#cod written by faith

[icarustypicalfall]

A new series :)

a group chat of cod men and yn who is a medic

idk this felt silly in my head to unleash my dump jokes I cant put in fics also i decided it'll be fem reader cuz idk i just wanted also it's not like anyone will read it im flopping soo bad but whatever enjoy this meal pookies I'll add new parts soon

someone with my two brain cells will fall for this

PART 1

guess who kidnapped yn hard edition

MASTERPOST • SERIES

[beevean]

🌻:> - curse-of-darkness

I really wish more people engaged with CoD in better faith, and didn't stop at the surface story about the cycle of revenge. I've been thinking recently about how much of a massive nerd Hector actually is lol

Same man! (ft. lil spidey)

But I'm talking about the game itself. Admittedly, most protagonists have a level of dorkiness to them: you have Alucard who is scared of elevators and throws peanuts into his mouth like a game, or Juste and his personal room, even Soma has his moments like using the Excalibur as a bludgeon. But Hector is just, I'm questioning how seriously he's taking his quest lol

He wastes time not only sitting on chair but judging them (the stump "is hard on the rear", no you don't say), he forges all manners of silly weapons by himself - he doesn't find them, he makes them! He has the idea! - some of his Devils are simply peak...

why is this thing the best weapon you can have against dracula.

But also in a more serious way, you have the Tiramisu fairy whose specialty is translating the inscriptions left by Sage Eneomaos, which hints at the fact that Hector enjoys studying and learning this kind of stuff. You know he's the kind of guy who in a college AU or whatnot he would gush about his major no matter who's listening lol.

And I don't know, I was just thinking about how fun it is to put the pieces together left by the game, even unintentionally. These games are fun to think about, I don't know what to tell you. And Hector is a well written, compelling character :P

oh and since you reminded me of this with your castlesibs tease: I'm not super fond of the idea that Hector's main weapon is the sword, because it doesn't help against the Edgy Alucard accusations lmao. I would either give him a rapier, which is still different from Alucard's sword, or assign him an axe, which would fit his more aggressive nature. Or, y'know.

Or if you want to get much more blatant... :P

(yes i know that these beeg weapons are the complete opposite of the rapier. both would go depending on the interpretation. i personally prefer the rapiers when it comes to playing lol)

all of this to say that I would like to imagine how Alucard and Hector would fight. Sure, Alucard would win, but they should have very different fighting styles, I think.

[mothmage]

20 Qs for fic writers

Tagged by @monstersinthecosmos , thank you!!!

1. How many works do you have on A03? 31 (and a few anon, i think 2 or 3. idk, when i post a fic on anon i forget about it forever)

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 446,135

3. What fandoms do you write for? currently/primarily vc, iwtv (amc), star wars, and merlin (bbc)!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? A Lovely Little Normal Life (which, honestly, kind of annoys me lol. i know it's just bc it's a huge fandom, but really? the stupid little 12k harry potter fic i wrote in two days is my most kudos? please...); Arthur Pendragon, Long May She Reign (forever pushing my lesbian genderswap agenda); The Face of God (les mis slightly canon divergent javert character study); The Odyssey of Recollection (amc iwtv s1 pov armand); Away From Stranger Tides (potc philip/syrena fic i started ages ago and never finished, lol)

5. Do you respond to comments? yes i love talking to people in comments!!!! i've made a lot of friends through comments!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? omg. umm. merthur fans don't know this yet bc i havent finished posting but it's arthur pendragon long may she reign (BUT it's part of a series, so it's literally fine). idk, i dont tend to write long fics that end angsty. but my angstiest fic in general is probably Hollow-Boned Boy (armand contemplating his human life in the early CoD era) or Vision of the Damned (daniel's turning from armand's pov)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i love a happy ending!! my series Odysseus in White Silk is probably the happiest ending, and in such an undeserved way hahaha it's so very AU because i was sad after s1 of the show and just wanted them all (and armandaniel) to live happily ever after

8. Do you get hate on fics? i dont think i ever have, but i tend to read comments in good faith too, so maybe someone out there is annoyed that i interpreted their vague dislike comment as a genuine comment or something, idk. in general though, i'll say no

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes but i dont post that often, idk if there's a particular kind, but generally it tends to be a little rougher than is probably appropriate without discussion in real-life situations, but also very...idk my friend described it as very tender, like theyre very clearly in love. which is so funny considering that that kind of tenderness irl gives me fucking hives lmfao

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? oh wow, not in a long time. i do have a wip sitting around rn that's a crossover between london spy and cloud atlas, which is really crazy until you remember that ben whishaw is in both london spy and the cloud atlas movie lol. and cloud atlas is already about weird reincarnations and parallel worlds and stuff, so it isnt too out-there.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? i dont think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? yes!! The Face of God was translated into Korean by ao3 user Crescent919 !! i've had a few comments on other fics asking to translate for personal use (always yes, of course), but no one else has asked to share a translation publicly

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? no!! i've been thinking about it lately though

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? all-time? probably merlin/arthur from merlin (bbc). it's the whole fate-destiny-choice thing, it just compels me like nothing else

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? hmmm, i would like to finish Roswell -- well, kinda (agent carter farm girl / alien crash landing au) because i still have all the original notes and outlines and stuff. i also made a shitty conlang when i was first writing it, which is crazy lol. but it would need some pretty serious revisions, and i would definitely rewrite the first few chapters that i posted years ago. i just kind of lost the agent carter bug, but i might return to that fic if i ever get in the mood for it again.

16. What are your writing strengths? ooh, i'm not really sure! i get a lot of comments mentioning characters' voices and/or personalities, so i would say maybe that!!! i also feel that i'm fairly good at mimicking an author's writing style when i want to (notably, i do not mimic anne rice when writing vc fic, lol)

17. What are your writing weaknesses? editing for sure. i have at least a hundred fics sitting on my hard drive fully or almost-fully written that i just need to edit. but i would simply rather die than do all of that. it's also why my whole merlin fic got put on pause while i went down the vc rabbithole, because i just can't bring myself to go edit the next chapters lol

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? hmm, i think it's usually unnecessary and comes off as a bit silly. that said, i did do it once (maybe excessively) in Daniel Molloy, Time Bandit (1984 daniel ends up in 1794 theatre des vampires, it's more of a character study than a time travel fic) BUT, let me defend myself -- i did it because daniel doesnt understand french, it's his pov, and he's incredibly confused and distraught for most of the fic. i felt like the dialogue being in french conveyed this sort of "daniel does not belong in this time/place" vibes. but, also, my french is...a little rough. so i'm sure it's an annoying fic for french readers lmao

19. First fandom you wrote for? warriors cats, a million years ago hahahah

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? ok, i have three different answers for this. the fic i think is the best, objectively, in terms of writing and content: The Story of Dani [...] (r63 devil's minion from armand's pov, starting with lestat's house). the fic i am the proudest of, mostly because it was my first "big" fic (it's funny now, bc it's only 41k) and i feel like i grew a lot as a writer while working on it, and i'm still happy with it: The Face of God (les mis pov javert, character study from childhood). the fic i have the most fun with and think about almost 24/7: Arthur Pendragon, Long May She Reign (r63 merthur, canon divergence, this is like a 4-part series that's currently over 300k lmao)

no-pressure tagging: @aunteat @leslutdepointedulac @butchybats @graygiantess and anyone else who wants to!!

[variousqueerthings]

Coming back to this laaaate, but @brilliantfantasticgeronimo hope it's okay I pull this onto a post, because it's easier for me to focus on than in replies!

this idea that the Doctor lands someplace and ruins everyone's day by being so Badass and Awestriking isn't really a Thing in Nu!Who "is also contrasted with the theme of the doctor inspiring *others* to do things (v Explicit theme in s1 but it's present in all those other CoDs you mention)... re:2, i think the one exception would be 7 but i think with 7 the chess-god-manipulator thing works bc we see the consequences of it thru ace. we also see it w/ amy and river but (cont) but i feel we never quite grapple w/ it emotionally (they adore the doctor anyway in the end) (except for a handful legit, hard-hitting eps like the girl who waited or town called mercy). .. and altho in both classic who and rtd who the companions function as a very important role *in the text*, u can still find fandom completely ignoring that and treating doc's 1-10 as power fantasies as well. so it's smth always there but that moffat rlly made literal also i've really liked your posts on asexuality on dw and idk if you've written this but just in case, i think it's also relevant to the very specific way some het guys are so protective of the doc's asexuality/aromancy(+the show's): "asexuality" as it functions in dw is celebrated by those guys ( i suspect) bc it gives the fantasy power over the "womanly wiles" - it's a proof of how the doc is so "enlightened" and "above" the temptress or seduction trope. (cont) (csdkjf sorry for going ott on replies rip) and it's also why i think in moffat's who the doc's sexuality is kind of tied to the idea of it like... """humbling"" or ""humanizing"" the character (as problematic as those ideas are,,, i think there's a basis to deduct that they come from before in canon)

OKAY SOOOO HI!

I just watched The God Complex right after The Girl Woman Who Waited so I'm riding that high of Consequences! Emotional Follow-through! Mmmm good plots!

I have not actually seen 7 yet outside of cute clips with Ace and ofc when he died due to the American healthcare system + gang warfare if I'm remembering correctly? and became our beautiful bouncing boy Eight, so iiiinteresting that this is a Thing, I didn't know that 👀👀👀👀👀

again, God Complex + Girl Who Waited feel like the most this era has explored Eleven's kinda... vibes around in terms of being some big Machinator who ruins peoples lives by dragging them into his shit, because he cannot Not: "I stole your childhood and now I’ve led you by your hand to your death. But the worst thing is I knew. I knew this would happen, this is what always happens. Forget your faith in me. I took you with me because I was vain. Because I wanted to be adored. Look at you. You’re glorious, Pond, the girl who waited for me. I’m not a hero. I really am just a mad man in a box. And it’s time we saw each other as we really are." Mmmm good stuff

we'll see how the next episodes do/season 7, but I've heard good things about Town Called Mercy which is an episode that I was not taking in at allll last time, because I was kind of... annoyed... by then.... and not really taking in good stuff (unlike this time)

ASEXUALITY ON DW IS LIKE! LOOK I'M WRITING OUT A SCRIPT FOR A YOUTUBE VIDEO BECAUSE IT'S SO FASCINATING RIGHT??? BOTH IN TERMS OF HOW THE CHARACTER EMBODIES AN AROACE IDENTITY AS ALIEN AND AS OTHERED WITHIN THEIR OWN SOCIETY AND AS A PERSON WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE THESE THINGS --- AND IN HOW FANDOM THINKS ABOUT THE WORD "ASEXUALITY"

(will I ever actually put together a youtube video, who knows, but I could, I edit professionally for parts of my job, and I have the Receipts!) (but the energy of it all youknow)

I am so pleased you spelled out the "womanly wiles" trope, because yes, I hadn't quite seen that, but had been circling around like... the Enlightened Asexual (or the Celibate Monk as I believe M*ffat once called it with reference to Sherlock) (and then someone like Irene Adler is the epitome of that Temptress in his version of the story...)

and what you're saying about "humbling" and "humanising" is so fascinating, because ofc to a bunch of us aces and aros and aroaces the part where the Doctor struggles to form normative relationships is one of the the most humanising factors, and ofc M*ffat especially likes the "Godlike" Doctor quite a bit but it comes back to these ideas of allosexuality and alloromanticism

but then also rejects a lot of those ideas, from memory, for being too simplistic after all, because people struggle to write the Doctor as simply alloromantic and allosexual (I've heard because the Doctor is alien, because the Doctor is more compelling when lonely, because the narrative couldn't sustain it, etcetcetc, but in the end it all comes back to "the Doctor as Character cannot get into these relationships for... reasons...." and that becomes compelling character)

(also Gomez!Master is like "we're so beyond this, we're the best thing ever, we're nemeses, we're besties, my homeboy, my rotten soldier, my silly rabbit," etcetcetc... paraphrased. but that's in M*ffat era)

(the more the show flirts with allosexuality and alloromanticism the more nuanced the Doctor becomes to me as an aroace character! because no longer is it an Enlightened Mightier Than Thou Cannot Be Touched Celibacy type Concept, it's someone who's being affected by deep relationships and very often unable to equate them using simple terms!!!! arghhh it's sooooo!!!! SOOOOOO!!!!!!!)

[collinnmckinley]

I saw you talking about the article Roukin liked and there is a thread on Twitter showing some of the other COD actors who have liked things supporting zionism/Israel (it includes Elliot, Claudia, Maria, Julian and one more).

I mean, I wasnt expecting him out of everyone because he didnt give out any hints he would not only support is*rael, but like a truly islamophobic article like that. Maybe I had faith in him to keep be a sensible human being because of all the SAG AFTRA marches. P

But I also didnt have any hope from the rest of the cast anyway because

1. Maria declared she supported is*rael from the beginning. The same week when shit hit the fan.

2. Eliot and Claudia are literally friends with a zionist who plays frenchie in The Boys.

I expected more from Claudia. She's a native middle eastern. Why do you think she was cast as 'Farah'?

3. I never invested in Julian to begin with, as much as I did with the other cast.

4. I'm not sure if Barry liked it or not but I'm not going to exclude exclude him because I dont have trust in anyone. Especially after making the "peace" post and deleting it immediately after.

I guess this news about Samuel hit harder than most. I don't recommend having faith in actors to do the best because you'll get burned. But I at least expected him to be a decent human fucking being. Now that it's declared that most, if not all, the cast are zionist, my expectations are none to exist.

All in all, if they cant fucking see the contrast between reboot MW and Palestine rn, then they are blinder than bats. They're going to be written in the history as the zionists who supported genocide and if thats what they wants, then its fine by me.

[aleisters]

ok i realize that my message came across weird cause i didnt elaborate but its nasty how they sexualize astarion making him some kinda daddy dom cuz disregard all of the lore and cod is especially bad cuz theyve taken to simping for literal irl russian terrorists

i genuinely think it’s rlly cool of you to acknowledge your ask sounded weird. however.

aside from the fact it came off misogynistic, i’m personally hung up on the context of you messaging this stuff because you disagreed w my opinion that tiktok is the single worst way to consume art.

like… we can talk about people’s headcanons being weird if you want but it’s a separate conversation. i’m so cereal right now about what tiktok and its imitators are doing to our sense of appropriate behaviour, what it’s doing to the sphere of “content”, and most importantly the way it dilutes and damages art and regurgitates it. i just care more about that than if someone wants astarion to tell them they’ve been a naughty little girl, you know?

it’s a weird context to bring this stuff up in, particularly because someone sexualising our blorbos in a way we’re personally unhappy about is ultimately harmless and doesn’t do anything, at worst “daddy dom astarion” could be argued as further media illiteracy but imo that would be really disingenuous of me to claim.

finally: those people are on tumblr and twitter and everywhere else too. like tiktok is a bad platform but when it comes to the actual people in the fandom spaces, they’re everywhere. your russian terrorist likers are 100% also on tumblr (eta: i’m not saying terrorist simps are harmless, i just don’t know about that so it’s beside the point to me). this isn’t a platform exclusive issue. these annoying people will also be queer and trans, in addition to whatever helping of cishet people.

i hope you engage with this post, which is way too long and earnest for a sunday morning, with the good faith in which it was written, i’m not mad at you but i think we had a time and a place issue … i’m talking about how the tiktok format is destructive to art and you’re talking about how you don’t like ppl in your fandoms and these are just unrelated issues

[rainismdata]

Rain is here!! ^^

rainismdata (laufeysongm1n9i) [Ao3]

rainismdata [Twitter/X and Discord]

[◽️] #hmdlm or "The Living Medicine" is fake tweets of House MD characters; where everybody is alive, healthy, and happy. [◽️] #hilsoneulogy or "Eulogy for The Head and The Heart" is a collection of mini songfic, sickfic, or MCDfic; where I collect my sadness towards House or Wilson's death/sickness/pain in headcanons. [◽️] #hilson ff (with space) is a collection of currently read or subscribed stories (also my recommendations) [◽️]

[◽️] #hmdshots #rainshots or is a collection of LQ screenshots that I took while watching House MD, and then any other movies/series. [◽️] #rainedits is a collection of my amateurly edited pictures (using PicsArt); including wallpaper/lockscreen. [◽️] #rainfics #rainff is a collection of my written stories (fanfictions, prompts, drabble, fake tweet, fake chats, etc). #rainocs is for my OCs. [◽️] rainplays is a collection of me talking about games. [◽️]

About Me (+preferences):

Welcome to my ✨fantasy world 💖✨

I'm Rain, the “I'm fluent in Google Translate” enjoyer, reader, and writer. [Yes, I am quoting Stephen Strange.]

[[ 2⃣5⃣ she/they 💓💛💙 eng/idn 🔞 (MDNI on NSFW things) ]]

This account stands for every thing I could find or any thing I would read. So, basically I can read anything; and I can just leave it alone if it's not my preferences (on tropes, ships, or genres)

OTPs: Albert×Chris (RE), Batman×Superman (DC), Wong×Strange (Marvel), Wilson×House (House MD), Price×Ghost (CoD), Castiel×Dean (SPN), Eddie×Buck (9-1-1), Maverick×Iceman (TG/TG-M), Higuruma×Nanami (JJK), etc.

I'm also having an agenda with crackpairs/rarepairs. I'm not RPS, but if you are— you do you^^

Also— ✨M-PREG✨

Games I currently play on devices: Arena of Valor, Baldur's Gate 3, Call of Duty (series: OG and Reboot Modern Warfare, Black Ops, Infinite Warfare), Counter Strike, Death Stranding, Dynasty Warriors (6-9), God of War (2018 and Ragnarok), Minecraft, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, Resident Evil (4-8, Remake 1-4, Revelations 1-2, Code Veronica), SuperStar rhythm games (ATEEZ, SM, JYP, YG, Cube, Woollim), The Last of Us (1-2), Warriors Orochi (3-4, +Ultimate)

dividers by: @cafekitsune and @enkeli-moonsys

Now that you're here—

I do have another account for korean thingie (series, movies, music), but here I am still proudly announcing that I am CREZL's Pretzel 🥨 😌✨ I am a fan of a crossover quartet voice group; Lim Kyuhyung (Tenor/Musical), Jo Jinho (Pop/PENTAGON), Kim Suin (Korean Traditional Musician), and Lee Seungmin (Baritone/Opera).

They covered iCorre! (Jesse & Joy), Faith (Stevie Wonder ft. Ariana Grande), Kill This Love (BLACKPINK), Higher (Michael Bublé) on the show as one of the top three quartet finalists of Phantom Singer season 4. [Also, Faith performance has got them the highest score from producers/judges in the whole seasons (S1-S4); 593 points from 6 producers of one for 98 and five for 99 points.]

Recently, CREZL released a mini album "CRE:㘉" with "Forbidden Love" as the title track and 4 more songs in the album.

[herserenegrace]

How This Started

I'm gonna be blunt: This whole "journey of new faith" has been weird as shit for me for a couple reasons. One, I'm not the kind of person with any interest in worshiping any kind of divinity. Not my thing, don't have any plans to start doing it. Two, I stumbled into all of this pretty much by accident. Three, the whole thing started in fucking Minecraft of all things. I'll start there.

(Having now written the rest of this and realized how long it is, I'm gonna slap a "read more" here so I don't have to scroll past this whole thing down the line if/when this blog has more posts to dig through.)

I've been playing Minecraft since somewhere around 2012 or 2013. Friend of mine got me into it by letting me play it on their computer, I got hooked, and been playing ever since, with varying degrees of consistency. I've gravitated mostly towards farming and doing some basic redstone, in large part because caving and fighting mobs sets off my anxiety all to hell. The main side effect of this is that I very much prefer playing in SMP, where I can let other people do the parts I find stressful while I focus on keeping everyone stocked on things like food and wood. I've also grown to enjoy fishing in Minecraft, one part because it's incredibly chill, two parts because it's one of the easier ways to stock up on Mending, and it doesn't require tracking down a village.

Sometime last year or so, I started up a Minecraft world with a few friends. We had a great time with it, and I took to fishing as I often do to stock up on enchanted books, saddles, and enchanted bows to pass around. At some point later in the year, after we'd gotten well established and fully kitted out, I was consistently fishing to try getting Unbreaking III and Mending for whenever we finally decided to go to the End and acquire some elytra. I had a long string of bad luck where I was getting everything except what I was looking for, and decided to try something off the wall.

I had a design for a little altar-type thing for a while, made out of a few stairs and some slabs. Nothing particularly fancy, but I happen to like the look of it. I grabbed some supplies, found an empty patch of ground that no one had any plans for, and put together a small hut. I think the interior was only 7x7 or thereabouts. I put the altar at the back, put in some barrels for storage, and some stairs to represent benches inside. Above the altar I put an item frame and slapped a cod in there, rotated so that it was horizontal. With that done, I grabbed one of the raw cod I had sitting around, threw it onto the altar and basically put out a short prayer to whoever was listening.

My luck immediately turned around and I started getting exactly what I'd been struggling to find for literal days before that. I decided to take this as a minor sign that someone was listening, and started making a habit of occasionally throwing some spare fish on the altar as an offering. It kept working, admittedly to varying degrees. That was when I realized I should probably have a name to use for whatever divinity I had stumbled into, and decided on Her Serene Grace. Took me at least a week to remember "Serene Grace" is a Pokemon ability, but that's neither here nor there. The name's stuck.

Towards the end of last year, all of us got busy with the holidays and whatnot, and the server went inactive long enough for the host we were using to shut it down. We did manage to get the world backups, so nothing's lost, but earlier this year we decided to start up a new world and start from scratch. Right after it was set up, the person who took care of that set up popped into the world to make sure it was working, and we had a spawn on the edge of snowy plains and a taiga. I got the seed and did a biome finder to figure out which direction we should head in to settle down, because none of us wanted to be stuck in a snow biome. Managed to find a nice spot about 2000 blocks east, with a good size sunflower plains with a flower forest in the middle of it that's surrounded on all sides by a river. It wound up being a really nice spot to settle down.

Anyways, once we got into the world and got rolling, one of the first projects I set for myself was putting together a new shrine to Her Serene Grace. Our resident explorer/miner managed to get me some lava and we had spruce saplings on hand from near the world spawn, so I got a cobblestone generator going and decided to build using stone brick and spruce planks. Went with 7x7 for the interior again, set up at a nice spot along the coast, and put a little fishing spot nearby; just a canopy, a bed, and some chests for storing fishing loot.

While I was working on that, our explorer/miner found an abandoned mine shaft and did some light grinding to get me a full stack of string so I could make fishing rods until I got one with Mending. Made my first fishing rod, and got to fishing. I slacked on doing any offerings at that point, but made sure to leave the first tropical fish I caught in a barrel in the shrine as a bit of thanks for the ongoing help. Once my first fishing rod got close to breaking, I made the next one, and when that one wore down, the two got combined to make them last as long as possible. Rinse repeat until I managed to get a rod with Unbreaking III and Mending while on my fifth crafted fishing rod. Decided at that point to say that five is Her Serene Grace's sacred number, though three has wound up more significant so far.

Somewhere after that is when things start turning in a direction that made me consider making this blog. There was the whole archaeology update recently, and our explorer/miner decided they wanted to track down all of the varieties of pottery sherds, and specifically get at least four of each so they could make one of each pot where all four sides are the same design. Hell of a task to assign yourself, but it is what it is. Anyways, they were trying to get the sherds found in cold ocean ruins, and their luck was absolutely terrible. Kept getting junk over and over again. So I (half jokingly) recommended going to the shrine of Her Serene Grace, grabbing a fish from one of the barrels (because I had enough to throw some in there just in case), and throwing the fish on the altar as an offering. They went for it, and their luck turned around immediately. Got several sherds in a row, and very quickly had the full set from that biome.

Also among the stuff they got once their luck turned were several fishing rods with Mending. Eventually, somewhere around searching warm ocean ruins, their luck seemed to run out. They went back to the shrine, grabbed a fish and tossed it on the altar, but nothing seemed to change. So I (again, half jokingly) suggested taking one of those Mending rods, doing some quick fishing, and taking the first cod or salmon they caught to the shrine as a new offering. That immediately worked, and their luck picked back up.

Now, I'm a firm believer that when dealing with spiritual matters, one should always consider mundane possibilities first. It's a form of discernment, which is an incredibly important skill to have. I have trouble calling all of this coincidence, though. The consistency of it is kind of uncanny, and I get the feeling this is something to take at least somewhat seriously. I'm still not the type to offer worship, but I am open to a mutually beneficial working relationship, and that seems to be working out so far. I've been thinking on the details of the faith, and a lot is falling out of logical extrapolation (like the Three Virtues, which I'll probably post about soon). Some of it feels less like it's coming from me, though, which is admittedly a bit of a new experience for me. Still considering if that's actually anything solid, though.

So yeah. Teal deer is that I stumbled into an accidental fishing goddess while playing Minecraft, and the faith is working well enough that I'm willing to explore it further in a more serious manner. Though the weirdest part is that I have absolutely no interest in fishing outside of video games. It's honestly something that makes me kind of uneasy. But this is where I've wound up, and I'm gonna roll with it. Just how life goes, I guess.

[sarnews]

Furious Parents Take Daughter Out Of Nursery After Finding ‘Erotic’ Image In Children’s Book

An LGBT children’s book has been blasted over its pedophile symbolism and sexualized images

One outraged couple removed their young child from a UK nursery school saying that she was being exposed to sexual imagry in the book.

The parents, Will and Maria Taylor from Hull, said they took action after they were left unhappy by the response from staff at the city’s Genesis Pre-School.

JOIN THE FIGHT: BECOME A CITIZEN JOURNALIST TODAY!

Screenshots from the book Grandad’s Pride started circulating on social media lastweek, raising concerns about the content and whether it was appropriate for children.

In one illustration from the book, two men wearing what appears to be bondage-themed gear are seen kissing each other in public during a pride parade.

The Mirror reports: At first the mum did not notice the images but after another parent flagged the content to them the couple decided to take matters up with nursery staff. But after being unsatisfied by the response from staff they decided to pull their four-year-old daughter out of the pre-school.

The book, Grandad’s Pride, written and illustrated by Harry Woodgate, includes a depiction of two men kissing at a pride event while dressed in black leather gear. The publisher has said it is a “faithful representation of Pride Celebrations” but the image has caused controversy among some online groups, Hull Live reports.

Will said: “We identified two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear. One has a leather cod-piece moulded tightly around his crotch along with garters running down his thighs. He also has a studded dog collar around his neck and knee high boots. Both have various leather straps around their bodies and studs/spikes. The main and most immediate concern is that children have been exposed to at least two age-inappropriate sexual or erotic images of a man in what can only be reasonably described as ‘bondage/fetish/BDSM’ gear.”

The couple decided to tell nursery staff they thought the book was inappropriate but they became concerned by the response they got, prompting them to remove their daughter. Will said: “When we went to the nursery to raise concerns about the book, to be honest, we expected staff to instantly apologise and that would be the end of the matter. But the safeguarding lead began to defend the images. They argued the children would not understand or perceive erotic or sexual images. Staff claimed the image was just portraying “dress-up” and would not be perceived as erotic by a child as they have no idea what “erotic�� is. They disagreed with our assessment that the images are erotic and stated “that’s just your opinion”.

“But this was no justification in our eyes. Arguing with us over the appropriateness of these sexual images quickly damaged the trust we held for the nursery team. At this stage I was concerned and took our daughter out of the nursery.”

It gets worse

A Twitter user also found details on another page of the book that she believed had some concerning symbolism according to The Publica:

“Two MAPs alongside the side ‘Love Is Love is Love,’” user @blablafishcakes wrote. “If you know the code, you know. If you don’t: MAPs are Minor Attracted Persons and Love is Love is the covert little mantra of pedophiles.”

The term “Minor Attracted Person” was first coined by a pro-pedophilia lobby group called B4U-ACT, which was founded in 2003 by convicted child rapist Michael Melsheimer. Melsheimer explicitly stated that the purpose of the organization was to normalize pedophilia where he felt the National Association of Man-Boy Love had failed to do so.

“MAP” has become a popular way for pedophiles to identify themselves on the internet. Social justice activists have also taken to using the term for “non-offending” pedophiles, which some are claiming represent a marginalized sexual minority.

The backlash against Grandad’s Pride is just the latest in a battle parents and child safeguarding advocates have waged against “pride” books aimed at children.

[beevean]

I honestly don't even think N!Juste was written as being the team's take on Bad End Juste, because that's too niche for the level of care shown by Nocturne.

They realized that Juste would still be alive but old by the time of RoB, they had the idea of turning him into Cynical Mentor X.0 for the sake of having Richter regain faith in himself by shitting on the cynical old man, and then they made a perfunctory research on the character to find out he has two partners friends and "oh, if we kill them off, we have our Tragic Backstory to explain why he's such an asshole!"

This is, after all, the same team that had N!Hector wear Hector's CoD uniform and N!Isaac wear Isaac's PtR uniform, without any rhyme or reason beyond "we found it on the wiki gallery". Zero cohesion, zero care, just a couple of references on the level of "HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW FANS SEE WE MENTIONED LYDIE AND MAXIM AREN'T WE JUST SO FANS"

... also yeah HoD simply couldn't have happened as we know it. If Dracula is still alive and enjoying his vacation, he can't have left his remains. Lol. Lmao even. I love this adaptation of a videogame series where no game has happened so far.

You know how the "Manchild" angle with N!Hector has no real basis in Hector's actual character, but there's this one manga line that *could* be taken entirely out of context, if we try to give them credit? That's how I feel about N!Juste and the "What on earth should I do with myself now...?" line from HoD's bad ending.

I feel like - trying to be as charitable as possible - they read that as meaning Juste would become entirely disaffected and checked out if his friends die. The first issue ofc is that they didn't actually adapt the bad ending - HoD requires Dracula's remains to have happened, and the bad ending is a result of Juste failing to understand Maxim, and having bad priorities. Not merely failing to stop a vampire in time because he wasn't strong enough. (In fact a significant portion of the impact comes from how Juste was strong enough, and that doesn't matter when it comes to what's important).

And the second issue, is that it ignores the rest of the context. Juste still has duty to carry on the Belmont line and train his successor, and, he's been set up as a dutiful man - again, that's part of the bad endings impact. That a bad end Juste was so focussed on his duty to defeating his enemies and complete his quest, he would miss that he was supposed to collect the remains, the differences between the two castles, and that there was still a way to get through to his friend.

This is why N!Juste's character still doesn't line up with game Juste, and feels so lazy(I mean. It was lazy. I think what actually happened is that they already wanted to write a stock Trevor 2.0 bitter sadman Juste to prop up their gutted Richter, and just saw this line as validating the idea). It's pretty clear to me that the line is actually meant to be anguish about how Juste just lost the two people who meant everything to him, not that he won't ever actually know what to do with himself. I maintain that a bad ending Juste would be more likely to throw himself even harder into his family role, since it's all he has left, and would have likely had a very direct hand on training his successors no matter which ending - which is already implied by the gameplay across series imo.

[icarustypicalfall]

rear view

rudy parra x reader

prompt by the beautiful @glitterypirateduck from her head canons right here <3

summary: your husband takes it on his behalf to fix your car, and mayne teach you a thing or two.

warnings: none, sfw, pure fluff, writer knows nothing about cars and used a YouTube video for names cuz i forget them a lot 💀

note: I couldn't spare time to write the other second parts to my other fics because much stuff is on mind (i blame courses but you didn't hear it from me) bare w me pook :0

"give me some morphine"

Summer felt ethereal, with cool nights spent in the warm embrace of your husband's hometown, reveling in each other's presence.

The majority of your time was devoted to hosting delightful gatherings, inviting friends over for barbecues. Among these occasions, you had the pleasure of encountering Rudy's colleagues, his brothers who held his utmost trust. You did enjoy these moments, but being alone with Rudy was an entirely different euphoria. He possessed a tender nature, a resolute man who wore his heart on his sleeve. This charismatic gentleman enchanted you effortlessly.

"mi cielo.. I have never witnessed a beauty like you before.. If heaven is real, your eyes are the windows"

Rudy was an enigma, a puzzle whose depths you could only admire, never fully decipher. How could the stoic sergeant, known for barking commands and battling cartels, be utterly captivated by you? He yearned for your attention, effortlessly remembering every tiny detail about you. Nevertheless, you had no complaints; he was a gift, a gracious blessing from Mother Nature to those less fortunate.

"Amor, it's burning out here. Please, avoid the sun," Rudy exclaimed, raising his gaze from the car hood, his brows furrowed in concern. Undeniably, it was a sweltering evening, a usual summer day in Las Almas.

You gracefully retreated, opting to perch on the doorstep, observing your husband as he toiled on your car.

Earlier, you had complained about the vehicle's malfunction, making Rudy take it upon himself to adress the issue.

He toiled shirtless, leaning against the imposing car. His bare back flexed with each forward motion, droplets of sweat adorning his scarred skin imparting an alluring radiance beneath the scorching Mexican sun. With a sigh, Rudy set aside the wrench and rested his hand upon the car's hood. He leaned slightly against the grille, inspecting something intently.

You smiled, sighing contentedly as you drew your knees closer to your chest, tenderly caressing your leg while tilting your head to the side. Observing your husband as he worked was your favorite activity, his focused traits and calm demeanor made you chuckle slightly. He was your beloved man.

Rudy glanced up, chuckling warmly as he motioned for you to approach. Curiosity piqued, you peeked beneath the hood, raising an eyebrow. Although you possessed some knowledge about cars (less than minimum, you have no clue how you got a driver license), you preferred leaving repairs to professionals.

Rudy gently clasped your hand, his calloused and now soiled palm enveloping yours as he whispered in your ear, "Well, amor, I believe I found the problem."

Guiding your hand, his fingers led yours to rest upon a yellowish handle. "Give it a pull," he instructed.

Confusion clouded your mind as you obediently complied. The handle swiftly detached, revealing a metallic rod coated with a residue akin to the oil that stained Rudy's hands. He held the object delicately, presenting it to you with a tender smile.

"This, amor, is a dipstick. We use it to monitor the oil level in the engine," Rudy explained, his dark eyes penetrating yours. Gripping the end of the dipstick, he pointed out the small perforations and minuscule markings.

"It is prefered to regularly check the fluids in the engine, imbalance, whether too little or too much oil, can lead to problems.

In your case, it seems there was insufficient oil. Do you see these maximum and minimum marks? They indicate the acceptable oil level."

His tone exuded confidence and playfulness as he explained. Rudy was surely quite advanced and had more knowledge than you did. He smiled, wipping the stick with a small cloth.

A faint blush tinted your cheeks as you nodded, acknowledging your negligence. Rudy erupted in laughter, his bright personality and humor filling the air. He returned the dipstick to its rightful place before turning his attention back to you.

"Well, amor, no need to panick. Now you know what to inspect before assuming the worst. Sì?"

Once again, you nodded, this time intertwining your fingers with his warm hand and tenderly caressing his cheek.

"Thank you Ru'... You waited so long to show off these skills, didn't you?"

"What skills?" he playfully queried.

"Fixing cars... You must be quite proud," you teased.

He chuckled, encircling his arm around your waist and drawing you closer for a kiss. His voice carried a mischievous undertone as he whispered, "Surely, I deserve a kiss after all, don't you think?"

*dying from how cute he is*

𓆩♡𓆪 kindly like and rebelog 𓆩♡𓆪

MASTERPOST

[beevean]

i know its been a hot minute but i just wanna say thank you for all the netflix castlevania show criticisms. your blog has literally been a lifeline for me as i grapple with watching the whole thing for the first time and just. being SO disappointed that it clearly had the potential to be good and they just shot themselves in the foot for. fuck idk some weird notion of "trolling"???? i guess???? i havent found a single thing here i disagree with yet lol

Thank you 🥰

I browsed your blog a little and it seems that you liked the show more than I did lol - which is fair ofc, but I'm glad that we can agree at least in part on its flaws, namely my man Hector deserved so much better fuck you Ellis and Deats bros I hope no one ever hires Ellis again

(Trevor, Alucard and Isaac also deserved far better, all for different reasons)

Yeah, it had potential, especially early on. The fights are excellent. While I prefer his CoD personality over his NFCV one, Trevor had a good character arc in S1 and a fairly sympathetic backstory that is more or less canon-compliant. Dracula was both tragic and utterly terrifying, and I approve of the idea of exploring this dichotomy more. Hector as an anti-villain completely alienated by humankind but not cruel lives in my head rent free. And yeah, some scenes are very well written, like the classic "I'm killing our boy" and the scenes with the Captain and Miranda in S3.

It's just. Man. Sorry, but this is just not a well written product IMO. So much telling instead of showing. Character arcs flushed down the drain. Lines impossible to take seriously. Wasted villains. The horrible rape apologism!

And this is ignoring the fact that Ellis gleefully admitted he knew next to nothing about the series he was writing for, barely skimmed the wiki, and it shows. How can NFCV be called a faithful adaptation of the games is beyond me.

And spot on about the trolling. This is what gets me. Ellis admitting that he treated Hector's character with that amount of disrespect because... Theo James sounded too heroic for him? The weird spat with Adi Shankar which is apparently the reason for Those Scenes in the S3 finale? Even his comments about wanting to strangle IGA. What a wretched human being.

Anyway, thanks again for the nice message, I'm happy if I can make others feel less alone in their opinion <3

[lungos-liwayway]

They Should Be Dead: A Collection of Works by The Living

Early on during the quarantine, I suddenly had more time to indulge in media. After a few months, I’ve notice a pattern, so here it is: a list of shows and stories that all have living dead people. 

TV Shows

Ghosts (BBC) -  The series follows a collection of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants. This is a great show with well written plots, characters, and stories. I find it appeals especially to the queer and neurodivergent community.

What We Do In The Shadows - The series follows 4 vampires in a mockumentary format. If you like those shows where fiction meets real historical events, or just plain vampire humor, this is for you.

Pushing Daisies - The series follows a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations. Together with his formerly deceased childhood crush Chuck, private investigator Emerson Cod and co-worker Olive Snook, Ned uses his abilities to solve murder cases. Perfectly pleasing visuals, an interesting premise, and REALLY relatable for all of under quarantine. Lots of yearning.

Dead Like Me - George dies early in the pilot episode and becomes one of the "undead", a "grim reaper".  The show explores the experiences of a small team of such reapers, as well as the changes in George and her family as they deal with George's death. I’m not sure if the show employs edgy humor but I like it. It is slightly nihilistic in tone but the way it connects the experiences of life with the reality of death is a really interesting take. It’s perfect for teens and young adults. Also, Mandy Patinkin. 

The Good Place - Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman welcomed after her death to "the Good Place", a highly selective Heaven-like utopia designed and run by afterlife "architect" Michael as a reward for her righteous life. This series has everything: dreamlike scenes, nightmarelike scenes, philosophy, EAT THE RICH, genderless she/her icon Janet, good characters, accurate representations, and an all-around touching story.

Santa Clarita Diet - The series centers on husband and wife real estate team Joel and Sheila Hammond whose normal, boring lives change dramatically when Sheila shows symptoms of having become a zombie. The bewildered family seek a cure for her condition while dealing with its consequences. Wild family goes on the time of their lives because their mom has become a zombie. It’s great. They kill n*zis and a cop and eat them.

Star Trek - too many Star Trek episodes have the “oh no they died! anyway...” premise and aside from the idealistic paradise Gene Roddenberry pictured, death and resurrection are large themes in Star Trek.

Books/Graphic Novels/Short Stories

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya (by @reimenaashelyee​) - A two-volume Eisner-nominated graphic novel set in 17th century Istanbul and 18th century England, about a carpet merchant's reconcilitation with faith, love and home in the aftermath of his death by a vampire. It’s a great story. I’ll be telling this to everyone who will listen: the graphic novel is engaging and insightful, life cannot get better than this graphic novel. (Also: ACE REP!) Also by the author is The World in Deeper Inspection which explores the setting and premise of other characters.

The Shadow of The Wind (by Carlos Ruiz Zafón) -  Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. Magical realism abounds, it’s sinister, it’s beautiful, it’s a perfect book about dancing the line between death and life.

The Graveyard Book (by Neil Gaiman) -  Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead. Great book about growing up and leaving childhood. 

The Book Thief (by Markus Zusak) -  It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. Featuring Death themself as the omniscient narrator, the story intertwines with books and stories of life and of survival. It’s a sobering book but important to read.

May Day Eve (by Nick Joaquin) - Magical realism, time travel vibes. But most importantly, myth, enchantment, the Devil, passion, everlasting love. There’s a reason why this is required reading for Philippine colleges. I cry every time I read it. 

Movies

Night at The Museum Trilogy - Night guard in charge of museum. Exhibits come back to life, wacky shenanigans follow. The only downside to this is that they visited the British Museum and not one of the exhibits screamed “I DONT BELONG HERE! TAKE ME BACK!”

The Book Thief - I would say it’s a faithful enough adaptation of the book.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock

The Lovely Bones - astounding <3 ik she’s dead but letting her breach the curtain between life and death? Good shit.

What We Do In The Shadows - The mockumentary that started it all. Once again Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement are geniuses. And correct: all vampires know is be bisexual eat hot virgin and fly.

Musicals/Plays

Hadestown- Retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice. Folk type of music, features great talents and songs by Anaïs Mitchell. The story is good, it touches on capitalism, progress, labor, and love.

Indecent- Play exploring the play "God Of Vengeance" which was cited for indecency on Broadway for its themes and indecent acts committed by the actors. It begins as a play brought by several actors who rise from the ashes of the Holocaust and gradually extends to the multiple characters they become. I find this important for anyone interested in queer Jewish history.

I really like media focusing on death and life so recommend some and take some from the list!

ADDITIONAL NOTE: I have a really bad attention span but these stuff somehow get my brain. They're good.

[beevean]

NFCV deliberately hovers in that uncomfortable grey area where the inspiration to the source material is clear, but it's not faithful enough.

I'm just learning about LoS, but that timeline actually feels bold yet respectful. You cannot confuse the two, there is a stark departure from the main timeline, but there are many elements that match and make you go "ohh so that's where it comes from". The devs did their research and then simply remixed those elements.

NFCV wants its cake and eat it too. It wants to be an adaptation of CV3/SoTN/the CoD prequels. But it strays just enough from the source material to make it inaccurate, but not enough to feel deliberate. It feels clumsy and sloppy at best, disrespectful at worst. I don't get the feeling that LoS wanted to "fix the stupid games", it just wanted to be its own thing: NFCV's writing is very arrogant by comparison.

On top of that it's just badly written as its own thing lmao. So it fails on both accounts! It can be criticized as an adaptation for being wishy washy and missing the point of everything and steamrolling onto everything just because, and it can be criticized as its own universe.

At least Nocturne isn't even trying anymore :/

I guess i do sound a lil unfair n contradictory in my nfcv critiques since it strays too much from the og but also not enough. Idk how to explain it but there's a diff between doing a wild ass au/og story while keeping respect for the source material and wanting to do an og story but using the source material to w keep it recognizable and insulting said source at every turn. Or i guess im overanalyzing considering it also can't stand as it's own thing. And also how it's become the face of the franchise and such an "improvement" over those "silly games w no story" while the actual franchise with it's wonderful storytelling starves in a corner. Which would be more a fault of the consumers and not of the series but also the series very obviously feeds from this. Idk *shrugs*

[gstqaobc]

Our dear Queen: never alone THE MONARCHIST LEAGUE OF CANADA 🍁🇨🇦

FOR TOMORROW, OUR QUEEN'S ACTUAL BIRTHDAY,,,We invite members to respond by return email by completing one of the following sentences in no more than 25 words  of which we will publish an assortment of the most interesting tomorrow. You never know what might happen if yours is judged best.  NB: this challenge is not  the place to express condolences to The Queen or refer to her recent loss, which we each will do in our own way, with a full heart and no interest in publicity or reward. 1) I find The Queen's most endearing trait to be... 2) If I could ask HM one question, it would be... 3) If I were asked to give one piece of loyal advice to our Sovereign, I would say...   LEAGUE POETRY COMPETITION ON THE NINETY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY OF THE QUEEN THREE WINNING POEMSWe were surprised and delighted by the number of entries in this first poetry competition of the League. But then, given its subject, perhaps we should not have been taken aback. The sentiments were universally heartfelt and the loyalty clear.   We are therefore awarding three prizes. Two were written in English and one in French: naturally, we are not translating them! The first is a subtle evocation of The Queen’s sense of duty and her love of horses - the poet’s reference to giving up riding was of course an allusion to HM’s ceasing to ride at Trooping the Colour - she enjoys riding as relaxation to this day!  The second is true to the spirit of Holst’s stirring melody, known to many as “I Vow to Thee, My Country.”  And the third, the winner, explores HM’s Realms whimsically with a touch of gravity by means of their national foods.  The poems could not be more different - which is as it should be. Our thanks to all who entered the competition!  SECOND PRIZE TIED by Tom MacGregor, Ottawa ON QUEEN ELIZABETH’S 95th BIRTHDAY                On her ninety-fifth birthday,                I think of the Statue on Parliament Hill                Of her confidently seated                On a horse named Centennial                Given to her by                The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.                The small woman unveiled it                In 1991 after she had given up riding.                Still, she carried on                More than 60 years as Queen                And 95 of service.   FIRST PRIZE by an anonymous member who is donating  the value of the prize to supply a food treat to the homeless today in honour of The Queen’s birthday QUEEN OF THE SIXTEEN REALMS On the 95th birthday of Elizabeth II   PROLOGUE Elizabeth, to your Realms grandmother, sister, friend and Queen: How can we embrace you, and today let you know That we would your sorrow share, wish you could lean On our sixteen hearts, like the drums, beating slow. We look back as you must on Philip’s decades: Your strength and stay during storm and fair days. We gaze also to our future wish: grief ‘midst memories fades To joy of life full-lived, walked on the fields of praise.               So follows our birthday wish, from Realms richly diverse, Who now tune their heart-strings to the happier times Which will follow, dear Ma’am, as sure as sunrise: A great truth of life, which we need not more rehearse, But, rather, assure you: north, west, east, southern climes Gather round to uphold you, dear Queen - loving and wise!                   ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~    ~ ~ ~ Elizabeth, our Queen and friend, the nations’ joy and pride, Her 95th today is hailed through Realms both far and wide; And since all share in most fond wish to serve special birthday treat - These lines some local fare suggest - loyal banquet so replete!         In ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, small islands to be sure, But big in heart and loyalty - FUNGIE ‘tis special allure: Polenta-based and spicy hot, with pepperpot ‘tis served, A treat for their beloved Queen, one surely well deserved!         Down Under,  AUSTRALIAN mates present their VEGEMITE: This brewers’ yeast extract not yet the world’s delight! But served on toast throughout the land, a tribute singular - quite - Antipodean Queen finds on Aussie plate a most distinct delight.           THE BAHAMAS offers special dish: folk there pluck CONCH from sea: And dressed with lime and vegetables - ‘tis rich in Vitamin C!  Bahamian Sovereign will enjoy devouring “Queen Conch” recipe, Dressed with fruit, offered with love and Island loyalty         BARBADOS, amidst disloyal dance, bakes up its famed RUM CAKE On which Monarch’s pain at such dalliance might well her sweet tooth slake; Since toothsome confection is topped up with frequent rum infusion: EIIR hopes (though’d never say) “Drink deep: to republican confusion!”                 BELIZE proffers its BOIL UP, reminiscent of the pie in rhyme: No blackbirds for its Queen today, but fish, eggs, veggies: good time! Tis topped with broth and dough, then baked - a treat fit for a princess, The Central American domain diverse could offer her no less!         CANADA may indeed be home to most loyal Maple Throne: Thus on this day POUTINE shall stand in prominence, alone: Like the Dominion, flavours many, with toppings beyond measure - As each in own way toasts our Queen, the True North’s splendid treasure!                     GRENADA’s OIL DOWN, savoury-sweet, a one pot dish of stew, With coconut leaching flavours out to make each casserole new To taste - and variegated ever for all this island nation. Which prospers under Reign of she whose birthday brings elation!             Next in our roll of Realms, JAMAICA, island, of many peoples, blest To keep cool ‘neath tropical sun with ACKEE AND SALTFISH zest: Its spices mirror nation’s mix, from planters to Bobsled team; And dread-locked Rasta men, who share deepest love of Queen.                 PAVLOVA is NEW ZEALAND’s gift to the arts culinary, Its Kiwi, cream, meringue mix cherished by settlers as by Maori; Whether Hobbits share such taste, brave Frodo first and foremost, We know not - but all in the island realm drink to EIIR a toast!               If MUMU you were offered while exploring  PAPUA NEW GUINEA shore, Polyglot island lines hot coals with leaves - adds meats, fruit, veg and more, To make a stew from ground oven of savour nonpareil, Thus honouring their Queen and friend with two Hemispheres’ “hooray.”         SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS to birthday brings STEWED SALTFISH, which they blend With coconut dumplings and plantains for feasting without end, As no close they ever sight in good Queen’s service to tiniest sovereign state In Hemisphere - large  they be in duty, love - thus this day they fete!       SAINT LUCIA pairs fish and fig, GREEN FIG AND SALTED COD! Antilles population takes a week to give the nod To stew that melds, as island does two seas, Atlantic and Caribbean, And mix a Bounty cocktail to raise their glass to Queen!               A BREADFRUIT ROASTED in iron pot, add fried jackfish for great repast,   Is SAINT VINCENT & THE GRENADINES’ entrée, not easily surpassed: Its thirty-two islands celebrate their Monarch’s special day, Sing “...Land, so Beautiful” to big drum, calypso, steel pan and reggae!             Now Taro roots make sticky POI, SOLOMON ISLANDS’ favorite food, The wise old King lends his name to 900-strong island brood; Thus Melanesian Queen presides, with Governor-General elected: Their birthday bouquet beauteous, as from 200 orchid strains selected!                     TUVALU brings to feast PULAKA, swamp taro cooked for hours: Raising ocean discourages cultivation - ‘tis time for Commonwealth powers To use their world wide fellowship to save this crop essential: Their Queen fears global warming looms, Polynesian threat potential.               The UNITED KINGDOM is Elizabeth’s home, of sixteen Realms The Queen: No longer a colonial power, but from Empire’s legacy yet seen: Its “national dish” CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA now claims pride of place, Transcending old-style differences of climate, Raj and race!       ~! ~ ~   ~ ~ ~   ~ ~ ~ EPILOGUESo, all hail, dear Queen, gracious Lady: your true realms lie deep within, Not geographic, to be sure, but values kingly. gracious, human; Constant Commonwealth care for its nations great and small, Reflects deep-reciprocal, hailed to your heart, one voice echoed by all!     So here’s to Elizabeth - long may she reign, long live our monarch so great! Here’s to her courage in fair weather or foul, duty done, chosen not - happy fate! Here’s to the faith ever kept, beyond clamour of sectarian creeds; Here’s to the hope she brings all, so nourishing humankind’s needs; Here’s to her ninety-fifth birthday, her years’ gift to us, thus today we proclaim:God willing, all your Realms do their duty And each subject in turn do the same! 

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

[maaaddiexo]

Fireflies (The Weeping Monk)

Mainlist | Serieslist

Warnings: none

part 3/4 (4 for now; maybe more after second season release)

[part 4]

-

There weren’t any paths in the woods west of Travern so they often had to go out of the way to get around thick areas of trees. Once Y/N had regained her strength, she dismounted the horse and walked beside Squirrel on the round, looking for signs.

“Signs of what?” Squirrel had asked almost an hour ago.

“People.”

“We’re three days away from the next village.”

Y/N had only given the boys a mischievous smile and looked back at the path ahead of them. She hadn’t seen any signs yet, nor had she seen any footprints or broken branches but she had faith they were going in the right direction.

“We should stop for lunch,” the Monk said. Nobody had spoken for a long time and the noise startled Y/N out of a trance she didn’t know she was in.

“What?” The Monk repeated himself. “Good idea, but you’re in no condition to hunt.”

“I’ll do it,” Squirrel replied.

“No. We have to stick together. We’re in the Dark Wood now.”

“But you said everything was rumours.”

Y/N swallowed then said, “Not everything.”

“Well then, why the bloody hell are we here?”

“For the same reason we have to stick together. Now, come on. Let’s find a river.”

Lunch was measly little fish Squirrel had caught for them roasted over a small fire. As they ate, Y/N redressed the Monk’s wounds and applied more of the healing past to his wounds.

“So what now?”

“We wait until nightfall.”

“Why?”

Y/N smiled. “Because that’s how we find them.”

“Who?”

“The People of the Lost Village.”

“I’ve never heard of that village,” Squirrel replied.

“Strays,” the Monk said after a moment. “Carden called them Strays.”

Y/N shrugged. “I suppose they are. From what I’ve gathered, most were kicked out of their villages, but a few chose to leave.”

“How do you know this?” the Monk wondered, cocking his head to the side. “You said you’ve been locked in the tower for fifteen years.”

“I have been, but I’m a witch. Stone walls can’t keep out the visions.”

“You’ve had visions about the People of the Lost Village?”

Y/N nodded and tangled her fingers in the long grass beside her. “Almost every time I fall asleep since you came to visit,” she looked at the Monk. “And I don’t get visions for no reason.”

“That’s why you insisted on coming,” Squirrel realized. “Because you knew of a place where we would be safe.”

“How do you know we’ll be safe there?”

“Because they’ll understand.”

“What do you mean?”

Y/N huffed. “Gods! Just wait and see. I don’t know everything. Only what the visions show me. But I do know that we’ll be safe there.”

The Monk seemed to contemplate something for a moment but then blinked and nodded. “Okay.”

Y/N took a bite of the fresh cod. “What’s your real name?”

The Monk froze. “Why do you want to know?”

Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know what to call you. But if you don’t want to tell me your name,” Y/N shrugged again. “It’s okay.”

“Nimue would have said the same thing,” Squirrel said through a mouthful of fish. His shoulders dropped. “I miss her. I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is,” Y/N said encouragingly. “From the stories you’ve told me, she sounds like she can take care of herself.”

They sat by the edge of the river through the afternoon and watched the sun make its descent. When it finally began to dip below the tall trees, the cold set in and Y/N stood up. Her knees were stiff and her butt was numb.

“How’s your leg?”

The Monk look down at his injured leg. A lot of blood had seeped through the trouser leg and the edges of the leaves Y/N had used were stained red. “Still hurts like hell, but it’s not bleeding so I guess that’s good.”

Y/N smiled. “The People of the Lost Village will help. But we have to wait for the sun to set completely.”

“What, are they bats?”

“No,” Y/N chuckled. “But nighttime is when they come out. It’s when they feel safe.”

“So how do we find them?”

Y/N looked at the Monk. “The same way you found the Fey camp. They leave secret symbols but in old Fey. That’s where we need you.”

The Monk swallowed nervously. He had never felt entirely comfortable hunting his own kind but had forced himself to numb out his emotions when hunting. But now, he didn’t want to do it at all. “I don’t know if I can. Not anymore.”

“We’re not hunting them,” Y/N said softly, touching his hand with hers. “We need to follow the signs to find them. They can help us.”

“I don’t want to hurt them.”

“We won’t. I promise.”

The Monk nodded but Y/N could still see the apprehension in his eyes. Still, he agreed and they walked away from the river and into the trees away. He limped and used Y/N as a crutch as they walked and Squirrel led the horse.

As the sun set completely below the horizon, they lost all light and could barely see three feet in front of them, Y/N began to doubt they were in the right place. She looked around desperately, hoping to see what she’d seen in her visions. And then she saw it.

“There! Look!” She pointed to the trees. A glowing substance had been used to paint a symbol on the trunk of a tree. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

“It’s Fey for north,” the Monk read. “And look,” he pointed to the base of the trunk. Almost hidden by the growing grass, he pointed to another glowing cipher. “That means follow. When Father Carden had me looking for the Fey camp, they used these same directions.”

“Let’s go.”

Every twenty yards, they would find another symbol. Sometimes it was an arrow, sometimes it was a written direction like ‘west’, sometimes it was the Fey word for ‘follow’, which assured them they were still on the right path.

“How’s your leg?” Y/N asked. She felt him put more weight on her as they continued walking and hoped that – for his sake – they were close to the Lost Village.

The Monk grunted. “Trying not to think about it. It’s bleeding again.” Y/N cursed. She had no idea how far away they were from the Lost Village.

Behind them, Squirrel stopped walking. “Are those…fireflies?”

“Impossible. I haven’t seen fireflies in this area in over ten years,” the Monk breathed.

“Squirrel’s right,” Y/N stopped, and effectively the Monk stopped too. “Look.” Up above them, what looked like hundreds of fireflies flittering above them. A few floated down closer to them and Y/N reached her hand out for one to land on. “They’re so pretty. I’ve never seen them before.”

The Monk, who had been breathing down Y/N’s throat, stared at the firefly on her hand. He reached his hand out, almost like he was going to touch it, but it startled and flew back up to the large group.

“They used to be all over the place in my village,” the Monk admitted. “They’d come out every night. We would all just…lay down outside and watch them for hours. I remember my parents would usually have to carry me back to bed. But after Father Carden took me, I never saw them again. Until now.”

“I think it’s a sign,” Y/N smiles. “One for new beginnings.”

“What we need is a sign to find the People of the Lost Village,” the Monk remarked. “I don’t see any more signs.”

“I don’t think we need to find them,” Squirrel said, staring at their horse. Its ears were perked and moving back and forth. It heard something they couldn’t hear. Y/N suddenly felt like she was being watched and frantically looked around, staring into the woods. She didn’t see anybody, but she could feel them. She swallowed nervously. “Born in the dawn.”

“We don’t say that here,” a clear voice said from the bushes. They stepped out from the cover of the trees and Y/N saw a tall, muscular, dark-skinned woman with a shaved head covered in tribal tattoos. She could see where her tusks had once been but were cut off. Now they were just stumps. “We just say ‘hi’.”

“We need help, please.” Y/N said. She gestured to the Monk. “He’s badly injured. I can heal him, but we need shelter.”

“Why should we let the Weeping Monk live?” somebody spat. It was a Moon Wing, except he only had one wing. Y/N wondered, was he born that way or did he lose a wing in an accident? “He’s killed our people!”

“And he can save them too, and defeat the Red Paladins.” From a nearby bush, Y/N yanked off a leaf and pulled the Monk closer to the woman. And before he could realize what she was doing and react, Y/N had touched the back of his hand with a leaf. His hand reacted and turned green, mimicking the pattern on the leaf. There were multiple gasps from within the trees.

The tattooed lady growled, “Traitor.”

“You would be the same as him if a man in a red robe spent at least ten years telling you your kind was tainted and evil,” Y/N argued. The woman took a step back, realizing Y/N had a point. “But he helped this boy escape the Red Paladin camp and fought the Trinity Guard to save his life. So, please. Help us.”

[part 4]