#centurion tales

[im-a-creator-im-a-sandwitch]

Rosamie and Leo became best friends while serving under a legion run by two incompetent yet arrogant centurions who treated their legionaries like servants. A fed-up Rosamie convinced Leo to leave those losers behind and run in a centurion election.

They won! The Argo II served as their base, but the Argonauts became laughingstocks for losing quests five years in a row. When their luck finally changed, they shocked everyone by being the first legion to beat Octavian's record for the most Nike Awards!

[elderscrollsconceptart]

"Dwemer Dungeon"

Art for Tales of Tamriel

Are by Jan Pospisil

[starlightshadowsworld]

Concept: Frank and Hazel telling stories they’ve heard while at Camp Jupiter. Just these silly and sometimes insane tales from the centurions.

Jason fills in some of the gaps and gives context here and there. And Frank’s like wow Jason were you there for this?

And Jason’s smiles sheepishly and says “oh that was me.”

[pattyaifread]

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - Hatenai Omoi Vol. 2, Richter Abend Excerpts

I translated the first and last parts of Richter's chapter in the second volume of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - Feelings Without End by Sara Yajima.

The chapter begins post-game with Richter alone in Ginnungagap, and he starts to reminisce about the time he spent with Aster. The novel covers up from just before the time he got captured and locked away in the Research Academy, up to Aster's death.

Occasionally, he felt a throbbing sensation on his forehead. Richter Abend lightly touched the spot with his fingers, reaffirming that Ratatosk’s core was implanted there. It had been some time since the Summon Spirit Ratatosk had left Ginnungagap, and although the strange sensation hadn’t disappeared, he was now used to it.

Just how much time had passed since then?

Ratatosk split his body from his core and returned to that world as Emil Castagnier, and should be spending his time as a short-lived human alongside Marta Lualdi and their friends. Perhaps this throbbing sensation is responding to Emil’s feelings, Richter thought.

He knew it was a little too convenient to think that Ratatosk living as Emil was making up for what should have been Aster’s life. However, that thought was the only solace for Richter who was sealed inside Ginnungagap as a human sacrifice, and had to live with the core.

Nothing happened in this place. The flow of time couldn’t be felt. Even the demons from Niflheim were silent.

“A thousand years.” Ratatosks’s voice rose to his mind. “It will take a thousand years to separate mana from all living beings on this planet. After mana is no longer needed to support this world, the remaining mana will be used to create a new seal. I’ll release you then.”

I suppose it’s an offer I should be grateful for considering I sold my soul to demons and tried to destroy the world.

Richter’s lips curved into a smile at the edges, and as he gazed at the dark space spreading out before him, he recalled his best friend.

They had read books together, devoted their all to research, fiercely debated with one another, and had shared bread on their travels together. Aster was carefree and never discriminated against him, and in the end all that was left behind was a cold corpse.

Aster… Even once I’m released, you won’t exist in the world that I return to…

Richter wondered what that foolishly good-natured Aster would think of him spending a thousand years in the place of his death, and quietly closed his eyes.

※

—---------

After they enter Ginnungagap

“Richter!” Aster called for Richter. “Look. Over there.”

Richter followed Aster’s line of sight, and there he saw a being looking down upon them. Aster took one step towards it.

“Aster…”

Aster signaled it would be okay and made a fist, and swallowed hard while nodding. “You’re Ratatosk, the Summon Spirit of the Great Kharlan Tree, right?” His shaking voice seemed to reach the being.

“Some have called me by that name.” Ratatosk’s voice was deep and rattled the air. Those on the other side of the door reacted to that voice and became boisterous.

Richter took notice that Ratatosk’s gaze was fixed above them, and moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Aster. “Ratatosk,” Richter called out as he gazed upon the Summon Spirit, “right now, the flow of mana in the world is out of balance and is in a state of chaos. We believe that to restore that balance, your power is needed.”

“Even if I restore the balance, the world will once again fall into chaos without a tree,” Ratatosk coldly stated.

“We heard that a new tree was born!” Aster started speaking again, this time with a firm voice. “But from what we researched, the spirit of the new tree doesn’t have the power to control the flow of mana like you do.”

“Hmph. And?”

“I beg of you! Please use the Centurions to restore the balance of mana in the world! If you do, the world will be saved!”

There was a momentary silence. Then suddenly, the Summon Spirit’s voice boomed. “Awaken, Centurions! Form pacts with monsters, and restore the balance of mana. And then eradicate humanity who destroyed my tree!”

W-what?!

Richter doubted his ears.

“W-what on earth are you saying!” Aster went white as a sheet.

“I thought you wanted to save the world?”

“Why do you have to kill people to do that?!” Aster picked a fight with the Summon Spirit.

Ratatosk became furious at his words. The room trembled with his next words. “Who was it who destroyed the Great Kharlan Tree?! Humans and half-elves, that’s who! So I’ll destroy them in return!”

“B-but a new World Tree was born!” Aster replied frantically.

“And in time you’ll destroy it once more. Your kind are nothing but parasites to this world!”

“That’s not true!” Aster looked hurt, and continued to frantically appeal. “Humans and half-elves are an important part of this world, and—”

This is bad, Richter thought. At that very moment—

“Silence!” Ratatosk’s callous voice roared.

?!?!

Richter saw white fly by at the edge of his vision. Aster was hit by the full brunt of Ratatosk’s power, and went flying. He crashed down against the floor violently, and continued to tumble. By the time his body had stopped rolling, all Richter saw a white lump that was twisted unnaturally, and Aster was no longer moving.

“Aster?!” Richter yelled out, wide-eyed.

“See? The death of one parasite had no effect on the world.”

“Aster?!” Richter approached Aster unsteadily. Why was he yelling for him even though he knew it was too late? Even though nothing would change in the world? His feet stopped.

“Aster… Aster.” Richter turned to look behind him. “You bastard! How could you… How dare you do that to Aster!”

Richter grabbed his sword and axe as the blood rushed to his head. He rushed towards the Summon Spirit.

“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

Ratatosk recoiled at the sword raised high. The sharp edge of the blade cut into the Summon Spirit. “Guh!”

If I kill Ratatosk, the world will fall into ruin. Richter realized this fact, but it mattered not.

“How dare you do that to Aster! Mortal Summer!”

Flames burst out from the swinging axe and raced across the floor in the space between him and Ratatosk. However, it had no effect on the spirit.

“Dammit!”

He threw his axe and it cut through Ratatosk’s leg and lodged into the floor. Taking that chance, Richter grabbed his sword with both arms and raised it above his head. “Towering Inferno!”

It didn’t matter who his opponent was. He went on the attack against Ratatosk who was blinded by the dizzying light. 

But then at the perfect timing— “Ain Soph Aur!”—Ratatosk sent the axe flying and retaliated.

“Aghhhhh!!!!” Richter felt like his body would break into pieces upon impact, but scraped together all his remaining power for one last attack.

I don’t care if I die. Aster was already killed like some bug!

“Tch!” Ratatosk clicked his tongue at the tenacious half-elf.

On the verge of insanity and death, Richter raised his sword once more above his head as it gleamed. Through the violent bursts of light, he had just barely glimpsed Ratatosk’s figure bending back. When the light faded, the spirit was nowhere to be seen.

“Where… did you go…” Richter was breathing heavily and collapsed to his knees. He then noticed a shining red gem rolling on the floor.

What… is that? Don’t tell… me… that’s… Rata…tosk? The sound of blood gushing out felt like it would tear apart his eardrums. He crouched down for a moment.

Aster!

He started to crawl towards Aster with a desperate look on his face.

…Aster!!

A blue figure passed by several times overhead. Richter didn’t notice that Centurion Aqua was there at all. She hid herself in the darkness. “As..ter…”

He finally grasped the edge of that white coat. With a sliver of hope, Richter looked up towards that twisted body. However, with a pale face and closed eyes, Aster was unmoving.

“I always figured I’d hand it all over to you once you eventually left the Research Academy and went out into the world.” “I want to entrust everything to you, Richter. When I die, please make sure my research lives on.” “Rather than interactive, it’s more like circulation!”

Whose voices were those? It echoed repeatedly in his head, causing pain. “Rata…tosk… I’ll never… forgive you!”

Richter picked up the gem—Ratatosk’s core—and though he lacked knowledge surrounding it, he knew he should destroy it.

While holding Aster up, he thought to go grab the core, but his consciousness was already dim due to the wound. Even so, he struggled with all his might to support his body, but just sitting up was his limit.

Suddenly, a black shadow jumped out of midair.

What?!

The black shadow swiftly grabbed the core in its mouth and ran off into the darkness.

“D-damn… it… Augh!”

When he looked down, he noticed that Aster’s white clothes had been dyed crimson in his arms.

Everything was over. Richter had finally understood that. He would never come back to life. Knowing that, he couldn’t contain his cries. Using the remainder of his life, he wanted to become empty.

“Aster! Aster! ASTER!!”

Richter slanted over and collapsed onto the floor as his screams continued reverberating.

※

Just how long had he immersed himself in memories of Aster?

Whether it was only for an instant, or for a year or even ten, it made no difference to his current predicament. When he opened his eyes, the unchanging view of Ginnungagap spread out before him. If he had been left like that, he no doubt would have lost his life, he recalled.

By the time he came to, Centurion Aqua was staring at him worriedly. “It’s all my fault for taking you there in the first place…”

She had taken Richter, who was on the verge of death, to a safe place and nursed him back to health. She had greatly lamented the death of Richter’s friend, and mourned. So she had listened to his story, and opened her heart to him. Richter made contact with the demons, and exchanged a contract with them: “If you open the door to the demonic realm, Aster will be revived.” Aqua of the eight Centurions betrayed the Summon Spirit Ratatosk, and chose to work together with Richter.

Richter gave Solum’s core that he had received from the demons to Brute, the leader of the Sylvaranti Liberation Front, and in return received a high ranking in the Vanguard’s troops.

The Summon Spirit Ratatosk was the face of Richter’s revenge–a face stolen from Aster. And now, he had given his body to that very same Summon Spirit and was spending a thousand years in the place where Aster had been killed. Richter had begun to gradually think he was finally making peace with everything.

I wonder what Emil is up to now.

He wondered if Emil was forging his own path forward together with Marta.

Richter had a secret hope that he would never dare voice.

He hoped that once Emil saw his life through as a human, that he would return to this place in Emil’s form. If it was Emil in old age, then perhaps he would be able to get a glimpse of Aster’s life, who he should have watched over. If it was the sixteen year old Emil… Richter let out a faint laugh. It seemed like something Ratatosk would do. He wouldn’t mind spending a thousand years here in that case.

He would gladly repay that kindness for the sake of the world that gave birth to Aster and allowed them to meet. He prayed to be able to once again research day in and out alongside Aster once he was released. He knew it was impossible, but that feeling revived in Richter’s chest again and again, carrying him away to those nostalgic days.

He heard giggling as he began to space out again. He cleared his throat. Once again, there were giggles.

Centurion Aqua and Centurion Tenebrae—they dispersed to escape at that moment. He wasn’t able to see them, but he could sense them. Those two, along with the rest of the Centurions, were busy controlling monsters and working on separating mana from the world, but occasionally they would return and tease Richter. It was their own form of consideration.

Richter put his hand against the core on his forehead. He was looking forward to hearing about Ratatosk’s happy travels as a human. Richter believed that somewhere in there, he would find proof that Aster was still alive.

End

Flashback quotes:

The first one is after the worlds were merged, and half-elves were released. The line is from Richter, who never thought he'd be able to leave. The second one is from Aster, when he's lamenting he only has so many more decades left as a human, and wishes he could continue to research for eternity. (This is just before they enter Ginnungagap) (Sorry kid).

The third one is Rilena, talking about the relationship between Aster and Richter and how well they've been able to get along. They're using scientific terms here rather than normal terms to describe human relationships, in terms of humans and half-elves getting along, so out of context it doesn't make much sense. But she's saying that they built a really well relationship, to the point she's even a little jealous of it.

[glygriffe]

Fanfics of the summer

I had a summer of long hours at work and short vacations with a lot of driving around. But I managed to get some fanfic reading in my busy schedule. Here are my favorite read of the season.

Supernatural

Why’s every song is about love (or drinking too much): a heart-aching ficlet by @quietwings-fics about unrequited love. (Sam & Castiel; Destiel)

Untitled ficlet: Claire and Dean have a talk at Rocky’s. A post-canon fic by @perlukafarinn

Murder's on the Table: a ficlet about a protective young Dean by @fictionallemons on A03. (Dean & Sam)

It’s the Stars that Lie: part 2 of the famed Down to Agincourt by @seperis on AO3. With well-written OC characters and beloved ones that discover themselves. To fully appreciate this fic, read the fever dream that is Map of the World first (Castiel x Dean)

He has no control of his body: an exploration of Sam's faith and lack of bodily autonomy from birth by @withthekeyisking-writer (fic form HozierNatural with wonderful art from @amberdreams1960 (No pairing - or with dubious consent with Lucifer, Meg, and Gadreel)

It's a living: What if Dean Winchester had some (most) of Dean Smith's characteristics and was in a Sugar Daddy relationship with an older single parent Castiel? A story on AO3 from a new player in the Spn fanfic sandbox, @farenmaddox (Dean x Castiel, Dean & Castiel & Jack)

Untitled print fic: what happens when Dean feels good! A ficlet on two part by @casdeans-pie (Dean x Castiel)

Mirage: What if Dean's dream life in What Is and What Should Never Be is the real life? A story by @dorkilysoulless on A03 (Sam & Mary)

Other fandoms and original works

The first in a series of removal: A touching Stranger Things ficlet by @loveinhawkins where Steve is not ready to talk about his mom. (Steve & Eddie)

And Love Tastes Like Ashes: The Last Centurion from Doctor Who meets Jack Harkness while waiting to reunite with the Girl who waited. A touching glimpse into Rory the Auton life by @farenmaddox on AO3 (Amy x Rory)

Midnight Rain: A conversation between the Doctor and Donna Nobles following the episode Midnight of Doctor Who by TheBlack Shadow1210 on A03 (No pairing)

Dragon prompt: a tale of a found (or maybe given) family by @hedgehogoftime from a prompt by @writing-prompt-s (no pairing)

Untitled (Numbers): an original story from @phantomrose96 about someone seeing in which order people that mingle in a room will die. (No pairing)

divider by mari (@strangergraphics)

[magellanicclouds]

On another tales from my father: his first reaction to seeing Fred’s halo 5 armor was “his helmet looks like the back of a jet.” Lol bro was a pilot for most of his life

X D The back of a jet, huh? Can't say that I see it, but I will defer to dad's judgement as he's got much more historical experience to draw from. > w < I do always appreciate hearing about his Halo input; thank you for providing. But. Ah. You've got me thinking about my lost love: the Centurion. I know it is not a popular opinion at all, but I actually really liked the Halo 4 and 5 armours. I had been a big fan of Gabriel Garza's work prior, so his design approach to things was something I was familiar with and appreciated. Fred's Centurion helmet though was my absolute favourite. The look and shape of it suited him, and the faceplate had the uncanny ability to pass on "expressions" based on the angle it was tilted or viewed from. It gave off some of the best concerned and anxious looks, which really worked for Fred. It just felt 'him' to me, right down to the name of it. (As an aside: my highest opinion is that I preferred when Blue Team all wore the same armour, in the same colour, just with various attachable favoured modifications. I liked when they were strapped with gear and wore packs. I don't like the endlessly growing list of niche MJOLNIR variants. But: video game. So. : \ ) Just my own opinion, and I don't mean to challenge or upset anyone who feels differently, but the new Cohort helmet is so ugly to me. Not a single redeeming quality. Repellent if I'm being honest. It's clunky-in-a-bad-way and looks like a poorly executed attempt to make something that straddles the line of retro and modern - failing from both ends. All I see in it is a rejected overdesigned concept made by a vacuum cleaner company in the early 90s. It doesn't match in visual tone or era to anything else and the hyperblue house paint they covered the rest of him in? Please. ; n ; I genuinely avoid seeking out anything with him in or on it anymore because A) I think he looks terrible, and B) I don't like the character archetype he's been moulded into these days. Just not appealing to me at all. Sorry for the sad Fred words. With regards to Halo 5 though, it sure did...a lot of things. There is more than enough to say about the very many choices that were made for what was Blue Team's video game debut. But for me at least, their physical appearance is not on that list of problems.

[meetinginsamarra]

My Fave Sherlock BBC AUs - Historical Era

Around mid-month I’ll do a fic rec list with my fave AU genres or tropes. Summaries are taken from OP on AO3.

Roman Times

“Infamia” by Mr_CSI, thisisforyou

https://archiveofourown.org/works/485828

Ancient Roman AU. After his wife's brutal murder, John Watson shuns society and becomes a gladiator. He didn't expect to catch the attention of the Emperor, Sherlock Holmes himself...

“Guardian” by PoppyAlexander @fuckyeahfightlock​

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2381219

In Ancient Rome, Centurion John is hired to act as personal, round-the-clock bodyguard for the mad emperor's hedonistic, philosopher brother (that would be Sherlock). Sparks fly, John peers through a partly-open door, arrows fly, and Sherlock learns the very apt name given to John's 22-inch sword. No, his *actual* sword. He's a Roman solider, remember. What you were thinking would be. . .just, no.

“Of Chaos and Calculation” by  i_ship_an_armada @i-ship-an-armada​

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1670600

When John is captured and brought to Rome, he's sold to the most noted ludus in The Eternal City, the emperor's. There, he meets Sherlock, auctorati, enigma, a perfect partner in the arena. And out. Sherlock is investigating the murders of several gladiators, but has secrets of his own that could be more destructive than a defeat on the sands.

----------------------

Regency/Victorian-ish Times

“The frost is all over” by Chryse

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1614890

John was brave and clever and loyal, a commoner who longed for an exciting life. Sherlock was dashing and brilliant and passionate, an Earl’s son who longed to solve crimes. Being a Tale of Glorious Adventures, Love Letters, Treachery, Longing, Secret Identities, Deathbed Confessions, First Kisses, Daring Escapes, and True Love.

“Vows made in wine” by love_in_mind_palace (mysleepyhead)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11063517

John Watson, a low born young man from the slums of London appears in the farthest corner of country to work as a valet for the young master living in the secluded mansion. Secrets, betrayal, conspiracy. A love blossoming in the most unfortunate circumstances.

“The Courtesan” by delightful_fear @delightful-fear-sherlock

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195437

Desperate times call for desperate measures. John takes a job as a live-in doctor in the most exclusive brothel in London, never thinking he would fall under the spell of it's most infamous consort, Sherlock Holmes.

An AU set in 1860's Victorian England.

“Human Nature” by delightful_fear

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10907847

Rich and spoiled Sherlock makes a wager with his older brother that he can take a penniless man and make him presentable in high society.

An AU set in Regency London (1819).

------------------------

Wild West Times

“Unbranded Air” by suitesamba

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1804084

John Watson, widower, tried to leave medicine behind when he left England and came to America. Sherlock Holmes, trying to avoid the marriage his family insisted on, was sent to America after embarrassing his mother and damaging his family's social reputation. Hired to help solve a cattle rustling ring with his unbelievable deductive skills and knowledge of soils, Sherlock is injured and taken to John's ranch. He holes up there while his broken leg heals and pulls John into the investigation, and the two find common ground in more ways than either expected. An AU set in the Wyoming Territory in the 1890s, with John as an army doctor/Afghanistan veteran who wants to start over and Sherlock as a detective without a mobile phone and only John to ease his boredom.

“Buckaroo Fringe” -series (9 fics) by ponderinfrustration

https://archiveofourown.org/series/152033

The Varied Western Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson

------------------------

World War I&II Times

“Enigma” by khorazir and “Silent Night” sequel @khorazir​

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1991325

It’s the autumn of 1941, war is raging in Europe, German U-boats are raiding Allied convoys in the Atlantic, the Luftwaffe is bombing English cities, and the cryptographers at Bletchley Park are working feverishly to decode their enemies' encrypted communications. One should consider this challenge and distraction enough for capricious codebreaker Sherlock Holmes. But the true enigmas are yet waiting to be deciphered: an unbreakable code, a strange murder, and the arrival of Surgeon Captain John H. Watson of the Royal Navy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17313302

It’s Christmas Eve 1944, and Sherlock Holmes has received his most precious gift already: after a long, dangerous deployment, Surgeon Captain John Watson of the Royal Navy has unexpectedly returned from the front. As if this weren’t enough, there’s a case. Both events make for a night full of promise, excitement, and the difficult task of getting reacquainted with the man Sherlock hasn’t seen in three years and feared he’d lost forever.

“The secret patient” by PlainJane

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1953210

WWII, the Italian campaign. Dr. John Watson is left behind at a lonely chapel with a mysterious patient who cannot be evacuated with the rest of the field hospital, due to his injuries. John is fascinated by the man and his tales...or perhaps there is more to it than that.

“Rosethorne” by suitesamba

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7365160

John Watson, WWII army doctor, is injured in the line of duty and can no longer wield a scalpel. Sherlock Holmes, Britain's best code-breaker, is side-lined by his own devastating injury. In a work inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden," the two men must find meaning and purpose in a world which seems to have taken away all they hold most dear. But of course, it really hasn't.

-----------------------

1950′s Greaser Times

“Still of the Night” by michi_thekiller

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9647849

1.) Curfew must be obeyed. 2.) Streets must be clear by sundown. 3.) If you find yourself out after curfew, seek shelter at the home of a friend, relative, or neighbor whom you know and trust. 4.) Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should any unknown persons be allowed into the home after curfew.

It's a vampire greaserlock kids!

“You give me fever” by michi_thekiller

https://archiveofourown.org/works/785061

Thou givest fever when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth Fever I'm afire; fever, yea, I burn forsooth "He's the kind of boy you want to take apart."

“Go to the Devil” by JeanElizabeth​

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323648

unfinished but still worth a read imo

“I’m going to kiss you. You have the choice to push me away at any moment and I will pursue no further. But I want to kiss you. Ever since you walked into that room with that cocky attitude and charming smile. You are all too perfect John Watson. Just push me away.”

John Watson is an All-American Boy; Star of the football team and straight A student. Sherlock Holmes is a dangerous dropout who gets his kicks from fast cars and cheap cigarettes. John struggles with his attraction to this greased up vagrant, who seems to take no shame in their sinful acts.

[rpgsandbox]

The 10 Most Anticipated TTRPGs For 2024!

EN World's annual vote on the most anticipated titles of the coming year, and yes, some games have appeared on this list in previous years.

10 Tales of the Valiant (Kobold Press)

1st appearance Kobold Press joins the 'alternate 5E' club with this rewritten, non-OGL version of the game! A million dollar Kickstarter last year, and a new one for the GM's book going on right now, Kobold Press announced this as 'Project Black Flag' during the OGL crisis of 2023, but being unable to trademark that name opted for Tales of the Valiant instead. The system, however, is still called the Black Flag Roleplaying System.

9. Mothership 1E (Tuesday Night Games)

3rd appearance On this list three years running, the boxed Mothership 1E game should be coming out this year! This is sci-fi horror at its best -- you can play scientists, teamsters, androids, and marines using the d100 'Panic Engine'. Yep, it's Alien(s), pretty much.

8. Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Program (Exalted Funeral)

2nd Appearance Exalted Funeral made quite a splash when they announced this game last year, which went on to make neary $2M on Kickstarter. And how could they not? It's Monty Python fergoodnessake! A rules-lite gaming system, spam, a minigame with catapults, spam, coconut dice rollers, spam, and an irrepressible Python-eque sense of humour. Did I mention the spam? It was at #10 on this list last year, but it's claimed to #8 this year.

7. Daggerheart (Darrington Press)

1st appearance From the Critical Role folks, Daggerheart is a new fantasy TTRPG with its own original system coming out this year with "A fresh take on fantasy RPGs, designed for long-term campaign play and rich character progression."

6. Cohors Cthulhu (Modiphius)

1st appearance It's Ancient Rome. It's Cthulhu. It uses Modiphius' in-house 2d20 System. You can be a gladiator, a centurion, or a Germanic hero. Did I mention Cthulhu?

5. Dolmenwood (Necrotic Gnome)

1st appearance The British Isles, a ton of folklore, and a giant Kickstarter--Dolmenwood is a dark, whimsical fantasy TTRPG drawing from fairy tales and lets you "journey through tangled woods and mossy bowers, forage for magical mushrooms and herbs, discover rune-carved standing stones and hidden fairy roads, venture into fungal grottoes and forsaken ruins, battle oozing monstrosities, haggle with goblin merchants, and drink tea with fairies."

4. Pendragon 6E (Chaosium)

4th appearance Last year's winner was on this list waaaaay back in 425 AD, and it's still here! Well, maybe not that far back, but it's shown up in 2021 at #4, 2022 at #3, 2023 at #1, and now 2024 at #4! What can we say? People are clearly anticipating it... still.

3. 13th Age 2nd Edition (Pelgrane Press)

2nd appearance 13th Age is over a decade old now, and was our most anticipated game way back in 2013. Now the new edition is coming! It's compatible with the original, but revised and with a ton more... stuff! 13th Age 2E was #3 in last year's list!

2. The Electric State Roleplaying Game (Free League)

1st appearance Free League is always on these lists, and for good reason. This gorgeous looking game is described as "A road trip on the verge of reality in visual artist and author Simon Stålenhag's vision of an apocalyptic alternate 1990s".

1. Shadow of the Weird Wizard (Schwalb Entertainment)

3rd appearance First announced by Rob Schwalb a couple of years ago, this is a more family-friendly version of his acclaimed RPG, Shadow of the Demon Lord. SHADOW OF THE WEIRD WIZARD is a fantasy roleplaying game in which you and your friends assume the roles of characters who explore the borderlands and make them safe for the refugees escaping the doom that has befallen the old country. Unsafe are these lands: the Weird Wizard released monsters to roam the countryside, cruel faeries haunt the shadows, undead drag themselves free from their tombs, and old, ancient evils stir once more. If the displaced people would rebuild their lives, they need heroes to protect them. Finally at the top of the list after being #7 in 2022, and #6 in 2023!

[trashboatprince]

Something that's bothered me about complaints towards series 14/season 1 with Fifteen is that people said the faerie tale aspect of the season was bad, why put such elements in a sci-fi series that has never had that before?

And I have to sit there and stare at the screen because, what the fuck are you talking about? Did you not watch the Ponds-era of the Eleventh Doctor's run?

It's a massive theme of series five and six, and even part of series seven! Amy Pond and her Raggedy Doctor are very much a faerie tale story, the Girl Who Waited, the Boy Who Waited/the Last Centurion, River Song herself is a fantasy character with how mysterious she is!

And let's not forget Clara, the Impossible Girl, even she could be counted.

This is just me talking about the companions, some of the stories are very much like stories you'd read as a kid in a story book.

The star whale, the house with the living dolls, the haunted hotel with its beast that roams its halls, the Pandorica, Demon's Run, the pirate ship, hell, even the western episode is very fantasy-like with the legend added to it.

Why is it that people complain about Fifteen's stories when they are just as much a fantasy-genre as Eleven's whole era? Eleven and Fifteen are the faerie tale Doctors.

And let's not forget that Classic Who has its own stories that dwell on these sorts of themes, and even Modern Who's other Doctors have some random fantasy-like episodes throughout their runs. Also, books, comics, and audio stories add to this.

Doctor Who is as much sci-fi as it is fantasy, because these genres are siblings.

But I dunno, that's just what I think on the matter. *loudly sips coffee*

[avengerscompound]

The Interview - Chapter 6

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist

PREVIOUS //

Rating:  E

Warnings:  nothing really

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count:   1684

Summary:  Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America.  Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 6

Steve Rogers: The Man Behind the Mask

By Melody Danes | Photographs by Peter Parker

Everyone knows Captain America.  He’s on the news regularly.  There are comic books and action figures based on the man.  Less is known about Steve Rogers.  The centurion who became the first-ever Super Soldier is often tight-lipped about his personal life.  He opened up to DB and what we found was not what we expected.

“You have a crush on Captain America!”

I’ve heard that accusation a lot since I started working on this profile piece.  The first day I went in to meet him for lunch I kept telling myself; be professional, be professional, be professional, in my head on repeat.  This is my first gig after all and well - it’s Captain freaking America.  I didn’t want to freak the man out and ruin any potential I had at getting another interview assigned to me in the future.

Over the week I spent following Steve Rogers around I realized that was easier said than done.

I should start at the beginning.  I had agreed to meet Steve at a diner near the Avengers Tower.  Since he is who he is, and this was my first interview with anyone, I wanted to make a good impression. So I borrowed a pantsuit from a friend.  It was not my best call, the shoes I wore were a size too big, and I fell just outside the diner we’d agreed to meet in.

Falling and being caught by Captain America when you’re on the way to meet him should be illegal.  It leads to too many awful things from completely mortifying embarrassment to imagining how one day you’ll tell your grandchildren the story of how you met their grandfather.

Steve is somehow even more handsome in real life than in pictures.  It’s almost like he’s been carved out of marble.  His skin is flawless and his muscles are hard like stone.  It’s his eyes that catch you though.  They are so blue and his lashes are so long and so dark that I’m fairly sure they could see them from the Alpha Flight Space Station.  They’re also kind.  Steve can be intimidating, but there is something about his eyes that makes you feel safe.

That first meeting I’d expected him to be closed off and unwilling to open up.  The Avengers haven’t exactly had the best run with the way the press reports on their work, and Steve in particular is known to keep to business when he speaks to the press.  What I found (apart from the textbook definition of a chivalrous meet-cute) was a man who wanted to see who he was, just as much as we wanted to find out.

We are all used to seeing Steve Rogers as Captain America, a role he considers important, but the role means he’s always on display and the way we interpret the message might not be the one he is trying to put out.

He wasn't always on display.  As he sits down to his steak he tells me about his childhood.  It's a bleak tale.  We all know the story, Steve Rogers was born to poor Irish Immigrants Steve had a list of ailments as tall as he was.  Asthma, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, sinusitis, heart palpitations, nervous trouble, bone and joint deformity, color blindness, scoliosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, pernicious anemia, partial deafness, astigmatism, and easy fatigability.  It’s quite the list.  “I was a perpetual letdown for my father.  All he wanted was a good strong son who could follow in his footsteps, but what he got was a sick kid they didn’t expect would make it to adulthood,” Steve confesses.  The disappointment was added to when Steve’s younger brother died shortly after he was born.  It resulted in Steve’s father turning to alcohol and taking out that disappointment on the son who did survive.

It’s the kind of childhood that people usually describe to explain what sent them to the dark side.  Not so for Steve.  It made him particularly sensitive to vulnerable people.  In his own words, Steve Rogers doesn’t like bullies.

On a tour of Brooklyn Heights, the place he spent his youth, Steve is quick to point out all the places where he fought off bullies.  “You point to a spot and I probably started something I couldn’t finish there,” he tells me as we walk the streets.  Even with that huge list of ailments and a father who beat him, he still stood up to people bigger than him when he thought something wasn’t right.  It was no wonder that they chose him for Project Rebirth.

The sight of the Project Rebirth experiment that had turned into a nightclub now, and a strange tribute to all things Captain America.  Taking a look around it with Steve is a strange experience.  He seems genuinely happy that it had been turned into a place people go to enjoy themselves but it’s hard not to think about how he’d been experimented on and changed in that very room, making him the man he is today.

There are still things that linger from his childhood.  Over his steak, Steve tells me about his issues with food and why he hadn’t ordered the pancakes he would have preferred. “Steak is fine.  But is it what I wanted?  I’m not even sure.  I chose it because it looked like it was the best combination of protein and carbohydrates to get me through until dinner.  The serum has made it so I burn through calories so fast, so if I eat something like pancakes or pie, I end up having a crash an hour or so later.  And I can’t have that because it means I have to eat again.  And for a guy who grew up through the great depression with medical conditions that made it so that he had to eat pounds of raw meat that I’d just end up throwing up - well I can’t take constantly eating throughout the day.”

It's such a human reaction to childhood trauma.  We put our superheroes up on these pedestals and expect them to be more than us.  To be perfect both as public figures and behind closed doors.  It's a position no one can hope to achieve.  Not even actual gods. (Especially not actual gods).

Steve Rogers is just a man.  A good man, but still just a man.  He blushes when he flirts and he rolls his eyes when his friends tease him.  He can be quite sarcastic when he wants to be and he seems to want to be on a semi-regular basis.  He is sweet and he is open about what he believes in.  Sergeant James Barnes, Steve’s best friend growing up, followed him into battle not because he was Captain America but because he was Steve Rogers, “... and that little punk had a good heart.”

When asked what his biggest flaws are, he thinks about the question seriously.  “I expect a lot out of others.  I think I also automatically fall into a kind of disappointed father role.  And I can be reckless.”

That recklessness is regularly seen through his role as Captain America.  The fact he is still alive today is only because he intentionally crashed a plane in the Arctic Ocean and was put into suspended animation thanks to the ice.  He is regularly known to throw himself off buildings without a way to break his fall.

He’s a little more careful in his personal life, though it’s easy to see why.  The man has lost everyone once.  Since waking up there’s only ever been one rumored romantic partner.  Though he has gathered a rather large group of friends around him.  The Avengers are more than just teammates, they're a family that they created together. Each one wants to be better and help fix the world with the skills they each have.

So what is a better world according to Steve Rogers?  “I’ve always believed consenting adults should be able to love each other freely and without interference.  I have always believed that people should have a minimum standard of living that’s met even if they’re unable to work.  That means homes, food, electricity, running water, and medical care.  I have always believed that people should be free to worship whatever god they choose - or not - as long as that worship doesn’t interfere with others or harm them.”

He’s also pro-choice - a position well ahead of his time, though he’s seen what can happen when the procedure is outlawed.

That is only one of the ways the world has changed since he was a kid, not just politically but physically.  Steve used to stand at the docks in Brooklyn and watch the city line change.  It’s now barely recognizable to him, only really the Chrysler and Empire State buildings stand out as recognizable.  Where he grew up is different too, the art school where he started college doesn’t even exist anymore.  Back when he was a child he treated his myriad of medical conditions using things like heroin, cocaine, and belladonna, something that seems unbelievable today.

It’s a lot to have to adjust to, but he has adjusted, and he still works to change what needs work while appreciating the changes that have happened.  When I ask what he thinks we do today that will be seen as completely backward in another hundred years, his answer is circumcision.

He immediately blushes at his answer.

And that’s the Steve Rogers I got to know.  Working hard at fitting into a world that has moved forward as he works to make further changes.  Trying to be the good man he is.  Snarky.  Intelligent.  And willing to talk about circumcision with a stranger even when it makes him blush.

So my friends are wrong.  I don’t have a crush on Captain America.  My crush is firmly aimed at Steve Rogers.  The man is sweet-natured, decent, and completely unexpected.  I may always carry this crush with me.  He’s something special, and we’re all really lucky to have him.

// NEXT

[quietwings-fics]

fairy tales (where birds pluck out your eyes and you cut off your feet)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Fandom: Doctor Who Ship: Gen (Amy & Melody) Additional Tags: Forced Pregnancy, Whump, Amy Pond Whump, attempted child murder, Episode AU: s06e07 A Good Man Goes to War, Body Horror, Forced parenthood Wordcount: 358 Podfic Length: 03:16 Summary:

Amy Pond is the girl who waits. She has no other choice.

Prompt:

"Can we be mean to my friend Amy Pond? I'm not picky, follow your heart here."

She wakes up screaming so loud that she doesn't hear her daughter being born.

They let Amy near her crib. They don't let Amy hold her, but they don't tell her not to. It's about can't. It's about Amy having laid still as Snow White in the glass coffin for nine months while a child she didn't want took all the meager life they pumped into her. It's about her thin arms and thin legs and the fact that she can't even stand on her own. She can't hold her daughter.

She leans over the crib. The first time, she cringes back. The second time, she forces out the first name that comes to mind. "Melody," she says, "Melody." She's not sure, really, if she's naming her child or wishing for her friend to show up, like magic. Amy has wished things into existence before. She tries to do it again, barely pausing for breath as she lets the words fall onto the baby. A story as war waged, words as artillery, the Last Centurion and the Doctor and the girl who waits and waits and waits but is always saved. Melody Pond doesn't understand what she's saying. The nonsense sounds bounce off her child, as useless as smoke.

No one comes.

Amy waits.

No one comes.

Amy doesn't feed Melody. Her body won't allow it.

No one comes.

Strangers hold her daughter more than she does.

No one comes.

They are going to take Melody away. Amy tries to cry about it.

No one comes.

Not for the first time, Amy tries to kill her daughter. This attempt is in her crib, smothering, merciful. The Doctor isn't here, and if he was, what judgment could he pass when the children of Gallifrey follow him in silent droves? This child that came out of her, this child that was made using her, this child that she didn't want—this is the only way Amy knows how to save her.

They stop Amy, of course. Melody cries. She's still crying when they take her away.

The Doctor finally comes, guns blazing, eight months, ten days, and three hours late.

(Enjoyed it? Any interaction is welcomed. You can even support me on Ko-Fi <3)

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: Tales of the Rays

How do you feel about the servers going down and getting an offline version in place?

If they DID add another Dawn of the New World character to be playable? Alongside Aster, would you have chosen Brute, Hawk or Magnar?

Servers going down is always really sad. Having the offline version is nice but I think being restricted to only the things you unlock before the servers go down and having that data locked to one device is crappy. If your phone dies, you lose everything you paid for and played for. I understand why games with gacha mechanics don't make a habit of routinely unlocking all content at EOS when they allow an offline version because then nobody would pay for anything during the life of the game and everyone would just wait to get everything unlocked at the end. But having to rely on flawed hardware to keep the stuff you unlocked on the software is sad. Not to mention the side content that will be lost. I understand why some of the crossover events, for example, won't be carried over. But as someone with an archivist mindset, it hurts for them to go "yeah, temporary, ephemeral, we're deleting it. Suck it up."

But at least people are getting an offline version so that they can wrap up any loose ends and complete the main story if they're a slow player. Lots of people don't get that during EOS.

Did they actually make Aster playable? I never heard that. If they did, it's illegal that it wasn't part of Global Rays. Several of us wanted Playable Aster for sure. If they didn't massive missed opportunity. We want the crazy science boy to be a glass cannon with that Stun Gun. As for who else should have been playable out of those choices: definitely Brute. He has some interesting artes at his disposal and if Marta's character, canon or otherwise, has ever had anything going for her, it's the close relationship she (allegedly) has with her dad. We didn't see much of it in DotNW proper since they were on opposite sides of basically a war over the centurion cores for most of the game. But out of game material like the manga and light novels definitely imply they were very close and it would have been great to have them have combo artes and unique fighting synergies. Let the allegedly human daddy-daughter duo crush people with their inexplicable magic!

[soulless-angel25]

Multiamory March 2024, Day 2 Prompt- Hope @polyamships

Once upon a time, there were three people who fell in love. Amelia Pond; the Girl Who Waited, the Girl with a Fairy Tale name. Rose Tyler; the Bad Wolf, Defender of Earth. Rory Williams; the Last Centurion.

And once upon a time they fell in love. Now, this isn't their whole story, but a mere summary. But it'll suit our purpose just fine. A story of hope. Of love.

Once upon a time, Rose met Rory and Amy. The three became friends quite quick and when together were near inseparable. Always talking, laughing, enjoying each other's company. And then, one day. Rose went missing.

The two searched high and low for their lost friend but couldn't fine her. And then, a year later she was back. And following her return there were aliens.

But before they could find out what had happened she was gone again. Swept away by the man. Time passed and she remained with them, even though they did not see her, Jackie kept them assured she was alive.

Then there was the memorial for Canary Wharf with her name on it.

Time continued on, and with it came the return of Amelia's Raggedy Doctor. And beside him, Rose Tyler.

With her return joy filled them, as they twirled her around and held her close. With cautious kisses and whispered words. And soon the three were travelling the stars together (with the Doctor of course).

Days passed and became weeks, then months, then years. And with the passage of time came confessions of love. Even a wedding on an alien planet where the three looked at each other and smiled.

As the three said, "I do." and hoped for the future to be just as wonderful.

[aerypear]

Hi hello? I heard you were the resident expert on Ratatosk :>

Any ideas/hcs on how he'd look in his true form squirrel coughhh anyway I am back to the DotNW fandom after 10 years and taking a swing at a fan design.

Your art is very beautiful 💜

Welcome to the Ginnungagap, how may I take your order? /lh

Your art is very beautiful 💜

Thankyou!

Any ideas/hcs on how he'd look in his true form squirrel coughhh anyway I am back to the DotNW fandom after 10 years and taking a swing at a fan design.

In the course of typing this out, this got very long, so it's under a read more for other's Dashboards sanity

I've drawn various versions in the past... oh god I'm old, this game needs to stop aging- 15 years. Imagined him in all sorts of ways. My favorite is personally the squirrel design another Artist made (I unfortunately don't have their username and nothing comes back when I reverse image search it so someone feel free to supplement that info if they know)

But we do know that on some level of Canon (Thanks to the manga), Ratatosk has a humanoid figure with a physique similar to Regal and Origin.

Isn't he sexy? /jk 🤣🤣

We also know, thanks to the manga, that the Sword Emil uses is not the same style blade Ratatosk is demonstrated as owning in the comics.

(Png Rendering I made ages ago for Cosplay referencing) Which leads to reason that Emil and Ratatosk developed a new fighting style over the course of the story and the only hints that the style Ratatosk knew are in Ain Soph Aur.

Emil likes to use the sword like an extra long fencing style sword, where Ratatosk winds up for the Ain Soph Aur attack like he's wielding a Back Handed Blade aka Reverse Grip sword. (which is just a sword with the grip handle that allows for it to be held backwards. You can see this technique in many Rogue type characters, and even in Naruto when they hold their knives backwards along their forearm) **Note that you can use backhanded blades forward like normal blades**

Richter mentioned (more like aqua but who's paying attention) that Ratatosk was very strong in whatever fighting technique he knew and that he had been injured going toe to toe with Ratatosk. And Before I go into my dissertation that Ratatosk would be an AMAZING volleyball player, I'll move on. >u>

Fortunately you won't have to labor too hard into imagining what Humanoid Summon Spirits look like as the First game gave us plenty of source material to work with.

As you'll see across the spread is that, except for Maxwell, Clothing is optional. Origin put on Boots and called it FUCKING GOOD ENOUGH. I also think it's interesting that Origin and Ratatosk have very similar looking blades.

Finally, I must Add that on the Centurions themselves (and I mean aqua and Tenebrae) you can See elements of their core on them. Color scheme, Markings bearing similar strokes etc. We also know that On Undine, Celsius, and Luna that they do have physical Markings.

We also Know what Tree Spirits look like thanks to Tales of Phantasia Narikiri dungeon.

Featuring Ratatosk's "Daughter" Norn. (She's made from the cuttings of his Tree)

So if you wanted to run off with a completely unique Idea, Here's a bunch of info that uses Canon source materials to help you along.

As for my Head canons... Cutie with red eyes, either Red or Raven Hair (but I like to draw him with white because that's fun too). Outfits I like to do a spin off of his Knight of Ratatosk attire that only the Darkness knows because I get the Sense Tenebrae fashioned it after something Ratatosk was comfortable wearing. Something that isn't super rough around the edges because Ratatosk's dissention into a harsh personality set was triggered by the death of his tree. Mithos (in Tales of the Rays) recalled him being a very Kind Summon Spirit, Seeing a lot of who Emil is in what he recalled of Ratatosk, but still sees that Kindness in Ratatosk. (That Ratty pants totally swears he doesn't have. And Nothing gets me more than Ratatosk having enough character growth to accept what happened and forgive his old Friend for what transpired. 😭I was expecting a hoe down drag out brawl and they gave me FEELS.)

I found One of the pieces where I based him more so off Norn's design elements. Old piece is old, made back in 2019. But I'm not seeing the other versions. I'll have to see if they are stored elsewhere.

[jflashandclash]

Tales From Mouth Othrys

Axel: Into the Lion’s Maw III

A thunderous crack startled Axel out of sleep. At first, he thought Hecate had darkened the Mist into onyx.

His memory kicked in: black marble walls. Jack had moved Pax and Axel to their own room in Mount Tamalpais. Jack attempted separate rooms, but, of course, Pax ended up in Axel’s room within twenty minutes of being split, fifteen more minutes than the Sabotage unit had bet on, leaving Prometheus with a score of 7 to 1 on prediction.[1]

Mementos from the dead scattered and clanged all over their carpet. Axel had left all other decorating to Pax. That was why Praetor Julian’s medallions, a centurion’s unicorn necklace, and other items clattered onto a pink shag carpet with paint splotches. Axel hoped they were paint splotches. Pax had, allegedly, found the carpet dumpster-diving with Matthias.

Panic hadn’t set in yet. Axel sat up, clutching something to his chest: the Triple A Chimera helm. A hiss erupted from the top of the plumes, something far too weak to be the helm’s gravely tones.

Honey, the weasel, appeared quite distressed by the movement, hissing and squirming to find comfort.

Above Axel, he could see Pax peering over his bunk, his amber eye glistening in their room’s night light. Matthias had installed it at the same time he installed Pax’s bunk. Axel had replaced the original cover: a British aristocrat’s glowing ass, the monocled and top-hatted man peering over his shoulder while mooning them. Now, it was a winking dryad. Still inappropriate but a massive improvement.

“Baller is upset,” Pax said, his voice trembling, “Was that an earthquake? Like, did Poseidon just take a massive shit? Imagine if that is what took out the titans—”

“Axel! Pax! My boys!”

Their door flew open.

The scene was a flashback overlapped into real time. Jack stood in his pink, monogrammed PJs, the back of a toilet seat raised like a baseball bat to attack potential intruders. The only difference from the first time was that the walls and toilet seat were black. Prometheus often quipped that Kronos might have an aneurism if their new camp didn’t have the right SS aesthetic.

“You’re okay!” Jack exhaled, lowering the lid with a thunk. The effort had made his arms shake. “The room next door collapsed. I thought—”

“You were going to dig us out where a toilet cover?” Pax asked, voice quivering.

“Yes, next best thing to a shovel—”

“Jack,” Flynn’s snap quieted Jack. He took a step back.

The Leader of Assault and Battery was mid-tugging a shirt over her chest as she came into view. Axel averted his gaze. “Luke is hurt,” she said. There was a faint jingling noise, signaling that she must have been wrapping her bun. She’d taken to wearing the goofy hair trinkets Pax made for her. “Ajax with me. We’re mobilizing to dig Luke out. Axel, with Kampe. She’s decided she’s leading the charge to camp Half-Blood while Kronos is occupied under rumble.”

Axel’s gaze shot up. “She’s what?” Her command was already taking effect. Axel sat up fully, careful to assure the helm and weasel stayed safe against his chest.

“She thinks they might be able to beat Percy Jackson back to his camp—”

“He was here?!” Pax yelped. He, too, appeared under Flynn’s command. He scurried down from the top bunk, only pausing to collect Honey from Axel’s helm. She squeaked indignantly. Axel appreciated it: a battlefield was no place for a newborn Mistform, no matter how fierce.

Flynn glowered. She liked to be interrupted (especially by children) as much as the soldiers of Mount Othrys liked doing Monster Laundry Duty.

Fortunately, Jack had no such reservations. He picked up one of their newly minted Orpheus Metal shirts from the ground and slipped it over Pax’s head. As if he were five years younger, Pax obediently lifted his arms to make it easier. Jack’s motion was frantic, and Axel had to wonder if Luke could get hurt after receiving the Curse of Achilles. “Well, kiddo, unless some other demigod’s parent has earned the title of ‘Earthshaker,’ then that’s our perpetrator—”

Someone’s words overtook Jack’s. It was Luke’s voice, but not. A second voice reverberated under the first, the same way Kouta, Axel’s older brother, made announcements for the circus, but maybe if Kouta was hyped up on some demonic energy drink. It was a two-toned cacophony, rusty and vile. As it roared, the building shook again, a hateful scream of, “Percy Jackson! After them—after them—”

Everyone froze. Even Flynn’s hold on the boys snapped.

Before, when Luke and Axel used to meditate together or when Luke had convinced Jack to allow Axel to join them at the Horizontal Monster Mash, Luke had described that voice. Between Luke’s gulps of beers, the color would drain from his face and his eyes would go hazy. He recalled the sublime and awful tauntings that haunted his nightmares, that would seep into his waking hours to remind him he was useless, merely a vessel, a stuffed animal disemboweled of its stuffing. (That last one, Axel knew, would upset Pax immensely.)[2]

That voice made Luke feel small, the way Axel’s father’s voice had for him. He didn’t need to ask why Luke followed its orders. It was impossible to resist when it was in your head all day.

Now it was Luke.

Axel couldn’t help but think of Pax, pitching their cause to new demigods: Have you heard the good word of Kronos? Overlaid with a blasphemous verse from his days at a Catholic elementary school: he has risen, just as he said.[3]

Kronos had risen.

Axel didn’t realize the Luke-Thing was still screaming. Not until Lucille stepped into their doorway.

She wore her battle armor. Her blonde hair was neatly braided back, and she carried a Greek-style helm under one arm and a pilum in the other. With her frail frame, she looked like a costumed Barbie. Their training taught Axel otherwise.

“Flynn. Axel.” Her tone was grave, the same way it always got before battle. “The strike force is moving out.” Her icy blue eyes shifted. “Jack, Pax, I’m sorry.” Giving them a fragile smile. It failed to comfort anyone.

Flynn’s gaze narrowed. “I’m not leaving Jack alone.” Ever again, Axel thought he could hear. Maybe with another faint echo of, Especially not with that thing. “What if the Ol’sissies double back while Luke is out of commission? A child of the Big Three? Maybe two if that earthquake wasn’t from Jackson?”

Lucille nodded. The half-sisters had a respect for each other’s combat intuition.

Despite trembling at Luke’s shrieking and the fear of angering Flynn, Pax whimpered, “B—but Mercedes said—”

That she could make Axel and Pax be part of the Sabotage Unit, away from the main battles. But, Axel knew it would be futile after his second cage match had gone so well, especially after the assault on the lab.

Lucille explained this gently, “I know, sweetie. But, Axel has proven himself over and over. It will boost everyone’s moral if he’s there.” She pressed her lips together. “And gain him favor with any new… changes in command.”     

Axel had a gut-sinking feeling Lucille was right. The helm hummed in his grip. Now, more than ever, he needed to be seen fighting along the monsters’ side. If they were to survive assassinating Kronos after the war, they needed the full backing of Alabaster’s monster family.

Axel stumbled to the armor at the base of their bunks. His legs felt leaden. The fingers touching the helmet buzzed with painful anticipation, an electricity that made him lightheaded and eager. The opposite sensations left him disoriented. He needed to focus on one. He unwove a strip of leather from his armor and tethered the helm around his neck. That would need to do for now. He should leave it. They needed to test these in a controlled environment. But, instinct—

You’ll need me, Lieutenant.

Axel wanted to snap that he didn’t need anyone. A glance around the room proved no one had heard that but him. Maybe it couldn’t talk outside of Hecate’s realm.

Lucille had already lifted his breastplate to offer it to him.

Jack tugged at his hair, frantically looking from Axel, to Flynn, to Pax. “Oh, Lucille, keep my boy safe! He’s too young and pretty to die! We haven’t even gotten him a girlfriend or a solo in one of our concerts!”

Lucille giggled weakly. She couldn’t cover her mouth with a pilum in hand. “I’ll do what I can.” As Axel finished strapping on his armor, she turned to Pax. “Can you do me a huge favor?”

Three sets of eyes were intent on her: Pax’s multicolored ones, and the beady eyes of the two weasel kits.

“Go to the nursery and check on Charlie and Ethel for me.” Her eyes softened at the names. 

Oh, Fortune bless Lucille. That would get Pax out of harm’s way. Besides, he was an excellent playmate for Charlie.

They walked as Axel finished strapping on his armor. Lucille led him out. Goodbyes—did they properly say goodbye? He remembered ruffling Pax’s hair, trying to ignore how Pax’s eyes welled with tears, the same way they always did before his cage matches—Don’t you dare die—and ducking under Jack’s attempted hug.

Their hallway was an offshoot from the main one. The main one had descended into chaos. Monsters and demigods jostled past each other. The Luke-thing’s howls left them panicked, disorganized, and disoriented. Its order was so primal: after them.

“Please proceed to battle in an orderly fashion. Please keep your voices low so you can standby for more orders!” Lucille’s charmspeak was sweet and kind. She never had the projection that Flynn’s snarls had, but all the soldiers within hearing distance slowed, relaxed, and fell more into military lines. The calming effect rippled to the others rushing by.

With the mob partially tamed, Axel could see down the hall towards Luke’s quarters. Part of the ceiling was collapsed. Krios, one of the Titan lords, stood beside the rubble with his arms folded, tapping his left bicep. “If you can’t ask nicely for help,” he said, voice booming, “then you needn’t bother asking at all.”

“Imbecile,” the not-Luke snarled back.

Krios rolled his eyes. “Some things never change.”

At least the Titan Lords seemed unbothered by Luke’s and Kronos’ unholy matrimony.

Something about seeing Krios standing there left Axel confused. “Kampe is leading us?” he asked. Hadn’t Luke mentioned something about Krios leading them through the labyrinth? Axel finished strapping on his old helmet. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it would keep his skull intact. His own confusion at the chain of events—going to Hecate’s realm, Flynn’s charmspeak, Kronos’ screams—was clearing.

Lucille nodded, helping up a demigod who had fallen in the chaos. “Yes.”

The younger camper blushed, thanked her, and darted after the others.

Axel felt skeptical. “But, she’s a jailor.” Did they give battle lessons in Grecian jail school?

“Luke gave her Ariadne’s string,” Lucille said, “The others are going to follow her.” She nodded to the disciplined line up at the labyrinth entrance. Because of newly established order, support was able to come through. Matthias could be seen walking down the line, chest puffed up and shoulders pulled back, as he handed out goody bags of ambrosia and, if Axel had to guess, fart bombs. He and a dracaena checked monster and demigod armor and handed out extra weapons.

Lucille continued, “She’s known to be a powerful entity—like Atlas. Why do you think Luke wanted Atlas when he had the other Titans?”

Recognition meant a lot to mythological beings. Axel clenched his jaw. Just another mythological aristocracy, as Alabaster would say. “Being a famous jailor doesn’t make a good strategist.”

They were approaching the labyrinth entrance. Axel had steered clear of this place, especially after Chris Rodriguez never came back. Selene Beauregard had told Luke that he was alive at Camp Half-Blood, but that he’d been left to babbling incoherence. Chris was the only one who had come out alive.

Another foolish scheme to send a demigod when a monster could thrive in the labyrinth.

Axel could see the mark of Daedalus. Alabaster had explained the symbol to him: a glowing blue D above the labyrinth entrance. Any time he walked in the hallway, it stuck out sorely: an exploitable security risk that had, indeed, been exploited. He didn’t understand why everyone had treated it like a kitty door for coatimundi to wander in. Jack and Pax had given him a weird look the day he’d growled, “It’s like no one else can see it.”

Watching how the others felt along the wall until finding a grip on the door, Axel realized the others really couldn’t see it.

Lucille glanced at him. “Are you nervous, Axel? It isn’t like you to protest so much.” She reached over to squeeze his arm. With Lucille’s status in the Attack and Battery unit and Axel’s recent rise to fame, no one minded how they cut in line. From the queasiness on some of the demigod’s faces, he assumed they wouldn’t have minded either way.

Axel stared at the entrance as they stepped up to it. He couldn’t stop his ears from twitching. Something felt wrong about this place. The strategist in him screamed. They were going underground—underground­—chasing after a demigod that could cause earthquakes. “What if Percy doubles back and collapses the tunnels on us?”

“Recent rumor has it, Percy sprinted away from Luke and did not look like he was coming back. He was scared of Kronos. We’re in his army and I’m scared of Kronos….” Her brow furrowed. “I’m glad Pax agreed to check on Charlie. I can only imagine how terrifying those shouts are for them.” She frowned, and reached to twirl a lock of hair that was tucked too far back to reach.

Axel winced. Them. She meant Charlie and Ethel. Ethel didn’t handle this kind of shouting well, and Charlie was only a kid. “If there’s one thing Ajax is good at doing, it’s distracting people from terror.” And he and Lucille both knew Pax would be a she (instead of a he) if it would make Ethel more comfortable.

Lucille might have been about to thank Axel.

“Move it,” a quivering voice came from behind them. Feigned bravado. Axel suspected the waiting was about the same as waiting for a delayed tooth extraction: sometimes you just want to get something over with.

Axel took a deep breath. “If I lose my mind and forget who I am, promise me you won’t let Ajax convince me I’m a famous weasel catcher on Discovery Channel.”

That earned a real giggle. Axel remembered how cute he thought Lucille was the first time he met her at Monster Donut, before he knew about Ethel. That seemed so long ago.

“Oh, don’t make me promise that! I think you’d make a charming show host.” She suddenly hopped onto the tips of her toes, coming close to his height. She rearranged her pilum, so she could hold it and her helmet in the same hand. With her hand freed, she gracefully lifted it up and lowered it towards Axel.

It took Axel a heartbeat or two to realize she was offering her hand the way she might for a ballet partner to spin her. Or for a partner dance? It was called something in French that Alabaster would have known.

Axel took his friend’s hand, sheepish at how scarred and rough his looked compared to her dainty fingers. The absurdity of it—a ballet pose before battle—made him laugh.

Axel had no delusions. She was holding his hand for his sake. A return laugh for the one his joke incited.

He and Lucille stepped into the darkness, hands held high, into one of the most dangerous places of the mythological world.

___

Thank all of you for reading! I think I rediscover my footing a bit better as a writer in the next chapter. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy! (AND THANK ALL OF YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS, ASKS, REBLOGS, AND SWEETNESS! You're making it so worth coming back! <3)

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[1] Jack, “You’re old enough now that you can have your own room where your fanclub will know how to find you alone and, potentially, underdressed—“ Axel, “Ajax and I are still sharing a room.” Jack, “B—but your fan club!” Lou Ellen, “But your fan club!”

[2] Pax, “ARE YOU INSINUATING LUKE WAS ONCE A BABY PANDA--?!”

[3] Mathew 28.

[theelderscrollsarchive]

Daughter of the Niben by Sathyr Longleat Bravil is one of the most charming towns in Cyrodiil, sparkling in her simple beauty, illustrious by her past. No visit to the southern part of the Imperial Province is complete without a walk along Bravil's exciting river port, a talk with her friendly native children, and, of course, in the tradition of the village, a whispered word to the famous statue of the Lucky Old Lady. Many thousands of years before the arrival of the Atmorans, the native Ayleid people had long lived in the vicinity of modern day Bravil. The Niben then, as now, provided food and transportation, and the village was even more populous than it is today. We are not certain what they called their region: as insular as they were, the word they used would be translated to simply mean "home." These savage Ayleids were so firmly entrenched that the Bravil region was one of the very last areas to be liberated by the Alessian army in the third century of the First Era. Though little remains of that era culturally or archeologically, thank Mara, the tales of debauchery and depravity have entered into the realm of legends. How the Ayleids were able to survive such a long siege is debated by scholars to this day. All, however, grant the honor of the victory to one of the Empress Alessia's centurions, a man called Teo Bravillius Tasus, the man for whom the modern town is named. It was said he invaded the village no less than four times, after heavy resistance, but each time upon the morning dawning, all his soldiery within would be dead, murdered. By the time more centuria had arrived, the fortified town was repopulated with Ayleids. After the second successful invasion, secret underground tunnels were found and filled in, but once again, come morning, the soldiers were again dead, and the citizens had returned. After the third successful siege, legions were posted outside of the town, watching the roads and riverway for signs of attacks, but no one came. The next morning, the bodies of the invading soldiers were thrown from the parapets of town's walls. Teo Bravillius Tasus knew that the Ayleids must be hiding themselves somewhere in the town, waiting until nightfall, and then murdering the soldiers while they slept. The question was where. After the fourth invasion, he himself led the soldiers in a thorough inspection of every corner, every shadow. Just as they were ready to give up, the great centurion noticed two curious things. High in the sheer walls of the town, beyond anyone's ability to climb, there were indentations, narrow platforms. And by the river just inside the town, he discovered a single footprint from someone clearly not wearing the Imperial boot. The Ayleids, it seemed, had taken two routes to hide themselves. Some had levitated up to the walls and hidden themselves high above, and others had slipped into the river, where they were able to breathe underwater. It was a relatively easy task once the strange Elves' even stranger hiding holes had been discovered to rout them out, and see to it that there were no more midnight assassinations of the Empress's troops. It may seem beyond belief that an entire community could be so skilled in these spells hundreds and hundreds of years before the Mages Guild was formed to teach the ways of magicka to the common folk. There does, however, appear to be evidence that, just as the Psijics on the Isle of Artaeum developed Mysticism long before there was a name for it, the even more obscure Ayleids of southern Cyrodiil had developed what was to be known as the School of Alteration. It is not, after all, much of a stretch when one considers that other Ayleids at the time of Bravil's conquering and even later were shapeshifters. The community of pre-Bravil could not turn into beasts and monsters, but they could alter their bodies to hide themselves away. A related and useful skill, to be sure. But not so effective to save themselves in the end.