#in which 2 out of 2 emperor's wraths

[st4rg8te]

Twisted Affections (GL) (P. 2)

Yandere! Emperor's Mistress X Empress! Reader

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The lessons that had been instilled in you since birth resurfaced in your mind: ‘The Mother of the Nation should be dignified, elegant, and composed. She should never show any sign of weakness in front of her subjects.’ 

But you couldn’t help but break in her embrace.

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P. 1: x

[tw: adultery, s*xism, domestic abuse, gaslighting, slight description of blood/injury]

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"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I swear I had checked the quality of the shoes and dresses before they were sent to Lady Lucia. The measurements were all verified!"

Mary knelt in front of you with her head bowed, her face buried deep in her hands as she sobbed loudly. At the display, you could only sigh wearily in response. 

The doctor’s words echoed in your mind.

There were blisters and cuts on Lucia's feet from the ill-fitting slippers, but her walking all the way across the palace grounds to visit you had worsened her injuries. A strange form of guilt began to eat away at your conscience.

“Could… could it have been deliberate?” your maid muttered. “How could she bleed so much from those shoes?”

“Silence. Prepare some tea and bring Lady Lucia to the drawing room. I will join her shortly."

If that woman had injured herself just to implicate you, then she was far more dangerous than you had imagined.

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You couldn’t help but feel as though you had stepped into a trap. 

Unease settled on your shoulders like a heavy blanket. Before you laid an assortment of cakes and other pastries, all neatly arranged on the small round table. Once the servants finished setting them out, they quickly retreated out the door.

Silence enveloped the room as you stared at the blonde woman across from you, trying to gauge on how to proceed with this strange situation.

Lucia sat with her hands pressed against her pink cheeks, staring at you, a bright smile still plastered onto her face as if nothing had happened. 

Thankfully, earlier, you had managed to snap out of your horror-filled daze and called for a physician, which the palace maids were quick enough to comply with. No one wanted to face their Emperor's wrath if he learned that his favored concubine had been injured, and least of all, you.

The one he hated the most.

You set your teacup down with a soft clink, forcing yourself to break the stifling tension that hung between the two of you first, “...How are your injuries now, Lady Lucia?” 

If you didn't know any better, you would have thought that she had heard the happiest news in the world with the way she beamed at your question. Lucia leaned forward so that her entire weight rested on her forearms, her blonde curls falling over her bare shoulders.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm feeling much better now.”

You nodded stiffly in response, "Good. That's good to hear."

But beneath that facade of yours, there was a burning anger simmering within you. 

You hated her. 

You hated your husband even more, for bringing a woman like her into the palace. You had swallowed your feelings for so long, bottled them up until they festered. And sitting here, watching Lucia try to make conversation, only reminded you of how wretched your situation really was.

Not to mention, she had successfully gotten what she wanted—that was why you two were sitting here in the first place, having tea together like it was perfectly normal to do so. 

But the Mother of the Nation should be-

You were tired of dealing with this pretense of politeness. Of two people spewing scripted lines at each other without any real meaning behind their words. 

You were utterly exhausted.

"Your Majesty, I have a request..." 

Lucia's voice pulled you back from your thoughts. 

"Yes?" 

"...I admire you a lot, Your Majesty. I grew up from a humble background and don't know much about the etiquette of nobles. I truly want to serve His Majesty well, but..."  

She trailed off for a moment, fiddling with her hands nervously. "I have nobody to teach me. If you are willing—"

"I have to refuse your request," You interrupted before she could finish her sentence, "But I will arrange a tutor for you, Lady Lucia."

"Your Majesty—"

With a strained smile, you rose from your chair and signaled for Mary to come along, missing the stricken look on the blonde woman's face.

"Thank you for the tea invitation, but I'm afraid I have to go now." 

Before you could take another step towards the door, a pale hand shot out to grab your arm tightly. Your head whipped back in surprise, only to meet a pair of blue eyes filled with anger.

Anger?

Why was she the angry one?

"Lady Lucia—"

“...This is not how you’re supposed to act.”

But as swiftly as those words had escaped her, Lucia's face softened into an expression of wounded innocence. The sharp, menacing glare from before had vanished, as if it had never existed at all—like a figment of your imagination.

“...Excuse me?”

"Your Majesty... Do you hate me?" There was a tremor in her voice, an underlying desperation that made you pause.

"Please let go of my arm." You said coldly, tugging against her grasp, "Here’s your first advice for etiquette, Lady Lucia; this behavior is unbecoming of a noble concubine."

Lucia's grip tightened even further, sharp nails digging painfully into tender flesh. "Please! Please tell me if I've done anything to offend you or make you uncomfortable."

"...I know that things aren’t right between you and His Majesty because of me, but it hurts me—"

Her plea was cut short, replaced by a strangled gasp as you yanked your arm out of her grasp violently. She staggered backwards, her injured legs colliding hard against her chair and sending her toppling to the ground.

"Offend me?" You spat, voice laced with venom.

You hated how easily you had lost control, hated how much satisfaction it brought when you saw the hurt in her eyes. 

"The only thing that offends me is your stupidity. I knew my husband had brought home another woman, but never did I expect it to be some brainless wench who didn’t know how to behave."

The doors burst open then, and the familiar figure of your husband entered the room. 

"Lucia!"

His expression darkened immediately upon seeing his lover on the floor. And in an instant, he was at the fallen blonde’s side, cradling her in his arms.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?!"

"Your Majesty! Please don't blame the Empress. It wasn't her fault. I made her mad..."

Lucia's words only made your husband angrier. She curled into his embrace, and you couldn't help the snarl that formed on your lips at the sight. 

"How dare you hurt her! Have you no shame?" His words were laced with heavy contempt.

He's never been this angry with you before.

At best, it was subtle remarks; about your looks, or your behavior, and at worst, he simply ignored you completely for days after an argument. You had always been able to brush those off. 

This was different.

You never expected the slap that came next; the one that made your cheek bloom red with pain and eyes well up with tears. You felt your head ache slightly as the world spun around you.

Through hazy, panicked voices, you heard his deep voice call out: 

"Get a doctor immediately! Lucia's legs are bleeding!"

And then, you lost yourself.

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[A/N]

I want to explain my absence here. Big apologies for those who have been waiting for the second part of this series. These past few months have been hell for me as I am dealing with a ton of stuff in real life. And as a result, I haven't been posting anything. I'm very grateful for all the support, and I still intend to continue this series, along with publishing other yandere works. I just hope that you are all understanding enough to be patient with me.

PS: The next part will be more in depth about the Empress' background, as well as a glimpse into Lucia's perspective!

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[caughtthedarkness93]

So I just saw Furiosa and first, yeah, the reviews are right, it's really good, but second, it's interesting because the trailers had me primed to look for allusions to Greek mythology and similar allusions to classical epics there were...well, enough that I don't think it was an accident. Most centered around the villain, Dementus.

Like to name just a few (Possible spoilers)

• Dementus' first vehicle is a chariot pulled by three motorcycles.

• The red cloak Dementus wears calls to mind the visage of a Roman emperor.

• He moves on Gastown while someone is copying a painting that I believe is of Odysseus and the Sirens the painting Hylas and the Nymphs by John William Waterhouse, which, while not a direct reference to the Odyssey as I was thinking, is till a painting that depicts a story from Greek mythology. Thanks @kobresias!

• When moving on Gastown, he uses a Trojan Horse tactic. The actors involved in this scene are literally credited using the phrase "Trojan Truck." I did not pull the Trojan Horse thing out of my ass.

• Most notable of all, Dementus' truck has a Cerberus motif. He has three dogs that are kept in a cage on the back - and with their three heads sticking out and the rest in shadows, they have a profile that looks like the three-headed hound of Hades quite a bit. And lest you think I'm crazy...

Look closely

It's got a Cerberus hood ornament.

I think I'll have to see it again before I make any really strong judgements about it. There are, of course, arguable parallels to the Odyssey and the Iliad, given that Furiosa is 1. a story about a long and difficult journey home, like the Odyssey, and 2. a story about a warrior's rage - which...well, no matter the translation, one of the first things that the Iliad talks about is Achilles' rage or wrath.

But maybe there's more to it, yeah? I dunno. I'm not sure what to make of this one let. Any thoughts, anyone?

[loverofstufflof]

Airing out my LMK trailer/S5 thoughts cause u gotta do this somehow

Most glaring, animation. It’s not bad, by any means. I’d certainly be proud of myself if I were able to come up with it.

However, I think it’s important to consider the context of the show’s style, and how it’s been improving significantly over instalments. Also, it’s Flying Bark. Flying Bark is just gonna make banger animation.

Am I a bit disappointed when comparing it to Emperor’s Wrath? Yeah. Especially when we’ve been waiting a full year for this—twice as long as usual.

But I’m not saying I won’t be watching the show because of it. I still love this story. Fuck, my favourite series is Epithet Erased. The show that’s best described as JPEGs wiggling around your screen for 2 hours. I can handle less than expected animation if it’s made up for by good writing.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people attacking invisible fans that claim they’re going to boycott the show because of this. Respectfully, source? The most aggressive criticism I’ve seen is “man that’s disappointing ig, still excited tho”. Who are you guys even fighting lmao. (Unless this is something happening on other platforms and you’re just venting on here which, valid)

Nevertheless, as I’ve said before, it’s not bad animation, just not up to the standard we’re used to. People are allowed to be disappointed. Let them be. This show isn’t flawless.

It’s looking to be real, all things considered. We’ve never gotten a fan leak this elaborate before, and it contains a lot of elements that were just recently revealed. Unless they’ve been getting announcements much earlier than we have (considering this fanbase’s sleuth skills, I’d doubt it) then there’s no other explanation other than it being official.

Official, however, doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to look that way the whole time. The animation is being done by another studio, yes, but only partially. Flying Bark is still here for the fun. This other studio also isn’t incompetent, they’re behind things like Carmen Sandiego. They know what they’re doing.

They’re also primarily handling additional material, means promotions, meaning trailers. Listen, it’s a bit of a stretch considering the fact that all trailers so far have been taken directly from the show, but also it’s industry standard to make a trailer before you’re even done, meaning you gotta cut some corners for the scenes you’re showing until you polish them up in post.

We know LEGO has a habit of keeping LMK things in their vault until they need to, this may be something they had lying around from early prod and released to maintain hype.

Any which way, this development is very much temporary, only applying because the team is currently working on a movie and need to momentarily lessen their workload. Even if the odds are against us and S5 looks like a PowerPoint presentation, it’ll likely go back to normal later.

Biiig animation rant aside, I am a tad bit sad about the direction the story is going in (namely the abandonment of Red Son) and the fan service is a bit much, but honestly what else are we expecting from JTTW fanfic.

I’m stoked to see more Macaque though—he’s looking to be becoming a proper protagonist, which is great for angst! Yippee!

One thing I haven’t seen anyone talk about is the complete lack of Nüwa. You know, the character they’ve been teasing this whole time? Where is she? Not in the trailer. Not in the posters.

Makes me wondering if this is a part of the new season, teasing the next one, the one Nüwa’s in, later.

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

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Stiltonbasket doens’t miss, this one is just so good! @ladyunderthemolehill

travelers through the empty gate

by stiltonbasket (@stiltonbasket)

M, WIP, 90k, Wangxian & Nielan

Summary: Ten years after eliminating the Jiang and Nie clans, Emperor Wen Ruohan is dethroned by a young demonic cultivator from the outlands of Yiling, who surpasses him in both talent and cruelty. Where Wen Ruohan burned his enemies, Emperor Yiling raises his from the dead, and sends them through the imperial city to hunt down every last remnant of the Wen clan that tries to evade his clutches. The last thing Lan Wangji wants to do with the Yiling huangdi is marry him. Unfortunately, his family's fall from grace leaves him with no other choice.

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Continuing with another stiltonbasket fic, a tgcf fusion with LWJ as a calamity? Reincarnated WWX? Pining ^ 2? Lovely! @ladyunderthemolehill

【银 劍 探 心】| Silver Jian Seeking Hearts

by stiltonbasket (@stiltonbasket)

M, WIP, 30k, Wangxian

Summary: “A ghost bridegroom?” Wei Wuxian asks, when he receives his latest night-hunting assignment from Uncle Jiang. “Have women been going missing?” If brides have been going missing, this is the first that Wei Wuxian is hearing about it; which is strange, because the systematic kidnapping of brides should have quickly been recognized as spirits’ work and reported as such to the nearest cultivation sect as soon as possible. “Three women and ten men have gone missing so far,” his uncle tells him. “Jinshan town is out of our jurisdiction, and the records say there hasn’t been a hunt in the area since before my grandfather’s time. But no one from Jinshan thought to report the disappearances until today, so the victims must be long dead by now.” - Four hundred years after the Sunshot Campaign, a reincarnated Wei Wuxian dresses himself in wedding red to defeat the ghost of a bridegroom. Deep within the forests of Jinshan Mountain, the mourning calamity Yin Jian Tan Xin waits to marry his beloved.

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Scheming NHS sends himself and three others to the past to fix things. @ladyunderthemolehill

Kay's Rec

In My Defence, I Have None (For Never Leaving Well Enough Alone)

by SemiLocalCryptid

T, WIP, 73k, Wangxian

Summary: Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Wen Ning are unsure of how they feel about Nie Huaisang trapping them in a soul-transferring array that sends them to the past, long before the happy ending they had suffered so much for. Reliving their most traumatic memories is not what they had planned when they went out on a seemingly innocuous nighthunt. But now that they're here, apparently to stay, they have no intention of making the same mistakes twice. (Or, a Time-Travel AU where Nie Huaisang sends Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Wen Ning, and himself back to their first night at the Cloud Recesses with an agenda: save everyone, especially his brother)

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Scheming NHS Schemes Again but don’t worry, he has a plan! @ladyunderthemolehill

Nie Huaisang's Ten Steps to Fix The Fucked Up Reality

by cosmic_zephyr (astralcelestia)

T, WIP, 62k, Wangxian

Summary: 1. Find the time travel array in the Nie library 2. Convince (manipulate) Wei Wuxian to use demonic cultivation to activate the array. 3. Transmigrate to the body of your 15-year-old selves with Wei Wuxian and Survive his wrath. 4. Come up with yet another exaggerated, slightly concerning, plan to save Lotus Pier, Dafan Wens and your brother. 5. Use Empathy to make the Wen siblings side with you in the mess that is soon to come. 6. Kill the main Wen family and make Wen Qing the new leader of Qishan Wen so innocent people are not killed. 7. Annoy the hell out of Lanling Jin just for funsies and also a political statement because Jin Guangshan can suck it. 8. Preferably, just for your own sanity, find a way to kill Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao. 9. Work with Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing to solve the sabre problem of the Nie clan. 10. Live a happy life with your brother alive and the cultivation world not being a huge fucked up mess. Aka the fic where Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian (and Lan Wangji) travel back in time and save the cultivation world. Except the fact that nothing goes according to plan when disaster trio Wen Qing, Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian is involved.

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In which the Burial Mounds change WWX to something not human and it won’t be easy to stay in control. Good angst and whump in this one @ladyunderthemolehill

Le Sang du Cygne

by Enfant_Loup

T, WIP, 23k, Wangxian & Nielan

Summary: He could recall with crystalline clarity the cry of the eagles in the blue skies above, the cliffside, and the rocks. And the beast hiding there, watching him. A snow leopard. He remembered the eyes, and the knowledge chilling his spine, that he was in front of a predator. That he was a guest on this mountain. That he could be killed at any moment if the animal wishes so. Wei Wuxian’s eyes were like this for a second, there and immediately gone again, like sparks dancing fleetingly when tossing wood in a fire. Wei Wuxian comes back from the Burial Mounds changed, his teeth a little sharper, his eyes a little redder.

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In which WWX leaves the Jiang sect before the CR lectures. I rather like fics that explore different What-Ifs. @ladyunderthemolehill

My heart knows (you’re the missing piece)

by makexianxianhappytoday

T, WIP, 67k, Wangxian

Summary: At a young age, Wei Ying thought that Lotus Pier was his sanctuary. Wei Ying thought wrong. What if Wei Wuxian had chosen to leave Yunmeng Jiang even before attending the cloud recesses, how does it changes things? Rogue cultivator WWX! fic (for awhile!) * chpt 1 could be read as a one-shot * but also im making it into a short series

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories.)

[serenofroses]

Some random headcanons I got for Kritanta and Vowrawn:

They met during the ten years gap between Kotor 1 and Kotor 2 in this verse. They formed friendship which later it turned into something more when Kotor 2 starts.

They're a t4t bisexual couple.

Kritanta was a Jedi Knight back then.

Before Kotor 2, the two of them had a top surgery as Vowrawn donated his boobs to Kritanta.

Kritanta is taller than Vowrawn. She's more of a grumpy stotic type while Vowrawn was a ray of sunshine.

No matter when Vowrawn starts to stir up dramas with other Sith Lords or nobles, Kritanta would always come to his rescue.

Vowrawn loves to sit on Kritanta's lap and being carried in her arms. Breaking the gender norms.

Their romantic relationship started at the start of Kotor 2 and the two shared a kiss. It's strongly implicated they might have their first time sex during Nar Shadda arc.

Kritanta had defended and protected Vowrawn from Darth Nilihus. Encouraging him to face his fears.

Kritanta and Vowrawn are actually the replacement to Exile and Visas within my canon divergence verse. Just more preestablished relationship.

Vowrawn was distraught over not being able to find Kritanta after she was a victim and taken by the Sith Emperor. Vowrawn was captured and sent to the Sith Empire as a slave (again) and rose to the highest ranks that see him ascend to the Dark Council on Ancient Knowledge.

With many unsuccessful lucks, he believed that Kritanta was long gone (unaware she was alive and kept away in cryogenic machine. she was released a few years before Retaking Korriban, which she played a major part in and saw a rival in Malgus).

Vowrawn had many lovers and sexual partners over the years but none of them were committed relationships as he still misses Kritanta. He broke off the relationships when things got too serious.

Fast forward a decade and so later (around 30-ish BTC), he became a target by power hungry, traditionalist Sith seeking to claim his Seat. Those were unsuccessful in theur attempts because they were thwarted by a mysterious Wrath. Thus saving Vowrawn's life.

Vowrawn was quite shocked to come face to face with Kritanta after so long... although she looked completely different than what he fondly remembered.

They made up for lost time being apart, telling her about their Ebon Hawk crew being long gone, how much had changed. Kritanta told him about what happened to her. Vowrawn wishes he had known about this but Kritanta was hidden away for a reason by the Sith Emperor.

Vowrawn had reassured Kritanta that she was worthy of his love despite her thinking he deserved someone better than her. 'I never stopped loving you, Sev. You are my heart, my soulmate.'. They rekindled their relationship then got married and became biological parents to Ania and Jazmyn.

Kritanta offered to help Vowrawn out when needed. Her Wrath duties sees her spending a lot of time in military as she favoured. Forming strong alliance with Darth Marr later on.

[grumpy-zane]

(( Watched all of Ice chapter for the world building. got a little derailed, but kept to it for the most part. Here are my observations below:

Episode 1

Heavily mountainous, and snowy. High elevation, yet no icebergs.

layer of clouds, presumably blocking out the sun?

HEXAGONAL FORMATIONS, meaning Basaltic. AKA: highly volcanic.

Trees have a root structure akin to mangrove trees. Perhaps it was marshland beneath the freeze?

Wolves are dark. The marshland must also be pretty dark, they have not adapted their coat to match the camo of the snow

The inhabitants have blue garb with Red highlights. Foliage or perhaps shell-based dyes? Trade?

Live in a place surrounded by mountains, with a large pond inside. Caldera?? very large caldera?

Dark ice is sort of like mirrors.

Episode 2

Pass from the lake village to the castle, called 'mala-wojira', or Wojira's Wrath. Culturally believed that she is the one that causes avalanches. The place is highly reactive to noise/motion.

The sun is not fully blocked, at least when it is setting. Therefore, the clouds are only overhead but not too far wide.

Clouds not present at night.

people made of ice fully, some just mind controlled. ice controlled. very funny.

Episode 3

'There can be no ice without water' WRONG, Solid Nitrogen GO

I love Nya's temper. hwaaaa. She and Kai both hate being dead weight

Not all inhabitants of the realm are formlings, in fact there's some worry that they are cursed, or at least the formling village vex came from. -The magic ice can spread from those who are under its spell to non-cursed

Episode 4

UV being a fan of Lou is very funny, yet I am sure she is not the only one.

Fugi-dove's first appearance.

Kais eyes are more yellow than Nyas. Coles eyes are grey or black? hard to tell. Jays are blue ofc.

Pixal is OP.

Episode 5

Giant bird is part of the normal fauna of the realm.

Zane making note that he feels as though he has been there for quite some time, though this may allude that he was not the emperor for very long. However, this contradicts the idea that the village lady planted, in that its been cold for a stupid long time. (Decades)

Episode 6

Cole your anxiety dreams… This seems to be something he has normally. :(

THATS A LARGE TOOTHBRUSH. Jay by far must have the best dental hygiene.

Nyas struggle answers an interesting question, in that understanding similar elements is a thing that's inherently hard.

It is known in the village that travelers occasional 'stop by' and get leaves from the travelers tree to leave. This may be why they aren't so inquisitive of their sudden appearance.

It takes the wind out of Cole to do some terraforming.

Episode 7

CRAIG. ohh my god the flowers on the burial mounds probably are where the blue dye comes from.

There's small little crab apple looking things in the realm. They smell bad.

The Ice samurai have hunted the Craig species for sport. The Craig Species is an herbivorous fauna.

Travelers Tree. it creates its own heat, as well as being in a place far above the cloud line. needs Regular sunlight. Flowers are buttercup shaped, and the apple-like fruits come from it. Presumably, the tree also smells bad. I don't know why the tea is made of flower pedals, you tell me. Floral Tea I suppose.

Episode 8

'Legion of Grimfax', named after the captain. the legions are divided by generals. Assumedly, there's only one?

There are still no glaciers. There's a lot of frozen bodies of water. I have to assume that it rains a lot, or did rain a lot at some point, which also explains the marshland further down.

The shape of the rock construct is very similar to the shape of the Guardian in the Birchwood forest. Also made of Basalt.

Episode 9

Apples are native to the realm.

Chickens, bears, falcons, wolves, elk, Rabbits. (Formling types)

Vex' failure to find his animal form was 'a long time ago'. Perhaps Zane really wasn't the ice emperor for too long, due to Vex just being kind of the only icified guy. If the natural state of winter in the never realm allows for greenery, then it must not be a super cold winter.

Formling ritual includes a travel in silence, as well as a chase to ones own animal. It's granted to the formling once said formling catches their animal. Perhaps Vex did not catch his, it probably didnt show up for he is 'not worthy'. The Ritual also seems to only occur in the winter(?)

There is a type of purple berry as flora as well, in the form of a bush.

Boreas is the one who doomed the formlings. It is good to note that the ice does not kill, but freezes.

Zane and Vex did not have an army until recently it seems. He and Vex brough boreas, but no others.

Episode 10

There are a lot of large ribcages. What large fauna have been killed? large quadropeds of some sort?

The castle probably existed long before Zane inhabited it. I wonder who made it in the past?

Episode 11

The Realm tea opening to Chima Beavers. Mystake made the travelers tea recipe.

Very interesting that tea leaves open to any realm. First Realm, Chima, Underworld, Cloud Kingdom, Departed Realm.

THE DEPARTED REALM!!! Its Green and dark, perhaps the preeminent's existence there has warped parts of it.

Speaking of the Preeminent, she appears to have the whole realm inside of her. When she died, she appeared in the departed realm, though is still the embodiment of the cursed realm. Is she smaller than she was before?

Episode 12

The castle is the king of the realm(?) the samurai are clad in Red.

Zane seems surprisingly level headed when using the scroll. However, he seemed to struggle slightly to put it down.

Zanes 'I feel like I have been here a long time' does not make sense given how quickly he just spawned in the realm, but perhaps he is temporally displaced and is feeling the effects of said displacement.

Episode 13

Zane seems rather adamant on not killing. Its strange that his ice isn't killing.

Corrupted Ice behaves like Vengestone. Perhaps Vengestone is Corrupted Earth.

The Ice samurai are not fully 'evil', or rather fully mind controlled. At least, not the general.

Episode 14

'Lava Zombies' the name of an old arcade game made my Milton Dyer

Craig is 8 ft tall.

Zane spends a lot of time sleeping. perhaps constantly using his element is doing a number on him.

Episode 15

the berries are more potent than the tea leaves.

[sifu-kisu]

From a bad translation, Russian to English. Unedited because I’m too lazy.😁🤷🏽

SOHEI - BUDDHIST WARRIORS OF ANCIENT JAPAN

Sohei ( дат Sohei, literally "monk-soldier") - Buddhist warrior monks of feudal Japan. At certain points in history, they had considerable power, thus forcing imperial and military governments to cooperate.

They were similar to the mountain ascetes of yamabushi, but unlike the yamabushi hermits, the soheis were usually organized into large armies or units. Most famous is their Enryaku-ji Monastery on Mount Heei, not far from Kyoto.

Many common traits the Soheis had with warrior monks from Germany or other religious orders (for example, such as participating in a crusade; the Soheis did not operate as individuals or even as members of individual temples, but rather as warriors of the Great Brotherhood or monastic order).

Warrior monks first “claimed themselves” in the late 10th century, in the Heian era, during fierce political disputes between Buddhist temples and sects over receiving various titles from the emperor. The main confrontation took place in the area of Kyoto and Nara cities, in Japan's 4 largest temples - Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Mii-dera and Enryaku-ji.

The first armed encounter occurred in 949. , when 56 monks from Todai-ji came out to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto to protest against their inconvenient assignment. These kinds of performances lasted throughout the 10th century and often ended in a murder.

Since 981 Clashes began between the 2 main temples of the Tendai Buddhist sect - Enryaku-ji and Mii-dera. Armed clashes between these temples lasted with breaks throughout the 11th century and early XII. Along with the armies, violence has also increased. Sometimes it even came to the burning of an unfriendly residence. Other temples were also gradually involved in conflicts, joining forces with yesterday's enemies to confront other temples.

A prolonged civil war began in Japan at the end of the 12th century. Temples distracted themselves from constant windows, observing events happening in the country. Hostile houses of Minamoto and Tyra tried to persuade warrior monks of Kyoto and Nara to replenish their samurai armies. The Sohei claimed themselves in 1180, when the Mi-dera monks along with the samurai of the Minamoto house tried to protect the bridge across the Uji River from the invasion of Tyra troops. During this battle, known as the Battle of Uji, the monks disassembled the pillars of the bridge so that the horse samurai could not cross the river.

After the Gampay war, many monasteries began to reform. Their political power grew generally in peaceful ways, and the Soheis almost did not participate in the battles of the 13th-XIV centuries. During the wars of the Nambokuteo-era, Mount Hyei gave refuge to the rebellious Emperor Go-Daigo. With his son and soheis, he tried to gather forces for a short-term rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate. After this, another military government, the Asikaga shogunate, came to power, bringing an end to the restoration of Kammu. The new shogunate supported the Zen sect more than others, and therefore attracted the wrath of warrior monks. From 1340 to 1360, many clashes occurred between the temples of the Zen and Tendai sect.

The Onin War, which began in 1467, dragged on more than a century-old civil war in Japan and forced warrior monks to reform again. In contrast to the turmoil of the Jekyu years and the invasion of the Mongols in the XIII century, the main theater of the Onin war became Kyoto, and therefore the Sohei could not stay away. In addition, new sects of warrior monks appeared in the country. While monks from Mount Hiyei were adherents of the Tendai doctrine, the newly-baked monks, who were given the collectively name ikko-ikki, followed the rules of the jodel-sinsu (True School of the Pure Earth). This practice was followed, among others, by many fundamentalist priests, peasants and houses, who were ready to fight for their beliefs. In 1488, their leader, named Rennyo, raised a rebellion against the power of the samurai, and warrior monks seized the province of Kaga. From this direction they began to expand, capturing the temple of Isiyama Hongan-ji in Nagashima (sovr. Mie Prefecture). A little later, part of the land in Mikawa province (part of the sovr.) came under their control. p. Haiti). Their power and influence drew the attention of some of the mightiest princes of the warring provinces, Oda Nobunagi and Togukawa Ieyasu. They considered the warrior monks as the enemies of the samurai laws and a threat to their power. Yeyasu attacked the monks of Mikawa in 1564, but failing to defeat them in battle, he returned later with the monks of his friendly Jedo-syu school, winning and taking almost all of the possessions from the losers.

While the power of Oda Nobunagi was strengthening and expanding in the late 1560s, the Enryaku-ji monks were gaining military strength and clashes were resumed on the streets of Kyoto, now with the new Nitiren Buddhist sect. After defeating the enemy, they began to look for allies among the dimes. To their misfortune, they contacted the houses of Asai and Asakura who were sworn enemies of Nobunag. 29 September 1571 The 30 thousand Oda army stormed Mount Hyei and burned down the Enryakudzi Monastery. Although the temple itself will be restored later, there were no more warrior monks in it.

Then Oda Nobunaga fought the ikko-ikki in their forts of Nagasima and Isiyama Hongan-ji. In the summer of 1574, with the help of the old pirate Kuki Yoshitaki, Nobunaga blocked their forts and began to starve the monks. 20 thousand people were burned along with their homes. Two years later, Nobunaga returned to Isiamu Hongan-ji, a temple he failed to conquer last time. In two maritime battles under Kidzugawaguti Nobunaga, the house of Mori, whose fleet was still considered to be the strongest in the region. Finally, the Soheis were forced to surrender in 1580.

Between 1580 and 1590, not only warrior monks, but all of Japan was divided into two camps: supporters of Toyotomi Hideyoshi or his opponent in the struggle for power - Tokugawa Ieyasu. When was the last one in 1603 finally will gain full power over the whole country, the Sohei era will end forever.

The Soheis had quite a variety of weaponry. Although most commonly associated with naginata, warrior monks also often used bows, tanto (daggers) and wakidashi (short swords).

The Soheis, like other Buddhist monks, wore kimono-like clothes, usually white at the bottom and beige at the top. They wore traditional Japanese sandals on their feet (this one, Varaji, etc.) ). The head was covered with white scarves or a hatimaki bandage.

The attire of the Ikko-ikki monks was a little more diverse due to their peasant origins, ranging from simple rural attire to various types of bras and helmets. In addition to the aforementioned armament, the icco-icca monks had a small number of arkebuses.

[mysticstarlightduck]

Author Ask Tag

Kindly tagged by @writernopal 💕

1. What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

The Last Wrath's main message, throughout many of the character arcs, is that one must not lose hope, even through the darkest times, and that to find that light in the dark, one has to take action, instead of waiting for a savior that may never come.

It also includes messages of acceptance and diversity (in the sense of the need for respect and tolerance for a harmonious society), learning from the past but not letting it define the future, and the need to take a stand for what you believe in. The value of freedom. Change, and its presence in all beings and things, is also an important theme.

TLW also shows how cruelty and injustice (of all kinds) can shape not only a world but the people within it.

On another note, The Last Wrath is also a story that criticizes how crooked people with enough power act like they are above others, and how prejudice can be one of the greatest evils a society can harbor. It criticizes oppression and corrupt systems, as well as criticizes against people who think they can take whatever they want because they can (be it in the more direct sense, like a conquest, or something more subtle but just as dangerous)

And it shows how there is still good even if it is hidden by the existence of great evil, and that the only way to find freedom, is to believe and accept yourself, and actively seek it - even if it may seem impossible at first, there is a brighter future ahead.

As for why I chose these themes, while most of them came naturally to the plot, it is also - in some ways - the story themes that I would've liked to read in the past and feel the message of a striving for a brighter future despite the odds, can be important to a lot of people out there too.

2. What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

The Last Wrath takes a lot of inspiration from past civilizations that existed during the Ancient Times and Medieval Ages. I often find myself reading history books, researching historical articles, or even watching videos with random curiosities about the past, and all of those things eventually serve as a basis from which I built the fully fictional world that is the continent of Agrannor.

While my inspirations were varied the few ancient and medieval cultures that immediately come to mind when I think about some specific kingdoms/locations in Agrannor are: Ancient Romans, Ancient Greece, Vikings, the Mongols, Ancient Egypt, Celtic, Feudal Europe (especially England, France and Germany), Mediterranean, Ancient Middle East, Phoenicians, etc.

Mythology, lore, and folk/fairy tales are also great sources of inspiration for me, especially when it comes to the creation of magical beasts and creatures with a twist.

I also find myself inspired by watching different pieces of media, such as good movies or series, that take place in medieval fantasy settings. Something about it just gets me in the mood to write!

Listening to music, looking for aesthetics on Pinterest, daydreaming about my WIPs while listening to vibing songs - all of this helps get me inspired too!

3. What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, and help readers grow as a person?

Well, aside from the overall goal of "prevent/stop the War of Prophecy from destroying the world" and "defeat the Secret Court and Emperor Aerich", I guess that all of my Main Characters are somehow looking for a missing piece of themselves (not in a literal sense lol, but in the metaphorical sense) and to finally find the place where they belong in the world, their "purpose" so to speak. Of course, each of the protagonists has unique goals and wants, but even those boil down to a variation of these.

As for what I am trying to achieve with them as a writer: I am trying to write a compelling story about unique individuals facing the odds, not because they want to, but because it is the right thing to do. I want to explore some aspects of the human condition through these characters, and how their harsh world shapes each individual in unique ways. How, at the end of the day, they're just people trying to do their best with what chance was given to them, even though they make mistakes and fail sometimes. I want to show how "courage is not the absence of fear, but taking action despite of it. " and that one doesn't have to be born a perfect hero to stand up for what is right or to protect those they love.

Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, and help readers grow as a person? Yes, I do. At least I hope so, lol. But mostly, I want to inspire readers to question the world around them, and to consider looking at things through a different perspective rather than to become blindsided. I hope to show how you can choose your future and define your destiny, even if it is not an easy road for everyone. To embrace differences and let them help you - and the world around you - grow for the better. To consider that to try is the best thing anyone can do at any given moment, and that it is a thousand times better to try - even if there is a risk of failure - than to never try at all.

4. How many chapters is your story going to have?

While I have the story outlined and plotted, and know how it begins, develops, and ends, I don't know the exact amount of chapters it'll have. As many as it takes to write a well-rounded but concise story, I guess (:

5. Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original! I plan to publish The Last Wrath as an actual novel, one day, and I'm likely to indie publish when the time comes.

6. When and why did you start writing?

I started writing short stories when I was a little kid. I just loved creating stories, worlds, and characters, and creating wonderful things that only existed in my imagination! Sometime later I decided to try and write my first "book" on my dad's computer, which was already sort of medieval fantasy - which had always been my favorite genre, and still is. And this desire to write stayed with me ever since, and now, I actually write real novels and am able to bring the worlds in my imagination to my creations.

7. Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers on Tumblr do you follow?

Write the story you want to write, because it deserves to be out in the world, even if you currently doubt yourself, and only you - its author - can bring that story to fruition the way it was meant to be written, and know that you deserve to write whatever the heck you want. For yourself, to have fun doing it. Know that every word on a page, even if it is just a sucky first draft, is a step towards perfecting your craft, and that gentle practice and patience beats stubborn perfectionism (wanting things to come out perfect in the first try), any day.

Tagging (gently) @conkers-theficwriter, @digital-chance, @lyutenw, @exquisitecrow, @clairelsonao3, @cabbojage, @rickie-the-storyteller, @your-absent-father, @anoelleart, @jasperygrace

[comicavalcade]

Submariner Summer 37

Many felicitations unto thee, Namor Nation! We gather for #SubmarinerSummer read through part 37 for another great milestone in the history of our sea prince-a series all his own. Yes, we are finally reading Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1! We are kicked off by a legendary cover

And on the title page, Destiny gloats about killing Namor! How's *that* for a start to a series? Roy Thomas stays on scripts from Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1, and we have John Buscema going all out on pencils. Frank Giacoia on inks and Sam Rosen on letters round out the team

Though victorious, Destiny is still filled with hate, so he gloats that this is his second victory. He then uses his mind powers to set Namor's brain to go over his past, so that he will finally remember the lost amnesia memories that apparently hide the first defeat by Destiny

As a plot device for a flashback issue, not the worst I've seen. So now, Oh ye faithful, thrill to the Silver Age retelling of Namor's origin. It begins with the US explorers led by Captain Leonard McKenzie causing (accidentally) a massive destruction and slaughter in Atlantis

Emperor Thakorr tells his daughter, Princess Fen, to select warriors to investigate; she says yes, but decides to do it herself. She goes to the surface and among the US expedition; soon, she ends up marrying Captain McKenzie! Weeks later, Thakorr DOES send a war party

They retrieve Fen and score some casualties on the Americans in the process, notably Captain McKenzie himself, or so Fen thinks, breaking her heart. But that brief love birthed Namor.

Fast forward to the 40s, and Namor rises to the surface, fighting war upon war

Though the wars ended, he fought still, both Atlanteans rivals like Byrrah and surface crime and enemies. Eventually, though, another destruction came to Atlantis seeming to repeat the one that led to Fen going to the surface. So Thakorr sends Namor to perform Fen's old mission

But this was not an accidental genocide by ignorant surfacers: it was Destiny with his Helmet of Power, killing and destroying just to test his abilities. He then uses them to mind control Namor, and forces him to see his Granfather and emperor, and his mother, die with Atlantis

So we finally see the cause of the destruction of "First Atlantis" that was alluded to way back in Submariner Summer part 30, covering TtA #96.

But Destiny's not done; he decides to turn Namor into his mind wiped pawn and sends him away while he hibernates one last time

So robbed of his mind and now in New York, Namor flails about a bit at first, before simply beginning to wander without identity or purpose. Y'all...this is nightmare fuel. What a godawful fate, and Destiny basically did it for kicks.

That is, of course, the state he's in when the Human Torch finds him in the classic Fantastic Four #4, which reintroduced Namor. So now we're basically back at the Silver Age, and Namor's memories are finally complete. This wakes him up from Flashback Land, where he's trapped

The ice melting on his body is the water he needs to recover his strength, and suffused with it he bursts free! And with that freedom, Namor plans to visit his wrath on the man called Destiny...and perhaps the entire surface. IMPERIUS REX!

Going to be honest, if I had to relive all that trauma all at once and wasn't just broken into a sobbing heap, I could absolutely want to destroy the world too.

But as a reader, what can I say, this was a fun if extremely truncated ride through Namor's history to that point, with some new additions and revelations in the typical Roy Thomas retcon fashion. It focuses on some key events relevant to the greater story, arc but basically this #1 was Namor 101. 👨🏽‍🏫

But NEXT, we get back to then-current events as Namor starts his hunt for revenge against Destiny as we cover Sub-Mariner #2: Cry...TRITON!

[ivorys-back]

TWOF Overview

Okay, so since I've kinda been hyper-focusing on Angels and Demons for a while, I think it's about time I just let this whole thing out.

TWOF stands for 'The World of Fantasia', which is the crossover AU I've been working on for years. It tells the story of Alex Blackwood and Cassie Springfield, two teenage girls who travel to the the fantasy world (named Fantasia), and find out that they're destined to get rid of an evil as old as time itself.

In this post, I'll be going through the synopsis of each book and a basic plot of what the girls go through. I don't have the whole series figured out quite yet, but I'm getting there! I'll also put parenthesis beside each title to give you an idea of who they meet along the way.

(This is long so I'll put it under a cut)

Book 1: The Journey Begins (first trip in Fantasia) Alex Blackwood and Cassie Springfield's world is about to change. When an old friend of the girls' gives them a treasured storybook, they have no idea they’re about to enter a land beyond all imagining: Fantasia, where mythical creatures live separated from the humans, yearning to be reunited. But as Alex and Cassie soon discover, the stories of creatures they know and love aren't as they seem in this magical land—there's more than one god, Drachenfels is a kingdom of dragons, and they have a guardian angel! The girls want to get back home. But with a legendary prophecy to fulfill and entire legions of monsters on their trail, will they ever find their way?

Book 2: The Wrath of Krane (second trip) After decades of hiding, the evil that has haunted Fantasia for centuries is back with a vengeance—but not without help. Alex Blackwood and Cassie Springfield have not been back to the magical world of Fantasia since their adventures in The Journey Begins ended. But one night, they learn that an evil dragon has kidnapped Alex's mother! Against the will of their godfather Yinlong, the girls must and their own way into Fantasia to rescue Mrs. Blackwood and save Fantasia from the greatest threat it's ever faced.

Book 3: The Blazing Light (Lion King) Cassie Springfield thinks her fantasy adventures are behind her—until she discovers a mysterious clue left by the famous Dante Alighieri. With help from her classmate Audrey and Yinlong's sister Yue, Cassie sets off on a mission across Italy to crack the seven-hundred-year-old of the spirit world. Meanwhile, Alex Blackwood is training to become the next Protector of Fantasia…but her attempts at being a leader don't go as she planned. Will she ever be truly ready to lead the Mystic Council? When all signs point to disaster for Fantasia, Cassie and Alex must join forces with their friends and enemies to save the day. But nothing can prepare them for the coming battle…or for the secret that will change the girls' lives forever.

Book 4: The Great Unknown (HTTYD, LEGO Elves, Undertale, Warrior Cats) This is just the beginning. Scarface and his army are on the loose in Fantasia, and it’s up to Alex and Cassie to stop him…except Alex has been thrown off the Council, and no one will believe they’re in danger. With only the help of the ragtag group of Snow, Jake, Nikko, Ruby, Drago, and Majikku, the girls discover one of Fantasia's biggest mysteries: on the other side of a massive mountain range is a land filled with wonders, but Scarface is there, planning recruiting an army of Fantasia’s greatest evils! So begins a race through the wondrous Underground, the fantastical Forest of the Clans, the vast kingdom of Draconia, and beyond. Can Alex and Cassie catch up to Scarface, or will they be one step behind until it’s too late?

Book 5: Beyond the Mainland (Cuphead, BATIM) Scarface has captured all the royal families from Fantasia with the help of his army of villains. With his sinister plan finally in motion, he is eager to destroy the families and take his place as emperor. Alex and Cassie know they are no match against Scarface’s legion of monsters, but they realize that they may be in possession of the greatest weapon of all: a place beyond the Mainland! So begins the girls' journey across the sea to Inkwell Isles to gather an army of demons, object-people, and ink-monsters as they band together for the ultimate fight against Scarface. Meanwhile, an even more dangerous plan is brewing—one that could change the fates of both mythics and humans forever.

Book 6: Battle for the Afterlife (Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss/SCP Foundation) After allying themselves with the Devil himself, the archangel Raphael comes down to assist them on their journey, and brings them all to Heaven to ask for help from the gods. However, not all goes as planned, as a traitor lurks among the clouds and pearly gates. A wicked demons sends Alex and Cassie away from Fantasia into alternate universes. Alex awakes in a facility filled with cryptids and monsters; Cassie wakes in a version of Hell and is surrounded by sinners and imps, battling horned angels who are bent on eradicating all of Hell. Can the girls navigate through these strange worlds and find a way back to each other before it's too late?

Book 7: ???

[curiosity-killed]

Fandom asks: M, P, Q, U, and X

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

oh gosh. going to go with....His Radiancy from HOTE/whatever the series is called except that there's a 90% chance i'd get fried bc i am a pretty big hugger with my friends

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

hmmm okay who rules the world scifi AU where hei fengxi & bai fengxi are both assigned, randomly, to the same off-world internship around...*rolls dice* interplanetary regulations on the seizure and restriction of fresh water sources in newly discovered planets (Lanxi is probably doing this as part of his plan to become Space Emperor and Bai Fengxi is doing this to help maintain public access to vital resources)

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

There are a few of these but we'll go with Marvel for the simple reason that I think I less abandoned Voltron and it more imploded. anyway marvel mostly, for me, sort of curdled thru the source material and as that eroded (corroded? bloated?), so did the delight i originally got from it.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

trying to pick different ones from usual and also. make some actual words here

Bucky Barnes (Marvel)

i am trying to limit myself to one (1) Human Weapon character here and i am being. So Brave about it

I know that my love of him is Heavily influenced by the Stucky Fandom That Was but like! sunshine dapper lady's man baby boy turned into haunted, ragged ghost turned into a weapon with no name no memory no self!!! breaking out of that!!! choosing to forge a life of his own choice!!! hnnnn

also. i can't not say it. The Arm is one of the sexiest pieces of costume design the MCU has ever done. the shifty shifty plates. the noises. excellent 12/10 i still love it

Miranda (Station Eleven [the book])

I read Station Eleven at an admittedly weird and tender time of my life but my god!! that book Read Me and Miranda was a significant part of that

her thoughts on being a creative, her end scene! I!!!!

Furiosa (Mad Max: Fury Road)

i have an unfortunate abiding love for action movies and if MMFR had come out when i was 8-13 i would have been, Insufferable

i love competence! and trauma!!! and wrath!!!! i love a character thinking they will finally Escape only to realize that they must turn back and make that new world with their own bloodied hands!!

im realizing that 2/3 of these are not actually fandoms im in but they're characters i love so anyway. a fandom can be urself and ur many many many emotions

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

i maintain that h/c is a genre but hurt/comfort. otherwise, glass canon characters. i love to see competence AND whump. ✨duality✨

fandom ABCs

[maverick-werewolf]

UPDATES - Current Projects!

Hi, all! It’s been a hot minute since I really said much here. Let me elaborate on why.

Here are only some of the big things I have in the works! A long post follows...

1. Wulfgard: The Curse of Ankhu - novella series

First up, something I posted a preview for a while back: a trilogy of novellas (that I would later publish as a collection in the form of a single novel) set in Wulfgard and starring a character heretofore unseen in my writing: Djedar Rath. And set in the realm of Kemhet (heavily inspired by ancient Egypt), so much unlike my other publications in that way, too.

A synopsis:

Deep in the mysterious desert of the Red Land, Deshret, lies an ancient tomb, the resting place of one of the greatest evils the world has ever known: Pharaoh Ankhu the Endless. Long did he reign and oppress the people of the Black Land, Kemhet. So great and terrible was his power that the gods themselves descended, defeating and cursing him, burying him in foreign land in a labyrinth never to be found by mortals.

Now Ankhu rises again with each darkening of the moon, a walking mummy, searching for that which he may never find… his own still-beating heart, denying him passage into the afterlife. Over untold ages, Ankhu’s tomb remained undiscovered, a secret protected always by the loyal Medjay, an order serving the many pharaohs of Kemhet who came after.

But now a new threat has arisen— Lord Tefnahkt the Red, cultist and warlock, drives his many slaves to uncover Ankhu’s resting place, unlock his evil power, and once more unleash him upon the world. While a small group of Medjay work to stop Tefnahkt’s plans, one slave may become the key to stopping Tefnahkt – and putting an end to his and Ankhu’s evil once and for all.

In a race against time, five Medjay and the rebellious slave Djedar Rath must stop Tefnahkt from opening the tomb before the coming of the new moon, when Pharaoh Ankhu the Endless will awaken once more… for if he escapes, the world will never survive his wrath.

Expect to see the first novella released very soon!

2. Wulfgard: Knightfall - novel revision

In 2015, I published my first book: The Prophecy of the Six: Knightfall, the main series set in mine and my brother’s world of Wulfgard. Well, now I’m revisiting it, expanding it, revising it, and turning it into something truly epic as I prepare to continue writing the Prophecy series: the main thing I want to do with my life (short of filmmaking). Although it is also many other things, this is what you could call my “werewolf series.” Here is the synopsis:

Sir Thomakos “Tom” Drake is a knight of the Achaean frontier city of Illikon. Together with his close friends and fellow soldiers, he wants only to protect his city and its people from any who would threaten them. But the Achaean Empire to which they swear loyalty is always seeking out new conflicts that put his city in danger.

When Sir Scaevius, Left Hand of the Emperor, arrives in Illikon to recruit Sir Drake to help fight the massing barbarian alliance to the North, Drake has no choice but to obey. But he does not obey without protest, and soon he finds himself fighting not only the barbarians, but his own superiors as well. Meanwhile, strange things begin happening to him. He suffers blackouts, and at night he is plagued by terrifying nightmares. Even worse, he finds himself being stalked by horrific monsters... werewolves. Hated by his superiors, hunted by beasts and assassins, Tom Drake must fight for his home, his life, and even his mind. The events that are about to unfold will change his life, and the world, forever.

More info on this later! I truly hope you’ll give Knightfall a chance when the revision is completed. This series comprises the stories absolutely nearest and dearest to my heart. They, above all else, are the tales I want most to tell - and the thing I absolutely must create and share with the world - before I leave this earth.

3. Werewolf Facts: A Guidebook to Folklore vs Pop Culture - folklore book

So there’s a project I announced a while back, which is a published book edition of my Werewolf Facts I’ve written and posted on the blog here. I am very much still planning to do that, and I’ve been working on it! This will be a compilation of my werewolf facts, but each one will also be expanded and come with full citations, as well as a bibliography, expanded comments, and much more. Stay tuned for news on this book, too!

4. Revamping my personal website + general promotion of my existing work

So my personal website is pretty hideous; that’s a fact. One of my other projects right now is to revamp my personal site completely - again - and make it prettier, more accessible, easier to navigate, and do a better job of presenting my books and werewolf facts, along with my other work.

I also want to promote my work in general, and that’s something I’ve been working on and researching. My personal scoop: promoting completely original work is exhausting, disheartening, and grueling - you put your soul out there and, by and large, no one cares; at the most you’ll get a pat on the head and a ‘nice job’ because it’s cute that you’re trying, I guess. I’ve been working at this literally since my childhood, so I’m intimately familiar with how bad putting your work out there can make you feel.

So I suck at promotion! That’s just an issue with me. It’s something I want to work on. I’m currently investigating avenues of doing so, such as posting my writing on more places across the internet, different publishers, and different sites and communities for me to hang out on and spread the word about my creations. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know! I’d appreciate it. I really do want to promote my stuff better, but I’m just not that good at it. I’d rather just be working on the thing itself, instead, but at some point you have to stop and promote.

5. Werewolf Facts on Twitter

Werewolf Facts’ original home was on Tumblr, and they also live on my personal website, but I’d like to expand their reach, too. So I’m hoping to start posting a werewolf fact as a twitter thread every week for a while, starting next week. These will be semi-condensed editions of the werewolf facts you know here on my tumblr.

6. Making custom LEGO figures & experimenting with other things

I’m always making custom LEGO ‘figs, even if I’m super slow at it. I hope to have more Wulfgard ones around soon, as well as maybe some Nova Refuge, and maybe even some builds/models.

You probably saw me post my Shazam! Fury of the Gods fig recently:

I absolutely loved that movie beyond words, by the way. It reached deep into my soul and awoke something in me again that I honestly kind of feared I had lost or was coming dangerously close to losing. Watch it in theaters if you can still find it - if not, watch it at home. Trust me. It’s worth it.

Getting back on track: I’m only just starting to finally find the courage to start chasing my true and ultimate dream, too. It’s something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never known how. I had pretty much given up hope, too, short of a miracle, because I am broke and simply don’t have the means to put myself in any kind of position to enter that world. Well, I’ve found new inspiration recently. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but let’s just say I am feeling good about the future and starting to dip my toes into the extremely amateur edition of what I want to do. I should’ve done it years ago, but I can’t change that, so I’m gonna do it now. More on that later.

7. Resuming work on Nova Refuge (sci-fi) novels & novellas

A few years ago, I started working in earnest on a sci-fi series called Song of the Stars. That is still very much a thing, and I hope to start publishing the series as novellas soon, as I have enough content written - and some of it even edited, too - to compose several books. Song was always intended to be me trying out a sort of traditional TV show formula, with each novella being a stand-alone “episode” that can also be experienced as a chronological series. I still love Song and I’m very proud of all the work I did on it, and I look forward to sharing it with you in the coming year or two.

I’m also working on a brand new book that is set in Nova Refuge but is extremely cyberpunk in nature, as cyberpunk has always been one of my favorite genres for a million reasons. I’m very excited about this story, and I’ve been working hard on it every weekend for a few weeks now. I’m making fantastic progress, so expect to hear more about it very soon!

8. Running my Patreon

So hey, you know that Patreon thing I run? That’s the best place to get the latest updates from me. I keep that thing updated as best I can. And I am always trying to provide content to my patrons and keep everybody happy and rewarded for showing me so much generous support. I run polls there about what everyone would like to see from me, discuss my writing, my research, and much more. I also post previews of my upcoming work.

I also have been posting a very silly and just-for-fun story there periodically, once a week, for all my Lunatic patrons. My lunatic tiers are my weirder/crazier writing and stuff that will never see the light of day in terms of publishing it as/in any kind of book. The story in question will never leave my Patreon, in fact. I write these always rough draft “lunatic writings” as warm-up sessions to other writing sessions on my major projects or as something just for fun for me to cool down on my day off every week. Feel free to ask me about details regarding Lunatic tiers!

9. Publishing a hardcover edition of The Werewolf: Past and Future

So you know that book I published a while back, the book edition of my master’s thesis? The Werewolf: Past and Future - Lycanthropy’s Lost History and Modern Devolution. It has done some pretty wild sales ever since I published it despite only having 14 ratings!

I’d like to have a hardcover edition available on Amazon, too. It’s on my backburner, so it might not happen anytime terribly soon, but it is on my list and I’d like to get around to that sometime, because I know a lot of people really like hardcover books, and I’d love to see what the hardcover publication is like on Amazon. It’d be my first time checking it out, and it’s something I’d like to investigate for my future books, too.

Also - if you’ve purchased and enjoyed the book, please consider leaving me a review on Amazon (or at least a rating)! Reviews on my books there help me immensely and encourage Amazon to show my book to other people, too. I appreciate every review!

10. Resuming Vampire Facts!?

I might! It might happen! I still see several in my drafts that I am no longer so exhausted and discouraged about. We’ll see if/when that happens and how it’ll work later on sometime, but you might just see folklore posts resume on this blog sometime later this year or next year - or at some random time earlier, we’ll see.

---

Whew! And I think that’s quite enough of just a few of the things I’ve been doing since I stopped posting my regular folklore/werewolf/vampire facts. As you can see, I have a very full plate! And I’m actually a really slow eater. No, really, I am. It’s pretty ironic, I know, for those of you familiar with some of the weirder things I like. Anyway--

I’m working as hard as I can go on everything and I’ve actually been writing up a storm. I have an entire novella series ready to be published once they’re done with my editor and artist. I actually have a backlog of books to pester those who work with me because I’ve been writing so fast, and I don’t want to pressure anyone to try to keep up with my insanity.

I’m inspired, I’m motivated, and I’m determined. I’m gonna make these dreams happen, my friends. So expect a lot more news from me soon, including plenty of books! In the meantime, give me a follow here on Tumblr and my other social media:

Patreon — Ko-fi — Twitter  — My Discord Server

And be sure to check out my Patreon if you’re interested in a lot more updates, behind the scenes stuff, previews, and a whole lot more. You can also join my little Discord and come hang out! Everyone is welcome. I’ve been trying to talk there a little more, because though I do be shy (online, anyway) and a bit of a hermit, I can also be a lonely soul. At any rate, you can also toss me a little donation on ko-fi if you’re in the mood; I’m way too ambitious for how low income I am and I am not afraid to admit that, so every single donation of literally anything is appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

I hope everyone’s still with me here on my blog. I love all you fellas, you’ve been really great to me. Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately.

I’ve been working on the side on compiling my werewolf facts into a proper book, as I mentioned, and I also want to get back to doing some werewolf blog posts, as well as posts about other folklore and mythology. I actually recently considered one on the mythology of Ladon, the dragon from Greek myth, because of Shazam! Fury of the Gods (the movie that breathed new life into me and revitalized my soul; a lightning bolt of inspiration in every sense of the phrase, I love it with all my heart, and it reminded me that there is good in this world and it’s worth fighting for)... we’ll see what happens with that.

Until next time!

[iviarellereads]

Gideon the Ninth, Chapter 36

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Ninth House icon) In which there is a final confession.

Camilla hit the advancing Lyctor like the wrath of the Emperor.

Cytherea staggers, but when she gets her bearing, she and Camilla face off, giving Gideon time to stand and ready herself for a fight. Gideon is grateful she won't have to tell Camilla that Palamedes is dead.

She was already fighting as though her heart had exploded.

Cytherea tells Camilla to stop, but Camilla doesn't listen. Soon, Camilla's blade, and then her body, become immobilized by a thicket of bones Cytherea starts growing. Camilla goes so far as to headbutt Cytherea in the face, though it doesn't do any good.

As Gideon tries to determine how best to enter the fray, a skeletal hand comes up from behind Cytherea and grabs her face, followed by another for her sword hand. Harrow stands at the top of the stairs, "her skull-painted face as hard and merciless as morning", growing her own skeletons from bone shards she carries with her.

Camilla frees herself from Cytherea's bone spines in the distraction, but as Gideon makes to engage, Harrow has some skeletons unstrap Gideon's two-handed sword from her back and throw it to her. It feels comforting and familiar.

Cytherea bursts out of Harrow's skeleton cuddle pile(1), and builds a giant construct out of the rubble. The very same style of construct that had been used to kill Isaac Tettares.

But now this benighted(2) vision stood before its natural predator, the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House.

Harrow's skeletons right themselves from the rubble and start climbing the construct. Gideon gets up, dusts herself off, and takes her rightful place in front of her necromancer, who's surrounded by bone dust and watching the construct eagerly. Gideon tells Harrow that this is the thing that killed Isaac. Gideon asks after Sextus, and Gideon replies, "Dead."

Harrow's mouth briefly ruckled.(3) "A necromancer alone can't bring that down, Griddle. That's regenerating bone." "I'm not running, Harrow!" "Of course we're not running," said Harrowhark disdainfully. "I said a necromancer alone. I have you. We bring hell." "Harrow--Harrow, Dulcinea's a Lyctor, a real one--" "Then we're all dead, Nav, but let's bring hell first," said Harrow. Gideon looked over her shoulder at her, and caught the Reverend Daughter's smile [...] long and sweet and beautiful. Gideon found herself smiling back so hard her mouth hurt.

Harrow says she'll keep it off Gideon, it's time to "show them what the Ninth House does." Gideon raises her sword as the construct finally frees itself.

"We do bones, motherfucker," she said.

With her beloved two-hander completing her once more, Gideon smashes the construct. It's strangely easy, with Harrow supporting her, and her fear turns to "the ferocious joy of vengeance." They've never fought together before, but they've fought each other, and are familiar enough with each other's habits that it's a simple matter to move with instead of against.(4)

They fight the construct with everything they have, for pages. Eventually, Cytherea reappears, in an ambush, fierce and apparently untouched by the fighting so far thanks to Lyctoral healing. Gideon remembers her asking, "Do I look like I'm in the queendom of my power?"

She and Gideon face off, sword to sword, and she says she meant what she said: Gideon is brilliant, and she almost wishes Gideon were her cavalier. Gideon says, "You couldn't fucking afford me," and manages to kick Cytherea's legs out from under her. Cytherea winks at Gideon and disappears behind a bone shell.

Gideon makes her way back to Harrow, still fighting the construct.

"I need to be inside you," Harrow bellowed over the din. "Okay, you're not even trying," said Gideon.(5)

Harrow clarifies that she can barely pin the construct in place, but she needs to cooperate with Gideon, like their first test room, to take it down.

Gideon complies, and together they attack the weak points, just like they did lo, those many chapters ago. That is, until a cord of vertebrae loop around Gideon's waist and throw her up into the air, and the loss of focus means a loss of her mental connection to Harrow. From above, she can see Camilla fighting her way through toward Cytherea, though she doesn't have time to see much else before she crashes into... a pillar of bones, more of which move to bring her back to Harrow.

"I have bested my father," said Harrow to nobody, staring upward at nothing, alight with fierce and untrammelled(6) triumph. They were both lying supine on a pile of what felt like feet. "I have bested my father and my grandmother--every single necromancer ever taught by my House--every necromancer who has ever touched a skeleton. Did you see me? Did you behold me, Griddle?"(7) This was all said somewhat thickly, through pink and bloodied teeth, before Harrow smugly passed out.

As the dust clears, it's obvious the construct can no longer move. Gideon takes its distraction as time to find Camilla, who has caught up to Cytherea, and has the Lyctor by the hair with a knife at her throat. However, Camilla can't seem to make the knife pierce the skin, and some force seems to be peeling the skin from the hand holding the knife.

"You're a nice girl," the Lyctor said. "I had a nice girl as a cavalier too ... once. She died for me. What can you do?"(8)

Camilla asks if this is supposed to kill her. Cytherea suggests she give it time. Gideon, however, sees a tentacle of bone like a scorpion's sting lift itself behind Camilla, and she yells her name. Whether it's the shout or Cam's instincts, she twists out of the way just in time for it to miss her spine and hit her shoulder. The knife falls from her hand, but Cytherea shoves Cam in the chest and takes up her rapier once more.

Gideon tries to fight through, but Cytherea is holding her at bay as she snakes more tendrils up to trap Cam in place. Cytherea says nothing can hurt her anymore, but before she can thrust her sword into Cam's chest, a different one blooms from her belly.

Ianthe peeks over Cytherea's shoulder, her pale hair spilling over the Lyctor's collarbone like a waterfall.

"Spoke too soon, old news," said Ianthe. "Oh," said Cytherea, "oh my! A baby Lyctor!"

Ianthe uses Cytherea's blood to make a shield between them and the construct, and then Lyctor fights Lyctor, with sword and with banter, giving Gideon time to free Cam. Cam asks if Pal said anything, Gideon first lies and says he said to say he loved her, but Cam sees right through that. Gideon then tells the truth: he said Cam would know what to do. Cam, "with grim satisfaction", says she does, and lays back down in the bones.

Gideon looks back at the Lyctor-on-Lyctor fight, which moves almost too fast for the eye to see. The floor of the atrium starts to splinter under the construct's travels and around Ianthe and Cytherea's passing. Gideon realizes that the whole floor, in fact, is starting to fall apart, fissures separating her from the exit.

Ianthe chews on her hair and a geyser of "black arterial blood" knocks Cytherea over. By the time she recovers, Ianthe is there and punches her so hard she flies through a wall, which was already in disrepair but still looks impressive as the wall disintegrates at the violation.

Gideon, knowing the floor's likely to go next, puts an arm under Cam's armpits and helps her stagger outside, as fast as they can, retrieving Harrow along the way. Gideon sets them down "in the shadow of a broken-ass wall"(9) which looks stable enough to trust for now, and looks back inside.

Ianthe is matching Cytherea in the fight, she's a little faster, a little more reactive. However, Cytherea is bleeding, and every time she spurts blood, she seems to freeze it and manipulate it, leaving it in the air around her like tendrils, until it looks like she's fighting in a red spider's web,(10) a veritable cage of red string.(11)

Cytherea's earlier wounds, from Pal's interference and explosion, start to reopen as well, even her hair starting to look singed again. Camilla sees it and guesses that Cytherea only patched over the injuries, that they never really healed, because she hasn't got the thalergy(12) to spare. Gideon says Pal "gave her turbo cancer", at which Cam looks very satisfied and says that would do it.

Unfortunately, Cytherea calls Ianthe's bluff, saying she's just like a child, using her best moves first and saving nothing for the long haul. Cytherea can feel Naberius fighting the transition from the outside, and recognizes the weakness of an incomplete Lyctor, grabbing Ianthe's throat and starting to siphon, with power exceeding what Gideon has previously witnessed. Cytherea uses it to heal herself again, and Camilla says it's probably for real this time.

Cytherea calls Ianthe little sister, and says she managed to become a Lyctor, so she'll get to live a little longer. However, she won't need arms and legs for that, so... Cytherea grows a long shank of bone from her knuckles, and cuts off Ianthe's right arm, just above the elbow. Ianthe, drained so weak, makes a keening noise.

Gideon has moved two steps forward and established that her kneecap definitely isn't where it's supposed to be. Cam calls for her to duck, so she does, and Cam throws her knife into Cytherea's back, hitting a bulging mass which spurts black and yellow liquid when Cytherea manages to draw the knife back out.

Cytherea leans down and takes Ianthe's intact hand to siphon from her again, saying that even an incomplete Lyctor is "an everlasting battery." She then strides calmly toward Gideon, who plants herself between Cytherea and Camilla, who's lost so much blood her complexion is "pallid olive." Cam suggests Gideon leave with Harrow, but Gideon says it's time for round two, or is it three? Cytherea comments that this must be the two-hander Gideon grew up training with. Gideon asks if she wants a closer look.

The Lyctor arched her free hand languorously behind her back; she slid into position, weighting herself on her back foot, the sword in her hand luminous--tinted green like still water, or pearls. "You know you can't do this, Gideon of the Ninth," she said. "You're very brave--a bit like another Gideon I used to know.(13) But you're prettier in the eyes."

Gideon tells Cytherea to cut the cryptic statements or she'll cut Cytherea into eighteen pieces.(14) Cytherea says Gideon doesn't even know what she is to Cytherea,(15) and if she asks nicely, Cytherea might even let her live. She's been spared before, after all.

Something flares in Gideon's belly, and she names all the people Cytherea killed, or whose deaths she has led to here, then charges at the Lyctor. She transcends the pain in her leg, and becomes the Gideon Nav who trained with this sword since before she could lift it.

But when she lands a blow that should cleave Cytherea's whole torso open, and it leaves only a tiny pink mark on the collarbone it bounces off, something in Gideon gives up. She starts fighting a fraction of a second behind where she needs to be, giving up ground, taking injuries.

Suddenly, from behind Cytherea, Harrowhark Nonagesimus says, "Step off, bitch," and attacks with an army of superskeletons. Cytherea wishes the Ninth would do anything more interesting than skeletons, but nevertheless, starts fighting them. Gideon rolls to retrieve her sword, and takes her place with Harrow once more, only Aiglamene's training giving her the discipline to ignore her injuries to do it.

Cytherea delightedly remarks that they're learning fast! But, she proves how much is left to learn as she summons the construct, finally free of Harrow's regenerating bone bonds, though much reduced by how much it had to leave behind to do it.

Gideon thinks it's not fair, Cytherea was right, there's nothing they can do… but Harrow says she's not done yet. She uses all her skeletons to build them a wall. Camilla lights a pocket flashlight to see by, and Gideon sees that Harrow's gone beyond blood sweat. She's done more than a whole House of necromancers should do in a day, and she's still going. Well… until she falls into Gideon's arms. Gideon, who forgets everything but her adept, as she kneels to let Harrow to the ground safely.

Gideon begs Harrow to siphon from her, but Harrow says never again, after what happened to the Eighth. Gideon protests, Harrow can't hold this wall much longer. Harrow says she doesn't have to hold it forever, just long enough to let Gideon and Camilla find escape down off the cliff into the sea, to find a place to hide until the ships arrive. Gideon nopes this entire plan outright, unwilling to admit she doesn't want to let Harrow die for her.

"Griddle, you made me a promise. You agreed to go back to the Ninth. You agreed to do your duty by the Locked Tomb--" "Don't do this to me." "I owe you your life," said Harrowhark, "I owe you everything."

Gideon realizes all Harrow's face paint has worn off in the fighting(16) and struggles to come up with a better plan. Camilla offers to be the distraction, but Gideon won't accept that either.(17) She won't be haunted by Palamedes for letting Cam die.

Tentacles break cracks in Harrow's bone wall, which she struggles to repair. Gideon realizes they're really going to die.

Gideon looks at Harrow, who reaches up and touches Gideon's cheek.

"Nav," she said, "have you really forgiven me?" Confirmed. They were all going to eat it. "Of course I have, you bozo." "I don't deserve it." "Maybe not," said Gideon, "but that doesn't stop me forgiving you. Harrow--" "Yes?" "You know I don't give a damn about the Locked Tomb, right? You know I only care about you," she said in a brokenhearted rush.

Between tentacle WHAMs on the bone wall, Gideon continues that she's nothing without Harrow, and she's never been a real cavalier primary, never could have been. Camilla turns to politely examine the wall's construction. Harrow laughs, really laughs, for the first time in Gideon's hearing.

"Gideon the Ninth, first flower of my House," she said hoarsely, "you are the greatest cavalier we have ever produced. You are our triumph. The best of all of us. It has been my privilege to be your necromancer."

That's all Gideon needed. She eyes the iron spikes of the railings, since this was a garden, and says she's getting them out of there. Harrow calls her "Griddle" to get her attention, but Gideon limps to the flowerbeds. There's not much time, and only one shot, but this is somehow the calmest she's ever felt in her life.

She said, "Harrow, I can't keep my promise, because the entire point of me is you. You get that, right? That's what cavaliers sign up for. There is no me without you. One flesh, one end." A shade of exhausted suspicion flickered over her necromancer's face. "Nav," she said, "what are you doing?" "The cruellest thing anyone has ever done to you in your whole life, believe me," said Gideon. "You'll know what to do, and if you don't do it, what I'm about to do will be no use to anyone."

Gideon turns and gauges the angle to the spikes. She can't bear the thought of looking back in Harrow's direction, so she doesn't. She thinks of the doors of Drearburh, and all her fear and hate of the place and the people in it fade. She is Drearburh, she is Gideon the Ninth.

WHAM--WHAM--WHAM. The structure bowed and creaked Big chunks were falling away now, letting in wide splotches of sunlight. She felt movement behind her, but she was faster. "For the Ninth!" said Gideon. And she fell forward, right onto the iron spikes.(18)

So ends Act Four.

=====

(1) Smother her with "love", and by love, I mean constructs. (2) Benighted - either "in a state of moral ignorance" (dark of soul) or "overtaken by darkness" (as in, dark or in shadow). In this case, I'm leaning toward the former. (3) Ruckle - either "to make a rattling sound, as being strangled" or "to work into folds and wrinkles, or crumple". This time, leaning toward the latter, unless Harrow's choking on her bone dust which could be hilariously within Muir's intention. (4) I'm not gonna recite the whole Princess Bride marriage scene from the film, but I am very very tempted to recite parts of it. "Wuv, twoo wuv." (5) That really was too obvious an innuendo, in Gideon's defence. (6) Untrammelled - not restricted. (7) How very "WITNESS ME!" from Fury Road. There's probably a more direct reference here that I'm unaware of, though. (8) What banter, what gleeful villainy. (9) I wonder how aware Muir is of the habit some people formed, in the long-ago internet days, of moving the hyphen when the word "ass" is used as an adverb like this. In place of "broken-ass wall", it would become "broken ass-wall", which is a very funny mental picture of where Gideon places these two down. (Am I getting a little bit silly as the end of this book approaches? Maybe!) (10) And she has certainly woven quite a tangled web around this story, wasn't she? (11) This feels like another reference to the Charlie Day conspiracy board meme, like perhaps Cytherea is here at the center of something massive. (12) Thanergy being death-energy, for necromancy, thalergy is its opposite, life-energy. (According to an interview, thalergy was to be called "phthinergy" until Muir decided that sounded too much like the name of an antihistamine.) I'm unclear on the etymological roots for this choice. (13) Ah yes, the one from the slip of flimsy. Wonder if they're still alive or not, given "used to know". (14) What a curious choice of number. Twice nine, her house of raising, and it's her own age. (15) And just what is THAT? (eyes emoji goes here) (16) The face paint being a literal representation of the masks we wear in public, and the need to put on a show, put on a face, to be something you're not… and the honesty of what Harrow says when the paint is off, by contrast, the intimacy, the vulnerability of seeing one's true face… Just incredible. (17) Gideon's made FRIENDS, isn't it charming? (18) Let's hope Harrow understood what she was meant to do with Gideon's death, huh?

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 4 - Wedding Dress

It was a restful night - Or day, rather said. The heavy drapes kept the Sun at bay, and the woman was able to sleep until late into the afternoon. An untimely encounter with a ghost was nowhere near the evening activity that she preferred, let alone one which had no correlation to her curse. Alas, she will continue playing the Good Samaritan until the day she's broken free of the Mark. Even so, with this chaotic schedule, she fears being unable to continue working for a period of time, and she might need to take medical leave.. Hopefully, that won't be the case.

With a nice book in her lap and a well deserved coffee, Kisara enjoyed her leisure day, for as long as she could, before Yashiki would be calling her to inform about the new lead, and consequently, the new spirit they have to exorcise. There wasn't much room for resting, for the phone rang, and Yashiki told her about his little trip up to H Shrine with Christie and Mary.

He informed her of the tragic state of disrepair of the shrine, the severed shimenawa, the empty altar and the headless Buddha statues. It was an odd combination, all things considered. Buddhism was highly ostracised during World War 2, with Shinto being the prime religion for everyone including the generals and Emperor. After the war was lost, all religions, especially Shinto, began to fade into nothingness, and people preferred atheism - With the odd exception of traditionalism beginning to gain some favour again, not for religion sake, but for the cultural appreciation of their own country and its old beliefs and history.

Regardless, not only was it weird to find decapitated Buddha statues at a Shinto shrine, but their mere existence there was odd, which only makes one wonder which religion was the first to conquer the spot first, and which instilled their retribution on the other?

It is true, during the Meiji period, there were supposed to be enough shrines that were devoted to both religions... Though it wasn't necessarily a norm. Could religious fanatics have taken over and destroyed everything after the war, as a way to show their devotion to the 'true faith'? She remembers the famous Anti-Buddhist movement that her grandpa told her about. Though he hadn't actively done anything to aid this unnerving cause, he, too, was of the belief that Shintoism was superior, and Buddhism should go back to its countries. Chinese were Buddhist, and Chinese were inferior to them... Or so was the belief. 

Yashiki told her that Mary was convinced the Kujo family head secretly moved all the Buddha statues at the Shrine, after a whole show was displayed in the city center... More, Mary claims that these statues were dug up and 'stolen' 50 years ago, around the time of war. There was something peculiar that Kisara sensed, but she wasn't entirely sure what it was that didn't make sense to her. She was supposed to be a World War 2 history whizz, considering how fascinated she was by her grandparents' stories... So why can't she pick up the odd detail out? Was it her memory loss? It may as well could be... So, perhaps, she should go pay a filial visit to her grandparents and have a nice, educational chat? 

Yashiki informed her that Christie was of the belief that, because the Buddha statues were broken, thrown away, dug up and stolen, they incurred the divine wrath of Buddha, who's known for his wealth of patience, and thus, that anger was channeled into bringing up spirits and curses such as the Mark into this world. But the question remained - Why now, after 50 years since the incident? 

By the end of the call, Yashiki told her that Mary sensed a spiritual presence that was similar to Christie's, and he stopped the car on the road, somewhere between the hiking trail entrance and the mansion, near a telephone booth. He found a little girl, along with some young man with a rather sleazy and untrustworthy appearance - Though he made it seem as though a little girl was significantly more level headed and rational than said flustered guy. She asked for his help in contacting this 'Hanayome' , a ghost who allegedly helps you find things. The two were also marked. The little girl said she got her Mark when she made the phone call to the spirit. No doubt, this Hanayome was the one who cursed them. These two were now temporary residents of the Kujo Mansion. 

And thus, she was told the rumours of Hanayome, the ghost bride that helps you find things you're looking for. Some said a friend of their heard the phone ringing, and when he picked up, he heard this continuous smacking sound, like chewing and gulping, until he finally heard a voice. 'Did you see it?' a woman's whisper asked. As the rumours said, the person replied 'I haven't seen it.' The ghost then asks 'What do you want to see?' The person's cat went missing, and he wanted to find it. When he looked where the woman said, the cat was really there. 

With this rumour going, Christie did say she heard the phone ringing while going to the T Mountain. That phone box apparently is also said to be haunted. Still, she didn't pick up the phone, only stepped inside the booth. There are three phones in total - One at the A Highway parking lot, where they already were, the one at the T Mountain rest area, where Christie got her Mark, and at the park by T apartment complex.  The rumours about Hanayome go back 5 years ago... Coincidently, everything seems to be either 5 years, or 50 years prior... And until recently, no one ever got the Mark from calling Hanayome. So something must have changed. 

And thus, Kisara was called to come over by the T Mountain Rest Area to investigate with them. In a hurry to get to the vacant area, she dressed more casually and hopped in the car, hoping her GPS won't be failing her. Once she arrived, Yashiki, along with the little called she later found out was called Suzu, were already there. The sound of a dog barking and howling was heard in the distance. It felt... Sad. As though it was calling for someone. Though Kisara hadn't voiced her opinions, the little one did, and she felt inclined to agree. And she guessed correctly that the dog may or may not be a spirit. She could sense a strong spiritual power inside of her - Girls usually had more of an affinity with this kind of stuff.

"Suzu, if you ever feel like saying something about spirits, don't be ashamed to say it, okay? Your insight is very much welcomed, especially as a fellow girl with spiritual affinity. I, too, can sense what you said about the dog." the red haired girl smiled kindly at the child. "R-Really? Okay!" her wide, black eyes held gratitude. 

Since the rumours said the phone won't ring until a person stands inside, Yashiki volunteered to be the bait, whilst the woman takes care of Suzu outside. Poor man looked rather uncomfortable inside the cramped booth. The clouded glass of the phone box made it hard to see inside or outside... It wasn't a pleasant sight.  Inside the booth, there was a poster - 

Help our investigation! On the night of February 8th 199X, an assault took place in the forest nearby. If anyone has any info on this case, please notify the H Police Department. 

It was dated 5 years prior, as all things are. Something terrible happened.  As soon as Yashiki finished reading the poster, the phone rang. At first, there is no sound, only the dial tone - And then, the chewing begins. The ghost finally asks the great question - Did you see it? And Yashiki answers that no, he didn't see it. When asked what he wants to see, he mentioned the lost Buddha statues. 'Doesn't your arm already have the Mark of the Buddha on it?' she says. 'Tell me, you want a new Buddha?' she continued, heaving and panting loudly. 'Why're you doing that? Tell me! Well? Tell me. Tell me. Tell me... Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? ................... Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? Tell me? Tell me?' she kept repeating over and over, until a a high pitched, deafeningly loud shriek demands one more time, and the line goes dead. Yashiki felt sick and nauseous, most likely from that bloodcurdling scream of insanity.  Still, the true question was - Why hasn't she answered the question properly? What was different?   His Mark burns dully, as if to remind him of its existence.

As a pale Yashiki recalls his encounter, the two girls are unable to come up with a proper explanation as to why Hanayome acted so differently. Still, Kisara didn't like the idea of the 'Mark of Buddha' as the ghost so said. It didn't make sense to her.  While the two returned to the mansion and inform Mary of the happenings, Kisara went straight to the park. 'Don't follow the rumours... Disobey...' rang in her head. She wanted to call Satoru and tell him to investigate this ghost and the assault that happened, but in a way, she doubted he'd come up with anything relevant in such a short amount of time. She got inside the phone booth, watching the ominous low-hanging mist swirling all around the park. She felt terrified. Perhaps waiting for the other two would have been a better idea. No - She was a warrior, she couldn't let some silly ghost get the best of her nerves. With a deep breath, she scanned the inside of the booth, and found a poster. 

Young woman kidnapped! A young local woman was kidnapped close to this location. If you were a witness to the crime, please notify the police - MPD  February 8th... 5 years ago.

Kisara gulped, feeling a foreboding feeling of deep dread. Without thinking, she touched the poster - And she shrieked in agony. Before her eyes flashed an image - It was herself, wearing a beautiful wedding dress and holding a flower bouquet... Of crimson spider lilies - The flowers of death. She was looking in the mirror, but her face was hidden. She unveiled herself, only to realise that the face she was staring at was distorted, and her neck fell to the side, crooked at an inhuman angle and length, as though she was the crane wife. This was death by hanging, she knew the looks of it too well. But that disturbing image wasn't what scared her, but the rapid images and sequences of a horror film that dashes around her mind. She was being pinned down to the ground in a forest, surrounded by grinning men, laughing lecherously as they kept touching her body - Bright flashes of light and the rapid snapping of pictures rose electrifying anxiety through her body. "Stop! Stop! Please stop! No pictures! Please! I beg of you, let me go! Don't touch me! It hurts, please!" she kept sobbing and wailing, but the men didn't let go of her, nor did they stop until they were satisfied her soul had been shattered to pieces, never to recover again.

Kisara snapped back to reality and fell to the ground, her whole body trembling, and tears streaming down her face. Knowing stories was one thing, but experiencing them, even in the vivid form of memory hopping and dreaming, was a whole other thing. She couldn't erase the images in her head, and every time she blinked, she could see the disgusting grins of those men... And feel their hands all over her body. She wanted to skin herself alive and burn it. Was this what happened to Hanayome, and other women? Was this what she was feeling? Was this why she killed herself? A bride... She must have been engaged or married... Or, perhaps, she was robbed of her wedding after all this. The pictures snapped... Did she get blackmailed? Was this too much for her to bare - The shame, the humiliation - And she ended it all?

The sound of ringing made her jump in her skin, and with trembling eyes, she mustered the courage to answer. The sound of chewing makes her shudder - It was gross, it made her cringe. An icy cold voice speaks. 'Did you see it?' "Yes... Yes, I saw it. I saw it all." whether the voice in her head alerted her or not, she'd have said the same thing. She wasn't a liar, especially to a victim like her. She pitied and empathised with her, to the point her heart was aching. An ear-piercing shriek followed. 'You saw, didn't you?!' she said. 'You saw that thing of me!' was she referring to the pictures snapped of her during the assault? 

The voice cut off, and the beeping sound of the dead line rung idly through the booth. Did she do something wrong?  At once, something outside the dusty booth collides with the glass of the booth, but she couldn't see what it was. A bloody hand print painted the glass.  'Tell me... How did you see it...? With your own eyes? Or eyeglasses? Or a telescope?' the ghost asked. Weird choices. "Neither. I lived everything myself through your mind." Kisara choked back a sob. The voice was creeping her out, on a weirdly different level than Shimi-O and that horrifying drill of his. From outside came a sound akin to... Searching around? As though she was trying to find a way in.   'You saw it... You said you saw it...' the chewing sound made its way inside Kisara's head, so deep that she thought Hanayome was chewing on her own grey matter. 'What colour? A beautiful colour... Red? Pink? Green?' Kisara pondered, trying to recall the image. What what she referring to? The only colour she saw in the mirror was her own scarlet hair, and green eyes... Then, the beautiful colour she was referring to... Could that be... Pink? "Is the beautiful colour... Pink, maybe?" she asked, unsure. There was no sound of anything colliding with the booth anymore. 'You saw it... What kind of person... Are you? What's important to you? Your dreams? Romance? Love? Which do you choose?' Kisara thought it over. Her dreams? She can achieve them all, if she put in the hard work. She was smart enough, ambitious, and had the resources for it, so that one is crossed. Now - What's the difference between Romance and Love? What was the ghost thinking? A bride... Love could be of any kind - To your neighbour, to a friend, to an animal, to your family. Romance was an intimate kind of love addressed to your lover only... A fiance... A husband... Yes, that must be it. She had all the love that she needed, but she never experienced this intimacy that Hanayome lost. This must be the answer. "Romance. I want to experience what romance is like."

With another sob-like heave, the phone line dies, and the bloody hand print disappeared. Kisara felt her legs weaken, the phone still in her hand. By a long shot, she found herself dialing Mashita's number. She hoped that, by the time Yashiki and Suzu arrive, she would be able to get over this encounter. "Who's calling at this god forsaken hour?" he snarked over the phone. "Sorry for waking you up. I thought detectives have a messed up sleeping schedule." she was suddenly feeling much better, just hearing his voice. "Kisara? What the hell are you doing?" he asked, sobering up.

"I'm calling from a phone booth in the park." she takes a deep breath. "We're investigating a new ghost... And, uh... I..." she raked her fingers through her hair. "Yashiki and the other one went to the mansion while I came here alone. I don't like wasting time." "I thought you were smarter than this." he sighed. "Did you encounter the ghost, then? You sound pretty shaken up." "Y-Yeah." she breathed out. "But it's not just that. I-I... I saw what happened to the ghost. It's... It's really sad, I--... I can't help but feel for her. It's such an awful thing that happened to her." she took another deep breath.

"Tell me what happened." his voice was still stern, but it held a gentle undertone to it.

"Five years ago, a woman got kidnapped and... Assaulted... By multiple men. I-I... I saw them. I-... I was there. I was HER." a soft sob escaped her lips. "They kept... Doing things to her... And beating her... And they snapped pictures for blackmail... And they let her go." she said. "I... This ghost... She's a ghost bride. I think she had a husband or fiance... And I heard the hallow sound of a dog howl, looking for someone... I can't help but think the dog might have been hers, and its looking for her." she fell silent for a few seconds. "Satoru." he could barely hear her voice. "I saw her. In the mirror. But it wasn't her - It was me. It was me, wearing the wedding dress, and holding a bouquet of spider lilies... And it was me with the crooked neck from hanging. She killed herself, in this forest, from all the humiliation. They ruined her. They destroyed her. She's so broken that she can't forgive anything. She's... She's... Just a woman... Unlucky enough to have been born a weak prey for all the monsters lurking around. She's not the monster - It's them. They are the monsters, not her!" she hissed in anger. "Suzu said for the past 5 years, she helped people find whatever they were missing, and she never gave anyone a Mark. There is something weird happening these days. The Marks are recent things. That dumbass Christie keeps saying it's the Divine Wrath from Buddha after having his statues broken during the War - But if that was true, why manifest now, after 50 whole years? It makes no sense!" Satoru was quiet for longer than he realised. "Calm down." he cooed in the phone. "Is she gone now?" "Yes. I... I had a talk with her. It was pretty incoherent, I didn't understand half of what she was trying to say, but... I think she doesn't want people to see her as she was after the assault. She's happy to help if you say you didn't see anything... I can't blame her. Suddenly, I want to snap Miss Arimura's neck and make her see what true suffering is. Not some stupid scandal, but something like this." Satoru recalled all the statistics and the cases he had or heard of, or seen in the news. Missing women, killed women, assaulted women. It wasn't a problem just in their country, but all over the world. Terrifying things that men who think they are above all, who need a power trip, do to those weaker than them, usually women. The statistics were through the roof. He remembers Kisara, laying peacefully on the flower bed in the forest. She could have been one of them, if they hadn't found her. Suddenly, Christie's whining, and that deadbeat Kimura pissed him off even more. People out there actually suffer because of the torment others inflict on them, while others cry and whine and seek attention, all due to their own poor choices and idiocy.

"Don't get out of the booth until Yashiki arrives. I want to know you safe." he told her, hearing her breathing calm down.

"As pathetic as it sounds, I don't think I have the courage nor strength to get off the ground at this moment." she admitted, self-disgust obvious in her voice. "It's to be expected. You may be a tough cookie, but you're still a woman. Having to experience tragedy so intimately isn't good for the psyche." she remained quiet.  "Satoru, I found something." she said, extending her hand to pull at a folded up piece of paper stuck behind the phone. Unfolding it, she read out loud its contents. "To Seiko, it says. I'll dispel all of your heartache, so forget that terrible incident and take your quiet rest up in heaven." she found herself sobbing again. "Seiko? Is that the ghost's real name?" Satoru asked. "And what you said before about killing herself makes sense now, with this paper." "... Her and her husband must have really loved each other." she muttered. "I can feel the heart ache behind this. It's really powerful." she sighed softly. "But if she's dead already, how can he get rid of her heartache?" Mashita asked, pondering. "Murder." came the eerie answer. "There is no other way. They tortured his wife into going crazy enough to kill herself. Even if the culprits get caught, they'll get a few years in jail and that's it. There is no proper sentence for monsters like them. The only thing that could ever sooth a tormented soul is revenge. I think her husband went to search and kill the monsters who did this to her. Who took her away from him." "That's one tragedy over the other." Mashita grumbled to himself. "But revenge won't bring her back. You have to learn how to live with what happened and move on." "That's not how it works, Satoru. Logically, yes, it is. Rationally. But other than that, don't forget we're humans, and we suffer more than we should. We're all screwed up one way or the other. And just like Hanayome... Seiko... Found no way out of getting her life back... So her husband tried to desperately find a way to instill his vengeance not only for her, but for him too. It was his life that they destroyed too." she explained, leaning her head back on the glass and looking up, aimlessly.  "You sound like a victim yourself." she said nothing. "Did something happen, Kisara?" "Even if it did, I wouldn't tell you, would I?" she let out a dry chuckle. "But I hope they suffered plenty for what they did. Them, and everyone else who did something so hellish. No matter how competent the police force is - Which, unfortunately, isn't much - Horrific crimes are still going to happen, and there's nothing we can do about the twisted nature of mankind. There is no legal way of getting revenge. Vigilante there is, then." she muttered to herself. "Do you believe in heaven, Satoru? Or hell, or the after life, or any kind of religion?" "No, I don't." he earned a soft chuckle. "Neither do I. All the more reason to make your stay here, for as long as it, nice and comfortable." she admitted. The door to the booth suddenly opens, making the girl squeak in shock. "Ah - Yashiki! Took you long enough!" "Miss Kisara? What are you doing?" he frowned in confusion, offering a hand to help her stand. "I was talking to Satoru. Ah - Good night, Satoru. I'll call you tomorrow to tell you of the case... At a better hour." she hung up. "I already talked to Hanayome. I'll tell you guys everything there is back at the mansion. Everyone needs to hear this." "Miss Kisara, have you been crying?" Suzu asked innocently. "Erh -- Yeah, I think I did." the woman nodded, taking out her handkerchief and wiping her face. "Our ghostie had a very tragic demise, and I had the... Privilege of living through her story." "What do you mean?" the little girl's eyes widened in shock. "I... Have very strong spiritual powers, and sometimes, if I touch items with strong connections to the deceased, I can... Live the memories that said spirit wants me to see. Usually the dying moments and the like." the woman sighed, fixing her hair. "So Miss Hanayome was very sad before she died?" Kisara nodded her head. "I'm really sorry to hear that..."

Once they returned to the mansion, Kisara gathered the rest and told them about her encounter with the ghost and what she'd seen and pieced together in the story of Hanayome. The five of them started searching through the crime reports, until Suzu found one dated February 8th, five years ago, with a victim named Seiko Hasegawa. She committed suicide in the H forest, the day before her wedding. She was in her wedding dress when she was found. Though Kisara advised the young girl not to continue reading, she was brave - She felt she needed to know... Just like Kisara always did when she was her age.

With the amount of spiritual power that Suzu has, she only hoped she wouldn't end up getting roped into ghost mess again in the future.  Christie then recalls the horrible incident - She remembers it during her days of being a news anchor. Seiko was kidnapped by a gang while she was walking her dog. They brought her to the forest and assaulted her. People found her battered and staggering along the road.

The dog was run over and killed near the forest when it chased after them.  Eita then says the assault was photographed and the pictures were sent to her fiance. They blackmailed them and threatened to make them public if he didn't pay up. He offered a ton of money to get rid of the pictures and the negatives. Seiko had a mental breakdown after all this and she hung herself.

The story Kisara pulled together from those memories was unfortunately accurate and extremely painful. A serious, honest woman being retorted to a humiliated laughingstock... She couldn't bare it. After a moment of silence, Suzu asks why the phone booths were relevant. Christie knew the answer. Seiko was abducted near the park and assaulted by the rest area... And found wandering near the A highway. 

Seiko's fiance was a famous musician and the whole thing was widely publicised. The assault happened at a short time after a romantic trip to Greece. No wonder Hanayome referred to 'Romance' as her important thing.  The fiance apparently started acting strange after the incident and went missing. They said Seiko's suicide was to follow him... But Eita pointed out the culprits went missing too. So, in the end, they were all dead. 

Yashiki asked Christie if she remembers the exact spot of Seiko's suicide, and whilst she can't pin-point it perfectly, she remembered going west from the arch way. Thus, himself, Suzu and Kisara got in the car and returned to the forest. Suzu shudders, terrified at the idea of going inside the cursed forest. "Do you want to hold my hand?" Kisara smiled sweetly at her. Suzu nodded her head timidly and gingerly held onto the woman's hand as they walked through the arch way. 

They look west, but realise there is no real trail there - Somehow, it must have overgrown. Suddenly, it got very cold. Out of nowhere, the barking of a dog alarms them of its presence... Though it looks dubious, with long, disheveled hair, and a face that almost looked human. The dog stares at them, growling softly. "Hey, darling, don't be afraid. We want to save your master." Kisara's gentle voice reached the dog, who let out a whimper and it dashes back into the thicket. The moment it's gone, the chill disappears from the air. "Let's follow him." Kisara said, moving along, holding her own flashlight in her hand. Rummaging around the bushes, they found what remained of the closed hiking trail.

Very close to the beginning of the closed trail, they found a dead end with a tree that held numerous bark slashes. Yashiki looks around in a bush, finding an instant camera. Without realising, he hit the switch, and a red light appeared - The flash could be used.  "Does it still work? Suzu asks." "Yeah, looks that way." Yashiki mutters. He quickly stuffs it back in the back, not mentioning the dried blood from the bottom of it.  "Hey, Yashiki, come over here." Kisara grumbled, flashing the light on the things nailed on the bark. Numerous pictures of different people, all of them bloody, were nailed on the bark. All their eyes were nailed, more specifically. Attached to one of the tails, there was a tape.  "All of the pictures... They're all men." Suzu noted. "Think these are the culprits?" Kisara asked, disgusted. 

Yashiki seemed unease on his feet, dizzy, and he stumbled backwards. All of a sudden, he frowned, flashing his light upwards. Something was stuck in the branches. "Hey, Suzu, can you help me with that?" Yashiki asked, crouching down and helping the little girl climb on him. He boosted her up. Suzu reaches as far up as she can, but Yashiki loses balance. Before he could topple them both to the ground, Kisara throws her arms around him, stabilising his body and helping Suzu climb down carefully.  The little girl hands Yashiki the item she found - A dog collar, with the name GENTA written on it. Kisara thought the letters looked similar to Greek ones, which made sense, considering the couple brought the dog from their trip in Greece. "Genta. His name is Genta." Kisara muttered, tracing her thumb over the inscription. 

As they continue down the trail forward, they hear a low, canine growl from somewhere. Kisara could feel no hostility from the dog, but Yashiki was sweating in fear. "Wh-What should we do?" the moment Suzu speaks, the growling gets quieter. "I've got an idea." Kisara muttered. "Genta? Hey, sweety, it's alright now. I'm a woman. My name is Kisara. I'm a friend of your master, Seiko." Kisara walked a few paces foward, crouching to the ground and holding out the collar. "This is yours, isn't it?" the dog appears like a gust of wind.  Before she can blink, it steals away the collar.  "Mr. Yashiki, stand back and don't move!" Suzu's vibrating voice warned the man. He was the main target, should the dog want to attack. Thankfully, the dog keeps staring at the red haired woman crouching in front of him. The dog starts to chew on the collar, staring right into her soul. "You're a good boy, Genta. I'm very proud of you. Seiko loves you dearly." her voice was praising and tender. The dog lets out a whine, and walks off the track. Kisara stood up after picking back the collar. "I always thought dogs were the best animals known to mankind. This only proves it more." she sighed. "Are you guys okay?" "Y-Yeah... I think so." Suzu whimpers softly, trying to appear brave. "We're... We're good. Let's go." Yashiki hold Suzu's hand and follows behind Hasashi.

Somewhere not much farther away, they found a few silhouettes hanging. Suzu yelped in fright. Yashiki flashed his light upon them - Mannequins. "That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Kisara muttered, examining the mannequins. Perfectly still and harmless. What a deranged idea for a prank. Moving along, they encounter the dog again - This time, no hostility. Suzu guarantees so, reassuring the man. The dog starts digging into the ground, before vanishing. Yashiki goes to touch the ground where the dog was trying to dig, and called the two girls over to help him out. "You're going to dig?" Suzu's eyes were wide with surprise.  "Yeah. I don't think we'll need any tools." he explained. "I feel like I'm grave robbing." Yashiki just jinxed it. After a little more digging, a corpse is exactly what they found - The skeleton being the only thing remaining of what once was a human.  "I-Is that... A corpse?" Suzu was breathless. Yashiki nodded. In its grasp, there was a plastic bag. Once the man dug it out, it revealed a few cassette tapes and a note. 

'I... killed them all... Ones... assault... you... Now you... rest in peace... I... what needed to be done... Now I... die here... This forest... you passed awa... New song... want... listen... heaven...'

"That sounds like a suicide note, doesn't it?" Suzu asked, sorrow in her voice. "You can't really get away living a normal life after killing a bunch of people and... Everything that happened to his fiancee." Kisara sighed, feeling pity for the couple. "But why were the tapes buried too?" Suzu asked again.  "I don't kno--" Yashiki trails of, becoming silent for a little while. "The last? Wait a second, what do you mean - The last what?" he asks, bewildered. He must have heard that voice again. "Huh? I-Is something the matter? I didn't say anything." Suzu's eyes darted around aimlessly.  "It's... Nothing. Sorry, just talking to myself." the man apologises. "Let's take these tapes with us."

The trio walk back to the entrance, only for Kisara to find herself walking alone, ahead. She stared back, watchin Yashiki call out to Suzu, shaking her awake. Their time was nearing. With this, Kisara realised that Hanayome definitely didn't curse her, otherwise, she'd be out of it, just like Suzu. At once, the man grabbed the child and the woman and ran towards the car. "Where to?" Kisara asked. "If the time is approaching, you need to be confronting and purifying the ghost, not running away." Yashiki looked into the rearview mirror. Suzu was staring vacantly out the window, her head titled to the side. The only thing out there is darkness - There's nothing to look at.  Yashiki says nothing, until the point that he heard the medic gasp and stop the car. He looks out, frowning. Did they get lost? But... It was a straight road. They were back at the forest, times and times again, no matter what road Yashiki told her to take, or what street to go down by, it was all the same. "Yashiki, we've got to confront the ghost. It's her doing." her voice was stern. Yashiki grumbled, hit back hitting the seat. "Let's go to T Mountain." he instructed, and Kisara hit the pedal. They got back to the phone booth. "Yashiki, let me do this." Kisara parked the car. "Hanayome didn't curse me, so I'm lucid. Besides, chances are, Hanayome would rather get pacified by a woman, not by a man. Take care of Suzu while I'm gone." she spoke urgently. "Fine. But be very careful!" he shouted after her, watching her rush inside the booth to pick up the ringing phone.

She takes a deep breath, picking up the phone. The line immediately goes dead. The phone rings again. Kisara felt a strong and ominous presence appearing all of a sudden, out of thin air. In front of her, glued to the glass wall, the horrific figure of the ghost Bride was staring at her. 'You saw... Didn't you?! I know you saw it!' she whined angrily.  Kisara opened the bag she snatched from Yashiki's lap and rummaged for the camera. Apologising, she takes a photo. The flash makes the ghost scream in agony and she steps back, allowing the woman to exit the phone booth. The blood-curdling shriek made her feel dizzy.

Once out, from the corner of her eye, Kisara noticed the spirit standing there, looking at her - Her face was veiled, hiding the terrifyingly inhuman face and the long, crooked neck that snapped in the necklace of rope she made for herself. The low-hanging mist swirling around them was making her dirty grey dress look as though it was coming out and made of the fog.

Not sure what to do, she remembers that Seiko's fiance was a musician. Perhaps playing a song on Eita's cassette player might do the trick. First, she chose the 'Charming... Song' tape that she found in the plastic bag that the musician's skeleton gripped on. 'Listened... Often... Dear...' the bride wailed desperately, drifting closer. The blood painting her disheveled, ripped to shreds dress and veil shining in the faint light of the lamp. Kisara played another song, the one titled '... Echo Ballad' which earned a reaction, with the ghost coming closer. 'I... Love...' she wept painfully.  Seeing the ghost so close to her, Kisara puts in the last tape, 'My...' and waits for a reaction. 'I... don't... know... this... one...' she cried out pitifully. 

The spirit took off her veil, revealing the same horrifying face that Kisara saw in the mirror - Dark hair, dead and straight, hanging low in a tight ponytail, and a bunch of eyes being chewed on. So up close, Kisara almost felt like fainting - Hanayome was creepy as hell, with that deformed matchstick head of hers, one eye huge, the other small, staring aimlessly with a cheshire grin, and blood leaking from the corners of her mouth. But the neck snapped so perfectly at a terrifying degree must have been the creepiest to look at. The ghost was so close to her, Kisara was sure she could feel her breath... If it even did breathe anymore. 'Hey... let... me... listen... to... the... newest...' She said she didn't know the last one, didn't she? Once more, she tapped the Play button to the 'My...' song and watched the spirit closely.  'Yes... That song... was finished...' a barking alerted the woman of Genta's presence, and he comes bounding over happily. 'Gen... Is this where you've been...' Hanayome's voice now sounded human, soft and gentle. 'Come on, let's go... He's... Waiting...' the bride said. 'Thank you...' Kisara's heart dropped, hearing the spirit thank her, a single tear escaping down her cheek. In a flash of light, Seiko's and Genta's souls passed on and found heaven.

"May you rest in peace... All three of you... You deserve it, after everything you've been through." Kisara took out the buddhist Juzu beads. She stared down at them, her thumb restlessly caressing them, and bringing them between her palms, she said a small prayer. She wasn't Buddhist, nor did she care for this religion - But at the end of the day, Seiko made her feel as though she believed in it, at least a little bit. She used the beads more for stress relief, playing around with them... Though a rosary wasn't a toy. Hopefully, the three will be reunited in the afterlife... She believed in that.

"She's gone now... Hanayome..." she was brought back by Suzu's voice. Yashiki trailed behind her. Kisara's and Yashiki's Marks didn't disappear, as expected, but Suzu's did. Good. "Guess Hanayome really was Seiko Hasegawa..." the little girl seemed close to crying. "What a sad, terrible fate... Turning into a ghost after she died... I feel so sorry for her." "I said a prayer for her and the other two. She... Thanked me, for helping her move on. Consequently, she thanked everyone involed." Kisara patted the little girl's head. "Here - You take this. If you want to remember Seiko... She was a Buddhist." she offered her the rosary beads.  "Do you think she's happy now?" Kisara looked up at the sky - It was clear, and full of stars. She smiled. "Yeah. I think she is finally happy now, with her fiance and her dog." all of a sudden, the phone started ringing. With an eyebrow rose, she stepped towards it and answered. "Hello?" "Finally." the voice on the other side groaned. "Satoru?" Kisara peeked her head out of the booth, mouthing to Yashiki 'It's Mashita!' the look on his face was priceless. "How'd you know to call here?" "After all the info you gave me, it wasn't that difficult to do a quick research on the supernatural forums and find out about the three cursed phone boxes." he offered a smartass chuckle. "It was only a matter of time before you answered, I figured." Kisara grinned, cooing at him. "Aww, were you worried about little me? How sweet out you, detective! I'm honoured to know that I live rent-free in your head." she mused, only to hear an annoyed tsk-sound. "Guess there's nothing to be concerned about. What a drag. Say hi to Yashiki from me. Bye." the line went dead. The woman laughed, stepping outside.  "Mashita sends his regards. Let's go." with new found energy, Kisara fell into the driver's seat, and smiled - No more road loop!

Back at the mansion, Christie's and Eita's Marks disappeared too.  While the trio was busy with exorcising Hanayome, Christie had her hands searching through documents around the house. She showed them a file with 'H Shrine Findings' as the title, and it was written by Saya Kujo.  Most of it was about the way H Shrine was built, added with the Anti-Buddhist movement, but not even Saya knew who stole the statues 50 years ago. Some pages were about the Shintai, the item that hosts the kami. The shrine was supposed to have two such items - A mirror and a small Buddha statue named nenjibutsu. The nenjibutsu was supposed to be in a brocade pouch, but it was missing by the time Yashiki went to investigate.  The last pages contained rumours from a few months prior. In H City, the K Miyamachi North Street. It is a backstreet with far too many manholes, due to poor planning. They call it the Manhole Road. On a moonless night, a young woman was walking down the street from work. An old sign wrote - Be wary of strangers - Suddenly fearful, she started hurrying up... But she couldn't take a step forward. The noise of something heavy being dragged, and an indiscernable silhouette from the darkness... A woman with disheveled hair, wearing a white, burnt robe... Cradling a headless Buddha statue as though it was her child. The shadows and hair hid most of the face, but she could see her blood red lips twisted into a satisfied smile.  Terrified by the sight, the woman turned on her heel and ran away. She looked back at some point, but the woman was gone. Christie is sure that, if they can find the headless statues and hold a memorial at H Shrine, the divine wrath will be quenched and the Marks will disappear.  Suzu then thanked them, and said she wants to see her dad, as her parents were divorced, Her mother wanted to become a nun, so she started taking her to temples and sacred areas. Her dad wasn't fine with that, so he started seeing another woman. Kisara offered the three who lost their Marks if they wanted a ride home, but they all declined. She was perfectly fine with it. 

Finally, it was time to get a well deserved rest, and Kisara crashed for the night... Though, morning must have been a better word, for the Sun was already beginning to peek and shine from the darkness. Hopefully, there won't be many more ghosts to appease, she wasn't sure how many tormenting tragedies she could take before something inside her snapped.

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[yoonia]

For wrath, it’s still kinda messy and not everything’s set in stone yet but here’s what I got so far. So like I said before, I’ll be casting Yoongi as the sin of wrath. I’ll be taking heavy inspiration from the Haegum and Daechwita, as well as Taylor swift’s song, look what you made me do (the last one has to do with OC, I’ll explain in a bit lol).

For the wrath story, the plot is rather convoluted compared to the other 6 I have rn. I’m even considering making it a full-fledged series instead of a mini series.

This fic is a dystopian au more or less. I’d like to put heavy themes of classism, consumerism, and anti-capitalism. So in this one, poverty has skyrocketed around the world. And things like money or education are only accessible to the rich and elite, and they preserve intelligence for themselves so they can continue to create new ways to continue draining people’s wallets. Whereas the poor stay poor and intelligence is a rare thing for them. By that, I mean that the poor are brainwashed and indoctrinated to work in factories and receive a less than stable income while still believing that the harder they work, the more money they’ll make and the higher chances they’ll get to get an education.

For OC in this one, she starts out as an actress who was living the high life. But one night, OC’s newly wedded husband makes an attempt to assassinate her by throwing her off the balcony. He didn’t know, but OC survived. It didn’t take long before OC realized that her husband only wanted to marry her for her money, and gets away with it (thanks to corrupt connections). And now, OC has lost everything. From that day forth, OC began her path of revenge.

The thing is though, although OC grew up rich, she was always in a prison of her own. She just didn’t know it. In this world, people like actors or actresses do have advantages, but still don’t have actual power compared to like ceos or the emperor. And for OC, her family has been murdered (which was also part of her husband’s plan), but her memories about them have all but been erased. I’m still working on this so bare with me haha.

OC became homeless for a while and starts to experience how life is like for everyone else. Whenever she walked the streets, she would either get dirty looks from ongoers who recognize her (since she was everything they hate about the rich and elite), or people would straight up ignore her. OC became a wanderer and traveled where the road took her until at some point, OC makes it to Korea. And that’s where Yoongi comes in.

As for Yoongi’s character. I have 2 different storylines for him (in terms of his lore and backstory)

For the first one, instead of Yoongi being born as a sin or virtue, he was given the title and powers as the embodiment of wrath from heinous acts he did, as well as his unrivaled anger. So in contrast to OC, Yoongi grew up in an environment where he’s been forced to choose between spending money on food or shelter. He’s also leads a rebellion, and presents himself as a modern day Robinhood. Where he steals from the rich and gives money to the poor.

However, this is all a facade for his real mission, which is to search for his long lost twin (similar to the Daechwita MV) and kill him so he can take back the throne as its rightful ruler. (I’m still coming up with Yoongi’s motivations though). Basically, Yoongi never knew until he grew up that he’s related to the current emperor in Korea, who’s also his twin. But the thing is, Yoongi’s twin is one of many reasons why the world is in ruins and also killed everybody that Yoongi has cared about (since they also took part in the rebellion). And since then, Yoongi has been on his own path of vengeance and won’t stop until he fulfills his mission.

For the 2nd version, during Yoongi’s time as the virtue of patience (opposite of wrath), he attempts an experiment of some sorts. He thought if he tried to separate his wrathful nature from himself by transferring it to a duplicate/clone, he would be able to erase his flaws and make himself more holy or perfect. But as you would know, that only resulted in him doing more harm than good when his clone went rogue and became the emperor you see in the Daechwita MV. This results in Yoongi getting kicked out of Heaven. And from that, he swore revenge. (I might cut this out because I feel like it would get too confusing and complicated. For one, readers would ask whether the clone or the real Yoongi would be wrath. And how Yoongi would become the embodiment of wrath in the first place)

So when OC and Yoongi first meet, they’re reluctant to team up but do so in time (this is because before OC was kicked out, she bumps into Yoongi at some point but treated him like trash. Because you know, typical snobbish and stuck up rich people)

They do form a romance eventually. But at some point later, OC begins to question herself and Yoongi’s actions when she sees him committing questionable actions. Such as manipulating enemies to turning against each other, creating endless cycles of hatred, or even killing innocent people, just so everyone who wronged Yoongi will suffer like how he suffered. OC redeems herself and decides to abandon her mission eventually, knowing that she’ll have justice. But compared to her, it takes way longer for Yoongi to change himself and see the error of his ways. Idk how I could make their redemptions believable yet, that’s still coming along.

But yeah, that’s what I have so far, as far as wrath goes😄

I'm sorry Tumblr ate your ask (I guess I was gone for too long and they just said 'sike!') but thank you for coming back to me.

I was excited when I heard that you're pairing Yoongi with wrath, and now I'm getting even more excited hearing your idea. You know, I actually loved the idea of Yoongi being born/created as an embodiment of virtue and splitting himself and fighting against his alter ego before eventually turning into wrath himself. I think that's a brilliant way to play the character a little bit. Don't worry about confusing readers. As long as you have a set idea and a fully developed lore built for the story, I'm sure readers will get into it with no problem. I'm sure you'll be able to provide a wonderful twist by playing with his character.

Remember the movie Black Swan? Where we were made to be confused with the main character and her alter ego, only to finally be revealed that they were one and the same at the end? It's something similar to that, I suppose. It might sound a bit tasking to create something so deep, but you'll have a solid story at the end of you can keep up with the challenge heheh

ooohh I love dystopian au. mixing up dystopia+daechwita+hageum? you totally got me 100%. I feel like the lore behind dae+hageum works well for dystopian au. you can place it in Neo-South Korea where it's somewhere in the future where the govt system reverts back into monarch or royalty. The world-building is going to be insane!

I love OC's backstory so far and her path for revenge. I imagine a powerful duo setting off to work together for their own revenge. I might turn into dark romance, which is something that I love, basically (if only I can write one here on Tumblr, I would. lol)

I can totally see this one being its own series or having separate chapters, which is totally fine in my eyes. you can set the mini-series off as a freeform series where each instalment of the story/series can have different forms. ex. you'll have a duology or trilogy for one story, a drabble for another, a full-blown lengthy fic for a different one, etc. Just follow where your inspiration takes you and don't limit yourself. seeing your ideas so far, you'll be able to create the best version of the series by allowing yourself to go as creative as you possibly can.

About Yoongi's powers, I feel like splitting his personalities alone can be one of them. so yes, cloning counts, and maybe you can add it in his skills to manipulate people. take it a step further by making him able to manipulate their minds, taking over their bodies, etc. so it's not just as simple of him feeding ideas into someone's head but filling it entirely with his thoughts?

I'm currently reading Shades of Magic series by Victoria Schwab and (a bit of spoiler here) I see this ability mentioned in the story as a magical skill that is forbidden to use in one world/kingdom but allowed and (possibly) encouraged in another. idk why but the moment I read the part about him manipulating his enemies, my mind went straight to that part of the book haha

I'm genuinely loving these ideas, I swear. I'm so happy that you're sharing them with me.

[rajasthanpersonaldriver]

5-Day Golden Triangle Tour Package with Ranthambore

Start and end in New Delhi! With the Explorer tour 5 Days Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore(Tigers and Taj Mahan Sunset/Sunrise), you have a 5 days tour package taking you through New Delhi, India and 4 other destinations in India. 5 Days Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore(Tigers and Taj Mahan Sunset/Sunrise) includes accommodation in a hotel as well as an expert guide, meals, transport and more.

Introduction

On this 5 Days Golden Triangle Tour with  Ranthambore, you will visit a city rich with history, culture and some amazing World Heritage sites. The 1000-year-old fort at Ranthambore in the southeast, Rajasthan has enjoyed the luxury of royalty and faced the wrath of battle.This Tour starts and ends in New Delhi. You have 5 days Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore & Udaipur taking you through New Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore, Jaipur.See the stunning examples of Mughal architecture. Go to one of the 7 Wonders of the World to admire the marble mausoleum of the Taj Mahal. Look for the Tigers on safari in Ranthambore, and explore the “Pink City” of Jaipur.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Tour India's fabled Golden Triangle to explore the forts and palaces of the Maharajas

Have an amazing time in this tour with safaris, Taj, Tigers & Lakes

Experience the vibrancy of downtown Delhi Jewel in the crown of the British Empire.

Visit the Taj Mahal, one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

Look for tigers on game drives at Ranthambhore.

Explore the Pink City of Jaipur.

Day 1 Pickup - Delhi City Tour - Overnight in Delhi

Today At your given time you will be picked up from the Delhi Airport/Hotel/Railway station or your desired location in Delhi/Noida/Gurgaon Then proceed for the sightseeing of Delhi. The capital of India which was destroyed and rebuilt several times, virtually carries in its bosom the history of 07 cities. The present New Delhi was designed by Edwin Lutyens, and its main architect was Herbert Baker. In 1911 the capital of the British Raj was shifted from Kolkata to Delhi. Today it is the seat of power of the country and a major gateway to the country for the tourists. 

Day 2 New Delhi - Agra

After breakfast, you'll be driven to Agra via a 3-4 hour drive on the expressway. Arrive in Agra, a medieval city on the banks of the Yamuna River founded by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506. Agra achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and is famous for its many splendid Mughal-era buildings. Most notably the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Arrive in Agra, and check in at the hotel. After freshening up, meet your Guide in the Hotel Lobby.

Day 3 Taj Mahal - Fatehpur Sikri - Overnight in Jaipur

At 5.45 AM, meet your guide and visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. The design of this magnificent mausoleum and four gardens are structured on the Islamic theme of paradise built by a king as the final resting place of his favorite wife. After visiting the Taj Mahal at Sunrise, come back to the hotel, freshen up, and have your breakfast. After Breakfast, check out and you will be driven to Fatehpur Sikri {36 kms/1 hour},  It was mysteriously abandoned after 15 years due to scarcity of water. Today, it is perfectly preserved as a ghost city built at the height of the empire’s splendor. See Darbar-e-Aam, Palaces, Panch Mahal, and Tansen Seat.)  Continue driving to Jaipur. Overnight in Jaipur.

Day 4 Jaipur City Tour - Overnight in Jaipur.

Today after breakfast, you will start your sightseeing tour of Jaipur, one of the most vibrant and colorful cities in India. You will first visit the Amber Fort, a majestic hilltop fort that Raja Man Singh built in the 16th century. You will then photo-stop at the Jal Mahal, a beautiful palace that floats on a lake. In the afternoon, you will visit the City Palace, a complex of palaces, museums, and gardens that was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur. 

Day 5 Jaipur - Ranthambore – Evening Game Drive - Overnight in Ranthambore.

Today after breakfast, you will be driven to Ranthambore home to leopards, peacocks, numerous species of deer, crocodiles, and sloth bears, and the most famous resident is the majestic Bengal Tigers – pretty much the whole Jungle Book! Arrive at Ranthambore check in to your hotel and have lunch. Later you’ll head into the park for a Jeep/Cantar safari, to observe the jungle in the evening light. After the safari, you’ll return to the hotel. Overnight in Ranthambore. 

Day 6 Morning Game - Delhi – Departure – Tour Ends

Early Morning for your Jeep/Cantar morning safari in Ranthambhore National Park. The park’s most famous resident is the majestic Bengal Tiger, though it’s also home to leopards, peacocks, numerous species of deer, crocodiles, sloth bears, and more. After the morning safari, you’ll return to the hotel for breakfast. After Breakfast, you’ll be chauffeured back to Delhi (about 5 hours). Transfer to the airport or your hotel for your onward journey. Your Ends with wonderful memories. 

For More Info :- www.rajasthanpersonaldriver.com

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