#winterthorn blessing

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Cards to Spells

This is gonna be a long post on how I turn Magic: The Gathering cards into pop culture magic spells, so sit down, get some water, and prepare to deal with a lot. If you're not interested in this post, press "J" on your keyboard and it'll take you to the next post. If you're on mobile, sucks to be you. I will not be tucking this under a "read more" on my blog because I don't want it to be completely lost if the post or my blog is deleted in the future.

This post is part of my ever-growing MTG pop culture series. Remember to check out the MTG wiki to get familiar with the Colors and the lore. Take what resonates and works for your practice.

Big thanks and appreciation to my buddy @kaosmage, sole proprietor of the @strixhaven-biblioplex, another MTG mage who is helping me carry this niche ass magical practice. Thanks, Faust, my dear brother in magic.

My other two bits of frantic thanking go to Rabbit of @will-o-the-witch and @jumblr-protector-golem fame and to Bree of @breelandwalker and published author fame. Their stuff really helped me in the Planeswalker section.

Please note: While the in-game term is "mana", I use the term "energy" in my magical practice.

Selecting Your Card

For the purposes of this post, I challenged my follower discord server to give me colors for each primary card type: Artifact, Creature (I asked for two, actually), Enchantment, Instant, Land, Planeswalker, and Sorcery. I then took these and headed to Scryfall, one of the most complete MTG card searches available to me, to select cards from three of the four most recent sets (Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna).

As a personal flex, I mostly utilize Common and Uncommon cards, especially those usually overlooked in my collection because of their...unfortunately sub-par gameplay in our house rules. You aren't restricted in any card you might use as the basis for a spell or working.

There are two exceptions to the rarity and set rules I put in place, but that's because I was given a challenge mode for my planeswalker card and my land card.

Artifact: Hedgewitch's Mask (Innistrad: Midnight Hunt)

Image description begin: A digital scan of the "Hedgewitch's Mask" card from Magic: The Gathering. It is an Artifact: Equipment card for 1 White mana. It gives the equipped creature plus one power and plus one toughness. It makes it so the equipped creature can't be blocked by other creatures that have power four or greater. It costs two of any mana to equip. The flavor text reads "In Kessig, even celebration wears a fearsome face." It depicts a young human witch wearing a bone mask with antlers and twigs on her face. The twigs bear many small orange candles that are burning brightly. She stands among orange leaves as part of the Harvesttide celebrations. End image description.

My challenge for this card's development was for a White card. Originally I was going to use the Lion Sash from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, however that's a Rare card and I'm sticking to mostly Commons and Uncommons. (The Lion's Sash would make a great protection enchantment for a scarf or headscarf of any sort.)

After studying this card and musing over the concept of a protection tool, I will be deciding to create a protection enchantment to go on a face mask, because we are STILL in a fucking pandemic and it's only gotten worse in my local area. Faust also recommended that it could boost confidence and intimidation for those seeking to fight injustice. Both of these things - seeking justice and protection - fall neatly into White's philosophy, so we're all set to keep going!

Our next step is to gather our tools. For this spell, I would use the Hedgewitch's Mask card itself, my enchanting board (which I've talked about before in this series), a facemask (likely a white one), a White-aligned crystal associated with protection (for energy; I would likely use snow quartz, selenite, or moonstone), a chant or sigil meaning "protect me while I fight for justice", and possibly a marker if I would go the sigil route.

If you don't feel connected to crystals, you can draw on your own energy if you find yourself aligned with White energy or you can figure out what plants, locations, or other tools are White-aligned. Common alternatives may include casting the spell on a plain or small hill, using air- or earth-aligned things, or using foods like rice or rosemary.

Regardless, we only need one White source, so we're ready to go! I would place the energy source on the board, then put the mask and card down below it. Then I would channel energy from the source to the mask, repeating the chant (if that's my route). After that, if I wanted to do more, I would draw the sigil on the corner of the face mask, away from where I would be breathing it directly.

And with all that said and done, then you have an artifact of your own - a facemask for protection and to help you stand against injustice.

This casting pattern is one of my default go-to's when I need to cast an MTG spell - enchanting board, energy sources, energy moving, chant. I've generally found that telling the energy what it's supposed to do works very well in my magic.

Creature (Servitor/Thoughtform): Mage's Attendant (Streets of New Capenna)

Image description begin: A low-quality digital scan of the "Mage's Attendant" card from Magic: The Gathering. It is a Creature: Cat Rogue card for two generic mana and one White mana. It has a power of three and a toughness of two. When it enters the battlefield, the caster creates a Blue Creature: Wizard token with one power, one toughness, and the ability to pay one mana and sacrifice the Wizard to counter a non-creature spell unless the caster pays one mana themself. The flavor text of the card reads "Crime sometimes makes unlikely allies into lifelong friends." The image depicts a cat humanoid woman in an expensive-looking red jacket and white pants with a sword resting on her shoulder. Behind her is an archway with people coming down to join her. The closest one is likely the Wizard. End image description.

As someone who loves creating thoughtforms and servitors, I figured I would share my approach to that when I do one based off of a card. As I call myself a Wizard, this card makes perfect sense to me as a protection servitor.

Now, the difference between a servitor and a thoughtform as I understand it is sentience. A thoughtform may have a mind of their own, with their own thoughts and feelings, but a servitor may not. So what we're doing here is getting two servitors for the price of one - one that will go down first, and then the second to continue to protect as the first one goes down.

So for this one, I would opt for a White energy source associated with protection (again, snow quartz is usually my go-to), a Blue energy source associated with protection (which would be my beloved sodalite; this one is for the bonus Wizard), and a third energy source of any color. It could be my own energy (I associate myself most with Blue, Black, and Red energy in my magical workings) or it could be another source with a color I want to draw in - another White source to double down on the protection, a Blue source to help boost the Wizard, a Black source for a ruthless streak, a Red source for more power, or a Green source to double down on the community aspect of having several servitors in place for one job.

The first thing I do is design the activation and dismissal phrase, usually along the lines of the flavor text of the card. Since these two are tied together, I would give them the same phrases: "Unlikely allies, I call you for aid." for activation and "Lifelong friends, thank you for your help." for dismissal. I would give them their job in no uncertain terms and close any loopholes I could find with the wording that would make it backfire.

Since I'm not actually casting this, I won't go through the whole process of me dramatically laying across the table like an exhausted lawyer while between one and nine deities just watch in the background. But closing all of the loopholes can get so, so tiring.

Following that, I would then decide what things help them gain power. Repeated use? Leaving the card in the sunlight or moonlight? There are many, many methods available.

Finally, I would pump as much energy into the creation of the servitors as possible, bringing them into being.

Creature (Spell): Forge Boss (Streets of New Capenna)

Image description begin: A low-quality digital scan of the "Forge Boss" card from Magic: The Gathering. He is a Creature: Human Warrior for two generic mana, one Black mana, and one Red mana. He has a power of three and a toughness of four. Whenever you sacrifice one or more other creatures, he deals two damage to each opponent, but this ability only triggers once per turn. The flavor text is a quote that reads "Big furnace like this can reduce anything to ash. You got something you need reduced to ash?" He is a well-beareded man with a partially-shaven head and he's ominously holding a shovel as though he intends to use it as a weapon. He is dressed in a very dapper manner with a white button-up shirt, black trousers, a striped vest, and leather work gloves. End image description.

Yeah I used a multicolored card instead of a monoRed one. Sue me (please don't actually, I'm small and don't have much money but I WILL cry and that's a threat).

Anyway, I've decided that this card is perfect for a banishing where you've tried everything else you possibly could and none of it seems to be working fast enough. This is the full "make an effigy, burn it, scatter the ashes, SHIT UPON THE ASHES" song and dance.

So how are we gonna do this? Well, I happen to be the lucky type that lives in a house with a functioning wood stove, and also I'm a pyromaniac (you may be surprised to hear that many firefighters are). I also happen to have index cards. With that in mind, look at that, we have a Colorless source (the taglock, the future human-shaped index card), a Red source (fire), and a Black source (seething hatred). We could round the fourth one out with your own energy (provided that you're more energetic when you're pissed, like me) or through the invocation of another entity on your side (while religion and angels are typically White-aligned, demons Black-aligned, and fae Blue-aligned, individual entities may vary; always talk to them first and figure out if they even want to be involved with casting this spell).

The most important component of a spell like this is fire safety, so make sure you have a proper class fire extinguisher (the NFPA recommends at least a class A extinguisher for wood and paper), fire-resistant gloves, and other tools for working with a wood stove or other fire source.

Doodle your little human figure on the index card. Write as much information about the target as you possibly can manage.

Now, using tongs or fire-resistant gloves, pick up that index card and light that fucker up! Set it down safely in the wood stove and chant or repeatedly think something to the effect of "I am the Forge Boss. Fuck outta my life. Eat shit and die. Leave me the fuck alone. Go fuck yourself."

Watch it burn, and just let the energy leave to fuck up the person's life until they leave yours.

This is great on a psychological level as well, because by burning something representing the person you want to get rid of, it helps you release your anger and channel it into something destructive that doesn't involve physically hurting yourself or anyone/anything you care about. It's great for relief is what I'm saying.

Enchantment: Witness Protection (Streets of New Capenna)

Image description begin: A low-quality digital scan of the "Witness Protection" card from Magic: The Gathering. It's an Enchantment: Aura card for one Blue mana that enchants a creature. Enchanted creature loses all abilities and is a Green and White Creature: Citizen with base power one and base toughness one named Legitimate Businessperson. The enchanted creature loses all other colors, card types, creature types, and names. The image shows a cephalid, which is a squid person not unlike Cthulhu, with various white magical masks floating around their face. They're turned to the right, looking down at their hat and cane. The crowd around them is going to the left, none the wiser to the cephalid's machinations. End image description.

Can you tell that SNC has a chokehold on me? That was a rhetorical question.

Looking at this card, the first thing that came to mind for me was a personal ward that makes you an energy vampire. This would be an offensive protection, draining others to reinvigorate you. Yep, we're going the baneful magic route.

So what we're looking for are Blue energy sources that can be used for baneful and beneficial magic. And lucky for us, there are two that stick right out to me: blueberry thorns and amethyst.

There have been way too many spells in these examples that require speaking, so let's switch it up and make this a nonverbal enchantment. We're gonna sit down with our tool in question (if you're using blueberry thorns, you may want to seal them in a small jar with a corkscrew lid instead of unleashing them in your pockets; they're easier to clean up and move that way) and focus on them. Focus on how they're going to help us draw energy from around us into ourselves to keep us going through the day. Once the energy has felt properly spun around and around (or whatever a properly enchanted item feels like to you, if you feel energy) or you're just tired of sitting, put your little energy straw into your pocket and go about your day.

Naturally, this will draw ANY energy into you. The rancid vibes of your shitty boss. The weird backrooms of your work where three people have gone missing. Your creepy coworker. But hey, we're here to make an energy vampire enchantment, not to actually cast it. We're just here to see how I'd make the card work.

Instant: Season of Renewal (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty)

Image description begin: A digital scan of the "Season of Renewal" card from Magic: The Gathering. It's an Instant card for two generic mana and one Green mana. You can choose one of two effects. The first returns a creature card from your graveyard to your hand. The second returns an enchantment card from your graveyard to your hand. The flavor text reads "Pavement ripped like paper as the ancient kami awoke from her long slumber beneath the city." It depicts a spirits that looks like a human woman, if not for the repeating faces going down her chest and turning into what appears to be a centipede-like body. She is unburying herself from concrete and reaching up to hold large bird-like entities that have come to join her. End image description.

The image is a little freaky of this card, not gonna lie, but that's kind of the point of the kami in Kamigawa.

Faust and I went back and forth over this card for a good ten minutes before we finally settled on a spell for reconnecting to one's roots. The thing is, the two abilities of this card? Very anti-Green. The returning an enchantment thing is very Blue, which is one of Green's enemies, while the returning a creature thing is Black, which is Green's other enemy. We tossed several ideas, like an infinite magical feedback loop or a spell to reconnect with nature in the city (which I am very not qualified to write as a wizard in bumfuck nowhere), back and forth until I settled on the reconnecting one.

And if you ask me, the first thing that comes to mind as an energy source for this is rosemary, which has often been used in rememberance and memory spells. It's Green-aligned by virtue of being a plant, but also brings in a note of White, useful for nostalgia.

Faust then pitched to me the idea of something mossy, leading to me frantically typing moss agate in all caps in our Direct Messages, because I love me some rocks. But you could also use literal, actual moss if you happen to have that. I don't know if people just fucking...collect moss, but I live in fear of the thought. Moss and moss agate would both also be Green-aligned.

Okay, point being, we now have two Green sources (though one is Green-White) out of the way. So now we need the third source, which is going to be another fucking taglock! This is going to be one for you, something that helps one connect with their roots; whether that's the roots of their craft, their childhood, their land, or their ancestors.

So if I were casting this, my next step would be to channel energy from the rosemary and moss agate/actual moss to the taglock. Then, I would keep the taglock around me while I researched or thought deeply about my roots. (I'm not gonna say meditate because I am in the anti-meditation squad on account of "that doesn't work worth a shit to me".) This spell would basically become a focuser for me - it would give me something to focus on when I have too much energy and need to spend it somehow.

Where instants differ from sorceries is that instants are "cast ahead, activate later" while sorceries are "sit down and do the whole spell in one place". Instant spells I make will often serve like activated enchantments, while my sorceries tend to lean heavier on things like divination.

Land: Gingerbread Cabin (Throne of Eldraine)

Image description begin: A slightly grainy digital scan of the "Gingerbread Cabin" card from Magic: The Gathering. It's a Land: Forest card that you can tap to add one Green mana to your mana pool. It enters the battlefield tapped unless you control three or more other Forests. When it enters untapped, you create a Food token. A Food token is an Artifact token where you can pay two generic mana, tap it, and sacrifice it in order to gain three life. The image shows a candy house made mostly of gingerbread and lit up in a few places by lanterns. It's held up in a forest with huge trees by some roots that create a platform for it. More candy serves as mushrooms and foliage around the cabin itself. End image description.

Lands are a little trickier to design spells for. In my practice, they're mostly used for storing energy. But because this is a non-Basic Land (it's not named Forest and it doesn't have the Basic supertype), we have a little more play and give.

And I dunno about y'all, but a gingerbread house in the woods makes me think of making food tastier. Home cooking (hopefully without an evil witch trying to eat children) and happiness around the hearth. Food-based magic and the act of cooking itself are both already Green-aligned, so we're in business to jump in!

What we're looking for here is a small chant or thing to repeat in one's head, like "As I turn this house into a home, I cook blessings into this food." Something to help you get in the mindset of making the food more pleasant, something you can build up over time in the same kitchen, something short and to the point.

And, well, my theory is that the more you cast a spell or say a chant the same way, the more it'll stick and the less it'll take out of you because it's already built up. Like laying down bricks for a basement.

Planeswalker: Karn Liberated (New Phyrexia)

Image description begin: A slightly grainy digital scan of the "Karn Liberated" card from Magic: The Gathering. He is a Legendary Planeswalker: Karn card for seven generic mana. He starts with six loyalty counters. His plus four loyalty counter ability is that target player exiles a card from their hand. His minus three loyalty counter ability is that he exiles target permanent. His minus fourteen loyalty counter ability is to restart the game, leaving all non-Enchantment: Aura permanents exiled. Then Karn's controller puts those cards onto the battlefield under their control. Karn is a large metal humanoid that looks to be in very rough shape. His metal is dull and covered in bumps. He's non-gendered but prefers he/him pronouns for convenience. End image description.

Okay, firstly, FUCKING HELL. All of the Colorless planeswalker cards at this point (three Karns and two Ugins) are rare or mythical, so no actual card to work with here because I ain't shilling out twenty-four to sixty-eight United States dollars for a card I'll only use for magic instead of play, no thank you!

Secondly, let's address the golem thing. On account of video games not understanding that golems come from Jewish folklore and religious history, they tend to just use the word "golem" for any metallic humanoid. You're lucky if they maintain the protective connotations of the word. So despite Golem being a Creature type and Karn being a Golem in canon, I just refer to them as Constructs (which is another Creature type so I don't understand why it's so fucking hard to not be a dick). Rabbit, a most lovely Jewish witch in my circle of the Internet, recommended this article from My Jewish Learning if you're interested in learning more about golems.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's address Karn himself. And yeah, he uses he/him pronouns, mostly for convenience, so we're gonna honor that. Anyway, this card is from after he got away from the Phyrexians and got back to his right mind. While it wasn't an abuse situation (try mind control and evil oil), this card could be a basis for a spell to aid in escape from such a situation.

On account of Karn not getting away on his own (it took at least one planeswalker's self-sacrifice, rest in peace Venser), this spell would likely be for helping someone else escape an abusive situation and calling for outside aid. We've got seven energy points we need to fill up, so let's get to work!

Let's crack open some other folks' spells for inspiration. Bree has two interesting ones of note in her book "The Sisters Grimmoire volume 1": The Bear (from Snow-White and Rose-Red) and The Glass Coffin (from the fairy tale of the same name). The Bear is for protecting yourself from harm and abuse and calls for a small cloth bag, a bear figurine, and five different herbs. The Glass Coffin is to bring opportunities for escape or rescue to someone trapped in a bad situation and calls for a red apple, a bucket or pitcher of water, an empty bucket, and whole cloves.

There's a note that Bree wrote in The Glass Coffin spell that I want to reiterate:

It must also be said that practical advice and emotional support do just as much, if not more, for people in difficult situations than spells do. Help them however you can without putting either of you in danger. ~Bree NicGarran, The Sisters Grimmoire volume 1

So now we've got an idea of where spells like this tend to go. I'm thinking of a aiding prayer, something to open up opportunities, and protection out the wazoo. Since any color of energy can be used in this spell, we're not limited by that.

Let's see, I have a few correspondences written in my grimoires from my own research. Basil is easy to get a hold of and is used for moving forward, opportunity, and protection and is aligned with Green. Oregano is protective and boosts or enhances spells and is also Green-aligned. Your energy can account for any color or even Colorless itself. A prayer to another entity for aid will line up with the color or colors most closely related to that entity.

But that still only leaves us with four of the seven energy sources we need. And no matter how much energy you personally pump into it, you're still only going to count as one energy source in a spell like this. So I recommend making the last three energy sources into individual taglocks that will double as your spell focus. The more closely related these are to the person you're opening up opportunities to, the better.

And I'm predictable, so I would be using my enchanting board to help direct the energy to the taglocks. As I direct energy, I like to have a chant or order I repeat, so I might go "escape, be safe, escape, be safe" over and over again.

My prayer may read something like "Lady Athena, protector of the city, please help [insert friend name] get out of their abusive situation without bringing them to harm" or "Lord Apollo and Lady Artemis, protector of children, please help [insert child name] remain safe in their abusive household and guide them to ways of escape". It will inevitably vary based on who I'm asking and what I'm asking for.

Overall, this would be a very energy-intensive spell and would require a lot of moving parts.

Sorcery: Winterthorn Blessing (Innistrad: Midnight Hunt)

Image description begin: A digital scan of the "Winterthorn Blessing" card from Magic: The Gathering. It's a Sorcery for one Green mana and one Blue mana with the Flashback cost of one generic mana, one Green mana, and one Blue mana. It puts a plus one power and plus one toughness counter on up to one target creature you control. Then you tap up to one target creature you don't control, which doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. Flashback means that you can cast the spell from your graveyard for a little more mana, then you exile the card. The picture shows several spirits inhabiting a tree-like creature with a deer skull and antlers on top. They are wandering through the trees together.

As I said up in the instant section, what separates an instant from a sorcery in my practice is that instants have a spell, and then an activation later, while sorceries are spells that you sit down and do all at once.

And yes, I did opt for a multicolored card instead of a monoBlue one, deal with it. We're doing a strength spell for this one! Not pictured is me sending a picture of this card to my buddy Faust yelling "What the fuck do I do about the flashback cost?"

So, strength spell. Green is great about strength, especially communal strength. And Blue is here for...some reason, this honestly does not feel like Blue's wheelhouse. Counters are usually a White thing, and instants and sorceries are spread across all of the colors. Anyway, let's just move on.

There aren't many things I'd associate with Blue that can cover strength - Green's got plants out the wazoo for it (basil, cinnamon, oregano, parsley, sweet pea) but Blue ain't got jack diddly dip squat shit. What Blue DOES have, however, is tea. That's right, we've got a tea spell! You thought I was just gonna use the enchanting board this whole time, didn't you? Well, uh...you're mostly right, bUT STILL-

Anyway, if you've been here a hot minute, you may remember the Tea Discourse that started because I admitted that I microwave the water for my tea. I'm sorry to tell you all that I have since gotten a kettle yet haven't drank anything but water and milk since then.

What we're gonna want is a tea that tastes good when you add cinnamon to it, because I am unhinged and cannot be stopped. My go-to tea of choice is honey vanilla chamomile herbal tea because black teas launch me into orbit and my resting heartbeat already registers as a heart attack.

So what we've got here is the base tea for Blue and then the cinnamon for Green (and also Red, which is also good for strength), so now we just make up that tea and focus on strengthening ourselves.

But wait, what about that Flashback cost? After all, the graveyard is where things go after they're done for.

Well, if you make your tea in a tea bag, you now have a strength-focused used bag of tea that you can use in another magical working. If you don't drink all of the liquid, I guess you can save some of the tea for later strength magic? I dunno man, it fucked me up to think about reusing tea.

In Conclusion

What have we learned here today? Well, a few things:

The way I break down spells is complicated and will give you a headache if you try to follow my exact methods because even I don't know what I'm doing.

I will shamelessly shill for other people's books. I am once again reminding you to go get The Sisters Grimmoire volume 1 from Bree's shop and keep your eye out for when volume 2 drops.

Colors go brrr.

Working on pumping out eight spells across two days will give you a migraine like you wouldn't believe, and I didn't even technically finish writing these spells! These are just notes and ideas, most of 'em aren't complete!

Streets of New Capenna went off on the 1920's aesthetic, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty went off on the cyberpunk aesthetic, and the two Innistrad sets went off on the spooky aesthetic.

Karn deserved better.

#jasper post #spell work #pop culture #magic the gathering #spell #long post #hedgewitch's mask #mage's attendant #wizard token #forge boss #witness protection #season of renewal #gingerbread cabin #karn liberated #winterthorn blessing #karn

[spiced-wine-fic]

Ten lines from my last ten fics

I’m counting completed fics or WIP’s here.

What happens when the Light of the Flame Imperishable meets Unlight?

A Time of Thunder

The horn sounded again. And then there was only the wind, bleak in the trees and the snow, and the wild winter night.

Winterthorn

She stopped and looked back. ‘It is,’ she murmured. ‘I’m sure this is Summerland. And of course no-one has ever heard of him. I’m not a bit surprised.’

Requital

Somehow, no-one on that bright Solstice morning, saw them leave.

Solstice Fires

But Nael had not recognised it. His eyes were pure as a dawn sky and as guileless. He simply handed the card back and walked away.

The Once and Future Kings 

‘Very pretty, Eru. But I was not made for this, nor for the tedium of peace; I never was. The Monument is my place, formed out of the ashes of a dead universe. How very apt, no? So, let us see if I can disturb thee a little.’

A Crown of Ash 

‘Yes,’ Tindómion agreed. ‘It blows now from the East.’

The Last Fires of Autumn 

‘As blood-kin,’ Tindómion repeated. ‘Until death takes us, or the High King comes again.’

Blood Kin

He reached out a hand, and Glorfindel clasped it. A warrior’s pact.

A Fire in the Night  

He kissed Tindómion’s brow like a king conferring a blessing, then walked away.

Shattering 

Not sure who’s already done this, so…

tagging @gardensofthemoon @crowandmoonwriting @nuredhel @polutrope @pinksiamese @jane-ways @cycas @naryaflame @awesome-bluehair-universe @edgeoflight @sallysavestheday @auntieaugury @minquelie @cuarthol @sedailanderekaden @nocompromise-noregrets @swanfloatieknight @g-m-kaye @thenookienostradamus @morgulscribe @elennalore @geneeste

#fanfic #last lines

[caeliri]

Deadwinter

Summerglen was silent in the dismal winter daylight.

Alabaster drifts had consumed the village, swallowing any errant sound that might have manifested in the abandoned town and obscuring the abandoned equipment of the masons and the carpenters who had toiled beneath the unhindered sun just a few short months prior. Now, the bustling streets were barren, buried in drifting dunes of heavy snow, the even, orderly, repaved roads undisturbed.

The village had not reached completion, not with Caeliri’s lofty aims to capitalize on it’s utter decimation. It was morbid, but the destruction of Summerglen allowed them to alter the wild weave of the gradual, organic growth that had birthed the village into something more conducive to continued expansion and quality of life for villagers and visitors both.

With the remnant stones from the ruined homes and businesses, they had begun to reorganize and rebuild - until the Alliance invaded. Still reeling from the damage done by the last invasion of the Dawnspire’s lands, and the monumental losses that Summerglen had suffered in it’s citizens stubborn desire to remain rooted in their homes, Caeliri had not allowed the same mistake. As soon as the Alliance began to press against the eastern coast of the Dawnspire, she’d all but forced her people to the Citadel to wait out the Siege.

She wondered where they were now - had they escaped to Sunhaven when the alliance took the Citadel? Had they scattered to the winds like so many dandelion seeds? Had they found themselves lost in the endless ebb of snow and sleet that the heavens rained upon them, and been consumed in icy dunes much the same as their village had?

Her breath fogged in the air, but the hazy clouds that wafted from her lips could not compete with the blur of hot tears welling on her lash line.

All that she had accomplished lay in ruins once more - this time by her own hand.

Arbiter moved through the steep sloughs unburdened, his hoof-falls even and measured as he plowed through the knee-deep snow. The Deadwood that haloed Summerglen in a ring of ash had been more difficult to traverse, with hidden pits and overturned trees that had made the destrier stumble more than once. They were lucky they had made it through without him snapping an ankle.

As they approached the estate, Caeliri pulled Arbiter to a halt and dismounted; she lost half of her height in the snow, stiffening as it slid down into her boots.

In their haste to leave Hallowhearth, one of the stablehands had left the stall doors open, and though wind had blown a fair dusting of snow into the empty stalls, it was clear enough to lead Arbiter inside and put him up where the wind could not bite at his haunches and where his own body heat - and a horse blanket pulled down from the upper echelons of the half-attic above the stable - would keep him through the night. If she could have made it to Summerglen on foot, she might have left him in the citadel.

The cherry wood doors of Hallowhearth had been locked upon her leaving - Lyla must have been responsible, for Caeliri would have never betrayed the self-scribed adage of her House - to dissuade looters, and it seemed they had held firm in her absence. With a twist of her gilded key and the wealth of her weight pressed up against the rightmost door, the frozen hinges stubbornly gave way and allowed her enough space to slip in between the two carved goliaths. Within, Hallowhearth was freezing, the stone floors like ice beneath her boots, the thin, stained glass windows doing nothing to keep out the cold. Accompanied by the clack of her own footfalls, Caeliri made her way into the Great Hearth - Hallowhearth’s living room - and set herself down before the vast, empty fireplace.

It was an ashy abyss.

Still, it held her rapt, and hours came, and hours went, and no matter how hard or long she stared at the jagged spikes of charcoal jutting from the ash-licked rack, her frustration could not ignite their blade-like edges.

“Thank the Light, you’re actually here.”

Reflexively her hand fell on the crystalline blade that sat sheathed beside her, gloved fingers tensing over Anar’alah’s hilt until the voice registered.

Liadove stamped his feet at the threshold of the Great Hearth, sending spheres of tightly packed snow skittering across the floor like pale spiders fleeing from a giant. His clothes hung loosely off his frame, layered and vast in an attempt to hold his body heat, and as he moved into the estate’s vast living room his gait was stiff and restricted.

She released Anar’alah before he could round the couch and see, fingers slowly peeling away from the blessed blade that Telchis had gifted her upon her ascension to her station.

Caeliri had never truly seen the need for a personal guard, not in the first days of her knighthood, not now that she was, undoubtedly, a prime target for the Phoenix Guard’s unyielding suspicion, yet through her denials of his aid Liadove Winterthorn had remained steadfast in his duty.

He was not someone to fear.

“I had a feeling -- didn’t want to be riding all over the countryside in this weather though.”

“Not many other places to go.”

“You could have left Quel’thalas all together.”

That made Caeliri snort. They both knew that she would never; running from the repercussions of her actions was not something she did. “On what ships? They’ve all been conscripted by this point. For once, I think my penchant for being familiar and well-known would be a great disadvantage.”

Exhaling, Liadove looked at the empty hearth, brow creasing deeply at the dead space.

“You could have gone to Alah’danil.”

The familiar name made Caeliri flinch - she was trying hard not to think of the coastal paradise that was a second home to her, trying to quell the keening grief at the sudden, violent death of the future she was meant to build there with Lord Dawnstrider.

“Veloestian has no part in this - I would not make him suffer for my choices.”

“He will suffer all the same,” Liadove countered, “if you are deemed a traitor to the state.”

Her.

A traitor.

Anger ignited in her veins, a vicious, screaming heat that burst free from her breast and coursed through her body. At her sides, her fingers balled until her knuckles went white as the snows that enfolded them, and she spoke, her voice low and even and lacking it’s usual melodic ring.

“Do you know why we are even bound up in this moronic war?”

“Because the Alliance invaded our country.”

“No,” her voice static and stony, she continued, “It is because Sylvanas invaded Darkshore. Sylvanas began open aggressions against the Alliance unbidden, for whatever mad purpose drives her. She ordered the Horde to invade the homeland of the Kal’dorei, she ordered the Horde to set their capital ablaze, to murder their men and women and children without scrutiny, to snuff out the lives of innocents, should it further their progress towards their ultimate goal. Sound familiar?”

Liadove’s lips pursed and his eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Whether we like it or not, we began aggressions against the Alliance first; the Horde struck the first blow, and it was an unholy, deplorable blow. We burned the Kal’dorei’s home to ash for the simple sake of conquest. The Alliance have every right to the rage that fuels their march across our country.”

“How can you say that?” Fury rippled through Liadove’s voice, a rare and poignant flare that made Caeliri’s ears swivel. “You, of all people - you would blame the people of Quel’thalas, the people who are boiling their boots to feed their families, who are being found frozen and blue by cold, empty hearths in their own homes?”

“The common folk of Quel’thalas have done nothing to deserve this,” Caeliri interjected, “they do not lend their aid to wars, they do not involve themselves in the politics of the ruling class. But Quel’thalas, as a nation, is not blameless.”

Hackles still high, Liadove grit his teeth and forced out, “What do you mean?”

“When the Alliance invaded the Undercity, the Archon knew they would come for us next - he said as much to me many months before they made landfall. He anticipated the coming devastation - we are the last foothold of the Horde on the Eastern Kingdom. It does not take a military mastermind to determine they would come for us in time.

And what did Lor’themar do?

Nothing.

What did the Archon do?

Nothing.

Ah, wait, no!” For a moment, Caeliri’s voice crested high and saccharine, a mockery of her common candor, ”Silly me, there was something - we placed a gag order on anyone who dared to speak against her, threatened anyone who would think to question her judgement or her reasoning or the validity of murdering thousands of innocents to further whatever veiled gains she sought to make.”

Her tone came crashing back down again, but her words had lost their measured pace, favoring a furious fervor that caused words to bleed together and her volume and cadence to pitch wildly, “We could have decried Sylvanas’ genocide, distanced ourselves from her decision, assured the world we did not stand behind her actions, and we did not. We remained silent, complicit--

“--For our own safety--”

“-- so that makes it just?” Caeliri stared at Liadove, and for the first time her question was not rhetorical. “It is the same argument I made, to myself, to others, over and over again. We held our tongues for our own safety, and what has that accomplished? Quel’thalas is paying the ultimate price - for someone else’s mistakes. Worse yet, rather than work to remedy such, the commanders of Quel’thalas’ armies have opted to further the animosity between us, to give the Alliance all the more reason to strike back harder and with greater vengeance, to draw blood for generations to come. Novastorm and Silverbrooke claim they act in the interest of their children, but their short-sighted vengeance fails to comprehend that the children of every Alliance soldier they slay will grow with hatred in their hearts, and one day return to kill their children in turn. It’s a cycle, and endless fucking cycle, of hate, of hurt, of violence, of revenge, and it does not stop until someone makes it stop.”

“And you’re going to make it stop,” there was and edge of mockery to his voice that made Caeliri’s nostrils flare.

“No. I’m not an idiot, regardless of what people may wish to think of me. I know I can not stem the tide of violence alone - I’m not a fucking martyr, or some kind of savior. I am a girl who has grown up against the backdrop of war, who has grown tired of the endless cycle of vengeance and death and it’s defendants. I will not be a part of it, not anymore. I will not remain complicit, I will not be made silent. If they wish to vilify me, to call me a fool, to imply I am a coward for standing steadfast upon my principles, let them. I have grown weary of wasting breath to try and sway the hearts and minds of those who were set on violence from the start, and of bending myself to validate every vile action of those around me. I have had enough, Liadove.”

“You would break your oath, then? Sully your own honor?”

A sharp, jarring laugh crested from Caeliri’s lips, and the unhinged melody made Liadove’s body erupt in vast mountain ranges of gooseflesh.

“The Oath-” her composure regained, Caeliri lifted a hand to wipe a welling of tears from her left eye, and if it was unclear if they was laughter-born or honest grief, “do you know what the Sunguard’s oath even is?”

Silence.

“By the light of the sun, for the glory of Quel'Thalas, I vow my life, word, and honor, to uphold the laws of my nation and the code of the Sunguard.   I promise to defend the weak from oppression and protect my kin from foes both foreign and domestic. I will conduct myself with compassion, valor and truth at all times. These duties I take up willingly, in the name of Silvermoon and the Sin'dorei.”

“Aren’t you acting in direct violation of your oath?”

“Aren’t they? Where is the compassion in their actions, the valor, the truth? We can’t choose which parts of the oath to adhere to, and which to discard, else the whole of it is meaningless.”

“But your life will be forfeit if you betray your oath,” now there was anger and desperation both bleeding into his voice, growing ever more fervent with his volume. “What of Summerglen? What of all the plans you have put in motion?”

Caeliri’s eyes shot away, “Summerglen can find a new steward - I’m hardly irreplaceable. You may be lucky enough to have someone with greater experience appointed to the station in my absence.”

Now, Liadove was shouting, his voice echoing through the empty halls of Hallowhearth like thunder, “What of Lord Dawnstrider,--”

“Don’t.”

 “--and your plans to start a family? You would abandon him for the sake of your principles?”

“DON’T.”

“You would let yourself be taken from Firestorm, after all that he as lost as well?”

His words struck her heart, a series of blows fatal to the flames that had been stoked in her breast, and Caeliri began to deflate, her slight form caving in on itself beneath the weight of her own choices, and the ripple of hurt she had cast out into the cosmos. Her jaw, set in stone seconds before, began to quiver violently.

When she spoke again, she was cowed and quiet, words barely above a whisper, “It would be selfish to invalidate the just for my own self-gain--”

“Bullshit!” Liadove slapped a hand on the arm of the couch, “Is your sense of self-worth really so fundamentally damaged that you would not allow yourself the future you have earned?”

Caeliri flinched.

“I can not stand here and denounce those who act without honor or compassion, and then proceed to do the same--”

“You’re being stubborn. These ideals you are so desperate to cling to are a farce! By your own account, even the Archon, a man you idolize, is vulnerable to abandoning his principles when it suits him. Everyone will if the opposite outcome is advantageous to them! I do not want to see you executed or sentenced to incarceration for the rest of your life because you will yield on this ideal! Ideals are not reality--”

“--nor will they ever be, if we do not actively act towards upholding them. They are not reality, but they are the pinnacle we wish to strive for, and they are pointless if we do not struggle. They are not meant to be easy to act upon--”

“Fuck the philosophy, Caeliri, that’s not the point.”

“Then what the FUCK is?” She leapt to her feet, arms cast wide, bloodless fingers splayed to beseech the air around them, and the reborn anger in her voice was only strengthened by the hot tears that rushed down her cheeks. “What is the point in having morals if you do not uphold them when they are tested? What is the point in striving to survive if you only feed into an endless cycle of misery and hatred? What is the point in saving Quel’thalas today if it will be destroyed tomorrow by the mistakes we have made? What. Is. The. Point?”

“The point is I don’t want you to go to prison!” Liadove slammed his hand down on the couch again, this time hard enough send the whole thing scooting towards him, the sound of wood on marble ugly and loud. 

“The point is, you made promises, to Veloestian, to Vaelrin, to your friends, to your family, and you will break them all in one fel swoop if you break your Oath! The point is, we need you when the war is done, to do what the others will not - do you think they will give a moment’s pause once they are given their accolades to aid those still left suffering? From all that you had said of them, they will, all of them, ride off to their estates or to their places of comfort and assure their lives are stable and good and happy and leave the rest of us to pick up the pieces of a country in ruins!”

“The point is, you are my friend, and I do not want to see your life ruined because of a fantasy you refuse to relent on. Caeliri, you deserve the happiness you sought for yourself, and you will ruin everything you have worked to accomplish if you continue on this path.”

Now, the room was filled with nothing but their labored breaths, their points exhausted even if their anguish was not. There was nothing more to say, not without folding back on their own words, without chasing each other ‘round and ‘round and ‘round and ‘round and ‘round until one or both of them grew weary of words.

Silence and their slowing breathing reigned between them for several painful, pregnant moments, moments where their eyes were unwavering from one another’s.

“Why did you come here, Liadove?”

He rolled his shoulders - once, twice, thrice - and cracked his neck to release the tension that had built through his upper torso. “Originally, I came to tell you that the other Kin’tari have abandoned their posts. They have disavowed themselves of the Sunguard, and of Lord Truefeather, it seems, and set out across the countryside to serve the common folk, and aid in dissuading and dispersing the bandits emboldened by Morningstar’s offer of clemency.”

Victory roared through Caeliri’s sea-green eyes, and a smile began to creep up her face at the latent validation in Liadove’s news, but he continued, “and to tell you that the Archon calls for you.”

That killed the smile blooming on her features. “What?”

“He has put out a public statement denouncing your actions in the battle for the Dawnspire, and summoned you to appear before him before weeks end.”

Any glimmer of satisfaction that had been worming its way into her features drained away then, and she gawked, jaw slack and eyes wide.

“If you do not go…” He didn’t need to tell her. It was the fate she had already assumed would befall her. “Caeliri, I beg of you -- return to the Archon, bite your tongue, accept his judgement. You may yet walk away from this with your future in tact.” His plea was met with silence, and he slammed his hand again on the plush surface of the couch, the sound dull but loud. “Are you listening to me?!”

“Yes.”

Silence.

Liadove’s desperation ebbed towards anger again. “You said yourself that you can not make this right. It is beyond you. It is beyond any one person to turn the hearts and minds of mortals for more than a fraction of a moment, and even then…” He let his hands fall away from the couch at last, palms stinging slightly from the intensity of his repeated strikes. ”You can not undo what has been done, and you can not atone for the sins of others. Don’t ruin your life to try and teach the world a lesson - you are the only one who will suffer for that.”

Liadove turned on his heel, the move graceless and awkward and stiff, and headed for the door, a miasma of fear and frustration propagating in his wake.

Outside, the pale dunes were disturbed by burst of wind that sent a mournful moan through the village, scattering the snow like so many motes of ash against a grey and gloomy sky. Arbiter brayed in his stable, the sound a muted, distant call of distress, and then Summerglen was silent once more.

brief mentions; @thenaaru, @quelfabulous, @felthier

@thesunguardmg

#the sunguard #the phoenix wars #caeliri #battle of the dawnspire #world of warcraft #writing #my writing

[claraxbarton]

Daily Boost!

Today’s Daily Boost is...

A 2x3x2 Rec List!

@chronicwhimsy put together an AMAZING 2x5x2 rec list a while back and has been curating it ever since (seriously, go check out all of the awesome).

Anyway, I figured, hey, I should put together a rec list for my favorite 2x3x2 fics. This won’t be all the fics ever, but it’s some favorites of mine. And it’s going to be long, so I’ll drop it under the cut. 

Have any to add? Reblog and tag! I will keep this updated/post it again with that name at some point.

I want to start off with the Foundational Three, as I think of them. These are the three fics I first remember reading and falling in love with and cementing 2x3x2 as my OTP:

Code of Silence by @tbll57 This is dark, post-canon, and full of wonderfully complex and painful relationships for all of the pilots. There are more fics as part of the series now too, all worth a read.

Rattlesnakes by @trixiedragon Another dark, post-canon fic. Duo and Trowa work through a lot of personal issues in this, and it’s wonderful to see their growth. A warning, this fic is NOT Heero friendly.

Shinigami Sleeps by The Manwell. This was my first true love with 2x3 fics. The author is currently doing a rewrite that is also quite wonderful. Yet another dark, post-canon fic.

Okay, so in my mind, those are the BIG three - and in addition to being heavy they are lengthy, so set aside some time to enjoy. 

Below are more of my favorites. I’m going to try to follow @chronicwhimsy format a little and break them up into length sections.

SETTLE IN FOR THE LONG HAUL (30k+):

Firsts by waterlilylf. ANOTHER post-canon fic. This one doesn’t have the level of angst that some of my other favorites have, and that’s a good thing. If you want sassy dialogue, lovely relationship building and really stunning prose - give this a read. Gentle warning that Heero and Quatre are NOT going to be your favorite people ever, but neither are they heartless villains.

Appearances by Avarice This isn’t, strictly speaking, a 2x3x2 fic. It is VERY hardcore bromance and this entire series is my absolute favorite portrayal of Duo and Trowa as friends. It’s set - get ready - post-canon. Great dialogue, great emotional punches in your guy and humor. Each chapter is it’s own fic, so you’re going to have to check the profile for all of the rest. It’s worth it. I promise.

Two Out of Three by The Manwell. ANOTHER post-canon! If you like action, if you like great, snappy dialogue and smitten Trowa, this is a MUST for you. Manny has also created some lateral works in the series to flesh out background action and characters so definitely give those a read too!

Tomb Raiders by The Manwell. Aside from the original Shinigami Sleeps, this is my favorite fic from Manny. It is NOT post-canon. It is, in fact, an AU and it is GLORIOUS. Lots of excitement, young love and some heart-wrenching thrown in for good measure.

Knife in Hand by @amberlyinviolet. ANOTHER AU! See, I do read them. This is PHENOMENAL and some of the best world-building of any fic I’ve read. It’s dark and gritty and has lovely dialogue and will rip your HEART out.

Mid-Length (10k-30k):

Flicker Fade by @miss-m-muses. Yet another post-canon fic. Despite being set before/during/after a funeral, this fic is hopeful and lovely and just absolutely perfect.

Copilot by en passant(Corinthian). You guessed it, another post-canon fic. This one is DARK and a lovely look into what it would be like to be trapped in a hopeless situation. 

Only You by @amberlyinviolet. A collection of drabbles that build a wonderful relationship.

Body Talk by @greeneyes-softsighs / @makoto-is-a-good-boy This is a delightful series, full of smut.

Zombies by @amberlyinviolet. Who doesn’t love a zombie apocalypse fic? Really great world building in this.

The Last Romanov by The Manwell. Okay but the title should be clickbait. It’s post-canon, and AMAZING. Perfect smut and a wonderful drunk Trowa.

Pinter Pause by en passant (Corinthian). So this fic... is so close to my heart. Especially after having been an adjunct for a few years while looking for full time work. Really wonderful AU that builds some great relationships and has a wonderful Wufei and Quatre.

Short and Sweet (under 10k):

White Rabbits and Sealing Tape by @crown-of-winterthorne. This is a LOVELY AU featuring some delicious, like seriously WOW, 2x3 and 1x4.

The Neighbor’s Dog by @trixiedragon. Fun and awesome AU featuring, how did you know? A dog.

Wicked Game by @miss-m-muses. A little dark, a lot amazing.

Message Received by luvsanime02. Technically a 1x5, the background 2x3 is awesome and the entire fic is great and hilarious.

Blessing by en passant (Corinthian). Full disclosure, it was a gift-fic for me. It’s sort of historical, sort of fantasy, all kinds of wonderful.

Faith & Guns by en passant (Corinthian). This is a four part series of WONDERFUL post-canon fics that present a really incisive view of Trowa.

Obscure Holiday Sexcapades by @kangofu-cb. Okay this is WONDERFUL smut and amazing dialogue and these two fics are SO good. 

Strange Love by @kangofu-cb Part of the Halsey drabble fest, this is an AMAZING short fic - and the only one of the series that is 2x3 but honestly, read them ALL.

Spark by @chronicwhimsy . Mission op sexy times and bird watching - you probably didn’t know this was your favorite thing ever, now you will.

My Own Fics:

So I’ve written a few 2x3x2 fics over the years, and I just want to drop in a few of those as recs. I used an outside source for this, @kangofu-cb graciously saved me from being TOO self-aware and chose four fics for me (thank you):

Laundry Day. It’s just smut. Nothing deep here, well... not unless we’re making puns.

Faux Pas. I’ve always liked writing fics set in Vegas. This is one of my favs.

What May Come. A finished long fic! From ME! Post-canon, Trowa and Duo meet again and slowly learn how to move on together.

The Road Not Taken. Currently only on ff.net but I will migrate it to AO3. AU, featuring scenic designer Trowa and grad student Duo. ALSO IT’S COMPLETE!

(okay but also, this is the fic of my that I might be most proud of, despite having never finished it)

Sideshow. Post-canon, kinky smut with a side of politics.

To Be Read List:

It turns out that I HAVEN’T read every 2x3x2 fic out there. So here’s my reading list:

Down in Africa by @h-lovely

The Altar of Shinigami by @tj-dragonblade

#2x3x2 rec list #2x3 rec list #rec list #2x3x2 fanfic #2x3 fanfic #duo maxwell #trowa barton #daily boost #fics #fic

[jarlenadreams]

Whispering Winds: Chapter One

Eric checked his watch once more before turning back around to check the list of flights before he moved to the window. After a few moments of watching the plane, he then chose to sit down in the bank of seats after noticing he had about an hour more to go before he could board. Finding a socket that he could plug into as he surfed the internet to kill time, he set up his laptop and scrolled through his list of contacts before finding who he wanted and began to type his email. Subject: Vacation!! Yes, this means what you think it means…. You, you lucky people get the blessing of my arrival home in 24 hours, 26 if my flight is delayed. I am tired of backpacking through Europe and being the roving photojournalist and am really looking forward to Gram’s chowder. (yes Gram, that’s a hint I’ve not eaten properly in months and no Mom, I don’t need a check up) I need to find a place to bunk so I’ll leave that to you guys to decide to fight to the death over who gets to keep me and in the famous phrase out of Allie’s book she’s reading … may the odds be ever in your favor (see, I did listen little niece when you facetimed me) Love ya’s Eric. He spell-checked it twice to humor that little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Dr. Marlena Evans, known more informally as his mother before hitting send. He only had screwed up once but it was enough to not forget his mother was a stickler about certain things. Closing down the email browser, he chuckled at the image on his desktop, a photo of his girlfriend and himself, his arms wrapped around her as they both grinned at his sister Carrie, who had sworn she would keep his girlfriend a surprise until he was able to get home to Salem and tell their mother when they were all together. “It’s not that she wouldn’t understand Carrie.” He replied as he sat across from her and Austin at the café in Paris. “Because Mom has the biggest heart of any one that I know. But rather…” “It’s the fact that she’s a bit out of your league?” He nodded. “Exactly.” Eric looked at it once more, smiled at the redhead in the photo and shut it. Not paying attention as he packed the laptop back into the bag at the figure approaching him, who seemed to bang into him accidentally. The other man’s hand coming to shake his in apology but looking horrified as his ring nicked the inside of Eric’s finger. “At least let me get you a coffee or something to eat as an apology?” He grinned and shook his head. “I’m good. Accidents happen all the time. Have a good day.” Orpheus nodded, a faint grin on his face as he walked away from the younger man and continued on to his flight, pausing only to remove the ring from his finger, the toxin on the tiny needle more than having done its job. Hearing the ping of his smart phone, he withdrew it from the outer pocket of his leather jacket and read the message, a frown appearing as he took the significance of the message in. “You’ve always been a coward. Leaving me to see this through….” *~*~*~*~*

Hey pretty lady?” John’s hand fell away as he came in the doorway of Marlena’s office and he caught her lost in thought, her fingers idly resting against the metal blinds that were opened to allow the sun in. “Doc?” Getting no response from her, he came in and called her name once more before coming around the desk and lightly touching her shoulder. She didn’t turn around, that lovely smile that was just for him on her face at the moment of recognizing him as she always did when she came out of her thoughts. But rather, this time her whole demeanour was different. “I know him … “ She stopped, correcting herself with a shake of her blonde head. “knew him.” Thinking that someone they knew had passed away, John asked quietly who she meant. He had no clue at all what was going to come out of her mouth next, or how it was going to take his breath away. “Knew who Doc?” “Your father… I’ve met him before. But the thing is John …” She finally did turn around and he could see the unshed tears in her eyes before her hands made the futile swipe to keep them at bay. “I don’t know how.” He blinked and wrapped his arms around her out of instinct. “I … I think I need your help John.” *~*~*~*~* Arriving home at the townhouse, John allowed her to go past him, watching her drop her computer and work bags beside the desk as she headed to change out of her work clothes before going to the couch himself and grabbing the cordless phone and making a call. “Hey it’s me. Do you have a minute?” Steven Johnson, known to the world at large as Patch, merely shook his head with a grin. “When don’t I have a moment? Kayla’s doing a late shift at work and hell if I know where my son is.” “Probably with his cousins.” John replied. “Yeah probably.” He chuckled. “But something tells me that Joey isn’t the reason for the call. What’s up?” John grinned. “No, as much as I like the kid, he isn’t but I need my partner to answer a question before I bother to call the Governor.” “You’re afraid to deal with Kim?” “Time differences don’t make for a happy Kim when I wake her up to get him.” John agreed. “You should know best of all what it’s like to wake up a Brady before they’re good and bloody ready, People have died for less mistakes.” They both laughed and Steve nudged him again about what he needed him to do. “When you and Rafe oversaw the clean up of the hideout … did the Salem PD happen to leave a clean up list of what was taken out?” Patch paused. “Anything specific?” “Like a laptop or a hard drive? Steve stopped what it was that he was fidgeting with, a look of concern on his face as he listened intently at what wasn’t been said out loud, once an ISA agent … *always* an ISA agent. “What’s brought that on man?” John glanced at the doorway leading off the living room to see if she was there, taking a moment to try and collect his thoughts on best how to answer that loaded question. Steve went to the obvious person for what he thought was John’s concern. “Is it Paul, is he still showing effects?” Closing his eyes a moment, John’s eyebrow rose as he exhaled slowly. His hand went to pinch the small of his nose and glanced again to make sure his love wasn’t in earshot as he brought his partner into the loop. “No it’s … it’s not Paul.” John answered. “It’s Doc.”

Marlena was taking off her jewelry and putting it away in the pretty inlaid box that John had gotten her from their last trip to Italy when she spotted that god forsaken medallion peeping out from under her pretty baubles. Reaching for it, she remembered a conversation that she and John had had in the clinic on San Christobal about being led to something .. shivering at that thought, she put the coin down and checked the clock on John’s side of the bed. Doing a quick mental count, she reached for her laptop and earphones. Hoping that she would catch her in. John wasn’t the only member of the family hesitant to call Kimmy when she was overseas. *~*~*~*~*~* John came to bed and found Marlena sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed, her earphones dangling around her neck, laptop on her lap and her scribbling furiously on the note pad beside her. “What’s all this?” He asked quizzically as he took in the familiar sight of his beloved wife hard at it after a consult with Kimberly. Coming around the side of the bed, he propped himself on his pillows and watched the scholar at work. “Do you remember when I came home all those years ago?” She asked, never breaking her train of thought as she continued to scribble. John’s hand shot out to still the pen. “Doc?” “I’m serious here. Do you remember when I came home. We were in your office and I offered to help you in investigating how I got home and we started at the beginning with how you were so sure I was allowed to go on my merry way?” John nodded, it was still a sore spot in his heart about how things had gone. How the primitive side of him wanted to keep her with him, but the logical side … well it led them apart and back together again so many times since. “John, I don’t know how … and I don’t know why … but I’m getting really convinced that your father was one of the people who held me.” He looked at his bandaged hands and then back at her. “What brought that on?" The fact she was able to repeat exactly what he had said to her in a language that John knew she didn’t and couldn’t speak before hand, was proof enough as he reached out and took her tiny hand in his own. “John, I think we need help… *I* need help.” John brought her hand to his lips, feeling a little more worried with each passing heartbeat that he was starting to think he could hear in his ears. “I shouldn’t have let him bite that pill."

~*~*~*~*~* The hit should have been so easy, in and out. Lord only knew the number of times he had undertaken one of these over the years, but only in hind sight was Eduardo Hernandez able to say that the target had thrown him off and he had to think fast on his feet. His gun was drawn, he was right on top of the target and yet the man in front of him was *not* the target, but he knew him very well. Winterthorne’s motto was not death before disloyalty for nothing. “Failure is not an option and yet here I am in front of one of the only two who failed me as a brother.”

Orpheus merely smirked up at him. It had been surprisingly easy to get into Salem. Under the very radar of the two men who destroyed his world all those years ago. With a well-placed bribe here and there to various people including the target of Hernandez’s rage upon his arrival, he replaced the other man and it was all it took. They started fighting in the back, Orpheus’s weight was enough to throw Ed’s aim off target, taking out the driver and knocking everyone else out. Orpheus soon had his arm across his enemy’s throat as he smirked, the emotion not reaching his eyes as he tilted his head. “Death before disloyalty… I wonder why you’ve never lived up to that yet. Lord only knows how you’ve managed to mess this up. But you won’t tell anyone. Because this will all fall on you.” He cocked the gun and fired ...

~*~*~*~* “I’m not feverish, I’m fine but I’m telling you that yes I think I need you to call in favors.” And that was exactly how John knew she was scared senseless. They had been at loggerheads over his involvement with the ISA over the past few weeks. Now she was willing for him to do this? Marlena batted her hands at him to get him to stop the conversation and moved to go put her laptop away as she heard the cell phone on John’s side go off. “I think that’s for you Sailor.” “Don’t think that this is over.” John muttered. “You can speak a language that I’ve never heard you speak in all these years. We are going to figure this out.” He hit select and went out of the room. Marlena turned back around as he shook his head with a smile. “That was Brady.” Their boy was always a sore spot within her man’s heart. So many mistakes and yet they were trying to rebuild their relationship. If not for Brady himself, but for the tiny infant who stole his grandfather’s heart. “And?” She came to him and smiled back at him. “What did the prodigal son of ours have to say JB?” “I’m going to be his best man.” Marlena burst out laughing at his reaction, thinking he was joking, but soon grew serious. “You do realize you’re going to have to stand beside him as he says his vows to her right? Can you do that for him?” John shrugged slightly. “If I want to see my son and his boy .. I may not like Theresa Donovan, but I can be fair. She has grown up around them. Our grandson is good for her.” “And you can put what she did in the past? Because I look at her and sometimes I think I can’t. We lost so much time because of her actions.” He smiled, cupping her face in his hands before he leaned in and kissed her slowly but very oh so very thoroughly. Studying her dazed expression, John grinned. “But we’re making up for that and more. I can move past. But I have not forgotten.” This time the phone that rang was hers and John turned her around with a laugh and a smack to her shapely ass as he pushed her forward. “Go answer that, I need to get changed, we’re going to TBD to their par..par..” “Engagement Party.” Marlena merrily replied to his groan of disgust and answered the phone. *~*~*~*~* Brady hugged his brother and stepped back. "You owe me." Eric grinned. "So I can chalk this up to jet lag. Time zones are a bitch." "Well we're glad to share our night with you cousin." Theresa smiled sweetly, surprising both men before flouncing off to find her friend Anne. Eric looked dazed and pointed at her. "Who is that again?" "Motherhood." Brady offered lamely. "Or the incredibly shiny ring on her hand." The boys burst out laughing until Brady noticed Eric wasn't looking right. "Are you alright?" He nodded. "Must have just been a bug I picked up on the flight." "Where's the lady you were bringing with you?" Eric rolled his eyes. "Who *didn't* Carrie tell?" "Our mother." Brady grinned cheerfully. Eric blinked and went behind the bar to get a bottle of water. "The redhead over there. Her name is Serena... Serena Mason."

#whispering winds #jarlena #jarlenaau #writing #fanfic

[claraxbarton]

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Continuing bribery for @crown-of-winterthorne

And, of course, feeding into my own love for 6x2, which she cursed/blessed me with.

#6x2 #midnight coward #two updates in two days!!! #what?!