#Aftermath Records

[alchemisoul]

#imakememe

[greenheartart]

Day 9 - Screech

In which there has been a scientific whoopsie of unprecedented proportions.

[lucrezianoin]

Killing Cazador without Astarion is for me the worst thing you can do in the game. Not even the dialogues of Astarion recounting his past had me crying, but this just hurt so much.

[adaptations-polls]

Which version of this do you prefer?

[starbuck]

with respect to myself, this whole “i need to wait till i’m out of school to date,” “i need to wait till i’m more historically, politically, and culturally educated to date” is all bullshit. it’s the top surgery. that’s the holdup. they chop these tits off and i’m ready to go.

[royaltyrules816]

Happy Birthday Slim Shady‼️🐐🖕🏻

[tildeathiwillwrite]

Investigation

Records of the Torrent Watchers: The Blood Moon Specter, Part 2

Whumptober Day 14 LEFT FOR DEAD | Hunting Gear | Blackmail | “Because I want you to know what it feels like to be haunted”

Whumptober Prompts List | Masterpost

Tales from Valaria Masterpost

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Fandom: Original Work

Words: 1400

Tag List: @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion @scaewolf

@the-ellia-west

CW: death mention, corpse, aftermath, kidnapping mention, threats, referenced injuries, referenced trauma, swearing

A/N: Two days before the Watchers and Damian were captured, they were investigating a murder and receive a letter that raises more questions than answers. Who is "the Blood Moon Specter"? And how do they know so much about Luc?

----------

Two days before…

The streets of the tiny town were crowded with its occupants, all murmuring and whispering and gossiping. None of them openly stared as Luc, Reese, and Damian passed through their midst, the Watcher striding purposefully to the healer’s, but Reese could feel their eyes on her back. Someone had been murdered, after all.

Luc had received the report a few days before, and, with Reese’s help, realized that the murder was very similar to similar reports he’d seen, bodies he’d inspected. He began preparing to travel to the small river town where the report came from. Reese, of course, wasn’t about to let him go on without her. Damian, who had been with them when the connection was made and who wasn’t even supposed to be in Luc’s office, insisted on accompanying them.

“It’s only an inspection,” he argued when Luc tried to protest. “Besides, I can handle myself.”

Reese was still skeptical about that. Sure, he had a sword, and when sparring he seemed to know how to use it. Her issue came from his lack of experience in any actual battles. Of course, when Luc concluded that the best way to keep the prince safe was to keep an eye on him, there was no getting rid of Damian after that.

Not that Reese didn’t like Damian. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to rescue him again. Unlikely, since few people outside of Caenum knew what the prince looked like. But the last rescue mission, though successful, had counted as one of the worst weeks in Reese’s life.

But she had Luc, and Luc had his crossbow and akinaka, and she had her knife, and Damian had his sword. So she tried to allow herself to relax as they entered the building with the sign of the healers hanging over the door, the silhouette of a butterfly.

The healer, a soft-spoken woman roughly the same age as Reese’s father, showed them to one of the examination rooms, where the body had been kept. Luc entered first, Reese on his heels. The first thing she noticed was the line of runes on the bottom of the doorframe. Closer examination revealed the runes extending across the entirety of the doorframe.

Luc seemed unaffected by the runes, so Reese stepped inside cautiously, joining Luc before the table where the body had been laid, half-covered by a sheet. The victim was male, with long, blonde hair and pale skin. He would have been handsome, if not for the extensive injuries all over his body. Numerous bruises, lacerations, abrasions, et cetera, with a final jagged cut through his throat. A single row of runes had been painted over a mostly untouched area of skin.

“Preservation runes,” Luc said before she could ask. “They keep a body from decomposing too quickly. Also helps with the smell. Most healers know some runes, but not enough to consider themselves magicians.” 

He frowned at the corpse as Damian moved to stand on Luc’s other side. “See how some of the bruising is lighter? And those scabs?”

Reese nodded. “You think he was tortured?”

“Over a period of time,” Luc agreed, “the report said the victim had been identified as someone who had gone missing a week before the body was discovered. I would say he had been beaten and whipped, among other things over and over again, enough time for the earlier injuries to start healing, with the slit throat finally killing him.”

“It matches the other reports almost exactly.”

Luc exhaled slowly. “Indeed.” He turned on his heel and left the room. Reese and Damian glanced at each other before quickly following, catching up to him as he was speaking with the healer. She handed him a letter. “This was clutched in his hand,” she said quietly. “It… well, see for yourself.”

He turned over the paper and frowned at the words written neatly on the front. “‘Watcher’?”

She shrugged before moving over to the room with the body and closing the door. “If you’d like some privacy, you can read it in my office.” She indicated a room close to the front door. Luc nodded and thanked her before leading the way inside, closing the door softly behind Damian. He stared at the letter in his hand for a long moment before crossing the room to the desk and taking the chair behind it, drawing his knife as Reese moved to stand behind him.

The letter had been closed with a pure black wax seal, no coat of arms or signet to indicate the sender. Luc broke the seal with the tip of his akinaka blade and unfolded the letter. Despite the blood spattered on the outside, the text written in uniform, blocky letters was pristine. Reese and Damian peered over his shoulder as he read the note.

Epsilona,

How thrilled I am to learn you have joined the chase. And with your apprentice as well!

If you value your lives and freedom, I suggest you return to Caenum post-haste. Continue to chase after me, and I will make you wish you’d succumbed to that little curse of yours from fifteen years ago.

Yes, I know of the curse.

I know many things.

You know what it feels like to be haunted, don’t you? Haunted by the legacy of your mentor. Haunted by the remnants of that curse. Haunted by the lives you’ve taken.

You’re just as much a killer as I am.

But unlike you, I have nothing to lose. That apprentice of yours will make a fine victim.

And I want you to know what it feels like to be haunted by a life that you were powerless to save.

Best of luck (you’re going to need it),

~ The Blood Moon Specter

Reese scoffed. “A threat?”

“Four threats,” Damian noted, “half threatening Luc, the other Reese.”

Luc’s brow furrowed as he read the note a second time. Then a third. “How do they know?” he muttered, “What else do they know?”

“What do they mean by a curse?” Reese asked softly.

Luc sighed and quietly folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket. “Fifteen years ago, when I was still an apprentice, Hector and I were sent to assist at the elven blockade in the Fells. We weren’t too far from Zariya. One night, when we were tracking some sang who’d made it through, we separated.

“When I found the one I was tracking, I discovered it dead, covered in thousands of tiny cuts. And it wasn’t alone.” He sighed, hands absently rubbing back and forth on his thighs. “I don’t really remember what happened after that. Hector says I was attacked by a magician, who carved runes into my skin. Runes that prevented my body from healing itself. He caught up and scared her off, but the damage was already done. When we realized what had happened, I suggested we seek out a different magician, by the name of Qila Scoria.”

Damian sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I heard she disappeared. Fifteen years ago… sounds about right. Did you have something to do with it?”

“Unintentionally. I’m not sure what happened to everyone involved besides myself, Hector. Or,” he added, glancing at Reese, “I didn’t until more recently. But that’s beside the point. We never made the story public. Very few people knew I even had a curse. So how did “the Blood Moon Specter” find out?”

Reese exhaled slowly, the possibilities racing through her mind. “And what else do they know?”

Luc rose to his feet. “We need to find them before they claim their next victim. Perhaps they already have. Either way, we should find out where the body was found and search for clues.” He gave Damian a long, hard look. “This case just got personal. I suggest you—”

“Do what? Go home?”

“Perhaps. You weren’t even supposed to be here.”

Damian shook his head. “I don’t think so. If they know you’re working on the case now, then they’ve been watching us already. If I leave, what’s to stop them from kidnapping me and using me against you?”

“He has a point,” Reese said.

Luc stared at the two of them for a tense moment. He sighed. “Fine. Reese, when shit hits the fan, get him and yourself back to Caenum as soon as possible. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Understood, yes. Obeyed? Not likely. Luc knew it as much as Reese did, from the look on his face. But he didn’t insist she swear to obey. She would’ve broken that oath in a heartbeat anyway.

[journey-to-the-attic]

friends are currently debating whether 'lost in the citadel' or 'montero (call me by your name)' is the better solphisto song and here are the main points for each side of the argument:

"lost in the citadel works for both perspectives and their tragic yuri romance" (lines 'i need time to get up and get off the floor / i need time to realise that i can't be yours' given as main example) - jo

vs

"montero cos those two definitely want to f-" - james (perhaps better known as captain bhole)

[pa-pa-plasma]

does anyone have any badger puns i'm dying over here

[myvinylplaylist]

Eminem: The Slim Shady LP (1999)

Interscope Records

Aftermath Entertainment

[which-hospital]

just seen someone say they have only started caring about teddy and jan’s relationship in recent weeks? and especially after the implosion event??

god, casualty twitter! i would love to understand you one day!

[sadhorsegirl]

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

I've seen some people concerned/upset assuming that Lone Star won't be addressing any of the trauma that Carlos' experience in 4x04 would undoubtedly cause. It looks like Carlos is going to be in the next episode, but it also appears unlikely that they will be getting into his trauma, at least not in great detail, considering that there will be a lot of other things going on in the episode. If they don't get into it in 4x06, it could possibly still come up in a later episode...but then again, it also might not. I know this show doesn't handle trauma realistically...and I don't mean that as a criticism. If the show did handle trauma realistically, it would be nothing but that. Think of all the traumatic experiences that characters have gone through! Every episode would need to be characters processing their trauma and dealing with after effects.

When the show does address a character's trauma, it's typically a single episode kind of thing, like Judd's therapy, the aftermath of Paul's heart issues, Grace's recovery after the accident, etc. If they choose to give us that, I'd be perfectly happy to see an episode of Carlos dealing with trauma, but I'm not really looking for more than that. I don't need them to make an entire arc out of it now. When I think of the things I want to see out of our precious Carlos screen time, coping with 4x04 trauma is actually pretty low on that list. If anything, I'd much prefer to see him dealing with the trauma from his past and his relationship with his parents. I think that would fit in better with the journey he's been going on this season, too. Ideally, I would like some acknowledgement of Carlos dealing with the aftermath of his ordeal (even if it's just a line or two). However, even if we don't get that, I don't think I'll really be bothered by it. I'd be perfectly happy to just move on to other things.

[eminemarchive]

*NEW*

[ask-ursa-tonypeter]

[fic: ynyd] Clint, I know it’s terrible to think back upon, but what were your thoughts when you finally saw The Recording during the raid at Beck’s hideout?

You're right, I don't like thinking about it.

I didn't know that's how it happened. It made a lot of things make sense. I just wanted to get Peter and Tony out of there.

Listen, I still don't like how Tony did things afterwards, all right, but-- I'll just say, Beck's lucky that Peter got to him first.

[royaltyrules816]

Happy 51st Birthday Eminem‼️🎧🎙🎤🎛🎚🐐👑