#Ive done SO MUCH RESEARCH on lightning

[eat-your-milk]

Me: Trying to find a way to safely protect a Viggo from electrocution while riding a lightning dragon using my basic education, self-taught blacksmithing, fascination with engineering, and costume making knowledge

I feel very qualified for this. Lol seriously tho-

Anyone else have any ideas? Bc while I am going to post my idea on here in a bit (Once I release my next chapter of KTS, so probably sometime tonight or tomorrow) I would LOVE to hear what other people have thought about this problem. I don't want my boy to get fried by his own dragon.

I have done a ton of research, but trying to apply this to the rudimentary knowledge that Vikings had in this period along with their limited resources has been a NIGHTMARE.

[saltynsassy31]

*drags myself through the floor and slams this down*

I present to you

FULLMETAL BARTENDERS AVIAN AU

Divine Nugget Au

(Rant as to why I chose the White-throated Needletail as Blurr's bird and some minor AU lore under the cut)

And that's not all! It comes with a FULL FLEDGED COMIC!!!!!

I spent a whole fucking week on this

I haven't done a comic in 4 years now, I can't believe this is my come-back XD. Though, on that note, know that I probably won't be pumping out any more comics - not any time soon, at least. But I do got more stuff planned for this au! If you ask about it, I'll 100% rant about it LOL

Tw// ⚠️mild gore in the 3rd panel⚠️

While exploring the woods with his team, Swerve had an unfortunate encounter with a crazed hunter. In an attempt to escape, he got injured, but it seems he wasn't the only one caught in the crossfire...

.

.

Okay

So when you look up what the fastest bird in the world is, Google with show the Peregrin Falcom

But there's a catch

The Peregrine is only fast when diving

When it dives to catch its prey, it can go up to 389km/h

Which yeah, pretty fast

But when casually flying, it only goes up to 120 iirc

The Needle Tail?

It can go up to 170km/h

Some have even recorded going over 300! (Close to the Falcon's dive, I believe)

Additionally, these birds only fly. Their habitat is literally listed as "the air," and some even believe they sleep while flying! They only ever land to brood and mate, and then they're off again. Their legs are so short that, if they ground, they can't fly again because it doesn't give enough room to flap their wings.

It fits Blurr perfectly!

It also has a blue-ish colour pattern I can work with lol (it's green, but it looks blue, lol)

Though, also, he isn't 100% like the Needle Tail, just based off of it. I still want avians to be sorta their own species and doesn't have to be exactly like their bird counterparts cuz they aren't them, they're their own thing.

That said, Blurr is one of the shortest from Avians population, still.

They're pretty big.

Another trivial detail of the design!

I was stuck between having his arms be his wings or have them be separate

Until I saw a drawing where they had both, and I realised, "Wait, why isn't that done more often! That's so cool!"

So that's sorta what I did

It's mainly to catch small prey when grounded and to stay better perched up on trees since they're much bigger and having extra fingers helps a lot. Or when they're climbing against a tree to pick up fruits, it gives them an extra boost and can better hang from it

But they're pretty much useless besides that lol

Just neat lil design choice

Other lore stuff. The time in which the au takes place is vaguely modern? But with fantasy aspects? I still haven't decided lol

Technology exists, but not in the way we have it sort of deal, idk, this au is pretty bare bones right now, so go wild with it XD I don't mind it, I love brainstorming it with people. I know this au isn't as big or complex as some others out there, but it's fun, and I hope yall like it too fjsjajaj

[headspace-hotel]

This year has, so far, been for me a series of rapid realizations of what I have been unlearning.

I went to the library. This was a couple weeks ago. I knew I needed to read a book, fiction. I hadn't done so in over a year and it was the longest period of time I had ever gone without doing so. I made a rule: I would only pick books I had never heard of, by authors I had never heard of, and I would not do any preliminary research or even bother to look at what the book was about. I would make my decision on whether to read or not purely on my impression of the title, cover and opening lines.

The book was The Connoisseur by Evan S. Connell. It was kind of a random selection. I sat down with it in a corner of the library and straight up devoured it. I tore through the book within a few hours, without taking a single break. I was captivated. I couldn't put it down.

It is a book about a guy who buys a Mayan figurine in a knickknack shop while he's on a business trip. and becomes obsessed with pre-Columbian sculptural art. There isn't really much of a plot apart from this. He goes to sketchy antique shows, has conversations with museum curators, wealthy art dealers and forgers, and seeks to learn how to distinguish a genuine pre-Columbian piece from a fake one. It was written in the 1970's, so the views on Native Americans are antiquated and sometimes offensive, and there is the troubling thread of the very concept of looting another culture's treasures and treating them as collectibles, though the book is not without commentary on this.

All the same, it was a completely intoxicating read. The vicarious experience of becoming fascinated with a topic and having it unfold a whole world for you was ferociously gripping, and so was the intrigue of the art collecting world itself. The frauds, forgeries, smuggling, museums, academics, aristocrats, auctions and seedy flea markets. Will he ever be able to tell if a piece is "real?" Does it matter if it's "real?" Why does he want to own and possess a piece of art, and how does its "realness" affect that desire? The book leaves you not knowing what to think.

It is a book about curiosity, portrayed in the narrative as a totally unreasonable lightning bolt that strikes a man who has never been fascinated by anything and changes him forever. Why? Why does a Mayan figurine, in particular, speak to him? Why does any piece of art, or any fascinating thing in the world, speak to anyone? It is unknowable.

I went to the library again. I picked a new book using the same rules. This book was Fragile Beasts by Tawni O'Dell. Just like the last time, I was totally captivated. I couldn't put it down.

Did I have a couple major problems with the portrayal of some important aspects of the story? Yes. (It would make the post much longer to discuss.) Was I completely captured by and invested in the story for the time I was reading it? Also yes. The book braids together several very different strands-- the story of a legendary Spanish bullfighter and a wealthy American woman that he loved, two brothers stuck in an ugly family situation after their father's death in a car accident, and a rich old heir to a Pennsylvania coal mining fortune and to the sinister underbelly of her family's business.

There was a lot about baseball, which I know nothing about, and bullfighting, which I know nothing about, and I certainly don't know anything about being a teenaged boy who resents and mistrusts his estranged mother, or an aristocratic old lady who lives in a mansion and eats fancy Spanish food. It was fun to experience so much unfamiliar stuff and to care about things I wouldn't normally care about. Once again I couldn't stop reading until I had finished it.

I don't know that either book was "good," though I thought they were both well written; I just know that reading them was like being hooked up to an IV of something essential and life-giving and feeling it reanimating my body.

It had been a year since I had read any fiction, but it had been much, much longer since I had loved to read. As I became an adult I had become picky and critical about books, and developed a highly sophisticated sense of my taste and the books I considered good- which were very rare. My taste in books became so sophisticated, eventually, that I didn't like books at all anymore.

I had almost withered away from deficiency of that essential nutrient known as STORY. I'd almost crumbled myself into dust from pretentiousness! I may have been terribly wrong about the kinds of things I liked to read, on top of it. And I certainly hadn't realized that story was such an essential nutrient.

"Just entertainment" the pretentious sorts of people might say of a book they think is useless-- but what is entertainment but to absorb your mind in something, and what is absorbing your mind in a book but to experience things you would never have experienced? It expands you and makes you more complicated. It is the study of human existence itself.

Now all I have been able to think about today is finishing my work and going to the library again...

[bisexualmcqueen]

I'm sorry if you already posted this, but this is about the details of the first cars movie, what was the car Pixar used for Lightning McQueen's sounds, bc I cannot for the life of me remember

ONE OF MY FAVORITEST TOPICS!!!!!!!!!!

so lightning, being a 2006 model/cars being in production in the early aughts, is based off of a gen4 NASCAR build. specifically a chevy monte-carlo of the early aughts, as seen in some of his early designwork:

[jogen klubein, 2000]

[bob pauley, 2002] [the art of cars]

some stats:

(from some sketchy assed 2000 website i wont link it but i do have it written down)

i used to swear up and down that there was a special feature that showed a few of the guys from skywalker sound recording one of the g4s (maybe a blue and white dodge??) at skywalker ranch in california (or at the airstrip with the other cars). it may have been an old interview or its on a blu-ray special feature somewhere, but i havent been able to find it. i either dreamt it up or its been lost?? no idea.

but what i have been able to find is some of the stock audio used in Cars. Supposedly this is work done by Ben Burtt at skywalker sound [lucasfilm] in the late 70's??: [link]

For NASCAR purposes, as far as i could tell their engines didnt change drastically from the 70s-2000's, so its not wholly inaccurate to use older clips.

a thing in my notes:

[mixonline. photo dead from link rot]

and now some examples of real-life mcqueens (an excuse to show you cool old stock cars) :

and a few various other references:

(note the flywheel sound we also hear in Cars!)

^video ive only skimmed so far but seems very informative.

and a few canon refs while im here:

[image mine, circa 2020. official 1:18 scale BANDAI replica with certificate of authenticity, approved by jay ward]

[time travel mater] (his carbon fiber cowl induction cover is very funny to me)

SO. to answer the question: its a mix of custom sound design and stock audio. its based in reality heavily, but i believe its also tuned for fiction/per character personality. i forget which interview said that it might be the mixonline one mentioned above or this old autoweek one. he's got something along the lines of partly SB2.2 and an R07. this does not mean pixar recorded specifically these motors, but prooobably something close.

and cars 3 pisses me off because they very clearly did not use any audio off of the g4s, which had a more specific screaming sound to them at high RPMs. COTR actually portrays his exhaust note more accurately than cars 3. Cars 2 is decent also, but the first film is chefs kiss.

i have more various unorganized lmq references but this ask is long enough now and probably doesnt make much sense because i am literally so amped about this topic. please note that this research is partly accurate and partly speculative/opinion. rejoice, mcqueens be upon ye.

[icemankazansky]

Hi! So I have been stalking your blog lately (sorry for spamming of likes 🫣) because I have once again fallen into this rabbit hole that is Icemav and I'm loving your posts on them and the gifset you made for Iceman.

My question is, and I'm sorry if you have already answered something like this before: what are your fav Iceman HCs?

Hello! First of all, never apology for spamming me with likes and reblogs, because I love that shit. That is why the content is here.

I love this question! Let's see.

Ice is Russian and Jewish

This one came to me* pretty simply, because I got there by looking up the roots of Kazansky as a surname, mostly for a throwaway line in Lightning Strikes Twice. (If you're wondering why it takes me so long to finish a story, that is the reason. I spent two and a half hours writing yesterday, and a solid hour of it was research.) I've done a little bit with it, but @boasamishipper has really been the champion of this headcanon, and she's done a lot of work developing it.

It's difficult for me to believe that, given the political landscape when Top Gun OG was made and the way we're meant to see Ice initially, that giving him a Russian last name was not a purposeful decision. The year before, Rocky IV was a major success, breaking box office records worldwide. Rocky's opponent in the film is Russian Ivan Drago:

Does this look familiar to anybody?

Russia and Russians were bad guys a lot during this time period. The Cold War, which had started after World War II, was still going on. Maverick is our protagonist, and he embodies traits that have been considered uniquely American since the 18th century: Being the best, being a rebel who does things his own way no matter what The Establishment says, pulling one's self up by the bootstraps to become extraordinary, etc. And initially, Ice is positioned as Maverick's foil. He is self-disciplined, self-contained, and believes in collectivism and responsibility to the group over everything. To anyone bothered by the Red Scare, that could definitely be read as communist. I think that giving Ice a Russian last name and these qualities isn't to paint him as the bad guy, but rather to get the audience to feel unsure about him. Maverick asks, "What's your problem, Kazansky?" and the audience is meant to think, "Yeah, what is his problem?"

(I've gone a little off track, but I don't expect everyone who follows this blog to have a critical understanding of the political climate in America in the 1980s.) But what does this mean for Ice as a person? It means that he grew up in America during the Cold War as someone with a Russian last name, at the very least. It's conspicuous. He definitely got called a Commie at school. And if (as I like to believe) he is close to his heritage, especially if it's recent (like he's a third generation American rather than a twelfth), it creates an interesting ambivalence. Like, my last name is German, but it's so far removed from me that it doesn't mean anything to me as a person. It's not part of my culture or identity. I don't consider myself German. I don't have that ambivalence. If Ice considers himself Russian, if that's part of his life and identity, that is difficult during the time period in which he grew up, and it's going to change things about his character. People are going to talk shit about Russians, and there are people who are going to question his allegiances, and he's going to have to balance that while being proud of his identity and his culture. I like the world it creates for him. I like him mentally cursing in Russian whenever Maverick is especially Maverick-y. I like him being offered a beer and wrinkling his nose at that American piss water (@victimofthemusic I love you forever for writing that).

Okay, I've talked way too much about Russian Iceman without getting into Jewish Iceman, so I'm just going to say: Yes. Also. It just makes sense to me, and I love all the headcanons and work @boasamishipper especially has created (I would protect Rachel Kazansky with my life), and I want more of it. All of it. Gimme.

*I don't mean to imply that I originated the headcanon; I'm just saying that is how I, personally, first started thinking about it.

Ice Has (a) Sister(s)

I've seen only children ask questions about this, but yes, there are totally vibes that speak to whether you have siblings, what genders they are, what the birth order is, etc. Ice is way too patient, good at sharing, and willing to play a supporting role to be an only child. He also screams sisters to me because he is capable of emotional regulation, sensitive to other people's emotions (I want you to think of him watching Maverick storm off the tarmac after the hop with Sundown), and values the collective over the individual. In general, when boys have brothers, they spend at least the first 20 years of their lives in constant competition. Everything is a challenge. Everything is a target. Ice is certainly driven, and he likes to win, but the amount of emphasis he puts on working as a team and helping each other suggests that his own desire to succeed is not the most important thing to him. Brothers also do not talk to each other. Sisters value open communication and group cohesion. (They've done studies on this. I'm not just making this up.)

And I like the thought that he has support. Ice has kind of a hard road to walk, and the thought that he has (a) supportive sister(s) there to talk to and to help him and to make sure he doesn't get away with any shit is lovely.

Ice is Smart AF

This is not a huge leap from canon, because we already know he's the best of the best and that he got into a competitive university, and that you have to be able to understand a lot of math and science and do it in your head at Mach 2 to be a fighter pilot. But Ice strikes me as the smartest guy in the room. The scene I keep coming back to is the one in the TAC trailer. Here's Ice:

He's not really paying attention. And I don't think it's because he's apathetic. It looks to me (because this was me) that he's bored because he's already figured out the problem, he already understands what's being taught, and he just has to sit there until everyone else catches up. And he's relaxed about it; he's used to it. He's probably been in this situation hundreds of times before. I talk about this more in this post, but that's the gist.

Ice is an August Leo with Capricorn Rising

I know a lot of people use Val Kilmer's birthday for Ice, and that is fine. You're totally valid. I just cannot. He's too fiery and bold, too sunny and fiercely loyal (that lion has teeth, and they use them to protect the people they love the most) once that Iceman mask slips down. I can have my little zodiac headcanons, as a treat.

I think I've gone on long enough. Thank you for the question! I'm sorry it took me so long to answer it. I'm trying, ragazzi.

[writer1]

Wrapped in comfort

The request: Maybe some Rex for the Wing au? I just love your writing so much I’m excited for whatever you put out

A/N: This was requested by @shauna-delacroix, and I’m so sorry this took so long, but I hope you like it.

Rex curls up to you, his beautiful gold wings wrapped around you like a blanket as he sleeps peacefully, a soft snore echoing around the room. You smile softly, gently pressing a soft kiss to his bare chest.

Rex just got home from a tough campaign, his poor wings caked in a weeks worth of mud, dried and feathers damaged. It had broken your heart. His excuse was that he had rushed home to see you, which had made you sigh and immediately push him into the shower.

Now he’s all clean, feathers fluffy and he passed out as soon as he was in bed, though you can’t blame him. Your poor Captain works himself to the bone to keep his brothers safe and alive.

“Credit for your thought’s?”

You startle at Rex’s voice, seeing your husband looking tiredly at you with a groggy, yet soft and happy smile. You smile back. “Just thinking about you, handsome.” You gently pet his wing, before giving hi, a sweet kiss.

Rex hums softly, kissing you back as he sighs happily and closes his eyes, letting out a small chirp when you rub his wing more. “I love you so much baby. So so much.” He whispers, wrapping his arms around you and tucking you closer to his chest, making you chuckle.

You sigh softly, curling up closer and smiling. “Love it when you hold me.” You whisper softly.

“Well, I love holding you.” Rex chuckles. “And thank you for having me wash, and for preening my wings. I do feel 100 times better.”

“You were filthy.” You wrinkle your nose. “And your poor wings. Rex, ive done research on your species. Not taking care of your wings can end badly. I can’t have you unable to reach the sky’s or worse.”

Rex tears up, his heart warming at such a gesture of love and devotion. “You… You researched my species? Y/N, You did not have to do that, my love. I’m not… I’m not worth that much.” His tears fall, his emotions are always open to you.

“Oh, Rex. My sweet Rex. You’re worth so much more than you could ever realize.” You coo softly to him, gently cupping his face between your hands and kissing his lips, before moving and gently kissing his tears away, even though more fall in their place.

Rex is overcome with emotion, a mix of his love for you, his exhaustion, and especially how hard his mission just was… he just can’t stop crying. He buries his face into your neck.

You shush him gently, running soft fingers through his short hair, grown slightly longer since he didn't have time to cut it during the mission, same with the stubble scratching at your shoulder, but you don’t mind at all. “Oh, my love.” You whisper. “Shhh, let it all out.”

Rex cries for what feels like hours, before his small sobs finally turn to sniffles and hiccups. “I’m sorry.” He whispers.

“Don’t be, sometimes we have to let our emotions out, there is nothing wrong with it. I promise.” You hush him, gently kissing his temple.

Rex pulls away, looking down at you with so much love in his eyes. “I love you so much, Thank you.” He whispers, gently leaning down and kissing you. His eyes flutter closed as he completely relaxes again, only pulling away for air.

You sigh, smiling softly. “I love you too, so much. Now get some sleep, and tomorrow I’m cooking you breakfast.” You tell him, pulling the blanket up and tucking Rex and you in.

“Cyare, you don’t–”

“Hush, I am.” You huff, pecking his nose. “Now sleep, my love.” 

Rex sighs, but smiles fondly. “Okay, Okay. You can cook me breakfast and ill sleep, but you have to sleep too.” He scolds, and you chuckle and nod, cuddling in closer and letting yourself relax.

Rex sighs then as well, relaxing and letting his eyes drift closed, he falls asleep shortly after, content and happy, even after crying earlier. You drift off too, Rex safe in your arms.

Taglist:  @ahsokatano-thetogruta @lightning-wolffe

[mirclealignr]

Hi! Can i request a remus x reader soulmate au where you can telepathically talk to your soulmate? The reader and remus have chill conversations here and there but neither of them mention that they’re wizards incase the other person is a muggle and would rather reveal it in person. They like each other in real life but neither of them realise it’s them until the reader starts ranting about her potions assignment. Thank you :))

omgg, this was really fun to write!! sorry if it’s bad, ive never done a soulmate au before, but here it is!!❤️ I hope you enjoy <3

The Distraction | r.l

remus x reader - soulmate au

requested by: anon

word count: 1100+

*not my gif*

You were down by the black lake, trying to start your Potions assignment.

It was impossible. You only had three days to finish it and it was easily a week’s task. You needed to research and spend time analysing. But here you were at the lake, trying to remember as much as you could so that your time was saved for writing, not reading. But it was no use. You weren’t in that zone, you couldn’t concentrate. You leaned back into the grass and stared up at the clouds. They were darkening which meant it was surely going to rain. But that didn’t compel you to pack up your things and head back to the school, it compelled you to stay put and welcome it.

“Are you there?” You ask quietly, entering your mind. The part where he was.

“Yes,” he replies immediately.

“Good, distract me,”

“From what?”

“I have an assignment, it’s impossible. I’ve been given a mere three days to complete it and let’s just say I’d need at least double that,” you complain.

“I can’t imagine the sheer audacity,” he jokes.

“I know, at least you understand, it’s due in on Friday,”

“Well maybe I shouldn’t be distracting you,”

“I think you should be,” you counter.

“Well, in that case, do you like the rain?”

“Yes,”

“Well I think it’s going to rain where I am and-“

“Here too,” you interrupt.

“Good, then this will be easier. Imagine the thunder clouds rolling in, the rain starting out light and gradually getting heavier, soaking your clothes and skin. Then the thunder starts, rumbling and echoing. Then you’re running, out from under the tree when you see lightning, and you just watch it all unfold. Peacefully, thinking about nothing else,”

Your eyes are closed, imagining it. It’s wonderful.

“That was a good distraction,” you breathe out.

“Anytime,”

You feel light rain gently tap your skin and laugh at the thought of what he said unfolding into reality.

“It’s raining,”

“Better get out from under that tree,”

You both laugh.

“Remus mate, what are you doing?” James barges into the dorm room, snapping Remus back to his reality.

“Nothing, just thinking out loud,” he lies.

He wasn’t of course, he was talking to his faceless, nameless soulmate. He wished he knew who it was but at the same time, he was scared it wasn’t who he wanted it to be. Would that be a good or bad thing? Would it break his heart further or mend it? He had feelings for someone but he never let it go too far because of his soulmate. His soulmate, the one he was destined to be with. And he didn’t know if liking her scared him more than not liking her. When he talked to her, they seemed to be in sync but- but what?

Your soulmate didn’t say anything after that, you assumed he was engaged somewhere else. You talked to him fairly often but you were afraid. What if it wasn’t who you wanted, what if it was? You liked him, Remus. But you liked your soulmate too, someone you’d never even met, never even properly talked to. You didn’t even know if they were a muggle or a wizard.

Neither of you had disclosed that information in fear of frightening the other. Neither of you knew each other’s name, you’d never asked. You both agreed that when it happens, it happens. You didn’t want to go looking or be impatient. When it happens, it happens.

The next day, you were in Charms, sitting with your friends when you looked over to Remus. He was already looking at you. You both blushed and looked away, smiling.

“You both like each other, why don’t you do anything?” your friend says.

“Because what if he isn’t my soulmate?” You say, almost defeated.

“But what if he is? And even if he’s not, there’s no point in fighting feelings. Live out what you have,”

“No, I won’t put myself through that when I know it won’t last,”

“Okay, I won’t tell you what to do,” they say, as they turn back to their work. You look over to him again, he’s looking at you. This time, you don’t look away.

You enter the common room, rush up to your dorm and take out your Potions assignment. You walk back down the stairs, mentally preparing yourself for the trauma. As you sit down, Remus enters with his friends, James and Sirius.

“Y/n, doing that assignment still I see,” Sirius smirks.

“Yes, only because I don’t sell myself so others will do it for me,” you fire back.

“Feisty, but not wrong,” he laughs, sitting on the chair beside the sofa you were sat on.

“It’s ridiculous anyway, who gives out an assignment like this with only three days to complete when I’d at least need double that!” You whine.

Remus’ eyes widen, his heart stops. They were the exact same words, about the exact same thing. Could it really be you, the person he so desperately wanted it to be? Would fate really be so kind as to grant him this one thing, his one desire? He didn’t know what to do. Wait-

“I can’t imagine the sheer audacity,” he says, eyes looking directly forward, focussing on remembering what he had said the previous day.

You immediately stop and turn your head to Remus. Your heart quickens and your palms become sweaty. Could it really be him? Remus.

“You?” You ask in disbelief

“Me,” his whispers.

“We’ll be going I think James,” Sirius awkwardly stands up, realising his presence is no longer wanted. At all. He grabs James’ shoulder.

“Why?” James asks, completely oblivious.

“Just get up,” he warns.

You and Remus hardly paid attention to them. You were both in shock. In shock that you’d found your soulmates, in shock that they were each other. The one person each of you wanted.

“I can’t believe it,” you whisper, tears welling in your eyes. Remus jumps up from where he was sitting and sits beside you instead. He takes your hand in his.

“Neither can I,” he mumbles.

“I wanted it to be you,” you say, looking at him.

“I wanted it to be you too, so badly,” he laughs, shakily.

You crash your lips against his, like you’ve wanted to do for so long now. The feeling was worth the wait. His lips were fire against yours, soothed with his tongue. His touch set your skin ablaze. Winding your fingers in his hair, you smile against his lips, unable to contain your happiness. His hands leave your waist and cup your face as he pulls away.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” he smiles.

“Are you happy?”

“Beyond,” He says, resting his forehead against yours.

“You’ve distracted me again,” you tease.

He laughs, breathlessly “I do apologise, do you need some help?”

“Please. But, in a minute,” you say as you press your lips to his again, soaking up the pleasure of the moment, breathing him in, tasting him. Tasting Heaven.

[macgyvermedical]

So the hero in my fanfic just stuck a metal objec in a power socket in a hospital, but was immediately found unconscious by a doctor. Doctor starts CPR, and to spruce up the whump I want to add a shot of adrenaline in the thigh to help start his heart. But when I'm researching if this is an accurate way to resuscitate someone, I see a lot of "Yes, BUT..." and now I'm uncertain if this is big no-no... Is it okay to use adrenaline in order to get an unconscious person's heart to start up again?

The short answer is yes, but it’s definitely more complicated than that.

Let’s start with those electrical injuries. Electricity can harm a human in three main ways. The first is that electrical energy becomes thermal energy in the person’s tissues, causing burns. The second is that muscles rely on very measured electrical impulses to function and if these impulses are overwhelmed by a lot of electricity all at once, they can contract so strongly they break bones or prevent someone from letting go of what is electrocuting them. The third is that the heart’s rhythm is also controlled via small electrical impulses. If a lot of electricity goes through the heart at the wrong part of one of those impulses, it can throw the person into an ineffective heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation does not effectively push blood through the blood vessels (a condition called cardiac arrest), which can quickly cause death.

The kind of electricity your character would have encountered is called Alternating Current (AC). AC is generated by moving electrons back and forth through a circuit quickly- about 60 back-forth cycles per second in the US. This is the kind of current that exists in power outlets (vs Direct Current (DC) which exists in batteries and lightning and moves only in one direction through a circuit).

Alternating current is particularly dangerous for a few reasons:

The first is that it is more likely to cause that strong contraction of muscle (vs DC which is more likely to throw people away from its source). While the voltage coming out of a standard outlet will not often be enough to break bones due to strong muscle contractions, it will make it impossible to let go if a person accidentally grabs hold of an object with AC running through it. It also means the person will be stuck there with electricity pumping through them until the breaker or fuse trips, whether they pass out or not.

The second is that, since AC cycles 60 times per second, it is pretty likely that one of those cycles will fall at a bad time during a heartbeat, causing that ventricular fibrillation/cardiac arrest I talked about earlier. Unfortunately (or fortunately for your story), it often takes longer to trip a breaker than it does to cause cardiac arrest (though if the breaker trips, the person coming to rescue your character will be safe from getting electrocuted themselves).

So, essentially, it is perfectly reasonable that your character would suffer burns to their hands, maybe some minor musculoskeletal injuries from the muscle contractions, and be unconscious and in cardiac arrest when found by the doc.

Now let’s talk about how medical professionals would approach this situation in a hospital.

Not all people who are unconscious are in cardiac arrest. A doctor (or really anyone who works in a hospital from a nursing assistant or dietary aide to a nurse or doc) who walks into a hospital room and sees a patient on the floor will first do a really quick assessment to determine if the person needs CPR- they’ll first try to wake the patient up by shouting at them and, if that doesn’t work, by pushing their knuckles into the person’s chest (called a sternal rub). If this doesn’t work, they’ll tip the patient’s head back and check for a patent airway (can air move in and out of the person’s nose/mouth?), check if the person is breathing (are they actually moving air into and out of their lungs?), and check for circulation (does the patient have a pulse in their neck?). If no breathing or pulse, the doc would call a Code Blue (by either pressing a button on the wall or yelling out the door) and start CPR.

Almost everyone in a hospital has taken a class called BLS, or Basic Life Support. This is essentially CPR designed for a hospital environment. It’s 30 compressions to 2 breaths just like it is everywhere else, but the breaths are usually given with a bag-valve-mask device (BVM) and BLS assumes there are more trained people in the room than your typical CPR-in-the-community scenario. BLS also allows anyone with training to operate a defibrillator on automatic (AED) mode. 

Often, as soon as another person enters the room (usually a nurse or nursing assistant- though a lot of people will come running when a code blue is called), that person will take over compressions and another will sit at the patient’s head and give them breaths with a bag-valve-mask device. This frees the doc, as the highest-ranking medical professional in the room, to run the “code”.

Doctors, paramedics, respiratory therapists, and many nurses have a higher level of training for cardiac arrests called ACLS, or Advanced Cardiac Life Support. In ACLS, it is assumed that the equipment is available to intubate a person (put a tube down their throat to deliver breaths more effectively), give drugs and fluids through an IV, and manually set a defibrillator to the best needs of the patient.

We use the term “cardiac arrest” to describe any time the heart is not beating in a way that can support life. This can either be that it is not beating at all and has no measurable electrical activity (asystole), beating too fast to fill with blood between beats (ventricular tachycardia), quivering and not moving blood (ventricular fibrillation), or the electrical activity is normal but the heart itself is under too much pressure to pump blood (pulseless electrical activity).

[Ventricular Fibrillation (top) vs normal sinus rhythm (bottom) on an EKG strip]

Your doc isn’t necessarily going to be able to tell which one of these is going on from feeling for a pulse. Fortunately, the first thing to do for any of these is to start CPR. While CPR is happening, someone (often a nurse, nursing assistant, or EKG tech) will get an EKG on the patient, someone (often a respiratory therapist) will be intubating them, someone (often a nurse) will be prepping medications and starting IVs if necessary, someone (often a nurse) will be setting up the defibrillator and putting pads on the patient’s chest, someone (often the patient’s  nurse) will be giving report on the patient to the person running the code, and someone else will be writing down everything that’s going on including when each thing was ordered and done.

When the EKG is done, the doc would be able to identify that the cause of the cardiac arrest is the ventricular fibrillation. The ACLS-level treatment for ventricular fibrillation (as of 2016) is to do CPR, intubate, and provide oxygen and breaths through the ET tube, shock with the defibrillator as soon as possible (and if the first one doesn’t work, every 2 minutes thereafter), give 1mg of epinephrine (adrenaline) through the IV or 2mg through the ET tube every 3-5 minutes, and give another drug called amiodarone (or lidocaine based on the doc’s clinical judgement) after 2 shock cycles.

During this, the doc is trying to figure out what caused the rhythm and reverse it, though with electrical injury like this, there’s not a whole lot more they could do besides keep doing this until either the person’s heart goes back into a working rhythm, the heart goes into another rhythm warranting different treatment, or the doc decides it has been too long and there is little chance of the person surviving and calls time of death.

So it’s reasonable to give your character CPR and epinephrine, but the epi would be given through an IV during a fairly extensive and deliberate series of events. The good news is that since someone found them immediately and ventricular fibrillation is a shockable rhythm, they have a relatively very good chance of surviving this cardiac arrest.  

[jbuckyb-wintersoldier]

Untitled

Pairings: Bucky x fem reader, Steve x fem reader (unrequited)

Age of Ultron era

Summary: You’re a researcher working for Tony Stark who doubles as a medic for The Avengers. You could often easily detach yourself from your work, however, after meeting one Avenger in particular, you developed a soft spot for the old man.

Warnings: eventual smut (+18 plz), swearing, mentions of violence, mentions of blood.

Word Count: ~3,200

Part One

You are sitting at your desk focused intensely on your most recent project. It was long past the end of your workday, the lights of your lab having dimmed long ago. Damn Tony and his self-efficient light systems. However, this didn’t deter you from relaxing into the darkness with your eyes squinting into the bright light of your desktop screen. Your fingers danced over the keyboard with lightning speed. It seemed that nothing could distract you from your work and you could feel how close you were to finally figuring this out.

Two months ago, you found Tony leaning against the entrance of your lab with that look on his face that told you he wanted your help with something that was far out of your scope of practice. You remember rolling your eyes when he begged for your help on decoding an encrypted file found during one of his missions.

You feel your eyelids starting to become heavy as you reach a shaky hand towards your cup of coffee that had cooled hours ago.

A loud crash can be heard from the hall, followed by indistinct yelling. This causes the cold cup of coffee in your hand to fall to the floor, shattering, as its contents splash onto your heels and pants.

“Fuck,” you hissed, jumping up from your chair. “My shoes.” You say with a whine which is quickly replaced with anger. Those damn boys always fucking up your night with their antics. It was a Saturday night thus you assumed that one of the boys had gotten too drunk again.

“Lights on, Jarvis.” Your lab floods with light that blinds you for a moment. As you inspect the damage, you hear a ragged voice call your name. Pain and fear are the only words that come to mind when you try to identify the source of the voice. Your previous feelings of anger quickly turn into concern as you rush into the hallway to see what happened.

Once into the hallway your gaze meets Steve’s. He’s struggling to hold someone up. Both of them covered in cuts, bruises, and blood.

“Thank god, you’re up.” Steve’s voice sounds strained as his face contorts into what you can only describe as anguish. You rush to him and the unknown man he’s holding and help them into the medical room. Steve sets the unconscious man down on the examination table and sinks to the floor. You drop to your knees next to him.

“Steve, what the hell happened?” You question as your hands come up to cup his bloodied face. Steve had been a dear friend of yours since the Avengers came together. He’s breathing heavy, exhaustion clearly taking over him.

“Y/n, don’t worry about me. Please, help Bucky.” He looks into your eyes, his pleading voice sending a request to help the man lying on the examination table above you.

“Bucky? You finally found him?” Your voice shakes slightly, knowing Steve has been trying to locate his oldest friend for the last year. A pained smile comes across Steve’s lips.

Mission accomplished.

You jump up then, beginning to tend to Bucky’s wounds. You quickly hook him up to an IV and begin to carefully clean the rather large gash above his left temple.

“What happened?” Your gaze follows Steve as he slowly begins to get himself up from the floor.

“He didn’t recognize me, y/n. He didn’t even know who I was.” Steve’s voice trembles and you feel tears of empathy pricking the corners of your eyes for your friend.

You blink them away and quickly turn back to Bucky’s form. His long brown locks stuck to his forehead in a mixture of blood and sweat. You reach a hand towards them, tucking the sticky strands behind his ear as your fingertips slowly ghost over his bruised cheekbone. You felt hypnotized by him, something refusing to stop your hand from caressing his chiseled jaw.

What pulls you out of your stupor is the sound of Steve’s voice after returning from having cleaned himself up. You jump back, nearly dropping the washcloth in your hand. Quickly attempting to compose yourself.

“How’s he doing?” You blink rapidly at Steve’s question trying to collect your thoughts. “Uh, he’s doing better.” You quip.

“It’s getting late, I can take it from here. You seem exhausted.” Steve grasps the cloth you’re still clutching in your hand. You chuckle, “I could say the same about you.”

“Seriously y/n, I’ve got this.” Steve’s head rises to meet your eyes. A stern look taking over his handsome features. “Steve,” Your voice trembles slightly and you’re unsure if it was caused by the intense look he’s giving you or the multiple cups of coffee you’ve consumed in the last two hours. “I haven’t been able to sleep properly since Tony gave me that file. So, it’s not like I’d be sleeping otherwise.” You pick up your discarded washcloth again and go back to cleaning Bucky’s wounds.

“Y/n.” Steve’s warm palm closes over your hand that holds the bloodied washcloth. “He’s dangerous and I don’t want you around when he eventually wakes up.” Your eyes meet his pale ones again. Something about them is begging you to leave.

“Okay. Okay, fine.” The grip you held on the washcloth finally loosening. “But just so you know, I won’t be sleeping.” Steve chuckles at this, shaking his head as he looks towards the ground. His eyes meet yours again. “Sure, y/n. I’ll know where to find you if I need you.”

This time it’s your turn to chuckle, knowing that Steve is more than capable of handling himself if needed. You give him a soft smile before turning on your heel and heading back to your lab.

-

The next morning you wake with an awful ache in your neck. You slowly begin to sit up and take in your surroundings. As your eyes focus, you realize that the strain in your neck was a result of you falling asleep bent over your desk.

“Ah, finally. You’re awake.” A voice pulls you from your confused state. “Banner, what are you doing in my lab?” You ask, watching Bruce toy with the random mechanics on the desk sitting parallel to yours. “Come on, y/n. How many times do I have to tell you? This is OUR lab. As in, we share it.” He lays the object in his hands back on his desk and makes his way over to you. “You know, I was really beginning to think you were dead over here.”

Ignoring his last statement, you speak. “I’m honestly surprised you remembered where the lab is even located. Seeing how you spend most of you time in Tony’s.” You lean back in your chair and stretch out your cramping legs. “What time is it anyways?”

“Five thirty-eight. In the morning, you know, when normal people start their days.” Bruce laughs at his own joke. “Waking up that early is hardly normal, Banner. What are you doing here?”

“I told you, this is my lab too.” You raise your eyebrows at him in question. “Okay, fine. I wanted to see how close you are to figuring out that encryption. Tony’s addiment on thinking that it could help figure out our Ultron problem.”

“I’m almost there. There are a few more firewalls to get through but I think the rest will be pretty easy after that.” You sign, standing up and flattening out your wrinkled clothing. “Well, that’s good to hear. Tony has been driving me insane about it.”

“Anyways, I guess I should actually go to bed.” Bruce gives you a soft smile. “I know how you get with your work. Just because Tony is going mad attempting to figure everything out, doesn’t mean you should. Don’t work yourself too hard, y/n.”

You make your way over to Bruce and place a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks Banner, but the faster I get this done, the better chances we have at stopping Ultron before something horrible happens.” Bruce smiles again, this time though, it doesn’t extend to his eyes. “Oh come on, Bruce, I’m fine. See?” You open your arms wide in a failed attempt to show that you weren’t completely exhausted. However, the bags under your eyes tell another story.

“Okay, how about this?” Bruce strides towards your desk. “You take today off and get some form of actual sleep and I’ll work on the encryption today.” You sign and a grin takes over your features. “Oh, Banner that would be amazing. Honestly, thank you.”

“No problem. Now go get a shower or something. You reek of sour milk.” You frown and look down at yourself, realizing that the pants you were wearing are still stained with the coffee you spilt just hours before.

Once in your room, you toss your bag on the bed and make you way to your en suite bathroom. You slowly peel your shirt and pants off as the exhaustion begins to take its toll on you again. With your eyes falling closed you climb into the shower and turn on the water. The initial coldness jolts you awake but soon after, the hot streams of water cascade down your naked form. You close your eyes in bliss as the water heals your aching limbs. Your mind drifts to the events of last night. Images of Steve’s panicked face fill your mind and how he could barely drag his unconscious friend into the medic chambers.

Bucky.

Images of his strong features fill your tired mind. Even while covered in blood and bruises, you couldn’t ignore how attractive he was. God, you think to yourself, what is wrong with me? The man was nearly dead and all you could think about was his handsome appearance. Chalking it up to your lack of sleep, you finish washing yourself, get out of the shower, and crawl into bed.

-

When you wake, it's dark outside. Jolting up quickly, you look at the clock sitting on your side table. The arms read seven thirty. You decide that there isn’t much point trying to do anything else today, so you pull on some sweats and head towards the kitchen.

While trying to figure out what to eat, you hear someone enter the kitchen behind you.

“Hey y/n.” Whirling around, you meet Steve who is leaning against the doorframe. “Hey, how’s Bucky doing? Has he woken up yet?”

Pushing himself from the kitchen entrance, Steve makes his way over to you. “Yeah, he’s awake. Hasn’t said a word yet but awake.” He signs. “Do you think he remembers?”

“I’m honestly not sure, y/n. The glare he’s been giving me tells me no.” Steve scoffs. He reaches above your head to grab a box of cereal from the top shelf and pours himself a bowl. “Don’t you think it’s a little late in the day to be eating cereal, Steve?”

“What do you mean? Is cereal only a breakfast food?”

“Usually, I guess.” Is all you say as you pour a bowl for yourself and sit next to him. “Say, what is in this stuff? It tastes like pure sugar.” Steve asked as he lifts another spoonful to his mouth.

“Come on, Steve. You really can’t be complaining about the modern world’s creations while you’re simultaneously enjoying them. Cereal is meant to be sugary.” You laugh as you also taste the excessively candied chunks.

“I want to see him.” You blurt out before you can even think about it. Steve lowers his spoon and turns towards you. “I don’t know y/n. I told you, he’s dangerous. I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”

“You don’t think I can handle myself? I’ve had my fair share of missions. Ones that even you needed my help for. I –“ You begin to state all the reasons why you know you can take care of yourself but Steve cuts you off. “I’ll let you see him,” you silently cheer in triumph. “but not yet. All of this is going to be a lot for him to understand and I don’t want to overwhelm him.” There’s a moment of silence before Steve starts to speak again. “Plus, he’s currently in solitary. I have no idea if he remembers who he is and I can’t take the chance on him getting out and hurting more people.”

“Hurting more people?” You question. Despite Steve being one of your closest friends, he had been pretty quiet when it came to his efforts in finding Bucky.

“Look, y/n, Bucky’s not himself right now.” Steve speaks slowly. “And what does that mean?” You’re starting to get irritated with Steve’s vague responses. Steve has a habit of treating you like a child, always claiming that it’s for your own protection. However, you get tired of his antics pretty quickly. Steve sighs, sensing your dismay. “Remember a while back when the Winter Soldier helped infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D?” You nod your head in understanding. “Yeah, some ex-military sergeant was brainwashed into becoming this super soldier assassin. I was with you on most of those missions.”

“Yeah, but not all of them. Bucky is the Winter Soldier. I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure how you’d react.” You furrow your brows. “Why would I react poorly? Steve, how many times do I have to prove to you that you can trust me?” Steve sighs realizing he’s made you upset. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I hid it from you, honestly.” Your frustration gets the best of you, and you lash out at Steve.

“It’s fine. Your best friend killed thousands of people, if not more. I wouldn’t want to plaster that around either.” You pick up your forgotten bowl of cereal, dumping its contents into the trash. “Oh, come on, y/n. That’s not fair! He didn’t have a choice.” Steve’s voice raises slightly. His own frustration beginning to peek.

“Like you didn’t have the choice to just tell me what was really happening all this time!? This isn’t about Bucky. Seriously, I’m so tired of you keeping things from me! I’m not a child that needs protecting. God! Haven’t I proved that after all these years?” You drop the empty bowl into the sink with a clang and whirl around to face Steve again. “Y/n, it’s not like that.”

You shake your head and laugh. “Of course not.” You turn to leave but Steve tries to stop you. “No, Steve. When you want to start telling me the truth, then come find me. Until then, I’m done talking.” You leave the kitchen and decide to make a stop at your lab.

-

As you walk the halls of the tower you admire the intricate designs covering the steel walls. You hear a ragged sob from one of the rooms you pass by. You stop dead in you tracks. For a moment, all you can hear is the quiet buzzing of the lights above, then another pained sob can be heard from the room to your right.

You reach a hand towards the door that is separating you from whoever is concealed inside. Slowly you turn the knob and quietly push the door open. As you slip through the half-opened door, your gaze falls upon the man you meet the night before. He’s trapped in what looks like a glass chamber. Large steel panels are wrapped around his chest and neck. More panels are holding his arms and legs in place, trapping him. Your gaze travels to his face. His eyes are squeezed shut, teeth bared, and beads of sweat coat his forehead causing his hair to stick to his skin. What surprises you are the tears that are slowly falling down his face.

“Bucky?” Your voice is barely above a whisper as his name falls from your lips. Bucky focuses on you with a startled expression occupying his features. “You don’t know me. I’m a friend of a friend.” He looks scared and confused, as you slowly approach the chamber. Panic begins to take over and Bucky tries his hardest to break free from his restraints.

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” You’re close enough that you can see Bucky’s nostrils flare as he breaths heavily. “Do you remember anything?” Your hopeful that he does. However, for what feels like hours you are only met with silence.

Finally, he speaks up. “Bits and pieces.” His voice cracks and you assume this is the first time he’s spoken since being brought to the towers last night. “Do you know who Steve is?”

“Not really, but I know that he was someone important to me. Before –“ Bucky stops himself as if it’s too painful for him to continue.

“You’re safe here. I won’t make you talk about it if it’s too much.” Against your better judgment, you place one of your palms on the glass that is separating the both of you. The pain in Bucky’s eyes starts to fade. The door opens behind you, causing you to jump back from Bucky. Turning around you meet Steve, his eyes trained on the person behind you. Without having to say a word, you know that he is furious with you. Specifically, because he had asked you to wait before meeting Bucky. Steve brushes passed you, stopping in front of the chamber.

“Hey, Buck. How are you feeling?” Despite his composure, you can feel the anger radiating from Steve’s body. Choosing to ignore his dismay with you, you turn to look at Bucky again. He’s features are hard, and he keeps his mouth glued shut. “You’re going to have to talk to me eventually.” Steve signs. He turns on his heel and grabs your wrist, pulling you out of the room.

“Y/n, what did I tell you?” Steve asks once the door is closed behind you. “I’m sorry, I just kind of stumbled upon him.” You respond sheepishly, know that is the truth. “Stumbled upon him? I know you better than that.”

“Seriously! I did!” You exclaim, throwing your arms in the air. “You know, maybe he isn’t talking to you because you have him caged up like an animal!”

“Y/n, I’m getting tired of this. You know he’s dangerous. It’s for everyone’s safety, even his.”

“He’s terrified! He can barely remember a thing! His best friend has him shackled up and confined in a box! What do you expect from him? He’s a human being. Treat him like one.” You can’t stand to speak with Steve any longer or to listen to his construed ideas of righteousness. Steve sighs, allowing his back to press against the wall behind him.

“You’re right. He shouldn’t be locked up like that, but you didn’t see him when I found him. Whatever Hydra put in his head is still there and they could use it any second to make him turn.”

“Well, let’s figure out how to get it out of his head.” With that, you head towards your lab leaving Steve alone in the hallway.

__________

Part one is complete! This is my first time writing, so give me pointers xx

Thank you for reading! (I will continue this drabble if ppl want more, let me know!)

- Lex

[bombtimer]

Day 13: On excitement

There have been many excitements in my lifetime. They range from (as one of my friends think of me) superficial things to perhaps philosophical ones. Here we go.

1. Entering the bookstore

While one of my earliest excitement going to the bookstore was in Gramedia Sudirman, Yogyakarta, there is no less joy when I have to spend money in a bookstore. I remembered my aunt bought me an illustrative book of volcanoes while my cousin got the earthquake one, and we ate Dunkin’ Donuts afterwards. There was also a new bookstore opening, called Social Agency Bookstore, when upon its opening, they have many discounts, particularly on manga. I prefer Gramedia to Gunung Agung, as I think the latter’s collection is less. But the favourite retail bookstore in Indonesia has to be Togamas. Not only does it give you discounts, they also provide free plastic cover for the books you’ve just bought. I developed admiration for mas mbak penyampul since they work so fast and neatly. I tried to cover my books several times but they don’t come as perfect as ones done by mas mbak Togamas.

During my undergrad, I might have not immersed myself with books. I can only remember reading Murakami’s Norwegian Woods and 1Q84 (which is arguably one of the best romantic novels ever). And, of course, Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google. These books might motivate me to read books again after high school, and sure, I tried several Goodreads Challenges every year.

In the UK, I have Waterstones just in the corner of my campus. It is a four-storey building. All floors are carpeted so you will hear people trying not to stomp and walk quietly. Books related to my field are located on the third floor, where there is no lift. But there is a small spot when you could read there and even work on assignments. It is a quiet corner where you can see people taking a smoke outside the Faculty of Engineering. There is also a cafe with delicious cinnamon rolls on the first floor.

Second bookstore that captivates me is Cambridge University Press Bookshop. I was roaming on the streets when it started raining and accidentally I was just on the outside of this gem. The building is three-storey, and it is quite small for what is one of the prominent press bookshops in the world. It is also no wonder to not see a rack dedicated to urban planning, though surely it contains the geography section.

I was definitely left in awe when I visited Blackwell’s in Oxford. Another friend told me that I should go there since the collection is humongous. And when finally I went there, I thought it’s the biggest bookshop that I ever visited and it contains a specific floor for social science. The Oxford University Press Bookshop is even smaller than that of Cambridge, and I remember I was questioning how come this university does not have what I am looking for. Yet in Blackwell’s, even two bookshelves are dedicated to urban planning and Southeast Asia. I also found Pisani’s Indonesia Etc., along with workpieces of Sir Batty. I spent almost £120 along with a tote bag that shouts for “Yes, I’ve been to Oxford but no I’m not a student at Oxford Uni”. Maria and I spent a solid 2.5 hours wandering in silence looking for what we like; she even spent £200 on five books which cover all the possible materials for her dissertation. All hails Blackwell’s.

2. Going places with close friends

The memory started in 2014, when my undergrad friends went to my hometown and tried Dieng for the first time. It was in January, so we didn’t catch the sunrise at Sikunir. Though Wonosobo has a scenic view, it’s not much to do around here except eating and talking. 

I also consider the trip going back to Bandung with Bohokism after failing to say goodbye to Mira before she embarked for Stuttgart back in 2017. We had a really deep conversation where I finally did acknowledge my darkest times. It was also a start of something great because thanks to them, I also got motivated to be where I am today.

In the UK, I’m blessed to be surrounded by kind people. The one of trip memories started with a Bristol-Bath trip during the reading week in the first term. I happened to get acquainted with Hana and Aska, with Maria and Gineng also joined in. I remember the Cornish pasty that was so good I brought one to go. We wandered around Bristol and noticed the unicorn lightning rod on top of a building, and bought some Indomie and eggs to eat at our oh-so-comfy AirBnB. Afterwards we strolled on the dock and enjoyed the night breeze. The following day we went to an all-you-can-eat restaurant that gives a student discount so we could eat only for £10. We also had a photo session down in Bath Spa, as Hana is good with her camera. I also remember the bus going back to London when we sat by ourselves and did some Netflix and reading (clearly not me).

The next trip would be the Scotland trip. Some said that enjoying the highlands is better in winter (as in going to Morocco), and indeed it was true. We arrived in Edinburgh and climbed the hills and stopped by the Department of Theology of Edinburgh University and realised that every university in London doesn’t have a similar ambience. We also checked in to every Christmas market or Winter Wonderland in every city we’ve been to, as Marwa really loves mulled wine. Our mandatory photo was taken at a photobooth but we just didn’t print it.

We then proceeded to Glasgow and headed to the highlands. Like whoa. I have been seeing the mountainous scenery as I always live in the highlands but that doesn’t compare to what Scotsman see everyday. I also lived my childhood dream as finally I saw the mighty Loch Ness. It’s a sad thing that I couldn’t go to Isle of Skye, but that's alright since I remember having a really deep talk with Agita, Marwa, and Punyu at a hostel near Dundee city square. I couldn’t find Indomie so I had to eat local instant noodles which tasted horrible. We basically just read the Book of Questions and yeah I think that is what is making us closer afterwards. 

There were a lot of trips in between, but I have to emphasise my Cornwall trip with Albert, Maria, and Hana in September 2019. We were dying to enjoy the beach in the southwestern part of England. We rented a car with no insurance, where only Hana and Maria were able to drive the car smoothly. We packed lots of snacks and cooked in our small but comfy AirBnB. We went to St. Ives and enjoyed the beach and the drizzle. And the famous fish and chips. I always asked to stop for a chocolate twist and Maria and Hana would just sighed. Albert is always that curious guy who would end up falling but he didn’t. We also hung out at a beach bar where it was a family night, where the three of us had cider or beer while I stuck on soda and lime. We cooked every time and had only all-you-can-eat when we stopped by Portsmouth on the way back to London. We realised that we were so lavish that during the 3 days trip we spent almost 200 quids each.

In the end, I agree that it’s not about the destinations as they will be just them. It’s always about the journey, the talk, the snack, the “e e awas awas!”, the “pake duit lo dulu dong”, and the memories, particularly with these chaps.

3. Getting called upon the stage

One thing I just realised that I will have to lower my expectations if I want to get an award or something alike. I remember seeing my seniors getting called and put in front of all students and their parents during the national exam results in junior high. Ten students were called along with their parents. I thought, at that time, like whoa they are smart. In high schools, only the top three students from natural science and social science class got called to the stage. Along with opening the result of SNMPTN and Chevening. I was thinking that I’d just be having a real good time along with my friends during the graduation when suddenly I heard my test number getting declared. I remembered that I couldn’t believe that fact and saw Eriska just congratulate me. I thought I was done after delivering a speech as I was an ex-OSIS guy, but I have to say that that day was quite specially wrapped.

Another case is when I went to Shah Alam by myself, presenting the research findings back in November 2017. I was the only Indonesian presenter there. The faculty members of the university holding the conference said that they knew some of my lecturers. As the conference was about research methods, I wondered why several presenters didn’t emphasise the novelty of their methods. But among six key tracks of the conference, I was awarded The Best Paper in Urban Planning and Development track, where I also just couldn’t believe it yet I couldn’t contain my excitement of getting my work noticed. I remember Maria putting it simply “Gue tau lo pengen karya lo yang diliat orang, bukan nama lo. Like let your works speak for yourself”. And yes, she was obviously right.

[hexandbalances]

Hekate’s Garden

I desired a better understanding of the plants listed in Hekate's garden and endeavored to do a bit of research to make more informed choices in future practice. This is not intended as complete reference and will likely be updated over time. Where possible, I referenced Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists: The Greek Tradition and its Many Heirs for specific species that would have been used in Ancient Greece. My thanks to Prof. Ogden for answering my questions. I wish I had asked more when I had the chance!

In the furthest recess of the enclosure was a sacred grove, shaded by flourishing trees. In it there were many laurels and cornels and tall plane trees. Within this the grass was carpeted with low-growing plants with powerful roots. Famous asphodel, pretty maidenhair, rushes, galingale, delicate verbena, sage, hedge-mustard, purple honeysuckle, healing cassidony, flourishing field basil, mandrake, hulwort, in addition fluffy dittany, fragrant saffron, nose-smart, there too lion-foot, greenbrier, camomile, black poppy, alcua, all-heal, white hellebore, aconite, and many other noxious plants grew from the earth. In the middle a stout oak tree with heavenhigh trunk spread its branches out over much of the grove.

As quoted in Daniel Ogden’s Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Source Book (p 92). I’ve found that many writers (such as Sorita d’Este & David Rankine in Hekate Liminal Rites) come back to Ogden’s provided translation. Ogden used this as his reference: Orphic Argonautica: F. Vian, ed. 1987. Les Argonautiques orphiques. Budé. Paris. 

Laurel

Laurus nobilis

We recognize this most commonly as Bay Laurel, and it was also called daphne. Used to fashion wreaths, the bay laurel was a symbol of high status. Laurel was chewed by Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, to give her divine revelations (indeed, bay laurel can have a narcotic effect). Laurel was gifted to temples, and the wood of the laurel tree was even used in temple construction.[x] The Romans viewed laurel as a symbol of immortality, a protection against lightning,[x] ritual purification, prosperity, and health. Contrary to modern uses of bay leaf in ritual magic, Pliny the Elder strictly forbade the “profane use” (burning) of bay laurel as it objected by crackling loudly in the fire.[x] However, the Greek poet Theocritus (about 270 BCE) describes the burning of bay leaves in a binding spell performed by a spurned lover and sorceress.[x]

Bay laurel is used as a remedy for stomach problems, migraine, insect repellent, etc. The essential oil of laurel may cause skin irritation and is thus usually diluted. An extract of the leaves has been used to bring on menstruation and the berries were used as an abortifacient.[x]

Cornel

Cornus mas

Cornel refers to trees or shrubs of the Dogwood family. Cornus mas specifically was used from the 7th century BCE onward by the Greek to construct spears, javelins, and bows as it was considered far superior to any other wood. The wood's association with weaponry was so well known that the Greek name for it was used as a synonym for "spear" in poetry during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.[x]

Asphodel

Asphodelus ramosus or Asphodelus albus

Previously classified in the lily family, Asphodel is strongly connected by the Greeks to the underworld. Homer describes the Asphodel Meadows in the Odyssey as a place “where abide the souls and phantoms of those whose work is done.” (W.H.D. Rouse, trans. The Odyssey: The Story of Odysseus). An entry from the 1911 edition of Encylopedia Britannica indicates that asphodel was planted on graves, was a remedy for poisonous snake bites, and a ward against sorcery. (cf. Herod. iv. 190). Wreaths or garlands of asphodel were used to adorn Persephone and Hekate in Rhodes.[x]

Though once eaten as a food, the roots of the asphodel plant are poisonous. Used externally it is an antidermatosic, detergent, emollient, and vulnerary (Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald).

Maidenhair

Adiantum capillus-veneris or Asplenium adiantum-nigrum

Adiantum comes from the Greek “unwetted” and is contributed to the plant’s ability to be submerged in water and yet come out dry. A tea made from the leaves is said to relieve inflammation or irritation by forming a soothing film over mucous membrane. It has also been used to ease heavy menstruation and cramping.

Rushes

Juncaceae

Rushes resemble a straw or grass and were used to make braided mats, hats, shoes, and many other applications. It was also used in a type of candle known as a rushlight.

Galingale or Galangal

Zingiber officinale

Contemporary use of "galingal" refers to four specific tropical rhizome species of the ginger family. Ginger arrived in the Mediterranean around the 1st century CE - at least 4 hundred years before the Orphic Argonautica was written. Ginger has many medicinal uses attributed to it, such as: anti inflammatory, treatment for nausea, muscle pain, digestive aid, morning sickness, and menstrual pain.

Verbena

Verbena officinalis

Verbena (or vervain) has a long history in herbalism and folklore. Considered divine, it was present on altars to Jupiter in Rome and nicknamed “Hera’s tears” or “Isis’ tears.” Though efficacy is elusive, Verbena has been used as an abortifacient, an aid in lactation, an antiseptic, and a protection against spells.

Sage

Salvia officinalis

Use of Sage in magic and pharmacology has a long history, particularly Salvia officinalis (Note: anytime you see the designation officinalis it indicates that the substance has been used in medicine. A concise list of officinalis herbs may be found here.). Sage has been used to treat menstruation, ulcers, sore throats, digestive aid, to preserve meat, treat snake bites, antiseptic, astringent, prevents perspiration and lactation, anti-inflammatory, insect (mosquito) repellent, and more. The Egyptians used sage to promote women’s fertility. Salvia fruticosa is native to Greece and makes up 50-95% of dried sage sold in North America.[x]

Hedge Mustard

Sisymbrium officinale

The Greek believed hedge mustard was an antidote to all poisons. It has been used as a diuretic, expectorant, tonic, laxative, and an aid for asthma.[x] It is also believed to relieve sore throats and thus was nicknamed the "singer’s plant."

Honeysuckle

Lonicera caprifolium

There are a handful of websites (in near word-for-word verbiage) attributing honeysuckle's long flowering season to Daphnis and Chloe but they do not cite the source of this association. Nor does Longus' Pastorals make reference to honeysuckle or woodbine in (the available translation of) his novel, for which the tale of Daphnis and Chloe originates. 

Honeysuckle is an anti-inflammatory and as a poultice can soothe skin irritations caused by poison oak and poison ivy.[x] Dioscorides lists honeysuckle as a respiratory aid, a birth inducer, and a male birth control, among other things.[x]

Cassidony

Lavandula stoechas

Also known as Spanish or French Lavender. This was used as a perfume in Greece and used in mummification in Ancient Egypt. Lavender is an antispasmodic, expectorant, antibacterial, and antiseptic. The flowers of lavender are believed to help with nervous complaints and promote menses.

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Basil was used in production of royal perfumes, and is used in Greek Orthodoxy to sprinkle holy water. The seeds were believed to be an aphrodisiac and the plant was used by Egyptians in embalming the dead. Reportedly Ancient Greeks placed basil in the hands of the dead to guarantee their passage into the afterlife but I have not yet found a source for this. Some have attributed basil to represent hatred in ancient Greece but with its name in Greek meaning "kingly" I find this doubtful without sources.

Mandrake

Mandragora officinarum

Hallucinogenic, narcotic, can cause asphyxiation, delirium, or madness. When boiled, mandrake was used as an anesthetic for surgery. The persistent belief that it would scream if uprooted lead to the practice of using dogs to dig it up (in the process, sacrificing the dog). Made into amulets mandrake could bring good fortune, cure sterility, etc.[x]

Hulwort

Teucrium polium

Believed to ward off epileptic seizures but has also been described as an abortifacient by Pliny.[x]

Dittany

Origanum dictamnus

Member of the oregano family. An antiseptic, antispasmodic, wound healing, digestive aid, aid against headaches, toothaches, and abscesses.

Saffron

Crocus sativus

One (if not the) most expensive spices in the world per weight, Saffron has been used as a food seasoning, dye, and medicine. Portrayals of saffron in Minoan palace frescoes hint as its possible use as a therapeutic drug by as early as 1600–1500 BCE.[x] The Greeks used saffron in their scented waters, perfumes and potpourris, mascaras and ointments, divine offerings, and medical treatments.[x] Be warned: suspiciously cheap saffron, particularly labelled American or Mexican saffron, is safflower. Safflower imparts the signature yellow dye but is flavorless.[x]

We are told in passing by Ovid in his Metamorphoses that Crocus and Smilax were transformed into flowers.[x] (The Dionysiaca of Nonnus or Virgil's Georgics are also sometimes cited but both only refer to crocus flowers and do not offer an origin story).[x][x] 

Nose-smart

I have found two possible answers for this. First, a plant in the Tropaeolum family, Nasturtium. According to Webster's 1828 English Dictionary, “nose-smart” was a common name for Nasturtium. According to Jason Colavito, the Orphic Argonautica was never translated professionally into English (though the last 300 lines were translated by W. Preston in an 1803 edition of Apollonius), but a very close paraphrase was inadvertently produced in English in 1885. As Nasturtium is also called “nose-twister” or “nose-tweaker” this seems a sound bet. 

Tropaeolum, meaning “trophy” in Greek, has been compared in appearance to a row of green spears and shield or helmet shaped flowers. Nasturtium is an edible plant, the blossom of which is said to soften the muscles. Nasturtium is also used as a disinfectant, to treat scurvy, and bronchitis. Its high vitamin C content, bright colors, and watercress like taste makes it an attractive addition to salads.

However, the Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists: The Greek Tradition and its Many Heirs  links Nasturcium to Lepidium sativum, or Garden Cress, a plant belonging to the same order as Nasturtium but in residing in the Brassicaceae family. It is possible early translators assumed Nasturtium and gave the colloquial name for their readers. As I have not yet located a polyglot English-Ancient Greek version of the Orphic Argonautica that references the garden with such an inventory, I’m unable to confirm first hand what Greek word was used. Perhaps I will purchase a copy of Vian’s French translation and attempt to find out.

Lion-foot

Leontopodium

The contemporary plant called Lion-foot (also known as white rattlesnake-root, or white lettuce) is Nabalus albus, a native plant to Canada and the Eastern US. So far as I can glean, it is not native to the Mediterranean. 

For this reason, I speculated this was to refer to flowers in the Asteraceae family (for which Nabalus albus belongs) - which would include daisies, marigold, dandelions, dahlias, echinacea, fleabane, chrysanthemums, zinnias, and heleniums. Particularly in regards to herbal medicine, this would include yarrow, grindelia, and others. Asteraceae (from the Greek ἀστήρ or “star”) are prevalent in the Mediterranean. As many blogs refer to the dandelion as sacred to Hekate this seems sensible; though this may be due another citation and not necessarily this passage. Further reading on my part is required.

To be sure, I asked Prof. Ogden about the curious translation (oh, how I wished I had asked about nose-smart and all-heal!). Ogden confirmed the original Greek was Kemos, which is glossed as leontopodion, literally 'lion-foot.'  Dioscorides Pedanius De materia medica 4.131 (C1 AD) has a note on it which is translated, with some glosses, here (beginning p 679). Leontopodion or Leontopodium is a genus of the Asteraceae family and includes species such as Edelweiss. The Herbal of Dioscorides the Greek lists Leontopodion as an anti-inflammatory and a love charm. 

Greenbrier

Smilax aspera

From the Greek σμῖλαξ, Smilax aspera is better known as Sarsaparilla. The Greeks and Romans linked smilax to the treatment of poisons. It is used for rheumatism, gout, eczema, and psoriasis. In the mythology, Smilax was a nymph who was turned into a bindweed as a result of her unfortunate love affair with Crocus (saffron).

Camomile

Matricaria chamomilla

The Greek χαμαίμηλον translates to “earth apple”. The spelling "camomile" is a British derivation from the French.[x] Chamomile is an extremely well known herbal medicine. It was described by Dioscorides as an aid for gastrointestinal disorders and nervous conditions. The Egyptians used it as a treatment for malaria and in mummification. Chamomile is also referred affectionately as “the doctor plant” as it tends to help revive most plants it is planted next to. Chamomile has also been known to cause uterine contractions that can trigger miscarriage.[x] 

Black Poppy

Paupaver somniferum

The seed pod of the poppy produces a milky latex that is used in the production of opium and morphine. The twin gods Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death) were represented wearing a crown of poppies or carrying them.[x] Demeter favored them and is said to have turned to the poppy to relieve her grief during Persephone’s time in the underworld. 

Undoubtedly recognized for its narcotic properties, the poppy's use predates written history. The seeds were believed to have aphrodisiac properties and were tied to fertility.[x] The seed pod was found adorning tombstones, and were used as a sacred plant in burial rites.

Interestingly, the Herkalion Archaeological Museum holds an exhibit of female figures with hands raised called the Poppy Goddess. Many of these figurines were found in various sanctuaries in Crete. Believed to be a Minoan goddess, she wears a crown of poppy seeds.[x] It is theorized that the Poppy Goddess may represent Demeter, Rhea, or a previous Great Mother goddess.

Alcua

I hadn't the foggiest idea of what this could be so I reached out to Prof. Ogden to see if he might clarify. Alcua is unidentifiable and was left untranslated. A shame, but at least we know.

All-heal

Prunella vulgaris or, more likely, Stachys officinalis

Both Prunella vulgaris and Stachys officinalis are part of the mint family, Lamiaceae. However, Purnella vulgaris is native to Europe, Eurasia, and America and was popularized by the Germans wherein it derives its name. It appears to appreciate a cooler climate. 

Stachys officinalis, or wood betony, is referenced by Pliny, and appears in the Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists: The Greek Tradition and its Many Heirs. The first reference to betony occurs in a work by the Roman physician Antonius Musa, who claimed it was effective against sorcery. It was planted in churchyards to prevent activity by ghosts.[x] Betony was also told to be effective against snake and dog bites.

Nicholas Culpepper cited betony as being astrologically ruled by Jupiter and Mars, and guarded against witchcraft.

White Hellebore

Veratrum album

White Hellebore is a poisonous plant, right down to its scent. It has been debated to have been a culprit in the death of Alexander the Great. White Hellebore will cause violent tremors and vomiting in eaten.

Aconite

Aconite as a genus has a long and varied tradition with poisons and is sometimes called hecateis. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote in his Library of History that Aconite came from the foam that dropped from the jaws of Cerberus when he was brought from the Underworld by Herakles. Hekate, being “likewise ingenious in the mixing of deadly poisons” discovered aconite and experimented by using it in the food given to strangers.

Not all aconite is used as a poison, however. Aconitum Anthora (pictured above), known as Yellow Monkshood or Healing Wolfsbane, was an antidote for Aconitum pardalianches (Leopard's Bane), which was extremely toxic even in small doses to the livestock that might graze on it.

Oak

Quercus

The oak tree is sacred to Zeus. Sir George James Frazer in his The Golden Bough describes the priests of temple in Dodona as divining messages from Zeus by the rustling of the oak leaves. The density and longevity of the oak makes it tightly associated with strength and immortality. Though edible, acorns are toxic to livestock in great quantities because of its high tannin content.

Additional input is always appreciated. What have you noticed in your practice? In what ways do you use these plants? What to you is most effective?  Thank you for reading.

[whiskeyworen]

Aspect IV: Of Inspiration and Communication

Inside Vigil Keep, weeks before “Bound By Blood”

"Soldier Sonnya Danae; Package for you." The delivery person looked at his clipboard tiredly, before turning it around with a quill in hand for her. "Sign here please."

"I wasn't expecting any packages." Sonnya pointed out, scrawling her name in Asuran swirls on the line. It didn't matter that the form was written in Krytan; names are names. Besides, she'd seen people just scribble nonsense on the line before.

The delivery person shrugged slowly, and handed her a brown paper wrapped parcel. "I just deliver'm, miss."

As he turned to walk away, Sonnya retreated to her quarters, closing the door and locking it. She barely realized she'd done it; her attention was entirely on the mysterious package in her hand.

She sat down at her desk, placing the package on the table top, just...staring at it. Who could have sent it? There was an address on it from somewhere in Lion's Arch, but that might not mean anything; as long as you put an address from Lion's Arch, no one would bother looking it up. It might not even exist.

"Well, time to find out what's in this thing." Sonnya declared, and ripped the package open. Her eyebrow rose slightly as she pulled out the small, hand-sized comm device. It kind of looked like the standard Pact communicator that unit leaders and commanders had, but it was almost half the size.

The structure and layout were different as well. Instead of an On and Off button being the only keys, there was an entire set of number keys, some symbols she didn't recognize, and a few adjustment dials. Embedded into the top left corner appearred to be a micro-golemite eye. "....the hell?... why would a communicator need to see? Is it a golem or something?" She mumbled quietly, turning the device over in her hands. Satisfied there were no other secrets to it, she flicked the 'On' switch. She expected to hear one or another commander somewhere, talking to their companions; Pact comms were always open to anyone who had a comm, so the idea of private conversations was kind of an illusion.

Instead, there was silence. After a few seconds, the micro-golemite eye raised from its alcove, did a quick scan of everything in front of it (including Sonnya) and settled back into its groove. While the eye turned off, apparently the device finally activated. "Hello? Is this one Sonnya Danae I am speaking to?"

Sonnya waited for the no-doubt dozens of confused responses from others in the commnet, before realizing none were coming. So she hesitantly replied. "Uh, yes. This is Sonnya here. I received this comm unit in the mail?"

"Yes! Then it worked as I had planned! I am very pleased to make your acquaintance!" The voice on the comm was quite enthusiastic, but crystal clear. "I was unsure how to properly reach you, and this seemed most appropriate. I regret we cannot meet in person, but I am...on task in Elona at the moment."

Sonnya gave the comm an odd look. "Oh...kay?... Sorry, but I'm honestly surprised no one else has broken in to ask how I'm comming, or who you are? There's no way everyone turned their comms off."

"Oh, this comm is on a secure channel." The voice replied brightly. "Sadly, Pact comms are pretty basic. They are designed to be used as a single network, with everyone connected. I do not believe any research was ever done into solitary, private commlinks. At least, not until my Father suggested it and the rest of the crew figured it out. I helped of course."

"I'm...sorry, but I'm still really confused." She scratched her ear, placing the comm down on the table top. "So the comm is on its own, private line or something? The only people who can talk and hear are you and me?"

"Unless we cut someone into the signal, or they cut themselves in somehow, yes." There was a thoughtful pause in the line. "Of course, they would have to decrypt about a hundred and forty-four thousand lines of code to even FIND the signal. There's a lot of radio, ley, and Mist spectrum to work with. If we cut them in manually though, it would be a simple matter of dialing their number, provided we knew it, into the comm and then pressing the little button that looks like three dots connected by lines."

"I saw that, but didn't know what it was." Sonnya admitted, before shaking her head. "Wait wait. Okay. Hang on... WHY are we even talking? Why did you send a comm to me?"

"Oh! Right! I was so pleased with having made contact, that I placed the reason for it in the back of my memory!" Sonnya was pretty sure that the person on the other side of the comm was clapping their hands, though she couldn't hear the sound. "I wished to speak to you about the construction of your wonderful powered-armor suit, and your integration of technical devices into your biological structure!"

Her jaw dropped. No one knew, apart from the Warmaster, knew anything about her implants, or her suit. No one...except maybe Tenna. If Tenna even knew. "How... I mean, what makes you think I have anything like that? I don't know what you're talking about."

The person on the other end laughed pleasantly. "Oh please. There were recordings from all angles in the battle against that Shatterer. The Charr Legions were recording because they wanted to see the result of their new weapons. The Priory was recording for archives' sake, and the Order of Whispers and the Vigil were recording for references for future battles! Your little stunt might not be explainable to them, but I assure you, I understand exactly what was going on."

"You...have me at a disadvantage then." Sonnya frowned, crossing her arms. "My...implants won't work with anyone else. I only ever designed them to work with me."

"Oh do not worry about that. I am not interested in that. Not really." There was a smile in the voice. "I am planning something that requires... let us call it a very fine integration of biological and mechanical components. I wished to pick your brain, as it were, for ideas on how to smooth out some of the issues I have encountered in my simulations. Basically, I want you to double-check my ideas, and make sure I have not done something foolish or impossible."

"So, you don't want to steal my tech or anything like that? You just want to ask questions on how to improve your own? Your own tech that is similar to mine, but less refined?"

"Precisely."

"...Well, what did you have in mind then?"

***

Several hours later

"... so the circuitry integrates with the implants directly via surface-to-surface interface." Sonnya explained. "I can't give you the specifications of the implants themselves, but based on the ideas you've thrown at me, this should allow for a faster information rate and a tighter connection."

"I see! Thank you for the insight." The voice on the comm acknowledged. "I believe you're right. While I have no intention of using your implants, or trying to extrapolate them based on available information, I do believe I can manage to decrease reaction times by half at least, and muscle-load by a factor of five! I am sure if I work at it a little more, I can coax even more out. My investigation into magitech-neuromuscular modification is still rudimentary, but I'll soon have a few prototypes to test out."

"Glad to be of service." Sonnya smiled. She took a sip of beer from the bottle she'd gotten from her personal cooler. "Do you have any ideas on what you'll do with it all? I mean, you weren't looking to make a suit at all it seems. Or rather, the powered armor suit is almost a secondary item to whatever you're making."

"Publically, when it all is arranged, I will be setting up the sale of fully-working, personally customized prosethetics. The market will be for those individuals who, through birth or injury, are suffering from lack of limbs. I understand there's a similar market in Rata Sum, but it is small because everything is based off Golem-limb construction. Which, if you ask me, Golems are remarkably...brutish."

Sonnya shrugged. "True. But the refinements in magic circuits and power systems is making them more powerful and intelligent by the day. Shape doesn't really mean much, does it? Just look at that golem that kid in Dragon's Watch had. What was her name again?..."

"Taimi." The voice supplied reluctantly. "And yes, her Scruffy models are aesthetically pleasing, and very unique with their ability to be a conveyence AND a powered mecha suit, as well as a fully functioning autonomous golem...but they are still not the angle I am going for."

That brought a frown to the guardian's face. "I still don't know what you mean. The only other examples of golem-type things I know of are like, the Exalted, which AREN'T golems but kinda look like them, the Jade Constructs which are closer to Elementals in nature... and the Watchwork nightmares."

"Oh yes... the Watchworks. I know them well." The comm replied quietly and cryptically. "Very interesting designs, those."

"Scarlet was a maniac." Sonnya said flatly, frowning before draining her beer. "Her Watchwork creations made Steam creatures look tame by comparison. And we still have to wipe out infestations of THOSE in Lornar's Pass every year! They just keep making more of themselves!"

There was a pause, a silence over the comm. Then, "...Perhaps I should investigate how they replicate? If I can figure it out, it might come in handy for self-repairing prosthetics."

"Be my guest. Just don't come crying to me when a Steam Brain zaps you with lightning for coming too close." She laughed. She could still remember seeing Priory researchers bounding across the ice, backsides singed while an angry Steam Brain chased them, lightning arcing from its central eye, while the entire time it swore at them in machine-language. She assumed it was swearing of course. Wouldn't you, if some know-it-alls tried to shove a stick in your ear? Or whatever a Steam Brain has?

"Duly noted. Thank you again, Miss Sonnya."

"Well, it was my pleasure. It's not often I can talk shop with anyone." Sadly truer than Sonnya would like to admit; most soldiers in the Vigil were more concerned with using things rather than making things.

"....In that case, allow me to make you an offer." There was a nervous note in the voice's tone. Sonnya had the impression that, had someone been present, they would have been talking behind a cupped hand, afraid someone would hear. "In a week's time, my ship will dock in Lion's Arch at airdock 42 in the Aerodrome. If you show up, say, around noon, I will let you see the secret project I have been working on. The one that your information has come in quite handy in its completion."

A clandestine meeting at a secured, out-of-the-way airdock? Sonnya had flown on ships from the Aerodrome before, and remembered how it was laid out; Dock 42 was the furthest out, on the backside of the Aerodrome, facing Bloodtide Coast. It was so far out that merchants refused to park ships there because it would take so long and was so complicated to get things on board. Why would anyone willingly park there? "Uh, sure... A week from now, noon, Lion's Arch, Dock 42. Sure thing."

"Excellent. Perhaps when you see it, you will be able to offer a more hands-on, practical examination. You might see some things that need improvement from the prototype to a production model."

"Alright. Sounds fine to me!"

"Good, good. I must go now. Needs of the ship are building up on my task-list. I need to focus on that for a while."

Sonnya picked up the comm, surprised and a little worried. "Wait, before you sign-off or whatever... When I get to your ship, which ship am I actually looking for? And who should I tell them invited me?"

There was a pause, and then the voice replied, a smiling, almost devious tone to it. "... The ship is called the Forsaken Aspect. You just need to ask to see Alice."

A chuckle rolled from the comm. "I assure you, the person you meet at the dock will know exactly who you need to see, and why. Just trust me."

"Okay... Well, I will see you then... Alice?"

"See you then, Sonnya."

[toyswithtude]

The new Marvel Legends Magik figure is a Walgreen’s Exclusive. If you’ve followed this blog at all, you’ll know I rarely come across exclusives in stores. However, Magik ended up being an exception.  I went in to see if they had The Thing and walked out with Magik.

As much as I’d like to say “that’s what she said,” no woman has ever said that in regards to me or my genitals.

Also of note, my Figuarts Episode IV Obi-Wan review has been done since July and is just waiting for me to take pictures. So what did I do? I got my photo booth set up and started taking pictures that are not of Obi-Wan. I promise it should arrive just in time for it to not matter anymore.

When I write a review for a figure, I usually know a lot about the character. With Magik, or Illayna Rasputin, I knew the bare minimum. I knew she was Piotr‘s sister. I knew she was a member of the original, Magento led New Mutants (or did she leave before that? I guess that’s one less thing I know). I think she hung out with Warlock at one point.

Annnnnnd that’s it.

So I did some research.

If you’re curious, you can look here. However, if you just want a summation, here is one: Holy convoluted nightmare, Batman. She’s Piotr’s sister. She’s a queen or a witch in Limbo. She has less power when she is not in Limbo. She has a soul sword. She’s dead thanks to the Legacy virus. Whoops, now she’s alive. She has an evil twin that resides in her. But then it isn’t evil. Except it’s evil. I just can’t keep up. This is the kind of stuff that kept me from reading the New Mutants when they first hit racks, and it hasn’t aged well enough to make me want to revisit any of the stories.

Fortunately, I am not reviewing the character, I am reviewing the figure. Let’s get started, Nerd Lords.

What’s in the Marvel Legends Magik Box?

Since the Marvel Legends Magik is a Walgreen’s Exclusive, she has no BAF packed in with her. Don’t weep for her, though. Much like Gwenpool, she has so many accessories that you feel like you’re getting something special for your $22.

You get the figure itself, two swords (I don’t know if they are both different versions of the Soul Blade or two unique swords), and four magic effects. Two of them are repaints from the Toys R’ Us exclusive Scarlett Witch and one of them looks like the lightning effect from the Thor Ragnorak figure. The 4th is attached to one of the swords. It looks like the flame effect packed in with Typhoid Mary from the Monster Venom wave. You also get a red flaming skull (no idea how this is relevant to the character) and a tiny red dragon that appears to be a repaint of Kitty’s Lockheed.

Again, no idea what the relevance is here, but I am also not going to turn down a flaming red skull and baby blood dragon.

I’m about that life.

Finally, you get an alternate “spellcasting” hand when she isn’t holding one of her 97 swords.

This looks pretty stellar.

There is some nice detail on these boots.

Magik butt.

Ala-kazah hands.

She got thigh gap in her thigh gap, tho.

What doesn’t work with the Marvel Legends Magik?

The Marvel Legends Magik is a female character and as such, toy manufacturers still don’t know how to make a female figure with the same articulation as their male counterparts that can stand on its own without balance issues.

The Marvel Legends Magik figure, like her comic counterpart, has a “magic” armor on her left arm (reminds me of Witchblade, but I THINK Illayna was first). The single jointed elbow on the left arm, combined with the bulk of the thicker armored body part, makes for a frustrating posing experience. As does the single jointed knees.

Mine had some really rough paint apps. Especially on the red X on her sleeve.

The paint on that X bums me out.

Since I am not that acquainted with the character, I would have rather had her in her New Mutants uniform, but that is simply because I am familiar with that outfit.

What works with the Marvel Legends Magik?

I mentioned the costume on the Marvel Legends Magik figure, but as little as I know about this dominatrix outfit, I like it. I was also surprised by the range of motion in her right, non-armored elbow.

Her accessories are top notch and I think they did a good job on the face sculpt.

“Hey, big brother.”

“Da, hello, little one.”

Here’s a flaming red skull. Thanks, Hasbro!

This is my dragon. There are many dragons like it, but this is mine.

Should you buy Marvel Legends Magik?

She still has a low aftermarket price and I found her, so obviously she’s out there in mass quantities. Therefore, there are no issues with availability.

If you have Colossus already, it makes sense to pick up his sister. If you have a mutant shelf, of course, you need her. If you have a New Mutant display, you’re probably a serial killer. That aside, you’ll want her for that display.

If none of those things apply to you, and you’ve let your Illayna Rasputin Fan Club membership lapse, this is an easy pass for you.

If you want to pick her up, you can grab her here:

Amazon

eBay

Want more pics? Me too!

If you like to keep it in the family, today we look at Colossus' little sister, Magik. If you like flaming skulls and dragons, I have a figure for you. #marvellegends #magik #xmen The new Marvel Legends Magik figure is a Walgreen's Exclusive. If you've followed this blog at all, you'll know I rarely come across exclusives in stores.

[fictionalhell]

Q&A With Aifrit

Overview.

We were given an opportunity to sit down and get a better understanding of who Aifrit is and after having a little fun going over her work we got to asking her a few questions.

The following is a record of the interview held by Zieg, Hail, Astro, and Luie with author Aifrit.

Q: So, we just recently started covering your fanfiction titled “Farronheit” and we where interested in knowing when exactly did you start writing “Farroncest” and why?

A: 2012. I distinctly remember sitting inside a classroom building in my softmore year of college waiting for my next class and was like “fuck I wanna write some Farroncest... but should I even do that? that lowkey sounds kinda immoral ew” because I found the FFXIII Kink Meme and there were some quality kink prompts on there and a handful of Farroncest ones. I remember sometime before even this I read some Farroncest fic about Lightning ravaging Serah in a bathroom during dinner with Snow and I was like “YOOOO THIS IS WHY PEOPLE WRITE THIS SHIP??” I felt so conflicted because I initially was like “why the FUCK would anyone write this ship???”

So then that day in that classroom building I just decided to write it and do it. And thus Bonding was born. Bonding is my first Farroncest fic ever and also my first smut fic ever. Looking back at it now, it’s really awkward to read and I cringe when I see it but I guess we gotta start somewhere huh?

Q: Do you write professionally or just as a hobby?

A: I don’t know if I could ever write professionally. I write too slowly tbh. It takes me ages just to write a couple thousand words if I’m not super in the mood. I do web development professionally, as well as a hobby, but as far as other hobbies? I love art but I never pursued it as much as I did writing because I always saw how bad my art was but it was hard to see how bad my writing was. I do love doing pixel art from time to time. I wanna get better at art and pixel art and I keep telling myself to, but I need to buckle down and actually deal with it, ugh.

Q: I’ve seen your pairing choices for your fanfictions so far but I have to ask, what was your first ship?

A: Definitely Kagome/Sesshoumaru before I even knew what shipping was. Good ol’ FF.net days. Q: You’ve come a long way and in that time you’ve written a good number of pieces. Which one of your works are you most proud of?

A: Blue Dream, the Lanille fic. I really wanted to capture that whole weird, floaty feeling of being high, and that feeling that time passes in like... scenes?? Like you can’t fully remember everything that happens but you get snippets of very specific things you do when you’re out — that’s why the last page or two of paragraphs are broken up so differently than the rest of the fic, like little micro screnes. I had a fucking blast writing that piece and I really hope other people enjoy it as much as I did. There’s a lot more I can say about it, including the minor reference to Final Fantasy IV and my decisions regarding how the smut scene was written. I could go into detail a bit if people cared haha.

Q: So, when you are writing, who or what is your inspiration when you write?

A: I started writing when I was little but I didn’t really have any real inspirations then. I wrote because it was fun to create something from almost nothing. The past few years I’ve had a couple inspirations. One writer from tumblr who wrote Princess Bubblegum/Marceline (Bubbline) fics from Adventure Time. They were EXTREMELY well-written. I mean that person’s just an amazing writer overall. What I loved about their writing was how they wrote in present tense. I don’t think I’d really seen this before and I loved how it made everything seem like it was happening now and not being retold by the narrator. Eventually they wrote less Bubbline, but they also got really annoying with their posting so I unfollowed. Oh well.

 Now I don’t have many inspirations now, but I can say that as far as fanfiction is concerned, I do really wish I could write as well as SapphireSmoke. I haven’t read all her fics, but every one I do read is just so well-crafted and interesting, and the smut is top notch. I’m always fascinated every time I read a fic (they’re so long tho!).

 Q: I understand you are currently on a hiatus, but what can we expect when you make your return to writing?

A: So the biggest reason why I’m on hiatus is because I have no motivation due to a variety of things (adulting, breakup, etc). I also haven’t felt very great about my writing for a long time and I’m trying to take a break to maybe regain some confidence. In any case, there’s a lot of stuff I wanna write when I start back up. I’ve been on a serious Doki Doki Literature Club kick. Love the idea of Monika trying to be the perfect girlfriend for the Player character, and I’d love to see them in some unorthodox fics like college settings where the game either doesn’t exist or exists in some other form.

I’d also love to write more Lanille. I still love this pairing a lot and can do a lot more with it, unlike the Farrons (still wanna write them too but they’re getting difficult). And there’s more that I wanna write too for other pairings including Fang/Serah and Paine/Rikku.

 Q: Are you done with writing about the Farron sisters?

A: I am not done writing the Farrons. There’s still prompts I wanna do for Farronheit and I’d like to add to that until I completely burn out of them for good. They are definitely getting difficult to write. They feel too same-y, like there’s always some element of me making sure to show that their relationship is taboo, and then Serah using Snow as some sort of Lightning bait.... It gets repetitive.

 Q: Outside of the erotic or smutty kind of stories what else have you written?

A: So I’m a gigantic werewolf fan and like inserting them into anything. I’ve liked them since I was a kid (probably Bloody Roar’s fault) and enjoy writing them as well. I’ve been disappointed with how werewolves are portrayed in media — boring ass one-dimensional movie monsters that are only good for killing. That gets stale. I wanted to write werewolves doing more shit — having families, lives, social circles, dealing with puberty and the shifting stage, dealing with their significant others and getting the courage to tell the ones who are human about their identity. I feel like those make more interesting stories. I literally am so obsessed with werewolves, I took the time out to do mass amounts of research to craft my own personal werewolf species to use as a basis for any werewolf fics I write after that. It needs to be edited heavily.

 Q: Anything you don’t write?

 A: I don’t have the stamina or speed to write a multichaptered fic, really, or at least a coherent one. I’ve tried with a Lanille once, and now I don’t want to finish the fic at all. Content-wise, and as far as smut, there are, of course, a list of kinks I am definitely not interested in and will never write. But it’s too hard to say on a general level.

Q: Do you have any issues with making sure your staying as true to the characters as possible? For example projecting yourself onto them. A: Lightning's personality is kinda close to my own so she's fairly easy to write. I can throw a lot more of myself into her and (hopefully) make her sound more realistic. Serah is a bit more difficult because her personality differs from mine so much (Vanille as well). I tried to do a lot of research on the characters before I wrote them so I played the game over, took note of different things like body language and verbal tics. like Lightning has a tendency to say "Right" when she faces an awkward or difficult situation and rolls her eyes a lot. Vanille bounces around a lot .

We’d like to thank Aifirit for taking the time to make this interview possible. @fyeahnix

[verosmoonshine-blog]

Entries from the Ley-Walker

(Journal entries. Takes place in late February/early March, months before promotion. I meant to post this MONTHS ago, so here it is. Posting it now since it’s a part of Veros’ character development)

Prelude | Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV (coming soon!)

Day 1

Only a fool would ignore the knowledge and power that lies within Quel’thalas. The home of the Sin’dorei is rich with magic and history, and given the many uncanny parallels between the Sin’dorei and Shal’dorei, I’ve decided that studying them, their land and their culture, is the best starting point for learning about and understanding the world, and maybe even ourselves a little more.

I know the leylines in Suramar like I know the back of my hand. I studied them immensely in my youth, harnessed power from them, sculpted spells and tricks around them -- they are a way of life, and must be utilized. With the barrier down, I know deep in my soul that I’d be committing a crime to turn a blind eye to the rest of the leylines out there. Which brings me to Quel’thalas.

Today marks the first day I sniff out these leylines. The High Priest was kind enough to gift me a hawkstrider when I moved to Silvermoon, and the bird has been quite useful in getting me around. Bumpy ride though. The moment I left the gates, I felt the hum of arcane energy deep in the woods. And though I'm not fond of trees and such, I was quick to rush into the woods.

Connecting to a line here will take time. I'm unused to the grooves of this land, and I can feel the darker energies from the Dead Scar looming over. They interfere with my concentration. But, the very plants that grow here pulse with arcane in their leafy veins. They are the first step to finding a stronger connection.

Unfortunately, these plants are not so full in energy as I hoped. Left alone, they feed into the leylines nearby, fueling its life essence and blossoming regardless of the magically controlled climate, but, once cut, the arcane within it all but dissipates entirely, leaving a normal dead plant behind. I wonder if there is a way to preserve the magic in them. Perhaps if I take the root with it, but I'm hardly one to fiddle with plants.

Had to return early. A demon hunter ran into me while I was in the woods… tasting one of the leaves there. For science, of course. I wanted to see what effects the hidden arcane would have on me. But even though that elf had no eyes, he gave me this look, just. A look. And at that moment I knew I had to leave and down a bottle of something before I rightly perished of embarrassment.

Will update again, if not hungover.

--

Day 2

Back into the woods. I spoke to a Ley-Keeper in Silvermoon with a few inquiries. A lovely fellow, most beautiful hair. He told me that Quel’thalas is full of a cluster of leylines, all of which connect to the Sunwell. What an intriguing thought! I should ask the High Priest how I can go about visiting the Sunwell one day. Just how different is it from the Nightwell, I wonder?

The Ley-Keeper also suggested I visit some of the arcane sanctums in Eversong, which leads me to today. The Northern Sanctum is where I started first.

[Attached is a drawing of a map of Eversong Woods, blue ink swirling across the parchment with Shalassian notes scrawled over it]

What struck me first were the markings in the grass. Swirls and curls were imprinted in the ground, and standing atop them, I could feel the energy beneath my feet. However, as I mentioned before, dark energy lurks nearby, and it seems to disrupt the flow of arcane. When I visited the West Sanctum, the issue was the same, but more exaggerated. Too much energy clogged in some areas, so much so that the arcane manifests on a physical level, becoming wraiths and walkers, irritated and hostile over the disruption. They are very dangerous to quell, but leave behind various arcane residues. I've collected such into jars, and plan on experimenting with them later.

I also mentioned before that the plants here carry energy, but only if not separated from the lines. I have, however, found a peculiar plant growing directly on the leylines that is an exception, a red flower that appears to only exclusively grow on leylines. I’ve not seen another plant like it anywhere else. Even when cut, it retains its power, its roots having taken nutrients straight from the lines. Fascinating!

Out of curiosity, of course, I tasted this plant. Strangely, it reminded me of the bitter taste of arcwine, but different. More potent. Some of its strange petals dissolved in my mouth. The effects it had on me were even more fascinating -- I found myself jittering with energy, and the runes across my body glew more after I had consumed this plant. It was… certainly a ravishing experience, but I will never consume it this way again. After the pleasant buzz faded away, I found myself itching, desperate to eat more of the plant I had filled my bags with. Stars, the temptation was strong and nearly crippling -- I was forced to return to my apartment in Silvermoon, where I downed a bottle of arcwine to settle the craving and retired for the night. This plant can be dangerous if consumed. I’ve yet to ask one of the Sin’dorei what it is exactly and if it has a name.

--

Day 4

With this strange ley-plant, I managed to lure and “tame” a small mana wyrm while traveling the woods. She follows me around now, and I’ve since named her “Leyla”, which is, of course, a play on “ley lines”. I find myself very clever. With her simple-minded nature, she does one thing -- seek out mana. I’ve used her to track where other lines and sources of power may be, and it has furthered my research immensely. Already I have filled up several parchments with maps of the lines in Eversong, and I look forward to expanding on these when I explore elsewhere for more lines.

Finally, I revisited an old spell I created when I was a young Arcanist. If I stand atop or near a ley line and focus my will, I can connect myself directly to these lines, and channel its energy into myself, becoming a conduit for pure power. I am grateful to have these runes engraved into my skin to prevent me from straight out exploding with arcane overload, as this ritual is very dangerous for the untrained and unprepared. I visited each of the arcane sanctums in Eversong to see if I can get the same results tapping into these lines as I do in Suramar, and sure enough, I do. With the exception, however, of the East Sanctum, destroyed by the Dead Scar that runs across the land. I will touch on this in a moment.

Tapping into these lines, I feed power into myself (note to self: tie hair up when doing this, static electricity is an enemy to long hair). With my body filled to the brim with energy, I simply guide it outwards from my hands or through a staff, causing an array of beautiful explosions and lightning to spew out. Their chaotic nature in something so pure and orderly is beautiful to me, in a way. It is explosive, yet mathematical, every twitch of lightning precise and controlled through the order of arcane. I’m always stunned by the sight. At the East Sanctum, however, the energy is tainted. Horribly, horribly tainted. It reeks of the dead there, and while I can still tap into the lines there, the consequences are dire.

The leylines within the Scar are permanently destroyed. Arcane clogs up within the earth, leaving some areas of the line empty of power, and some dangerously overloaded. I can feel the damage connecting myself to the line, I can feel how seared and corrupt the magic has become. Still, like the fool I am, I attempted anyways to draw power from it as I had done the other lines.

Doing so only invited the unholy.

My body, despite having known its share of power and energy, is far too weak of a vessel to hold the tainted energy within these lines. Had I stayed connected with it for too long, my own body would have begun to decay, and I speculate that a worst case scenario is I transform into an undead on the spot with prolonged exposure. Visions of the dead entered my mind as I continued my spells, and I worry I may not be able to sleep tonight after such a sight.

It is still worth studying. I must find an alternative way of tapping into these specific lines.

--

Day 6

Leyla still follows me around. Several other Sin’dorei asked to pet her as I wandered Silvermoon with the wyrm. I had no idea just how cute the other elves found these wyrms to be, but I cannot blame them.

I met back up with the Ley-Keeper I spoke to a couple suns ago. Learned his name to be Keretos. Also learned he was not single, which was a shame. I inquired about the ley-plant I discovered, and his reaction to the sight of it was the same as most the other elves I spoke to had: a recoil in disgust as if I had just offered them the plague. You would think that they’d worship a plant rooted in arcane, but life is full of surprises!

Turns out, the plant is something called “bloodthistle”, and is quite taboo in their society. Used as a drug by lower class folks. Which… would explain its effect on me. And near dangerous craving for it back, the likes of which I still haven’t fully shaken off. Keretos was rather amused by my story of it.

Since I had an abundance of bloodthistle, and it's illegal to sell it as well as a waste to throw out, Keretos suggested I use the plant for different purposes. Crushing it and turning it into a cream for skin care, boiling it and mixing it with leyline ink to draw stronger runes, or perhaps catch more mana wyrms with them. All of which are brilliant ideas that I must take up.

So of course, I returned to the East Sanctum.

This time, I followed Leyla’s judgement exactly, following the little wyrm as she sniffed around in search of energy. I had prepared a bottle of boiled bloodthistle and magical ink for myself to use in my spells, and once I noticed Leyla hovering over a certain spot, I dived in. I drew a rune onto the soil the old fashioned way, hoping to channel part of the line’s energy into the rune so as to not overwhelm myself. The results were… fairly successful.

Corruption was filtered with the pattern I drew into the ground, and the arcane came to me in slower but steady increments. While I cannot judge whether or not the lines can be healed here, I can say that they are not entirely destroyed, and can still have use. Unfortunately, it is still wildly unstable, and very quickly my pattern was overwhelmed, pure, crystalized arcane jutting out from the ground and condensing in the runes. Wraiths manifested before my eyes and sought out to destroy me for disrupting the lines of power. That or they wanted to devour said power. Either way, I was forced to flee, but of course, not without scraping up some of the crystals I created. They will be studied intensely.

--

Day 9

Trial and error, trial and error. What a maddening cycle.

I have harvested crystallized power from the three Sanctums in Eversong. They replenish my mana, and allow me a boost in power when absorbed. I'm currently testing if they can be integrated with armor and jewelry to provide a passive buff. These crystals may be of some interest to the Agents of Suramar.

The crystals from the East Sanctum, however, are too dangerous.

I've dubbed these specific crystals as Blight Shards. These Shards hold a power beyond arcane. Unholy magic and time echoes, the likes of which that have been driving me mad. They whisper the echoes of the past, and at night I can hear the encased sounds of battle and shouting and violence and death, all from the day that can be none other than Arthas’s siege upon this land. I catch glimpses of the horrible past within the Shards’ facets, I see and feel the agony and despair of the elves that desperately tried to save their land. I hear their ghostly howls, their cries for help, their final breaths, and within some of the shards, their descent into undeath.

I was unable to imagine the horrors before. Now I cannot seem to look away from it.

I do not know when I did it or what finally compelled me to move, but eventually I could not bear to hear the suffering any longer. What a tormenter I am to encase the Sin’dorei’s suffering into an endless loop within these Shards, how could I possibly continue to go on knowing I allowed those screams to persist? I found myself in the outskirts of the woods, not so far off from the Duskwither Spire. I brought my crystals here, and with a fiery spell, I destroyed the Shards, finally ridding myself of the torment and hearing blissful silence at last.

I am weak as I am now. I've no strength to return to the city, hardly any to write any of this here down. I will rest here in the grass, and hope I can find peace of mind.

--

Day 12

A mistake to destroy the Blight Shards. They held immense power, I should not have let myself go mad to them! Regardless, I took time to perfect a few spells that could be used to filter the power that pours through the scarred lines. Alas, it would take a team of casters to create such a powerful filter to safely crystallize the power. It has been a great several thousand years since I gathered a group for massive research like this -- it must be perfect, it must be worth it. There is great power in these shards. I will explore them. I will explore the mana here. So much to be learned…

Perhaps what I need is more motivation. Perhaps I should not cower from research on such grand scales anymore. It’s time I step back up, time I dig for the deeper truth.

I shall bring my studies to the Agents. And with it… I shall bring Azerite to the table as well.

Knowledge is to be had.

[stupidfanfics]

Till Death Do Us Part: A Barry Allen Fan Fiction

Chapter 6: Ok?...Ok

Word Count: 3048

“Barry?” “Barry!” I yelled causing Cisco to stare at me. “What? Did I miss it?” I let out a sigh of frustration, “You overshot by about six blocks.” “My bad.” I rolled my eyes looking at Cisco who just shrugged his shoulders. “You there yet?” Cisco asked Barry sitting in an office chair and pulling up a map on the monitors. “What are you doing?” Quickly at the sound of Caitlin’s voice I pressed a button shutting down every monitor. “Nothing,” Cisco dumbly replied. “Who were you guys talking to?” “No one.” Caitlin stepped forward. “Are you talking to Barry?” “Who?” I couldn’t help but giggle as I watched the scene before me unfold. Which, of course, cause Caitlin to snap her head around and glare at me. “Barry Allen. Struck by lightning? Was in a coma for nine months? Woke up being able to run faster than the speed of sound? Monica’s childhood best friend? Ring a bell?” she asked raising an eyebrow. “No. Haven’t talked to him.” Cisco mumbled leaning back into his chair. “Guys, there’s fire everywhere!” Barry’s yell loudly played over the speakers. “Shit, we’re screwed.” I whispered. “Guys, are you still there?” “Everybody's out. What else you got for me?” Barry said in a cocky tone. “God, would you just shut up.” I yelled into my mic. “What do yo-” Caitlin cut Barry off, “Barry, it’s Caitlin.” Cisco and I shared awkward glances as we waited for Barry’s response. “Heyyy, Caitlin. How’s your day?” A small smile crept onto my face. “Get back to STAR Labs. Now.” Caitlin sternly said turning to Cisco and I. “On my way.” Barry flashed into the Cortex. “Have you three lost your minds?” Caitlin yelled. “Who do you think you are?” “Well, I’m the eyes and ears and he’s the feet.” Cisco replied. “And, what does that make you Monica?” she asked swiveling around to face me. “Oh me,” I pointed to myself, “I’m the team leader. Just making sure nothing gets out of hand.” “Well you obviously aren’t doing to could at that. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.” she retorted pointing to Barry. “You can’t be running around this city like some supersonic fireman.” “Why not?” Barry asked stepping forward. “This is what we talked about. Me using my speed to do good.” “We talked about you helping us contain other people who might have been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Metahumans. And aside from Clyde Mardon we haven’t found any.” “But Caitlin, people in this city need help.” I said supporting Barry’s case. “And he can help them.” “We can help them.” Cisco corrected. “Will you please say something.” Barry, Cisco, and I all turned around to be met with Dr. Wells wheeling around. “I think what Caitlin is saying, in her own spectacular angry way, is that we are just beginning to understand what your body is capable of. Not to sound like a broken record Mr. Allen… I do caution restraint.” “Dr. Wells, I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today.” “In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things. Know your limits.” Dr. Wells retorted wheeling off. “Don’t expect me to patch you up every time you break something.” Caitlin disclosed to Barry, storming off. “Hey umm, anything happen out there today?” I asked Barry walking to stand in front of him. “The sensors in the suit were kicking back some weird telemetry, like your vitals spiked for a few seconds.” Cisco explained. Barry shook his head, “Never felt better.” Cisco then handed Barry his phone, “Hey Joe, everything all right?” Joe. I haven't seen him in so long, which is kind of weird to think because he’s basically my replacement dad. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I missed Central City so much, here I have family and friends. In Seattle I had nothing. A gust of wind interrupted me from my, what you could call, contemplating. “Where’s he going?” I asked. “Apparently his, ‘day job beckons’” Cisco responded. “Now, when do you think he’ll realize he didn’t take his clothes?” mumbled Dr. Wells.

“You lied to us! How could you not us you’re experiencing dizzy spells? We’re your doctors.” Caitlin scolded Barry, “God knows what’s going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack.” Barry gave me a confused look, searching for an explanation. “Mini stroke. Probably not.” I told him. “You of all people should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets.” Caitlin said storming off. “Wow… I haven’t seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie.” Cisco said handing a tablet to Dr. Wells. “Ronnie was Caitlin’s fiance? The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?” Barry asked. “Yeah. He is… missed.” Dr. Wells replied staring off into the distance. “Well… let’s figure out why this is happening to you.” I said switching the subject.

“We’re all set.” Cisco said leaning on a pile of boxes, “A little padding. Just in case.” Cisco walked back into the room where I was sitting with Caitlin and Dr. Wells. “You’re sure about this Cisco?” Barry yelled. “Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about 12 miles per hour. This one, has been Cisco’ed.” Cisco explained, “Trust me. It can handle your speed.” “Okay.” Barry started walking on the treadmill as we all waited in anticipation. “Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal.” Caitlin said staring at her screen. “For Barry.” Dr. Wells added. “Brainwave function within standard limits.” Caitlin continued. Cisco laughed, “I told you the treadmill could take it.” “Guys, look at the glucose levels.” I uttered. “Oh my god, of course.” “Right?” “It was so obvious.” “Glucose levels. Barry!” I shouted, “We think we know why you keep-” Before I could finish my sentence Barry’s body was flung into the stack of boxes. “Passing out.” I whispered.

Barry let out a groan when he got out of the bed in the med-bay. “I passed out again?” he asked as Caitlin, Cisco, and I helped him up. “Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia.” Caitlin explained. “I’m not eating enough. So an IV bag, and I’m good to go?” Barry asked me. I let out a laugh, “More like 40. Guess you were thirsty.” “We’re gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes.” Caitlin reported. “I’ve done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 850 tacos. Unless we’re talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations.” I shook my head in disbelief at Cisco’s response. “For mexican I recommend Tito’s.” A familiar voice rang through the cortex. “On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city.” I looked up at the source of the voice. “Joe.” I whispered to myself. “Detective West. What brings you to STAR Labs?” Dr. Wells inquired taking the words right out of my mouth. “When I couldn’t find you at your lab,” Joe said pointing at Barry, “I started doing a little research. Turns out there’s been reports of a red streak around the city. Stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings.” “You didn’t tell him we’re working together?” Dr. Wells asked Barry. Barry shook his head, “Joe I can explain.” “You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry. I suggest you get back to it.” Joe scolded. “Mhm,” Joe turned to face Caitlin, “Don’t look at me. I’m on your side.” “Joe, we all want what’s best for Barry.” I interrupted. “Monica, don’t get yourself into this. And besides if you wanted what was best for Barry, you’d tried to talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him going out there risking his life.” “You saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that?” Barry yelled. “Since the accelerator explosion we suspect there may be more like him.” Joe shook his head in disbelief, “And you’re gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast that you’re invincible? You’re not! You’re just a kid. My kid.” Joe finished looking at Dr. Wells. “I’m not your kid, Joe. And you’re not my father.” Barry said shaking his head, “My father’s sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him. And you’re wrong about this. Now I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I’m gonna do it.” “Barry, maybe you should-” “And you can't stop me! So don’t try.” he yelled cutting me off. Joe looked around the room, searching for an answer. “You think you’re so smart. All of you. But you don’t know what you don’t know. And I hope that you’re clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed.” Joe finally responded pointing from Dr. Wells to Barry, hen he walked out of the Cortex. “I don’t remember him being that grumpy.” I observed turning to face Barry. “Yeah, well you haven’t really been here the past five years.” he muttered. “Well I’m sorry. I thought friends were supposed to be supportive of each other!” I yelled, “Or did you think there was something else between us? Because apparently something led you to believe it was fine to kiss me.” Barry stared into my eyes, his jaw clenched. “Monica, I’m-” “Sorry? Yeah Barry I know. Save the apologies for someone else.” I said, aggressively grabbing my jacket off my desk and storming out of the Cortex.

“Sorry, the abrasions are already rapidly healing.” I could faintly hear Caitlin’s voice from my desk as she cleaned up Barry’s wounds. “Yeah, I got my ass handed to me.” he responded. “No shit Sherlock.” I muttered to myself. “You got blood on my suit,” Cisco exclaimed. “Yeah Barry, you got blood on Cisco’s suit.” I said, standing up from my desk and folding my arms in front of my chest. “I think some of it belongs to him.” Barry retorted, “Another not-so-friendly meta-human.” Suddenly a man’s face popped up on the monitor. “Danton Black.” Dr. Wells sighed, “He’s a Bio-Geneticist specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones.” “Apparently Stagg stole his research and fired him.” Caitlin elaborated. “I saw Black create duplicates from his own body.” Cisco chuckled, “That’s pretty ironic, the guy specializes in cloning and now he can make xeroxes of himself.” “If he was experimenting on himself when he was exposed to the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator explosion-” “-meet Captain Clone.” Cisco smiled as we all stared at him in disbelief, “Don’t worry I’ll come up with something cooler.”  Barry started walking out the door, “Where are you going?” Caitlin asked. “Joe was right, I’m in way over my head. Yeah, I’m fast but I’m no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one metahuman, let alone six.” “Barry-” Dr. Wells said before Barry could leave, “I understand. Today was a setback. But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times.” Barry shook his head, “This wasn’t a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells… This was a mistake.” With that Barry was gone, leaving the other three scientists left to stare at me. “You’re looking at me like it’s my fault. It’s not. Ok?” Caitlin shook her head as she went back to work.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked when I walked back into the cortex to find Caitlin experimenting with blood and chemicals. “Trying to help Barry. Or I guess The Streak.” she answered. “The Streak?” “That’s what Iris is calling him on he blog.” I rolled my eyes, “Well, Barry said he was done with this. I hate to say it but I think it’s time to-” “BINGO!” Caitlin exclaimed. “Holy shi- what the hel- what’s going on?” A man began to grow out of the petri dish Caitlin threw on the ground. “ Dr. Wells, Cisco, we need you in the Cortex. Now.” Caitlin said into STAR Labs intercom system. “Hey what’s- holy clone!” Cisco yelled when he walked through the doorway. “Monica, call Barry.” Caitlin ordered. “No, I don’t want anything to do with him.” Caitlin snatched my phone. “Sigourney, call Barry Allen.” “Calling Barry Allen.” A monotone voice coming from my phone explained. I began to mouth the word no over and over again until Barry picked up. “Look, I told you I’m through.” Barry’s voice harshly rang through the phones speaker. “I know, but you need to get to STAR Labs… Right now.” I said in a serious voice before hanging up. Barry flashed in. “Barry, it’s okay” Caitlin reassure him. “It is not okay.” Barry exclaimed standing face-to-face with a clone of Black. “Black is here and he’s just… standing there. That’s not him, is it?” “Looks like you solved the case Mr. CSI.” I said in a sarcastic tone. “It’s one of his replicates.” Dr. Wells answered. “How did you get it?” “I grew him.” Caitlin cockily responded, “I isolated a sample of Black’s blood from your suit, to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So, I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating… into that.” Caitlin finished motioning towards the clone. Barry waved his hand in front of its face. “Why isn’t he… it doing anything?” he questioned. Dr. Wells rolled up his sleeves, “We did a brain scan. Involuntary motor functions are active, little else.” “We think it’s acting as a receiver.” Cisco elaborated. “The clones are an empty shell without Black.” Caitlin continued, “Shut down the real Black and you might shut them all down.” “But how do we know which one is the real Danton Black?” said a confused Barry Allen. “I think it’s pretty obvious Bartholomew.” I remarked. Barry rolled his eyes and turned to face me, “Oh really? Care to explain?” I clapped my hands together, “Well just like you and your unexpected naps, Black has limits. The one showing weakness or fatigue, like you when you forget your hourly Big Belly Burger, is the prime. Take him down, you take them all down.” I said a cocky smile plastered across my face. “Just a theory… but one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen.” Dr. Wells said pushing up his glasses. “Plus, I whipped up these high calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up.” Cisco said handing him a bar. Suddenly the clone grunted and began moving away until a loud bang shot through the cortex. I turned to face the source of the bullet, “Any more of them?” Joe asked. “Nope.” Caitlin answered. “Why did it start moving?” Barry yelled turning to face Dr. Wells. “The prime,” he answered. “My guess is, the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle.” “And I know where he was summoned to,” Joe added placing his pistol back in his holster. “Stagg Industries.” Barry stared at Joe, “You should call it in.” “Police can’t fight this. What Black’s become, like Mardon… beyond me. Maybe way beyond them, too. The only person it’s not beyond is you. You gotta do this. I get it. So for once in your life, do what I tell you to do. Go stop him.” Barry gave Joe a small smile before walking up to his suit.

“-but that doesn’t give you the right to murder.” Barry’s scolding voice could be heard over the Cortex speakers before there was a gunshot. As Barry whoosed around a kept an eye on his vitals, constantly making sure they were steady. What? Just because I hated him at the time doesn't mean I couldn’t have cared about his well being. Suddenly Barry’s screamed was played in the cortex as his heart rate increased. I gripped onto the arm of my office chair as more gunshots and screams were heard in the Cortex. I looked over to Cisco who was staring at his computer screen. “Remember Barry, find the prime.” Caitlin spoke into her mic. “There’s too many of them to fight.” “Barry, you need to isolate the prime,” Dr. Wells instructed. “I can’t. It’s impossible.” Barry panted. “Nothing’s impossible Barry. You taught me that.You can do this.” Joe said trying to inspire Barry. After a few minutes of only the sounds of bodies hitting the floor and running Barry finally let out a chuckle. “Barry? Barry, are you all right?” Joe pressed. “I-i’m fine. I’m fine.” he responded, “It’s done.” Suddenly the sound of glass shattering was played through the cortex, I looked over at Caitlin who was just as confused as me. “Hang on!” Barry yelled, “Don’t.” Suddenly Barry began breathing hysterically.

“Tried to save him,” Barry said over the new broadcast. “Doesn’t sound like he wanted to be saved.” Dr. Wells responded. “Yeah, I know how that feels.” I muttered, causing Barry to turn around and give me a stern look to which I just shrugged my shoulders, “What? I’m just being honest. Some people… when they break… they can’t be put together again.” “Some people heal even stronger.” I let out a chuckle at Barry’s ironic response. “I don’t get what’s so funny about this to you.” Barry said, his tone becoming more harsh. “Barry, can I talk to you? Outside?” He nodded his head and followed me out of the cortex. “Look, I know that the way I left things five years ago was not great,” Barry scoffed at my statement. “But we have to put that behind us. Or at least while we’re here.” Barry took a step closer to me, “Why?” I took a step back, “Because Barry, this is my job and I’m supposed to act professional. I’m sorry for what happened that night but we’re both to blame. Let’s just accept the way life is and go on with our lives. Ok?” I asked cocking my head to the side. “Ok.” Barry whispered.     

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