#most of the bridge series except for the bridge of bones are

[morbidology]

Kris Kremers, 21, and Lisanne Froon, 22, were two close friends from Amersfoort, Netherlands. Both were bright and enthusiastic young women who shared a passion for travel and exploration. In March 2014, they set off for Panama, planning to spend several weeks volunteering and exploring the country's culture and natural beauty.

After spending some time in the bustling city of Boquete, they decided to hike the El Pianista trail on April 1, 2014. The trail, known for its scenic views of the Panamanian jungle, was supposed to be a straightforward hike, but it would be the last time Kris and Lisanne were seen alive.

When Kris and Lisanne failed to return from their hike, concern quickly grew. The women had planned to meet a local guide the following day for a tour, but they never showed up. After several days of no contact, their families in the Netherlands raised the alarm, and a large-scale search and rescue operation was launched.

The search, which involved local authorities, indigenous tribes, and Dutch rescue teams, initially yielded no clues. The dense jungle, with its treacherous terrain and unpredictable weather, made the search incredibly challenging. Weeks passed with no sign of the young women, and hope began to fade.

Two months after their disappearance, a local woman found a backpack belonging to Lisanne Froon near a riverbank several kilometers from the El Pianista trail. The backpack, remarkably undamaged despite being exposed to the elements, contained crucial items, including Lisanne's passport, a water bottle, sunglasses, two pairs of bras, and $83 in cash.

Most notably, the backpack also held both women's cell phones and a camera.

The discovery of the cell phones provided a chilling glimpse into the ordeal Kris and Lisanne had faced. Investigators found that the women had attempted to call emergency services multiple times, starting just a few hours after they began their hike. However, due to the poor cell reception in the jungle, none of the calls went through except for one that lasted just a second before dropping. The phone records also showed that the devices were turned on and off multiple times over the following days, with the last activity recorded on April 11, ten days after their disappearance.

The digital camera found in the backpack contained over 100 photographs, some taken during the early stages of their hike, showing the women smiling and enjoying their adventure. However, the camera also contained a series of strange and disturbing images taken during the night on April 8, seven days after they were last seen. These photos showed the dark jungle, with unclear and seemingly random shots of rocks, a bridge, and a possible trail marker. One of the final images showed the back of Kris Kremers' head.

The discovery of the backpack led searchers to further explore the area, and soon after, human remains began to surface. Over the next few weeks, investigators found scattered bones, including a pelvic bone and a boot containing a foot, later identified through DNA testing as belonging to Lisanne Froon. More bones, including a fragmented rib bone from Kris Kremers, were also found in the vicinity.

The condition of the remains added another layer of mystery to the case. While Lisanne's bones appeared to be naturally decomposed, some of Kris's bones were found bleached, leading to speculation about what might have happened to the women in their final days.

The deaths of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon have fueled a multitude of theories, ranging from tragic accidents to foul play. Some believe that the women became lost in the jungle and succumbed to the harsh conditions, including dehydration, starvation, or injury. The nighttime photos and desperate attempts to call for help suggest they may have been trying to find their way out or signal rescuers.

However, the case has also sparked darker theories, including the possibility of foul play. The condition of the remains, the unexplained photos, and the discovery of the backpack in a relatively undamaged state have led some to speculate that the women may have encountered someone with ill intentions or that their deaths were not purely accidental.

[fakekojimo]

Would fucking kill for Tadahiro Uesugi to do more design work for anime.

Most animation nerds know him as one of the unsung heroes of Caroline, being one the Art Directors, except me. Cuz my pool of my artistic reference is painfully too limited, I'm working on that I swear! But my first exposure to his stuff was on Carole and Tuesday.

I like how elegant his drawings are without feeling overly refined or sterile, it's the opposite even. Not a single ounce of symmetry to be found anywhere! The lights are represented as splotches that all differ from streetlight to streetlight, more solid structures like bridges are mishapen, and no two windows look the same. I hesitate to use the term "imperfection" because that feels a little backhanded and takes away the intent from Uesugi's paintings. The asymmetry in his work makes everything feel organic-- refined without feeling stuffy.

Bahi JD directed the opening, but it was Watanabe's idea to get Uesugi to do imageboards in the first place. He immediately nailed the vibe Bahi was looking for in the first place, nailed it so damn well that they left his work untouched for the opening! Left it straight as it is.

Dropped out of C&T pretty early on. It felt pretty aimless to me from the start, and trying to watch it while it was airing was nightmare due to Netflix still relying heavily on the binge model for anime at the time. But honestly? I got my fix just by watching the opening a billon times. The whole show is about Carole and Tuesday changing the world through their "organic music" against the rise of AI, looking back the premise aged much better than I remembered, but the show's take on "organic music" was represented by extremely janky, melty rotoscoped performances. Never understood that.

The show was striving on the ambition of these live performances to sweep the audience away but they end up feeling uncanny and lifeless due to the poor clean-up and inbetweening. Shows the difference between Uesugi's deceptively simple "imperfections" which aids towards a more organic vision vs those same imperfections holding things back.

Grievances with the show aside, Uesugi did stick around for the second opening. And despite the change in the director, going from Bahi JD to series director Motonobu Hori, the approach is still largely the same. There is less of a focus on more motion and more on Uesugi's gorgeous imageboards instead. Which is more than fine with me!

I always loved this cut the most. Carole and Tuesday jamming out in that huge ass canyon. The way they're dwarfed by it makes it feel so intimidating but the warm colors makes it feel just as inviting as well! Just makes me wanna get in there and explore.

And the closing shot is another favorite of mine too. The right moon (forgot to say this show takes place on Mars whoops) just being a little splotch makes me smile because it's such a fun choice. Again, refined without feeling stuffy!

After C&T Uesugi's been doing ED sequences at BONES for Motonobu Hori projects, while still not quite reaching those same heights as C&T.

His Supercrooks ED is dope, not as thematically appropriate as the previous project, but still cool! It's a solo KA done by Naomi Kaneda, but a good chunk of the motion looks more on the tweened side as well. Uesugi is credited for "イラストレーション and 構成) (Illustrations and compositions?) so I'm willing to bet the left his imageboards and drawings as is, but decided to go for a more of a motion graphics approach this time around.

A friend described Uesugi's work in general having an "urban glamor" feel to it, definitely the most visible here.

His most recent ED on Metallic Rouge is unfortunately his weakest. The thing is though? His ending is leaps and bounds over the show itself!

Metallic Rouge was one of the dullest shows I've seen this year. It's supposed to be a moody and broody cyberpunk show and it's reflected in it's dull and drab world. The show takes place on Mars, but if you told me it took place in a futuristic New York City instead I'd just smile and nod. There is more weird alien stuff in later eps but when everything already feels so cut and dry I'm hardly gonna be impressed. That's where Uesugi's ED comes in and beats the shit out of what came before.

(Yeah I know my stitches suck. Don't look at 'em too hard.)

He paints a world that feels legitimately more futuristic and alien than anything in the show itself! Playing up the fact that we're on an alien planet, and there should be as much wonder and beauty as there is danger and caution. It's the type of range I wish Metallic Rouge had instead of staying one boring register all throughout. I know we all can't be as great as him, but it should be nice if we could be as 1/8th as cool as him.

There are bound to be more Motonobu Hori shows down the pipeline. While I've yet to fully like a show that he directed... I don't mind getting more of them as long as we get more Uesugi openings or endings.

Or maybe something more one day. Maybe.

[justbelievinginmagic]

what skz looks like in ariadne's thread!

hello! thought id share my lil breakdowns and inspo photos for the skz boyz in ariadne's thread. i will continue to add to this as we go through the story and introduce more of the boys! some of these will contain spoilers to the fic so i recommend reading it beforehand... -> series masterlist

Hyunjin, the Goblin King. Described as a honeyed blonde with blue eyes that seem to have hurricanes and storms trapped within them. Has been compared to Renaissance marble statues & paintings with how inhumanly beautiful he is and how his eyes seem to be a kind of wrathful beautiful. Wears dark leather and lace, many layered gold necklaces, and cloaks/capes! Later, will appear in sheer white loose tunics and black slacks, and then only white attire. Able to manipulate time and reality, as well as see into the future. Considered one of most powerful of faes - a High Fae with some Gancanagh-blood.

Jisung, the Goblin-Fae. Described as having oil-slick black-blue curly hair with big jewel-toned eyes that shift from more blue or more purple. Wears old and worn clothes that have been hand sewn with alterations - a brown vest, a white flowing tunic with the big sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and brown pants. Is decorated with many necklaces on his neck and rings on his fingers, a collection of jewels that he keeps tied to his cinched-belted waist alongside a beautiful dagger and various other knick-knacks he’s collected in the Desert Sea. Cannot utilize any magic but was trained with a dagger. Considered Goblin-Fae despite having some Dragon-blood tendencies such as hoarding and treasure-hunting.

Chris, the Beast-Hunter. Described as a floofy brunette with natural curls and dark grey eyes that mimic stone sometimes. Large curling horns, like a ram's. Decorated in scars of all sorts; he has prominent scars and cuts across the bridge of his large nose, his back, and his torso. Is shirtless, but is adorned in many iron-shackles across his body – one around his thick throat, both of his wrists and his waist. Later, dons a fur-cloak of a beast that was taken from him while he was a prisoner - which he wears across his broad shoulders with pride. Is exceptionally strong, dedicated, and is able to manipulate anything made of earth with enough concentration. Troll-Fae.

Felix, the Gancanagh. Described as having long warm-blonde hair that moves in a non-existent wind with deep-brown eyes that seem to swirl into a rose-pink the longer you stare into them. His cheeks are dusted with golden freckles that sparkle in the light. Dressed in in a billowing white tunic that reveals too much of his chest and abs, his pants are leathered and slung low on him, revealing his prominent hip bones. His form is every changing and shifting as he finds suitable visages to mimic to tempt humans; it’s possible this form was just the most appealing one to Y/N since in some moments he almost looks like Hyunjin except softer. Later, his hair fades to an oil-slick blue as well. As a Gancanagh, he is addictive to mortals with only a single touch. Has seductive charms, luring pheromones, and a hypnotizing gaze. Enjoys winning more than the chase. Can steal mortal faces and shapeshift. Gancanagh-Fae.

Minho, the Sluagh. Described as having dark-brown hair that looks like the fur of a beast and piercing glowing aquamarine-blue eyes that gleam like an animal’s. Entire form is decorated in tattoos of the creatures within his soul; prominently, the face of a wolf is on his left hand. The wolf tattoo shares a glowing blue eye like Minho. These tattoos feel alive as they shift across his skin. Has many animal cuts and claw marks across his body from battles or challenges for dominance (which he has won.) Draped in bear-like furs that seem to meld into his form when he transforms into a beast. Has Wild Magic in his veins and can shift into creatures of all sorts but favors monstrous-versions of large bison-like direwolves. Fought to earn the title of Sluagh of the Direwoods and is the only one able to call upon the Wild Hunt. Embodies the Wild Hunt until his death and the Wild Magic passes onto the new Sluagh.

Seungmin, the Boggart. Described as having pitch black hair and dark as night eyes that sparkled like stars were trapped in them. A cloak of shadows curl around his shoulders and fall to the floor. This darkness follows him, clouding him as if he’d be consumed by the bubble of shadows around him; sometimes, one can see shadowed limbs clawing and grasping at him or clinging to his black silk shirt. Unlike the others, he seems to float and has no visible feet or footsteps. Can utilize shadows as a mean of transportation and as extensions of himself. Attracts death, causes death via the strings of fate, and can mark someone for death. Death-Fae.

Sir Changbin, the Knight. Described as an extremely muscular young man with dark hair that has greying waves. His eyes are hetero-chromatic with one eye being a nutmeg brown and the other a pale milky grey. Dressed in fine dark-leathered armor with the Goblin King’s regalia on his chest lapel and many warrior pins of honor. Extreme strength beyond a mortal’s capabilities and an abnormal commitment to honor; however, is forgetful and suffers from memory loss often. Changeling.

TBA ; last updated 11/19/24

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Metro Tech 7 by DJ Marinho Fischetti 2001 Euro House / House / Trance

Took a trip down to early 2000s São Paulo, Brazil today with this very ephemeral dance mix that was put out by the city's Metropolitana radio station as part of their very own Metro Tech series. Never once in my life have I ever ventured into any of this locale's dance stuff before, but if this set is really truly representative of what was flowing throughout São Paulo at the time, then I guess I was expecting it to be a whole lot more Brazilian than it actually was? 🤷‍♂️

I mean, outside of the total banger that is Fogo's "Another Star"—which interpolates Stevie Wonder's own late 70s song of the same name, and is also therefore very similar to another Brazilian-sounding Bob Sinclar-produced house track by Salomé de Bahia called "Outro Lugar" that interpolates that very same Stevie song—the vast majority of the rest of this is just purely unremarkable trash that's been imported from mainland Europe; basically a bunch of songs that aren't Kernkraft 400's "Zombie Nation," but are just as janky and soullessly goofy with their rote and formulaic combos of things like squelchy bass vibrations and big and stupid, blaring melodies that are more fit for drunkenly chanting along to at soccer matches and hockey games. Não gosto!

But still, standing out from all of that transactional, mindless muck are actually a couple house gems here that don't have any of that cheap Euro-stink on them at all, like this release's final song, "Camels," which is actually a bonus track that falls outside of the mix itself, and is by a prolific Italian guy named Santos, who, from the looks of it, may actually have more aliases under his name than he has bones in his own damn body—and I'm assuming that his body is one with an amount of bones in it that most people would consider to be pretty normal!

"Camels" is a thumping, turn-of-the-millennium filter house delight that fronts with a lovely pair of dramatic and cinematic bits of orchestral string, along with a little piece of guitar funk as well, and then calms itself down with some distorted guitar synth fuzz on its bridge 🤘.

But the thing about that particularly terrific piece of sunshining dance bliss glitz is that you can find it on *plenty* of other releases; a song that I *definitely* can't leave you all today without mentioning is one that I don't think has ever appeared anywhere else besides this very Metro Tech 7 mix itself: a thing called "My President" by La Cubanita.

Now, to be honest with you all, I have no fucking clue who La Cubanita actually is. Discogs links them to a New York Latin house musician by the name of DJ Lucho, but I doubt that Lucho would exclusively release a song like this on some random-ass São Paulo radio station mix; because, really, if he did that, I think he fucked up big time—this song would've absolutely been his calling card.

See, what's so wonderfully odd about this very song appearing *exclusively* on a Brazilian dance mix from 2001 like this is how totally unexpected it is. This is a tune that stars a sexy-voiced, Spanish-speaking Latina who goes by the name of Mónica, and she gets passionately dicked—or perhaps cigarred?—down by none other than American president Bill Clinton himself, with pleasure-filled moans induced from her and all 😂. And normally, I really don't tend to enjoy the particular brand of tribal house that's on display here, but I think you can understand why I make such a big exception for this one. And of all the places to discover it too; like, what an absolutely ridiculous find here!

So, once again, never shut anything off, folks, because you really never know when you might come across an exclusive and exceedingly rare house track about a former American president's sex scandal on a mix from a country on a different continent that was most likely released when that president's successor had already taken office! 😊

Listen to the full mix here.

Highlights:

House of Glass - "Disco Down" La Cubanita - "My President" Fogo - "Another Star" Santos - "Camels"

[sonicasura]

The most chaotic and funniest thought just hit me.

Mario and Tales of Arcadia could exist in the same universe.

Let me explain. The Super Mario franchise had their own cartoon in the 90s called the Super Mario Brothers Super Show. In it, the brothers can travel between Brooklyn and the Mushroom Kingdom via a green warp pipe located somewhere in the sewer systems.

Basically no one else knew about this pipe nor the hidden universe(I'll call the Mario World we know as the Hidden World from this point afterwards) except the Mario Brothers. Then you also consider there is more than one warp pipe. And thus this glorious idea.

For setup, the Hidden World could be considered the Promised Land to all Trollkind. A realm where sunlight nor lack of being near a Heartstone DOESN'T turn them to stone and bears many treasures of peculiar power but also a potential second home should their realm fall apart i.e what will become the Darklands.

Some trolls left to seek out the Hidden World but never came back. There had been only one account of someone finding the mythical 'Green Channel' that leads there. However the troll discoverer in question was branded as a liar and label an outcast. This explorer writes a journal of his experiences before eventually disappearing. 'Beginner's Guide To The Hidden World' was the only thing left as no one knew the writer's fate.

A book of a madman's ramblings and gone unfound inside Arcadia's Trollmarket until the first human Trollhunter been made. You don't expect Jim or Toby to not look through the books in Blinky's library especially if a problem arises. It bonks the poor Trollhunter on the head and our favorite book troll practically flips out once he sees the guide.

Whether the major plot point is such as Battle of Two Bridges, find Gunmar's weakness or handle Angor Rot, it doesn't take much convincing to look into this Hidden World. Now since sewers weren't prevalent in the middle ages, no Troll thought the 'Green Channel' could be a giant sewer pipe. Modern human thinking leads to Team Trollhunters rediscovering the Hidden World and it's unique flavor of insanity.

(Jim seriously needs a huge break from being the universe's drama dump. Why not throw a very long overdue albeit super goofy bone? Plus I know some of you guys want to see Draal put on a Cat Bell, Jim in a Tanuki Suit and Toby in a Penguin Suit.)

Now for some worldbuilding!

Trolls born in the Hidden World have natural immunity to sunlight. An occurrence that is half adaptation and half magic revelant. They can also survive without the presence of a Heartstone but are unable to use powers up unless they return or have a special item.

It takes four hits to make a Hidden World troll lose their active power up, two for Changelings and three for a normal troll. Although those who possess the Amulet of Daylight, like Jim, can take four hits no matter the species. They have a major kingdom located somewhere near the Seaside Kingdom known as Stoneheart and are neutral territory. Koopa Troopas are considered rivals specifically the royal ones like Bowser.

Trolls came up with 'Action Filming', a maybe Mario canon(my memory is rusty) where the games/series is a play while the characters are actors and friends offscreen. You know they would make a concept like that as they're still a warrior based race.

Quite friendly to outsiders and visitors, a good chunk of Hidden World trolls are travelling freelancers in their own expertise. The most common are traders, bodyguards, to of course any occupation that revolves around geology or architecture. Gunmar is considered the Hidden World Trolls' Boogeyman, a story to teach young whelps to behave.

If proven real then Jim definitely has an army willing to help him out as major threats are taken quite seriously in the Hidden World. I can say that Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, and Bowser's Inside Story are the only games mostly based on true events. You can't expect three major incidents that affected three different kingdoms, ESPECIALLY their royalty, weren't taken seriously nor have a huge impact on everyone else.

Hidden World Trolls rarely eat cats or any other pet considered animals. I think the reason why they limit themselves in canon is because a missing cat ain't gonna draw major attention unlike cattle and other farm animals. Although I bet a grocery store that accepts or can keep trolls' existence a secret would be a godsend. But yeah, their food options aren't limited in the Hidden World.

Finally for the last bit, there have been some unique adaptations that tend to crop up with Hidden World Trolls. These can range power up based ones such as species with Penguin Suit or Fire Flower traits, environmental like those raised in Lake Lapcat have feline characteristics, to seemingly random ones like shapeshifting. Yep. A natural born Changeling who doesn't need a familiar to transform is a possibility.

That's it for now! Until next time folks, I'll see you at the warp pipe between Arcadia and the Mushroom Kingdom!

[herdddragon]

So I’ve a question to the people in the comments, do things just not happen to you?

Like do you not leave the house? Because most of this is just sort of reasonable things to happen to people.

Everyone is acting like this is a series of the most strange and fantastical events, but is sort of stuff that just kind of happens.

( I get not being gullible and stuff. It’s important to be able to understand that not everything you read and see is to be trusted.) like this is more of a ‘if you say so’ instead of calling op a liar and anyone who believes him (?) gullible. That’s sort of rude, especially for relatively tame instances.

Sure some of these read like stories my father would tell to me and my sibling and we’d kind of look at each other and go ‘no way that happened’ and then for some of the most unbelievable stories one day there will suddenly be a bit of random evidence to that the story was not a lie, probably exaggerated for effect but not a lie.

Like the one about when my father got mistaken for being a mobster in a club, like I thought that was just bs until unprompted my uncle confirmed that it did happen.

So in turn, to show that some of this stuff is not so unbelievable.

things that happened to me that are sort of similar. Sound like they are scenarios out of a horror movie.

1. I’ve used a crawl space to walk between a men’s bathroom room and a woman’s changing room in a very old building, both rooms where out of service. The building has now been torn down.

2. Everyone in my class played Bloody Mary except for me. Not particularly exciting but it was something, the horror movie part was when people where telling ghost stories in the changing room and the power went out. Good timing.

3. Also found a garbage bag full of bones. Though I found it under a bridge. And they where fish bones and something else.

4. Had a really ‘fun’ experience one time driving home with my friend one night, it was like the perfect set up, Halloween night, a full moon, fog was rolling in over the highway. Weird lights where flashing on the horizon when we where nowhere near the power plant. The highlight of the night was we saw an albino animal cross the road! It was either a skunk or raccoon, we unfortunately don’t know what exactly but it was so cool!

5. Other day when I was helping with renovations  on an old hospital turned into a house (enough of a movie horror scenario on its own) the owner of the house started having a conversation about how easy it would be to hide a body in this region. It was a good conversation.

6. Explored the basement of my old school one time, there was a barbershop chair, a fresh water well and a lot of broken statues/ busts under there.

7. Apparently (I was young and asleep) I had a moose stick it’s head into my bedroom when the window was open.

8. Had many occasions where doors and cabinet doors have just swing open and then closed again. Old houses I tell you. It’s like, great I have to close that now.

9. I constantly get weird requests or into odd conversations with strangers, like man why are you telling me you just got out of prison, good for you that you are turning your life around. But why are you talking to me, I’m just trying to read my book. These conversations usually happen when I’m meeting up with someone.

10. I’ve been chased through the woods as well. I just hid out at a school when I got the chance.

11. Once at a restaurant some woman with a knife would not stop starring at me. Just got in the car and left.

12. I keep scaring people by accident as I’ll just “appear” behind them.

13. Once when I was living in the attic of a church there was this strange alarm sound coming from somewhere, turns out it was a squirrel screaming it’s little head off for no reason. That little hellion was so annoying.

14. Found a rolled up carpet thrown out in a ditch one time. Yeah was not dealing with that one.

15. Once heard a crow say the word scream, and that was something.

16. Took a wrong turn on a road once that ended with us being stared down by a bunch of deer in the rain in the middle of a cornfield.

See weird things just sort of happen.

Stay safe out there, and on the internet.

The amount of times I could have been that white girl in the horror movie could honestly be a movie in itself and it’s honestly a waste that my entire life isn’t constantly recorded on film because it would be HILARIOUS

[kosmos2999]

Star Trek: The Animted Series 50th Anniversary Episode Review

Episode: Beyond the Farthest Star

Season: 1

Episode: 1

Stardate: 5221.3 – 5221.8

Original airdate: September 8, 1973 (See the Fascinating Facts for more details)

Written by: Samuel A. Peeples

Directed by: Hal Sutherland

Music by: Yvette Blais and Jeff Michaels

Executive producers: Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott

Studio: Filmation Associates

Network: NBC

Series created by: Gene Roddenberry

Cast:

Captain James T. Kirk (voice by William Shatner)

Mr. Spock (voice by Leonard Nimoy)

Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (voice by DeForest Kelly)

Lt. Uhura (voice by Nichelle Nichols)

Lt. Hikaru Sulu (voice by George Takei)

Eng. Montgomery Scott, Kyle, Anicient Insectoid, Magnetic Organism and Sciences Engineer (voices by James Doohan)

Synopsis:

While the crew of the USS Enterprise is investigating strange radio emmissions from the edge of our galaxy, had to deal with severe hypergravitational effects from Questar M-17 negative star mass.

After successfully overcoming those effects, they had an encounter with a miles long pod starship of unknown origin orbiting the dead star. According to an analisys made by Mr. Spock, it was about 300 million years old and it was lifeless. Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy and Eng. Scott were beamed down to the alien ship with their life support belts strapped on.

On the inside, they discover it belonged to an alien insectoid race and they activated a self-destruction mechanism to stop the attack of a malevolent energy lifeform.

Unfortunately, that lifeform was transported to the Enterprise when the landing party were beamed up back. Kirk has to choose to fight the evil being who wants the crew under its control or activate the Enterprise's self-destruct system.

The evil lifeform escapes and get trapped into the dead star while is afraid of Captain Kirk orders a collission course.

Fascinating Facts:

The episode's title was inspired by a novel with the same title written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

By Gene Roddenberry's suggestion, this episode was written by Samuel A. Peeples. He also wrote the successful second pilot episode of The Original Series, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”.

This is the first reunion of most of Trek cast since the filming process of TOS ended in January of 1969. The recording session was made in the recording studios of Filmation Associates in Reseda, California in June of 1973.

This is the first appearence of life support belts instead of space suits.

This is the first and only use of the Automatic Bridge Defense System.

TOS character, Kyle is reappears in many episodes of TAS, but he only has dialogue in this episode. The voice acting of the character was made by James Doohan instead of John Winston.

About the original airdate: This is the first episode of TAS nationwide, except for Los Angeles, California. The reason: In that time, George Takei was running for the City Council. If that episode was shown at the same time, the TV station will have to gave “equal time” to his fellow contenders comply the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In LA, the episode was shown in December 22 of that year.

[kitzsah]

Worldbuilding Exchange Letter

General Likes:

Worldbuilding and subject matter expertise! All the worldbuilding. I literally have 100K and counting of Chicago-cited, JSTOR articles and all, worldbuilding on the historical/political background of the wizarding world for the fic series I'm working on. I also adore small, lived-in details – so if there’s any particular expertise/personal experience that you’ve always wanted to expound on, consider me a captive audience haha. I’ve literally done method writing for a fic where I spent a morning walking around with four feet of yard-stick ruler strapped to my side to get an idea for what carrying a rapier would feel like.

Unconventional formats. Seriously, I'm game for whatever you can think of. Textbooks, epistolary, official memorandums, screenshots and text messages, newspaper articles – the world is your oyster here.

Nuanced moral ambiguity and loyalty and duty and responsibility and obligation and necessary evils. I absolutely adore portrayal of duties conflicting with personal desire, people having to make hard choices and then live with the consequences, bone-deep dedication to service, and anything else along those lines.

Character studies. Show me how a character became who they are, show me what facets of their personality emerges in different situations, tell me about how their background impacts how they view the world. Flawed/unreliable narration and close personal biases are absolutely welcome here. Outside perspectives on characters are always fun!

Close relationships, romantic and otherwise. I absolutely adore close platonic relationships that are no less close or meaningful or devoted for being platonic. I’m talking raze the fields, “Where you go, I go” level of loyalties being my catnip here. And even for romance, show me characters as friends first and how they relate to each other as people, more than the part where they think the other person’s hot.

DNWs:

Porn Without Plot/Plot, What Plot? I'm not entirely opposed to sex, either onscreen or implied, but only if it’s not the only thing happening. You’re writing for someone who’s largely disinterested in sex (except as a characterization tool) to begin with, so any attempt at smut for its own sake is going to fall flat.

Character bashing. Even the most objectively fucked up characters are still people, in all their good and evil. One-dimensional character bashing/flanderization will not be appreciated.

Crack. Humor and comedy are fine, crack is not. Life can be absolutely absurd sometimes, so if it’s something that could actually happen and fits the characters, go right ahead. Unhinged crack for its own sake will be less welcome.

Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88:

Any or No Characters

Original Characters

British International Association

International Politics

Magical Governance

Fanfiction

In-universe Meta

Okay so what the fuck even is the British International Organization and what do they get up to? It's almost certainly an NGO/advocacy organization of some stripe, but Lily's described as "an information source" and Hermione is uneasy talking about the organization in any detail at Terminal M and describes several members as being in "delicate positions" with the sort of caginess that's more at home in a HUMINT handler than a high schooler. Who founded this organization, where does it get its money for shit like the legal fund or Bridge from (three guesses, almost all of them originate in Northern Virginia), what kind of games are they playing in Wizarding Britain pre-revolution, how do they relate to The Irish Question given the non-magical politics of the era, and how do they fare in a new world after the old regime's been toppled and everyone's trying to hammer out elections?

Outside perspectives of canon events from the eyes of basically anyone else! The sheer amounts of batshit chaos/international snarling during the Patagonia Match, how much American Government Maneuverings was going on behind the scenes during the revolution/Irish uprising/post-war elections, Mikael's Office Minions reactions to John's Warzone Runner, ICW proceedings during it all, the massive publicity blitz John endures after being hauled home, etc.

Magical Government Hijinks and the mundane Shit that arises when you have two governments uneasily more or less governing the same country (if not necessarily in population, then in geographical area, though even that gets complicated by magic). Anything from like what a TS-SCM brief of someone non-magical getting read in on magic might look like to Magical SCIF Construction Specs to Absolutely Corny Government Powerpoints/Posters (Polyjuice or Veritaserum version of Loose Lips Sink Ships) to Intense Interdepartmental Meetings to water cooler gossip/reaction/intelligence reports of any of the events of RevArc.

Harry Potter:

Any or No Characters

Original Characters

Magical Britain's Economy

Jewish Magical Tradition

In-Universe Meta

Give me all the magical Halakha! I am very much of the school of thought that the magical and non-magical world are closer together than they are apart, and particularly in terms of Jewish history, there's no way that if magic were real that we wouldn't have loads and loads of Talmud Tracts and rabbinical debates on the subject. So what does Maimonides vs Rambam vs Akiva have to say about magic on Shabbat? Are there Jewish methods of casting that don't involve a wand? How do kosher laws (or just Halakha In General, because there are a ton of non-human sapeint species running around) apply to magical creatures? Are there kosher for Passover potions? Are there magical kitniyot ingredients that Ashkenazi Jewish wizards consider foebidden during Passover but Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews feel totally fine chugging down? What are Jewish holidays like With Magic - can afikomen hide themselves, can Chanukah candles float, what does a magical Purim Spiel look like?

What the fuck is happening with the magical economy? There is absolutely no way that the goblins are The Only Magical Bank In The Entire World, so how does the financial system work? The wizarding economy can't be operating under a complete state of autarky just from the sheer lack of peasant farmers anywhere in the canon - so what's going on in terms of fiscal and monetary and trade policy? Are currencies fiat or backed with reserves of some sort? How do currency exchange rates work both between different international countries and a magical economy and its non-magical counterpart and is it a floating exchange rate or is shit pegged? What does magical trade look like? Percy canonically mentions regulations regarding cauldron thickness, what are some other considerations in terms of magical import/export? Are there trade barriers and internal dissent over globalization vs protectionism? Does Wizarding America hand out trade sanctions like candy the way that the US does in real life? What did the Columbia Exchange and Triangular Trade look like in the context of magic?

Fandom-specific DNW: justifying antisemitism/blood libel/gross stereotypes or antisemitic goblin caricatures. Gringotts and everything regarding goblin portrayal in canon makes me twitch. This is not strict DNW of goblins being mentioned, but be very fucking careful in the context of writing the wizarding economy and historical Jewish history regarding banking/finance. Do Not Fucking Go Near: magical blood libel, greedy goblin cabal secretly controlling the magical financial monopoly, a focus on describing goblins as hook-nosed or any other Jewish phenotypical stereotypes, portrayal of wizards as the poor humans being manipulated/tricked by those greedy ungrateful goblins and their rebellions.

The Locked Tomb:

Any or No Character

Original Characters

Blood of Eden

Colony Life and Administration

Dominicus Empire Economics

Thanergetic Ecology

Cohort Protocols and Training

Warfare and Maneuver Warfare

In-Universe Meta

Fanfiction

Anyone who can actually write me cohesive maneuver warfare theory on how Cohort Warfare even works will have my undying gratitude. The Cohort is using swords (when in real life, swords were almost always sidearms rather than primary weapons) against adversaries that have firearms and artillery. The Blood of Eden memorandum at the back of Harrow the Ninth says that necromancers have a "death sense" that enable them to follow a thanergetic connection back to any Blood of Eden personnel that uses a sniper rifle to kill someone in their unit to a range of 3000 meters and use that connection to fuck the shooter up, and that necromancers have been seen restoring people back to full health from bullet wounds with relative ease, which is sort of an explanation, I guess. But my instinctive answer to this is boom-boom artillery, which in terms of the modern day easily has a range of 15-30 miles, and even in the World War II era, it was still easily in excess of a dozen miles. Sure, any mass fire with automatic weapons that doesn't immediately kill the necromancer might just be handing them a whole bunch of thanergy, but it's a bit hard to utilize thanergy when everyone, Cohort necromancers included, is a fine haze of red mist. Anyway, in terms of other topics covered, Isaac's insistence that the Forth House is not canon fodder but rather focused on recon and defensive warding has a ton of potential too - are they a light infantry/recon unit in the style of the Rangers who are tasked with laying the groundwork before an invasion in terms of intel and sabotage? No one gives teenagers a second glance, and covert/blending-in functions would go a long way toward explaining the extreme age of those kids given Actual Real Life Concrete Non-moral reasons why teenaged soldiers are inadvisable.

What exactly did John Gaius bring back during the Resurrection in terms of the flora/fauna? How has the ecology evolved over the last myriad, both within and outside the Nine House, and what impact has extreterrestrial wildlife had on the native Dominicus ecology? Coronabeth mentions that dueling the Sixth would be like "kicking a dog," so presumably domestic canines were not only resurrected at some point, but also hold a societal niche as companion animals (as opposed to, say, feral nuisances) to the point where kicking one is widely viewed as animal cruelty in terms of figures of speeches. When John tried to grow a bouquet during C- and N-'s wedding, the flowers had teeth - is this how dogs ended up with arboreal legs or is that a New Rho special that happens with the mutations after a planet's been flipped? Palamedes says at one point in Gideon the Ninth, "My whole House for a reliable food source," in the context of necromancers being glass cannons and their own worst enemy, which implies that there's Something Very Interesting Going On Here. Gideon's has absolutely no clue what fish is before arriving Canaan House, and I'm not sure we can take the Ninth House as representative of the entire Dominicus Ecosystem, situated as they are in the ass-end of the solar system, but what is the agricultural situation of the Nine Houses and shepherd planets? Are snow leeks just what they call some real life Earth variety of leeks that John renamed or are they an non-native crop from some other planet in the galaxy that turned out to grow well in Ninth soil? Are there protocols for soldiers returning home from the intergalactic front that they have to undergo quarantine/screening to ensure they're not risking introducing Space Kudzu into the Nine Houses?

On that note, what even is the economics of the Dominicus empire? It's brought up in As Yet Unsent that there are these life-long contracts signed with the King Undying and Ianthe references a contract signed 700 years ago in Nona the Ninth. Coronabeth is noted by Judith to complain about how inefficient the whole system is, so what is the system l? Who is manufacturing all the parts for space shuttles and weaponry and just back utensils and flimsy and silverware and clothes? Again, it's not like we've seen a lot of the Nine Houses, but there definitely wasn't industrial factories on the Ninth if they're making human soap by hand, but I don't really get an industrial vibe either from any of the other Houses? Palamedes' remark of "My whole House for a reliable food source" and Harrow's parents' difficulty in conceiving makes me wonder if crops and livestock yields within the Dominicus system aren't great either, and the whole thing is a mercantilist economy where shepherd planets do shit like manufacture spaceship components and literally most other life necessities.

How do refugee resettlements work? What are dynamics between Blood of Eden and refugees and interfactional disputes? Honestly, Joli the Teacher was one of my favorite side characters in Nona the Ninth because the world is going to hell and she's just trying so hard to give kids in the warzone and hell that I'd a refugee camp some normalcy and stability and an hour of science. Who is the one resettling all of these people? What is it like to know that you and your children and your grandchildren will have to wander forever? How does Blood of Eden or any other insurgent organizations use this to radicalize populations living on shepherd planets?

Alliance Trilogy - E. Jade Lomax

Any or No Characters

Original Characters

Ceren Culture and Religion

Nerian Politics

Nationalism and Identity in Neria

In-Universe Meta

Fanfiction

I loved the glimpses of Ceren religion that appeared throughout the trilogy, and the way that Gregory fell in love with these people and considered them worth fighting for. And holy fuck that scene of policemen ripping flower off a little girl's head because that's seen as a symbol of defiance/rebellion/treason that Gregory witnesses. I just want more everything of this. Andrea showing up would be a bonus, but I just really want anything about growing up as a persecuted religious minority, where something a small as flowers is viewed with suspicion and having to hide holiday celebration in cellars, the way the Ceren emphasis on blood is something that Andrea and her brothers (who aren't considered her brothers by Ceren society) chafes at. What was it like for Andrea and countless other Ceren children growing up in this world?

What does it mean to be Ceren, to identify as Ceren, in Neria, a hundred years after unification? Marie and Sebastian are Cerens as well, a different stripe (or at least Sebastian was, and Marie grew to be) of Ceren than Andrea and the rebels that we spend most of the series with, and at the very end of Traitor, there's a Ceren boy who's signed up to join the royal guard. How do all of these characters relate to their identity and religion and culture in similar and different ways? Do any of them identity as Nerian? Gregory says to Andrea, "It [Neria] is [a country]. The people—the ones who don’t meet in your cellar—they call themselves Nerians. Folk from Birnel and Panet live in the city, and they call it home, too. What are you going to do with them? You’re not the only ones who love this land, not anymore. Whatever Sasha’s great-grandfather did, a hundred years ago, this is how it is now." Is he right?

Gabrielle, my favorite and most determinedly ambitious twelve year-old. Marie firmly tells her, "This isn’t your fight. I’m not talking about fault, I’m not talking about power, and I’m not talking about keeping you safe. You’re going to spend your life trying to make a world you feel responsible for better. You’re going to fight for them. But you have to remember, Gabrielle. This isn’t your fight. It’s theirs. This isn't about you. You don’t want to apologize. You don’t really think you owe them. You want their forgiveness. That can’t be bought, love, and probably not ever even won. Some of the breaks are built into the foundations of us now. They live with them and you get to respect that." By the end of the book, she's tentatively making inroads with the Ceren resistance, and realized that she can love her father and simultaneously disagree with his policy, and is grappling with issues of privilege and saviorism and what she owes to her country and its people who have been wronged in her family's name and by her family. One of my favorite Gabrielle scenes is at the very end, when she's shocked to learn one of the royal guardsmen is a Ceren and "The guard stared at her, terrified, and Gabrielle leapt to reassure him, stumbling over her words and wringing her hands. There was a horror low in her stomach. What sort of kingdom was hers, that it hurt the very people who took up arms for it? That it hurt any person under its protection? This boy, in her own black and silver, was staring at her with such fear. Rage rose in her, at her forefathers, her father, at Bray and War and men like Doulings. I will be better. I will— Gabrielle took a long breath. I will listen. I will listen. I will learn." What does she get up to after the series ends? What are her stumbles, what are her successes? What is it like for this determined, too-smart kid who's committed to learning to listen.

Leagues and Legends - E. Jade Lomax

Any or No Characters

Original Characters

Worldsingers

The Northern Rangers

The Mountain Vigilantes

Fanfiction

In-Universe Meta

Liam! He's a worldsinger, a talent that is explicitly noted to be rare and extraordinary in this world, for all that neither Jack or Laney call attention to it as such. "When [Laney] was eight, Liam was twenty and feeling trapped and useless." What made him leave the desert to go wandering? What was it like being able to hear the Elsewhere and whistle up magic? How did he he meet Jack and George for the first time and get into the Vigilante business and fighting the graves? I'd love for something where he doesn't die and Laney meets him and they actually get to have A Conversation because his departure really did a number on her.

Give me all the Mountain Vigilante stories. How did Jack and George meet for the first time, when did Jack realize the obisidan-eyed girl he told his name to at the tavern because he hadn't known who she was was Cassandra Graves, show me their logistical network and caches set up to smuggle mages to safety, how did Bea root herself in a bakery and meet this whistling desert boy and two kids trying to mend the world as best they can, how was Challenge founded and constructed and what was the Northern Rangers' reaction and cooperation with the vigilantes of the mountain?

Earth Girl Series - Janet Edwards

Any or No Characters

Original Characters

Beta Sector Clan System

Beta Sector History

Chimera Wars

Fanfiction

In-Universe Meta

What exactly does the Beta Sector Clan System look like beyond what we've seen in the canon? The Draco Tell Dramis series offers a ton of interesting insight into Beta Sector and the Tell Clan and Tellon Blaze and the Military, and any details that expands on that would be lovely.

Jarra contacting her parents and learning that they wanted a relationship with her only for them to be killed in action weeks later is such a cruel twist of fate. Like, an entirely realistic twist of fate, mind you, because Life Sucks Like That and Jarra’s Life Especially Consists Of Cruel Twists Of Fate. I get the plot necessity of it, but still, I’ll take all the canon-divergences here. AU where Jaxon comes to his senses even a few days sooner and Jarra is never handed over to Hospital Earth and grows up with both parents, secure in the knowledge that she’s Loved And Is A Tell Clan Member, where Jarra contacts her clan at fourteen like her classmates did. She has no fucking clue why she does it (possibly Isette badgered her into it), she’s entirely doing it to make her friends happy, she fully expects things to go down in flames and figures she might as well get it over it. Except, to her complete shock, her family actually wants her. Her parents come down, there’s probably Much Yelling at Hospital Earth, and teenaged Jarra gets bombarded with all the love, where her parents don’t die during that behavior event in Kappa Sector and all the emotion fraughtness as she figures out What It Means To Have Parents And Family as an adult. Seriously, re-reading Earth Girl and Jarra’s (justified) bitterness is so painful after the Drago series because you know that her family wanted her so badly and they loved her so fucking much. What is the Tell Clan like? What does the political upheaval in Beta Sector look like in a context where the Tell Clan is hell-bent on welcoming Jarra as a clan member before she's famous for discovering the alien artifact? What happens to Jaxon's Legal Proceedings?

What was the Second Roman Empire like? Draco talks about how it was a nightmare for the Tell clans and other clans of the Military alliance, as they were torn between their identities as Betans and their oaths as Military officers, and there's a super interesting mention during Sol 2871 that the Tell Clan member who died regaining control of the Artemis solar array had been in deep dishonor and was posthumously cleared under Fidelis rules regarding great acts of mitigation. What happened there?

Also, what is Fidelis? There are strongly implied to be literal lawyers specializing in the intricacies of Fidelis, which is clearly a complex code that's canoncialou "the beating heart of Beta Sector." How does it work? Is it a civil code that's explicitly legislated? Or does it more closely resemble common law that grows out of precedents set by...differing clan councils?

Tellon Blaze and the Chimera Wars! That dude leaves such a long shadow on The Military to the point that even 250 years later, His Original Chair is still held in a place of honor in Military HQ. It's also all but outright stated in the Draco books that the Public Story Of Tellon Blaze and What Actually Happened are two very different narratives/closely held secrets - all of humanity views him as a war hero who was a military cadet visiting Thetis when shit hit the fan and heroically stepped up, but Draco talking to his father says that he was actually a civilian tennis-player with zero intentions of a military career. What's going on there? His order of "Nuke it to cinders" (and 'Let the stars go dark') is famous a quarter of a millennium later - what was that like, for Tellon Blaze. Anti-chimera detectors are on every military equipment and portal several centuries after the incident, and even the mere rumors of chimeras is enough to throw humanity into a panic, so what exactly went down during the wars (which are always mentioned in the plural).

On that note, the history/origin of the Honor Child tradition. It's mentioned at some point (I think in the Drago books) that that was a tradition that arose during the Chimera Wars due to the sheer number of dead - so what happened there?

Jarra Tell Morrath The First, along with her brother Draco Tell Dramis. These were two kids raised in this crazy cult/organization by Cioni's apprentices, who discovered their identities as Tell Clan members pounded on the doors of the Tell Clan Hall demanding entrance. It's implied that these two reacted very differently to their fucked-up upbringing: "My impression was that Draco was always fixated on the past but far too angry to discuss it, while his sister just wanted to focus on living a normal life in future. That seems consistent with what I was told about their clan welcoming ceremony. Draco was still changing his mind about his chosen name an hour before the ceremony, while his sister never once wavered from her decision to be Jarra Tell Morrath." What happened? Exactly why did Cioni's Apprentice want embryos of the Tell Clan? How did they escape? What was it like assimilating into a very different environment? What's Jarra's story of her military career and her eventual relationship with Bard and Riak?

Shadowhunter Chronicles

Any or No Characters

Original Characters

Children of nephilim who left the Clave becoming Shadowhunters

Fanfiction

So canonically all children born to exiled Shadowhunters and Shadowhunters who have chosen to leave the Clave have a right to approach any Institute and request training, and the Clave approaches them every six years at ages 6, 12, and 18 asking if they would like to become a Shadowhunter. We see that play out during the Infernal Devices series, where Will (and later Cecily) left his family in Wales to become a Shadowhunter and there's...literally nothing his heartbroken parents can do about it, even when they knock at the Institute's doors begging for their son to come home. There's a lot more oversight over children between the Victorian era and the present day, so what might this look like in the modern day? I'm entirely down for slightly-predatory recruiting practices on the part of the Clave and all the family angst. The Clave could care less about anyone other than what they'd consider "untainted" children (or does this extend to grandchildren?? Shadowhunter blood is stated to be Dominant Unto Generations Into The Future, see the whole Kit Herondale thing), and they're going to have all the shiny brochures and pamphlets and telling kids how brave demon-fighters are, and insert all the Classic Recruiting Rhetoric.

(I don't really have a timeline preference for this. The post Dark War push for recruitment, especially since they reopened the Shadowhunter Academy, makes a ton of sense, but I'm equally fine with this taking place post Valentine's Circle Round 1. I just want this to be taking place in an era where, like, there are Agencies and Shit that notice when children disappear into thin air/parents can report a cult, and when most people would be horrified at the concept of twelve year-olds being trained to Fight Demons.)

[shepherds-of-haven]

Did you name your novels or were they just ShoH 1, ShoH 2, ShoH 3, etc.? (If yes, can you also tell their names please?)

Hi there, thanks for the question! In my head they were Volumes 1-20-something--actually, if you’ll believe it, in my head for a long time I named the books after colors, and somehow kept track... but at some point I did put a formal list of potential titles together. I never used the “real” titles mentally, except for The Bridge of Bones, Fortress of the Dead, and the books in Series II and III: I still remember thinking of the first book in Series I as “red” and the second book as “orange”... 😬 And the files/scenes in each book were labelled “aaa”, “bb”, “++”. The more letters there were, the number of times the scene had been rewritten (so “a” was a first draft of the first scene in the book, and “aaa” was the same scene, but more polished... what was I thinking?)

Anyway, I had to go digging to remember my ideas for the titles of some of the earlier books, so please forgive any cringyness lol, I was pretty young when I wrote Series I! I also don’t know if these are all of the ShoH novels--these are just the main chronological ones, but there were some spin-offs and AUs that I don’t name here!

Series I: World Without End

The Witching Wheel 

Blood and Fire

Gunpowder Magic

Battle Mage

The Knife That Spoke

Oathbreaker

Shadowsight 

The Code of War

The City of Midnight

The Foundling’s Soul

The Silver Covenant

The Gates of the Earth

Child of the Stars

Series II: The Storm of the Worlds

The Thunder March

The Lightning War

The Conquered Sky

Series III: The Land of the Gods

The Eternal Sea

The Country Cloaked in Moon

Bridge Series: 

Fortress of the Dead

The Bridge of Bones

The Razor Crown

The God-King’s Sun

Series IV: The Naming of All Things

Harlequin

Valkyrie

Jeremiad

The Council of Kingmakers

Canticle of the Namer

The Blessed Isles

Read below if you want as concise of an explanation for these titles as I can provide!

In case you’re curious, Series I up until Battle Mage follows the protagonist, Arainia, as a young girl (I think 11 or 13) after the death of her mother, being sent to Solhadur amidst family conflict with her father and older sister, her various adventures there at school (meeting Red, Pan, Neon, etc.), graduating, attempting to join the Ket army (it’s complicated), and then deciding to join the Shepherds at around 18 or 19. She undergoes training in the academy, joins her squad (this is where Trouble, Riel, Chase, Halek, and the rest come in), and becomes a Shepherd officer alongside her childhood best friend Blade in Battle Mage. The Knife that Spoke and onward details various missions, investigations, battles, recruitments, and adventures that they all embark on as young adults into their twenties, with some books following different perspectives in the squad (Blade, Riel, Trouble, Chase, Halek, Red, Wintry, and Junoth [the last two not in the game] all get their turn narrating a book or at least a large part of one), with Shery, Ayla, Mimir, Lavinet, Tallys, Neon, Croelle, and many other characters featuring heavily. Around this time, civil war is brewing between the Elves, Ket, and certain factions of Mages, and Endarkened attacks soon begin to rise as the Order struggles to keep the peace. 

Series II details the outbreak of total world war that is essentially the Castigation in the game, with Western Norm kingdoms and territories suddenly and unexpectedly marching on the East--except in the novels, demons and demon armies are also involved, and the war is ultimately averted/ended in a truce as both sides finally unite to confront the Endarkened. It’s during this time period that Riel defects and seemingly betrays the group in favor of “the other side.” Blade is also seemingly killed at the end of the first book of this series and doesn’t reappear again until the third book, Arainia is captured and held as a prisoner of war all while thinking her best friend is dead, and it’s an upsetting time for everybody. Junoth also actually dies. RIP. Croelle pops in to save the day!

Series III details the aftermath of the war and a mission to find unoccupied land for displaced factions of soldiers, diplomats, traders, and civilians from the Norm territories (led by Riel), leading to a voyage across the Mirror Sea to explore the vast continent to the south of Blest, called colloquially “the Land of the Gods.” The second book in this series is also when Blade and Arainia FINALLY confess their feelings for each other and get together, and the big love triangle in the series is finally mostly settled. Oh, but things also aren’t perfect because the Order forbids relationships between officers (like they’ll actually be fired, not Blade’s lame rule in the game lmao), so they live in fear of being discovered because neither wants to quit being a Shepherd! Their hope is that Blade will be named Commander when the current one resigns, and then he can just... change the rule LOL. 

The Bridge Series has some companion novels that take place in between Series III and IV; Fortress of the Dead is Croelle-centric (this is when he informally joins the Order in the books) and The Bridge of Bones details some political bullshit and coups and conspiracies within the Order when its Commander dies unexpectedly and seemingly names a shady outsider (Edric) as the new Commander instead of Blade. The group is placed on different squads to split them up and prevent rebellion from brewing (it happens anyway), and it’s all very crazy. This is also when Lavinet sort of becomes a good guy, Shery becomes a badass, Shyf Cian first appears as the HR rep everyone hates, and this book is also pretty Chase-centric (he pretty much saves the day) and features a Mage serial killer, a psychopathic criminal syndicate leader, and an evil Changeling! I think it’s my favorite novel of the series. From what I remember, The Razor Crown and The God-King’s Sun are just super angsty for no good reason other than I guess I felt like writing a lot of angst--though the God-King’s Sun is also the first appearance of a true Autarch in the series. 

By the time we get to Series IV, the characters are in their thirties, settling into adulthood and their respective roles in life. Blade finally assumes command of the Order, Blade and Arainia get married, Halek and Wintry have a baby (Kana!), Halek turns 33 and has a life crisis, Arainia gets pregnant (and then kidnapped for a large part of her pregnancy lolll), Riel and Chase finally make reluctant peace, some other stuff happens, uh there’s some Mimir stuff in there, Red successfully makes a trip to another world, and Arainia gives birth to a Ket-Mage son in... I think it was either The Canticle of the Namer or The Blessed Isles. 

So... yeah! 28+ main novels, and I’m still going, just for me! 😂 I tend to write a lot of AUs of the series in my off-time, though sometimes the AUs are just “what if this took place in the same world but things are totally different--like what if they were politicians instead of Shepherds, what if the Shepherds functioned differently due to a different historical event occurring, what if the Castigation happened but it was Mages who instigated it, what if they were soldiers in a war 5000 years before the main series takes place, etc.”; or they take place in totally different worlds, like the characters as cops in a modern world that has cell phones and cars but also still has the Diminished races and magic somehow!

Thanks for your question, and for reading this long talk! 😅

[dreamypainter]

Flowers for Requiem (Thorn less Rose)

Author's note:@ yokai au. This concludes heartslabyuls entrance

Characters: Oni! Riddle Rosehearts, Reader

Warnings: Yandere behavior! There is also talk of violence in this one so be careful!

—--

For context : series masterlist 

Riddle Roseheart - Thornless Rose- First Love

Since he was a child he couldn't remember a time where rules had not brought him a reprieve. Other oni often teased him, citing how odd it was for an oni to depend on rules instead of alcohol or gambling. “Are you an Oni? You're more like a tengu with how stuck up you are.” Perhaps it was the incentive that he was not like the others (that he was better than the others) that led to him rapidly rising through the ranks. By the time the others had found reprieve elsewhere, Riddle was sitting at the throne of the mountain ruling with an iron hand. 

Be it rules, law, order, or justice it plagued his head from wake to unconscious states, binding his movements. On the best days, it was a muse, the leading force that allowed Heartslabyuls largest accomplishments. On the worst of days, it was a constricting chain dragging him to the bottom of the ocean. (and he was running out of air, drowning, drowning , drowning until there was nothing left to him but bones and rules around his neck.)Eventually, the thought of a master is more so a solution to the problem, so while he does look forward to your arrival he originally views a master as a sort of tool. 

But as the calm seeps through his being, saturating his thoughts until they sink to the floor and leave nothing but a sleepy blankness (for the first time in his existence) his original opinions seem embarrassing. How could he be anything but yours? You are not a medicine nor a hero, but the goal he would achieve simply by having you by his side, by being by your side. (Because you were not the key to perfection but rather perfection itself.) Rules were but mere suggestions at your words. (The rope in his hands is his last unbreakable law.) You are nothing if not the law itself.

After your arrival Riddle still slaves away at his work, screaming at the others for their misdemeanors and enforcing his rules actively. But instead of the harsh and wintery rule, he had settled in before there is instead a softness in his words. (The first time he revokes a punishment at your command the mountain falls silent. Except of course for your other yokai because of course, he would listen to you, it's only natural you have the most authority.)After all, he no longer is the supreme ruler. You are. 

Though he is not present at your fall he can feel the snap of tension in the air and the sudden lack of air that warns him of the news. (That screams at him for his failure to serve, to protect, to enforce your safety.) (because what a failure he was, what was he even worth if he could not keep you safe.) The oni is not known for his patience, and he is one of the first to fall into his battle nature. There is no room for mercy in an apocalypse. 

There is hardly a day that passes where he does not break a bone, bash in teeth, draw blood in the form of retribution for breaking the rules. Familiars to the same master cannot kill each other, so he does not hold back. (Trey tells him death would be mercy after he restrains the leech twins. Their bodies are mangled, deformed even, missing most of their teeth and discolored. He cannot find it in him to be remorseful. He has not listened to Trey's senses or even his own in a long time, not since he had seen the death of his future.) While he is responsible for the shaky bonds and nearly burned bridges with his harsh rule he is also the backbone so they do not fall to disgrace. (Because he will die before he disgraces you anymore.)

The shame does not catch up to him until the calm returns, in the form of you (impossibly alive and warm) in the mirror as the rest of Heartslabyul crowds you on the other side of the mirror. (You're wearing odd clothes and even odder are the doppelgangers who stare at the scene bewildered.)The realization that he had been killing (killing) his own hits him full force and for a brief moment, he wonders if he is even fit to see you again. But then as you gaze up at him as if asking why he is not by your side he thinks he has time. Time to repent for his foolish actions, time to wash the blood from his hands, time to be worthy of your rule again. (He steps through the portal and something snaps back into place)

There is chaos surrounding your abode, everyone trying to find their role by your side after too long without your guiding hand. But Riddle for once is content to watch with a serene gaze. Because there would be nothing but perfection under your eye. (Because he loved you.)

The burn of indignation runs under his feet as he observes the pace you had been assigned. Broken boards, cobwebs, no insulation at all whoever had given you this pitiful home would be crushed under his heel when he got ahold of them. Can't they see you deserved nothing but the best? Yet there was no all-encompassing heat that burnt him until he was nothing but rage, instead in its place was a content piece. (The others with more providing natures were already running around trying to fix up the dorm after all.) So for the first time in a while, Riddle sat back on his feet to simply watch. (Because he was not needed, not with you here.) You're trying to stop the complete reconstruction of your dorm, placating the other's worries with a smile as Grim climbs from your shoulders to approach him. 

“Not going to greet your master? How strange of you leader.” His grin is infectious as ever, and Riddle cannot stop his chortle. Grim had always been a mentor, so it was no doubt that he would notice anything out of character. (But Riddles hands are deformed now, no longer the oni he once was.)

“I have… not conducted myself to be someone worthy of being under their rule. So for now I will watch.” There's a curiosity in the cat's gaze, no doubt from catching the others flinching briefly at his gaze but the feline doesn't press. Instead opting to impart some wisdom before leaping off the ledge to check on the others. 

“You know, they have a broken memory, they could use some of your orders.” A pause. ”But even so they missed you. Don't keep them waiting or too long.” Did you miss him? You missed him!  Don't worry Master you wouldn't wait long, just enough so he could wash the sins from his hands so he didn't sully your skin. But he'd never leave you. (Never again.)

[cheelduh]

How to Not Kill a Ginger (High School Au!)

Part 5 to the series hehehe

Parts: 1 2 3 4

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Synopsis: Childe’s stomach stirs when you take care of him, and he’s not sure if it’s because of his major crush on you or just plain old diarrhea.

Warnings: Swearing. Graphic descriptions involving the true idiocy of teenage boys.

Words: Abt 2.6k

Note: Sorry I sort of half assed this. I have big ideas for the next part tho ✨😮‍💨

If there's one thing you're sure of, it's that Teucer knows how to throw one hell of a tantrum.

Him and his brother, Anthon, under your watch, manage to get into a petty squabble that's been airing for the last fifteen minutes. You've done everything, from offering candy to promising an extra hour on the switch, but your efforts do not bear fruit.

What did you tell Childe again? Oh yeah, that babysitting kids was a breeze. Apparently it's not a breeze. Maybe something more like a shart. A chunky, messy one at that.

"Listen dude," You reason to Anthon, the oldest of the bunch gently. "Where did you hide his toy?"

Anthon sticks a tongue out at you, and you nearly cry at the intensity of the insult. "Not telling."

Your patience runs thin.

"C'mon Anthon," Tonia lectures from her chair on the table like the godsend she is. "Just give him his toy back. You're being so annoying." She's taking the words right out of your mouth.

"Not until he apologizes!" Anthon crosses his arms, huffing. "He ate my cheese string!"

"There are more cheese strings!" You exclaim, opening the fridge to prove your point. "I'm sure Teucer's sorry for taking yours. Just pick another one."

"But it's not the same! He took the last cheddar and mozzarella one, now there are only mozzarella ones left." He speaks in between Teucer's wails. You wonder if this is a daily occurrence.

Tonia sighs, gets up from her chair, and hands the eldest her cheese string. "Just take this and give him his toy back."

Almost immediately, Anthon reaches a hand behind the tv table and pulls out the miniature Mr. Cyclops, then throws it point blank at Teucer's feet.

Teucer wails louder.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, shoulders sagging under the stress of being a temporary teenage mother.

Then you take a deep breathe, voice booming over Teucer's cries, Anthon's grumbling, and the clicking of Tonia's tongue. "Let's make a cake!"

Everything in the room stills. Even Teucer's loud cries comes to a halt, and he inhales so sharply that the streak of snot over his lip goes right back into its origin.

You wince inadvertently.

"Poggers!" Anthon cheers, and his siblings join in, laughing and clapping in excitement.

Tonia's eyes widen in confusion when she briefly pauses from her rally. "Wait a minute. What are we celebrating? We can't bake a cake for no reason! It won't taste nearly as good."

Everyone stops to ponder.

Then you snap your fingers in realization, and the kids huddle around you. "How about a 'get well better' cake for your big brother?"

They erupt in cheers again, but you shush them gently, wink an eye for extra measure. "We have to be quiet! He won't get better if we wake him."

The three nod in understanding and begin shushing each other, failing to conceal their giggles.

As you watch them making their way into the kitchen, bounce in their steps, you can't stop the warm smile that reaches your eyes.

That smile soon becomes a frown of horror when Anthon cracks an egg over Tonia's head.

-

The cake is not half as bad as you thought it would be initially. Between mixing the ingredients and ceasing the kids minus Tonia from being menaces to society, you were able to find middle ground.

Eventually Anthon found interest in finding ways to lick the batter whenever you turned around, and Teucer found comfort in your left leg, latching onto it as if it were a life line.

Just like how Venti latches onto his stupid little bottle of wine disguised as a water bottle. Seriously, you’ve never talked to him sober, and at this point are afraid of what’s he’s like lucid.

Tonia had been the only one taking things seriously for the most part, except for the sprinkles-to-icing ratio. She drowned the entire cake in sprinkles, the mere sight adding on the ghost of an ache in your teeth.

It looks like twilight sparkles took a fat dump on it.

"Okay besties," You inwardly curse yourself for giving into Gen-Z vocabulary as you brush your hands on the apron. "I think we've done a pretty decent job."

"It looks so pretty!" Tonia grins widely, eyeing the edible pearls she strategically placed. She quickly strikes down a finger Anthon tried to poke into the icing, with the accuracy of a true warrior.

You shudder at the thought of Childe teaching her how to stab someone with safety scissors.

"Can we add candles?" Teucer asks, but Tonia clicks her tongue in distaste.

"It's not a birthday cake." She crosses her arms judgementally. The power in her glare reminds you of La Signora, strangely enough.

You ruffle his copper coloured locks anyways, and his grip on your thigh tightens. "We can add candles if you want Teucer."

He nods his head and snuggles deeper into the side of your leg. Your heart warms up considerably.

After the candles are poked in, you try to shrug him off. "C'mon dude, just for five minutes. You don't want me to drop the cake before your brother can get a bite do you?"

Reluctantly, he obliges, and runs off to help Tonia collect utensils to take up to Childe's room.

Anthon's on door duty, kicking away any toys that serve as obstacles in your way like a professional soccer player.

Once you four make it up the stairs in front of the designated room, Anthon doesn't bother knocking. He barges in like he owns the place, chin up high and a signature smirk on his face that he probably learnt from his older brother.

Childe fumbles awake, kicking the air whilst in shock by the chaotic sound of the door hitting the wall and Teucer screaming "Happy Birthday!" at the top of his miniature sized lungs as he runs in to plop right on top of his older brother.

His bewildered expression soon turns into something of a loving smile as he begins to process what is happening, eyes lighting up despite the deep bags that frame them.

Tonia places the plates on his side table, right next to the empty soup bowl you placed there earlier. She climbs up onto the bed as well to join in on the hug.

Anthon approaches at last, hands in his pockets as he coolly acknowledges his older brother. Instead of a bone-crushing hug like the other two are indulging in, his opts for a fist bump that Childe happily reciprocates.

Then finally, between the shield that are his siblings, his cerulean eyes land on your near the doorway, then trail down to the cake in your oven-mittened hands. He averts his gaze back to your own, and grins so wide his cheeks start to throb.

"Big brother! We made you cake." Teucer moves his head from his chest to face him. "So you can get better."

Childe's laughs ring in your ears, but you don't shy away from the sound. It's a pleasant, something that you wish to hear more of in the near future. Sure enough he laughs a lot at school, but the genuineness of it at home, surrounded by his siblings, stirs something deep within you.

"How thoughtful of you." He ruffles his hair, then his eyes widen as he ushers the two off of him. "You guys can't be near me! I don't want you to fall ill as well."

"But-but how will we feed you the cake without getting close to you?" Tonia frowns, and her two brothers nod in unison.

You chuckle lightly, approaching the bed with the cake in your hands. "I'm sure he has enough strength to feed himself. The hugs and kisses surely must've energized him."

To be honest, Childe's all green in the face and the last thing on his mind would be to indulge in the cake. You understand the feeling all to well. With his nose clogged up, throat all sore, there's no way he'll stomach it. It took a lot of nagging on your part to get him to finish the soup earlier as well.

He blows the candles anyways, clapping along his siblings and letting Tonia drop a fat chunk of the golden cake onto his plate. You find it endearing, regrettably so. His dedication to keeping their dreams is admirable in more ways than you can count.

This is the same guy that wears meme shirts to school, topped off with douchey sunglasses to give him a pristine vibe. The same guy that punches holes in walls like a Kyle. The very boy that flexes his toned biceps in-front of you during lunch time, successfully ruining your appetite.

"Wait a minute..." Childe inspects the cake closely, narrowing in on the candles. "Why is there an eleven?"

Teucer scratches his neck sheepishly. "Those were the only candles we had left."

After another short-lived laugh, Childe manages a bite as everyone stares in expectation, the sound of a tight crunch enveloping the room, making you grimace in secret. If Childe feels like puking out his guts right now, he's doing a hell of a job hiding it from his darling siblings.

You're glad nobody forces you to take a bite, or it would've been a double homicide right then and there.

Soon enough, one by one the children file out of the room, satisfied with their visit. The reality is that they don't want to miss an episode of backyardigans.

Once they leave, you approach him with a napkin. He gets the gist, spitting out the remnants of the cake you slaved over for about two hours.

"Colour me impressed." You snort, moving the cake aside so you can take a seat on the open space next to him. "How're you feeling?"

"Amazing." He exclaims, eyes red like a crackhead's, nose runny, with goosebumps kissing his pale skin. He sure does look...amazing.

"Cool." You say, abruptly getting up. "I'm gonna vibe with the kid—"

His hand shoots out from underneath the blanket, clammy palms wrapping around your wrist to keep you locked in place. You gulp in anticipation.

"You kissed me." Childe reminds you, eyes twinkling in mischief, a vicious grin plastered over his stupidly handsome face.

You try not to choke on your words. "You have circumstantial evidence at most." No attempts are utilized to pull away from him.

He raises a teasing brow, and you give in because the tension is thick. Thicker than the tension between Albedo and Kaeya when the latter shamelessly unzips his front to show more of his biddies. You have no idea why he hasn’t been dress coded yet.

"Fine." You snap out of your impure thoughts, and huff out, frustrated all over. "I kissed you on the cheek."

"Still a kiss though."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. Also, cute nails." He points out, hand moving down to grasp your fingers. The act is intimate, his caress gentle and caring. Despite his brash, violent personality, he shows you a completely different side to him that hatches butterflies in your stomach.

"Thanks." You show off the bright jewels on your index. "You have a real nail technician in the house."

Tonia has some serious talent.

When he taps one of the jewels, you slap his hand away. "Careful there dude. These cost me a fortune."

His chuckles die down and he smiles again, but this time apologetically. "They didn't trouble you too much did they? I know they can be loud."

"I like loud." You answer him truthfully. "They're fun to be around. Not nearly as chaotic as you."

He blinks in mock offence, eyes narrowing shrewdly. "You come into my house, talk to my siblings, and have the nerve to insult me? Right after taking advantage of me?"

"If you don't shut up, I'll also have the nerve to rip you a new one." You reply dryly with the innocent curl of your lips.

"Bet."

You're about to lunge at him and scream a string of obscenities that no one has ever heard of before, but the Archons are listening and you don't want his siblings to grow up without someone to look up to. Wait a minute—scratch that. You'd be doing them a favour if you wiped his existence right here and now.

You have a fragile heart though. So you sigh, and grab a fistful of sheets in both hands instead.

Childe's grin turns into a petrified scowl.

"Oh no," He pleads, weakly fighting you back. "Have mercy! Please!"

You have loads of mercy. Just not enough for him.

When you have him wrapped in a successful bundle, Childe can’t help but beam, laying limp in his confines.

“What are you smiling about?” You inquire, pulling out the medicine from his box, pausing momentarily in shock. “Wait a minute, don’t tell me you’re into these things you freak.” Head snaps up so fast you nearly suffer from whiplash.

He’s about to answer you but his words turn into a fit of shallow coughs.

“I’m into whatever you’re into.” Childe’s shrug is nonchalant. “Even if that means I have to be tied up. Kinky by the way.” He winks, and you roll your eyes, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as you hold the spoon up. The dark reddish medicine swirls in deep hues.

“Shut up and open your mouth.”

“Girlie, I don’t think you understand how contradicting that statement is.”

You momentarily wonder if it’s too late to abort yourself.

—

Childe awakens at the crack ass of night, sweat slick, sticky all over, tousled hair sticking to his forehead. He’s a panting mess, eyes darting around the dark room, inhaling, exhaling, mind in a haze from the fever. Gaining somewhat of a grip on reality, he fumbles around to turn on his lamp, throat parched and in need of water.

When he manages to find the switch, he recoils at the brightness, adjusting to the sudden change in his vision. On his side table, there’s a bologna sandwich tucked safely in plastic wrap, a glass of room temperature water, and a bottle of painkillers.

His eyes disregard most of the things, finding interest in the bright pink sticky note next to the painkillers. Unable to ignore the dryness of his throat and the pounding of his head, he quickly gulps a pill down with most of the water, instantly feeling the relief of hydration.

Then, he pounces on the note, giddiness overtaking him despite the pang in his muscles, and the general feeling of absolute shit.

I had to leave. Don’t worry about your siblings, they’re all tucked in and fine. Except for Anthon maybe. Apparently he’s mildly lactose intolerant and thought it was a good idea to overdose on chocolate milk when I was busy with Teucer. Anyways, get better soon stupid.

— Y/N

He safely tucks the note under his pillow, edges of his lips turned upwards, warmth flooding his veins when he takes another look around his surroundings.

The room itself is cleaned, floor cleared from the initial clutter and the cool shiny collector’s knives he buys off of Amazon safely hung over the wall, not littered on his desk like they usually are.

The homework he was supposed do, but most likely wouldn’t, is already completed, stacked neatly atop each other.

Childe swears his heart bursts in his chest, exploding into tiny particles that overheat his entire body.

There’s no way in hell a few days worth of homework is gonna bring his failing mark up, but then again it’s the thought that counts.

While the sandwich is catered to his nausea, bland and plain for easy digestion, an easy fill, it’s the best meal he’s ever had in his life.

[aestheticaxolotl]

Let's Talk About Bellroc

Let me just start with the basics.'

I have always loved Netflix's Tales of Arcadia. Trollhunters being my favorite instillation of the three series, but I was severly disappointed with the Rise of The Titans to the point where it ALMOST turned me off on the whole series.

The key word is almost.

The thing that dragged me by the hair back into this series and the Rise of the Titans was Bellroc, it seems fitting that this character dragged me into the series because they are so interesting and deep to a point.

The thing about this character that I want t challenge most in this analysis is the one line they deliver to Jim when they are about to end the world.

And I quote, "The world is but seconds away from a glorious rebirth. Don't spend that time here. Go. Embrace your loved ones for the final time"

But as per usual, I will be starting with the official Arcadia Oaks-pedia description as well as the given personality. I will be attempting to challenge and divert these assumptions made and give you a better understanding of this character and hopefully open our eyes to the fact that even villains can in fact be benevolent and respectful to others.

Bellroc is an androgynous being, with a shifting voice to represent male and female. They are of average height with grey skin, red hair, red/yellow eyes, and tattoos on their face resembling traditional Inuit tattoos. After Callista blinds Bellroc's main eyes during the Battle of Killahead Bridge, they wear a black blindfold with red linings. After awakening the Fire Titan, Bellroc's main eyes glow bright orange.

Bellroc wears a large cape of black feathers, with red wooden pauldrons on each shoulder. The eyes on the pauldron move and are used as Bellroc's secondary pair of eyes. They wear a wooden chest plate carved to look like a nose and mouth, and the mouth opens depending on the position Bellroc is in.

On their head, Bellroc wears a large skull of a horned, bird-like creature, and wears many other small bones. Their forearms are wrapped in gauze, and they wear a large beaded bracelet on their left wrist. Bellroc wears black pants with a belt with attachments resembling Fulu and walks barefoot.

Bellroc is defined, as a whole to be an "Androgynous being", never having the definition of gender, their entire physique is meant to look female, a sure example of this is the thin design, their hairstyle, even the echoing female voice that tends to ring out when they are speaking. Historically, when referring to female characters people tend to sympathize or have a softer attitude towards them. I fully believe that Netflix team intends for this to happen.

Now, I can easily explain away the coloration with the association to flames and stone, but the tattoos confused me for the time being, and all I can do to assume this is a design choice. Except for the relation to Inuit.

Inuit are indigenous artic living people, so why would a God of Flame and destruction have the marking of people related to northern areas and travel?

The Inuit are Animisms. Also relating that every non-human thing, animals, plants, rivers, etc, in the world possesses a soul. I truly believe that this is something all of the Arcane Order would take to heart, being the creators of the world and that is why they choose to represent themselves with these tattoos.

I am actively choosing to ignore their choice in clothing as it is almost self-explanatory, they have been blinded and use their second eyes to see, but the bones they wear are quite interesting to me.

The skull of the horned bird and the other bones they wear are quite interesting when you take notice that they are the most aggressive of the Arcane Order. One would be correct in thinking that these are a type of trophy. Possibly larger creatures that she has defeated in the past. In a close observation, one can notice the smaller bones of human anatomy. Possibly humans that stood against her in previous encounters.

Bellroc is a hateful and despicable demigod, who is cruel and merciless in their actions. They dislike humanity and believe that humans cannot right their wrongdoings, primarily because they saw humanity's corruption and thus sought to protect the balance between humankind and magic. However, this was only by their own twisted standards as their version of the balance was that magic would overthrow humankind as the dominant force, and plus, only bringing misery and calamity instead of true balance. This shows how hypocritical and self-righteous their ambitions truly are as they accuse humanity of being corrupt, even though they are corrupt themself.

Now taking these things into account, we will take the time to glance at the personality of Bellroc's personality and WHY it differs in Rise of the titans, again, grabbing from Arcadia Oaks-pedia.

And I quote, with a few removals that are not relevant to this post.

I am choosing to take this in bullet points rather than info dump on my audience, you can thank me later.

Bellroc is indeed a hateful and cruel creature to the point of being merciless. I argue that this is how they require themself to be due to the fact of the balance they represent. Nari, represents kindness, Skreal represents neutrality, and Bellroc is the representation of Hate and destruction.

Their hate towards humanity makes sense when you take the position of humanity towards the world that they strove to protect. Their world was destroyed by human, it's almost fitting they want to rid the world of a pest.

They were also manipulative towards Morgana, claiming that she is the Arcane Order's "champion" when she was really used as their pawn so they can get what they want, and even killing King Arthur in front of her, completing her descent into darkness. They now want to use the Genesis Seals to unleash uncontrollable magic to destroy the entire universe, which would include not only humanity, but also the magical and extraterrestrial beings living in it, and then remake the Earth in their own image.

Manipulation is a coping habit, at least not a healthy one. The trauma of seeing one's creation destroyed can cause many things, and I refuse to defend their action of murder, but I will not stand here and say that they deserved to watch their world turn to ash. A person can be a victim and an abuser at the same time.

Bellroc is also known as wanting to destroy the fabric of the universe in order to recreate it. I take this as an act of a victim trying to recreate this abusive situation they failed to survive once before.

Again, I will state that this is not a healthy way of coping in the slightest. Abusing the abusers is not healthy and revenge would have possibly made the situation worse than it already was.

Bellroc was also completely selfish, truly caring about no one but themself and not even the well-being of other magical creatures, which is shown through their treatment of Morgana. Bellroc also shows sociopathic signs, as shown when she gets furious with Skrael torturing Steve.

Selfishness is defined as the following by Webster's dictionary "lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure."

Bellroc is driven by the idea of a new world with peace and nature, I find it strange that a creature bend on destruction is so eager to create a new world. Perhaps the creature that craves destruction also craves the peace and hospitality of a new world.

In contrast to Skrael, Bellroc was so impulsive to the point that they decided to intervene in the Battle of Killahead Bridge despite the former's warnings. They also prefer to arson buildings, as they did in GDT Arcane Books because it helps them feel calmer and think up another plan to destroy the universe.

Bellroc is determined to have their way, their world, this form of peace that they can bring to the world into a state of peace and new life. Despite this, they are impulsive and eager to create as well are they are to destroy.

They also have a shade of sadism, though it is not as extreme as Skrael's. While fighting Jim, their sadism was only meant to break his spirit so that he wouldn't even try to stop them, taunting him that he is nothing without the Amulet of Daylight and calls him powerless without it, treating him like a helpless little boy, and took their time torturing him.

I won't deny this is a statement of true hostility and sadism. They know how to break people, destroy their self-esteem and their willpower. It's a normal coping mechanism to put others down and that is what they choose to do.

Despite this, Bellroc seems to have an extremely small amount of compassion, as shown when they advised Jim to spend time with his loved ones before they remade the world as their own. However, it wasn't truly genuine since this was only to goad Jim into giving up as they are mere seconds away from connecting to the Heartstone, suggesting it was all he could do at that point.

Kindness in someones' moment of weakness can be seen as cruel but giving someone the chance to be with the ones they love is a sign of mercy. They present death and yet this small form of comfort is an act of allowing someone to be weak, despite breaking Jim down, Bellroc chooses to give him the choice of being by himself or with the ones he loves.

I will not lie, I did leave things and speculation of the Pedia in order to present my own argument. But that is what people do, leave details out.

Bellroc is a complex character despite the presentation that they are not as one-sided as the series presents. Thank you for tuning in and come back next week for Nari's analysis!!

[jonathanarcher]

Collection of Star Trek quizzes, all links go back to tumblr posts by the op, if you don’t want your quiz on the list let me know and I’ll remove it

General

Which strongly implied but not “technically” canon Star Trek couple are you?

let me guess your main star trek ship

Live Long and ..... how did that one go again? (Test your knowledge of Star Trek quotes)

Which Minor Star Trek Woman (that I know) are you?

Which Problematic Star Trek Villain Are You Inexplicably In Love With?

Which bad Star Trek father are you?

pick some random star trek characters and ill tell you what your taste is

What Star Trek race should you belong to?

What Star Trek Show's Fashion Are You?

Which Spock are you?

answer a few questions and i'll send you on a date with a starfleet officer

which one of my favourite star trek gays are you?

which star trek ship that i used to obsess over are you?

What Star Trek race should you belong to?

Pick Some Star Trek Men and I'll Try to Guess Your Sexual Orientation

Star Trek episode, Dave Eggers book, or Mountain Goats song?

Who is your DILF/MILF

The Original Series

Which TOS food are you ?

Are you Jim, Bones or Spock?

which Star Trek TOS episode resonates with you the most? why?

which member of the tos enterprise crew are you?

Which funny Star Trek episode should you watch?

The Next Generation

Which Star Trek:TNG Character Should You Kin

Which TNG character should you bang

Which Q are you?

Deep Space Nine

Name! That! DS9 Charater!

which ds9 character are you?

Which ds9 character are you??

What Star Trek DS9 Character Are You? (For non trekkies)

a taste in men quiz except it's just alexander siddig

answer some questions and i'll tell you which of my favorite things about ds9 you are

which weyoun are you?

which vorta are you?

which dumb thing julian bashir has said are you

Voyager

Whichever Character fom the iconic Voyager episode Threshold are you?

which totally batshit part of threshold are you

How long would you survive on Voyager?

Enterprise

What iconically awful enterprise moment are you

What Star Trek: Enterprise Character are you?

which enterprise character are you?

Discovery

what kind of gay person you are based on which needlessly homoerotic star trek: discovery moment you are

i compliment you based on which background bridge crew character in disco you are

which iconic detmer/owo moment are you?

[tribbetherium]

The Middle Glaciocene: 115 million years post-establishment

Ascent of Ham: The Dawning Of Sapience

It is 115 million years since the coming of life on HP-02017.

Countless generations of hamsters of all shapes and sizes have since come and gone. The world has changed a lot since the beginning, and new forms have risen to conquer new land and fallen when they could not adapt to changing environments, especially the unpredictable fluctuations of warm and cold climes now as the Glaciocene approaches its end. And here, on the plains of the Arcuterran savannah, one such creature has emerged unlike anything before seen.

It is early morning on the temperate grassland. Beta, hanging high in the sky since last evening, is now joined by the rising of Alpha, with the ruddy glow of Beta-twilight soon giving way to a brilliant orange light. The creatures of the daytime begin to stir, and emerge from their shelters to feed in the sunrise: a sunrise that to some, with nature red in tooth and claw, will be the last one they ever see.

Among these early risers are a large plains ungulope and her young calf: at barely a month old, the youngster is still dependent on its mother. She in turn is quite protective of her infant: as she heads out into the tall grass of the plains to graze, she lets out a few high-pitched whistles to ensure her young stays close by, which the calf responds to with a series of chirps to assure her of its proximity.

But she hears a sound of breaking twigs, the crackle of footsteps, and most tellingly, the smell of fire and smoke, one ignited without lightning, and freezes in high alert. At once she knows right away they are being stalked.

Suddenly the cracking noises are from all directions as plumes of smoke begin rising one after the other from the tall grass: at once both mother and calf panic and begin to flee. The mother ungulope gallops away from the source of the sound, and away from the fire that most living things inherently fear, making a rapid set of chirps to guide her young to her. But the noises disorient it: they are coming from different sources-- multiple assailants having them surrounded-- and it is not long until the calf becomes separated from its mother. Frightened and lost, it bolts from the unseen assailants hidden in the tall grass, as fast as its little hooves can carry it, and away from the flames that have begun to scorch the dry grasses behind it: only to blunder straight into a trap.

A pointed branch, gnawed perfectly into a lethal tip, pierces the ungulope calf's flank, causing it to squeal desperately in pain and terror. Its mother hears its distress, and rushes to its defense-- but another such branch strikes her painfully in the shoulder. And as another one hits her in the flank, she has no choice but to flee: abandoning her wounded calf, who cries vainly out into the distance as it watches its parent bound out of sight, away into the smoldering grasses of the flames that by now have spread. Its desperate cries soon draw the attention of the assailants, who turn to it with eager eyes, and before the wounded calf could muster the last of its strength to struggle to its feet, the hunters fling themselves from the cover of the grass onto their victim, and begin to devour it alive.

A chorus of screams of agony break the morning silence as the ungulope calf struggles uselessly against the pointed claws and tearing teeth slowly stripping it of hide and flesh: and not only by weapons granted by nature's design, but by sharp wooden spears, their ends splintered points that jabbed cruelly into the ungulope calf to further its suffering. Wooden spears that were purposefully crafted with great care and precision, to serve but a single specific purpose-- to be an instrument of dealing death. And some of these sticks smolder with flame, the source of the sudden bushfire, as the attackers have managed to capture and command this primordial force, some of them now using the fire to further taunt the calf, searing its flayed flank to draw more agonized cries, a display met with wild whoops and squeaks from the bloodthirsty audience.

And with each painful squeal the assailants grow ever more excited, hopping up and down and shaking their spears as they joined in the melody of death with ever-more eager shrieks and whistles. The sound of their prey's pain meant food. The suffering of their victim meant life for them. And it was something that brought them twisted joy. For this was no mere, ordinary predator that had claimed this young ungulope, but a species that for the first time was capable of understanding its actions, and even purposefully reveling in them. A species with intention, and the capacity to operate beyond natural limits. A species aware of itself and its world, complex enough to think beyond the scope of a typical animal. A species capable of genuine malice.

A species that, arising 115 million years from an unassuming lineage, was HP-02017's first sapient: the harmster.

Descending from the riplets of five million years prior, the origin of the harmsters goes back to the giant, plodding herbivores known as drundles, which, on the continent of Mesoterra, became small, cursorial bipeds called podotheres. Omnivorous in nature, some of these podotheres increasingly became more carnivorous, with the lineage of the loupgaroos becoming full-fledged predators that hunted living prey. Of these, one genus known as the ripperoos would become vicious, intelligent apex predators on Mesoterra as to eventually displace their smaller descendants, the riplets, to leave the continent via a land bridge. Over time the riplets would develop increased cooperative skills and discover the use of fire, setting the stage for their ascent into the modern harmster.

As evolution is a gradual process slowly accumulating changes over eons, it is impossible to say exactly when the harmsters attained sapience: but undoubtedly by five million years earlier the riplets' discovery of fire had been a catalyst for even faster changes that set a cascade leading to bigger brains and more complex behaviors, ultimately producing a species that crossed the threshhold of self-awareness.

This species would be the common ancestor of four extant harmster species: violent and warmongering as they are, new subspecies arose here and there and were quickly snuffed out of existence by their kin-- at some point, as many as twelve harmster species existed at once, jousting over territory and resources, and their expertise at dealing death made no exception for their own kind, and soon whittled down the number of species to a fraction of those that didn't directly compete with one another: at least, for the time being.

Most abundant are the white-browed savanna harmsters (Atroxicricetosapiens bruteus), hunters of the plains that prefer the use of branches sharpened into spears as their main weapons, while in higher elevated lands of Arcuterra, smaller dwarf mountain harmsters (A. montenanus) make a living, notable among their kind in being less intraspecifically-hostile, and opting the use of tools made from rocks or bones due to the sparser trees of the highlands. In the temperate jungles live the matriarch harmsters (A. hamazoni), distinct by their pronunced sexual dimorphism with the females being larger and much more dominant than the males. And most advanced of them are the tundra harmsters (A. cryorex): not only do they rely on tools available in the environment, but actively craft more complex weaponry such as spears tipped with points of stone or teeth, and it is this species among the four that has begun a more-developed level of cultural growth: and a primitive, militaristic form of government headed by the strongest and fiercest.

Pressured by evolution toward fecundity, ferocity and intelligence, the end result was a species that seemed to be the worst sapience had to offer: a species that appears to combine the most dreadful aspects of some of Earth's cleverest species-- the sadism to their prey exhibited by orcas, the brutal tribalism and amoral warfare displayed by chimpanzees, and most frighteningly the advanced tool use and arrogance disturbingly similar to the very species that had seeded life onto this world untold eons ago-- humans. With all this wrapped up in their hamster-like tendency to breed in great numbers and kill and eat their own kind, the arrival of the harmsters would herald a turning point in this planet's timeline: one that would make this world quite less of a paradise.

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

[goldnratio]

Inconvenient Interruptions (Spencer Reid x reader)

Summary: the team has to catch an unsub at a nightclub. spencer is paired up with female reader. they flirt, dance, and confess some feelings.

Warnings: briefly mentioned killings, some touching and kissing, microscopic teen wolf and beetlejuice references, a little ooc Spencer I think, and some guns at the end

Word Count: 2.6k

A/N: I’m thinking of doing a part 2 that’s smut but idk yet,,, this is a hot mess but enjoy :))

—

Going undercover wasn’t so bad, you’d done it plenty of times while working for the BAU. Usually you’d go by yourself - with the rest of the team and local cops outside - or with a partner, and that sometimes meant you’d portray friends or lovers. Having been paired up with everyone on the team at least once, you’d probably say that you preferred pairing up with Spencer Reid. You were comfortable with the whole team, but you felt different with Spencer. You liked him, and you only hoped he felt the same. If not, then all the casual flirting back and forth would have just gone waste.

This case involved another serial killer, identified as forty-one year old Adam Raeken, that was going around Los Angeles, California and preying on all types of young couples. He seemed to have favored night clubs; abducting a couple from one club, and disposing their bodies somewhere near a different club. So far, he managed to abduct and kill six different couples without getting caught, and your team was hoping to catch him before he got a seventh.

After learning when and where Adam would strike next - around 9:30 PM at a club a few miles from the LA police station called ‘Dante’s Inferno’ - every available unit was going to be deployed.

Turned out, ‘Dante’s Inferno’ was a pretty big club, both in size and popularity. In an effort to try and catch Adam without causing a mass panic, every officer and agent was to go in plain clothes, along with the law enforcement waiting outside.

Even though the informant gave a rough time estimate, the team got there when the bar first opened at 8:00 PM to keep tabs on everyone who walked into the club.

—

Hotch made you and Spencer partners, assigning you the task of focusing on scoping the bar area for Adam.

You’d chosen a short, red bodycon dress that hugged your curves with matching heels and a loaded gun in your bag, acting coy with Spencer while you all waited for Adam to show up.

“What’s a girl like you, doing in a place like this?” Spencer said as he got comfortable in the bar seat next to you.

You take a sip from your non-alcoholic beverage and grin, “You use that opener with all the ladies?”

“Just the gorgeous ones.”

“Well to answer your question, I’m looking for someone.” Your smile feigns innocence, except Spencer can see the humor in your eyes.

“Really? A pretty girl looking for someone? I would’ve guessed someone here would be looking for you.”

“Most days, but tonight is special. He’s unique.” You wink at Spencer and he laughs.

“I’m sure he is. With a woman like you after him, he’s a lucky guy.”

You sigh dramatically. “That depends on if I find him tonight,” you take another sip from your drink, “if not, I’ll have to go home all by myself.”

“Oh please, I’m sure any man in here -“

Static coming from your earpieces interrupts him.

“Reid, (Y/L/N), if you could focus on the case, please.”

“Sorry, Hotch,” you blush, looking away from Spencer.

“Yeah, sorry, Hotch,” Spencer cleared his throat, “we’ll focus.”

“You can flirt off the clock after we’ve caught Raeken,” Emily teased.

You saw her down at the end of the bar with JJ and stuck your tongue out at her. JJ tries not to laugh as Emily fake gags.

“Ladies, if you can keep it together for the rest of the night, you can have your pick of a wine bottle from my cellar,” Rossi chuckled.

“Got it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You bet.”

No one saw, but Hotch rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

You quickly scanned the other people at the bar and a portion of the dance floor, making sure Adam hasn’t showed up early.

Your attention directs back to Spencer when he puts a shy hand on your waist and leaned in close to your side without the earpiece and microphone, so close that you felt his hair tickle and his breath hot on your skin.

“You know, we were ordered to come in plain clothes.”

Two can play this game, you thought.

Placing one hand on the back of his neck to play with his curls and the other on his bicep, you lean forward towards his earpiece-less side. “Plain clothes just means ‘not a uniform.’ This look like a uniform to you?” You softly squeeze his bicep, sitting up and taking another sip from your beverage.

Spencer simply shakes his head and smirks. “I just realized I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress.”

“I don’t think a dress, much less one like this, would be...appropriate…in the field.”

“I think I could imagine a few places it would be appropriate,” Spencer countered.

“Yeah?” You hum, “like where—“

“Alright it’s nine o’clock. Make sure you are on alert in the next twenty-five minutes so that we’re ready if he sticks to the time,” Hotch interrupts.

A series of ‘okay’s’ are heard in your earpiece.

“and (Y/L/N), Reid? Just because you’re not talking into the earpieces, doesn’t mean we can’t hear you.”

This time, it’s a series of your teammates’ laughs in your ear.

“Right, sorry...again,” Spencer answered.

You gave a small laugh and issued your second apology as Spencer excused himself to use the restroom.

—

As soon as he got in the restroom, Spencer took out his earpiece. Right before he walked into a stall, the restroom door opened and revealed none other than SSA Derek Morgan, who also took out his earpiece.

“Reid, my man!” Derek clapped his hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “Who knew you had that kinda game in you, buddy?”

“Oh my god, Derek, please don’t do this now,” Spencer deadpanned.

“Do what?”

Spencer can’t help but give him the ‘seriously?’ look.

Derek smiled. “Look, kid. All I’m going to say is that it’s obvious you’re both into each other, you should go for it.”

“That’s just it, I don’t know if she really likes me or it’s just the friendly flirting or the fact that we’re technically undercover right now!”

“Kid, I’ve gone undercover with (Y/N) before, and trust me when I say that her flirting with you is real. And I’m sure you’ve noticed that she doesn’t ‘friendly flirt’ with anyone else other than you.”

Spencer sighs. “You really think she’s into me?”

“Of course I do. You’re a great guy, Reid. You two deserve each other.”

“Thanks, Derek...but is that it because I came in here to actually use the restroom.”

“Oh,” Derek laughs, “my bad, Reid. I just came in to wash my hands but I’ll let you get to your business.”

“Right...see you out there.”

—

When Spencer made his way back to the bar, the last thing he expected to see was a man trying to hit on you. He walked a little faster to you and noticed how your eyes lit up when he got there.

“Oh look! Here he is!”

The mystery guy looked at Spencer, and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the thought of this man making a move on you while he wasn’t there.

“Who are you?” He asked Spencer in a bitter tone.

Spencer took a step closer to you and put an arm around your shoulders, “Her boyfriend.”

Luckily the man got the hint and left, and Spencer’s arm loosened up on your shoulders.

“Sorry I left, I didn’t think anything would happen in such a short time.”

Reaching for one of his hands and you give it a quick squeeze. “It’s not your fault, and um, thank you.”

“No problem.”

You both sit in silence - as much silence that’s possible at a crowded club with music that’s blaring, until you hear a familiar beat. You glance at your watch, it's almost 9:10 PM and you realize there’s time to have some fun.

“Hey,” you look up at Spencer, “you wanna dance?”

His instincts almost kick in to say no. But then Derek’s restroom advice is ringing in his head, ‘you should go for it.’

He gives you a hesitant smile, “Yeah, let’s go.”

“Okay, just a sec.” You reach for your earpiece. “Hey guys? Spence and I are gonna scope out the dance floor.”

“You sure you’re not going just to dance with Pretty Ricky?”

Spencer blushed.

“Yes, Derek. We are also going to dance, we have to blend in.”

“Just stay focused,” Hotch reminds you.

With Hotch’s semi-blessing, you grab Spencer’s hand and lead him to the middle of the dance floor.

At first, Spencer is a little stiff, but you’re patient with him as he tries to find a rhythm that works for him. In any other circumstance, Spencer would’ve lost his mind trying to dance to music so loud that he can feel it in his bones while surrounded by sweaty bodies. He can only tolerate it because you’re with him.

Only because it’s his large hands that have a tight grip on your hips.

Only because it’s his long fingers dangerously close to the curve of your ass.

Only because it’s your hands in his hair.

Only because it’s his eyes your gaze is burning into.

Only because it’s your body moving in sync with his.

The upbeat music lasted a few good songs, but the music transitioned into something slower. It sounds like R&B, but you lose focus with how Spencer’s hands feel on your lower back, practically burning through your dress. And how good he smells. And how handsome he looks in the club’s colorful lighting. You almost forget why you’re in the club in the first place.

Your hands are on his shoulders, slowly traveling to the back of his head to thread your fingers in his hair as he leans forward to bring his face closer to yours. Neither of you say anything while you stare at each other, both too afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing.

You don’t know who leans in first, but you can feel Spencer’s nose brush against yours and his lips are just millimeters away and -

“All agents, I have eyes on the target. I repeat, I have eyes on the target.”

Crap, it was finally 9:30.

You quickly pull apart from each other, despite the disappointment evident in both of your faces.

“Copy that. Where’s he by?” You’re looking around the dance floor but don’t see him.

“Raeken is approaching the bar. Remember to proceed with caution, we want to avoid casualties.”

You double check the dancing crowd to make sure there’s other plain clothed law enforcement, not wanting to leave anything to chance.

“Let’s go get a drink, all this moving made me thirsty.” You kiss Spencer’s cheek, and his face is flushed as he follows you to the bar.

Adam’s already ordering a drink, so you settle a few seats away. To avoid suspicion, you order drinks for yourself and Spencer, but he looks tense and you’re hoping no one notices.

You wrap your arms around Spencer’s neck to get closer so he’ll hear you. “You’re too stiff, follow my lead.”

Moving just a few feet closer to Adam, you purposefully drop your drink, gaining the attention of the people around you.

“Oh no!” you pout.

When Spencer asks the bartender for a rag, he sees Adam staring at you with a dark look in his eyes. Spencer doesn’t like it but he has no choice but to stick to whatever plan you have.

Spencer turns back to you and helps you clean up your spilled drink. Fortunately, the cup was plastic and not glass.

Once the mess is cleaned up, you thank the bartender for the rug and ‘accidentally’ bump into Adam.

“Sorry about that,” you fake giggle.

He smirks at you, his eyes never leaving your body. You fight the urge to arrest him right there.

“No worries, gorgeous.” He takes a sip from his own drink as you walk back to Spencer.

You hug him again, and his hands gravitate towards the middle of your back. “Is Raeken looking?”

Spencer nods.

“Okay, good. Sorry about this in advance.”

That’s when you lean in to kiss him and you lightly push down on his arms. Luckily, Spencer gets the idea and moves his hands to your backside and squeezes. He relishes in the taste of your mouth and the sound of your moan, until you break the kiss.

He has to remind himself how to breathe when you ask him if he wants to get out of there, just loud enough for Adam to hear. You wink at Adam as you walk past him, anticipating him to follow you as you lead Spencer to the club’s exit.

“Hotch, he’s leaving with Reid and (Y/L/N).”

“Start to make your way towards the exit, we’ll catch him outside.”

Some officers stay inside, while the rest of your team is following you three out.

Outside, you’re surrounded by police cars to ensure the serial killer’s capture, who was just a few seconds behind you and Spencer. You quickly throw on some vests you were handed and pull out your gun.

Adam walks out of the club and the look on his face is priceless.

“Adam Raeken, freeze!”

He tries to make a run for it back into the club, but your team is already blocking the entrance, guns pointed straight at him.

In a matter of minutes, Adam is cuffed, being read his Miranda rights, and in the back of a cop car.

Before heading back to the LA precinct, you want to talk with Spencer.

“Hey Spence,” you pull him to the side, “can we talk really quick?”

“Of course, (Y/N).”

You walk away from the crowd of law enforcement and onlookers leaving the club.

“Listen, about the kiss and everything I said at the bar, I’m sorry again for springing that on you. It was completely unprofessional of me and unfair to you.”

Spencer cleared his throat. “No uhh, don’t worry. I’m sorry about what I said at the bar too, but the kiss thing was okay, really, I enjoyed it.”

You giggle and he immediately realizes what he said.

“Wait I didn’t mean that - I mean - Not that I didn’t enjoy it, because to be honest, I did and -“

He’s surprised by the feeling of your lips on his, and he’s already kissing you back before he brain can even process it.

You pull back with a small smile on your face. “Spencer, I like you too.”

He sighs in relief, “Oh good, if not this would’ve been awkward.”

“Totally,” you laugh in agreement, “but um, since the case is over, do you maybe wanna get a cup of coffee or something when we get back?”

“I’d like that, yeah.”

“Okay, great! I guess we can-“

“Hey, Romeo! Juliet!”

Your’s and Spencer’s heads whip to the direction of the voice, belonging to a very smug Derek Morgan.

“You two done over there? Because we’ve got a case to wrap up and a plane home to catch!”

You yell back, “In a minute!”

Spencer’s yelling, “Alright! We’ll be right there!” at the same time.

“We can talk more about this,” you gesture between the two of you with your hands with a grin, “later.”

You’re both wearing smiles on your faces as you walk shoulder-to-shoulder, back to your team, trying not to think about the numerous questions they’re about to ask.

[skiller0dani]

Moonlight | Draco Malfoy

MASTERLIST Harry Potter Masterlist

angst requested requests info

Part 9/10 (Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)(Part 4)(Part 5)(Part 6)(Part 7)(Part 8)(Part 10) song

almost finished!! this weekend I’ll post the LAST part to my ‘Obliviate’ Series! 

Ron tried to not get involved in your relationship with Draco, if anything he actively avoided the topic altogether. But even he had to admit that the disastrous breakup was hard to ignore, even for him. He hated seeing you so sad, and he hates to admit it but seeing Draco so upset was tugging at his heartstrings- and he didn’t even like Draco all that much. You he cared deeply for, and seeing you in this state was difficult for him, but most of all for Harry. You barely ate, barely spoke, and your grades had begun to slip considerably. 

Draco was your everything, and his betrayal was more brutal than anything else you could envision. You still couldn’t wrap your head around it, you wouldn’t let yourself accept that Draco did this- all of this- of his own free will. With all his memories in tact, while still claiming that he loves you. You hate the fact that you care, but there still has to be more to it. You were determined to get to the bottom of this, you needed to know why. 

It had been weeks since you’ve spoken to Draco, you couldn’t even bring yourself to look him in the eye during meals. You always felt his eyes on you at least once, and you tried desperately to remain composed, to not let a tear escape. The worst part was that you expected Draco to fight for you, to beg you to speak to him, to do anything. But he didn’t do anything, he was letting you go and he wasn’t fighting for you. How could he say he loves you but then let you go? You know Draco well enough to know when he isn’t telling you the truth, and Draco has lied to you more this year then he ever has before. You were desperate to know why. It couldn’t just be about the Dark Mark, because Draco is afraid. He’s scared of Voldemort sure, but he’s acting as though you’re always in imminent danger. As though being near him could kill you at any given moment, you don’t understand. You need to understand. 

“Just let it go.” Hermione mumbled a few nights later as you sat with her studying for Arithmancy. Your head was rested in your hand as you flipped through the book laid out in front of you, a book you got from the restricted section- with Dumbledore’s written permission of course. It contained everything wizards knew about the Dark Mark, and the dark magic it possessed. The process it takes to receive a Dark Mark is horribly painful, your heart squeezes painfully every time you remember Draco had to go through that pain. 

“I can’t, you know that.” Your voice sounds harsher than you’d intended but for the last few days Hermione has been relentlessly trying to get you to give up. Even though Draco has hurt you worse than anyone ever has, you’ll never stop fighting to learn the truth. 

“This is going to get you killed, don’t you understand that?” She snaps back, dropping her quill as she glares at you from across the table. 

“I don’t care!” 

“Draco isn’t worth this Y/N!” You slam your book shut and shove away from the table. 

“He is to me.” With that you march right out of the common room, your heart pounding wildly as you go. 

Draco tugs nervously on the collar of his shirt for the hundredth time today as he sits outside Snape’s office. Another full moon is rising tonight, and if Draco doesn’t get the Wolfsbane potion from Snape, he’s going to turn himself in to Dumbledore. He can’t risk what happened last time, to happen again. Draco can’t hurt anyone else. The corridor is silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop as Draco nervously tapped his foot against the stone floor. With the potion, Draco will unfortunately still turn, but the potion will grant him the ability to remember who he is. The anxiety turning in his gut makes him feel as though he’s going to faint, the horrible memory of tearing you apart and nearly killing you gives him nightmares. He can’t hurt anyone ever again- especially you. 

The door creaks open and much to Draco’s relief, a small bottle is held in Snape’s palm. Draco takes it wordlessly and stalks down the corridor, there’s still a few hours until evening. Once Draco exits the castle, his owl drops a letter into his palm before flying off for the Owlery. Against his better judgement, Draco has written a letter to Professor Lupin. The only other Werewolf that Draco knows of that actively avoids trying to eat people. He tears the letter open, reading the words over hastily. 

Draco, 

The second transformation isn’t nearly as traumatic as the first, but it’s always painful. Agony unlike anything else you’ll ever know, and the potion doesn’t stop the transformation. That’s important Draco, nothing can stop you from changing. But the potion allows you to remember who you are and the people you love, and so it gives you the ability to curl up somewhere and wait until morning. While you’ll physically change into the animal, you won’t become the animal- you’ll still be you. During my first transformations I ended up injuring my parents, this is who you are and every Werewolf has hurt somebody. Every single one of them. I’ll be here to help and guide you, and don’t worry- your secret is safe with me. 

-Remus Lupin

It’s almost embarrassing for Draco to admit that the letter provided him some comfort. Draco clutched the letter tightly to his chest, his palms trembling as the time read 5:30 pm. He needs you to stay as far from him as humanly possible, but unfortunately that’s not in your plans for today. 

“Draco?” He hears your small voice from behind him and his entire body goes rigid. No! You need to leave, now. Draco turns with a gulp, his eyes briefly meeting yours. You open your mouth to speak but Draco cuts you off- “you need to go Y/N.” 

His tone is firm but you see the fear in his eyes, the trembling in his palms, the sweat trickling down the side of his face. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.” You cross your arms, your eyes trying to meet his but he keeps avoiding your gaze. Draco runs a shaky hand through his hair, the potion secured safely in his palm. “I’m not kidding, go. Leave.” His voice is harsh as he snaps at you, and you flinch away from the intensity in his tone. He turns to walk away but you grab his wrist, yanking back to look at you. 

“If you really loved me you wouldn’t be running away!” You gasp, tears welling in your eyes. Draco turns to you, his eyebrows pinching together as he looks down at you sadly. 

“It’s because I love you that I’m running away. Trust me, you don’t want to be anywhere near me right now.” His voice is trembling as a haunted look crosses over his face as the sun begins it’s descent from the sky. Draco’s eyes snap up, noticing the courtyard darkening. “What are you-” Draco yanks away from you before you can finish, his eyes sending you silent pleas to just let him go. He darts into the castle, his stride quick but you quickly begin to scramble after him. Draco unstoppers the potion bottle and drinks it, feeling his hands and feet beginning to tingle. He’s going to change within an hour at least, and when he glances behind him he sees you trailing after him. 

“Draco!” You call, you’ve never seen him like this before. He looks positively petrified and you won’t let him go until you understand why. He doesn’t stop or slow, if anything he begins to walk quicker. You jog to catch up with him and you grab him by the shoulders, “what the hell is going on!” You nearly yell, tears falling down your cheeks as you take him in. The sight before you nearly makes you gasp. He looks sickly, his eyes sunken in and heavy bags underneath them. His skin is pale, more so than usual, and clammy. His entire body is trembling so hard it’s practically buzzing, and you swear you can see his heart pounding in his chest. 

Fear ripples through Draco’s body as the sun begins to dip below the horizon, he places his own hands on your shoulders with a look of raw desperation in his eyes. “Y/N, you have to go right now. Go and don’t come looking for me-” His eyes dart to the window, the moon is beginning to rise. Panic envelops Draco as he feels the first bone beginning to crack. You hear the sickening crunch of his bones changing and you release him, horror on your face as Draco’s face twists in pain. “Go!” Draco yells, turning and nearly sprinting down the hallway, towards the exit to the castle. He thought he had more time- he was wrong. 

For reasons even you don’t understand, your feet carry on after Draco. You hear more of his bones cracking as he stumbles to the ground just as he crosses the rickety bridge. “D-Dray what’s happening?” You cry, panic curling it’s icy fingers around your throat as you watch him with wide eyes. Draco releases a wail of agony that sends you across the grass and to his side just at the edge of the forbidden forest. “Please, go.” He begs again, and when Draco looks back at you- you jolt away from him with tears in your eyes. His eyes are glowing an ethereal pale blue. “Draco,” Your voice is a quiet, haunted whisper. You feel frozen, planted into the ground where you stand, watching as Draco cries out again just as the moon peeks out from the clouds. 

The moon rays hit Draco and as soon as they do he’s screaming again, except this time his body changes. You watch with horrified eyes as Draco’s entire body takes the shape of a giant white werewolf. You feel drilled into place, panic clutching at your heart and tears trickling down your cheeks as you stare into his eyes. You recognize this wolf, it’s the same one that attacked you. Draco attacked you. You wait as the white wolf remains hunched on the ground, and when he lifts his head and looks into your eyes your brows furrow. You can still see Draco in the eyes of the wolf, it’s not a mindless beast this time, it’s Draco. 

“Draco I know you’re still in there...” There are a million thoughts swirling around your head so fast you feel nearly dizzy. Draco lifts his head to watch you, and you reach a hand out for him but as you do he turns and bounds off into the forbidden forest. Your chest heaves as you collapse to the ground, your legs no longer having the strength to support you. Everything comes into focus now, why Draco did what he did. He was never that afraid of Voldemort hurting you, he was afraid he was going to hurt you. He’s a werewolf! When did this happen? How, why? You can’t stop the questions as they continue to bombard you, desperately trying to make sense of all of this. 

You fall forward, your palms catching you as you cry. Oh Draco. You had no idea what he’s been going through- what he’s had to endure this whole time. All you want now is to help him, and while you’re not sure you could ever forgive what he’s done to you- at least now you know the whole story. Your head snaps up when you hear the howl. The howl of a lonely werewolf. Your heart breaks in your chest for the thousandth time time today. You stand from the forest floor, you can’t just leave Draco all alone to deal with this by himself. Against your better judgement you keep your eyes focused on where the howl came from, and you trudge into the Forbidden Forest. 

***

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