#pre-season 20

[zukkacore]

As much as I want True Believer Jace to be real I do believe his biggest crime in the eyes of Brennan is probably being kinda complacent and cowardly. I’m very convinced the explanation for why he’s team Porter is going to be very underwhelming and mundane. However, this too is yuri. The mundanity of the very probable “I got strong-armed into it and was afraid of oblivion” is not enough to dissuade me and in fact not to be real for a minute but being given a sense of purpose and hierarchy is a big reason many people turn to religion in the first place because it soothes them of uncertainty even if the the hierarchy fucks them personally over. Jace kinda got Fantasy Pascal’s Wagered into being a believer whether he likes it or not & is that not toxic old man yaoi in its own way

Come with me. Hold my hand. This isn’t the first time I’ve romanticized the “aimless undisciplined person looking for purpose idolizes the person so single-minded in their aims it’s awe-inspiring and terrifying and enviable” dynamic and it won’t be the last

[sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes]

Pre-AA Virgil save me

Save me

Save me Pre-AA Virgil

time taken: 2 ½ hours

[jq37]

neme(sis)

Summary: The Rat Grinders actually fight the Bad Kids on the Hangman instead of just sending dragons and Adaine has to do some quick thinking.

"Adaine Abernant."

Adaine winced, clutching her head as Raulothim's Psychic Lance pierced her mind. It figured Oisin knew the spell. Raulothim was a dragon after all. She wondered if he learned it in class like her or if he'd come to school already familiar with the spell because of his dragon ancestor who was currently trying to swallow Gorgug, axe and all. She didn't wonder for too long though. There wasn't time.

"See what you can do with access to proper spell components?" Oisin called from the other side of the room, his tone mocking.

"That spell doesn't even have material components!" Adaine called back in spite of herself. Insulting her was one thing but getting basic spellcraft wrong while doing it? Unacceptable. She ignored his expression, smug from getting a rise out of her no doubt, and surveyed the battlefield. The Rat Grinders had caught them on their back foot. Things were going OK but they were playing defense. And no one was where they needed to be. Spellcasters too close to melee, fighters out of range. Only Gorgug was arguably in the right place but he was far too close to being dragon food for her liking. Fabian needed to be closer to the action, Riz needed cover, and she…

Adaine suppressed a smile, idea forming in her mind. She needed to be in punching distance.

"Scatter," she said, raising a hand. Five creatures: Gorgug, Riz, Fabian, Kristen…and Oisin.

Her party members didn't fight the spell, well used to the feeling of her magic working on them mid-battle and knowing that it never meant harm. As she moved them to more advantageous positions, she was hit with a flash of the future: Oisin resisting the spell. She reached out and nudged fate just a bit. Nearby, Ivy walked dangerously close to a breath weapon attack. Oisin startled, moved to grab her, and--pop. Suddenly, he was standing right next to Adaine who was already rearing her fist.

"Counterspell!" Oisin called, runes on his forearms glowing. The expression on his face was even more smug as the blue energy charging on her fist fizzled.

"Predictable," he said.

"Gullible," Adaine thought, halting her fist without following through on the punch and stomping her foot on the ground to activate the teleportation circle they were both now standing on. Because of course the boy with the empty house and unlimited funds would have a teleportation circle installed so he could have his friends over as often as possible. Teleportation via spell needed a willing creature but a Circle? That just needed proximity.

As the spell went off, she concentrated. The benefit of a teleportation circle was that it couldn't go wrong like a normal Teleport spell could. It wasn't supposed to anyway. But any magic could be tweaked if you pushed hard enough. She remembered winding up in the wrong room in the twisted version of Mordred inside Riz's briefcase and concentrated on that feeling. She was sure she was going to have a headache in the morning but that was more than a fair price. She wrenched control of the spell, just enough to force the circle to spit them out a little bit outside of the paired circle in Mordred. There was a flash of light and--forget having a headache tomorrow. Her head felt like it had been bashed in with a pickaxe the moment they landed on the floor of her bedroom. She didn't think she'd be able to get back up for a minute or two--she didn't even try. Oisin didn't seem to have that problem though. He got up and stood over her.

He smirked. "I thought the elven oracle was supposed to be more of a challenge. I knew we'd come out on top but I didn't think it'd be so easy." He raised his hands, readying a spell, but the sparks at his clawtips died as quickly as they were produced. He tried the spell again to the same result, too focused to notice the sudden subtle sheen to the patterns painted on her bedroom walls.

A Sending spell pinged in her mind. "Ten seconds, dear sister."

A smile played on Adaine's lips.

"What?" Oisin demanded.

"Just that you all have been so obsessed with being our nemeses this whole time. But that was never gonna happen with you and me. That position is already filled."

There was another flash of light and before it even cleared, Adaine felt the tingle of magic settling over her like a second skin. Her sister's abjurer's ward extending to cover her reflexively. Just beyond the ward, she could feel the temperature in the room start to drop--a side effect of the Cone of Cold that was about to erupt from Aelwyn's outstretched hands.

"You're familiar with my bitch of a sister, right?"

[bewuvved]

Okay so it seems like the islands are connected to different schools of wizardry so it makes sense that Ks spell went so wrong even apart from the medical inexperience seeing as evocation is more of a ‘melee’ school of magic….It makes so much sense that philtrum and the old guard of wizardry have decided to post up there, purposefully choosing to live under the illusion that their world hasn’t changed and things can stay the same. Illusion also might just be the island K excels in seeing as their image and how they appear to the world is such an important part of themselves…

[mcytegg]

i don't think it's unusual for a person to be cruel in general and kind to a small set of people close to them. i don't usually think the second part is more important.

i agree!!! cruelty and caring very deeply abt a select few people arent traits that are mutually exclusive, and its smt we see in plenty of other ls members but i do not find mapicc to be a particularly cruel person like kab describes him to be.

all of her reasons for believing him to be cruel are ultimately bc her and mapicc dont know or understand each other. her misconception of him isnt her fault in this regard and im not saying it is, im just saying she is wrong abt him. im certain she will eventually come to realize this herself but her way of viewing things is very black and white imo. and she swaps between which she believes at a moments notice— which i know is like an intentional choice from cc kab into her character since she herself says ls kab is easily influenced. and its a trait i find obvious when she makes definite statements like "mapicc is just a cruel person" after he killed her one time bc she literally chose to fight alongside his enemy.

[theology101]

LEAVE MY BABYGIRL ALONE

This man has been nothing but the best for his students, even if they didn’t always get it.

Let’s get something out of the gate - as a Stone Genasi and Oath of the Ancestors, if he was connected to any of the Giant Gods, it would probably be either the one tied to Fall or Spring (My money is on a Cloud Giant for spring and Stone Giant for Fall) and NOT the summer oriented Fire Giant God. It’d make more sense that his Oath of Ancestors means that he’s probably tied to the Stone over the Fire.

And this is all assuming that Porter worships a Giant God - the man isn’t even a giant. Lucy was a Genasi who followed a Giant God, that doesn’t nesacarily mean that Porter is also a Genasi following a Giant God. We don’t even know if he follows a God, it could easily just be an Elder Earth Elemental or like, Peepaw Cliffbreaker. Paladins have oaths, not gods - its just that oaths are sworn most often to Gods that they get it wrong

Anyways - Rage.

Do you think that Brennan Lee Mulligan thinks Rage is bad? Like, this id a narrative and it has a message - and that message probably is not going to end up being ‘Anger is bad.’ Because it ISNT.

Lydia has been in a rage for decades. Put that into perspective a DnD rage is meant to last Ten Rounds - 1 minute - with at most like, 4-5 uses a day. Lydia, for the safety of herself and the world, has been at it for over twenty years.

Adaine was so angry with her dad she killed him, and that moment was justified and cathartic! It was a hell yeah! And it was a moment of raw fucking rage.

“Do you have a warrant? Do you have a fucking warrant?” Gorgug my boy for the first time in your entire life you allowed yourself to get angry without self recrimination or doubt. And you know what Porter’s reaction to that was?

Pride. Absolute Pride.

“Rage is not a bad thing - Ayda… says you’re the greatest wizard of this age. And I feel LUCKY to have you in my class. You’re someone who can use that rage in a smart way but it’s not wrong to want… to fuck shit up sometimes!”

You want to know whats dangerous? What’s bad for you? Bottling up your emotions and never expressing them. Feeling terrible for what you’re feeling. Thinking your emotions are harmful intrinsically.

This is another Nightmare King circumstance. A God and their spouse were murdered, by Sol. People forget that a lot, Sol murdered Cassandra and now we learned it was a double homicide. Does this Summer God of Fire not deserve to feel angry? Is that not justified?

IT IS!

The Rat Grinders are the only followers of this Rage God. What they are is what the Rat Grinders want. As Above, so Below.

If Fig does as Porter told her to, she could restore this God just as Kristen did with Cassandra. If terror and confusion can turn into comfort in doubt, why can’t Unchecked Fury turn into justified expression of emotion?

[justaweirddruid]

I know the main discourse is about the rat grinders/Kipperlilly, but my two unpopular opinions about FHJY are that

1 - Oisin having a connection to Kalvaxus was pointless. It would've made more sense and been more interesting if he was like KPCK and had chosen to be star-raged for revenge

2 - Making Porter the bbeg of this season was not a great choice. It made no sense with the previous seasons and it would've been better if Jace (and Arianwen tbh) was the mastermind behind everything and Porter was just the muscle

[ghostellie]

the stake drivers are basically shego from kim possible

[petit-papillion]

Read 'em and weep, people. Best times for each driver at pre-season testing 2023 vs. 2024. Make sure you pay attention to tyre compounds.

📸 Pirelli

[bigboobshaunt]

Feeling very "droopy cartoon eyeballs after a character got blown tf up" on this wednesday.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

OKAY SO it may be almost two hours past midnight for me and it may be season 4 in 2 minutes BUT I am going to make this post lol. So, it's time for HSMTMTS Appreciation Week Day Four: Favorite Episode/Season!

Honestly I don't think I have one of either xD

I love all the episodes, and most of the time when someone asks me for my favorite of something (like books or movies) I just go with the one that has the most rewatch/reread quality/potential. So, some of these episodes may just be the ones I watch the most lol.

Each season has their pros and cons for me, but I will say I think I enjoy season 2 more than most people! The ending isn't amazing, sure, but it has some really great music, ship moments, acting, and Wildcat family moments :).

Season 1, they're not all family for a little while, and we don't have as much development on some of the others, nor most of the ships. But it's also fun that it's the most grounded season lol, and it just has a special charm. Also, it really focuses on the musical lol!

And season 3, obviously I miss Seb, Big Red, Mr. Mazzara, and half Nini and Ms. Jen from it :). And sometimes the drama is a lot, but at the same time, there's so many cute and fun moments, it is absolutely HILARIOUS, and the change of setting is super cool :). Since I'm a multi shipper, it's also a con for Portwell and a pro for Rina lol xD.

Anyway! Now, a few of my favorite episodes :).

Season 2 Episode 5: is this one a surprise even xD. I love Seblos, I love the Wildcats, and I love great music! What more could you ask for? Also, it's just so sweet that they'd throw a big party for one of their friends like that :'). And it's especially cool seeing Carlos be appreciated <3. Plus, it gave us "I never learned how to lie", so you know xDD.

Season 2 Episode 10: LISTEN. Again, is it partly because of Seblos lol? . . Sh xD. But seriously, it's great Seblos drama, the music is once again amazing, and I LOVE the sleepovers :D!! The recipe for my favorite episodes is really just Seblos, Music, Wildcats xD. Lol. But seriously, it's such a good episode <3.

Season 1 Episode 6: Maybe it's just because it hits home, which is weird because that makes it bittersweet, but I love this episode. It's really focused more on them being a family than any of the ships (which is interesting and a nice change of pace :) ) and it has some great music! Plus, the photoshoot lol. And of course, a few Seblos moments, and some lovely Carlos angst xD. Justice for the Seblos deleted scenes 😤😔. Lol, but yeah, I love this episode <3.

Season 1 Episode 7: Again, my Wildcats xD. I was hesitating to put this on here because the end hurts me so much, but it's just too good :). We have Carlos inviting everyone to someone else's house (for the first time, I think, lol), Ricky and Nini being chill for a bit, Gina being adorable, and the start of Redlyn 👀. Lol, remember when one of the half jokingly proposed ship names was Big Rashlyn xD? Bring it baaaack lol, we deserve it. In a good way, not as punishment xD. Anyway! The real star of the show this episode, though, is of course the party :). We love the Wildcats being family, and I seriously love them all so much <3. And again, Seblos moment lol. The music is good this episode (I adore Out of The Old), but there's not too much of it lol, so I forgot to mention it and came back here after the next paragraph xD.

Season 3 Episode 7: LISTENNN. Once again, I can do anything I want xD. I think I said that earlier, or maybe in one of the other posts, but nonetheless lol. I say it a lot regarding things like this lol. Anyway! Obviously, SEBBB!!! HE RETURNS TO ME :'DDD!! But we also have Ricky's bucket list (ADORABLE) and everyone's ICONIC outfits :D. So sorry to Portwell though :( xd. That does hurt throughout the episode lol. Oh, and of course we have the iconic welcoming of Ashlyn to the community :'). And Wouldn't Change a Thing!!! Such a slay :D. Honestly though, I love the ending, like, after the dance. I don't know if I love it more than the prom itself, but seeing the guys come together and support each other, and the same for the girls, with a BOPPING song in the background? Amazing :'D. And, of course lol, Seblos moments <3. And the second Seblos kiss!! I love them so much :). And, like I said, amazing music!!

Season 3 Episode 5: This one is just so hilarious xD. I had to include it lol. Plus, :O drama a bleeped out curse on HSMTMTS!! We don't get many so that's a slay for being unique xD. Also yes, Carlos totally deserves it 😌😤. Like, to get one lol. Just like Natalie, lol. Anyway!! Yeah, this is so funny xD. It also has great music!! The drama hurts, of course, but we love the little moments of supporting each other xd. And again, I just have to mention how FUNNY it is, those moments xD. Plus, the fact that it's all (well, yk. Mostly xD) a plot is amazing lol. I just love this episode lol.

So yeah!! I think that'll do it for today :). I probably won't be on Season 4 for a bit tomorrow, as in it'll take me a little while lol. I still need to finish my rewatch xD. But, I will watch it!!! And I'm so excited :)) 🥰.

[behold-aflyingroll]

Unfortunately I missed all of Saturday due to work and was bedridden today so I kinda zoned out through a lot of GC, but I did feel the Spirit which was really really nice

[solemntitty]

oof yeah, 44% of the wastewater surveillance sites (currently our best indicator after hospitalizations/deaths for COVID community transmission levels) that the CDC receives info from are in that 80-100% bucket. (dug a little deeper into their metrics for ww surveillance, basically it's like a percentile of the individual ww surveillance sites previous data, so can be a bit inaccurate but is a best possible measure from such a broad epidemiological surveillance data source). yikes.

big rip to the east part of the US rn

[lightcreators]

@thenihilistofthevoid continue from here

“The air is filled with mercury vapours, I didn’t see any animals but I saw something… The remains of some sort of city, possibly a colony. It was almost razed to the ground, completely abanadoned. There were holes in the buildings and huge parts of the structures were blackened as if they had been burnt by intense heat. Based on what I saw… I think they were attacked by something with higher technology and I don’t think it’s safe to stay here.” Saburo stated after removing his helmet, helping the Doctor into the sickbay.

“I don’t dare treat him… His biology is so alien I might end up making things worse.” He said, performing a physical inspection of the Time Lord. “I don’t even know his normal heartsbeat rate.” Saburo shook his head, putting the sides up. “Tegan, please stay here and look after him, come get us if his condition gets worse.” He asked the older Australian, running back to the console room and helping add the mercury into the fluid links, the TARDIS sounded much better.

“Nyssa… I think we should move the TARDIS. Dematerialize it into the time vortex and just stay there, drifting. It’d be safer than a planet we don’t know anything about with a poisonous atmosphere. We might be able to contact his own people and see if they could help him.” The Japanese man offered, unaware of the negative relationship between the Doctor and the Time Lords as he looked through his book on how to operate the TARDIS, having taken meticulous notes on what the Doctor did. “Neither of us knows how to fly it properly but together, we might be able to pull it off. I’m not sure I can perform the sequence alone and you understand the physics of it better than I do.” He sighed, gripping the console as a light on it flashed. “What’s it doing that for?” He inquired, the scanner opening to show a computer-generated planet with a shape above it, descending rapidly. “Orbital path… I think there’s another ship coming into land on this planet, perhaps they can help?”

Easily, Tegan could imagining how frustrated the Doctor will be over what happened, in which she couldn't help to silently sigh. It also have been something she had been perceiving within the silenced look of Nyssa --- who was worried, but desired standing herself as possible middle-ground concerning futures decisions to do. After all, it had been her beloved friend who told her, how, during her absence, the Doctor had desired brought some … uncanny controls … over circumstances. Sometimes, travels were inclined to be usual, inside same landscape about what they were currently experencing. Other tiems, it was … well … they had more freedom, there was nothing happening, every date and location had been choosen and many days could be spent in an single place … when during these moments, sometimes, the Doctor had to get away for doing some business. Business in which none of them were involved. What they were supposed to do ? Expecting themselves to see an sudden babysister deciding to ask where the Doctor go ? At the thoughts, she preferred removing the rest of following thoughts about that. Another time when the Doctor will not be pleasant …

❝  The Doctor will tourment us about it for sure. ❞ She lamented as the exasperation of her voice betrayed her expression. She had been listening to the description of the landscape, and how the heck did they ended up inside such a desolate place ? ❝  Always picking the best places for holidays … ❞ She mused as she remained deeply unappy with the situation. Nyssa remained within that emotional distance and barrier, as she desired offering biggest help for the Doctor for what that cost. Of course, like her, she already knew how future travels will be. How the bad mood of the Doctor will embracing the whole TARDIS like a fire. It had been the slight change even since she had been travelling with him again --- he had a somewhat random degree of acceptance of the unexpected. Well, they had to somewhere find an manner to heal an Time Lord without having to gain some random visit on someone. They somewhere had to deal temporary without him. ❝ No, sorry, don't have a manual about how heal an Time Lord. ❞

Nyssa on her side expressed an gaze she didn't know biologically that much --- annoyance of the Doctor will be to be expected when it was concerning of closeness, and he didn't mention such thing. Even scientifically, she didn't have all the information. ❝  If the pulse is generally stable, I could try to stabilize him. He's going to fight this … and there is the Zero Room if that's not enough. ❞ Been on the sickbay would be an temporary alternative. She seemed more inclined to having someone else deciding to be in charge in the meantime, though something as sounding harmless as what happened now will for sure creating consequences later. There were surprises around now with the Doctor. As much Tegan what had been asked for helping the TARDIS, she remained sad about how Nyssa naturally nodded concerning piloting the TARDIS … when it had been his following sentence who created a stare. ❝  No, not his people, not the Time Lords. ❞

❝  Agree with Nyssa. No Time Lords. Do you think he had been running away right to them everytime something get wrong when he is just running away faster and faster away of them ? ❞ Tegan exposed more rudely as Nyssa was carry on to trying bring the TARDIS somewhere else … when there had been another rules added to common ones concerning where and when to go. ❝  Look, Nyssa might have received lessons you don't have, which will be helpful here, but we need to take it easy. You hadn't see the Doctor frustrated. Already, we have a situation in which he will be furious for weeks, we don't need to make it worse. ❞ There was someone that can help beyond them, and well … in one way or another, he would learn about what happened, and his reaction was something to be scared for. Another time, she swallowed her frustration. That journey was going to be an horrible hell. ❝  Can we just stay here for five minutes, please ? ❞ She inquired.

❝  Look, Saburo-kun, I know circumstances are pretty much difficult right now, right ? Nevertheless, as Tegan say, we need to keep our head calm, and think. We don't need to fly away all across the universe just because one planet need help, and the Doctor had suffered consequences on it. ❞ Tegan bounced back in agreement with gestures upon that point. ❝  The Doctor need rest, not hanging around somewhere else. We deal with it before, we can handle it. ❞

❝  Once he will wake up, Saburo-kun, the Doctor will want to return to that planet. Knowing that you have touched his TARDIS, desired to involving the Time Lords will not be good for you. It will be the other event of the journey. If something happens right now, if something even more unplanned show up right now, you better stay away of the Doctor. ❞ Tegan added as for security, Nyssa managed to push the TARDIS inside an stand-by situation within space.

[redbuddi]

I think we as a society need to be reminded how good the original Powerpuff Girls was. Here's some of my favorite things about it:

the fight scenes had a level of punchiness and impact that was rare for cartoons of the nineties, and fight scenes that were way better than what one would expect from a comedy

The character writing is so good that a large portion of the show's most iconic episodes consist of just showing how the girls' personalities react to different scenarios, for example in one episode the girls take turns recapping a fight that had just happened, and the tone and art style of the flashback changes depending on whose telling the story

One of the recurring extras is a talking dog that goes about it's day like a normal human

Each girl has mostly the same powers with one special ability that sets them apart. Blossom has ice breath. Bubbles can speak to squirrels and is also fluent in Spanish. Buttercup can curl her tongue.

while the majority of the show is lighthearted comedy sometimes it'll just decide to be nightmareworld for an episode and i think thats pretty cool

The show utilizes a blend of classic upa linework and sixties art deco shapism to create a visual style that is utterly timeless. If the majority of the show wasn't cell animated you would not be able to guess when it came out

The main villain's speaking patterns were directly inspired by The Super Dictionary. AKA, the same book that brought us this:

You can tell.

In the season one finale, the girls fight a giant monster using a mech suit. During the fight, there is a sequence that is literally just 20 uninterrupted seconds of an absurd amount of missiles coming out of every possible orifice of the robot. And then they miss.

There was an anime adaptation made in the 2000's and its actually pretty good, like it does take a lot of creative liberties but its clear that the people making it understood the spirit of the original show and were just adapting it to reflect japanese pop culture in the same way the og show reflected american pop culture.

The show had an insanely kickass soundtrack consisting of early techno so clean it's kind of shocking that it was made in the late nineties and not the early 2010's pre-dubstep era

satan is there and he serves cunt

[kgreen200]

Please, God, Let Me Live

By KathyG

Summary: In this prequel to “A Study in Pink,” Captain John Hamish Watson, MBBS, licensed general practitioner, and combat surgeon in training, is shot while on a retrieval mission in Afghanistan, and spends weeks afterwards fighting for his life.  Originally written and posted as a one-shot, it has since been expanded into a 20-chapter pre-Sherlock story, covering the time from John’s shooting until he returns to London.  Be forewarned: Sherlock himself makes no appearance at all in this story!  I’ve modeled this story on Pompey’s “On Afghanistan’s Plains,” which is posted on Fanfiction dot net.  (Thanks to Besleybean for beta-reading and Brit-picking my story!  And to sgam76 for helping me to getting some details straight.)

Notes: In the military, a bullet wound alone is not considered grounds for a medical discharge.  Even though John’s left shoulder is extensively damaged in this story, given the sheer amount of repair work that his shoulder goes through and the rehab he undergoes afterwards, the army would keep him if at all possible, even if he had to be assigned amended duties at least for a time.  His skills are too valuable and too desperately needed for the army to let him go if there’s any way that it can hold onto him.  Something more has to happen, to prompt the decision to invalid him out of the army.  I have my own ideas of what that something more could be, and you’ll see what it turns out to be as you read the story.

When Pompey set out to write her great ACD story, “On Afghanistan’s Plains,” her goal was to write a canonical and historically accurate account of what happened to Dr. Watson in Afghanistan from the day he was shot to the day he met Sherlock Holmes, based on what is told in Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’s first Sherlock story, A Study in Scarlet.  As a result of the sheer amount of research that she engaged in beforehand, she did a marvelous job of attaining her goal!  Since it was sometime after BBC Sherlock’s third season came on the air that I first read her story, which was posted on Fanfiction dot net back in 2008, I really wanted someone to write a comparable account of what happened to modern-day John in Moffat and Gatiss’s version of Sherlock Holmes.  Alas, Pompey herself showed no interest in writing such a story, and I could find no other author who did.  A number of stories about John getting shot in Afghanistan, yes, but nothing that told the whole story.  It finally became clear that if such a story was ever to be written, I would have to write it.  Early this year, I wrote a one-shot about that fateful day, and sometime after that, I extended the story into a 20-chapter novel.

In writing this story, I've drawn on the back history I gave John that is described in “Background Check,” which is posted on Fanfiction dot net and Archive of Our Own.  The back history in that story, in turn, is based in part on the articles that are posted on wellingtongoose’s tumblr and LiveJournal accounts, and partly on the history that BlueSkye12, in the stories on her Fanfiction dot net and Archive of our Own accounts, has given John Watson.  I have used that same back history to create this story.

In truth, I've borrowed from the stories of several great fanfiction authors—mainly BlueSkye12, as explained above but also others, including thebakerstreetgirl and sgam76—as well as wellingtongoose's equally great metas, to create John’s back story.  And I’ve modeled this story on Pompey’s “On Afghanistan’s Plains,” which is posted on Fanfiction.net.  I highly recommend that everybody who hasn’t yet done so head over there and read her story! =) And then, when you've finished it, read her equally great post-Hiatus sequel to that story, “A Young British Soldier”!

Chapter 1: “Skirmish”

A/N: Since this chapter started out as a one-shot, I've edited it to transform it into Chapter 1.

I've borrowed from John's nightmare at the beginning of "A Study in Pink" to create the scenario in which he gets shot.

XXXXXXX

JULY 27, 2009: (1) FOB HAMIDULLAH, SANGIN VALLEY, HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

13:30 p.m., army time (1:30 p.m.)

Captain John Hamish Watson lay on his cot, reading The Lord of the Rings, which he had purchased back in England while on leave before the Fusiliers had been redeployed to that U.S. base in Kandahar.  He hadn’t had a real chance to start reading it yet; so much had happened since then.  Finally, though, there was some downtime, and he had a chance to catch his breath and relax.  And read his new book, which he had just started reading the night before.  Only, after almost two years, it wasn’t so new anymore.  Until lights out at bedtime, the captain had read voraciously the introduction, the prologue, and the first three chapters of the novel.  Since he had read The Hobbit as a child back in Chelmsford, this was a return to a fantasy world he had enjoyed back then.

So far, it had been a normal day—well, as normal as any day could be for a trainee trauma surgeon stationed at (1) FOB Hamidullah in Helmand Province.  He had eaten breakfast with Major James Sholto, their unit’s commanding officer, as he usually did on a weekly basis—sometimes with Major Robert Clancy, the Fusiliers’ consultant surgeon.  Sholto and his men had since gone out on patrol; only Dr. Clancy, Dr. Watson, and the nurses had stayed behind, in case any casualties were brought in.  After breakfast, Dr. Watson and Dr. Clancy had gone on their daily rounds of their patients in the forwarding operating base’s field hospital; for now, there were only a few, so there was plenty of downtime at present.  They both knew, though, that that could change at any time.

Stopping to rest his eyes, Dr. Watson glanced up at the calendar on the bulletin board.  It was Monday, July 27th, 2009.  And the wall clock showed that it was 13:30, army time.  He smiled at the memory of Corporal Tanner taking another photograph of him two weeks earlier; he had emailed it to Clara in London as soon as time had permitted.  His older sister, Harry, should have it by now. (2)  It had long since become his practice to send pictures of himself to his sister every few months; since he didn’t own a camera, and since Corporal Tanner did, the good corporal always used his to take those pictures.  John always made sure that there was nothing in the pictures that would upset or irritate Harry.  In some of the photos, John posed by himself; in the others, he posed with some or all of his mates.  Mates whom he had long since become close friends with during his years in Afghanistan.

Three years, he thought.  Ending up my second tour, so I’ve been in Afghanistan for close to three years now.  Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to the chapter he had arrived at, Chapter Four: “A Short Cut to Mushrooms”.  He was reading the part about the hobbits’ efforts to evade the Black Riders while they were travelling.

Suddenly, just as John came to the sequence where the hobbits ran into Farmer Maggot, there was a siren, and John leaped off the bed, inserted a bookmark into the chapter, and dropped his book on the nightstand.  Dr. Clancy hurried into John’s officer’s quarters.  “The patrol Sholto took the Fusiliers out on split up, and some of them joined another patrol that was out looking for trouble.  That bunch has run into a skirmish five kilometres west of Sangin; from what I hear tell, a bad one.  You better hurry, Watson,” he ordered.  “Murray’s already waiting at the helicopter.”

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