#So Tempest's addition was a given

[thundertide]

Mini blog update: I’ve updated Kagota’s about page! This is the first of a muse list-wide update project I’m slowly working on in the background, with the aim to make them look neater, explain things more clearly, and look like less of a clustery mess. For the time being, other muses and any new ones that’re added will have the original way I had the pages set up (i.e. like Lumine’s and Aceline’s) because i already had them in progress before starting this project, but going forward, I’ll be working on updating them all, one by one, to match how I have Kagota’s set up now.

Changes of note:

There’s now a combat/constellation section! OCs like Kagota will see far more information in this section than canons because they don’t have anything to run off in game; this means she not only has a constellation breakdown, but actual attacks listed as well as a general fighting style, hopefully to make any fight threads that might happen in the future a little easier to work out, as well as sort out and trim down the other sections (misc, abilities, etc) a little. All OC based constellation artwork is made my @yoroiis and I will eternally love and thank her <3

Heraldic Tempest has been added to Kagota’s info. After doing a lot of talking and sorting things out with @yoroiis​, I’ve decided to add Kagota’s own abyssal abilities, Heraldic Tempest, to her info, especially given it’s started to make itself seen in her threads and explains why Kagota has memory and attitude issues until after the Sumeru arc. Whether or not Tempest is her own being within her or simply another aspect of Kagota is yet to be seen, and will be expanded on as we learn more of the abyss in canon. Tempest also has her own tag to reflect this.

I’ve added Starchasm Nyx/Veliona/”Seele” as the FC for when Tempest is making herself known. Additionally, Seele herself is now Kagota’s primary FC, specifically the Star Rail version of her with the HI3 version a younger Kagota; however, because there’s a lack of media to make icons from at the moment, her other two FCs in Ishtar and Rin Tohsaka will be seen more than Seele herself until I can find a means to make more.

With the combat points moved into their own section, I’ve fleshed out the misc, interests, and abilities tabs a bit more - And also given her bio a total rewrite to reflect the new info decided on! There are also mentions of her children post-Sumeru arc, as this ties in to Tempest and the previously mentioned attitude and memory issues.

The next up for this update is Cettra, so I’ll be making a note like this once I’ve got her rehauled page completed! <3

~Pom

[bigfatbreak]

more mlp au dumps

3 am palette cleanser. tis the season

additional fun for my dorky ass twibra au... twilight's friends mimic the elements of harmony in a way that reflects the magic of their pony selves (bc I said so lmao) and it's what brings her back from the brink after principal cinch grenade tosses her little magical collector in her face and blasts her with equestrian magic

details:

Chrysalis represents generosity specifically because of how she's selfish on behalf of her friends. she's absolutely willing to dupe other people and manipulate them if she thinks it'll help out anyone in the squad, even if the fallout could be cataclysmic. This has led to a really bad reputation following her around, and though its not really unprecedented, her friends still keep her around as she means well. It's a bit hard training her out of fawning over other people to try and make them stay, but she just wants everyone well-fed and happy.

Stygian has the loyalty blessing because he's the real ride or die. He would rather physically staple himself to his friends than possibly lose them, especially since he was subject to losing a friend group in the past which left him deserted at a really bad time. Meeting Tempest around that time was the only thing that kept him going, and now he's fiercely protective of his new friend group.

Spike is laughter because I love him. puppy power

Tempest gets honesty because she's extremely blunt, even though sometimes its to the point of insulting, she genuinely just wants communication to be established at any cost. Her straightforward attitude is very effective at stopping Chryssie's schemes and keeping Stygian grounded, and she doesn't mind being an anchor for the team, especially since she used to be team captain on her volleyball team before she lost her arm. The sense of "these people need me" helps anchor her as much as it anchors them.

Sombra can be exceedingly kind, showering people in gifts and lavish trips, assisting them in whatever programs they're in, and he's more than willing to put the effort in and sacrifice things of his own if it means his friends will benefit from it - but it stops there. His kindness is wonderful only to those in his close circle, and most importantly, to Twilight.

though their dynamic sometimes isn't the healthiest, they're all recovering from friendship issues of their own - some done to them, some because of what THEY did to others - and Twilight's the precious sun they seem to rotate around, as being a shut-in only focusing on her studies has given her zero inclination to have any sort of preconceived notions of other people. For friends with a bad past they're trying to work through, its incredibly refreshing, and they would rather die than lose her.

even more additional details:

Sombra collects pretty minerals, and wears a lot of jewelry as a result. He often compares Twilight to precious stones and seems smug about dating her.

Tempest and Stygian are room mates, but they're not dating, sharing a purely platonic relationship. (Stygian is gay and Tempest is a lesbian. they're each other's beards, basically)

Chryssie lives in an apartment Sombra pays the rent to, but only under the agreement that she stop dating people just to raid their houses. It's worked so far, at least according to CCTV footage

once the magic Twilight absorbed disperses into the team, giving them magic, Spike gets dragon attributes along with being able to talk. This means sometimes he eats Sombra's fancy gemstones and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it because if he yells at his gf's dog/little brother he'll get smacked. Sombra is in hell but everyone else loves it

[essektheylyss]

You know what I'm thinking about? That trip to Vergessen.

Not the memorable one. The super innocuous one, in which Ludinus and Trent insisted they'd just dug this weird rock out of the ground weeks ago, it's nothing to them, the Bright Queen can have it. The one where Eadwulf told Caleb he looked good despite having just crawled out of an eldritch horror's sludge and then showed off his super muscular, super tatted arms.

Let's return to Eadwulf's arms in a moment.

The scourgers were helping out with the Assembly's research portfolio, which at the time had included Ludinus's pet project of developing dunamantic super-serum. The scourgers had also previously been involved—in their off time, when they weren't doing their primary duties of torture and execution—with human experimentation of methods of augmenting a mage's personal reserves of magic.

Sound familiar?

(Really, Ludinus, are you too old to test your experiments on yourself?)

Back to Eadwulf's well-sculpted arms. By the time we meet him in 836 PD, whatever might've been done to them in 810 PD has been covered with those pointedly geometric tats. Somewhere around the same time span, an assassination attempt is made on the life of the Voice of the Tempest by assassins using what was likely a prototype of Otohan Thull's dunamantic contraption, which is a kind of harness that uses the distilled dunamis created by Yeza Brenatto from studying the stolen beacons. This attack of course left multiple Ashari dead and beyond the point of recovery, among them Derrig and Will.

Six years later, Otohan Thull of course would kill Fearne, Orym, and Laudna in battle using that contraption, and not long after would also use the same assassination tactic to draw out the Champion of the Raven Queen so Ludinus could press him into an orb.

Still with me?

In Molaesmyr, after the Solstice had been stuck in time, Team Wildemount find a number of interesting items in Gildhollow, Ludinus's forsaken bachelor pad. Notable among them is a chest harness designed to consume various natural sources of power in order to augment the wearer's arcane abilities.

I think it's incredibly likely that the human experimentation component of the scourger program, given its scope, was requested if not designed by Ludinus, in an effort to further his research in the realm of augmenting mortals' capacities for magic. (Mechanically, I imagine this equates to additional spell slots per day, or the capacity to singlehandedly pull off experimental spells beyond the scope of ninth level, i.e. Dunamantic Nap spell, but that's just speculation.)

Primarily my point here is to demonstrate that its entirely possible if not likely that even the minutiae of the Assembly's horrific program to create child soldiers may have been part of Ludinus's effort to release Predathos and kill the gods, in an effort to show how broadly this may touch even other previous campaigns.

Additionally my point is to say that if anyone has reason to lead the vanguard (pun intended) of righteous warfare against Ludinus Da'leth, it's a Liam O'Brien PC, and frankly, at this point, given all of this character reasoning to do so, I do not care which one.

[corruptedcaps]

Queen of Shadows

This story for was written based on pictures and a story from @lsat (discord: thedivergence, Twitter: LSAT1886). Enjoy!

----

In the heart of the quiet seaside village stood an ancient church, its walls cloaked in darkness and secrets. By day, it was a sanctuary of hope, but as dusk fell, its true nature emerged. The high priestess, revered and adored, was none other than a wicked witch. Her name was Morwenna, a woman of striking beauty with long, brown hair that flowed like the trunk of a tree. She considered herself the goddess of Satan, a corruptress who thrived on bending the will of the innocent.

Morwenna’s church was a lair, a den of deception where she conjured a corruption gas that permeated the air. Unseen, it coiled around those who entered, transforming them into her obedient servants, their free will eroded away like sand against the tide.

One stormy night, as Morwenna was closing up the church after another successful day of corrupting her flock, a sailor named Elara arrived at her door, seeking refuge from the tempest.

“Please Priestess, I have no where else to go and this storm is wicked.” Elara said pleading with the priestess. Morwenna eyed the woman, her striking pink hair was unlike anything she had seen. She would make an excellent to addition to her congregation. Morwenna simply smiled and stepped aside allowing Elara to enter which she promptly did.

“Oh there are many a wicked thing to be found near here.” Morwenna said smiling to herself as she shut the big oak doors, her eyes glowing yellow for the briefest of moments.

“Please child take a seat, I will fetch you some dry clothes and some food.” Moreenna said to Elara and disappeared into the back. Spying from nearby Morwenna turned the knobs on her corruption gas, her invisible evil crept towards Elara and Morwenna watched with bated breath. This was always the moment she loved the most, where her victims would go dead eyed and docile.

However as the seconds ticked by Elara remained unchanged, her demeanour still that of a hungry and cold sailor. Although if anything Morwenna could sense suspicion arising in the girl. She quickly conjured up some food and clothing and reentered.

Morwenna handed Elara the food and the clothes.  The priestess turned to allow Elara to change while contemplating her next move, although step one of her new plan was already in motion. Now clad in the baggy garments given to her Elara hungrily devoured the food as Morwenna turned back around.

“Strange,” Morwenna murmured, more to herself than to Elara. “You seem… different.”

Elara looked up finishing her last bite, her eyes narrowing. “Different? How so?”

Morwenna’s smile widened. “Most who come here find themselves overwhelmed with a sense of peace, almost as if they’re being embraced by the divine.”

“Peace?” Elara echoed, suspicion growing in her voice. “I don’t feel that. Just a bit of unease, perhaps.”

“Interesting,” Morwenna said, her tone turning cold. She leaned in closer, her eyes boring into Elara’s. “You are immune to my gas, unlike my pathetic parishioners. That makes you special.”

Elara stood abruptly, her hand instinctively moving to the dagger at her belt. “What are you talking about?”

Morwenna laughed softly, the sound chilling. With a snap of her wrists her form changed, her outfit changed. Her white robes became tight, black and slick. Purple pierced her hair and clothing giving her a distinct look that was frightening as it was captivating. A pointed black witch's hat finished her look.

“You should be honoured my dear, you get to elevate above the minions in my flock. You will become their Queen, and a wicked one at that." Morwenna said with a step towards Elara.

“I’ll never join you,” Elara spat, drawing her dagger.

“Oh my dear you've already taken the first step, you just didn't know.” Marwenna said with a laugh as Elara looked at the crumbs left on her plate.

“What did you do?” Elara said panicky.

“Just gave you a little taste. Have fun.” Marwenna said with a blood curdling cackle as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

All Elara knew was she had to get out of there fast. The room seemed to close in on her as she bolted for the door, her mind racing. She could feel something strange beginning to stir within her, a dark energy that threatened to consume her. Desperation fueled her steps as she fled the cursed church, determined to find a way to reverse whatever vile magic Morwenna had inflicted upon her.

Elara ran through the darkened streets, the village's eerie silence broken only by the pounding of her own footsteps. She could feel the sinister energy coursing through her veins, intensifying with each step she took. The lights of a nearby town flickered in the distance, offering a glimmer of hope.

She burst into a local bar, breathless and frantic. The patrons looked up, startled by her sudden entrance. Elara ignored their curious stares and approached the bartender, her voice urgent. "Please, I need help. Is there a doctor or anyone who can—"

Before she could finish, a sharp pain stabbed through her stomach. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Bathroom," she gasped, and a kind-faced woman pointed her towards the back.

Stumbling through the hallway, Elara barely made it to the bathroom before another wave of pain hit her. She gripped the sink, her reflection in the mirror showing eyes wide with terror. Then, she felt it.

Her chest heaved out, expanding unnaturally, filling her modest shirt. Her eyes began to glow a bright shade than they she was used to. "No, no, no," she whispered, her voice trembling.

The door to the bathroom creaked open, and the kind-faced woman from the bar stepped inside, her expression filled with concern. "Are you alright, dear? Do you need any help?"

Elara tried to speak, but another wave of pain wracked her body. "Please, you have to—" she started, but the woman interrupted.

"You don't look well at all. Maybe you should lie down. I can call for a doctor?" The woman said.

"This is something worse, I need—" Elara tried to say, but the woman interrupted her again.

"I'm sure the doctor can help, he is a miracle—" the woman began before Elara stopped her.

"Oh will you shut the hell up you old crone!" Elara snapped, her voice echoing with a strange, commanding power. The woman immediately fell silent, her eyes widening in shock, her pupils dilating to pure black.

"Yes my queen, I live to serve you." The woman replied in a trance.

A strange satisfaction washed over Elara as she saw the woman obey her without question. It was as if the outburst had unlocked something within her, a dark power that thrived on control and domination. It caused her body to change further as she felt the corruption spreading.

Her clothes shrank and became tighter to accommodate her growing breasts. Her hair became lighter, losing some of her trademark pink. her eyes turned an icy blue that matched the pleasurable shiver that accompanied her change.

The woman stood there, silent and submissive, waiting for Elara's next command. Elara could feel the power coursing through her veins, compelling her to exert her will but she knew it was wrong, she had to fight it. "Stay right there," she ordered, her voice steady and confident. The woman stood, unmoving.

Elara stumbled out of the bathroom, her mind set on confronting Morwenna and forcing the witch to undo whatever dark magic she had cast. Each step was a struggle, her body wracked with pain, but her determination kept her moving forward. She barely made it a few steps into the bar when a sharp, searing pain doubled her over again.

"Are you alright?" a man asked, rushing to her side. Others quickly followed, surrounding her with concerned faces and offers of help.

"Someone call a doctor!" another voice shouted.

Elara tried to respond, but a sinister voice echoed in her mind, whispering insidiously. These people are pathetic, so weak and subservient. They should be bowing before you, serving your every whim.

"No," Elara whispered, shaking her head. "I need to—"

The voices of the townspeople filled her ears, their concern overwhelming her senses. The dark energy within her surged, and the voice in her head grew louder, drowning out her thoughts. Her resolve wavered as the power threatened to consume her entirely.

"Silence!" she suddenly yelled, her voice filled with an unnatural authority. Instantly, the bar fell silent. The patrons froze, their eyes dilating and turning fully black.

In unison, they spoke, "Yes, my queen."

Elara gasped, the weight of her words and the power she wielded hitting her like a tidal wave. The townspeople stood before her, utterly entranced, waiting for her command. She felt a twisted satisfaction, a dark pleasure in their subservience. As this dark satisfaction filled her, the pain in her body began to vanish, ebbing away like a receding tide.

A revelation struck her: the pain had been a result of her resistance. Only by embracing the darkness, by accepting the transformation, did the agony subside. With this realization came a final, irrevocable change. Her hair, once a striking pink, shimmered and shifted, turning into a bright, lustrous blonde. Her mind cleared, no longer muddled with fear and doubt, but sharp and focused.

Elara straightened, feeling a newfound strength coursing through her veins. The people in the bar remained silent, their dark, dilated eyes awaiting her next command. She took a deep breath, her voice steady and commanding.

"Kneel. Kneel before your queen," she commanded, her tone brooking no opposition.

As one, the patrons of the bar dropped to their knees, their heads bowed in reverence. The sight filled Elara with a sense of power and purpose she had never known. This was her destiny now, a path of darkness and dominion.

A cruel smile crossed her lips as she looked at each patron as if they were a plaything for her to enjoy. The power she felt now was not soley contained to control over them either, her mind was awash with dark incantations and spells. Twirling her fingers in the air she produced a leather whip that was long and thin.

"Now losers, which one of you will get the honour of becoming my first pet." She grinned to herself.

A few hours passed in a haze of dark delight. Elara revelled in her newfound power, toying with the bar patrons, testing the limits of her control. Their subservience was intoxicating, their minds pliable under her influence. She indulged in their obedience, orchestrating their actions with a sinister glee that fuelled her transformation further.

As dawn began to break, Elara stepped out of the bar, leaving the now-desolate patrons behind. The first light of morning painted the sky in hues of pink and gold, a stark contrast to the darkness within her. She strode confidently back to the church, the place where her metamorphosis had begun.

Morwenna stood at the entrance, her eyes gleaming with pride and satisfaction. "Aren't you a sight to behold," she said, her voice rich with approval.

Elara approached her, a smirk curling her lips. "Thank you, Goddess, for turning me into this, for making me see the light—or the darkness, as it were."

Morwenna chuckled, her eyes glinting with malevolent delight. "Are you ready to become the queen I need you to be?"

Elara nodded, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "I am. But I have two sisters who were with me on the ship. They should be somewhere on the island. I think they could make excellent evil princesses."

Morwenna's eyes sparkled with intrigue. "Oh, how delightful. The three of you will reign supreme, a trio of darkness. Let's find your sisters and bring them into the fold."

Elara felt a thrill of anticipation. The transformation was complete, but her journey had just begun. With Morwenna by her side and her sisters soon to join, she would carve out a legacy of fear and power that would echo through the ages.

[jackiequick]

Reverse Betrayal - Agent of SHIELD….HYDRA? | [ Flipped AU]

AU —— Amelia has been apart of the Inhuman/Brotherhood Of Mutants and Hydra all along, and is working against SHIELD (Why? We will never know..). After she had to reveal her powers to control a handful of soldiers after them while keeping a few in the process, to try Ward, to save the team and complete the mission. 

He decided to protect her and hide her secret, not knowing she was a spy. She doesn’t want to be saved or protected, in fear of letting her guard down, choosing to run away but Ward always finds her. The young heroes will always find her.

“I was trying to protect you..”

“So was I.” 

“So what are you doing?”

“I took your advice..I stopped running.”

“Look at me, baby, look at me! I won’t hurt you, I promise that.”

“Even after the hell I put you though?”

~~~~

Name: Amelia Rachel Mary Morse

Codename: Tempest 

Date of Birth: July 14, 1995

Nationality: Italian-American

Place of Origin: Queens, New York

Age: Varies depending on the timeline

Height: 5’2

Sexuality: Straight (though her loyalty often comes before any personal relationships)

Species: Inhuman/Mutant with the power to control and manipulate emotions

Affiliation: Hydra, Brotherhood of Mutants

Rank: High-ranking operative within Hydra's ranks, trusted member of the Brotherhood

Appearance: Amelia has a striking presence, with expressive eyes that seem to hold a secret. She often wears a confident smirk, giving off an air of mystery and danger. Her attire is sleek and practical, fitting for someone who operates in the shadows.

Abilities:

Emotion Manipulation: Amelia possesses the ability to sense, alter, and control the emotions of others. She can incite fear, anger, or calmness at will, using her powers to manipulate situations to Hydra's advantage.

Mental Resistance: Years of training and exposure to Hydra's methods have given Amelia a strong mental fortitude, making her resistant to telepathic intrusion and manipulation.

Combat Training: Trained in various forms of hand-to-hand combat and armed combat, Amelia is a formidable opponent in combat situations.

Background: Unlike the original timeline where Amelia dreamed of becoming a SHIELD agent to protect and serve, in this AU, she was recruited into Hydra at a young age. Growing up in Queens, she always felt like an outsider, hiding her true nature as an Inhuman/Mutant. When Hydra discovered her abilities in the later years, they saw her potential as a valuable asset. However she made it clear to have her abilities used on her own terms and conditions, she wasn't going to be their little toy.

Under the guise of a loyal agent, Amelia rose through the ranks of Hydra, honing her skills and serving their sinister agenda. She became known as Tempest, a name that struck fear or uncertainty into the hearts of her enemies. "Tempest" symbolize her ability to stir up and control emotions, much like a storm can whip up turbulent winds and chaos. It also represent her inner turmoil and the internal struggles she faces as she grapples with her loyalties and the choices she must make.

Alongside her allegiance to Hydra, she also aligned herself with the Brotherhood of Mutants, drawn to their vision of mutant supremacy.

Motivation: Amelia's loyalty to Hydra stems from a desire for power and control. Having felt marginalized and overlooked for much of her life, she sees Hydra as a means to exert her influence and shape the world according to her will. She believes in the supremacy of mutants and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their dominance.

Relationships: While Amelia may form alliances and partnerships within Hydra and the Brotherhood, her true loyalty lies with her own ambitions. She is skilled at manipulation and may feign friendships or romantic entanglements to further her own agenda. However, deep down, she harbors a sense of loneliness and isolation, knowing that her true nature must remain hidden from those around her.

———

Additional Information:

Deep down, Amelia harbors a sense of loneliness and isolation, knowing that her true nature must remain hidden from those around her. Despite this, she found solace in a relationship with her boyfriend Nikolai, where they shared a sense of comfort, understanding, and love.

When Amelia was assigned by her boss John Garrett, an undercover Hydra agent within SHIELD, to work alongside Phil Coulson and his team, she was hesitant at first. However, she discovered a warmth, confidence, and strong sense of compassion when working with Coulson and meeting the Young Avengers. 

Over time, she found herself drawn to them, allowing her walls to slowly fall as she began to desire something more for herself.

During the fall of SHIELD and the revelation of Hydra's infiltration, Amelia's cover was blown along with many other agents.

In a pivotal moment, she betrayed Ward and the team, saving them and herself. Following Hydra's downfall, Amelia went into hiding, forging her own path and rebuilding her guard. 

However, she remained on the radar of both the Young Avengers and SHIELD...

~~~~

This was my excuse to make an baddie Mia haha. Now it’s your turn to flip an characters around ;)

Anyways tell me what you guys think!

Tags: @gaminggirlsstuff @gcthvile @missstrawbs2001 @cherrysft @rickb-chaos @starkleila @infinetlyforgotten @meiramel @parisparker269 @buckysteveloki-me @yetanotherwells @nakiaswg @carellmcu @ximehs @xgoddessoffandomsx

[valeriefauxnom]

Random Thought Re. Bondforged Euden

So, Bondforged Euden was locked into Midgardsormr 0 for his shapeshift, as we all know (this is not a complaint, given Mid0's power!).

As such, he has one quote upon shapeshifting, which in English is,

Which is more or less verbatim from what I hear in JP, "Ikuzo, Midgardsormr!"

However, JP added an additional little tidbit to his whole shapeshift sequence. Specifically, when using Mids' skill in shapeshift, both Euden and Midgardsormr voice the line in complete unison.

That got me to thinking.

Is Bondforged Euden actually dracoshifting, instead of shapeshifting?

Now, I know it sounds like I'm throwing out words here, but yes, this was a concept in Dragalia, and I don't blame you if it doesn't exactly sound familiar.

We technically see it twice, as it is the explanation for how Alberius and Chthonius merged and stayed merged for so long, and it also serves as a way to amp up Leonidas.

While details are... spare (to put it mildly), aside from that, I think the implication of the notion of the 'dracoshift' is that it's more of a merge between the two for a time than just the human yoinking the form of their dragon for a bit.

That being said, I wonder if that's actually what's happening upon Bondforged Euden's shift, since the skill itself is called 'United Tempest' and the Japanese version has the both of them outright vocalizing together.

Pushing it one step further, I then would like to say that his regular attacks and skills are just regular shapeshifts, which is another wild thing. I've gone over the subtle evidence before that the whole pacting process and shifting isn't easy, and can be dangerous, but that just goes to show how far Euden has come, that he's constantly dipping in and out of a shapeshifted form just to make his attacks that much harder to resist/predict.

And then, when you factor in the fact that when he actually 'shapeshifts' he's really just taking it one step further to literally meld with Mids for a while, the fact that he has the energy at all to do any of that... It goes to show just how much stronger he is.

Interestingly, as a last thought I had on it, it's actually a gradual progression that was demonstrated through his other alts.

Most of the time, we see base Euden just shift once. Gala Euden starts mixing it up and sometimes shifts sequentially without even taking a breather between forms, as seen in his own story and in The Blood That Binds. And then we come to Bondforged, who is throwing out shapeshifts left and right and also finding the time and energy to merge with Mids quite a bit, since he's a very dragon-heavy user.

Kinda nuts, when you think of it that way!

[shroudandsands]

Prompt #3: Tempest

Her wings swirled around them both. They cut through the air with ease. Each of them as a limb that she’d been born with. Each of them as a part of her in a way that nothing else could be. Which is why it was particularly frustrating to lower them into Sawyer’s grasp for the third time today.

“Now, Heartlight,” Came that ever-steady, ever-rolling voice beside her horn. She was bent slightly so that she might both bear her wings and steer her thoughts. Her hand was on the small of Amesha’s back. The tickle of electricity that curled the tip of her tail was a small consolation for the frustration. “Try again.”

Her brow furrowed, her heels twisted and dug into the dirt. She felt the indentations of her sandals mark themselves like they might just form the roots she’d prefer she had. Perhaps to anchor herself. Perhaps to weather the sheer storm of annoyance that came with this moment and territory. She really did mean well. Her wings were the most extraordinary gift she’d ever received. Better than life. Better than all its joys. The sudden freedom they gave her. The changes they wrought in her being. The way she went from “was” to “is” in her own mind could hardly be described in anything but the most esoteric and abstract poetry. It’s a good thing she was the exact woman for that sort of thing, then. Less of a good thing that this meant the love of her newly lived life was encouraged to find more and more ways to enhance that piece of her. Sawyer’s penchant for creation was a wonderful thing. A beautiful thing. A fantastic thing that left her without sleep for suns on end and oftentimes leaving random cups of tea on whatever surface she happened to be near when an idea struck her and she couldn’t do anything but follow its whims back to her workbench. Or dinner table. Or the floor, given the way her fixations often went. And so it was this newest thing was born. Her new wings. Amesha sighed. Her new wings. Fine.

To say they soared to her side would be a poetic nicety that she wasn’t entirely willing to make. These weren’t light, crystal feathers that were meant to be a part of her body and soul. These were… Her heartlight called them Practical. They rocketed from their distance away as the wayward edges of her soul hooked onto them like weights. She could feel them hum, sing, reverberate back in response as they came to life. As they hung onto her senses and weighed down her thoughts while they came to a hesitating halt around them both. She let them move as she would let her arms rest by her side- They spiraled about her in jittering, jilting flight. They sunk for a moment, rose, too high now- then came to an unsteady circle in rest. She felt like she had a sweater wrapped around her head. But Sawyer whispered her encouragement as she watched these new wings float. Remarks falling from her lips about their motion, the status of their cores, how she seemed to be getting along with their new additions. She tried to listen to all that her heart spoke.

“Okay,” Sawyer’s voice in sharp clarity beside her head again. Her hands on her waist. “Try out the-” The four wings slammed into the ground. Amesha felt heat burn across her face, under her scales. Sawyer’s hands lifted. “…Maybe try now, Heartlight.” She almost couldn’t stand how pleased Sawyer sounded. That slight undercurrent of suppressed laughter. The love that drew out the beginning of their name together. The surety of it as she stepped around to pick up the dropped wings. The wings hummed back to life as she took them back into her soul’s grasp; as Sawyer released them to the air.

She just had to funnel her magicks through them. Just like the normal wings. It was so natural with them. It should be the same with these. Sawyer had made them, and changed them, to be especially suited for it. Amesha held her breath, pointed the four of them, and dug in her heels.

She hadn’t quite known what the intended result was. Something about increasing their conductivity- Improving her connection. Amplifying the output of her magic. Going by the fact that she was now being held by Sawyer, who was laughing in a glee that was generally reserved for sudden thunderstorms, and the reality that she was fairly certain she’d blown herself off her feet… She was probably going to be using these wings more in the future.

Great.

[tialinffxiv]

FFXIV Writing Challenge 2024

Prompt #3: Tempest

A short story in the Pirates AU we have with RP partner for Tia and Rhanmai- because I love it and always wanted to write more about it. And I could finally make bigger use of this "novel cover" thing I did a while ago~

“Captain Lin, sir! I report that the whole crew is present and ready to sail out.”

Red-headed Viera man paused his slow stroll along the broadside of his beloved ship- Hyperion. The still fresh leader on this deck was deep in his thoughts: a few hours prior they were ambushed by the gang under rival ship's flag- one which he only heard stories about so far but now had a chance to meet in person, alas at the expense of part of the loot and a bruise on his pride. “Excellent. Check the galley’s inventory as well.”

When the young crewmate saluted and walked away, Tia leaned on the hard wood of the broadside. His men didn’t suffer any more serious injuries, which was the best news. They lost 3 crates from the loot they just managed to dig out from the wreck at the shore of this paradise island. Two things in all this was not letting him rest his mind: the ambusher’s strike was very precise and it was clear they aimed for those specific chests. As for the other thing- it was his very own chest: precisely the strange feeling that was not leaving him even now.

Amidst the sudden attack Tia found himself facing the captain of a rival unit: a very tall Au Ra man with dark scales contrasting with his pale skin and shimmering in the sunlight. His long, silky hair flowing onto sharp horns; his long tail cut through the air as the man rested hand on the hip and graced the young captain with a sweet smile. “Ah, so the rumors are indeed true- Hyperion has new blood at its helm!” Au Ra eyed Tia from head to toes, as Viera took a battle stance, gritting his teeth, beautifully decorated rapier ready in his hand. “I’m honored to finally meet you, Captain Lin.”

Tia was not in the mood for pleasantries. Trying to take a chance while the man seemed wide open, he jumped towards him, aiming for his stomach- which was the easiest spot given their height difference- and readying a spell, to knock the man out. Unfortunately, he never had much practice against opponents armed with long and very strong tails- one swing of it hit his side and stunned in place for just long enough for Au Ra to get behind him and put a steel grip on his sword-wielding arm. Tia cursed under breath and lifted his other hand, aether forming into an orb of bright light- and then dissipating when Au Ra grabbed his wrist and twisted it, blocking his movements.

What happened… why was he so easily blocked, just like that… why he was so unfocused, distracted by the light reflecting on the man’s dark scales. Why was his heart pounding in his chest so- it was not his first fight, the rush of battle never hit him so abruptly, rendering him so defenseless.

Tia suddenly became very aware of the heat of the other man’s body while he pressed on his back, still holding him in a merciless lock- now leaning down to his long ear, his voice slightly vibrating on the low, alluring tones: “Rumors doesn’t do justice to your charming self at all, oh fierce ruby of the sea. You would make a fine addition to my personal treasures.”

Viera stopped his tries of wriggling out of the man’s hands, so much he was surprised and baffled by his words- and the whole situation. He could feel the heat building in his body, reaching up his face and heart fluttering in his chest. Distracted and trying to make any sense of all this and stopping mind from snapping back to the pressure on his back- he didn’t even notice that the grip on his arms loosened. Only when the tall man stepped back, robbing him from this closeness and the scent enchanting his senses, did the young captain manage to shake it off and get back a hold on his stance and mind. He turned instantly, ready to attack but to no avail- Au Ra jumped away, bowed to him with a smirk decorating his lips and with a gesture of hand and short shout ordered his crew to return. “Come back here, lizard bastard!” Tia ran after him but again failed to reach his target, cursing the Twelve under his breath as he stood there, watching his opponent getting away all victorious, heart nearly jumping out of his chest.

It was for sure a stain on his pride to be so easily defeated. And now he still couldn’t make sense of his own reaction for all this. Couldn’t shake the feeling off… That chaos in his mind and chest. That… that… how to best describe it…

“…storm, sir.”

“Ah yes… that’s very matching, indeed.”

“Uhm… captain?”

Tia blinked and turned to the crewmate who stood there staring at him, with concern all over his face. “I’m sorry… You were saying?…”

“Silent Meadow says that the sea is changing- we’re expecting a heavy storm, sir.” He paused, gazing over the captain. “Are you sure you were unharmed in the attack, sir?”

“Ah, yes, I’m fine. Just still shaken and all. Please don’t worry. And inform the crew that we will spend a night on this island after all. We’re not risking sailing out into the tempest.”

The young man saluted and returned to the rest to deliver news. Tia exhaled heavily, rubbing temples. “Get a hold of yourself, idiot…” he murmured to himself. And yet, no matter how much he tried to cleanse his mind and focus on his captain’s duties- the touch of that man was still burning on his skin and the scent lingering on his clothes was messing with his mind. And he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the most dangerous storm he ever sailed into.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

How Would I Do….An Official DickKory Wedding Had I been in Charge if DC Comics

To clarify, the following proposal takes place within my version of a reboot for DC Comics Mainline books and continuity, as per my pinned post.

To catch everyone up to speed to when this will take place:

Two Event comics would’ve by now took place (Dawn of Fire and War of the Supervillians)

In between said events, Titans Leader Nightwing aka Dick Grayson would’ve had his secret identity discovered by a crime boss in Bludhaven with a massive grudge and used against him, more or less ruining his life and leaving the black and blue clad alter-ego wanted by the state Bludhaven is within with a massive bounty for a crime he didn’t commit (Clipped Wings and it’s subsequent Batfamily crossover Blue Hawk Down)

At the same time, the rest of the Titans would be attending to a crisis in space no doubt Tamaran related which leaves Starfire aka Princess Koriand’r emotionally shook to her core, and the B team of the Titans split with Red Arrow aka Roy Harper forming his own splinter anti hero team called Arsenal Inc. this combined with other unfortunate events to an entire half of the Titans leaves Wally West and Tempest aka Garth with no other options but to travel through time and ask for help from….themselves, their young Teen Titans selves, to which the Fab Five agree to and they travel forward in time and resolve to stay in this new future until things are set right. (See here)

Before the events of War of the Supervillains, Dick and Kory, now more or less in temporary retirement, are able to meet up with one another and share their experiences and interpersonal matters between them. Sure both are emotionally exhausted and burnout by recent events in their lives but they go through their issues together and strive to stay together, whether it be at Haly’s Circus once again traveling across the country or Kory taking a residence at Key West, Florida.

Once War of the Supervillains wraps up and status quos are reinstated especially for the Titans, Dick and Kory’s relationship is now stronger than ever before, thus leaving a pathway to their marriage wide open. Thus in this post, we shall cross it.

(Read more Below the Cut)

For a bit if Meta context , both Dick and Kory would have solo books in addition to Justice Titans at the very start of the reboot, released around the same time. So about around the 74th issue, what I had in mind was that the wedding would be a Seven Part Storyline with the following books in order:

An Alpha Issue (The Issue to which Dick, with a subplot in his solo book up to here would be finding a perfect ring for Kory once they approach the altar, and Kory finalize their plans for the wedding, their place, their minister/priest and all they talk of all the implications that can come from such)

Then Starfire #74 (We see her perspective of the big day fast approaching while the sub plot can deal with her further reconciliation with her sister Empress Komand’r aka Blackfire and as of this point in her solo book, her attempts to reconnect with her younger brother Ryand’r aka Wildfire starting to bear fruit; both siblings are given their perspectives of this wedding)

Then Nightwing #74 (On the flip side we see Dick’s perspective as he finally moves back to Bludhaven after Bruce Wayne and senator Janet Drake are finally able to lift the Wanted Bounty off Nightwing and find him innocent of all charges. We see the reactions of his fellow Haly’s Circus crew members and friends within the city of his upcoming wedding and their words they can give to the Boy Wonder)

Then comes the triple whammy of…

Justice Titans #74 (The main A team; other members besides Nightwing and Starfire are Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and a resurrected and fully heroic Terra)

Titans #74 (The B team; consisting of Troia, Red Arrow, Tempest, Wally West Flash, Omen, Herald and Bumblebee)

And Teen Titans (The time displaced Fab Five of Robin I, Wonder Girl I, Aqualad I, Speedy I and Kid Flash Wally) #14;

These three take place on the Wedding Day itself but with a twist. They’ll fend off multiple supervillain attacks orchestrated by Benito ‘Boss’ Zucco (son of Anthony ‘Boss Zucco; see here) so that Dick and Kory can have their wedding in peace*. All the while each issue focuses on a particular character in their book and their perspective on the events unfolding. For example, Robin!Dick would be the one giving his thoughts about his future self’s wedding in Teen Titans.

Then finally a double-sized Omrga Issue (in which via a ceremony that combines Tamaranean and Human customs, I.e. the rings and the “You May Kiss the Bride”, Dick and Kory FINALLY are wedded together in harmonious matrimony. We follow that up with the reception attended by Batfamily members, the Titans, the Justice League, Komand’r with her royal court and even the time displaced Titans, allowing both present!Dick and Past!Dick to meet face to face. This issue and the storyline end with Dick and Kory beginning their journey across the galaxy for their Honeymoon)

Within the Post-Wedding aftermath, I’d combine the Nightwing and Starfire solo books into one.

Now it’ll be called ‘Nightwing & Starfire: The Flying Graysons’, starting with issue #75

Side Notes:

*This follows a a similar plot point within the Wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm aka Mr Fantastic and The Invisible Woman in the pages of Fantastic Four

At the wedding itself, yes indeed Tim Drake, despite being technically older than the standard age ranged can be the ring bearer for Dick and Kory, out of wanting to take some part for his big brother

Please, reply and especially reblog to share your thoughts about this idea, that’ll be very appreciated

Tagging: @spider-jaysart @lightdusk96 @camo-wolf @meara-eldestofthemall @sillymanwithocs @mothnem @wisegirlandseaweedbrainforever @anasmoonworld @bluegarners @adalineozie @sbd-laytall @starlightbelle

[arthurdrakoni]

Flatland is an underrated classic that imagines life in a 2-D world. This is my review.

You’ll get a lot of answers when you ask when speculative fiction was born. Some will tell you that it began with Hugo Gernsback and the pulps. Others will say that it goes as far back as mythology and folklore. Personally, I go with those who say that it began with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, though I don’t discount earlier works such as Gulliver’s Travels or The Tempest. I say all of this because I’m taking us back to the 19th Century for today’s review. We’re going to review the classic novel Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott.

Imagine, if you will, a sheet of paper that is infinitely large and stretching to all sides. Now imagine that on this sheet of paper there are a series of geometric shapes, but instead of staying in place these shapes move about and have complex social lives. Welcome to Flatland, a world of only two dimensions. There is width and length, but there is no height or depth.

The book follows A. Square who is…well, he’s literally a two-dimensional square. He acts as our guide to the realm of Flatland and relates to use the ways of his countrymen and their doings. There are two main events that serve to completely change A. Square’s world view. The first is his contact with Lineland, a world of only one dimension, and the second is meeting a figure known as Lord Sphere. Lord Sphere claims to come from a strange world of three dimensions called Spaceland.

The book goes into great detail about how life works in a world with only two dimensions. For example, it is customary to meet someone by feeling them in order to determine their shape. It’s also considered polite to give directions to the way north when meeting a traveler on the road. Societal rank and job are determined by the number of sides that one has, with circles being at the top of things. Each successive generation gains an additional side, except for the low ranking isosceles triangles, though there are exceptions. Women, being incredibly sharp and pointy lines, have restrictions placed on them so that they can avoid constantly killing people by accident. We also learn much of the history of Flatland, such as why colors have been banned by the upper classes. There is some pretty great world building in this novel.

That having been said the fact the citizens of Flatland are all living geometric shapes does limit the amount of exploration that can go into their biology and physics. A. Square does hint at future explanations, but he decides that it will take up too much time and bore the reader. Or to put it another way, if you wonder how they eat and breathe and other science facts…well, I’m sure you all know the words to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song. You’ll also notice that Flatland society bares more than a passing resemblance to the society of Victorian Britain. This is intentional, as Abbott intended for Flatland to be just as much a satire as a compelling story. For example, the class system of Flatland is rather absurd when given further scrutiny, but Abbott was making about about how the British class system was absurd and ultimately rather arbitrary.

Since it was written in 1884 Flatland has long since fallen into the Public Domain. As such, many other writer have tried their hand at tackling the subject matter Flatland is built upon. Usually they will focus on one particular aspect while ignoring the others. Admittedly I haven’t read any of these books, but of the ones I’ve heard of thanks to TV Tropes I’d say Planiverse sounds the most promising. It attempts to look at how biology, chemistry, physics and culture would function in a realistic 2-D world.

Have you read Flatland? If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-flatland-by-edwin-abbot.html?m=1

[ammonitetheartist]

TITAN OCS

Finally made the designs for all my Titan OCs from my Sky and Earth AU:

Hallow is the middle child out of King’s 3 kids and Squire’s father. Having heard many tales from King & the Collector abt the Archivists when he was younger, he dedicated a massive amount of time to finding and learning all he could about these Titan slayers. Unfortunately, though, the resurgence of the Titan species caught the Archivists’ collective eye, so they noticed what Hallow was doing and captured him to find out exactly what he’s learned.

Tempest is the oldest child of King’s oldest child, and was the main one look after his siblings as they hatched and grew. As a result, he grew sort of antagonistic toward life on the various landmass Titans. He outwardly acts stuck-up and jerkish, emphasizing that his kind are on another level to everything else on the planet, to drive a wall between him and the uncertain world he fought to guide his siblings through during their most vulnerable years.

Isthmus is the middle child of Tempest’s sibling group. They keep to themselves a lot, yet are also curious about life on land, sometimes going for nightly swims around the Isles. They’re often the one to reign in Tempest’s snappish and antagonistic attitude, and honestly wishes he could make peace with the beings on the Isles.

Squire is Hallow’s son and a cousin of the main sibling group. He lives on the island King became, and is known among the people there. When his father was taken be the Archivists, he decided to scour out information themselves in his honor, and to try and find something that might convince the Archivists to leave them alone - or even stop them - for good. He’s a winged Titan, but his wings aren’t developed enough for him to fly yet, so they sometimes ride a massive dragon they’ve named Shattertank.

Penumbra - the second youngest of Tempest’s siblings - was star-touched by the Collector, given half his power. As a result, her own powers developed quicker and more strongly than an average Titan, with completely new additional abilities. There hasn’t been a star-touched Titan in… well, a while, so she’s kinda on her own in the figuring-out-her-powers department. Despite these difficulties, she does her best to keep the family dynamic together between the four of them, especially being there for Onyx when Tempest and Isthmus have disagreements.

Onyx is the youngest of the siblings, and often sticks close to Penumbra. He’s very curious about their cousin Squire (as they don’t see him often) and expresses this to her, imagining all the things he might be doing and the adventures he might be having. He also collects feathers.

[raayllum]

The Queen’s Mercy Breakdown Analysis / Predictions

Bloodline that Binds card from out-of-context S5 spoilers is definitely about Karim and Janai being the two heirs that can presumably free Kim’Dael from her chain(s). I think that Karim will barter / hire Kim’Dael to assassinate his sister (or, if she cannot harm descendants of Aditi at all, Amaya) under the deal of freeing her afterwards. Therefore, I have a feeling that this screencap

is Amaya, Callum, and most importantly, Rayla, encountering Kim’Dael in her initial attack

(Also, given that we’ve had a short story entitled “The Queen’s Soul” for Khessa and “The Queen’s Mercy” for Aditi, it seems likely Janai will get a tale named after her at one point as well, as she’s currently the only Sunfire queen without.)

This also brings our “characters in S5 who are seeking Freedom” tally up to like, five, now that it’s Callum (from Aaravos), Rayla (for Callum & the coins), Viren (from Aaravos’ machinations, most likely), Aaravos (from prison), and finally Kim’Dael from Aditi’s golden blood oath chain. How’s that for layering

Specifically Kim’Dael and Aaravos both being imprisoned with, well, very different kinds of keys tethered to each of them

The sharp circlet of gold had sealed itself around her neck without an edge, without a latch, without a lock. 

(Flashbacks to Amaya’s “I don’t believe in locks” lmao). 

We also see the return of deceptive gift giving and promises under the guise of protection or unclear terms. Aaravos was a betrayer who was then betrayed; Rayla was a liar who then revealed one (Claudia); Kim’Dael is a deceiver who’s then deceived, etc etc.

Also in addition to the storm symbolism / pattern the marketing and S5 has been pushing, the Heart Motif (specifically a heart as vulnerability or truth) continues to be more and more consistent, featuring now in every short story’s release and making me believe more and more in my “the Key of Aaravos is Aaravos’ heart/chest piece” theory

Fools. They might as well have held their own hearts, beating and bloody, in the palms of their hands. Kim’dael knew that if she showed them her heart—or something convincingly like it—the Sunfire elves would do exactly what she wanted them to do.

Zubeia flew through its torrents until her wings ached, but she could not find the tempest’s edge nor the quiet heart at its center. [...] The hurt in her chest deepened. “But I am so tired. I’ve walked so far alone.” “You are stronger than this. All storms end!” Rex rumbled a snort through flared nostrils. “What lies at its heart?” 

Lissa had left her years ago, but the space she had owned in Claudia’s heart remained. It was a dark place now, hard and hateful, its edges raw as a wound that had forgotten to heal.

While one may say it ends with a sunrise, another will insist it ends at nightfall. Yet at the heart of the story is a single, simple truth…A star fell from the sky.

I remember how I felt when my parents left me to join the Dragonguard, like PART OF MY HEART WAS MISSING and I would never feel right again. [...] But, if it does—if you feel that soft aching—know that that piece of your heart isn’t missing. It’s not missing at all, Callum: I’m carrying it with me!

Also more Kim’Dael parallels to Rayla and Aaravos not only in aforementioned heart symbolism (“My heart for Xadia”) but also in being likewise the last of their kind(s) / specific groups, and exiled/hunted for it as well. There’s also the way Rayla’s mercy doomed her team and “ Mercy would be the queen’s death someday, she thought—but that, of course, was none of her concern” even if it of course doesn’t come to fruition quite the way she expects

We have Harrow’s “we will pay the blood price eventually” coming true quite literally, as well as questions of why Aditi chose to keep Kim’Dael as a personal murder pet over just killing her (which she clearly could’ve done) when Aditi’s chain clearly isn’t enough to stop Kim’Dael from committing crimes in the future, either.

Last but not least we have Callum and Kim’Dael parallels in terms of literal (or metaphorical) chains around the neck, an inability to breathe, being brought to their knees, etc. 

[ran-orimoto]

[ There are certain decisions I will make after a while and, why not, even after more than a year since I will please my friends’ suggestions and requests only when the wind blows in the right direction. So yeah, here am I, still determined not to post MTTCI here, but giving a chance to an impromptu three-chaptered story I wrote before an exam, whose subject, ironically and because of a joke of Fate, has become the main topic of my bachelor thesis. So…Maybe I can consider it as a way to celebrate or maybe it’s just my brain admitting I kinda want to write a sequel to this because Miranda and Junpei are precious creatures of lightning scampering in my head 24/7. Let’s colour my weekend with this throwback, shall we?

Ah, Junpei and Izumi are in their early thirties (34 and 33). My bbies have grown up *sobs*. ]

| Three short acts of a Tempest|

•Chapter 1: The stillness before the Tempest•

Clouds painted with the pink of an early dawn gently fell on a tiny frame. They slowly shifted and went up and down, as if the sky had suddenly turned into the expanse of the sea and the kindest breeze was cradling the creature on peaceful waves. The oscillating movement went up and down, the lullaby of the sloshing joining the wind’s chant and changing the colour of the rosy water.

Green.

A penatrating green. Such a peculiar shade that was intense enough to make the world decelerate at once, sweetening everything going round and round with it, even the most powerful thunder that could disrupt the quiet of that picture.

“But you are still awake…No, no, sleep, principessina mia , sleep.”

Poetic images eventually got the consistency of reality: the sky and its tufts of clouds assumed the form of padded blankets warming a wicker crib decorated with ribbons; the swinging of the sea transformed itself in the caring caresses of big hands; the song of the wind melted in the humming sounds coming from a woman who was sitting in front of a mirror and was brushing her blonde hair.

And that green…That green was given a round shape, so little yet so able to hold any ray of light illuminating that bedroom. It was so easy for him to plunge in those orbs and enter an oneric universe.

Miranda.

“ The problem is that you shouldn’t be the one putting her to bed,” lzumi told Junpei with a smirk, after having approached him. “Whenever she sees you, she wants to be picked up by you.”

Junpei blinked at her with one of his funny expressions printed on his face.

“Do you think so?” He asked, his lips still protruted in a pleasant wonder.

“I don’t think. I can see it,” She chuckled while pointing at the chubby arms the baby would occasionally lift in his direction, especially whenever his chocolate met her shining mint.

She tried placing her silhouette in front of Junpei’s, action that resulted easy because of their almost matching heights. However, he unfortunately made her efforts vain by getting closer to the cradle again and widely grinning at its excitable host, who proceeded to happily agitate her limbs at his sight.

“Eh eh, you want to make your mother jelous, eh?” He joked, ignoring Izumi’s glare until she started patting her foot on the floor, her arms crossed in a playful annoyance.

Only in that way he understood she wanted him to let her deal with the family’s newest addition by her own, whereas he was supposed to slip away from the mother and daughter duo, -which, for Izumi’s joy, was what he immediately did, as obedient as ever-.

He brought himself to sit on an armchair in the corner of the bedroom, near to a large window extending from a side to the other of the wall and giving an elegant touch to that area thanks to cream-white curtains.

His tired spheres focused on Izumi for a while; on the tender words she was whispering to their second child, as impalpable as bursts of air blowing from an unknown dimension. Afterwards, though, he felt like turning to the view behind him, as if he had no right to assist to the interactions of a couple of angels,-because he couldn’t help describing his most precious treasures like that-, and he gasped at a panorama that looked darker than usual.

“It’s going to rain soon, isn’t it?” He said out of blue, feeling a familiar and bizarre tension beginning building up in every inch of his lumbering body.

“I think so,” Izumi’s voice cautiously crawled to him. “That’s what I heard from the forecasts. This is why the temperatures have dropped so drastically. As a precaution, I asked the guys to help me bring the chairs and tables inside.”

“It’s not fair, Cara. You could have asked me!” He straightened his back, abruptly parting from the comfort of the backrest. “You do know I could lift two tables at the same time, geez.”

Izumi didn’t reply him immediately. With a light pat on the tissue of the blankets, she firstly announced the success of her motherly task…Despite how loud Junpei could get without even realizing. She bended to give a kiss on the dormant blonde doll ’s forehead, then another one, -even more intangible than the previous one but still full of love-, on those puffy cheeks endearing her at their only touch.

Only after having tucked in their daughter for a last time, she gave attention to her pouting husband and passed her nimble fingers through his spiky strands.

“I know you can, but I wanted you to rest properly after that long flight,” She explained him, referring to the night before and reminding him of how exhausted he had looked when he finally arrived home.

Having returned from a special invitation at New York’s Metropolitan Theatre, he was also still suffering from a nagging jet lag he had been attempting to neglect for the whole day, no matter how much his temples were pulsing or his muscles were aching. Regrettably, his tenor job didn’t allow him to spend as much time as he wanted with his family, so he would have never allowed a silly jet lag to mess with his plans, especially now that they weren’t only three anymore.

“It was impossible not to have the most beautiful dreams after that delicious dinner you prepared me!” He laughed heartily, his chest bouncing at each giggle until he was forced to suffocate a yawn. “Oh c’mon, I slept until lunch time this morning!”

“It’s not like you have something to do. The kids are sleeping soundly now.”

Izumi jumped off his lap and reached out to offer him her hand: nobody ever believed him whenever he said his wife could pull him on his feet. Izumi had certainly developed a certain amount of strength during the years and she was so glad it had happened, since she had stood being the only one receiving help in certain occasions for so long. He needed and deserved to be taken care of too. He couldn’t and wasn’t supposed to be the only one doing that in her regards.

That’s why she couldn’t repress a satisfied snigger when he abandoned himself on their bed, throwing himself on the mattress without a complaint because she had happened to be right again.

She was always right: he was so tired he could have slept for the whole night and following morning like the baby next to her side of the bed.

Still, this time she might have been wrong.

The night to come was going to be longer than she expected for both.

• Chapter 2: The Tempest •

A burst. One of those seeming to be piercing the sky and making it break in thousand of pieces.

Despite that sense of restlessness filling his veins, Junpei had managed to close his eyes to plunge in another universe making him smile in bliss during his slumber.

Actually, he had got used to that feeling whenever a thunderstorm was about to arrive. He had stopped taking his pills for that anxiety provoked by that kind of weather, but it was still there, arising from his heart which would begin racing more and more at the tempest advancing. Unlike when he was on his early twenties, though, now he was a happily-married man and he was aware it would be enough for him to just roll closer to Izumi to feel much calmer.

Furthermore, there also was their new baby they had called after a character from Shakespeare’s “Tempest”, a theatre piece he had come to love after having starred in it for four times. Before the neonate was born, Izumi had never been that convinced about a similar idea, but now she couldn’t help repeating that name over and over again, even under the water jet of the shower.

Miranda. Their Miranda.

Having given her that name often felt like a step further he had decided to take while holding Izumi’s hand. It felt like if he was trying accepting tempests were a part of his spirit, of Izumi’s , of their family’s. The bond they had shared with Blitzmon and Fairymon as kids had created a perpetual connection between him and thunders, Izumi and winds, the life they had built together and the turmoils generated by the sky. There was no way to escape what they were, but they could only embrace it, just like their friends had done with their own elements. It was so hard for him, though: even now that he had reached his thirties and his maturity, he was aware his struggles had never mutated, unfortunately for him.

Actually, that night that burst roared in the firmament, the impression of hundred dragons landing on Venice with their massive weight. Glasses trembled like if they were prey of an earthquake, alarms started ringing in the whole neighbourhood, some shouts could be heard in the distance…But Junpei, who had been the first one waking up with a start even before that disaster unfolded, could only care about a scream seeming to be opening a hole in the stillness of the bedroom.

He hadn’t only heard it.

He had perceived it and he could have sworn that was what had really happened.

At that despaired wail, he didn’t hesitate before darting out of the bed and rush to the crib. In that blackness, it was so hard for him not to trip on the carpet and hurt his elbow against a wood feet, but he eventually managed to reach Miranda, surprisingly beating Izumi to it.

“ Che succede ?! What is happening?” She sat up, more than confused to be touching Junpei’s hip with a knee. She tried turning her abatjour on, but her hand remained in the air when she saw the glow of the emergency light.

“She’s got scared by that thunder,” He nervously clarified trying his best not to bite his lips. “That was so powerful I’m sure it has literally destroyed some car out there.”

Izumi hanged onto his thick arm, her palm descending and tracing the solid contours until she reached that protective hug’s upset host, her frantically-moving short legs, the hiccups of her round belly, her butterfly-shaped pacifier left dangling on it.

“Now it’s gone away, Miranda-Chan,” She massaged the baby’s tummy, but she was soon betrayed by another bolt, less scary than the first one she hadn’t fully heard yet still terrorizing to the little girl.

Meanwhile, Junpei could only rock her back and forth in silence, his breath growing heavier at each small fist or kick thrown at his chest.

“I’m going picking Kou up,” Izumi promptly announced. “I’m sure he’s so frightened too. I’ll take him here.”

Thus, her hasty steps left him and Miranda alone, in that room that would take life with a spectral white at every lightning hurled against the ground. It was in those brief, ghostly intervals that he could frown at the poor baby’s reaction: during the first time he spotted her eyes forcefully shut; during the second one he was able to give a glance at her trembling wince of terror; during the third one he could clearly see the lucid tears cascading on those features he loved so much.

It was precisely because he couldn’t stand the image of those green stones throbbing of water, that he hugged her impulsively when the nth thunder prepared its spotlight moment. Holding her against his broad shoulder and feeling the shirt of his pajama wetting, he waited for the next rumble to threaten the room, the house, Venice, the whole world to collapse.

“It’s o-okay,” He reassured her in that nightmare, his hand pressing on her head and the Sun shining in her hair; his eyes closing and showing him flashes of a stout kid crouched on a freezing floor, covering his ears and yelling at the nothingness. “It’s-It’s really okay, Miranda-Chan. ”

Now that he thought about it, that’s what had always been there in the far past, whenever his fear struck back : the nothingness .

“La mia Mimì.”

The emptiness left behind his parents’ long absences. The void of each room of such a big house like his family’s was. He could recall so clearly how areas without people animating them would reverberate with such scary noises during grey days.

“La mia dolce Mimì.”

Who knew if his fear of thunders had never gone away because nobody had ever been by his side in his worst moments, protecting that child he used to be from a shattering sky.

“La mia dolcissima Mimì.”

Instead, he…He…

…

Another explosion got near to destroying the dome of those stars shimmering out there. The entire chapel risked to fall and cover the whole Venice with a thud.

Yet, Miranda’s crying didn’t increase. Indeed, he felt the baby stirring and making his neck itch with one of her strands. The pacifier’s chain jingled as she moved her head from a side to the other, probably blinking too in the process.

He would have welcomed her in the hollow of his arms again, if she hadn’t attached herself to his shoulder, a content sigh pushing her chin onto the soft surface. Judging from the way her grip was growing weaker and weaker, he understood she was miracolously falling asleep in his presence.

After some seconds, Izumi returned into the room bringing along a stream of warm light.

“ Torcia !”

In truth, she hadn’t been the one aiming it at Junpei. The one who was playing with that torch was a two-year-old sturdy kid sporting a nest of dark blonde hair on his head. His grinning, rotund face and his brown irises got visible only when he made the object spin in his direction, the reason why Junpei and Izumi had bought a model that wasn’t dangerous for kids’ eyes.

“Here are we,” Izumi chuckled, looking at the toddler she was carrying. “My baby Kouricino is not afraid of thunders.”

“No no!”

She lowered the boy on the floor, so he could run to his father. For Izumi’s delight, when she accidentally lied against the wall, right in that spot where the light switch was, their bedroom found back its colours.

Her joy dimmed rapidly, though, since her attention was soon drawn by the silence of the environment.

“Has she…?”

Junpei winked at her while he let Kou fiddle with his wristwatch he had forgot to remove before going to bed.

“Yes, she has. Somehow.”

Even if he knew Izumi wanted to be the one placing Miranda back into her crib, he took the initiative under Kou’s curious gaze. It was only when the baby dove back in her serene clouds, that he acknowledged he was shaking like a leaf.

“What is it?”

“Hm, nothing that important.”

• Chapter 3: What remains after a Tempest •

{Mirandus, miranda, mirandum }

He had read somewhere Miranda derived from some latin word meaning worthy of admiration, admirable, beautiful, and even if he really didn’t know anything about that ancient language, -and didn’t really intend to ever study it-, he couldn’t deny a kernel of truth was present in those dead voices from centuries and centuries before.

The proof had been before his eyes for four months and it was so evident to him, whether green seabeds greeted him from inside the display of a phone or they innocently crawled to him until only few inches parted him from them.

Their Miranda was their second miracle, another wedge of Sun he loved staring at without fearing his eyes would begin burning. If something was supposed to make him burst into flames sooner or later, it would probably be his love for her.

He had understood that from the first time he had seen her and had held her, showing more experience while dealing with the neonate than when Kou was born. Before that creature looking so ethereal to his perception, a being of light and fire, his eyes had covered themselves with lucid and clear glass reflecting the kaleidoscope of thousand colourful skies.

And a thought had passed through his mind, as fleeting as a thunder disappearing in a dust of ash after having released its powers on earth.

…

…

“ Maybe ,” He had muttered, slowly waking up from a dream about heavens and angels.

Izumi had found the strength to stretch her neck, trying to sit up despite the exhaustion she was still experiencing on her energies due to the labour.

“ Maybe?”

“Maybe you’re right,” He had told her slowly, looking so dazed as if he had just returned from a trip onto the Moon. Actually, with that long coat he had refused, -or forgot-, to put off, with those misty glasses slipping on the bridge of his nose and being about to fall off it, with that hair standing on end as if he had got electrocuted, he could have given the impression of an accidental traveller; one who had just been in the most unrealistic place of the universe. “ Miranda isn’t the right name for her.”

“Ah no?” She had answered him, not managing to hide a note of disappointment.

“No, because she’s blonde like you and Kou, she’s already smiling, she…She has got the beauty of uncountable sunny days in her.”

He would have never forgot the silence that had followed his words, Izumi’s perplexity and the resounding laughter that had arisen from it.

“ Junpei, come back onto Earth and start speaking like a normal person. Thank you.” She had attempted to tease him but had smiled when he couldn’t keep a wince from warping his puffy cheeks. “ And what would you call her? Let’s hear ”.

…

…

Yes, their Miranda was a breathtaking spectacle. There was no way his spheres could have ever stopped contemplating her frame without someone forcing him to do that. She was a miniature Izumi and she was meant to endear him from day to night.

Yet, that early morning he wasn’t lying by Miranda’s side. Izumi had placed her between them and next to Kou after having woken up to drink a glass of water, but in their bed no one else but Izumi was encircling the baby’s body with an arm.

He was…On the balcony, looking down at the isolated road of their quiet neighbourhood and inhaling in the fresh air of that dawn, in its fresh dew, in that familiar smell of rain.

La quiete dopo la tempesta .

The quiet after the tempest.

So they say, at least, but the truth was that his agitation had never melted below the first rays of the rising Sun, and it wasn’t just because the sky was still painted with dark aquarelles.

The chords of his heart were still being pulled like the strings of a violin in an endless crescendo, intensifying whenever his pupils slid onto his hands; onto those palms shaking and spasming at the mere surfacing of certain memories in his mind.

Gritting his teeth, he clenched them in fists, but that steel never stopped trembling for his utter frustration.

“Hey.”

Izumi’s sudden greeting startled him, but his tense shoulders predictably sagged under her touch.

“ Buongiorno ,” He cracked a warm smile on which she would have liked to plant a kiss.

Still, pensive, he turned to the sill and remembered about that ritual of theirs only when he felt the chilly material under his fingers. He turned again and ignoring Izumi’s doubtful expression, he complied to her wish.

When their lips parted, Izumi put a index on hers, as if she could feel that nervousness of his kiss again and could analyze it with more attention.

“Sorry, I was too focused on searching for that car,” He justified himself with hesitation, approaching the railing once more. “You know, that car from yesterday.”

“That car from yesterday,” She repeated, knowing well there had never been a car destroyed by a thunder. There were not so many cars in Venice and the zone they were living in was one where they weren’t even allowed. It had just been a part of one of his exaggerated scenarios, those he liked coming up with now and then to add spice to conversations with others.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t going to underline he was lying. Indeed, she intended to ride his excuse to her advantage, in order to, hopefully, figure out what was going on with his weird behaviour. In reality, she had a vague idea about what was upsetting him so much, but she needed to hear what was troubling him from his own words.

She observed him pretending to be really searching for something like some silly pirate and got closer to him.

“Who knows if they have already removed it from the road,” He mumbled in the middle of those theatrical movements taking his body from left to right…To that right where she was waiting for him with a smug smirk.

Ma che cavolo, Junpei, She couldn’t keep herself from shouting internally, pretty exasperated yet also affectionate in front of those puzzled irises. His eyes were also conveying a little amount of fear, that kind of fear you can read on kids being spotted making trouble. We have been husband and wife for years and you still prefer bottling up your concerns to sharing them with me!

“Are you searching for that car from yesterday, then?”

“Uh yes, yes, that one”.

“That car…You said it had been hit by a thunder?”

She felt slightly guilty about having cut to the chase so quickly, but his frown was so eloquent to her. She was right again. And yet, it wasn’t still enough. At all.

“Can you tell me what’s the matter?” To her ears, she had sounded a bit stern in that question of hers, so peremptory, but she wanted to help him and she was aware it was the only way to get a satisfying result.

Actually, Junpei tried opening up after having looked down at his socks.

“The problem is…”

“Yes?”

“The problem is that I can’t be the kind of parent I want to be,” His eyebrows curved downwards as Izumi sighed, her hands resting on her hips until she managed to find a proper answer. “And I’m…I’m not speaking about that again. No. We have already discussed about it and I have understood I can be a good father and husband even if I can’t be with you all as much as I would like to be. It’s just that…It’s just that…”

He bit his tongue instinctively, stopping for some seconds to absorb that warmth coming from Izumi’s presence. He might still be the type of person not loving talking about his most inner trouble, but he had got used to feeling more comfortable about doing that, especially when she was next to him, giving him confidence. His features ceased their severity at her caring eyes, his sweetness and awkwardness finally showing up.

“It’s just that when Miranda was crying because of the thunderstorm, I thought about when I was a child and I was scared. Back then, I had to cope with my fright all alone. My parents didn’t even know I was scared of thunders. Instead…”

“Instead, you know she was yesterday, even if she’s just a baby and it’s normal that she cries because of loud noises. Don’t forget that.”

“No,” He shook his head with firmness, diverting his orbs from her reassuring ones. The view of the sky darknening like it had happened the day before helped him remember the way he was so certain he hadn’t just heard the little girl crying. “Don’t ask me why, but I’m sure she is afraid of them. Maybe it’s because I know what it feels like to be afraid of thunders. But, whatever, what I want to say is that I told myself I want to protect her from frightening tempests whenever I’m here.”

“But…?” She pressed gently, concealing the tenderness that heart-to-heart was instilling in her body. She knew where he was going to land but, again, she was aware that river had to be freed by him.

Thus, that was what it happened. Water finally flew down its bed.

“But I stupidly remembered I’m still afraid of thunders as if I had ever forgot, in the first place. I was…Shaking along with her.”

And she hugged him all of a sudden, an embrace he didn’t exchange immediately due to the fair confusion.

“You managed to calm her last night and she even fell asleep despite anything. Junpei, you’re really an idiot, worrying about this stuff…You’re really the most wonderful idiot out there.” She laughed in his ears with a row of whispers, too taken aback by such fluttering emotions the man was still able to make her go through.

“Oh, don’t I know?” He huffed playfully, the tresses of her golden bob flying along with those puffs. “I proposed to call our daughter Miranda because of Shakespeare and now we have discovered she’s terrorized of thunderstorms.”

“I will never regret having called her Miranda,” Izumi pulled away from his chest. She pronounced that statement with restored strictness, one that made him chuckle, though.

“Oh, but I do.”

Freed from his thick arms, now it was her turn to lose herself in the immensity of that dark sea the sky was that morning. It was so similar to the expanse that had roared the exact day they had got married, or during the night Koujirou was born or, again, during the one Miranda was too: powerful winds exploding in a defeaning riot of colours, defeaning thunders scratching the sky.

Blitzmon and Fairymon’s ways to congratulate with them during those occasions.

…

…

“And what would you call her? Let’s hear.”

“I don’t know…Give me some minutes to think and I’ll tell you. I’ll think about a name you can like.”

“Because, you’re right, I don’t like Miranda as a name,” She had started giggling not only because he was wearing the most bizarre expression as he concentrated in his task.

“There’s Violetta. You love colours, indeed, you love lillac. Kou likes it as well and I do too. I wouldn’t have liked your idea of painting our kitchen of that shade, otherwise…I mean, it’s a colour and who doesn’t like colours? I might not be able to see the colours of the wind like you two do, but…So, what do you think, eh? Violetta is also the main character of “La Traviata”.

Still holding and engulfing the neonate with an arm, he had reached out with the other and had let their hands intersect. That had been the moment she had felt his blood pumping against her skin with an unimaginable speed and, most of all, an incredible strength. She had stared at the blonde tuft he had placed near to his chest, with one of her ears so close to his heart she had wondered how it had been possible she hadn’t begun crying, scared of the power residing in his soul.

But ,then, she had seen it and she had boggled: a lightning projecting its white glow on the window behind them, undisturbed and noticed by many, except by the man and the baby. Junpei had just seemed to have grown tense for an instant but his arm had never stopped hugging their daughter, protective and soft at the same time; his eyes had never ceased plunging in that picture of miracles.

…

…

“It does bug me, though,” Junpei took her back onto Earth with his upset voice. “I might have managed to calm her down, like you have said, but how did I do that?”

“Why do you think I know?” She had marched in his direction but didn’t look at him.

“No…I don’t really think you know, but maybe I did do something you might know about. Some movement you perform when they cry or-“

“Or you’re just magical,” She shrugged, giving him a wink before opening the door of the balcony to return inside.

“What? Oh c’mon. I’m serious. I want to give my best for our princess.”

“Well? What is the news here? Have you forgot you wanted to be a magician when we were kids? Those tissues you always carry in your pockets must be having some effects after ages,” She joked and, like that, she disappeared in their bedroom with another wave of laughters.

But not before having demanded a proper kiss.

[armoredisopod]

Arknights Spring Festival 2024 PVs

New Operators

Wanqing, 5* Welfare Standard Bearer Vanguard

If you come across farmland, be sure to watch your step.

Grain Buds, 5* Decel Binder Supporter

I used to manage the animals back at Dahuang City, so of course I'm in charge of you here.

Zuo Le, 6* Soloblade Guard (formerly known as Musha branch)

Good talents should be put to good use, by those who are most capable. Zuo Le will do his best.

Shu, 6* Limited Guardian Defender

You and I, we are but a drop in the basin that is our world.

Operator Skins Update

Total of 7 new skins, 5 new additions for the Made by 0011 brand and 2 new additions for the new Unveiling of Devotion brand

Made by 0011

Highmore's The Land With Me

Honeyberry Saturated Within Rain

Lin's Heavenly Mirage - L2D skin

Chongyue's Alighting - L2D skin

Purestream's Yearly Present - Event Reward skin

Unveiling of Devotion

Harmonie's Decoration

Arene's Dangerous Invitation

Purestream's skin is a reward from Trials for Navigator #4

Announced skin reruns

Series II 0011/Tempest skins (Ceobe, Waai Fu)

Series VII Vitafield skins (Pozëmka, Proviso, Mousse)

Nian's Unfettered Freedom

Manticore's Under A Veil

~104 other skins as part of Goodbye to the Old, Welcome the New edition of Rhodes Fashion Review

Operator Modules Update

All the new operators being part of branches with modules immediately get their modules

GUA-X module base effect increases Shu's healing amount by 15% on targets below 50% HP

MUS-X module base effect gives Zuo Le 25% Sanctuary when below 50% HP

DEC-X module base effect makes Grain Buds recover SP faster when there are enemies in her range

BEA-X module base effect makes Wanqing give +1 block count to the ally in front of him when his skill is active

Fighter Guard branch gets 2 module types

Module 1 given to Chongyue and Jackie

Module 2 given to Mountain, Indra, Flint, Dagda and Beehunter

Events and Stories

Here a People Sows, the next installment of the Yan-Sui storyline taking place in the agriculture city of Dahuang

Trials for Navigator #4, scheduled after Here a People Sows

Operator Archives update for Shu, Qiubai, Wind Chimes, Cliffheart

Record Restore update for An Obscure Wanderer and Guiding Ahead

Misc Stuff

Annihilation #24 - New Hotel Avenue, annihilation mission with So Long Adele enemies and mechanics

Surtr, April and Arene added to recruitment

CN dialect voices for Shu and Zuo Le

CC ops/skins and past login event skins will start to be rereleased via side story event shops

Ops and skins available in the CC shop will not be removed, they are simply making them more accessible by giving players more options on how to get them

Bibeak and her tokens along with Hibiscus' Night Watcher skin will be available for purchase in the Here a People Sows event shop

When the event shop closes, the listed ops and skins will be moved to the certificates shop and will not be put in future side story event shops

Livestream Stuff

Showcased Shu, a 6* Guardian Defender Sui Sibling with a decent amount of support options in her kit

First talent makes her heals sow seeds on the tile the target ally is on and the 4 adjacent tiles which grants passive healing per second and a certain % of Sanctuary

Second talent increases all operators Max HP if there are 3 ops of different classes deployed, increases all operators ASPD if there are 3 ops of the same class deployed, and increases all operators ATK and makes them gain 1 SP every few seconds if there are 4 [Sui] operators in the team

Skill 1 is a generic "next attack heals nearby ally if below certain % HP"

Skill 2 makes her stop attacking to focus on healing 2 nearby allies at once with a modified attack interval, increases her ATK and block count, and boosts the power of her first talent

Skill 3 increases her healing range and her ATK and allows her to heal and attack at the same time, during skill duration seeded tiles grant allies an ATK and ASPD boost when there are ground enemies on the seeded tiles, additionally enemies walking on seeded tiles will be marked and have the following effect: after going a certain distance away from the first seeded tile they walk on, the marked enemy will immediately be teleported back to that tile

Showcased Zuo Le, a 6* Soloblade Guard that focuses on SP recovery and activating his skills as much as possible

First talent grants him a unique Tenacity effect, giving him more ASPD and SP recovery as his HP lowers

Second talent gives him a chance to gain 1 SP when attacking and the chance increases when he is below a certain % of HP

Skill 1 increases the damage of the next attack, when below a certain % of HP this skill hits twice and when below a lower % of HP this skill hits thrice instead, able to hold charges

Skill 2 makes him immediately lose a certain % of current HP and gains a certain amount of Barrier upon skill activation, during skill duration he has increased ATK and block count and attacks all enemies equal to block count, loses the Barrier when skill ends

Skill 3 makes him immediately perform a number of slashes attacking enemies on the tile in front of him and ends the skill with a big slash that deals more damage and stuns the enemies, any healing gained from the trait during this skill is instead converted into a Barrier

Showcased the event mechanic, agriculture water tiles that can be polluted by enemies and deals damage to your allies, pollution can spread to adjacent agriculture tiles

The water tiles can be purified by pumping clean water into the polluted tiles and placing ops behind the pumps can help purify water faster, but at the same time take care not to let enemies pollute the water source as the pumps can also pump out polluted water

Announced a new anime tie-in bundle that contains various goodies including interactive furniture that can play music and a new Ch'en skin, also announced a rerun of the Exusiai anime tie-in bundle

Showcased some of the new RA2 stuff

More in-field stories and major UI changes throughout the whole gamemode

Ability to catch wildlife with special equipment and put them in your base

Certain nodes adjacent to your base can be entered to construct buildings in without needing to spend action points on said nodes, also showcased the ability to undo your placements before saving it

Food buffs are no longer permanent and can wear off after a few days

Ability to load saves from previous days

Teased plans for Originium Slug Racing to be added in a future update

Showed the Trials for Navigator #4 boss lineup

Showed some collab items for the R6 side in the upcoming Rainbow Six collab event

Announced a small Arknights × Ex Astris collab where you get skins in Ex Astris and furniture in Arknights

[xalygatorx]

Worthy (2015) | Chapter 26, "Reunion"

Disappearing sporadically in public spaces quickly becomes Cora Dempsey's least concerning problem when suddenly she captures the attention of the forming Avengers Initiative, the World Security Council, and Asgard's fallen prince all in one week. And the universe is only just getting started with her.

Worthy is a slow-burn SFW Marvelverse (films) romance between Loki and a female OC. For additional details on what canon is used, see the Prologue post.

Summary: Thor ponders killing Loki himself at discovering his brother is alive again. Cora and Loki fill in Thor, Jane, and their companions and leave them to inform the Avengers. Cora and Loki then travel to Jotunheim to retrieve the Cask of Ancient Winters.

Pairing: Loki x Fem!OC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3k

It was only twenty minutes later that the pair had run two blocks and edged along multiple expanses of sidewalks—a couple more than once—to find Jane's flat. Loki and Cora had run up a flight of stairs after that and Cora was muttering the number for the door under her breath on repeat until she came upon the door, her fist raised to knock just as the door opened and her hand smacked into Thor's chest plate instead. "Ow, holy—," she started to say, only to be silenced by the look on Thor's face.

His eyes were directed above her head, the hard glaze of concentration over his crystal blue eyes. His brow was creased by equal parts focus and what appeared to be pain, his jaw set harshly. For the first time since she'd met him, Thor seriously looked like the vengeful Norse god of legends and she was pretty sure that wasn't good at all.

Cora had just locked eyes with Jane, who was standing a few steps behind Thor, barely seen behind his large frame taking up the doorway, when the great golden-haired Avenger spoke. "What is the meaning of this," he demanded tightly, a tempest under his tone. Cora waited for Loki to explain, but he didn't, and when she looked back at him, his features were as stoic as Thor's. "Was it all naught but façade?"

"None of it was façade, do you—"

Thor surged forward and Cora shouted as she ended up pinned between them, Loki's back hitting the wall behind her as Thor bore down on both of them. "Do not lie to me, brother! I have fallen a fool for your tricks before, was this another?!"

Cora felt sheer adrenaline pumping through her veins at the intensity of the situation and she heard Jane nearby telling Thor to calm down, all while feeling Loki try to push her out from between them, actually rearing up a bit, himself. She held her ground though, more or less out of the knowledge that she might be the only thing keeping Thor from pummeling Loki at present. Loki snarled slightly, giving up on edging her away. "You've not given me more than a few seconds' chance to lie, you oaf, and yet you throw me under the ax so soon!"

"I mourned you again, I thought you dead!" Thor roared.

"I thought myself dead!" Loki yelled back and the both of them stood there afterward, breathing heavily and staring the other down like beasts.

"Not that I'm not having the time of my life down here," Cora commented with slightly breathless sarcasm, causing both hulking gods to glance down for the first time since their arrival. "But we have more serious issues to attend to right now."

Thor glanced from her to Loki before sighing wearily and taking a step back, letting Jane take him back into the flat. She looked back at Loki and Cora, nodding for them to follow. They walked in and closed the door behind them before walking down the hall. Cora noticed with a faint smirk that Mjolnir was hanging neatly with the coats before she went to sit at the small dining table, finding three other people already there instead. "Oh… Hi," she said with some surprise as Jane returned to the room.

"Hm, right," Jane said with a nod. "Cora, this is my research partner and friend, Dr. Erik Selv—really, no pants? Again?"

"Interesting name," Cora smirked, causing the only other girl present to laugh quietly.

"Dr. Erik Selvig," Jane corrected as Cora stuck out her hand to shake his. "My intern, Darcy Lewis, and my intern's intern, Ian." They all jumped when Erik suddenly leapt from his seat, tighty-whiteys in full view. "What's wrong?"

"You…" He squinted past Cora and muttered, "You all see him, too, right?"

Cora and Jane turned around to find Loki standing at Cora's right shoulder. "Hm, bad spaceman," Darcy commented offhand, earning a withering look from Loki. "Yeah, we see him, Erik. Thought you were dead."

Loki shook his head in negation to that and walked with Cora and Jane to the couch, two armchairs flanking either side; Jane took one and Cora plopped down on the couch, Loki sitting in the other couch space. Thor soon joined them rather begrudgingly, easing his huge body into the other armchair, which Cora was sure would break with his weight. "So, first thing's first," Jane said, all business. "What's wrong now?"

Cora glanced to Loki, who drew a slow breath before beginning to explain, "Thanos has catalyzed the Ragnarök."

"The end of realms?" Dr. Selvig asked from the table, standing up, much to everyone's regret. "That old myth is true as well?"

"Indeed," Loki murmured, glancing at Thor, who now wore a grave expression on his chiseled features.

"Thanos?" Thor repeated at last and when Loki nodded once, he sighed heavily. "What has been done?"

"Lady Sif and Volstagg have returned to the Collector's keep to reclaim the Aether," Loki said slowly, "and Fandral has gone to find the Orb. Thanos has taken the Tesseract from the vaults, so he will be moving forward to collect the others. We came to warn you and…the others."

Cora gave a halfhearted smirk. He meant the Avengers and those at SHIELD and, despite her situation of being put on ice by orders of the Council, she was somewhat looking forward to seeing them again.

Thor gave a firm nod. "And then what?"

"I will be taking Cora with me to Jotunheim to collect the Cask of Ancient Winters." Cora noticed Thor's features tighten a little at that, but didn't know why.

"And the Ka Stone?"

"Sif and Volstagg's destination after their attempt on the Aether."

Thor pursed his lips before nodding slightly. "And what am I to tell the Midgardian protectors?" he wondered quietly to himself. "I will accompany you to Jotunheim."

Cora was listening when she was startled by Jane touching her shoulder. "Jotunheim's the ice realm, right? The one you told me about?" she murmured and when Cora nodded, Jane motioned for her to stand. "Then you'll need some warmer clothes. Darcy's left a lot of stuff here over the years, her stuff will probably fit you. That okay, Darce?"

"Sure thing, Jan," Darcy said with a smile and a thumbs-up, causing Jane to grimace a little. "What, you're the only one that can do the cute name-shorteningy-thing?"

"Apparently," Jane quipped as she pulled Cora away from the brothers, who were now arguing over where Thor would be going; Thor declared that it would be best for him to join Loki and Cora for backup protection, but Loki was arguing the opposite. "So, what happened? How did he just show up again after being declared dead?" she asked once they were in her bedroom.

"He was disguised as Odin," Cora explained as Jane dug through her closet, throwing some garments out on the bed as she listened. "He called me down and then told me the truth. Then Thanos showed up and staying disguised became less of a priority…"

"He was just going to take Odin's place?" she asked, poking her head out for a moment to look at Cora. "But then what happened to—"

"I'm not sure where Odin is, I just know he's alive."

Her eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion. "You saw him alive or Loki told you he was alive?"

Cora sighed. "I didn't see him, but Loki wouldn't kill him. Not now."

"And you know that, how?"

"Because Thor would be devastated and would never trust him again," Cora said quietly.

Jane thought about that, remembering how Loki had made such strides to protect both of them in Svartalfheim. She slowly nodded and it was clear to Cora that she was choosing to believe in him now, even if it felt chancy. "Okay," she said at last. "Here, try this." She gestured to an outfit she'd laid out on the bed and Cora nudged the door closed before disrobing from her Asgardian gown and putting on some more familiar clothes.

"Thanks," Cora said as she slid on the winter jacket, which felt doubly lined inside. It was a stuffy outfit to wear in the current temperature, but she knew once she revisited the frosty Jotun realm, she'd be thankful for it. It was incredibly likely that the only reason she'd not broken down in shivers on her first trip into Jotunheim was because she'd already been frozen over in the capsule. This wasn't something she was looking forward to, but she didn't want to stay behind in Midgard either.

"Pretty darn close," she commented once Cora had the extra clothes on. She'd put on the SHIELD uniform she'd had on when she was placed in the capsule for insulation, figuring it would keep her warmer than the jeans and T-shirt she'd had on when she'd gotten to the agency base in the first place. "You're a bit taller than her, so good thing you had some stuff of your own."

"The jacket's great though. And so are the boots… I think I left mine in Asgard," Cora said thoughtfully.

"Cora?" Jane said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think they can stop him?" Cora looked at the other woman and frowned faintly, seeing the distress on her face. "The Ragnarök is the end of everything. It's a rebooting of the universe. If it follows the mythology, the realms will fall to ruin. Odin will die, Loki will die, and Thor…" Her voice caught.

"Jane," Cora sighed, tugging the smaller woman into a hug. "I don't know what's going to happen. But I don't believe in absolute anything when it comes to the future. It's changeable. Prophecies are written in one era and the entire world could be changed by the time it's supposed to happen. Whatever was supposed to cause them in the first place may not even exist anymore." She looked down at Jane. "But the biggest point is that freaking out about something won't change the outcome. It'll just make you lose focus on what you can do to help. And I bet SHIELD could use brains like yours and Selvig's right about now."

"I just got him back," she said quietly after a moment. "I don't want to freak out, it's just happening… But you're right. We'll head back to the States as soon as possible. Maybe Thor can work something out with them."

"Exactly," Cora encouraged just before hearing Loki from the living room call for her. She and Jane left the bedroom and found the brothers standing, both wearing grim, tired expressions. "What's up?"

"We should go," Loki told her. "Thanos will not stop moving and neither can we."

"I know," she murmured with a nod, slinging her bag back over her shoulder and tugging on some gloves she'd found in the jacket pockets.

Loki watched her for a moment before nodding as well, walking past Thor to go to the door. Thor watched him go, only looking down when Cora paused in front of him. "He's trying," she said so softly only Thor could hear her and he sighed, nodding. "I'm just not sure he knows quite what to do."

"I am afraid I am just as uncertain, little sister," he admitted quietly. "But with your aid, perhaps we will both understand in time."

She smiled, glancing over when she heard Loki call her again. "Good luck," Cora told him before hurrying out to the door, rolling her eyes at Loki's bored, impatient expression. "Oh, come off it, let's get out of here."

Loki smirked a little before following her back outside. They walked down a back alley to an abandoned parking lot before stopping for Heimdall to send them to Jotunheim, Cora muttering, "Beam me up, Scotty," just before the golden pillar of light hit them and they were once again pulled into the tunnel of the BiFrost's energy.

Seconds later, they landed in feet of snow crusted over by ice, which made a loud cracking sound when they sunk into it. "The gatekeeper is Heimdall, not 'Scotty'," Loki grumbled with an arched brow.

He earned a disapproving look from Cora for that one. "Remind me to show you Star Trek at some point." Before he could ask what it was, she waved her hand a bit, "Nevermind, we'll get to it eventually. Where are we going?"

"A hidden chamber nearby. Heimdall was kind enough to place us very near the Cask's resting place," Loki told her, glancing around the area before starting to move forward. Cora ambled awkwardly behind, wishing her legs were as long as Loki's in that moment. After a few moments, he noticed that she was having trouble—or his amusement at her uncoordinated movements wore thin—and he stopped, kneeling down and muttering, "Come on."

Cora's brow rose, but she made one last hop in the snow and looped her arms around his neck from behind. He braced his hands under her thighs and scooped her up piggyback-style before continuing through the snow. "Why did Fandral say you were probably the best one to get this Infinity Stone?" she asked.

Loki took a moment's hesitation before replying over the slight whoosh of the wintry breeze, "Because I was born here."

Cora's brow rose. "This is where you're from?" she wondered thoughtfully, looking around. "Then, your birthparents?"

"I know naught of my mother, though I now suspect she may have been Asgardian," he said calmly. "I killed my father before I met you."

"Why?"

"To prove my worth, I suppose. And save Odin in the process," Loki said honestly.

Cora rested her chin against his shoulder, squinting faintly against the blowing snow and wincing whenever his hair blew into her face. He walked a while longer before his foot caught on something beneath the snow, causing him to jolt a little. "There you are," he murmured, wedging his boot in the groove and turning, triggering a mechanism underground to come to life and lower the stone plank beneath the frost into a ramp.

Cora's eyes widened and she watched curiously as Loki moved toward the edge. She expected him to walk down, but instead he turned his heel and slid down the icy surface, causing Cora to instinctively clutch onto him. He skidded to an easy stop at the bottom and laughed at her panic, a mischievous smirk decorating his face. "Not funny," she protested with a grumble as she scrambled to get down.

"I beg to differ." He let her go, but kept her close as he glanced over the cavern, his hand on her shoulder as he pondered the possibility of traps or extra paths meant to cause intruders to lose their way. Loki ventured forward into the tunnels with care, his vibrant green eyes always scanning the corridors as he led the way.

"Any idea where we're heading?" Cora asked hopefully after a few turns and Loki could feel her shaking next to him from the stark cold of the chamber.

"Vaguely," he murmured back, steering them left.

"Comforting as always," she murmured sarcastically.

When a blue glow began to highlight the frosty stones of the underground labyrinth, Loki walked forward with more confidence and they eventually arrived at one last stretch of pathway. At its end rested the Cask upon a pedestal of ice.

"Stay here," he told her softly, knowing the cold would be the worst down this passage. Cora stayed behind as Loki ventured forward, grimacing at the Cask of Ancient Winters and the memories it brought forward. When he reached it, deja vu set in and he remembered the last time he'd plucked it up. The moment his life had changed forever.

Loki glared down at the Cask, but gripped the handles anyway. He felt the chill of raw power seep through his palms and into his body, and he watched his skin gradually turn to a vivid cerulean, the pallor spreading throughout his body. He knew the markings of a darker hue that would be etched upon his face and the bloody red his eyes would become and he was loath to turn around and let her see him like this. However, he did so anyway.

Cora watched him go down the passage and pick up the Cask, just thinking she was glad they were in possession of at least one of the Infinity Stones when Loki turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, entirely enveloped in blue and red-eyed, looking the part of an alien for once. At first, she was a little afraid, wondering if something had gone wrong and he'd been taken over by the Cask or something else. However, she saw the apprehension in the crease between his brows and knew this was just his true form.

She offered him a slight smile and nodded her head to the side. "Time to go," she said easily and watched the surprise form in his eyes. Composure quickly wiped away the traces of relief as he neared her again and they walked out of the cavern with surprising ease. Cora put the Cask in her bag so he could help her over the snow again and she held close, watching as his skin started to pale to fleshy tones again.

"It didn't bother you… Did it," Loki murmured pensively and Cora almost wondered if it had been directed at her at all.

"What? Your face?" she asked, giving a slight shrug. "No more than usual." For that, he dropped her back into the snow and she shrieked, nearly submerged in the stuff on impact. "Loki, get your blue ass back here right now!"

He laughed mirthfully at the look on her face and the fire in her fury, stepping forward and plucking the poor snow-dusted girl out of the snow and cradling her in his arms as they walked back to where they'd started. When they reached that point, Loki murmured a simple, "To Midgard," and the pillar of light plunged down again, taking the pair into the vortex once more.

Next chapter: Chapter 27, "The Welcome Wagon"

Main story posts will resume 12/26/23. Time for some xmas fluff.

[mjohnso]

Periodic Rookie Groups Report No. 22

Periodic Rookie Group Reports are a series of biannual reports that seek to put a number to how many rookie groups debut and make comebacks in a given year. For Report No. 22, I cover the activity of '22 rookie groups between July and December 2023 and the total number of rookie groups that debuted in 2023.

2022 Rookies In the previous Rookie Report, I covered five groups that had debuted in 2022, only to disband less than a year after their debut. I have two additional groups to add to that list. They are as follows: 

WSG Wannabe: A project girl group (July ‘22) created for MBC’s Hangout With Yoo, the group concluded their activities following the show’s August 6th, 2022 episode.

X4: The project co-ed group (July ‘22) was formed to promote Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Following voting on November 28, 2023, Busan ultimately lost its bid to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Consequently, it is safe to assume that the group disbanded.

This brings the number of disbanded groups to seven—two boy groups, four girl groups, and one co-ed group. Factoring these seven groups brings the number of groups that debuted in 2022 and were still active in 2023 to 69 groups—20 boy groups, 37 girl groups, and two co-ed groups. Of these 69 groups, 52% or 36 groups released new music at least once in 2023. 34% or 24 groups did so between January and June, while 17% or 12 groups did so between July and December. 30% or 21 groups released new music in the first and second half of 2023.

Korean Releases from ‘22 Rookie Groups: July - December 2023

Note: Releases marked with an asterisk (*) indicate an additional release from a group following their initial release

July 06 FIFTY FIFTY - “Barbie Dreams feat. Kaliii” (Single)* 06 Kep1er - “RESCUE TAYO” (Single)* 06 LE SSERAFIM - “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife (English Ver.)” (Single)* 06 Queenz Eye – “UN-NORMAL” (Single) 10 ARTBEAT v – “DUBI DUBI” (Single)* 11 NMIXX – A Midsummer NMIXX’s Dream (Mini Album)* 14 LE SSERAFIM - “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife feat. UPSAHL” (Single)* 21 NewJeans - Get Up (Mini Album)* 21 Pattern - “Miro” (Single) 25 ILY:1 - New Chapter (Mini Album)* 26 Liberty - “One Summer” (Single) 28 LE SSERAFIM - “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife feat. Rina Sawayama” (Single)*

August 01 XEED – Blue (Mini Album) 02 The Wind - “We Go” (Single) 03 ABLUE – “MAD” (Single) 03 Nine.i – NEW MIND (Mini Album) 04 LE SSERAFIM - “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife feat. Demi Lovato” (Single) 11 TAN - TAN MADE [ I ] (Mini Album)* 30 H1-KEY - Seoul Dreaming (Mini Album)*

September 06 Trendz - “My Way” (Single)* 14 mimiirose - “Flirting” (Single) 20 Tempest – “Vroom Vroom” (Single)* 25 Kep1er - Magic Hour (Mini Album)* 27 XG - NEW DNA (Mini Album)*

October 02 Girls World - “Fly High (Thumbelina)” (Single) 04 NewJeans – “GODS” (Single)* 10 The Fix – “CITY” (Single) 10 The Fix – “Time” (Single)* 15 Queenz Eye – “THIS IS LOVE” (Single)* 17 YOUNITE - 빛 : Bit Part.2 (Mini Album)* 18 Superkind - Profiles of the Future (Λ): 70% (Mini Album)* 20 weNU – “My Everything” (Single) 24 ILY:1 - “To My Boyfriend” (Single)* 24 UNI – “Blue Night” (Single) 27 LE SSERAFIM - “Perfect Night” (Single)* 30 LE SSERAFIM - “Perfect Night (Sped. Up Ver.)” (Single)*

November 02 Nine.i – “Neverland” (Single)* 02 VIVIZ – VERSUS (Mini Album)* 23 LE SSERAFIM – “Perfect Night (Holiday Remix)” (Single)* 26 CSR - “HBD To You (Midnight Ver.)” (Single)* 27 ATBO – “Must Have Love” (Single)*

December 04 NMIXX – “Soñar (Breaker)” (Single)* 08 XG – “WINTER WITHOUT YOU” (Single)* 17 CSR - “HBD To You” (Single)* 19 NewJeans – NJWMX (Mini Album)* 20 CLASS:y – “Winter Bloom” (Single)* 21 ABLUE – “Snowman” (Single)* 21 NINE.I – “Back to Christmas” (Single)*

2023 Rookies In 2023, 95 groups—44 boy groups, 46 girl groups, four co-ed groups, and one queer group—debuted. Compared to last year this marks a 25% increase in the number of new groups debuting. Similarly, boy groups, whose numbers had been declining since 2020, made an about-face, with a 100% increase in the number of new debuts versus last year. Meanwhile, girl groups, who posted a record-setting number last year, saw a small decline slipping 10%. For their part, co-ed groups saw a modest increase from three groups last year to four groups this year, a 33% change.

Yet even with girl group numbers taking a dip, these are some of the best year-end numbers for rookie groups the industry has seen in years. Certainly, the numbers have not been this good since the beginning of the pandemic. So, what changed?

As always with rookie group numbers, context matters. Technically, rookie group numbers did rebound because agencies began to debut more groups, but what is meant by groups has expanded. That is, while once the dominant image of an idol group was a group assembled by an agency created from trainees who had been under and remained with a company for years striving for stardom, that has now changed. As I have written about at length, Rainbow E&M intends for their Future Idol Asia groups to be temporary stops for members rather than their permanent groups. Meanwhile, university k-pop departments, like Howon University in Gunsan, have been debuting their groups. Similarly, television shows have also served as an unconventional conduit for minting new, often temporary, groups. And this is all to say nothing about the recent influx of virtual and "AI" groups that have become part of the industry.

To give this a number, around 40% of the groups that debuted in 2023 qualify as idol groups under this broader definition. Looking to the next year, I expect to see a similar number or more, given that survival shows, Future Idol Asia project and virtual idols are not going anywhere in 2024. Beyond that only time will tell if this is the product of convergence of multiple trends or a fundamental shift in the industry.

Miscellaneous stats:

January saw the most amount of debuts with the debut of 13 new groups: five boy groups and eight girl groups.

Once again, December saw the least amount of debuts with the debut of only three new groups.

For the fourth consecutive year, more girl groups debuted than boy groups.

Methodology: https://blog.mjohnso.com/methodology