#must be fate guess ill post <3

[the-harrowing]

girl reacted to problem a little too much like her mother. millions injured

[theofficersacademy]

                                        Leo   Farina   Sara   Rafal                               Poe   Tharja   Alcryst   Lucina   Edward                                   Knoll   Ares   Seliph   Ewan　Erk

WEEK THREE: The Refusal of What You Know TASK DURATION: Until midnight EST on Monday, January 22 TEAM TAG: #AOtau2024

Lucina and Ares lie dead, their bodies crumbling in a haze that the more attuned in the group may recognize as an overpowering consumption of magic. One executed by the clean blade Kleio(?) had given, the other brought to death by the sullied blade that had been passed on to Mother from your guileless and hardworking hands.

For several moments, shock and outcry from the remaining fill the formless dark, before it is summarily interrupted.

Those with keen hearing, or still in command of their wits, perceive a disappointed voice like ice. "I thought you'd do well. But you can't even commit to the job."

It happens in less than a second. The clean blade vanishing from Rafal's hand. A sing of steel carving air. Leo tipping backwards, head askew. A fountain of blood. The body crumpling like paper; the head rolling some feet away.

Kleio stands, the weapon in her hand newly wet. "Two of your coterie dead for nothing; the rest would still be infected. I risked my safety for this? None of you have improved."

You blink, and darkness again, where your body won't obey you.

"You came here to hunt a target. I hope you prove less limp about it than you were about this."

HUSH LITTLE CHILD, DON'T SAY A WORD.　farina, sara, rafal, tharja, knoll, seliph, ewan, erk

what you know

previously, the house felt lonely, a little isolating, and foreboding, but at least populated. you knew mother, father, and kleio were present even if you couldn't see them. now, your surroundings are old, peeled, and run-down, as though they've been abandoned for months. the feeling of impending ruin you previously had has blossomed into a sense of immediate danger. shadows have taken up residence here and crawl just out of sight. eyes watch you with malice from where you can't see. you feel as though every minute, you're traveling the landscape of an open war zone in enemy territory, like a place that was once home has lost all its warmth

you understand that in order to find pasithee, you must find the way into mother's room. completing your flawed chaos matter blade may be helpful as well

lucina, leo, and ares are no longer with you. after the events while it was dark, you can only guess they met the same, or similar, fate as poe, edward, and alcryst

no one appears to be newly ill. does that mean kleio was telling the truth after all, or was helping you? hard to say. was that even kleio? if not, who's kleio?

what to do

talk amongst yourselves. gather your bearings. discuss what happened, or don't

retrieve key components from the knave's tower. ( danger level: HIGH ) ( recommended: 4 muses. only one thread permitted at a time ). the materials to assemble the key to mother's room are scattered across three levels of the knave's tower, bathed in undispellable darkness. go with care, however, as the floors there are riddled with traps. and more than that, the tower is the hunting ground of the terrible beast. fall into its clutches, and you might never return

— you are searching for loss, denial, and hope. you know that one can be found on each floor. each floor also contains the ladder to the next floor — roll D3 per post to determine your movement. you may not move diagonally. once you have moved, ping rai. only the contents of the square you land on will be revealed — each time everyone has moved, ping rai. the terrible beast will move too, beyond your line of sight. on floors 1 and 2, it will roll D2 per move. on floor 3, it will roll D3 — equipment, rallies, etc. may be used in place of your own movement for the round — if a character is caught by the terrible beast: 　　　･　when the terrible beast reaches the nearest wall, the character will be dragged away 　　　･　everyone other than the captured may roll a D20 to help save them. you must be within range of your equipped weapon ( 1 range, if none ) in order to make a saving roll. on floors 1 and 2, saving the victim requires a cumulative 21 or higher before the terrible beast reaches the nearest wall. on floor 3, saving the victim requires a cumulative 30 or higher 　　　･　you may only roll once per round ( 1 round = players move, then the terrible beast moves ) 　　　･　the terrible beast is immune to status effects such as freeze, stun, sleep, bind, etc.

forage in the garden. ( danger level: MEDIUM ) you didn't finish everything mother needed last time. but if you're looking for pasithee, completion of the chaos matter blade might be a good idea just in case. be careful though, the gardens are no longer as friendly as they once were, and the world is more and more eager to take from you than ever to finish it, you will need: x3 of each: hammer tassels, little fangs, majestic blues, spotted ones

— roll D4 per post. recruit mastery grants 2 reroll chances 　　　･　1 : nothing is found 　　　･　2 : the scavengers have come for you and yours 　　　　　　　○　on enemy phase, scavengers will use steal on a random target for a random weapon or item, prioritizing equipment before weapons. they will escape the following enemy phase if not defeated 　　　　　　　○　on every 3rd time scavengers have appeared, roll D2. if 2, a master thief will appear. defeating the master thief will reclaim all stolen inventory 　　　･　3, 4 : you've found x1 of a plant you're looking for. apothecary access grants x2. roll D4 to determine find

power the furnaces for refinement. ( danger level: LOW )

— roll D4 per post. 　　　･　1 :  the furnace stops working. Roll D3 to determine the cause 　　　　　　　○　1 : not enough heat. roll D10 to attempt to bolster it with wind or fire magic ( DC6 success ). each full rank in reason adds +1 to the roll 　　　　　　　○　2 : unstable conditions. roll D10 to attempt to adjust the interior ( DC6 success ). each point of dexterity adds +1 to the roll 　　　　　　　○　3 : furnace malfunction. unable to be salvaged. move onto the next one 　　　･　2, 3, 4 : you're making progress — 1 furnace is powered every 3 successful posts ( unless furnace malfunctions, then start over )

search for supplies. ( danger level: LOW )

— roll D6 per post. each full rank in heavy armor grants +1 to roll. each unit with backup grants the party 2 reroll chances 　　　･　1 : nothing is found 　　　･　2 : you disturb something in the house you really shouldn't have. existing leads are reset. roll D20, 10 or below: receive -2 HP. each point of either avoid or speed adds +1 to roll 　　　･　3, 4, 5, 6 : you've found a lead. the next person must roll 3 or higher to continue it 　　　･　when cumulative 10 is reached, roll for what you find: 　　　　　　　○　1 : planks of wood 　　　　　　　○　2 : scrap metal 　　　　　　　○　3 : magic residue 　　　　　　　○　4 : bandages, recover 1 HP per post for 3 posts, out of combat only, stops working if damage is taken 　　　　　　　○　5 : tincture, recover 2 HP, out of combat only 　　　　　　　○　6 : diffused potion, all party recovers 1 HP, out of combat only 　　　　　　　○　7 : combat salve, recover 4 HP, usable in combat 　　　　　　　○　8 : panacea, recover all HP, out of combat only 　　　　　　　○　9 : filament of light, raises max hp by 2, capped at natural hp 　　　　　　　○　10 : cold comfort, raises defense by 1 for one turn, consumed on use 　　　　　　　○　11 : will of resistance, raises resistance by 1 for one turn, consumed on use 　 　

MOTHER'S GOING TO BUY YOU A MOCKINGBIRD.　poe, alcryst, edward, lucina, leo, ares

what you know

whatever procedure poliades subjected alcryst, poe, and edward to in the name of what they were trying to make, it seems to have worked. at least, that's what poliades said as they hand a see-through compartment over to you, inside it a single black lump of shadow ostensibly of your own making. they call it "meliboeus"

previously, the abandoned manor you'd found yourself in was empty, but safe. mundane, even. things are changing, however; even if it hasn't happened yet, a gut feeling tells you this somber peace won't last

three of your companions have joined you. lucina, leo, and ares find themselves waking up where alcryst, edward, and poe had previously

though they don't seem to know what exactly you're after, poliades has explained that in order to go "forward" and find what you're searching for, you must restore meliboeus to full strength

aside from that, there's one more thing poliades would like you to do. the library contains old records of this house as it once was. they would like you to understand how it all ended

what to do

talk amongst yourselves. gather your bearings. share what you know, or don't

search the library for records. ( danger level: LOW )

— roll D6 per post 　　　･　1 : you find nothing 　　　･　2 : poliades' magic has resorted the shelves! existing leads lost 　　　･　3, 4, 5, 6 : you're onto something. next person must roll 3 or higher to progress — when cumulative score reaches 10, ping rai

dredge the cellars. ( danger level: LOW )

— roll D4 per post.  each unit with backup grants the party 2 reroll chances 　　　･　1 : nothing is found 　　　･　2 : you should be more careful wading around. roll D20, 13 or below: receive -1 HP, each point of luck adds +1 to roll 　　　･　3 : you find a token 　　　･　4 : you find one of the list below. roll D#Remaining for which 　　　　　　　○　1 : tyrfing 　　　　　　　○　2 : exalted falchion 　　　　　　　○　3 : nevermeltice 　　　　　　　○　4 : bohr

help meliboeus regain their strength. ( danger level: HIGH ) ( recommended: full party ) at some point, an unknown army besieges the manor. you're not sure where they came from or how they got here, but the damage wrought by their attacks is very real. poliades says this is fortunate, as they'd been otherwise thinking of how to devise an appropriate training regime for meliboeus. once again, he warns, be careful with your existence here

— it is highly recommended to keep an updated log of player actions and what is currently on the field due to the number of moving pieces in this task — at the start, and at the top of every round after, roll 3D5 to determine incoming threats 　　　･　1 : a desecrated one tries to batter into the house, 10 HP 　　　　　　　○　roll D3 to determine how many posts until it breaks in 　　　　　　　○　until it breaks in, the desecrated one can only be targeted at range and will not attack or counterattack. roll as if for full combat 　　　　　　　○　if desecrated one breaks in 　　　　　　　　　　— use full combat if engaging it 　　　　　　　　　　— while desecrated one is alive, it will act according to enemy phase at the end of each round, regardless of whether players targeted it on their turn 　　　･　2, 3 : burrowing squad 　　　　　　　○　requires 3 posts to clear out, narrative-only 　　　　　　　○　if not cleared out by the top of the next round, enters the house. deals 1 HP damage to each character on their turn until cleared 　　　･　4, 5 : airborne squad 　　　　　　　○　requires 2 posts to clear out, narrative-only 　　　　　　　○　if not cleared out by the top of the next round, begins raining burning oil down on all characters. roll D3 each round to determine damage dealt to all characters until cleared — every 4 threats cleared, meliboeus gains enough power to clear the house of all current threats. players are then granted 1 round of reprieve to focus on healing. poliades will also roll to cast fortify at this time 　 　

IMPORTANT PLAYER NOTES. Please read!

if you are still short of the 10 post minimum for the grand prize, use this week to catch up. do not count on the critical interlude and finale to meet minimum activity. 　

you are not required to make sure every task is covered or spoken for. it's recommended to prioritize the plot-important tasks if unable to cover all of them. as before, you are welcome to move your character around through tasks and teams organically throughout the week as befits them. 　

all other notes from week 1 still apply. 　　

if you have any questions or are uncertain how to proceed at any point, ping mod rai.

[asirensrambles]

Shipwrecked Hearts (pt.3/3)

So this has been done forever, I just forgot to post it here after putting it on Ao3, WHOOPS.

A re-telling of the events of Shipwreck Confidential if Pathea weren’t COWARDS and let us romance Zeke.

Part 1, Part 2

As the group made their way back to Sandrock proper, Selene regarded Zeke shrewdly.  Despite his earlier weariness from throwing the three women, he'd insisted on helping them haul out the scrapped machines.   It seemed like letting him help had been the wrong thing to do.  Selene had thrown her back out before --every builder does it at least once during their apprenticeship while they're still learning proper body mechanics, it's almost a rite of passage-- and Zeke was showing every sign. 

Once they got everything dropped off at the Moisture Farm, he was going to Fang's, even if she had to drag him herself.  The walk back was slow, yet uneventful.  Mi-an, Trudy, and Selene were spent from fighting the old world machines in the wreck, and Zeke showed no inclination of wanting to move faster than the pace they set.

Finally, they made it back to the Moisture Farm.  With grunts and groans, everything got hauled inside to a corner Zeke indicated.  Once the scrap was unloaded, Mi-an volunteered to take the yakmels back to Cooper's.  She wanted to pick up some things from the Wandering Y shop anyways, so it wouldn't be out of her way.  Selene was grateful, and waved after her and Trudy.  Once the other two women had left, she rounded on Zeke.

"We're going to Fang's clinic."

"Why?" he asked.

She huffed, "Your back is still bothering you- don't deny it!" she said, as he tried to interject, "I've thrown my back out too, pretty much every builder does at some point in apprenticeship.  You should have Fang look at it, just to make sure it isn't anything more serious than that, just in case." 

Zeke sighed and shook his head, but Selene caught sight of a small smile on his lips.  He said, "Fine, on one condition."

Selene cocked her head.

"You get Justice to give you some proper combat training." 

Selene frowned.  At this point, she'd made it through plenty of combat situations just fine.  She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it just as quickly.  During their conversation, Zeke had walked closer so they weren't yelling across the farm.  Studying his face, Selene could see concern written there.  Thinking back on what she knew of the history of Sandrock, Zeke must have watched so many ill-equipped relic hunters throw themselves into situations that were over their heads and suffer the consequences.  He probably just wanted to make sure she avoided their fate.  A few lessons with Justice was a small price to pay for easing Zeke's worries.

Selene nodded, "Alright, deal."

It was obvious Zeke hadn't expected her to agree so readily.  The surprise on his face was clear as day.  He quickly schooled his features back to a more neutral expression before heaving out a sigh.

"Well, in that case, I guess I'm off to Fang's."

Zeke walked over to the exit, Selene following behind.  As he opened the door, Zeke stepped off to the side and held it open.  The gesture was unspeakably sweet, and something Selene definitely wasn't used to.  Not even the handful of dates she had in builder school held the door open for her.  Once she was through, Zeke let go and began the walk over to the clinic.  Selene fell in step next to him.  They walked towards Fang's in companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.  When they arrived at the clinic, Selene followed Zeke in.  He looked over his shoulder and gave her a quizzical look.  She merely shrugged.

"It's not that I don't trust you to actually go to the doctor, it's just that I don't trust anyone to actually go to the doctor.  Blame Nia."

Zeke asked, "Why should I blame Nia?"

Selene's eyes glazed over as she stared into the distance at the memory.  "That is a story for another time, one where I have a lot longer, and preferably something alcoholic."

Questions were written all over Zeke's face, but before he could ask any of them, Fang walked out from behind the screen on the right.  X flapped over to them and cawed,

"What's your problem?"

Zeke looked balefully at Selene, who merely crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.  He sighed, then turned to Fang.

"Hurt my back throwing the builders," he said.

Fang nodded and gestured to the examination bed behind the screen.  Selene plopped herself down on one of the waiting chairs, while Zeke walked behind the screen.  As she sat, the day began to catch up with her.  Sore muscles and aches and bruises began to make themselves known.  She'd sleep well tonight.  Soft murmurs floated over to her, but she couldn't make out what they were.  The calming atmosphere of the clinic had her almost dozing in the chair.  Her rest was short lived, as the doors burst open and Justice tumbled in.

"Is Fang here?" he asked.

Selene nodded and gestured to the screen.  Apparently the commotion was enough to draw said man's attention, as he walked out from behind the screen.  Upon seeing him, Justice looked relieved.

"Hey doc, we have some tourists that are lookin' worse for the wear in the Blue Moon.  Didn't want to bring them outside more than I had to.  Think you could come over and take a look?"  Fang nodded hesitantly, before turning to Zeke and telling him something Selene couldn't make out.  The doctor was then quick to pick up his bag and follow Justice out the door.  Curiosity got the better of her, prompting Selene to heave herself out of the chair and walk over towards the screen in the middle of the clinic.  She called out,

"What was the prognosis, you gonna make it?" 

He responded, "You were right, just a tweaked back, nothing more serious.  The doc was gonna do some of his needle stuff, but tourists takes precedence," as he was telling her this, Zeke slowly walked out from behind the screen, "It'll be fine in a few days of rest," he sighed, "Guess going through all that stuff you builders brought back is gonna have to wait."

Selene nodded, "Glad it wasn't anything serious."  Unbidden, her mind darted to the mini massage therapy workshop one of her college friends had put on for builders.  She'd taught them how to work out sore muscles, kinks, and tweaks for one another, since apprenticeship required lots of grunt work and crazy hours.  It would definitely help Zeke, but the idea of suggesting it made Selene's cheeks burn.  Being swallowed by the ground sounded more pleasant.  Still, watching how gingerly he was moving, and knowing how much he was itching to investigate the Old World tech, she managed to push past the mortification and say,

"If you want, I might be able to help with that.  Your back, I mean," she added hastily.

Zeke raised an eyebrow.

Selene swallowed hard before pressing on, "When I was in college, we had a workshop of sorts on how to massage out sore muscles, tweaked backs and whatnot.  It wasn't uncommon for one or more people to push themselves too far in apprenticeship.  I had a friend studying massage therapy, and she taught us how to help each other out.  Way cheaper than actually going somewhere, which was good since, you know, no one was making bank as an apprentice," realizing she was rambling horribly, Selene forced herself to stop talking.

  Zeke regarded her with an inscrutable expression.  It took everything in her not to fidget under his gaze.  Finally, he shrugged.

"If you're sure, I won't say no."

Rather than easing Selene's nerves, his agreement had the opposite effect.  Now, she was more nervous than ever. 

"Okay," she squeaked.  Was it her imagination, or did her voice just jump an octave?  No, that would be ridiculous.  Well, no turning back now.

"Um, if you want to just lay back down on the bed, on your stomach," she added. 

Zeke nodded, before walking around the screen back to the bed he'd just vacated.  Selene trailed behind him, nerves mounting with every passing moment.  As he took off his cape, Selene realized she'd never seen him without it, or his hat for that matter.  Zeke draped the cape over a chair next to the examination table.  As he raised his hands to lift off the hat, she was entranced by the way his back muscles shifted under the shirt.  His shoulders were so incredibly broad.  When Zeke went to set the hat on the chair, his shirt pulled taut, highlighting just how thick and strong the muscles there were.    Without the hat, Selene could see that Zeke's hair, while completely grey, was still thick and full.  Selene wasn't in the mood to unpack any of those thoughts.  She mentally shoved them into a chest and slammed the lid shut.

It didn't help that the incredibly minuscule level of undress was making things feel weirdly intimate.     It took a moment, but Zeke settled himself down on the bed.  It had been ages since Selene had last done this for anyone, and she was a little nervous.  Hopefully it would be muscle memory and come back once she started, but there was the brief terror of 'what if she'd completely forgotten everything she ever knew.'  Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Selene began to gently press into Zeke's back to map out where to start. 

Over the years in college, she'd massaged a lot of classmates who'd tweaked backs, or needed help with some other ailment.  Even though her entire cohort attended the workshop, Selene had gotten a reputation for being really good at them.  That being said, Zeke had the most well-muscled back she'd ever felt.  While her fingers sought out knots and tension, Selene marveled at the strength  coiled under her hands.  It was the kind of strength built over a lifetime of hard work.  

Having mentally determined a plan of attack, Selene began to press into Zeke's back with more force.  Gradually, she lost herself in the methodical movements and muscle memory took over.  The peaceful silence was only occasionally punctuated by moans, groans, and sighs from Zeke.  Selene lost track of time, completely focused in on the task at hand.  As her hands began to tire, Selene shifted more to simply rubbing soothing circles into Zeke's back.  Not wanting to ruin the peaceful moment, she whispered,

"Better?"

Zeke chuckled softly, "Yeah," he breathed, "Better than I've felt in ages."

A broad smile stretched across her face, even though he couldn't see it, "Good." Almost in a daze, he carefully sat up.  Selene watched as he stretched one way then another, eyes once again drawn to the fabric stretching taut over his body.  She only just managed to tear her eyes away from staring before Zeke turned back to look at her.  Some of the tension she was used to seeing in his face was no longer there either, apparently having bled out with the massage, or a side effect of feeling relaxed.  Zeke put his cape back on, but held his hat in front of him, fiddling with it, ever so slightly.  Finally, he looked up to meet her eyes.

"Thank you.  I haven't felt this good in...years," he said, almost shyly.

Selene beamed at him, "You're very welcome."

The two of them made their way back out to the main area of the clinic.  Fang was still nowhere in sight, much to Selene's relief.  Not that Fang would ask, but she would have felt compelled to explain the situation anyways, and that was just at the bottom of the list of things she ever wanted to do.  As they exited the clinic, Selene had to squint against the sun assailing her eyes again.  Zeke chuckled at her screwed up face.

"You should really keep a hat on you, Selene," he teased.

There was such an undercurrent of warmth in the way he said her name, it made her stomach flip flop.

"Usually I do!" she protested, "I left it at home because of the protective suits!"

Zeke just smiled down at her, "I know, little builder, I know.  I was teasing you."

The stomach flip flops shifted to full on butterflies, as her cheeks went beet red.  Completely flustered, she cleared her throat and said,

"Oh.  Well.  Just- let me know what you find from the scraps.  Or if you need anything.  To investigate, the scrap, I mean.  Or if you just need anything in general, too!" Why oh why do I keep babbling around him?  Selene wondered.  That was already twice today!  Zeke interrupted her fretting.

"I will.  I'm also gonna talk to Justice at the end of the week, see if any builders have been by for training."

"I'll go there right now, promise," she said, "See you later?"

Zeke nodded, "You always know where to find me."

Selene gave him a nod and headed off to the Civil Corps.

Had Selene looked behind her, she'd have seen Zeke standing in front of the Clinic, watching until she was out of sight.  

[emachinescat]

Merlin Fics of Epic Proportions (50k+ words)

If you are looking for a good, long, novel-length read to immerse yourself in, here's a list to get you started! Fics are organized by word count, from highest to lowest.

Links to the featured authors' profiles:

Alaia Skyhawk

Alice I

BeyondTheStorm

Captain Ozone

ebhg

Emachinescat

llLethell

Loopstagirl

Sanguine Ink

Ultra-Geek

1. A Question of Motives by Alaia Skyhawk | Rating: T | Chapters: 82 | Words: 303,673

As he lay there bearing witness to the battle before him, he could scarce believe what he saw. What was he to believe? What to do? How are you supposed to react when the man you saw as your closest friend turns out to be a sorcerer? *Spoilers for SE-3*

2. Another's Favor by ebhg | Rating: T | Chapters: 24 | Words: 171,488

To fortify Nemeth's ties with Camelot after his rescue, Rodor offers Mithian's hand to the one man Arthur respects above all others. For power comes not with rank, but from one's connections. AU from Another's Sorrow, taking Series 5 where I wish it had actually gone. AKA, Where the Heck was Magic and Albion When I Wanted Them!

3. Healing Spells by BeyondTheStorm | Rating: T | Chapters: 27 | Words: 168,075

After revealing his magic to Arthur due to life-threatening circumstances, Merlin decides it's time he learned to heal. With Gaius off dealing with an illness in the outer villages, Merlin is left to his own methods, bearing some rather costly outcomes.

4. Beyond the Vale by BeyondTheStorm | Rating: T | Chapters: 28 | Words: 163,174

Post S3. When a patrol goes missing under strange circumstances, Arthur is determined to find out what happened, and no one can persuade him otherwise. With nothing to go on but a foreboding story, Merlin fears that their luck might finally run out.

5. Of Twisted Morals and Human Weaponry by BeyondTheStorm | Chapters: 26 | Words: 146,837

One month. It had been one month since Merlin had disappeared. When Arthur set out to find his missing servant, he hadn't had much of a plan, but he's pretty sure that getting kidnapped and being held for ransom by a morally imbalanced weapons dealer hadn't been part of it. *Friendship, no slash, eventual magic reveal*

6. Turning Back by Loopstagirl | Chapters: 17 | Words: 91,777

They knew the search for Morgana would be dangerous. But with everything seemingly out to get them, none of them could quite comprehend what fate had planned.

7. Dragonfasting by ebhg | Rating: T | Chapters: 15 | Words: 81,984

Aithusa's actions in Sword in the Stone pt 2 have drastic and far-reaching consequences, though not what anyone would have guessed. "Was it possible to foster such a great love from the seeds of redemption and forgiveness?" Mergana/Arwen

8. Facing the Truth by Sanguine Ink | Rating: T | Chapters: 18 | Words: 81,523

"Great, just what he needed, something else trying to off the prat on the way home." Merlin, Arthur, a very large spot of prison-cell-shaped trouble, and a lot to work out. Bromance, no slash, and lots of whump.

9. Ransoming Emrys by Emachinescat | Rating: T | Chapters: 25 | Words: 69,768

Arthur isn't the only one that people will pay handsomely for. A band of renegade druids that know how much the legendary "Emrys" is worth has decided to auction him off to the highest bidder. How far will Arthur and his friends go to get him back, especially when Merlin's secret is revealed?

10. The Heart of Magic by Alice I | Rating: K | Chapters: 14 | Words: 68,926

Something sinister has happened in Camelot and by all appearances, Merlin is at the heart of it. The young warlock must battle through a mysterious ailment and profound malaise to find an answer that lies beyond magic. No slash.

11. A Soul, A Mentality, A Name by CaptainOzone | Rating: T | Chapters: 15 | Words: 67,959

Bk1 of Prophesized. Merlin and Arthur are faced by a new, powerful threat: the Gvarath. Merlin once again dons the guise of Dragoon the Great to save Arthur. But the question is: will he be able to convince Arthur to fight alongside him? No slash.

12. This Cold Land by Emachinescat | Rating: T | Chapters: 23 | Words: 67,553

Raiders from the North attack Camelot, but plundering the coastal villages isn't all they want. They want the prince, but having never seen him before, accidentally grab the wrong man. While Arthur sets off on an impossible quest to find Merlin, the servant himself miles from home in frozen lands across the sea, the captive of brutal Vikings who think he's the prince.

13. The King's Legacy by llLethell | Rating: T | Chapters: 14 | Words: 61,655

"I hope you are rolling in your grave brother, I will find your son, and I hope he is like you. I will ruin him and gain a lovely weapon in the process." Cenred spat on the grave, "I win Balinor."

14. The Lost by Ultra-Geek | Rating: T | Chapters: 13 | Words: 52,381

In the blink of an eye, Merlin goes from laughing in the halls of Camelot to lying on the ground, hurt and alone, in an unfamiliar, ruined castle. Now all he has to do is figure out what's happened.

*Note: I am not even halfway done going through and re-organizing my Ultimate Master Fic List, so I'm sure I will come across more lengthy fics as I do so. Once I consolidate enough to warrant a part two to this list, I'll make and release one. :)

[vespertin-y]

I simply must ask you about your comfort character as well, as a treat! ;D

HUGS YOU HUGS YOU HUGS YOU HUGS Y

Sexuality Headcanon: kokichi’s canonically some shade of mlm, i headcanon him as bi!! i like projecting my sexuality journey onto him, of thinking you’re gay for years and years and years and then seeing a particularly attractive person from the opposite gender and thinking “wait. WAIT, FUCK-”

Gender Headcanon: kokichi’s gender is a highly classified DICE secret and should you attempt to discover it you will be slowly and dramatically lowered into a tank of sharks. he/she/it pronouns tho.

A ship I have with said character: if u have scrolled though my blog for more than two seconds you’ll know i’m obsessed with saioumatsu, lol. it’s a big comfort ship for me and i think about it more than any other relationship in danganronpa,,,unfortunately it’s a pretty rare ship, but fortunately all three individual pairs in it have decent followings so i’m not completely starved :D i just think kokichi deserves two people who will love him honestly and openly and gently, but still refuse to take any of his shit yknow? also i think it’s fun that most of the biggest problems in each pair are solved by the third person being there! like how kokichi would have no patience for shuichi putting kaede on a pedestal, and kaede would just knock their heads together whenever the boys attempt a classic Saiou Miscommunication™, and how shuichi would be a good mediator for when the omaede bickering turns to actual fighting!

A BROTP I have with said character: fuck i already spent ages talking about platonic ougoku in the gonta post,,,uhh i like the idea of him and kiibo making up postgame. him and miu are really funny and really tragic which is always a good combo. him and rantaro are great since rantaro is so easily swayed into shenaniganery. i like the idea of him harassing kiyo into telling him cool stories. and him and himiko have been near n dear to my heart ever since i read that one set of toxicpineapple fics!

A NOTP I have with said character: nothing against the folks who like it but kokichi/rantaro squicks me out 😬. why is my aroace king, rantaro amami, kissing his little brother. whys he doing that!! funnily enough i do actually headcanon kokichi as having an ill-fated crush on rantaro,,,it just makes me uncomfy for rantaro to reciprocate idk idk

A random headcanon: he presents very fem!! idk i know it’s not a popular headcanon but he’s always just. felt that way 2 me i guess? he wears exclusively dresses and skirts unless he’s in his DICE uniform, because unfortuately pants are more practical when ur running from the cops 😔. he still dresses like a fucking clown though being fem doesn’t give you TASTE

General Opinion over said character: you may notice that this post is actually SHORTER than my other posts for this ask game, despite kokichi being my favorite character ever. this is because i kept devolving into completely incomprehensible gibberish trying to explain how much i love this little guy. he is my scrunkly my blorbo my son my poor little meow meow my boyfriend my sleep paralysis demon. i have genuinely gotten myself through depressive episodes by looking at fanart of this fucking anime boy. i am gently wrapping him in a fuzzy blanket and tucking him inside a pringles can <3

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1023 - Initial Thoughts

15 Minutes is on the clock

Onigashima reaches the mainland and the fights continue on. Including the Wings of the King vs the Disasters of the Beast

Without further ado, let's get into it

Spoilers for Chapter 1023, Support the Official Release too

Vivi cover page is nice, proper Disney Princess action with Karoo being jealous birb again, but now I have worries because last we heard something went down with Alabasta...all those post-Reverie questions

Back to where we left off with the boys being back in town

Miyagi can you not ominously foreshadow Zoro's future pain please?

Kawamatsu's here to save Zoro from interference, and Hyou's telling the Yakuza not to get in the way of this fight

Marco though is a pensive Pineapple, taking a good long look at King as he recalls Whitebeard telling him about King's race living on the Red Line before the world nobles, Void Century and before stuff

Mention of Gods does fuel one of my old post fan theories, but also fuels that the WG kicked King's race out of the Red Line

Izo though out here saving Marco from being an easy target, tbh Marineford did show he was prone to a surprise attack

Asking Izo if they believe in God though in a raid that may lead to their deaths is kinda irreverent right now though huh?

Queen back to hyping themselves up though

Hm? Is there a limitation to Sanji's raid suit? Sanji's saying he feels weird

Zoro wasting no time to banter with it though, saving Sanji from King as Sanji returns the favour with Queen

Queen does make a valid point though, as much as Sanji expresses that he is unenhanced by Germa he can also set himself on fire, I do wonder if it is just part of that enhancement in there that he expresses as his 'fiery hot passion'

Lunarian though, that must be King's species' name: moon people again I bet which feeds my fan theories

Also since we mentioned Germa again what happened to them? Jimbei made it out after all and I wanna see me some alive and well Baeju

I would issue doubt on Queen's claim that their enhancements are beyond Vegapunk's, given how little we know of Vegapunk after all

King's got a special sword too, it can change its edge to be teethy which he used to ensnare Zoro's swords

Wado saves Zoro's face from eating King's spiked fist though

King does make a fair point though, traditional weapons are romanticized but a fight's about getting every advantage you can, Zoro at least respects that since King never claimed to be a Swordsman, while also reminding King that he could be a feral bastard too

Kinda gave me mini Mr. 1 fight vibes there

Oh here we go, potential Zoro lineage time

Kawamatsu and Hyou muse over how Zoro was like Ushimaru when he was young, even down to his style (though that could be more Shimotsuki Koushiro's doing since he's Zoro's master)

Also Ushimaru was Ryuma's direct descendant, which means that 1. Ryuma banged, 2. Swordsmanship runs in the blood and 3. Ryuma banged

Also Ryuma also had the one eye, and it does seem pretty mythical that a swordsman of similar skill and stature returns Shusui back to Wano (even though this should mean that Shusui would be Zoro's birthright and he was kinda forced into relinquishing it)

Also worth reminding that Kozaburo was Kuina's grandpa so there may only be loose relations if Zoro is a Shimotsuki too, we don't exactly know how Kozaburo and Ushimaru are related if it's by blood or clan, plus I still wonder about Tashigi

Over to Jack vs Inu though, and Jack's hybrid form is just...weird

I did not need to see an Elephant head with abs you know Oda!

Both are pretty tired, as Jack mocks Inu saying he has forgiven Zou for the Raizo stuff, since he already destroyed most of it

Inu though with the shoulder toss, reminding Jack that they had to make these sacrifices to get to here

But we're getting the epic speech, and the hole in the roof caused by Ashura's sacrifice is changing Inu back into Su Long

Same thing is happening with Neko, turning Su Long in front of Carrot and Wanda (who I guess are covering from the moon) as he stares down Perospero

And I'm glad Neko's pointing out that Pedro's sacrifice is valid. I truthfully always felt a bit iffy about people saying that Carrot's desire to avenge Pedro was ill-found because 'Pedro killed himself'. Had Pedro not sacrificed himself then Brook and Chopper would've been dead by candy and Big Mom would've obliterated the rest on the ship

Raizo and Megaforehead though prelude with the mention of maturity, that everyone - even the Akazaya - needed time to mature into who they wanted to be

Down to the surface though and the Heart Pirates are on high alert/panic, they think Kaido's here

But it's Momo, and he looks magnificent

Shinobu's aged him up to 28, the age he'd be had he not been leapt through time, but now she's upset he looks like Kaido

There's new fire in Momo's eyes though, the return ascent begins!

Can you feel that? It feels like the last stretch before the ultimate battle of Wano

Sanji and Zoro vs King and Queen hopefully will remain a tag bout, but I am curious as to King's abilities and what's affecting Sanji in terms of the raid suit. It's not bad to have a limitation but this is the first we've heard of it after seeing him use it 4 times. I don't hate Zoro being a Shimotsuki, though I do feel like we could've built to this, plus we're still lacking in the how.

One wonders what role Marco will now play, and whether Tiny Tiny Chopper is due to recover. We haven't heard from the others for a bit, nor CP0 nor Yamato. Our Pineapple does have unfinished business with Edward Weevil tbf so he could make it out, Izo may be a variable in that, they've yet to learn of Kiku's fate.

Also we never did see who that mystery person was did we? Still could be Hiyori

Marco's musing about gods does feel like we're gonna get more about King, and more lore of the world that Robin will love to soak up like a sponge, Oda have been leaving these seeds since Skypeia, and where there are Gods, there are Devils.

We are however getting major death flags from the minks, one last turn to Su Long to enable their efforts. I like how Ashura's sacrifice is not in vain because of this though, it makes me wonder if there's a slither of hope for Kin and Kiku. If anything though the minks will die from exhaustion rather than being defeated, Su Long eats away at you after all, it's probably gonna be traumatizing for Carrot a little but I hope we see some resolve out of her more like when she was in Zou and WCI, I still want her for Nakama.

And then the final coup de grace, giant dragon Momo, it's one hell of a panel and it means we're bringing Luffy back into the fight. But the extent of Momo's ripening is only in body remember, in mind he's still young. But now we have the setup for the final fight between Luffy and Kaido, I'll expect in that time we'll have to try and finish off everything else with the Akazaya, reconvening the Straw Hats, King, Queen, Big Mom, Kid, Law, Killer, Hawkins, Apoo and Drake.

Act's not over yet, less than 15 minutes until Onigashima Falls.

[court-of-abs]

Update on “Maybe Tomorrow” [Final Chapter; Chapter 17]

Hello, hello my ducklings. 

It’s been nearly two years since I’ve last been on Tumblr and well over that time since I’ve written anything for my Elorcan fanfic “Maybe Tomorrow.” I actually just finished up reading a Court of Silver Flames and I remembered this page existed. 

As you all might’ve guessed, I never did finish writing that last chapter, or the epilogue, even. And while I no longer intend to finish writing that last chapter now, I decided it would be fun to post what I had written so far as well as a bulleted list for the ideas I had for the epilogue. Please keep in mind two things: this was written over two years ago and I’m not letting myself attempt to edit it (although I did read through it quickly) and there is a potential trigger warning: this chapter covers themes of mental health, therapy, and topics related to it. I’ll also be adding this warning to the previous chapter, as I feel in hindsight I most definitely should’ve included it.

This community and these books were my everything in 2017-2018. I was going through a pretty tough time then, and I am so so happy to say I’m doing much better now despite everything going on in the world. I still keep up with each series to this day (I even cried the BIG tears when I finished Kingdom of Ash) and it will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart. 

Enjoy!! Let me know what you guys think <3 I miss and love you all, and I hope you’re doing well.

~

Naitivity. To herself, to her problems, to the pain flowing through her veins every step she took. That was why Saturday night had affected her so much.

In the almost nine years since their death, Elide had never acknowledged what had happened. She’d never grieved, barely faltered- she got away with it by not thinking about it, not talking about it. By not accepting the cards the fate had handed her, by turning a blind eye, it became so much easier to pretend it didn’t happen. It became so much easier to pretend she hadn’t changed.

Elide knew now that she wasn’t being strong for it. She was just being naive.

Elide wrapped her arms around herself and leaned forward to rest her head on the steering wheel of her car. She breathed, deeply, taking in the muffled sounds of students walking towards the front of the school- their voices, their laughter.

She smiled, then, thinking about what today was.

Then she frowned, thinking about what today was. The elections and then…

Another breath. In and out, just like the therapist had told her. Elide reached for her school books and swung open the door of her car, stepping out into the heat. She just needed to focus on today, just today.

And then, with the support of her friends, those that cared about her, she’d focus on the next. And the next, and the next…

Elide made it all of three steps away from her car when she ran into Aelin, Lysandra, and Manon standing by the rear of her car, their arms crossed and faces tight.

Elide swallowed and reached for the words she’d been saying over and over in her head for the last 24 hours. They were on the tip of her tongue-

“Manon!” Lysandra’s shout was cut off by Manon barrelling into Elide, pulling her into one of the most suffocating bear hugs she’d ever received. It was exactly what she needed.

“You scared the ever-living daylights out of us” she said into Elide’s hair.

Elide leaned her head on Manon’s shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Manon shook her head, and Elide watched as Lysandra and Aelin took a few steps forward, readying to pull Manon away should Elide need them to.

“There’s no need to be sorry, but Jesus, Elide, you just… disappeared after Saturday night. No one could get in touch with you all of Sunday, not even Lorcan.” Elide froze at his name. She mumbled another “sorry” into Manon’s shoulder and gripped her harder so that she wouldn’t notice.

“All right, all right” Lysandra said as she gently pried Manon’s arms off of Elide. “Don’t smother her.”

Elide smiled at her. “It’s alright-” and then Lysandra was gripping her in another extremely tight bear hug.

“Hey!” Manon shouted, scowling at Lysandra.

“You had plenty of time with her, it’s my turn now.”

“I got less than a minute-”

“Ladies” Aelin said, stepping between them. “This is about Elide right now, not you.” Aelin stepped towards Lysandra and Lysandra took a step away. 

“Don’t even try, Aelin. You’ll get your turn in a minute.” Elide giggled as Aelin sighed and took a step back.

Lysandra smoothed down the hair on top of her head and said, “Do you want to tell us what happened- after Saturday, I mean. It’s okay if you’re not ready.”

Elide smiled up at her, at all of them, and took a small step forward- Lysandra reluctantly loosened her grip.

“It’s true,” Elide swallowed, “what Maeve said about my parents. That’s all true.” She wrapped her arms around herself, tighter, remembering what Dr. Ren had told her.

“I’ve spent the last nine or so years of my life… in denial. My parents, when they died, they were all I had. I was horrible at making friends, and when Vernon became my guardian, well, you might imagine why he didn’t exactly give me someone to talk to. The SDD tried to get me to talk, to acknowledge what had happened. They worked tirelessly to try and convince my uncle that I needed therapy but my uncle doesn’t really believe in mental illness, of any sort, and I… it was just too much for me,” Elide tried to meet all of their eyes as she talked but the bareness of the moment forced her eyes down to the pavement, “I didn’t talk for almost an entire year after they died. I had no outlet for the pain,” her voice cracked on the word, “the utter pain I was going through. Eventually I learned it was easier to shove it all down. Everyone said that since I was young I would quickly get past it and I took that as meaning that I had to quickly get past it. And so I did everything you’re not supposed to do when trying to grieve about the death of your loved ones.” 

Elide gestured a hand to all of them, “I pushed people away... and I let the mention of the most amazing parents in the world become a trigger for my concealed anxiety and grief. And after Saturday, I couldn’t push it all back down after Saturday. And so nine years of pent up… everything came tumbling out.”

None of them spoke for a moment.

Then: “You talked to one hell of a therapist yesterday, didn’t you,” Manon said. 

Elide let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, he set me straight.” Elide said, tracing the lines on one of her textbooks.

“So you’re okay?” Lysandra asked, wrapping her arms tentatively around Elide.

“No” Elide said, “I’m actually far from it. But …” Elide cleared her throat and hastily brushed away a fallen tear. “That’s okay. I know that.” 

“Good” Aelin said. She reached for Elide, then, waving off a pissed Lysandra. “We’re going to be right here while you get through all of it, Elide. Absolutely all of it.”

“Thank you” Elide said, gladly accepting her third bear hug of the day. “And I’m sorry about how I reacted on Saturday, it must have been so scary for all of you. I’m really, truly sorry-”

“Don’t apologize” Aelin said, smoothing down her hair. “You don’t need to. What Maeve did was the definition of malicious, and you didn’t hear it but everyone booed her off stage after Lorcan rushed you out of the room.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t disqualify her from the race after that,” Lysandra said, and then she grimaced. “Gods I can still remember the look on her face-”

“Lysandra” Manon warned, “we all know she’s a bitch, but we don’t need to debate how much of one she is right at this second.”

Lysandra looked down at her feet and mumbled, “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay, really” Elide said. “I don’t mind talking about how much of a bitch she is at all.”

“Oh thank the gods” Lysandra sighed, rushing over to Elide and grasping her hand. “Let’s all go sit down somewhere and discuss this. It’s going to be a lengthy conversation- there is so much bitchy-ness about her that you don’t even know about it.”

“Are we really doing this?” Manon said, raising a single brow. “Doesn’t that make us a bit petty?” A snort from Lysandra.

They all turned to Aelin, but Aelin just shrugged. “What Elide says, goes.”

Manon’s jaw twitched and then she threw up her hands. “What the hell.”

Elide giggled as the four of them linked arms and walked towards the school together. Manon had been right- she had talked to one hell of a shrink yesterday. But she hadn’t just helped her sift through the memories, figure out how to deal with the pain.

Lysandra cackled at something Manon said, and Aelin smiled back at them, unrestrained.

No, she’d also helped her realize how amazing her friends were. And that was best part of all.

~  

If he couldn’t find her before the end of the day- he didn’t know what he was going to do. He just had to talk to her. He just had to know if she was alright.

His feet pounded into the concrete of the school parking lot... (I’m sorry I stopped typing here)

Here’s how I originally outlined the chapter (you can see some changes for when I actually sat down and wrote it):

Chp 17 Summary

Monday morning- day of election results. Elide is a mess. She hasn’t talked to anyone since Saturday night: this includes Lorcan. At school she’s confronted by friends and they’re all worried about her. They make up- Elide opens up to them about it. Lorcan clears things up with Rowan in the parking lot, they walk towards the school together. Then Lorcan comes over and asks to speak with Elide alone- they talk, and Lorcan gives her a new backpack (green like the carpet in the library). Asks if she could take care of Hellas for him- she says yes. They walk into the school hand in hand, knowing what they are and what they could be would have to wait for now.

Chapter Specifics

Outside of School

Elide sitting in her car again, contemplating the weekend. Reflective of first chapter- when she’s sitting there, not sure how things are going to go. 

Walks towards the school in a daze. Aelin & Co waiting for her a few feet from the school. Everyone is tentative but then Manon comes running over and gives Elide a hug. It’s just what she needs.

Elide says she’s sorry and opens up to them about her thought. They all just tell her it’s not her fault for any of it and they’re sorry that happened to her.

Lorcan & Rowan Meeting

Lorcan walking towards Elide when Rowan steps in front of him. The two tersely talk 

Flashback scene of sorts about what Rowan did for him the night before (Cain trying to goad Lorcan into a fight of sorts and Rowan stepping in)

at the end of it the two shake hands and are on good terms again.

Lorcan walks over to Elide and asks to speak with her alone. Bell rings for class to start but Lorcan leads them down a trail to talk.

He’s awkward until Elide leans up and kisses him. She tells him thank you

He gives her the backpack. Elide opens it up to find a copy of A Court of Wings and Ruin, and the picture of her parents protruding from it. 

Lorcan says he wishes he could have made her happy like that. Elide says he did. In the short time they had, he did.

Lorcan asks her to take care of Hellas. She says of course.

Elide leans up and kisses him again and says that she’ll always care about him. And maybe in the future they’ll be something (make sure you don’t rush this!!)

Lorcan starts stuttering and Elide shakes her head. She explains that as much as she cares about him, she knows how much the long distance thing will wear down on them- and that he needs to be his own person when he comes back to her.

Outdoors speakers announce that Aelin and her team had won the election as they approach the school building.

Elide walks into the school with Lorcan, prepared for the day ahead. And the next. And then the next, and the next…

Epilogue

I actually don’t have any notes for this (I THOUGHT I DID I’M SORRY) but I think I had it so that they bump into each other at Terrasen University or something like that and they start as friends but eventually begin dating and then get married in the library and the last scene is them at their spot in the library in their wedding apparel just holding each other (because I’m sappy like that)

Thank you all, again. Writing this was a pleasure and I could not have asked for a better community and support group

- Abs

[fencesandfrogs]

names. leaders. meaning.

i’m working on a master post with a list of my influences but i’m impatient and i have my own ideas. warrior cats lore post. bracketed numbers are things that broke flow but i wanted to include. under the cut.

THUNDERCLAN leaders are addressed by their name. there is no honorific, just bluestar or firestar or pinestar. the names of a leader become hallowed names. no kit will be named bluekit for many seasons after her death, until those who knew her have passed, and her name is just another in the list of leaders kits are taught. their names, kits are told, are powerful. just as kits can be summoned by their name, so can a leader. firestar’s compassion and fairness will be with us as long as we remrember his name.

a kit’s name is its mother’s choice, although a generous queen might allow a tom some input. kits are named for what they look like and what their mother wants them to be. dovekit for a grey kit who deserves peace. ivykit for a grey kit who deserves to put down roots.

after the great journey, these peaceful names have been more common. everyone wants to stay, be stable and calm. it won’t be until all those who made the journey have passed for it to even be possible for the old fighting to start again. maybe then, more grey kits will be named stormkit for power.

and their warrior name is always for them. recent leaders may have made unique choices, but perhaps older leaders were too conservative. bluefur and snowfur, from the same litter no less, is a tad unoriginal. but a kit is named for who their mother wants them to be, and a warrior is named for who they are. names describe who we are. [1]

SHADOWCLAN leaders are addressed by their name at times, especially during the day, but during hallowed and holy times, they are addressed by star seer. never in front of other clans. this is a powerful name. kits are taught this from birth. the stars are their ancestors, and the leader has been blessed by nine. it is only fair to show reverence for that. but the other clans do not understand this. they would only dishonor the tradition.

a kit’s name is chosen by all the queens in the nursery, and sometimes the elder queens. the mother has final say, but she is only first among equals. it takes many heads to remember as many warriors who have borne a name as possible.

when tawnypelt insisted on tigerkit, they decided it was a dangerous name. that’s why they had dawnkit and flamekit. because firestar was the downfall of tigerstar, and the dawn is a peaceful time. tigerkit would turn the power of his father for good.

their warrior names are, similarly, a more open discussion. leaders discuss it with mentors and senior warriors and medicine cats. hints are often dropped to the apprentices. their names must complete what the queens started. tigerheart so that he would remember it was the strength of his heart. puddleshine so that he would be able to find the light of starclan. names shape those they are given to.

RIVERCLAN leaders have a litany of names. weather caller, storm seer, spirit walker. a new leader being made is a chance to find another for the list. these names are to honor leaders for the role they play in their lives. the names themselves, mistystar, crookedstar, leopardstar, they are not held with the same reverence as in thunderclan and shadowclan. a leader leaves behind their claim to that name, becoming known by that only by their friends from before.

a kit’s name is chosen by the queen and her mate, regardless of the father. [2] they are chosen to honor the kit and the name. silverkit, out of love for trinkets, hoping their daughter would feel loved. graykit, hoping for a peaceful life, like still water. featherkit for a half-thunderclan kit, that they would not forget their blood, even though they would be raised riverclan.

stormkit was a debated choice. graystripe was not silverstream’s mate. he had little say over their names, but in lieu of either silverstream or her mate, stormkit would have to stick. it would come to honor spirit and power, courage to stand on your own. stormkit would have a new meaning, a new honor, after that.

their warrior name is chosen to honor their environment, to honor them. silverstream, for a daughter who had grown beautiful and loved. feathertail for a riverclan cat who knew where she belonged. crookedjaw for a warrior who had grown into the hardship he had dealt. the bearer of a name changes its meaning.

WINDCLAN has no name for their leader but their name. tallstar. heatherstar. harestar. but their medicine cats are honored. kestrelflight might become spirit seer in honor of a bird’s vision, and barkface could become moor healer, a tribute to the gift of herbs of the moor. no one decides on these names, but the clan agrees. it is not a name gifted in haste. only one medicine cat can ever have another name at a time, but to receive it is honor.

kits are named for prey and plants. harekit for a kit who looked fast and wry, crowkit for a kit with the old power of tunnelers. heatherkit for a kit with a pelt apt for stealth, and barkkit for a kit who looked out of place on the moor. the queen suggests, but the medicine cat confirms. without a blessing from starclan, no name could be a good omen. [3]

barkface didn’t like breezekit, he said it was a poor chosen name. said the kit was too solid for a name like breezekit, that rabbitkit or gorsekit was better. nightcloud asked if he was forbidding the name. barkface said he would not deny a queen to choose the name of her only kit. but breezekit would only bear ill wind.

warrior names are chosen for accuracy. breezepelt for a cat with a thin pelt. heathertail for a skilled hare runner. a leader seeks approval from a medicine cat, that they will bring no misfortune for their chosen name. _crowfeather _was a shocking interruption to begin with, but made worse that barkface could not ensure it was not ill-fated. names describe our future.

SKYCLAN has no honorific for its leader nor its medicine cat. to treat them differently would be to devalue their role. they are part of the clan as any other, and that is why they can lead it. so the names of a leader are not hallowed, but fought over once they have passed. the first kit to be named leafkit will be of the first litter born after leafstar loses her last life. [4]

a kit’s name is chosen with careful consideration. they may go unnamed for up to a moon as the queen searches for a good name. a cat who passes away while a litter is unnamed is almost sure to find themselves reborn in a name. firekit, stormkit, harrykit. all named for who was, but isn’t anymore.

firekit and stormkit may seem like they started this tradition, but it was harrykit far more than the other two. skyclan proved they would form their own clan, make the rules work for them, and that meant names like harrykit. it was honoring not just who was but also who they were.

so far, warrior names have been chosen exclusively by leafstar, and no one has complaints. the other clans might protest, but their names are a mark of what skyclan is, now that they live with the others. a warrior’s name is an honor, either in memory of another, or to bring honor to the name being given. violetshine that both names might enter the skyclan canon, frecklewish for a granted wish, _billystorm _for the she-cat that helped shape their clan. names honor those who came before.

PERHAPS THEN it’s not strange for bramblestar’s names to be unique. he has lead his clan during a strange time. and if riverclan’s names grow similar, that is because they know what they love. names have meaning. they always do. [5]

[1]: this is my explanation for the elder’s names in series one. i’ve also seen some lostface commentary i like.

[2]: cats can have multiple fathers in one litter. not going into it. this has nothing to do with adoption stuff. i mean it could, but i’m specifically saying it doesn’t.

[3]: other clans do get medicine cat approval, but it’s a formality, a wives’ tale.

[4]: modern skyclan, as per usual. old skyclan used -sky as a sort of friendly greeting? a personal, in thing? skyclan’s territory was furthest from high stones, so they probably weren’t super spiritual. leafsky. cloudsky. and so on. not in front of other clans, though, who would interpret it as extremely disrespectful, both to the leader and to starclan.

[5]: to be clear, i did this not to justify naming choices, but because i thought it worth my time to spend an hour (holy shit i can’t believe i’ve done this for an hour) writing lore about various names. i try to ground these things in canon, but this is for wing & feather (i.e., jaywing and dovefeather world building), so i don’t mind changing things. i don’t want to change names if i can help it, though. that said, when people say the old names were good: come on, man, i love bluestar’s prophecy, but really? bluefur and snowfur? i guess that means i have to say thunderclan is literal in their names.

[callboxkat]

Infinitesimal (epilogue)

Author’s note: Happy two year anniversary of when I first began posting this fic! Let’s celebrate with its conclusion. I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story. I know I’ve enjoyed writing it. <3

Warnings: food mention, injury mention, illness mention, captivity mention, nightmare mention

Word count: 3058

Infinitesimal Masterpost!

Writing Masterpost!

...

“We’re almost home!” Patton announced as they rounded the final corner. It was a straight shot now, barely any distance at all to the home that Emile and Virgil had built and made their own, and that they had eagerly welcomed Patton to join. A home that they hadn’t seen in weeks, since Emile had first gone missing, not counting Patton’s brief return for Virgil’s birthday gifts. Suffice to say, however friendly they had grown with Roman and Logan, all three of them were happy to be back.

“Home,” Emile hummed. He was clearly exhausted, leaning heavily on Virgil and Patton as they slowly made their way home; but he had insisted after their last break that he could make it the rest of the way in one shot. And now that they were so close, he seemed to gain a new energy. Patton couldn’t blame him—he felt the same way.

Minutes later, Virgil was opening the door and flicking on the lights, and they stepped over the threshold.

Home.

Patton and Virgil had meant to immediately take Emile to the bed in the second room, so that he could recover from the journey; but Emile stopped as soon as he was inside, staring up at the walls.

Oh, right, Patton thought. He’d nearly forgotten.

The drawings that Patton and Virgil had created while Emile was on his ill-fated supply run still hung on the once bare walls, cheerful, colorful banners that coated nearly every bit of available space. Some were detailed—the earliest of these drawings—while others were little more than bright scribbles meant to fill up space like a gigantic patchwork design, adding to the ridiculous cacophony of it all. One in particular, a very goofy looking smiley face, hung at eye level directly across from the door.

A second passed, and then Emile began to laugh.

…

Two weeks had gone by since the littles had departed. Logan had seen no sign of them since, and could only assume—and hope—that this meant that everything had gone as planned, and that they were fine.

He wished he knew this for sure, but it wasn’t as if he could call them and ask.

Logan sighed, tapping the pencil he held in one hand against the book in his lap. It wouldn’t do to be so distracted, he told himself. He was meant to be doing homework.

Deciding that perhaps biology would be easier to focus on than Calculus, Logan stood and went to get his other books.

Soon after, he returned, the textbook, notebook, and calculator held in his arms. He made for the sofa.

“Hello?”

Logan jumped, very nearly dropping the books in his arms. He whirled around towards the voice, and his gaze locked onto the shelf on the wall opposite the window.

Virgil.

“I—” Logan shook his head, composing himself as best he could. “Virgil! Is something wrong? Did something happen? Is everyone okay?”

Virgil held up both arms in a “calm down” gesture, his crutches hanging from his elbows, briefly balancing on one leg.

“They’re fine,” the little said, putting his arms back down. “Is, um. Is Roman around?”

Logan, who had been staring at Virgil with wide eyes as he spoke, deflated slightly. “Ah—yes. My apologies, I shouldn’t assume you are here to speak with me. I’ll fetch him instead.”

Virgil groaned, rolling his eyes so hard that it was a full-body gesture. “No, you moron, you come back too.”

In another circumstance, Logan might have been miffed about being called a moron, but now he just blinked in pleased surprise. “Oh.”

Virgil leaned on one crutch, tilting his head to the side. “So? Are you going to get him?”

“Ah—yes, of course. One moment.” Logan placed his school materials on the coffee table, then strode purposefully from the room.

When he returned, a very excited and curious Roman in tow, Virgil was still on the shelf, shifting awkwardly where he stood.

“Doctor Gloom!” Roman greeted cheerily, his still-exuberant voice softened out of consideration. “What brings you to our homely abode?”

Logan glanced at Roman, a bit surprised at the vocabulary choice, and wondering if perhaps he’d confused the definition of “homely”, before looking back to Virgil for an answer.

Virgil managed to look even more uncomfortable. Logan shifted his gaze slightly away, hoping that that would help. It seemed to do the trick.

Virgil took a deep breath. “So… I wanted to, uh… I wanted to say thanks,” he said. “I know I wasn’t… I wasn’t the nicest, when I came to ask you guys for help, with Em. But you helped me anyway, and you helped him. You saved him. And Patton. So… thanks for that.” He paused. “Um. That’s all.”

He opened his mouth again, shook his head, and turned away, clearly about to dart back into the wall.

“Wait,” Roman begged. “Don’t go yet.”

Virgil paused.

“You came quite a long way just to say that,” Logan observed. “I do appreciate it, as I’m sure Roman does, but….”

Virgil scoffed.

“Would it hurt to have a conversation before you leave?” Logan gently pressed. He hadn’t seen any of the littles in two weeks, which, while not overly long, was certainly more time than he would have preferred.

“Are Pat and Emile okay?” Roman asked. “How are you? What’s been going on the past two weeks?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Virgil muttered.

Logan and Roman waited.

Virgil sighed. “I waited because I wanted to make sure Em was good, okay? And he’s—he’s fine.” Virgil turned away from the wall to look more properly towards them again, but his voice was quieter as he continued, “I just wanted to thank you guys, and he’s better, so I came.”

Logan nodded slightly. “We appreciate it,” he said.

Virgil shifted. “I’m fine,” he continued. “I’m great. Pat and Em, too. We’ve just been, um. Helping Emile. And fixing things up at home.”

Virgil nodded to himself, and started to turn away again.

“Is that all you wanted?” Logan asked. “Do you need food, or supplies? Perhaps you could pass along well-wishes to Patton and Emile.”

“I don’t need charity,” Virgil said, shaking his head.

“It’s not charity,” Roman chimed in. “We want to help. Because we’re friends, right?”

Virgil sighed.

“Is there really nothing you need?”

Virgil tapped one of his crutches on the shelf, thinking. A few seconds later, his shoulders drooped.

“Can I have one of your Christmas lights? A clear one? And some wire, maybe?”

Logan remembered the broken glass in Emile’s bag, the remnants of a light he had attempted to bring home. They must not have been able to replace it yet. Of course, they hadn’t. He should have realized.

Virgil seemed to want to justify his request. “It’s just—we’re not going back to where we used to get them, so. We haven’t found a new spot yet.”

“You won’t have to,” Logan said. “Whenever you need a new light, just ask us. We’d be happy to provide them”

Virgil nodded, still not looking at him. “That’s all, though,” he seemed to need to say. “We can get our own food and everything.”

Logan nodded, allowing a small smile to come to his lips. “Of course.”

“And—and, maybe,” he continued, “Maybe I’ll bring Patton next time. If he wants to come.”

Logan was just happy to hear there would be a next time.

Virgil was persuaded to have a snack while he waited, for hospitality’s sake rather than need; and he and Roman sat down to share a bag of cheese crackers while Logan got the light.

…

Roman sat down on the arm of the chair, watching as Virgil inspected one of the cheese crackers before finally taking a bite.

“So… what’s it like living in the walls?” Roman asked.

Virgil glanced at him warily, then swallowed. “Who says I live in the walls?”

Roman blinked. “Well… where else would you live?” Virgil, Patton, and Emile had all travelled up through the walls towards their home, even if they hadn’t said exactly where that was “…Do you live under someone’s floor? Or in the ceiling?” He paused, reaching for another handful of crackers. “Those are all kind of the same thing, though, right?” He shoved the snacks in his mouth.

Virgil sighed, apparently conceding the point.

“So, what’s it like?”

“What’s it like not living in the walls?”

Roman made a thoughtful noise. “Fair.” Virgil probably didn’t have a great sense of how to compare that aspect of his life to any other. While he had experienced a taste of what living in an apartment was like, but it wasn’t exactly… a normal situation.

They continued snacking in silence for a few moments, until Roman sighed and set his cracker bag to the side.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sounds like you’re going to.”

That wasn’t a refusal, Roman noticed. He decided to go ahead and ask. “Well, it’s just… I’ve been nothing but nice to you, or at least, I know I’ve tried to be, but… sometimes it still seems like you hate me. Why?”

Virgil glanced over. “…I don’t hate you.”

“You don’t like me,” Roman insisted. “Or don’t trust me, anyway, even after everything. Why?”

Virgil shifted, uncomfortable.

Roman waited.

“…It’s because you’re a human,” he admitted. “Yeah, you helped Patton, and yeah, you helped Emile. And I’m very thankful for that—you know I am. But that doesn’t change what you are.” He glanced away. “It’s not your fault, and I’m trying my best to ignore it—I swear I am—and I do… ugh, I do like you, I guess, but… you and Logan are human. And humans hurt people like us. They capture us, they either kill us or keep us as specimens or make us into pets—” he grimaced— “or they make us into playthings. Patton isn’t an outlier. I’ve heard the stories.” He shook his head. “I know you two are nice, but… I can’t just ignore that, even if I want to. So… so I’m probably not ever going to stop being… kind of afraid of you.”

Roman looked down, his heart sinking at Virgil’s words. He felt rather speechless at the sheer certainty in the little’s eyes. The urge to be defensive was still there—if all he and Logan had done wasn’t enough to fully earn his trust, then what was? But he stopped himself. Instead, he took a second, and he thought back, back to when he and Logan had first found Patton, hiding in that conch shell on that fateful day at the beach.

They’d brought Patton home with them in order to help him; but as much as he hated to think about it, Roman had to admit that Virgil had a point. In those first few seconds after Logan and Roman had found Patton, their first instinct hadn’t been to let him go. It hadn’t been to help. Logan had simply shouted at Roman to catch him, and Roman had jumped in front of the little, cutting off his escape. It was only afterwards that Patton had collapsed, when they had realized the true severity of his condition, that they had changed their approach. Roman remembered clearly the moment the surprise, the wonder, the confusion, the excitement, had drained out of him and been replaced with nothing but fear and concern for the little guy.

Had Patton not been so sick, had he not been hurt, had he not already been so clearly emotionally scarred, Roman honestly couldn’t say what he would have done. Would he and Logan still have brought him home with them? Even against his will?

…Probably, he thought, thinking of Logan’s notebook. Of his own burning curiosity about the small, strange creature. Of the fact that Logan had, despite his good intentions, literally put him in a cage. And of the fact that Roman hadn’t stopped him.

Roman was glad that things had not gone any further down that path. But under different circumstances, while he as much as any other person would want to think they could never do something like that… he could see how things might have gone very differently.

Roman turned his head to look back at the little, who avoided his gaze.

“I get it,” was all Roman said. And he did—as much as any human like him could. Maybe Virgil would always be a little afraid of him, and maybe he’d never be comfortable enough to do something like ride in his palm, like Patton had, but that was okay. Roman would respect his boundaries.

Virgil’s gaze darted back in his direction, and he nodded, looking relieved. “Good. Cool.”

…

By the time Logan returned with the light and the wire, Virgil had finished nearly two of the crackers. Logan sensed a slight change in atmosphere had occurred while he was gone, despite the cheerfulness of the way Roman was asking about the littles’ home—which, it sounded like, was apparently made up of two cozy, narrow rooms within a wall somewhere—but it didn’t seem that anything cataclysmic had gone wrong, so he decided to say nothing about it.

He cleared his throat to announce his presence, and held up the supplies he had put together.

“Do you want to take some of these back with you?” Roman asked once Logan had carefully put the items up on the shelf, holding up the bag of cheese crackers. “I don’t think I can finish them all.”

Virgil squinted, disbelieving. Which was fair, given how few were left.

“I bet Patton would like them,” Roman continued thoughtfully. “He does love cheese.”

Virgil grumbled, but he was already moving to put some of the crackers in his bag. Roman grinned and put a couple more on the shelf.

“So… I know you already said they’re fine, but how are Emile and Patton?” Logan asked, feeling rather left out of their earlier conversation. He’d certainly be asking Roman to share what they had talked about with him, later. “Is Emile getting around okay? Is Pat still having nightmares?”

Virgil finished packing up the crackers. He chewed on his lip, then seemed to take pity on them. “Em’s good. He’s been resting a lot, still, but he’s okay. And Patton’s fine. I think being home helps. He hasn’t really had any nightmares, at least that I know of.”

Logan smiled. “That’s very good news, Virgil.”

“Yeah.” Virgil nodded. “Anyway, um, I’ll bring Patton in…  probably another couple weeks?”

Logan felt his smile widen, and he nodded. “That sounds perfect.” He would have liked to see Patton sooner, of course; but he assumed the wait was likely because of the length of the trip (he wasn’t sure exactly how long that was, but he knew it wasn’t short) and because Virgil probably didn’t want to leave Emile home alone yet. It would be a while, he assumed, before Emile was well enough for a visit.

Virgil got to his feet, grabbing his crutches. “So… I guess  I should be going.”

Logan’s smile faltered slightly, but he only inclined his head. “Of course. Please give our best to Patton and Emile.”

“Tell them I said hi,” Roman added. “And tell them I quit my job, so no more grocery cart duty! No more asthma attacks!”

“Oh… sure,” Virgil said, looking mystified, most likely about what a grocery cart was. “I’ll tell them.” He put his backpack around his shoulders. “Well… thank you again, for everything.”

“Thank you for coming back,” Logan replied sincerely.

Virgil nodded, offered them a half-smile, and ducked back into the wall.

…

Three more weeks went by before the littles returned to see the humans again; but Virgil and Patton did return, as promised. Patton had wanted to go back sooner, and he knew that Roman and Logan would want them to as well, but he and Virgil had decided to wait one more week.

The reason why they had waited currently stood between Virgil and Patton, his arm still in a sling, and part of his tail still in a splint, but now walking without aid from either of them: Emile.

Patton stepped out from the wall first, bolstered by the sound of quiet voices from the kitchen, confirming that his humans were home.

“Hello!” the little called out cheerfully, as Virgil and Emile carefully followed him out onto the shelf. “Roman! Logan!”

The voices stopped immediately, and there was the sound of two chairs being pushed back before Roman and Logan hurried into the room. Their faces lit up, and Patton beamed at them.

“Hey, guys!”

“Greetings.”

“Sorry we’re late,” Virgil said, walking closer to the edge of the shelf and stopping just shy of Patton. “Em wanted to come.”

Roman looked like he was barely containing his excitement, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s okay!” he said. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Logan’s features settled into a calmer smile. “What brings you here tonight?”

Patton shrugged. “We wanted to see you. It’s been a while.”

Logan bit his lip. Patton had a feeling he was trying not to get emotional. His heart went out to the human.

“Well… I’m glad.”

“I want to hear about Roman’s job thing!” Patton added, referring to what Virgil had told them after his previous visit. Hopefully, the story would include what exactly a job was, in the sense that humans talked about them; but Patton was sure he’d enjoy hearing it regardless. “And I bet other stuff has happened. And we can tell you about the new fish in 4B, and about how Virgil drove the rat out of the building!”

Roman glanced at Logan. “Drove the what out of the building?”

“Besides,” Patton continued, still smiling, “we never did get to finish Avatar.”

And so, Roman and Logan moved their dinner into the living room. The littles came down to the very same table where they had once stayed, sitting atop one of the pillows from Roman’s apparently extensive collection. They watched cartoons, and spent the evening talking, laughing, sharing food, and simply enjoying each other’s company.

...

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, as the title sequence of that first episode played, a young blonde girl with pigtails stubbed her toe.

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details

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A bold new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2021 on Disney+ with the wildly successful WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but Marvel Studios certainly hasn’t been resting on its laurels in terms of upcoming cinematic blockbusters. Not only does it have Black Widow (finally) ready for theatrical release, but we’ve also got Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all in various stages of production, there are also TV series on the way for the likes of Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and more!

Well, if you’ve been a little confused by Marvel’s shifting dates and streaming priorities, never fear! We’ve got a comprehensive release calendar for you here detailing all the forthcoming MCU projects, so you’ll always be able to find the latest updates when you need them.

Let’s take a look at everything Marvel has in store over the next few years…

Loki

Release Date: June 9, 2021

Tom Hiddleston will reprise his most famous role, as Loki finds himself on a heist through time and space “as he steps out of his brother’s shadow” after the events of Avengers: Endgame! Oh, and based on this trailer, there’s all kinds of time-travelling weirdness awaiting, including the return of Heimdall, some other Asgardian hijinks, DB Cooper (yes!), Owen Wilson playing an obscure character based on a beloved Marvel Comics writer, and…Loki possibly running for President!

Tom Hiddleston stars, of course, and the cast also includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, and Richard E. Grant. Michael Waldron is head writer and Kate Herron is directing.

Black Widow 

Release Date: In theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access Friday, July 9, 2021

The Black Widow movie was heading for a May 1, 2020 release before the pandemic, but Disney and Marvel decided to delay it until the industry’s infrastructure was back to some semblance of normal. They seemed absolutely committed to keeping Natasha on a theatrical release rather than sending her to Disney+, but eventually semi-caved in March as it was confirmed that Black Widow would hit both streaming and theaters simultaneously in July.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”

Cate Shortland directed the film, and Scarlett Johansson stars, with Florence Pugh and David Harbour alongside her. One of the movie’s villains is Taskmaster, and we wrote a little bit more about him right here.

Natasha Romanoff will get a prequel movie of sorts here, as we catch up with Widow right around the events of Captain America: Civil War. Will the plot affect her character’s ultimate fate in Endgame? Do not count on it.

What If…?

Release Date: Summer 2021

The beloved comic book series that tells tales of how things might have turned out differently in the Marvel Universe is becoming an animated series on Disney+!

Here’s the official synopsis:

“What If…? flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways…Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles.”

We know that at least a couple of these roles include Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as T’Challa as well as the return of Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter!

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Release Date: September 3, 2021

Simu Liu has been cast as the titular Shang-Chi and Tony Leung as The Mandarin (hey, that name sounds familiar! But this time, we’re getting the real Mandarin on screen). Destin Daniel Cretton is directing from a script by Dave Callaham. Given its “Ten Rings” title, Shang-Chi should be steeped in Marvel lore, going all the way back to the first Iron Man film!

Hopefully this will be Marvel’s most action-packed movie yet. The trailer sure makes us think so.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Release Date: September 17, 2021

Andy Serkis (Mowgli) steps behind the camera for Venom 2, which now boasts the catchy title of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The first film, buoyed by a terrific showing at the Chinese box office, made an absolute ton of money, despite being released to mostly scathing reviews.

Venom: Let There be Carnage will follow up Sony’s 2018 Spider-Man-less spinoff film, but will likely be more connected to the MCU this time around, thanks to a renewed deal between the company and its Marvel Studios partners. Tom Hardy will return as Eddie Brock, of course, and as you can probably guess from that title, he’ll be facing off against Woody Harrelson’s villain, Cletus Kasady aka Carnage!

We wrote about all the cool Marvel stuff happening in the above trailer right here.

The Eternals 

Release Date: Nov. 5, 2021

Acclaimed Nomadland helmer (and Oscar winner!) Chloe Zhao is directing Marvel’s Eternals from a script by Matthew and Ryan Firpo. Marvel described the film as an “epic story, spanning thousands of years” that features “a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s oldest enemy, The Deviants.”

The cast features Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Gemma Chan as Sersi, and Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. We meet all these characters in the trailer, which we wrote more about here.

This one was another victim of the release date shuffle, but we’ll finally get to see Jack Kirby‘s wildest creations soon enough!

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Release Date: Dec. 17, 2021

The next Spider-Man movie looks like a big one! Spider-Man: No Way Home will once again take place in the MCU since Marvel and Sony solved their differences, good sense prevailed, and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will remain a vital part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This one, well…this might be a live action Spider-Verse movie from the sound of it. Jamie Foxx will reprise his role as Electro from the maligned Amazing Spider-Man films and Alfred Molina will return from the Raimi era as Doctor Octopus.

Wait. Are they trying to make this a multiversal Sinister Six movie? Because…we could be down for that.

Hawkeye

Release Date: Late 2021

Jeremy Renner returns as Clint Barton to train his replacement as Hawkeye, Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop! Apparently based on the brilliant run of comics by Matt Fraction and David Aja, Hawkeye will also prominently feature Lucky the Pizza Dog, one of the great canines in Marvel Comics history.

The cast also includes Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Fra Fee as Kazimerz Kazimierczak, Tony Dalton as Jack “Swordsman” Duquesne, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Alaqua Cox as Maya “Echo” Lopez, and Zahn McClarnon as Willie Lincoln. We wrote more about all these new characters here.

Ms. Marvel

Release Date: Late 2021

Ms. Marvel is finally coming to live action! Here’s the official synopsis for the series…

“Ms. Marvel introduces Kamala Khan—a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. “A great student, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. But Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right?”

The cast includes Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer, and Nimra Bucha. Episodes are directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

This is going to be a big one, folks, because Kamala is going to be a significant player in Captain Marvel 2. How significant? The title of the movie is now The Marvels!

Morbius

Release Date: January 21, 2022

Spider-Man spinoff Morbius is Sony’s next big Marvel wild card, and it’ll officially be the first spinoff to properly connect to the MCU (even if Marvel Studios still isn’t officially acknowledging it in their own promotional materials the way they are with Spider-Man: No Way Home). Here’s the official synopsis for the film…

“Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed and transforms this healer into a hunter.”

Safe House‘s Daniel Espinosa directs from a script by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway. Jared Leto stars as the vampiric title character, and the cast also includes Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson.

Read more about the character of Michael Morbius here.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Release Date: March 25, 2022

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks like it will open up the storytelling possibilities in the MCU like never before. And that’s just based on the name alone. Scott Derrickson was scheduled to direct, but bowed out because of “creative differences” with Marvel. But the good news is that Marvel found a suitable replacement in none other than Sam Raimi, who of course has plenty of superhero experience thanks to his Spider-Man trilogy in the early 2000s!

This one has loads of connections to the wider MCU. Elizabeth Olsen will be here as Wanda Maximoff post-WandaVision, and the film will also connect to Spider-Man: No Way Home and its own multiversal ambitions. There are also a few rumors doing the rounds that Jericho Drumm aka Brother Voodoo could be introduced in this sequel. We’ll keep an eye on that and update this if there’s any substance to them.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Release Date: May 6, 2022

Taika Waititi, who gave us the delightful Thor: Ragnarok, will return to write and direct. Chris Hemsworth will be back. Natalie Portman is your new Thor (yes, you read that right, Jane Foster will wield the hammer…just as she did in the comics!). Christian Bale has also joined the cast as the terrifying Gorr the God Butcher. Not only that, this movie will finally put Olympians in the MCU with Russell Crowe as Zeus. Can Hercules be far behind?

Oh, and did we mention that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be along for the ride, too?

Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever 

Release Date: July 8, 2022

Black Panther 2 is now called Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Marvel has made it official that after the tragic, untimely death of Chadwick Boseman they have no intention of recasting the role of T’Challa, which is absolutely the right move.

Ryan Coogler will return as director, but there are no other details currently available. Interestingly, Coogler is also bringing a Wakanda TV series to Disney+ at some point in the future, too, and something tells us this Wakanda-centric title for the sequel is a sign of things to come.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Sequel

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Is it technically an MCU movie? Nope. But with all the legal weirdness going on between Marvel and Sony, and this franchise’s very multiversal concept, who’s really to say that it ISN’T an MCU movie either, right? In any case, the sequel to the best Spider-Man movie of all time is coming in 2022 with Avatar: The Last Airbender mastermind Joaquim Dos Santos directing and David Callaham writing.

There’s also an “untitled Marvel movie” still technically scheduled for this date but…that is almost certainly not gonna happen now. Expect whatever that project was to move to one of these below dates or to some other currently unspecified date on the calendar.

Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels

Release Date: November 11, 2022

WandaVision writer Megan McDonnell has been tapped to write the screenplay for Captain Marvel 2, which now boasts the title of The Marvels. You know what else is really cool? Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta will direct!

We have no idea where we’ll find Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in the sequel to her hugely successful first standalone MCU entry. Will she be fighting to loosen her former Kree pals’ iron grip on a pre-Avengers galaxy? Or will the follow up film see her fighting for justice in the present?

In any case, we know that she’ll be facing off with Zawe Ashton as a currently-unnamed antagonist, and WandaVision‘s Monica Lambeau (Teyonah Parris) will also return in her superpowered state after the events of that game-changing show. Considering that Monica was once known as “Captain Marvel” in the comics, that title of The Marvels becomes more appropriate. And even MORE appropriate when you realize that Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, will also be making her big screen debut.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Release date: Feb. 17, 2023

Peyton Reed will return to direct the third installment of the Ant-Man saga, making him the first director in MCU history to complete a trilogy…perhaps the most unlikely trilogy in Marvel’s entire arsenal. Paul Rudd will return as Scott Lang, and you can certainly expect Evangeline Lilly to return as The Wasp and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.

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The villain of the film? That will be Kang the Conqueror, who will be played by Lovecraft Country‘s Jonathan Majors. The inclusion of Kang opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities for the MCU, and may even tease the arrival of the Fantastic Four down the line! We wrote more about those possibilities right here.

We’re also going to need fast confirmation on Michael Pena’s return as Luis, though. Luis is key…

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 

Release date: May 5, 2023

After a tumultuous period which saw James Gunn fired and then rehired as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director, he will finally return to complete his spacefaring trilogy for the studio. However, Gunn can’t even begin filming Guardians 3 until he finishes production on The Suicide Squad for DC, as well as an HBO Max Peacemaker prequel. Once those projects are finished, he’s free to return to the MCU.

Avengers: Endgame left the team in an interesting place. We broke down some of the story possibilities right here.

And then there are still some dates that Marvel has announced that they have yet to match projects to. Those dates are…

July 28, 2023

Oct 7, 2023

Nov. 10, 2023

Some of those dates could very well be good fits for the following films…

Fantastic Four

The MCU Fantastic Four movie is finally happening! Marvel seems to be hinting that Fantastic Four will be their next priority after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. So is it possible that we’ll see it on July 28, 2023? That sure would be a great piece of summer blockbuster real estate to launch what might be the most important piece of the MCU going forward!

Marvel’s first family will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a film directed by Jon Watts, who did such a wonderful job with the first two MCU Spider-Man movies. That’s all the information that’s out there at the moment, but as soon as we have more, we’ll update this. It also appears that WandaVision started to set up the Fantastic Four, so stay tuned. We have our own theories on why Marvel went with the Fantastic Four before the X-Men, but that’s another story.

Blade

In 2019, Marvel announced that they will be rebooting the Blade franchise with Mahershala Ali playing the titular daywalker. Ali’s True Detective co-star – and former Blade villain – Stephen Dorff is excited to see what he can do with the character, and so are we.

Could Marvel decide to drop this in that Oct. 7, 2023 release date? Considering that’s the Halloween season and Blade is, y’know, a vampire hunter, they’d have to be foolish not to, right?

Captain America 4

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman is co-writing a currently-untitled Captain America 4 with another FWS alum, Dalan Musson. Those are pretty much all the details that are currently available on this one at this time, but at least we know that Anthony Mackie will return as Sam Wilson in that incredibly badass Captain America costume they gave him for that show. We wrote some more about the potential story possibilities for this one right here.

There’s no date or director for this one yet, so even 2023 seems like it might be a longshot.

Deadpool 3

Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin will be the writing team tasked with bringing the Merc with a Mouth to the MCU. What a Deadpool 3 could look like in the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe is, of course, anybody’s guess, but if anyone can crack wise about the follies of this kind of corporate synergy, it’s Ryan Reynolds.

And then there’s the lingering TV stuff, at least two of which will arrive in 2022, with the balance likely to arrive in 2023…

She-Hulk

Tatiana Maslany will play Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who ends up with her cousin Bruce’s gamma-irradiated blood. Hilarity certainly ensues. Kevin Feige has promised that since this will be a courtroom show, you never know who else from the MCU could show up.

It’s possible we’ll get She-Hulk on Disney+ in 2022, but nothing is confirmed at this stage.

Moon Knight

Oscar Isaac will play Marc Spector, a disturbed fortune hunter who also happens to be the avenging avatar of an Egyptian moon god. Oscar Isaac is already training hard for the role, and the series is now officially in production, so we wouldn’t be surprised if we see this one on Disney+ in 2022.

Ironheart

The first of two series that will explore the legacy of Iron Man and Tony Stark in the MCU, Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a teenager at M.I.T. who creates her own suit of armor to right the wrongs of the world.

Armor Wars

Don Cheadle will reprise his role as Rhodey and will have the solo spotlight in the War Machine armor in a series that deals with a nightmare scenario for the MCU: what if Tony Stark’s Iron Man technology fell into the wrong hands and was getting duplicated by villains? Based on a classic comics run, Armor Wars promises big action and lots of obscure bad guys. We can’t wait.

Secret Invasion

Samuel L. Jackson will return as Nick Fury alongside Ben Mendelsohn as Talos for a series about the shape-shifting Skrull infiltration of Earth. Kingsley Ben-Adir is apparently playing the villain of the series. Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, and Killian Scott also star.

On directing duties are Thomas Bezucha (Let Him Go) and Ali Selim (The Looming Tower) while Mr. Robot vet Kyle Bradstreet is the head writer.

Secret Invasion could be the biggest thing to happen to the MCU since Endgame.

Wakanda

Very few details are available on this one at the moment, but Ryan Coogler will develop at least one Wakanda-set TV series for Disney+. Could this have anything to do with that Wakanda Forever title for Black Panther 2? We wrote more about some of the implications of this here.

We’ll keep updating this with new information as it becomes available!

The post Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2JEy7L3

[lovewillthaw-j]

Ahtohallan, Iduna and the Voice

Ahtohallan is an integral part to the Frozen 2 story and I want to analyse Elsa’s inner thoughts about Ahtohallan. Much of this post is based on headcanon, so if you disagree or would like to offer a different perspective, do reach out in the comments! Long post ahead.

As an 8 year old

Elsa first hears of Ahtohallan when Iduna sings the lullaby, All is Found. To Elsa, Ahtohallan is just a legend at this point. Nobody believes it is real, not even Iduna. Ahtohallan/All is Found is associated with happiness and hope to 8 year old Elsa, as the lullaby comforts her after she had just received a somber history lesson from Agnarr with grave consequences for her as future queen, but also as a little girl not understanding why she alone had powers. I covered that in this analysis.

Between 8 and 18 years old

In my headcanon, the trauma of Anna’s accident and the subsequent isolation of Elsa affected Iduna and Elsa so much that Iduna probably never sang the lullaby or mentioned Ahtohallan again to Elsa. Also, Agnarr’s instruction was to “conceal, don’t feel” so I guess Iduna did not want to stir up magical thoughts in Elsa.

18-21 years old - from Iduna’s death till the events of Frozen 1

Devastated by the death of Iduna (and Agnarr) and being thrust into her role as Queen, Elsa probably completely forgot about Ahtohallan and the lullaby. Unknown to the audience in F1, Iduna had researched on Ahtohallan and concluded that it was a real place beyond the Dark Sea. F2 revealed to us her annotations on the map that was found in the ill-fated ship. 

The 3 years after F1 till just before Frozen 2

As a result of Anna’s great love and sacrifice, Elsa opened up and experienced love again and re-connected with Anna. The endless conversations they must have had, would surely have included the topic of their parents. Just think, they had 10 years of different experiences with their parents to share with each other! Additionally, at some point, Elsa discovered Iduna’s scarf and it would have brought back memories of Iduna’s presence, scent, songs, and Ahtohallan. So at this point, Elsa associates the Ahtohallan legend as part of the cloud of memories she has of Iduna. 

F2: Balcony + Bedroom scene

In my headcanon, Elsa was reminiscing Iduna singing the lullaby while at the balcony, as evidenced by her dreamy look which turns into a wistful smile. She was distracted enough by the memory that Kai’s sudden address to her (“Your Majesty”) could cause her to freeze the parapet. (I believe that Elsa in F2 had gotten control of her powers) In the bedroom, such a sweet scene, Anna soothes Elsa by singing their mother’s lullaby to her and stroking her forehead and nose. Ahtohallan is still a legend associated with the memory of Iduna.

Hearing the Voice

Elsa hears the Voice calling her on the balcony, during the charades game, in her dreams before Into the Unknown, throughout ITU, while sleeping in the wagon and while making friends with Bruni. She quickly realises that she is the only who hears it and she associates the Voice with the Enchanted Forest, because of what she saw during ITU and because the Voice woke her when it was time to enter the forest at the stone pillars of the spirits. She doesn’t know who the voice belongs to, yet. 

Honeymaren scene

Honeymaren introduces the legend of the Fifth Spirit and that some heard it call out the day the forest fell. Elsa starts to form an association between the Voice and the Fifth Spirit. Note that while Honeymaren makes a reference to Ahtohallan here, the way she says it implies that she doesn’t believe it exists either. 

The Ship scene (1)

In this pivotal scene, Ahtohallan, an unimportant legend that Elsa has known for the past 16 years, suddenly becomes a reality. Take a moment to let that sink in. Now consider that the one who reveals it is Iduna. This is very significant for Elsa. The story would have been very different if someone else, eg a Northuldran, or Gale, had told Elsa about Ahtohallan, or say for example if the girls had found a Northuldran artifact like a scroll or wood carving etc. Suddenly, Elsa is electrified by the knowledge that Ahtohallan exists and that Iduna was trying to find it, to help Elsa deal with her powers.

The Ship scene (2)

But before Elsa (and us, the audience) has had time to let that sink in, she decides rather hastily to use her new powers to generate memories from the water in the ship. The filmmakers chose the image of Agduna at the point of their death for devastating emotional effect. I think Elsa must have regretted doing it because it reopened old wounds. 

Anna (lovethawmode), summons her mightiest love to comfort Elsa, reaffirms her belief in Elsa and brings Elsa out of a depression spiral. A composed Elsa puts two and two together and concludes that the Voice/Fifth Spirit is in Ahtohallan and Ahtohallan is the next destination.

==

Before I discuss the climax in Show Yourself, let me first state that in my headcanon, neither Elsa or Anna remembers the third, foreshadowing, verse of All is Found:

Where the north wind meets the sea There's a mother full of memory Come, my darling, homeward bound When all is lost, then all is found

They only can remember the earlier parts, and this ties in to my headcanon that Iduna never sang it again after the accident. Elsa is not expecting to see Iduna in Ahtohallan at all. At all.

==

Show Yourself (1) - Approaching Ahtohallan

After taming the Nokk, Elsa glimpses Ahtohallan for the first time. She hears the Voice call her again and she sheds a tear because she senses a presence as she nears Ahtohallan, and that presence is touching her from deep within. 

Something is familiar Like a dream I can reach but not quite hold I can sense you there Like a friend I've always known I'm arriving And it feels like I am home

These lyrics could be interpreted to be describing Iduna. Of course the lyrics have dual meaning and could be interpreted to be Elsa sensing herself and who she’s always been meant to be (Fifth Spirit) since birth, which was taken away from her by fear. 

Show Yourself (2) - Coronation as Fifth Spirit

As she enters and goes deeper into Ahtohallan, she sees the elements 1) carved in ice pillars 2) as four beams of light that shine when she sings the call 3) and as their avatars made out of glowing lights, merging into the four crystals. It becomes clear to Elsa that the place in the centre of the crystals is meant for her. She, Elsa, is the Fifth Spirit. She has always been the Fifth Spirit (not only at this moment, her coronation is just confirmation). But the Voice doesn’t belong to the Fifth Spirit. The Voice belongs to... ... ...

Show Yourself (3) - Convergence

IDUNA. Yes, at the end of 16 years, Ahtohallan, Iduna and the Voice all converge! They were never separate at all. There is such great joy when Elsa sees adult Iduna singing “Come my darling homeward bound!” to her that she trembles and the tears just flow freely. Elsa 1) has found an answer to why she has powers 2) is assured of her mother’s love for her 3) has found Ahtohallan, which means she can A) always access her happy memories of Iduna and B) discover the truth about the Arendelle-Northuldra war and free the forest.

==

Final headcanons about Iduna, the Voice and Iduna in Ahtohallan: First and foremost, I believe Iduna has passed away for good (unless F3 changes that!!!) and she’s not alive as a spirit/ghost. I believe young Iduna came up with the call (ah-ah-ah-ah) to call Gale, and Ahtohallan chose to use the same call to call Elsa. Yes, I believe Ahtohallan is the one who has been calling her all along and I believe the four spirits are working in partnership with Ahtohallan to bring Elsa to Ahtohallan, albeit first testing her powers to make sure she is “worthy”. 

For the climax of Show Yourself in Ahtohallan, I believe that Iduna is not actually singing to Elsa; she has passed away and we are seeing Elsa’s memories - the memory of Iduna singing “come my darling homeward bound” comes from the very same night that Iduna sang the lullaby. For the other lines (duet with Elsa):

Show yourself Step into your power Throw yourself Into something new

You are the one you've been waiting for

Actually, we only hear Iduna’s voice, because the image of Iduna is just smiling at Elsa as Elsa’s dress transforms and she twirls in delight. So I think one possible explanation is that Ahtohallan is letting Elsa hear a memory of Iduna saying/singing these words to her. As to when exactly Iduna said those words, I have 2 explanations: 1) Iduna said these words to Elsa when Elsa was self-isolating and struggling with her powers; but Elsa did not remember Iduna saying them as she was too anguished; or 2) Elsa never heard Iduna say these words, possibly because A) Elsa had fallen asleep after the lullaby and Iduna said these words to a sleeping Elsa or B) when Elsa shut everyone out of her life, Iduna might have stood outside Elsa’s door, crying silently and whispering these words. Ahtohallan is able to show Elsa events that Elsa herself did not witness, the most obvious example being Runeard murdering the Northuldran leader. 

Thanks for reading if you reached this point!

[theofficersacademy]

                                        Leo   Farina   Sara   Rafal                               Poe   Tharja   Alcryst   Lucina   Edward                                   Knoll   Ares   Seliph   Ewan Erk

WEEK TWO: Everything You Thought You Knew TASK DURATION: Until noon EST on Sunday, January 14. From Jan. 14 - Jan. 15 : ██ ███ ████ ███ ███ ███ TEAM TAG: #AOtau2024

Let me tell you a story.

It started with happiness. Not perfect or idyllic by any stretch of the experienced mind, but to an inexperienced one, just that by virtue of ignorance, and innocence.

It led to injustice. To loss and to distance — out of misunderstood love, perhaps, if you're the optimistic sort. Misplaced guilt perhaps, if you're not.

Whose is this?

You could name a name, but you might find your own comes first to mind whether you intended it or not.

This is, after all, a story of the world at its dawning.

NIGHT IS SURE TO COME.　leo, farina, sara, rafal, tharja, lucina, knoll, ares, seliph, ewan, erk

what you know

you've woken up beside the rest of your missing teammates. rejoice, rejoice. though some of your allies definitely look worse for wear than when you remember them. you can only guess what they went through

poe, edward, and alcryst, however, are nowhere to be seen. there's an unspoken knowledge of what happened that hovers over those who'd last been with each of them

rather than separated, cramped areas, you all find yourselves now at the central, open area of a sprawling— complex? bewildering structures and open-faced towers rise high, high up both near and far, both fascinating and foreboding, showing some signs of wear and tear. some initial cursory exploration reveals a couple sections that resemble facsimiles of the places you'd just been: half-collapsed, tangled, dark corridors; a small, dusty library; a whimsical playroom. their size and scale seems more normal now, though. how had they been so large and maze-like before?  |  ref ref ref ( ignore the dolls but the rest of the vibe is on point, including the endless sky beyond )

and speaking of worse for wear, lucina, leo, and ares do not feel very good at all. those who knew about poe, edward, and alcryst's most recent condition may recognize similar symptoms. something might happen if lucina, leo, or ares use magic . . .

kleio was also present when you all awoke, recognizable to those who'd last been in the playroom. she explained that mother wasn't able to be here today due to being very busy helping to care for your father's far-progressed illness, but that she has left you with a few tasks she needs your help with. for some reason, this doesn't feel too surprising to you; mother has been around less and less lately. you haven't been able to find kleio since then

the world feels a little colder than you remember. lonelier. more distant. there is a sense of foreboding on the horizon, like ruin might be coming just around the corner. kleio had said that you were just overthinking things, that you shouldn't be worrying about things like that. but you can't shake the feeling of smoke and darkness, and the way everything and everybody you encounter is afraid to trust you, afraid to trust each other, thinking only of how to protect themselves

what to do

talk amongst yourselves. share what you know, or don't. decide the fate of lucina, leo, and ares — or take it into your own hands

forage for plants in the garden. mother wants x6 hammer tassels, x4 little fangs, x7 majestic blues, and x5 spotted ones

— roll D6 per post. recruit mastery grants 2 reroll chances 　　　･　1 : nothing is found 　　　･　2 : the garden distrusts you and lures you into a hazard. receive -0.5 HP. next person must spend their post freeing you 　　　･　3 : there's something hostile in the way! roll D3: 　　　　　　　○　1 : minor threat. spend your post clearing it 　　　　　　　○　2 : moderate threat. spend your post and the next person's post clearing it. all characters involved receive -1 HP 　　　　　　　○　3 : major threat. spend your post and the next person's post clearing it. all characters involved receive -2 HP 　　　･　4, 5, 6 : you've found x1 of a plant you're looking for. apothecary access grants x2. roll D4 to determine find from list above

purchase magic materials in town. the team begins with 600 obols to spend

— the materials mother wants: 　　　･　x3 powdered iph, at least medium grade 　　　･　x1 adderstongue, at least medium grade 　　　･　x5 decanters of endless water, any grade serviceable 　　　･　x2 whole lampito, at least high grade 　　　･　x1 stilled catalyte, at least high grade 　　　･　x1 engraver's ink, must be exceptional grade — roll D4 to determine the quality of seller you find. at C rank bow or above, add +1 to roll. 1 = low, 2 = medium, 3 = high, 4 = exceptional 　　　･　your team may decide to keep looking, but may roll only once per post — once you have begun negotiations, roll D4: 　　　･　1 : the seller charges you more than you budgeted for the item 　　　･　2 : the seller charges you within your means for the item 　　　･　3 : a lucky break! for whatever reason, the seller is eager to get rid of the stock, and doesn't charge you much for the item 　　　･　4 : something complicates the negotiation. feel free to come up with your own, or you may roll the list below: 　　　　　　　○　1 : a third party bids on the item, doubling its price 　　　　　　　○　2 : the item is stolen from right under your noses 　　　　　　　○　3 : the item's owner shows up, and will kill to reclaim it 　　　　　　　○　4 : something pulls the seller away urgently. they do not come back — once you have the item, roll D4 　　　･　1 : the item turns out to be counterfeit. start over 　　　･　2 : someone else spots that you have it, and they want it. roll D2 　　　　　　　○　1 : they're willing to buy it off you for 100 obols more than you spent. if agree, gain 100 obols and start over 　　　　　　　○　2 : they steal it from you. roll D2 　　　　　　　　　　— 1 : must spend the next post getting it back 　　　　　　　　　　— 2 : it's gone for good. start over 　　　･　3, 4 : you're fine

power and retrieve περιέργεια: artificial daylight ( requires 3 people; only 3 people may be doing this at a time )

— the team begins with 10 of each material: dark ore, ink sliver, star of evening, bog's breath — 1 person must mix the serum the machine asks for using the required materials.  　　　･　roll D5 per post: 　　　　　　　○　1 : purple serum — 2 dark ore; 1 ink sliver 　　　　　　　○　2 : blue serum — 2 ink sliver; 1 star of evening 　　　　　　　○　3 : gold serum — 2 star of evening; 1 bog's breath 　　　　　　　○　4 : green serum — 2 bog's breath, 1 dark ore 　　　　　　　○　5 : white serum — 1 dark ore; 1 ink sliver; 1 star of evening; 1 bog's breath 　　　･　if required materials are available, roll D3: if 1: serum failed and materials are wasted. if 2 or 3: serum created successfully — 1 person must craft materials. 　　　･　roll D4 per post: 　　　　　　　○　1 : dark ore 　　　　　　　○　2 : ink sliver 　　　　　　　○　3 : star of evening 　　　　　　　○　4 : bog's breath 　　　･　then roll D3: if 1: crafting went wrong, material not acquired; if 2: acquired material; if 3: acquire x2 of the material 　　　･　if reason C or higher: roll D4 instead: if 1: crafting went wrong, material not acquired; if 2: acquired material; if 3 or 4: acquire x2 of the material — 1 person must monitor and adjust the machine temperature. ( purple serum = hot. blue serum = medium warm. gold serum = medium. green serum = medium cool. white serum = cold )  　　　･　roll D4 per post. each point of dexterity grants 1 reroll chance 　　　　　　　○　1 : temperature overadjusted, artificial daylight explodes. all roll D20, 10 or below: receive -2 HP, factoring in defense 　　　　　　　○　2 : did not meet temperature requirement. failure 　　　　　　　○　3 : satisfactory temperature control. success 　　　　　　　○　4 : perfect temperature control. success, refund 1 material used. roll D3 ( D4 if white ) to determine which — both serum creation and temperature control must be successful to create 1 artificial daylight

ease your mind with preparations. there's no saying this bizarre place can offer anything to fend against a coming threat, but you may as well look

— roll D6 per post. each full rank in heavy armor grants +1 to roll. each unit with backup grants the party 2 reroll chances 　　　･　1 : nothing is found 　　　･　2 : you disturb something in the house you really shouldn't have. existing leads are reset. roll D20, 10 or below: receive -2 HP. each point of either avoid or speed adds +1 to roll 　　　･　3, 4, 5, 6 : you've found a lead. the next person must roll 3 or higher to continue it 　　　･　when cumulative 10 is reached, roll for what you find: 　　　　　　　○　1, 2 : planks of wood 　　　　　　　○　3, 4 : scrap metal 　　　　　　　○　5, 6 : magic residue 　　　　　　　○　7 : filament of light, raises max hp by 2, capped at natural hp 　　　　　　　○　8 : cold comfort, raises defense by 1 for one turn, consumed on use 　　　　　　　○　9 : will of resistance, raises resistance by 1 for one turn, consumed on use

search for restorative alternatives. with staves shattering and magic tenuous here, it may be a good idea to look into alternatives. kleio has pointed you to some research materials you might use to try your hand at an old-fashioned art called alkhemie

— roll D6 per post, each 0.5 points in magic adds +1 to roll 　　　･　1 : your efforts bear no fruit 　　　･　2 : the process blows up in your face, quite literally. existing leads are reset. roll D20, 10 or below: receive -2HP, factoring in resistance 　　　･　3, 4, 5, 6 : you're getting somewhere. the next person must roll 3 or higher to progress 　　　･　when cumulative 10 is reached, roll for what you get: 　　　　　　　○　1, 2: bandages, recover 1 HP per post for 3 posts, out of combat only, stops working if damage is taken 　　　　　　　○　3, 4 : ointment, recover 1 HP per post for 3 posts, out of combat only, stops working if damage is taken 　　　　　　　○　5 : tincture, recover 2 HP, out of combat only 　　　　　　　○　6 : diffused potion, all party recovers 1 HP, out of combat only 　　　　　　　○　7 : quick cure, cures most recent status ailment, usable in combat 　　　　　　　○　8 : combat salve, recover 4 HP, usable in combat 　　　　　　　○　9 : panacea, recover all HP, out of combat only

MORNING IS NOT AS CERTAIN.　poe, alcryst, edward

what you know

you've woken to an old and undisturbed must in your nose, to dust in the air and mundane silence. the skeleton of an abandoned house shelters you. at some point in the distant past it must have been an elegant homestead; now, it's faded, rusty, and peeling. |  ref ref ref

none of the allies you were just with prior to waking up are here. a couple new faces stirred beside you — others from among the thirteen you first set out with

some wandering has chanced you upon the house's apparent only other occupant: an individual with inhuman appearance. despite what must have been a startling encounter, they've proven nonhostile, if perplexed to find you here. after some time had passed, however, they eventually asked you to help them with a couple eclectic tasks. they've introduced themselves as poliades

which means, if they're here, and they're dead, then you must be . . .

. . . that unsettling thought aside, you all feel fine now, which must be a relief after fighting for your life, in some cases quite literally. your magic now works as you remember it too

poliades has warned you to take great caution in anything you do, only warning that being careless with your existence here has irreversible consequences to yourself and others

what to do

talk amongst yourselves. collect your bearings. share what you know, or don't

power and retrieve the nepenthe caskets ( requires 3 people )

— the team begins with 10 of each material: nepenthe ore, crystal intrusion, god's blood, light miasma — 1 person must mix the serum the machine asks for using the required materials 　　　･　roll D5 per post: 　　　　　　　○　1 : purple serum — 2 nepenthe ore; 1 crystal intrusion 　　　　　　　○　2 : blue serum — 2 crystal intrusion; 1 god's blood 　　　　　　　○　3 : gold serum — 2 god's blood; 1 light miasma 　　　　　　　○　4 : green serum — 2 light miasma, 1 nepenthe ore 　　　　　　　○　5 : white serum — 1 nepenthe ore; 1 crystal intrusion; 1 god's blood; 1 light miasma 　　　･　if required materials are available, roll D3: if 1: serum failed and materials are wasted. if 2 or 3: serum created successfully — 1 person must craft materials 　　　･　roll D4 per post: 　　　　　　　○　1 : nepenthe ore 　　　　　　　○　2 : crystal intrusion 　　　　　　　○　3 : god's blood 　　　　　　　○　4 : light miasma 　　　･　then roll D3: if 1: crafting went wrong, material not acquired; if 2: acquired material; if 3: acquire x2 of the material 　　　･　if reason C or higher: roll D4: if 1: crafting went wrong, material not acquired; if 2: acquired material; if 3 or 4: acquire x2 of the material — 1 person must monitor and adjust the machine temperature. ( purple serum = hot. blue serum = medium warm. gold serum = medium. green serum = medium cool. white serum = cold ) 　　　･　roll D4 per post: 　　　　　　　○　1 : temperature overadjusted, nepenthe casket explodes. all roll D20, 10 or below: receive -2 HP, factoring in defense 　　　　　　　○　2 : did not meet temperature requirement. failure 　　　　　　　○　3 : satisfactory temperature control. success 　　　　　　　○　4 : perfect temperature control. success, refund 1 material used. roll D3 ( D4 if white ) to determine which — both serum creation and temperature control must be successful to create 1 nepenthe casket

dredge the flooded cellars. poliades specifically has asked you to look for 3 items in particular: a porcelain coin-holder shaped like a pig, a spool of colorful thread, and a hand mirror

— roll D6 per post.  each unit with backup grants the party 2 reroll chances 　　　･　1, 2 : nothing is found 　　　･　3 : you should be more careful wading around. roll D20, 14 or below: receive -1 HP, each point of luck adds +1 to roll 　　　･　4 : you find a strange token 　　　･　5 : you find one of the list below. roll D#Remaining for which 　　　　　　　○　1 : tyrfing 　　　　　　　○　2 : exalted falchion 　　　　　　　○　3 : speed ring 　　　　　　　○　4 : prayer ring 　　　　　　　○　5 : nevermeltice 　　　　　　　○　6 : unreason 　　　　　　　○　7 : bohr 　　　･　6 : you find one of the list below. roll D#Remaining for which 　　　　　　　○　1 : pig-shaped coin holder 　　　　　　　○　2 : spool of colorful thread 　　　　　　　○　3 : hand mirror

IMPORTANT PLAYER NOTES. Please read!

There are no longer promises about what happens upon reaching 0 HP. 　

You are not required to make sure every task is covered or spoken for. That said, IC outcome of tasks may influence things within the narrative . . . As before, you are welcome to move your character around through tasks and teams organically throughout the week as befits them. 　

All other notes from Week 1 still apply. 　

If you have any questions or are uncertain how to proceed at any point, ping Mod Rai.

[psychicreadsgirl]

Challenges of doing psychic readings

1. Inevitably no one's life is perfect and without any negative aspect. Even someone like Bill Gates or Kendall Jenner has negative aspects to their lives. It may not be known to the public eye or easily seen, like a chronic illness. A challenge with readings is knowing what you can say and what you cannot say. There are some negative things that you also see that unfortunately cannot be prevented. They must play out in someone's lives because that is just how it is and even if someone tries to delay it or circumvent it, the situation comes back in another form. I like to give this personal example when I explain this to someone. It's about a friend's relative who went to a psychic who told him that on this day he must not drive a car or else he would get into a fatal accident. He listened to the psychic's advice and he lived. A few years later he died due to a fatal car accident. His life in between was also filled with other problems as well. As someone who is giving a reading, you cannot act like God and stop someone from dying when that is their fate.

2. Career readings. These are by far the most difficult, in my opinion, to do. Many times people believe they are capable of doing something and are capable of changing their fate. Later they learn it the hard way when they do that. Often someone will come and ask me if they are suitable to be X. I can tell what would be the best for them to do and I let them know. Then they will disagree and say no, they want to be X. I can tell that X isn't what is suited for them and Y or Z would be better. They say no, they want to be X so what can they do to be X? In that case this is often what happens. They work to be X and either they fail to reach to be X or they do get to be X but with a heavy cost, lots of problems and much unhappiness. Guess what happens? They will come back and say . . . I got X but I don't want X anymore or I became X, but why is my life so miserable or hard? Well the short answer is you wanted to be something you weren't meant to be and that is why. If someone is suited for a specific career, they will find fewer issues with that job. That's just how it is. If you force things to happen, you may get what you had sought but then find it’s not what you wanted or it came with so many challenges. 

3. Love readings. A lot of people are curious about who they will marry or be with in the long term. That's totally fine. The problem that happens is often people have to date others first before reaching to marriage with someone else. 

Another problem is when some people who are already in relationships will ask whether they will marry their current partner and I see that they won't marry this partner. What do I do then? Tell them no, you won't marry them but you will still date them for X more months or years before then meeting your future spouse? Or do I say, yes, there is a chance that you will marry them, but it's not certain. To be frank, I do not recommend someone who is already in a relationship to go for psychic readings to ask whether they will marry their current partner or when they will marry them. If you will marry someone then you will marry them. Even if you don't that relationship was there to teach you something. That's important. 

And is marriage the be all and end all? No. There are so many divorces nowadays that it is becoming more and more common for someone to have a 2nd or a 3rd marriage. Plus marriage doesn't define one's entire life.

Another one that should be mentioned is when you deal with people who think  they are “twins” or “spouses” of certain celebrities. If you tell them the truth they will just say that you are not a believer. They are too stuck in their imagined love bubble. 

Honestly the chances of someone (a non celeb/non socialite/a person not even working in the same industry) marrying a celebrity are very low and marrying a kpop idol when you’re not even living in Korea and don’t know Korean makes your chances even lower. We can approach this logically, without even predicting. People usually marry people within their community and sometimes these days through online methods. The chances of a kpop idol being on an app to find marriage and then marry a foreigner with no working knowledge of Korean are very low. Kpop idols aren’t “woke”. They are, as harsh as this is, “products” of their company. Whatever they do, post, or say are targeted for the fans, not a specific someone living in the other side of the world who has no physical/real connection to them. Their actions are rehearsed and approved by the company too. They take on “personas” within a group; if you haven’t realized, each group generally have fixed personas. There’s one that’s cooler, one that’s like a mother, one that’s really gentle and sweet, one that’s super goofy, one that’s playful and naughty etc. Some parts of the persona may be part of their actual personality too but they are “exaggerated”.

4. Celebrity readings. To be honest most people who are celebrities or kpop idols have quite similar qualities. They generally love to be in the spotlight/be known. They are charming and charismatic. They often are self centered, determined, and stubborn. They are good at faking their real personalities because they are public figures and need to maintain an image. They are generally beautiful or handsome and because of this they often get treated better or they often can get away with many things. Many of the most beloved celebrities actually are very toxic and have done many terrible things. Will those be revealed? Mostly not. 

Even if I were to say them, there'd be no actual "proof". So some may be wondering then how these toxic celebrities are still able to live the "good" lives? Well it depends on what you mean by "good". Many celebrities suffer from very similar problems: toxic relationships/no "real" love, significant health problems including drug addictions, suicides, freak accidents or sudden deaths, having children that cause significant problems to the celebrities' lives or having children who have significant health problems, or toxic relationships with their parents. Many of these negative aspects are well hidden from the public, such as love problems or health problems, until the celebrity dies and then the memoirs come pouring out or the autopsy reveals this or someone starts blabbing now that they’re dead.

5. Reading someone including a celebrity who is going to die soon. Sometimes you will come across people who you see will not live long. Then what do you say when they come for you for a reading? “I see that you will die soon.” No one wants to hear that even if that’s the truth and even if you say it aloud people will likely not believe you. The best is not to say it. You shouldn’t delay death because when you do the death you will face will be worse than the original death set for you. 

[hashtagartistlife]

Maybe fate was called fate because some things weren’t choices; some things were simply written into his DNA, woven into the very fabric of the universe. World orders. The sky is blue. The sun is hot. He is in love with Kuchiki Rukia.

Kuchiki Rukia is dying.  

Ten years after the defeat of Yhwach, it’s time Ichigo and Rukia started facing some truths— about the world, about themselves, and about each other. 

this is all i have of this fic for now (this and a tiny little bit of chapter 3), i guess it’ll be updated when i woman the fuck up and wrack up enough nerves to keep writing which im hoping will be sometime this decade :’/ but i might post chapters i have for other unfinished fics i have over the next few days so if you’re into unfinished fics (read: literally nobody) then stick around!!! 

premise for this fic | chapter 1 here | this is chapter 2

________________________________________________________________

f r a y

by hashtagartistlife

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Two 

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9:12 am 

Kurosaki Clinic

When Renji wakes up the next morning to find Rukia safely asleep beside him, he feels the tension across his shoulders ease somewhat. They’d both been a little worried about how her sleepwalking habit might fit into this visit (even though neither of them had voiced their concerns out loud), he more so than she for reasons he had yet to disclose to her. Her breathy sigh of ‘Ichigo?’ rings in his ears. He hadn’t seen a point in telling Rukia about that, not when she was still refusing to admit she had a problem in the first place. She’d just feel needlessly guilty and isolate herself even more. Renji knows how Rukia works. What he doesn’t know is how to break through that shell she builds around herself, how to draw her out of it and get her to face her problems head-on. 

No, he admits (and he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t a trace of bitterness in the way he thought it), that’s always been Ichigo’s specialty. He looks across the rowdy breakfast table to his friend, who is sitting uncharacteristically silent with a mug of something dark and unappetising in his hands. His eyes are shadowed, tired, and when he meets Renji’s gaze he starts almost guiltily before curving his lips into an uneasy smile. 

The hell’s all that about? Renji thinks, but then Ichika slams into his knee, shoving a glass of orange juice into his face, and he puts the moment out of his mind. The rest of the morning is filled with trying out some godawful beverage called ‘coffee’ at Orihime’s behest, wrangling Ichika into human world clothes, and sending the children off, along with their mothers, to go meet Sado. He and Ichigo stay back, Ichigo to tend to his clinic and he to go see Urahara. Since gensei visits were so few and far between, even on what was ostensibly a holiday they had been saddled with checking in on the shopkeeper to exchange news and technology. Renji figures he might as well get that out of the way first, and catch up with Sado later. 

At least, he figures that until Ichigo corners him just before he walks out the door, a dark expression on his face. He looks uncomfortable, standing in the doorway of his own house, a hand on the back of his neck, and Renji notes with a kind of detached surprise that if Ichigo hadn’t been slumping, they’d be more or less at a height now. He raises an eyebrow at him in a silent question. 

“A— about Rukia—” Ichigo stumbles over the syllables in her name, and stops, wetting his lips, looking nervous. A sense of foreboding settles into Renji’s gut; Ichigo hasn’t looked this worried in— well, a decade. He stays quiet, letting Ichigo finish his question. “Has she ever— has she ever sleepwalked before?”

He freezes in his tracks; frantically, Renji rewinds last night in his mind. It’s no use; he’d been out for the count for a solid eight hours. If he hadn’t been so tired lately, he’d have thought someone had spiked his drink. Try as he might, he can’t remember Rukia slipping out of bed at all. But she’d been back in bed by the morning, so someone must have intercepted her—

Ichigo. Rukia’s voice, ghostly in his mind, calling his name. Ichigo. Ichigo. Ichigo—

His breath leaves him in a long, long sigh, and Renji closes his eyes before gesturing for Ichigo to sit. 

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6:53 am

Ichigo doesn’t go back to his bed after the kiss. Instead he sits outside the clinic, on the cold hard asphalt, for one eternity— two— til the sun starts lightening the end of the street and the moon grows paler in the sky. He can still feel Rukia on his skin, in his veins, lingering like a drug that refuses to clear. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be empty of her touch now that he’s known it. 

When the moon finally disappears and the sun well and truly risen, he picks himself up from the ground and stumbles back into the house, feeling like he was the sleepwalker now. The sight of their children sprawled out together in their blanket fort brings the reality of what he’s done rushing back to him. He can’t help the reflex that brings his fingers up to ghost over his lips, like a lovesick teenager. The breath leaves his lungs like he’s been punched, and he turns away from the kids, sleeping angelically side-by-side. He can’t bear the thought of facing either of them, of facing anyone in this household any more. 

What does he do now? Does he go back to bed, pretend nothing ever happened— slip into his place beside Orihime and forget the fact that his heart is beating again for the first time in ten years? Does he come clean to her and beg forgiveness, tell her he loves her and it won’t ever happen again, or does he lock this away in a dark recess of his mind, just like he’s done with his shinigami powers and everything related to her for the last decade? His mind casts around frantically for excuses — he was tired. It was the middle of the night. Hell, he doesn’t even know if it really happened anymore — was everything a fever dream, triggered by the immense relief of seeing Rukia again? But his blood is thrumming in his veins, and the power he’d spent his entire adult life crushing down is once again swirling and eddying just under his skin, exactly like it had when he was seventeen. His hands are shaking, and his skin feels hot. He can’t lie to himself. Rukia was here. Rukia’d kissed him. He’d kissed her back. 

He drags his trembling hands over his eyes, down his face; slumps into a chair in the kitchen and attempts to evade the question that becomes more pressing with every second. What now? It was clear that Rukia had no idea what had happened. The weight of this transgression was his alone to carry. Even if she had remembered, the fault lay with him— she’d been asleep, but he’d been wide awake and had pulled her towards him. 

A part of him— the good part, the noble part, the part that had once forced its way through layers of hollow to tell his zanpakutou to fuck off out of his fight with Byakuya— is yelling at him to confess, to lay himself at Orihime’s mercy and take whatever comes from it. But a larger, more insistent part of him is asking, for what? What does telling Orihime accomplish, but the breaking of four hearts? He has never deserved Orihime, with her soft smiles and kind words to his rough edges; the fact that he is, once again, an awful person to her— for her— is not news. What is the point of ruining her spun-sugar smile with something that will never happen again—

liar

—especially when it doesn’t just involve him? If he confesses, it’s not just his head on the line; it’s Rukia’s, too, no matter the fact that she was asleep at the time. And he might be willing to risk everything he ever is or was for far less than this, but there is no way in hell he will do that to Rukia. Not for some one-off sleepwalking incident that she had no control over, and if it happens again he’ll just push her away—

liar

— and oh, god, was this a thing that happened often? Rukia’d always been a deep sleeper; she was, despite everything she insisted to the contrary, very clearly not okay if she was sleepwalking like this. 

As his thoughts spiral back to the cause of his turmoil, Ichigo becomes acutely aware of her reiatsu upstairs, thrumming rapidly like a hummingbird’s wings. It seems lighter and more unsettled than he remembers it being, and the tinge of instability to it as it flares and retreats irregularly unnerves him. Rukia’s reiatsu control has always been top-class, so this distinct lack of it triggers alarm bells in his mind. He swallows, and attempts to smooth down the ragged edges of her power with his; but wherever his reiatsu brushes against hers, it just flares brighter and more powerful and he has to give up, lest it disturb Renji or the kids.

It's been a while since he's felt someone else’s reiatsu like this, but he knows this isn't normal; concern eats at him even as it wars with an urge to ignore it and bury everything about this incident as deep as possible. Rukia isn’t an idiot, she would have gotten help if it was something serious—but would she, really? He knows better than anyone how stubborn she can be when she thinks she’s being a burden. She’d die before she let someone else take the fall for her. 

He closes his eyes. 

He scowls; ten years it’s been, and she’s still so— so— so her. Longer hair, a husband and child, a Captain’s haori, and nothing matters; she’s still stubborn, still a bitch who lives to help everyone else but won’t let anyone help her. It's evident in the way she refuses to say she’s tired, the way that Renji’s eyes follow her around everywhere, worried. She’s still the self-sacrificing idiot she’d been from day one, and he—

He is still the coward he’d been twelve years ago, when he’d watched her bleed out on the concrete before him and only then been spurred into action. 

This isn’t about him. If Rukia is ill, then he has to let someone know— someone who can actually do something about it. His feelings — whatever they are— does not factor into the equation. This is about Rukia—

— so, he needs to talk to Renji. 

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.

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10:18 am

“Has Rukia ever sleepwalked before?”

A moment of tension across Renji’s features, and then a long, long sigh; he gestures for Ichigo to sit, and the two of them shuffle over to the recently vacated kitchen table. Renji rubs his face tiredly, and Ichigo’s sense of foreboding grows. 

“... Last night, huh?” Renji says, and Ichigo almost jumps out of his skin; did he know? Could he see— was the mark of Rukia's lips on his visible, indelible, the way it felt like to him? Could everyone read it on his face, that he and Rukia—

Renji’s voice is weary as he continues. “Yeah. Yeah, she's sleepwalked before. The past few years, actually. What did she do last night? How did you find her?”

— kissed—  “She— she walked out of the clinic and I heard the door open. Renji, is she— is she okay—”

Renji leans his elbows on the table and buries his face in his hands. “I don't know,” he breathes, frustration dripping from every syllable. “I don't know, she won't tell me, you know how she is—”

Did he ever. Ichigo remembers with vivid clarity the time she'd sustained a stomach wound, back in the days before Soul Society; she hadn’t told him for three days, and had only agreed to go see Urahara when she'd finally collapsed in his arms. 

“ — don't think I've tried—? God, doctors, healers, we've tried everything, Kuchiki-Taichou’s worried out of his mind. But she won't have any of it, says she won't let us waste time fussing over her when there are better things to worry about—”

“That fucking idiot,” Ichigo mutters, and Renji barks out what is almost a laugh. 

“Right? Drives me up the fucking wall. Wouldn't be Rukia if she didn't.”

“Guess not.”

Renji cracks a strained smile before it fades away into seriousness again. “It wasn't this bad before,” he says, and Ichigo sits up straight. 

“Recent thing, then?”

“Depends what you'd classify as recent. I mean, she's never been a heavy sleeper—”

At this, Ichigo interrupts. “Wait, really? She's always slept like the dead—” 

Renji gives him a look, and Ichigo remembers who it is that is sharing her bed now. He shuts up. 

“ — as I said, she's never slept too well, even during our Rukon days, and it got pretty bad after the war, but it wasn't— wasn’t to this extent, you know? At least, not till she had Ichika. And then— it was like a switch flipped. She couldn't get to sleep at night, and she could barely keep her eyes open during the day. It started interfering with her work, and you know how that would have killed her; we started to go see a bunch of people for it but nothing seemed to help. And then she started sleepwalking—”

Something cold crawls up Ichigo’s spine.

“She— at first, we didn't know where it was that she was going in her sleep. she wandered the Kuchiki Manor gardens a lot, sometimes she just paced around inside the house. Sometimes she got out of the Kuchiki property and was well into the streets before we found her and brought her back. I didn't know where she was trying to go—” 

Renji breaks off, and looks Ichigo dead in the eye. 

“— till one morning I woke up, and found her at Sokyouku Hill.” 

Ichigo’s blood turns to ice. 

“It was bloody Sokyoku Hill, Ichigo. Every single time— inside the Manor, in the gardens, on the streets. She was always trying to get to Sokyouku Hill. North-north west from the Kuchiki Manor. I—”

Renji’s expression turns supplicating, as if asking him for an answer, but Ichigo has none to give; he’s rooted to the spot by the sheer horror he’s feeling, Rukia strung up against the Sokyouku vivid in his mind. That collar around her neck, a red slash splitting her throat open; her eyes, glazed over with tears. Her skin dyed orange and yellow from the heat of it all. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with her, Ichigo, for fuck’s sake I can’t even get her to admit that there’s something wrong. I just—” 

Renji drops his head into his hands. Very softly — so soft that Ichigo is sure he isn’t meant to hear these next words— he says to himself: 

“Ten years. Ten years, and I’m still not enough.” 

Ten years. Enough to fell mountains; enough to dry rivers and move oceans. 

Not enough to change a heart. 

When Renji looks up at Ichigo again, his gaze is edged with steel. 

“She says your name.” 

“I— what?” 

“She says your name, when she walks out to Sokyouku Hill. She says your name.” 

A memory, in his mind: Rukia, ethereal in the moonlight. Ichigo? 

Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. I’m here. 

Ichigo doesn’t know what to say. 

Eventually, Renji breaks their impasse; he sighs and raps the table before getting up. “I’m not such a small man as to beat you to a pulp over that, Ichigo, stop looking like you think I’m going to bite your head off.” 

“I’m not—” he protests automatically, but Renji shushes him with a wave of his hand. 

“You are, but that’s not the point.” He ambles over to the door and looks over his shoulder at him, one hand poised on the handle. “If— if there’s anything you might be able to do for her—” 

“Renji—”

“Please,” Renji says, and even though this time, he isn’t on his knees half-dead before him, Ichigo knows what it’s costing him to make this request. “Please… help her.” 

Of course, Ichigo wants to reply, She’ll be fine, I’ll save her. Rukia’ll be safe—

But he isn’t fifteen anymore. 

“I’ll— try,” he says, lamely, and that is the best they can do. Renji nods. 

“Gonna go see Urahara. He might have some tricks up his sleeve,” he says, but he doesn’t look like he believes what he’s saying. Ichigo waves him off, and Renji slips away.

The sound of the clinic door swinging shut echoes in his wake. 

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3:02 pm

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Click.

“...Hello?”

“Kurosaki-san?”

“...... Urahara-san?”

“Ah, Kurosaki-san, thank goodness you picked up. If you aren’t busy, I’d appreciate your presence at the Shoten as soon as possible.” 

“What? Me? Why?”

A pause; Ichigo finds, for no good reason whatsoever, that he is holding his breath.

“Ah, well. You see, that is—”

Between one accelerating heartbeat and the next—

“Kuchiki-san has collapsed.” 

[wellhellotragic]

Me Monday

Because I never know what day is for self promotions, and Monday feels like as good a day as any...

Multi Chapters:

A Poor Man's Mantra (Complete)

Summary: Killian’s life just isn’t going to plan. A bad breakup and a demotion might actually be the least of his problems when he realizes that he’s falling in love with his brother’s new girlfriend.

Rating: M-ish

1, 2

A Rather Common Name (Complete)

Summary: She hated him. Okay, maybe hate was a strong word, but he was a dick when they met. So why did she tell him about the apartment for rent in her building? And why did she let him in; let him climb her walls? Why did she let herself trust him when every man she’d ever been with had betrayed her? Why did she think he’d be different?

And why, despite it all, did she still love him?

Rating: M

1, 2

Be Alright (In Progress)

Summary: Sometimes all it takes is one phone call to completely turn our lives upside down.

He’d left. That was all she’d known. He’d packed up in the middle of the night after a stupid fight, leaving no trace behind of where he’d gone. But when David’s phone rang one night telling them that Killian was in a hospital in Boston, everything changed. For Emma, it was the last call she ever expected and it meant facing the ghosts of her past and releasing everything she’d kept bottled up and hidden away.

But then again sometimes it’s the tragedies in our lives that finally let us feel again.

Rating: M

1, 2, 3,

Devil’s in the Details (In Progress)

Summary: It’s a well known fact that angels and demons exist. No one is saying that they don’t. Hell, you’ve all met your guardian angels before. But some of the facts, well you humans seem to be a little murky on those. Take Emma for example. Blonde, witty, beautiful. She must be an angel right? Wrong. She’s as wicked as they come. And she’s about to have the time of her life tormenting a certain English bloke.

A comedy of errors….

Rated: M

1,

Forever (Complete)

Summary: How do you compete with a ghost, when the ghost always wins?

Rated: M

1, 2, 3

Gilded (In progress)

Summary: Once upon a time, a great prophecy was told. A child would be born of true love, capable of becoming the brightest of lights, freeing the world from evil, or to become the darkest creature the world had ever seen. Choices were made, destiny fought, but fate is a tricky thing. It’s often the path that we take to avoid it, that leads us straight to our demise.

Rating: M

1, 2,

If Looks Could Kill (Complete)

Summary: Emma Swan is a dedicated FBI agent getting over a bad breakup. When she and her partner, Ruby Lucas, are forced to go undercover as contestants on a reality show, Emma is forced to try and win the affections of Killian Jones, a man she despises.

Killian Jones is a lost boy. Having recently been nicknamed the ‘Bad Boy of Boston,’ he’s been living up to his moniker using women and rum to avoid dealing with his dark past. When he’s forced to take the lead in a reality show, he encounters a gorgeous blonde who turns his world upside down.

Miss Congeniality meets The Bachelor

Rated: M for language, violence, and smut.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, Epilogue

No Handlebars  (Complete)

Summary: Before moving to the city he’d thought his days back at school in London had been wild, but American’s put the British to shame in their attempts at debauchery.

Or that fic where Killian and Co. rent a barcycle for the night and everything goes wrong…

Rated: Probably Teen but let’s just go with M to be safe

Nuuk (Complete)

Summary: When a chance encounter with a blue-eyed mystery man on an ill-fated flight turns Emma Nolan’s life upside down, she has a choice to make: Continue with her arranged marriage to Senator Gold’s son to save her parent’s company, or turn her back on everything she’s ever worked towards for a chance at happiness. (Part of the 2017 CSBB)

Rating: M/E (there’s smut!!)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Of Wolves and Lambs (In progress)

Summary: Killian Jones has known a lifetime’s worth of pain. He’s lost everyone he’s ever cared about, but when the love of his life is murdered, he vows that nothing will stop him from getting his revenge. Even if it means losing his soul to do so.

What starts off as a simple quest for revenge turns into a world filled with secrets and lies. Nothing is what he thought, and no one seems to be who he thought.

Rated: E

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ?

On©e Shots:

36 Questions

Summary: They say all it takes is 36 questions. 36 questions between you and a complete stranger and suddenly you’ll both fall madly in love with each other. 36 agonizingly personal questions that force you to reveal your deepest darkest secrets. Well, that, and 4 minutes of staring into the most devastatingly blue eyes you’ve ever seen.

Rating: Um, mature I guess

Bubble Boy

Summary: Killian has seen it all. Or at least he thinks he has, but this one may just take the cake.

Rating: Teen

Dream a Little Dream

Summary: He’d loved her for years, but had never said anything. Then the war came, and it was too late. One night, one dance, one last chance…

Rating: Teen

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

Summary: Emma Swan despises the pink christmas tree currently living in her apartment. It’s nothing short of an abomination. But when Emma decides to replace it with a freshly chopped tree of her own, Her bug gets stuck in a storm, and she’d forced to call the last person she ever wanted to see again. The man that broke her heart. (Part of the 2017 CSSS)

Rating: Mature (there’s smut)

Happily Ever After…Again

Summary: With the dark curse broken, everyone was finally free to move on. But to move on to what? (ya, that sucks but I’m tired and busy so it’s what you get for now.)

Rating: G

Ocean Blue

Summary: There were three things certain in Killian Jones’s life.

1) His brother was his idol. 2) He was helplessly in love with Emma Swan. 3) She absolutely didn’t love him back.

She’d made that clear five years ago when he left Boston. So when he was forced to return to Boston once more, a city he swore he’d never return to, Killian had never expected to see Emma Swan again, much less at Liam’s funeral.

Losing his only brother was devastating. Learning what he had done was worse.

Rating: Mature

Rm. 6725

Summary: Emma Swan is having a horrible day, and just when she thinks things might look up, she gets stuck with a very cranky patient, but God is he gorgeous.

Nurse Emma Swan

Rating: Mature

Unintended Side Effects

Summary: After overhearing a conversation between Emma and the girls, Killian decides to grow his hair back out to prove a point. Emma isn’t pleased.

Rating: Teen

Until the End

Summary: Even forever isn’t long enough

Rating: Mature

The Weeping Willow

Summary: Random feels based off of a post about weeping willows…

Rating: Teen

[deepstheeskimo]

‘The Power of Four’

Right, everyone is picking Lions squads with less than a year to go until the next South Africa tour is meant to happen. Only so much brainpower I want to put into considering the pros and cons of scrummaging abilities though so I’ve gone for the Deeps Cult Lions XV made up of past tourists from of the last 20 or so years.

1. Allan Dell. What better way to start than with a South African born Scottish prop that only got called up as part of the ‘geography six’? In the squad: Andrew Sheridan (built like one of those GM bulls) and Tom Smith (badly underrated player, 

2. Keith Wood. The ragin’ potato. Came to Quins and inspired a character in the first ‘book’ I wrote aged 8. Weird obsession with belly buttons, understandable obsession with trying drop goals from 40 metres. In the squad: Shane Byrne (1- mullet 2- not actually very good) and Andy Titterrell (Pro Rugby Manager 2 legend and extremely small man)

3. Kyle Sinckler. Why? He’s my guy, that’s why. He’s the opposite of that ruddy faced, sweaty tweed rugger culture. He makes me smile.  In the squad: Jason Leonard (The Fun Bus. Non-playing tour captain. Once ruffled my hair - give him all the ale he can drink.) and Adam Jones (The Hair Bear. My sister used to see him all the time in Neath Tesco - give him all the pic n mix he can eat).

4. Martin Johnson. Looks like a character from a Guy Ritchie film, universally loathed by opponents and taped up his fingers(??). Summed up by the saying ‘Last time I saw a mouth like that it had a hook in it’. In the squad: Paul O’Connell (has some weird mythical power about him. Came to Quins with Munster and made south west London echo with ‘fields of Athenry’) and Simon Shaw (his emotional final interview post 2009 third test, aged 37, was pretty special) 

5. Doddie Weir. Could not be anyone else. Farmer strength. Permanently looked 20. Built for Lions tours. Still fighting the good fight. Go on big man. In the squad: Nathan Hines (perma-suspended and a ‘tartan wallaby’) and Maro Itoje (Sometimes it’s not all about drinking and bungee jumping. Itoje’s one of the few that would be able to have an actual conversation) 

6. Peter O’Mahony. One of those players that always grows into a series and ends up being important. Entirely unremarkable player but must be nasty to play against. Can’t actually imagine he’s that nice to be around at all. Big ‘school bully’ vibes. In the squad: Richard Hill (the only one of England’s 2003 RWC forwards that didn’t vote Brexit) and Alan Quinlan (Hit form at the right time, finally being picked in 2009 after a good but near-miss career. Expresses immense pride in selection. Then gouges someone. 12 week ban. If that’s not a cult player then I’m not sure what is).

7. Sean O’Brien. Another one with farmer strength. Thick in the arm, thick in the head but unlike a lot of the others won’t ever let you down. Plus on a tour you need characters and I bet, deep deep deep down he’s actually got a personality. Well, maybe. In the squad: Martyn Williams (a face that belongs in a back office of a mid sized electronics company. Somehow helped to invent modern rucking) and Sam Warburton (picked only so I can annoy people by saying his name as War-burrton’ not ‘Wabatan’ as they seem to say. Also looks like an Easter Island statue)

8. Scott Quinnell. Just rugby league all over. Overweight, comedy accent, illegal use of a plaster cast on his arm, despicable post-career lad culture DVDs and even had a stint on Soccer AM. If you kick him, all the Quinnells walk with a limp. In the squad: Ryan Jones (about the only player to come out of 2005 with credit) and Andy Powell (body of a god, brain of, erm... Great on tour as he’s a six foot five version of that kid in school you could make do anything by saying ‘oh go on!’)

9. Chris Cusiter. Born in Aberdeen which obvs piques my interest. Somehow got called up aged 22 while playing for the ill-fated Border Reivers. Played in Scotland, England, France and Australia and now lives in California running a whiskey retailing business. International. In the squad: Matt Dawson (over the head dummy try) and Austin Healey (absolutely horrible grinding shithouse). The two of these would be encouraged to collaborate on deliberately provocative articles similar to what they wrote in 2001.

10. Jonny Wilkinson. The best player of all time. Note to self, don’t hang around him too much because you’ll look pathetic and probably annoy him. In the squad: Mike Catt (Utility back. My fave) and Finn Russell (Joué Joué 🍷)

11. Ugo Monye. A huge part of my weekends for about 10 years was getting excited every time he touched the ball. Top scorer on his one Lions tour, shock. In the squad: George North (need a scapegoat for when we lose 49-0 to Japan in a warm up game) and Jack Nowell (wouldn’t play a single game, only being taken to let the squad mock him and call him a yokel - bet he’s got a dead short fuse).

12. Rob Henderson. Looked like, acted like, presumably ate like and definitely played like that guy from your local club who played England U16s and let it get to his head. And gut. Crash ball. In the squad: Scott Gibbs (hefty) and Gavin Henson (Insane talent, probably got good stories and even if he’s a prick he’s nicer to look at than some of the other options).

13. Ollie Smith. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Life gave Sir Clive Woodward the entire player pool of Britain and Ireland and somehow he picked Ollie Smith. In my team because he just looks like a nice guy. Defo pro-HS2 and his dad would pick up the bar tab. In the squad: Brian O’Driscoll (meh, guess he gets a place) and Will Greenwood (but only with bleach blonde hair. He genuinely almost died on the pitch playing for the Lions, looks like Shaggy and is a rarity in being a Lions player selected while playing Championship rugby).

14. Dan Luger. Always looked like he’d just come off a 10 hour shift at B&M. Even made skintight shirts look baggy. Played for Perpignan and Toulon before it was cool. Tryscoring machine. Injury prone as fuck.  In the squad: John Bentley (so long as he isn’t a massive sexist like on the 1997 documentary) and Christian Wade (I will never forgive rugby union for wasting his talent).

15. Neil Jenkins. Ol’ dependable. Looks like a man off the street. Can imagine he’s almost always terrified around these peacocking ‘alpha males’. In the squad: Tim Stimpson (remember him?) and Iain Calamity Balshaw (Brendan Laney never played Lions so he’s there to mess everything up instead)