loyabe revealed her true self as an Imperial spy that had tried to hunt down the brothers for their involvement in the liberation of Balmorra. Before they could get another info out of her, Loyabe died from a posion capsule encased in her teeth. After racing to save Rey’s life, the family decided to return to Alderaan to rest and meet Tharra Rist, Rey’s step mother. The intent to reunite the family once and for all. But the peace wasn’t to be found.

Rhia Kriari 

A Dark Jedi, was waiting for them on Alderaan. She revealed herself to Zeth during a party at the Rist estate for the homecoming of Lord Atzethel Rist. She revealed to him that Loyabe was only one of a number of Imperial spies and assassins that were sent after people like them. Rhia revealed that she and him were born with the same midichlorian anomaly and that another of the children like them, was a Darth by the name of Attroxus who sought to convert or kill the others. She explained that the midichlorian anomaly was the result of a Sith experiment on infusing non-force sensitives with force imbued DNA in the hopes of creating Sith Soldiers. The experiment was discovered by The Dark Council and was shut down, however some of the test subjects managed to escape, including her mother and Zeth and Rey’s father. The experiment did not succeed however, as the altered DNA became unstable, mutating within it’s hosts and killing them violently with explosive bursts of force energy. Exactly the type of mysterious circumstances that Zeth’s father had died under. She convinced Zeth to help her find the other children before Attroxus could. Reyal, Zoee and Nalin agreed to help as well. The five found the other two children, Blanna Gira and Jaysen Karn. During their search, she and Zeth became closer and inevitably began an affair.

Jaysen Karn 

A plucky and optimistic Jedi Knight Ace, he was the first child to be tracked down. Found on Corellia as the last skirmishes of the battle raged. Zeth found him engaged with a Sith Lord named Lord Neystaa. Having been found by this Sith Pureblood assassin and offered to join Darth Attroxus or die. Jaysen, Zeth and Rhia were able to drive Neystaa away. Concerned by what he had heard, Jaysen requested permission to aid the Jedi Shadow Zeth in his mission to uncover the truth behind this new cult. Now with back up from another Jedi Knight, the search became slightly easier as it allowed them to quickly reach their next destination, Alpheridies.

Blanna Gira 

A Miraluka from Alpheridies, is another of the children from the experiment. Zeth and Rhia found her on Alpheridies where see lived and served among The Luka Sene, a group of cultural teachers and guides, acting as a seer and healer. The Sene’s devotees obey only the light side of the force. These teachings helped Blanna to keep her underlying darker urges at bay, though she wouldn’t confess to it, she struggled with this greatly. As she was not a fighter and had taken an oath of pacifism, she had no experience with weaponry and combat, thus Zeth began to train her in lightsaber combat, enough to defend herself if needs be. Though hesitant to go, she had received a vision of Attroxus and knew the danger he presented. She also received a vision of Zeth’s master, Nede Vaa in danger on The Fourth Moon of Yavin. Concerned, Gira informed Zeth, and the group headed for Yavin 4, right into a trap.

Lord Neystaa 

Darth Attroxus’s personal assassin, more machine than flesh. She was one of a pair of twins. She and her brother, Greveron were stationed on Balmorra at the end of the cold war. Zeth had killed Greveron during a battle to disable the planet’s early warning systems. The Brothers had teamed up to take Neystaa out of the fight as well with Zeth pushing her into an adjacent hallway, while Reyal tossed a grenade at her. Badly injured and barely holding on to life, Neystaa was recovered and outfitted with cybernetic replacements for her lost limbs and organs. She was made to be the perfect killing machine. Attroxus offered her a chance at revenge for herself and her brother and she jumped at the chance. After an unsuccessful duel on Corellia, Neystaa set a trap for Zeth’s Master, Nede Vaa, on Yavin 4. The Force User group arrived in time to see Neystaa slay Master Vaa, sending Zeth into a fit of rage. Uncoordinated and less adept in some cases (such as Blanna), Neystaa was able to hold her own. She succeeded in destroying Zeth’s double-bladed lightsaber and toss aside Jaysen, Blanna and Rhia. Seeing Rhia get injured was the final straw for Zeth who managed to take one of Neystaa’s twin sabers and over powered her with heavy crushing blows. Zeth was victorious in defeating her but rather than show mercy, he violently killed her instead. The group used Neystaa’s ship to track the co-ordinates of Attroxus’s ship. Though Zeth was disgusted with himself, they still had a mission to do.

Darth Attroxus

Born a slave of The Empire, Attroxus demonstrated a strong affinity for the Force at a young age. He was taken to the Academy on Korriban at age 7 where he faced extraordinary hard ship due to his race. In spite of the torment, Attroxus was able to rise to become one of the most promising students. He knew within himself that he was more powerful that the other acolytes and considered him better than them. He rationalized that they picked upon his race because it was the only way to put him down. If he was human, he thought, he would have been on the fast track to a lord. Upon completing his final trial, Attroxus returned to the Academy to discover that he had been passed over for the opportunity to become an apprentice. Enraged, he murdered the overseer and his fellow acolyte. The Lord whom wished to take the student, found Attroxus amusing and took him as an apprentice in place of the murdered on. Eventually, Attroxus began to eclipse his master in power and killed him, at which point, he assumed the title of Lord of The Sith for himself. Attroxus became interested in his power. He knew he was more powerful than the average Sith, and began delving into his parentage. He came across information about the experiments and became obsessed with them. However, power comes with a price. From giving into the Dark Side of The Force for so long, his mutated DNA became stronger and threatened to consume his body just as the original experiment subjects. It instilled in him a goal, to find the others like him. To perfect the experiment process, and rise to his rightful place as Emperor. His plans would not come to fruition. The Furcifer strike team was able to land on his Ship and while the force users set out to find Attroxus, Reyal, Nalin and Zoee began to disable the ship and plant explosives at key areas. All The Force Users engaged in a duel however Attroxus quickly realized that he was outmatched and began to feed his power-hungry cells for more power. It gave him the advantage however, in trying, he lost control of his power as his body began to deteriorate rapidly. The Furcifers managed to escape as the bridge exploded in a blast of energy, killing Attroxus.

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, January 18

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Bill and Hillary Clinton 

Page 2: Katie Holmes’ friends are warning her to wise up about her hot-tempered beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. after he went on a profanity-laced rant -- Emilio’s been in an edgy mood over his family New York City restaurant losing money while they’re forced to stay closed because of the pandemic and he’s definitely let his nice guy mask slip and it’s affecting their relationship and everything was all peaches and cream before but now it’s strained and difficult at times -- Emilio showed his ugly side when he raged against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for shutting down indoor dining on his Instagram Stories 

Page 3: Tom Cruise’s chemistry with his latest Mission: Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell has spilled over to real life but it’s no surprise because the British beauty is the mirror image of Tom’s ex-wife Katie Holmes and Tom deliberately hunted down a Katie clone to be his on-screen leading lady and Hayley is everything Tom is looking for in a partner and more -- physically Katie was Tom’s definition of total perfection which is brunette with an athletic build and he’s been quietly looking for a girlfriend for some time who had the features he loves which is brown hair and a squarish jaw and hazel eyes

Page 4: Stressed-out and scandal-scarred Ellen DeGeneres in binge eating her way toward an early grave and Ellen is burying her sorrows by bingeing on junk food and milkshakes -- she’s packed on 30 pounds in 30 days after Kelly Clarkson beat her in the ratings for the third week in a row -- Ellen is convinced the world has turned on her and hides in her dressing room and locks herself in her bedroom and eats until she can barely breathe and it’s the only thing that gives her any comfort these days and the results speak for themselves because she’s bursting out of her clothes 

* Radio shock jock Howard Stern has blasted back at former staffers who painted him a cheap and petty monster -- the King of All Media said at the end of night he sleeps fine 

Page 5: Concerned mom Andie MacDowell is fearing for the safety of her starlet daughter Margaret Qualley after she was caught canoodling with accused abuser Shia LaBeouf -- no one can understand why she’d be with this guy after he’s been accused of such horrible things and Andie is beside herself with worry and she fears Shia may have staged his PDA with her daughter to polish his tarnished image 

Page 6: TV couple Chip and Joanna Gaines have prepped for the reboot of their wildly popular Fixer Upper reality show by undergoing extensive renovations on their looks and they spared no excuse in getting personal makeovers for the show’s return -- they are splurging on trainers, stylists, new clothes, designer makeup, at-home spa days and pricey hairstyling plus other indulgences

Page 7: Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani have called of their spring wedding plans after they were caught on camera in a vicious street fight -- they’ve been fighting about everything since they got engaged and all that tension finally exploded in a brutal screaming match -- the ruckus erupted over groomzilla Blake’s feeling that Gwen has given him little support after he’d spent endless hours and millions of dollars planning their over-the-top nuptials and after all his plans Gwen suggested they simply elope and Blake blew his stack -- Blake was already bristling because Gwen seemed more focused on jump-starting her career than their wedding plans 

* Jennifer Lopez recently confessed she and retired slugger Alex Rodriguez are mulling never getting married after benching their wedding plans amid the coronavirus crisis and she’s been spotted without her engagement ring 

Page 8: Barbra Streisand and James Brolin have bounced back from the brink of a $400 million divorce and now they’re even talking about making a movie together with Babs feeding him directing tips -- they’ve had their ups and downs but they’re getting a second wind and believe doing a project together will give their relationship the kick-start it needs -- James has seen his career revitalized with his role in the sitcom Life in Pieces and directing several TV movies and his recent success is pretty exciting to both of them -- James’ dream is to direct a big-budget feature starring his son Josh Brolin and Barbra wants to help him realize that goal 

* Barely a year after leaving Britain broke and beaten Meghan Markle has regained her Markle Sparkle with Hollywood flooding the former D-list actress with movie scripts and big-bucks deals  -- the wife of Prince Harry is savoring her triumph as Hollywood’s newly crowned queen and thumbing her nose at the royals -- since leaving the cable TV drama Suits Meghan has missed acting and now she’s looking for the right big-screen project to relaunch her career 

Page 9: Sex and the City is on track for a reboot only this time without black-sheep cast member Kim Cattrall -- Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis are all reuniting for what Sarah has called a revisit of the hit series -- Kim who has had widely publicized spats with series star and producer Sarah over the years has complained about the fan backlash she received for bowing out of a third Sex and the City movie follow-up 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Tiger Woods hit the links at a Florida tournament with son Charlie, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen walked hand-in-hand during a hike with pals in St. Barts, Pete Davidson took a stab at knitting, Paris Hilton with white roses 

Page 11: Bill Cosby is refusing to shower with his fellow prisoners because an outbreak of COVID-19 in the SCI Phoenix prison has caused the fallen funnyman to steer clear of the showers

* Martha Stewart turns 80 in 2021 but the scrappy senior’s been working her farm like an energetic 20-year-old -- the domestic diva has been riding out the pandemic at her 153-acre farm in Upstate New York but she’s doing anything but taking it easy as she’s up early milking cows, shoveling snow and even chopping wood for the fireplace and she hasn’t ignored her Martha Stewart Living lifestyle empire 

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Ryan Seacrest personally tapped Billy Porter as his co-host on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve because Ryan is Billy’s biggest fan 

* Kanye West and televangelist Joel Osteen have parted ways -- Joel loves the spotlight as much as Kanye but he wasn’t prepared for the backlash after they were criticized for their walking-on-water stunt and that was when things started to sour 

* The Kardashians’ new show on Hulu promises to spark even more controversy as it will show a much more X-rated version of the family 

* New Bachelor Matt James gets in a round of golf near his home in Jupiter, Florida (picture) 

Page 13: Michael Douglas was over the moon after becoming a grandfather again at 76 and has big plans for the Douglas family dynasty -- reformed bad-boy Cameron Douglas and longtime partner Viviane Thibes welcomed son Ryder nearly three years after their daughter Lua -- making him a grandfather again is the greatest gift Cameron could have given his poor old dad and Michael hopes he loves to be 103 like his dad Kirk Douglas so he can watch Lua and Ryder grow up 

* Reba McEntire’s new beau Rex Linn is a junk food junkie and she’s worried he’s digging his own grave with a knife and fork -- Reba loves Rex and he’s the sweetest guy in the universe but it’s just troubling the way he eats everything in sight -- Reba’s worried he’ll be six feet under if he doesn’t change his ways soon and she’s desperate for him to lose 25 pounds and she’s determined to put him on a sensible mostly vegetarian diet but Rex keeps sneaking chips and sweets when he thinks she’s not looking 

Page 15: Four years into their brutal divorce battle Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are entering into a new custody battle this time for their pets -- the fractured couple’s clash over their five youngest children remains at a standstill as Angie refuses to budge on her demand for full custody -- while Brad continues to battle for shared custody of the kids he’s now making moves to ensure he has equal time with their critters as well -- Angie’s house is full of animals many of which Brad helped choose and raise and while he doesn’t want full-term custody of them he’d like to at least have them accompany the kids when they visit because Brad has noticed the children miss their pets when they’re with him and he wants to rectify that and he thinks they’ll want their visits to be longer if they have their pets with them 

Page 16: Scandal-tarred Prince Andrew faces a shocking new investigation into how he lives like a billionaire despite being cut off from British taxpayer funds -- the disgraced playboy stripped of royal duties in 2019 over his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal has no steady stream in income to explain his lavish lifestyle of private jets and ski chalets and luxury cars -- but Randy Andy has apparently been secretly trading on his blue-blood roots to sponge off Arab princes and score lucrative deals with shady tycoons and cash-rich international oligarchs like Qatar’s Minister of Economy and Trade Sheikh Mohammed Bin Ahmed Althani and Secretary General Issa Abu Issa -- a probe of his financial dealings could see Andrew further shamed and banished from the royals forever 

Page 19: Taylor Swift’s heady brew of mysticism in her new album Evermore has fans wondering is Tay Tay a witch -- in a music video for her song Willow she pursues a magical glowing thread through an enchanted forest and joins in with a witchy circle of cloaked revelers -- Wiccans are rushing to embrace her but others are wondering whether Taylor’s interest in witchcraft is merely to boost sales 

Page 22: Devastated Lisa Marie Presley struggled through Christmas as the heartbroken mom is still coming to terms with the suicide of her only son Benjamin Keough -- her holiday was somber after she wasn’t included in her mom Priscilla Presley’s holiday plans -- Lisa Marie arranged to spend one night at Graceland to be with Ben at his final resting place 

Page 26: Health Watch 

Page 34: Kat Von D has made herself at home in a haunted house -- she left L.A. with her husband Leafar Seyer to give their son a more normal environment and instead they wound up in a seven-bedroom Victorian mansion in rural Vevay, Indiana that has 13 fireplaces and a local reputation as a retreat for ghosts 

Page 36: Grateful Dead fans have been dying violent and mysterious deaths for decades sparking fears the hippie band’s superfans are being targeted by a bloodthirsty serial killer 

Page 38: John Mulaney chatted up young girls on sex sites and sent nude selfies that suggested he was doing cocaine before checking into rehab -- the married star decided to get help after girls who partied with him online threatened to expose how he’d broken his 15 years of sobriety 

Page 40: Garth Brooks confessed his life in lockdown with wife Trisha Yearwood hasn’t been in perfect harmony because he’s driving her bonkers with his nonstop whistling 

* Hollywood Hookups -- Joe Giudice showed off his new squeeze who is a lawyer, Tyler Perry and Gelila Bekele split, Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez engaged 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Duchess Kate Middleton in 2020 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Tichina Arnold and Beth Behrs on the sitcom The Neighborhood 

Page 47: Odd List -- two months after hoofing it from a New Jersey slaughterhouse a runaway goat was captured and given a new lease on life according to the animal rescue that snagged the fleet-footed critter, a Texas man helped his boss turn the page on an old debt by settling his 48-year-old library fine as a joke 

[theaurorfileshq]

M I R A N D A   A M A R O - B O T T  /  A U R O R   O F F I C E R

AGE:  Thrity-Four

BADGE NUMBER: S92B05

BLOODSTATUS: No-Maj Born

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Trans Woman, She/Her

IDENTIFYING FEATURES: “tasteful” butterfly tattoo on lower back that’s charmed to change colors, strong fashion sense (although clothes are all last season), british accent, silver charmed charm bracelet that’s never removed

STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES:

(+): Charms, Combat Magic, Occlumency, Persuasive 

(-): Magizoology, Physical Combat, Egocentric, Domineering

BACKGROUND:

Content Warning: Transphobia (vague mention)

Unlike what so many would like to think, Miranda was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Life was never particularly easy for her, and any success she’s earned in her adulthood has been solely through her own prowess. She was born into an impoverished household, the third of five children, and the only to possess magic. That in itself was its own hurdle to overcome. 

She’d thought possessing magic would change her life dramatically, bring her out of the slums of one of London’s poorest districts, and into a life filled with wonder and endless possibilities. She thought it would be like a dream come true, her own Cinderella story, except it wasn’t some fairy godmother or a prince charming that saved her, but rather something she had in herself. What she hadn’t realized that the circumstances surrounding her birth would be weaponized against her, as it had been countless times before. It was her first day in Hogwarts that she learned the term “mudblood” and the negative connotation behind it. That hadn’t been anything particularly new, by that point in her adolescence she’d come to know intimately several cruel words that people had chosen to hurl her way. And while it did flare the bitterness that’d taken root inside her throughout her childhood, it also sparked something else, a determination to give herself the life she knew she deserved, no matter the cost. 

Miranda Amaro became Miranda at the age of sixteen, and it was the first step in a series for her that allowed her to slowly evolve into the woman she is today. Having no upbringing in magic she studied harder than she’d ever had in her life, making sure that her name was characterized not by her blood, but rather by her fierce competitiveness and strong magical aptitude. Within Slytherin, a house that was filled with wixes of old blood that magic had coursed through for centuries, she earned respect and a high social status solely by her own hard work and determination. 

When graduation came, the aurors were not a particularly strong calling for her. But she had the grades and skill to do well in the profession, and for someone like her, with a bloodline she founded and a surname still unknown, the aurors provided her an opportunity to further cement her standing within the English wixen community. It certainly would, although never in the way she imagined. 

She was a green twenty-four year old cadet when she first met Albert “Bertie” Bott, the founder of the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans empire. It was on a case that involved a theft of a beloved Fabergé egg from a cottage he’d owned in Scotland. The case was fairly easy all things considered, it only took her an afternoon to determine it had been Bertie’s new maid that’d stolen the rare painted egg out of his collection. But solving a case in one afternoon, especially a case involving finding a well beloved antique for one of the richest men in Wixen England, would be down right foolish. Conniving may be a term countlessly thrown Miranda’s way, but she’s never once in her life been a fool. 

It took two weeks of working alongside Bertie, combing through his property, hunting down leads, spending hours upon hours by his side, when she finally achieved what she’d wanted. Not only finding his precious Fabergé egg, but also hooking her claws into his heart. Seducing a gullible middle aged man wasn’t that hard, in fact Miranda is quite sure it was the easiest thing she’s ever done. Bertie had already grown quite bored with his third wife, and really she only had herself to blame. A man like Bertie required constant attention, and if he didn’t receive it, he’d find the next little pretty thing that did, which in that case was Miranda. 

Six months later Miranda Amora became Miranda Amora-Bott, and quickly left the aurors behind to begin her new life as an heiress and trophy wife. And Merlin... was she a good one. Being a trophy wife requires so much more than simply looking pretty, it requires a certain finesse, a finesse Miranda crafted beautifully over the span of what would be an eight year marriage. She served her role as Bertie’s pretty arm candy, but she didn’t want to simply be “Bertie’s new wife”, she wanted to be Miranda, a name any wix in England would recognize and envy. Her name would be in tabloids, gossiped about over afternoon tea, and eventually grace the bottles of her own perfume line “Flavor by Miranda”. For eight years she would thrive in this role, until she made the fatal mistake wife #3 had. 

She was thirty-two, with a budding perfume empire when the divorce papers were slipped onto her desk, a nervous Bertie professing his new love for his twenty-two year old secretary. HIS SECRETARY, like Miranda was some third rate aging house wife. She wanted to destroy him, to take him for everything he had, but she’d made one critical error when she first married Bertie. And that was signing the prenuptial agreement he’d handed her one morning, two weeks before their wedding in Milan as he whispered adoration into her ear. 

The pre-nuptial agreement was a good one, that she could at least hand to him, but it meant she’d be the one losing everything. Her perfume line would be Bertie’s, her apartment in Paris, also Bertie’s. Everything she’d owned now was the sole property of her ex-husband. And then to top it all off, some blood purist with a god complex decided then would be the perfect time for total world domination. And so at thirty-two, she found herself back to square one, with hardly a cent to her name, and her life in danger due to the circumstances of her birth. 

Finding a room with one of her few friends who hadn’t deserted her after the divorce was finalized, Miranda hid out for months, until eventually she found her salvation when she’d heard of a team of American aurors heading into the country to rescue muggleborns. After selling a few pieces of what jewelry she had left, she was able to buy her way into one of the rescue missions, and two weeks later found herself in America, still without much to her name, but free of the vice grip the Death Eaters held over the country. 

With little else to do, Miranda would return back to her roots in the form of the aurors. The Honolulu Academy would serve as her home for six months (because duh, free vacation) until one week ago, when she was hired into the Central Squad. Being an auror again, isn’t exactly her preference, but it has provided her the opportunity to live out on her own again, without having to rely on the pity of others. The Chief is a complete idiot, but a rich one, and easy on the eyes, so there’s some potential there if she gets too bored or tired with the auror life again. In the meantime though, she’ll make do with her current situation, try to get a handle of the American Wixen Community before she stakes her claim on it like she had the one in England. 

[rodrigovolland]

Theory / Ymir, the destroyer of Eldia

based on the astonishing fanart of the user dollarean on reddit: (https://www.reddit.com/r/titanfolk/comments/de7tj9/folktober_day_6_illustration_spooktober_edition/)

In this one a tragic and dark end can be observed and it made me think about this theory: If Ymir really wants to destroy the Eldian empire and is using it to Eren, what do I rely on for this?

1. Ymir slave: how you will remember in the chapter you can see that she is a slave of the Eldians, so she may well belong to a minor tribe or even be from MARLEY, here we must bear in mind that the Eldians represent the Germans or Barbarians, were savages who looted other civilizations and cultures, described as demons, possibly the original people of Ymir were destroyed and their relatives murdered and the women even raped, being alive and made a slave.

2. Relations with the rest of the world: after obtaining the Titan power, Ymir sought to use them for the common good, be it building bridges or developing agriculture among others, but also played the role of military force and conquest, in this she He never demonstrates any kind of resentment or hatred before the rest of the world beyond being forced to face them, so there is no real need to destroy them by will.

3. The royal family: beyond the possible love he had received from his daughters, the king was totally indifferent to his feelings or dreams, he was nothing more than a multipurpose tool for him, serving as an incubator without love in between, then on the invisible roads, she saw how her daughters the ones she raised, ate her body still alive, a sense of betrayal and also the descendants of Eldian King himself use it for hundreds of years as a slave for his own benefits, of the king all the current Eldians arise both in the possession of Marley, those of the island Paradis and the possible ones in other parts of the world, reason why their hatred could involve them.

4. Cruelty of the world and genocide of the descendants: Eren wishes to end humanity outside the walls given so much by past events, the Titans sent by Marley to the island decades ago, the stigma of demons they possess in the eyes of the rest of the world like the current ones with the arrival of the chosen children on the island, so in part he wants to end the descendants of the rest of the world, why would Ymir not have a similar thought ?, if in her eyes, The origin of the cruelty and negative things of the world is from Eldian King and the empire of terror he created based on his own powers? Why would she not want to end what she could consider the evil of the world?

5. Titan slavery: Ymir was forced to have to rebuild, regenerate and build the Titans, both normal and changing for over a thousand years, imagine the effort to only build only one and the work it represents.

6. Anger and explosion of Ymir: finally in the chapter Eren proposes that he give her power and he will end the world, he has the possibility to choose which she breaks into tears and anger and gives the power of the founder to Eren , it must be understood that Ymir's slavery was carried out by Eldian King and the descendants of the royal family, if she had anger and resentment, she would go against them, who enslaved and used her.

7. Warnings from Kruger and Grisha: As you can remember in Chapter 89, through memories of the future, Kruger tells Grisha that if he wants to save Armin and Mikasa, he must fulfill his mission, returning to the present, Eren is supposed to have everything control of the situation, so what risk would Armin and Mikasa be running? Based on this we can infer that something went wrong or Eren lost control of things. Now in chapter 121, Grisha warns Zeke that he must stop Eren, that he plans to do something terrible, of which Eren has only seen a part of the future scenario and that is why he executes his plan, for that vision would be the colossal released, but what would happen if the complete image would be the colossal destroying the island and the cities? There would make sense why Grisha would be so scared with the actions of Eren and Armin and Mikasa would be at total risk, besides the colossal are in position in view of the interior of the island, as seen in chapter 35.

8. Similar scenario: remember that Isayama would not be so condescending that everything goes great for Eren, in addition the interview stated that the end would be like the version adapted to the Stephen King "The Mist" film, a totally bittersweet, cruel, Ironically, in the end the protagonist when thinking of be prey of the monsters decides to kill his son, his friend and a couple of elders, so that they do not suffer a brutal death by the monsters, as their crime passes, the mkst dissipates and the military forces enter, ending the nearby monsters, the final scene being the cry and heartbreaking lament of the father who murdered his son and innocents, based on that the final scenario would be as follows:

Image scenario: Eren frees Ymir from his slavery and manages to awaken the colossal walls, but Ymir makes them move forward, Eren questions him why they are not going in the direction of the other nations and she would tell him that she wants take down the Eldians, with the island, with those responsible for their slavery and suffering, Eren is surprised and feels betrayed, Ymir takes away the founder and Eren runs in search of escape from the island, Ymir at the head annihilates which Eldiano have in front, his goal is to eradicate all Eldians, so he would progressively seek to hunt down Armin, Mikasa and Eren himself, finally finds them, the EMA trio along with Reiner, Zeke and company would seek to stop her but her power is absolute and they end up being brutally murdered by Ymir's anger and rage, in the end already in the area of ​​the walls where he started everything with Eren's dream, Mikasa manages to attack him with his sword but Ymir murders her in front of Eren, an Eren co Simply downcast, I would tell him that he sought the freedom of his neighbors, he was supposed to end the rest of the world, not with them, to which Ymir would tell them that they are the cruelty of the world and being his "mother" would free them from wrath of the world and the suffering that awaits them, Ymir would finally tell Eren to forgive both his and his daughter's life, to give them their freedom, so Ymir after the annihilation of the Island would absorb all the Titans powers and it would become a great tree, thus ending Titan's power forever, in the final scene Eren would take her daughter in her arms and say, "YOU ARE NOW FREE", since there are no longer Eldians and Titan power.

Conclusions: Thanks to those who came to read everything until the end, the theory and the scenario would undoubtedly be a macabre end and and faithful to the style of the fog as Isayama related, added to a distortion of freedom, where Eren finally gets his long-awaited freedom but at the cost of what you love most, thanks for your reading!

[eriksspanishlitblog]

Ten Interesting Novels

 1. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal.  ( Source : goodreads ) 

2. Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas 

In the final moments of the Spanish Civil War, fifty prominent Nationalist prisoners are executed by firing squad. Among them is the writer and fascist Rafael Sanchez Mazas. As the guns fire, he escapes into the forest, and can hear a search party and their dogs hunting him down. The branches move and he finds himself looking into the eyes of a militiaman, and faces death for the second time that day. But the unknown soldier simply turns and walks away. Sanchez Mazas becomes a national hero and the soldier disappears into history. As Cercas sifts the evidence to establish what happened, he realises that the true hero may not be Sanchez Mazas at all, but the soldier who chose not to shoot him. Who was he? Why did he spare him? And might he still be alive? ( Source : Amazon )

3. The Dangerous Summer by Ernest Hemingway

The Dangerous Summer is Hemingway's firsthand chronicle of a brutal season of bullfights. In this vivid account, Hemingway captures the exhausting pace and pressure of the season, the camaraderie and pride of the matadors, and the mortal drama as in fight after fight the rival matadors try to outdo each other with ever more daring performances. At the same time Hemingway offers an often complex and deeply personal self-portrait that reveals much about one of the twentieth century's preeminent writers. ( Source : Amazon ) 

4. Cathedral of the Sea: A Novel by Ildefonso Falcones

In the tradition of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, here is a thrilling historical novel of friendship and revenge, plague and hope, love and war, set in the golden age of 14th-century Barcelona. Arnau Estanyol arrives in Barcelona and joins the powerful guild of stone-workers building the magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar, while his adoptive brother Joan studies to become a priest. As Arnau prospers, he secretly falls in love with a forbidden woman. When he is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved cathedral is finally completed, or will his brother spare him? ( Source : Amazon ) 

5. The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte 

The unstoppable thrust is the arcane fencing technique known only by Don Jaime—and the deadly maneuver that a beautiful young woman wants him to teach her.What begins as a rather bold request leads Don Jaime into the shadowy politics and violence of mid-nineteenth-century Madrid. ( Source : Amazon )

6. Driving Over Lemons : An Optimist in Spain by Chris Stewart

No sooner had Chris Stewart set eyes on El Valero than he handed over a check.  Now all he had to do was explain to Ana, his wife that they were the proud owners of an isolated sheep farm in the Alpujarra Mountains in Southern Spain.  That was the easy part. Lush with olive, lemon, and almond groves, the farm lacks a few essentials—running water, electricity, an access road.  And then there's the problem of rapacious Pedro Romero, the previous owner who refuses to leave.  A perpetual optimist, whose skill as a sheepshearer provides an ideal entrée into his new community, Stewart also possesses an unflappable spirit that, we soon learn, nothing can diminish.  Wholly enchanted by the rugged terrain of the hillside and the people they meet along the way—among them farmers, including the ever-resourceful Domingo, other expatriates and artists—Chris and Ana Stewart build an enviable life, complete with a child and dogs, in a country far from home. ( Source : Amazon ) 

7. Winter in Madrid : A Novel by C.J. Sansom

September 1940: the Spanish Civil War is over, Madrid lies in ruin, while the Germans continue their march through Europe, and General Franco evades Hitler's request that he lead his broken country into yet another war. Into this uncertain world comes a reluctant spy for the British Secret Service, sent to gain the confidence of Sandy Forsyth, an old school friend turned shady Madrid businessman. Meanwhile, an ex-Red Cross nurse is engaged in a secret mission of her own. Through this dangerous game of intrigue, C. J. Sansom's riveting tale conjures a remarkable sense of history unfolding and the profound impact of impossible choices. ( Source : Amazon ) 

8. The Last Jew by Noah Gordon 

In the year 1492, the Inquisition has all of Spain in its grip. After centuries of pogrom-like riots encouraged by the Church, the Jews - who have been an important part of Spanish life since the days of the Romans - are expelled from the country by royal edict. Many who wish to remain are intimidated by Church and Crown and become Catholics, but several hundred thousand choose to retain their religion and depart; given little time to flee, some perish even before they can escape from Spain. Yonah Toledano, the 15-year-old son of a celebrated Spanish silversmith, has seen his father and brother die during these terrible days - victims whose murders go almost unnoticed in a time of mass upheaval. Trapped in Spain by circumstances, he is determined to honor the memory of his family by remaining a Jew. ( Source : goodreads ) 

9.The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Ruiz Zafon 

Nine-year-old Alicia lost her parents during the Spanish Civil War when the Nacionales (the fascists) savagely bombed Barcelona in 1938. Twenty years later, she still carries the emotional and physical scars of that violent and terrifying time. Weary of her work as an investigator for Spain’s secret police in Madrid, a job she has held for more than a decade, the twenty-nine-year old plans to move on. At the insistence of her boss, Leandro Montalvo, she remains to solve one last case: the mysterious disappearance of Spain’s Minister of Culture, Mauricio Valls. ( Source : Amazon )

With her partner, the intimidating policeman Juan Manuel Vargas, Alicia discovers a possible clue—a rare book by the author Victor Mataix hidden in Valls’ office in his Madrid mansion. Valls was the director of the notorious Montjuic Prison in Barcelona during World War II where several writers were imprisoned, including David Martín and Victor Mataix. Traveling to Barcelona on the trail of these writers, Alicia and Vargas meet with several booksellers, including Juan Sempere, who knew her parents. ( Source : Amazon ) 

10. The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner 

In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne. Along the way, Gortner takes the reader from the somber majesty of Spain to the glittering and lethal courts of Flanders, France, and Tudor England.  Born amid her parents’ ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life. But when tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself plunged into a battle for power against her husband that grows to involve the major monarchs of Europe. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and save Spain from ruin, even if it costs her everything.  ( Source : Amazon ) 

[tragicblood-archived]

Dossier

Disclaimer: This contains the basics that mainly center around a more modern world. Any verse specifics can be found under her VERSES page.

The backstory TL;DR of her bio is at the bottom. Backstory tws: child/domestic abuse mention, alcohol, drugs, and death.

Visuals - Tattoo and Scar Guide (coming soon)

General

Name: Faye Rivera

Nicknames: Red

Race: Human (most verses)

Age: 26

Gender: Cis-Female

Orientation: Demiromantic pansexual

DoB: May 3rd

Appearance

Height: 5'3"

Body Type: Hourglass

Skin Tone: Tanned

Hair: Dark Auburn

Eyes: Heterochromia blue (left) & brown (right)

Notable features: Freckles over bridge of nose, beauty mark on left jaw, notch in right ear, scar across right side of neck, and small ones scattered over body

Modifications: Three piercings in right ear, five piercings in left ear, tattoos on right forearm, behind left ear, and on her left hip.

Personal

Skills: Various martial arts, marksmanship, swordsmanship, first aid, cooking, animal magnetism

Weapons: Dual swords/daggers, hidden blades, dual pistols (occasionally sniper rifle)

Likes: Cooking, eating, the ocean, space, danger, animals

Dislikes: Authority, traitors, failing, needles, spiders (borderline phobia), Ex-lover, being alone, losing her temper

Fears: Blackout darkness, claustrophobia, her father

Family: Fiona Rivera (mother), Ryder Rivera (older brother), Cesar Steele (father), Kenji Mori (adoptive father/mentor)

Personality: Faye in short is cocky, tenacious, and optimistic. She does everything in her power to live life to the fullest and is always ready for the next adventure. She doesn’t only flirt with death but is extremely intimate with danger, taking risks at the drop of a hat, only worried about the consequences when someone else is involved. And even then it’s a rare occurrence. Some say she has a death wish and others would say she’s just reckless. She’d say she’s just a girl who loves the rush of adrenaline. She always has a great sense of humor even if it is in the wrong setting.     Her mouth tends to operate faster than her mind which often gets her into some sticky situations but she’s learned to adapt and roll with the punches. Literally and figuratively. Many gravitate toward her upbeat personality but the more observant are certain to see that there’s more to her than meets the eye. It’s a side she’s sworn to keep behind closed doors if she can help it. And be warned, she has a temper that can ignite in the blink of an eye.

Brief Bio: “I guess some of us are just born with Tragedy in our blood.“     Bother her parents lived hard lives and while her mother tried to make the best of it her father went down a darker path. The two met in an unfortunate way that would lay the foundation of what would become her inauspicious life. Her father was a cruel man who had no qualms with abusing his children nor his wife. Her father, Cesar, controlled a large underground crime ring that not only respected but also feared him. What he didn’t account for was how tenacious and disobedient both Faye and Ryder would become as their fear and hatred of the man grew. Faye became more brazen with her attempts to disrupt his work and dealing which often ended with harsh and inhumane punishments that only fueled the burning fire inside her. Their mother had made several attempts to protect her children and escape but never managed to be successful with the latter and was ultimately punished.     However, when Faye was about seven her mother managed to bribe one of the newer recruits to assist which allowed the three of them to get farther than before. But, Cesar was always quick to track down what was his and was swift to act and hunt down his wife and spawn. Fiona sacrificed herself in order for her children to escape and unfortunately, the siblings had to watch as their mother was murdered. Running deep into the woods, they managed to use their smaller size to their advantage and escape their father. Assuming they’d succumb to the elements, Cesar gave up the chase and returned to his base of operations. The pair traveled, sneaking onto a train until they came to the outskirts of an old slummy town where they survived by stealing and learning from the other orphans on the streets.     A year passed when Faye attempted to pickpocket a stranger who turned out to be a mercenary by the name of Kenji. Ryder was quick to come to his sister’s aid but both were easily overpowered with little effort from the man. They expected him to turn them into the law but to their surprise found he offered something neither could resist – a new chance at life. Kenji saw something in both he greatly admired and offered to take the orphans under his wing and train them in mercenary work. The next seven years were exhausting and difficult but the pair were determined to continue in hopes of avenging their mother and taking down Cesar’s entire empire.     When their true intentions became clear, Kenji confronted the pair and had a large falling out with Ryder who refused to bow down, believing he had learned all he could from his mentor. A fight ensued and Kenji was quick to show there was still much for the 18-year-old to learn. However, this had the opposite result and Ryder took off, leaving Faye and their mentor. This hurt Faye deeply but she remained with Kenji, unable to deny that she looked to him much like a father. By the time she was twenty-one her mentor had retired from the line of work, suffering from old wounds. While she did fine on her own she craved having companionship and used her ties in the underground to form her own small company of individuals. This allowed them to take on a new variety of missions as well as ones that paid more due to the higher risk of failure.     Romance blossomed between her and one of the newest members, Ethan. She felt as though everything was finally going well for a while but soon she had an unsettling knot build inside her. Faye chocked up the feeling of dread up to the fact that the crime lord her company had recently been butting heads with was, in fact, her biological father. Suppressed memories and feelings of rage and loss clouded her judgment and she led her team straight into a trap. Things only got worse when she realized Ethan had been selling all them out the entire time and had constructed the trap, knowing Faye wouldn’t be able to resist the bait. She completely shut down at how easily she was blindsided by him and listened to her companions get tortured to death in front of her after being restrained. Her initial rage once again flared up in a violent fiery storm as she was taunted and mocked by Ethan and her father’s men.     Breaking free from her restraints, she went into a blind rage, killing without mercy and fighting like a vicious animal. If she was going to go down it was going to be fighting and she was going to take down as many of the bastards as she could. Her main target was Ethan but her rage had made her sloppy and he managed to escape but not without slicing open her throat first during their struggle. At some point a fire hard gotten started and with every ounce of willpower and strength she had left she stumbled out of the building as it became engulfed in flames. She collapsed outside, losing consciousness only to awake in a hospital. To her surprise, both her mentor and brother were there. She remained unresponsive after her initial shock and laid in the bed, forced to come to terms with the fact her actions had costed the lives of her companions – her family.     Faye soon spiraled out of control, grief and guilt-ridden. Unable to fully cope she completely cut herself off from her emotions and ties with her mentor and brother and took off, leaving no trace of her whereabouts. She continued to work, only now she didn’t care what type of job she took nor the consequences that came with it. She turned to alcohol and drugs to keep herself numb when not working as the pain and shame was too much for her to bear. For nearly a year she continued down a destructive path only to be stopped in her tracks by a woman by the name of Aria who could see through all the walls Faye had put up and to the suffering buried deep inside. Aria always had a way of finding Faye and eventually broke through to her and helped her grieve and come to terms with her mistakes and assisted in teaching her how to continue moving forward.     Aria helped Faye get back in touch with her family and eventually, the two began a romance that worked well – for a while. Enemies had been made during her shut down and they finally had a weak spot to hurt the mercenary. While Faye was away Aria was killed in their home in an attempt to force her to them. And it worked, only she wasn’t alone. Her mentor and brother were there when Faye went to seek revenge, once again blinded by her rage. Despite their best efforts to stop her from pursuing them, she managed to track them down. Prepared to die she went in and did what she did best, cut off her emotions and slaughtered anyone who got in her way. She managed to eradicate the gang of thugs but her mentor took a blow that would ultimately take his life.     Once again, she was left to realize her anger was her biggest downfall and had taken more of her loved ones from her. Her mentor held no ill feelings for her but made her promise not to lose sight of who she was. Faye mourned and started slipping down a familiar path but with the help of her brother was able to get back on her feet. She kept her promise to do what she could to not return to how she was before. Faye kept in touch with her brother, putting on a facade to make others believe everything was fine and dandy in her world. As far as anyone knew she was optimistic and someone who enjoyed taking on all sorts of jobs unaware of the night terrors that plagued her every night that she could only drown with alcohol and drugs. TL;DR: Father was a crime lord and murdered her mother in front of her and her brother as they were trying to escape. The siblings lived on the streets for a year before a mercenary took them in. She trained with him even after her father and brother had a falling out and her brother left. Eventually, Kenji returned and she ended up making her own little company that was then betrayed by her current lover. Her companions were tortured and killed in front of her before she let her rage take control.     She was gravely wounded and barely managed to escape only to awake in a hospital bed with her brother and mentor at her side. Afterward, she lost herself and became cut off from her emotions until she met a woman, Aria, who broke through to her. They started a new romance after she got back in touch with her family. Aria died due to enemies Faye made during her shut down. Faye once again lost control of her rage and went after the thugs. Her father died due to fatal wounds he received trying to help Faye control herself. And had it not been for her brother she would’ve slipped back down a dark path. She struggled with her demons but managed to put up a front to keep anyone from realizing just how in pain she is.

Extras

Knows a few different languages

Highly allergic to avocado

Can be quick to lose her temper despite her best efforts

Won’t openly admit she enjoys being bad

Claustrophobia and fear of darkness stems from being locked in a footlocker/closet/cellar as punishment from her father

Usually always has snacks on here

Sometimes gives people nicknames

Mun

     Yo. Call me Monster! I’m just your average 25+ year old trying to survive day to day nonsense and adult responsibilities. I am female but I honestly don’t care what pronouns you use for me! I like to think I’m real easy-going and down to earth so hit me up OOC if you ever wanna just shoot the breeze or something. This is especially if you want to ship because I just think it’s more enjoyable to know the other mun so we can scream at each other over ship stuff haha. That’s about it so yeah!

[god-hunter]

Secret Empire #2

This was a loaded one.  And the ending confused me...

But for an event, I do like the fact that so many things are packed in.  It does make it hard for a comprehensive review, but like last time, I’ll try to do so as best I can.

There are so many directions occurring in this dense issue, that I couldn’t just outright say whether it’s good or bad, but basically this whole thing is an aftermath of the ending of Issue 1.  That is to say, if bombs were to be dropped from the last issue, this one takes us to after the smoke clears.  ...if that helps...

Also, there wasn’t nearly enough Defenders in this issue.  Still though, I’m happy they’re included at all.

[Spoilers below.  The only way to understand what happened, really]

Like I briefly said, this issue begins ‘after the bombs dropped’ from the end of issue 1.  You may recall Helicarriers hovering over cities after the death of a certain, Rick Jones.

Well this one insinuates that bombs dropped and people died.  It starts in Las Vegas with Wonder Man, Hawkeye, Hulk and Nadia Pym digging for survivors through wreckage, etc. etc.  Black Widow is there too, brooding about how Steve Rogers needs to die.

Then we get a glimpse of what’s going on in New York.  It’s no good.  There are aliens everywhere in the darkness, who do a bit of a number on Luke Cage and Danny Rand.  The only way we see what’s happening in the darkness was through the clever use of a night vision cam, or what-have-you.

Jessica Jones ended up coming to their rescue, and we find that Dagger has been basically, using ALL her power in order to light the city for hours and hours at a time.  It’s gotten to the point where she can only keep the light going for 4 hours a day.  Then for the remainder of the time, the city is in darkness, and I guess these aliens have their free reign, without many heroes left to stop them.

Let’s not forget normal every-day looters, who are just trying to survive.  I can’t blame ‘em.  King Pin of all people says that he’ll save them.  And when he does, he wants the whole World to remember that he was the one who made things right.  “...On the day when we see the sun again, you remember-- It was Wilson Fisk who kept you safe.”  [Ooh.  Pretty interesting thread for the Defenders to go on.]

Meanwhile at ‘The Mount’, which is I guess what they’re calling the Underground HQ, Spencer made an interesting choice in copying or rather, nodding to Hickman’s style of narration.

“It was the day two of us stood, and two paths were laid out.  A familiar story, but somehow different this time.  One was Light.  And the other was Darkness.”

[This was a strange, slightly forced nod to Hickman’s Avengers, back when they symbolized Captain America to ‘Life’ and Iron Man to ‘Death’.  This time the comparison was set that Tony A.I was ‘Light’ and Black Widow is ‘Darkness’ now.  Choosing A.I Tony for Light is a very interesting choice for a lot of reasons.  But the main one I want to go with for now is that he literally is made of light.  The idea that an A.I representation of Tony is the ‘Hope’ of the group, however... implies that he only has pure motivations. Which, I’m sorry, but even the biggest Stark apologists know he’s got his hang ups.  Particularly that thing about how this A.I feels that Humans are obsolete.  But I’m pretty sure Spencer is ignoring that one completely.]

Um.  Without diverting any further, basically a line is drawn in the sand about the direction which the Underground should take.  Black Widow wants to kill him, and Tony wants... volunteers for a different sort of mission.  Not killing though.

He puts on a video of Rick Jones speaking to the group, and it’s nice to see him again.  We get the whole “If you’re getting this message, let’s be honest--there’s a good chance I’ve been made dead,” trope.  But then he tells them exactly what happened to Captain America.

We get some decent insight from everything that went down since Pleasant Hill - [what I know] and Spencer’s run of Captain America: Steve Rogers - [stuff I don’t know.]

He informs the gang via dead video message that Kobik was manipulated by Red Skull while in Pleasant Hill.  That she truly thought Hydra was a good thing, and so she was the one who changed Steve’s entire disposition, memories/history, etc. when granting him Youth again.

“She completely rewrote reality--his life experiences, his beliefs--Everything right down to the DNA.  She made him their perfect soldier.”

From there he laid out his own plan.  “A plan that included capturing Kobik--and killing his best friend, Bucky...” [Damn, he’s dead again?  Fuck.]  

He apparently destroyed Kobik too.  She’s been shattered into a million little fragments.  And the basic idea now is that if they find the fragments to put the cube back together [not her, but the cube..] then maybe they can all salvage this and write the whole thing off as a horrible nightmare.

“...They’re out there somewhere.  I’ve attached everything I’ve got--all the Hydra files on the Cosmic Cube... all their intel.”

So, now it’s down to a hunt for the fragments and A.I Tony is all in.  But Black Widow doesn’t buy it at all.  For her, This is Reality.  There is no rewriting it.  And they need to kill Steve for his Treason.

She believes this to such a degree  that she slugs Clint in their downtime, in only the most Romanov way.  She shares a sweet kiss with him and agrees to do things his way, only to turn on him and punch him while his guard is down.

[This punch didn’t mean Civil War III or anything.  It was just a way for her to get out of there and do what she needed to do.  But it’s still fucked up.]

Clint comes to pretty soon and informs Tony A.I about this, who seems to already have a plan.  Hercules, Quicksilver, Ant-Man and Mockingbird are all going to help him look for the fragments.

“Good team, right?” Tony asks.  “It’s a start.” Clint says.

In Black Widow’s corner, Spider-man somehow tracks her down in Colorado a day later.  And he tells her that he wants to help her kill Cap.

We get an awesome reference to Civil War II.  Now suddenly that Future Vision makes perfect sense to Miles.  And he actually wants to do this.

[And suddenly there entirety of Civil War II is all the better for me.  I only liked half of that event, before it became so Miles v Cap focussed.  But NOW.. hoohoo.  Damn.  That’s good planning Marvel.]

Miles didn’t come alone.  Hulk, Nadia, Riri, Viv and whoever is manning the Falcon suit came too.

Despite saying ‘no killing though’, Black Widow is happy to train these children in her ‘Red Room’.

Nearly at the end of the issue, in Montana, Clint, Tony’s A.I (who can apparently wear clothes, like a Red Hoodie now... - [Come on Man!]  They end up finding Sam Wilson, who seemed to have hung up the Cap Costume since all of this until now.

Then the very end of this issue confused me.

We see a bloke girl in a white dress running away from Hydra people.  Particularly a dude in a snake costume.  And she gets beat down on until a random Old guy gives the snake leader a big boot to the head.  He knocks out the other guys with ease too.

Narrations insinuated throughout this entire issue that there was no hope to be found.  Until this one moment, right when things seemed at their worst.

“W-who are you?!  What do you want?!” she asks, frightened.

An older, white-haired bearded dude in Army fatigues tells her, “My name is Steve Rogers.  I’m just trying to get home.”

-To Be Continued!-

...I give up.  Not on the event, but on trying to understand it.

I don’t know what is going on here, and I’m not going to conjure up any theories.  The reveal might be stupid, or it might be genius.  But I’m just gonna wait and reserve judgement until then.

Ugh!!

This event is half entertaining, and part frustrating!  I’m not sure what else.

...by the looks of it, Secret Empire #3 will focus on our teams in Space, which I’m actually interested in following up on for once.

We’re also at the point where allll the tie-ins are going to splinter out from this Event, causing this thing to go on foooreeever long this Summer.

I am not interested in Secret Empire: Uprising, which involves Black Widow training the Champions to do her bidding...

In fact, the only tie-in I am interested in is the Doctor Strange one.  [Which is a funny story for it’s own reason.  I’ll get into it when I actually review the issue.]

Anyway, I feel like it’ll be a moment before we get to Secret Empire #3.

So until then.  I guess we’ll just have to sit on this.

For now though, it’s still more entertaining than frustrating for me, I think.

[disneyspies-blog]

OPERATION: ENCHANTED ROSE II

MAGIC, or Ministry of Action for Government Infiltration Contacts if you were feeling up for a tongue twister, is so much bigger then what I just described back there. For example, there are four main subcore teams- PRINCESS (Positioned to Rescue and Improvise without Negotiation Corps and Elite Stealth Spies), PRINCE (Patrol of Reconnaissance Investigation, Neutralization and Confrontation Extermination), PIXIE (Performers who Infiltrate and eXecute Intelligence Encounters) and VILLIAN (Veteran Investigation Liberate to Launch International Action Nationalism). What each team does is kept under protected lock and key so that no one outside of the teams knows what everyone else is doing.

PRINCESS is the biggest team, boasting fifteen operatives, all with unique skills. Almost all members are hard women, or experienced operatives who know how to survive in hostile environments and have killed before. We range from hackers to cipherist to dressers to a physiologist. Our personalities may not always get along that well, but at the end of the day, we can all forgive and forget (for the most part).

The team leader of PRINCESS is Catherine Fellows, codename: Cinders. No one at MAGIC, aside from General Leah King, knows her back story, and no one is foolish enough to find out. Her main job consists of matching missions with agents and making sure that everyone gets in and out in as safe as a manner as possible. She’s been doing the job for more or less three years, and there hasn’t been a single agent killed to date. In her spare time, Catherine raises and trains rats- she keeps them in an impressive enclosure in her apartment and they have adorable little names- Gustav, Jaquenetta, and Trella being some of her brood. The little fuzzy furballs had helped us out of quite a few sticky situations, to much Catherine’s great joy. The twenty three year old strawberry blonde has abusive scars on her back- I know that she knows that everyone knows about them. She tries to hide them for some unknown reason- maybe because she thinks they make her look weak- they do just the opposite however- they prove that she’s a tough survivor who can handle anything life throws at her.

Catherine’s unofficial second in command is Special Agent Serafina Weiss, codename: Poison. As one might’ve guessed on her last name, she’s German and speaks with the most delightfully badass accent. Sometime when she talks, she honest to God sounds likes she’s threatening someone, and we often use her in interrogation for that sole purpose. Her specialties involves creating and distributing poisons for assassinations, and believe me- she can either make a quick, painless death, or a long lasting, painful death- it depends on what the occasion requires. Despite her German military brat background and love of working in the lab developing deadly poisons, Serafina is the sweetest, kindest soul anyone will ever meet.

Alexandra Trident, codename Mermaid, is a rather well known legend in the world of spies. She was born to a marine biologist by the name of Dr. Allen Trident, who was secretly a CIA operative whose cover was blown while acting as a secret bodyguard to a very important ambassador’s daughter. Instead of being angry that her father had unknowingly to her, hired a bodyguard against her wishes, she fell in love and they got married, having seven daughters over a period of eleven years. From an early age, Alexandra had refused to speak, leaving her family to learn sign in an attempt to communicate with their silent daughter and sister. She had also showed an interest in marine biology, just like her father, and wanted to swim in the ocean with wild dolphins, a wish that was granted to her at the tender age of six. Alexandra is PRINCESS’ expert on the ocean and can hold her breath up to eight minutes, six if she’s moving.

PRINCESS’ physiologist is Dr. Julianna Khan, codename Raja. She was born in what she calls “the slums of India,” to a wealthy and very powerful father and a poorer then dirt mother. She often spent most of her life caring for her sickly mother and when things got so bad, she sought out her father, begging for help. He agreed to help her, if she would marry his business partner to strengthen his empire- she agreed, however, unknowingly to her, he wasn’t helping her mother at all. It wasn’t until her wedding day, nine months later, when she received word of her mother’s death by starvation, did she finally see her father for the money hungry monster he was. She shamed him in front all all the wedding guests before running away with his entire fortune, which she used to get herself out of India and to England, where she enrolled in college and got her degree in criminal psychology.

Fu Mei, codename Ping, is ex Chinese Liberating Army. Born to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother, she grew up celebrating two completely different cultures as one. She rarely shows her emotions, however she is generally really soft spoken and polite, never raising her voice unless she needs to (which has been never). However, don’t be fooled by her appearance- she is an absolute beast when training, especially with knives and guns. According to rumors, one time she accidently sliced off someone’s ear. Accidently. No one will confirm or deny it, but one does have to admit that Fu Mei is extremely badass.

Mary Claire MacWilliams, codename Arrow, sounds like she just stepped off the screen of the Outlander series, Scottish accent and fondness for tartan plaid and all. With her wild red curls and tomboyish attitude, no one would ever suspect that she works with PRINCESS as a government employed assassin. She is a master at dialects, having mastered the languages Gaelic and Doric, and can mimic any sounds she hears. She saved my chops more than once, and I consider her to be one of my closet friends.

Annalisa King, codename Spindle, is a beautiful oddball. If not for her severe insomnia and Kleine- Levin syndrome, she would make the perfect undercover agent. The really funny thing about her sleep schedule is that she’s either impossibly bright eyes and bushy tailed or in such a deep sleep nothing can wake her. She highly prefers to be in the garage, elbow deep in grease, stating something along the area of she likes the smell of motors and that it helps her same sane. Her godmothers are three of MAGIC’s most legendary agents- Agent Flora, Agent Fauna, and Agent Merryweather- they are responsible for stopping the terror attack of 2017 on San Francisco. The mission was kept under such tight wraps that according to what I’ve heard, not even the president knew what was going on. Something about his Twitter feed or the likes.

Alicia Madd, codename Wonderland, is MAGIC’s official youngest agent at twelve. She graduated from high school a year or so ago with ridiculously high marks in everything and was drafted as a junior agent right after graduation. She’s a orphan and a ward of the state of California until she reached legal age at eighteen. MAGIC uses her for undercover work- namely speaking, getting close to subject’s children and using her smooth deduction skills to Sherlock Holmes the living life out of people.

Special Agent Maile Paewai, codename: Maui, is one of PRINCESS’s scouts and navigators. She is a master at armed and unarmed combat, having grown up with five older brothers. In addition to that, she’s also a professional at harpooning and sailing, both which she learned from her home state of Hawaii. She also uses traditional wayfinding tactics, which include the reading the stars and memorizing landmarks. As a result, she’s become extremely observant at noticing the tiniest of details, which can be both amusing and annoying at the same time- it’s almost as though she doesn’t have a filter.

Special Agent Anita Storm, codename: Baby Snowflake, is the younger sister to MAGIC traitor, Elizabeth Storm. As I mentioned before, she was crushed by her big sister turning sides, and now spends most of her time in her office working on breaking and inventing codes. The eighteen year old girl suffers from a weak heart, as how she didn’t get enough oxygen to her body before she was born. According to Anita, when Elizabeth first held her right after she was born, the dark ginger haired baby started to cry. Anita is bilingual, speaking both English and Norwegian, and is always bundled up in blankets to keep away the chill that only she is prisoner to.

Pamuya Smith, codename Compass, was raised alongside her Native American cousin on Hopi land in Michigan, despite having a white mother. Her name means “Water Moon” in Hopi, and she was on track and field when she was in high school. She loves eating healthy, however she won’t turn her nose up at anything with chocolate covered starberries on the side. She is the other member to the tracking and navigation team, having long since perfected the fine art of hunting in woods and other wild places.

Ruth Greene, codename Corona, is a German born and raised orphan had lusciously long hair with different shades of blonde and sparking emerald green eyes. She is also a regular Jack of All Trades- she is a master of disguises, firearms instructor, knows how to poison someone or save them from poison, practices parkour on a regular basis, people are always asking her if there’s anything she can’t do. As of lately, she’s been playing with a bump that’s appeared on her leg, on the inside of her right knee, poking and prodding at it.

Agent Tristessa Brown, Codename: Frog Princess, is MAGIC’s official chef when it comes to not wanting to cook after a long and grueling day of training. She can often times be found in the apartment she shares with her husband, Nathan Navins, trying out a new recipe she found on Pintrest and improving it. She runs her own adorable retro 1950’s diner down in the main lobby of MAGIC’s headquarters, where the customer favorite is a good old fashioned southern jambalaya recipe that she flat out refuses to share with anyone. She has somewhat permanent wrinkles at the corners of her eyes from so many months of never ending stress. All of PRINCESS had teamed up and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we hold a dinner party at someone’s apartment, followed by a pajama movie marathon to keep her from stressing herself up in her restaurant too much. And as an added bonus, whenever she becomes extremely vexed, she starts yelling in French, which can be either comical or terrifying, depending on whether or not she’s upset with you.

And then there’s me- Bellatrix Versailles, codename Beauty. My papa was born and raised in France while mama was Belgium, which explains my dark brown curls and fair skin a great deal. My occupation with MAGIC is PRINCESS team researcher, and on occasion, a field agent. I can read and retain up to a hundred thousand words a minute, can type twenty five thousand words a minutes  and my penmanship is extremely neat, even when I’m in a hurry. I enjoy reading and taking long walks filled with meaningful talk with my boyfriend, Special Agent Gabriel Roux, codename Red Stag.

Ex- special Agent Elizabeth Storm, codename: Snowflake Queen, was one of MAGIC’s top agents, before she turned traitor on everyone. Everyone highly suspects that she is still in contact with Anita, however either the code breaker is too good at her job and hides all traces of evidence really well or everyone is jumpy and very suspicious. Elizabeth had been diagnosed with Axis II Personality Disorder, making it so that it seems she has little concern for PRINCESS and the organization’s other operatives, however, that is not the case. Although she had difficulty in expressing her emotions, Dr. Khan has repeatedly assured everyone that Agent Storm’s methods of showing she cares were genuine. I don’t think I can ever find it in my heart to forgive her, after everything she’s put all of Magic though- even if she did shoot Mary Claire with a blank round.

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An Emperor's Christmas at Eltham in 1400

by Mark Patton The south London suburb of Eltham today seems an improbable location for a Medieval Christmas celebration involving kings and emperors, but the area was, in the Fifteenth Century, in open countryside, just a day's ride from London, but sufficiently distant from the polluted Thames and from the frequently plague-ridden capital, for a King of England to entertain his guests in style and to enjoy, with them, the favoured pastimes of the time and season, notably hunting and jousting.

Eltham Palace: the Medieval great hall is on the right; the buildings on the left were added in the 1930s, as the private home of Stephen and Virginia Courtauld. Photo: Nick Blackburn (licensed under CCA).

Over the Christmas season of 1400-1401, the King in question was Henry IV, and his guests included the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Palaeologus. We refer today to the "Byzantine Empire," but nobody who lived in it ever thought of it as anything other than the "Roman Empire." Although his capital was Constantinople, not Rome, and his people spoke Greek, rather than Latin, Manuel regarded himself as the heir to the empires of Augustus and of Hadrian: and of Constantine, who had made the empire Christian and moved the capital eastward to a new city named after himself.

King Henry IV, UK National Archives DL 42/1 (image is in the Public Domain).

Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, Bibliotheque Nationale de France (image is in the Public Domain).

Roman or Byzantine, however, the Empire, in 1400, was crumbling. The schism that had opened up in 1054, between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic Churches, had never been repaired: and in 1204, the forces of the Fourth Crusade, in open defiance of the Pope, had sacked and pillaged Constantinople, dividing much of Byzantine territory up between Catholic French, German and Italian nobles. Now the Empire faced a new threat from the Muslim Ottoman Empire, which had more or less encircled Constantinople, cutting it off from its agricultural hinterland.

The Hippodrome of Constantinople, here shown on a 17th Century print, was destroyed by the forces of the Fourth Crusade and never restored (image is in the Public Domain). The chariot races held here were among the city's last tangible connections to the Rome of the Caesars.

The Mediterranean World in 1400 (image is in the Public Domain).

Manuel's journey to the west, far from being just a friendly visit, was a life-or-death diplomatic mission to secure the military and financial support that might enable his Empire to survive. One can hardly fail to admire his efforts, but the harsh truth is that it was probably already too late to save the Empire, which would ultimately fall to the Ottomans in 1453. As a young man, Manuel had been a hostage of the Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I at Bursa, and had escaped to Constantinople, where he was proclaimed Emperor. Bayezid besieged Constantinople from 1394 to 1402, and it was during a lull in the fighting that Manuel and his family had slipped away from the city to seek support overseas. Leaving his capital under the regency of a nephew, and his wife and children under the protection of his brother in Greece, Manuel traveled to Venice, and on to Padua, Milan, and Paris, where he met the French King, Charles VI.

The meeting of the magi, from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Musee Conde (image is in the Public Domain). The figure on the white horse is believed by some to be styled on Manuel. Clearly a fine horseman, the fifty year old emperor impressed the Parisian crowd by leaping from one horse to another without touching the ground. 

His Christmas sojourn in England may, in fact, have been an accident, prompted by a recurrence of the mental illness that had dogged Charles throughout much of his reign. Henry IV, however, was a natural ally. He was more widely traveled than many English monarchs, having participated with the Teutonic Knights, in a "Crusade" against the supposedly Pagan Lithuanians, and having made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he had promised to return as a Christian liberator. Henry met the Emperor at Blackheath, and conducted him, with his forty retainers, to Eltham Palace. Manuel spoke no English, which was unsurprising, but he equally spoke no Latin (the universal language of diplomacy and scholarship in the Catholic west). His entourage must have included men who could translate between Latin and Greek, whilst Henry's court would have included many who could translate from Latin to English. Conversation cannot have been easy; already, from Paris, Manuel had complained in a letter to a Greek friend, that "the difference in language ... did not allow us to converse, as we had wished, with really good men who were extremely anxious to show us favour."

Hunting in December, from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Musee Conde (image is in the Public Domain).

The Medieval hall of Eltham Palace (extensively remodeled by Edward IV). Photo: David Hatch (licensed under CCA). 

Manuel had brought with him Christmas gifts of religious relics: fragments of the True Cross and of garments believed to have been worn by Christ and the Virgin Mary. There was much hunting and feasting, and some of the people of London traveled down to Eltham to entertain the royal party with carols and mumming. Ultimately, however, Manuel returned to Constantinople empty-handed. Neither his English nor his French allies were able to offer any meaningful assistance, their own armies and treasuries seriously depleted by decades of war and plague. Mark Patton is a published author of historical fiction and non-fiction, whose books can be purchased from Amazon.

Hat Tip To: English Historical Fiction Authors