I feel like branding from the bad things happen card is just begging for a fic about fenris's lyrium...
Oooo I agree!!!
Apparently I am torturing Fenris tonight for @dadrunkwriting and @badthingshappenbingo :P Anders is getting a break
The darkness enveloped Leto, pressing in on him from all sides as he struggled to make sense of his predicament. Just hours ago, he had emerged victorious in the grueling tournament, his skills with the blade earning him the admiration of the crowd and, he had assumed, the favor of his new master. Yet here he was, confined to a space so small that even the slightest movement felt like an impossibility.
As he strained against the confines of his prison, Leto's gaze fell upon the ominous glow of a sword, its ethereal light casting long, twisting shadows against the walls of his claustrophobic chamber. It was a stark reminder of the power that held him captive, a silent sentinel bearing witness to his torment.
Despite the fear gnawing at his insides, Leto forced himself to remain calm. Perhaps this was merely another test, he reasoned, a secondary trial imposed by his new master to assess his worthiness. After all, winning the tournament had been a triumph, an act that had assured the freedom of his mother and sister. If enduring this darkness was the price he had to pay, then so be it.
Without warning, the air around him erupted into searing agony. Unseen flames, fueled by dark magic, engulfed him in their merciless embrace. The glow of the sword intensified, casting eerie shadows that danced over his contorted features. It felt as though his very skin was being flayed from his bones, every nerve ending screaming in protest against the unbearable torment.
Through gritted teeth, Leto tried to stifle a cry of anguish, his mind reeling from the pain that threatened to overwhelm him. But no matter how hard he fought against it, the agony only intensified, becoming an all-encompassing inferno that threatened to consume him whole. In the midst of his suffering, memories surged unbidden to the surface of his mind—memories of his family, of his promise to protect them, and of the hopes he had harbored before his life had been irrevocably altered.
The sinister laughter of his master echoed through the darkness, a cruel taunt that pierced through Leto's pain-ridden haze. Leto's breath came in ragged gasps as he struggled against the tormenting flames and the suffocating darkness. His mind raced, trying to cling to the memories of his family, the promise he had made to protect them. But each memory was twisted by the agony that consumed him, turning them into taunting specters of a life that now seemed impossibly distant.
The sinister laughter of his master reverberated through the chamber, a chilling reminder of the cruelty that had brought him to this harrowing moment. It mocked his struggles, feeding on his despair like a predator reveling in the suffering of its prey.
Fenris jolted awake with a gasp, the remnants of the nightmare still clinging to his senses. His heart pounded against his chest, a stark contrast to the suffocating darkness and searing flames of his dream. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead as he struggled to orient himself in the dimly lit room. He raised a trembling hand to wipe away the sweat, the cool touch of his fingers grounding him in the present.
The nightmare's grip slowly loosened as Fenris's breathing steadied. The vivid imagery of confinement and agony began to fade like dissipating smoke, leaving behind a lingering unease. He shook off the remnants of the dream, focusing on the reassuring solidity of his surroundings—the soft bed beneath him, the faint glow of dawn filtering through the window. His mind wrestled with the vivid imagery, trying to make sense of the torment that felt so real yet belonged to another life, another self.
Fenris blinked, his mind still lingering in the remnants of the dream that had haunted him for nights now. The vivid details faded like mist in the morning sun, leaving only a vague sense of unease in their wake. He tried to shake off the lingering chill that clung to his skin, focusing instead on the reassuring solidity of his surroundings.
He was no longer Leto. Leto had died that day, a tormented soul trapped in darkness and fire.
He was Fenris now, Leto no longer existed - only remembered in dreams and nightmares. A fragments of a past he may never fully remember, of a slave, a person, he would never be again.
So…I would probably give this issue a 5-7; not AMAZING for a first issue…but not bad either.
It definitely HAS room to grow and become better…but there is a part of me that worries it gonna be like Tini Howard’s Excalibur…and more or less be kind of voiceless.
So as we saw in the Preview, Bishop is pushing the old X-students and Surge and CO AREN’T having IT. (We also IMMEDIATELY know why Hellion WASN’T included on this team 😂🤣)
Dani, Noriko’s old teacher, chews Bishop out and tells him essentially the problem ISN’T the kids…it’s him.
I actually REALLY like this take on Bishop- rarely do writers HAVE the adult X-Men be flawed after Utopia and I think J. Holtham does a really nice job essentially incorporating the flaw that has been following Bishop since his inception- Bishop is an intensely dedicated, “The ends justify the means” kind of guy. He doesn’t care about morality if it gets the job done, which we more or less SAW in Messiah Complex.
As Bishop is thinking this all over on a beach, Fernis subtly pops up with a ray gun and a evil plan after he leaves.
We also get a cute Aura/Cam scene…and Armor hanging out with Amass- both essentially saying that they should forgive Bishop…because…well…he has PTSD.
We also get Bishop asking Tempo for a favor to essentially try and win the kids back and later having a nightmare about his time in the mutant camps.
The next day Bishop basically does his “My bad…I just have really bad PTSD” explanation, and all is well as they journey to the center of the earth…or at least the center of Krakoa, to do another training exercise.
We see the exercise planned with “Wrongslide” and Tempo (Seeing zombie Santo just makes me damn SAD every time because Marvel essentially neutered a great character…just think how great OLD Rockslide would have been in this book!!), and unsurprisingly there’s little reaction from Surge because Marvel CAN’T allow that 😐.
Fernis shows up, hits everyone with a “Blightswill” ray except (I think!) Bishop and Tempo…who instead get sucked into some portal because Tempo’s having trouble with her powers. Bishop gets sucked essentially into a “what if Xavier accepted more POC mutants into his school” fantasy 😂🤣 (Bishop is apparently subconsciously railing against the classism of private schools!…which…so are we ALL, Bishop!)
The kids run off from Fernis, planning to get help…only to realize that they are all powerless. 🙁
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Thoughts:
Like I said earlier- I definitely THINK this book has potential!
Sure, the first issue was pretty “by the numbers” and “choppy”…but I definitely think there is room for improvement in future issues!
The thing that worries me…is much like Tini Howard’s Excalibur, there’s not anything really “grabbing” about this book. At times, the dialogue and characters feel a bit “flat” honestly.
That being said, part of the problem is I felt Holtham is trying to set up the plot FAST- you don’t really HAVE time for Bishop to chat in depth with Dani or Tempo (also why I HATE the information pages! because they TAKE UP character interaction time SO MUCH), let alone really get a sense of their relationships. No one feels connected in this book.
It is something that CAN easily be fixed…the question is whether the writer will or not; I would say Howard never fixed this problem and the team always felt like strangers with no connection what so ever as a result…which is why none of her books with Betsy REALLY have managed to catch on 😬.
Along those lines- I really DO hope he brings up Surge’s history from Messiah Complex and why Surge probably does not trust him completely (I doubt it knowing Marvel though, especially since they seemed to only skim over that history…)
I would also say, I do think this book could have used a “Hellion” or a “old Rockslide” kind of character to add some spice and humor… besides Surge and maybe Armor, there’s not really anyone who’ll push back against Bishop and the supporting cast all feels a little too “same-y”…Aura, Amass, and Cam just feel too nice. Too willing to go along with the flow. I just really think this book needed a better variety in personalities.
So far I have liked Holtham’s writing of Fernis- it really reminded me of Claremont’s writing of the characters, and I really enjoyed him bringing them back into the fold! I especially liked the homage to Storm being dispowered and fighting them in “Life/Death”!
One of TWO things is going to happen- the kids go to save him powerless and we get a kickass, “the kids are alright and can take care of themselves…” little moment OR the writer really hammers in that Bishop was RIGHT and the kids need more “training” 😐. We will see what we get….
ALSO Holtham…if you fix “Wrongslide” and bring back “old Santo” I will give you ALL the kudos in the world! 🙌🙌🙌
I’m currently playing Dragon Age 2 and for the first time I’m doing something I haven’t done in any other Bioware game: flirting with two NPCs at the same time. I just cannot make up my mind about Fernis or Anders. I like them both for different reasons but I see that romancing one or the other tells about your position in the templars vs mages conflict. I can’t see myself supporting the templars so I’m guessing if I romance Fernis when the moment comes he really won’t like that. On the other hand, I smell trouble as soon as I get any close to Anders... but I like him since Awakening.
Aaagghh! What to do?! I usually have a clear favorite and I go for it, but now I can’t (also, Sebastian looks very nice too👀😅)
This took me less than 10 days to read. It was a fairly simple concept and it was fun. However, I don’t think I’m the target audience anymore.
PLOT: Two sisters Scarlett and Rosie have lived in Ellison, Georgia all their lives. Ever since a Fernis (werewolf) attacked them as little kids Scarlett has to lived with permanent scars and an eyepatch to cover her missing eye; Rosie has to run their lonely home and make sure Scarlett stays sane. One day when their childhood friend Silas comes back from California things get really heated. A wounded Fernis tells them that on the full moon a new Potential shall be transformed in Atlanta. The group only has a couple months to find the potential, stop the transformation, and maybe; just maybe; discover their inner selves.
PROS: The author borrows heavily from the classic Little Red Riding Hood. From the sister’s grandma Oma March being of German descent, the girls wear red cloaks while hunting. they use axes and knives to destroy the Fernis, Silas comes from a longline of huntsmen that were trained to kill Fernis. However, the author does add a modern twist to the story to make it her own action packed adventure. I also love that it takes place in Georgia. Again, just like Vermont there aren’t too many stories that take place in this particular state. I want to think the author got Atlanta right in that behind all the glitz and glamor there s seedy underbelly the lurking with danger.
The characters themselves are pretty decent. Scarlett had to harden heart after the age of seven. She wears her scars proudly as a badge of honor. However just like most teenagers she is also self conscious of how she appears towards others. She’s cold to others unless it’s her sister or Silas and even then when Scarlett doesn’t get her way she shuts them out so she can calm down.
Rosie is the exact opposite of her sister. She’s bubbly and cheerful, she knows the world is cruel and yet she doesn’t want her tragic backstory to define herself. Rosie also want more in life than just hunting. While they’re in Atlanta she signs up for classes at an Atlanta local rec center. She feels like she’s betraying her sister but at the same she’s enjoying herself and realizes that maybe she doesn’t want just one life purpose.
Silas; while not a main character; does play a big enough role in the story. He’s kind but stern with Scarlett. He has to remind her that he has his own life to live and he’ll choose how to do so. He also was the one to influence Rosie in taking chances to do other things. The two form a relationship and no matter how I look at it, it would’ve been a lose-lose scenario. If they had told Scarlett she would’ve been mad. But they didn’t tell her, she found out on her own and she still got mad. So what else could they have done?
CONS: I have a minor problem with how the climax ending. Throughout the story there were some huge stakes. Stakes that could been life or death. And yet it felt like the author threw it all away because “the full moon phase ended ten minutes ago, so we just missed it! You don’t have to die tonight yaay!” When that happened it make me feel like all that momentum was for nothing.
Again, I don’t think I’m the target audience for this anymore. Maybe that’s why I was able to read this so quickly and be a bit more critical about it.
I enjoyed it well enough. I think it definitely makes for a great night of reading. It’s simple, crazy, and fairly exciting so I have to rate it a 6/10.
Hata es la "madre" de fenris, más que nada fue la encargada de criarlo gran parte de su vida hasta su adolescencia, Hata es la líder del clan licantropo o clan Fenrin, siendo la principal encargada de mantener el orden. Ella nacio como una humana normal pero cuando descubrió su habilidad de licantropia fue desterrada al bosque, causando que tuviera un gran rencor a la humanidad ya que incluso sus propios padres le dieron la espalda cuando descubrió su habilidad siendo tan solo una niña. Cuando nació fenris (siendo hijo de dos licantropos de sangre) y al descubrir que era un descendiente de fenrin decidió criarlo para convertirlo en el futuro alfa de la manada junto a ella, según sus propias palabras:"¡con mi astucia y la inmunerabilidad de fenris nuestro clan será imparable!", manteniendo una relación similar a la que zira y kovu(del rey León) y rapunzel y gothel(de enredados) tenían, que la razón de que Hata quisiera a fenris era por su poder, sin embargo si llego a sentir afecto por el, por lo que la haya abandonado por una humana le pego muy duro en su orgullo. Cuando fenris se fue de la manada Hata se dedica a buscarlo y "hacerlo entrar en razón" sobre la decisión de ser el nuevo alfa junto a ella, cuando se niega amenaza con lástimar a juliete y al resto de la familia aesir-jenkins, por lo que fenris tiene que acceder a luchar contra ella, cuando termina la pelea la primera en colapsar es Hata, debido a que se cansa más rápido que fenris, cuando colapsa fenris se va inmediatamente del lugar o lleva a Hata en las afueras de la ciudad. La habilidad de fenris no sólo consta en alterar su tamaño, sino que las armas, balas o ataques mágicos no lo atraviesan o dañan, debido a esto le dieron el apodo de "fenris el implacable" en su adolescencia, lo único que parece dañarlo son las mordidas de otros de su misma especie en la garganta o algún hechizo que lo debilite al punto de estar al borde del colapso.
Hata is the "mother" of Fenris, more than anything she was in charge of raising him for most of his life until his adolescence, Hata is the leader of the Lycanthropic clan or Fenrin clan, being the main one in charge of maintaining order. She was born as a normal human but when she discovered her lycanthropy ability she was banished to the forest, causing her to hold a great grudge against humanity as even her own parents turned their backs on her when she discovered her ability as just a child. When he was born fenris (being the son of two blood lycanthropes) and upon discovering that he was a descendant of fenrin, he decided to raise him to become the future alpha of the pack with her, in his own words: "with my cunning and the immunity of fenris our clan will be unstoppable! ", maintaining a relationship similar to the one that zira and kovu (from the lion king) and rapunzel and gothel (from tangled) had, that the reason that Hata wanted fenris was because of his power, however if I came to feel affection for him, so that he abandoned her for a human hit him very hard on his pride. When fenris left the herd Hata is dedicated to looking for him and "making him see reason" about the decision to be the new alpha with her, when he refuses he threatens to pity Juliete and the rest of the aesir-jenkins family, for what Fenris has to agree to fight her, when the fight ends the first to collapse is Hata, because she tires faster than Fenris, when she collapses Fenris immediately leaves the place or takes Hata to the outskirts of the city . The ability of fenris not only consists in altering his size, but weapons, bullets or magical attacks do not pierce or damage him, due to this he was given the nickname of "fenris the implacable" in his adolescence, the only thing that seems to damage him are the bites of others of the same species in the throat or some spell that weakens him to the point of being on the verge of collapse.
