#and then after he gets resurrected he travels for 2 years meeting the others

[pepsicoughdrops]

what do you do if the guy you had a weird gay thing with is reunited with his wife and she looks almost exactly like you. you can’t kill yourself btw

(click for better quality)

#posted these guys fooorever ago #recap is that they’re people who died and got brought back to be the 4 horsemen ^_^ #Azrael is death. Mavollo is pestilence. Cassian (guy talking to mavollo) is famine. & Caddell (guy in between mav & cas) is war #Azrael also has a son who was around 2 when he (Azrael) died and when Azrael comes back his son is 17. big time jump. #Azrael isn’t traveling that long he’s just dead in the ground for 13 years #and then after he gets resurrected he travels for 2 years meeting the others #and then he gets to go home #and by ‘go home’ i really mean he gets to pass thru his old town for awhile until he gets another task from the thing that brought him back #still gets to reunite with his wife & son though even if he can’t stay 😔 #my stuff #my art #oc

[aethon-recs]

Tomarrymort Advanced Pack – 12 Longfic Recs

If you’ve made your way through the Tomarrymort Starter Pack and Intermediate Pack reads, here are 12 beautifully written, timeless fics that are Tomarrymort on hard mode for when you’re ready to dive into something that will really challenge your every reading muscle. This selection of fics features some of the most skilled writing I’ve come across in the entire fandom, and I love how these authors tackle incredibly complex subject matter and plotlines and characterization choices with such bold and unflinching perspectives.

Please mind all tags (including CCNTW, explained here) as you may find some themes within some of these fics difficult or challenging to read for a variety of reasons.

This is Part 3 of a 3-part series (see here for Part 1 and Part 2). I hope you get as much enjoyment from reading these additional 3.1 million words of incredible Tomarrymort longfic as I have!

*

Tomarrymort Advanced Reads

ǟʟʍǟɢɛֆȶ by eldritcher (M, 134k, complete)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 6 Premise: If Harry and Dumbledore team up with Voldemort to save the magical world from a catastrophic threat. Why I rec it: Eldritcher delivers one of the most epic love stories of a lifetime — with Harry and Voldemort surviving a trip to the moon and back, and Harry’s love for Voldemort transcending time and space after Voldemort makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world and, against all odds, return to Harry. The prose is absolutely transcendent — amongst the best I’ve encountered not only in fanfic, but in all of fiction I’ve ever read. I can’t say enough about how much I love Elditcher’s writing style and how beautifully the story unfolds — there’s a very nice lyrical rhythm underlying all the sentence structure and word choice in the fic that flows like nothing else I’ve read before.

Anabiosis by @itsevanffs (E, 32k, WIP)

Setting: Canon Divergence Pre-Book 1 Premise: If Voldemort resurrects early and takes a teaching job at Harry’s primary school. Why I rec it: This is one of the best and most realistic and gutting depictions I’ve ever read of the quiet tragedy of Harry’s pre-Hogwarts years growing up experiencing severe neglect and an absence of love throughout his entire childhood. @itsevanffs did a magnificent job of capturing Harry’s limited POV and all the fluttering hope his still-trusting heart holds when he meets Mr Riddle, the first teacher who’s ever treated him with kindness. My heart ached so much for Harry throughout this fic, and the emotional arc in this story has continued to haunt me for a very long time afterwards.

Eight Days a Week by @vestiges-of-light (E, 802k, complete)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 7 Premise: If Voldemort captures Harry shortly after his sixth year, which leads to an unlikely truce and eventual partnership that ends up saving the magical world. Why I rec it: This fic combines a sprawling political epic with an incredibly extensive exploration of kink. The author asks a great question in the tags: "Why is only vanilla sex literary?" — and this fic does a fantastic job of proving that messy, filthy, raw sex scenes don’t have to be made sanitized or palatable for mainstream consumption in order to have just as much of a place in a plot-driven, serious longfic as vanilla sex does. Against the high-stakes backdrop of international political intrigue, there’s a very nice domesticity to Harry and Voldemort’s relationship, and how much they trust each other and can be stripped bare and vulnerable in front of each other is very poignant and touching to read about.

Embryo by @cannibalinc (NR, 28k, WIP)

Setting: Time Travel (1940s) Premise: If mysterious new transfer student Harry appears in Tom’s sixth year in a state of near complete amnesia. Why I rec it: One of the defining character traits of Tom Riddle is that he’s an absolute genius — the most talented academic mind to ever walk through the doors of Hogwarts — and this fic absolutely delivers on that aspect. Told from Tom’s POV, this fic is like reading a complex multidisciplinary text spanning philosophy and physics and mathematics and magical theory, all interconnected by the mystery of how Harry appeared and where he came from and why he is so utterly forgettable to everyone but Tom.

found by @honbug (E, 112k, WIP)

Setting: Non-Magical AU Premise: If Tom grows up in a world with no magic, but has had strange recurring dreams his whole life — dreams of a boy with green eyes and a scar, dreams of a dark graveyard and magical snakes and other mysterious things. Why I rec it: The character work done in this fic is absolutely breathtaking — one of the best character studies of Tom Riddle I’ve ever come across. This is a Tom who grew up without magic, but is no less cold and vicious and psychopathic and teetering on the edge of madness. The story arc follows Tom from his early childhood through his rise as a ruthless leader in an organized crime syndicate not unlike the Death Eaters — all the while that he’s haunted by dreams of Harry, his Harry, even as the dreams start to drive him to the brink of insanity.

how large the teeth by MaidenMotherCrone (E, 257k, complete)

Setting: Voldemort Wins AU Premise: If Harry grows up as an outcast in a world where Grindelwald and Voldemort have already won long before he is born, but he’s still the subject of a prophecy that designates him as their world’s savior. Why I rec it: The worldbuilding is so exquisite and complex in this fic — the author did a spectacular job at completely reimagining the wizarding world from the ground up if the Dark Lord were to win a long time ago and how their extremely inequitable society would subsequently be structured. Harry’s defiance throughout is lovely, and his growing entanglement with Voldemort adds to all the high-stakes and risky moves that he makes throughout the fic. The plotline is very action-packed — a lot of complex plot threads are interwoven throughout the story, with an undercurrent of revolution and discontent simmering under the surface until it explodes in a glorious finale.

In Willing Sacrifice by @hikarimeroperiddle (M, 1,197k, WIP)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 4 Premise: If Harry finds Voldemort in Riddle Manor the summer before his fourth year, and enters into an unlikely alliance with him before returning to school that year. Why I rec it: This fic covers so much ground — at 1.2 million words (so far!), it’s the most detailed rewrite of canon starting from book 4 that I’ve ever come across, weaving in plenty of magical theory and political intrigue as Voldemort takes Harry under his protection initially in a mentor capacity. The relationship between Harry and Voldemort unfolds in such a beautiful way in this fic — with Harry growing to fall in love with Voldemort, despite all of Voldemort’s murderous and violent qualities, without losing an ounce of his humanity or the inherent goodness inside of his heart along the way.

Lover's Spit by @pinktom, @k3uuu (E, 88k, WIP)

Setting: Non-Magical AU Premise: If Harry and Tom grow up in a small town together in northern England, and Tom has harbored an obsession for Harry ever since primary school. Why I rec it: An absolutely stunning coming-of-age story set in modern times. This story is striking in so many different ways. It perfectly captures the voice of fringe internet communities in such an authentic way. It also poignantly captures the social isolation and erosion of privacy from living in a small town where gossip spreads like wildfire, and how the internet amplifies these dynamics. At the core of the story is a really sweet love story between Tom and Harry that I am literally obsessed with — every single one of their interactions is so tender and pure — and it’s such a startling contrast to how Tom’s internet persona is portrayed that makes the sweetness all the more heartfelt.

Mi Aedijekit by @kitastrophea (M, 282k, WIP)

Setting: Post-Canon Premise: If Harry is captured by Voldemort and placed under the Draught of Living Death, only to awaken in the far future where Voldemort has ruled over their world for over a thousand years. Why I rec it: A linguistic and sociological tour de force. When Harry wakes up from his magical coma over a thousand years into the future, the world has been entirely transformed, and the skill and effort that the author undertook in fleshing out a society where there’s been a thousand years of cultural change and evolution in language can’t be understated. One of the most unique and fun aspects of the story is learning the new vocabulary of the future alongside Harry for the first time. I love how the fic examines how even Voldemort gets bored with immortality after a millennia of ruling — and how, even with a thousand years separating them and memories of the earlier times scattered to the wind, Harry and Voldemort are still inextricably drawn together.

Of Kings, Of Pawns, and Of Men by @ambivalens999 (E, 129k, WIP)

Setting: Canon Divergence – Book 5 Premise: If Voldemort ends up in Harry’s body and Harry ends up in Tom Riddle’s body after a bad encounter with the dementors at the beginning of book 5, and they can’t figure out how to swap back. Why I rec it: This is such an interesting take on the bodyswap trope, which is given a very serious and plotty treatment here. For fear of the safety of his friends, Harry has to go along with returning to his 5th year at Hogwarts in Tom Riddle’s body and being sorted into Slytherin house, while Tom passes himself off as Harry Potter. There’s a mystery behind the depth of Tom’s knowledge and familiarity with Harry, as he knows more about Harry than even Voldemort should. Is it the scar horcrux? Is it Voldemort? Is it something else entirely? The inherent combativeness and magnetism between Harry and Tom keep the tension high as they push each other’s buttons and circle around each other like wolves trying to establish dominance.

Phobia by @katsitting (E, 48k, complete)

Setting: Post-Canon Premise: If Voldemort captures Harry and brutally tortures him to the point of breaking. Why I rec it: This fic does not sugarcoat Voldemort’s capacity for cruelty and sadism in any way, and I admire the author’s commitment to depicting the most horrific of scenarios. Having read countless fics with this setup, I’ll be honest, the depiction in this fic is probably the most likely outcome of any Voldemort-captures-Harry scenario. They do not fall in love. It is not a fun time for Harry. There is gore; there is brutal prisoner torture; there is extremely extensive non-con. I found it very raw and unvarnished — not an easy read, but a very memorable and evocative one. And yet, despite the themes of darkness explored in this fic, it ends on a note of hope.

The Foul (part 1) / The Great (part 2) by @meles-merrivale (M, 24k, complete)

Setting: Time Travel Premise: If Harry gets thrown back in time a thousand years into the past, and does whatever it takes to stay alive until he can meet up with Voldemort again. Why I rec it: This is a fantastic depiction of the slow descent into madness following a disastrous time travel accident and what a thousand years of immortality does to one’s sanity. It’s also a great exploration of the time travel paradox and whether anyone has the power to change the past, or if pivotal historical events are, by their very nature, predetermined. By the time Harry encounters Voldemort again, he is a shell of the person he used to be, but gradually, he finds more of his original humanity and spark for life the more his relationship with Voldemort progresses.

*

#Tomarrymort Advanced Reads #tomarrymort #tomarry #harrymort #aethon recs #tomarry recs #tomarrymort recs #harrymort recs #hp fic recs #longfic recs #ao3 recs #fanfic recs #tom riddle #voldemort #harry potter

[kisuminight]

So, to get into how c!Dream can both be c!Sapnap's childhood friend and c!George's Blade for 3 years. Or, a timeline of what is going on with Blade!Dream.

At the very beginning, Dream was made from a fragment of a shattered Aegis. Dream is a powerful Blade; it is hard for most people to Awaken him because most people don't have the aether tolerance for it.

The famous duel between Technoblade and Dream does not happen during the events of the server. We are re-locating this duel to take place about 50 years before the DSMP server, and roughly 2 lives previous. Dream and Technoblade faced off as powerful warriors; the majority of the audience did not know they were Blades. Dream had the same general theme of green with a smiling mask, but the overall look was different.

Most of this duel was a learning experience for Dream. Even though the current Dream does not actively remember participating in this duel, he could re-enact it step-by-step as a paired exercise based on Procedural Memory.

Dream's next life after the duel was spent with the granddaughter of his previous Driver. They were together as a Blade-Driver pair for nearly 30 years. During this period, Dream met Sapnap. Sapnap doesn't really remember Dream very well, just that Dream was older than him and they had a lot of fun together for 6mo - 1yr before Dream and his Driver moved on. Sapnap vaguely remembers Dream being with an older woman, and pre-Blade reveal at Staged Finale, thinks that this woman was Dream's mom.

At 4 years pre-DSMP, Dream is killed. It is an accident caused by the death and respawn of his Driver. Dream's Driver is able to recover his core crystal, but is devastated by the loss. Mostly I've talked about poor Blade-Driver relationships, or relationships gone wrong, but that is uncommon and more a symptom of Dream's particular fears. In this bond, Dream's Driver loved him like family and was distressed about the idea of reAwakening a version of Dream that wouldn't be the one she lost. She chooses not to reAwaken Dream herself, and instead looks for someone else to be his Driver in his new life.

Dream's new Driver is George. This is roughly 3 years pre-DSMP. Along with a memory journal that Dream's previous life kept, George is also given Dream's mask. As Dream travels with George, they eventually meet up with Sapnap.

The problem here comes from poor communication, which will eventually fracture the relationship later. Sapnap has strong, emotion-based memories of his time with Dream's previous life. Dream has a written record of things that his previous life thought was important, but that is limited. Not every memory Sapnap treasures was entered into the journal. And the journal can only give facts about the events that happened; it does not give Dream any emotional data, and the memories are kind of flat.

This creates a flaw in the foundation of their current friendship, which the DSMP events exacerbate. It does not get fixed because this is the DSMP and everyone is allergic to actually having meaningful communication about their relationships until everything explodes.

DSMP start-to-Staged Finale takes about 1 year. By the time Dream ends up breaking the Resonance with George, they have spent about 4 years in Resonance. Post-Staged Finale, Dream is usually in Resonance with Punz. Sometimes, if they know EW!Ranboo will be Awake for a long period of time, EW!Ranboo will Drive Dream. This period of Resonance is more like several shorter Resonances as Dream and Punz test their Memory Patch as well as general Resurrection arte/Revival rituals.

~

Fun facts:

While c!Wilbur knows that Techno is a Blade, the fact that Techno's opponent in the duel was also a Blade did not come up. Even though Dream's outfit has shifted with his new Drivers, the similarities between the current outfit and the old outfit make Wilbur paranoid. Add to the fact that you get hybrids with extended lifespans and other traits, and it can cause a lot of confusion. Some part of Wilbur is absolutely treating Dream as the age he is imagining him as (60+ years) rather than the age his appearance suggests (21-ish, and younger depending on how he dresses).

Despite only being Awake for 3 years, Dream does have the intelligence matching his apparent age. While he has knowledge of emotions and how they affect people, his actual emotional experience is low because he is recently Awakened (recent meaning any Blade that has been Awake less than 5 years).

Techno and Phil absolutely pegged Dream as the Blade Techno fought in the duel, but they're a little clueless as to who Dream's current Driver is. None of them get a chance to sit down and talk about Blade things together until c!Ranboo shows up with Dream's core crystal sometime post-Staged Finale.

Everyone should be very glad that this version of Dream is a healing Blade. If he was like the Aegis in XC2, then he'd basically have an orbital strike canon/laser on call. So, basically the Divine Judgment arte from Aselia. Literally no one who does not already know Dream is a healing Blade (George, Punz, Techno, and Phil) guess that is his alignment during the conspiracy theories about Dream that pop up post-Staged Finale.

Dream does lose his mask during the Staged Finale. Sapnap ends up keeping it.

I know the hoodie is iconic, but I'm tempted to say that Blades are Awakened with a default outfit. Dream's default outfit is full-ruffles type of JRPG healer outfit each time, and Dream has to change back into the hoodie. Since Blades disappear with the clothes they had on when they revert to core crystal, the reAwakening process is essentially eating Dream's favorite hoodies and not giving them back :(. Not 100% on doing this idea with this AU, but DSMP has a strong humorous streak even when dealing with serious subjects. If I did go through with it, I imagine that Dream's default outfit would look something like Yulia Jue's concept art from Tales of the Abyss and it annoys him to no end.

#DSMP Blade System AU #c!dream #general notes about the timeline and some fun facts

[scrawlingwithstyle]

I just feel like info-dumping about my D&D character. If you're interested, strap in.

Ash, a half-elf trickery cleric, had a best friend and partner-in-crime, a tiefling who took the name Serendipity (Sera for short) for the goddess of good fortune, Tymora.

They played pranks together and partnered up for Ash's sham magic trinket shop.

Some time in the future, Ash got teased for being a trickery cleric who doesn't know how to pick locks, and I just realized: she never learned because that was what Sera did. Sera was the rogue!

Anyway, they were close friends for a few years before Sera was kidnapped and killed. Another conman killed Sera as part of a greater tiefling-genocide scheme to try to gain power, but he also had a personal grudge against Ash, so Sera was more than just collateral damage.

Ash took it extra hard because she was working up the courage to tell Sera she was in love with her.

About 8 years later, Ash is still on the hunt for the conman, whose real name she doesn't know. She is also part of a party who are in training to become deities.

She meets Dave, a life cleric who values honesty so greatly that it leaves a great impression on her. She's immediately intrigued and thinks she'll just keep tabs on him from a distance--until he finds out her party is supposed to make a new creature and he can't allow them to meddle with the power to create life.... Not without supervision, anyway.

In a moment alone together, Ash reveals her past and real name to him, and he helps her figure out what kind of a deity she wants to be.

Not long after that, the party finds the bastard who killed Sera, put him on trial, and at sentencing, turn him over to the party's death cleric (who specializes in vivisection) and her necromancer boyfriend. (Dave requests to be blissfully ignorant of his fate.)

In a very brief period of time (like 2 weeks), Ash and Dave kiss, her party saves him from an evil goddess who kidnapped him, and a few other events lead to them getting married. Since Sune (goddess of love) officiated the ceremony, they were telepathically bonded (they share thoughts back and forth) and each knows exactly where the other is.

(This is relevant: Dave's dad has many wives and partners.)

It has been around 3.5 months in-game since then, and the party is still working on their creature. Their travels take them back to the Astral Plane, where Ash had been invited to seek out Sera's spirit (they had met thrice in the last year, and each time Ash figured it would be best not to share her feelings).

When Sera pulls her aside for a private conversation about everything she's missed (the wedding, Ash getting pregnant), it gets harder and harder to not tell her how she feels. In her mind, Dave encourages her to do so. She confesses, Sera cries, Ash cries, and then Dave interrupts with, "I love you. And I'm not the only one."

Ash has already made up her mind to bring her friend back from the dead, but she is confused at what he implies. "I thought... when I said I didn't want to share you, you felt the same way. Did I miss something?"

"I don't intend to share you with another man. I would not wish for you to share me with another woman. But she is not another man, and she is not for me. I have no such reservations in this case. Besides... she had you first."

Shocked and delighted, she tells Sera what Dave said, and asks if this is an arrangement she would be happy with.

Sera agrees and joins their party as a spirit.

~~~

This is where we left off, but now we have a new side quest to resurrect Ash's dead girlfriend. I also made this:

#tw: mention of death #tw: mention of genocide #dnd #d&d #bisexual #cute #polyamory #my character is out here with two relationships #and i can't even get one #but I'm okay with this for now #she's my main source of escapism anyway #they have many things to discuss so no one feels neglected #there was SO MUCH MORE #but i had to condense it because it would have been too long #I ALMOST FORGOT THE BEST LINE #''besides... she had you first'' #😭

[goldammerchen]

notes and ideas starting after the wall (too much use of 'feel'):

gil moves in lud's house, first time they share a roof in decades.

economy issues make him have a little of fever but otherwise fine.

...until he needs to be bedridden, around the same time other issues appear.

(turns out a country being gone one day to another is a shock to anybody starting from him; a new system, unhappy about how the transition it's being done, and feeling belittled—he had enough bad experences for his glasses to not be [too] rose-tinted, but has ostaIgie too).

i hc lung scarring from illnesses and battles from before the great war, the chemical war made matters worse. tendency to suffer pneumothorax: shit collapses again and again.

POSSIBLE "GAME OVER", dies here. That could be a oneshot...

...i prefer him living though. his health gets better enough to leave the bed.

aimless, starts travelling around [both] berIin[s], a lot, then further east, breaking into empty places from people leaving to the west. mixed feelings—understands 100% but can't help but feel abandoned and discarded.

does something REALLY stupid while drunk, has an accident, completely alone...

second possible GAME OVER, another oneshot.

stays dead for like a week, under snow, when revives except issues from resurrection and hypothermia, his fever and cough are gone.

option 1: he tells bran about his accident, recives solace only after a fight.

option 2: he tells nobody what happened. in any case...

...lud gets feverish. gil feels empty.

also [spoilers i'm keeping to myself]. nothing is quite ever the same, for a second time in less than a decade.

being retired, he sees friends and fam way less. either a) stays in contact through the phone or slow internet; b) almost no contact with them :) [also nobody trusts him so he isn't allowed in meetings at home or world ones yet] [also no travel allowance]

mainly berIiners (and maybe bran and the others) interact with him, when he isn't just watching tv / on the computer: all or nothing man, he either leaves for days or stays home for days.

things get better! it greatly helps getting back a travel allowance, being allowed to go in the bundes.tag and bundes.rat [+] sometimes with lud or other siblings, and going to some world conferences...

...until he starts doubting if he should see the next century / millenium. he knows he shouldn't think that, but feels more part of the past than the present, perhaps belonging more to a museum than to, whatever he is supposed to do now.

existencial crisis is back and with revenge! doesn't want to bother his *younger* brother...

1999 + 2000 + 2001 birthday(s), anniversaries, christmas and new years are shitty. avoids lud and the usual ones during the holidays 2-3 years in a row, promises being fine.

(lud and maybe others finally learn about certain accident).

the crisis runs its course, and during the worst other siblings step forward (a ghost in particular is happy about this).

the 300 anniversary in january is still weird.

not mentioned: ot7 interactions

#i feel stupid. gn! #postwall #killed gil. again #fic wips #fic wip #ask 2 tag #long post #sr. tnddr

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

hello i know a little bit about guilty gear and understand much less, but uh if you want could you do a lore dump on axl low?

I’d be happy to! His story isn’t the most plot significant but it is certainly interesting.

Note: I will be referencing events talked about in my other post so I don’t have to describe every single thing.

An important thing to know about Axl is that his lore is supposed to be convoluted and confusing, because his whole gimmick for the early games is that he is constantly being hurtled back and forth through time against his control. Most of his story beats involve him happening to appear at a certain time and place and be involved in the plot before being thrown through time again.

Axl Low was just a mostly ordinary (for a guilty gear character) guy in late 1900s Britain. He was very skilled at martial arts and took it upon himself to end gang assaults in the neighborhood by fighting gang members. He was apparently very successful and managed to run gangs out of the area without a single casualty. He was dating a girl named Megumi, who he was deeply in love with. They both swore their futures to one another, but fate had other plans. In a completely separate timeline, Megumi was the one chosen to become the vessel of the magical focus that was created by the combined will of humanity to achieve a bright future during the various apocalypses. Megumi was granted godlike power and became I-no. In 1998 in Axl’s timeline, his nearness to Megumi for some reason caused him to be hurtled through time to the year 2178, 3 years after the end of the Crusades.

He spent the next 2 years searching for a way back to his timeline with no success. But then he heard about the Sacred Knights tournament that supposedly granted a wish to the winner, so he joined. The whole thing turned out to be a hoax caused by Testament to resurrect Justice. He aids in the plot to stop Justice and Sol Badguy succeeds in killing Justice. Axl was let down that his opportunity to go back to his time was a lie, but then the crowd of the tournament cheered him on and he realized he could make new friends in this future, right when he reached out to the people he was hurtled through time again.

Most of Axl’s story goes along these lines, he appears at a certain place in time, partakes in whatever plot hijinks is happening, and then gets thrown through time again. None of it is particularly important, and I’m trying to avoid just paraphrasing the wiki page, so I’ll just get to the parts that matter for his overarching story arc. Just know that he does time traveling shenanigans and meets his own double a couple times, at one point he gets sent back to 1998 but before he can talk to Megumi he is whisked away again.

Anyway he eventually learns of That Man and tries to seek him out because he’s supposedly a time traveler. He then meets I-no, who works for That Man at the time. His next important time slip involves him being sent to a desolate future version of 2192, where The Original tells him to deliver a message to That Man, Axl doesn’t understand what the message means but agrees all the same. Then he’s slips through time to Bedman (a creepy guy who lives his entire life in a dream strapped to a robot bed, I don’t really understand Bedman’s lore other than that he tries to kill people a lot of the time)‘s nightmare theater, but before Bedman can kill him, I-no pulls him back through time to the desolate 2192, intending to kill him for knowing about the existence of The Original. He explains that he has a message from The Original so she sends him back through time to give the message to That Man.

Afterwards Axl realized I-no’s time powers can send him back home, so he tracks her down, but when he finds her he learns that if he were to be sent back in time, it could potentially change and destroy the timeline he is currently in, so I-no doesn’t want to do it. Axl gives up on returning home and tries to find purpose here in the future, he eventually even learns to control the time powers he has, allowing him to slow down, compress, and potentially even freeze time.

From this point on Axl doesn’t slip through time much if at all. He tries not to look back on the past, but eventually realizes it would be possible to trade places with Megumi, bringing her to the future at the cost of himself, but that it wouldn’t succeed at bringing them together.

Axl starts having premonitions of the future, including one where Happy Chaos (who used to be The Original) tells him that they haven’t seen eachother since 2192 (the year he met The Original in the desolate future). Axl gets a premonition that something bad is going to happen at a certain area of the city, on the day when it happens, Happy Chaos blows up a building to free Nagoriyuki (a black vampire samurai and one of the coolest characters in guilty gear) as Chaos intends to take control of Nagoriyuki and use him for his plot to restore I-no to godhood. When the explosion happens, Axl freezes time and teleports the civilians in the building to safety, where he meets and has a brief conversation with I-no.

At the end of the Strive storyline, when I-no has ascended to godhood and is fighting with essentially everyone else who don’t want her to abuse her power, Axl tries to reason with her, but it doesn’t work. Axl and Ky distract her, and Sol Badguy steals her magic electric guitar and uses it to strike a presumably lethal blow to I-no. While she lay there presumably dying, Axl cries and begs her to remember something. With I-no defeated Axl finds himself alone in a park, when suddenly Megumi from his timeline appears next to him bearing a message from I-no. I believe the implication is that I-no did what Axl considered earlier, trading places with the Megumi from his timeline to bring her to the future, this way in the end Axl and Megumi finally get to be together, and I-no’s whereabouts and even whether or not she is still alive remain a mystery. And Axl and Megumi lived happily ever after.

I just wanted to say that since Axl is one of the few characters with a definitive concrete end to his story arc, I’m curious how/if it will be continued whenever the next guilty gear releases, but that is a long ways away

#guilty gear #Axl Low #I hope this was more interesting than just reading a wiki page #although I can’t guarantee it being any more informational at all

[science-lings]

Whoops I’m late to the party but here’s some tropes.

Positive trope! As a traveler Hyrule has a lot of interesting and funny stories to to tell.

Negative Hyrule is a completely ignorant cave boy with the rough intelligent and personality of a 5 year old.

Positive Sky wrapping his sail cloth around someone.

Positive Warriors going full burrito with the near infinite cape he pretends is a scarf.

Negative Time Twilight and Wild��s bonds are treated like they are the only one’s that really matter with the unspoken implication they are the only REAL family.

Positive item trading! One of my favorite trope if rarely seen tropes. Yes Wild show Four your slate and argue over the definition of science. Spinner race time Twilight and Warriors. Let Sky Wild and Wind compare gliding items. Give Hyrule a hookshot! Rings for everyone!

Negative tossing my own take on the Mipha’s Grace is Fairy Bottle With Extra Steps is that we have had some form of Heal by Death in every game except the first. Hyrule has dolls he can find and Legend and Wind even having non fairy items they can purchase to resurrect with. All of them should be aware of the possibility even if only a few have used it. If anything meeting other people who treat dying casually should far more horrific then the simple existence something they can all potentially do.

Positive saying fuck destiny and finding ways to meet again after having to part at the end of the adventure.

You're not late I'm still collecting for the part 2's

Hyrule being a super experienced traveler is so good, this guy has been wandering since he was like eight and he's got a lot of campfire stories. And while I think it's not outrageous to assume that schooling in this era is a little lacking that doesn't mean that he's dumb in any way at all, he's very clever and he knows how to read thank you very much. Maybe he had some education in Calatia. I mean he was smart enough to leave and survive on his own and save his namesake a few times so like.... not stupid.

Any large piece of fabric that the chain owns can and will be used as a blanket. Scarf, sailcloth, cloak, Wind probably has actual sails that he used to have on the king of red lions that he uses to keep the water off of him bc it's more like a tarp than a blanket. Snuggles are inevitable.

While I am a fan of the wolf bloodline, I do get why depictions of it may undermine the importance of found family. I think it's a very valid criticism to point out that it may sometimes put forward the idea that blood family is more valid than an adopted family which could be unsavory, though I doubt that's ever the intention of the authors/ creators. I think that family is a fascinating topic with all these guys who grew up in vastly different but still quite lonely circumstances.

I love it when aspects like items and spells and stories from the other games are shared between the links and utilized to show how vast and different their experiences are. Aside from hookshots, nearly all of them have those bastards.

I mean, anytime people legitimize game mechanics into plot stuff it can be interpreted in different ways so I don't think that 'all of them come back from the dead' is a bad take lol, I think people fixate on Wild specifically with this kind of thing because it is implied he's already died and gone through the whole resurrection thing but more long term, and if that could've just been fixed with a fairy then the entire 100-year sleep just wouldn't have been needed. So it poses the question of if fairies really can bring a link back from the dead. But now I'm rambling...

I'm completely on the side of 'they all meet up in the afterlife as the timelines are assumed to have converged at some point before botw, and it wouldn't mess up the timelines if they just meet up after a few thousand years of waiting. I like the idea that they're watching and rooting for each other. That they've never been alone and there were always some of their brothers watching over them. (I also like to think that Wild caught a glimpse of them when he was placed in the shrine of resurrection)

#thanks for the suggestions #this one was a bit long but I don't mind lol #linked universe #ask andromeda #lu trope talk

[bardic-tales]

Hello!!! You're on my OC Creator Bingo and I want to ask some questions about Vitalia!! 1. What made you decide to create an anthromorphic tiger as a character? 2. What made you choose the name? 3. Who is she friends with at the Xavier Institute? 4. Does she get involved in any major canon events? 5. Would she ever want to go back to being a normal tiger if there was a guarentee of a better life than her one at the circus or is she content as a mutant?

Bonus question - what programs do you use to make the artwork?? Because all of your OCs look really cool!!

Hello. I hope you are having a wonderful day or night, and I apologize that this is late. Thank you so much for the questions, Bingo Buddy.

What made you decide to create an anthromorphic tiger as a character?

Vitalia is a character I originally created in 2000. I saw a wonderful painting by the artist Jonathon earl bowser that inspired her. Since that was 23 years ago, I really don't remember much of her. I have a memory of a goldfish sometimes.

In fact, the reason she is shipped with Nate Grey is from an old X-man RP that I did in 2000 where she was romantically involved with him. Her other love interest during that time was Robert "Bobby" Drake (Iceman).

I resurrected this character as I wanted to be able to spread the awareness of the horrors of cub petting, and the best way I knew how is through my writing. As an animal advocate, this topic is really close to me.

What made you choose the name?

I searched many different sites and language dictionaries to find something that really sparked my interest when I was crafting her name. Vitalia means 'Full of Life', and this is how she views the world after she heals from the abuse she had endured in her life.

Vitalia is only her nickname. The name she gave herself is Carmen Rio Aurora. I chose this name because I am fond of the opera 'Carmen'. Rio and Aurora are her parent's names. She wanted to honor them.

Who is she friends with at the Xavier Institute?

I previously answered this in this OC Bingo Ask. Outside of Kitty Pryde, she is also friends with Hank McCoy. He is the one who helped her find her way to the Xavier Institute.

But really, Vitalia's time at the Xavier Institute is one marked with distrust. She has barriers up and does not trust easy. It's hard for her to really heal and make friends after all the trauma she endured in her life. Vitalia kind of has a restless soul. She really is haunted by her past trauma.

Does she get involved in any major canon events?

She does join Nate in some of his canonical events, as I tend to write canon divergent fiction. One such event that comes to mind is when she journeyed to Switzerland. Nate Grey literally falls out of the sky in the main universe, and as he wanders the forest, he senses a strange presence. This is Vitalia. She initially appears aggressive, but he uses his telepathic powers to sense her thoughts and emotions.

Vitalia would travel with him, meeting various established characters. Some include: Spider-Man, Psi-Ops, and Maddie Pyror. She would go, fight, and help to defeat the Great Beasts.

Nate would create another plane of existence, which he constructed as an attempt at a utopia. It was here that he and all the other mutants would be at peace. Nate altered their memories, so they would not resist. He would also subconsciously create a version of his old girlfriend, Dani Moonstar, and this deeply hurts Vitalia. Dani and Vitalia both point out the flaws of this utopia and convince him that he made a mistake. Vitalia is the one who pleads for him to release them back to Earth-616, which he does.

Would she ever want to go back to being a normal tiger if there was a guarentee of a better life than her one at the circus or is she content as a mutant?

This is such a great question. I believe after her story is told, that she would prefer to go back to a normal tiger. She has faced a lot of prejudice as a mutant. As an anthro tiger, she often has to hide her appearance when she is out and about.

She longs to run through the forests and hunt prey.

what programs do you use to make the artwork?? Because all of your OCs look really cool!!

Unfortunately, they are AI generated. I made them before it came out that the Ai were stealing artwork to generate their images. They are from Artbreeder.

I'm in the process of commissioning work and finding picrews to represent my original characters. For my fandom characters, I most likely will be using their Faceclaims and / or game models.

I am chronically ill and with personal things going on right now, so I often really don't have the energy to do anything.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and thank you for the interest in Vitalia.

#ocb 2023 #oc bingo #oc: vitalia #fd: marvel

[star-strand]

speedrunning all of apprenticember in one post even though it's january

it's called showing up fashionably late (thanks ghoulfriendfangs for all the fun questions) (also i'm reposting this because the first time i tried it didn't show up in any tags)

Introduce your apprentice! Just their name, personality, appearance, and likes/dislikes for now! If you have pictures of them, post them today!

i've made an introduction post for my mc, gale! it's my pinned post, you can also find it in the galeposting tag on this blog

2. Who is their LI? What’s their relationship like?

his main li is julian! things with the two of them get chaotic, but they've got a lot of love for each other. the main reason i'm not saying much here is because i'll probably post about them way too much in the future if given an opportunity

3. Give a short summary of their relationship to the other main characters!

asra: best friend! though neither of them have romantic feelings for the other anymore by the main game, they're still very close

nadia: he decided to befriend her during his stay at the palace; they both respect each other a ton

muriel: pre-death they were friends, post-resurrection is more complicated. in the three years between his resurrection and the start of the game, asra sent him to check on gale while he was busy traveling, and eventually muriel gave him some myrrh to avoid the whole "what the fuck are you doing in my house" song and dance each time he came over

portia: similar to nadia, they became fast friends when he came to the palace. they like to exchange gardening tips

lucio: he'd rather not be around him after everything

4. What about the courtiers? Have they met them? What do they think of them?

when he meets them in the prologue, they give him the creeps. that feeling mostly stays the same. he's alright with volta, and he tolerates valerius to an extent

5. Do they have any other friends outside of canon? What about the minor characters?

not really. gale's not really good at putting himself out there, so it's hard for him to meet people. he's friends with selasi though

6. Now, do they have any rivals? Maybe even a WORST ENEMY!? Spill the deets now!

nah, he generally tries to avoid making enemies. doesn't mean he can't get angry at people or hold the occasional petty grudge, though

7. Let’s go back to their physical description, but go even deeper! Do they have tattoos, piercings, scars, etc? What sort of clothes do they like?

he's got a few scars, the most noticeable of which being his top surgery scars. he usually hides his other scars with magic. despite not remembering how he got them, they make him uncomfortable (his top surgery scars being an exception)

with clothing, he generally prefers stuff that's simple and comfortable

8. Now let’s give their familiar the spotlight! Tell us all about them!

gale's familiar is a chameleon named nymph. he found him before his death, and though nymph died during the plague era, he came back along with gale

9. Do they have a patron arcana? Who is it? What’s their relationship like?

pre-death, he had a strong connection to the empress. she occasionally visited him in dreams, and took on a very nurturing, motherly role towards him. since his resurrection, he's been mostly connected to the fool for... obvious reasons

10. What is their relationship to the other arcana like?

he doesn't communicate with them much outside of tarot readings. of the ones he interacts with along the route, he finds them somewhat frustrating

11. Do they have a gateway? What does it look like?

he does! it's a loosely packed forest in a constant state of early evening, with plenty of fireflies hanging around

12. What does their home look like? Their room?

gale keeps a sort of organized chaos in his living space. it’s a bit cluttered and messy, but it’s part of his system. he also keeps a ton of houseplants

same goes for his room. he likes to keep things in there cozy, lots of blankets and cushions. there’s a desk for writing, as well as a bookshelf (and a stack of books he’s been meaning to read next to the bed)

13. Can they cook? What’s their favorite meal?

he’s an alright cook. simple meals, nothing super fancy

his favorite food is babka, a sweet braided bread with some sort of filling (he likes chocolate and cinnamon fillings!)

14. What does their magic look/feel like?

he primarily uses green magic, so a lot of plants and plant-themed magic! he’s attuned to flora and the life energy of plants. one ability he has is transferring that energy between plants and other living beings. using plants whose meanings/symbolism correspond to whatever spell he’s using amplifies the spell’s power

his magic can respond to his emotions— if he gets into a particularly heightened emotional state, you might see tiny vines and flowers popping up out of nowhere

he has minor healing abilities, but unfortunately, they don’t work on himself

15. What are they proudest of?

he’s proud of his houseplants. it’s not much, but he’s keeping something alive. that’s something to be proud of

16. What’s their deepest insecurity?

gale, deep down, worries that he is an unloveable person, or at least that he’s hard to love. that he’s unimportant, uninteresting, annoying, and an overall difficult person to care about/be around

17. Do they have any family, living or non living? List their family tree!

mother: shoshana blumen. she was controlling. her and gale had a messy relationship, with her often being angry at him and saying hurtful things to him. she was like the captain of the house, and nobody stood up to her. she had expectations for gale that he just couldn’t live up to

father: ansel blumen. he wasn’t like shoshana, but he wasn’t supportive either

older brother: natan blumen. gale found some support in him, and they were close. natan left to study technology when gale was young, but he visited from time to time

when he was around 16/17, the pressure of his home and parents got to be too much. he cut his hair, ran away, stowed away on a ship, and ended up in vesuvia. there, he met his adoptive aunt, joyce, who became sort of a mother figure to him. she took him in, taught him magic, and eventually he and asra took over her shop. when they did, she left to go on some travels. unfortunately, she decided to come back and visit as the plague began to ravage the city, and ended up on the lazaret

he hasn’t contacted his biological family since he ran away. even if he had his memories back, he wouldn’t be interested in talking to his parents. maybe he’d like to see natan, though, if he managed to track him down

18. What were they like as a child?

because of the situation with his mother and his own tendency to be alone, he was often withdrawn. he did a lot of reading and daydreaming. he was the kind of kid who waited to be adopted by a friend group instead of approaching people

he was a pretty bright kid— started learning to read very early on, loved (and still loves tbh) picking up random fun facts. though his mother wasn’t very keen on him learning magic, he had a natural aptitude for it

19. If your mc fights, what is their fighting style? If they don’t, why not?

gale doesn’t mean to get into fights, but it happens sometimes. because of his lack of any actual knowledge or training on combat, his fighting is not always effective. but he tries to take advantage of his small size and magical abilities to make up for his lack of physical strength

20. Remember the Valentines Day event where you could pick between 3 gifts to give the LI? What 3 gifts would you write for your mc?

-a thrilling mystery novel

-a decorated flowerpot

-a jigsaw puzzle

21. Now what kind of gifts are they most likely to give?

he likes giving people small gifts when there’s no special occasion. “here’s a cool rock/flower/seashell/etc that reminded me of you” kind of thing

for holidays and special occasions, it depends on the person he’s giving to! probably related to one of their hobbies or interests

22. What does your mc do to show their love?

it’s surprising how much he opens up to people he loves. he gets physically affectionate, and he feels more comfortable receiving touch. he also talks more! a big sign of him being comfortable around someone is freely infodumping to them

also, the small gifts from the last question! he’s a lot like a crow in that way. if he’s taken a liking to you, expect an ever-growing collection of trinkets

23. What parts of Vesuvia is your mc most likely to be at?

if he’s not at the shop, he’s probably in the woods doing some foraging or just taking a walk

24. Does your mc like parties, festivals, and masquerades? What do they do at them?

gale, like myself, is autistic and has adhd. which means that parties can be a bad time for him. not only are they full of social conventions, they're usually overstimulating. he prefers small gatherings with people he already knows

if he does go to a party/festival, he's likely to stick to the less populated areas or find a friend to follow around

25. What’s your favorite thing about your mc?

i made him very similar to me, so i find a lot of comfort and catharsis in writing about him (or, more often, just creating little scenarios about him in my head)

26. How has your mc changed since you first made them?

relating to the last question: originally, he wasn't supposed to be like me, and then it kinda happened. and pretty soon i started intentionally leaning into it. i've also tweaked his outfit a bit, but that new outfit exists only in my brain because i've been in such a slump when it comes to art

27. Has your mc ever KILLED anybody? What are their thoughts on MURDER?

depends on how you define kill. but that's a part of his backstory i'll get to later :)

he thinks murder is generally bad, but he doesn't think murder automatically makes someone a bad person. things are complicated. sometimes there are good reasons, sometimes people get forced into awful situations

28. Are they afraid to die?

less than most. he's learned to accept death as a natural part of life

29. What is a fact about your mc others would never guess?

you’d probably guess that julian would be the one who gets injured more often. it ends up being the other way around. gale is incredibly accident prone. murphy’s law said fuck this guy in particular

30. Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

fun fact i first made him in 2019. holy shit he's been around for a while

31. Name another mc you read about and enjoyed! Shout out your favorite mc!

i'm not super familiar with everyone's mcs since i'm kinda reintroducing myself to the fandom. haven't really been active in a while, and even then i stuck to instagram. but here's a few i've seen and enjoyed while scouring arcana-related tags!

-khailan (made-me-deep-blue)

-alnair (lonely--shine)

-alastor (nabesthetics)

-velle (rainyfey)

#not tagging people because i am a coward #apprenticember #galeposting #fan apprentice #the arcana mc #the arcana apprentice #the arcana #the arcana game #starstrand

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through BONUS: Marvel Team-Up 2 (#36-79)

MASTERPOST

Continuing the same concept as the previous post, that is, a quick catch-up to not miss anything regarding Peter's social life.

In #36, Spider-Man fights with Frankenstein's monster. As in, they fight enemies together! That's nice. Peter says that with Gwen's clone, he's more inclined to believe in ridiculous stuff like his acolyte's existence. They try to save a woman in distress, but it was actually a SHIELD agent in disguise, who's after the monster-maker that trapped Spidey and Frankenstein's monster in the first place!

It's fun to see the three of them as allies. The monster eventually finds Spidey about to fight... Man-Wolf!

In #37, the story continues and the (hot) monster-maker traps Spidey and Frankenstein's monster AGAIN.

What an unfortunate bubble.

Don't worry, they escape. Again. Meanwhile, the SHIELD agent is with Man-Wolf, who eventually protects her from actual wolves. She flees at the first chance. Spidey soon finds Man-Wolf, and, uh...

Malehood, huh...

Well, that's just sad. That was a nice duo of issues!

#38 time!

Spidey meets Beast. They have a nice dynamic. Spidey also assaults a rich old lady!

In #39, meets an adorable kid, Manuel (I refuse to call him "Mosquito", his surname). Manuel has a tight relationship with pigeons, and I assume this is where Spidey's whole thing with pigeons (ITSV, Insomniac's SM) started.

Their cute scene is interrupted by an evil MEANIE who shoots a pigeon dead :(

Meanwhile, the Human Torch meets an Enforcer again (ASM 19!) Shenanigans ensue.

I prefer this outfit too, Marko.

#40 features a nice starting spread.

It's non-stop action, but the panels are entertaining!

So uh, anyway, Foswell had a daughter and now she's dead :(

In 41, Wanda Maximoff gets stoned.

Hahaha.

More importantly, 42 features this ad:

And we get to see Dr Doom, nice!

#43 is sure eventful, and #44 offers a really dark panel, what the hell.

In #45, Spidey hits Green Gobl'MJ. I will not explain further. In #46, time travel still (handy to not be too trapped by ASM's continuity).

Captain Jean DeWolff's introduced in #48, which sucks, but at least now I know who she is. She's very hardboiled, and her team up with Spidey and Iron Man is really nice.

It's juicy, even!

The Wraith is Jean's brother's brainwashed resurrected body, but the actual mastermind is Philip himself. It's actually a solid plot and it's wild that it was confined to Team-Up. And it lasts several issues too (48-51)!

In #52, SSM #1 is referenced!

In #53, we get a nice spread.

In #63, Misty Knight's there and she slays.

In #65, Peter has to house Brian Braddock, an English exchange student. He even introduces him to the Coffee Bean Gang, that's nice! But Brian is actually suspected of being Captain Britain by the EU branch of the Maggia, which wants to eliminate him.

Continuity in the apartment, nice! Brian barely catches Peter leaving his apartment costumed, and suspects Spidey might have abducted him. He transforms into Captain Britain to save him. That's actually a neat concept, but as usual, I wish it didn't focus so much on their fight. Still, I ship these two dudes.

You get it. I do think TU gets more interesting as it goes on, but the gimmick (teaming up with other heroes) ultimately prevents it from having too compelling stories for now.

#66 continues the storyline and traps both our heroes in a giant pinball machine, which is great. I hope we get to see more of this villain, Arcade.

#68 is a wild one. Peter and MJ go to the circus, see Man-Thing, then shenanigans happen and suddenly your 13 year old self's OC appears.

Uh-uh alright lmao.

72 finally continues the Jean/Wraith plot.

I love Jean's outfit in this one.

Her brother is alright now, yay <3

In #73, Peter asks Matt Murdock for help but the latter is distracted by the Owl.

You handsome beast.

In #74, Stan Lee's here!

MJ, I love you.

Oh I love this!!!! We also see Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi, and probably other names I don't know about. I breeze through the issue, but it still has some of my interest.

Oh, MJ <3 There's a lot of battles but it's an uncharacteristically good issue. I might actually add it to my Recommendations post!

I thought it would be revealed to be in Peter's mind, but it seems not. It very much seems like MJ knows about Peter's identity, doesn't it?

In #75... Well first of all, I love the look of this place.

Andre and MJ proceed to kiss, and Peter's not very charmed. I love MJ's outfit in the first panel, it's really cool. The issue also see the return of Luke Cage.

#76 time!

I kinda love that first page but also what's up with Peter having the Three of Swords on his crotch?

Oof. The only other things I stopped on were Ms. Marvel's civilian persona looking gorgeous, and Peter looking gorgeous too.

I see we have the same priorities!

26

In #77, that suit is drawn wonderfully.

I think it's the heavy shading, I really love it.

In #79, we learn that Jameson fired Carol Danvers (I beg your pardon? Oh, that's funny. I wonder how many super heroes he recruited without knowing it.)

She's so funny, I love her.

The museum's in flames, Peter goes as Spidey to investigate, MJ wants to know where he goes every time but her internal monologue says she doesn't know he's Spider-Man, so... a bit inconsistent here.

Then THAT happens.

Forever wondering why there's not more of a creative fan community around Spidey because there's truly something for everyone.

Intrigued by a sword, MJ takes it and gets possesed Red Sonja, skimpy clothes and everything, hell yeah!

We get a nice ending, with MJ transforming back into herself, unaware of what happened, and Peter throwing the magical item in the ocean as a pink cloud shaped like Sonja looks over him.

Yeah, I couldn't put more pictures.

#spider-man #peter parker #comics #comic books #marvel team up

[thatonetimetraveller]

Unpublished fics game

wasn't actually tagged by anyone but I really want to do this cuz it looks fun

be warned some of these are extremely niche so much so that probably I would be the only one to read them lol

Fics I started writing and has a notebook

Durin/Elrond timetravel - where Durin timetravels into the 3rd age and joins Thorin's Company on their quest. He manages to drag Elrond into the mess as well.

Last Year's Barduil Month prompts - yes I will eventually get to them lol

Faramir/Pippin Flowershop/Firefighter au that I got promoted for last November - featuring flower language pining and depression

Decisions to change - Pippin/Faramir what if Faramir went to the council of Elrond. featuring child abuse

The silmarillion/ full metal alchemist crossover - Maedhros gets transported into the transmutation circle of Ed and Al's attempt to resurrect their mother. Other elves related to Maedhros get transported too. Maedhros sees two children in need and practically adopts them instantly lol

The Road to El Dorado the gay rewrite - what if the gods Miguel and Tulio were pretending are married in the pantheon, so to sell the deal they have to pretend to be married. featuring fake/pretend relationship with a fuck ton of mutual pining and internalised/period typical homophobia

How did Mobius M. Mobius became fascinated with Loki? - Season 2 au the TVA Loki travelled to at the beginning of the season was in the past so that means Mobius became obsessed with Loki as he tries to find that exact variant again. Basically a Mobius backstory

The Moon and the Spider - After the memory incident of No Way Home Peter changes his name and moves to London done being Spiderman. He goes on a date with Steven Grant and gets pulled into the events of Moon Knight

Fics that live in the idea book eventually to be written

All the days to remain - Stargate Jack/Daniel - season 6 au dealing with Daniel's death and the repercussions of unsaid feelings.

Stargate/Lotr crossover - there's a Stargate in Moria. SG1 gets stuck there because of a time dilation field. They join Thorin's company. Part 2 of the story sees SG1 come back when Ori places a distress call during the failed attempt to take Moria back. Due to the time difference SG1 arrives just as the fellowship is passing through Moria.

Rush Hour Carter/Lee - Case fic where Carter gets framed for some crime and Lee is the only one to believe Lee so he goes and finds him. The two of them in an effort to clear Carter's name bust an international crime organisation. Featuring movie level shenanigans.

Exploring the Cleonic Dynasty - Foundation - The Foundation through the various Cleons' perspective

Stargate/House MD crossover - During the events of 10x8 Vala finds herself in Princeton Plainsboro with severe amnesia. House meets her during one of his rare occasions of doing clinic hours and gets interested when he feels the scarring of the Goa'uld Vala was host to. Vala gets recruited as a fake nurse to avoid getting detained by the fake air force also because House thought it was funny lol

These are the ones I plan to write in the future. Please send me asks about them if you want to know more. I'll be happy to ramble on about any of them lol

No pressure tags: @oakenting @nocompromise-noregrets @scary-grace @tathrin

#fanfic #fic ideas #lotr #the silmarillion #moon knight #Loki #mcu #stargate sg1 #house md #rush hour #foundation #fics i will eventually write #as you can see tho most are extremely plotty or has the potential to become so #so it will take me a while lol

[afeelgoodblog]

#030 - Best News of Last Week - March 7, 2022

🇺🇦 - Hope you had a great weekend. Here's some good news that still happened around the world

1. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher launch Ukraine fundraiser, will match $3M

Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher are doing their part to help those impacted by the current unrest in Ukraine.

The Hollywood couple announced on Thursday that they’ve launched a GoFundMe page for victims of Russia’s invasion of the country and will match up to $3 million in donations.

2. People who test positive for Covid can receive antiviral pills at pharmacies for free, Biden says

President Joe Biden said Americans will be able to get Covid antiviral pills for free if they test positive at a pharmacy. The administration will launch hundreds of sites nationwide this month at CVS, Walgreens and Kroger as well as community health centers, a White House official said.

Biden said Americans can also order more free Covid tests at the government’s website, covidtests.gov, next week.

3. Pets of Ukrainian refugees authorized to enter Finland without permit or prior application

Under these exceptional circumstances, pets traveling with their owners from Ukraine or under force majeure circumstances from Russia are authorized to enter Finland without prior application or permit.

Owners or their representatives are asked to present the pet and any paperwork to Finnish Customs at the border upon entry. Finnish Customs will give further instructions at the border.

4. A UK based company is producing "molecularly identical" cows milk without the cow by using modified yeast. The technology could hugely reduce the environmental impact of dairy.

Food tech company Better Dairy is closer to getting its aged and hard cheeses into the testing phase after securing $22 million in Series A funding.

The U.K.-based company, founded in 2019 by Jevan Nagarajah, is still in the R&D phase of developing animal-free cheeses using precision fermentation. While other food tech companies are tackling softer cheeses like mozzarella or whey proteins, Better Daily is targeting hard cheeses, a process that is more complex, in a more sustainable way.

5. Australian Scientists Plan to Resurrect the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger

An ambitious new project aims to bring an iconic marsupial species back from the dead. A group of researchers from the University of Melbourne plan to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from the dead.

The major revolution is thanks to CRISPR, a powerful DNA cut-and-paste tool, which presents a way for scientists to recreate the genetic code of species long extinct. The technology is at the heart of a proposal to bring back the Woolly Mammoth by 2027, led by the biotech firm Colossal.

6. North Island brown kiwi 'no longer threatened' as population swells to 20,000

After years in decline, kiwi numbers are bouncing back thanks to intensive conservation efforts by the government and volunteers. The good news for New Zealand’s national bird was revealed in the Department of Conservation’s report into the conservation status of birds.

Of the five species of kiwi, the North Island brown kiwi is faring best.

7. Owner Left Him At The Gas Station, So Dog Becomes The Cutest Employee

If you will ever find a chance to stop for taking gas in the town of Mogi das Cruzes in Brazil, you may want to meet with their sweetest employee, a puppy named Negão. He works at a small Shell gas station, and while he may not be able to pump gas, skilled at pumping a sense of happiness to customers.

. . .

That's it for this week. Until next week, You can follow me on twitter . Also, I have a newsletter :)

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[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. Hello you wonderful people! So grateful to what you do on this page! I was hoping you could help me find a fic where the Lans agree to take in the Wen if Wei Wuxian agrees to be cleansed of resentful energy and Wei Wuxian agrees even though it will kill him. I know Wen Qing has a main role in it because she tries to convince him not to. Thank you lovely mods!

FOUND! decay by antebunny  (G, 16k, wangxian)

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2. Please heeelllp. I had saved your rec list and I randonly clicked on a link and I was reading and then all of a sudden I lost it, not even in my history. I've gone through the whole list and I can't find it 😭 so now I'm going mad for real. Hoping you might know the fic. I swear it was from the list....

WWX wakes up in MXY body but has lost his memory. He is in the middle of fighting off the arm at the Mo residence and tells the diciples to play rest. Meets LWJ, gets taken back to Cloud Recess, everyone thinks his memory lost is due to the arm. Sometimes mentions things in a "previous life". Tries sword fighting with the kids, knows what he's doing. And thats as far as I got.

FOUND! Love Song In Reverse by timetoboldlygo (T, 159k, wangxian, WIP)

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3. Hello! I have been looking for this fic where lwj (aged 30+) travels back in time, and meets the teen versions of everybody. He is completely different from the teen ver of himself, none of the stoic and aloofness he displayed, and the younger wwx really appreciates all the attention he is getting from the older lwj. And all this causes some jealousy from the younger lwj. Pls help me find it i have been looking for it for months!!

FOUND! Mod L thinks this one is vinegar jug by dandelion_san (G, 7k, wangxian, time travel)

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4. Hi, i want to ask a wangxian book name or the author's name will be fine too. I have saved the book in my reading list but now I couldn't find it. I read it in wattpad where both wangji and wei ying fell down from the cliff and baoshan samen rescued them. They together rescued ayuan too and then they all trained under baoshan sanren. After 16 years they met xichen in mo manor. Here shizui is mo xuyanu's friend and huisang asked wei Ying's help to solve his brother death. It is updated till 5.

FOUND? blossoming flowers in a full moon - 花好月圆 by thisiswherethemagichappens (T, 62k, wangxian, fix-it of sorts) Author in Tumblr: @thisiswherethemagichappens and @theuntamed-magic

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5. I am not sure on how to do this loll this is my first time asking. But Ima just try, also I love the stories you recommend (may have cried, and laugh loll)

I am looking for a book that I read few months back, I even went through the history and couldn't find it loll. It's about how the mdzs characters watching wei wuxian life after the first siege (?) Everyone (I think everyone) who died were resurrected to watch his life as well. While watching they didn't know that wei wuxian was still alive but not in their time period, he is alive, and pregnant and now goes by the name Bai Ying or Bai Wuxian in the future. And when they found out they decided to go and convince him to come back with them, but he doesn't remember them.

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6. Hello!! I’m p sure there’s a lot of fics like this out there right now TAT but im looking for a fic where lwj ends up tutoring wwx how to kiss? Or at least how to be sexual w/ each other? Iirc, this happened because they were having a conversation about first base, second base etc so the main point of their “agreement” is to kind of show wwx the different bases? I hope that makes sense 😭 If it helps, i remember wwx always goes to lwj’s place too for their sessions. And he often has to wait until lwj is finished with his studying/homework before the start. Thank you!!!

FOUND? Lead Me On Through by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 54k, wangxian, arranged marriage, practice kissing)

FOUND? throw the keys back by dustyloves (E, 31k, wangxian, F/F)

FOUND? give me one good honest kiss by occultings (microcomets) (E, 25k, wangxian, F/F)

Nothing But Trouble by brooklinegirl (E, 60k, wangxian, modern au, Fake/Pretend Relationship)

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7. Hello :3 sorry, it's the first time i don't know where i lost a fic, but i know you can help me (I admire you so much!!!). Well, it's a Wangxian time travel, but Lan Zhan only can remember his feelings for Wei Ying not the past. Wei Ying say that Lan Zhan and he, meet in their childhood and Lan Zhan promised to take him to Cloud Resses but he lost and after that was adopted to the Jiangs. (srry english is not my fist lenguage)

FOUND! Come Back to Me by s6115 (M, 9k, wangxian)

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8. Hi! Looking for a fic where Lan Wangji is cursed and falls sick/catches a cold. Wei Wuxian takes care for him. That's the summary I remember. I forgot to bookmark it (sigh, I never learn). I skimmed through the 'sick fic' tag on ao3 but I couldn't find it there!

FOUND? Might this be ❤️side effects may include by slightlytookish (T, 14k, wangxian, case fic, curses)

Other possibility❤️i don't wanna lose you (hope it never ends) by annemari (T, 20k, wangxian, sick fic, poison instead of curse), podfic by exmanhater

5 Times Wei WuXian was a Domestic Goddess by DoAliensLikePasta (G, 6k, wangxian, sick fic, WIP) has WWX nursing a sick LWJ, as well as sewing and gardening.

The Cultivator's Cold by Court_on_Fire (G, 6k, wangxian, it’s a plain old cold, but the melodramatic summary is priceless.)

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9. Hi!! I love this blog so much and was wondering if u could help me find a fic i've been looking for forever. It was something like Wei Wuxian goes to the gym (related to Jiang Cheng and a basketball team???) and he sees Lan Wangji and eventually they get together/go back to Wangji's place and have sex??? sorry this is so unspecific i just have a shit memory lmao

FOUND! ❤️speeding up my heartbeat by plonk (E, 25k, wangxian, Mojo's post)

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10. Hello! I am looking for a fic set in post-canon and there was this scene where wwx made lwj promise to tell him if he’s getting mad/annoyed at wwx. I think wwx said/did something (they were in the jingshi at this time) and lwj tells wwx that he is mad at him. Another detail I remember is that one of them slept on the floor after that fight. Thank you!

FOUND! You, Asleep and Dreaming by etymologyplayground (M, 9k, wangxian, 5+1)

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11. Hello! I wanted to ask, for the Fic Finder, if you knew the name of a fic with roughly this plot, only with LWJ turning into a bunny. Thank you in advance! :)) **Ooof, I swear I just recently read this but I can't remember! ~Mod L**

FOUND! ❤️it’s you, it was always you by myung (G, 7k, wangxian, animal transformation)

FOUND! ❤️heartkeeper by postingpebbles (G, 7k, wangxian, animal transformation), podfic by esbielle

*both these stories are based on this tumblr comic and/or this tumblr post by pakastekaappihomo

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12. Heyo Mojo guniang and L goniang? Gunzi?( since it’s they/them, i combined them. If it means anything rude please tell!!!) **Thank you for the consideration, it made me really happy! Either works for me tho I don’t know whether they mean something or not. So far the less desirable ways to address me are ‘madam’ and ‘mister’ but I'm not picky ~Mod L** i am looking for a fic. Actually two but i am pretty hopeful they are from a series.

a) WWX lives. He is taked by Qinghe Nie and put to a room. Told not to use resentment. He gets letters but JGY tells him not to read em. WWX doesn’t talk and all but one day NHS comes to do his hair and gossips. Later LWJ comes and WWX uses resentment when he hears about JYL marriage! that’s the first one i wanna find.

b) JGY is given then task to look after JYL’s kids. I think there was three? Something happened to JYL. I think a tough birth and he was given the task to be there babysitter. He starts to get really overworked since he already works a lot and I remember JZX lives too! So JGY basically lives in the baby jin room but later they get a nursemaid. I remember there was a conference and kinda 3zun happens? Like implying. Please help me! Thnx @sandriya-artemis​

FOUND! According to @tora42 both are from series Working Title: Everyone Lives (With Knives) by tucuxi (T, 50k, WIP)

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13. Hello, i'm looking for a fic i've read last year in which (post-canon) WWX was travelling around the jianghu helping people and being fed delicious regional foods in return. It had long and detailed author's notes on the dishes and geography of the regions. It probably had a wangxian love confession scene at the end and might have been formatted as a 5+1 thing? It must have been posted before the summer of 2021; i guess the length was something between 10k-25k. @tauremornalome

FOUND! a shared plate by yukla (T, 25k, wangxian, post-canon, food = love) Russian translation by smokeymoon Вместе есть

FOUND! Seven Cups of Tea by Forestofglory (G, 3k, wangxian, epistolary)

FOUND! the earth remembered me by remux (T, 30k, wangxian, WIP)

You might also be interested in this tumblr post by wangxianbunnydoodles, and Haoppopotamus on AO3, Chinese food geekery infuses a number of their fics.

SIMILAR! Comfort Food / 有可能的夜晚 by Irrelevancy (G, 4k, songxiao) - modern AU; Taiwanese bartender SL mentors Taiwanese-American tourist XXC into the local street food culture: “chinese diaspora feelings and food as love language”

SIMILAR! Before the Winter Comes by Moonpuddles (T, 3k, wangxian, with Traditional Chinese Medicine lore underlying the food choices; successive stages of autumn as celebrated by the Five Sects (the Wen Remnants, among others, get to survive.))

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14. Hi :) I just stumbled over your blog recently and maybe you could help me find a fic? I've been looking for it for weeks now but I can't seem to find it and it's driving me a bit crazy 🙈😅 so, it goes like this I think: wwx & lwj get together earlier and somehow the lan sect gifts Yiling (I think) to wwx and when he goes there during the war they sort of meet an estranged uncle of lwjs who left cloud recess and somehow they end up with little xuanwu babies and wwx lets spirits of former townguards posess them including the deceased wife of lwjs uncle and I think somehow the title Yiling Patriarch is still being used? And at one point lwj and wwx try on makeup? And it might or might not be a time travel fic? Idk 😅 I hope this is enough information and you know the fic, if not no worries and have a great day and thank you! :) 

FOUND! ❤️Gentians in bloom by teawater (M, 251k, wangxian, Mojo's bookmark)

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15. Hi, I first want to say thank you for all the hard work everyone puts in to help find and post links to fics. I have found many great reads following you guys. Second is I had read a fic and thought I had bookmarked it but it seems I cannot find it anymore so I am not sure if it was deleted or not and I cannot remember the title 😭. What I remember from the fix is that Wei WuXian has like 4 soulmates (idr if it was abo or not) but one of his soulmates was Wen Ning but he was a platonic soulmate. All his soul mates also had like a celestial beast form I think Lan Wangji was a dragon, Jin Zixuan was a tortoise or something like that. Oh and Wei WuXian was a phoenix but no one knew until he died and came back. Thats all I remember. Thank you again in advance ☺️. Oh an sorry if I did this incorrectly it’s my first time doing an ask. 

FOUND! Constellations in our Hearts by bloomylele (G, 59k, wangxian, JC/WWX, JZX/WWX, ABO, spirit animals)

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16. Hello. I have been looking for a fic for a few months and, at this point, I'm not sure I didn't just make it up in my head. It was a modern or future AU, set in space (on a spaceship, I think) and LWJ was an alien who  was slowly killing off the rest of the crew. WWX found out but wasn't freaked out and offered to help with LWJ's plans. Thank you! 

FOUND? Two Alphas, One Ship by fenaly (E, 6k, wangxian, ABO, non-con, Among Us AU, mind the tags!)

FOUND? Among Us by misbehavingvigilante (E, 50k, wangxian, imposter!LWJ/human!WWX, eggpreg, cannibalism, mind the tags!)

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17. Hello! I am looking for a fic where LWJ has been visiting WWX in the Burial Mounds often, and they consider A-Yuan their son. When WWX goes to Jin Ling's one-month, he also brings A-Yuan, but they are attacked at Qionqi path. WWX eventually makes it to Koi Tower and says something about how 'they tried to kill our son.' Thank you! 

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18. I'm trying to find a specific fic- from what I recall, it's set during the 13 years wwx is dead, and it's basically LWJ fantasizing about what if he'd become a Ghost General and stayed in the burial mounds with WWX as a fierce corpse. it's pretty pining/angsty. Any help would be great! @maverickkarel

Not quite what you're looking for but in blue skies forever series by rikke (M, 12k, wangxian, major character death) LWJ does become WWX’s Ghost General

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19. Hello! I need help finding a fic please. It's a post canon au fic where the wens and wwx survive the siege. And Sizhui goes to Cloud Recesses for the lectures once he is old enough. His gift to the Lans is a painting of all the leaders of the ssc. I remember lxc showing lwj and saying how it showed ssc as it really was with jin zixuan with mianmian not zixun and it had the best representation of what wwx looked like. After the lectures i think sizhui and lwj went back to the village. That is all I really remember. Please help. @akweenbitch​

FOUND! the first fic in the finding one another series by marbleglove - the beginning of a beautiful friendship by MarbleGlove. (G, 2k, LJY & LSZ, Wei Sizhui sets out on his first solo trip and finds a best friend)

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20. Hello. How are you? **I'm very well, thank you ~Mod L** Um there's this fic that's been on my mind and no matter how much I look, I can't seem to find it. I remember the beginning I believe was people chasing wwx wanting to kill him (this is post canon he and lwj are already together doing everyday stuff 😏) and lwj wasn't there, I think they had lured him away. Anyway wwx dies but ends up time travelling back to his lotus pier childhood. I know he was basically a genius. I distinctly remember him joining jiang yanli in training to be a 'good wife' (?) Furen training idk. But it was stuff like sewing embroidery, accounts, etc. I think there was even a sex ed thing. I know wwx made his own robes and he and nhs got along well bc of that. I can't really remember much else but any help would be appreciated please and thank you. 

FOUND? The Darkness Before Dawn by PsycheStellata707 (M, 113k, wangxian WIP)

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#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic finder #wangxian fic search #the untamed #wangxianficfinder #long post

[wardenparker]

Once Upon a Time... part 9

Zach Wellison x plus size f!Reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

Zach’s life gets turned upside down when his visit to the local library sends him all the way back to Camelot - and he meets another time traveler who has made the kingdom their home.

Rating: Mature Word Count: 12.9k Warnings: *This is a Zach fic so there WILL be discussion of homelessness.* Jousting/medieval typical sportsmanship and trash talking, Gareth has a Type, Zach in the bath like usual, mentions of sex workers, one single slap that is totally deserved, unplanned pregnancy, Merlin is a meddling old coot. Summary: King Arthur’s birthday celebration is interrupted by the arrival of a legendary lady. Zach embarks on a journey to help Gareth. Our Dandelion finally confronts Merlin and makes a shocking discovery. Notes: There is A LOT going on in this chapter, my loves! Life is good in Camelot but things are about to get complicated.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part 7 ~ Part 8

Everything about this spring has been different, and that is owed entirely to the fact that you aren’t scared or alone this time around. At Arthur’s last birthday celebration, you had been in Camelot for only five or six weeks and had never even sung before the court yet. The tournament had been a nerve wracking and concerning week where you had avoided asking too many questions so you wouldn’t sound like an idiot, and stayed very demure every time Gawain had made an off-hand comment in your direction. Looking back, it’s easy to put the pieces into place and see what Guinevere meant about him being interested in you back then, but the whole situation had been too new and scary for you to have even noticed you were being flirted with.

But this year? This year when the Knights of the Round Table lined up on horseback in gleaming armour with their banners high, you are sitting right alongside the Queen, Elaine, Isolde, and every other proud wife of a knight on a cushion in the stands. This year Zach is out there with his newly granted coat of arms: a blood red Phoenix on a green background, slashed with a trio of green torches over silver. The symbols for resurrection and zealousness in life seemed like the very best possible choices for Zach, and you had celebrated zealously for a few hours after your husband had received the honour of his own heraldry. The tournament is now in day four and Zach is somehow still in, despite being the biggest novice of the group, making you cheer all the louder from the stands every time he makes a hit. He’s definitely come home bruised from the previous three days, but you know that he wouldn’t trade it for anything. And that makes all the difference.

Shit talking is the same no matter what century men are currently in. Zach learns this firsthand and he is having fun. There is danger and fuck does his body take a beating when his armor - new fitted - is hit with the lance over and over again as he charges towards his adversary. Still, he's found that he likes this. Likes the comradery and the festivities. The way that you pout and kiss every bruise on his body. His handy excuse that he's sore - not lying, he's sore as fuck - has given you the confidence to climb up and straddle his waist and let him get the firsthand view of you bouncing on his cock every night when you are craving your knight.

"Are we going to joust or what?" He calls out, adjusting in his saddle and smirking with his visor open as Gawain adjusts some part of his padding. He's already up on this round and apparently his last strike had cause something to knock loose, the knight’s squire hastily trying to repair it. "You can always forfeit."

“Not in your most fantastical dreams.” Gawain has an innate fondness for the younger man, largely driven by the fact that Zachariah hits like a hammer and never gives up. Regardless of whether or not those hits are verbal or physical, Gawain enjoys the sparring and always has. “You should have warned your lady wife she would be playing nursemaid tonight!”

"My lady wife enjoys playing nursemaid." Zach looks over at you, easily spotting you in amongst the wives and sending you a small wink. "Tis a shame you have not found your own fair lady to have cater to your comforts. You would no doubt hit better."

“She enjoys an injured husband?” Gawain laughs, knocking his armour back into place. “Perhaps while you are resting tonight, I will pay her a visit?” It is pure bravado, as Gawain is not the sort of man to covet his brother’s wife - and he certainly thinks of this younger knight as his brother. But he also knows that the mere suggestion of it will rile Zachariah like nothing else.

Zach's eyes narrow on the other knight and he hisses. "Will be hard to visit anything but your bed when I unseat you!" His hand comes up and slaps his visor down and his grip on reins tights, body coiled for the wave of the flag from the King's herald.

Gawain practically cackles with glee, slamming his own visor shut and calling for his lance all in an instant. He will deserve the bruise Zachariah inflicts on him this round, and he does not mind at all.

The moment the flag is waved, it's like a combination of feelings for Zach. The heels to the horse’s flanks is like the first time he went down the fast rope course when he was repelling in bootcamp. The way the horse leaps forward and starts galloping towards the other knight's similar to the convoys he had driven. Past and present mingling together in his mind and giving him the perfect balance of brotherhood that he has missed since that last deployment.

You’re very glad that shouts and screams are par for the course at these events because you definitely are screaming your head off the second Zach’s squire jumps out of the way and promising yourself that you won’t freak out this time when Gawain’s lance connects with Zach’s armour. Because it always connects. But if Zach just manages to break this lance on this pass he’ll win the round and advance.

It's amusing that he's facing Gawain, especially since this is the knight that taught him how to joust. Not that each of them hadn't taken their turn with him in the training lists, but Gawain was the one that had spent the most time. Now, his heart matches the tempo of the horse's gait, the heavy churning of the earth beneath his hooves. His arm extends, locks into place and the heavy lance is aimed directly for Gawain's center of gravity. Zach takes a deep breath and waits for the hit.

The crowd nearly riots when Gawain starts to pitch backward. His whole body knocks in the saddle as Zach’s lance shatters, the force pushing Gawain’s own lance upward so it misses Zach’s shoulder completely. And even better? Your kerchief is proudly flying in the wind where it’s been tied to your husband’s wrist for luck. “He did it!” You’re on your feet, applauding and whistling over the crowd with Isolde doing the same on your other side. “HE DID IT!”

The adrenaline is better than any chemical high Zach could have gotten in modern times. Pumping his fist in the air, he flips his visor up and finds you cheering in the crowd before he turns his horse around and makes for the man still sprawled on the ground.

“Well earned.” Gawain groans, tossing his helmet aside as he struggles to his feet. Full suits of armor are no joke, weight wise. “I will thank you to do the same to our good sir Lancelot in the final round. His pride could use a little dirt smudged across it.”

Zach grins at the man. "If Lancelot murmurs half the refuse that comes out of your mouth, I will." He promises with a chuckle. "Well matched."

“Where do you think I learned the habit?” The older man laughs, shaking his head as he picks up his helmet and waves his victor toward the stands to claim his win.

His chest is puffed with pride as he makes his way towards the king and queen, although his eyes are firmly on you. Watching your happy expression, the pride in his victory makes his aching body straighten in his saddle as he nods in difference to the king.

“Well matched!” Arthur is nothing short of amused, pounding his fist on the arm of his chair. “We may have you return Sir Gawain’s lessons back to him!”

“Before you take your place with today’s victors, I believe you have a token to receive.” The queen cannot help but smile, beckoning you forward to give your knight his kiss in reward for his victory.

"My queen, that is a token I am most eager to receive." Zach tells her, nudging his horse forward so you can lean out over the rails and press your lips to his, inciting the crowd to go wild again.

“Fucking amazing baby.” You manage to murmur in his ear before he sits up in his saddle again, and you are positively beaming the whole time.

When he's done, he motions his horse off the field of play and tosses the reins to the boy who had been assigned to him as his own squire. Armor was heavy and he is slow to dismount the horse, not wanting to repeat the time he had landed on his ass when he was too cocky.

The thundering of hooves across the field is a sound no one is particularly surprised by, considering how many horses and knights are nearby, but the riders are what draws attention from the crowd. A young woman, no older than her early twenties, in dirty but clearly expensive clothing pulls her mount to a halt on the edge of the lists - only stopping when a small group of armed guards bars her path. The other rider is a slightly older woman in beautiful but not as costly garments, which immediately identifies her as a lady in waiting of some kind. Gareth is nearest, half out of his armour and interrogating the strange woman who is belligerently insisting on being let through, if you’re reading her body language correctly. After a hurried exchange, Gareth orders the guards aside and leads the lady’s horse into the tournament field without preamble. “My lord uncle,” he bows his head when he brings the woman to approach Arthur. “Forgive the interruption of your celebration, but this lady requires aid from the knights of Camelot.”

Zach doesn't bother doing more than pulling his helmet off his head as he starts striding over. Gawain right beside him as the knights that were preparing to joust next ride over on their horses and form a neat circle around the woman standing in front of the king.

She curtsies deeply, all the way to the grass, before daring to look up but then she has no fear in meeting Arthur’s eyes. “Your Majesty, I have traveled far to beg the aid of your Knights of the Round Table.” Her stature and colouring aren’t too far off from yours, even her curves seem to match your own. It’s like looking in a very odd mirror. “I am the Lady Lynette of Lyonesse and my sister is being held captive against her will by four knights who have slain all who have attempted to free her. I have come to you a desperate woman, sire. My kingdom requires Camelot’s help.”

Over the months, Zach has gotten to know the look that is in Gareth's eyes. Not only does the man find Lady Lynette appealing, but he is also moved by her plight. As are the other knights. "My king," Gareth immediately steps forward, just like Zach was anticipating. "Allow my offer of my sword in aid to Lyonesse in your name to be accepted."

You’re doing the very best nonverbal scream your eyes are capable of, desperately trying to catch Zach’s attention from the stands. LYNETTE OF LYONESSE IS THE WOMAN FROM GARETH’S LEGEND. Jesus Christ…She’s actually here, looking for help with her sister just like the stories. It’s insane how it’s actually happening. Right now, you just need Zach to understand what you’re telling him. Arthur seems less affected, no doubt having heard plenty of requests for aid before and not all of them genuine. “One man against four will not save the lady’s kingdom.” He says plainly. “But let us not sport when a noble lady is in distress. The tournament will adjourn and we will speak of these matters in private.”

Zach notices your wide, excited eyes and the others move towards the castle and instead moves towards you. "What is it?" He asks when you almost fling yourself over the railing in your excitement.

“It’s her!” You hiss, throwing your arms around his middle now that he’s out of his armour. “Arthur has to let Gareth go. They’re supposed to fall in love on the journey.”

Zach hums, lifting a brow and smirking at you. He had noticed the similarities between you and Lady Lynette as well. "Seems as though Gareth has a type." He teases, leaning in and kissing your lips. "I'll offer my sword too." He promises you.

“Baby, be careful.” You aren’t surprised that he would offer, but it’s not exactly thrilling to you when you know what they will be walking into. “If I remember the story correctly, the four brothers that have Lynette’s sister are basically psychopaths. She’s going to be all kinds of fucked up when you finally find her.” Yeah, the prospect of Zach going isn’t thrilling. But this is exactly the kind of thing he feels compelled to do while you’re here - maintaining the timeline and the legends to come. “Lancelot is supposed to go, too. It’s always Gareth and Lancelot, but the third knight changes from story to story.”

"So this time it will be me, Gareth and Lancelot." He tells you before he presses a kiss to the crown of your head. "Go talk with Lady Lynette, Lady Wellison." He orders you with a grin. "Put in a good word for blondie."

“I can’t believe this is real.” You kiss him again quickly before running after the entourage of ladies headed up by Guinevere and Lynette.

******

Zach strides into the room where the Round Table is kept, still feeling his heart skip a beat at the sight. Unable to believe that he is allowed to sit at this table. Now, the rest of the knights are already seated, and Zach takes his place. "I will go with Gareth." Lancelot leans back in his chair and looks at Arthur. "Although it would be more prudent to have three."

Zach speaks up before Gawain can. "I will go." He offers. "I will lend my sword to this worthy cause."

Arthur’s eyebrow raises in his newest knight’s direction, pleased that he is eager to prove his place at the Round Table is deserved. “Your wife will be singing sad songs for missing you,” he half-teases, but nods all the same.

“Sire, I must protest.” Sir Kay huffs in his seat, toying with the cuffs of his sleeves in that way that betrays his annoyance to anyone who knows him. “Gareth is barely out of the kitchens and Zachariah is a carpenter. While I respect your choice in offering them seats at this Table, they are no choice for such a quest.”

Zach lifts a brow at the other knight. "I am to assume that you wish to take on the quest yourself?" He asks pointedly.

“Myself, Lancelot, and Gawain would dispatch with the lady’s captors much faster, I am sure.” As one of the older knights at the Table, Kay’s ego has inflated along with his reputation, and Arthur knows it. Not that Kay had not earned his legacy, but that was many years ago.

"Seeking to leave the taverns for so long?" Zach snarks, smirking at the older knight. "I have yet to see you in the sparring ring since I have been training."

Kay’s eyes narrow. “Experience is earned, boy.”

“Enough.” Arthur holds up one hand to silence the dispute, looking to Sir Kay with an expression of twisted amusement. “Experience is earned.” He agrees. “Which is why Gareth and Zachariah should be the ones to go. How are they to earn what is not afforded to them?” Kay looks like he’s going to sputter in protest, but Arthur shakes his head. “Lancelot shall accompany them. He speaks the lady’s native tongue.”

Sir Kay huffs and Zach sends Gareth a smirk, knowing the other knight’s opinion of the older man. He had long since stopped training and his belly hung over his belt. “Perhaps when we return, Sir Kay, you can demonstrate that noble experience.”

“You will be sending a plea for me to join you within a week.” The older man predicts, looking incredibly sour.

"I will be sending word for Gawain to stay away from my wife." Zach counters, smirking over at the man in question.

“If the lady desires comfort in your absence, who am I to resist such an honourable service?” Gawain smirks back, thoroughly enjoying angering Kay in the midst of the banter.

"Shall I knock you from your horse again before I leave?" Zach chuckles, knowing the man wouldn't touch you. And even if he tried, you would reject him. Sir Kay flushes an angry red, huffs again in his unhappiness that the conversation has not turned the way he wished it. "Make sure you are too sore to be in any lady's bed?"

“It may not be a bad idea.” Gareth jokes, noting with amusement the way Kay has turned the colour of a summer rose.

Sir Kay looks at Arthur, as if to demand that the king scold the younger knights. Unhappy that he feels his place of respect has been usurped since Gareth has come to the table and then this American's arrival further making Arthur look towards the younger knights rather than his wisdom.

The king all but rolls his eyes at the pout painted across Kay’s face, and he knocks his fist on the table to return order to the conversation. “Lancelot, Gareth, and Zachariah will leave with the Lady Lynette and her handmaiden at first light. Tonight, we will feast to the lady’s health and honour.”

Zach is smug when he stands with the other knights and all of them nod respectfully to Arthur before the group is basically dismissed. Gareth comes over to Zach and claps him on the back. "Are you sure you wish to leave your wife's bed so soon after being wed?" He asks, raising a brow at the man who had married his Dandelion.

Chuckling, Zach sends Gareth a smug look. "I could not help but not how becoming the lady is." He tells the blonde knight. "And as a Lady, she would be worthy of a prince of Camelot. Of course, I need to help make sure you don't mess it up."

******

The feast is long and fairly tense - Lynette doesn’t seem to be returning Gareth’s gentle overtures in any way and you’re prepared to completely blame the fact that Kay got drunk at supper and told her all about how he was a kitchen servant as a boy, when his mother wanted him to learn humility - though Kay conveniently left out the last detail.

Zach bars the door behind you after dismissing Ava for the night and giving instructions to his squire so he can be ready in the morning. The last thing either of you needs to worry about tonight is keeping the bath water hot while Zach soaks his aches from the joust. “You might have your work cut out for you,” you groan sympathetically.

"Fucking Kay." Zach hisses and groans as he lowers himself into the bath. "He got his fucking feelings hurt because Arthur chose us to go on the quest. Like he really wanted to leave a steady supply of mead." He snorts, leaning back against the wooden tub with a sigh.

“At least the girls at the tavern would have gotten a break if he were going.” You shake your head as you start to undress. “Nobody leers uncomfortably quite like Sir Kay.”

Snorting, Zach keeps his eyes on you as you strip out of your clothes. "I noticed someone leering from the stands today." He comments with a half smirk on his face, highlighting the dimple you love to kiss. "I think I have a fan. She's a pretty thing too."

“Oh yeah?” You know he’s teasing you, but sometimes it’s more fun to play along. “Do I have to kick someone’s ass for eye fucking my man?”

"Maybe..." He jokes, biting his lip and dragging his eyes up and down your nude body. "She's a sexy thing that I'd love to get my hands on. Might have to take a mistress, baby. Sorry." He sends you a playful pout.

“Over my dead body.” You shoot him an amused smirk. “Of course I enjoyed watching you, baby. And I love that I don’t have to hide it because we’re married.” Even three months later, it still sends a little shot of endorphins through your system when you say it out loud.

"We are married, aren't we?" He smirks at the knowledge that you are his. "And tonight I have to make sure that I fuck you good enough that you won't have Gawain warm my side of the bed while I am gone." He tells you with a wink.

“You know he only says that shit to get you all riled up.” A few times you had been nearby to hear the smack talk, and watched the Pendragon nephew’s face morph into an evil smirk whenever he got under Zach’s skin.

"Absolutely." He is completely aware of why Gawain loves to torment him with talk of seducing his wife. Even if he does give in to the petty, childish need to rise to the bait. For him, it was just like shit talking with the other men he had served with. "He's a masochist."

“And I only have eyes for you, dear…” You sing the line softly, leaning over to kiss him as he soaks in the tub. Even if a naked man was literally dropped into your lap you wouldn’t touch them unless it was Zach Wellison himself.

"Oh, I have no doubt baby." He assures you, reaching up to cup your cheek. "Although I will ask Gawain to check on you. Unless you would rather stay in the castle while I'm gone? Or ask Ava to stay with you?"

“I would rather stay in our home.” Reaching behind you, you pull up the foot stool from your chair to position behind his head at the end of the tub so you can give his sore shoulders a rub down. “I’ll probably go back to what I used to do. Take my daily walks and practice my songs in the courtyard. Maybe I’ll go around to see Isolde and the baby a little more often.”

"You don't - oh fuck - have to do this, baby." He groans and his chin hits his chest as you thumbs dig into his shoulders. "Jesus." He hisses quietly. "Gawain hits like a fucking hammer by the way."

“Let me pamper you a little.” The knots in his back have been even worse than usual this week, thanks to the tournament. “You could be gone for months and I only want you taking happy memories with you.”

"Oh baby, all I have with you is happy memories." He promises, his shoulders relaxing with your insistence that you want to do this. "You are spoiling me."

“I’ll miss you.” That’s easy to admit, and you drop a kiss on the top of his head. “But I’m really so proud of you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” He reaches up and catches your hand so he can tug it forward and press a kiss to it. “Hopefully it won’t be too long.”

“Wales to eastern France on horseback isn’t a quick trip.” Leaning down, you trail kisses along his shoulders in the wake of your hands. “Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself. I need you to come home to me.”

“I will come back to you, I promise.” He hums happily. “Remember, we know it’s now Gareth and Lady Lynette fall in love.”

“Yeah, but it will still be dangerous.” And as much as he fears messing with the timeline, you now fear something happening to him on this question. “I know you’re a Marine and a Knight of the Round Table, but I love you and I know I’m going to worry.”

“I know baby.” He does know. He’s honestly going to worry about you while he’s gone. “Think of this as a deployment if we were back in LA.” He wishes he had the conveniences of modern equipment right now. He’d be back in three days. “But right now, I want to clean up and take my beautiful bride to bed.”

“You say that as if I know anything about being a military wife. Although I guess this is how I’m finding out.” Soothing his shoulders where your fingers have dug into and rubbed out those angry knots, you place more kisses along his skin. “Finish up, baby. And then we can ravish each other until we pass out.”

“Yes ma’am.” He smirks and picks up his cloth and the soap. He wants nothing more.

******

The days and weeks have dragged by since Zach, Gareth, and Lancelot left with Lynette. You were out of bed and watching with other members of the court when they left at daybreak weeks ago, and you fully admit to being a grumpy, miserable lump the whole time. Isolde has been a wonderful friend, though, and once again your time is being spent in the afternoon sun with a picnic spread out on a blanket round you while her small baby alternates between crawling around the two of you and napping in his basket. When the little boy grows restless, you sing to him and he settles again, allowing Isolde the peace to rest her pregnant self in pillows in the grass. She’s ecstatic to be with child again, and it makes you sigh a little more than you want to admit.

"You are missing your Zachariah, are you not?" Isolde's hand is resting on her stomach, that secret smile on her face making her look like she holds the answers to the world's problems. "I have noticed that you seem to be quite unlike the normal Dandelion we have come to know."

“I’m sorry.” You know you’ve been out of sorts lately, and you would hate to think you have taken any of it out on her when she’s been such a good friend. “I miss him immensely. But that is no excuse to sulk.”

"Do not fret." She waves away your concern and sends you a sly smile. "I understand the desire to celebrate with your husband when you find out such news." She confides. "I shall not breathe a word of it until you have told Sir Zachariah."

“News?” The strawberry in your hand stops halfway to your mouth and you frown at her slightly. “I have received no news.”

Isolde gives you a searching look before her eyes widen. "Oh, you haven't realized it yourself." She murmurs, a grin beginning to form. "Then I shall keep my tongue."

“Isolde, you can’t do that.” One of the things you love about your friend is her playfulness, but when she has that sly look on her face it’s a little more than playing. “What is it that you think you know?”

"Dandelion..." She bites her lip and pauses for a moment. "You are with child."

“Oh,” you laugh, waving off that concern as completely ridiculous. Merlin gave you the same remedy he gives to the girls at the House. You can’t be. “No, that’s impossible, I’m afraid.”

Her gaze is full of doubt and a splash of sympathy. "Then you are unaware." She reaches for her own berry. "I shall speak no more on it."

Unaware. Unaware? A slight panic rolls through you as you start to consider the horrible implication. You had been sick last month, but the aches and pains and upset stomach had just felt like a bad flu. There have been a few times that the smell of supper has turned your stomach but honestly game meats have strong smells and it’s not exactly what you’re used to. Sure you’ve been kind of gassy lately, but cutting out the booze and switching to drinking more herbal teas has helped a little. And yes you’ve been eating more than usual lately but that’s just a stress reaction to Zach being gone and you being constantly worried. Right? Oh god. When was the last time you had your period?? You can feel the blood drain from your face when you turn back to Isolde. “W-what…signs? Have you noticed?” You’re terrified to even ask, but if it’s true? If it’s true, you need to know.

Isolde reaches out and gives your hand a gentle squeeze. "You have not had your monthly. Then just the other day you were complaining about your gowns not fitting in the bust and it was making your breasts sore." She explains gently, aware that you are undoubtably uneasy. "There is the way that mutton turned your stomach, when it was your favorite meal recently." She gives you a sweet smile. "The same things that I have noticed in myself before." Her other hand smooths over the tiny bump in her belly again.

It proves how much time you have come to spend with the younger woman in the last few months, but it is also terrifying. Not fucking with the timeline is Zach’s absolute top concern, and that was the explicit reason for wanting to pursue birth control methods in the first place. The idea that Zach might not want this baby - if they exist - makes the dread churn in your stomach. “I have to go.” You tell her, aware of the suddenness and slight rudeness in just jumping up and going, but you need to go see Merlin now. “I will send Ava to bring things back to your chambers for you. I—” you shrug lamely. “I’m sorry, but I must know if this is true.”

"I— I apologize." Isolde frowns and pushes herself to her feet. "I just— I believed the notion of waiting to have children to be a humor shared between you and Sir Zachariah."

“We intended to wait much longer.” How can you even explain the level of panic that is starting to close in on you? The idea that you don’t belong here? Something could happen to the timeline because you trusted a wizard. And if that isn’t the stupidest thing you’ve ever thought in your life, you don’t know what is. “You have nothing to apologize for, my friend. I promise you.”

She watches silently as you nearly flee her presence and gives a small sigh, wishing she hadn't mentioned it and ruined a perfectly lovely afternoon.

Your only regret, as you practically storm across the castle grounds, is that murdering Merlin would irrevocably fuck up the timeline. You can’t believe you were actually naive enough to believe a cup of tea and some magic words would do the same as twenty-first century medicine. What were you thinking? Zach is going to be fucking furious when he gets home…and it will be entirely your fault. The door to Merlin’s apothecary is mere yards away from your own front door, and you make no apologies about barging through it without knocking, knowing the old man is always hunched over his books and experiments this time of day.

“A word, sir.” It is not a question. You are not asking. This is a demand on your part - something you never do.

Merlin turns around, his face lighting up with delight when he sees you. "Ah, Lady Wellison, a visit for this old man?" He asks with a hum of approval. "What would you wish to discuss, medicines? I am researching the properties of the holly berry. I believe that I may be able to harness their properties very nicely."

“Oh, I have every intention of discussing your medicines.” You bite out, barring the door of his shop behind you.

"Truly?" He claps his hands and motions for you to sit down. "Which would you like to discuss?"

“The one you give monthly to the ladies who work at your favorite brothel.” You stare him down, not taking the seat he has offered. “The one you also give to me? I want to know exactly what is in it and what the words mean.”

He blinks at you innocently and tilts his head. "These herbs?" He gets up from his chair and walks over to the shelf to take a pot down to bring it back over to the table.

You practically wrench the lid off the pot, inhaling deeply before you stare into the vessel in abject horror. “This is what you give them?” Your throat is dry and you wish you could melt into the abyss - the herbs in this pot are completely different from what he gave you.

"Why of course!" He peers and at you, the tiniest twist to his lips barely evident. "Those are the herbs that are used. Which reminds me that I need to gather more dandelion root. Or is it truffles that I need?"

“This isn’t what you gave to me, old man.” It feels like steam is pouring out of your ears, but you don’t couch your anger for even a second.

"Isn't it?" He cocks his head at you and stares into your eyes without a hint of guile. "I am quite certain that I gave you the proper herbs for what you wanted."

“What I wanted was to prevent the conception of a child. Something you help women do every day.” Without realizing it, you have circled the table and are toe-to-toe with the man. “So why is that I am showing signs of being with child when you guaranteed me your mixture was foolproof?”

"My herbs are foolproof." He snaps his fingers and moves back to the shelf, taking the pot down that is right next to the empty space. "These herbs? Are they what you say I gave you?"

This is it. The dried primrose buds and little berries, the little white buds that look familiar, but you can’t place. The way the whole pot smells of clover. “This is it.” You’re shaking a little. “What is this? What does it do?”

"Oh my." He shakes his head and gives you his best impression of a forgetful old man. "This is my tea to help women become with child." He gives you a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Oops?"

“It. DOES. WHAT?” You practically knock over the pot as you recoil from it, feeling the sting of betrayal in the tears behind your eyes. It can’t be. This is literally your worst nightmare. He cannot have done this to you. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done??” You demand, swallowing the lump in your throat.

Merlin had not expected the tears. Slight anger, yes, but he also knew what you wanted. Your heart's deepest desires. Most may take him for a doddering old fool, he works hard to craft the illusion for those that might not let him close otherwise, but he does not miss much. "You needed to conceive in Camelot." His voice is clear, standing straight as he drops his act. "It was necessary."

“Necessary?” The way he changes in front of your eyes is like watching actors drop their character at curtain call. Like he’s an entirely different man. “What are you talking about?”

There is a small sigh, a slight push of his chest and he motions to the chairs, wanting you to sit. "Before you go back to Los Angeles, you needed to be carrying your husband's child. In order for your daughter to be born on time."

“What the fuck?” You stumble, trying to step backward but catching your slipper on the uneven slats of the floor. “How do you—?” You have never said anything besides ‘America’ about where you are from around anyone besides Zach, and definitely never said anything to anyone about planning to go home again. You and Zach still hadn’t agreed on when you talk to this old bastard and now he’s talking about the timeline like he knows everything? “Daughter?” God that makes your shoulders drop and the breath punch out of your chest. You are pregnant…

"Sit." His voice is harder, more commanding than he has ever used with you before but he does not want you to hurt yourself. "I will make us some tea - just herbal tea, and I will explain."

You drop into the nearest chair, barely registering it under you. “How do you know w-where I’m from?” Your voice is quiet - breaking from worry and more tears behind your eyes. “I never told anyone that…”

"Because I brought you here." Merlin admits simply, turning to swing the full pot over the fireplace so the water can boil. He turns back to you and raises and eyebrow at your wide eyes and open mouth. "Why else would you be brought to Camelot from 2020, I believe?" He hums, chuckling to himself. "Fascinating time, simply marvelous."

“I’ve been wondering that for a year.” Truth be told, you stopped wondering after Zach arrived. You stopped worrying then, too. Once you were together, the worries seemed to matter less. “It was all you?” But that means… “You brought Zach here, too?”

His grin is self-satisfied. "Of course!" He comes back over and puts the pots back in their respective spots and takes down the pot that is simply chamomile and clove to bring back over to the table. "Zach was harder to grasp, due to his circumstances."

As soon as Merlin is near the table again, your hand seems to take on a life of its own - reeling back and fully slapping the devious, conniving wizard across the face. “What right did you have? Plucking us out of our reality and pulling us through a library book? For what? Are we toys to you?”

His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and his hand covers the stinging flesh of his cheek. He hadn't expected the slap, even if he knew he deserved it. "Not toys." He assures you. "As I have pledged my service to Arthur Pendragon, I found myself compelled to correct the path of the last remaining descendant of his line, so that it may not end."

Your eyes widen again, and the slight feeling of butterflies in your stomach morphs into abject horror. Are you…the last Pendragon? A hammer hits you all at once that you can’t shake, and actually makes you nearly vomit. Gareth is your blood relative. You had sex with your blood relative? “I’m…?”

"Zach is Arthur's last descendant." Merlin watches you nearly sag in relief. "I would not have allowed your relationship with his nephew to become that close if it had been you, my dear."

“So…why me, then?” It’s so much to absorb but it’s such a relief to be able to talk about, even if Merlin isn’t exactly on your list of most trustworthy humans right now.

"I understand you don't trust me, Dandelion—" Merlin pauses and goes back over to the fireplace to pull the pot away and bring it over to the table to measure scoops of the herbs into it to steep. "Your paths were meant to cross before now. However, with the loss of the knights - Marines - that Zach lost in war, he changed fate, much more seriously than he would ever know if I had not stepped in."

“So you can just…see the future?” Maybe you fell on the way out to meet Isolde for your picnic today and you hit your head and you’re in a coma. That would make more sense than the conversation right now. Accept that the scent of the tea in front of you is calming your stomach and you doubt you would hallucinate nausea or the absence of it.

Merlin clicks his tongue and stands up again. Walking over to another small table and picking up a bowl that is covered with a cloth and carrying it over to set between the two of you. “I have the gift of sight, though it does not mean it will happen, as what occurred before.” He whips the cloth off to reveal an alabaster basin, runes engraved on the sides, with a kaleidoscope of shimmering colors on the inside. Similar to the inside of a pearl. Water pools in the basin. “Look for yourself.” The old man touches one long finger to the surface of the water, causing ripples that churn the water until it starts to morph and form a picture right before your eyes:

Three years ago.

You gasp when you recognize yourself in the image - your hair was shorter then and you wore it differently. The makeup you’re wearing is something that was for your image and you had hated. And the dress - the dress you have on as you sing on stage at the one real gig you ever headlined in LA, well, you had bought it specially for that night.

You try to move slightly, lift your head to ask Merlin a question, but instead to you seem to tumble headfirst into what could have been.

******

The bar is crowded, lights still up and Zach grins, slapping his hand across Brandon’s chest as he surveys the scene. “This is going to be good man.” He tells him. “Thanks for telling me about this.” He has poured through the lineup and one particular woman jumped out at him. He was interested in hearing her sing. “This is better than just going to a club and getting drunk.” Brandon snorts and nods in agreement. “Let’s go get a table. And a fucking beer.” After eight solid months of no alcohol on deployment, it’s time to let loose and relax a little. “First day of leave, right?”

This is so different from how you remember that gig. You had been scared shitless, actually headlining this tiny club for the first and only time ever. You had been over the toilet in the bathroom, vomiting your nerves just seconds before walking out on stage with a bottle of water in your hand and your guitar around your torso. Your keyboard was slightly crooked, and it made the light hit your eyes at a painful angle. This time, in this version of what might have been, when you looked out into the crowd halfway through your second song, he is there. Zach, at a table of his friends, smiling up at you with wide eyes and that expression painted on his face that you now associate with pure love. He was supposed to be here?

He has a beer and a whiskey sitting in front of him, half gone when you walk out. You were even prettier than the headshot the website had posted, and fuck that dress you are wearing has him leaning back so he can discreetly adjust from where his raging hormones have already given him chub. “Jesus, Z, you’re already taking her to bed in your mind, aren’t you?” Brandon chuckles, making Zach turn his head and shot the man a finger.

“Fuck off.” He hisses, not even embarrassed in the slightest. They all knew each other’s porn habits. Brandon went for tall, willowy women with no tits, Zach went for your body type. Zero shame on either man’s preference.

It’s seriously bizarre, this feeling of being along for the ride in your own body. You can’t control any of what this past incarnation of you is doing or saying, but you know how much better it goes than it actually had in real life. Zach sitting there with his buddy applauding and whistling loudly gives you the extra boost to give a stellar performance, and this version of you goes out to the bar after performing with a wide smile instead of the gloomy look of misery you’d really had.

Zach is craning his neck so much to keep his eye on you that Brandon starts snickering. “Go man.” He finally huffs, shaking his head and sending Zach a knowing look. “I’m gonna watch the next act but go buy her a drink.” Zach’s grin is quick and he leaps out of his chair to hurry through the crowd and nudge his way to the bar beside you. “Hey— uh,” He waits until you turn towards him, flashing you a smile. “You were fantastic. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Uh…I…yeah.” You can feel yourself nod, as if you’re possessing your own body like some kind of bizarre ghost. “Yeah, they do a really good house sangria here...if that’s uh…if that’s, ya know, your thing…” Fucking awkward. The old you is so hesitant with him, it makes you laugh in your own head when you think about how brazen you were here.

Zach gives you another grin, like a happy puppy who was just petted for being a good boy. He turns and catches the bartender’s attention. “Can I get a glass of the house sangria for the pretty lady and a Bud Light?” He asks, turning back to make sure that it was what you actually wanted.

Your answering smile is flushed but beaming, something you swear only Zach is capable of making you feel. “You were sitting in the second row.” There’s no use pretending you didn’t see him - you had practically been singing to him the whole set.

“Yes, I was.” Zach leans against the bar and gives you his whole attention. Eyes on yours before they roam your face and coming back to your orbs. “I enjoyed every song.” He admits. “Honestly wished the third one was twice as long.” The bartender comes back over and Zach hands him his Military ID. “Thanks man, can I open a tab?” He asks him. “Hoping I might be buying a couple of more drinks.”

He was still in. We were supposed to meet while he was still in… “You liked it?” You can hear yourself asking as the bartender walks away. “I don’t usually write love songs.” But you will…you know you will. You’ve written so many since meeting him.

“You should.” He slides the glass of wine over to you and picks up his beer bottle. “It’s better than a lot of the popular ones on the radio.” He tilts his head and watches you struggle to accept the compliment. “Seriously, my buddies wore out Taylor Swift’s Red while we were deployed but your song is better.”

You grin behind your glass as you take your first sip. “Next time I’m having a bad day I’m going to enjoy the mental image of a bunch of big bad Marines sitting around listening to T Swift and it’ll cheer me right up.” His eyebrow quirks slightly and you motion to his arm - the bottom of his tattoo poking out from under his t-shirt sleeve. “You on leave?”

Zach nods, lifting his hand to scrub the back of his head, the razor-sharp cut rasping against his palm. “We got back from Afghanistan Monday.” He tells you with a grin. “First night out on the town.”

“And of all the gin joints in all the world, you walk into mine?” Laughing inside your own head, even you have to admit that that is exactly the kind line Zach loves. Hearing yourself flirt with him is surreal but so comforting. This is your Zach - even back then, he would have been, too.

“Not a coincidence.” He promises with a grin. “Brandon, my buddy, told me about tonight and I bought tickets while we were still in the sandbox.” He tells you with an air of confidence as he takes a sip of his beer. “Though, you’re prettier than your headshot.”

You stare before you can stop yourself, snapping your mouth shut when you realize it’s hanging open. “You…you don’t mean…you came here to hear me?”

“Yeah.” He admits that easily. “There were other acts that we knew we would like, but I was looking forward to hearing you sing.” He gives a small chuckle and sends you a wink. “That’s okay, right beautiful?”

“Y-yeah.” You nod, but you’re sure you look completely shocked because you’ve never been great at hiding your emotion. “I just…you might be the only person ever to do that.”

“You keep preforming like that, I won’t be the last.” He is completely sure of that. “As long as I’m your first and most special I’m willing to share.”

“You have a bet with your buddy that you can set me on fire with embarrassment or something?” The tips of your ears are burning, all the way through your cheeks and down your neck and you have to wonder if he can feel it or something as you take another drink. “Because you’re very close to winning, if you do.”

He snickers, biting his lip and deciding the go for it. He leans in and sends you a smoldering look. “I’d rather you be on fire because of me touching you, beautiful.”

******

You feel a tug between your shoulders, a force pulling you out of the dark club and away from Zach, until you’re slumped backward in the chair in Merlin’s apothecary once more. “Holy shit…” With the way your mind is reeling, your glad you’re already sitting down.

"The week before he was to meet you, Zach's friend was killed and he did not go to your performance, obviously." Merlin tells you, his hand on your shoulder and he presses the cup of tea into your hand. You are not used to this sort of thing like he is. "You were supposed to meet that night and be together from then on."

“I don’t understand.” Shaking your head, you sip at the tea you’ve been given and swear you can almost taste sangria like a faint memory. “You just…look into the future? Watch out for missteps?”

"I have kept an eye on Zach since he is the last living descendant of Arthur." Merlin gives a small shrug. "My own line also keeps their eyes out, have for centuries."

"Except..." Your hand moves to your stomach, somehow even more acutely aware of the entire situation and how it pertains to those jars of herbs on his shelf. "Except he's not anymore, is he? Or he won't be in a few months. You made sure of that."

"Your child was supposed to be." Merlin assures you, nodding at your stomach. "This all, bringing you here, was to put the timeline back where it was supposed to be."

"Why does it matter when she's born?" Merlin had said something about your daughter being born on time, but it's just one more cryptic piece of the insane puzzle that you don't quite get. "Why does it matter to the timeline other than the fact that you're trying to preserve the family line?" Which is the most medieval bullshit you've ever heard.

Merlin sighs and rolls his eyes for how suspicious you are. "Because your daughter will be very important to world." He points his finger at you. "You need to not tell her this. They don't call it kings, it is – president?" He asks, tilting his head curiously. "She becomes the leader of America when she is 38 years old."

"President?" You look down at your own stomach in disbelief, realizing you haven't noticed any real change in your body because of the extra pounds that you hate so much in the first place. It would be impossible for you to be any more than three months pregnant, and the physical changes that a thinner woman might have noticed simply aren't there. You already dread to think that you haven't been able to take proper precautions - there are no such thing as vitamins here - or see a goddamn doctor. "Merlin, we can't stay here." It's obvious, of course, but now it's like a slap in the face. "Zach and I— we have to go back...but we have no goddamn idea where he is..."

"He will be back in twenty days." Merlin tells you with an innate sense of surety. "He will be victorious in his mission and come back with Lancelot and Gareth and Lady Lynette, all of them in high spirits."

"You were just never going to say anything, were you?" Somehow you're just as sure of that as Merlin is of Zach's return.

"I am a doddering old fool, remember?" Merlin tells you with his eyebrow arched and a slight smirk on his craggy face. "You would have returned to Los Angeles, believing that you had experienced a miracle that neither of you could rationalize."

"Jesus Christ." Sagging back in the chair, you pinch the bridge of your nose between two fingers and blow out a long, slow breath. "So that's it? You could have sent us back any time you wanted, but you had to make sure I was pregnant first?"

"You never asked to be sent back." Merlin reminds you. "I believe the two of you quarreled over that the first week he was here."

You huff slightly, taking a sip of the soothing drink in front of you. "I love it here," you admit freely. "I bargained with him for us to stay just through the summer, and then we would come to you and ask if you knew a way." It seems so silly now. Now that you know Merlin could have snapped his fingers any time and just sent you home. "Zach was convinced you would know how when we were ready to ask."

Smirking, Merlin leans back and snaps his fingers, making fire flame from his fingertips. "Because I demonstrated a fraction of my abilities for him." He chuckles and snaps them again, so the flame disappears. "I needed him to stay aware of his ability to go home. He is also becoming comfortable here. His true self is emerging."

"No wonder he gets along with the Pendragon boys so well." That makes you shake your head, almost laughing a little, and an amused little smile crosses your lips. "They're family."

"Yes they are." He smiles with you, pride radiating from his eyes. "I did not bring you here to punish you, you should have been with him before the turn his fate took. Both of you bringing out the best in one another. If it had happened, you would be a - what's the word - a celebrated songwriter. Quite well known."

“Well, that won’t be happening.” It’s impossible for you to wrap your mind around that idea, but your head snaps back up to find the old man’s eyes watching you. “Or will something bad happen to her if I don’t?” Your hand is still on your stomach, cradling it protectively.

He is extremely overjoyed at your already protectiveness of the babe in your belly. "Your future is still possible, if you wish it." He tells you vaguely. "Would you prefer to know?"

“You brought me here explicitly to become her mother.” The more you say it - directly talk about the baby you didn’t yet know existed - the more real it all becomes. “I want to do whatever is actually going to help her. Be best for her. So…yes.” You nod, forcing yourself to be certain even though it’s scary. “I prefer to know.”

"When you go back to the time you come from, you will be returned to where you left." Merlin tells you. "You will learn that you have been missing for nearly two years and in that time, have inherited a cabin in - Maine?" His tongue rolls over the foreign word. "You will help your husband start his woodworking workshop and you will continue to write your ballads while you raise four children." He pauses and clicks his tongue. "I will also be keeping his unique chamber pot when you leave." He jokes.

“But it’s not important that I go back to singing as a career?” Not that you had ever had any success on that front, but if you’re staring down the barrel of being a mother of four, then a life on the road isn’t what you want at all.

Merlin shakes his head. "You sing for pleasure; you earn coin from the music that you write." He gives you a small smile, softening at the future he foresees. "You will have a happy life, one that is to be envied. And you bring your children to Wales often, though it is far different in your time." He chuckles. "My own descendant keeps track of you very nicely."

“And Zach is happy?” It is insane that all of this is just out there waiting for you, but since all of this is fairly insane, right now only the most important things matter. And the most important things are Zach and your future children.

“He will have moments where he is not. Just as you will. But his wife is his rock, his steady constant, as he is yours.” Merlin promises. “The world around you changes but the love you have for each other never wavers.”

“The world around us can change in the blink of an eye.” You murmur, sighing softly. It had happened to you once already very literally, and it will again when you are sent back. For now, though, your mind is fairly full of facts that are not easy to digest, and you need some time to process them. “I should go.” The legs of your chair scrape on the wooden floor. “I need to apologize to Isolde for leaving her so abruptly and…and think about everything that you have told me.”

Merlin nods in understand and stands. "Please do not be angry with me for too long, Dandelion. I am an old fool who wanted the best for Zach. If I had not brought you back, you never would have met after that one chance."

“If you could not trust me with the truth, I wish you would have trusted him.” Zach’s complete faith in Merlin never wavered, and you know he would have been thrilled to know there was such a happy, fruitful life ahead of you. “But I will no longer think you a fool in any way, Merlin. You have known exactly what steps to take every stage of the way.”

"I did not say because he did not really want to know." Merlin gives you a small smile. "His heart beat for you the first time he locked eyes on in you in both fates." He tells you. "He was not willing to push you to leave until you wanted to."

“But you knew we needed to.” Standing again, you shake your head and move to the door to remove the bar. “You should have trusted him.” You tell him again, admittedly a little disappointed in the older man when Zach thinks so highly of him. In a day or two you’ll be able to forgive him, and think of the future as bright while you count the days until Zach comes home. For now, you need to find Isolde.

Merlin gives you a small nod and reaches for a small pot of herbs. "This will calm your belly." He tells you seriously. "I would never give you anything to hurt the babe in your belly."

There is a serious moment of hesitation before you take the pot from his hands, but with everything he has just said - and what he showed you - it’s hard to believe he would lie to you again. There is too much out in the open now. Too much truth. “Thank you.” Your voice is soft when you turn away, determined to find Isolde and get a little medieval pregnancy advice.

Merlin watches you go with a sigh. He knows you are upset at him, and perhaps he should have confided in you, but he was hoping that you would not find out. It would not change your fate to know what would happen, but he wanted you to experience it with joy.

******

The courtyard is abandoned when you return to the spot you had left, but it was a pipe dream to believe that Isolde would have stayed there beyond your leaving when you were the one who had talked her into going out today in the first place. You turn back to the castle, headed for her chambers instead, and simply hope that Tristan is not at home. You would prefer to apologize in private, and then let the news out slowly. It won’t be long now until you’re showing, so you would rather tell people on your own terms.

Humming, Isolde rocks the baby gently, smiling down at him while he suckles hungrily. Always wanting to cuddle when he is sleepy, it was good that you had left when you did. The knock on the chamber door surprises her but she calls out softly. "Come in."

“Isolde?” Poking your head inside, you smile at the sight of her sitting up in the rocking chair that Zach made for her. “I’m…I’m sorry I ran off. Is it okay if I come in?”

She smiles and nods, "Come in." She beckons you closer and looks down at the baby. "Did you accomplish your task?" She asks quietly, not wanting to pry but willing to listen if you needed to talk.

“In a manner of speaking.” You hadn’t at all gotten the answer you wanted, but at least you knew the truth now. As upset as you are with Merlin, you’re willing to admit that you believe him now. Entirely. “I—” Signing slightly, you set down the pot of herbs that you mean to share with her and scrub one hand down your face. “I was scared. Scared that you were correct. And…well, it seems that you are. So now I’m scared and feel a bit foolish for not believing my friend when she told me what she saw with her own eyes.”

Tutting, she shakes her head and you. "Do not be afeared of looking foolish." She tells you with a small laugh. "Do you not remember my denying being about to birth this precious little boy?"

“You were in labour for nearly an entire day.” Nothing could wipe that memory from your mind. It was as mesmerizing at it had been scary, for so many reasons. “The midwife had to forcibly remove you from the courtyard, if I remember correctly. You were trying to pick as many apples as you could to snack on later.”

"I was hungry and cook promised apple tarts if I picked enough!" She pouts with a smile. "Nevertheless, I know what denial is like, though it seems as if you have accepted it now."

“Merlin has confirmed your suspicion.” You nod a little, even though it’s still completely surreal to think of yourself as pregnant. You haven’t had time to process it yet. “The thing is…” You reach over, squeezing her hand gently. “You know that my husband and I had not planned on having children so soon. I have done nothing to prepare for it.

"It will not be difficult." She promises. "The other ladies and I will help you." She promises with a smile. "The only thing we need to make sure of right now is that you have gowns that do not hurt you."

“That would be nice.” At least you can rest easy that the extra munching isn’t what’s making you feel so bloated and making your clothes tight. “I suppose…I suppose I ought to tell the queen first? Is that the proper thing to do?” With three more weeks until Zach comes home, there is still plenty of time that you need to play by the rules.

“If you wish to.” Isolde knows your predicament and understands your wish not to upset the queen. “Though, she would not be upset if you wish to wait to speak to your husband. When he returns.”

“I have a feeling it will be obvious by then.” You swallow down the fact that you know exactly how long it will be. “Since we do not know when they will return, I would rather avoid any awkwardness with her Majesty.”

“She will be very happy for you.” Isolde promises. “I guarantee she will make a gown for the babe to be christened in.”

It twists in your chest, how you know that once again Isolde is right but not about something that makes you happy. It actually wrenches your heart to know that none of the people you have come to care so much about will ever meet your child. “She has already been so kind to me. All of you have. I could not possibly ask anything more of her.”

“She is fond of you and Sir Zachariah.” Isolde reminds you. She is not jealous of the connection; she has no interest in the intrigues of court and the queen is more than generous with her time. “She would not consider it asking.”

“She is an incredibly kind woman.” And the pant of missing her is already very real.

"Would you like me to accompany you to visit the queen?" She asks softly.

“Oh…” You exhale the breath you didn’t know you were holding. “That would be amazing.”

Smiling, she looks back down at the baby, eyes now drowsy and hums happily. "Let me put this one down for his nap and we shall visit her. Would you see if Arita is outside? She can sit with him."

“Of course.” Baby Tristan’s nurse is sitting just outside the doorway as she always does when Isolde is at home, with a bit of darning in her lap while she chats with one of the chamber maids. She simply smiles at the request to come inside, happy to take charge of the cuddly little one while you and Isolde take care of your business.

After she hands the baby off to Arita, Isolde smiles and motions you over to the wash basin while she cleans up. "Let me fix you hair." She gives a small giggle. "It is a bit of a mess and while I am sure the queen will not mind; I know you will."

“All of me is a mess,” you admit freely, though you’re grateful for the younger woman’s attention to detail. You absolutely would care if you went to the Queen’s receiving room looking as off kilter as you currently feel.

Isolde frowns and reaches for your hand. "Does being with child distress you?" She asks softly, your reaction to finding out is peculiar to her and she hopes she is wrong. "Will Sir Zachariah be angered?"

“Truthfully?” Your fingers dig into your eyes are you rub them, wishing you could just will away all this anxiety. “I do not know. He may be. This is…not what we planned. Not at all.”

"I don't believe that he will be upset. Life is full of surprises." Isolde reaches over and starts adjusting your hair to tame it back down. "Just like when you arrived here and then your husband followed one year later."

“Two of life’s biggest surprises.” And you can’t help but smile at that. Even if it was completely due to the actions of one ridiculous old wizard - Zach is still the best thing that ever happened to you. “It was ten months and thirteen days...” Not that you counted. Not at all.

Isolde titters and clicks her tongue happily as she steps back and admires her work. "Perfect. Now you are ready to visit the queen."

“And somehow you always look flawless. Someday you shall have to tell me your secret.” You squeeze the younger woman’s shoulder and motion for her to lead the way out of the room. Off to report the most unbelievable news of your life to your most unlikely friend.

******

“You will be fine.” Isolde whispers, as the two of you stand in front of the door of the Queen’s solar.

The herald at the door bows to Isolde and offers you a polite nod before announcing your presence. Guinevere is sitting in her favourite armchair with a book of hours open in her lap. “Your Majesty.” Your voice cracks and you have to remind yourself to breathe. “Please excuse our sudden interruption.”

Guinevere smiles and closes the book, setting it on the small table that Zach had crafted for her to set her tea on. “I am delighted to see you, my dear.” She steps forward and reaches for your hand. “And you as well Isolde.” She gives a small nod to the other woman. “Are you missing your husband?” She asks you softly. “When the men are away, it is natural the ladies must rally together.”

“I miss him horribly.” You have no problem admitting that. “Do you have a moment to receive us, your Majesty? I have…well, news. Of a personal nature.”

“You are welcome to come to me anytime.” The queen turns and gestures to the extra chairs that are positioned around her own. “Come, tell me this news.”

One of Guinevere’s many servants emerges from the shadows, laying two cups on the small table between the chairs you and Isolde now occupy and starting to fill them both with wine before you stop him. Avoiding drinking in Camelot is probably going to be the hardest part of all of this. “It became apparent to me earlier today.” You grasp Isolde’s hand gently. “With the help of our lovely friend…that I am…with child.”

The queen was bringing her cup to her lips and then she pauses. Frozen for a moment before her eyes flash with excitement and a wide smile splits her face. “That is wonderful!” She exclaims, setting down her goblet to jump up and rush over to wrap her arms around you in a crouched hug.

“Thank you, my lady.” You can’t help but put your arms around her in turn, Guinevere’s positivity always being infectious. “In truth I am still adjusting to the news.”

“How exciting!” She exclaims, pulling back and discreetly wiping a tear from her eyes. “Oh dear—” she frowns and clasps your hands. “With your dear husband gone, would you like to come stay in the castle again?”

“I do not wish to impose.” You know for a fact that the chamber you once occupied is now the quarters of a traveling merchant from Londinium, and Zach’s old room now belongs to a courtier.

“It would not be an imposition.” The queen tuts. “I understand if you wish to stay in your home, but there is a chamber available in this wing.” She declares. “Do not fret if you wish to have the safety of others around you while your Knight is away.”

“It…” You hate to admit it, you truly do, but the thought of being alone with a person growing inside you is slightly terrifying. “It would be a comfort, my lady. I cannot thank you enough for your continued kindness.”

She nods quickly, snapping her fingers to call one of the servants from the shadows forward. “Please find Ava and assist her in bringing Lady Wellison’s things to the castle.” She commands gracefully. “Have the others set up the green room.”

Isolde squeezes your hand in a very gentle I told you so, and you smile. “Of course, I am at your disposal. For however long I reside with you.”

She tuts and shakes her head. “You are with child.” She reminds you. “My husband, the king, will not be keeping you up all hours of the night for you to sing for him.”

“I will not shirk my duties.” The last thing you want is to give the impression of freeloading, especially from their majesties.

“It is not shirking your duties.” The queen tells you as she settles back into her chair. “You will no doubt perform, but he will insist that he not keep you up too late into the night.”

“We came only to deliver the news, your Majesty.” And now, of course, she has given you so much more. As Guinevere always does. “As usual, your kindness far outstrips all expectation. A fact that the Lady Isolde foresaw with ease when she volunteered to accompany me to share my news.”

Guinevere smiles and adjusts her dress, looking over at the other woman. "She knows how fond I am of having babies in the castle. This is something to be celebrated and your Zachariah would want you safe and cared for in his absence." There is also a brief pang of heartache for her own inability to carry a child, but she shoves that aside. This is about you and babe in your belly and your presence in court has been a balm to her nurturing soul.

The guilt of knowing that you will be leaving Camelot before your baby is born is something you’ll have to live with. Who knows how far along you even are? An entire trimester without proper pre-natal care when you’re carrying a future President? Nope - don’t get wrapped up in that detail right now or you’ll never get back on track. “I am afraid it will be quite a shock to him when he returns.”

"Do not fret." The queen comforts quickly. "I am sure that once the moment of shock passes, he will be overjoyed by the news." If he is not, she will talk to him. There will not be any form of abuse sent your way because he was not wanting a child just yet.

“I hope so.” The idea that Zach might not be excited about any of this makes you ache and feel slightly sick. Because the longer you sit with it, the happier you are about it. You’re going to have a baby with the love of your life - your husband. There isn’t a single thing that shouldn’t be joyful about that.

"We will need to start getting you some loose gowns made." The queen ticks off a practical list. "Start making baby clothes. I insist on making the christening gown." She tells you with a proud smile. "I have made one for all of my ladies’ little ones."

“Your Majesty, there truly is no—” Her hand in the air cuts you off, the gesture of a queen giving a command as much as a mother taking charge. You sigh a little, smiling inwardly to yourself. Guinevere will not be denied. It’s one of the things you admire about her. “As my lady wishes.” You acquiesce easily. There will be enough on your plate until Zach comes home. It will be well appreciated to have the support.

She smiles, one that tells you that she certainly knows that. "We shall get the ladies together and start making things while we take in the fresh air during the day." She decrees. "Especially since we know you are not talented with a needle." She teases slightly.

“I was never blessed in that way.” You have to laugh it off here - the fact that you can barely sew on a button - since sewing is such an essential skill. On the other hand, even most of the highborn ladies can’t write their own letters, so you have happily traded skills with them on more than one occasion.

“Some women are not.” Guinevere hums, not wanting to cause you any offense. She was thrilled to have another lady of learned abilities in her court.

“My mother embroidered beautifully.” For the life of you, you have no idea what possesses you to actually say it out loud - but the look on the Queen’s face says you absolutely did say it out loud.

“Oh, my dear.” Her eyes soften and she can see that you are distressed by the information, or the memory, she’s not quite sure which. From the way you speak, you must your mother terribly. “We will make sure it will be something that your mother would be proud of.” She promises.

“Apologies.” You press two fingers into the corners of your eyes to stave off any kind of overwrought reaction and try to shake it off. “The news has made me sentimental; it appears.”

“No apologies are necessary.” She murmurs quietly. “In my solar, you are welcome to all of your emotions. I would not have you missing your dear mother and feel remorse at expressing it.”

“It just feels silly,” you admit quietly. “My parents died when I was young. It’s not as though we had long discourses over my future marriage or children.” You certainly had with your godmother, but those feelings had soured over the years.

“Missing your loved ones is never silly, no matter your age.” She gives you a bittersweet smile. “My mother was…distant, but her mother— she was like a mother to me. More than my mother ever was. I miss her every day.”

Isolde smiles softly, reaching over to squeeze your hand in hers. “They are smiling on us, all of our mothers. And I am bold enough to think we have made them all very proud.”

“They would be.” Guinevere is adamant about that. “Just as proud of all of you as I am.” You and the other younger ladies are her children, caring about all of them the same as she would her own blood.

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks

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My Masterlist!

#Pedro Pascal #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfic #Zach Wellison #Zach Wellison x reader #Zach Wellison x you #Zach Wellison x female reader #plus size rider #Brothers and Sisters #time travel au #Camelot #celebration fic #idiots in love

[theregoesmylurkerstatus]

So... I have a lot of thoughts on the finale. I've deliberately kept my mouth shut, more or less, on the campaign overall because I'm a firm believer that you can't pass judgement -- at least not complete judgement -- on stories until they're over and done with.

Well, it's done! Kind of crazy. I've been watching Critical Role with almost insane consistency, viewing almost every single episode live, with maybe five-ish exceptions, since episode 19, and I've been blogging it for, what, two and a half years?

It's a weird feeling. It's been such a constant thing for me that I'm always gonna have love for it and remember with a lot of fondness.

...Which is in spite of the fact that I can now comfortably say I'm pretty eh on the ending. I know not being positive about something most of us have loved a lot for a very long time can sting a bit, but I personally think it also stings when people relentlessly crow over how good they think it is or want it to be, to the point where you feel you can't voice your absolutely valid upsets or dissatisfactions. So, here goes, if anyone's interested! I'd be curious to see other opinions, too!

I actually drafted a post talking about my overall frustrations with the campaign a whole two weeks ago, and then scrapped most of it when 140 blew me out of the water. I was really touched, and really happy. I hadn't expected it, but it shockingly felt right, you know?

Unfortunately 141 robbed me of most of that satisfaction and brought me right back to neutral.

The blanket statement you have to make, of course, is that you can’t criticise this as a DnD game, and you can’t be mad at the cast for playing it in a way they think is best for them. They’re the players, Matt’s the DM, and in the end it makes no sense for them to try to make themselves act how they think the audience wants them to, and I’m sure most of the audience wouldn’t like the result anyway.

That said, there is an audience. And that’s where I see this clash coming in. As a DnD game, as long as the players and DM have all enjoyed it and been satisfied, it’s a successful game! But for us, it’s not a DnD game. For us, we’re watching a story be written in real time through the medium of an RPG. And while as a DnD game you can’t fault it, as a piece of media, I completely get why the way things have gone has sat weirdly for a lot of people.

It's not satisfying to see so many character hooks dealt with so quickly or left as an offscreen "and then you do it." If they don't want to keep playing to dive into it, absolutely, but for us who have been watching this as a story with all these character elements get so built up, it's a huge anti-climax.

Which is a lot of what this campaign has been, really.

Oh, Nott’s cursed! But through a really cool character moment that problem is completely taken care of with no consequences we see. Yay, I want her to be Veth and that was an iconic move from Jester! Still, it kind of feels like this was built up to be a big problem and at the first success it was let go... Caleb's got a really intense frightening past he tries to hide, I wonder how the Mighty Nein will respond? Oh, they found out, but it's not a difficult revelation for anyone. Looks like it's easy for them to move past it and forgive. Yeah, that's healthiest for the characters, but huh, kinda undercuts it as a storyline or point of interest. Oooh, Avantika’s back! Ah, they’ve killed her and grabbed the eye again. I mean I don’t want them to die or for Uk’otoa to be free, but I’m starting to feel like that’s not much of a threat anyway. The Traveler’s been kidnapped! Nah he hasn’t, he tried to save Jester so he was let go with no further issue, and also he wasn’t actually in any danger anyway. Oh... Cool. So... Why should I care or be worried?

And these are just the biggest ones I remember being kind of let down by. I wanted to see them STRUGGLE for the successes to have meaning. To my view, threats of failure -- real failure -- really decreased the more the campaign went on, with a few exceptions.

Because don't get me wrong, we've definitely had struggles, and those have made for some of the best moments! Molly’s death, Yasha’s kidnapping, Yeza’s imprisonment. When failures that were threatened are allowed to occur, it’s far more gratifying when it’s followed by success, because you understand that that success was actually necessary. It shows us that what they do really means something.

Honestly, that's why the final battle really shut me up, because nothing makes you quite feel stakes and failure like having two PCs die, and having a resurrection ritual fail -- AND knowing that failure would be delivered on, had it not been for a seemingly miraculous roll of the dice to turn it around. One of the greatest failure's -- Molly's death -- made the success of his resurrection put a lot of my other issues to rest immediately, because to be honest? Molly's resurrection was the biggest success of the campaign, exactly because it was originally the biggest failure.

But this episode, we got to see the other side of making threats and successes feel disappointing -- when you get the impression that success was robbed from you. Again, their characters, their choices, but to have them roll an intervention to get Molly's soul, to convince Molly to come back with his own possessions they've so loved, after so long and so many struggles... only to apparently not get Molly at all?

Changed, of course. Memories, maybe he'd never get them back, though that seems inconsistent to how the initial resurrection was played and Matt's hints. It even makes sense that not having his memories and being a bit different, he might forge a new identity, but insisting Molly was a different person entirely after such a supposed hard won success to get Molly back, especially after what his death meant to the audience and potentially healing that old wound? It robs the narrative of a LOT of catharsis, at least for me and I know many others.

Trent, too, I'm very up and down on. He was so built up -- and what fun that build up had -- and I very much disagreed with the idea that the best story would be dealing with him offscreen.

It's true that you don’t need to explicitly address, confront, or explore every big aspect of character's story hooks and background ties for PCs to move past them and grow healthily. But that does not make it a satisfying viewing experience. People quietly healing in real life is healthy. People quietly healing in an explosive fantasy setting is frustrating for the audience.

What on earth is the point of a story if you don’t get to SEE THE ESTABLISHED CONFLICTS go anywhere? A lot of the characters got distant, quiet resolutions, if that, to everything we wanted to see.

Except, we did get to see Trent. It was a really fun, inventive battle, from opening to conclusion, but much like Travelercon, much like Nott's/Veth's problem with the hag, these were things that the audience in general wanted to see be really dug into and explored, and every single one of them got, in my opinion, quickly tidied up instead. Trent got beaten in the first and only proper battle they had with him, which, after all his build up, is pretty disappointing for a villain many of us wanted to see be a big deal. It really just felt like they were trying to tidy up to get on with the epilogue, which is not what a lot of us were looking for with Trent especially.

And that's how most of their endings felt to me. It didn't feel like any of them had reached a comfortable conclusion. Literally all of them, bar Veth and Caduceus, continued on their character journey threads, without each other and very quickly. Meeting Yasha's tribe and Vandran, Caleb finally openly debating changing time for his parents, Trent and Zeenoth's trials and the changing of the guard at the Assembly... All were things it would have been so fun to have all the PCs react to and explore together, and instead they were fleeting encounters in the latter half of a seven hour finale.

Is all this, from Molly not really coming back to Trent being a finale side plot to the Nein continuing on their individual journeys, potentially realistic to how these fantastical things might go down in real life? Sure! But that's not necessarily a good thing.

Stories THRIVE on conflict and resolution. That’s what makes them FUN! Conflict isn’t nearly so fun in real life and resolutions are often frustrating question marks, so no, past a certain point I don’t WANT stories to be realistic. I want stories to be SATISFYING.

And campaign 2 has fallen far short of the mark.

I haven’t spoken... Basically a word of this for most of the campaign, because as I said I’m a firm believer that you can’t necessarily judge something until it’s over, and because I ALSO firmly believe that being negative WHILE trying to enjoy something is counterproductive. I have had no interest in spoiling or naysaying the fun of the campaign for anyone, least of all myself.

But it's done now, and all I can say is... I really have had fun. I love the characters. I love their relationships. I’m pretty okay with where they’ve ended up. I’m not mad, really, and I’m still going to think of this campaign with a lot of affection. But it hasn’t been a satisfying story, even though for a week following episode 140 I thought, despite all the brushed over story threads, it might be.

So... to try and reclaim some of that satisfaction for myself, I might ignore some aspects of the finale proper. Namely Kingsley specifically. Taliesin's choice -- but to me, it's pretty clear that who we saw at the end of 140 was Molly, and the tags on my posts will reflect that, just as my 141 tags will be for both Kingsley and Molly, for clarity's sake. I personally want to believe Molly did come back, however others might want to interpret it. The victory in 140 that meant so much to me is hollow otherwise, and it just kind of hurts that we would lose Molly after everything. I was okay with him being dead -- I'm not so okay with his resurrection being stolen.

Kingsley will always be canon, but Molly is what I choose to acknowledge. I get if you don't like that take, and that's okay! I didn't care for canon's in the end. That's the good thing about storytelling, is that no one can stop you from making your own versions.

For the people who are hopefully hyped for campaign 3, heck yeah have fun! I’m on the fence. My investment, which... I think I can objectively say was pretty substantive as this blog will attest, doesn't feel rewarded, so I’m not convinced I can faithfully keep up for over three years all over again with a strong possibility that I will once again be left disappointed. It's been a huge chunk of my life, and... yeah!

I’ll take a break, probably, view (and liveblog, if people want!) campaign 1 when I’ve had a mental stretch and vacation, and then... I might start campaign 3. I definitely won’t be able to put the same time in it I did campaign 2 (my first love no matter what), knowing that it’s likely to not be so vindicated, in the end.

I swear I’m actually writing this in fairly good humour, but I totally get its always disappointing when the people you come to for fandom enjoyment just aren't sharing your fun. Honestly I’m half tempted to write all those frigging AUs I have sitting around! But I wanted to say my piece, and try and logically outline why this ending has been lacklustre for so many people, ultimately myself included.

Episode 140 felt right because it felt like a natural conclusion -- these disparate people coming together and finally being whole, finally soothing the hurt that MADE them so long ago. Episode 141 spat on that sentiment -- they all scattered to the winds, not as happy people to live out their dreams, but as confused people chasing up loose threads towards an unknown future, with the friend they thought returned still lost to them, ultimately.

It doesn't feel like the ending we should have gotten for the Mighty Nine, who were finally, finally all together. Until they weren't. So to me? I choose to acknowledge that they were, even if I have to force it to happen post-epilogue in my head.

#critical role #cr spoilers #c2e141 #c2e140 #ramblings #long post #first time i've used that tag but i figure people should be able to block this if they want to! #molly #kingsley #trent ikithon #the mighty nein

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

sam winchester’s deaths, ranked

8. killed (and then resurrected) by billie in 12.09 in order to escape... an underground prison...? i don’t know.

anyway, this is ranked last because it’s neither emotional nor funny and season 12 is a black hole 

7. struck by lightning in 4.08. fairly inconsequential as it’s reversed a few minutes later and it didn’t really strike me (hah) that he’d actually died there until several years later, but his smoking boots were very funny

6. oooh now we’re getting to the good stuff. he was stabbed to death by anna in 5.13 when he time-travelled to meet his young parents. there are so many gems from that episode, from his awestruck expression when he sees mary and how it makes her uncomfortable (mary the myth, one that he’s never been able to see himself a part of all his life, unlike his father and brother), to sam and dean’s quiet and pragmatic appraisal of the prospect of never being born at all, to one of the many, many times the show has sam sit down and forgive his father. but man. when anna drives that stake into his chest with all her strength, and he falls to the ground, choking and gurgling on his blood, not breaking eye contact with dean till his very last breath? wah re wah!

5. dying of old age one last time (we hope) at the end of 15.20. against all fucking odds, crafting a life and family for himself after having navigated a mountain of grief and a lifetime of conditioning, he gets to pass away in peace, of old age, holding his son’s hand. the only reason this isn’t ranked higher is because of sam’s hideous wallpaper choices.

4. walt and roy fucking eliminating him via shotgun blast to the chest in 5.16. what i love most about it is the suddenness: sam sitting on his bed, hands up, barely allowed to say a word in his defence before he’s full of buckshot. he’s dead before his head hits the pillow. short, shocking and so goddamn brutal.

 3. jumping into the cage to spend an eternity trapped with the devil in order to save the world in 5.22.

one of the greatest tragedies of supernatural is how the sheer magnitude of this sacrifice gets lost as the series wears on and lucifer is often reduced to a petulant teen. this was it. there was no hope of coming back; only endless suffering to look forward to. this sacrifice changed everything.

on the other hand i’m glad the show undermined this as it went on, especially now that we know how sam’s story definitively ends. this sacrifice was rooted in the need to atone, to embrace that there is something rotten and wrong inside of him and for him to do good despite that. what a load of nonsense. also, looking back, the way dean and especially bobby just sort of... accept that it’s ok for sam to do this? that little speech about sam “having a lot of good in him too” like that’s something remarkable and unexpected? fuck you.

ahem. anyway, it was beautiful and very jesus-imagery-y, so number 3 it is.

2. 13.21. fucking 13.21 man. it isn’t so much the death but the resurrection that’s so devastating: getting your throat torn out by vampires has nothing on discovering that it was lucifer that resurrected you and the shame of owing your life to your abuser and having him use you to manipulate the people you love--

the rage and fear on sam’s face as soon as he discovers this, the way it’s dredged up from the very core of his being--

i have never moved on emotionally from this moment and every time i think about it i’m half convinced that s14 and s15 is an elaborate mirage because i can’t think of a way spn could plausibly move on from this moment and tell the story that it wants to tell

1. sam’s very first death all the way back in 2.21.

not only was it unexpected and utterly devastating, but the way it was played: sam hobbling away from the ghost town as one of the last surviving azazel’s children, seeing dean, smiling in relief, both of them calling out to each other--just before jake stabs him straight through the spine, sam falling to his knees and dean managing to catch him just before he falls on his face. the way he wobbles bonelessly in dean’s hold even while dean is mumbling his own reassurances, brushing sam’s hair, holding his face in his hands. the way sam can’t focus on anything, his eyes flitting from side to side like he’s already just... not there in his body anymore before closing for good. the moment dean realises that sam’s gone, his sharp “SAM!” before he buries his face in his brother’s hair and rocks him back and forth....

exquisite. spn could and never would top that scene.

#supernatural #sam winchester #samndean