#which is why wills vision of killing her at the lake could never be true

[kuroshika]

gifs from @existingcharactersdiehorribly // poetry by me

[28onlythebrave]

'The Wicked Powers' theory regarding the plot based on Arthurian legend

I was looking for some infos about twp and i found this:

I had completely forgotten about this info CC gave us and because I have recently studied the Arthurian legend, I decided to look more into it. I think one of the most interesting things about the Arthurian legend is the Sword In The Stone/Excalibur.

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are in some versions said to be different, though in most incarnations they are the same. In Welsh, it is called Caledfwlch. It was forged at the Isle of Avalon.

In Arthurian romance, a number of explanations are given for Arthur's possession of Excalibur. In Robert de Boron's Merlin, the first tale to mention the "sword in the stone", Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve. In this account, as foretold by Merlin, the act could not be performed except by "the true king," meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon. As Malory related in his most famous English-language version of the Arthurian tales, the 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born." After many of the gathered nobles try and fail to complete Merlin's challenge, the teenage Arthur (who up to this point had believed himself to be son of Sir Ector, not Uther's son, and went there as Sir Kay's squire) does this feat effortlessly by accident and then repeats it publicly.

The identity of this sword as Excalibur is made explicit in the Prose Merlin, part of the Lancelot-Grail cycle of French romances (the Vulgate Cycle). In the Vulgate Mort Artu, when Arthur is at the brink of death he orders Griflet to throw the sword into the enchanted lake; after two failed attempts (as he felt such a great sword should not be thrown away), Griflet finally complies with the wounded king's request and a hand emerges from the lake to catch it. This tale becomes attached to Bedivere instead of Griflet in Malory and the English tradition. However, in the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently Malory, early in his reign Arthur breaks the Sword from the Stone while in combat against King Pellinore, and then is given Excalibur by a Lady of the Lake in exchange for a later boon for her (some time later, she arrives at Arthur's court to demand the head of Balin). Malory records both versions of the legend in his Le Morte d'Arthur, naming both swords as Excalibur. In some tellings, Excalibur's scabbard was also said to have powers of its own, as any wounds received while wearing the scabbard would not bleed at all, thus preventing the death of the wearer. For this reason, Merlin chides Arthur for preferring the sword over the scabbard, saying that the latter was the greater treasure. In the later romance tradition, including Le Morte d'Arthur, the scabbard is stolen from Arthur by his half-sister Morgan le Fay in revenge for the death of her beloved Accolon during the Fake Excalibur plot and thrown into a lake, never to be found again. This act later enables the death of Arthur, deprived of magical protection, many years later in his final battle.

Now, do you see the connections there?

The sword

There are many important swords in tsc such as, Cortana, Heosphoros, Pheosphoros and The Mortal Sword.

Cortana is based on the legendary sword Curtana, attributed to Ogier the Dane and the legendary knight Tristan. The real sword, Curtana, also known as the "Sword of Mercy", is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens and is one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Cortana is owned by Emma Carstairs.

Heosphoros is a family sword of the Morgensterns, Clary was in possession of it until she used it to kill Sebastian and the Heavenly Fire destroyed it. However, both Heosphoros and Pheosphoros (which was owned by Valentine and then Sebastian) still exist in Thule and Janus is in possession of both of them, in fact, Heosphoros was likely never even owned by the Clary Fairchild of that world, nor was it used on Sebastian. Janus took possession of the sword at one point and began to wield it, and then he took the sword and Sebastian's Phaesphoros with him to Ash’s world (aka the “real” world).

The Mortal Sword also known as the Soul-Sword, Maellartach, and Angel Blade, is the second of the Mortal Instruments given by Angel Raziel to Jonathan Shadowhunter. The Soul-Sword is primarily used to compel Nephilim to tell the truth, mostly during trials. Shadowhunters who wish to have their claims tested and proved may submit themselves to "trial by the Sword," during which a suitable judge, often a Silent Brother, sometimes the Consul or Inquisitor, wields the sword and places it in the hands of the deponent, where it adheres and cannot be removed until the judge wills it. Downworlders and mundanes cannot be compelled by the Soul-Sword, thus preventing the Sword from becoming used by the Shadowhunters as a general tool for interrogation.

The Sword can also have a dark purpose, if intended. Originally, the alliance of the Soul-Sword is seraphic, its power drawn from Angel Raziel himself. However, Valentine Morgenstern discovered an ancient spell to reverse the alliance from angelic to demonic, through a process called the Ritual of Infernal Conversion, where the Sword is seethed until red-hot and cooled four times in the blood of Downworld children: a child of Lilith, a child of the moon, a child of the night, and a child of the fey. With its demonic alliance, the Sword can be used to summon demons and allows its bearer to have control over them.

In September 2012, the Sword was used to question Annabel Blackthorn, who subsequently used it to kill Robert Lightwood and Livvy Blackthorn. It was shattered when Emma struck it with Cortana. Emma and Julian later acquired a version of the sword from Thule, claiming that the Iron Sisters had repaired it and used it to force Horace Dearborn to tell the truth about his involvement with the Unseelie Court and his schemes to gain the position of Consul.

I believe that in twp we will see more of Heosphoros and Pheosphoros in use, but I also think we’ll have a new enchanted weapon, one that will rapresent Excalibur. But if the sword is a parallel with Excalibur, then who is Arthur? In my opinion, the owner of this enchanted weapon will be Kit Herondale and let me tell you why. Arthur was a normal teenage boy who wasn’t aware of his lineage until he pulled the sword out of an anvil. We have three main characters in twp, Kit, Ty and Dru. Guess who is the only one who didn’t know he was a shadowhunter and wasn’t aware of his lineage? Kit. Also, the Arthurian legend is Welsh folklore. Which shadowhunter family is of Welsh orings? Yeah, the Herondales.

I assume The Mortal Sword will once again come in hand, except that this time it's a thule version of it. Also, the only other person who has an analogue arc to Kit's is Clary, and that's why I think the both of them will play a big role in the killing of Janus. Especially if you think about when Jace was once killed with the mortal sword by Valentine.

The lake

In a version of the legend where the sword of the stone and Excalibur are two different blades, Arthur breaks the sword of the stone and is given Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake at the enchanted lake.

The correlation here is obvious, the enchanted lake in tsc is Lake Lyn, also known as the mortal mirror of mortal glass. Ingesting the lake's waters can be poisonous to Nephilim, but it has no effect on Downworlders. Faeries have been known to drink from the lake, saying that it gives them true vision; for the Nephilim, the water causes hallucinations and may even drive them to madness. Among the Fair Folk, the lake is known as the Lake of Dreams or Mirror of Dreams.

The Lady of the Lake is a name used by several fairy-like enchantresses in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. They play pivotal roles in many stories, including providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating Merlin, raising Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon. Different sorceresses known as the Lady of the Lake appear concurrently as separate characters in some versions of the legend since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently the seminal Le Morte d'Arthur, with the latter describing them as a hierarchical group, while some texts also give this title to either Morgan or her sister.

The Lady resides in an enchanted realm, an otherworld the entry to which is disguised as an illusion of a lake. I think she may be in fact the Seelie Queen. It would make total sense for it to be her because of her correlation with Kit (the only known living descendant of the First Heir of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts), Ash Morgenstern (the son she had with Sebastian, who is half shadowhunter and half faerie) and Janus (whom she has an alliance with).

According to her backstory in the Vulgate Merlin, the Lady of the Lake was a daughter of the knight Dionas (Dyonas) and a niece of the Duke of Burgundy. She was born in Dionas' domain of Briosque in the forest Brocéliande. Which takes us to the next point.

The forest

Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly related to the Arthurian legend and the characters of Merlin, Morgan le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, and some of the Knights of the Round Table.

Here too the correlation is obvious, the forest in Idris is called Brocelind. In September 2012, a portion, specifically the center, of the Brocelind Forest was blighted with dark magic by the forces of the Unseelie King, making the area a space where Nephilim runes and adamas-weapons would be ineffective. Making it, in fact, an echanted forest, like in the legend.

Soooo these were some of my thoughts, if you found something more please let me know cause I really like all of this lol.

[talkfantasytome]

I'm sorry, I got carried away writing. But here are more thoughts for us to talk about, if you feel uncomfortable let me know.

When I read the Koschei/Azriel scene I also thought as you did. I felt that he was preparing for personal combat but not that he was preparing something to go after Azriel. Many people think this will link A+E, but the case is that he as the Queen's ally was preparing because of the fight she wanted to have, Nesta vs Queen and indirectly the IC. Nobody knows what happened between A+E either, so hardly anyone is going to think of reaching him through it. If they want to reach him it will be through the Ilyrians/Valkyries, as the Queen tried once before. She had some contact and managed to get some ilyrians to obey her. A lot of people think Elain can find the fourth trove too, which might happen, but the one who has the ability to stay underwater for a long time to retrieve that is someone else.

Koschei and Beron are not allies yet, Eris talks about Beron possibly allying with him but they are not yet. The fact that he helps the Queen indirectly make him looking at the IC. As Vassa said everything he does is thinking about getting rid of the curse that binds him to the lake and with that in mind his possible interest is Nesta (because she gets access to the Trove, he must think that with that he will be able to get rid of the curse). I believe that if he is going to attack someone to try to benefit from it will be Nesta's, unless Beron suspects Lucien's paternity and bargains with Koschei, by getting Elain he would have Nesta+Lucien on his hands

I don't know why I have this feeling but Koschei gives me the same vibe as Eris, that there is something more to be told. I don't know if he is 100% bad, Vassa said it would be dangerous for him to get rid of the lake because he has already tried to take over the world and recreate it his way, but I don't know. Not that he is not a villain but I believe he has more to be told.

I also feel terrible for saying that but I thought he might have a love interest in Vassa. He made the queens sell her to him and she is the only different bird in his pond, she released her and for a good while and told Vassa that he is waiting for her. There is a story, I don't know if it's the one about the firebird, that the wizard fell in love with the firebird. (I don't know if I got in the way of the story but there is one that is like this).

What I believe connects him to Elain is the fact that she can hear the birds and knows about the box he has hidden in the lake (I think), which hides a secret, and his possible interest in Nesta and perhaps Lucien to get him out of the lake.

Never apologize for getting excited or being longwinded on something, Nonnie! Especially not to me. It's not like I can judge. 😂 But there is never a need to apologize for just being yourself. <3

Exactly. The Koschei scene offers no foreshadowing for Azriel and E\ain. There is no focus explicitly on Azriel, the only one who is given true, direct focus is Cassian, because that's who the trap was for. Briallyn wanted to make it worse for Nesta, so the idea of getting her mate to kill her - or make Nesta need to kill him in defense - was too good to pass up. (What a bitch.)

I'll be honest, I don't think Koschei, at that time, was planning on taking Nesta, seeing as the plan was to kidnap Cassian to use in a plot to kill Nesta or to literally destroy her emotionally. Or, you know, both. While Nesta is a badass and Koschei would be lucky to have her, I just don't see her as being an end goal for him. He wasn't seeking the Trove, Briallyn was. Maybe he did want it, or some of it, but then why let Briallyn wear the crown, you know? I'm not saying she couldn't be useful to him, or that he might adjust his goals, but I don't think at that time he wanted her. Honestly, I still think E\ain will be a bigger goal for Koschei, whether for her seer abilities or her beauty or something else, Koschei's story will wrap up with E\ain, so we should be looking for foreshadowing on how that might play out, or why he might want her.

I also feel terrible for saying that but I thought he might have a love interest in Vassa.

Don't feel terrible for this! It's just a theory. Plus, just because she's a love interest to Koschei doesn't mean he's a love interest to her. It doesn't have to be reciprocated just 'cause he wants her.

But you're ABSOLUTELY right. Vassa is definitely some form of 'love interest' to Koschei. Maybe not the kind we're used to seeing, and it may not be a love in the traditional sense, but he trapped her at the lake to be with him. Possibly because of her beauty. He even calls her "my Vassa".

And, you may be talking about Swan Lake? I don't know the firebird story (yet, but probably will be looking into it), but I think that's a general theory on Swan Lake. It's a ballet, and the curse happens in the prologue, so we don't really get final confirmation the sorcerer's motives. HOWEVER, in the Swan Princess, which is based on Swan Lake, the evil sorcerer takes Odette as revenge on her father. He doesn't actually love her, but he does want to marry her, so that he can be king of her kingdom. Not exactly love, but a desire to marry her still offers her being his love interest, to an extent. This could also explain Koschei's interest in Vassa, but I don't see him being willing to settle for just one mortal kingdom.

Also, quick note, in the Swan Lake ballet, there are multiple swan girls, and Odette is just the main one, and the most important because she's an actual princess (I think). So, like, just saying, in a retelling of that, that could mean Vassa doesn't end up being the only one cursed. 👀 I could easily see how SJM could make a Lucien-E\ain book retelling Swan Lake/the Swan Princess (because we know she'll use childhood movies based on fairy tales to help with retellings). Where Lucien attempts to break the curse the wrong way/with the wrong female...like, maybe Koschei makes Vassa look like E\ain in a bargain to free her from her curse...oh man...I could go on about this too. 👀

So, yeah, she is a love interest to him. But, he's also one of the Daglan, a true immortal being - we can assume he's gonna be a bit different. His idea of 'love' is likely different than ours.

I'll admit, I sometimes get lost with the stuff about E\ain's vision. I'd need to study that more, but I'm sure there are more connections between E\ain and Koschei than I initially saw if I dig into it deeper.

Gotta say, especially if you're the same nonnie who's been sending me a lot of stuff, you've really got me thinking more about this. It's making me stronger in my convictions and beliefs, and inspiring a whole slew of theories about the potential for that sixth book. The more I look into Vasilisa the Beautiful and Swan Lake, the more I can see how E\ain would connect, and the possibilities for that story. I'm curious to see what'll happen once I look into the firebird legends, though, in my initial search, all I see is that the firebird is more a symbol in fairy tales - it's not a tale itself. So, like, there's not much of a retelling as much as just...putting firebirds into the story...more proof that Vassa being a firebird does not prove she's going to be a MC.

Oh shit! I just saw that there's a tale of "The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa"! That's a very important piece of information, me thinks. More things to study, but look at that...they're DIFFERENT characters. INTERESTING! I'm telling you, E\ain is Vasilisa!

So, anyway, thank you! <3

[chironshorseass]

angst number 5 for percabeth?

“What’s the point?”

Dear anon, I am sorry that I got a but carried away. Just a teeny bit. 

Read on ao3.

Au in which Percy killed the Goddess of Misery, back in Tartarus.

tw: drowning, implied abuse, mental health issues, mild blood

Percy woke up drowning.

In the back of his mind, he knew that that was not possible. In the back of his mind, he could hear the running water. Water from the shower faucet.

He’s floating, maybe. In the tub.

But that’s not what was going through his mind at the moment. All he felt was breathlessness. And water. But it wasn’t the good kind. This water, cold and dark, did not want him.

No, it wanted to destroy him.

Like Misery.

He’d killed that goddess, once upon a time. Made her choke on her tears, turned her blood to dust.

The running water sounded like her, that wretched being. She was laughing at him.

He forgot why and where he was in the first place. That laugh was the only thing that was certain at the moment. And the water—with its icy breath—filled up his mouth and lungs.

Where was he in his dreams?

Hopefully not here.

His arms reached out, searching for something—anything—that could pull him out of this hell. They could’ve been nonexistent, for all the help they managed to achieve. He felt as if his own body couldn’t even move an inch. He wanted someone to save him.

Maybe you don’t deserve to be saved.

.

.

The memory gushed around Percy, resurfacing from the deepest parts of his mind—well, to be honest, it had always been there, gnawing at him.

Tartarus always came back to haunt him, one way or another.

He was there, right next to the inky abyss, surrounded on all sides by the liquid poison and its fumes. It crawled slowly but surely toward him like liquid honey. He backed away but knew it was no use. He’d die one way or another.

Annabeth screamed at Akhlys, trying to get the goddess’ attention away from him. She had the likeness of one of the corpses that Nico liked to sprout from the ground, not at all looking like that beautiful and vibrant girl he had once known.

Percy lifted his head to look at Misery, the mastermind behind it all. She grinned at him, flashing her golden fangs. Her cheeks were rivers of blood, like the blood he tasted in his mouth as he bit his tongue so he wouldn’t cry out from the sudden pain.

He glared at the poison, its small lakes pooling around him.

Lakes.

Liquid.

Maybe he was mad. But maybe he didn’t have to die right now. The ringing in his ears grew louder; Annabeth’s shouts sounded further away. But he could stop this, he had to try.

He concentrated, feeling the familiar tug in his gut. The poison paused in its tracks.

“What is this?” Ackhlyss’ voice bordered on manic.

“Poison,” Percy rasped, standing up with shaking legs. His motive, however, didn’t falter. “That’s your specialty, right?”

He watched as the toxic liquid retreated farther from him and toward Akhlyss’ feet as if she were a magnet and the poison was metal. It sizzled against her toes, and she jumped, shrieking. She swiped at it, but more came.

“You dare go against me, boy?” But as she said it, tears flooded her eyes; her knees buckled. After many futile attempts, she screeched, “Stop this!”

But he was just getting started.

Her control over her own creation was over, dominated by someone else.

The goddess shrunk into herself, tears flowing like rivers down her cheeks.

Oh, good. More water.

He had the urge to laugh. How foolish of her.

Percy concentrated, searching deeper and deeper into the root of his powers. Soon enough, he had Akhlyss choking on her own tears; it engulfed her mouth and eyes. She clutched her throat, poison burning her legs as it climbed into her as well.

He was dimly aware of Annabeth calling to him—begging, but she didn’t understand this feeling that Percy felt. This glass-shattering sensation against his stomach. How good it felt, to finally control what could never be controlled.

So he didn’t listen. Instead, he clenched his fists and kept it up. See how much misery Misery could take.

He pushed further into him, and Akhlyss’ blood boiled.

Minutes or hours or days passed before her wailing sounds and anguished cries stopped for good. The poison finally encased her entire body, and she lay on the ground, motionless. In the blink of an eye, her remains were turned to dust.

It is done.

“Percy?”

Annabeth walked up to him, taking her time. The look on her face was enough for him to stagger, clutching his stomach.

“Percy?” she whispered, now closer to him.

His name lingered in his mind, a chanting that never seemed to stop. But through the agony in his gut and Annabeth’s muffled sobs into his shirt, her expression afterwards was what haunted him most.

It is done.

.

.

Something broke inside him that day, he knew. Just like right now, when his powers and his heritage served him no purpose.

It was as if he were trapped in an eternal void. His hands, finally able to do something, clawed at his throat, willing his lungs to work.

Why can’t I breathe?

Why can’t I breathe .

He was the hero, the son of Poseidon; this wasn’t supposed to be happening.

What an ironic way to die , don’t you think?

The laughter kept invading his thoughts, ringing across his brain just as horribly as the water.

He gasped out, scouring for any oxygen he could steal.

Water.

Water in my lungs.

Had he always been drowning? Or was this a nightmare?

Perhaps he should just give up. Perhaps the water wouldn’t feel so cold if that were to happen.

But if he listened closely to the chaos, he could make out a muffled scream. Someone crying out, pronouncing his name.

Arms grabbed him by the shoulders, and suddenly he’s sitting up, leaning into someone else. Hands grasped his face, soft and tender. Sobs echoed across the room. His eyes were shut tight, but he’s sure that he’s in some kind of room.

Right, the bathroom.

The laughter stopped.

He tried to breathe again, but he found that he still couldn’t, the door of his lungs yet to unlock. Panic seized into him once more. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt like lead weights.

Annabeth. He realized now, that she’d been the one to pull him out. She was here, shaking him, crying, letting the water pour down the drain.

If I could only breathe.

He faintly registered the way she gently pushed him down, making him lie on the cool tub, now free of the water. He felt pressure on his chest. Her hands, compressing and releasing.  

And then, maybe, he could breathe again. His world was still tinted in balck around the edges, though.

.

.

Annabeth had her arms wrapped around him, both of them lying on their sides in the comfort of his bed. She protected his Achilles’ spot, a habit she never could break. As much as her doing this filled Percy with ease and calmness, he knew the truth: she couldn’t protect him. Not really. His true war was with himself.

Her warmth didn’t seem to suffice, either. Or the snug pajamas that she had given him to wear.

He could still remember the bathtub’s chill, after all. And Tartarus.

Annabeth snuggled closer to him. He felt her breathing against his neck, real and alive. She threaded her fingers through his and kissed the nape of his neck.

“I’m sorry,” she said, voice breaking. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. That I didn’t realize—”

“S’not your fault. I just...” A lump formed in his throat. He swallowed it down. “I don’t know why. Why was I fucking drowning, ‘Beth? Why?”

His eyes bored into the dusty bookshelf in his room, but soon his sight blurred. A tear fell down his cheek and into his mouth. It tasted like the sea. The sea that betrayed him.

“Maybe, maybe you’re just scared.”

“Like you were of me?” He shut his eyes tight. “When I killed her?”

Her curls tickled his face as she shook her head.

“No,” she whispered. “I could never be scared of you.”

“But you were. I know you, Annabeth. And I know you’re scared, even now. And the worst thing? You’re scared of me.”

“No.” Her tone took a hard edge. “I’m not scared of you. Gods you’re the person I love most in this fucked up world. Why would I be scared of you?” Her hand unclasped from his, moving it to his damp hair, combing through the dark curls. “No, I’m scared of what you could do to yourself.

“Especially when Sally’s not here, and we’re alone and I, I assume you’re fine. But I’m not even fine, so it makes no fucking sense that I didn’t try to see what was wrong earlier, and...and…” She broke down into sobs, face smothered into the crook of his neck as he lay there, unmoving. His eyelids were closed, but tears escaped them anyway.

She pressed her damp nose against his skin and took a shaky breath.

“I never…” She lifted her face and swept back some of the hair that stuck to his forehead.

He opened his eyes, and finally looked at her, craning his neck to do so. Her cheeks glistened with tears and her hair was a tangled mess, but he took in her image, gazing at her with new vision.

It hit him—that this girl would forever be his anchor, his haven. This complicated, sweet and amazing girl, with eyes akin to the storm inside him. That she was protecting him. That she wanted him to heal. She reclined on her elbows, softly caressing his exposed cheek with her thumb. Then, she leaned down and kissed his tears away.

“I never—and I thought you were going to die,” she said in a small voice. “...I never knew how powerful you could be.”

He stiffened under her touch.

“What’s the point, anyway? It’s not like my powers work anymore.”

He didn’t dare admit what he yearned to say, that he deserved every last breath of pain. That Gabe, that sorry excuse of a stepfather, had been right. That Percy would amount to nothing, and in the end, he’d end up just like that horrible man. He already felt it inside of him, settling comfortably as if reuniting with an old friend.

“But they do work, Perce.”

“How would you know?” His tone sounded accusatory, but Annabeth didn’t seem to mind. “I was drowning, just like in that prophecy. In Alaska.”

“I know you still have them, because I feel it in you. And now you’re letting it consume you instead of controlling it. What happened down there...you can’t change what you did.”

He exhaled, “I wish I was sorry.”

She didn’t respond, only settled back into him.

After a few minutes of staring at the heaps of comics and the little night light, she murmured, “You’ll be alright. We can work through this. Together. I know we can.”

He could only wish he felt the same way.

Nearing to the edge of dreams in his sleep, he felt the water once again. At first, he realized that it was the same way as in the bathtub. Darkness and cold. Jagged ice.That horrible sensation of panic and helplessness.

Images flashed through the currents. Teeth and golden eyes and blood and choking. Voices whispered to him.

Let go.

What is life, anyway?

It’s useless. That’s what life was.

The water wouldn’t let him breath, anyway, so he sunk into the depths. He was used to this. It didn’t matter.

As he drifted away, a voice came to his mind, so startling and out of place in the coldness that it felt like someone had suddenly spoken right into his ear.  

Remember your lifeline, dummy.

Annabeth had said that, hadn’t she? He wasn’t so sure; he couldn’t remember much about anything.

What was it?

Anchor.

Something pulled him upright. It was a tug, coming from the small of his back. And then the darkness didn’t seem as imposing. The whispers and wailing stopped. A smile came to his mind. A face hallowed in a crown of golden hair. She was by the sea, splashing salty water with foam and laughing.

Anchor.

No, Annabeth wouldn’t want this for him; he could fight to live. He could get better. The water turned blue and warm, like drinking a mug of hot cocoa. He gasped, letting his tired lungs have what they wanted from the start.

She was right, gods, was she always right. Hiis powers still worked. And clearing his mind, he remembered the breathing methods they’d practiced, him and Annabeth.

One in, two out, three in, four out.

Up on the surface, the sun gleamed, sending golden ripples all around.

A hand appeared from the outside, cutting into the water. There was a canoe; he could see the dark silhouette. This time, his limbs moved with ease.

One in, two out, three in, four out.

The currents guided him up, up into the world. When he drew nearer to the person on the other side, he looked up, only to be blinded by the sun. But movement from above blocked the light like an eclipse.

Annabeth.

Always Annabeth.

She beamed, seemingly annoyed and amused at the same time, her yankees cap tucked over her hair. Her arm extended toward him, and she laughed. The echoes rippled even in the water.

“Hold on, Seaweed Brain. You’re not getting away from me that easily.”

He felt it now. It wasn’t the currents moving him toward the sound of her voice, but a cord. A single golden thread.

“Come on. Take my hand.”

And so he did.

[lindstromm]

"2. Cherik faey" for the WIP ask game please!

That idea came from the image of James McAvoy in Dune:

He needs pointed ears and fairy wings. In my WIP, the humans move into the faey’s valley, and Charles accidentally rescues (mistaken identity) one of the humans he’s supposed to fear:

Even before the waters closed over his head, Erik could someone shouting: “Let go! You have to let go!” That was probably true, but Erik was incapable of letting go. His life force, every desire he’d ever had, tethered him and he could not let go. He was going to drown, and that was a small price to pay. He must do this.

The lake he would drown in was not deep, and already the seaweed floated around his bare feet, caressing and tickling him. Drowning wasn’t all bad, no more than falling asleep while knowing you were about to have a dream so glorious that it put the waking world to shame. That’s why it was such a shock when someone kicked him in the back, and then an arm wrapped around his chest. 

You can’t. You’ll drown. You have to let go. 

Erik ignored the voice in his mind. He already knew everything it was saying, but the voice was wrong. He didn’t have to let go.

I know what this means to you, but you’re going to die. 

It was the empathy that fractured his single-minded concentration. He knew what this meant to him? And it was less important than dying? The man in the water pulled against him, his feet kicking Erik’s legs as he tried to swim them both to the surface. 

Please, calm your mind. 

Something snapped inside his head, as if a cloth had been pulled away from his eyes. The vision of beauty he’d been willing to follow to his death disappeared in the churning water and a creature all teeth and claws came at him. The naiad screamed at him, the whoosh of watery sound pounding at his eardrums. Erik quit fighting against the man trying to pull him to the surface, and swam with him instead. 

They broke the surface in a gasp and a splash that filled Erik’s mouth and nose with water. He sputtered. 

“Go! You mustn’t let her touch you!”

The man’s spoken voice had the same odd tinge to the sounds that Erik had noticed when the voice was only in his head. It was musical, crisp, and as entrancing as the naiad’s song, though without the compulsion that had dragged Erik into the lake. In fact, Erik had no desire to do what the voice told him to do, since it appeared that the man intended to put himself between Erik and the naiad, and deal with those teeth and claws himself.

Erik pulled the knife sheathed at his belt and dove back under the water, trapping the other man’s ankle in his grasp to keep him from accidentally kicking Erik in the head. He flashed that knife in the naiad’s direction. She jerked back, her green-tinged skin blending into the waters of the lake so well she was more suggestion than shape. Erik wouldn’t be able to see her at all, if not for the movement. He’d heard enough stories to know how to counter a naiad, now that the spell she’d cast on his mind was broken. Naiads hunted by deception; they moved in for the kill only when the prey was drowned and weak. A show of strength would drive her away.

I said not to let her touch you! 

The crisp voice was in his mind again, angry and exasperated. The foot that Erik was holding twisted out of his grasp, and the man doubled over to push Erik away. The man did something; light flared in a watery bloom, and then the naiad fled, water churning in her wake.

You bark-brained fool! First, you get enspelled by a naiad, and then you try to fight her with a belt knife! Your brother said you were smart! Wishful thinking, is it? Shall I weave you to a baby board to get you back to the Clantree so you don’t walk into a sprite hollow or eat the nuts from a dryad’s tree? 

Erik sheathed the knife and kicked towards shore. He’d been in the naiad’s thrall only a few seconds, and it wasn’t long before the mud of the lake bottom sucked at his feet, and then the two of them staggered onto the sand. Once they were out of the water, the mindtouch disappeared. Now that he had a second to think, Erik realized the naiad was not the only faey he was encountering.

The encounter had winded both of them, and they stopped, water still covering their toes, to catch their breath. Erik looked over at the faey, his glance barely touching the woven green sandals that laced up, criss-crossing over his calves and tying just under his knees. Then the breeches, made of the same woven green grass as the foot coverings, ended in a fringe of grass just above his knees. His torso was bare, trim waisted and well-muscled through the shoulders and chest. He would have to be, or he wouldn’t be able to fly.

Erik’s gaze fastened on the dragonfly wings that sprouted from each shoulder blade, enormous gossamer wings that waved gently in the sunset light, and then shivered suddenly, flicking off water in a spray that created a rainbow shimmer around the faey. Wet, dark hair clung to his head in a cap, short and thick. His hands wrung it out, which exposed delicately pointed ears. Erik reached out to touch the faey (it was good luck), and the motion pulled him close to the faey’s woodland smell - rich dirt and dewy grasses. He smelled like a spring morning.

An elf, he was close enough to touch an elf. Not only had he escaped a naiad, he’d touched an elf. Of course all the stories were true, but Erik only heard them third and fourth hand. Now he had stories of his own to tell, stories that would raise him in the esteem of his listeners and their listeners. Stories were better than riches, and now Erik would have the best stories of all.

“Leave off, yeah?” the elf said, shaking his arm to dislodge Erik’s hand.

Wondering at his good fortune, Erik put his other hand around the elf’s waist, holding him more firmly. Where Erik had expected the fragility of a creature not entirely bound by gravity, the elf was as warm and solid as a human.

“If you’re that close to falling over, then sit down,” the elf said impatiently, and turned to look at Erik for the first time.

Erik had never seen eyes so blue or a mouth so red. A face so beautiful should never show such fear. 

Erik sprang back as the elf’s mindtouch erupted full force into Erik’s mind, all panic and images of trees, elves and a wisp of song by starlight. 

“I won’t hurt you,” Erik blurted out.

The elf froze a second longer before the mindtouch ended so raggedly that it left Erik gasping, and then he was gone across the meadow. Those shimmering wings began to beat, until the faey was half-running, half-flying across the meadow grasses, moving so quickly he reached the trees and disappeared from Erik’s sight within seconds.

The grasses that waved in the wake of the elf’s passage stilled, the tips touched orange in the last light of the sunset.

Erik let go of the breath he was holding, rubbed his eyes, and brushed water off his face. He’d gone into the lake fully clothed, and he was soaked through. The late summer night wouldn’t chill him, and he lingered, watching where the elf had disappeared, and then turning to look at the footprints next to his in the mud, already filling with water. They’d be gone in the next few moments, the only evidence he hadn’t imagined the whole encounter.

-----

Anyway, I got a few more scenes written and then I fizzled out. It’s all plotted out, but that’s as far as I got.

[snarksandsarcasm]

Goblins

The Green Plague

Styx mentions he awoke in a dried-up lake bed after the Fall of Akenash. The cutscene at that point shows that it isn’t entirely true. A lot of the tower and its inhabitants got pulverized in the process of the fall but there are still big chunks of wall and stones in that dried-up lake bed beneath. The tree as well, due it’s magical properties, remained surprisingly intact, just got crushed and broken under the weight of the structures around it. A lot of amber vaporized (possibly poisoning the area making it very unsafe for non-Amber-creatures to enter), the rest came down in its liquid form to become a shallow lake at “ground zero”. The tree is not producing Amber anymore and will just rot away over the next couple decades.

Within that Amber lake the strange reaction of spawning creatures continued and rakash rise regularly. With every rakash risen the amount of amber decreases so eventually all amber is used up to create all these goblins. That is when the infestation of Styx-duplicates ends. (I think by the time of OOAM this has happened, and all goblins that remain are now those living their regular life, which would mean they could be eradicated if it wasn’t for some independent regular breeding goblins).

Since these rakash were born of the Amber, similar to Styx being reborn in the cocoon, they are fully functional living creatures, free from any mental connections to elves or even each other. But they are all made from the same base model and thus are all male, sharing the same genetics with limited conscience and intelligence. They are like rats… or dogs… following their instincts to eat without consideration and have a distinct violent aspect to their being. But capable of being taught, as Sarkyss shows us. OOAM goblins appear a lot more vicious, the SoD ones more like sad puppies that don’t know any better. 

Ground Zero was left alone for a couple of reasons.

There aren’t any survivors other than those who were on airships at the time of the fall or not in Akenash in the first place.

The area got covered with raw Amber that isn’t easily dealt with by humans or other non-Amber creatures. The elves are now for sure not willing to help in any recovery efforts due to the death of their own kin.

There is too many rakash around that will tear any human or other being apart (they may have attacked and potentially eaten their own creator, but other than that they are not cannibals).

The area in general isn’t easily accessible. Akenash was already afloat somewhere in the mountains, possibly for secrecy reasons, far away from the civilisation going on in the mainland. The steep mountain walls and jungle forests probably don’t allow many people to live there and with the rakash roaming about I can imagine even that one big trade route is being avoided for a long time to come.

The Goblins

This is my own take on this but I want these little creatures to thrive as their own race and not be doomed to extinction in this world. What follows is a very short paragraph on how that came to be (and I may cover that in more detail in another time). 

Styx had made use of a human the last decade before The Fall of Akenash and taught her some of the things he knew as a shaman, scholar and scientist. After the Fall, this human let’s go of the dream of ‘becoming an Orc once more’ and instead aims to make these new creatures ‘whole’. Nearby ‘Ground Zero’ she utilises an old laboratory of Styx and starts to experiment on female orcs. Ruthlessly and of all ages. (Sarkyss Predecessor!) After two decades the result are 10 - 20 female goblins. A destructive earthquake allows them to escape into the surrounding mountain forest. (Eve was left behind in the only, small cocoon grown to the tiny World Tree that decided to live after the Fall. She escapes some time later, when the other goblins try and fail to recover the small World Tree.)

This group of females lives hidden in the forests of the mountains. The other rakash are not immune to the presence of females and flock around them. The females have the upper hand in intelligence and communication and they run their tribe and developing society with iron fists, so to speak. They have very tribal structures, with the Eldest being the head of the tribe and surprisingly in these critical first years of their existence, disagreements between the females are rare as they share the same existential desires. 

The males protect the females at all costs and do little more than hunt for food and wait nearby to be on hand to be a lucky chosen one for the next mating season. Breeding is strictly organised. One female may have several, but strictly the same partners. Their children don’t get to pick and choose. Partners are chosen according to the greatest genetic difference among them (even if they do not know exactly how they make that decision consciously) and cheating/adultery is met with violent death of the next child born to the female. 

All knowledge comes from the Elder Females. Many things are instinct, such as knowing that shelter is necessary and being clothed helps to protect from the elements. But making tools and weaving etc comes from their orc lives and they slowly teach the males and their children in these tasks. Basic tools can be crafted and huts can be built. Leaving the tribe is generally forbidden but those who do despite of that, may never return or face being killed. So knowledge from the outside cannot come (back) in. The Elder females are very strict. Since the rakash are going to be around for some time, you may see confused young males wondering why their dads all look the same and can’t speak. But these mute forefathers are certainly always kept in loving memory of every goblin born. 

These goblins are Amber creatures and use Amber from the growing Tree in the laboratory. However, they are not as dependent on it as elves are and use it surprisingly not to the extend they could. Thus, these goblins have a lifespan of around 80 years.

Eventually, with the help of Styx, this goblin tribe opens up more and allows knowledge to come in. Aiken brings in the craft of writing and drawing, Styx gives their leather and wood work a boost, Eve can teach them new hunting methods … and well, eventually the goblins start to have contact to other races and maybe a century later they have established trade deals going on and maybe another century later, the first goblins are allowed to enter a human or orc university. xD

Food

I think goblins are primarily raw food eaters and omnivores, with their preferred food being fish, chicken and other small animals and insects, as well as nuts, fruits, vegetables and mushrooms. While Styx and Eve can use fire to cook they actually rarely do so. Lesser intelligent goblins may also have discovered fire for cooking but them too, are not inclined to use it for cooking purposes. When any goblin ‘steals’ food, they don’t take the plate from a nobleman's dinner table… they grab the fruits and fish from the market stalls.

One advantage this has is their oral health. They rarely need to brush their teeth and just take basic care such as removing bones and other large food objects for healthy gums.

Food could be preserved by leaving it to dry, or coating it in a layer of thick Amber or submerging it in an Amber solution (pickled). But generally goblins don’t think ahead like that and don’t preserve food. They aren’t gourmets either.

Goblins CAN eat human as well (see rakash in SoD Prologue). However, they aren’t at all their preferred source of food. They are big and cumbersome to move, to prepare and eat. Preference always goes towards smaller animals. 

Since all rakash can throw up stomach content to poison other food, they are naturally protected against most poisonous food that would otherwise kill the eater. Such as certain frogs or mushrooms that humans stay away from, have little effect on goblins.

Health

Since rakash are ‘born’ as adults, leaving the Amber environment behind, they grow old and die eventually. I set that at around 50 years. The Amber will help them over injuries and sickness but as they do not, like the elves, continue their exposure to Amber, they will lose that element of eternal youth.

Age of rakash: 50 years Age of “normal” goblins: 80 years Styx and Eve: Couple of centuries (their intensive training and knowledge allows them to ‘regenerate’ their Amber and use it’s rejuvenation qualities. Not forever, like the elves, but for a long time.)

Amber skills

Both males and females can utilise the Amber flowing in their body, albeit in different ways.

Females can secret Amber like spit in their mouth, which they can use to:

feed others with it (give them an energy boost)

thicken the texture of Amber and create a sticky glue (like bee propolis)

the thicker textured Amber can also be used as an antibacterial and wound-healing substance (that is why it is part of the health potion Styx mixes in SoD) and no-one bats an eye when a female spits into wounds or licks over them

spit on/lick other creatures to temporarily control them / read their thoughts (this requires a lot of training and intelligence)

Males and Females can:

Use Amber vision with a bit of concentration

Become invisible (after training)

Throw up their stomach content to poison

Styx alone can vomit a clone (and with is use the re-materialising through one of his clones skill as in SoD). This is probably linked to him being a directly mutated orc, first generation goblin so to speak.

For some reason, within Styx, the Amber does not display it’s ‘wireless Twitter’ function. This might be because the World Tree from which the Amber came from that is now running in every goblin’s blood, is no longer alive. There is no radio tower anymore, so to speak. Nonetheless, the Amber came from the same source and I think it does still create a connection between the users, especially if they were to actually exchange their own Amber fluids with each other, like during mating. It would be more of a sensual connection, where the emotions, pleasures and pains of the other become clear and part of your own for a limited time. 

Mating and Birth

Goblins have an actual mating season at the start of the year. Females are able to get pregnant only around 1-2 weeks during that time. Of course, sexual contact is possible at any other time, too, but during mating season it can be a bit more hectic than usual. xD After around 6 months the ladies give birth to usually one child. Twins are possible but one usually remains underdeveloped and dies after birth. Young are born in a soft/solid amber cocoon, which must be opened straight after birth and is then consumed again by mother or father. This also means, there is no after-birth, it all comes out in one go.They are fed their mothers milk (with a good dose of Amber, obviously) until they are ½ year old. 

When a female hasn’t conceived she would in the course of a day, get her period and discharge the empty amber cocoon. This also, she would eat.

While the act of copulation is a private one, the mating season as a whole is celebrated and goblins look with excitement towards the new matches made and the first timers in this this year. Similarly, since all females will give birth to the kids at roughly the same time, the Birthing Season is equally celebrated and well prepared for. 

Goblins smell. Surprise. xD No, I mean, pheromones, invisible smells. Lone females, if they dare to travel (Eve….) will always be found somehow by the lads. It is a good idea not to pee anywhere near your resting place, or else the males will have sniffed you out in no time. Although, in all honesty, they just surround the female and start to protect her, bring food and make maybe some mild advanced outside mating season but that’s it. Females can have their sad-SoD-rakash harems.

Also, for males: Amber is part of their body and so also present in their semen. Whether this liquid causes harm to humans and other non-amber creatures, however, I haven’t decided yet. I think it doesn’t turn out as bad as Aaron’s disfigurement, since this Amber may not be the exact same as raw Tree sap. Still, contact with it might cause skin irritation, burning sensation, maybe also some form of intoxication similar to the drug abuse of Amber and other minor side effects. Another little detail: I suppose females enjoy male semen as much as males like the Amber breastmilk or spit of females. Gobs are truly all over each other.

Growing Up

Goblets develop quicker than human children, especially their motor skills. After around a year (when typically the next child can come) they are able to eat, drink, pee/poo, walk, run and climb on their own. Doesn’t mean they don’t need the supervision though. They are like small tiny chimpanzees, they like to play hide/seek, wrestling, brawling, making others fall etc. I think 15 is an age where they’d be treated like adults, the 5 to 6 years prior to that as the age of adolescence. Styx left his tribe at age 30, finally being regarded as an adult free from his father’s reign, but I think that signified more the intellectual independence to know enough of life now to make good decisions. The first century for sure, the goblins don’t ever get that freedom. You are part of the tribe forever, with your small, precise, restricted but safe place within it.

[danielyrosner]

Fanfic - Neil's Chains - Chapter 1

Neil is betrayed and tortured for several years, he tries to figure out several times more all of them have been frustrated, his jailers then decide that someone else will pay for his actions, from that decision something good is born that may be the light that can take him out of the darkness.

Chapter 1 - The Betrayal

July 13, 1993

 I decided to write this diary to try not to go crazy to remember what I was like before I was stuck here and so that if one day I leave, I can burn this crap and forget about this great hell.

 I was free and imposing, I had everything I wanted, money never attracted me, but I had beautiful mansions, willing women and cities at my feet, and I managed to keep my secret hidden. All of this until the day I met them, the day they brought me to this mansion and the day they betrayed me.

 It was dated August 25, 1990, I met them in New Orleans, I was having a party at my mansion, that's when I saw a beautiful and beautiful woman, which caught my attention.

~ • ~

 "Good night miss" he greets her with a kiss on his hand "My name is Neil Light and you?"

 "Good night, sir, my name is Cassandra" she looks at him delighted with a smile on her lips "Cassandra Midnight".

 "I hope you're enjoying the party?" he asks her.

 "Of course, it is a wonderful house and the party is magnificent" she replies.

 "Did you come with you tonight? I could ... "he asks her as soon as he regrets, because Cassandra's face has lost all its shine.

 "I came, I came with my husband" she says urgently and looking at the sides, squeezing the fan in her hand.

 "It's all right? Is there anything I could do to help you? " he asks putting his hand on her shoulder and it makes her start to cry.

 "Miss please! Calm down! Come on, let's go to a more reserved place, okay? " he tells her to just nod and walk beside him.

 When they arrive at the site Cassandra collapses "I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I didn't want to do that! I didn't want to cry in public! Forgive me please "she cried without stopping placing her hand over her face, over her mouth and begging forgiveness as if someone was going to hit her.

 "It's all right! I won't hurt you, I promise! " Neil replies with a sweet tone approaching her "Don't worry, I will protect you here".

 "I'm sorry I didn't want you to see me like that, I'm sorry" Cassandra says recovering "I don't know why but I feel at ease around you, could you hear me?"

 "But of course it does" Neil answers her.

~ • ~

 Cassandra was charming. She told me that her husband was a monster; imprisoned her at home, abused her physically, sexually and psychologically. He told me that his greatest desire was to get rid of him, to travel the world, to be a great historian and, who knows, one day, to make a great discovery for history.

 Those were the words that had tied me up, the words that had imprisoned me and the words that had betrayed me. If I had known I would never have believed those words.

 Out of foolishness, I promised that I would help her, and since I had several degrees in history, I used the excuse to start meeting each night for the next three weeks. His sweet and simple way enchanted me more every day.

~ • ~

 "My dream besides being a historian ..." Cassandra stops and thinks looking at the lake "I wish I could have children" And lets out a long sigh.

 "Why did you 'want'?" Neil asks her in a voice of anguish.

 "I can technically generate a child ... but ... I can't have him ... my body ... he ... he just aborts them, he believes they are parasites so ... that's it" She tells with great difficulty.

 Neil sits beside her and puts her hand on her face "I'm really sorry, but how can you be so sure of that?"

 "Because I already had several miscarriages and I went to several doctors and they all told me that I would never be able to have a child" She gives a boring smile "But I already got used to the idea, don't worry".

 Cassandra strokes Neil's arm and he leans down to kiss her but she steps back "I can't, I'm sorry, my husband is a bastard, but I'm not, I can't betray him" She tells Neil.

 "I ... I understand. One day then, when I'm free, I'll wait for you "Neil tells her, stroking her face and putting a lock of her hair behind her ear.

~ • ~

 That was one of many other special nights, and each was more passionate than the other. However, the day came that she was to leave and I would not be able to stop it unless I killed him - but that Cassandra would never accept and I would be seen as a murderer by her. But we haven't lost touch. I sent her some letters that she always answered.

~ • ~

"September 7, 1990

Beautiful Cassandra,

I am sending you this bouquet of roses I picked in Angra dos Reis. You would love this place; the beach, the food and the people.

The sensation of the wind hitting your body, blowing your hair, gives a beautiful comfort and the feeling of freedom.

I would love for you to be here, but I believe that day will soon come.

With love

Neil Light "

.

"September 10, 1990

Beloved Neil,

Thank you for the roses, I loved them; I replanted them in my garden and I hope they will survive so I can remember you whenever I look at them.

I would love to be with you there. I was never able to enjoy the great ocean and that would be wonderful. I wanted to be with you now, but you would also love Moonlight, here the dusk is great! I hope to see you soon.

With love

Cassandra Midnight "

.

"December 22, 1990

Linda Cassandra,

You haven't answered my last letters; I believe your husband is forbidding and mistreating you. I wanted to tell you not to worry. I am talking to the best lawyers to get rid of this worm and he will never be able to touch or approach you again. The law will protect you and if they don't, I will, I promise you that.

But I also believe that this letter will come to you at Christmas so I wish you a Merry Christmas, full of peace, hope and that your dreams come true.

Have faith, my love. Wear this necklace and always think of me because, soon, we will be together.

With love

Neil Light "

.

"December 25, 1990

My Love Neil,

My husband is finally going to be out of town for a while; he will leave now on the 1st of January and I can't take it anymore. Please come and take me away from him. Please, let's go anywhere you want, I don't care, I just want to be with you, please Neit.

I love you my love

Cassandra Midnight "

~ • ~

 That was the letter that took me off the pedestal, I loved in every possible way and my greatest wish was to have her by my side for all eternity. So I had decided: I was going to tell the whole truth about me, what I was and what I wanted. If she accepted, we would run away before dawn the next day. If not, I would just keep my promise to free you and erase your memories related to me.

 It was my big, stupid decision that put me here too. Frog. I went after her on the 1st as I had agreed.

~ • ~

 Neil knocks on the door

 "Who is it?" Cassandra screams inside. His voice expressed fear.

 "My Love, it's me, Neil" He speaks sweetly and calmly.

 Cassandra urgently opens the door and when she sees him she throws herself in his arms and cries "I knew it! I knew you would come!"

 "But it is clear that I would come my Love. I had promised you that and that you would be free of this monster "Neil hugs her tightly, running a hand over her hair.

 "Come in, I have a lot to tell you and we take the opportunity to have tea" Cassandra tells him, pulling him by the arm with a long smile.

 Neil enters the house and follows her to the small lounge where he sits in the armchair in front of the fireplace. Cassandra enters bringing two cups of tea, hands him one and takes his seat next to him.

 "What a lovely aroma, what kind is it?" He asks her.

 "These are some herbs that I harvested and mixed, it tasted good, didn't it?" Cassandra answers him with a beautiful smile.

 They talked for hours about everything and nothing. Tea was his companion during that time and it was also what gave him the strength to tell her.

 "Cassandra my love, I have to tell you something, something that can change your life forever" He counts his eyes on the cup.

 "Neit, you know you can tell me anything" She replies by placing her hand on his and looking steadily into his eyes.

 "I know ... it will look ... crazy ... but please don't panic" he puts his hand over her face "You know I love you more than anything in this world, and I've never felt anything like this for anyone in this world, in millennia! ".

 "What do you mean in millennia, Neit?" Cassandra asks him.

 "I am an ancient vampire, Cassandra. That's what I'm saying "Neil has a voice of concern.

 "I already knew Neil!" She confesses looking into his eyes.

 "But how and why didn't you tell me?" He asks.

 "Because it should come from you and not from me, and you need to be absolutely sure" She replies firmly.

 "So, Cassan ..." Neil feels his whole body tremble and his vision is blurred. He tries to get up, standing up, puts his hand over his face to try to stabilize himself, but falls and loses consciousness.

~ • ~

 That was the moment when I realized the mistake I had made and I was more sure when I woke up - because I found myself locked in a cell like an animal. I shouted for someone to hear and they sure did.

 Cassandra, my great love, appeared with her husband in the living room. She had a winning look and spoke to her husband like I was a lab rat.

~ • ~

 "I did not say? I told you it would be worth having patience, now we have an old vampire so we can study "She points to Neil.

 "Yes, but it took almost six months to catch him, and we are six months behind in research!" He answers it.

 "Yes, but now ..." Cassandra speaks.

 "What are you talking about?" Neil speaks in a shaky voice from the cell.

 Jefford starts to say "Ahh, did you wake up? We are telling my pet that you will be our experience, about the diseases of this world. I was happy, you will be part of a great historic feat. And as for what she told you about me, it was all a lie. A way for you to get close to her, so that we could arrest you like now "he smiles and strikes the cage as he speaks.

 "Cassandra my love, what's going on? What was in that tea? Was it really a lie? " He yells from the cell to his beloved.

 "But of course it is" Cassandra speaks coldly to the man "We knew from the beginning that you were a vampire and we needed you for this feat. As for tea, it was a mixture of herbs so you wouldn't notice the main ingredient" he lowers and looks in his eyes "Mandrake Root, to weaken you and erase you. We know that this is the weakness of all supernatural beings "she gets up and turns towards the door" And one more thing, I never loved you and I will never love you, because who would love a monster like you? "

 "Tell me at least once when you told me the truth please !?" He howls from the cell at Cassandra.

 "That I can never have children. That was the only truth I told you "she replies with contempt and leaves the room leaving him alone and in the dark.

~ • ~

 That was the moment when she crushed my heart. That's when I realized that I was a fool and that I had lost everything.

 For the next few years I was TORTURED FAITHFULLY EVERY DAY. They didn't feel sorry for me. It was electrocuted, cut, punctured, severed and drained without resting, in addition to hardly eating. I was on the edge, so I decided that I would run away even if it was the last thing I would do.

 I did it - several times - but they caught me and electrocuted me, as I was weak I passed out and woke up in the cell.

~ • ~

 "You shouldn't have done this again, Neit" Jefford tells him.

 Neil spits in his face "Nobody calls me that anymore".

 Jefford wipes his face "I just want you to know that, starting today, if you try anything, someone else will suffer regardless of his age and if you run away again" he bends down to face Neil "I'm going to rip his head off and hang in front of this house so you know it's your fault ".

 "Someone? I have nothing else to lose then? Who is going to suffer? " Neil speaks looking at Jefford.

 "You will have! And you will see! It's just a warning, everything is going to change from today, enjoy your long rest "Jefford says he turns and closes the door while whistling.

~ • ~

Well I believe that this is what happened to me in that time. But something is still not right ... What does he mean by everything will change? Nothing will ever change, because I'm stuck here in this hell and nobody can help me.

[calzonekestis]

My Endgame thoughts in 3,160 words and 17,025 characters. Under a cut. Spoilers, obviously.

Really. Truly. The whole thing.

Well. I texted a friend as soon as I got out, and I told him “that was a very good movie peppered with lots of shit that I didn’t care for at all.”

I don’t know what I think about it. If it was good or bad. If I like it or not.

If you read spoilers but didn’t see it, and we’re mad, I get that. I was mad too. I wrote most of this last night, and I’ve had to go back and amend it.

Also, please check your Tony vs Steve bs at the door. I like them both to varying degrees. That said I take issue with Steve’s choices and characterization at the end. We’ll get to that.

The Tony fans at least can say their boy saved the universe. They’re going to be mad still, but at least he went out in the best way possible if he had to die. Which he didn’t, but... we’ll get to that too.

The people who will be mad the most? Cap fans. Sharon Carter fans. Black Widow fans. Thor fans. Iron Man fans, probably, won’t be mad so much as sad. Actually, no, mad, because they probably wanted a happy ending for him.

So yeah. Is it “bad” if it makes so many people mad? Or are they just choices they didn’t like? For me, there was a lot of that. There was also a bit of characterization I didn’t like.

I’ll say this though, because the Steve thing that has everyone mad? I’m mad too, but per their time travel rules?

Steve didn’t erase Peggy’s family. They still exist in our timeline. Steve created a new timeline for himself to go live in. We don’t know if he stopped HYDRA and saved Bucky in that one, but I mean, we can assume.

So everyone complaining that he let all that shit happen? No he didn’t. This is an alternate reality he’s living in now.

If we go by what they established about changing the past not affecting the present.

But then we have Joe Biden Steve at the end, so... unless that’s a Joe Biden Steve who went from his timeline back to ours once he grew old. Not a Steve that existed and lived in the past of our current timeline. Then it actually works without contradicting their own time travel rules.

IMO... they ignored/ruined his character arc... but due to their aforementioned time travel rules, Steve going to the past wouldn’t affect that the present that he’s leaving.

So he COULD stop HYDRA, find Bucky, prevent Howard’s death, warn Hank and Janet about the missile.

That would all be an alternate timeline though, and our Bucky would still be the Winter Soldier.

So yeah, they contradict themselves... and completely fuck over Sharon Carter in the process. You know Steve didn’t tell Sam who his wife was, because he didn’t want him to tell Sharon that after kissing her he went back to marry her Aunt thus creating an alternate timeline to live in.

That’s the present being affected by him going back in time. Your time travel rules suck, Marvel.

So the children and family Peggy had? They still exist in our timeline, but not the timeline Steve created. The reality Steve created.

Okay so they don’t explain it, so this is just me trying to make sense of it myself. They say changing the past doesn’t change the present you left from, so unless Bruce was wrong and they’re contradicting their own rules Old Steve can’t have been actually out there all this time.

So I guess even though he didn’t show up in the gear and with the time machine when we see him, he did earlier, and just went to wait by the lake with the shield to be all dramatic? He probably waited to return until his Peggy died, and then he returned at some random point maybe like a day before they planned to send him back. He knew they would be there, so he just waited in his old man clothes.

That’s all I can think of.

So retroactively?

They had Steve kiss his wife’s alternate reality niece. I like Sharon Carter in the comics, I like what little they did with her on film.

They did her so dirty in the MCU, in the comics Peggy is almost a footnote and just part of his backstory. Sharon is Steve’s true love. Whether you ship them or not, they made Peggy out to be a bigger deal than she is in the source material.

I’m not here for pitting women against each other, but... God, the only woman the MCU has done dirtier is Betty Ross. Who should have been there with her dad at the funeral. Acknowledge her existence, Marvel. Yes they’re estranged, but maybe say having her die made Ross stop being such a dickhead and realize what really mattered.

Calling Peggy the love of his life is bullshit. Yeah, he had a date. Had. He never made it, due to being frozen. I don’t agree that they loved each other, tbh. I saw someone say they each had an idealistic, at times unhealthy attachment... but not love. Frankly? That’s not wrong. They liked each other. It never developed into love. Not in the timeline/reality we followed for the past ten years.

If this was their plan all along, then why did they introduce Sharon as a potential love interest?

Peggy is his past, Sharon is his future. The Lana Lang and the Lois Lane, respectively.

They didn’t plan this. It’s clear by how sloppy it is. It’s just so haphazard and insulting to all the characters involved, and yet Evans seems to be on board with it which disappoints but doesn’t surprise me.

Sharon didn’t have much screentime in the MCU, but every moment she had was important to the plot. She was one of the only agents that questioned Pierce’s orders. She held Rumlow at gunpoint even though the odds were against her. She let Steve know where Bucky was. She gave he and Sam back their gear. A lot of her scenes in Civil War got cut, and she got screwed by making it an Avengers movie instead of a proper Cap film.

She also got screwed by fandom. People acted like known like fucking toddlers, all because she was getting in the way of popular ships. Emily Van Camp was terribly harassed online, people calling her Steve’s beard or that it was icky and gross. Evans even said it was icky, which wasn’t that supportive of him... and then...

I liked Peggy in The First Avenger, but Hayley Atwell’s lowkey/high key narcissism is known within fandom circles, how she turned on Emily Van Camp and Sharon as a whole and threw shade at cons and on twitter and such. That left a bad taste in my mouth where I no longer care for the character at this point.

And they complete ignore/regress Cap’s arc of moving on. The fact he’s not the same man who went into the ice which is something even Whedon realized and addressed when he had him snap himself out of his Scarlet Witch!Vision.

The line from TWS they sampled for the trailer about the world changing and none of them can go back?

That was a lie. What’s ridiculous is that is the same exact directors, same exact screenwriters?

“Some people move on, but not us?” Well in that regard he had, so fuck that.

Speaking of regression, Thor’s?

I’m of two minds. He had depression and PTSD, but in my opinion, that’s end result wasn’t what Thor’s end result would be. He probably felt like he failed his people, but Jesus Christ, turning him into the Big Lebowski... fat jokes...

He becomes king, half his people are slaughtered and then and then he just... abandons the rest? To drink and watch his friends play video games? That’s sad. I think Thor would have felt like he failed and be hurting, but still try to do his best for the people who were left and still needed him? Instead of letting Valkyrie do it and the at the end to officially giving her the burden of ruling and fucking off into space?

And then at the end, he *officially* throws the burden of ruling in Valkyrie’s hands. Not that she isn’t capable, but it isn’t and shouldn’t be her responsibility.

“He’s being who he is, not who he’s supposed to be.”

That would be nice if it didn’t invalidate his arc. He didn’t want to be king at the end of Thor: The Dark World either, but at the end of Ragnarok he accepted it and was at peace with it.

Also, he didn’t need the hammer. Ragnarok made that clear. I’m glad Steve took it back with the stones, and I know it was more Thor needing to know if he was still worthy after becoming Big Lebowski... but it wasn’t needed. They just wanted Cap to wield it, and for them to have something else blunt to hit Thanos with.

This is the easiest money Natalie Portman made in her life. I feel bad for my friend who is a big Jane fan, as it’s literally maybe 15 seconds.

Nice to see Pierce, Sitwell, and Rumlow/Crossbones back, even if it’s only for a flashback and they’re all still dead in our reality. Or it would be, if it didn’t make the latter two out to be dumb. I mean, Rumlow isn’t a genius but he’s not just a dumb meathead. He wouldn’t just hand over the tesseract, he’d bring Cap to his superiors to ask “yeah hey what the fuck?”

Also, having Cap say Hail HYDRA is just... gross.

...Alternate timeline/reality Loki has the tesseract. I guess he’s the one the Disney+ series is going to follow. He’s wiped of all his development, though.

Vision is still dead. I guess maybe Shuri will rebuild him? Or it will take place between Civil War and Infinity War

So Guardians 3 is going to be about finding the alternate timeline Gamora who is now stuck in this one, huh? And I guess Thor is now a Guardian, or he’ll leave them between movies?

The alternate Nebula, I’m torn on. I think they could have gotten through to her, and she would be willing to team up with him. and would be willing to team up with them to kill Thanos. She never told him where the Soul Stone was. I mean, that’s why she aligned herself with Ronan. To kill Thanos. She hates Thanos.

Her wanting to make him proud and earn his favor despite what he did to her is heartbreaking on one hand, but the loyalty, when it’s been shown she’ll be disloyal and desert him if someone promises to kill him... idk. Btw.

Nebula should have gotten to kill Thanos. I don’t care that Iron Man started and is their poster boy. I’m sorry Tony fans. She deserved it more than he did.

Something else I’m curious about... was Peter Parker’s entire class killed? Not just Ned, the whole class. MJ, Flash, etc.? Because his entire supporting cast doesn’t seem to have aged at all in the Far From Home previews.

Also you’re telling me that in those five years, May never confronted Tony? Or if she did, we never saw it? Boo.

Oh, another dumb thing. Banner. Hulk. Professor Hulk. We don’t see how Banner made peace with the Hulk and became Professor Hulk, that all happens offscreen which is so cheap. He’s also just annoying throughout the whole film, and treated as comic relief? Also, the uncanny valley was deep this time around.

I’d honestly rather Cap had died as well, rather than the ending he got. Rather, if old man Steve didn’t show up, and there was just a cliffhanger of him being lost in time? Which has precedent in the comics? That would have been great. Instead of the bad characterization.

I’m indifferent to Tony’s death, honestly. He could have retired and raised his daughter. He could have died. I guess it’s cheaper to just kill him off and not worry about paying Downey for cameos they wouldn’t be able to resist.

Okay, the other death. Nat’s. I don’t care for it, but it worked. When I say it worked, I mean her motivations and the fact she at least had some autonomy. It was still fridging. It’s gross. It sucks.. but at least it wasn’t exactly like Gamora’s where she was a victim. I mean, she is a victim. A victim of gross writing, but... I like the character, you’re killing the only female OG Avenger for angst and drama... I would have preferred it was Renner, but her reasons worked even if I didn’t like it. I do think it would have been even just as heartbreaking/tragic though, it Clint had to give up his life for the hope of getting his family back. A devil’s bargain, they’ll be alive, but you won’t be and won’t see them again.

I question the hell is the point of a Black Widow movie now. Why should we care? Don’t get me wrong I like Nat. I have nothing against self contained, one-off adventures... but... it will be a prequel that doesn’t develop the character at all or see her grow and it’ll be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. It may be enjoyable, but do we need to see it? It’s the Solo situation.

Do we need to see how the character became the character? What purpose does telling her backstory now serve, aside from just making people sad? Do we see how she started so we can appreciate how far she came, though? I can already appreciate that. You don’t need to twist the knife by making her origin her swan song. They can’t bring back our Nat, but who knows. Maybe the next villain will be Kang, and we aren’t done with time travel. Maybe we can have an alternate timeline Nat come into our universe like we did with Gamora.

A timeline where Clint was the one to die. I can deal with that, if they give ScarJo the money. I guess.

SCOTT LANG SAVED THE UNIVERSE. Well, actually. Also, a rat. A rat is responsible for saving the universe. I mean I laughed, but we couldn’t see Scott get himself out? He’s still my boy.

He’s probably my favorite character in the film. Seeing him and Hope reunite in the end battle was nice and made me happy, the way they didn’t miss a beat and got to working together. Him trying to keep it together when he talked about losing her. The end scene with them and Cassie. The fact she called Cap “Cap” and they shared a glance. Sucks for Scott to have missed five years of his daughter’s life, through.

Also, it kinda sucks that along with the people brought back, they couldn’t bring them the likes of Frigga and Quicksilver. Yes, they died, but you can still revive them in the present. You don’t have to make it so they never died. Maybe Quicksilver will Maybe in the WandaVision show, especially now that they won’t have to worry about a competing Fox version. Introduce her ability to warp reality. He was rumored to have been on set, and so I was expecting to see him in a flashback at least. Alas.

SPEAKING OF REVIVING DEAD CHARACTERS THOUGH. Why couldn’t like, Carol, use the gauntlet to revive Tony before they sent the stones back? She could take it. He didn’t need to stay dead, except for the fact... you know... Downey is expensive.

Something I find hilarious?

The kid from Iron Man 3 is at the funeral.

That kid knew nothing about the film whatsoever, except for the biggest spoiler? Cause if they invite HIM back to be at a funeral scene... whose funeral would it be, that he would attend, aside from Tony’s?

Oh, and SamCap. People, calm down.

I like Sam, Sam is worthy of the shield, Bucky’s not quite in a place where he’s ready for it anyway. In the comics Bucky becomes Cap, and then Sam becomes Cap after him. They can reverse the order. Bucky can still become Cap after him. Sebastian still has four movies left in his nine movie deal.

I’m curious about the Disney+ show now though. If it will be retitled, if they announced a fake title ala Serpent Society for Civil War. Although. I have a fear.

I don’t trust Marvel and I can see them killing Sam by the end of the Falcon & Winter Soldier series.

And then Bucky will take up the shield. Mackie’s 40. Idk how much longer he’ll want to be doing this, and he’s said in interviews he had no interest in bringing Cap and would like to see Sebastian take a crack at it, that he likes Falcon being Falcon.

Maybe age isn’t a factor. Bettany’s in his 40’s. Cheadle’s in his fifties. Paul Rudd is an ageless immortal who claims to be fifty. None of those are physically demanding roles though, not to the scale of Cap. The closest would be Chadwick Boseman, who is a year older at 41.

Age aside, I can see them doing it. That’s kinda the shit Marvel would do.

“Yay! We’re so progressive! We’re making Sam Captain America to placate his fans before we kill him! We won’t do that *just* yet in Endgame, we’ll wait to kill the black guy until he’s done helping out this other white guy figure out his place in the world!”

Now I’m gonna be anxious about that for the next year or two.

But so I think the shows are for characters on the shelf movie wise. Idk if when the show is over, we’ll see Mackie as Captain America in Avengers 5. It would be cool, but idk.

I don’t know if they’re even thinking of Avengers 5 at this point, or plotting out things like Guardians and Black Panther and Captain Marvel. And Eternals. And all their new Fox characters.

I guess the new Avengers line up will be Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Wasp, SamCap, and Spider-Man? Maybe Doctor Strange?

Wanda retires to TV. As does Clint maybe, to train Kate Bishop and/or his daughter. Rhodey and Banner are just around.

Also. Banner and Thunderbolt Ross, at the end. Ross and the Hulk. Both in the same scene. Neither acknowledging each other or having any interaction whatsoever. Odd.

I keep hearing rumors about a Thunderbolts movie tho, from someone who was accurate with all of their Endgame leaks. I wonder if they want Ross to be the Fury of that which is why they’ve kept him around.

Bucky recently led the Thunderbolts but also Zemo is so ingrained in their history and I don’t see them working together at all.

I guess you could bring in Bernthal’s Punisher by that point if you want. Elektra. They won’t do it but they could.

Ghost would be a good fit, tho I don’t wanna see her be forced to kill people again. I can see them forcing her to work of a sentence. If she’s still alive, cause God if she was snapped and went 5 years without the Quantum energy... but yeah.

Bring back The Leader as a villain finally. Crap, I’m plotting a fanfiction.

https://twitter.com/rogerwardell/status/1070465411387404289?s=21

Idk. I just. Am disappointed but not surprised tbh.

Everyone knows I don’t like MCU Clint, but the callback interaction between he and T’Challa with the latter remembering his name was nice I guess. The final battle as a whole was nice I guess.

OH. And the exchange between Dr. Strange and Wong about if he brought everyone, and if he anted more? Probably not the intent, but to me it just seemed like a big “shut up” to everyone wanting the Netflix and Agents of SHIELD characters to cross over.

Also, a final critique?

The whole fake scripts, not giving actors a script thing. I hate it. I know like Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland are notorious for letting spoilers slip, but I legit believe that a reason why A LOT of the actors got fake scripts was not to prevent spoilers but to prevent any of them going full Ed Norton and throwing a fit about the quality of said script.

Not letting the actors know the context of the scene they are performing is not only disrespectful but it’s broken and what can you expect but performances where they’re legitimately incapable of giving it their all?

That’s all I got for now. I guess.

I know it’s a joke, “I loved everything except for the stuff I didn’t” but seriously? I enjoyed everything except for the stuff I hated. Does that stuff ruin the movie? Do I not like it because I’m petty, or because it’s bad? You can not like something, it doesn’t mean it’s bad... but I think certain choices... were bad. Were very bad.

Was it shit sandwiched with awesome, or awesome sandwiched with shit? Do they balance each other out? Your mileage may vary. I haven’t decided yet.

EDITED: I replied to this in another post, a point by @chujo-hime, but I’ll copy/paste it on here since more people are likely to see this than our conversation.

“There’s no point in doing BuckyCap now that they’ve fridged Natasha”

I can’t fault you for feeling that way, and I don’t entirely disagree. have a theory on how Natasha could return despite them saying it couldn’t be undone.

Do what they did with Gamora. Take a version from an alternate universe/timeline. Maybe one where everything is the same, except that Clint died instead of her.

Whether or not they do this? Doubtful. Unless with the money they’re saving by letting another actor go (ahem) they give it to ScarJo to lure her back.

I mean, they have Kang back now. Next to Ultron, he’s one of The Avengers’ biggest villains. He’s also a time traveler, so there are ways… idk.

I’ve still not fully processed it. Whether Marvel is smart enough or cares to take advantage of their out, they have it. If nothing else, fans can exploit it in Fix-It fics.

ANOTHER EDIT:

Oh, what was the point of Ronin? I don’t mean sad Clint, I mean Ronin, aside from selling more action figures? He wasn’t even Ronin, they made him into The Punisher Lite. Ronin wasn’t Ronin, but I mean Clint hasn’t been Clint imo so...

[dismuch47]

Scarlet Vision out Camping

Of course it’s a retreat for the newly reunited team to bond over. Because all that Thanos drama is OVER. This concept has been done before, but this focuses more on the Synthezoid and Witch’s interactions and enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Steven Rogers- Prides himself on the All-American wilderness camping experience. He has guide books (that he has memorized) for identifying wildlife flora and fauna, has maps and compass, and is all about stream-lining the supplies needed to survive. He sees it as a sport and is very knowledgable about everything; goes into lengthy dad explanations about the merits of man vs. nature and Vision enjoys listening, as it corresponds to the info that he has downloaded on camping. Wanda is interested at first, but draws the line at peeing in the woods and sleeping on the dirt. She’ll take the nature guides to find out what herbs have healing or supernatural properties.

Tony Stark- Loves camping... but his camping is lugging a super camper the size of a small house and having gourmet breakfasts by the morning campfire with a latte in hand. He’s pretty knowledgable about rock minerals, but his camping sport is watching others try to rough it through no showering, wildlife getting into the food supply, ruthless mosquitos, and un-expected weather. He invites Pepper to relax “away from technology”. Wanda and Natasha use the camper bathroom, begrudgingly. By the end of the trip, every one is hauled up in the camper. Except Vision, who only returns at night to power down with Wanda beside him.

Bucky Barnes- Stays pretty close to Steve’s side, as Tony and him will never be on the greatest of terms. Assists Steve with the fishing, snare traps, reliving some of the lighter of army days, and sitting in a fold-out chair by the fire, beer in hand, facing a mountainside lake view. Vision sits with the soldier maybe once, quietly, enjoying the mountain view, but ultimately deciding that sitting still with an un-opened beer is not for him. Wanda exchanges words with him once in awhile, and surprises him with silly gestures like placing a hand-made flower crown on his head for a selfie with her. Bucky sits quietly, observing everyone, as a soldier does, but finds himself looking at the synthezoid and nature child...holding hands and walking off on a path for some alone time, wondering if something like that is ever in his future again.

James Rhodes- His tolerance for the outdoors turns to annoyance as bugs become merciless. He roughs it in a tent that he pitches himself, but ends up with Tony and Pepper in their super camper. He’s done his  time as a young man army camping and doesn’t find any shame in needing air-conditioning at the end of the day. Enjoys canoeing, as it puts him on the level with everyone else. He doesn’t hate Vision, but he finds it awkward being around him. Vision seems to treat him with kit gloves, feeling incredibly guilty even after all these years. Rhodes has to walk away... but then uses every opportunity to team up with Peter, Sam, and Bruce to prank the synthezoid with false “human” information, like advice about women. He sometimes goes off on his own for a nature walk, but always comes back to the group, especially around the campfire to lead everyone in a round of scary stories... which Wanda always enjoys listening to his stories.

Natasha Romanoff- Has been dreading this trip, as it would force her to iron out some unpleasantness with Bruce. She doesn’t complain about sleeping in a tent, though she wouldn’t choose to if given the choice. She’s last to fall asleep, and up with the sun. She cannot turn off her readiness mode, and plunges into the more challenging hikes, fishing, food gathering and firepit making to keep from getting anxious. When she finally does have her closure with Bruce on a cliffside, she gets plastered on Tony’s alcohol supply, finding herself setting up a chair right next to Bucky. She shares a tent with Wanda, but finds herself joining Steve by the fire on his pallet at bedtime, giving some space to Wanda and Vision.

Peter Parker and Sam Wilson- The two share a tent together, to Sam’s disdain, but finds that his maturity level is pretty on par with the high schooler’s. Peter smuggled some gamer tech and junk food with him and shares with Sam. Sam takes Peter under his wing and decides to mentor the little dude on how to be “cool.” Peter gives some advice on how to tighten up some of Sam’s flight tech for smoother operation. The two are the kings of camping pranks and form an alliance against everyone else, though Peter refuses to use his evil genius against Tony or Steve. Vision sees the unwrapped food and warns the two that his research confirms it might attract unwanted wildlife... even bears. The two laugh, feeling they could easily take on a bear... only to awaken to one rummaging in their tent that very night. Obviously it was an easy take-down at a campsite of supers, but the two hang their heads as Vision flies the unconscious bear back to it’s lair. The two make up their own rules and often wind up in more trouble, against the Vision’s suggestions or Steve’s lecturing. Sam doesn’t really have an opinion of Vision, often calling him household appliances, but Peter is fascinated and talks internet memes... and is ecstatic to learn he is not the youngest Avenger on the team. Wanda is annoyed with Sam’s attitude half the time, having lived a time with him and the Captain’s group... but she supposes that she doesn’t want him to get eaten by a bear. She adores Peter and enjoys talking pop culture with him, as Sokovia pop culture was practically stuck in the early 90′s era. She learns about all the memes he’s been informing Vision of... which she’s not exactly excited about.

Bruce Banner- He camps, but it is not his thing. And most of the time is spent complaining about everything, all the insanitary, diseased, dirty things that could kill the group, and how ill-equipped for nature survival his nerdy body is. After his talk with Natasha, some feelings resurface that he doesn’t want to deal with and he hands over the reigns to Hulk. Hulk, invincible and green, finds himself to like the environment. The group is a little wary around him at first, but he’s changed... and even likable. Though his antics often scare the game away. He fearfully becomes Banner again for ghost stories around the campfire, which is endearing. Banner sticks close to Vision for survival tips that he is horrible at implementing. Hulk likes sneaking up on Vision to try and land a punch, which the synthezoid always phases through, to Hulk’s amusement. Banner doesn’t have much attachment to Wanda, but he is fascinated by her romantic interactions with Vision. Hulk enjoys watching Wanda making flower crowns, unable to do it himself.

Thor- Doesn’t understand why camping outdoors is considered a leisure pass-time, but decides he’s willing to tag along. His tent is made of leathers, furs, and trappings for true survival on inhabitable planets. He uses his axe too excessively, so Steve pulls him aside and briefs him on providing enough to survive on... not leveling a forest or frying an entire lake of fish. Thor realizes it is a time to relax, not a challenge or time to show off... but he can’t help but team up with Tony and Natasha to prank Sam and Peter. He finally has some heart to hearts with Vision, understanding the plight of loving a mortal female... but he makes Vision blush with his talk of orgies and Asgardian sexuality, asking how the synthezoid prefers to pleasure his woman. While to Wanda, he is a perfect gentleman, answering all of her inquiries about Asguardian “magic.” But Wanda is turned off by his tent... being an animal lover and vegetarian herself.

Wanda Maximoff- Having lived on the streets for a large part of her life, Wanda could sleep or survive anywhere... but being pampered in the Avenger’s tower and then in 5 star hotels with Vision... she now cannot go back to sleeping on the ground and using outhouses. She camps with an air mattress, and brings along her guitar, candles and crystals to really commune with nature, and to land some gorgeous pictures. Since Pietro died, capturing moments and immortalizing them has become priority. She helps when asked, but often goes on her own to reflect, sometimes pulling Vision along for a private moment. When she’s not meditating, trying to get a handle on her powers in connection with her emotions... she’s talking Vision into skinny dipping or some tasteful, silhouetted nature nudes. 

Vision- This is the synthezoid’s first camping excursion, and he has come over-prepared and over-excited. He finds there is not a right way to camp, and that experiences range depending on the individual. He tries shadowing with everyone, so see what draws them to the activity: the serenity that Barnes desired, the pampered relaxation that Tony and Pepper sought, the planned out and full-scheduled nature appreciation preferred by Steve, the introspective aspects that Romanoff displayed, the pranks war and recklessness of Sam and Peter, the competitive nature of Thor, the dislike of Banner, or the increase of sexual enjoyment that Wanda had... being in a different environment. Vision finds most connection with Hulk... who, like the synthezoid, is just enjoying being with these diverse people and discovering how to contribute to all these activities without following his usual disposition: Vision didn’t have to be a “robot” and Hulk didn’t have to be a “rage monster”. 

It is an experience that puts old grievances and new drama’s on hold, creating a memory that would last for a lifetime for these weary warriors

[multiverseforger]

Kaine is the Jackal's first temporary success to clone Peter Parker but the flawed cloning process is left deformed and mentally unstable. Kaine is later identified by the Jackal as "Parker 3.0";[4] the implications of this are unknown. The Jackal discards Kaine because the clone starts showing early signs of the degeneration process, and Kaine experiences a strong feeling of rejection similar to that between a father and son. Kaine realizes the partial degeneration also caused a slight amplification of the powers he "inherited" from Peter. Not only has his strength, speed, and agility been copied from the original Peter's, but he gains a "precognitive sense" that shows him flashes of the future (an amplified version of Peter's spider-sense). He also possesses a "Mark of Kaine", a burning touch that he uses to leave eaten away hand prints on his victims' faces. Though never explicitly stated within the story, in a later interview former Spider-Man editor/writer Glenn Greenberg revealed that the Mark of Kaine was meant to be another analog of one of Spider-Man's powers, namely the ability to cling to walls.[5]

The Jackal goes on to create a new, better clone which would be known as Ben Reilly. When the Jackal uses Reilly against Peter, the ensuing battle leaves Reilly and the Jackal for dead. They both manage to survive; the Jackal places himself into suspended animation in a cloning pod to awaken later; and Reilly leaves New York.[volume & issue needed]

Behind the scenes, Norman Osborn manages to have the files on Ben and Peter switched, so the Jackal would think Peter is the clone and Ben is the real deal. Consulting the Jackal's files, Kaine also believes the same, so he follows Ben through his "exile". For a time, he finds love in the arms of police detective Louise Kennedy of Salt Lake City, until he discovers she is working for the criminals. This revelation, coupled with Kaine's increased cellular degeneration, pushes Kaine even further towards insanity and he kills Louise. Kaine continues to stalk Ben, making it appear as though Janine Godbe, Ben's new love, has committed suicide. Kaine, hoping to give the man who he thinks is the clone (Peter) the life he could never have, frames Ben for a number of murders he commits since both men have the same fingerprints.[volume & issue needed]

Later flashback scenes reveal that Kaine worked as a bounty hunter for a time, being briefly dispatched to eliminate Kraven the Hunter. Kaine also experienced a 'vision' via his enhanced spider-sense that Kraven would kill him in the future. Despite the two engaging in a brutal confrontation — Kraven even briefly mistook Kaine for Spider-Man due to a vague recognition of Spider-Man's template in Kaine — both survive despite Kaine burying Kraven alive. Kraven dug himself out after three days, but his friend and manservant was killed by Kaine during the fight.[6][7][8][9]

Trial of Peter ParkerEdit

Peter Parker is eventually tried and convicted for Kaine's crimes because they have the same fingerprints. Although Peter goes to prison for some time, Ben Reilly arranges to take his place in prison.[10]

Kaine wanders New York, defeating and executing scores of Spider-Man's enemies, including the Grim Hunter and Doctor Octopus(although both would later be resurrected). They grow fearful of him and form coalitions to protect themselves proactively—including the short-lived 'Sinister Seven'—but meet with little success.[11]

Peter wants Kaine to stand for what he has done, but Kaine initially refuses. The two fight and end up getting dragged into a mock-trial where Spider-Man is on trial, Kaine is his defense attorney, Carnage is the prosecutor, several Ravencroft inmates are the jury, and a powerful being known as Judas Traveller is the judge. During the one-sided trial, Kaine tries to physically fight off all those who are against Spider-Man before Traveller returns them to their previous place of battle, declaring the proof of a lost soul such as Kaine willing to defend Spider-Man is proof of his innocence.[12]

After an incident involving a superpowered villainess named Stunner, a weakened Kaine still refuses to confess to his crimes. Spider-Man responds by knocking Kaine out and webbing him up before heading to the courthouse. Kaine reawakens before they arrive and struggles again with Spider-Man in refusing to confess. At this point, Kaine admits that he's done everything to protect Peter's life and reveals that he is the first clone of Peter, now partially degenerated. Spider-Man decides that if Kaine will not reveal the truth, then he will reveal his true identity to the entire courtroom and end everything. Kaine pleads for Peter not to do this and eventually gives into revealing the real truth about the murders and the "Mark of Kaine".[13]

Maximum ClonageEdit

After Peter Parker gives in to the news of being a clone and Ben Reilly is the true individual, he allies himself with the Jackal. Kaine refuses to let him throw his life away. He confronts the Jackal with the full intent of destroying him, when the Jackal manipulates his mind once more by leading Kaine to believe he will be cured of the degeneration process. Once Jackal reveals he has lied again, Kaine leaves feeling dejected. He goes back to Mary Jane Watson for answers, and after a conversation of power and responsibility, Kaine returns to the Jackal's lab in time to assist Ben in a battle against numerous Spider-clones. In the ensuing battle, Spidercide impales him with a spike taken from nearby machinery, seriously injuring and possibly killing him. The Jackal showed a moment of fatherly concern for Kaine, asking why after everything, Kaine would save him. Kaine dies telling Jackal 'You gave me life' and Jackal lets go of him indifferently, calling him "pathetic" and a waste of bad chemicals for saving his life over such a simple reason, but then eyes a regeneration pod, and remarks "but even bad chemicals can be put to good use".[volume & issue needed]

RedemptionEdit

During Ben Reilly's time as Spider-Man, some of the world's strongest fighters are pitted against one another in a fighting competition called the Great Game, a fighting tournament in which wealthy people wager on the fighters for their amusement.[volume & issue needed]

One of the Game's main sponsors, James Johnsmeyer, finds the pod containing the revived Kaine, and decides to initiate him into the competition, sending the Rhino to fight him. After Kaine's refusal and escape, thanks to temporary partner Shannon, Johnsmeyer still attempts to involve Kaine by allowing other Game competitors to attack him (Joystick and Polestar). Spider-Man interferes in the skirmish and gets sidetracked by Joystick and Polestar while Kaine puts a near-fatal beating on Rhino and escapes with Shannon. Before they are able to get away, Spider-Man manages to tag Shannon with a tracer and he pursues them once Polestar and Rhino are taken into custody.[14]

He finds them moments before the police, but after an incident that threatened to kill the officers, Kaine and Shannon escape again. This time, Kaine's destination is Johnsmeyer's headquarters. Spider-Man finds them once again after Kaine manages to single-handedly destroy all of Johnsmeyer's rooftop security defenses, but once inside, Johnsmeyer reveals that Shannon — who was still working for Johnsmeyer during the entire ordeal — has been manipulating and deceiving Kaine. Kaine, not wanting to become a puppet of anyone ever again, tries to kill Shannon but was persuaded by Spider-Man not to do so. Kaine leaves and vows to take down every sponsor of the Great Game.[15]

During a later encounter with Reilly, in which Janine Godbe returns to the man she loved, Kaine finally brings himself to let go of his hatred for his brother, even saving Ben's life after nearly leaving him to die in a burning diner. Encouraged by his brother's example (as well as finally acknowledging Ben as his brother rather than his foe), Kaine hands himself over to the law, as Janine (who was wanted for the murder of her abusive father) does the same, both accepting that they have to face their pasts to find any peace with themselves.[16]

At that point, it is revealed that his degeneration is killing him, and Kaine is incarcerated in some type of hospital-prison with other killers. Initially lamenting his situation and accepting his imminent death, Kaine resolves to fight after seeing hallucinations of Ben, the Jackal, Louise, himself, and Peter Parker.[17]

Several months later, he is shown escaping from jail alongside many other superpowered criminals in an issue of Thunderbolts.[18] Kaine breaks out to try to stop Norman Osborn after finding out that he is still alive, has masterminded the Clone Saga, and killed his brother Ben. Kaine is seen tracking down and attacking Osborn's agents in southern Europe, leaving behind his signature "Mark".[19] The incident is mentioned by one of Osborn's men, saying that there had been "difficulties with the one called Kaine, but we were able to persevere".[20]

ReturnEdit

Kaine later appears in New York City, attacking Spider-Man as he tried to track down Raptor.[21] He reveals that he has sought Raptor out, hoping that he could cure his cellular degeneration, and attacks Spider-Man to keep him from the villain. He also seems to hold some enmity towards Peter, perhaps after finding out he is the actual original Spider-Man.[22] He also is one of the few people to have remembered Peter's secret identity after the worldwide mindwipe of this knowledge by Mephisto (Peter noting that he should have expected his clone to remember his true identity if anyone would).[6]

When Raptor attacks Harry Osborn and Peter's cousins at Aunt May's house, Kaine appears, having been working with Raptor the whole time. He exposes Peter's identity as Spider-Man and states that Peter is a clone of Reilly and should be killed since he's the closest thing to Ben. Peter beats Raptor unconscious and escapes. It is later shown that Raptor lied to Kaine about being able to cure his degeneration to gain an ally in his quest for revenge. Furious, Kaine started to choke Raptor, seemingly killing him.[23]

Grim HuntEdit

Kaine is next seen being hunted by Ana Kravinoff and Alyosha Kravinoff.[24] Their next attempt to hunt Kaine succeeds in brutally beating him; he barely escapes with his life, the Kravinoffs mocking that he will be "The only spider left. Even if you are an ugly one". Kaine manages to get to Peter's apartment to warn Peter that they, the "spiders", are being hunted before he falls unconscious. Later that night, after shaving his beard and cutting his hair, Kaine aids Spider-Man, Arachne, and Anya Corazon against the Kraven clan.[6] After the Kravens abduct Araña and Arachne, Kaine tells Peter to 'run. Run and screw the rest'. Disgusted at Kaine's selfishness even when the two of them share DNA and memory, Spider-Man bluntly informs Kaine that the difference between them is the fact that he doesn't use his life's misery as an excuse to give up the good fight.[7] After Spider-Man is lying, defeated, in an open grave with the Kravens advancing, Kaine knocks him unconscious, puts on his costume, and fights the Kravens in his place. He is mauled, stabbed, and ultimately sacrificed to bring Kraven the Hunter back from the dead, thus achieving redemption with his last acts to save his 'brother'. The Kravens do not realize they have killed the wrong 'spider' until later that night when Kraven recognizes the scent of Kaine, and they unmask the dead Spider-Man. As a result of this, Kraven is now undead and can only be killed by the original Spider-Man.[8]

After the battle with the Kravinoffs, Kaine is buried under the "Kaine Parker" name. His body does not decompose to ash or goo, as the case with the Jackal’s other cloning efforts.

However, in the epilogue of Grim Hunt Kaine is shown climbing out of his own grave with mutated features, including extra eyes in a spider-like pattern on his forehead, with the narrative box saying 'Rise, cursed one. Rise... Tarantula'.[9] This is later shown to have been spoken by The Jackal, who was present at Kaine's resurrection.[volume & issue needed]

Spider-IslandEdit

During the Spider Island storyline, Kaine is further mutated by the Jackal into "Tarantula", a hulking Man-Spider creature: a man's body, with a spider head, covered head to toe in spider hair, with 4 spider legs projecting from his back.[25][4]

As Tarantula, he is put under Adriana Soria's control, acting as a personal bodyguard and henchman to the Jackal. Knowing about the genetic relationship between Kaine and Peter, Soria sends Kaine to Horizon Labs, to tamper with a cure being developed there for the "Spider-Virus". This culminates in a battle with Peter (made aware of the recent access to a private fingerprint locked lab), after which he's forcefully submerged in the pool of highly concentrated cure. Kaine re-emerges, his mind-link with Soria broken, and a fully healed clone. Despite the serum somehow curing him of every trace of his former degeneration, including his heavily scarred skin, Kaine claims to have retained his powers and abilities.[26] In the final chapter, Kaine, now fully cured and seemingly a perfect clone in every way Ben Reilly was, helps take down the Spider Queen. Kaine and Peter grab costumes from Peter's lab, Kaine opting for the sonic-shield "Big Time" outfit as the two head off. While Peter goes to the Empire State Building with Mary Jane to cure New York, Kaine stays behind with the Avengers to fight the Spider Queen. As Peter weakens the Spider Queen, Kaine and Ms. Marvel attempt a move that Ms. Marvel had originally perfected with Spider-Man, swinging Kaine by a web and launches him at the Spider Queen. Kaine turns on his sonic-shield to protect himself from the Spider Queen's sonic scream as stingers (like Peter's from The Other arc) erupt from his arms and he goes through Spider Queen's throat, delivering the killing blow.[27] The Other powers were confirmed in a conversation between Peter and Kaine, which Kaine said that "he died and came back with all these new powers" that Peter confirmed he had been there and done that.[27] After the battle, Kaine evades the other heroes during the aftermath of the battle using the suit, but Madame Web is able to 'see' him regardless, and talks to him about his future. Kaine meets up with Peter at the airport where he is seeing off Aunt May, unmasked and free of his former degeneration only looking slightly more disheveled and taller, much like Ben Reilly was in the Lost Years arc. Kaine informs Peter he is leaving New York, and that he is keeping the stealth suit due to Madame Web's advice.[28]

Scarlet SpiderEdit



Kaine Parker as Scarlet Spider.

Scarlet Spider vol. 2 #1 variant cover. Art by Mark Bagley.

Further information: Scarlet Spider (comic book) § Volume 2

It was revealed in the Marvel Point One one shot that Kaine is the new Scarlet Spider in his own ongoing series. This was confirmed by editor Stephen Wacker in the "Letters to the Editor" page of The Amazing Spider-Man #673.

Having been cured of his mutation, but not his spider-powers, he takes up the Scarlet Spider mantle, and moves to Houston, Texas.[29]Although planning to simply pass through the city and move on to Mexico, he was distracted when he discovered a human trafficking ring while attempting to steal money from criminals. Kaine managed to save the only girlstill alive in a shipping container that had been used to smuggle her group into America.[30]Kaine subsequently abandoned his plans to leave the city when the hospital where he left the victim was attacked by a fire-manipulating assassin who intended to kill the girl: Aracely. The policeman and the doctor who attended her case inspired Kaine to remain in Houston to help them face the city problems as its only superhero and to take Aracely with him, reasoning that if she were to stay under their case, she would be eventually deported and then be easy prey for whoever send the super-powered assassin after her, but as vigilante, Kaine was not honor-bound to follow the law in that regard.[31] However, after he is attacked by the Assassin's Guild—following a past incident where he killed on their territory without permission—Kaine is forced to make a deal with Bella Donna, where he agrees to perform one assassination for her in the future in return for her leaving him and his new friends alone.[32]

Without his Scarlet Spider outfit, Kaine finds himself face-to-face with Ana Kravinoff, who tries to kill Kaine before informing him that her father Kraven the Hunter is coming for him and there is nothing he can do. Madame Web's vision at the end of the issue confirms that dark times are coming for Kaine as the Kravens plan their next move.[33] Later, he gets involved with Roxxon Energy Corporation after the daughter of the CEO blows up the top floor of Roxxon's office building with a missile.[34] In his investigation of the events, he storms the CEO's offices and ends up fighting the hero team Rangers. He later allies with them when they discover that Roxxon had accidentally released an energy being from the ground in one of their oil platforms; to contain it, the company had acquired the services of human smugglers (the Lobo Cartel) to feed the beast with human sacrifices.[35]

To both avenge a Japanese girl who was murdered by her captors and the criminals behind the treatment of Aracely, Kaine investigates and attempts his best to stop human smuggling operations running through Houston.[36] Shortly after, Aracely starts to manifest weird dreams concerning the Sixth Creation, Aztlan, her missing parents, gods, a talking coyote and the Rise of Mictlan. Taking a stroll through the park to discuss this strange change, she and Kaine are attacked by the Lobo - drug crime leaders, the human smugglers behind Aracely's abduction and werewolves sent with the intent of killing her by the mysterious Mr. Moctezuma so "the Sixth Creation could begin". During the fight Aracely escapes but Kaine is beaten and eventually killed.[37] However, in death he encounters Ero, from "The Other" story arc, who states she can return him to life only if he embraces the other. Kaine at first rejects Ero but realizes that Aracely still needs his help, so he agrees. In the real world, Kaine bursts out of a web cocoon, reborn not as before, but as a monstrous spider-creature.[38] The spider-creature Kaine maims one of the two werewolves, forcing them to flee. He then attacks Aracely until she is able to use her mental powers to bring him back. Kaine breaks out of the husk of the spider-creature completely healed of all scars but still carrying the Other inside him. It is then that Aracely proclaims him as her "champion", a title that is not merely affective but also has a deeper meaning as hinted by her father's words and the strange portents with cryptic Aztec mythic symbolism in her dreams.[39]

When Kaine is forced to see a rodeo by Aracely, Wally, and Donald he fights a drunken Armadillo who is trying to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. When Kaine sees Armadillo's ex-girlfriend accept him back despite being a monster he realizes he can have somebody in his life and he later kisses Annabelle. Unknown to Kaine, Sergei Kravinoff and Ana Kravinoff watched him fight Armadillo and Annabelle had destroyed a letter from Julia Carpenter warning him to leave Houston.[40]

After settling debts with the Assassins Guild and encountering the Superior Spider-Man, Kaine's scars returned.[41][42] This was however a trick by Kraven the Hunter who had drugged Kaine so he had hallucinate the scars' return as well as for a brief time seeing Kraven as Ben Reilly. After Kaine worked out he was being played he fought the hallucination, eventually seeing Kraven's face in a replica of Ben Reilly's costume. Kaine prepared to fight again unaware that Kraven and his daughter Ana had kidnapped Aracely, Annabelle and all his friends.[43] As his fight with Kravinoffs went on, it turned out Kraven wanted to settle the score with Kaine because Kaine's blood was used to resurrect Kraven and by using his blood Kraven was cursed into un-life and wanted to fight Kaine to the death, using his friends as a leverage should he refuse: Kaine's friend Donald is disemboweled when this happens.[44] Kaine kills then revives Kraven as a punishment, and then Kraven escapes with his daughter. Donald is then placed in intensive care, but the guilt threatens to overcome Kaine.[45]

After saving his friends once more when his hotel room is destroyed by the daughter of Roxxon's CEO with a rocket-propelled grenade while they were in the middle of an attack by the mystic entity Shathra and an arrest attempt by Wally (who is angry at him for Donald's condition), Kaine is forced to use the form of the Other once more in front of them, scaring away Annabelle. Overwhelmed by all these events occurring at the same time and his guilt, Kaine stops trying to be a hero in Houston and decides to go to Mexico with Aracely to help her find if her parents are alive and the truth of every mystery regarding her they have come across.[46]

New WarriorsEdit

Further information: New Warriors § New Warriors (vol. 5)

Kaine along with Hummingbird joins the New Warriors.[47]

Spider-VerseEdit

During the Spider-Verse storyline, Kaine was with the New Warriors in Eastern Europe when they were attacked by Daemos of the Inheritors. A family of Spider-Totem hunters, the Inheritors were tightening their noose on the spiders across the multi-verse, including Kaine, despite him being a clone of Peter Parker and the receptacle of "the Other". After Daemos defeated the New Warriors, Kaine attempted to impale him through the chest with spikes coming from his arm, as "the Other" Spider-monster within was inclined to takeover. Daemos realized that, unlike other spiders, Kaine's arsenal makes him feel pain. As Daemos realizes that Kaine is the current receptacle of the Other, believing he could savour the spider-essence within Kaine for days, he is suddenly by the group of other Spiders including Old Man Spider-Man, Spider-Man of Earth-70105, and Spider-Woman of Earth-65. Kaine is skeptical at first, believing these are clones (Parkers and Stacys) sent by his father, the Jackal. Suddenly, this version of Ben Reilly (the original Scarlet Spider) informs Kaine that they are other versions from across the multi-verse, which surprised Kaine, as his brother Ben Reilly of the 616 Universe was murdered by Green Goblin. Daemos then breaks Spider-Man of Earth-70105's spine and Kaine escapes with the into a portal to Earth-13, which was the Safe Zone.[48]

At the Safe Zone, the pheromones of Kaine's Spider-Essence (from the Other) are recognized by Silk. After collaborating with the other spiders, it becomes clear that the Inheritors have mastered cloning technology, as they regenerate with the same memories into new cloned bodies (explaining Morlun twice returning after turning to dust, as most clones do). As Black Widow of Earth 1610(Ultimate Peter Parker's female clone), Ben Reilly, and Kaine are all clones, they head the mission to Jennix's realm to infiltrate his cloning facility in the Baxter Building. After disabling that reality's Johnny Storm and Tony Stark, the clones then attempt to take on Jennix in the cloning facility. After Kaine killed Jennix with spikes coming from within, Jennix regenerated in the cloning caskets. After realizing that the top of the Baxter Building was the receiver that transferred the consciousness of deceased Inheritors into newly cloned bodies, Ben Reilly sacrificed himself to remove the Inheritors' safety net. After losing Ben Reilly a second time, Kaine began to feel the Other emerging and took off to Loomworld to face the Inheritors alone.[49]While coming face-to-face with the Inheritors, Kaine had spikes emerge from his body and he killed Solus, the Patriarch of the Inheritors. In retaliation, Morlun killed Kaine in his "Other form" by ripping off one of his spider arms and impaling him in the skull. As the Inheritors require the Bride (Silk), the Scion (Benjy Parker from MC2/Earth 982) and the Other, which was Kaine, for the ceremony, Kaine's body was required for his blood to be used in the coming ritual.[50]

After the other spiders defeat the Inheritors and imprison them in the bunker within Earth-3145, Karn was revealed to be a future Master Weaver. After past Karn takes his place as the Master Weaver and sends all the spiders to their home realities except for Spider-UK and Spider-Girl (who become the Warriors of the Great Web), a human hand bursts out of the Other's deceased husk, revealing that Kaine is still alive.[51]

Dead No More: The Clone ConspiracyEdit

Kaine returns in the Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy storyline, where he and Spider-Gwen attempt to help Peter escape New U Technologies. Prior to that, it was revealed that Kaine's human body emerged from the Other's corpse similar to Peter's in the "Changes" storyline and is greeted by the Master Weaver, who soon realizes that Kaine no longer has the powers of the Other and is now dying from the carrion virus that's a side-effect of Warren's cloning process, and is not allowed to go back to his Earth to avoid anyone catching it. Karn shows Kaine a number of realities with zombie apocalypses caused by this disease, and Kaine decides to visit these realities to find a possible way to stop it as he would be immune to the attacks. He tries to keep himself hidden from Karn's Web Warriors while researching it, but is caught by Spider-Gwen assisting him in going to other worlds and trying to find research to stop the virus. Kaine discovers that all the downfalls of these realities was caused by Parker Industries teaming up with the New U to spread Warren's technology which made the diseases widespread. In one of the realities, they manage to steal research from Peter and Warren before battling that reality's Kaine that dies from the disease during their fight. They take the alternate Kaine's corpse to the Great Web to study it, learning that Kaine himself is not contagious. Karn reveals that the events Kaine encountered in the other realities is starting to happen in Kaine's own reality. Since it is in the early process and Peter has not formed a full partnership with Warren yet, they still have a chance to stop it from happening. Their plan is to infiltrate the New U and have Spider-Gwen replace the 616 Gwen Stacy to find out more about the area. While Spider-Gwen changes her looks, Kaine reveals to Karn that his research on his deceased counterpart led him to discover when he is going to die, and he has very limited time. He kept it a secret from Spider-Gwen to make sure saving the 616 reality is their top priority.[52]

After kidnapping the 616 Gwen, Kaine informs Anna Maria Marconi that if they do not stop The Jackal and Miles Warren, "Peter Parker is the man who destroys the world". Unfortunately, he ends up being captured by The Jackal to be experimented on by him. However, due to Doctor Octopus' conflict with the Jackal for infecting Anna Maria with cloning cells and unintentionally activating kill switch that will kill all resurrected people and the clones' cloned body including Kaine and The Jackal, and the living human who has a clone cell like Maria without realizing it, Kaine is rescued by Spider-Woman of Earth-65. During the clone riots while combating The Jackal and most of Spider-Man's rogues in New U headquarters, Kaine soon realized that Ben Reilly is alive and he is now the Jackal before being throw by Ben off the building but was rescued again by Earth-65's Spider-Woman. As Spider-Man manage to deactivate and destroy the kill switch with help of his remaining allies, Kaine, along with most of the formerly deceased people and the clones manage to survive from the cloning degeneration. He reported to Peter that Prowler and DeWolfe had been trying their best to stop the riot before the virus dissolved and killed them once more. However, the New U's employer Dr. Clarkston reveals to Kaine and his allies that the recently-thought dead templates, the true Prowler/Hobie Brown and Jerry Salteres, were only comatose, being kept under the sub-basement and having their respective diseases cured as well. It is revealed thanks to the Webware's reversed signal, Kaine has been cured as well, leaving him with only mild facial scars. In the aftermath, detailed in Clone Conspiracy: Omega, Kaine bids farewell to Spider-Gwen, vowing to find Reilly and have him answer for his crimes. [53]

[slut-for-fandoms]

Little witch (Part 11)

Pairings: Peter Parker x reader

Word count: 2 039

Summary: The reader is raised by Hydra but manages to escape after they kill her parents. She is emotionally unstable and can’t control her powers. The Avengers rescue her and give her everything she missed form life and wanted to feel. But would her new found love be enough to extinguish her desire for revenge? What would be the side she would choose to rely on? Will she be ready to face the real her?

A/N: I thought that this part would be the end of the story. Since the next chapter will be officially the last one, please tell me what you think, like, dislike or expect to happen ♥ I’m begging you because that’s what inspires me to write and right now i don’t think i have an inspiration... (And so so so sorry for the mistakes ♥)

Part 1// Part 2// Part 3// Part 4// Part 5// Part 6// Part 7// Part 8// Part 9// Part 10

Part 12

Dying wasn’t that painful when you were in the hands of your beloved one. And it was way longer than (Y/N) thought. Her shoulder was aching and her muscles were on fire but the feelings were in the reality while her brain made her believe it was some kind of a dream. She had buried her head in Peter’s chest listening to his fast heartbeat which made her relax. She was supposed to scream, shout for help not to feel blessed. A smile appeared on her face as their bodies were flying towards the lake below them together with the building. Tons of cement and metal were surrounding them as though to protect them from survival.

“I love you Peter.”, the girl whispered.

“I love you, (Y/N).”, in his estimation whatever he was going to say wasn’t enough to express the feelings he had towards this girl. She broke into his life like a bolt from the blue. She came and changed his life although his intention was to do the same with her. Peter desired to make her the happiest person in the world because she did deserve it... but now? They were going to die and no one could have changed that. He tightened his grip around her.

He was crying yet smiling. That girl gave up her life for her. If he wasn’t going to give the best to her in this world, he was going to do it in the other one they were heading to.

Tony and Vision landed on the landscape above the whole structure.

“What the hell is Thor eating?! He weighs tons.”, Tony complained as he let the god on the surface. He was still unconscious but Wanda was slowly returning back.

“Where are Peter and (Y/N)?”, Natasha asked cutting in the conversation.

The two flying avengers were about to turn and fly in order to take the two teenagers before the building had dived but as soon as the question escaped Nat’s mouth they all heard the noise. The sound made them all look at the shaking ground beneath them.

“No!”, Tony screamed as he activated  his suit and went straight to where they used to be but the falling structure prevented him from it.

“Tony, wait!”, Steve screamed to the avenger but Tony couldn’t hear anything. He was frozen in shock. Tears appeared in his eyes as everything splashed into the water. The boy he had to take care of, the boy who was like a son to him, died. (Y/N), the strange and dangerous girl who appeared more than a month ago, the girl who had been though hell just like him, the girl who he tried to help to recover because he knew about her nightmares, about the insomnia which was about to appear if it wasn’t the avengers and Peter, died. Many people had asked him if he had had a heart…At that moment he knew he had, because he felt it breaking. Breaking into million pieces as the two teenagers were being drawn in the lake. If it wasn’t the suit he would break down, too. He would have jumped into the lake and kill himself. His hands and lips were trembling. He bit the bottom lip and felt a taste of metallic, taste of the blood which he had felt several times. But this time he deserved it or at least that was what he thought.  

All of a sudden his body was filled with rage. ‘They are not going to die!’, he spoke to himself and within seconds he was above the ruins left from the building. The lake had increased its lever but only part of the structure had been underwater. Tony exploded part of them but it was vain. There was too much cement covering their bodies. He couldn’t save them on time.

“No!”, he screamed again in desperation. He fell on his knees and removed his mask throwing it away. The man couldn’t control his emotions anymore as he tended to do a lot. The tears were rolling down his face. When he felt an arm on his shoulder, he didn’t dare to look up.

“I had to protect them.”

“We all had to protect them, Tony.”, Steve knelt next to the mourning man, “And we all failed.”, Finally Tony gave up and lifted his head to see the blue eyes of the blond man. He was crying, too, “Come.”, Steve gave his hand to Tony and once he took it, the captain helped him to stand up.

Tony saw the helicopter near the water. All avengers were around it but nobody dared to get in. Wanda had opened her eyes but was still too weak. She had tears in her eyes and her muscled were tensed as she tried to use her power and remove the ruins from the water. They were slightly moving but it wasn’t enough. Her sadness was an obstacle for her powers to work. Vision was next to Wanda trying to calm her down as the witch suffered for her lost sister.

Clint was near Thor who was lying on the ground. The father had buried his head in his hands while they were resting on his legs. His body was shaking.

Natasha, who had seen many people dying, was crying near the helicopter’s entrance in Bruce’s arms. They had all lost not only partners but also members from this strange family.

They all got on the flying devise. Natasha turned on the autopilot and they all sat down in silence. Death can never be forgotten. It takes. Destroys. Tempts. Rules. Obsesses. Binds. The loss was painful, an agony for the Avengers. But it didn’t destroy them, didn’t obsess them to seek revenge…They would never be the same but what happened that day was going to keep them together as the family they thought they were.

(Y/N) slightly opened her eyes and felt a splitting headache. She groaned in pain and tried to take breath. It was difficult but somehow she did. ‘Why am I alive? I had to be dead…’, the girl thought and looked around. There was water everywhere and ruins over her and Peter. She looked at the boy, who was unconscious.

“Peter!”, the girl wanted to shout but the words came out as a whisper, “Peter, wake up.”, but no response. The little witch made all her efforts to move her right hand and once she did she saw it. It was dry. They were in something like a ball of air while the water was surrounding them. But the oxygen was ending as the girl had difficulties in breathing.

Moving Peter’s hair away from his face, she saw the blood on his forehead.

“Pete!”, shaking him a little didn’t work, “No! No, Peter! You can’t die you bastard!”, tears were forming in her eyes. Was that how everything would end? She wanted to be with him and now she would die in agony as the tons of cement over her and a dead body in her hands… ‘No! That’s not how I would die.’

The ruins of the base had pinched her and Peter’s legs, she was barely feeling them. The wound on her left shoulder wasn’t hurting anymore but the blood was covering the surface below her.

“We’ll live Peter.”, she stated and concentrated on the stones and metal. “You’ll live.”, as she opened her eyes they were shining in bright brown and green with parts of water. ‘Come on, (Y/N)! You destroyed it, so you can fix it.’, the air wasn’t enough, her blood was leaving her body way faster than before as she stained her muscles. Her body was on fire, screaming, dying, ready to give up.

The stones moved, she felt the weight of the water and the ruins pushing her deeper and deeper but thanks to the cement behind her back her body wasn’t moving. It was too heavy for her to get all the stuff out of the water, so using her left hand too she tried to at least move the cement away from them – in left and right. The visions became blurry and at moments dark. She was losing consciousness but the desire to save the boy she loved was her anchor. She was going to save him willing to give her life for his.

Wanda stood up. She couldn’t bare sitting in silence anymore. She needed to scream, to push, to break, to get the emotions out of her. They were tearing her apart, choking her. She went to the place where the pilot was supposed be and looked though the glass.

Wanda had lost her brother some years ago. She felt a thread tearing then. Part of her died with her brother. Now, the feeling was the same. (Y/N) wasn’t her blood but she felt it closer than anybody from the avengers. Shopping, although the little witch was against it, talking about boys, the girly nights, the teasing…everything was a dream that would never become true.                                                                                                                            She looked back at the lake where Peter and (Y/N) sank. They weren’t that far away so the woman managed to see a movement. Seconds later the ruins were getting up above the water.

“Steve!”, Wanda screamed in both excitement and fear. They had to help them or if the ruins fell on them, they would be smashed. The avengers turned to look at her, all of them with red eyes, “Turn the helicopter. Now!”, she demanded and Steve, as a good soldier, sat on the chair, turned off the autopilot and tried to follow Wanda’s order. The others were shocked because of the movement and stood up. Tony was the first one to go next to Wanda and see what was going on. When he saw the moving object, he filled with happiness.

“They are alive.”, he breathed out and went to open the helicopter’s gates.

“I’m coming with you! You’ll need me.”, Wanda ordered and Tony took her by the waist. Then both of them jumped and flew to the lake. When their feet touched the ground, Wanda inhaled and exhaled deeply several times in order to take control over her powers.

“Clear the way, I’ll get them.”, Stark announced and took the Iron man mask which was some meters away from him. Putting it back, he heard JARVIS’s voice.

“You must hurry, Mr. Stark!”

Wanda lifted her hands and the ruins followed her movements. It was way easier than she thought, maybe because (Y/N) was moving them. She then felt the stones weren’t obeying her magic because they wanted to separate in different directions.

“Smart girl!”, Wanda beamed and did the same in order to help the little witch under the water. But soon it became too heavy and Wanda understood why.

“Tony! Hurry!”, the way wasn’t cleared as he needed but the man used his small bombs to destroy the ruins. He didn’t need Jarvis to scan where the teenagers were as he saw them on the bottom.

(Y/N) had succeeded. The stones were moved and now Peter could be saved. The girl’s eyes were slowly closing as the blood in her veins wasn’t enough to keep her alive. Her body was cold but the girl didn’t care. The shield keeping them from drowning was becoming smaller and smaller. Maybe that was the end. She and Peter were dying and probably not going to the same place. She was sad…not because her life was leaving her but because Peter had left this world without deserving this. She had stormed into his life and because of her mistakes, past, parents…nature, he died. There was nothing holding (Y/N) back. She had been desiring for this day since she was eight years old. Her parents were killers, her life – ruined, her soul – taken, and she – a disaster killing every single thing on her path.

The light streaming through the water once the heavy things were removed was actually giving her hope, a small one, but still that the boy would be saved. And when she saw somebody swimming towards them she knew the pain was worth it. When Tony came closer, the only thing which escaped her mouth before passing out was:

“Save him.”

PART 12

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[kootenaygoon]

So,

Shuswap Joe was not yet a teenager when he left the Adams River behind, hiking through the forest with no belongings other than his pilfered logging outfit. For three days he followed a small off-shoot waterway through the woods that eventually led him to a fledgling community called Salmon Creek. It was 1910, and the storm clouds of the Great War were forming on the horizon. The streets were pot-holed and muddy, and still featured more horses than automobiles. The wooden buildings were ramshackle, the amenities scarce. There was far too few women but it was lousy with beast-like men who lived feral existences fueled by black market hooch. Mountain air swept through the rank alleyways and side-roads until it brought him the sweet tinkling of some far-off speakeasy piano on the wind. Joe swayed in time as slovenly criminals joined their voices together in chorus.

Human beings were still a marvel to Joe, who felt more at home in the arms of a tree than those of a person. He had never felt his mother’s touch. But there was something deep inside of him that yearned to sing a song that somebody else would truly understand. Besides the fisherfolk and Nanor, he’d never had a conversation with somebody who understood his language. The salmon trusted him, the eagles kept him company and the river eels had ignited his imagination. Now it was time to find his place in the land of people, a prospect that scared him more than swimming through the Canyon. He was hungry for the future, and Salmon Creek had the flavour of destiny. 

Right then a voice called out to him from nearby, accompanied by the twang and strum of a banjo. It echoed through the leaves. As Joe jumped from one branch to the next, trying to find the source of this soulful ballad, the night time throbbed with a magical purple energy. He balanced on a thick bough overlooking the creek, where a shirtless man was dangling his feet into the current. His voice was high-pitched and mournful, and in the low light he looked exactly like a frog.

It was a sad song this man was singing, but a beautiful one. 

“I sold my soul for a beautiful face, I sold my soul for cash. I sold my soul for lovely lace, how could I have been so rash?” he sang.

“My love has gone and left me, my love has hit the road, left nothing but her memory, she’s left this lonesome toad.”

When the song was finished, the man sighed and lingered for a moment in silence. The creek burbled along in front of him. There was a large barrel beside him with the letters XXX scrawled on the side. Joe watched as the man wrestled off the lid and dipped his tin cup into the brew. The moon’s glow made him appear in silhouette as he took a deep swig. That set him to coughing, which he did violently, until eventually he was ready for more. 

“Why do you drink if it makes you sick?” Joe asked, from his perch twenty feet above the man’s head. He hadn’t meant to ask the question out loud, but he had. His voice startled the man, who spun around flustered. He searched the nearby branches for danger.

“You have to take the sweet with the sour in this life,” the man shouted into the night. “If you’re not willing to suffer then you’re never going to succeed. Now who exactly am I speaking to?”

Joe jumped down from the tree, into the glare from the man’s fire. He already had the look of a full grown man, though his baby face was still bare of beard. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the next. “What is that you’re drinking, then? It seems to make all the men in town vomit.”

“What, this? This is my own concoction,” the man said, climbing to his feet unsteadily. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Scotch. Well, this is Shu-Scotch, made right here in the Shuswap.”

“What is it?”

“What do you mean, boy? It’s alcohol!” 

The man introduced himself as Clif Garcia, and reached out a thickly callused hand. He was slightly hunched, with a pointed pink nose, and his bare shins were riddled with scars and burns. His patriarch had been a hugely successful Mexican rancher and had employed his many children herding livestock, but Clif had immigrated to Canada to chase after a woman and to become his own man. He was an entrepreneur, always looking for the next opportunity, and his most recent endeavour was the creation of this signature brew. He’d been perfecting it for two years, brewing batch after batch, but was now facing an issue he hadn’t anticipated. There was no way to actually transport his barrels of precious liquor to the buying customers, since the road system was insufficient, which meant his artistry was going to waste. He was stuck with a warehouse full of Shu-Scotch, no cash, and to add insult to injury? His love had left him.

“She never believed in my vision. She always wanted me to sell the inferior product to make a quick buck. She said the people drinking it will never appreciate my endless work. She never understood that a man is his reputation, and once it’s been created it’s deadly hard to change,” he said.

“I wanted them all to say ‘that’s Clif Garcia, he makes the best Scotch in the Shuswap’. Genius, they would call me. The history books would remember me. This would be my one real contribution to this world.”

He shook his head, and took another swig. “What a joke.”

Joe listened to Clif’s story while taking careful sips from the Scotch barrel. Heat rivulets ran down his throat, then collected in his chest like some great inner lake of energy. He could feel his limbs loosening, and the same sort of giddy intoxication he’d experienced with the river eels. He threw his arm around Clif and they clinked their cups, their feet splashing happily in the water. He’d never felt this close to a person before, and it was like he’d been maneuvered here by the universe for precisely this moment. He was meant to learn something from this man, but what?

“A true love affair can kill you just as well as a bullet,” Clif said. “There are plenty of dangerous things in this world, but love is the most dangerous of all. If you fall in love with the wrong woman, well, nothing can ruin you like that.”

“Who was this wrong woman?” Joe asked.

Clif smiled to himself. “Her name was Serena Silverspoon, and her voice was louder than any man’s. She was the most talented juggler I’ve ever seen, and she traveled around the Shuswap performing. I’ve never seen such a lust for adventure in a woman. Her head was full of dreams, of trips to faraway places and mansions where our many children would grow. She knew the type of life she wanted and she wouldn’t settle for anything less. I should’ve known the moment we got together that there was no way I would be able to provide that type of life for her. I was doomed from the start to let her down.”

“Did you get married?”

Clif shook his head. “We always said once I had my recipe complete, once I had a perfect barrel of Shu-Scotch and the operation was underway, then we’d be able to fulfill our dreams. That day kept getting further and further away, until finally she met some circus performer and ran away in the middle of the night. She took everything I had, every last cent, but I don’t blame her for a moment. The thing is, I still love her, Joe. No matter how villainous she is, and no matter how much she hurt me, I still love her. Goddamnit, I do.”

Joe could feel the alcohol pumping through his veins as he staggered to his feet. He could feel a revelation taking form in his mind, could see the crashing of a river current as barrels bobbed, and he blinked into the late night darkness. The trees were singing a holy song. He looked down at the Scotch barrel they had just emptied, then at Clif’s feet hanging in the creek. Then he reared back and gave the barrel a mighty kick.

“What the hell, kid?” Clif yelled, jumping up. “Them barrels are expensive.”

Joe smiled. “You said you were having trouble with distribution, right? The roads aren’t good enough? You said you have a warehouse of hooch and no way to get it to your customers?”

He paused for a moment, watching the light of inspiration dance across Clif’s face. They turned and watched the barrel make its way around a corner and disappear into the darkness.

“Who needs a road, when you have a river?”

The Kootenay Goon

[courtneysbookblog]

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Okay this has taken me waaay too long to write. I finished The Cabin at the End of the World  in early February. Anyway. Here’s my very late review.

ALSO!!!! There are going to be spoilers.. Sorry, but there’s things I have to Talk About. Skip to the TL;DR of the “Bad” section to avoid the spoilers. 

Synopsis

Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road. One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, "None of what’s going to happen is your fault". Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: "Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world." Thus begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined.

My Rating: 3/5

The Bad

One issue I had with this book was that it felt like it dragged on in spots... The story takes place over a short amount of time (about two days) and it’s only 272 pages long, but it felt a lot longer than that, even though I finished it relatively quickly. 

There was a lot of suspense and tension, but at times I felt like I just wanted the author to Get To The Point. I think this book would have made a better short story or novella, to be honest. I also think it would make a really good horror movie too.

So here’s the spoilers I need to discuss to get to why I didn’t like the ending.

These weird people show up at the cabin that the family is staying at, and they claim they’re there to help the Dads stop the apocalypse. In order to do so, they have to sacrifice one of their own. As in, one of the dads will have to kill the other. And it has to be WILLING. 

Technically, they could kill their seven year old daughter if she was “willing,” but literally no one even remotely considers that an option, not even the weird apocalypse people. So it’s between the dads.

Naturally, the dads don’t believe them and think these people are crazy doomsday cult people. Or maybe homophobic and religious cult people. 

When the dads fail to make the sacrifice by the first “deadline,” the cult people ritualistically sacrifice one of their own... by putting a white mesh mask over one guy’s head and bludgeoning him to death in front of the dads and their daughter... It’s very graphically described and was actually pretty disturbing to read. 

After the bludgeoning, they turn on the news to see that the first apocalyptic prophecy has come true. A powerful earthquake triggered a huge tsunami on the west coast, wiping out many coastal cities. The Doomsday People had said that first “the cities would flood” (or something like that.)

And so it goes on, with the dads refusing to willingly make the sacrifice, and the Doomsday People killing one of their own as a result, then the next “prophecy” comes true in some way. 

The thing is, while each apocalyptic event does occur after each sacrifice, none of them seem THAT crazy, or THAT apocalyptic. There’s a tsunami, a flu pandemic, and several planes “fall out of the sky” at once. None of which are good, obviously, but considering the total population of the world... they’re not that devastating...

ANYWAY. There’s a lot of build-up that makes the reader wonder who is right. Are the dads right? Are the Doomsday People, who claim they all received “visions” from God (or someone or something,) showing them what was to come and what they had to do, are they crazy? Are the “apocalyptic events” just coincidences? OR...

Is it all real? Are the Doomsday people right? Are they telling the truth? 

WHO KNOWS???

Not me because it’s never actually fully explained.... lmao.... 

In the end, all the Doomsday People have died one way or another, and despite one of the dads coming very close to believing them, they decide not to make the sacrifice, whether the apocalypse really is nigh or not. 

After all the suspense and the build up and the questions... I wanted to know if it was real!!! WERE THE DOOMSDAY PEOPLE RIGHT... I wanted a definitive answer, but where the book ended, I didn’t get one. Don’t Like That. 

Also, and this is a MAJOR SPOILER..... the death of the daughter was tough to read... I truly did not see it coming. My jaw literally dropped when it happened lmao. I didn’t want it to be true. It was so fucked up!!! And her death “didn’t count” as the sacrifice because it wasn’t willing... The dads lose it after she dies, and their grief was really Heart Wrenching. 

Another thing I didn’t like about this book was that the chapters were extremely long, which kind of gets back to the whole “dragging on” in parts thing. I really think this would have made a better short story/novella. I think if it was a bit shorter/smaller in scope I would have been more okay with the Open-Ended ending.

TL;DR

dragged on in places

very long chapters (personally i prefer shorter chapters in books)

a lot of unanswered questions

inconclusive ending

The Good

Despite my rant above, I did enjoy this book overall. It was a good horror story, and just the kind I like. I love the creepy and disturbing... I like apocalypse fiction... I even like some graphic gore/violence, if it suits the narrative. 

This book was really well written, and I enjoyed how the intensity built and built to a point where I had to set it down and take some breaks to get away from the Tension, lol. 

I really loved the family. Eric, Andrew, Wen... as a reader you get attached to all of them, so it’s hard to keep reading when shit really hits the fan. You want them all to escape and have a happily ever after, but this is a horror novel, so... that doesn’t exactly happen. 

The antagonists, the Doomsday People, as I’ve called them, were also written very well. Leonard’s character in particular is equally interesting as he is frustrating. He presents himself as a Good Guy, and at times that’s what he genuinely seems to be, but his actions in the story call that into question. 

The action scenes draw you in, and I could easily picture what was happening in my mind. I said earlier that I think this book could make a great horror movie, and this is one reason why. It gets intense AF. 

This is the first Paul Tremblay book I’ve read, and although I didn’t like how this one ended, I may read other works of his because I love horror and if this novel is any indication of his style, he does not hold back from tormenting his characters, which I love (and hate, lol.) 

TL;DR

creepy/disturbing horror

very intense and vividly described action scenes 

main characters you get attached to early on

gay dads!

well written antagonists

would love to see this as a movie. someone make it pls. 

Conclusion

Even with the disappointing ending, I liked this book. I think horror is difficult to write (not that I’ve ever attempted it myself... yet). Horror fans have always seemed hard to please to me, and I guess I’m not exception here lol. 

I don’t think I can even say this book had a “bad” ending necessarily, but for me personally, I really don’t like inconclusive/open-ended endings. After all the suspense and the questions posed... I NEED answers. 

Anyway, if you like horror and don’t mind endings that leave you with more questions than answers, I’d recommend this book. 

[arrowgirl20]

Siren Song

Happy Sunday! Enjoy!

Read on AO3.

It had been six months since the shipwreck, which killed Oliver’s father and stranded Oliver on that torturous island.

One night while sleeping under the stars, Oliver hears it, a sweet melody coming from somewhere close.  He feels a tugging sensation in the middle of his chest, like there was a string attached to his heart and someone was pulling on it.

Getting up in a sleepy daze, Oliver followed the sensation that was getting was getting stronger with every step he took.

With the moon as the only guiding light, Oliver stepped over fallen logs and pushes back branches from trees.

As he entered a clearing with a body of water and a steady rushing waterfall, the invisible string attached to his heart, tugged his heart violently.

The melody that caught his attention was crystal clear in the clearing, and where it was coming from, made Oliver gasp out loud.

A gorgeous blonde mermaid was lounging on a rock in the middle of the lake. Her voice was so beautiful, tears started gathering in his eyes.

He was so overcome with emotion; Oliver could not call out a greeting. The mermaid gave him a smile before diving back into the water.

The string that was tugging at his heart loosened and Oliver looked around in confusion.

How did he get here? Why was he here?

He was about to turn around when a hand shot out to grab his. The string returned and Oliver looked down into the blue eyes of the mermaid that had drawn him in.

She smiled again and led him into the water. Before he knew it, Oliver was standing waist deep in the lake.

Her red tail wrapped around his legs, so he couldn’t escape. He was so close to her, their lips were practically touching. She cupped his face in her hands and touched her lips to his.

He suddenly knew where the string that was attached to his heart was pulling from, it was attached to hers. She dragged him further into the water and dove down deep with him.

He was too caught up in the feelings of her lips on his that he didn’t realize he couldn’t breathe.  His head felt light and his vision was blurring, but for a second he thought he saw the mermaid’s tail turn into two human legs.

Oliver’s vision turned into two long tunnels and at the end of them, he thought he saw surprise and fear enter the mermaid’s blue eyes, before he blacked out.

_____________________

“Please! Please, wake up! I’m sorry!” Oliver heard a feminine voice worrying from close by. He blinked his eyes open and came face to face with the mermaid that tried to drown him.

He scrambled to his feet. He was backing away from the mermaid that somehow has two legs instead of one tail.

“GET AWAY!” He shouted at her. “You tried to kill me!”

The now blonde woman held her hands up in a sign of surrender.

She looked concerned, but awed at the same time.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize what was happening. One moment I’m luring you in and the next I have two legs.” The last part of her sentence sounded like she was talking to herself. “You must be the one. They have always talked about the one that can turn you human; I just thought I would never find him.”

Oliver was confused and even more scared than he has ever been. He kept backing up, ready to make a run for it.

“Wait!” The woman reached out and grabbed his arm. “Let me explain!”

“What is there to explain? You lure men into a trap to kill them.”

“Yes, that is what I do, but not anymore. You’re the one!” Her excitement overtook her whole face.

“I don’t understand!” Oliver tried to rip his arm from her grip, but she held firm.

“My name is Felicity and I am a mermaid. I was trapped here by my mother because I didn’t want to sing. It always led to death, but I can’t stop it. Every night, I sing the song that brings men in and drag them down with me. But there is a legend that, if the kiss is true love, the mermaid will turn human and live with the male who made her turn. You’re my male! And now I have found a way to escape this curse.”

“I’m sorry, but this is crazy. I am stranded on this island with solder’s who torture me. Now, I have a mermaid who I turned into a human with a kiss of true love, who now wants to be with me! I can’t do this! I have to go.”

“No!” Felicity shouted out after him, but Oliver was already gone.

______________________

“No! Please come back!” Felicity felt that invisible string that attached him to her, constrict her heart. She was struggling to breathe. Being in the air the whole time was new to her. She walked forward on wobbly legs; she was going to find him.

She followed the string through the woods. The closer she got him the more the string loosened around her heart.

She sighed in relief. She found him sitting by a fire, looking up at the stars.

She sat down beside him, and felt him tense.

“Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Felicity’s voice filled with emotion.

“I just want to get off this horrible island and see my family again.” The man whispered into the night. “But, I also feel this incredulity strong pull towards you, like I couldn’t leave you here, even if I wanted to.”

“That’s part of the true love’s kiss bond. We are now attached for life.” Felicity explained.

The man hung his head in defeat, and then looked up to her with something in his eyes that she could not decipher.

“Well, I don’t know what this bond is all about, but I am willing to listen...and my name is Oliver by the way.”

Felicity smiled. She took one of his hands between her own,

“Oliver, I promise you that I will do everything to help you get off his island and back to your family.”

Oliver looked deep into her eyes and nodded.

_______________________

As the days on the island passed, Oliver and Felicity grew closer together. Oliver helped Felicity get her land legs and Felicity helped Oliver plan their escape.

They would spend their nights talking about anything and everything. Oliver talked about his family and what it was like back home. Felicity told Oliver about her life as a mermaid and how she wished she would meet the person who she could be human with.

Oliver got quiet after that, but he eventually pulled her into a hug. After that, their bond grew stronger.

The day a boat came into view; Oliver and Felicity were ready to live their life together, back in Starling City.

Tagging: @dmichellewrites, @hope-for-olicity, @almondblossomme, @nalla-madness, @somewhatinvisible

[aion-rsa]

Cursed Ending Explained

https://ift.tt/2Ww2bzt

The following contains spoilers for the entire season of Netflix’s CURSED as well as the novel of the same name. Read our spoiler-free review of the series here.

Netflix’s Cursed puts a feminist spin on the myth of King Arthur, centering this version of the story on one of its least-familiar female characters. The witch Nimue is better known to many as the mystical Lady of the Lake, keeper of the sword called Excalibur. But at this point in the story, she’s just a young Fey girl, struggling to survive in a world in which her kind is often hated and persecuted by others. Though by the time the series ends, she’ll be something else entirely: A leader and a legend in her own right.

Some viewers will inevitably feel dissatisfied with some of the twists in Cursed’s final episodes. But one of the best things about this series is how simultaneously familiar and wide open it feels, and this slew of narrative surprises provides plenty of opportunity for the show to go in many different directions. 

Here’s a rundown of how everything ended – or didn’t – and what we think it might all mean.

Nimue’s Destiny Comes Calling. Maybe.

The big question at the end of Cursed is, of course: What happens to Nimue? And the answer, quite frankly, is that we don’t know for sure. But things aren’t exactly looking great for our heroine at the moment.

While attempting to escape Uther’s camp with an injured Merlin, she’s tracked down and shot twice in the stomach and shoulder by the religiously obsessed and now slightly demented Sister Iris. She’s been promised she can become a true Red Paladin only if she kills the infamous Wolf-Blood Witch. Nimue, body riddled with arrows, conveniently falls from the rock bridge and into a whirling pool at the base of a waterfall, never to be seen again before the final credits roll.

Read more

TV

Netflix’s Cursed Reinvents the Traditional Once and Future King

By Lacy Baugher

TV

How Katherine Langford Shakes Up Arthurian Legend in Netflix’s Cursed

By Lacy Baugher

Good sign: We never see her dead body, just an image of an injured Nimue floating through water tinted with blood. Sure, that looks bad, but it also means there’s a half-decent chance that should the show return for a second season, Nimue will wash up unconscious on the shores of a river somewhere and continue her quest to save her people. Bad news: If the legend is anything to go by, Nimue is still fated to become the Lady of the Lake, who will ultimately entrust Arthur with a magical sword and the fate of a kingdom.

Which, unfortunately, will require her to at least become tied to a body of water and become something vaguely supernatural. Could Nimue’s powers – tied to nature as they are – be strong enough to save her life, but somehow imprison her at the same time? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a figure in this tale met a bittersweet or tragic end.

Merlin Gets His Magic Back

We finally get to see Merlin truly use magic in the Cursed finale and it’s as impressive as has been advertised throughout the season. (Certainly, more so than that one time he blew up a rock in a flashback.)

Of course, the return of his magic coincides with Merlin regaining possession of the Sword of Power in the wake of Nimue’s apparent death. And given that we’ve already seen how negatively its proximity affects him, that certainly doesn’t promise anything good for the future. Particularly since he kills at least a half dozen Red Paladins using magical lightning within moments of having his abilities restored. 

Given  Merlin’s unique and unprecedented relationship with Nimue – in every other Arthurian retelling he’s her lover not her father – it’s difficult to predict what’s next for this character. Will he seek to avenge his daughter and bring down the Red Paladins? Destroy the sword now that it’s finally in his possession? Or use it to melt Uther’s face off with magical lightning? Could he even choose to become the Merlin of legend as a tribute to the daughter he lost? (It would explain his fondness for Arthur after all, if it was Nimue loved him first.)

Morgana Becomes Something Else

Following Morgana’s run-in with the supernatural Cailleach in the Celtic caves, her story takes a much darker and more confusing turn. The visions of her dead girlfriend that predict Morgana’s powerful future and the supernatural spiders crawling everywhere would be bad enough on their own, but it also appears as though Morgana may have become death itself.

There isn’t really an Arthurian antecedent for Cursed’s Widow character, who seems to be something of a magical grim reaper figure with a snarky attitude. But when Morgana somehow manages to kill her – perhaps bolstered by borrowed Cailleach power – she’s somehow forced to assume her identity and role afterward. (Or was it some sort of choice? We don’t know, because we didn’t actually see this transformation. But it certainly could be possible.)

However this change may have happened, Morgana certainly seems to have leveled up in the magical sweepstakes as a result. And that’s a fairly necessary upgrade for where her story is most likely headed. While it’s not clear which of the many, many versions of Morgana this one will ultimately become, Cursed does nail one particular aspect of her character, and that’s how morally fluid she appears to be. Though she clearly supports Nimue, she also clearly has her own agenda and Is more than willing to make selfish choices. And at this point, we wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up Arthur’s friend or his greatest enemy before all is said and done.

Arthur Becomes the Leader His People Need

For much of Cursed, this version of Arthur hardly feels like once and future king material. He’s a liar, a mercenary, and a thief, who has run away from his problem as often as he’s faced them. But by the end of the series, he’s a figure working relentlessly on the side of right. 

It’s Arthur who convinces the Tusks and other Fey groups to join together in order to reach the ships Nimue has procured for them. It’s Arthur who offers himself up as a sacrifice if that’s what’s necessary to save her – and now his – people. And it’s also Arthur who picks up a sword to defend them when he has to. The fact that he falls in love with Nimue and meets a butt-kicking Viking girl along the way is just the icing on the cake, really.

As much as Cursed is and should be Nimue’s story, she’s not the only character on a significant emotional journey. Arthur is as well. In order to eventually become the king of legend, he has to become a better man in the here and now, and his relationship with her plays a key part in that.

The Weeping Monk’s Identity Revealed

In the season’s final moments, we finally learn the identity of the brutal and emotionally tortured figure known as The Weeping Monk. He’s Lancelot. Yes, that one. The man who, according to the bulk of the stories out there, will one day become Arthur’s greatest knight.

Most viewers will likely be fairly shocked by this revelation. This is, after all, a very different sort of origin story for one of the characters that modern audiences will inevitably feel they know best. But it actually works on several levels. Lancelot himself is often depicted as something of a changeling – one of his names is Lancelot du Lac (of the Lake) – who was stolen away and raised by water fairies as an infant. Traditionally, he’s also very religious, and several of his adventures have the feel of Christian allegory. This is why his affair with his king’s wife is doubly a betrayal and the reason that later in life he’s only allowed a glimpse of the Holy Grail through a proverbial glass darkly.

The idea that, in a slightly different life, he might have become a church-obsessed flagellant trying to atone for the sin of his birth really isn’t that out of left field.

Sister Iris Achieves Her Dream

The devout and, let’s be honest, more than a little unstable nun called Sister Iris desperately wants to serve God by becoming a Red Paladin and helping to cleanse the world of the sin and demons she sees everywhere. But with the patriarchy being what it is, the Paladins laugh at her, because she’s a woman, and claim that they’ll only allow her to join their murder brotherhood if she kills the infamous Wolf-Blood Witch for them.

Which she does, shooting Nimue with arrows and watching her fall to her (presumed) death. As a reward, she gets more than she could have ever imagined – praised as an avenging angel by the Pope himself and officially inducted into his elite, gold faceplate-wearing Trinity Guard. (Pretty much the Red Paladins on steroids. Even Lancelot can barely best them.) The finale ends with Iris striding toward the camera, as the Pope promises that they’ll do miracles together. A threat which is probably the most frightening one yet.

Squirrel Has a Big Destiny

The Weeping Monk disavows the Red Paladins and risks his life to save a young Fey boy called Squirrel. But as the season closes, we learn one important fact. That boy’s name is actually Percival, and according to the traditional story of King Arthur, he has a fairly important future of his own waiting for him.

The real Percival is also known as the Grail Knight, and he’s the character who meets the crippled Fisher King and fails to ask the question that would have healed him. He’s also the knight who eventually finds the Grail castle again.

There’s a nice symmetry in the fact that it’s The Weeping Monk (a.k.a Lancelot) who saves the child. In later versions of the Arthurian legend, Percival isn’t the knight who finds the Grail. Lancelot’s son, Galahad, is. Perhaps in the world of Cursed, young Squirrel is meant to stand in for both of them. (Percival himself was still allowed to be part of Galahad’s Grail quest, so it makes a kind of sense.) Either way, it’s clear that his story is one that will matter more than we perhaps initially predicted.

One Big Revelation From the Book The Show Left Out

The Netflix series Cursed is based on an illustrated YA book of the same name, also written by Tom Wheeler. And, for the most part, the television version is a fairly faithful adaptation – except in one specific and very important regard.

At the end of the novel, another secret is revealed, one which the Netflix version hints at but never says outright. And that’s the identity of the female Viking warrior known as the Red Spear. Eagled-eyed viewers will likely have noticed that no one ever calls her by her actual name, and probably also realized that a fairly significant player in the Arthurian legend has yet to make an appearance in this version of the story. Well, the book Cursed holds the answer to both those questions for us, confirming that the Red Spear is, in fact, Guinevere.

This is a pretty big – and extremely exciting – twist for the Netflix show to leave out entirely. Perhaps the powers that be thought the one-two punch of Lancelot and Percival being named in the show’s final moments would be enough to leave viewers reeling, but the Guinevere reveal is another example of this story doing what it does best: Reinventing its female characters.

This is a Guinevere that can more than hold her own. She’s a fighter and a leader, with her own agenda and goals that have nothing to do with becoming anyone’s wife. And while she one day very well might end up married to Arthur and/or having an affair with Lancelot, it won’t be because she’s passively coerced into doing either. And that’s a tremendously exciting thought.

The post Cursed Ending Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[idornaseminary]

Chapter Two-Hundred One: Mel and Natasha

Vincent. Dead. Killed by a Vampire.

The news didn’t actually surprise Natasha much, but that didn’t mean it was easy to hear. She’d barely spoken to the Healing and Nurture professor over the few years she'd been at Idorna, but to her knowledge, he was a decent man. Better than her. He was going to help them, assuming Mel was telling the truth, and that may have been what got him killed. It wasn’t a good feeling, responsibility for someone’s death.

The Cucurrion had practically been a ghost around the castle since their last group meeting. She barely walked around and never spent time with others. She was almost always holed up in either the Astronomy room or her dormitory; in the former, she was typically alone, and in the latter, there was only ever Maria, who was quiet and left Natasha alone except to try to get her to eat. The German was rarely hungry, however, and barely touched the food the Russian brought for her. All she had been doing was attempting to figure out her vision and how to prevent it, at least up until the news about Professor Vincent’s death came to light.

There wasn’t much that Natasha felt like she could do, however. She knew Melanie had been close to the man, so perhaps offering the Gestona comfort would help...but that just brought Natasha back to the question that had been plaguing her since she spoke to Professor Levas.

What is the path that I’m on, and how do I get off of it?

She had, relatively easily, narrowed it down to two options. One was that she was reverting back to the colder, manipulative person she had been and that she had to start being more caring and selfless in order to avoid dying. And the other was the exact opposite, that worrying about other people was going to be what got her killed. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she had absolutely no idea which one was correct, but she knew she had to make a decision, and quickly.

An hour after the announcement about Vincent's death, an hour of just sitting, thinking, Natasha had made up her mind. Yes, it was going to hurt more, but she had made too much progress to stop now. There were people that seemed to actually care about her, and she couldn’t just give that up.

Picking up her pine wand, the German muttered a spell under her breath, silvery-mist erupting from the tip of the wand and forming into the shape of a lioness. She leaned forward towards the patronus, and the animal drew nearer to her as well.

“Melanie, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here. I will be by the lake if you want to find me.” She waved her wand again and sent the patronus off in search of its recipient. She then stood, stretching out a little and going to get dressed. It was getting colder outside, and Natasha needed to bundle up.

Mel wasn’t sure what made her answer Natasha’s call. She’d been holed up in bed since she returned to her room, staring at the wall in a sleepless daze. When O’Connor’s announcement woke Ella, the other girl was at her side in an instant, tearfully stroking her hair.

“I’m so sorry Mel,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

There was only so much of the doting Mel could take. Ella wasn’t typically the overbearing type, but she was probably terribly on edge.

Eventually, Mel convinced her she just wanted to be alone for a while, and so Ella left to go get breakfast. Mel immediately started crying, O’Connor’s somber voice reopening an already fresh word. She angrily swiped at her eyes, willing the tears to stop. She felt useless.

That was when the lioness appeared, Natasha’s elegant voice echoing around her room. She only considered it a brief moment before grabbing her coat and heading down to the lake.

It was a cold morning. The grounds were deserted, so it wasn’t hard to spot Natasha, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree.

“I got your message,” Mel said quietly, coming to stand beside her.

Natasha was bundled up as much as she could be as she sat on a fallen tree by the lake, considering her limited amount of clothing, but she was still freezing. As far as she knew, it was colder out, but not that much colder. Why was she so cold, then?

She looked up when she heard footsteps, actually slightly surprised to see Mel standing there. They had never really spoken much, but that was part of why Natasha thought it might be easier for the blonde to talk to her than anyone else. It wasn’t like they were close.

“I can see that,” she said quietly, biting down on her lip. “I won’t ask how you’re feeling, since I’m sure you’ve gotten that too much already, and you can only say ‘fine’ so many times.”

Mel laughed bitterly, kicking up rocks. “You can say that again.” She flopped down beside Natasha, staring out at the icy lake. “I thought Ella was going to suffocate me.”

She wasn’t sure what else to say. It was true that she’d never spoken to Natasha much, but she’d always had a kind of quiet respect for the way she carried herself.

“I was there, you know,” she went on. “Last night. I watched him die.”

Natasha looked at Melanie as the girl started to talk. She didn't know how to do this any more than the Gestona seemed to, but it was a start. Sometimes, people just needed to talk.

“That sounds horrible. I'm sorry,” she said softly. What else was there to say?

Mel nodded. “Yeah. It, um, it sucked. But there’s a bonus. Kind of.” She knew real emotions were neither of their strong suits. She figured the German girl would do better with something they could actually act on. Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I know which professor is behind everything.”

Natasha's eyes widened slightly when she heard that. “You do?” She asked quietly, biting her lip. “Who?” She knew that Mel probably needed more than to just reveal the information she'd learned, but this was important.

Mel glanced behind her, and then out at the lake, as though she feared the sirens hiding there would rat her out.

“Ibori,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “And when he realized Vincent was on to him, he left him to the vampires.”

Natasha drew a shaky breath. Of course, it was the unnerving potions professor. She wasn't sure what they could do with that information, since they were well aware of what he was capable of, but at least they knew.

“I'm sorry, Melanie,” she said quietly. “He didn't deserve that. He was a good man.”

“You’re right,” Mel replied, any sadness she felt giving way to a surge of anger. “He didn’t deserve any of this. And I want to do something about it. Now that we know it’s Ibori, we can actually make some kind of plan.”

Natasha pulled back a bit of her tangled hair, sighing. She knew Melanie was right, but...what could they even do?

“We still have no idea who else is working with him or how many students he has helping him. I'm not sure how much we can do,” the German witch admitted. “But we need to tell the others, make sure they know to be careful of him.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” Mel groaned, thinking back to the last time they’d all met and what a shitshow it had been. “Do you think Enzo and Bea will even be in the same room after last time?”

“Honestly? I doubt it would go well,” Natasha admitted. She didn't like it, but it was true. “We can talk to them separately. And then if we need to all meet, we'll figure something out.”

“I guess we don’t have a choice,” Mel agreed. She turned to Natasha, offering her a smile. “Thanks for reaching out, Nat. It...it means a lot.” She blushed. There was something intimidating about being so honest with Natasha, which was saying something for Mel.

Natasha smiled back at the blonde weakly. This was incredibly uncomfortable for her, but Mel seemed calmer now, at least slightly, so she hoped it helped. She didn’t know a lot about the older woman, but most people seemed to benefit from talking about things.

“Of course,” she said, trying to brush it off like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’m here if you need to talk more. Or whatever.” She shrugged noncommittally, kicking at a chunk of ice by her toe.

Mel grinned. Natasha’s discomfort was rolling off her in waves. She stood, stretching her arms and clapping a hand on her shoulder.

“Thanks, Nat. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” She headed back towards the castle, hoping it would put the other girl out of her misery.

Natasha breathed a small sigh of relief when Mel left. She felt a little bad, but she wasn’t good at the whole playing nice thing yet. She’d made a start, though, and she hoped it would pay off. After all, it was her life that was at stake.

The Cucurrion sat and stared out at the water for a while longer, contemplating everything that had happened lately. She still didn’t know what was going to happen, and that scared her, a lot. She was used to control, and now, there were all sorts of factors that were beyond her reach. She just hoped that, with enough help from her unlikely company, they would all make it out of this alive.

Eventually, she stood up again, brushing herself off and turning back towards the castle. There was still a lot more to do, including letting Beatrice and Calix know who they were up against. She hoped that knowing their adversary would give them at least a fighting chance, although after everything that happened, no doubt they were all at the top of Ibori’s list.