#garrett state forest

[vandaliatraveler]

I finally got back into the mountains this weekend. My escape consisted of short hikes between successive waves of cold, soaking rain. Salvation nonetheless. Photos are from multiple stops along Rt 219 and its byways, including Garrett State Forest (MD), Cranesville Swamp (WV and MD), and Cathedral State Park (WV). The hawthorns are gorgeous this time of year, not to mention the second wave of spring wildflowers now coming into bloom, including fringed polygala (Polygaloides paucifolia), dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius), red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), painted trillium (Trillium undulatum). and golden ragwort (Packera aurea).

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Our Flag Means Death Season 2: Exclusive First Look

Vanity Fair joins Stede, Blackbeard, and the rest of the cast on set in New Zealand for an exclusive early look at the second season, debuting on Max in October.

BY SARAH CATHERALL (AUGUST 24, 2023)

Only the fans of Our Flag Means Death can determine whether they’ll be satisfied with the show’s second season, which debuts on Max in October. But if you ask Fernando Frias, who directed three of the season’s episodes, he sounds pretty confident: “If my life depended on saying whether it’s yes or no, I would say yes.’’

It’s December 8, 2022, and the principal actors on Our Flag Means Death as well as the 800-plus extras and crew members have three days left of their three-month shoot for season two. Things are starting to get emotional. “You’ve been the most amazing crew I’ve ever worked with,” says one actor as he wraps his final scene. Frias says it’s like leaving “a long summer camp,” adding, “it’s like a family.”

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

The series created by David Jenkins was a surprise breakout hit when it debuted in the spring of 2022, building a fiercely devoted fan base with its silly yet emotional deadpan, and defiantly queer take on the adventures of real 18th-century pirates. Everyone involved in Our Flag Means Death is eager to preserve the surprises in store for season two, which kicks off with gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and softhearted bad boy Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) ruefully separated after finally realizing their love for each other at the end of season one.

It’s “going to be unexpected and surprising, but also very pleasurable and satisfying for those who like the show,” promises executive producer Garrett Basch. It “doesn’t follow the expected route,” teases Con O’Neill, who plays Blackbeard’s devoted enforcer, Izzy. All that means is we’re not at liberty to share too much about what happened on set that day, which included emotional conversations, new cast members, banter with the Kiwi crew, and some seriously killer costumes.

But these exclusive new images give a hint of what is in store. There are fresh faces—Minnie Driver will guest-star as the real-life Irish pirate Anne Bonny, and Ruibo Qian joins the cast as the mysterious merchant Susan—and a lot of New Zealand actors and locations, now that the production has decamped across the Pacific.

“The viewers will see the scope of their world has expanded based on the fact we’re able to get to these amazing locations within a short travel time,” says executive producer Antoine Douaihy. “You will notice a marked difference between the two seasons in terms of the scope and the scale.’’

Minnie Driver joins the cast this season as Anne Bonny. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

There will be plenty of familiar faces too, of course. On set that day in Kumeu, New Zealand, a rural area about 20 miles outside of Auckland, are Waititi and Darby along their fellow returning cast members O’Neill, Vico Ortiz (Jim), Kristian Nairn (Wee John), Joel Fry (Frenchie), Matthew Maher (Black Pete), Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie), Samson Kayo (Oluwande), Ewen Bremner (Nathaniel Buttons), Samba Schutte (Roach), and more. New onboard are two Kiwi actors, Madeleine Sami (most recently of the Australian mystery-comedy Deadloch), and Samoan-born Anapela Polataivao. And there’s one returning figure impossible to miss on the soundstage: The Revenge, the stately ship that Blackbeard—a.k.a. Ed—commandeered at the end of season one. In real life it was carefully transported across the Pacific Ocean from the show’s original Los Angeles soundstages.

The Revenge is vast and impressive, much larger in real life than it appears onscreen. But it’s not the only stunning scenery in store. There are around 50 sets involved in the production of season two, including the 30-acre forest behind the Kumeu Film Studio, Piha Beach, and the wild, black-sand Bethells Beach.

Waititi, who also executive produces the series, was part of the push to film season two in his native New Zealand. “Taika is an extraordinary talent and what’s really great about him with his international success is he’s remained very committed to New Zealand and very loyal to our industry,” says Annie Murray, the CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission. “The beauty of filming in New Zealand is that you can find incredible varied locations within a very short driving distance. [And] when you get to those locations you can turn your camera in any direction.’’

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet, filming at New Zealand’s Bethells Beach. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

The scope of the season is very evident back on set, as well. There’s a whole other pirate ship in addition to The Revenge, plus sets for a floating market, Stede’s cabin (empty when we visit), and the Republic of Pirates first glimpsed in season one. Behind the scenes it’s a maze of wardrobe, wig rooms, and dressing rooms. In another facility, props are stacked on shelves, ready to be taken away to storage as soon as filming wraps—vases, plates, antique furniture, and piles of mannequins replicating dead bodies which were used in one of the battle scenes.

Costume designer Gypsy Taylor joined the production this season and has designed hundreds of costumes, checking with everyone on set that day to make sure everything is in place before cameras roll. Taylor says each of the principals have six to eight looks in this season, and that every item—every leather belt, wig, bit of jewelry, even a mermaid tail—has been made by her 60-strong workshop. The costumes this season have a “Mad Max, ‘streets of New York’ feel,” says Taylor. “David Jenkins was keen to give the series a cool rock-and-roll vibe…so we had these rock-and-roll elements with an 18th-century twist.’’ As is evidenced in the image below, even Stede’s crew winds up with some unexpected new looks over the course of the season.

Wherever it is these Revenge crew members have found themselves, there’s something that surprised them. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

Two armies are part of the action in season two, all of them needing elaborate costumes—around 150 Chinese pirates and a fleet of 100 navy officers. Even the breeches are in studded black leather, and punkified. Says Taylor, “The theory behind their costumes is they would’ve stolen from other pirates…. Although our Wee John has started to become quite the seamstress, so he’s knitting this season.’’ True enough: Nairn is wearing what looks like a hand-knit sweater on set that day.

Wee John isn’t the only pirate getting into crafts. Nancy Hennah, who has managed the hair and makeup for both seasons, points to Blackbeard’s wig—made in London—and tattoos as Waititi works on set. With 14 tattoos on his right arm and 10 on the left, plus plenty of scars, he needs at least an hour in the makeup chair. “Taika wanted most of the tattoos to look like he’d done them himself,” Hennah says. “Like on slow days on the boat when there’s nothing much to do, they sit around and give each other tattoos.”

She gives a hint of a storm in one episode: “One of the hardest days here in makeup was when they were caught in a storm on the back of the boat. [The cast] were saturated for a whole day, which caused havoc with things like tattoos and hair, wigs and beards.’’

Taika Waititi as Blackbeard, who begins the season with a broken heart. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

By mid afternoon, Con O’Neill is taking a break in his trailer. He pulls his slim, leather trousered legs up to a corner seat. A candle blazes on the kitchen bench as the veteran actor talks about the physical endurance required during the shoot. “It’s been frantic,’’ he says. His signature gray hair barely moves, frozen by the team of hair stylists who arrived on set around sunrise. (All interviews with actors in this story took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike). 

Izzy “goes on a remarkable journey” this season, says O’Neill. “He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with.’’ On a series featuring a variety of joyful queer relationships—not just Stede and Blackbeard, but Black Pete and Lucius (Nathan Foad), Jim and Oluwande, and Spanish Jackie and her many husbands—Izzy’s unyieldingly straitlaced devotion makes him an odd man out. By the end of season one many fans speculated that Izzy was driven by something at the intersection of love and obsession. This season, according to O’Neill, Izzy gets even deeper into that dynamic. “Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.’’

Though the show is often warm and fuzzy when it comes to feelings—one of Stede’s mottos in season one is that when faced with challenges, “we talk it through as a crew”—Izzy represents the darker, more violent side of pirate life, which the show doesn’t shy away from either. “What I love about this show is it does allow itself to swing between the two,” O’Neill says. “We’re almost operatic in our darkness at times, and then we swing back to the sweetness of the simplicity of the love of our two guys. It’s been challenging just to get the tone right.”

“We’ve gone further this season than we did last season with those tones,” he continues. “So sometimes it’s quite interesting to remind yourself that you have to take your foot out of the tragedy—literally, your foot—and put it back into the comedy.”

With a season behind them to build the dynamics between the characters and the actors alike, on set there’s been “a lot more spontaneity and script revisions based on what’s happening day-to-day,” says Douaihy. “The cast are so comfortable with one another and their characters, that they move through it naturally.’’

Leslie Jones as Spanish Jackie and Taika Waititi as Ed a.k.a. Blackbeard. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

The way O’Neill puts it, they’ve also built trust with Jenkins, their showrunner, to follow some bigger swings. “I don’t think David Jenkins is ever going to follow an expected route. I’d hate to drive in a car with him.” Thinking of the fans who will greet the series when the show returns in October, O’Neill continues, “I think they’re going to appreciate what [Jenkins] wants. Season two does stick to the original premise that we created in season one, which is take it on to other levels.’’

One character leveling up in a major way this season is Jim, the quiet badass (there are knives involved) played by the nonbinary actor and activist Vico Ortiz. “Jim really evolves in season two,” they say. “They’re a bit more chatty and a bit more conversational…. Most of the first season you see Jim in disguise, hiding, but in this one you see them a bit more [thinking,] Oh, this is my chosen family, and I feel good. There’s a bit more zaniness and a bit more softness.’’

Like O’Neill and several other castmates, Oritz had attended their share of fan events by the time season two began filming, and the entire cast and crew returned to the high seas with a strong sense that their show had taken on a life of its own. “It’s so beautiful to see that people are finding community within the fan base. It’s about creating spaces where we feel safe and seen, and it’s so great to see that so many people watch the show and feel validated in their experiences, whatever that may be,” says Ortiz. “A lot of people that watch the show are like, “Yeah, I’m a guy and it’s good to see all these dudes being vulnerable.’ We can just shake up [ideas about gender].’’

Ruibo Qian joins the cast this season as Susan, a merchant with secrets of her own. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

Basch admits the fan following surprised some of the team, “but it made a lot of sense” too. After years of television shows and movies that built up the potential of queer romance only to stop short, Basch thinks the fervor for Our Flag Means Death “says that shows in the mainstream aren’t delivering that promise or that setup, and we have. That’s really why the fans have gone wild for it.”

That promise, it’s safe to say, is kept in season two, and then some. On set that day in December, for example, there was a major romantic moment between two key characters. But we’d risk Ed Teach’s wrath if we told you any more.

Source: Vanity Fair

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Specialist species such as the Pallas’ cat manage prey populations in their habitat. They can also be ideal indicators of ecosystem health, according to research.

Image courtesy of Garrett Ziegler via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Small cats face big threats: Reasons to save these elusive endangered species

The fishing cat is a wetland specialist but also shows adaptability. Researchers in Sri Lanka have studied a population living in Colombo’s urban area for several years. Making such specialist species the face of at-risk habitats could bring wider conservation benefits, experts suggest.

Image courtesy of Cloudtail the Snow Leopard via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Efforts are underway to understand if the Northern tiger cat should be split into distinct species. In Colombia, Juan Camilo Cepeda Duque, of the Andean Tiger Cat Conservation Alliance, describes the local species (known as the Andean tiger cat) as a “free colleague” for farmers living in the vicinity of forests because the animal helps control pests.

Image courtesy of Camilo Botero.

Panthera, an NGO, is researching how bobcats regulate mountain beaver populations in Washington state, U.S. It could be the case that foresters can greatly benefit from having these cats around, says researcher Wai-Ming Wong. But data remain scant: Only one ecosystem services study has been conducted on the species.

Image courtesy of Mark Elbroch/Panthera.

[gisellelx]

Twilight Advent Calendar, Day 10

Masterpost/Prompts

Dec. 10 - Pick one of the witnesses in Breaking Dawn. What was it like for them to stay at the Cullens' home for those two weeks? Who did they spend time with?

"Revolutionaries"

(~1300 words)

There was no question about it.

Carlisle’s family was weird.

He’d met them before, but in passing. Now, surrounded, Garrett understood that the meetings had been in the woods, on street corners, at night, not because that was normal for Carlisle’s coven, but for his benefit. He had heard Carlisle say the words “home” and call the rangy redhead his son, but it just hadn’t registered. He thought it was just language, that his old friend was making himself feel better about the state of affairs he lived in. But it wasn’t.

They had a goddamn Christmas tree. When it had been suggested that he go to the Cullen home, Garrett had assumed he’d find a coven playacting. Staying out of the way of the Volturi. Hiding from humankind. And surely, surely there couldn’t be seven of them as perfect in their records as Carlisle.

But, no, here they were. Half a dozen bedrooms, closets with clothes that weren’t purloined from victims. Carlisle, nerd that he was, had a whole fucking library on the second floor, with books he’d been toting for two centuries. Five bathrooms—for what? And a kitchen. Well, that was, oddly, going to use.

Garrett could hear her, humming to herself as she buzzed around, again making some sort of something for the werewolves who were sleeping on the doorstep, and realized he recognized the tune. Penny Lane.

Yep, he needed air.

There was a figure already on the porch when he exited, and even if the scent hadn’t registered before his eyes did, he’d have recognized the silhouette anywhere. The shoulders were slumped in a way that reminded Garrett of two hundred twenty years ago. The body of a man trying to convince himself he was happy, when he wasn’t.

“This is some endeavor, English,” he said, and the head whipped around. Garrett laughed. “Did I startle you?” Absurd.

A long sigh. “Oh, perhaps I was somewhat aware.” The face broke into a tired smile. “I’m just out here cogitating.”

Garrett cocked his head. “You do you know you sound like the most horrible snob when you use words like that.”

This, thankfully, elicited a smile. “Noted. What brings you outdoors?”

“Your woman was singing the Beatles; I had to escape.”

A questioning frown.

“I didn’t care for the first British invasion. I like the second even less.”

His friend’s bark of a laugh was familiar. Garrett grinned in return, and then joined Carlisle at his side, leaning against the thick railing.

“I will say, however, that her taste in music aside, Esme is quite the—”

“Garrett.”

“—lovely woman is what I was going to say,” he finished sweetly, flashing Carlisle a wide smile. His friend shook his head, rolling his eyes, but then they met gazes and Carlisle smirked. Both of them began laughing.

“I am a lucky man; I won’t deny it.”

“Hell yes you are, you bastard.” He punched Carlisle in the shoulder, and Carlisle looked down shyly, a wry smile playing on his face. “And here I thought you were going to go all eternity without ever doing the deed.”

Another laugh. “Truthfully? So did I.”

The moonlight glinted off Carlisle’s hair as they both fell into companionable silence again. They looked enough alike to pass as brothers; it had been something Garrett had liked all those centuries ago. Even though Carlisle was his elder by a century and then some, he had always struck Garrett as naïve. His hope, his steadfast confidence that if he just did things his way, it would all turn out right and well. It was as admirable as it was ridiculous.

And yet it was working.

Garrett didn’t have to work hard to make out the individual conversations going on in the expansive living room as he and Carlisle stared together out into the forest. The sisters—also gorgeous, talking with the Spanish woman. Her mate, locked in a quiet talk with Carlisle’s son. The weird kid, with her even weirder name, reading to her mother while Carlisle’s blonde daughter interjected every now and again. The lawn behind the house twinkled in color from the tree and the lights that went up the banister in the big room; the shadows cast by the roaring fire danced playfully across the porch.

“You succeeded,” he said finally.

“Mmm?”

He gestured widely at the house behind them. “You succeeded. At this. I thought you were bereft of your senses, with that diet and the doctor thing and everything but…you did it.” He turned, leaning against the rail. “Family life suits you. I don’t know why I am surprised.”

Carlisle made a noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh. “It’s not easy. At times, I envy your freedom.” He turned back to Garrett. “I wasn’t out here merely cogi—thinking. I was worrying, while Edward isn’t paying attention. I’m worried about Alice and Jasper, and I’m worried about Renesmee, and I’m worried what that will do to Bella, and what any of this will do to Edward. And then all of you…”

Garrett clapped a hand on Carlisle’s shoulder. “We chose to come. You can’t take that on.”

The brow furrowed again. “I feel responsible.”

“That’s your problem, not anyone else’s. No one is going to hold you responsible for”—he gestured widely in the direction of the field where the clairvoyant had indicated they would need to be—“whatever goes on out there. You’re responsible for this. This gathering. These friends. This…family. This is what you worry about. This is what you can control.”

They both glanced back in the doors. Someone had turned on Christmas music. The Spanish woman was slow dancing with her mate. One of the sisters—the prettier one—had accepted the offer of a a Santa hat. Muffled laughter. The sound of crackling, and the earthen scent of a fresh log beginning to burn.

“And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit,” Carlisle muttered.

“Huh?”

This elicited another chuckle. “The twelfth chapter of Luke, you heathen.” He grinned. “But it’s a welcome reminder. Thank you.”

The Bible. Of course. That hadn’t changed, either. Garrett stared. Carlisle’s expression seemed to have softened; the strange, amber eyes glowed differently. The two of them stared out into the blackness of the night, the moon glinting off the river so close to the house. They listened to this; the way the water pounded against what must have been much larger rocks further north, where the elevation was even higher, before coming whooshing through the woods behind the stately home.

It was a long while before Garrett got the eerie feeling of being watched. He turned back toward the hulking French doors. Esme standing there, her head cocked, her arms crossed over her chest.

“There’s a beautiful woman looking for you, English,” Garrett said, nudging Carlisle in the ribs.

Carlisle turned. “So there is.” He beckoned, and the door opened a crack as Esme leaned out.

“Your granddaughter wants to say goodnight,” she called. “They’re going back over to the cottage in a few minutes.”

Your granddaughter, Garrett mouthed. The words still felt strange on his lips.

Carlisle didn’t miss this. “It is amazing, isn’t it?”

Garrett stared back at the door. “Like I said. It suits you.” He nodded in the direction of Carlisle’s wife. “Go. Stop worrying. At least for the night.”

In the same instant that Carlisle nodded, he was at his wife’s side. He put his arm around her waist, and she tipped her chin up so that their lips met. It looked…familiar. Garrett watched the way their gazes followed each other’s, the way a hand around the waist slipped slowly over hips to become a hand in another hand. The way she smiled up at him. The blur of knee-high blue that was the little girl streaking across the living room for his knees. The way he lifted her into the air and how she giggled and squeaked as he tossed her before settling her, one-armed, onto his hip. That even amidst the worry, his face lit up as he pressed his nose to hers and she put her palm to his cheek.

He had thought Carlisle boring. Naïve. Even deluded. I envy your freedom, he heard his friend’s voice echo in his head.

But as he listened to the laughter on the other side of the door, and watched the way the colored lights played off the planes of his friend’s face, Garrett wondered if freedom was really all Carlisle imagined it was cracked up to be.

~~~~

Note: A more modern translation of Luke 12:25 reads “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” (NRSV). But I feel confident that if Carlisle is going to quote the Bible, it’s the 1611 KJV that he has in mind.

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Thranduil and Josie Pt. 172- Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Summary: Rahl suffers the karma of a wicked silverbane trip that holds familiar faces, but only one is real. Best friends once of light ironically unite as allies of the dark. Leeanduil reacts to her mother's changes. Some playtime almost turns deadly as Josie's hypersensitive rage "snowballs". Legolas safeguards Lola, but not from Josie. Haldir's magic is needed again. Jo learns the past truths and her reaction is predominantly as Haldir had presumed it would be. Haldir takes control of an undisclosed plan after she turns on him. Garrett goes on a Jim Morrison trip and it's quite lucid. An old feathered friend soon comes in his time of need.

*Chapter Warnings* language, angst, nightmares, smut, sexual language, death, graphic depictions, blood and gore, violence,

Chapter characters: Rahl, Narcisse, Julian, Josie, Legolas, Lola, Leeanduil, random warlocks, Haldir, Josselyn, Bash, Garrett, Sarah, Ryan, Rosie, Freddy the crow,

Chapter word count: 11,797

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist:

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Rahl screamed from the cockroach infested grave that the silverbane poisoning had tossed him into and as the petrified warlock awoke from that nightmare, he found himself much deeper than 6 feet under as he delved into the abyss of another one.

"Wake up Rahl." a familiar voice deeply commanded.

Naked as the day he was born, he awoke in perdition and fearfully laid alongside a feces filled cluster of ailing and wailing sinners, all being cooked alive in the burning bowels of hellfire and brimstone....and now it was his turn.

As evil as Darken Rahl was, even he feared Hell and the one who ruled it, the Keeper of eternal damnation, the notorious angelic demon of many names better known as Satan himself, but it wasn't Lucifer who greeted him, for it wasn't really Hell. It was Stephane's special rendition of it, his chain bound iron box accommodated solely for domesticating Rahl. In Rahl's misapprehended mind though, Stephane WAS bad old Beelzebub and just like in the grave, Stephane's voice teased and taunted him from the darkness above.

"Welcome back Lord Rahl. They always say a third time's a charm. I've kept your soiled bed nice and warm for you as you can see, or maybe I should say...feel?"

"NO! No...let me out of here Master. This is a mistake. I am not supposed to be here! Not again. Not again!"

The voice echoed in thunderous laughter. "Yes, I am the true Master, aren't I? I was so very certain this was just your style. Surely, with all you have done, you didn't think you would see the pearly gates now did you? What goes around always comes back around. I would agree that you are right where you belong for locking me away. A taste of your own medicine indeed. Sorry, not sorry though, that there's no sugar to help wash it down."

"Yes...yes there is. Josephine!! Help me!!"

"Oh she is sweet alright, but not for you. She is only sweet for Stephane....which that would be ME. The one speaking to you right now. There is only one soul to one body and the meat suit you're loitering in belongs to ME."

"But I am you!!! I am Stephane Narcisse!!"

"How ironic. That is not whom you claim to be up above? YOU are Darken Rahl, which, by the way, does not even exist. You are the creation of a broken mind...and this....is your destiny. You can't fight fate."

Another voice was then heard. Your voice. "Stephane! Stephane, where are you??!!"

Rahl gazed up into the empty black space and he formed a hopeful smile.

"Wake up!!!" your voice shouted.

Startled awake from your command, a dream within another dream was entered, a mystical and quite erotic dreamscape per se in which he did not want to wake from....at first.

As Rahl's dilated blues moved about his dark surroundings, he found himself in two states of nature. One being that he was still in the nude and the other was the forest. Sighing in relief to be free of the nether regions, he closed his eyes and arched his head back to bathe in the illuminating shower of the full moon. The sigh soon became a surprised inhale as you spoke his name and stroked his face.

"Rahl. Lay back down and cuddle with me. I'm cold."

He turned and gazed into your also dilated eyes. So dilated that he saw his reflection, but it wasn't his. It was Stephane's....glaring back at him with warning. As Rahl fluttered his eyes to regain focus, Stephane's image faded.

"J..Josephine? How...you're really here?"

You traced his bottom lip with your thumb and giggled as you

"Of course I am silly? Did you think I was going to ding dong ditch? I want more of you. Come warm me up again."

As your hand slithered down over his solid aroused pecks, his hand swiftly grabbed yours.

"You don't want me. You want Stephane."

"What? Was it not your name that I was screaming earlier as I unraveled all over your cock...more than once?"

"N...No..I...I don't remember. This...this cannot be real. You're not real."

"Rahl...my love. I am very real. I am your Queen now, just as you wanted. Let me show you again that it is you and only you that I desire."

Rahl submitted and released your hand, allowing you to straddle him and take his mouth fully into yours.

"Mmmm. Do you believe me now?"

Rahl smiled and grinded his solid heat against your clit.

"It is definitely a start, but I think I need more convincing."

Your hand gripped his long girth and guided him inside of you. Rahl could not withhold the gasp that was forced from him as your wetness permitted you to slide clear to his base. Slowly, your bodies began to rock and roll as one and then faster and faster Rahl pumped as the wild cat inside of him was brought forth.

"Ah fuck...fuck Josephine....I...I can't stop myself...you...you have to get up."

"No...Come inside of me this time. I want, I need to feel you."

"I...I can't! You know what will happen. It will heal you and you...you won't want me anymore."

"I...I...I don't care...oh god...oh god Rahl...I...I'm coming!!! Come with me!!"

You were glued against him, rolling your hips like thunder through your climax which simultaneously brought Rahl to his.

"Jose..Josephine no, get up!! Ahhhh....ahhhh fuckkkkk....fuckkk...me...god....damn...it...ahhhhh."

As you lifted your head from Rahl's neck and brought your eyes to his, you sprung off of him in panic.

"Oh my god...I...I'm healed! Stephane, you...you did it! You brought me back and now I am going to bring you back!"

Rahl arose with hurt, gaping eyes. "I..I am not Stephane. I am Rahl! You...you used me. You're...MY Queen. How could you do this to me?? I thought you loved me???"

Your satirical laughter and words of ice punched a hole right through his little black heart.

"Love? You don't even know the meaning of the word. You have a black soul. I am going to rid of you, regain my power and heal Stephane and be HIS Queen. He is the one I love. That is the only reason I could fathom riding your cock because it's HIS cock. God he is so much better than you in bed too. Now....Stephane Narcisse....WAKE UP!"

Wake up. Your words faded and morphed into mordant words of someone else. A very familiar someone else.

"It's time to wake up Darling Rahl."

As a pale, injured and unconscious Rahl laid on the cold winter ground, he slowly opened his eyes and there in the sunlight stood an expressionless Julian hovering over him.

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of your nine lives. You should get up now. You stink of rot. It's a wonder the wolves and hawks have not yet descended. Your frightful appearance is most likely your savior." Julian quipped with a curled lip.

Rahl, now feeling of sound, mind and body, propped himself up on one elbow, smirking with cautious eyes as he peered up at his fellow warlock.

"Well if it isn't my long lost foe, Julian. Come to finish me off instead? I see no book or circle of salt this time."

"Consider this your lucky day. I have a more purposeful use for Ashmole when the time comes. Besides, I am sure you are aware that the Julian all knew as Stephane's faithful friend is long gone. You are more of my type now. In fact, you could serve as a useful ally in said purpose. I do for you, you do for me. I have generously vanquished your poisoning, but that is as far as my healing hand reaches at this time. The wound to your shoulder is of your concern. You really should be more au courant with Stephane's bodily defenses, for they are shut down while he is suppressed."

All but one, Rahl thought to himself as he began to notice the tenacious saturation of his essence confined inside his leggings beneath his heavy cloak.

"Well now. How ironic is this? Jules and Stephane, together again, but neither are of the light as they once were. I would say that is a match made in...Hell, but I have had my fill of that place."

Julian softly chuckled as he raised his brow.

"Ahh yes. Would that be what all your mumbling was about? Cockroaches, Satan and sex, oh my. Apologies for having interrupted you in the middle of moaning my daughter's name."

Rahl looked away with a scowl as he did not find any humor in Julian's jokes, especially the part about you. Although it never even happened, it still stung and he vowed he would be even more careful around you now, for although seemingly a dream, it could have been a vision.

"Is that all you have been up to Julian? Perched up in your little tree like a vulture, watching and waiting?"

"It is. Just as I witnessed you take that hit from your own son. Knowledge is power."

"Tell me Jules. What knowledge did you gain from that fiasco that you did not already know?"

"Many things. Such as I now know of Janus-faced Josselyn's whereabouts. During my years of captivity, I learned she was just as mendacious as my captor, sweet collaborating Caroline. And then there's your worthless and disloyal guards. Their insubordination of your command and loyalty to Sebastian and Charles in place of Stephane proved that and now, they lollygag at the old wagon wreckage and mock you as they play a game of dice for bets on your survival while you have lied suffering. It would seem that they do not respect you, honor you, nor serve you as they did Lord Narcisse and that will only be, as it has proven to be, a great liability for you, not only for your existence, but for the upcoming war as well. Your men should bow to you, so the question is, Darken Rahl, what are you going to do about it? Sit by idly as they are, twiddling your...."

"Enough!!" Rahl roared at Julian's intentional incitement. "No one makes a fool of me." he continued through his teeth in a low emitted growl and stormed off.

Julian proudly grinned and followed Rahl to the location of the six guards where he remained in the shadows to observe and sure enough, to Rahl's dismay, they were doing just as Julian had informed. The wagering warlocks were so consumed in their greed and insulting jeers of the dark lord, that Rahl's stealth went undetected by their normally intact keen senses.

As a cloaked and hooded Rahl slammed his foot down over their game, the startled warlocks stood and drew their swords on him. Even when he revealed his face, the men still maintained their guarded stance with confidence.

"You dare draw your weapons on me? I am your master, Darken Rahl."

One of the men seemed to be the leader of the group and spoke for them as he bravely, but stupidly pointed his sword at Rahl's chest.

"We do not acknowledge lord Rahl as our master. We serve lord Narcisse."

"And he and I are one in the same, yet you audaciously hold me at your blade's edge. You really do like to gamble, don't you? And all over some measly pocket change. Tell me, is that all your life is worth to you? Your duties were to stand and fight at my side, yet all you contemptible cowards accomplished was absolutely fucking nothing!"

"You have powers, we do not. You did not need our aid."

"Says the traitorous guard who did nothing to stop a poisonous arrow from piercing my flesh."

"Even as the black beast, you lack instinct and let confidence rule you. You lost sight of your target and underestimated your opponent. YOU are of no comparison to your true form. You are weak with anger and hatred and you are also weakened by lord Narcisse's will and light. You tried to kill your own brother and your son and he would not let you. We have always and will only stand at their sides!"

"Then maybe your insolent bag of bones should stand no more. As your life means nothing to you, it means even less to me. You are no more than that pocket change. Worthless. And to be very clear, if I want someone dead, then dead they shall be." Rahl snarled and in a trice, he thrust a backwards swing of his honed blade and sliced the unsuspecting guard's throat.

The remaining guards immediately fell to one knee and bowed their heads as Julian applauded.

"A painted picture of how it should be. True power indeed. Well done lord Rahl. Now, are you going to invite your new best friend back to your castle for drinks? A bed would be splendid and I'm sure you can tuck me in somewhere private. There is much to talk about and prepare for in the upcoming few weeks that I think you will be quite interested in. After all, it was I that summoned you forth with the dead."

"Is that so? The irony in the events of this day are astounding. You once killed me, per se, and now you are responsible for my resurrection. Why would that be?"

"Unlike these incompetent fools, I bow to no one, especially not my own brother. I know that you also would never do as such, but surely you must know that Jareth's mission is to destroy and rule all of middle earth, including the rulers in it, such as yourself. So you see, this is where we can help each other. In my light and in my darkness, I have wished to destroy him and I have all the means to do so, except for a few loose ends I will soon gather with the special assistance of a secret weapon. A very wicked army of our own, per se, that will serve"

Rahl's brow arched high in curiosity, but he also knew that curiosity could kill the cat. Julian wanted to rebury Jareth, but would Julian's plan take him down alongside the goblin king? Rahl's cynicism was riding high in the red zone over Julian's unclear agenda.

"Once I am fully healed, we will share those drinks. I must return and assess the situation of my kingdom. Until then, I will grant you access to my nearby villa. It is unguarded at this time. And in a show of my appreciation of your unforeseen aid, I will send you a lovely "gift." Will that suffice?"

"It shall indeed."

The recent spider hallucination had pushed you over the edge and every anxious nerve in your body was feeding your fear that you were going to see Peter at some point, only you knew he would be real. If anyone would jump right through the gates of hell that Jareth had opened, it would be his evil sadistic self.

With a screaming Leean in your arms, you paced about your chambers in futile frustration as you gently but vigorously bounced and patted her bottom to calm her cries. Even the little elven witch's inherited senses were awakening to the surrounding darkness, especially from you and it was the only way the frightened six week old Princess could express her discomfort.

"Lola! Will you please do your job and take her for a walk through the halls or something since you were gone all night and left Legolas and three fucking cats to do it all. I have sang to her, I have rocked her, I have bathed her, all in the past hour and nothing is helping!"

Lola flinched at your scolding as she squeaked out a solution.

"Josie, might I suggest letting her take some milk from you?"

Your eyes slitted as you side eyed the meek mannered girl.

"No you may not suggest that! Do you wish me to poison her??? Have you forgotten I have panther venom in my veins??? I prefer to not even touch her, yet here we are!!" you snapped as you glanced down at Leean's shrieking face, the only visible skin of your snuggly wrapped baby burrito.

Legolas caught Lola's tear tinted eyes as he walked over to you.

"Josie. I will take her and offer her some of our water. Lola, could you kindly prepare a bottle for Leean and a cup of herbal tea for Josie that will palliate her symptoms and aid her in sleep?"

Your eyes widened at the domineering and dismissive Prince as Lola nodded and rushed off to the fireplace.

" Am I not right here??? And...I do not need sleep! That is all I have done and every time I do, I have these fucked up dreams, not to mention, that water makes it worse so I certainly am not going to drink it!"

"Lola, please use the Dorwinion water for the tea." Legolas corrected with a deaf ear and then took Leean into his arms which instantly ceased her screeching wails.

You then scoffed at him. "Really Legolas Greenleaf?? She doesn't want a bottle. She just don't want ME!"

"Josie, of course she wants you." Legolas softly assured, finally looking you in the eyes. "But she senses your heightened emotions, which is why you really should drink the tea and rest."

In defiance of his repetitive words, you marched to the wine table and knocked back a rather large goblet of the wicked wine.

"Heightened emotions? You're just too damn polite to call me a crazy bitch. I don't need rest!! There is no TIME to rest. How many times do I have to say that?? What I need is what she needs! Her father!!! He is the only one that could fix all of this…fix me…. but that will never happen because he is dead!!"

Your hands went straight to your crinkling face and covered it as you began to sob. Legolas' torn heart ripped clean through, for he knew that in the week head, Thranduil would come and contrary to your belief, Legolas felt that his father was the last thing you and Leean needed at the time or possibly even ever and how was he supposed to tell you? With the state you were in, it was not the right time, but...he knew there would never be a right time for you to know the truth because the Thranduil that lived now, there seemed to be no hope for. His light had been snuffed out of his soul and Legolas knew the darkened heart that now beat inside of the Elvenking would not fix anything, but only destroy you by taking the last bit of sanity and light you had left. If only he could spare you such pain, but he knew it was inevitable.

"I…I can't take this anymore!" you muffled through your fingers. I need to get out of here."

Lola came to Legolas with the baby bottle filled with Mirkwood's magical water. "May I feed her Legolas?"

As he gazed in to her saddened sapphires, his moonstone eyes became apologetic for how he had treated her the evening prior.

"Yes, you may lady Lola."

Lola's sweet smile was also apologetic as Legolas awkwardly maneuvered Leean out of his arms and into hers and then…he took you into his and whispered sweet words of comfort into your ear.

"You are not a crazy…well…you know. Please do not speak of yourself in such a way. You are just dealing with far too much for someone who does not deserve it."

You then bawled gasping breaths in to his chest. "Legolas, I need the amethyst, I need that book, I need to find Stephane and help him, I need the other stones, I need Garrett's dumb ass…I…I need my dad!!! I…I….."

Your sobs quieted as your ears tuned in to the laughter coming from outside the balcony doors.

As you opened the cold foggy glass doors, your breath was momentarily stolen by the crisp breeze that brutally belted you in the face. Your eyes quickly widened in delight when you peered over the rail to see a snowball fight taking place at 8 o'clock in the morning by some of the warlock guards.

"Leggy!!! Look!" you shouted and then giggled. "It snowed overnight!!! Remember at Lestat's, when you and Haldir had that snowball fight after the blizzard? You both had so much fun, minus trying to kill each other with ice packed snowballs and I…I want to have fun too!! Like when Stephane threw me that huge birthday party to help distract me. I want to do something normal and feel normal!! Even if just for a little while or I am going to go crazier than I already am! Can we go play too Legolas??? Pleeeeease!!!??"

Legolas grinned from ear to ear. "How could I forget Haldir's iniquitous ice balls to the face. With the exception of his envious rage regarding you, the brief moment of solace while being in a castle consumed with red eyes and fangs, was greatly needed. You and Lola go enjoy the snow and release some of your own pent up rage. There is nothing more any of us can do at this time about the troubles at hand but continue to wait for Sebastian to hopefully locate Delphine and the others. I will remain here with my sister and watch from the terrace. Glenn-hi (Go now). Enjoy some diversion and equanimity and breathe. Be a flightless bird no more."

You chuckled through your tears as you hugged him tight. "Oh but flightless I am. Literally. I tried to fly once and you do not want to know how that played out. Thank you Leggy. I adore you so."

You released him and then turned to Lola with hopeful eyes.

"Let's go play!"

You and Lola bundled up in your winter cloaks, then ran and giggled all the way down to the enclosed courtyard. Once there, you observed the five warlocks, dressed in their Sunday attire, laughing and playing like little boys. It instantly took you back in time to before your father had become terminally ill and you and he played in the snow together all the time, either sledding, making snow angels, snowmen and eskimo forts or your favorite, snowball fights. Although he was alive and out there somewhere, equally altered to serve his brother Jareth, you still missed and loved him so, but you weren't going to let it make you sad. Instead, you were going to honor him and even the hidden hero Haldir by kicking some warlock ass....and you would envision Rahl's evil face as you did it, a trick Garrett once taught you to do when using your magic that was currently non-existent.

Sly as foxes, you and Lola huddled behind a pillar wrapped in crimson Christmas roses and while you both packed a snowball, the Lenten flowers triggered thoughts of both Stephane and Thranduil and how they enjoyed the beauty of their gardens, probably the only thing the magical beings ever had in common besides their egos and love for you. When the snow fun was over, you were going to pick one in memory of Thranduil and make another useless wish for the return of the King.

"You ready?" you whispered to Lola as you offered a wicked grin.

Lola's grin mirrored yours as she nodded, then you both sprung up and began pitching the packed powder at the bedazzled warlocks. Laughter and snow filled the court as the seven of you darted all around, ducking and diving.

Legolas smiled from ear to ear as he observed the shenanigans from your balcony. His sorrowful heart sang in that moment of seeing you so happy, that was until his nose caught something in the breeze. As his elven eyes followed the familiar strawberry scent, they caught sight of Haldir making his way across the vast open field separating the castle from the forest. At the Marchwarden's side was a woman that Legolas knew he had once before laid his eyes upon and behind them was Rumil, Orophin, Aragorn, Boromir, Bard, Gimli, Sebastian and Charles. As Bash and Charles returned their horses to the stables, Legolas's keen eyes also noticed that the warlock kin appeared to have been in a scuffle of sorts.

Haldir's eyes then locked with the Prince, they both offered a nod and a smile and then Legolas' attention returned to you. All was going well in the playtime. He noticed Lola's flirtation with one of the warlocks as they tumbled to the ground laughing. With a minor scoff, the elf's eyes rolled and returned to you just in time to see your light turn dark as you took a snowball to the face and then another to the shoulder. Legolas' eyes gaped as your mouth did the same, followed by a loud gasp from the shock.

"You IDIOT!!" you fumed at the wily warlock roaring with obnoxious laughter in is victory.

"Now now Josephine. " he chuckled. "It's all just fun and games."

Normally, you would have took it like a champ and laughed too, but with Rahl's venom inside of you, all you wanted to do was rip his wretched head from his miserable shoulders and Lola and Legolas both quicky took notice of that with worry.

"That is until someone gets hurt, which is about to be you, you cretinous tyrant!"

Enjoy the fun filled snowball games below in my new short vidfic (38 sec) of Lola and Josie. It's a great visual with a relevant song regarding Legolas' words to Jo and the ending gives a nice laugh.

All over a harmless snowball, your blood rage surfaced and you found yourself grabbing a very large and sharp icicle from the trellis and racing towards him. The warlock's smirk dropped like a hot potato and he froze solid in fear as he watched the crystalline spear in your raised white knuckled fist head straight for his eye.

"Josie!!" Legolas shouted from the balcony and with perfect dexterity, the agile elf hopped the rail, floating down with incredible velocity and landing softly like that of a feather, but not quick enough to get to you before another did.

Just as you lunged, you were scooped up from behind by a pair of strong arms coiling around your waist. As you angrily screamed and turned to strike the unknown attacker, a hand swiftly clutched your wrist.

"Y...you????" you gasped in fright and immediately sprung your fingers open, dropping the makeshift blade when you saw the stern but very worried face of your elven bestie Haldir as his stunned eyes gazed into yours.

"You...your eyes Jo." he whispered as they slowly retracted from blood red back to moonstone blue.

Before you could speak another word, you felt his calming effects manipulating your mind and body and then...you saw a horrified Josselyn viewing from the distance and watched Lola faint.

Legolas ran to her aid, as did Josselyn in a panic. She fell to her knees at her daughter's side and cried as she stroked her pale cheeks with trembling fingers.

"My sweet child, open your eyes. Mama's here now."

Legolas tilted his head like a confused puppy. "You...are her mother? I...I have seen you. Many years ago with a group of gypsy travelers near our lands. Cowering beneath a trailer belonging to that wretched witch Caroline. You were one of them! Why are you here??!!!!"

Legolas scooped Lola's unconscious body up into his arms and backed away from Josselyn as his angry eyes questioned Haldir.

"Legolas. Josselyn is of no harm to Lola or anyone here. She is her mother as you asked and there is much more that you do no know. Take Lola inside and let her mother be with her when she awakes. They have been separated for far too long."

Legolas snarled through clenched teeth as he pulled Lola closer to him.

"Over my dead body."

"No one enters this castle without lord Rahl's knowledge or approval!" snapped the warlock who almost lost an eye. "And you Haldir, were banished from here by lord Narcisse were you not??"

"Since you speak as if there are two of them, neither are here. Just which one of the wicked halves do you serve warlock??!!"

Sebastian then entered and took control of the situation with his sword drawn.

"He serves me! I am in charge when my brother is not here and I say they all can enter, is that clear warlock Gwydion??"

"Yes m..my lord."

You then watched as Bash embraced Josselyn. What the hell was happening??

As you clung to Haldir, you could no longer stand. Weakness and relaxation consumed you and you fell into his arms. Your feet were then whisked off of the ground and later, in a sedated state, you awoke in your bed from the muffled voices of Legolas and Haldir as the Prince was filling his guardian in on what had happened to you...and then they argued as to why Legolas was never told about Narcisse's alter. Haldir's nutshell explanation, which consisted of because Rahl had been long dead, was cut short by your awakening.

"Haldir???" you gasped as you sat up.

The Marchwarden was barely able to sit down beside you when you yanked him into a constricting embrace.

"J..Jo...air. Need to breathe."

"What? Oh...sorry. I...I just missed you."

"I have missed you too. Since when did you become as strong as a vampire??"

"Why on earth would you compare me to those morbid creatures??!"

Haldir's brows furrowed. "Annnnd...since when do you insult the leeches you so love? Is it something to do with Rahl's venom making you have dark emotions? I mean, Jo...your eyes were as red as fire...like Garrett's when he's angry."

You thought of Garrett and Kate, together in that vivid vision with him telling you he was with her now and not coming back.

"It..it doesn't matter. Enough about vampires already. Like I would ever be one of them! Haldir, what is going on?? I know I wasn't hallucinating when I saw Josselyn....was I??? and Lola...oh my god, where is Lola??!!"

"You were not. She is here and Lola is safe, right over there on the davenport."

You peeked around him and saw Legolas at her side, patting a cool cloth on her forehead to try and awaken her.

"Ok, so where is Joss and where did she even come from??? My god, I thought she was dead like Sarah. And I take it that Bash did not find Delphine??"

"Jo...there is so much you need to know and I am not sure I want you near Josselyn right now. She told me everything that happened and there are things that...you may not understand at first....such as....she is..Delphine."

"Ok what??? She's not a witch! She was just Sarah's mundane mother. Jesus, just tell me already!"

"On one condition. Let me show you through your dreams. It's quite a novel and after your rabid display early, I would prefer you to be calm, especially with Leean in the room."

"You mean you would prefer me to be under your dream control."

"Do you wish to know or not?"

You huffed and plopped onto your back. "Fine! Shoot me up dreamcatcher!"

Haldir took your hand and softly smiled, for as much as you always got under his skin with your spitfire attitude, he couldn't live without it.

It was merely seconds and you were under his sleeping spell and entering the dreamworld of the past. During the good hour of telepathic transmission, Lola had awoken and Legolas took her to see Josselyn, for she adamantly demanded it. While he was there, he stood protectively at Lola's side and even held her hand as Bash assisted an emotional Josselyn in the telling of her twisted tale to her daughter and the elf that once intimidated her...and still did.

The transfer was complete and Haldir sat holding and feeding Leean while he waited for you to wake up, for your mind was in a fragile state and he didn't dare wake you.

As your mind processed everything that was shown to you, you began to toss and turn, for the vision of Magnus erasing what you had seen, triggered the suppressed memory and you then began to dream of it.

You were a child, tied to a chair. You saw Josselyn and heard her tell some strange scary looking man to erase your memory. There was a flash of blue light and then you sprung awake to see your brother sitting in front of you.

"Josie. It's ok. I am here. You're dreaming."

"J..Jace?"

"What? It's me Jo...Haldir."

Jace's face slowly morphed into Haldir's who gazed at you with concern as he stroked your cheek...just as Jace had done.

"Oh my god...I..I think I hallucinated again. I...it...it was so real. I...I can smell him, feel him. Haldir...I...I think Jace is near or...is coming back for me and..."

You jumped straight out of bed. "My mother!! My REAL mother...she's...she's alive and locked away. She's not dead like my mot...that lying bitch Caroline told everyone! We have to go rescue her!"

"Jo, no way! Cassandra was last known to be in Jareth's realm. It is a death sentence to go there during this time or ANY time!"

"Well that's too damn bad! She loves me! TRULY loves me. I saw it when she held me! She is the good one, the true 7th daughter. Oh god, Aunt Mara, I...I mean my grandmother, Maharet, does she know of the mix up?? And...and...Viktor, the vampire that Caroline killed to protect Clov..Raven!! He...he is my grandfather??? Jesus, does that mean Caroline was a dhampir like Raven??? And what does that make me??"

"Breathe Jo. Viktor was still human when Caroline and all her sisters were born. You are as you always were. A witch. About Maharet, that I do not know, but it did not sound like she knew and she would have told you if she knew now, would she not have? What I do know is that Cassandra doesn't sound much of light considering how she tricked Julian just to hurt Caroline."

"Can you blame her after all my moth...damn it...Caroline did to her??????!!"

"Maybe not Jo, but look what and where that revenge got her. Vengeance is not always the answer."

"Oh really?? You hypocrite. Was it not you who slayed the vampire Craven for what he did to YOUR parents??? I...I cannot even process all of this right now. So many lies upon even more lies that I have also learned!! I need to get away from here!! Sarah...she is out there somewhere too!! and Jesus....she is my sister!!! How could Joss keep that from me and my father??!! She had that mad man block my memories for fucks sake! SHE could have prevented everything that happened from happening if she just would have trusted in my father enough to tell him the truth the moment she learned of Caroline's intentions! My father could and would have protected her AND even himself!!!!!!"

Leean began to cry. "Jo..please. Try to calm down and let us talk about this. Josselyn was just a young girl, a child even, when she was forced into this world. After everything Harker did to her and her mother and also with the threat of Ravenna, she suffered oppression and helplessness. Caroline took advantage of that. She manipulated her into believing she cared for her, much like she did to you and even Raven, and when Caroline's dark side surfaced, Josselyn was terrified of her. You of all people know what Caroline was capable of. You were also just a child when you met Josselyn and Sarah, entering your adolescent years. She was protecting you too. Would you have even believed her if she had told you what she knew? Josselyn was protecting Julian while Caroline was alive and she didn't want to harm him even more with the truth while he was ill. She tried so hard to help Julian. You saw it all Jo. Don't let Rahl's wickedness blind you!"

"I..I cannot even fathom listening to you defend her right now. She has clearly bewitched you in some way. And god, poor Lola. She left her here for half of her life believing her mother was dead and to be raised by her own father whom neither of them knew about!! Once again, because of Joss's lies, people will get hurt. Stephane and Lola deserved to know the truth, just as my father did! You will not convince me otherwise Haldir of Lorien! Thank you so much for having MY back over some woman you've known a hot five minutes who clearly has bewitched your cock as well. I'm going to go take a bath to cool off. Care to...join me and...release...some tension?"

You walked up to Haldir with a complete change of demeanor and teasingly pushed him back on the bed, then straddled him.

"Let's pick up where we left off. Kiss me" you seductively whispered.

As heavy as the temptation weighed on the aroused elf, Haldir could never take advantage of you, for he loved you too much. He firmly, but gently shoved you off of him and stood up. For Haldir, it was an instant flashback to Thranduil's halls when you were under Garrett's mind control and he had walked in on you doing the same thing to Legolas.

"Jesus Jo, what is happening to you? First the rage and the red eyes and now this. It is like there are two of you as well. This is not you."

"Hmmph. Bet if I were Josselyn, your tongue would be down my throat and in my cunt as we speak. Suit yourself, which from what I can see, you may need rosy palm and her five sisters to do so."

Off you went to the washroom with an intentional sexy sway of your ass for Haldir to watch and then you winked at him and closed the door.

It was no lie that he was quite turned on with an aching stiffness, but he would not entertain it like you were so hoping he would. Instead, he sat down, closed his eyes and willed it away, and with perfect timing too, for Legolas then walked in.

"Legolas? Where is Lola and Josselyn?"

Legolas sighed with concern. "Lola is still with her mother. She now knows how everything, as do I, even how...she was conceived. I thought it best to leave them with their privacy as Lola is not taking the news very well. She is rather inconsolable and....very angry with Stephane and would not hear a word from Sebastian in his defense of him not being himself or having any recollection of it."

Haldir's brow raised as he noticed something quite different with the Prince.

"You...you care for this girl?"

"That is irrelevant. Where is Josie?"

Legolas's deflection told Haldir that he was on the right path and how Haldir had attested to the way Legolas vowed his own death merely hours prior to keep Lola safe was highly conclusive that his godson's feelings may run even deeper for Lola.

"She is in the bath. Be forewarned Legolas. Jo is extremely angry as well. At Josselyn mostly and she is speaking irrationally of going in search of her true birth mother, Cassandra. Even if we could trust that Josselyn's healing power would not harm her or someone else, I highly doubt Jo is going to let Josselyn near her now."

"Trust me, I know of her changes. She has even spoken of going in search of the vampire. And at one point, she even wished me to take her and Leean back to Mirkwood."

Haldir's eyes widened and he motioned for Legolas to follow him to the balcony so your keen ears would not overhear them.

"I think you and I both know that is not wise and why and I am not speaking of the dangers of the travel. You and I also know what, or shall I say whom, was behind the earth's jolt and I have been well informed of Thranduil's own changes by Aragorn due to what Jareth has inflicted upon him."

Legolas' eyes fell. "It...it will matter not if she goes there or remains here. It will matter not where she goes, he will find her. My father is coming for her and Leeanduil and will be here in approximately 5 days."

"I presumed as much. I think you and I both know though, that when she sees him, that is all that will matter to her. She will want to go with him."

Legolas partially concurred. "That is until she realizes exactly what he has become and what his true intentions are. To claim his daughter and banish Jo from her life and his kingdom."

"Possibly, but let us not forget, Jo is becoming more like his new and unimproved persona. He may just desire her to remain his Queen, even after all of his conditioning to despise her. Is Jareth solely to blame? I think not. I was informed of the dhampir's involvement in carrying out Caroline's plan and now it makes sense after my brothers informed me of her wine and lembas thievery in Lorien."

Legolas' lips pursed as his rage at Raven surfaced. "You do not even know the half of her involvement with my father."

A knock sounded upon the door and you came running out to answer it, dripping wet with nothing but a towel wrapped around you, in hopes that it was Stephane after learning he had been injured. As you whipped the door open, it was Bash. He had come to warn that Rahl had returned and was being tended to by the healers for his injury and warned them to steer clear of him.

"Oh god. Bash..how bad is it?? I...I need to go see him." you fretted as you fidgeted with your fingers like Stephane always did when he was anxious.

"He shifted on me, had me pinned down. Charles shot him in the shoulder with an arrow laced of silverbane, which will hurt Rahl because when Stephane is asleep, per se, his defenses are at rest also. Strangely though, he did not seem ill in the least as I discreetly observed him from afar. The wound is what is being cared for."

"My god, Charles! He must be a wreck over having to do that. Is...is he alright??"

He is a bit roughed up, but it was nothing serious. I must warn that Catherine is with him and she is on a war path over what happened, for she had already lashed out at me for putting her son in danger, so watch your back Josie."

"Psshtt. I don't fear that beldam bitch."

Haldir's exhale was harsh and heavy as his eyes rolled over to you.

"Well you should be with no power and did you forget all that she has already done to hurt you?"

"Whatever HAL...DIR! I am going to dress and go see Rahl about what he's done. Could you watch the kid for me. All she does is cry when I am around anyways. SO annoying."

Haldir grabbed your arm and spun you back to him. "No Jo, I forbid it! Have you lost your damn mind like Narcisse has??"

"You WHAT??!" you shouted as you yanked your arm free and as you did so, a tornadic microburst flung the Marchwarden onto his back.

"HA! No powers eh?" you scoffed and then scowled. "Don't ever touch me again elf."

Off you trotted to dress while Legolas and Haldir's gaping eyes stared at each other.

"Sebastian. I was under the presumption that Rahl's venom had disarmed her magic?" Legolas questioned.

"Well you clearly presumed wrong as you can see." Haldir snapped as he vigorously hopped up from the floor.

"It should have? Bash replied and then his brows furrowed. "It..it is like something else is feeding her and it is possible Rahl's venom has awoken it? And let us not forget, his venom will still bring her to eventual darkness as he is."

"Her eyes...when she attacked Gwydion. They were of fire." Haldir described.

"Yes." Legolas agreed. "As they were when I found her unconscious in the hall yesterday. For just a split second when she had opened her eyes."

"Feeding her....how did I not see this before with my considerable knowledge of the breed?" Haldir whispered as his eyes fluttered in disbelief. "And her strength...it is substantial for her size."

Legolas stepped forward. "Breed??"

"Craven...he had the blood rage gene and he is Garrett's maker. The gene can be passed down through the vampire venom. Legolas, you and I know Jo has Garrett's blood inside of her."

"So...what you are saying is....Garrett's blood and Rahl's venom... she is some hybrid, like Michael Corvin? But instead, that of a vampire and a...cat??!!"

"No Legolas. Garrett did not bite her and Rahl's panther form is no ordinary lap cat."

"Yes he did Haldir! He bit her wrist!"

"But we were able to reverse it before it changed her. What I am saying is Rahl's venom is igniting the blood rage just as Sebastian mentioned."

"So then, what do we do?"

"Don't piss her off."

"Thank you Haldir, for the unadorned advice. Sebastian, where are the others?"

Bash informed that Aragorn, Boromir, Bard, Gimli, Rumil and Orophin had set up camp just outside of the castle's perimeters for the time being to be an extra sets of eyes, ears and protection regarding the surrounding threats and then said he must get back to Josselyn. As Bash was set to leave, Haldir stopped him.

"We have no other option now. Speak to Josselyn. Convince her to heal Jo. If anyone would know the warlock ways, it would be you Sebastian considering you are one. Josselyn took his knife. Find out if she still has it. You said taking something of his would break the curse he placed on her magic and I would have to agree that what happened to the boy after her healing is a manifested symptom of the Black Plague. I also do not believe she caused the live stock deaths merely by her presence. She is not evil."

"But will Josie allow it even if Josselyn agrees?"

"If she does not wish to comply, then we will be forced to give her no choice."

Drip. Drip. Drip echoed on the wooden floor boards of the cabin's basement as Garrett laid chained to the bed, shuttering at each drumming drop with spaced out, weakened eyes of starvation yellow and iron poisoning. His sensitive vampire hearing had became so muffled that it only intensified the sound of insanity and as the hallucinations consumed him, he began to mumble a whispering tune.

"This the end. My only friend, the end."

His songful words of sorrow soon faded and eventually ceased as he closed his eyes and entered a world of nightmares and dreamscapes that began as a nightmare.

Through the scorching and desolate desert, an injured and bloodied Garrett staggered through the sandy trail of broken bones the endless wasteland had consumed.

He had no recollection of how he he had been hurt or even how he had gotten there and everything that wasn't supposed to affect a vampire, especially him because of Amara's branding mark of protection, was. The heat, the loss of blood, the pain...it was all sucking the life out of him and he feared he would soon join the remains he trekked around.

The relevant Door's song he had been singing became a reverie as the Indian vibes of guitar notes sounded from the radiant sky. In his human days of Roman Bryson, his love of music and talent in the industry was extensive and it became almost solely who he was, so much so that it carried over with him in his immortality. Garrett could belt out any note and manipulate any instrument from his self taught learning, which was a significant reason the music loving Seelie Queen adored her rockstar daylighter. Although his musical idol was and had always been Jon Bon Jovi, in this dream, Garrett became the iconic legend, Jim Morrison.

As he pushed on, desperately seeking to quench his thirst, but not for water, the hallucinations crept back up on him in the form of a mirage? He wasn't sure. In the far distance, he believed he saw someone, a woman, who saw him too. She too appeared exhausted, as if she had been lost and out there a long time and from what his vampire vision could make out, she looked very much like Sarah, the teen blonde girl in the photo with you that he had found hidden in the cabin, only much older.

In that moment, Garrett didn't care who she was, for his dire thirst for the warm red liquid that loudly pulsed through her veins triggered his uncontrollable blood rage and it gave him just enough strength to begin sprinting towards his prey.

Gasping with incredible fear, the unconfirmed Sarah scurried with all her might, tumbling over a sand dune to get away from the beast with raging red eyes and ferocious fangs.

If Garrett had been feeling his normal vampy self, the girl would have never even made it over the summit of the hill, for he would already be drinking her dry, but instead, his adrenaline rush was short lived and he found himself nose diving down the hill and rolling over and over until he came to an unconscious halt.

Buzzards circled and screeched above as the vampire laid deathly still on his stomach, except for the involuntary twitches every now and then as his hunger withdrawals tortured his limp, helpless body.

He heard the music again and spattered out some of the lyrics into the searing sand.

"Can you picture what will be? So limitless and free. Desperately in need of some stranger's hand in a desperate land...."

Garrett's whimpering words were cut off as he heard another song meshing into and taking over that one. A song he instantly recognized, "Funnel of Love" by Madeline Follin, for Ryan, his older brother by one year, had been listening to it a lot before the car accident that Craven caused which left both Ryan and Garrett, then known as Roman, comatose.

Garrett saw it all over again, the day he awoke from the 3 month long coma and found his lifeless brother being kept alive by a ventilator. As if he needed to see it once more, for he relived it every single day and he knew it was the guilt making it happen.

He remembered touching his brother. It was like nothing he had ever experienced and he couldn't explain it, not then anyways. Supernatural was the only word that had came to his mind, for the memories of the accident flashed through him like the electrical charge that had been used to shock him back to life and it knocked the wind right out of him. He could still hear the nurse's voice when she found him cowering in the corner.

"Mr. Bryson, are you alright?"

Garrett knew something wasn't right. He didn't feel right, like he wasn't even himself. He told the doctor he had buzzing in his ears and that he couldn't get warm.

Garrett quickly entered another dream within his own dream where he was floating on the ceiling of a rose scented room he had never been in before, but he knew the smell and in that room of red prominence, the song blared from a 45 record playing on an old turntable. Just as the record spun round and round, so did he as he gazed down at a very pale man relaxed on a couch with his eyes closed, holding a mandolin guitar.

The music abruptly stopped, just as the rotating room did and then the man, unrecognizable to Garrett but quite similar in physical appearance of his own, including very familiar blue eyes, stared up at him. Eyes of the man who had always been enthralled by the color red, especially roses and who was also musically inclined. It was Ryan and he was a vampire, just as Craven had said he was.

"No!! No...Ryan..no. I...I'm so sorry. I..I never meant for this to happen to you. I..I told him not to do it, to give you the choice I didn't have. Please...please forgive me."

For a few moments, Ryan was silent and held his fixated gaze on Garrett, then he slightly tilted his head to the side.

"Romeo? Where for art thou Romeo?"

Garrett chuckled, for it was a pet name that Ryan always called him, mostly because Ryan was engrossed in Shakespeare's dark and twisted tales and then also because Roman was a bit of a ladies' man at an early age who coincidentally even had a high school friend with benefits named Juliet.

"The question is, where are you Ry? Clearly you're still somewhere in the mundane world and from what I can see, in one hell of a dump for someone who was always a neat freak. Come on man, help me down. I'm kinda stuck up here. Let's hang out like we did in the good old days before we grew up and apart. I've missed you."

"We'll meet again. All in due time little bro. Someone needs you right now."

"What? No one has ever needed me?"

"She does."

"Who? J..Josephine??"

Garrett felt something poking his shoulder and when he was able to force his eyes open, he was on the dry desert sand again being peered down at by the blonde girl.

"Hey. You dead?" she asked.

When she moved out of the blinding sunrays, he could now see that she was indeed the long lost Sarah whom you had believed dead for 8 years now.

"It...it's you. In the photo. You spoke to me. Sarah?"

"Depends who's asking."

Garrett worked his way up onto his elbow and snickered.

"Well that pretty much gives it away that you are she. Rather brave to stand so close. You do realize I just tried to kill you right? So why did you risk your life and come back?"

"Well, first of all, Garrett, right? It's because I realized you are the one I reached out to through said photo. So glad you found my things in your klutzy drunken stupor. I can use them for communication. You really are a hot mess man. Second of all, that means you are not physically here. You're having an out of body experience. You can't hurt me here even if you wanted to. Oh...and third...you're wearing my fucking ring on your pinky."

"Wait, the talking picture was real? Then....if I'm not really here, this isn't real either. I'm just hallucinating again, but in my sleep. Fever dreams basically."

"Oh no, sorry Shaggy, this is very real. The spirit world. Did you not just hear me? Astral fucking projection dude. That's what you've managed to do but how and why you came HERE is what I would like to know. Actually, who the hell cares, just get me the fuck out of here."

"Easy there Sarah the swearing sailor. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now Saint bloodsucker?? We both know what you do with that mouth. You have NO idea the stress I am under AND I haven't even seen my mother in I don't even know how long because it's impossible to keep track of time here, but i know it's been years. YEARS! And I'm still wearing the same dress from the night I got myself into this mess! Now, are you going to help me escape because then maybe I can help you too. You DO want to get back to my sister, don't you??"

"S...sister?"

"Jo! DUhhhh. The one you're head over heels in love with!"

"I...I thought...you and she were only best friends??"

"Well, we were...are bff's because we were never told the truth. Ironic huh? How we still clicked. I learned all of the lies during my time here from...."

Sarah spun around and gasped in terror at a sound only she heard.

"Shhhh!" she adamantly whispered. "He's watching. He's always watching. Taunting me with the doors. Doors that float above the sand. They're so far away. I always run to them, but I never make it before they disappear."

"The doors. Now that's ironic..."

"What??"

"Never mind. That era don't seem your style. Even if you made it to one of the doors, how could you even trust what's inside of them? And who is watching? Harker??"

Her hand quickly covered Garrett's mouth with a hard slap.

"Don't ever say that name here. He doesn't know where I am. I got away from him that night. He's the least of my worries right now."

Garrett yanked her hand away. "Then who the hell are you talking about?"

"The keeper. He has the keys but he won't let me leave. I never should have came here. I was still so unskilled with my magic back then."

"Does this keeper have a name?"

"He has many just as he has many faces and...."

Sarah's eyes grew as she stared off into the distance.

"Oh my god, look! You see?? There's a door, behind you! Come on! Before it goes away!"

"Sarah...I...I can't. I can barely feel my legs. I'll only slow you down. Besides, what if it's some sort of trap??"

"At this point, nothing can be any worse than this hell, so I have to try."

"Uhhh yeah, in a few weeks, you may think MUCH differently."

"The solstice, I know. Ok, listen to me Garrett. You'll eventually go back to your body and wake up and when you do, I need you to somehow make sure Jo gets my pendant that you found and tell her where I am. I..I'm sorry. I have to go!"

Sarah scuffled off through the sand and before Garrett could even react, she blended into a visible heat wave and faded away.

"Wait! How am I supposed to do that when my broken body is chained in iron shackles to a fucking bed!!"

Garrett's question was quickly answered, but not by Sarah. It was you, whispering into his ear.

"Me Garrett. I want you to think of me."

"J..Josephine...you...you're all I think about, but...you...you never hear me. I...I'm too weak."

"Then take my hand. I'll give you my strength."

Garrett's bloodied hand weakly reached up for yours and as your fingertips united, speckles of sparkling sand danced about.

"Now find me Garrett. Get up."

"But...you're right here??"

"No I'm not."

Garrett hadn't even blinked and you vanished. Had you merely been a muse, willing him to fight? Either way, it worked as he now had just enough strength to stand and as his squinting eyes darted all around in search for you, all he saw was the open, endless desert and the trail in the sand from which he had crawled.

"Josephine!!!!" he shouted, but all was silent with no trace of you ever being there.

As Garrett stood panting in the blistering sun, he began to notice something at the top of a hill. A..forest?? He had an inkling that it was most likely a mirage, but he didn't care and began staggering towards it in hopes for shelter and possibly even a four-legged furry snack to dull the thirsting ache in his gut. Even if he wasn't really there like Sarah said, it sure as hell felt like he was, so the famished vamp was still going to try to hunt, considering he had nothing else to do and nowhere else to go.

The shaded heaven drew nearer and nearer, but Garrett's newfound strength and will to go on was depleting. In one last and desperate attempt, he called out to you again.

"Josephine!! Please come back. I need you! I'm so lost without you."

"I'm right here silly." answered a voice that wasn't yours.

"Good god in heaven!!!" Garrett yelped as he spun around to see a little girl with auburn tresses sitting at the edge of the forest.

The bemused vampire never forgot a face, even due to age. He had seen this child before in your dream long ago, only she was much older with chestnut hair like his and hints of copper like yours.

The memory replayed like a movie through his mind. She had touched his face and showed him a vision of two little girls happily playing together in the forest. Garrett didn't know it back then, but he knew now that it was the girl sitting before him, whomever she was, and the other child was Leeanduil.

"You're not Josephine? You're a child. Althoughhhh, oddly, your...your olive green eyes remind me of hers in the picture I found. I...I've seen you before. Who are you and where did you come from and...and why are you here in this terrible place?"

"I'm part of her, or at least I will be if you don't die. I'm Rosie and my doll told me to find you. Her name is Sarah like my aunt's. My friend Zedd made it for me."

Garrett's thick black brow raised as he eyed the wooden carved doll clutched in her hand. It was overly uncanny to him as to how much it resembled Sarah, hairstyle and all and quite frankly, it gave the fearless vampire the heebie-jeebies.

"You can talk to Sarah through that thing? The girl that I was talking to earlier? She's your aunt? Wait...wait...wait...and what do you mean if I don't die??"

Rosie giggled. "You're silly. It takes two people to make a baby doesn't it?"

"Gah! My ears. what are you, like 8???"

"7. Physically anyways. Dhampirs grow really really fast. We fully mature around 20, like my other aunt.

"Other....aunt.....dhampir....what???"

"Hello? Scooby Doo, where are you?? My aunt Raven, well, she goes by Clover again. I'm a dhampir like her. Josie is my mom. Your my dad. Hence...Rosie. You even named me. It's the portmanteau of your real name, Roman and my mom's, like how you mentioned to that faerie Queen. You see? This is why you must live. You die..I don't exist."

Garrett's hands went to the sides of his head as if he were in pain.

"I seriously need some Scooby snacks. My brain is shutting down. There's no way I can have a kid. I mean...literally. I'm DEAD!"

"You mean metaphorically. You're very much alive. You're still in the newborn phase and haven't learned all the vampire truths yet. Even though my mom's human, she's a weaver witch. She can birth a vampire child and you carry the blood rage gene to make that happen. Just like Clover's dad, except her mom didn't have that capability which is why he chose to change her after."

"My head is going to explode. I'm speaking to my daughter who does not even exist. This is all a fucking... shit..I mean shoot, sorry kid, I mean...freaking fever dream. You're not real. I'm not even here. Josephine was never here...and Sarah...is she even real?? Where is she?"

"I think the bad man got her. She don't answer me anymore. But she did say my mom's in trouble. She's...sick."

Garrett's hands fell from his head to his sides. "What???!! What do you mean...sick??"

"See for yourself. Everything here is a message. You just have to wake up." Rosie replied and pointed in the direction behind him.

Garrett whipped around with a startled gasp to see you swaying about in a delirious demeanor and then....you just dropped.

"Josephine!!"

Garrett felt it this time. His lifeless heart thumped hard and heavy, one single time. It was like he had been shocked back to life again by the defibrillators, like when he had laid bloodied, broken and bruised beside the wreckage of the accident.

His eyes burned red as lava as his combat boots pummeled through the loose, unstable sand with little effort, for his heart was in control now.

Garrett dropped to his knees beside you and pulled your limp body into his trembling arms.

"Josephine, baby. Open your eyes. I'm here now. It's me little one. Your Tommy.... and you're my Gina or you can still be Daphne if you want. Come on. Please Josie. You...you feel real. I can feel you, I can....why do you smell like burnt cherries??"

The perplexed vampire then harshly sneezed. "Pepper??? Josephine, what's happening?? Please wake up!"

Without warning, your eyes sprung open, only they were not your icy moonstone, they were blood red like an apocalyptic moon.

Garrett was swiftly flipped onto his back with your hands constricted around his neck as you straddled him. Your strength was astounding. Not an ounce of air was able to slip through to his lungs, but that wasn't the problem, for vampires didn't need oxygen. The problem was that at any given second, you would crush his neck and rip his head off. Had he still possessed his own natural vampire strength, he had to question if he would have even been able to pry your death grip free, just like the iron chains that bound his physical body.

As Garrett's fight with your arms severely weakened, his crystal clear image reflected in your orbs of fire and it was the last thing he saw as he stuttered out the ending lyrics of his own end.

"It hurts... to.. set you free, but... you'll never follow me. The end... of laugh..ter and soft lies. The end... of nights... we tried to die. This is...the end...my only..friend..the end of our elab..orate plans... the end of every...thing that stands... the end. No safety.... or surprise, the end. I'll never look into.... your eyes again."

Garrett's tired eyes closed, for how long he didn't know and then...he felt something warm and wet dripping onto his cheek as you he heard you sobbing 3 little words he had always longed to hear.

"Garrett. I...I love you. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please... wake up."

Drip, Drip, Drip.

In a gasping panic of calling your name, Garrett awoke with wide, darting eyes that traveled right to his open palm as the leak from the cabin floor above him dripped into it.

"What...in theeee jinky...fuck?!" he groaned as he lifted his hand to his lips to drink the tiny puddle of much needed lubricant for his dry, burning throat.

As he wearily pushed himself up into a sitting position, he froze solid, for he sensed a presence. Slowly turning to his right, there sat Freddy, your beloved crow.

"Eyyy, Freddy my man. Is it really you? Please tell me you're real because I really need some help as you can see."

"CAW!" the blackbird screeched, once for yes and then he pecked Garrett's hand.

"Owww, easy bro. Ok, you're real. You gotta do something for me. You owe me remember? For saving your life?"

"CAW!"

"Alright. Here."

Garrett reached deep into his pocket and pulled out the purple amethyst pendant.

"Take this to Josephine. She has to have it to rid of the dead....and somehow...find a way to tell her where I am. Do charades or something."

"CAW! CAW! CAW!" Freddy chanted with a head bobbing motion, almost as if he were laughing.

Garrett smiled and held the necklace up. "I'm pretty sure you know how important this is, so keep it safe. Oh, and she will need her moonstone pendant too that I had you hide."

Little did Garrett know about either pendant. He had the means all along and right there in his hand to transport himself back to you in a matter of seconds.... and then there was your pendant that his feathered friend had taken and given to Thranduil long ago to hopefully help bring the darkened elf lord back to the light by uniting it with his moonstone ring, which even the bird now knew that was a terrible mistake he would have to try and fix and he also knew such a task was easier thought than done, for the Elvenking would have a very tight grip on the two gems that formed one powerful piece of moonstone magic.

Freddy balled up the chain and stone with his talons and flew off through the broken basement window in which he had entered, but before he took flight to Dowrwinion, his keen black eye caught sight of something he knew he would need to make you understand.

On the porch sat a bag of Garrett's personal belongings and beside that laid a hairbrush. As he eyed the single strand of hair tangled in the bristles, his sensitive nostrils drew in Garrett's molasses scent. With his beak, he then snatched it up and took off into the night sky that held an almost full winter solstice moon.

@redeemer46

[world-of-wales]

─ •✧ WILLIAM'S YEAR IN REVIEW : SEPTEMBER ✧• ─

7 SEPTEMBER - William visited Pret a Manger in Bournemouth. Afterwards he was received on arrival by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset (Mr. Angus Campbell) AFC Bournemouth. 8 SEPTEMBER - William and Catherine undertook engagements in St. David's and were received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Dyfed (Ms. Sara Edwards). They attended a Memorial Service for Queen Elizabeth II in St. David's Cathedral and afterwards met members of the local community. Later, they visited Câr-y-Môr Seaweed Farm. Subsequently, they met volunteers from the RNLI at the RNLI St. David's Lifeboat Station. William wrote a letter to Mr. Gear about the memorial of her grandfather who was a WWII veteran. 9 SEPTEMBER - William joined Catherine and Princess Anne for an episode of 'The Good, The Bad and The Rugby' Podcast. 10 SEPTEMBER- William attended the Wales Vs Fiji Rugby World Cup pool match in Bordeaux and was received upon arrival by His Majesty's Ambassador to the French Republic (Dame Menna Rawlings). 13 SEPTEMBER- William was received by Colonel Jane Davis (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London) as he visited Mates in Mind at a construction site. 14 SEPTEMBER - William and Catherine visited Stirling Lines in Hereford. Afterwards, they were received by Mr. Patrick Wrixon (Deputy Lieutenant of Herefordshire) at Madley Primary School's Forest School. Subsequently, met Members of We Are Farming Minds at Kings Pitt Farm. 18 SEPTEMBER - William departed from Heathrow Airport for USA and was received upon arrival at Newark Liberty International Airport by His Majesty's Consul-General for New York (Ms. Emma Wade-Smith) as he kicked off his Trip to New York. He visited the Billion Oyster Project at Governor's Island and met schoolchildren at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Afterwards he called upon Mr. António Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations) at the UN Headquarters. 19 SEPTEMBER - On his second day in New York, William held and audience with The President of the Republic of Ecuador. Afterwards, he attended the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit. Later, he visited FDNY Firehouse Ten and was received by His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America (Dame Karen Pierce). Finally he attended a Dinner for the Earthshot Prize at Tavern on the Green and later departed NY from John F. Kennedy International Airport for the UK. 20 SEPTEMBER - William arrived at Heathrow Airport, London, from the United States of America. 21 SEPTEMBER - William wrote the Foreword to London Air Ambulance Charity's bereavement booklet. 22 SEPTEMBER - William and Catherine were spotted at Prince George's Football Game. 27 SEPTEMBER- William and Catherine hosted a Charities Forum in London. 28 SEPTEMBER - William and Catherine received Mr. Timothy Cook (Chief Executive Officer, Apple Incorporated) at Windsor Castle. 29 SEPTEMBER - He was received by Mrs. Clare Garrett (Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire) as he visited BEST - Be A Better You in Swindon.

[earthwormstew]

FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS AND THOUGHTS

i see that some are saying that michael and abby are not related to william, and while abby definitely isn’t, why doesn’t michael have the potential to be? i feel like it was assumed that william and his wife definitely divorced at some point during michael’s childhood in the games, so would it be farfetched to theorize that michael’s movie ‘dad’ was really just his step father, and michael possibly was too young to have known that, seeing as william was probably at freddy’s a majority of the time?

this is my guess for the movie’s cannon

william and his wife had michael

william and his wife split when michael was an infant, and michael hadn’t remembered.

vanessa is kinda a mystery to me, as she’s definitely around the age of michael, so either william got some poor woman knocked up or she’s a robot either when the marriage was still together or newly split up (vanessa bleeds so idk ab robot theory, but also she’s doing william’s bidding and says she ‘wouldn’t be able to harm him’ which makes it seem like even with her willpower she just can’t, which is obviously proven false with gun shot at him)

william had stalked his ex wife’s family, waiting until he could kidnap garrett to ‘get back at her’. he obviously killed garrett, as william states it.

it seems that william didn’t actually want michael dead unless he discovered something he wasn’t supposed to see, but it also seems like william had malicious plans for michael one way or another, possibly trying to reconnect with his son and make him a bloodthirsty monster like himself.

idk. i feel like it would be very odd if scott decided to suddenly make a totally different michael be the focus of the movie. Part of the allure of the lore is that it’s this big fucked up family torn apart by their murderous father, so if they side-swiped it that would be weird.

alternatively, movie michael is henry’s son, really confusing the game lore. but at least it would have a motive for william to drive out to a forest and kidnap a child in the middle of the day.

there’s definitely a second one to come with the cliffhanger of vanessa in the hospital.

if they make a weird vanessa-michael romance subplot in the second, even if they actually reveal michael to not be williams son, i’m dropping fnaf as a whole.

(ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED THEORY: even after william and his wife’s divorce, they kept meeting. i feel like garett probably isn’t william’s son, but i feel like abby has the potential, particularly with the fact that she seems to recognize freddy’s a bit, possibly meaning she had been taken there by her mom at a young age)

idk i need to rewatch it already. please don’t rip me a new one 🙏🙏

[thewholecrew]

@headstrongblake said: [ 📞 ] ‘ i need your help. ’ / nick & rev

things had definitely been strange the past couple weeks, with half the gang gone, with seeing very little of kassy and alec, rev spent most their time out in the forest because why not? who did they have to be human around aside from sparring with bellamy. that man had a lot of pent up anger, rev almost thought he had more than them. but rev supposed they couldn't blame him, he essentially lost his biggest partners in the gang and his baby sister. rev would be furious in his shoes too. they still couldn't wrap their head around what happened and was pissed they'd missed out on the chance to rip out garretts jugular with their damn teeth after what he had done to nick.

hm, maybe they had a lot more anger in them too. but fighting only did so much. they couldn't kill bellamy, so they lost interest and instead spent most their time in their wolf form in the forest. they'd be visited by hunter every so often, in his human form of course, and this time when he greeted the large wolf he raised his phone with a light shake. "someone has been trying to reach you, ryan..." he murmured as rev snorted and slowly drew closer. ears perked at that and sat down beside where hunter stood. "nick," he told them, "said he's been calling your cell, him and octavia are back in town."

that peaked rev's interest, sharp aqua eyes going wide as they padded over to the basket they kept their belongings in. hunter turned away as rev shifted back, dressing themself and snatching their phone. 6 missed calls from nick. "sheesh, the dude goes mia for weeks then gets pissy when i don't answer him out of the blue?" rev muttered as they walked over to join hunter on the trail back to their home. "you said they're back?" they asked hunter, wondering what that will mean. bellamy will be glad his sister is back, though from what he'd been cursing while they fought nick was probably in his bad books. hunter shrugged with a nod, "that's all he said, and that he wanted to talk to you."

brows furrowed as arms crossed over their chest, "oh good," they scoffed before looking down at their phone again. with a sigh they called nick back and blinked in surprise as he answered immediately. "jesus gramps, you waiting with the phone to your ear?" they huffed before nick spoke. rev, i need your help. rev frowned at that, "tch, oh yeah? with what? hunt here told me you guys are back in town..." they murmured, glancing at their brother before ahead as their home came into view. they listened as nick explained that octavia was back to stay but nick.. wasn't done trying to find and bring grant back.

"you know how fuckin' nuts you sound right?" they rolled their eyes but the decision had already been made. they'd help him. they saw the state the idiot was in when he left and he doubted he stood a chance. plus, this might be his chance to tear into garrett. "fine, where are we meeting? you got anyone you wanna see before we take off?" they asked, very heavily hinting at kassy. the silence to that question was loud and rev rolled their eyes. "i'll meet you at the diner on front street at six, you need me to bring anything?" they asked, though rev assumed with nick knowing their secret that bringing themself was enough. "get there early and order us somethin' for the road."

hanging up, they looked over at hunter who, though to the untrained eye, would just simply look unimpressed, rev could see the concern in those deep sapphire eyes. "i'll be fine, hunt," they said, giving hunter a punch to the shoulder. "gotta make sure that idiot doesn't get himself killed or fuckin' tortured again..." hunter nodded at that, lips pressing firmly together as a quiet sigh escaped him. "be careful, ryan," he warned them and rev rolled their eyes once again, arm going around their brother's shoulder. "always am, you know that." hunter wasn't quite convinced but he nodded. "okay, keep him safe," he then added but they both knew that was the priority over everything.

[world-cinema-research]

Week 7 Short Essay Part 1 – Sex, Lies and Videotape comparison to Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai 

By Christian Lavarello

The films, Sex, Lies and Videotape by Director Steven Soderbergh and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai by director Jim Jarmusch are vastly different from one another. Sex, Lies and Videotape follows the intertwined lives of four individuals living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: John Mulaney (Peter Gallagher), Ann Bishop Mulaney (Andie MacDowell), Cynthia Bishop, and Graham Dalton. John is an attorney who is having an affair with his wife Ann’s sister. Ann claims to not want sex anymore, being excessively concerned about world issues until John’s old college friend, Graham (James Spader) visits them. Graham is ‘brutally honesty,’ especially about the fact that he is impotent and the only way he can have some physical satisfaction is by videotaping women talking about sex and their sexual encounters. With his arrival, everyone’s deceptions and hypocrisies come to the surface and so does Ann’s desire to have to sex again. Director Steven Soderbergh’s groundbreaking debut shook the Indie Filmmaking scene awarding him the Palme d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, making Soderbergh the youngest solo director to win the award.  

Almost ten years later, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai was released by director Jim Jarmusch which tells the story of an urban samurai (Forest Whitaker), a man who was saved when he was younger by Louie (John Tormey), a mafioso. Sometime later, Ghost Dog reappears before the mafioso and, in accordance with his samurai ethical code, admits he is in debt with Louie. Louie turns Ghost Dog into his own efficient, uncatchable hitman and nobody knows his "real" name and they communicate via carrier pigeon-delivered messages. Ghost Dog’s only "outside" conversations are with the French-speaking Haitian ice-cream vendor Raymond (Isaach De Baukole) and a precocious girl, Pearline (Camille Winbush), whom he meets in the park, and they share books.  

One the most prominent differences between both films is that Sex, Lies and Videotape is more of an unconventional film, whereas Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is conventional. Alisa Perren wrote a scholarly review on Sex, Lies and Videotape and its’ impact on filmmaking and marketing of the 80s and early 90s, where she states, “On a cost-to-earnings ratio, Steven Soderbergh’s creation —with its $1.1 million dollar budget and $24 million plus in North American box office—was a better investment than Batman, which—at an investment of $50 million—returned $250 million in domestic box office”.

Chuck Stephens wrote a scholarly article on Jim Jarmusch's way of telling the Ghost Dog’s story where he states, “There are many stories within Ghost Dog, and Jarmusch rashomon-ically wants to tell - or retell - them all. The simplest of them is this: Ghost Dog lives alone in a rooftop aerie, kept company by a covey of carrier pigeons as he studies the nihilist koans of the Hagakure. Around him, the wind whistles with hiphop hybridity ("black Mafia mind De Niro") and moans with the "everything's changing," time-to- die fatalism of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, another film in which out-moded men are picked off like chickens buried to their necks in sand”. Both films are reviewed critically from very different aspects and the reviewer sees they excel and radiate different qualities that contributed to films of the 80s and 90s.  

During the time of the film Sex, Lies and Videotape in 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area with a 6.9 magnitude, leaving behind a trail of destruction, while in 1999 during the time of the film, Ghost Dog: The way of the Samurai John F. Kennedy Jr., wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren G. Bessette are lost at sea when a plane he was piloting disappears near Martha's Vineyard, off Mass. coast on July 16, 1999. Two different tragic events occur during the time of both films which affected many individuals.  

Both films had great success in their own ways with Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai touching on the history of the warriors of Japan with a gangster American twist where the characters are understood and the story comes together at the end, whereas Sex, Lies and Videotape touched on more socially unacceptable topics of its’ time and sexual conversations making the audience work to resolve issues brought up in the movie. Their differences make these films unique and do cater to very different audiences, but both are great films to watch. 

[londonspirit]

Only the fans of Our Flag Means Death can determine whether they’ll be satisfied with the show’s second season, which debuts on Max in October. But if you ask Fernando Frias, who directed three of the season’s episodes, he sounds pretty confident: “If my life depended on saying whether it’s yes or no, I would say yes.’’

It’s December 8, 2022, and the principal actors on Our Flag Means Death as well as the 800-plus extras and crew members have three days left of their three-month shoot for season two. Things are starting to get emotional. “You’ve been the most amazing crew I’ve ever worked with,” says one actor as he wraps his final scene. Frias says it’s like leaving “a long summer camp,” adding, “it’s like a family.”

The series created by David Jenkins was a surprise breakout hit when it debuted in the spring of 2022, building a fiercely devoted fan base with its silly yet emotional deadpan, and defiantly queer take on the adventures of real 18th-century pirates. Everyone involved in Our Flag Means Death is eager to preserve the surprises in store for season two, which kicks off with gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and softhearted bad boy Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) ruefully separated after finally realizing their love for each other at the end of season one. It’s “going to be unexpected and surprising, but also very pleasurable and satisfying for those who like the show,” promises executive producer Garrett Basch. It “doesn’t follow the expected route,” teases Con O’Neill, who plays Blackbeard’s devoted enforcer, Izzy. All that means is we’re not at liberty to share too much about what happened on set that day, which included emotional conversations, new cast members, banter with the Kiwi crew, and some seriously killer costumes.

But these exclusive new images give a hint of what is in store. There are fresh faces—Minnie Driver will guest-star as the real-life Irish pirate Anne Bonny, and Ruibo Qian joins the cast as the mysterious merchant Susan—and a lot of New Zealand actors and locations, now that the production has decamped across the Pacific. “The viewers will see the scope of their world has expanded based on the fact we’re able to get to these amazing locations within a short travel time,” says executive producer Antoine Douaihy. “You will notice a marked difference between the two seasons in terms of the scope and the scale.’’

There will be plenty of familiar faces too, of course. On set that day in Kumeu, New Zealand, a rural area about 20 miles outside of Auckland, are Waititi and Darby along their fellow returning cast members O’Neill, Vico Ortiz (Jim), Kristian Nairn (Wee John), Joel Fry (Frenchie), Matthew Maher (Black Pete), Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie), Samson Kayo (Oluwande), Ewen Bremner (Nathaniel Buttons), Samba Schutte (Roach), and more. New onboard are two Kiwi actors, Madeleine Sami (most recently of the Australian mystery-comedy Deadloch), and Samoan-born Anapela Polataivao. And there’s one returning figure impossible to miss on the soundstage: The Revenge, the stately ship that Blackbeard—a.k.a. Ed—commandeered at the end of season one. In real life it was carefully transported across the Pacific Ocean from the show’s original Los Angeles soundstages.

The Revenge is vast and impressive, much larger in real life than it appears onscreen. But it’s not the only stunning scenery in store. There are around 50 sets involved in the production of season two, including the 30-acre forest behind the Kumeu Film Studio, Piha Beach, and the wild, black-sand Bethells Beach.

Waititi, who also executive produces the series, was part of the push to film season two in his native New Zealand. “Taika is an extraordinary talent and what’s really great about him with his international success is he’s remained very committed to New Zealand and very loyal to our industry,” says Annie Murray, the CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission. “The beauty of filming in New Zealand is that you can find incredible varied locations within a very short driving distance. [And] when you get to those locations you can turn your camera in any direction.’’

The scope of the season is very evident back on set, as well. There’s a whole other pirate ship in addition to The Revenge, plus sets for a floating market, Stede’s cabin (empty when we visit), and the Republic of Pirates first glimpsed in season one. Behind the scenes it’s a maze of wardrobe, wig rooms, and dressing rooms. In another facility, props are stacked on shelves, ready to be taken away to storage as soon as filming wraps—vases, plates, antique furniture, and piles of mannequins replicating dead bodies which were used in one of the battle scenes.

Costume designer Gypsy Taylor joined the production this season and has designed hundreds of costumes, checking with everyone on set that day to make sure everything is in place before cameras roll. Taylor says each of the principals have six to eight looks in this season, and that every item—every leather belt, wig, bit of jewelry, even a mermaid tail—has been made by her 60-strong workshop. The costumes this season have a “Mad Max, ‘streets of New York’ feel,” says Taylor. “David Jenkins was keen to give the series a cool rock-and-roll vibe…so we had these rock-and-roll elements with an 18th-century twist.’’ As is evidenced in the image below, even Stede’s crew winds up with some unexpected new looks over the course of the season.

Two armies are part of the action in season two, all of them needing elaborate costumes—around 150 Chinese pirates and a fleet of 100 navy officers. Even the breeches are in studded black leather, and punkified. Says Taylor, “The theory behind their costumes is they would’ve stolen from other pirates…. Although our Wee John has started to become quite the seamstress, so he’s knitting this season.’’ True enough: Nairn is wearing what looks like a hand-knit sweater on set that day.

Wee John isn’t the only pirate getting into crafts. Nancy Hennah, who has managed the hair and makeup for both seasons, points to Blackbeard’s wig—made in London—and tattoos as Waititi works on set. With 14 tattoos on his right arm and 10 on the left, plus plenty of scars, he needs at least an hour in the makeup chair. “Taika wanted most of the tattoos to look like he’d done them himself,” Hennah says. “Like on slow days on the boat when there’s nothing much to do, they sit around and give each other tattoos.”

She gives a hint of a storm in one episode: “One of the hardest days here in makeup was when they were caught in a storm on the back of the boat. [The cast] were saturated for a whole day, which caused havoc with things like tattoos and hair, wigs and beards.’’

By mid afternoon, Con O’Neill is taking a break in his trailer. He pulls his slim, leather-trousered legs up to a corner seat. A candle blazes on the kitchen bench as the veteran actor talks about the physical endurance required during the shoot. “It’s been frantic,’’ he says. His signature gray hair barely moves, frozen by the team of hairstylists who arrived on set around sunrise. (All interviews with actors in this story took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike.) 

Izzy “goes on a remarkable journey” this season, says O’Neill. “He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with.’’ On a series featuring a variety of joyful queer relationships—not just Stede and Blackbeard, but Black Pete and Lucius (Nathan Foad), Jim and Oluwande, and Spanish Jackie and her many husbands—Izzy’s unyieldingly straitlaced devotion makes him an odd man out. By the end of season one many fans speculated that Izzy was driven by something at the intersection of love and obsession. This season, according to O’Neill, Izzy gets even deeper into that dynamic. “Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.’’

Though the show is often warm and fuzzy when it comes to feelings—one of Stede’s mottos in season one is that when faced with challenges, “we talk it through as a crew”—Izzy represents the darker, more violent side of pirate life, which the show doesn’t shy away from either. “What I love about this show is it does allow itself to swing between the two,” O’Neill says. “We’re almost operatic in our darkness at times, and then we swing back to the sweetness of the simplicity of the love of our two guys. It’s been challenging just to get the tone right.”

“We’ve gone further this season than we did last season with those tones,” he continues. “So sometimes it’s quite interesting to remind yourself that you have to take your foot out of the tragedy—literally, your foot—and put it back into the comedy.”

With a season behind them to build the dynamics between the characters and the actors alike, on set there’s been “a lot more spontaneity and script revisions based on what’s happening day-to-day,” says Douaihy. “The cast are so comfortable with one another and their characters, that they move through it naturally.’’

The way O’Neill puts it, they’ve also built trust with Jenkins, their showrunner, to follow some bigger swings. “I don’t think David Jenkins is ever going to follow an expected route. I’d hate to drive in a car with him.” Thinking of the fans who will greet the series when the show returns in October, O’Neill continues, “I think they’re going to appreciate what [Jenkins] wants. Season two does stick to the original premise that we created in season one, which is take it on to other levels.’’

One character leveling up in a major way this season is Jim, the quiet badass (there are knives involved) played by the nonbinary actor and activist Vico Ortiz. “Jim really evolves in season two,” they say. “They’re a bit more chatty and a bit more conversational…. Most of the first season you see Jim in disguise, hiding, but in this one you see them a bit more [thinking,] Oh, this is my chosen family, and I feel good. There’s a bit more zaniness and a bit more softness.’’

Like O’Neill and several other castmates, Oritz had attended their share of fan events by the time season two began filming, and the entire cast and crew returned to the high seas with a strong sense that their show had taken on a life of its own. “It’s so beautiful to see that people are finding community within the fan base. It’s about creating spaces where we feel safe and seen, and it’s so great to see that so many people watch the show and feel validated in their experiences, whatever that may be,” says Ortiz. “A lot of people that watch the show are like, “Yeah, I’m a guy and it’s good to see all these dudes being vulnerable.’ We can just shake up [ideas about gender].’’

Basch admits the fan following surprised some of the team, “but it made a lot of sense” too. After years of television shows and movies that built up the potential of queer romance only to stop short, Basch thinks the fervor for Our Flag Means Death “says that shows in the mainstream aren’t delivering that promise or that setup, and we have. That’s really why the fans have gone wild for it.”

That promise, it’s safe to say, is kept in season two, and then some. On set that day in December, for example, there was a major romantic moment between two key characters. But we’d risk Ed Teach’s wrath if we told you any more.

[kidgetrash]

Monsters and Mana 2 - Save The World, Get The Girl - Chapter 8

Character:  Keith Kogane, Pidge Gunderson/Katie Holt, Lance McClain, Hunk Garrett, Shirogane Takashi, Coran, Princess Allura, Matt Holt

Pairings:  Keith/Pidge

Warnings!:  This is going to be one looooonnnggg fic! I think? So far I'm barely into the plot and I have four chapters, so let's see how far we go! I'll add warnings as they come up!

Summary: Back to Princess Pidge!

‘Alright, I’ll go back to the adventures of Princess Pidge, perhaps you could all go and get some refreshments for us all?’  Coran suggested.

Keith took the opportunity to immediately tap on the side of Pidge’s bubble, which she immediately dismissed and looked at him with a smile.

‘Did you all save me yet?’

‘I get the feeling you won’t need saving in the way we think you do.’  Keith quirked her a sideways smile.

‘No talking about the game!’  Coran waved his hand between them.  ‘No spoilers!’

‘Fine.  Pidge, do you want something to drink?  A snack?’

‘Uh, sure.’  She nodded.  ‘Surprise me.’

‘Anything but peanuts, got it.’  He patted her shoulder as he passed her, Pidge having had to get to her feet to let him, and everyone else, out of the booth.  Shiro passed her and patted her shoulder next, with a small smile, Hunk followed and did the same but with a set grin on his face that looked more than awkward.  Allura passed next, she didn’t pat Pidge but she swore her smile was apologetic, and finally last came Lance, fluttering his eyelashes and blowing air kisses as he went by.  Pidge slapped the back of his arm as he went, hoping Keith hadn’t seen.

‘Alright, princess, time to get back to you.’

‘Me?’  Allura called from across the room.

‘No!  Princess Pidge!’  Coran called back.

‘Do we need the bubble?’  Pidge poised her hand just in case.

‘No, we should be alright as long as we keep our voices down.’  Coran assured her in a tone that was meant to be quiet but she was sure carried across the entire room.  ‘So, as you run off into the night, you hear yelling behind you.  The guards have realised not only that you are gone but that their companions are dead or unconscious…’

Pidge ran across the wastelands, trying to take in her surroundings by the light of the moon.  The wastelands looked like a no mans land as far as she could see, old broken buildings, punctured the land like jagged teeth, few and far between.  The land was rough and dry, crunching underfoot loud enough that she knew her position was in danger of being given away.  She changed direction to a small outcropping of bushes, sliding into it while she took stock of her surroundings.  She could see several camp fires in the shelter of the husks of buildings.  Very few still stood in their original state, some were more like windbreaks, while others were missing floors but still good enough to use as shelter.  There were several copses of trees and beyond them the darkness of a forest which while terrifying her also called to her as somewhere she could hide from her captors.  Her issue was how to get from here to there without being spotted or stopped for being out of place.  She knew she looked less like a princess in her leather but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t recognise her.  Her long hair in its complicated braid would draw attention, even if she took it down.

She glanced down at the knife by her side.  That could work.  Taking the braid in her hand she took the knife as close to her neck as she dared and began to hack away.  Soon the braid was gone and Pidge felt a literal weight off her mind.  Now she needed one more thing.  Luck on her side.

She watched through the bush in the direction she had come from, seeing one of the men who had entered the tower run out onto the wasteland with a lantern, looking for any movement, any sign as to which way she went.  With no obvious clue and groups all around, she would be hard to find.  He went back inside, having thrown the lantern in frustration.  She was sure they hadn’t given up, that they would perhaps search for her once it got lighter, but if she could make her way into the forest she could easily find shelter while she assessed the situation.  And it was highly likely she would draw attention to herself if she tried to hurry, to run for her life.  Perhaps she could fake it, make it look like she belonged there.  She had been sneaking out of the castle for years, often hooded and passing as a boy easily.  Now with her hair shorter she didn’t need the hood, though she wished she still had it against the cold.  The only way she was getting out of here, in her mind, was to be confident and act like she’s been here before, like she’s no stranger to this sort of situation.  Hope was all she had, and she knew she had to take this risk.

She stayed low as she backed out of the bushes, drawing herself up slowly and resheathing the knife in one fluid motion.  She gave the tower one final look before turning her back on it and walking towards the nearest group of rough and ready looking mercenaries.  They were eyeing her before she got even remotely close, the atmosphere tense.  The largest of the men, adorned with a bandolier of finger bones, stood as she approached, chewing something noisily, glaring down at her in a way that left her no question as to whether he would kill her and not bat an eye.

‘Mind if I…’

‘You got no business here, kid.  Keep moving.’  His voice growled.

‘Relax, I just want to sit by your fire for a few minutes.’  She held up her hands defensively.  ‘I won’t even come too close.’

He continued to glare at her, didn’t even size her up, just angry eye contact which she maintained despite her heart racing, her limbs trembling with fear.  ‘Over there.’  He said finally, indicating to an open area on one side of the fire.  She nodded her gratitude and made her way around, sitting back from the rest of the group, as far as she could manage and still feel the heat.

‘I don’t need long.’  She rubbed her hands together, her eyes focusing into the distance in case the men came out of the siege tower again.  ‘I’ll be gone in no time.’

‘No talking.’

Pidge pressed her lips together firmly, raising her shoulders and trying to make herself a smaller target.  She needed to fathom which way to go once she reached the forest.  Sitting here, she was in danger of being discovered, despite her changed appearance, but until the sun began to come up she had no way of knowing without asking, and this guy and his group weren’t the talkative types.  So she sat and waited.

Masterlist

[lizardsfromspace]

Unfortunately Fearsome #2 will come out tomorrow night at this time instead of tonight due to unforeseen circumstances (I had a headache and took a nap which fixed my headache but meant I ran out of time 2day)

This one will be much more rewritten compared to #1, which really only had a few new scenes, some minor changes here and there (namely delaying some character intros until #2), and I deleted the prologue, which I thought was a fun subversion of the "horror story starts with a doomed character" cliche, but which I cut because, well, it was still a horror story starting with a minor character we never see again. It also created timeline confusion bc the prologue takes place during Chapters Three, Four, and Five, but isn't obviously a in-media-res thing (once upon a time, Fearsome started with an in-media-res cut to the final scene before flashing back; I don't know why, given I hate those kinds of opening and think they're cheap). One detail in it also made it obvious a certain character was a werewolf too early

Here's the original prologue for reference

The only noises in the forest were the howls of the creature, echoing up through the dense, dark thicket of trees.

“I’ve got it,” Garrett said, his beard catching in the moonlight. “You thought you were real big, calling my trail cam pics fake, but I’ve got it.”

“Like I told you, I’ll believe it when I’ve got it in front of me,” Jack let Garrett lead the way, holding his rifle low; Garrett held his up, ready for…something.

“Right around the corner,” and Jack could barely hear Garrett over its moans and whimpers; bestial, but like not quite any beast he’d heard before, and with a strange, affecting edge to it…

There was some kind of canid in Garrett’s trap – coyote or wolf, Jack couldn’t say; as he got closer, he could see -

“Get a load of the size of this thing,” Garrett said.

It was canine, but bigger than any coyote Jack had ever seen. “Wolf?”

“No, Einstein, it’s a little old lady’s poodle.” He snorted. “They shouldn’t be comin’ this far south. They’ve gotta be the ones eating our deer.”

“That’s what wolves do, last time I checked.”

“That’s what wolves did before we killed ‘em all. As for this one -” Garrett checked his gun.

“H-hey, what d’you think you’re doing? It’s not wolf-hunting season. The state will be all over -”

“The state wouldn’t do a damn thing if that thing was tearing you apart.” He swung his rifle over, aimed, twitched his finger -

In one motion the wolf rose up on two legs -

“The hell?”

- howled, wrestled for the gun, swiped a paw through the air, claws shining in the moonlight -

- the pieces of the gun flew around Garrett -

- screamed, ran -

“Garr? GARRETT!?” Jack yelled, but he was already gone. “Oh, god, oh -” He turned back around.

The wolf was free.

And its jaws, its sharp, wet, fangs, hovered inches from his face.

He glanced around, at anything, anything but that. There were now dark shapes between the trees. Dark shapes that growled and hissed.

He cowered, burying himself in his arms. Closed his eyes, and heard twigs break under approaching paws. He dared to open his eyes. Looked up at…

Several wolves. The one in front of him stood upright, the fur on its head streaked with green. It reached out a claw...he whimpered. Tears ran down his face. Please, no, I don’t want to -

It flicked his nose and…laughed. A guttural, throaty laugh. All the wolves joined in.

He kept cowering as they vanished into the trees, the only sounds his sobs and a distant, high howling.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Our Flag Means Death Season 2

The New Zealand Film Commission and Tourism New Zealand partner with Max for season two of Our Flag Means Death to showcase New Zealand to international audiences.

Fast Facts

96% New Zealand crew

78% New Zealand cast

Production based at Kumeu Film Studios

Post-production took place in Auckland

10 New Zealand HODs

67 shoot days

35 sets built

780 Crew

Our Flag Means Death is executive produced by creator-showrunner David Jenkins and Emmy®-nominated star and New Zealander Taika Waititi. In addition to his duties as showrunner, Jenkins directed the first two episodes of season two. Garrett Basch, Dan Halsted, Adam Stein, and Antoine Douaihy also serve as executive producers. Production for the show moved from Los Angeles to New Zealand for its second season.

Our Flag Means Death stars New Zealanders Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby and David Fane, as well as Madeleine Sami (most recently of the Australian mystery-comedy Deadloch) and Samoan-born Anapela Polataivao.

Many of the key creatives and department heads are New Zealanders, including writer Maddie Dai, production designer Ra Vincent, hair and makeup designer Nancy Vincent and art decorator Megan Vertelle. Together, this talented team elevated Our Flag Means Death, contributing their individual expertise to create a visually stunning and emotionally engaging viewing experience. Of the 780 crew contracted onto the show, 350 worked full time.  

Creative talent and picturesque landscapes were key motivators for the move Down Under. Showrunner David Jenkins said “We were looking at the season two budget and asking ‘How do you get the most money on screen?’ New Zealand was the answer. I’ve seen more of our budget end up on screen than it did in the U.S. in season one.”

New Zealand also added a breath-taking backdrop to the swashbuckling adventures of the crew. The lush greenery and stunning coastline provided the perfect setting for the 67-day shoot in Auckland at the end of 2022. There were around 50 sets involved, including the 30-acre forest behind the Kumeu Film Studio, Piha Beach, Howick Historical Village and the wild, black sand Bethells Beach.

And there’s one returning figure impossible to miss on the soundstage: The Revenge, the stately ship that Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard (a.k.a. Ed) commandeered at the end of season one. In real life, it was carefully transported across the Pacific Ocean from the show’s original Los Angeles soundstage. The Revenge is approximately 7m x 28m and there were 3x boat sets that were used to create 10 different boats. The production shot in the Dive Tank at Kumeu Film Studios, built a floating market in the Republic of Pirates, and provided storm water effects for The Revenge.

Virtual Production

Given that many scenes in Our Flag Means Death take place on the deck of a ship at sea, virtual production was the most practical and cost-effective way of filming.

Virtual production is the process of generating motion picture or computer-generated photorealistic imagery displayed on a dynamically active large scale LED wall to create a ‘virtual’ environment or location on a soundstage.

Surrounding the ship was a giant “volume” wall comprised of 1700 LED monitors displaying a photorealistic ocean background with rolling waves. As a crane-mounted camera weaved around, the images on the digital display moved with it, creating a seamlessly integrated backdrop.

The New Zealand vendors that worked on the screen were NEP Sweetwater, NEP Big Picture, Riggaz with Attitudes, Theatrical Solutions, Xytech and Disguise.

The creative benefit of shooting on the volume wall was that the production could shoot in multiple locations and times of day all within just a few hours. Additionally, the actors could interact with what they are seeing and the lighting shifted in real time.

Careful planning of scenes and shots resulted in the rapid and efficient deployment of a select number of pre-processed moving plates (backgrounds) on set. Paihia, Bay of Islands, Mercer Bay Loop and Waitakere were among the New Zealand locations featured in the plate shots.

The New Zealand Screen Production Rebate - (International) and 5% Uplift

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) and Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) partnered with Max on season two of the show as a part of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant 5% Uplift.

The partnership recognised the significant economic, cultural and industry benefits the Our Flag Means Death production brought to New Zealand. This included a marketing partnership with TNZ and NZFC to promote New Zealand as a tourism and filmmaking destination. It also included a knowledge-sharing programme related to the LED Volume Wall used during production, and collaborations with New Zealand-based virtual production companies and a wider industry workshop.

The 5% Uplift has now been redeveloped:It’s simple to navigate, and the criteria is clearer and more objective. Has increased opportunities to earn points in the test. Has increased weighting on New Zealand screen workforce development and production activity. Recognises repeat business to encourage studios and productions to return. Introduces sustainability criteria to support Aotearoa New Zealand’s shift to a low-emissions economy.

Applications open for the redeveloped 5% Uplift on 1 November 2023, documentation and guidance will be provided before this date.

The New Zealand Film Commission administers the NZSPR for International Productions on behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The purpose of the NZSPR for International Productions is to incentivise the production of foreign and domestic large budget films, television and other format productions in New Zealand in order to provide economic and industry development benefits to New Zealand. More information here.

A domestic rebate is also available to New Zealand productions and Official Co-productions. Click here for more information.

About Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death is based (very) loosely on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby). After trading the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede’s fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas…they found love. Now, they have to survive it.

In New Zealand, season two debuts on Neon on October 6 and is coming soon to Sky Open.

Source: New Zealand Film Commission

[nwbeerguide]

Supporting their local "Brewshed" and in cooperation with Coleman Agriculture and Yakima Chief Hops, Oregon breweries release a unique beer supporting expanded water protections.

Press Release

April 17, 2023 – Oregon’s brewing community knows better than anyone that “Great beer starts with clean water!”

Right now, we have a once-in-a-lifetime conservation opportunity to secure the largest expansion of river protections in Oregon history. This effort would protect watersheds, critical fish and wildlife habitat, carbon-storing forests, and world-class recreation opportunities – not to mention the #1 ingredient in every single beer! So Oregon’s brewing community is stepping up to show their support for this historic campaign by releasing a special Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collaboration Series during Earth Week!

Senator Wyden’s River Democracy Act proposes a bold expansion of new river protections across Oregon. This historic legislation calls for protecting over 3,200 miles of Oregon’s waterways as federally designated and protected Wild & Scenic Rivers. The River Democracy Act is the result of a groundbreaking grassroots river nomination process, multi-years of vetting, and the work of hundreds of activists and river enthusiasts advocating for their backyard rivers, drinking watersheds, fishing holes, hiking trails, kayak routes, and love of the wildlands and rivers of Oregon. Over 15,000 river nominations were received from the public. Additionally, over 50 Oregon breweries sent a letter to Senator Wyden voicing their strong support for protecting Oregon’s rivers, creeks, and streams.

To keep the momentum going and help advance this historic proposal, a dozen Oregon Brewshed® Alliance partners are releasing a Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collaboration Series during Earth Week in honor of their watersheds! Coleman Agriculture and Yakima Chief Hops have generously donated Citra®, Mosaic®, and Simcoe® hops to participating breweries who in turn are brewing special beers to honor their respective brewsheds and raise awareness about the need to protect Oregon’s rivers.

Participating breweries are: Hopworks Urban Brewery, pFriem Family Brewers, Fort George Brewery, Ecliptic Brewing, Grand Fir Brewing, Little Beast Brewing, Ruse Brewing, Falling Sky Brewing, Sunriver Brewing Co., and Worthy Brewing.

“From growing, to processing and brewing; I think the central importance of water across the beer industry is a really cool connection point we all share and can enthusiastically get behind. We are thrilled to be working in collaboration with YCH and the Brewshed® Alliance along with 10+ local breweries on the Wild & Scenic Beer Series this year!” said Coleman Agriculture’s Program Manager Garrett Weaver.

“As beer lovers, we recognize that there is a natural connection between clean water and great tasting beer” says Levi Wyatt, YCH’s Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility. “We have to acknowledge the great responsibility that comes with that, responsibility to ensure these waterways stay protected and stay wild for generations to come.”

“Supporting the passage of the River Democracy Act should be a top conservation priority for anyone who values clean water and Oregon’s amazing brewing community,” said Oregon Wild’s Jonathan Jelen.

About the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance / Coleman Agriculture / Yakima Chief Hops Launched by Oregon Wild in 2015, the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance is a coalition of brewing businesses, brewing community partners, and conservationists who understand the value of clean water and protected forest watersheds. The Oregon Brewshed® Alliance supports Oregon Wild’s conservation work to protect and restore the wild lands, wildlife, and waters that make our state a great place to live, work, and enjoy great beer. Great beer doesn’t start at the tap – great beer begins with clean water. Beer is over 90% water, after all, and that water is a product of the land that it flows through.

Coleman Agriculture has been a proud member of the Oregon Brewshed® Alliance for the last 4 years. As hop growers, the Oregon watershed is crucial to our day-to-day operations. As a 6th generation family farm, maintaining the Oregon watershed is crucial to the sustainability of the farm for the next generation. We are hyper-conscious not only of the water we use for irrigation, but also the effect we have on the watersheds via our management practices. This is why we take measures to limit our water inputs via drip irrigation, minimize runoff and erosion with cover cropping and take part in sustainability programs such as Salmon safe to limit our use of chemicals that might negatively affect watersheds. The Brewshed® Alliance has been a great unifying force between our organization and other like-minded businesses in the beer industry who care about preserving the Oregon watershed.

Hops require a significant amount of irrigation to grow, and the quality of that water directly affects the yield and health of the plants. Elevated alkalinity levels in irrigation water can lead to an increase in the soil pH, which can make certain nutrients like zinc, manganese, and iron less available for uptake. We have experienced firsthand the need to treat irrigation water due to poor quality and understand the very real business and environmental costs associated. By designating more river coastlines as Wild & Scenic via the River Democracy Act, we protect our watershed from potential industry related contaminants that could compromise the water quality we depend on to grow our hops. At the same time, we help preserve the natural beauty and health of our river areas that may otherwise be replaced.

Yakima Chief Hops - Land use change and water availability are the greatest environmental risks facing the hop industry. Working in partnership with conservation organizations such as Oregon Wild, YCH is helping to invest in watershed protection and restoration programs in hop producing regions to ensure access to clean water for growers, brewers and recreationalists alike. These agroforestry efforts also benefit freshwater ecosystems as well as our communities. Since our inception in 1988, YCH has been rooted in environmental stewardship, with the firm understanding that healthy hops require healthy waterways. Environmental stewardship is a crucial component of our business. We value the opportunity to expand our reach by partnering with Oregon Wild on initiatives such as the River Democracy Act, which actively advocates on behalf of our local landscapes and stakeholders.

 About the Watersheds & the Beers They Inspired Hood River Brewshed – The West Fork Hood River and Cold Springs Creek (Tamanawas Falls) are two of the waterways in this brewshed that stand to gain new protections via the River Democracy Act.

Oregon Wild IPA, pFriem Family Brewers - Brewed with Salmon Safe hops from Coleman Ag, and Salmon Safe malted barley from Linc Malt, this IPA has notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and finishes clean and crisp on the pallet. This classic Northwest IPA celebrates sustainably sourced local ingredients and is the perfect beer after a day on the water.

“We always say, "you need great water to make great beer". We are lucky to live in a watershed abundant with beautiful, clean, crisp water. Water is the primary ingredient in beer, and all brewers should be obsessed with protecting this irreplaceable natural resource.”

- Rudy Kellner CEO pFriem

Tumalo Creek Brewshed - The namesake Tumalo Creek as well as the headwater streams like Bridge Creek are some of the waterways in this brewshed that stand to gain new protections via the River Democracy Act.

Canopyia IPA, Worthy Brewing – An ode to Worthy’s love for forest canopies, this 100% Salmon-Safe classic American IPA comes with large notes of citrus, pine, caramel, and a balanced underlying bitterness.

“As a life-long Central Oregonian, it can be easy to take the pristine water I've always had access to for granted. I've been lucky enough to have been raised on some of the best water in the world and now I'm lucky enough to attribute it to the success of the beers we brew. None of that could be possible without the activism of organizations like Oregon Wild and the outreach and fundraising they so passionately provide.”                                                                                                   -Brian Chapman, Head Brewer, Worthy Brewing

Upper Deschutes Brewshed – Fall River and key tributaries of the iconic Metolius River both stand to gain new protections via the River Democracy Act.

Skinny Dippin’ Salmon Safe Session IPA, Sunriver Brewing Co. - This crushable IPA is brewed with Salmon-Safe ingredients, utilizing barley from Skagit Valley Malting and hops from Coleman Agriculture. Skinny Dippin' is dip hopped and loaded with Simcoe, Citra®, Mosaic®, and Talus®.

"At Sunriver Brewing Company we pride ourselves on the quality and consistency of our beer. A big part of that profile comes from our water sources in the Upper Deschutes watershed. The water being clean, and of exceptional quality, allows us to produce world-class craft beer."

- Brett Thomas, Sunriver Brewing Director of Brewing Operations

Bull Run Brewshed – The Little Sandy River stands to gain new protections via the River Democracy Act to provide a protective buffer for Portland’s drinking water supply.

King Salmon Imperial IPA, Hopworks Urban Brewery - Our King Salmon IIPA is a delicious hop bomb of a Salmon Safe beer. Rich in tropical and citrus hop flavors, it is a wonderful example how great a beer made with Salmon Safe hops and malt can be!

“Not only is water the main ingredient in beer, and a major reason why there are such amazing beers produced in Oregon, but our rivers are the lifeblood of our region. Recreation, industry, drinking water for our urban centers, and so much more, water is vital to our success and happiness as a region. The more we can protect our watersheds, the brighter our future!”

- Christian Ettinger, Owner of Hopworks Urban Brewery

Tendril Session IPA, Grand Fir Brewing - Candied pineapple, Meyer lemon, Chantilly cream

“Clean water is the foundation for our existence and here in the PNW, we are so fortunate to have such beautiful pure sources. But we are in trouble and will continue to be unless we make some serious change together. Here at Grand Fir Brewing, we believe that small businesses just like us, that rely on this precious resource to make our products, can make a big impact. Now is the time to support as much as possible to ensure our lush forests and rivers are cared for and protected.”

– Whitney Burnside, Head Brewer & Owner of Grand Fir Brewing

Wild & Scenic West Coast Pilsner, Ecliptic Brewing – Brewed like a German Pilsner and dry-hopped like a West Coast IPA, this beer is balanced and crisp, clocking in at 6% ABV. $1 from every pint sold of this brew will be donated to support Oregon Wild's conservation efforts to expand Wild & Scenic River protections to 3,000+ miles of Oregon's waterways through the River Democracy Act.

“We are happy to support Oregon Wild in their endeavors! Water is essential for beer, and we're so thankful to get that from the Bull Run Watershed. We're here to help support clean water and conservation!”

- Colette Becker, Ecliptic Brewing

Bear Creek Brewshed – The drinking watershed for Astoria and surrounding communities.

Earth Day Birthday, Fort George Brewery - DDH Earth Day Birthday was brewed with 50% oats in the grist and a 6lb/bbl dry hop of Citra®, Columbus, Mosaic®, Simcoe® donated from YCH for a resinous citrus and stone fruit birthday surprise.

“Clean water is absolutely paramount to making great beer at Fort George. Astoria, Oregon has some of the best water right out of the tap and protecting that is essential for our craft breweries.”

- Brian Bovenizer, Fort George

Little Beast Brewing, Ruse Brewing, and Falling Sky Brewing will also be releasing special Wild & Scenic Earth Day collaboration beers in honor of their respective brewsheds and to support Oregon Wild’s conservation work. More details to come! 

Where to Find These Amazing Beers In addition to being available at each of the participating brewery taprooms, several of the Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collaboration Series beers will be available at the Salmon Safe IPA Festival hosted by Hopworks on Earth Day (Saturday April 22nd)at their SE Portland location on Powell Blvd. Get your tickets today!

from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/3MQZL9t

[hollyevolving]

Adding the rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda), family Saturniidae, found in temperate deciduous forests in the eastern half of the United States & Canada.

photograph by Garrett Krause, Shrewsbury, PA: https://www.garrettkrausephotography.com/f107834780

How many pink animals do you know? I need to see more pink animals. Also, I love this blog. Never stop.

Thank you kumquat xoxo.

Here are some pink animals for you...

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), family Threskiornithidae, order Pelicaniformes, Fort De Soto, St Petersburg, FL, USA

photograph by Joseph Placheril

Pink Robin (Petroica rodinogaster), male, family Petroicidae, SE Australia

Photograph by Jan Wegener

Mount Kaputar Pink Slug (Triboniophorus aff. graeffei), family Athoracophoridae, found only on Mt. Kaputar in NSW, Australia

ENDANGERED.

photograph by Michael Murphy | NPWS

Pink Noctuid Moth (Philareta treitschki), family Noctuidae, Turkey

photograph by Alperen YAYLA

Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama (Agama mwanzae), male, family Agamidae, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

photograph by Christian Mehlführer

Western Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum testaceus), family Colubridae, Big Bend National Park, TX, USA

photograph by NPS/J. Radford

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Thranduil and Josie Pt. 156- The Beast Within

Summary: Narcisse tends to a disoriented Jo until the double interference of those who care for her. She receives a disturbing vision. Legolas and company go to battle. The Prince has a repeated experience. Boromir needs aid. Holy Haldir and Jo moment. Narcisse reels. Thranduil's changes become physically pestilent.

*Warnings* angst, language, violence

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Spinning. You were spinning, so fast inside some illuminated violet vortex, screaming as you frantically fought to grab onto something, but there was only space. The speed was taking your breath away, the constant spiraling was making you severely nauseated. You couldn't open your eyes if you wanted to...and then..it all just stopped.

You awoke to a feeling of light bouncing...and the smell of peppermint tickling your nose. As your vision cleared through your fluttering eyelids, you realized it was that of Narcisse's chest hair tickling you through his open V-neck waistcoat while he carried you. All of the nausea you recalled experiencing was gone, most likely due to his scent just as it had healed you once before from the wolfsbane.

"St...Stephane?? W...what...happened? Why..are you carrying me? Wh..where am I?" you stuttered as you lifted your head to look around.

"Shhh, hush my love. You are safe. We are almost back to the castle." he explained and softly kissed your forehead.

You turned to see the castle in the near distance and what appeared to be Haldir speaking with....Bard?? You then brought your weary eyes back to Stephane's.

"I...I fell....I was...looking for..."

What were you looking for? you thought in your confused state.

"Youuu...do not remember what you were doing in the dark forest?? For that is where I found you. Indeed you had fallen, down a rather deep hole. I found you unresponsive and flew you out."

You squinted as you tried to remember. Your head hurt and all you could see was a fog.

"You...you saved me? H..how did you find me?"

"Your scent for one...as I was in the vicinity after attending to an unruly Catherine...and also, I could feel your presence. We are very connected, you and I...especially after...well..."

You smiled, knowing very well you were blushing as you recalled making crazy love to him the night before....but then you also remembered something else..

"Oh my god...Garrett!..That's what I was doing...looking for him. Stephane, he is not dead! I..I heard him singing....and talking to me...I...ugggh!! Why does my head hurt???"

You pinched the top of your nose between your eyes as you grimaced and whimpered.

"Most likely you have struck your head during the fall. Lay upon my chest. I will get you some healing water as soon as we get you back to your bed. You need rest."

You did as he asked, for you could not hold yourself up any longer.

"The forest...it...it didn't make you sick?"

"No, Jo. Remember? I am immune to poison. That includes the evil enchantment of such dark places."

"Oh...yes. I remember now...just like...Garrett is."

"Well, of course he is...for he is of the dark himself."

You could hear it, the jealousy in his tone over your mentions of the vampire you highly adored, so you closed your eyes with a sigh, and said no more.

"Jo??!!" Haldir shouted as he saw Narcisse carrying you and he immediately came charging over with Bard following. "What have you done to her??!!" he then snapped at Stephane with flaring nostils.

"I have done nothing to her! I would never harm her! I found her unconscious from a fall in the dark forest. I believe she may have hit her head."

"H...Haldir??" you weakly mumbled as you tried to open your eyes in response to the marchwarden's voice.

"Yes, sweetheart. It is I. Are you alright??" he lovingly asked as he stroked your strands from your eyes.

As he touched you, you saw a flash of Mirkwood's forest, not understanding why....and you couldn't respond because for some reason, you were extremely exhausted with one hell of migraine now.

"GIVE her to me." Haldir commanded through clenched teeth.

"I am handling this. Your assistance is not needed!" Narcisse growled as his animal instincts surfaced to protect you.

"I know what you are and it does not intimidate me in the least. Do you think one night gives you have some claim to her? Now hand the Queen to me. I will not order it again." Haldir snarled as he held his arms out and stepped forward.

"And you believe your one night gives it to you?? She chose me. Deal with it elf."

Bard then intervened between the two angered immortals.

"Lord Narcisse. The shipment I have brought needs your attention, for I have a request from Thr.....the captain of the guard for an addition to the return shipment which requires your approval and signature. The Queen will be in good hands with her great friend Haldir, for he means nothing but the best for her care. That...is what is important, yes?"

"B...Bard...it is you that...I saw?" you finally spoke a little more clearly at hearing a familiar voice from home.

"Yes, my lady. It is very good to see you after all this time. I am sorry it has to be under such circumstances and a short one at that, for I must make my long journey back soon. I was hoping to meet the new Princess, but maybe another time. I offer you my congratulations."

The bowman was having a very hard time keeping Thranduil's existence to himself as commanded to him by the King of Mirkwood, for he could not stand to see you in the arms of the warlock lord after hearing Haldir's spontaneous statement, but he knew he must, or he would face the wrath of the Elvenking.

"No...Bard...you mustn't leave. It is too dangerous. A murderous warlock by the name of Harker, is terrorizing Dorwinion. Please...stay, until he is reprimanded. You would be an easy target all alone on the river." you explained with pleading eyes.

"Why my lady, are you questioning my superior skills after killing the almighty Smaug with one shot?" Bard jested with a playful grin.

"No, of course not." you replied with a tired chuckle. "But he has killed many men here with comparable talent. I...I would just worry for you is all. Stephane?? You would not mind right? There is room for him somewhere...and I would like him to stay and meet Leean and I would like to speak with him more. I missed him the last time he was here and he won't be back for another two weeks."

Narcisse hesitated, for he did not like Bard's insulting interference just now, but to keep you satisfied and worry free, he reluctantly obliged.

"Yes...I will arrange accommodations."

"Great, It is settled then." Bard almost cheered in his happiness to remain there and do damage control when it came to you. The King of Dale had taken quite a fancy to you when he had first met you back in Lake Town and you had always been so gracious of him as well, so he felt a need to protect you, just as he had done when he aided in yours and Haldir's rescue from Peter's cabin.

"Yes, it is. Now...for the last time...the queen..." Haldir scoffed at Narcisse.

"I have really had enough of you giving me commands in my kingdom sprite. Just who is it that you think you are??"

"Stephane...you promised...I...I want to go with Haldir." you quickly told him with stern eyes....and it made Haldir grin from pointy ear to pointy ear.

Sighing, he recalled agreeing to stop giving Haldir a hard time but it was difficult to do when the elf acted as if you were his property, the way he imagined King Thranduil would be. He also hated the fact that you wanted the elf and not him to care for you. The bond you had with Haldir, he was indeed envious of.

Reluctant once again, Narcisse submitted and slid you over into Haldir's arms, where you quickly latched on to the Lorien elf's neck and cuddled your face against him, missing his strawberry essence and calming touch.

As Haldir laid you down on your bed, for some reason, Legolas entered your thoughts. It wasn't just your usual random thoughts of him that you had on a daily basis, it was your intuition screaming at you that the Sindar Prince was in danger.

Your intuition turned into a vision...a vision of orcs surrounding him. Gasping in panic, you sat up, screaming for him before you passed out.

"Leggy!!!!"

Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli had headed into the forest that same morning, deterred from departing their camp at the Old Forest Road's end along the River Running. Boromir had alerted them of oncoming orcs and then he ran off as they were packing the boats. It was already known Jareth would send his viscous army to track and kill those that had invaded his realm and took the Elvenking, but they had hoped the trail would be lost when they had changed course.

In their search for the warrior of Gondor, they were attacked from all angles, but with little effort, the trio took them all out, Aragorn with his sword, Gimli with his axe and Legolas with his bow.

These orcs were not solely the orcs that dwelled all through middle earth's mountains and forests that the three were accustomed to. These were a crossbreed of orcs, goblins and men, referred to as Uruk-hai, created by Jareth to strengthen his army. Mutant monsters they simply were, only stronger, bigger and wiser than the ordinary orc...except for Arzog, which Legolas knew he would face again someday after the defiler's defeat on Lestat's mountain.

Legolas stood guard as Aragorn finished off the last orc for the time being, for there surely would be more. As Legolas did so...he heard it again...you...calling his name in fear.

"Josie???" he reeled as his moonstone eyes darted all around. But just as once before....he heard nothing more....except for a horn blowing in the distance.

"The horn of Gondor!" Legolas shouted as more orcs invaded.

"Boromir!!"

Aragorn went rushing past him, charging through the monsters, slaying them on the way, to locate the captain of the white tower who carried the sounding horn.

The elf and dwarf ran off to follow the ranger, slaughtering at least two dozen more of the beasts before they came upon Boromir, once again blaring the horn to alert them of his whereabouts.

The King of Gondor was the first to arrive, hurdling through the trees and releasing a can of Aragorn whoop ass on the next group of homely brutes.

The intense fight continued as the quartet defeated them all in union, one by one but more orcs kept appearing from the trees, and one of those was their leader, the biggest and ugliest demon of them all....Lurtz.

As Boromir swung his sword, ending the atrocious beings in his path, Lurtz took special aim of his bow at unaware red haired warrior, firing one of the morgul arrows into his chest.

Although stunned by the strike, it did not stop Boromir from going down without a fight. Bravely, he powered on through his pain, as Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli fought their own attackers, unaware that Boromir had been struck.

Lurtz then aimed again, twice as Boromir turned to see the deadly arrows flying at him with no time to react. They pierced him in the stomach and this time, he dropped in defeat, unable to take anymore as he gasped for air.

"Nooooooo!!!" Aragorn shouted as he witnessed his good friend's take down a little too late. Legolas and Gimli came charging in, fending off the surrounding guild to protect Boromir as Aragorn attacked Lurtz.

The man verses orc battle was long and bloody, and the fang toothed orc liked blood, enough so that he licked it off of his blade with his serpent like tar colored tongue as a befuddled and injured Aragorn watched.

Lurtz then came at the ranger, who surprised the slate skinned orc by slicing his morgul blade wielding arm right off.

It became apparent to Aragorn that Lurtz was immune to pain, for it had only angered the orc, and he proved it by pushing his body onto Aragorn's sword as he roared his ungodly breath into his face.

"You may not feel that, but you will feel this!" Aragorn validated as he yanked his sword free of the orc's ghastly guts and swiftly beheaded the beast of his burdens.

Aragorn then ran to the aid of his greatly injured friend as Legolas and Gimli finished off the few remaining orcs.

"You must tell the queen about my brother." Boromir pleaded through his faint breaths as he was quickly becoming pale.

"You will tell her yourself...and she will heal you as well, for I have seen what she can do. You must hold on my friend."

Aragorn was referring to Gausyr, the elf of Rivendell who was once dark and you brought him back to the light with the simple touch of your hands and extraordinary heart of compassion and empathy. Aragorn had healing power, but not the kind you possessed that was needed for such wounds.

"Legolas, Gimli! Help me get him to the boats." the ranger commanded as he broke the poisoned arrows off and removed them from Boromir's body, then wrapped his wounds tightly with his cloak to try and slow the blood loss.

Once loaded, off they paddled down the stream and entered the Celduin to hopefully make it to the Dorwinion castle by dusk and in time to save Boromir. The blood loss was great and it was clear he also had a punctured lung which could very well kill him before the poison did.

You awoke to see Haldir's concerned ultramarine orbs gazing at you as he gently patted your forehead with the magical healing water. A sight for sore eyes he certainly was, the elf you had repeatably hurt, still at your side.

A soft smile formed on his lips as you gazed back into his eyes and reached up to touch his porcelain colored cheek.

"Y..you're still here?"

"Of course I am Jo...are you feeling better now?"

"Actually...yes...but..."

You then remembered Legolas and sat right up with a gasp.

"Leggy!...Haldir, I...I...saw him..."

He tilted his head at you. "In the...forest earlier? Has he come back?"

"No..no..in a...vision...I can't explain it, for this vision thing is all so new and comes and goes when it pleases...but...I saw him and there were orcs all around...and...and then it all just vanished...Haldir, what if he is in trouble?? Are my visions prophetic like my dreams? or did it already happen? Or was it happening as I saw it??? Or..was I just hallucinating or something from the dark forest or maybe I hit my head like Narcisse said and..."

"Jo...Jo, please...slow down. Take a breath. I wish I had the answer for you. Did you see where he was by chance??"

"I....there was...a river...and...wait...I know the river! It's the one he and I came here on...the Celduin."

"It runs alongside Mirkwood for a good distance. There could possibly be an orc invasion. It has happened before at the elven gates of Forest river. Jo...Legolas is highly skilled as you well know and he has an entire elven army at his back...but...we can always go to Mirkwood. I can take you and Leean away from here.."

"I...I cannot go without that book. Harker must be stopped, Jareth too. I need to get my dad back and end all this....then..."

"Then...you will leave here with me like you once said you would? Or...stay with Narcisse like you have decided to do instead.."

Haldir's eyes filled with sadness and all you could do was what you wanted to do since you first awoke...what you have wanted to do for so long now.

You pulled Haldir into a hug, gripping your arms snuggly around his neck. The shocked elf held his hands momentarily about behind you, then he slowly and firmly returned the embrace.

"I...I just want to stay like this. I want everything to be like it used to be between us. I miss you so much Haldir. That is why I wanted you to bring me here and not Stephane." you confessed, sniffling into his sweet fruity strands.

"It is all that I want too Jo....but....why...why did you do it...why him Jo."

You quickly ended the embrace and stared at him. "I...I do not want to talk about that with you."

"But you will allow me to hear it instead." he retorted and pursed his lips. "I was here with your daughter, right across the hall and you gave no regards to knowing I would know. I know that you owe me no explanations, but a little respect would be suffice, for you know how I feel about you."

"I...I don't know why...I...am sorry. I never meant to hurt you and yet that's all I seem to do...you're right, I should have had more respect for your feelings...I'm just so...lost...and I got caught up in a moment and he was there and..."

"I was there Jo! I am here Jo! I have always been here! Why did you not come to me instead??" Haldir snapped and got up to pace like he always did when he was angry.

"And now...you're mad at me again...you're always mad at me, we are always fighting and I can't take it anymore. It...it hurts me too, so much, that I am hurting you..."

"Really?? It would seem I was the last thing on your mind last night Jo...I always am last anymore. We have had this conversation more than once and nothing changes! Why did you even save me Jo?? I would rather have succumbed to my three thousand years by a bowl of poisoned soup than to suffer this."

"Is that even a serious question?? I saved you because I...care about you!! Deeply! Did you think I was just going to let you die?? Just like before, I risked everything to get that damn pendant for you when you stupidly drank the poisoned wine! You could have just knocked the glass from Thranduil's hand, but no, you had to go and be the hidden hero once again!""

"Oh I am definitely hidden alright, in the shadows of Narcisse and Garrett! And ahhh yes, speaking of the devil himself, the poisoned wine by GARRETT who was trying to kill your king! The same vampire I am willing to bet YOU stupidly went into the dark forest looking for and look what happened. Am I close Jo?? It is a good thing your ever so trusted and perfect warlock found you, you know, the one who ALSO gets to call you Jo? I suppose I am to blame that Garrett ever gained any kind of control over you, for I knew you would not uphold your promise to not go and try to bargain with him for the pendant, and I will forever feel responsible for that, but I never thought in a million years that you would fall for him. Am I close again Jo? Hell, I even comforted you last night when you believed he was dead, even after I knew you had relations with Narcisse only hours before. All these things I do for you, and I am last to get any acknowledgement because I STUPIDLY am still in love with you..."

All went quiet as you both intensely stared into each other's eyes. You hadn't seen Haldir this angry in a very long time and honestly, you couldn't blame him. You knew he was right about everything and would never see the good in Garrett.

"Look...yes, I went into the forest to try and find out where he was. I was actually looking for Amara because I think she knows...I...I don't know what happened...I don't remember anything after falling, except for excruciating pain in my head and dizziness. I...I almost feel like...I may have even died and left my body, I can't explain it. You're right, it was stupid to go alone, but if I had asked you to go, would you? I highly doubt it and we would have ended up in another fight, just like now. I know you don't care for him, but I feel he is in some kind of trouble. I mean, Haldir, did you forget he saved Legolas?? Does that even matter to you?"

Haldir shook his head with a cocky grin. "I would have went and you know it, to keep you safe. I...I am at a loss with you anymore Jo...I just told you I am in love with you still and all you can do is stand here and defend that fucking vampire!"

To say Haldir was angry was now an understatement, for swearing was not in his vocabulary. It was yours though and obviously your influence was rubbing off on him and not for the better.

"I...I am sorry to interrupt, but...please...your tones. It will scare the child." Lola timidly said as she skittishly and foolishly crept up behind him.

"What business is this of yours girl? Leave the room and give us some privacy!" Haldir barked at her as he spun around, making her jump.

"Haldir Galahon! Do not speak to Lola in such a way!" you scolded. "Apologize at once!"

He halted his pacing and whipped around to you, lips pursed again, nose flaring.

"I will not. It is common courtesy to excuse yourself of a private conversation and to not...how would you say it Jo? Butt the hell in!"

"I...I'm sorry...I...I will go." Lola squeaked and ran out.

"Nice Haldir, nice! You're pissed at me, I get it, but don' t be a jackass to Lola who has been nothing but a godsend since we came here."

"We never should have stayed here. It's this place...everything between us changed, no thanks to Narcisse and even Garrett."

"Everything changed because my husband died!!!!!" you shouted and flung up to your feet. "Thranduil, remember him???"

"Obviously you don't! Sleeping with the enemy! Pining after another enemy...leading his son on...it is a good thing Legolas kept his wits about him and wised up! Maybe I should too finally! I was only good enough for you when you thought Thranduil was unfaithful! Now that he is dead, your new cock of choice are that of warlocks and vampires."

Your eyes stung of tears as your blood began to swelter in fury and you then found your hand speeding to a head on collision with his face, until he snatched your wrist in mid air and yanked you against him.

Gasping, you figured this was where he would either apologize, saying he didn't mean it or he would lay into you some more with his hurtful thoughts...but he did neither. Instead, he planted a deep passionate kiss on your lips.

Your eyes sprung wide open as you whimpered, trying to pushing him away, but it was futile to say the least, for his strong elven arms locked your small body in place. Of course, you could have used magic to free yourself...but you would never use it on him, plus...you quickly found yourself not wanting to push him away.

Your eyes fluttered shut, releasing the tears they held back as your body slowly relaxed within his hold and then you allowed your lips to part and melt into his. The memories of his velvety kisses and being intimate with him flashed through your mind as his sweet strawberry intoxicating taste took you back in time. Was he using his own damn magic on you? His calming effects to make you give in? No...no....this was...real. It was like he woke up the hibernated feelings for him inside of you, for that is all that they had been...asleep. They had never went away.

You found yourself pushing further into him as your fingers entangled in his strands of silk and a soft moan came out your nose. No...no, you couldn't let this happen again, you had to stop it.

This time, you pushed hard, forcing him to release you. Panting as you stood there with your hand over your mouth in shock, you then caught him off guard by serving him the slap he intercepted moments earlier.

"Oh god...I...I'm sorry...I don't know why I..."

Haldir didn't listen, nor did he care as he jerked you back into his arms and reclaimed your mouth....and you let him. His hands then tenderly cupped your face as his tongue softly found yours...this...this was good...and it felt...right....until...

"I....am sorry to interrupt..."

There stood a very frazzled Narcisse.

Both you and Haldir stared at him briefly, then at each other...speechless in the awkward moment.

Narcisse then continued to explain his intrusion with a blatantly obvious scorned tone.

"I...Lola...I found her in the dining hall in tears and she would not tell me what happened, so I....came to find out if everything was alright...apparently...it is from what I can see. I...also wanted to inform you that Catherine has injured herself and is being temporarily held in the infirmary under heavy guard..."

Haldir's eyes softened about Lola. "I...I will go and apologize to her Jo and then send her back."

His eyes also didn't want to break free of yours, but Haldir knew he should go, or things would probably go from bad to worse when it came to him and Stephane.

Haldir quickly exited and Stephane stood in place for a moment, his deeply pained eyes fixated on you.

"Bard's accommodations have been met. He is at the end of the hall, near the sitting room. I must go now and tend to this Catherine issue, for I can see you need nothing from me."

Abruptly, he left. You felt shaky, sick and now more confused than ever as you clumsily sat down, lightly touching your aching tingly lips, still tasting of Haldir. Wine...you needed wine and lots of it.

You drank a large glass down in a few gulps as you gazed at a sleeping Leean, surprised that she slept through all of the commotion. The wicked vintage only intensified his taste, now making the flavor of a strawberry wine.

Lola came back in, cautiously, for when she spoke to Haldir, she detected his demeanor to be rather emotional and Narcisse, whom she passed in the hall, didn't speak to her, nor even look at her as he zipped by in an acute state.

"Josie?? What has happened? Haldir...he was very sweet and apologized, but he...he looked so...lost...and Lord Narcisse, well...one should stay out of his way or they'll certainly be trampled."

"Ughhh...he was here Lola...he saw..."

"He sawwww....what??"

"Haldir and I...we...kissed....Stephane, he walked in....oh god Lola, what have I done? Narcisse has been so good to me, how will I ever explain this to him??"

"Well....what is this...this, that you speak of. First you must figure that out."

You sat back down and threw your hands over your face, sobbing. Lola was right...she was always right. Now what were you going to do??

Thranduil had made his way back to his chambers, lost in a state of utter confusion over what he had just experienced with you, for he didn't even know what that was. Had you projected like he had? Like you possibly also did when he was at Moonlight in Rivendell? Had you even projected all those months ago when he saw your vision in the forest? When you had read his journal? Were you even aware of your shared capability? He had to know, for he could still feel your lips upon his...your taste was inside every corner of his mouth. Hurry he must, and look into your stone, before the Elvenking regained his reign.

His hand vigorously shook as he clutched the moonstone so tight, it should have crumbled into a million pieces, for the vision he saw was not what he expected...Haldir's lips, passionately on yours and you were happily reciprocating.

Slamming it down on the desk, the Elvenking arose and headed to the wine table, guzzling down three glasses in a row, then he turned to stare at the gem. The stare became a glare and he then tossed it back in the lock box, only this time...he removed his moonstone ring and placed it inside too, leaving Jareth's citrine ring to be the sole piece of jewelry he now bore.

He needed to release his frustrations, but this time, it would not be with his cock. Off to a dark private chamber he went, filled with an array of weaponry, solely used by him to work through his demons in a physical manner.

Thranduil removed his robe, revealing his bare and very fit upper body lightly covered by his flowing platinum locks, then he picked up a spear with an extremely sharp and long curved blade. As he placed it before him in his grip, it stood taller than he was.

His face was expressionless, emotionless...just plain empty and then he began to swing it about, fileting the air all around him with his martial art skills.

The more he envisioned you with Haldir...Narcisse even...the faster he swung and the angrier he became.

Something was happening to him in that moment. Something sinister and he didn't even realize it. He was physically changing and not for the better.

His battle scars, they were surfacing, breaking through his magic that he had used to conceal them, his skin was turning as pale as ivory, like a corpse, his smooth flawless face was becoming crusty like chalk, his eyes blackened with an eerie glowing golden hue like the citrine ring itself.

Thranduil moved swiftly with insane stealth and agility, far better than he ever had as he spun around the damp fire lit room. His energy surpassed what he had ever experienced.

The Elvenking was more powerful than ever. He was unstoppable and damn anyone that got in his way.

Th revelation of his becoming, he was now aware of as he stood panting in the bright light that shone down on him from a hole to the outside above.

He then saw his unrecognizable reflection in the blade of his weapon. At first, he was taken aback with a slight feel of panic, but then he quickly embraced it as an elated smile formed on his lips.

"So this is what it's like to be a dark elf lord..." he chuckled.

His deep intimidating voice, the one thing that did not change, then echoed through the vast ominous atmosphere as he shouted.

"I am Thranduil Oropherion!! King of the Woodland Realm! I am.....the ELVENKING!!!!"

(NOTE: Yes, I know that the gifs are of Prince Nuada but it is not intended to be him. I am only using them to show Thranduil's alter image for this fic.)

@redeemer46

Here we go again, it's madness I swear I don't mean things I scream at you This hate inside of me, it's sadness I can't control the stupid things I do

Over and over and over again It turns on me, it's a beast inside me A beast that I don't even know

Here I go again, relentless The mirror shows the red in my eyes This human being I was once before Is now a scary story filled with lies

Over and over and over again It turns on me, it's a beast inside me A beast that I don't even know

The cages don't work The chains don't hold me down I'm digging my way through the past And clawing at the ground

The cages don't work The chains don't hold me down I'm digging my way through the past And clawing out, clawing out

Over and over and over again It screams at me, it's a beast inside me A beast inside me that I cannot control

A beast in me, there's a beast in me A beast in me