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natexarnoult · 3 years

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hey all!! my name is mads and i’m 23, use she/her pronouns, and live in mst! i’m so excited for y’all to meet nathan - he’s a char i’ve had in mind for a while and i’m stoked to finally bring him to life! i’ve included some main points about him under the cut, along with his bio and a couple extras for him - please message me if you’d like to plot :D

Nathan comes from a single-mother household... at least, until he was in high school.

Nate knows who his father is and is trying to build a relationship w/ the man but is still hurt from his mother hiding his father’s identity & not hiding the truth.

He is very much a ‘trust-fund’ kid but is working hard to distant himself from his parents’ wealth and build a name that isn’t connected to his parents.

Nathan truly is a sweetheart but has a hard time expressing this to those he cares about - he grew up in a home that wasn’t welcoming to affection and is still trying to break this habit.

He’s been in Heartsdale for several years and I’m so open to creating some pre-existing connections with him! Friends, ex friends, exes, enemies - anything! Please just message me so we can chat :)

He graduated from UCLA with an art history degree but is more interested in actually making art than learning about it - he travels a lot as he likes to make his show room diverse and brings in pieces from all around the country.

Nathan lives above his gallery but spends most of his time outside of both his gallery and his apartment - it’s either a midlife crisis and he regrets his choices or he’s just trying to meet new friends, who knows?

His pinterest is here and is constantly being update; please follow me if you feel so inclined!

Annnnnd: bio here as well:

Nate’s parents met while his father was on a school trip. A senior studying art history at Harvard, he’d taken the trip as an excuse to ‘see the world’ - if that world meant England, sure. His mother was the manager at a museum they visited on the trip & his father found himself returning to her canvas filled institute daily. They spent hours talking, sharing their love of paintings and critiquing some of the pieces her museum had chosen to display. Neither of them wanted to admit that their time together would be coming to a close - his trip was only for 3 weeks over the winter holidays - but on his last day in the country, Nathan’s father left a note within her bedside drawer, his address and phone number scrawled sloppily across a spare receipt & he snuck out before the sun was up. Saying goodbye would be too hard.

He returned to the States. He graduated. He got a job. He went years without hearing from the woman he’d met. One day, when his father was leaving The Met - he’d become a director of programs - his eye landed on a woman who looked so familiar, her hand clutched by a child, no older than 10. That moment was Nate’s first memory of his dad.

He remembers sitting in his dad’s house, a wide and bright space that was 20 minutes from where they’d met on those huge steps. This man had given them a ride and was now setting tea in front of his mother, but Nate was playing with his dog. He remembers snippets of the conversation - his mom was apologizing a lot. Apparently she hadn’t wanted to see him. They were in the States to visit her sister, Nate’s aunt. He remembers that this man kept looking between his mom and him & he looked so confused. Finally, he remembers a silence falling over the room and the man asked a question. Nate couldn’t make it out but his mother’s response was clear, definite; “Yes. He’s yours.”

At the time, Nate had no idea what that meant. He hadn’t yet been given the talk and his mother didn’t explain her relationship to this man. She introduced him - Nathan couldn’t remember his name - and said that he was an old friend from college. But soon, he found himself with this man more often. His mother invited him to join them at his aunt’s birthday party. When they flew back home to England, his mother would often be stuck on the phone with her old friend from college. One day, a year or so after their New York trip, his mother was picking him up from school, nervously pressing her thumb nail into the steering wheel. She asked if he remembered her friend from college, the one they’d seen while in New York. Nate did. She asked if he’d like to take another trip to New York to see his aunt, to see her old friend from college & maybe stay longer this time - like maybe the whole summer holidays?

They stayed the whole summer and when fall came around and it was time for Nathan and his mother to return home, he was sad - he was going to miss his aunt, he was going to miss the excitement of living Stateside. The rest of his year was almost a blur - his school year went by relatively painlessly, though he had begun to feel the hurt of being one of the only brown kids in school - and eventually spring had returned. His mom, again, sat him down and began asking questions. Eventually, and now Nate was smart enough to see where this was going from the start, she asked Nate how he would feel about moving to the States, about living with his aunt for a while. The move itself was quick and before he knew it, Nate and his mother settled in the States. He spent his days at school and his afternoons in extracurriculars - his new school had an art program that Nate was excelling in. They spent nights hanging out with his aunt or his mom’s college friend and for the first time in his young life, Nate felt comfortable. His mom’s friend had begun taking him to the museums, explaining the complexities of the canvas hanging on the walls and asking for his opinion on the work.

When Nate was about halfway through his junior year of high school, his mother and her college friend were both in the car when he was picked up from school. It wasn’t entirely all that weird - he wasn’t dumb enough to think that they weren’t dating, but Nate did always wonder why his mother never broached the subject with him. It’s not like he was a little kid anymore, for fuck’s sake - if your kid is old enough to date, they’re old enough to know who you’re dating. Nate probably couldn’t tell you the rest of what happened that day. He remembered getting home and grabbing a snack, as he always does, and he remembered getting told to sit down by his mother, that she had something important to tell him.

Nate’s life split into the before and the now - before Stephen was his father & now. While typically a rather well-mannered teenager, Nate was furious. Sure, his mom didn’t have to disclose her love life if she didn’t want to, but to know that Stephen was his That they’d known since the start and never told him? He thought back to their first visit to New York, when they ran into Stephen on the steps of the Met - he remembered his mom was surprised, thrown off her guard, but never uncomfortable, never not wanting to be around this man.

He slammed the door on his way out of the house, hopping on his bike and riding off. That night was the first night he ever acted out - Nate made it to his friend’s place out in the suburbs and snuck in their basement window. The rest of his friends, along with a couple girls he knew from his English Lit class, were circled around a small table, upon which sat a small tray & a bong. Nate welcomed the small act of rebellion, in the face of such shocking news, & spent his night testing his limits.

His parents, as he now so affectionately referred to them as, soon regretted telling Nate at such a volatile age. He soon spent all his evenings with his friends, sneaking into the house after midnight (if he’s early) and going straight up to his room. They tried not to push it and Nate was torn between appreciating being left alone and pissed that no one cared how he felt. His mom had tried to address it a couple times but Nate always shut down, refusing to give her more than a two word response.

It went on like that for 2 years, silence, short answers, tension. At 18, Nathan found himself going off to college, moving across the country to attend UCLA. He lived off his parents money, figuring the least they could do after years of absconding from the truth. And he lived lavishly - drinks on him every time his friends went to the bars, new clothes, new shoes, everything he could want.

He graduated with minimal rule infractions, an MIP here, possession of controlled substance there. But his parents always paid for a lawyer, flew out for the week and handled everything for him. After college, Nathan bounced around for a year, spent a couple months in LA, three in New York, and another 6 or so in a van his parents had financed, driving around the US.

Six months on the road proved to be exhausting, however, and Nathan found himself back in one of his first stops at the start of his trip, Heartsdale. It wasn’t long before he signed a lease on an apartment downtown and spent his days as a barista at Legal Grounds. He didn’t necessarily need the job - his parents still financed his whole life - but it was nice to have something to meet people in town. After a while, however, being a barista became boring. Nate spent his time admiring the local work they had pinned for sale on their walls, admiring the fine line work and critiquing in the way he’d spent four year training to do. On a walk, he found himself fantasizing about owning his own gallery, having his space to curate an experience. Nate’s eyes caught on every single ‘For Lease’ sign downtown, pausing and forcing himself not to take a peek inside. It wasn’t reasonable, he told himself. Irrational, at best. He had no experience managing anything, no experience building something from nothing.

And yet… he couldn’t help. One brisk morning, the sun was bright against a For Lease sign, practically screaming the numbers at him. His fingers were typing the numbers into his phone before he even realized what he was doing. It was 4:23am, the downside of an opening shift at a coffee shop, and he wasn’t expecting anyone to pick up anyway. “Morning, uh,” he paused - was he really doing this? “My name is Nate Arnoult and I’m interested in the space you’ve got on 1st and..”

Moving in was quick, it only took 6 months before Nathan settled in the space above the retail spot. He spent his first night with his friends, drinking and dancing. His friends, just as ecstatic as he, commended him - Nate had been hemming & hawing about opening a gallery space for months and to finally have a space, a place to start… Nathan was on cloud nine. And it went better than he thought it did. The art scene extended out of his small town and he was able to show pieces from all over Georgia. He even flew out to other states, offered small artists a space in his show room. The rest, he supposed, is history. He’s been living a comfortable life and still maintains contact with his parents, despite their rocky past - not friendly, but not fatal either.

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thelionbyname · 3 years

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Together We Are One (Prequel part 11, Final)

(Hello everyone :) So sorry for the huge gap between posts, I just moved back to my home country, so there wasn’t a lot of time for me to write. I also knew this was going to be the final part in this story, and I didn’t want it to be over. But I may write another Hermitcraft fanfic soon. Because this is the final, it is quite a bit longer than usual, hope you don’t mind. Enjoy!)

As soon as Grian landed beside him, Mumbo pelted him with questions. “Are you okay? Who was that? What happened to him? I’m sorry I was no help, I couldn’t climb down the tree fast enough…”

“That’s all right Mumbo, I don’t blame you. I’m fine, a few scratches and bruises, but otherwise unharmed,” Grian assured him.

“Who is he, though? You must know him, or at least, he knows you, or he wouldn’t have attacked out of the blue like that.”

Grian shrugged and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. “I don’t know, Mumbo. He looked at me like he knew me, but I’ve never seen him before. If I had, I would remember.”

Mumbo nodded thoughtfully. They decided they should probably tell Xisuma what happened; perhaps he knew more. They found the other hermits still sitting on the side of the road, Tango, Xisuma and Keralis trying to convince False to start singing again.

“False can sing?” Grian asked, surprised. He momentarily forgot what he came to them for.

“Right, yeah! You and Mumbo haven’t heard it! She’s phenomenal!” Tango told him. His crimson eyes sparkled, but then he clenched his fist behind his back and his smile faded. It looked to Xisuma like he was punishing himself for something. He pushed the thought aside for now.

“Yeah, Falsie sang in Argentina, and she really is incredible.” X agreed.

“I need to hear this!” Mumbo said excitedly.

“You know what, guys? When this is all over, I’ll sing for everyone and get us into the new year.” False decided.

Everyone smiled triumphantly. They continued to chat about other things, until Grian remembered what he came to tell them.

“Wait, guys. There was something I was trying to tell you before, but I forgot. A man attacked me when Mumbo and I were over yonder. I don’t know him, but we figured he must know us to have any reason to attack me. I was wondering if you guys knew anything about that.” Grian said to all of them, but facing Xisuma. He figured that if anyone knew, Xisuma would. He knew everything regarding the hermits.

“What did this man look like, Grian?” Xisuma asked him.

“Um… quite a handsome man, olive skin, but bloodshot eyes. He had a long scar along his right cheek.” Everyone except Mumbo gasped at his description. “What?” Grian asked, confused. He glanced at Mumbo, who shrugged, feeling just as out of the loop as Grian.

Xisuma was the one who responded. “Remember that night in the other world, when Tango and Keralis were held hostage, Tango died, and you two had to capture a bunch of people?”

Mumbo and Grian nodded, starting to understand.

“The man that attacked us back then matched that exact description. Malus.”

They recognised the name from the recount the others had given them after the fight. Their eyes widened in surprise.

“I assume your fight led to him being thrown into the black hole? It would explain how he got in that world.” Xisuma guessed correctly.

Grian nodded.

“No point dwelling on it, there’s nothing we can do about it, and we shouldn’t mess with the past anyway.” Keralis said, looking at Grian, knowing the latter would beat himself up over bringing the dangerous man to the other world for many nights to come if wasn’t reassured. Keralis knew Grian would blame himself for Tango’s temporary death, once he connected the dots.

Grian smiled at Keralis gratefully, aware of what he was doing. Keralis smiled back.

At that moment, light returned to the road up ahead; the black hole had closed.

Everyone hurried back to the taxis, this time not fussing over who sat where, so Tango ended up next to False, with Xisuma in the passenger’s seat.

Xisuma motioned for the driver to continue, and looked via the rearview mirror at the two in the back. Tango was sitting very stiffly, arms on his lap, like he really didn’t want to come in contact with anything.

...Or anyone…

Before Xisuma could dwell on that realisation, Tango noticed him watching, and looked in his eyes through the mirror. Tango blushed slightly from the embarrassment of being watched, and looked away. Nobody talked for the rest of the trip.

At some point during the drive, Tango sensed the other hermit’s minds. He could only really feel their aura, not their thoughts, but if Cleo was paying attention, she would feel them nearby too. Though to be fair, they were probably still recovering from the black hole and watching the six of them get sucked through, so it was unlikely that she was paying attention.

Then, suddenly, Tango felt an overwhelming wave of emotion. Pain, sadness, loss. This grief came from someone else’s mind, and he immediately recognised the aura. It was Impulse.

“Stop! Stop the car!” Tango shouted. He needed to get to Impulse, now.

The startled taxi driver hit the brakes, and Tango jumped out. He couldn’t bear the pain that wasn’t even his own, it was too much to know what his best friend was going through.

He sprinted in the direction of all the presences, but there was still a long way to go. The reach on his telepathy was quite far, so he felt the hermits far before he was anywhere near them. Then Xisuma was next to him. Without a word, he super-speed-ran all the way to the Hermits, taking Tango with him.

They stopped behind a few trees that hadn’t been torn from the earth, a few meters from the hermits, and Xisuma let go of Tango. Tango immediately ran through the group gathered around a single person, curled up in a ball of dread, arms wrapped around his legs, trying to protect himself from pain that came only from within.

“Impulse!” Tango screamed as he pushed his way through the mass of people.

Impulse, the one on the ground, just shook his head and whimpered, rocking back and forth. He mumbled to himself, “That’s not Tango, he’s gone, he’s never coming back.” And he let out a scream.

But then comforting arms wrapped around him, and the same voice that had called his name whispered, “Impulse, it’s all right, it’s me, I’m okay.”

Something in Impulse’s heart mended, a hole sealed. Even though it went against everything he just saw, Impulse wanted to believe him. And he did.

There’s some strange connection that forms in friendships such as these, and when your best friend is nearby, you just know, even when every logical part of your brain says it’s not possible.

Impulse carefully raised his head, and looked directly into his favorite pair of blood-red eyes. And as the final cracks in his heart and soul mended, miraculously, Impulse smiled.

“Tango! You’re alive!” he yelled, and despite himself, giggled with relief. “Wh- how? I saw you die!”

“You didn’t see me die, you saw me vanish into the black hole,” Tango corrected him. “It wasn’t deadly. Long story short, it led to another world, we traveled back in time, and now we’re home!”

“We? Where are the others? Did they make it?” A new expression of worry clouded his chocolate eyes.

“Yes, they-” before Tango could finish his sentence, someone else jumped playfully on top of both of them, knocking both of them over, and embracing them.

“Zed!” Tango laughed, and hugged him back. Then he smiled again, to himself. I’m back with my family.

All the hermits gathered around them just stood, some confused, most just watching the trio’s heartwarming happiness. Xisuma had not yet emerged from the trees, trying to get everything together and prepare to see all the people he was closest to in the world, after all those years. He didn’t quite dare to believe it, and once he’d laid eyes on them all, he stood frozen. Xisuma had always been the sensible and logically thinking one in the group, their leader of sorts. But now he was just afraid of it all being a dream, and he was terrified of getting his hopes up.

He stood there, numb but scared, between the trees, and watched team ZIT wrestle and roll around playfully. But then Cleo, having sensed him telepathically, and noticing his hesitation, came towards him.

“Xisuma, it’s okay. It’s really us. I know how you feel,”-she gestured at her head- “obviously, but you don’t have to worry that it’s all a dream”. Xisuma didn’t move. “You’re making me do this,” she said, and in one movement, twisted his arm behind his back and forced him to the ground.

“Ow! What was that for?” Xisuma demanded, coming to his senses.

“Could you have dreamt that?” Cleo asked, releasing him.

“I suppose not…”

“Good. Come join us. Where are Grian and the rest? The ones who went with you?”

“They took the taxi. They should be here soon.”

“Taxi? From where- you know what, tell everyone the whole story later. I’m just glad you’re all alive”.

“Me too.”

They joined the people still huddled around the now again-hugging team ZIT, and once people saw Xisuma, he was embraced by at least ten different hermits.

Just then, two taxis appeared at the end of the street, and Grian and Mumbo tumbled right out. They jumped to their feet as False and Keralis stepped out a bit more gracefully, but all four of them sprinted over to their friends. Everybody was hugging everybody.

“Bubbles!!” Keralis yelled, peering over the many heads in search of the little fella. And he was tackled to the ground and embraced tightly by bdubs.”Bubbles!” Keralis said again, happily.

But then Grian caught sight of team ZIT, still lying on the ground in the middle of the crowd. “Group hug!!” he shouted, and flopped on top of them, Mumbo right behind him.

Impulse grinned. “Hey G! Welcome back!”

Then another body added itself to the pile of happiness. Scar threw his arms around Grian and giggled in a way only he could. Then Iskall threw himself on top of Mumbo. After that, the rest followed, one by one, until all twentyfour of them were one big pile of pure euphoria. Even Jellie perched on top.

They could have remained like that for hours, just soaking up each other’s warmth and friendship, but eventually Zedaph said, “Um, I know we’re all very happy, but perhaps Impulse and Tango would like to breathe. I wouldn’t mind some fresh air either, actually.”

Everyone laughed and started gently trying to disentangle themselves from the heap of limbs. Before they could all disengage, however, two more young women showed up and just stood watching them, confusion on their faces, but also an expression that said, ‘yeah, seems about right’.

“Uh… Hi! I thought this was a New Year’s party?” one of them asked in her Australian accent.

At this, someone deep within the pile somehow jumped up, throwing all the hermits off him. Grian attempted to flatten his now messy hair with one hand, while he waved at the girls with the other. “Pearl! Right! I forgot I invited you… years ago.”

“Ehm… I’ll ask later. Is it still okay that we’re here? Oh yeah, I hope you don’t mind, I brought a plus one. This is Gem.” Said Pearl, gesturing at the woman beside her.

In a voice a hundred times sweeter than candyfloss, Gem said, “Nice to meet you all. You must be Grian, judging by the chaos around you.” This was met with welcoming laughter from all around.

Pearl and Gem helped everyone out of the mess of bodies, and then everyone- some skipping, some running, some just walking- went back to the ballroom where, a few hours or a few years ago, depending on who you asked, everyone was dancing, not a care in the world. Grian flew through the open doors and looked around at the place he had always continued to call home, with every day that had passed in the other timeline.

As he flew around, Mumbo and Iskall jumped up to reach him and each grabbed hold of one of his legs, pulling him down. “Come back down to earth, Grian!” Mumbo joked.

“Yeah, get your head out of the clouds,” Iskall added, laughing his contagious Swedish laugh.

Grian allowed his friends to pull him down, and hugged them again. “I love you guys.”

A few minutes later, it was as if no time had passed. Everyone stood around the room in little groups, chatting, while the big clock on one wall ticked off the minutes until the new millennium began.

Team ZIT stood around the same high table as they had before everything happened. They were talking about all sorts of things, but not the one thing everyone was wondering about. They had decided that was a story best told when everyone was together and listening, so all six time travelers could talk about it together.

“Oh, by the way, did you know False speaks Spanish?” Tango asked his two best friends.

“What? No way!” Impulse said in disbelief.

“Of course she does. That sounds like something she’d secretly know.” Zed grinned.

Their conversation was interrupted when False came over to their table.

“Hey Tango, wanna dance like we did in Argentina?” she asked with a smile, not knowing how pained that made him feel.

But he didn’t want to disappoint her, so he said, “Can you give me a few minutes?”

She nodded and slipped back into the sea of people.

“Tango, are you okay?” Zedaph asked, watching the way his friend stared after her.

Impulse saw it too, and had also noticed the flicker of hurt in Tango’s crimson eyes when she asked him to dance.

“I don’t know what happened in Argentina, or how in the world you even got to Argentina, but something changed, Tango, and it’s hurting you. We don’t want to see you hurt.” Zedaph told him.

Tango tore his gaze away from where False had disappeared between the mass of bodies, and turned back to face him. “I- I think I’m in love with her, guys. But I don’t want to be, I don’t want to ruin our friendship, or make things awkward with the rest of the hermits.” Tango confessed.

Impulse nodded, he’d suspected something like that. Zedaph looked surprised but understanding, and asked, “Have you talked to her? Maybe if you just told her how you feel, you can get it off your chest. It might be awkward for a bit, but you’re both mature...ish, your friendship will survive.”

“I think Zed is right. Maybe you should just confess.” Impulse concurred.

Tango sighed. “I guess it’s worth a shot. I don’t want to live like this.” And with that, he trudged to the dancefloor, where False was waiting for him. But when he put his hand on her waist, his mental connection with her seemed to become more focused, and narrowed down from his general view of all hermits’ thoughts, to only her’s. He felt her every emotion with every fibre of his being, and while that may seem romantic, it had the opposite effect. He felt everything she felt towards him, which was pure friendship and platonic love. And as he felt that, all his romantic notions seemed to melt away. He valued their friendship more than anything, and didn’t believe in lost causes anyway. He knew how she felt, and now he felt that way too. And he was grateful for it.

They tango’d into the final five minutes before the clock struck twelve, and Tango happily led. They were already warm from the wild movements when Xisuma approached them. “Two things. One, Falsie, were you going to sing us into the New Year?” he asked.

Tango and False stopped dancing to face him. “Yes, I’ll head to the stage.” False confirmed.

“Hold on. The second thing was that I was just talking to Stress, who was watching you dance, along with the rest of the hermits, I might add, and she mentioned the year the tango was invented.” He paused, looking at them meaningfully. “1880.”

False and Tango glanced at each other. “That was the year we went to in the time machine.” Tango said, realising. “Do you think we-?”

“I think we did!” False said, laughing.

Xisuma smiled. “Now you can sing, Falsie.”

And sing she did. Even more beautifully than in Argentina, over a century ago. She sang them all the way into the New Year, and everything was as it should be. As Xisuma watched Tango watching False, he saw no sign of his strange behaviour from earlier. He smiled to himself. Whatever had been going on with Tango, he was alright now. And the two of them, along with the rest of their family, shouted, “Happy New Year!”

THE END

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imagineclaireandjamie · 4 years

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Shielded. Chapter One

ANON: Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. [John Wayne]

Since the beginning of lockdown here in the UK, I’ve been making little notes here and there and I’ve finally put something together that is hopefully interesting. It’s set from the start of our isolation back on Friday 20th March and will work its way forwards in time <3 enjoy! Mod MBD.

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The Daily Briefing:

She left under the cover of darkness, the atmospheric sheet rain appearing out of nowhere to conceal her as she hid the doorway of a boarded up shop. The ‘closed’ signs that littered the windows of each and every shop on the highstreet illuminated as the lights flickered on, the daylight fading as night enveloped the south of England. It should have been a regular Friday evening, but it wasn’t. And despite the shock of the rest of the nation, she was more than happy for the lockdown to take immediate effect.

A couple of the pubs were still open, the last of their punters being ushered out by groups of policemen and women as the 9pm curfew approached, and though there was still some footfall through the small village, it wasn’t enough to worry her greatly.

She remembered reading YA fiction that started in a similar way and the idea that the whole population might be reduced to some dystopian teen nightmare seemed more than plausible. But at least she’d be far away from society by the time it did. Wondering whether Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth were somewhere together, raising a glass to their literary insight into such things, she pulled her jacket tighter around her neck to stop the droplets of water running down her chest.

The honk of a horn brought her out of her thoughts as she grabbed her meagre belongings and hid her face from the rain. Getting herself settled in the back of the blacked out van, there was a part of her that scoffed at the idea of danger lurking within as the plain-clothed officers escorting her smiled softly, passing her a towel to wipe the stray drips of moisture from her face. As a child she had, of course, been warned about strangers in vehicles. Now though there were more monsters lurking in her own home than there were anywhere else in the country.

“You might want to get some sleep, if you can, miss.” One of the younger officers said, breaking the silence even with his moderately quiet statement. “It’s a long drive, we’re aiming for eight hours if we can, but it will all depend on the roads.”

Nodding, she pulled a woolen blanket from one of her bags, removed her coat and curled herself against the window. Though she thought sleep impossible, she did manage to doze a little as the car made its way towards the motorway. Her mind went blank as they sped up, she’d spent weeks agonising over this choice, the solid notion of it taking root in her subconscious as the country seemed to spin towards chaos and confusion.

The virus, however, had not been her primary concern. Only her mental and physical survival had taken precedent. It was the prime minister's announcement yesterday that schools and pubs would close the following week that spurred her onwards, and she’d (rather rapidly) responded to the offer she had been levelled with.

If she wanted to disappear, now was her chance.

“John wants you to know that he’s processed the documents you’re going to need and included a shielding letter with that. This should take you until the end of June as well as the furlough payments. He also says you did the right thing.”

Making incomplete thumps against her chest, her heart stopped for a moment as the police officer spoke. She’d been warring with herself for weeks, uncertain of the best course of action. She had, of course, lived with the increasing threat for years before it had finally erupted. John had seen the outcome and had begged her to reconsider his previous offer of assistance having watched her descend into a less than perfect relationship. But she had been convinced that she’d be able to manage.

She hadn’t. An obvious change had taken hold of her husband. He wasn’t the man she married, not by a long shot, and as 2019 came to a close, so did any of his positive attributes. He was a professor, a professional man with many books to his name and he refused to believe his actions had become that of a less than ideal partner.

The first stay in hospital, however, stated otherwise.

“Will I be able to speak to him?”

The officer shook his head sadly. “No, if this is to work, you have to sever all contact with anyone you previously knew, even John. Anything that puts you at risk or could enlighten the wrong people into knowing your whereabouts would jeopardize all of the work we’ve all put in to assure your safety.”

Having had the mood suitably dulled, she lay her head against the window and let several hundred miles pass her by.

As they crossed the border around midnight, the rain finally began to ease and she smiled at the irony. She hadn’t spent much time in Scotland, but she knew it wasn’t famous for its notoriously glorious weather. Part of her was desperate for some coffee but the further they travelled up the country, the less likely it was that the service stations were 24 hours - nor did she think her drivers would be willing to stop until they’d reached their destination.

Once off the motorway and onto the single track roads that led them further into the highlands, she started to guess at where their final destination might be. When the proposition had first been offered to her, John had given her a number of options of a safe haven - one being a flight away (by that point he had started to take her safety quite seriously). As the grey scenery passed them by, a slight pinking of the sky signalling that dawn was close, she was trying to recall the names of the places he’d suggested though her mind was as much of a blur as the greenery whooshing by the back window.

“I don’t suppose you have anything caffeinated to drink?” She asked.

Reaching forward, she took the unopened bottle of coke from one of her escorts and relaxed back into her seat.

“Not far away now. There aren't any toilets, though.”

Fatigue was running deep, she could tell by the tiredness in his voice as he spoke and she nodded as she took a sip. The warning was clear; drink it all quickly and there would be no stopping for a break. But she was too thirsty to worry too much.

“Can I ask where we’re going?”

“Just north-west of Inverness. It’s a farm so it’s as remote as they come. It’s single occupancy, the guy who lives there runs his family business. He’s an old contact of John’s, so although there is to be no contact between you, he trusts you’re in safe hands. All shopping is pre organised and will be delivered once every two weeks to ensure neither of you are put at risk leaving the property for supplies.”

“Should I leave the house at all?” At this point she couldn’t tell whether she was being sarcastic or not but there was an honesty to her question that made the officers answer her quickly.

“No. You have your letter, not that there is anyone around to ask for it, but for the next 12 weeks you should remain inside at all times. No matter how far we take you away from civilization there is always the risk - even during a national pandemic and lockdown - of someone being around, seeing you and passing it on. Where we’re taking you, the owner hasn’t had another friend or family on the property for a number of years. Small communities talk so you should stay inside and out of the view of any members of the local village.”

“Noted.” Replying sadly, she replaced the cap on the half finished bottle of cola and ran her fingers along the inside of her leg. The scar there was still fresh, the heat of it making the hairs on her arms stand on end. She knew that if she wanted this to work, if she wanted to remain hidden, then she would have to obey the rules set.

They drove through Inverness just as 5am hit and the sun rose across the extensive lochs and mountains.

“It might seem far-fetched, the idea that you’ll be located, but we can’t take the risk. We did look through your file, though, and found a name we hope has some resonance to you.” *but nobody else* he thought, but did not say.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. Please pass that on to John, I didn’t even get the chance to tell him how grateful I am. For everything.” Her intrigue had been piqued about her new identity but once she knew who she was going to be for the next few weeks, it would all become real. Whilst they still hadn’t arrived, she could sit and pretend to be existing in an in between - half way between fantasy and reality.

As they pulled off one side-road and onto another her driver passed her an envelope. She could see a small smile lift the side of his mouth as an archway came into view in front of them. “Of course I will, Claire.”

“Claire?”

“Yes,” he returned, bringing his arm up and pointing his finger at the brown packet in her hands, “it’s all in there...the rest of it. Read it, keep the ID documentation and then burn anything you don’t need to use later.”

“Claire.” She whispered to herself.

And in one breath, as a rather large white brick farm house appeared beneath the now large ivy coated arch, Elizabeth Randall died and she instantly became Claire Beauchamp.

#anonymous #ask #;mod mbd #shielded #featuring: john grey #jamie x claire #ficlet #isolation creation

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lesbianecrivain · 3 years

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Retourne-toi!

Summary: Denise decides to travel, hoping to take her mind off everything, only to end up doing more work as she makes the mistake of admiring a castle that has remained hidden from humanity for years.

AO3 link HERE!

(I’ll be posting all of the chapters on AO3. If you liked this, check that out more often because updates would be there. This is not too related with the game. F/F pairing)

Warning for a little bit of violence when OC remembers her childhood. Also, should I continue this? Reviews and kudos are highly appreciated!! 💕

Now, let us simp for the tall vampire~

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Chapter 1: Wandering Traveller

The wars never stopped. Up until today, humans still fight amongst themselves for silly reasons instead of working together to be united. Anyone would want to take a break from all these wars. Especially someone who had done everything they could to, at least, lessen or slow the effects of these unending wars. So, that is what Denise Rodriguez is going to do. She took a break from everything, flew back to her country hoping to feel snow again. She really loves the snow despite having low tolerance for cold. If lucky, there might be children on the street who would be willing to play snowball fight with her. A smile broke the straight line on her lips at the thought, heart warming at the images of children smiling as they throw the snowballs at each other. She couldn't wait to reach their destination, she made sure that the place is snowing this time of the year. Having been born from the tropical side of the planet, snow can quite be something desirable for someone like Denise. Something spectacular and worthy of attention and praises.

Here Denise was, sitting by the window seat and staring at the bright cloudy yet calm view outside, a small smile playing on her lips as the plane continued heading towards its destination. Only a few more hours until they reach Europe. Her heart bloomed at the thought of returning to a land that it acknowledged as home more than her land of origin.

When Denise opened her eyes, the sun was not shining anymore. A grin crept up to her face. The person beside Denise stared at her weirdly before going off with their own life. Denise couldn't care less though, she is finally back and she would never allow a mere stranger to ruin her vacation here. She will be staying here for some time, taking the opportunity to stay here for as long as she'd like to. Perks of dual citizenship. She badly needs a break from handling a lot of environmental issues and having to provide for hundreds of students, she almost forgot about her corporation. Yes, when she says she needs a break, she needs a damn break. From everything, especially her other country that has been a shit show ever since she became aware—this having started when she reached twelve years of age, and she is in her early 30's now. It has been a long time yet within the years she lived in her country, not even a single road in her street has been fixed.

"Alright," She muttered, bracing herself while her hand gripped her baggage tightly. "Romania, here I come!"

Denise went straight to her house and after organizing the stuff she brought, she glanced at her phone. There laid on her bright screen, 19:34 in black as her eyes wandered to the other time zones as well. The way to her house was splendid, she can't help but to marvel at the various infrastructures that passed as she rode the taxi despite seeing them for the nth time. She has observed how great the difference is between this foreign land and her own, and then she was again further disappointed with her own land. Enough of that, she is here to free herself of worry, Denise reminds herself, eyes quickly ridding of all the gloom and anger as they caught sight of the marble structure that she has been longing for ever since she departed from this land two years ago. She has always been a regular here the moment she found out about this place, around seven years ago. They just served the best pizzas Denise has ever known to exist, though that could change when she further travels across Europe in the future.

"Miss Rodriguez!"

Denise smiled at the chipper servant and greeted them back just as gleeful. She is glad to know that they are the same servant from two years ago. Even the other staff smiled at their guest, knowing how prominent she is in this place, seeing that she is a regular customer here and actually treated them properly than how other customers would, disregarding them as if they were lower than them.

"Denise!"

Her head turned toward the all-too-familiar light voice, almost squeaking, as soon as their eyes caught sight of Denise. A wide grin set itself comfortably on her lips, turning around to open her arms, preparing to envelop whoever had greeted her.

"Sophie!" Denise was too slow to react as the other woman practically threw herself in her arms. "Looks like someone had missed me," she chuckled, patting Sophie on her small back.

"You damn bet I do," Sophie pulled away but the smile on her lips was relentless. "I told them all to prepare your favorites as soon as you informed me that you will be coming here, and it seems like I am not the only one who missed you,"

Confusion was briefly on Denise's face then her eyes darted behind Sophie. There she saw people carrying a tray, enough to feed all the people inside, with smiles plastered on their faces. Denise knew herself that she couldn't finish it all by herself. Sophie seemed to close the restaurant earlier because the only people here are the staff, herself, and Denise, their guest. Warmth spread through the small woman like a drop of milk spreading lightness to a black coffee.

"Y'all," Denise shook her head in disbelief. "C'mere, let's eat. I cannot finish these all by myself!"

The place was filled with laughter, the faint glow of gold surrounding the place and adding to the calming and light atmosphere. They all took a seat on the long table with Denise on the head and Sophie on her side while the staff sat along by them. They all looked genuinely happy, as if this was the only time they could take a break from all the stress the day has brought upon. The wide grins, sounds of soft laughter filling the room, and the gleam in each of their eyes were enough to take Denise's worries away, even for the briefest moment.

"Y'all didn't have to do this," She told them, shaking her head.

"But we wanted to!" chorused most of the staff while some just kept smiling at her. Sophie then raised a brow in her direction. "Save your irrational guilt, sunshine," she told the small woman who seemed to be rethinking her decision of informing her of her coming. "We missed you and here is our way of showing you. So, shut up and eat, young lady, we've got so much to catch up on."

"Alright, Soph," Denise sighed in defeat yet the grin never left her face. "Y'all dig in too! I'm tipping all of you extra because y'all look extremely happy right now," and that warms my heart, Denise wanted to add but didn't want to sound cheesy or seem like a softie as she wasn't either of those.

Sophie hummed her disagreement. "Ugh ugh, this one's on the house! You keep eat—"

"No." interrupted Denise with a frown. "The least I can do is to pay and leave a huge amount of tip for you all individually, and no Sophie, this is not up for a debate."

Denise was determined and Sophie knew that there is no way she can convince the raven-haired woman when she is determined. She shook her head and released a sigh. "Fine, you are lucky you're handsome."

Denise was thankful for her brown complexion that a blush didn't appear on her cheeks at the sudden compliment. She wouldn't want to be blushing in front of anyone. She coughed, "So, how's everything with you?" She said, clearly dismissing the compliment and hoping that her friend wouldn't push it.

"Eh, nothing eventful while you were gone. Same old same.." Sophie shrugged, mind wandering to the events in her life in the past two years that Denise was gone. "How about you, busy bee? I've seen you on some article while I was surfing the net last night.." She grinned then teased the smaller woman, nudging her softly with her elbow, "You're really doing something big out there! Planning to contribute positively to the world along with a bunch of other stuff!"

At this, Denise's hand crept to the back of her head where her palm was able to feel her shaved head, all while she huffed as she smiled. Maybe it was the time where she joined in one of the protests against the passing of a ridiculous nonsensical bill. "I'm not doing 'something big', you silly," She rolled her eyes at the exaggeration. She doesn't want anyone thinking that what she is doing is grand, especially with all her wealth. "I'm just doing my responsibility as an inhabitant of this world.." She shrugged, and in her defense, she really was although Sophie has told her a lot of times that she is being a hero by doing so. But, Denise had quickly countered that what she does is not a heroic act but her moral obligation as a human. It would be natural to want to help in any way you can, at least that is how Denise thinks, which further amazes Sophie.

"Well, whatever you say," Sophie took a sip from her glass. "How long do you plan to stay? And tell me all the places you'd go to!! Maybe I can tag along if you want to or if I've got the time..."

"I think I'm gonna stay for a while and go to the old times.." Denise explained when confusion crossed Sophie's expression. "I plan on visiting this ancient village. I heard that the sceneries there are spectacular.. I'm going for this old-y vibes for my book that I'm currently writing.. and I plan to take pictures as well." Then she showed Sophie her phone which displayed the village she is referring to. The other woman nodded approvingly at her choice as she kept scrolling through the pictures.

"Well, what exactly are you looking for?"

Denise shrugged as she put her phone back to her pocket. "Nothing really specific.. If I go there and feel it, I would immediately take a picture. I hope to find an abandoned infrastructure or if I'm lucky enough, maybe a castle?"

Sophie grinned at her. "Look at you being all things at once," elbow nudged Denise again, urging her to shake her head. "I really wonder how the hell you're able to do all your responsibilities at once!"

Denise rolled her eyes. "That is why I'm taking a break, silly."

A chuckle bubbled its way out of her throat. Laughter filled the room along with the small conversations among the staff and themselves. Having this unfold in front of her prompted another smile on Denise's lips as one word screamed loud in her mind;

Home.

—————

Denise would have already started her travel, or adventure as she likes to call it, the day after she met with Sophie; however, works keep holding her back and as a result, she has been occupied by them for a whole week, unable to do anything exciting and relaxing other than to play her musical instruments or catch up on series. Why couldn't she just bring her stuff along with her so she could work when she reaches wherever she wants to go? Denise isn't certain if the area she plans to go to has internet or even supply of electricity. Either way, she finally has finished all her follow-up tasks, releasing a sigh—whether it be from relief, exhaustion, or both—as her palm pushed down the screen of her laptop.

"Fucking finally," She sighs again, leaning back on her office chair. She rubs her eyes before closing them. The silence in her home provided a calming effect after her long day of work. Imagine coming here to relax only to be haunted by those damned works. The city was calm. The loud sirens fading from a distance, honking of the car horns, and sometimes a loud chatter would bloom from a small crowd, created a soft cadence lulling Denise to sleep on her position that she would surely regret next morning. But, whatever worry she may have for tomorrow was left unthought of as the night progressed with much ease she hasn't had for quite a while.

The same calm she has been seeking for.

The following morning, the dull ache on her back was quicker than her eyes to open and be aware of their surroundings. "Dammit," grumbled Denise with her voice hoarse. She slowly stood up, still groggy from waking from such a deep slumber that she hasn't had for a while. Her hand immediately reached to rub her back, seeking for relief albeit brief, before she proceeded to go to the bathroom to clean herself. After doing her morning routine—cleaning herself, exercising then eating breakfast, Denise started prepping for her long journey. She had informed Sophie that she will be gone for quite a while and that her brunette friend may occupy her house during her leave, to which the restaurant owner quickly agreed to—saving both of them time and money.

Denise felt like a scout because of all the things she is going to bring with her. She nearly brought her house with her. Better ready than not, she thinks to herself as she packed her razor that she uses to keep her head shaved. Along with that are the various tools she deemed necessary (she brought her toolbox), and some weapons that are easy to hide and bring, for precaution. She also packed a lot of foods and clothings, and of course, money. After packing all of those stuff, she went to put her portable generator on the back of her van, just in case.

When she is satisfied with everything, Denise ceased her movements before sitting on her couch, a sigh escaping past her lips before she could even think of it. She took a deep breath and then closed her eyes, letting the silence envelop her in its tranquilizing arms. The comfort se found in silence started reminding her a moment from her childhood. Something she didn't want to remember. It was midnight back then and she jolted up from her bed because of the tingling sensation in her abdomen. Realizing this, she stood up and went downstairs, only to halt on her way as she heard a whimper below— on the living room where her parents sleep. The lights were off but the soft glow emanating from the television was enough to show her father strangling her mother. At that very moment, Denise completely forgot about her bladder's needs and went straight back to the bedroom she shared with her siblings as silent as she could. The confusion, fear, anger, disappointment, and sadness that she felt that night were too overwhelming. Since then, she promised to herself that she would never marry or have children if she would only act like her father.

"I am so ready!!" Denise practically bounced as she moved, hopping like a bunny on a meadow, as she stepped into her huge van. She decided to bring some of her musical instruments and some of her books to have something to keep herself entertained. Sophie stood by her doorway, waving and smiling at her as she drove away and into the unknown.

Denise had promised that she would take a lot of pictures so that when she shows them to her, Sophie would feel as if she were with her all along her journey. She hasn't reached her destination yet, however, the tall trees she kept passing by as she was hours into her drive were always able to amaze and put a smile on her face. Nature has always been enough to make all her worries drift away, one of the reasons why she does all her best to take care of it. She is a devoted environmentalist, writing articles about the issues regarding nature in her free time while also using her resources for further development of restoration of deforested lands. It may seem like a big work, just like what Sophie insists because it truly is, but for Denise herself it isn't. She loves what she is doing, she wouldn't feel the exhaustion if she weren't mortal. Unfortunately, she must take breaks every now and then for her to be able to continue doing her passion.

After two days of driving and taking breaks to get some sleep, Denise finally arrived at the said village. She immediately felt the atmosphere she needs for the inspiration of both her book and its cover. The village itself wasn't grand, quite the opposite. The way of living here seemed to be simple almost as if the people here are still living in the olden days, and she thought it is possible that they still are. She parked her van near the entrance of the village. The village was small so she didn't bother bringing her van inside, for it would be easier to leave it outside of the village. She greeted the people who met her eyes with a small smile, hoping that they are not hostile to tourists. Thankfully, she felt welcomed enough although some just glanced at her and didn't really pay her any attention but at least no one scowled at her. She doesn't plan on staying here for too long. In fact, after she bought some supplies and asked for the elder for permission to take pictures and after taking pictures, she was already bidding her goodbye and gratitude to the elder before she hopped back to her van.

Something in the north caught her eye as she scrolled through the pictures she's taken, which pulled her gaze away from her camera. The sun was still up, there's still time for her to travel further and find a place to park her van safely— she doesn't need to spend night in a hotel or motel since her van is big enough to host, but she still needs a place to stay for her security. Denise carefully placed her camera back to its place, securing it, then proceeded to drive further up north. What caught her eyes is the enormous structure that seems like a mountain covered in snow on top, a perfect scenery to add to her choices. But as she neared the said mountain, another caught her sight. This time, she also completely forgot what it is that she went for as she was utterly amazed by the sight in front of her eyes.

Her mind couldn't think of anything except;

Perfection.

A castle. It hadn't been in the map nor did the elder of the village informed her of this. It wasn't even on Google when she searched for this area. She thought that maybe this beauty was meant to remain hidden from the outside world. The reason behind for this possibility? She couldn't care. All she could give a damn about is that she finally found what she is hoping to see. So, she did what any people would do. She took her bag and her camera before stepping out of her van—making sure to bring the keys with her, after she parked it in front of the gates.

"Woah," Denise couldn't help but gape at the infrastructure.

Jackpot, she internally celebrates.

The structure seemed to be a mixture of both Gothic and Romanesque style, with its round walls yet pointed arches and stained glasses. Overall, the castle was impressive. Its walls were enough to tell about its age, which to Denise's opinion, this castle might have been built around 18th century. She went to the gate, searching for any doorbell or anything that would notify the inhabitants of the castle—if there were—of its visitors, only to find none. But, luckily, she found out that the gate is left unlocked. Maybe, the castle is abandoned? Denise thinks then smiles as she proceeds further outside the castle grounds. The gate squeaked as Denise pushed it slightly just enough for her figure to fit perfectly.

Denise walked around as if she were strolling around the zoo for the first time, gaping at the size and the details of the castle. The castle emanated a vibe she can't quite put her finger on. She wasn't sure what it was but she felt calm and relaxed. This is perfect for my book, she thinks as she turned around once more to gape at the place. She felt like a person entering an aquarium for the first time, amazed by all the aquatic creatures.

When she was in the middle of the property, not inside the castle yet since the outside was a wide space that would have been green if it weren't winter, Denise finally pulled her camera to her chest. Hesitation kept holding her back. She doesn't want to take pictures without the owner's or at least the caretaker's permission, but whom would she ask if there seemed to be no one to ask for permission? Denise felt as if she just invaded the property despite not going fully inside the castle. She felt horrible, knowing that she must desert the place because she doesn't have the permission to be here, yet the curiosity and wonder in her became stronger than the guilt she felt creeping in her earlier. And soon enough, the latter completely overthrew any hesitation she had.

"Just one picture," Denise promised to no one in particular, trying to drown the voice in her head that screams at her to just walk away. "Let me take just one picture of this masterpiece, then I will leave." Her eyes closed in concentration as she did her best to drown any guilt creeping in her. Obviously, she didn't listen to the rational part of herself as she went to crouch and angled her camera where it covers mostly the upper part of the castle together with the plain sky and the snow falling.

It was perfect, the shot she took was splendid. Denise smiled to herself as she dusted herself off while getting up. A smile graced her face before she could even process it. She took another look at the single picture she took, after all she promised that she would only take one picture then she will go away, and that is what she is about to do if it weren't for the picture she took. The curve on her lips was immediately set straight.

Something caught her eyes the longer she stared at the picture. There. In one of the castle windows, there stood something—someone, she wasn't sure which, but it seemed to be a figure dressed in white and smiling down at her? Denise shook her head, closed her eyes then took a deep breath before looking at the picture again, squinting her eyes at it. It was still there, the...she wasn't sure what name to put to it... The creature? Either way, it doesn't seem like this castle is abandoned at all. She took one last glance at the part of the castle where she also caught the figure. There was no one there. Not the dress, not the smile, not the figure, nothing. Only darkness. Weird. Maybe it had been one of her imaginations? But she looked at the picture and the same figure was smiling at her. It couldn't be her mind's doings. Maybe the castle wasn't abandoned at all, and maybe she could ask for permission? All while Denise thinks what she could do to be more polite to whoever is living inside the wondrous castle, standing dumbly in the middle of nowhere, another thought occurred to her. This one she didn't like;

What if they're not human?

#lady dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu x original character #lesbians #useless lesbians #lady dimitrescu is a little soft here #slow burn #original character #resident evil village #my writing #gay #aint we all gay for Lady Dimitrescu

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Monday, September 20, 2021

Biden’s Entire Presidential Agenda Rests on Expansive Spending Bill (NYT) Biden’s entire presidential agenda is riding on the reconciliation bill being crafted in Congress right now. No president has ever packed as much of his agenda, domestic and foreign, into a single piece of legislation as President Biden has with the $3.5 trillion spending plan that Democrats are trying to wrangle through Congress over the next six weeks,” Tankersley writes. “It is almost as if President Franklin D. Roosevelt had stuffed his entire New Deal into one piece of legislation, or if President Lyndon B. Johnson had done the same with his Great Society, instead of pushing through individual components over several years. If he succeeds, Biden’s far-reaching attempt could result in a presidency-defining victory that delivers on a decades-long campaign by Democrats to expand the federal government to combat social problems and spread the gains of a growing economy to workers. If he fails, he could end up with nothing. As Democrats are increasingly seeing, the sheer weight of Mr. Biden’s progressive push could cause it to collapse, leaving the party empty-handed, with the president’s top priorities going unfulfilled. … If Mr. Biden’s party cannot find consensus on those issues and the bill dies, the president will have little immediate recourse to advance almost any of those priorities.

Child care in the US is a ‘broken market,’ Treasury report finds (Yahoo Money) A Treasury Department report this week characterized the U.S. child care system as “unworkable” as Democrats push reform that experts say is an “overdue and critical investment.” The average American family with at least one child under age 5 uses 13% of their income to pay for child care, according to the report, nearly double the 7% that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers affordable. Additionally, less than 20% of the children eligible for the Child Care and Development Fund—a federal assistance program for low-income families—are getting that funding. “Child care is a textbook example of a broken market, and one reason is that when you pay for it, the price does not account for all the positive things it confers on our society,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement on Wednesday. “When we underinvest in child care, we forgo that; we give up a happier, healthier, more prosperous labor force in the future.”

Inspiration4 Astronauts Beam After Return From 3-Day Journey to Orbit (NYT) After three days in orbit, a physician assistant, a community college professor, a data engineer and the billionaire who financed their trip arrived back on Earth, heralding a new era of space travel with a dramatic and successful Saturday evening landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission, which is known as Inspiration4, splashed down off the Florida coast at 7:06 p.m. on Saturday. Each step of the return unfolded on schedule, without problems. Within an hour, all four crew members walked out of the spacecraft, one at a time, each beaming with excitement as recovery crews assisted them.

Haitians on Texas border undeterred by US plan to expel them (AP) Haitian migrants seeking to escape poverty, hunger and a feeling of hopelessness in their home country said they will not be deterred by U.S. plans to speedily send them back, as thousands of people remained encamped on the Texas border Saturday after crossing from Mexico. Scores of people waded back and forth across the Rio Grande on Saturday afternoon, re-entering Mexico to purchase water, food and diapers in Ciudad Acuña before returning to the Texas encampment under and near a bridge in the border city of Del Rio. Junior Jean, a 32-year-old man from Haiti, watched as people cautiously carried cases of water or bags of food through the knee-high river water. Jean said he lived on the streets in Chile the past four years, resigned to searching for food in garbage cans. “We are all looking for a better life,” he said.

Three Weeks After Hurricane Ida, Parts of Southeast Louisiana Are Still Dark (NYT) For Tiffany Brown, the drive home from New Orleans begins as usual: She can see the lights on in the city’s central business district and people gathering in bars and restaurants. But as she drives west along Interstate 10, signs of Hurricane Ida’s destruction emerge. Trees with missing limbs fill the swamp on either side of the highway. With each passing mile, more blue tarps appear on rooftops, and more electric poles lay fallen by the road, some snapped in half. By the time Ms. Brown gets to her exit in Destrehan 30 minutes later, the lights illuminating the highway have disappeared, and another night of total darkness has fallen on her suburban subdivision. For Ms. Brown, who works as an office manager at a pediatric clinic, life at work can feel nearly normal. But at home, with no electricity, it is anything but. “I keep hoping every day that I’m going to go home and it’ll be on,” she said. Three weeks have passed since Hurricane Ida knocked down electric wires, poles and transmission towers serving more than one million people in southeast Louisiana. In New Orleans, power was almost entirely restored by Sept. 10, and businesses and schools have reopened. But outside the city, more than 100,000 customers were without lights through Sept. 13. As of Friday evening there were still about 38,000 customers without power, and many people remained displaced from damaged homes.

Favela centennial shows Brazil communities’ endurance (AP) Dozens of children lined up at a community center in Sao Paulo for a slice of creamy, blue cake. None was celebrating a birthday; their poor neighborhood, the favela of Paraisopolis, was commemorating 100 years of existence. “People started coming (to the city) for construction jobs and settled in,” community leader Gilson Rodrigues said. “There was no planning, not even streets. People started growing crops. It was all disorganized. Authorities didn’t do much, so we learned to organize ourselves.” The favela’s centennial, which was marked on Thursday, underscores the permanence of its roots and of other communities like it, even as Brazilians in wealthier parts of town often view them as temporary and precarious. Favelas struggle to shed that stigma as they defy simple definition, not least because they evolved over decades. Paraisopolis is Sao Paulo’s second-biggest favela, home to 43,000 people, according to the most-recent census, in 2010. Recent, unofficial counts put its population around 100,000.

The barbecue king: British royals praise Philip’s deft touch (AP) When Prince Philip died nearly six months ago at 99, the tributes poured in from far and wide, praising him for his supportive role at the side of Queen Elizabeth II over her near 70-year reign. Now, it has emerged that Philip had another crucial role within the royal family. He was the family’s barbecue king—perhaps testament to his Greek heritage. “He adored barbecuing and he turned that into an interesting art form,” his oldest son Prince Charles said in a BBC tribute program that will be broadcast on Wednesday. “And if I ever tried to do it he ... I could never get the fire to light or something ghastly, so (he’d say): ‘Go away!’” In excerpts of ‘Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers’ released late Saturday, members of the royal family spoke admiringly of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s barbecuing skills. “Every barbecue that I’ve ever been on, the Duke of Edinburgh has been there cooking,” said Prince William, Philip’s oldest grandson. “He’s definitely a dab hand at the barbecue ... I can safely say there’s never been a case of food poisoning in the family that’s attributed to the Duke of Edinburgh.” The program, which was filmed before and after Philip’s death on April 9, was originally conceived to mark his 100th birthday in June.

Relations between France and the U.S. have sunk to their lowest level in decades. (NYT) The U.S. and Australia went to extraordinary lengths to keep Paris in the dark as they secretly negotiated a plan to build nuclear submarines, scuttling a defense contract worth at least $60 billion. President Emmanuel Macron of France was so enraged that he recalled the country’s ambassadors to both nations. Australia approached the new administration soon after President Biden’s inauguration. The conventionally powered French subs, the Australians feared, would be obsolete by the time they were delivered. The Biden administration, bent on containing China, saw the deal as a way to cement ties with a Pacific ally. But the unlikely winner is Britain, who played an early role in brokering the alliance. For its prime minister, Boris Johnson, who will meet this coming week with Biden at the White House and speak at the U.N., it is his first tangible victory in a campaign to make post-Brexit Britain a player on the global stage.

Hong Kong’s first ‘patriots-only’ election kicks off (Reuters) Fewer than 5,000 Hong Kong people from mostly pro-establishment circles began voting on Sunday for candidates to an election committee, vetted as loyal to Beijing, who will pick the city’s next China-backed leader and some of its legislature. Pro-democracy candidates are nearly absent from Hong Kong’s first election since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system to ensure that “only patriots” rule China’s freest city. The election committee will select 40 seats in the revamped Legislative Council in December, and choose a chief executive in March. Changes to the political system are the latest in a string of moves—including a national security law that punishes anything Beijing deems as subversion, secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces—that have placed the international financial hub on an authoritarian path. Most prominent democratic activists and politicians are now in jail or have fled abroad.

The Remote-Control Killing Machine (Politico/NYT) For 14 years, Israel wanted to kill Iran’s top nuclear scientist. Then they came up with a way to do it while using a trained sniper who was more than 1,000 miles away—and fired remotely. It was also the debut test of a high-tech, computerized sharpshooter kitted out with artificial intelligence and multiple-camera eyes, operated via satellite and capable of firing 600 rounds a minute. The souped-up, remote-controlled machine gun now joins the combat drone in the arsenal of high-tech weapons for remote targeted killing. But unlike a drone, the robotic machine gun draws no attention in the sky, where a drone could be shot down, and can be situated anywhere, qualities likely to reshape the worlds of security and espionage.

Israeli army arrests last 2 of 6 Palestinian prison escapees (AP) Israeli forces on Sunday arrested the last two of six Palestinian prisoners who escaped a maximum-security Israeli prison two weeks ago, closing an intense, embarrassing episode that exposed deep security flaws in Israel and turned the fugitives into Palestinian heroes. The Israeli military said the two men surrendered in Jenin, their hometown in the occupied West Bank, after they were surrounded at a hideout that had been located with the help of “accurate intelligence.” The prisoners all managed to tunnel out of a maximum-security prison in northern Israel on Sept. 6. The bold escape dominated newscasts for days and sparked heavy criticism of Israel’s prison service. According to various reports, the men dug a hole in the floor of their shared cell undetected over several months and managed to slip past a sleeping prison guard after emerging through a hole outside the facility. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have celebrated the escape and held demonstrations in support of the prisoners. Taking part in attacks against the Israeli military or even civilians is a source of pride for many Palestinians, who view it as legitimate resistance to military occupation.

Jaw-dropping moments in WSJ's bombshell Facebook investigation (CNN Business) This week the Wall Street Journal released a series of scathing articles about Facebook, citing leaked internal documents that detail in remarkably frank terms how the company is not only well aware of its platforms’ negative effects on users but also how it has repeatedly failed to address them. Here are some of the more jaw-dropping moments from the Journal’s series. In the Journal’s report on Instagram’s impact on teens, it cites Facebook’s own researchers’ slide deck, stating the app harms mental health. “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, according to the WSJ. Another reads: “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression ... This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.” In 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said a change in Facebook’s algorithm was intended to improve interactions among friends and family and reduce the amount of professionally produced content in their feeds. But according to the documents published by the Journal, staffers warned the change was having the opposite effect: Facebook was becoming an angrier place. A team of data scientists put it bluntly: “Misinformation, toxicity and violent content are inordinately prevalent among reshares,” they said, according to the Journal’s report.

#headlines #news

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gracereally · 3 years

Text

Getting Stopped by the Cops and Other Embarrassing Things That Happened in My First Week of Freedom

Hello hello!

It's been one week since I was freed from the two week travelers' quarantine upon arriving in Korea. So much has happened this past week I can barely believe it's only been a single week!

Moving to a new country comes with a lot of stumbling blocks, especially when you don't speak the language. Today's post is framed within some of the more embarrassing (and funny) growing pains I have had this week.

Monday

My first day out of quarantine was on Monday! I would be released at 12pm, so my school director thought it would be prudent to get my health exam the same day in order to get it out of the way. Everyone entering Korea with my visa needs a full health exam to ensure we are not bringing any problematic illnesses (besides COVID) to the country.

So my first day out of quarantine consisted of being poked, prodded, peeing in a cup, drawing blood, getting x-rayed fully naked, and other awful ventures. Many people at the health center didn't speak English, but my school director helped when she could, and everyone was very kind. Still, it felt kind of humiliating for my first post-isolation experience.

Afterwards, she took me to a cafe for lunch, to the grocery store for supplies, and she also gave me a tour of my apartment building. It was a full day, and a little overstimulating to be honest. I went to bed early before my first day of work.

Tuesday

On Tuesday I started at my new job! I learned all about the school, it's curriculum, and observed a few classes. I have a lot of thoughts about the school, but I'll speak about it in another post.

Wednesday

I taught a full day of classes.

Yep, you heard right. I taught a full day of classes on my second day of work. For the most part it went alright, but it is a STRUGGLE to jump into a class in which you have no context, don't know the students, or even what they have been learning. But I got through it!

Thursday & Friday

For the rest of the week, I taught most of my classes. Typically teachers will observe for a few days, but my director had me jump right in. It was tough, and I think it's going to continue to be that way for a few weeks. It's kind of terrible to be so unsure of yourself at the front of the classroom, as well as having to conduct myself in such a specific way to fit the school's standards. I've been teaching for years but still really doubted myself this week. But I guess I'll learn!

On Friday after work, a co-worker of mine (also a newbie!) and I were bored and decided to explore the neighborhood. Since we get out of work at 9pm, it was too late for anything to be open. Currently, Seoul is at a level 4 lockdown, so all restaurants and bars are closed by 9pm. Gangnam was a ghost town as we walked around, but it was still nice to get out of the apartment.

Saturday

The same co-worker and I decided to go shopping for new work clothes. I was under the impression my job would be a business casual dress code...but as it turns out they expect us to look extremely professional, and I needed new clothes.

We took the subway to an underground mall and shopped for hours. It was really fun! The mall was underground, and consisted of a ton of clothing stalls. Unfortunately, it was a struggle to find clothes that would actually fit my body. Korea has "free sizes" which are supposed to be one-size-fits-all, but they definitely do not fit all. Most clothes were smaller than an American medium.

I bought a few things, and then we went to a Korean restaurant. It was 8:30pm when we walked in and the restaurant was empty, so we thought it would be a quick, cheap meal before we headed home. The store owner kept asking us to 'hurry up' because of the curfew, so we had to eat fast. But it was yummy at least.

We also may have gotten slightly turned around on our way back home, but we made it back eventually haha.

Sunday

My co-worker texted me that there is a K-pop event not too far from us and she wants to go. I don't know anything about K-pop but I was down. We decided to take electric scooters.

On every street corner here you can find electric scooters waiting to be rented. With a quick download of an app, you scan the scooter's bar code and can enjoy a ride! It was a really fun and inexpensive way to travel. We went to two cafe giveaways, where you apparently order a particular drink to get some K-pop swag. Ordering was a little bit of a struggle with the language barrier, but we managed it. My co-worker is luckily much more knowledgeable about Korean than I am.

You might be wondering what I was talking about in my post title, but no it's not clickbait: I really did get pulled over by the cops. On the scooter.

We had also decided to go to a different mall later on, and we took the scooters again. This time, we took a bigger road, and made our way to COEX mall. All of a sudden, a cop car pulls up next to us and asked us to stop. Apparently, it's illegal to ride the scooters 1. on sidewalks (though we had seen others doing this) and 2. without a helmet. They took our drivers' licenses and their eyes bugged when they saw our American cards. We explained we had no idea and we had only just arrived in Korea so they let us go with only a warning. We decided to walk the rest of the way LOL

Unfortunately it was still a bust in terms of clothing sizes at the mall, even at the foreign stores like H&M and Zara. I tried on a 16 in H&M and could not even get the clothes on -- I am usually a 10! And yes, they were supposedly US sizes. I guess it will be only online shopping for me.

We decided to end the day at a Mexican restaurant, where our language barrier while ordering caused them to only bring us one meal (we had both ordered 2 enchiladas...so they brought us one order of 2 instead of 2 orders of 2). We talked about how embarrassing and rude of us it feels like to stumble so much with Korean, but most people here have been kind to us.

Anyway, it's been a long but fun week. Life here in SK is definitely going to be different, but it's so interesting to experience such new things. Here's hoping the growing pains get easier.

Until next time,

Grace ~

#seoulkorea #seoultravel #gangnam district #gangnam #seoul south korea #expat in korea #expatblogger #expatlife #growing pains #bts jungkook #korean cafe #coex mall #hagwon teacher #english teacher #teaching tefl #american abroad

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obliviouskind · 3 years

Text

Solstice

---

Off the beaten path upon Unova’s mainland, nestled within the forests on a privately owned property of which carried a name he now shared; Cyrus sat within an uncomfortable, yet comfortable, plastic chair. Lush green grass spread beneath his feet, unkempt where it seemingly was most needed not to be so – while beneath him, burrowed and cramped, his hound found refuge from the relentless summer’s heat… As well as the hands of curious, snobbish children – of which there were an abundance running about. Upon their knees sat bruises and stains, while within their light locks fashioned into pigtails and braids, flowers of different colors were woven together by that of iron wire and leaves.

His own head sat bare of any such decorations, though not from the lack of offers. The wife of his current seat mate, Eamon Nechayev, had been one out of many whom had brought more than their fair share of floral crowns. --Eamon was a man who married into the family, rather than having entered it by blood; and he took his wife’s last name in a manner that Cyrus himself, admittedly, saw as rather unbecoming. Just as Cyrus, however, his eyes were light in color. Gray boarding on blue, with a frame of charcoal of which matched the little hair he still carried upon his head.

”Have you taught that dog to behave around the children yet, Damian?”

… The partaking of nationwide holidays – or simple, personal celebrations such as birthdays, had been a phenomenon that Cyrus never truly had gotten to enjoy as a young boy. For the Akagi had been a family of simplicity and accomplishments, rather than that of mindless pleasures and joys. What should be celebrated were feats and triumphs – not divine fertility and other such ‘useless’ fallacies. That was, at least, the explanation his father had given to him when he had mustered up the courage to actually ask.

But, the Nechayev’s?

Though most of the family laid outside of Sinnoh’s vast boarders these days, the clan seemingly never lost contact with their roots. Thus; Midsummer was celebrated.

Every. Single. Year.

He and Nikita (his cousin in papers alone, as well as the designated ‘babysitter’ of himself for these past three years) had taken the earliest ship offered back towards Unova’s mainland for the sake of meeting with the aunt of Nikita’s own father – Alexandra Nechayev. Together, they had traversed the country roads within her modest car, and for over an hour in its short trunk, his hound had nestled in as best as he could’ve managed given the circumstances. --By all means, it wasn’t necessarily the longest of treks… But it was one everyone had to make. And once they arrived, Houndoom had made quick work of stretching his legs before activity was certain to be thoroughly limited.

(Mindlessly, his hands settled within the dog’s short fur between his knees.)

“Damian?”

His eyes cast towards the vast yard, of rolling hills merging into that of forgotten, disheveled fields – and the sea of towheaded family members unsurprisingly spread as far as the eye could see. In the wake of dinner not yet having been served (though dishes slowly but surely traveled out of the small farmhouse by that of feminine hands), many children had taken it upon themselves to play tag or fly kites; far too close to the telephone lines for comfort, but with seemingly little care for the harm that so easily could befall them with but one small mishap.

Closer to where he himself sat, the quiet chatter of women easily were overshadowed by the boisterous laughter of their hefty husbands, and inside himself he quickly realized that within his mindless actions; he was looking for something.

Or, rather, for someone.

Cynthia, it seemed, had yet to arrive at the scene of their family gathering; and he supposed it perhaps wasn’t so strange. If she had just arrived within the region, or had come at an earlier date; he didn’t know, nor did he particularly care to properly figure out.

But what it nonetheless meant was that her trek to the family farm would be one of considerably greater distance. --Childish it was of him, perhaps, but the longer until she showed; the better. For one thing was certain about that woman.

Once she found him in this sea of blondes… She would not let him go.

Something that did find him, however, were the narrowed gaze of Eamon.

“Damian, I said-“

“I’m sorry,” Cyrus interrupted – something clicking within his mind. Though lost in dreams, he had caught the voice of the other man. ‘Have you taught that dog to behave around the children yet, Damian?’ “I’m thinking, is all… He always does behave, but he is not a dog to play with. The children shouldn’t approach him as though he’s a young Lillipup.”

Eamon scoffed and leant his full weight back within his chair, which lacked guests beneath it. Behind him, however, stood a young girl clad in a checkerboard patterned summer dress. The only daughter of that particular branch of the family tree.

“I will take that as a no, then.”

Cyrus cast a glance towards the girl, one that was apologetic. “Precisely so.”

The disappointment upon her features was theatrically exaggerated – with her cheeks puffed up and her shoulders and back hunched; she quietly walked away from the scene in short, drawn out steps. The hurt, however, seemed to roll off her back as soon as the invite for play came in the form of her brothers – then, all seemed to be right in the world again.

He smoothed his hand over short, black fur one last time.

“Y’know,” Eamon broke the silence. Within his hand sat a bottle of beer, and Cyrus had to wonder if it was the first or second of the day that still sat fairly young. “You always look deeply unhappy being here. Like you would rather sit at home during a fun celebration like this. Are you that terrified of us?”

“No such thing,” Cyrus admitted; and it was not a lie in most regards. As far as holidays went, midsummer was one of the easier to manage. No duty for gift giving, no stress. Just food and music that, at times, fell within his tastes. It was innocent enough and, admittedly, pleasant to get to experience once more. --What he did mind, however, was the new coming sound of an approaching vehicle. Whatever else he may have had to say got lost within his throat, just as out of view to where the dirt road snaked out onto the landscapes, barely hidden behind that of forests shrubbery and old cobble walls, the clear arrival of the one and only late guest came rumbling through.

Taking care not to hurt his hound, Cyrus pushed his chair back (meeting resistance from where its feet had sunk into the grass below) and slowly rose. With a wave of his hand towards his company, he bid his momentary farewell – all the while Eamon let out a hearty, full laugh that rumbled within his very gut.

“Ah, so that’s what scares you, then.”

---

As Cyrus ascended the modest hill towards the summer farms main building, he thought to himself that he and Eamon perhaps weren’t so different. However unbecoming he had thought the man’s obedience towards his wife’s family name to have been – to say that he couldn’t understand it, would been a bit of a lie. For, sometimes, the choice simply isn’t yours to make… --He had, after all, taken Cynthia’s name himself.

(Not in marriage, no, yet still as she always had said that he would…)

Forgoing stepping out of his shoes – a forced habit since the day that he landed in Unova – and ducking past curtains that carried Venipede holes, the chattering of the women whom tirelessly worked on the deserts that would be shared that evening slowly quieted.

Until one brave soul spoke up.

“Oh, Damian, just in time. Would you mind giving us a hand…?”

---

Midsummer was a holiday as exciting, as it was draining. But it was also one that served to be very, very distracting. --Not to him, oh no. But for their newly arrived guest. Cynthia was not only the darling to the people of an entire region – a monarch beloved by all. No, she also, within her own family, stood above the rest as someone divine. Someone to strive towards, someone to aspire to become.

Someone whose attention and aid you wished for at every waking hour of the day.

This served Cyrus quite well – as his escape into the farm house had come to an end much quicker than he would’ve ever liked for it to. The women of the family, one of which had a newly born darling by the name of Jamie sat in a sling upon her breast, had been much preferred company compared to that of the rest of the gathering. Though no less towheaded and plain, the air had laid different.

Tender, yet diligent. And with an extra set of hands, the making of the deserts had gone by that much quicker.

This had meant, however, that dinner could start but a tad bit earlier than previously expected. Quickly the sea of Nechayev’s filtered into the many tables set up upon the estates grounds – families, trying their hardest to figure out how to best fit themselves into groups of husbands and wives, children and cousins and everything in-between.

And to his delight, his hound had served as a wonderful buffer in securing his previous seat… off-center to the crowd.

(Away from the ends of which had been reserved to Cynthia and her immediate family; very much a deliberate choice.)

Eamon welcomed him back by that of a groan in his throat and a wave of his hand, and Cyrus favored the latter in return. Houndoom was quick to change position from underneath his seat, to behind it, as to not be a bother to the rest of the guests (and to avoid a kick to the face, should the gentleman before his owner decide to have a few too many drinks before six) and with that, Cyrus settled down.

“No more hiding?” Eamon teased, and down the length of the table Cyrus caught the gaze their newly arrived guest.

She smiled.

He looked away.

---

If Midsummer was a holiday for the children, then Christmas was one for adults.

As the sun lulled its way to its bed upon the tree crowns, the vast fields of the Nechayev property no longer littered with that of children and teens. The younger laid worn out and asleep either within their sober mothers laps; or sat propped before a movie within the farmhouse until they inevitably would succumb to the same exact fate. While the teens, he noted, mostly took to playing adults – or found activities inside to partake in and enjoy. Be it to prank call friends and play cards, or sit around upon the rocks beside the recently renovated outhouse. It didn’t seem to really matter as long as they could manage to get a cider or two from their intoxicated fathers to share.

If he strained his ears and listened, he could recognize a few tunes being played at the foot of the hill – that of old folk songs as well as new, and many of which spoke of alcohol and obscurities better left untold.

All done in a language he hadn’t favored for three odd years now. --Or, was it perhaps closing in on four…?

In his hand sat nothing but a plastic cup of water; and Cyrus came to wonder if that was exactly why his own family never truly had fancied themselves the celebration of this particular holiday. Noboru rarely had drank, as far as he could remember, and the moments that he had; it most often had been in the company of business officials and clients. Never did he take a beer with dinner, nor a shot of liquor in the evenings to aid his aged self settle.

(His mother, he knew, drank – but she certainly had thought herself to have been rather unassuming about it.)

Another reason, he supposed – as he whirled the tender cup between his fingers – was for the fact that their family had been but a small one. Maternal grandparents, he knew that he had though never had he gotten to properly know them. His paternal grandmother was but a distant memory of early childhood, while his paternal grandfather was a ghost hidden within picture books and quarrels.

A big family was required for an event to feel both special… as well as needed – and without them, there simply had been little point to even bother.

“There you are… If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you had been trying to avoid me, Damian.”

Past his shoulder, he caught sight of her – clad in a gown far too extravagant (revealing) for the evening at hand. In one hand, gathered and wrinkled, she held the length of her dress while within the other; a glass overfilled with velvet red wine. Her slender, feminine hand eventually came to settle against his shoulder – a weight that was hauntingly familiar – and he wasn’t surprised (nor pleased) when it traveled up upon the nape of his neck so that it could cradle the back of his skull.

His brow’s subtly dipped, but she caught it nonetheless. A chuckle mingling alongside her words. “Did I sour your mood that badly, dear?”

Nonchalantly his arms folded across his chest and a shrug followed shortly thereafter. That her hand upon him, in turn, fell, was an outcome that he couldn’t say he wasn’t pleased with. “Tired, more so than anything else. These events aren’t exactly my forte… but you knew that already.”

“Oh, I certainly do.” Theatrically, one slender fingers settled upon her painted lips and her auburn eyes gazed towards the lightly specked sky. “You were most unhappy when I dragged you out to Solaceon Town to spend the holidays with just little ol’ me.”

Her lips smiled against the brim of her ambrosia. “I remember having had a lot of fun with you, though.”

---

Though she had been but a foreigner in her youth to the region she eventually would come to claim as her own, Cynthia – since the day that they met – seemingly fit in with the population more so than he himself ever had. Her first months upon Sinnoh’s land, she had cried false tears and begged for him to come with her to the celebration up north; for, in her own words, she would ‘die’ if he left her all to herself come summertime. And though he now could understand that those had been shallow, meaningless words of which she would continue to spew until their eventual parting – back then, he had felt it cruel to not do as she wished out of fear that she indeed would decide to disappear from the world.

Foolish, perhaps, for she was the sort of girl whom would rather break down others than see her own self earn a single scar. --But, he hadn’t known that back then.

What he also hadn’t known, was that though Cynthia enjoyed the holiday for what it was; what she most had liked about it, was the opportunity it gave for her to play her own little made up games.

Games with rules that he never got to learn, but was expected to follow nonetheless.

Instead of having her dearest dance with her like all the others, linked together by hands around the pole as accordions and pianos blared the tunes to follow – she had wanted for him to do nothing but hold her from behind so that he may sway them back and forth. Her hands, trapping his just below her bust…

All so that she could guide them wherever she pleased when eyes inevitably came to stray their way...

---

(He had felt sick at the thought.)

---

She had always carried herself with something akin to faux grace, even as but a teenage girl. And gracefully, this evening, was exactly how Cynthia sunk to a squat beside his standing self. That the heels that she wore sunk into the lawn below, to the point where he imagined she would struggle to tug them out, was a guess that he felt confident enough to quietly make – and as she adjusted the fall of her dress (an act that left little to the imagination, where it dipped and fell to simply show more of the creamy flesh of her breasts) and dangled the glass by its lip between her parted thighs; a longing, dreamy sigh left her lips.

“What I would give, just to go back to that for an hour or two…”

Cynthia had, indeed, taken to the holiday much easier than he himself ever had.

But only because she had made it her own.

---

She had much rather played the game of adults behind that propped up stage at the event, crouched upon her knees between his parted, shaking thighs. His heart had hammered within his chest from the fear of being caught doing something so foul.

And with her lips stained with his boyish seed, as though a mockery of a young girls lip-gloss, she had praised him for being such a naughty church boy… --To change who he was, and remind him of the fact, had perhaps been the true name of her game.

---

“You know, I did so much for you back then,” came her quiet, soft admission, and Cyrus felt bile rise into the back of his throat. For she spoke as though every word was gospel – the good and honest truth. “Had it not been for me, you still would’ve been that lonesome choir boy whom never could say a word for his own personal sake…”

When he spoke, his voice was stern. Interruptive. “This dance of formalities is unnecessary, Cynthia…”

Laughter bubbled within her throat, as she brought her glass to have another taste of red.

“Simply talking is considered ‘formalities’ to you?”

“You have something to tell me, I can tell that you do.” Almost as an afterthought, after a beat of his own heart – he added: “… What is it that you want?”

Her mindless giggles, then, abruptly stopped. What mannerisms she had displayed to her family that evening evaporated out of her fingertips like smoke; and what was left, was a woman much more familiar to his eyes. --One less fake, less plastic… A Cynthia who finally decided to play as her honest self.

A smacking of her lips introduced her coming words.

“Oh, Cyrus…” The admittance of his past identity stirred him enough to glance down at her. Eyes framed by white – narrowed. “Why is it only me that you’re this way with? That you won’t talk to.”

For once, he felt he had no words. Perhaps because to admit to her the reason why felt wrong. --Felt dreadful, felt pathetic… childish.

(He loathed the way she made his chest constrict.)

“Is it because you don’t know what you should be saying to me?” Came her probing suggestion.

She never had wished to hear his thoughts regardless of which words he chose.

“Is it because you worry you will say something that you will come to… regret?”

Every moment with her had been filled with nothing but.

“… Is it, perhaps, because I’m not… her?”

The world, it seemed, fell quiet.

A deafening silence.

‘Her’, in truth, could be none other than she… Yet, still, anyone else. His hands wrung at his sides, his blunt nails finding their way to dig into the bed of his palms. If he once had considered himself masterful in disguising but a simple dip of his brow, then now – his eyes would be but windows for the lambent of emotions that flickered within his soul. Before a comment (a guess, an accusation) of his own could be made, however, Cynthia supplied him with his answer.

“You never had been this hesitant when you talked to that girl… When you told her all those lies and tried to get her on your side.”

His breath got lost in his throat as she turned, as she twisted her body so that she may stare up at him with those familiar, sultry eyes.

He felt a knot form within his stomach.

(A fox’s grin danced upon her lips.)

“Quite disgusting of you to have played with a little girl like that, don’t you think?”

When her hands, smaller than his, brushed their knuckles over the leg of his pants – up to his thigh, where they came to rest, sprawled and wide; Cyrus stood static and immobile, as though he was carved out of marble rather than flesh. And as she gently laid the glass of wine down onto the lawn, unconcerned of the blood red spillage upon it – raised onto the toes of her heels – and gripped at the buckle of his belt; Cyrus wondered if he still was that boy all those years back, who couldn’t for the life of him say no to a little bit of human contact…

“Didn’t you know that you could’ve played with me instead? I have never been anything short of willing…”

(What a repulsive, vile comparison she makes… As though his actions with her ever had been shrouded in perversion.)

What this knot that he felt was, was not one born out of lust; out of desire. No. For as he gazed down upon Cynthia – older than she once had been, filled out in all the ways that would set her outside the desired norm for a woman of Unova, yet no less the girl she once had been; when he looked down upon her now, he saw nothing but a woman with death painted lips.

A child’s blood, of whom she had once declared heroine.

His earthy, cold hands fell on top her feminine ones, and removed them from his person in one swift motion. The fact that she didn’t provide much resistance was perhaps a show enough of exactly how uncertain she truly had felt in her own chosen actions (fearing he would do something such as this, perhaps… A glimpse past the façade of unrivaled confidence and poise).

Had she been as she displayed herself to the world – unshakable, assertive and proud – then her hands most certainly would’ve fallen onto much more inappropriate places.

Places of which her eyes flickered to for but a split second, then traveled up to meet his very own; and if there ever had been a moment where one could say that the dearest champion looked like a child caught red-handed – then now certainly was the time.

“You were the one who played games with her, Cynthia.” His hands tightened where they held hers and a display of discomfort spread onto her features. “It was you who told her stories of heroism and it was you who promised that the world would be hers should she just give up her life in return. What I did was nothing but an attempt to get her away from the ledge that came to claim that same life and you-“

“Didn’t anyone tell you?” Came her hitched, shrill query. As though there was humor to the topic at hand – as though her death had been anything but tragic and immoral.

Cyrus choked on his words, his tongue thick within his mouth as though it was made out of cotton. His hands around her wrists were impossibly cold and, as he glanced down upon them; he found they carried a subtle, yet defined, shake.

(Calm yourself, Cyrus… Stay. Calm.)

Low within his throat, as his shaky hold shifted to grasp around her forearms, he aided in pulling her back onto her feet. “Don’t make a fool of yourself before your family like this. Stand.”

She easily did as was asked of her, allowing herself to be pulled up like a daughter lifted by her father; and though he attempted to push her away from his person so that she would stand on her own – she had different ideas. Slender, pale arms snaked their way over and around his broad shoulders. Her fingers, dancing at the nape of his neck where a patch of snow white spread. And as her chest pressed against his own, as her pelvis fell in tune with his; a repetition of her words whispered against his ear in a tone that almost bordered on that of… concern.

“Cyrus… Didn’t anyone tell you about her? That she came back?”

No.

No one had told him.

---

They had found themselves huddled against the backside of the family home – overlooking rocks, a dried up creek and an abundance of ferns of which surely were littered with bugs and other such small critters. His right shoulder laid to rest against the worn wood paneling while her back did the exact same thing. Hunched, her arms folded beneath her chest and with her head titled away from his person. --Like this, she felt so much smaller compared to him… So much like they once had been.

What space they had earned, however, left little room for patience. His heart felt as though it was leaping directly within his throat; and he may as well have lost his words by the way he fumbled to find them.

In the end, he simply hissed them.

“… Why haven’t I heard about this until just now?”

She behaved as though she was but fifteen once more. Mousy, slouched and pouting with the entirety of her bottom lip. “You’re acting as though I deliberately kept it from you.”

“And you didn’t?”

“Of course I didn’t.”

He spat at her claim. “Do forgive me for not believing you, Cynthia. You haven’t exactly proven to be the most forthcoming when it comes to information of the past-”

A single painted finger bravely jabbed at his chest. “… Even if I had, it shouldn’t matter. You’re a criminal, Cyrus. A convicted felon that I saved from a life in prison and you should be fucking grateful that I’m even letting you know about that stupid girl-“

At midsummer’s eve, she had wanted nothing but for his hands to be upon her. She had wanted nothing but to feel the weight of them upon her flesh. But as Cyrus twisted where he stood, as he set his weight onto the palms of his hands just above her own two bare shoulders – as he trapped her between himself and the aged old wood of the Nechayev farm – she ended up wishing that she could be anywhere but. --Wishing that she wouldn’t be the target of his dismay, because she had never wanted for anything other than for the two of them to be good.

(Was that not why she had done what she had? Out of a twisted, self-fulfilling desire to claim him as her own once more?)

What accusation he had carried in his tone dilapidated into that of pure and honest anger. The corners of his lips, tightly drawn into a scowl while the bridge of his beaked nose brushed against her own – and he barked at her; scolded her.

“How dare you call the child you killed with your negligent promises stupid?”

Her own ire met his. “I told you already, she’s not dead.”

And so, silence fell. Save for the echo of crickets to be lost by morning light – save for the giggles of youth that spoke of crushes and first loves near the nest of human waste. --Save for the beating of their hearts, the mingling of their breaths.

And he, this time, was the one to break through the void.

“… Why now?” There was something raw to his throat. His words. A man like him – someone such as he shouldn’t speak as though he hurt. And, yet, he did. “Why tell me this now, am I no longer the despicable villain in the eyes of the world? Why?”

(He had thought he killed her twice over, for all these years.)

There was something unknown in his eyes.

Glassy.

Cynthia’s hand, for the first time that evening, hesitated. Paused to hover awkwardly at the curvature of his left shoulder. When he gave no inclination that he would retreat, shake her off or grow angry with her for touching him; she did exactly that.

His weight shifted to fall onto the length of his forearms.

“There’s… someone searching for her. And I thought, perhaps, that it had to do with you.” The confession was but a whispered breath – as though she knew, in her heart, that it was a claim without rhyme or reason. “I… realize now how stupid it sounds but I...”

If he felt he could’ve, then he would’ve laughed right at her. “You thought I would risk my parole to search for a dead girl?”

Luckily, Cynthia decided that she would do it for him. A hollow, soft sound; but a laugh nonetheless. And, perhaps, the most honest laugh that she ever had given him. “It wouldn’t have been your first otherworldly search…”

… He supposed that that would be a rightful claim to make.

She always had known, despite perhaps acting as though she hadn’t, that he had planned his actions since the tender age of seventeen. Perhaps not in full, perhaps not as defined and straight forward – but Cynthia had known. --When laid to share his boy room bed, with their fingers intertwined beneath the covers and beyond; he had told her that there were things in this world that he absolutely loathed. (She, in typical fashion, had wondered if she was a part of that ‘thing’ – to which an answer had not been given.) That there were people who deserved to live better than they did, yet could not; that there were people who did not deserve what they had, for they had done nothing in their lives but cause anguish to those around them.

He had told her that he wished to change the world from what it was, into something better.

And she had told him, between a tender touch of her palm to his cheek and a kiss placed upon his lips, that he was sick for having such thoughts in his mind. That to chase a dream such as that was to set oneself beyond reality; into insanity.

She had told him that he was insane.

And that she loved him for that fact. Because those not right, can be changed – and he was her own personal project.

And, perhaps he had been.

But if he had been insane, then she was equally so. To use a child in steed of your own prowess could not, or perhaps should not, be regarded as anything but exactly that. Insanity.

A disregard for human life for your own personal gain.

Even now, Cynthia saw what she did as but a minor slipup rather than the disgrace it had been. All proven by the fact that she still, even after so long, had the stomach to label the young girl as ‘stupid’.

(He wondered if she even could hear herself, the way that she spoke – or if she was willfully blind to her own personal faults.)

Strength returned to his limbs one by one. From resting all of his weight upon his own two forearms (his brow, almost flush against her own), to standing upright once more. And where his steps led him, was away from her. --Towards a creek that once had been.

He supposed that she had reason to worry of his involvement.

After all… There had been a promise made.

His hands fell to sit comfortably at the small of his back. His fingers, interlocked and settled - despite it all, he hadn’t changed all that much in these past three years.

(… Had she?)

Eventually, the one last lingering question bubbled to the frontlines. The end of the topic, the end of the conversation; all so that they could move on from whatever plane of existence they had come to find themselves upon.

“… Would I ever have known?”

Her voice was distant. Far. She hadn’t moved from where she rested against the chipped farmhouse exterior – nor had he expected that she would. She never had liked confrontations – at least not with him.

“… Known what?”

“If there hadn’t been someone seeking her out, if there hadn’t been a cause for concern in regards to my compliance of the rules… Would you ever have told me?” An hour of sunlight was, perhaps, what was left of the evening. In the creek before him, the singing of crickets already fell in tune. A familiar sound in all the wrong ways, of Kriketot’s and Kricketune’s lulling their young to sleep.

His hands wrung.

“… Would you ever have told me that she lived?”

Her answer was one that he hadn’t wished to hear, but had known to be the only real answer that she could give. --Because she always, always, had liked to keep him in the dark. Always had liked to lie, persuade and do whatever it would take to cause him the most harm.

So why would this have been any different?

“… No, I wouldn’t have.”

She would always be the same.

“I’m sorry, Cyrus.”

‘You’re not.’

---

The Nechayev was a family of great proportions, and its people held an even greater appetite for declared beverages of sin. During events such as Midsummer, it was typically accepted that every single member (save for, perhaps, the elderly – of which all had left hours prior) were to stay the night at whichever location the celebrations had been decided to take place upon that year.

(Last year, it had been set at a manor off the coast of Nimbasa City – and Cyrus distinctly remember having had to share a bed with an overtly drunk Nikita, where they had slept head-to-toe. --A memory that was, by all accounts, unpleasant…)

The farm was petite and quaint – and with barely half stuffed within its thin walls; they already pushed its tender limits. Therefore, some lucky few were left to either pitch tents of their own, or to sleep within the cars of which had brought them all there in the very first place.

This was the fate that himself and his ‘cousin’ had been afforded this time around – as it was for most of the men of the family.

The gentle rumbling of a car was a sensation that, as a young boy, always had been able to tire his restless self into deep and somber sleep. An oddity, though it may have been, for it had taken him until the age of five until he had able to properly fall sleep anywhere but against the swell of his mother’s breast.

Cars, however, had seemingly been a substitute of which had been equal in its soothing capabilities.

… So why was it, then, that he simply could not fall asleep?

For the first time in a long time, Cyrus felt… Restless. Despite the bright summer night, all that his eyes could truly see were the fuzzy, gray interior of their carpool vehicle while against his back – he felt the seats coarse fabric gnaw at his pinstripe shirt. To his left, curled up and slumbering like a young infant upon the reclined driver’s seat; Nikita laid – his knees, high against his chest while in the confined space, his bare feet bent awkwardly against the car’s side door. His mouth hung agape, displaying to the world teeth that were artificially whitened and pearly, yet still with the distinct speckles of unmined coal littered about in the back-most rows. --If he lulled his head back, then Cyrus could see that he wasn’t the only one awake, either.

Houndoom’s ruby gaze shone like headlights from their sockets, there in the trunk of their car.

… A thought came to him, then, that a mare may as well have been sat upon his chest – given the way he so relentlessly seemed to be fighting away any ounce of sleep that came his way. As though afraid that, should it claim him – then the vexing creature would crush the bones of which kept his heart caged. Just so that she may suffocate him, cause him concern; and give him exactly what it was that he deserved.

Perhaps it was simply that his mind was distorted by the memories of her – and nothing more.

They say guilt is a rope that wears thin, and his, it seemed, was at the point of breaking.

---

He had first met her at the brink of the winter, a few days past her twelfth birthday, at the lake embedded within the forests of which almost swallowed her small home town whole. To her eyes – and surely, to the boy whom had been at her side – he would’ve appeared as someone ominous. Someone untouchable, towering… Cold.

Yet he could remember how she eventually had come to reach for his hand to hold upon their very next meeting.

As though he was someone dear, and not a stranger.

(Perhaps he never had been as frightening as he had thought himself to have be.)

---

Cyrus sat up, and for the first time realized that though the sun had long since been replaced by the moon; the heat of summer still lingered. His wear felt clammy and warm, his hands equally so – and it was with sweat upon his palms that he reached for the window lever to roll it all the way down.

It took him three deep breaths to realize that somewhere far within himself, his heart was beating painfully hard. One, for his worn hands to palm at the collar of his shirt and, in turn, break the button of which pinned it closed over his throat.

Breathing, then, felt but a little bit easier.

Over his shoulder, he heard the shuffling of weight and by a glance towards the rearview mirror, he caught sight of the hound standing as tall as he could within the meager, confined space. With grace unbefitting his stature; Houndoom traversed over and onto the backseats to plant himself firmly upon them.

His muzzle felt wet and cold as it pressed against the shell of his ear, despite the wildfire of which festered within the dogs barrel chest.

“… Are you being disobedient, Sir?” He softly asked, a brow jutted and raised in mock question. His head turned and his nose came to settle against the dog’s short, dark coat while quietly to himself, Cyrus could admit that the sensation was somewhat ticklish.

Houndoom huffed.

---

He once had told her that if someone ever asked her if she was afraid – and her answer were to be a clear ringing yes – that she should tell them exactly that. Admit that she was terrified, that she was afraid… And that she hoped that things would just turn out okay. --This had been advice, however, of which he never ended up allowing for her to properly put to use. For though he never had thought himself to have been a man capable of causing such harm and she, most likely, had thought so as well; in the end, it was he whom had put her into fatal dangers way.

They had faced off like the caricatures that they were in Veilstone – the Hero against the Villain, and his true colors had come through. The ugly, frightened part of himself who had seen the possibility of his work being torn from his hands by that of a young little girl.

Had she been able to ask him the question back then – “Are you afraid, Cyrus?” – then his true and honest answer, as one by one she brought down the creatures he himself had never trained, as she beat his work (his dreams) beneath the earths rotten soil; Cyrus would’ve told her that yes.

He was afraid.

Terrified.

And that he had hoped that things would turn out okay.

She never had asked him that question (and why, truly, would she have?)… Just as much as he never asked her what she had felt, when he had sent the agape jaws of his hound at her to tear out the insides of her thin, tender throat.

He had not asked her, then, if she had feared him.

If she had feared for her life.

---

He gazed into the darkness beneath half-mast lids.

“… You would’ve done it, wouldn’t you Houndoom?” His words felt quiet and foreign, and as he turned in his seat to sink low within it; his arms crossed, and his feet settled upon the glove compartment box. If he was accusatory, then he cared not – he knew deep down that had he not been the one to have given him the command, then the hound would’ve stayed seated at his feet all those years back.

Still, he felt he simply had to ask: “You would’ve killed her, that girl. Without a second thought.”

As though there ever would be an answer to be found.

---

(She would’ve told him that she had been afraid. Terrified. And that she had felt as though things wouldn’t have turned out okay.)

---

Houndoom’s head was heavy against his shoulder, but no words left him. No matter how much Cyrus may have wished for him to have explain away his own personal faults. --What a stupid desire to have.

Out past the windshield, just above the line of which designated a cracked within the glass from where a pebbled had been carelessly tossed, the serene landscape rolled into misty, cold hills. The suns tangerine glow would not arrive for another hour still, perhaps two, and in a world within himself, Cyrus recalled that she – Hikari – once had said that she enjoyed the taste that the mist oftentimes brought forth. It had been a display of which had put forth just how childish she still had been back then, despite having fallen into her earliest teenage years.

She had wandered across logs and into shallow pools of water with her arms held out as wings at her sides, and she had asked him if he could hold her hand to make sure that she would not fall.

Her tongue, half stuck out past glossy, stained lips.

Quietly, with but his hound as witness; Cyrus laughed. A laugh of which brought a shake to his shoulders and rattled the lungs hidden within his breast. A laugh of which was dry, just as well as wet – a laugh at the notion that the girl he had thought he killed was alive somewhere there in the world, and he hadn’t known. --Hadn’t been allowed to know…

His eyes trailed from the outside world, to where his sock-clad feet were set. The compartment box of which housed anything but gloves, but rather knickknacks and stuffed out fags of which Alexandra shamefully hid from the world.

There were many things of which Cyrus no longer was allowed to do. Many things of which he no longer was allowed to partake in, nor indulge within. As far as punishments went, he knew that he had gotten away with matters that were – in truth – unforgivable.

He had stolen and harvested recourses that had not been for his taking. He had destroyed an eco-system for his own personal gains.

He had attempted to rid the world of its life, with the miniscule and uncertain possibility of being able to rebuild it once more.

He unraveled where he sat, and fingered at the clasp of which kept the treasures of the glovebox from his sight.

… Did he believe in it, still? That he would’ve been God in place of Him. Did he believe, still, that he did it out of love – rather than a sense of vengeance and hate?

He had once told her that to lie was the foulest of sins that someone could commit – and liars, no matter what, could not and should not be trusted. Yet, he supposed; he had lied to her still. --Had expressed that he never, ever, would be able to hurt her. That she could trust him, unlike Cynthia, on this path that she had found herself upon.

He had lied and told her that he was going to create a better world, when he had had no knowledge of if such a thing was even possible.

With a click, the drawer fell open and alongside it came droves of paper and pens, burned out cigarettes and empty gum containers. All of which gathered at his feet, within his lap or wherever else there was room to fill. Rather than clean after himself, however, Cyrus rummaged. Sought a pen whose nub was not broken and gone; sought a piece of paper of which wasn’t already scribbled upon and destroyed.

Houndoom whined behind him, while Nikita quietly snored.

There were many things of which Cyrus no longer was allowed to do. Many things of which he no longer was allowed to partake in, nor indulge within.

There were many rules of which he had been asked to follow, and in turn he would be granted his greatest wish. --He would be able to go back home.

---

Seated almost hip to hip on a hill stained by painter’s hands, she had once asked him;

“Do you think I will grow to be just as big as you?”

And he had pondered for a moment, eyes of which almost were a mimicry of her own dancing over the height of her childish cheeks and bug-like gaze. She truly had been nothing but a child, way back then. “You can grow in many different ways, Hikari. I am simply… tall.”

Such answers never were satisfactory to children, although she had seemed to muse over it all for a moment in time. Her lips, gnawed at by her teeth while her fingers had played with her off-white scarf.

(He had wondered when it was last that she gave it a good wash.)

---

What he sought, he eventually found; and wasn’t that just typical of Cyrus Akagi? Without taking care of the mess of which he had made, he slammed the compartment box close in one swift motion. One that rattled the inhabitants of the vehicle, yet did not awake those who slept. (And thank the Gods for that…)

With pen and paper in hand, Cyrus stared blankly at the sheet of white. Like freshly laid snow within summer time, far up north where the sun no longer settled and the tips of the trees were left bare. --His throat felt thick. Dry.

He hadn’t felt this way since he was but a child.

… Indeed, there were many rules of which Cyrus had been asked to follow in return for his greatest desire. To not seek out the faith of which had fostered his entire being from the day that he turned three – to the people of which he called mother and father.

Cyrus had been asked to never, ever, seek to contact anyone from his past until his Time. Was. Up.

---

“… But, do you think?”

Cyrus hadn’t lied to her. Had spoken nothing but the truth, with the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the strings his cheeks.

“… No, I don’t think you will.”

---

And yet, as he braced the led tip of his pencil against the pale, unmarred paper; the thought of consequences evaporated out of his fingertips like water off a ducks back.

And so, he begun to write:

‘How tall are you now, Hikari? ...’

#(ic - muse)#(Guest - Cynthia)#(Guest - Hikari)#Story Progression - Cyrus #Story Progression - Hikari #drabble #important #listen when i say this fuckers long?#its LONG #but its OH so important #both for cyrus's development #as well as hikaris #i pray tumblr wont fuck this up in some manner please please pleaseee

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kayr0ss · 4 years

Text

Elder Scrolls Academia: A Series of Stories

Book One: The Dragonborn’s Fire and the Lady of Ice

[Diakko, SkyrimAU LMAO, action, adventure, cute goofy fluff, and romance, and dorkiness]

Summary: Diana was unprecedented in her talent for magic, even from her home town of Daggerfall among Breton nobility. But to sharpen her skill to its most lethal, she'd have to train where the cold bit the hardest--Skyrim. Now, the College of Winterhold's foremost student is crossing the threshold from apprentice to full-fledged mage, but her arch-mage mentor had tasked her with one last act to prove herself: Guiding the Dragonborn.

Except, the Dragonborn was hardly what she expected them to be.

[A gift to PyroTato]

---

“Hey, you.”

She blinked through her bleary vision. The first thing she felt was the harsh bite of the cold. Next was the sound of horseshoes clicking against what must have been mud and stone, followed by a view of she could only describe as… white.

“You’re finally awake.”

It wasn’t just white. There were hues of gray and blue, but it was all just merged back into an endless expanse of… white.

She was jolted upwards by a bump in the road—ah, I’m on a carriage—and she tried to right herself but seems she’s been restrained by the wrists. She should have been more panicked, but it wasn’t like this was anything new. Something about her foreign features and red eyes made her an easy target for picking; what’s worse than a foreigner is Skyrim? A foreigner whose origin was a mystery. But she supposed others still had it worse, she was at the very least, as far as she could tell, from the blood of man.

She looked over to the space beside the carriage driver (an Imperial solider, looking still wet behind the ears) to find a locked chest of what must have been their belongings. It looked standard—nothing too hard to pick—made of wood like all the others, and hinges that would give if she pulled hard enough. It was secured onto the cart with two straps of thick leather. Her red eyes scanned the perimeter of the cart of for a sharp object she could use, but her observation was cut short by the thick voice of the Nord who had woken her.

“You were trying to cross the border, right?” He said. His eyes were deep-set, and the dirty blonde of his hair and beard was styled in the proud norther tradition. “Walked right into that Imperial ambush. Same as us and that thief over there.”

She mulled over the words quietly, still a bit too disoriented to engage. She was hungry, and much too focused on trying to flee. The rest of the men had fallen into conversation, with the thief bemoaning his luck while the Nords seemed to take captivity with dignity. She blinked up at the mention of Ulfric Stormclock—apparently he was the sulking large fellow to her right.

And—oh—they were going to be executed?

No thank you, she tested the strength of her bindings. She’d like to live to eat another sweetroll.

The solider called out that they were arriving soon, and that this was a small town called Helgen. Their reception was less than spectacular and a little mixed—some came out to watch like bored spectators, others screamed, “murder!”, and a handful of parents rushed to drag their children back home; hopefully sparing them the trauma of heads casually lopped off in the name of the Emperor. It was a pity. It seemed like a quiet town with people who weren’t nearly as aggressive as farther up north. There weren’t too many buildings, although all of them were imposing with their stone walls and high beams. Not to mention the Imperial fort at the center, which didn’t look tolerant of any kind of trouble.

And she was trouble in every way that counted.

But also so, so hungry!

They were ushered out of the cart with no small amount of roughhousing, thrown into the ground and yelled-at to fall in line and present themselves to a young officer holding a list. There were several soliders on standby, with a woman donning the helmet of a senior Imperial officer barking out orders for the block to be readied. There rattling of chains mixed in with some commotion—the thief had tried to escape.

Mistake.

He fell limp on the ground, not given a second thought after the arrow sniped him square in the back, through where the heart must have been. She gave a low whistle and looked over at the archer, thoroughly impressed.

“You.” The young soldier called, and suddenly she was shoved forward—closer to that damned execution block—and asked to present herself. “Who are… you?”

She stared back at him, red eyes determined and stomach grumbling persistently.

“You don’t look like anyone I’ve ever seen on the continent.”

That was probably because as far as the stories have said, she wasn’t. She had to live through a rough life of never belonging with anyone for it—and so she sized him up and for the first time, spoke her name:

“Atsuko Kagari. Who is seriously very hungry.”

---

The mage took a deep, chilling breath. Her blues eyes were fixated on the flute glass of water that sat at the center of her desk. She was tucked away in her study, happy to wait out the winter storm with some semblance of warmth within the tower. But it was always cold in Winterhold, and by now it didn’t bother her one bit.

Slowly, the water began frosting over, solidifying under the sheer force of her will and the careful turning of her hands and fingers.

Gentle movements—no fancy gestures. The water froze and slowly crystalized upwards and towards the center into a haphazard cylinder, but then it twisted into itself, the ice moving in shards forming a frozen whirlpool that began to splinter along the top—branching out it as though it were alive, taking the shape of the dead tree in the middle of Whiterun that she had seen while coming to visit Farengar for advice.

It was a near-perfect replica.

She sat back, satisfied with her work. Shooting out a crass bolt of ice was easy. But this? This was control—and with the way the branches had curved in all the right places, the control was absolute.

Back in High Rock, among the Bretons of high society, she was Lady Diana Cavendish of Daggerfall, whose noble house held property in the Duchy of Cumberland where they grew the most potent plants for medicine.

Her person was synonymous with her name and where she had come from. Even on the years of her life spent travelling between Wayrest and Daggerfall for study, she had been measured by the weight of her name and not her magic.

But she excelled quite handsomely at both. It served her well—Bretons were made of diplomacy and trade in one hand, and magic in the other.

But it wasn’t real enough for her.

Not anymore—not in a country where the most a mage could be was the advisor of a king in court, or a glorified cannon on the battlefield.

She left the warm rolling hills of High Rock for the unforgiving cold in the far, far North.

---

Atsuko was just contemplating the effectivity of rolling out of the way of the very big sword meant to take her head when a giant dragon had swooped in and rudely interrupted her untimely demise.

Alright. Perhaps it wasn’t all that rude.

She knew to take an opportunity when it was handed to her, and she bolted straight for the fort where all the soldiers were taking cover.

It was chaos. Utter chaos. There was a roaring overhead that her blood seemed to recognize, but Shor’s bones, she wasn’t going to take the chance and look. The young officer was yelling instructions to protect the citizenry. The ground was shaking! Stone toppled over as the buildings gave in to the monstrous black claws that swatted them away like brittle clay pots.

But the worst of it all was the fire.

The air was scalding even when a few feet away from the plumes of hellish flame raining down from the dragon’s maw. She cursed her luck, wondering if she really escaped death a moment ago only to die as pile of ashes in the next.

“These goddamned bindings!” She hissed, her breath shaky while she pressed her back against the wall. A shadow shaped like wings blocked out the dreary sunlight and she closed her eyes—praying to every single one of the nine, Azura, and anyone who would listen in between.

There was a guttural rumbling coming up from above and—no. She still wasn’t going to look.

Staying close to the wall was a good idea. The dragon shot down a pillar of fire hotter than anything she’d ever felt burning down the buildings opposite her hiding spot. Just because she was expecting it doesn’t mean she was prepared—her hands shot up to cover her face, and though the heat was overbearing; her skin didn’t burn.

It was over, and the dragon flew back up to douse another part of town in an inferno.

“Foreigner!” A loud, clear voice called out. It was—it was the young officer? He held a dagger, beckoning her to hold out her arms. She thought he’d finish the job that the executioner and the dragon seemed to have left undone, but to her surprise he cut the bindings off and dragged her into the fort though a small entrance at the back.

“Follow me if you want live.” He commanded.

They barged into the relative safety of the fort—Atsuko saw the chest of their belongings from the corner of her eyes. She scrambled towards it, eager to retrieve the only belonging she had carried through the years, but the young officer held out his arm in front of it before she could reach it.

“I’ll unlock it.” He reassured. “Take what’s yours—there should also be some armor along the racks.”

“Why are you helping me?” Atsuko looked over warily, helping herself to the now-opened chest. The axes and shields didn’t interest her, neither did the potions, but—ah. There it is.

“Two can survive the dungeons and the caverns down below better than one.” He looked over towards her. “My name’s Hadvar. I think I—” His eyes widened at the sight of the old, worn sword that she held near her.

This reaction was nothing new, and she’s had her fair share of fending off thugs who thought it was theirs for the taking. They had another thing coming. She knew how to use this, at the very least. The blade was curved and slender, a stark contrast to the heavy, wide swords of Skyrim. The grip was wrapped in dark leather, crisscrossed with finely-embroidered cloth of a deep red, making a pattern of diamonds. The guard was simple, and so was the pommel, and the worn blade itself was dotted with seven, in-laid stars. It seemed the sheath was missing—Atsuko would later scavenge for cloth to wrap it with.

“That’s an Akaviri blade.” Hadvar looked in poorly-concealed surprise. “Where did you truly come from?”

Atsuko rolled her eyes—feeling annoyed despite the threat of a rampaging dragon outside. “I’ve asked myself that question more times that you can ever imagine.”

Atsuko had woken up in the house of a blacksmith in Riverwood. With a bit of a headache, she sat down with her head in her palms trying to remember it all. She was hungry. Oh, and about to get executed. The—dragon? Hadvar was leading her through the caverns.

He brought her to his uncle and aunt, and they were kind enough to open their home to her and feed her. They only favor they asked in return was for her to ask Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun for help.

Of course she’d help! She crossed her arms at how tentatively they asked. Did these wonderful people really think she’d turn them down after feeding her the best venison stew her taste buds had ever been graced with?

And so she found herself hiking to the capital of Whiterun Hold. Addvar fashioned her a scabbard out of wood and leather, and her sword hung snugly across her back. The travel was easy, save for the pestering of some wolves, and soon she found herself past Honningbrew Meadery, just about to cross the bridge that led to the slope coming up towards Whiterun Stables.

For the second time in a few days—the world around her was suddenly shaking.

There were… voices. Wailing. Calling. Pounding into her eardrums and her head so strongly that she had lost her balance and nearly fell over. She caught herself on the wooden railing of the bridge that ran over a small stream. Her breathing became erratic, and she clawed at her chest, feeling her knees give in.

Dohvakiin!

Her eyes snapped up, looking around for its source. Her soul felt like it knew that voice but—how?

And why did it sound like a call into battle?

---

She was summed for a meeting by no less than her mentor, the arch-mage, herself.

"Did you hear it?"

Holbrooke looked out from atop the bannisters of the College of Winterhold. Her hands were folded neatly at her back, holding her staff across it, while the wind whipped at their cloaks; cold and merciless from the Sea of Ghosts. The view was always white. One could barely see through the thickness of snow and slat, which would have cut deep into Diana's bones if she hadn't learned the art of befriending the cold from the moment she could cast a spell.

"Somehow." She replied curtly. It was an honest answer; she didn't so much as hear than she felt it.

"The Greybeards call." The arch-mage looked towards her. "The Dragonborn has been summoned."

Diana nodded silently. She looked out into the Horizon, across the dying town at the base of their castle, towards the peaks which she knew was the Throat of the World. It was barely visible on most days, but it seemed the howling winds and frost would reign themselves in to make way for a pronouncement which struck fear as much as it did hope: there is a god amongst men in Skyrim.

It was no longer a legend.

"Did you hear?" Holbrooke began. "Or did you feel?"

Diana turned sharply towards her mentor.

"Because the rest of us could hear, but I reckon you're a little bit different."

"I'm not quite sure I understand—"

"Lady Cavendish of Daggerfall," Holbrooke looked up to her with a burning intensity. "Within the bounds of Skyrim, you will be Diana of the Frost—A proper mage. A proper master. But first—"

The smaller woman stomped the base of her staff into the cold, icy stone of the castle. The action was weak in its physicality, but the waves of magic it had sent cackled like lightning.

Diana's foot inched back a little to keep herself steady against the pulse.

"—you will seek out the Dragonborn and guide them."

---

The arch-mage had sent out word of their search for the Dragonborn of legend, and many responded with cynicism or outright disinterest. Thankfully, there was still brotherhood amongst the College’s alumna and they had agreed to keep their search a secret.

Farengar was the first to respond with any promise. The magical letter he sent was a rather enthusiastic one—of no surprise to Diana. He always spoke… so much.

She rode gracefully on her steed, intent to make up for the few days she spent fixing her affairs with the College before riding out towards Winterhold. It would take more than a half-a-day on horseback, and she had started early, hoping to arrive in the afternoon for some rest before presenting herself to the Jarl, and in turn, her colleague. The icy crags of Winterhold slowly melted away the closer she got to the Pale, and the sight of mud and greenery was more welcome than she thought it would be.

Wolves stalked the roads, but they were a nuisance at best. It was the frost trolls she had to watch out for—her area of expertise in magic was painfully ineffective against them, but she could hold her own if push came to shove. Ice wasn’t the only thing she knew how to weaponize.

She pulled on her hood, her breathing coming out in puffs of thick, misty vapor while she took a moment of respite. She’d been going at it for a few hours now. The land was beginning to turn into an expanse of green and yellow—she was at the border of Whiterun Hold. She could see spires at the top of a walled city on a mountain. Dragonsreach was clearly within view. It reminded her a little bit of High Rock, and riding through Rivenspire and Glenumbra when her mother visited for political affairs.

She bit at her lip, pulling on the reins of her horse as it began to whinny and buck. She didn’t actually know what guiding the Dragonborn meant. How did one guide a human with the soul of a dragon? What wisdom could you impart the mortal incarnation of no less than Akatosh himself?

She had studied many things in the world—more than just magic. She’s seen statue upon statue and endless sketches of Tiber Septim. The conqueror—always standing coldly in stone, uncompromising in his just crusade to unify all nations of Tamriel.

Diana was never one to doubt herself but—what guidance can a mage possibly impart on someone with such power?

She surveyed the land ahead of her, noting there wasn’t much left to cover. Something caught her eye.

It was smoke. And… fire?

She prodded her horse forward and into an urgent gallop, riding straight into the fray of what looked a small skirmish happening on the outskirts of the city walls, near the watch towers.

She was a little bit closer now but then—she gasped. It took everything in her power not to choke up and pull her horse into a full stop as a large, reptilian figure shot upwards from the ground with the beating of wide, leathery wings.

It was horrifying.

Her throat had constricted into tightness—but she grit her teeth and rode on. The closer she came, the more horrible the scene had become. Nameless guards had been gobbled into the drake’s hungry mouth, their helmets falling off and into the dirt, disappearing in a cloud of dust where once a whole man was standing. It looked like the fighting had been going on for some time. She whipped her rains, pressing her feet into the sides of her horse to push him onwards—faster. She could hear their voices now. Screams. There was a dark-elf woman who seemed to be in-command, along with a handful of what must have been the Jarl’s elite guard.

There was also a… a woman with brown hair, whipping around ferociously in tattered imperial leather armor. It looked like it was too large for her, but she wore it masterfully. She was brandishing a curved sword that looked vaguely familiar—but the dragon’s claw was coming down onto her fast and Diana was too far away to stop it and—

“Look out!”

She yelled, the exertion making her lungs burn. The woman was cued in by her shout and had rolled to the side, taking the opportunity of the dragon sinking its claw into the ground to land a clean slice at the underside of its arm.

It roared. That made it angry.

She hopped off her horse now—throwing self-preservation away with reckless abandon. She vaulted into a run, her hands growing cold, ice at her fingertips buzzing with power and anticipation. A cold shot of death waiting to be unleashed.

When the dragon pulled itself upwards to fly back into the air, Diana sent a sharp bolt of ice towards the exposed underside of its torso. Reptiles tended to have soft hides on the underside—and if memory served, dragons were reptiles all the same, albeit overpowered.

All it managed was a small gash, but the creature staggered, losing the momentum it needed to take to the skies. An arrow from the dark-elf general got it straight in the eye. There was hack from a solider at one of its hindlegs. It reared, smoke billowing from its nostrils, and Diana eyes widened—the next thing that would come was fire!

And it was going straight for the brown-haired woman.

On instinct, she reached out, a wall of ice encasing the stranger protectively. It would give her enough time dodge out of harm’s way but—

“By the eight divines, what are you doing?!” Diana yelled. She wasn’t moving at all! She was standing there, biding her time behind the wall of ice while flames engulfed her at every other direction. The dragon was getting frustrated, inching by nearer, and by the gods Diana was good but she wasn’t that good—not yet. That wall was going to melt very soon—it was already starting—but the woman kept steady while the it began to give way. Her left hand was splayed between herself and the dragon and—she had flames.

Flames of her own.

There was a pause where Diana caught a glimpse of red eyes.

Who is she?

The woman made the slightest opening with what she recognized as the gesture for the fireball spell, but how could it—? Against a dragon?

It seemed like it was more of a distraction than it was a hit for damage—it soared through the plume and straight into the dragon’s mouth. In the split second that the fire sputtered out, she lunged forward with her sword, stabbing it straight through the dragon’s throat, gruesomely forcing the sword down, and down, and down to cut an incision all the way through.

The strangled yelping didn’t last very long—the creature soon after collapsed on top of the woman.

Diana’s instinct was to hold the dragon’s body upright with pillars of ice lest it crush the woman completely. She was already falling unconscious. Diana strode forward, noticing that the armor was singed, but she was otherwise unburnt. She was covered in sweat, her breathing was ragged and uneven.

Her hand glowed in the warm light of restoration, holding it flush against the woman’s forehead.

She pulled her gently away from the giant carcass as the soldiers began to gather around them.

“I don’t believe it.” One of them muttered.

She couldn’t either, to be honest. That was a dragon. A full, proper dragon.

And she was alive.

Then the woman began to… glow.

“What’s going on?” Diana muttered to herself, eyebrows knit in confusion at the sight she was seeing. The dragon—it was also glowing. There was something similar to a link in-between them and—

“She’s…”

Diana’s stared in utter disbelief.

“…the Dragonborn.”

---

She’s the Dragonborn.

Diana told herself for the tenth time that evening, watching the woman (Atsuko with remarkable recovery) gouge herself with her third platter of sweetrolls within fifteen minutes of waking up from unconsciousness.

“You’re going to give yourself a stomachache.” The mage carefully offered.

She had frosted butter at the edge of her lip, and those red eyes were round and… charming.

There was no sign of authority.

Not even of ferocity.

She wouldn’t believe this was the same woman from that fight if she hadn’t brought her back into Dragonsreach herself.

“Nah!” Atsuko mumbled through a mouthful of food. A servant came by with a platter of roasted deer—Atsuko’s eyes glazed over. “I can like… eat. A lot. I love food.”

“I’ve noticed.” Diana said evenly.

“So who’re you supposed to be?” Atsuko said absent-mindedly, reaching for the platter which was next-in-line for devouring.

“I’m Diana Cavendish, from the College of Winterhold.”

“Oh.” Atusko blinked. “Okay, awesome.”

Awesome? Diana blinked. She shook her head, clearing her throat and speaking with every ounce of professionalism the life of diplomacy and schooling offered: “Dragonborn—”

“Akko.” She waved her hand.

“—you and I are… going to be stuck together, for a little while.”

fin

A/N: Pyro - we did it buddy. We did it. This is for you. And all your memes.

Hey guys - no one asked, but I'm writing it anyway, if only because of how much fun and joy this AU has given me. This first chapter is as serious as it gets, unfortunately, because this is gonna be a one-shot dump of SkyrimAU Diakko where they kind of goof around like dorks, except they're overpowered, and sometimes Akko sneezes but shouts 'FUS!' by accident and Diana has to clean it up. The format I'm looking for is each chapter is a separate story about their adventures, much like the books scattered around in Skyrim (because I have no commitment and will focus on Appointments I'm sorry huhuuuhu). You could probably read them on their own - save for chapter 1 which is for context of the rest of the tales of the Dragonborn and her Ice Lady girlfriend.

But if you read it anyway - I hope y'all enjoy and if you wanna share headcanons, by all means, let's make it happen!

#Diakko #Dianakko #Diana Cavendish #Atsuko Kagari #LWA #Fluff #Romance #Skyrim AU #Actino #Adventure #Humor #Wlw #fanfic #LWA Diana #LWA Akko

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lovinlikeloki · 3 years

Text

The Lone Wolf

Masterlist // 01

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 2.7k

Orlaith and I get off the bus and start walking down the road.

"Where are ye going?" Orlaith asks me.

"I'm away de Saint Marie's, ye wanny join me?" I tell her.

"Aye, sure why not?"

"I finished a job last night and didn't get de give Eoghan the card," I say, brandishing a gold colored card, "I need to get paid and get me next one."

"Why do you do this?" Orlaith asks, shaking her head at me.

"Eoghan's letting me stay in one of the rooms at Saint M's. I'm earning my keep, besides, the money's good."

"If you say so," she shrugs.

We keep walking and then I pull her sleeve, to show her the alley we need to walk down. We reach the end and I pull off my school blazer, shoving it in my school bag and exchanging it for my green and grey striped hoodie. I push open the door to the old Catholic school, I see that people are already in, clearly people like to start drinking early, well, if 5 in the afternoon is early to you.

I pull Orlaith to the bar and I slam the gold card on the bar, making Eoghan look at me. He takes the card and puts it in the out box, he then lifts a wad of cash and gives it to me. He begins to tell me that someone called for me, someone who called me 'Malen'kaya Volchitsa.' Only two people have ever called me that...and one's... not here anymore, so I know exactly who's after me. And just in case I didn't, the name she left, 'Cáileach,' was a nice hint. The witch is a smart one, I'll tell you that much.

(Little she-wolf) (Witch)

I take the number she left and smirk at the gold card.

"We'll take two cokes Eoghan," I tell him before going to the corner table by the door, my table.

Orlaith follows me to the table and sits across from me, "Why's a witch looking for you?"

"Because after leaving me for two years she's finally reaching out," I reply.

"Okay...and what the fuck does that mean?"

"What it means is that I'm gonny be leaving for a bit. My sister needs me, and I can't leave her hanging, 'sides, I owe her."

"You have a sister? Since when?" my confused friend asks.

"Not by blood, not by law she's... emotionally? my sister. Yeah, let's go with that. Basically when I went missing two years ago she was there, we bonded, and she saved me. That's all you need to know," I finish.

Eoghan brings us our drinks and we thank him, I hand him back a tenner, he tells me that he'll be behind the bar if I need him and that we'll talk about this job later.

Orlaith and I stay at the table for a bit while we finish our drinks, talking about our day and how much we hate our math teacher. Then Orlaith gets a text from her mam saying that she needs to head home to do homework and have some family time, whatever that is. I wouldn't know, it's been a while since I was at 'home'. It doesn't matter though, this, Saint Marie's the mercenary job fair of a bar, this is my home now.

When Orlaith leaves I head up to the bar and sit on a stool. I look up at the dead pool to see who's been picked this week, the dead pool is fun for me because as a minor I'm not allowed to get picked, I can just sit and watch the chaos. Only downside is that I can't pick anyone, so... I mean it's a two-way street, so I guess that's fair.

"So, what's this witch after?" Eoghan questions.

"Not sure," I reply honestly, "But whatever it is, it must be important. We haven't spoken in two years, and last time we spoke, he was still alive."

"Him as in-" Eoghan begins.

"Yes, he as in my grá cáilte. She didn't even call me then, so whatever this is has de be big. It better be, or I might just hang up."

(Lost love)

"You won't. The stories you've told me- you wouldn't leave her. If you did you'd hate yourself. You can't bring do stóirín back, he's gone, but you can still help her."

(Your darling)

"You're right, it just breaks my heart, I had to find out they escaped from rumors and stories, but I found out that he died by watching it, live on tv. We had so much potential, he had so much potential, but now I'll never know. Glac siad a anam ró-ghasta."

(They took his soul too soon)

"You're right. But now she needs you. So go find out what the witch wants, and try your damndest to deliver," he says.

"I will," I say, smiling at him sadly, "Thanks, E."

"Not a bother," he assures me, smirking, "Mactíre."

(Wolf)

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ ° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

I dial the number, she picks up after a single ring.

"Wanda, it's been a while," I say, trying to stay happy even though I know hearing her voice again will probably bring tears.

"Fianna, it has," she says, and I inhale sharply. No tears, not now, not yet at least.

"So, what do you need me for so urgently?" I begin to cut the shit.

"I need help. I need a friend, I need a soldier. Are you available for some last-minute travelling?" she says hesitantly. Clearly I'm a last resort, a "break glass in case of emergency" type help.

"Of course, when and where?" I ask.

"I need you to get to Leipzig-Altenburg Airport asap. We'll get you where you need to be from there," Wanda explains.

"Yeah, uh, when exactly do you mean by asap?"

"I mean, like literally buy a last-minute flight and get on it, within the next two hours. It'll be a two-hour flight, I'll pick you up and we'll get where we need to go."

"Alright, fine. I just need to know, what I'm up against. You said you needed a soldier? I need to know what I'm fighting for before starting a war."

"This is... the fight of a lifetime. You'll be fighting for truth and... safety. Who you'll be up against? Some of my closest friends and some of the deadliest assassins in the last thirty years. Now are you in or are you out? I don't blame you if you're out, but it would really help."

Wanda sounds... more than desperate, she's hopeless, she needs me, more than she ever has. I've fought many's a fierce foe in my time, but Avengers? Deadly assassins? That's usually more than a smidge above my paygrade. But she needs me, she's calling in her last favor, she clearly thinks I'm up for it. I hesitate for a second, weighing my options before making a life-changing decision.

"I'm in. I'll be there in four hours, max," and with that I hang up.

Guess I'm going to Germany.

I walk back into the bar and go through the side door that brings me to the lodging. I go to my room at sit on my bed. I'm leaving. I begin to pack my shit, I pull my kitbag out from under my bed and begin filling it with clothes. Leggings, t-shirts, hoodies, leather jackets, everything I might need. I pack all the essentials and then begin to think of how I'll smuggle my brass knuckles through security. I lift my mattress and take out a couple hundred pounds in cash, shove it in my wallet and keep packing.

When I'm all packed I begin to forge a note from my 'mother' for the school so that I can get time off without them calling up people who haven't seen me in over a year and a half. I make a simple excuse of appendicitis, was rushed to hospital late tonight blah blah, they won't really care, the school year's nearly over. I just need something for show so that I don't get called out.

I text Orlaith, letting her know I'm being called out of the country. She questions me at first, but when I explain that Wanda needs me, and I can't let her down she lets me be. She says she'll drop in and pick up the note tomorrow morning before getting on the 212 to Coláiste Feirste.

(Belfast College {It's an Irish speaking high school})

Now I've just got to talk to Eoghan. I tell him to come to the lodging hall, behind the bar. He serves the last couple of drinks that were ordered and joins me in the back.

"I have de go de Germany," I tell him, "It seems above my paygrade, but she needs me and I gotta be there for her."

"Okay... do ye have enough for the flight?" he simply asks.

"Aye, I've got all I need, me kitbag's packed an' everythin'."

"Ye said above yer paygrade. What'd ye mean by that?"

"I'm not just fighting with Wanda's friends. I'm also fighting against a couple o' them."

"What? Naw- What the fuck Fianna!"

"Look, she needs me, Eoghan, I can't just leave her."

"You're not fighting them assholes."

"Yeah, I am, Eoghan."

"Naw you're not."

"You can't stop me. I tol' her I'm in, and I'm going," I say, standing up and throwing the strap of my kitbag over my shoulder.

"Fianna, ye can't just leave to fight those dickheads," he stands up.

"I'm away," I say firmly, walking out the door.

"Get your arse back here, now!"

"You're not my da, Eoghan. You can't make me stay."

"I might not be your da, but I'm the closest thing to a father you've had these past years. You better treat me with a bit more respect."

"Maybe," I shrug, "But I'll stick with this for now," I say, throwing up my middle finger before leaving the bar. The taxi I called beforehand pulled up and I got in.

"The airport," I tell the driver.

"Right," is the simple reply he gives me.

I get a text when we're about halfway to the airport.

I click my phone off and look out the window at the familiar city I've grown up in. All my life except a year was spent here. When I wasn't here I was with the twins, me becoming who I am, them becoming who they are... or were, and then I left them. Not by choice. Not on purpose. But I still left them.

But now I've got Wanda back, and while I don't know how long I'll be with her for, it will be good to see her. If only I could've seen him one last time before I left, spoke to him one last time, made sure nothing was left unsaid. Instead I'm here, he's gone, and I'll never know how things could've gone if perhaps I never left.

The driver stops at the airport entrance and lets me out, I pay him the fare and he takes it with a smile. I grab my bag, close the door, and go into the airport. I go to the desk and ask if there are any last-minute tickets to Leipzig-Altenburg I could get on. While there was a seat I could take, it cost a little more than a pretty penny. Luckily I had enough to buy it and went through security immediately. I opted for a pat-down rather than the metal detector and thanks to my damn good hiding spots the woman didn't find my brass knuckles.

I wait for the half hour before my flight and board along with the others. I get to my seat and sigh. A two-hour flight isn't long, it's just boring to sit through, no one to talk to and not long enough to sleep through. I just sit there messing on my phone for a bit, making faces at the baby looking through the gap between the chairs a couple rows in front of me.

When the plane finally lands I prepare myself. This is it. I have to fight Avengers. I have to fight deadly psycho assassins. But first. I have to see Wanda. For the first time in two years. For the first time since he died.

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ ° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

When I leave the airport I scan my surroundings and all the cars parked there. I stop when I come across a van that could be owned by no other, a white panel van with what I'd consider an iconic license plate: L: T34MC4P, I know that it's gotta be my ride. I go to the passenger side and knock on the window, the door opens, and I'm promptly enveloped in a hug.

"Someone order a conriocht?" I sat into my sister's shoulder.

(Werewolf)

She laughs and hugs me tighter, "I did, you little volk."

(Wolf)

I look at her with tears in my eyes, smiling sadly. She looks back at me with a similar expression and we just stay there in the embrace for a moment.

"Okay," I say, finally pulling away and wiping my tears away, "So who's ass do I have to kick?"

She laughs, wiping away her own tears, "No one's just yet. We gotta get there first, so get in the back."

"Back of a van?" I quirk an eyebrow, "Are there seats of does this look like a kidnapping?"

"There are seats, but they're laid down. Scott is sleeping on them, and I thought you'd want to stretch before we get there, human or not."

"That's fair, but the second I shift I'm gonna be stuck with Lu, you know that."

"I can get her to ease up, but you're stuck with her, you have to learn how to get along with her, okay?"

"Yes mom," I mock, "I'll see you on the other side."

I salute her before opening the back door, seeing a middle-aged man sleeping on the seats. Must be Scott. I climb behind the seats and lay down, shifting to the Mactíre, and as expected I hear Lu.

Lu is like a voice in my head, she's the canine and lupine instincts that got transferred during the experiments. She talks to me, mostly degrades me for my logic and emotions, planning things out rather than acting on instinct and figuring it out on the fly.

"So, she returns," Lu mocks.

"Yes, I've returned. Wanda needs help, she needs me, needs us to work together," I reply.

"Wanda? Wanda needs us?"

"Yes. And we're gonna work together. Right?"

"Yes. Of course. Anything for Wanda."

"Good. Now we're gonna be driving for a bit, so what do you suggest we do?"

"Sleep. Sleep is good. Sleep builds energy."

"Okay Lu, we'll sleep. But when we're fighting I need to take control, okay? I need to be able to focus."

"Okay Fi, you take control."

"Thank you."

And with that I begin to drift out of consciousness.

#peter parker x oc #peter parker x reader #spiderman x oc #spiderman x reader #peter parker #fianna macbhfloscaidh #the lone wolf #the lupine saga #nyx writes #jynx writes #pyre writes

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purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1137

created by: allwrongx - Bzoink

Do you have a bookshelf? If so, just one or how many? I don’t, actually. I have the most books out of everyone in the family, but they’re all either lined up or stacked in random points in my room because of said lack of shelves. Currently, I have three groups of books strategically placed around my room.

If you answered yes to the above, are your books ordered in a special way? Just by height since I have a lot of tall books like encyclopedias as well as smaller-sized novels and pocketbooks.

Have you ever owned action figures? I have a couple of wrestling action figures and I want to keep collecting more if my financial situation ever permits it in the future.

Why did you last smile? Andrew Ilnyckyj finally has a new cooking videoooooooo, which is the main BuzzFeed content I watch these days. I think his last one had been posted in January, so I’ve been feeling pretty starved for some new Andrew content.

Do you have a close relationship with your immediate family? I’m not close with them in that I don’t feel shy about kissing/hugging them or confiding in them; my family are not those people for me. But like we don’t fight (anymore) and we’re able to have pleasant talks over dinner, which is as close as I’d possibly ever get with them.

Idk, we were ultimately never able to cultivate an emotionally strong relationship with one another, which I’ll always feel bittersweet about; but at least I now have a blueprint of how I’d want to build my relationships within my family, should I ever have one of my own.

If I gave you twenty bucks what would you do with it? Use it to pay my sister for the drawing commission I asked her to make. My total bill comes up to around that amount, anyway.

If dinosaurs could be tamed, would you want one as a pet? Nope, they can stay in the wild.

Do you crack your knuckles, neck or toes constantly? I crack my knuckles the most and my ankles as well. Never my neck and toes.

Are you constantly catching colds or other sicknesses? No, I rarely get sick.

Is there a movie from your childhood that you still watch today? I do an annual Toy Story rewatch because it’s my absoluete favorite kid’s movie. I will also always be in the mood to watch The Game Plan, which I watched every single weekday after coming home from school in like the 3rd grade.

Have you ever seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Nope but this has been on my list for years. Just never gotten around to downloading it and finally seeing it for myself.

Where do you do most of your shopping? I usually go to small, independent businesses that sell trendy pieces for a lot less, but I also drop by H&M from time to time. Once I feel secure enough with my savings I also wanna be able to start shopping from Zalora because they have really nice brands over there as well, haha.

Are you afraid of mice? I don’t imagine I would be since they’re tiny and cute. I’m afraid of house rats, though, especially considering how big they can get D:

What type of souvenir do you usually purchase when on vacation? I typically don’t get souvenirs for myself, but this is also because I’ve never traveled solo. My family collects magnets from all the different places we’ve been to though (and also from my dad’s work travels), so our fridge doors are filled with them.

Do you vacation often? Yeah, my family would usually take 3-5 trips a year, usually around the country and sometimes out of; but of course we’ve had to put a stop to it since the pandemic blew up.

Are you comfortable wearing your pajamas in public places? The only place I’d be comfortable doing so is at the nearby McDonald’s, since I’ve seen residents from my village come in there wearing their PJs or housewear. Otherwise no, I’d rather dress up.

What's your favorite candy bar? Twix!!!!!!!! And while they’re not technically bar-shaped, I love Reese’s Cups too.

Do you own more than one copy or edition of a book? Hahaha yeah. I have two copies of Twilight (one is from my boxed set, another was given to me by a childhood friend, Maryrose) and Breaking Dawn (one is also from my boxed set, while the other one is the special white cover edition given to me by Angela).

If you could see any musical on Broadway right now, what would it be? Miss Saigon. That’s the only musical I’m into.

If you could put any person or characters face on money, whose would it be? I definitely want to see a woman’s face on a dollar bill or coin sometime in the future. < Oh man, this is a pretty good answer. We do already have women in our P500 and P1000 bills, but they’re accompanied by men :/ It’d be neat to see a woman take over a bill/coin all on her own, like Gabriela Silang.

The place that you'd most like to be right now is where? God I really wish I were out in a coffee shop right now but I have to saveeeeee. I’ve been meaning to check out this nearby cafe that also doubles as a co-working space (which means I can do work there without feeling guilty or anxious that I’m taking too much time there, yay), and I might visit next week.

Do large crowds make you anxious? Depends on what the context is. If I find myself in the middle of a stampede that’s quickly going ugly then I will definitely start to panic; but if I’m at, say, a concert, then personally a bigger crowd means a better experience for me.

Do you own a helmet of any sorts? None of my own, but we do have a helmet for our bike.

Will you willingly sing in front of other people besides your family? No unless a huge sum of money is up for grabs, lmao. I’ve only sang in public once, when my mom made me do a solo number on my 7th birthday.

What's in the box? Yeah, I’m not feeling creative enough for this question...

Does your family generally decorate for most holidays? No, only for Christmas.

Would you take the chance to be Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys for a day? Eh, I’d pass up on the offer. Mystery isn’t my thing.

Do you eat soup when you're sick? No. I prefer to drink lots of water as I usually lose my appetite when I’m sick anyway.

Is there a specific mug or coffee cup that you have to use all of the time? I don’t have to use it, but I’m in love with the mug Angela gave me just this past Christmas. I use it all the time now.

Have you ever watched Doctor Who? No, but I don’t think it’s my kind of genre or show.

If so, what do you think is the scariest creature yet?

Do you prefer to do your shopping online or in person? If I already have an idea of what I want to get, I prefer to get it in person. But if I need something oddly specific and have no idea where to start, that’s when I start to look for online shops or go to Shopee or Lazada altogether.

If you read, which book or series did you enjoy most as a child? Angie Sage, with her Septimus Heap series.

Do you read tour guide type books before you visit places? It’s been a while since I’ve traveled extensively, and when I was younger I didn’t really read into tourist guides. Now that I’m older, I do want to start reading up before visiting a different country – not necessarily about the best places to visit, but more about the culture and practices I have to observe. I remember being reprimanded by a Korean when I tried to snap a photo of something I saw while out in public in Jeju, and I don’t want to do something like that again.

Would you please belt out a few song lyrics here? AND IF YOU TRY TO FIND ME NOOOOW I’M IN ALL THE ECHOES THAT HAVE FAAAADED OUT soooo!!! I’M MOVING ON CAUSE I JUST WANT TO FEEL FOR ONCE THAT I BELONG, THAT’S WHAT GOING ON

How do you get rid of your hiccups? I hold my breath, which is a trick taught to me by my mom. Not always effective, but it does work sometimes.

Is there one saying that you've adopted from someone/somewhere else? I’ve picked up “Awesome!” which was Gabie’s catchphrase. My former director also liked saying “Anywhoooooo” when she wants to digress, and I’ve since adopted that into my vocabulary and mannerisms as well.

Can you lie effectively and smoothly? Yes, but I feel like shit every time I have to.

Do you buy Halloween candy when it's on sale after the holiday? No, I don’t enjoy candy anyway.

Why is your favorite teacher your favorite? She taught beyond her curriculum - music, which isn’t even part of my top 30 favorite subjects - and always made sure to inject a little bit of useful life advice in all her lessons.

Who can never fail to make you laugh? Hans.

Do you agree with the "they're just being kids" excuse? No, especially if the kids in question are already 16/17 year olds.

How many pets have you had in your lifetime? Countless goldfish, one chick, one rabbit, one cat, two birds, and two dogs.

Were you ever afraid of monsters under your bed? Sure. Still am occasionally, heh.

Would you kindly recommend your favorite movie to me? Two for the Road shows a realistic take on love told through cars and a non-linear tour around Southern Europe. If you’re into that and Audrey Hepburn’s pretty outfits in each scene, definitely check it out.

#survey #surveys

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sophcaro · 4 years

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Warriors | WMatsui - Chapter 28

A long, blissful sigh escaped Mayu’s lips as she enjoyed a rest under the shade of the large branches of a maple tree. From her position at the top of the hill, she had a privileged view over the main grounds of the Shinoda clan. The head of the clan’s main residence. The samurais’ private quarters. The stables held over two hundred of horses of every color and kind: black, white, grey, chestnut, roan and bay; packhorses, workhorses and riding horses. The Buddhist temples, central places of prayer. The cemetery, where people came to mourn their lost ones, often soldiers fallen during the last great war. But also, the small houses, taverns and trading centers, that stretched in the valley as far as the eye could see.

The movement, the hustle bustle, the energy. It reminded her of her childhood. Of how the Watanabe clan used to be when it stood proudly as one of the leading authorities of the country.

The remembrance of her lost heritage made Mayu a touch melancholy, but she pushed it firmly to the back of her mind. She was content living here. Every passing day, she was grateful Shinoda-san had accepted to let them stay. At last, they were off the roads, filled with disreputable individuals ready to rob them of their scarce resources. Mayu felt safe within these walls, and wasn’t afraid to call it her new home.

She had settled into what proved an idyllic life, with only one cloud on her horizon. Her sister, Jurina, who had difficulty adjusting to their new day-to-day routine. Maybe it was her optimistic side speaking, but Mayu wished to remain positive. Believe she would come to appreciate this second chance life gave them.

The maple forest had become a sea of reds, oranges and yellows. The grass swayed in the autumn breeze, the sun bathing the foliage and flowers in its golden rays. Gone was the scorching heat of Summer. Mayu found the current temperate, neither hot or cold, pleasant. She had heard that, in this northern region, Winter could prove to be ruthless. Some years, inhabitants had even witnessed lakes freeze. The sole idea made her shiver, and she hoped her thick kimono would be enough to keep her warm. She had spent all her childhood in the South of Japan, where the Watanabe clan used to be located. Only recently, she and her sister had begun to travel norther.

Never before had she had the chance to witness lands covered with the white substance people called snow. The prospect made her secretly excited.

Mayu’s eyes fluttered close. Relaxed, her body felt heavier. She wasn’t particularly tired, but the atmosphere was serene. She drifted away. Without warning, a certain kiss came back to the forefront of her mind, and she was wide awake. Her heart leaped. She raised her hand to her lips; they quivered slightly at the touch. A shy but happy smile broke out across her face. The memory of the soft and warm kiss she had shared with the kyudo instructor was vivid and sharp.

There were gaps in her memory concerning that particular evening, and she blamed it on the excessive use of alcohol. She had always been a light drinker, and she couldn’t explain why she had gotten carried away. Despite her mind fuzzy about the course of events, she didn’t imagine the kiss. She had a hard time believing it happened. For months, her attraction for Kashiwagi-san grew, but she hesitated to make the first move.

What if her protector was gentle and caring out of duty? Mayu had seen a couple of signs suggesting a mutual romantic interest. The personal attention, the lingering eye contact, the physical proximity. And what about the evening Jurina had left the bedroom in a haste after a violent nightmare, and Kashiwagi-san, witnessing Mayu’s disarray, had invited her to her room and provided her comfort?

As days transformed into weeks, and weeks became months, the protégée and her protector grew closer than ever. Their relationship didn’t progress as much as Mayu secretly hoped, but she didn’t want either to take the risk of overstepping boundaries. What if Kashiwagi-san held herself for the same reasons, and believed a romantic relationship between them was inappropriate? The kiss, reciprocated, had put an end to any remaining doubt, and filled Mayu’s heart with happiness.

At the crackling sound of leaves and twigs stepped upon, Mayu pulled out of her reverie. Her eyelids peeled open, finding Jurina standing in front of her. Mayu blinked, coming back to reality. Her sister’s delight caught her attention. “I see some habits don’t change.”

Mayu readjusted her seated position, flustered to have been so lost in her thoughts she didn’t hear someone approach. “What do you mean?”

“It reminds me of when we were little. How often would I find you napping under a cherry tree?”

“You mean…” Mayu continued, in a slight humorous tone. “You mean when you escaped your bodyguard’s attention and explored the lands of our clan, disappearing for hours, sometimes even until sundown?”

Jurina slumped down beside her, and rested her back against the tree. “It’s not my fault if they were too slow to catch up.”

Mayu let out a small chuckle. “I’ll always remember Father’s fury when the bodyguard confessed having lost you. How many times did he change your bodyguard? Four? Five?”

“I have no idea.” Jurina shrugged her shoulders, grinning. “It never made a difference anyway.”

Mayu laughed openly. A comfortable silence fell over them, during which both enjoyed the view and each other’s presence. Once in a while, Mayu would steal a peek at Jurina when she wasn’t paying attention. She felt so lucky to have her by her side. They had endured so many hardships. The murder of their father. The downfall of their clan. Years of restless wandering. Life at the Shinoda clan was a fresh start; an opportunity to put their painful past behind.

“Why don’t you join Rena-san’s lessons? You haven’t come to the dojo. You need to learn kenjutsu.”

Mayu shifted uneasily. “Thank you, but… I’m fine with kyudo. It suits me more.”

An awkward silence followed.

“You’re spending way too much time with Kashiwagi-san. You follow her everywhere. You barely leave her side all day.”

“What are you talking about?” Mayu asked, taken aback by her manifest disapproval.

“I’m not blind,” Jurina rolled her eyes at her. “You get that dreamy expression when you interact with her. You have a crush. I hope you’re not making yourself false illusions about your relationship.”

“W-We kissed,” Mayu blurted out.

Jurina’s mouth dropped open. “What? When?!”

Mayu hesitated. “The other day, after the dinner organized by Shinoda-dono. Kashiwagi-san offered to accompany back to my room, and we ki-”

“Did she take advantage of you?!”

“W-What? No… Kashiwagi-san is not like tha-”

“I knew I couldn’t trust her!” Jurina abruptly stood up. “I warned her to not play with your feelings but she seized the opportunity as soon as she saw one! She used you during a moment of weakness! What else did she do to you?! Tell me! You have to tell me everything!”

Her outburst rendered Mayu speechless.

“Do you even remember what happened that evening?!” Jurina asked, in a slightly mocking tone. “No, of course you don’t. Let me refresh your memory. Hasegawa-san harassed you the whole evening. He made you drink again and again, and you were too nice and polite to refuse. I had no choice but to intervene to make him stop! I wouldn’t be shocked if you were half drunk when Kashiwagi-san walked you back to your room. Your beloved protector didn’t lift a finger to help you!”

Mayu was baffled by Jurina’s fury. Processing the information revealed, she put the missing pieces of the puzzle back together. Little by little, her memory of that evening became much clearer. “Kashiwagi-san couldn’t say anything! It would have caused an incident!”

“Tss. What a silly excuse,” Jurina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “She was too much of a coward to act, and I was forced to step up.”

“Yes, and it could have gotten yourself killed! And what do you mean by you ‘warned her to not play’ with my feelings?”

“Exactly as I said,” Jurina spoke with confidence. “I had a clear conversation with her on the subject. I won’t let anyone toy with you.”

Mayu didn’t like arguing with her. Conflicts left her emotionally and mentally drained. But this was too much. She couldn’t accept nor condone what she had dared to do behind her back. “I can’t believe you did that!” Mayu sprang to her feet, anger bubbling within her. “How could you? You had no right!”

If Jurina was shocked by her raised tone, she didn’t let it show. “You’re my sister, and it’s my role to protect you. I don’t trust Kashiwagi-san. I never did. Even less after her behavior during dinner.”

“You don’t know her like I do. Kashiwagi-san is a good person!”

“You’re naïve.” Jurina wasn’t so easily deterred. “You always see the best in people. Kashiwagi-san is acting nice to get close to you. Once she gets what she wants, she’ll get rid of you without any remorse!”

“You always believe everyone has bad intentions. I know what my heart feels and that Kashiwagi-san feels the same. I don’t judge your relationship with Matsui-san!”

“I-It’s different.”

“How is it different?” Mayu countered. Her sister avoided her gaze, and Mayu guessed she had caught her off guard. “I won’t pretend I fully understand the nature of the relationship you two have. But look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have feelings for her. Or you want me to believe it’s a simple flirt? That it’s not serious?”

When the younger girl didn’t reply, Mayu added. “I think we’re both experimenting the same. We met someone who makes us feel something different; something new and strong. But at least, I’m honest about it, and not afraid of saying it.”

Mayu stood face to face with Jurina. She wanted her to realize she meant every single word, and nothing, no one, would make her change her mind. She half-expected her to come back at her with a clever retort. Against all odds, Jurina’s lips remained tightly sealed. Mayu took a step back, and slowly walked away. Their heated debate had left her shaken, and it would take her a while to recover from it, but she was also proud to have been brave enough to stand up to her convictions.

**********

“She’s totally infatuated with Kashiwagi-san,” Jurina mumbled, leaning her back against the stall. “It doesn’t make her think clearly.”

The whinny of her horse distracted her. “What?” She cocked an eyebrow at her black stallion, meeting his visible disapproval. The animal tilted his head to his left, pointing his nose towards the untouched saddle on the rack. “Yes, yes, we are leaving! You can be so impatient, sometimes!”

Jurina pushed away from the door stall and picked the saddle, throwing it on the horse. All morning, she couldn’t get out of her head her argument with Mayu. She had taken the direction of the stables, hoping a ride would help dissipate her bad mood. “Why won’t she listen to me!” She growled, putting on the bridle. “I know I’m right, right?!” She studied her horse’s reaction, hoping for support and understanding, but all she got in return was a silent stare.

Akihira-kun, the thirteen-year-old stable boy, who brushed the knotted beige mane of a horse, spoke up in a small, hesitant voice. “I-Is everything alright, Watanabe-san?”

Jurina spared him a quick glance. “Yes, yes.” She answered, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible. A complete lie. She was anything but fine.

“And how can she compare it to my relationship with Rena-san! It’s ridiculous! It’s completely different!”

A chestnut head popped over the next-door stall. Her protector’s calm and gentle mare appeared, and twitched her ears at her in a friendly hello. The stallion disregarded Jurina’s presence and greeted the mare with a nicker, rubbing his nostrils against the head of the female horse.

“Great,” Jurina groaned, her frustration rising. “Remind me who defended you when Rena-san didn’t want you two to be together? Me! So, you could at least pretend you’re interested in my problems!”

The stallion turned his head partially towards his owner, and snorted in response.

The front door of the stables opened, and Jurina diverted her attention from the couple to the group of four men entering. Amongst them, Jurina recognized two kenjutsu apprentices, Tanaka-san and Matsuura-san. She failed to identify the two others, but by their dark blue outfits, concluded they were young shinobis at Kitahara-san’s service. Her own horse ride all forgotten, she observed the scene unfolding. The four horses saddled and prepared. The heavy, large packages. The weapons concealed beneath the kimonos or wrapped up in dark clothing.

This group of men spiked her interest.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Jurina approached them. “Going somewhere? You seem prepared for a long travel.”

“W-Watanabe-san.” Tanaka-san spun around. “Oh no, we’re only going to the village.”

“So heavily armed and food supply for what? A week? Has anyone told you before you’re a terrible liar?”

He swallowed nervously. “Matsui-dono told us not to disclose any information.”

“And if you’re not aware of it, it means Matsui-dono doesn’t trust you enough,” Matsuura-san chimed in, snickering.

Jurina glared at him. Her hand travelled toward the hilt of her katana, loosening it from its guard. Her protector had asked her to work on her temper, and to socialize with the other trainees. On that first point, Jurina had made efforts. Did she sometimes lose her calm? Yes, she did, but she had made great progress. Three months ago, she would already have pulled out her sword and challenged him to a duel.

Concerning her relationship with the other apprentices, it was a different story. At first, any opportunity was good to challenge them into spontaneous fights. She relished the adrenaline coursing through her veins when their swords clashed together. Eventually, her thirst depleted to a more reasonable level, and she was satisfied with the daily trainings and regular tournaments. Jurina had neutral feelings for the majority of her fellow companions. She hadn’t developed any friendship, but some had owed her respect, such as Tanaka-san, whom she considered as a valuable opponent. However, if there was one trainee she remained in permanent conflict with, it was the pretentious and self-assured Matsuura-san.

Jurina released her hold on the tsuka of her katana, calming down. Ignoring the provocation, she addressed Tanaka-san. “You’re going on a mission?”

“Yes, we are,” he confessed, a little reluctantly. “We were ordered to patrol the clan’s southern border with Ikeda-san and Abe-san.”

Jurina’s eyes widened at the revelation. The southern border. It was where she and Rena had been attacked. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Jurina thought of interrogating him further, but refrained. He probably had been told the strict minimum. The group mounted their horses, and trotted out of the stables. Why didn’t her protector warn her about this mission? And why wasn’t she part of it? As the four riders vanished in the distance, she decided to have an explanation.

**********

Jurina made a beeline to the samurais’ quarters, discovering Rena’s bedroom empty. She moved to the dojo, finding the kenjutsu instructor equally absent. For an instant, she wondered if she had briefly left the clan. No, it wasn’t possible. Her protector had to be within the grounds of the clan: her horse was still present in the stables. Jurina checked a few other locations, such as the courtyard and the garden, without any success. After half an hour of fruitless research, she came to the evidence: she needed to question a guard.

The first guard proved completely useless, having not a single clue about her location. The second one she interrogated provided her, at last, with the information she desperately sought: the kenjutsu instructor was in the council chambers. Jurina took its direction, feeling slightly foolish for omitting that place. Her protector had regular meetings with the head of the clan, and lately, her presence was requested on a daily basis.

Jurina arrived at destination, but was disappointed to find the doors shut. Jurina hesitated: come back later or wait? In the end, she chose the second option. Ignoring the two guards eyeing her suspiciously, she made herself comfortable in the waiting area, praying it wouldn’t take too long.

Time passed slowly, so slowly she found her patience strained. She never had been the most patient person in the world – Mayu would be the first to attest to it - but this meeting was unusually long. Nevermind. She would have to postpone this conversation to later. Jurina raised from her chair, decided to not wait another minute, when the doors opened. An advisor hurried out, his arms filled with scrolls, and Jurina used the opportunity to take a peek inside the room.

Astonishment touched her. The head of the clan was nowhere to be seen. Behind the office where she usually handled meetings and claims, was present the one and only master kenjutsu. Head bent down, she was focused on the table heaped with papers, listening to the male advisor who stood beside her and gave her instructions.

Jurina considered her next move. Should she make her presence known? Or leave her protector to her occupations? No, she had waited long enough to turn back. She approached the entrance, but was halted by a guard. “Do you have a meeting? Matsui-dono asked not to be disturbed.”

“No, I don’t. But I want to talk to her.”

“What is it?” Rena’s inquiry sounded from inside the room.

“It’s Watanabe-san,” the guard announced, turning in her direction. “She wants to speak to you. I told her you wished not to be disturbed.”

“It’s fine. Let her in.”

Jurina walked in and, as the doors closed behind her, didn’t wait to point out the oddity of the situation. “Shinoda-san is not here?”

“Momijimori no kami dono is unwell, and is resting in her quarters. In the meantime, I’m assuming her obligations.”

Jurina frowned. “Is she sick?”

“It’s a simple allergic reaction to the season.” Her protector’s tone was controlled, but Jurina detected a hint of concern in her tone.

“Well, for what it’s worth,” with a slight joking tone, Jurina went on. “If anything were to happen to the head of the clan, you would make an excellent replacement. You’re practically already doing the job for her.”

The advisor’s features contorted with shock and stupor. Rena pursed her lips in slight disapproval, yet a look of veiled amusement crossed her face. “Forgive my protégée’s erratic sense of humor. Obviously, she wishes no harm to Shinoda-dono. Am I wrong, Watanabe-san?”

“Of course not,” Jurina answered, suppressing a smile. “I hope Shinoda-dono will be on the road of recovery in no time.” She continued, not losing sight of her primary objective. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Matsui-dono has a busy schedule. I’m sure this conversation can wait,” the advisor intervened firmly.

“Yes…” Rena’s voice trailed away, with embarrassment. “Suzuki-san is right. I have all this paperwork to finish by the end of the day.”

“It won’t be long,” Jurina tried to sound reassuring.

Rena could sense her advisor’s eyes boring into her, pressuring her, but she felt guilty for denying her protégée’s desire to speak. “Alright.” Rena relented, and lowered on the table the document she was reading. “What did you wish to talk about?”

Jurina’s gaze drifted from her to the advisor, and Rena deciphered the meaning of the message conveyed. “Suzuki-san. Would you mind leaving us?”

The advisor exchanged with her a glance of surprise, not making any secret of his discontent. His mouth opened as if to speak, and it took him all his self-restraint to not object, bowing slightly, and leaving the council chambers.

“I don’t have a lot of spare time…” Rena’s face creased; her stress palpable. “It’s not I don’t wish to speak to you, but this added workload was unexpected. The Autumnal season seems to affect Shinoda-san’s health… more than usual. She’s been unwell for the past few days.”

“Is it true you sent Tanaka-san and Matsuura-an on a mission?” Jurina didn’t intend to be so blunt, but the question had been nagging her all day. She couldn’t hold herself any longer; she was in desperate needs of answers.

“H-How do you…” Rena stared at her, astounded. “Yes, I did. A couple of days ago, Shinoda-san organized a meeting. She asked me and Kitahara-san to gather and send a group on a patrolling mission. She wants to make sure the frontiers of the clan are well secured. It’s simple routine.”

“We both know it’s more than that. She sent them in the South, where we were attacked.” Jurina confronted her with the truth. “Why didn’t you choose me? I’m your top trainee. I was the best fit.”

“Tanaka-san and Matsuura-san have proved their value. Choosing my protégée would send the wrong message. I didn’t want Shinoda-san or the other trainees to believe I was partial in my decision.”

Rena sounded extremely convincing, but Jurina didn’t buy it. “It’s not the real reason. You didn’t choose me because you don’t trust me. You don’t have enough faith in me to complete a mission without messing up.”

“Jurina-san… No, it’s not true.”

Jurina drew closer to the table, placed her hands flat on the surface and leaned down inches away from her. “You think I’m uncontrollable, don’t you? That I can’t follow orders?” She studied her, trying to read her response. “You know how much I hate being cooped up in this place! I told you… I opened myself to you. This mission, it was exactly what I needed! I needed the distraction!”

Jurina glanced away, overcome with embarrassment. This wasn’t right. She was doing it again. Losing control over her emotions. Precisely what she fought so hard against. She breathed in and out, calming her fast-beating heart. It wasn’t the image she wanted to project. Not to her protector. She wanted to prove she changed, and wasn’t anymore the impetuous child of their first encounter.

“I feared you would be unhappy if it came to your attention. It’s true, I didn’t want to send you. But it’s not for the reason you think. Of course, you have issues to work on. Your temper, your independent and stubborn personality. But you had all the physical and fighting skills required to fulfil this mission.”

“Then why?” Jurina said, allowing her frustration to leak into her tone. “Why didn’t you send me?”

Rena grew rigid and tense, and drew her attention back to the scroll in front of her. “I don’t think it’s the appropriate time for this conversation.”

Jurina felt a stirring of anger. “No, I want to know!”

“Jurina-san, please.” Rena cast her a pleading look. “We can talk about it later. But now is not the best moment.”

“Why?!” Jurina slapped her hand on the table. “It’s not fair, Rena-san! I deserved to go on that mission! You had no right to-”

“I don’t want to lose you!” Rena blurted out, her voice shaking angrily. “Two years ago, I lost someone. It was supposed to be an easy mission, but things didn’t turn out as planned. She never made it back alive to the clan! She died! I don’t want the same thing to happen to you! Can you understand that?!”

Shivers racked Jurina’s body; the confession destabilized her. She withdrew her hands from the table and pulled back. Her protector’s deep brown eyes glittered, and brimmed with unshed tears. What was she supposed to say? Or to act? When the silence stretched unbearably long, Jurina did the first thing that came to her mind. She reached out, touching Rena’s hand. As she held her palm, fingers tremble inside hers, and Jurina met her watering eyes.

“You’ve come to mean so much to me,” Rena’s voice crackled; a tear slid down her cheek. “I cannot accept to lose you too.”

Jurina was about to protest, before realizing the irony of the situation. Who was she to disagree with her protector’s desire to protect the ones she cared about, when she acted the same way with Mayu? “I understand you want to protect me.” Her voice was calmer and gentler when she spoke up. “But I can protect mys-”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Forgive me for the disturbance, Matsui-dono.” The advisor, Suzuki-san, stopped at the entrance, and bowed in respect. “The emissary of the Yokohama clan has arrived. Will you receive him now, or should I make him wait?”

“Oh, right.” At the reminder, Rena straightened up in her seat. Noticing her hand still linked with Jurina’s, she gently extracted her fingers from her hold. “Let the emissary know I will receive him immediately.”

The discussion was over. The thought of protesting didn’t cross Jurina’s mind. She couldn’t delay her protector from her obligations. Jurina slowly backed away from the table, not breaking eye contact with her. “Maybe…” she paused for a breath, hesitant. “Maybe later we’ll have the opportunity to continue this conversation?”

The master kenjutsu didn’t hide her surprise. She didn’t reply immediately, before giving her a small silent nod of consent.

Jurina’s face relaxed into a faint smile of relief.

She spun on her heel and retraced her steps back to the exit. At the doors, she marked a stop, and glanced over her shoulder. The male advisor, Suzuki-san, had already reached her protector’s side. Jurina was too far away to distinguish the content of their conversation, but imagined he was prepping her for the upcoming meeting. Jurina observed her protector attentively, amazed by her ability to regain her composure. In the blink of an eye, her demeanor had altered entirely, her serious, work-hardened expression not revealing an inch of what had transpired in this room.

**********

Every evening, Rena had a ritual.

Her daily chores done, she bid goodbye to Momijimori no kami, and took the direction of the samurais’ quarters. After a hard day’s work – the life of a master kenjutsu anything but restful - it was often sundown by the time she joined her bedroom. Her first action was to lit the candle on the small table, wait for the flame to grow and illuminate her surroundings, and move towards the weapons rack.

Detaching the katana and wakizashi from her belt, she disposed of them and proceeded in disrobing. She removed her hakama and kimono, swapping her daily clothes for her nightly yukata. Before laying down on the futon, she checked her tanto was secured under the pillow, before falling into a deep slumber, exhaustion gaining her.

This evening followed the same path, for one exception. As Rena removed her weapons and placed them onto the rack, she fixed the ninjato laying at the top. She tried not to dwell on it, but was unable to look away. The familiar sword brought her back to the conversation that occurred in the council chambers, one that triggered painful memories to reemerge.

Rena took if off the rack; her fingers slid along the surface of the 30 inches flat blade. That moment of her past was supposed to remain buried deep within her. Only two people, Shinoda-dono and Kitahara-san, had borne witness to the scene, and seen how devastated Airi’s death had left her. The monster who took control. Her delirium and destructive fury. It wasn’t a memory she was proud of, and wished she could erase it from her mind forever. Unfortunately, it still haunted her.

People praised her benevolence and good manners, her sound education and ability to never let her emotions cloud her judgement. Aside from her misconduct two years ago, she had kept them under control. Her encounter with the young Watanabe sister had disrupted the stability of her perfectly organized daily life. After the confession that left her mouth in the council chambers, she didn’t recognize herself. It wasn’t like her to disclose such personal information. The weakness she had displayed. It left her both disturbed and ashamed, and she was lucky only one person had been testimony of it.

“May I come in?”

The familiar feminine voice, hesitant behind her bedroom door, distracted her from her thoughts. Rena cleared her head, and carefully replaced the ninjato back in place. At the request, her mouth lifted into a smile. “Since when you do my protégée ask for my permission to enter?”

The fusuma panel slowly slid open. “Since I learned it’s not appropriate to barge into someone’s bedroom without their approval.” Jurina said, mischief flickering in her eyes. “So, is that a yes? You haven’t answered.”

Rena suppressed the urge to laugh. “Yes, Jurina-san. You may come in.”

Jurina stepped inside the room, closing the fusuma panel behind her, and locked her gaze with hers. They fell into silence and Rena turned around, busying herself with the untying of her hakama. She convinced herself she was simply following her nightly ritual, but revealing secrets of her past had left her vulnerable. She didn’t know how to confront the situation. Rena fumbled with the hakama, the knot resisting her. Her fingers, usually so clever and deft, seemed to have lost all dexterity.

“Do you need any help?” Jurina moved behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, cradling her against her. Rena stiffened in surprise. “It’s funny. You always seem to have troubles with your hakama. Last time, you couldn’t tie it properly. Now, you have difficulty removing it. What would you do without me?”

It took her a few seconds to recall what she referred to. That day at the lake rushed back with vivid clarity, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She turned around in the embrace, and frowned at her protégée’s wick grin. Jurina’s hands didn’t wait to work on the front himo of her hakama, untying it, then moved to the back. Rena watched as she followed the process, respecting the steps, impressed by her calm and diligence.

“I see I don’t have anything more to teach you.” Rena smiled at her warmly.

While a smile appeared at the corner of Jurina’s lips, she wore a pensive and serious expression. “You know… it’s alright. I’m not upset.”

There was a startled pause. “You’re not?” Rena bit her lip, attempting to keep her voice casual. “Then I guess I must have imagined your anger when you entered the council chambers and interrogated me about the mission.”

Jurina’s expression clouded with unease. “Yes, I was angry at you. Upset, disappointed, and angry. But I’m not anymore.”

Rena vacillated between disconcert and disbelief. “But you have all the right to be. You deserved to go on that mission.”

“You explained yourself. You told me about your past. After what you went through, I understand you would want to protect me.”

Rena stared wordlessly at her, uncomprehending.

“Nothing will happen to me. I’m too stubborn to die,” Jurina said casually. Her job done on the hakama, she took a few steps backward, and sat down on the edge of the futon. “Besides, I’m counting on you to teach me everything you know. I won’t be satisfied until I managed to beat you. So, you need to fulfil your part of the bargain.”

The teasing in Jurina’s tone made her relax, and she smiled in spite of her worry. “Didn’t you defeat me in the forest?”

Jurina waved a hand in dismissal. “No, that didn’t count. I want to beat you in fair fight, without any trick.”

“Please don’t be offended, but I’m afraid you’ll need a few more years for that,” Rena said softly and kindly, but truthfully. “It took me years to perfect my technique, and acquire enough experience to defeat my own instructor.”

“Years? That’s perfect. I’m not going anywhere.”

Rena sent her a small, doubtful look. “You have enough patience to wait for so long?”

“Ah yes, that’s one of the many things I need to work on,” Jurina chuckled, nodding in agreement.

Rena gave her a knowing smile. Dragging her eyes away from her, she stepped out of her hakama, collected it from the floor and neatly folded it on the chair. She reached for the belt of her kimono, aware of her protégée peering at her, but didn’t feel uneasy under her scrutiny. Halfway through the process, she gave her a sideways glance. The amusement had died from Jurina’s eyes, and Rena saw something new and deeply serious within them she couldn’t decipher.

Jurina rose from the futon and closed the distance between them, catching her off guard when she gently pulled her into her arms. “I know you’re troubled by what happened in the council chambers.” She whispered close to her ear, her breath warm against her cheek. “You don’t you like being vulnerable in front of others, and I understand the feeling. I don’t have the habit to confide in people. I’ve never been good at comforting people either,” Jurina confessed awkwardly, struggling to find the right words. “When I told you how much I felt lost and lonely here, you didn’t judge me.”

She pulled back enough to gaze into her eyes. “Today, Mayu told me something that made me think. There are many things I don’t understand. Things… that confuse me. But I know I’m a better person when I’m with you. You said you wanted to help me feel more at home, and I want to try. Not only for my sister’s sake, but because I think it’s worth it. I think you’re worth it, Rena-san.”

Rena’s heart accelerated.

Jurina reached for the front of her kimono and began to detach it. Rena reacted on instinct and seized her hand, interrupting her. She expected the younger girl to fight against her hold, but she didn’t resist. Rena was used to her protégée’s dominant personality and possessive moves. Tonight, she could sense the dynamic between them had changed. She felt her protégée’s desire for her, but she showed more patience, her gaze soft as a caress as it traveled over her face.

A shiver came over Rena, and a knot welled up in her stomach. Jurina leaned closer, her lips paused inches from hers, offering an invitation without taking any liberties. The decision would be all hers. Rena hesitated for the briefest of moments, as her self-preservation instincts warred with her heart’s desire. She knew where this was leading if she didn’t push her back. Her heart won out. She closed the gap separating them. Their lips brushed. She could feel her heart beat faster as Jurina’s mouth moved gently against hers. They had kissed before, but never like that. It made her go weak in the knees, and Rena responded to her kisses with equal tenderness.

Her grip on her protégée’s hand diminished, conveying her consent for her to keep on. Jurina broke the kiss and drew back slightly. Her face brightened with happiness, and Rena gave her a shy smile. The younger girl took her hand in hers, leading her towards the futon. Jurina sat down and gently pulled her down to sit on her lap, and she didn’t oppose any resistance. Without haste, Jurina untied her belt, and swept aside the fabric of her kimono. She feathered her lips along the valley between her breasts, and Rena felt her hands slide over her arms as she freed her from her kimono.

Rena felt the air caress her skin. Her touch claim her. Jurina’s kisses bathed her in delicious intoxication. Her senses roared. Rena’s hands plunged into her hair, fingers tangling, getting accustomed to the sensations of pleasure coursing through her veins. She tried to fight for a minimum of self-control, but found no desire to back out of her embrace, and allowed herself to give free rein to her feelings.

Jurina lifted her off her lap, and laid her gently down the futon. Rena settled back, enjoying the feel of her arms around her. Jurina swooped down, her lips brushed her neck, her cheek, and found her mouth, kissing her. The friction of the fabric of her protégée’s kimono against her skin reminded her that one of them remained fully clothed.

“Is there a reason why I’m the only one naked?” Rena murmured in between kisses, tugging at her protégée’s kimono.

The latter removed herself from her lips and looked at her, visibly entertained by the complaint received. She rose from the futon and undressed, keeping her eyes locked on her face, letting her clothes fall on the floor without ceremony. Rena found herself openly staring at her nude form, admiring her shapely body in the pale moonlight that came through the fusuma leading to the garden.

Jurina climbed back into the futon, reclaiming her position on top of her. “Better?”

Rena reached up, capturing her chin with her thumb and finger, tugging her down for another soft lip touch. “Yes, much better.”

Despite the dominant position, Jurina’s touch was not aggressive or demanding. It was remarkably gentle, coaxing. Jurina’s mouth wandered up the tingling cord of her neck. With a slow, leisurely touch, her fingers roamed over her curves, and she explored her body as if she had all the time in the world. When she touched her breasts and traced their roundness, her nipples surged at the intimacy.

Rena softly moaned with pleasure.

Their eyes met through the dim light, and Rena wondered if the other girl wasn’t holding herself. Taking things slowly for her sake. Rena studied her, trying to obtain a response, but didn’t detect any sign of frustration. On the contrary; all she witnessed was the similar raw pleasure etched on her features. It set her heart pounding. When Jurina dipped her head to recapture her mouth, she met her halfway.

Soon, they both were back in a passionate embrace, their naked bodies entwined, gently making love. While Rena’s hands glided over her back and shoulders, Jurina’s hands left her skin hot and tingling. Tonight, Rena was witnessing her protégée’s softer side. But if those last three months had taught her one thing, it was that Jurina was a complex, multifaceted person. And she was eager to discover all aspects of her personality.

#wmatsui #matsui jurina #matsui rena #wmatsui fanfic #Watanabe Mayu #Kashiwagi Yuki #SKE48 #AKB48 #Warriors #chapter 28

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dweemeister · 4 years

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Blue Hawaii (1961)

Elvis Presley’s ascent to stardom struck the United States (and the world) like a lightning bolt. Hounded from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry due to the country music establishment taking offense to his genre-blending musicianship, Elvis grew from being a regional phenomenon to a national sensation as he helped innovate rockabilly, a form of rock and roll. Movie producers, sensing an opportunity to cash in on Elvis’ skyrocketing popularity, gave Elvis star vehicles such as Love Me Tender (1956) and Jailhouse Rock (1957). Critics shrugged at these films – low-budget affairs where most of the budget went to Elvis’ salary – but his fans made them critic-proof, turning out in droves to scream and swoon at their slick-looking dreamboat. Grappling with television’s advent and the dissolution of the Old Hollywood Studio System, Hollywood’s major studios shifted their efforts towards more bombastic, showman-like films. Such was the situation in the early 1960s that longtime Warner Bros. producer Hal B. Wallis (1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1942’s Casablanca), now at Paramount, joked that, “a Presley picture is the only sure thing in Hollywood.”

To the horror of Elvis’ fans and movie studio executives but to the delight of those fans’ parental figures and teachers, the U.S. Army drafted him in March 1958. Elvis served twenty-four months before his discharge with the rank of Sergeant. During his service, Elvis nevertheless had plenty of singles in the can, many ranking high on the charts while he was at basic training and later his posting in West Germany. Looking forward to restarting his musical and acting careers, Elvis soon returned to the recording studio and shot G. I. Blues (1960) – he had discussed the film with Wallis months prior to his discharge – in short order. For the eighth film of his career and his fourth after his discharge, Elvis starred in Blue Hawaii, directed by Norman Taurog (1938’s Boys Town, nine Elvis films) and produced by Wallis. The film stars Elvis as an Army veteran recently discharged from the service, returning to his home state. I wonder where did they get that idea from? It also marks the unlikely beginning of Elvis’ association with the Aloha State – which shed its territorial status in 1959 and was ready for a Hollywood treatment that had nothing to do with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Chadwick “Chad” Gates (Presley) returns home to Hawai’i from his military service, greeted by girlfriend Maile Duval (Joan Blackman: “MY-lee”) and a flower seller named Waihila (Hilo Hattie in a cameo). Instead of immediately seeing his parents – mother Sarah Lee (Angela Lansbury, only ten years Elvis’ senior) and father Fred (Roland Winters) – he escapes to a secluded oceanside shack with Maile and his Hawaiian surf buddies. Chad is the son of pineapple plantation owners, and Sarah Lee wants him to succeed Fred when the time comes. But Chad is not interested in those plans, electing instead to work as a tour guide for Mr. Chapman’s (Howard McNear) travel agency – among other things, Maile works at the agency. The first tour he gives serves schoolteacher Abigail Prentice (Nancy Walters) and her four teenage students, all girls. One of those girls, Ellie Corbett (Jenny Maxwell), appears standoffish at first but then begins to flirt shamelessly with Chad.

If by that point in Blue Hawaii you are still concentrating on the plot, just note that your approach to watching Elvis movies is not advisable. Watching Elvis movies for a sensible plot is to invite frustration; accept the narrative drivel and enjoy.

Shot mostly on location on the Hawaiian Islands of O’ahu and Kaua’i, Hawai’i offers splendid backdrops to even the most mundane scenes of this film. Charles Lang’s (1947’s The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1959’s Some Like It Hot) camera allows characters to be dwarfed by the green mountains in the distance, the crystal blue waters extending to the horizon, and palm tree fronds wafting amid a gentle breeze. Scenes of breathtaking natural beauty abound in Blue Hawaii. In conjunction with the production (Hal Pereira and Walter H. Tyler) and set design (Sam Comer and Frank R. McKelvy), Blue Hawaii becomes, by default, the most colorful Elvis movie to date. The film, by design, partly becomes a tourism advertisement for the new state. Its white characters and filmmakers exotify and romanticize Native Hawaiian culture to fit their own expectations and perspectives – these sorts of depictions have endured across the last century, figuring heavily in cinema (1935’s Honolulu: The Paradise of the Pacific as part of [James A.] Fitzpatrick’s Traveltalks for MGM) and tourism advertising. This is the first live-action feature film from a major Hollywood studio to make even a minimal attempt to depict native Hawaiian culture since Waikiki Wedding (1937), another Paramount film.

Here are some more connections between Waikiki Wedding and Blue Hawaii: both share one song (“Blue Hawaii”) in both their soundtracks and both films are musicals. The Hawaiian musical sound is just as integral to popular conceptions of Hawai’i, and it is used liberally here in orchestrations, if not melodic structure. Blue Hawaii’s soundtrack contains the greatest amount of songs (fourteen) for an Elvis film. For those who enjoy their breathless musicals with a song at every turn, Blue Hawaii does just that. The musical numbers arrive in the most innocuous situations – from forming a melody from a tune heard on the radio, an impromptu jam session with a guitar conveniently within arm’s length of Elvis, or starting from nothing. The worst of the soundtrack avoids many of the novelty songs that plague Elvis films, especially the later entries. Given how nonsensical the plots to Elvis movies are, the lower-tier songs in Blue Hawaii are preferable compared to more stilted acting and fraternizing shenanigans. Thus, the bar is raised, and the inclusion of two non-original songs – “Blue Hawaii” (music by Ralph Rainger, lyrics by Leo Robin) and “Aloha ‘Oe” (Queen Lili’uokalani) – are arranged in such a way that beautifully complements Elvis’ velvety singing voice. Among the original songs, “Moonlight Swim” (music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Sylvia Dee) is a sensuous, laid back song that perfectly serves Chad’s characterization: an unabashed Casanova, effortless in romance, a hint of masculine arrogance.

The runaway hit of the Blue Hawaii soundtrack is among Elvis’ most popular songs. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” – music and lyrics by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss – appears approximately midway through the film as Chad says hello to Maile’s grandmother (Flora Kaai Hayes, a former Hawaiian Territorial Representative to the U.S. House of Representatives) for the first time since before his military service. It, like so many other musical entries in Blue Hawaii, arrives without much warning, backed by a constantly harmonizing music box and a steel guitar played in a Hawaiian style. One might take issue with the song’s use in context, but it is a crooners’ standard that has crossed linguistic barriers worldwide. Its simplicity is self-evident: a memorable melody, chorus, and a minor key bridge aching for resolution as it modulates to major key. Perhaps “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is not considered one of the greatest original songs in movie history because of the questionable quality of the film it appears in. More likely, Elvis’ gravitational pull as a crossover music and movie star writes its own legends that defy a critic’s or a historian’s corrections.

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Somehow, I have written all the above without remarking on the acting. Other than Elvis himself, everyone else is a passing interest at best. Joan Blackman’s chemistry with Elvis is apparent, but she does not distinguish herself from every other female lead in an Elvis movie. Angela Lansbury’s exaggerated Southern accent displays her considerable range, even if there are better examples in other films. As much as some may deride Elvis’ performances for being unchallenging, one could not imagine an Elvis movie without the star attraction. His persona is effervescent; his charisma incontestable. According to Weiss, Elvis’ comedic instincts manifested themselves in subtle ways. If Elvis requested a joke to be explained in discussions about the screenplay, it was his roundabout, maybe overly polite, way to warn Weiss, Taurog, and screenwriter Hal Kanter (1952’s Road to Bali, at least twenty-two Academy Award ceremonies) that the joke was not funny. During test screenings of Blue Hawaii, every joke kept in the film that Elvis questioned elicited nothing from the audience. On- and off-screen, an Elvis movie with Elvis removed would collapse from the void of hilarity and charm such an absence would create.

Blue Hawaii, like all other Elvis movies prior, succeeded at the box office in comparison to its budget. Adding to this bounty for Elvis, the film’s soundtrack album sold millions of copies, sitting atop of the Billboard charts for twenty weeks, and garnering a Grammy nomination. The soundtrack profits from Blue Hawaii and the preceding G.I. Blues led Presley’s obstinate manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to have his client concentrate on film soundtrack albums at the expense of non-soundtrack albums – setting the groundwork for the remainder of the 1960s (Elvis released 16 soundtrack albums versus six non-soundtrack albums during this decade), with diminishing returns. Parker reasoned to Elvis that his fans demanded to see him in these musical romantic comedies, rejecting any roles that did not fit this mold. Elvis, believing his manager, continued to make films until well past the point an Elvis Presley picture was a guaranteed hit in theaters.

In its visual splendor and Pacific appeal, Blue Hawaii sealed the fate of Elvis’ post-Army career. No other subsequent Elvis film would match the commercial heights of Blue Hawaii, although one could argue several of those movies surpass this one in terms of acting, aesthetics, and musical interest (like 1964’s Viva Las Vegas and two concert documentaries in 1970 and 1972). Elvis returned to Hawai’i several more times during his career for concerts and two films – Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) and Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966). As much as Elvis is associated with Tupelo, Mississippi (his birthplace) and Graceland in Memphis, there is also a special relationship between Elvis and Hawai’i. That relationship – one that touches Elvis’ personal life and the musical traditions of Native Hawaiians – begins with Blue Hawaii, an archetypal Elvis film and one of his best.

My rating: 6/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

#Blue Hawaii #Norman Taurog #Elvis #Elvis Presley #Joan Blackman #Angela Lansbury #Nancy Walters #Roland Winters #John Archer #Howard McNear #Jenny Maxwell #Lani Kai #Hal Wallis #George David Weiss #Hugo Peretti #Luigi Creatore #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

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grither55 · 3 years

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The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic) - Chapter 93 - Interlopers

In a frozen landscape sat a desolate military base.

At its epicenter was a control room with countless soldiers and staff members madly at work.

While a cacophony of multiple voices in the form of several languages was chattering into the air.

In the far distance a bright light was shining through the frigid horizon.

And in the center of the room stood an imposing man in brown military garb.

His hair was light blond, and he sported a neatly trimmed goatee.

And his eyes were a harshly detached blue.

And last but not least, there was a large diagonal scar on his left cheek.

"Sir! The other squadrons are moving in!" A soldier called out from his work station as his commanding officer clenched his gloved fists over the metal railing.

"Capture Number One-Hundred and One. But no matter the cost, retrieve and detain Number Three." The colonel ordered in a cutthroat voice with his hardened eyes staring relentlessly ahead while his subordinates yelled out in affirmative.

All the while as a small venomous smile slowly found its way to his lips.

At long last she was within his grasp.

And this time…

'You will not escape me this time…Number Three.' Reynolds thought with a smirk upon his lips as he clutched the rails underneath his eager palms.

And after that is done, he will be ready to make his play.

Two weeks before Elle's arrival in the Fire Nation.

"She's the one Elle. Sayomi Saito." Naoki spoke in an unfeeling voice with her emotionless brown eyes staring obsessively back into her childhood friend's widened amber eyes.

"Sayomi…Saito…" Elle breathed in a taken aback voice while Naoki's machinelike brown eyes gazed hauntingly back into her soul.

"Yes. She is a young woman of great talent. They say that she is one of the first people discovered to possess gifted abilities. You may have heard of her." The scarlet-haired girl answered in a cold voice from where she sat against the balcony railing while the blonde numbly nodded her head.

"I…I have. Who hasn't?" The blonde-haired girl stated in a soft voice while the redhead's unnervingly sharp gaze still gazed back into her eyes.

"Their objective was to replicate her talent…they were trying to use us to create a successor to her legacy…to create supersoldiers like her and that man…Strados." Naoki explained in a chilling voice with her brown eyes staring back into Elle's overwhelmed amber gaze.

An unsettling moment of silence passed through the air as Elle sat there with her mouth ajar in uncertainty.

Before she swallowed the lump that was in her throat while she turned to peer back into her childhood friend's fixated gaze.

Just as a light breeze swept through the air while she nervously bit her lip.

"W-what…what are you going to do Naoki?" Elle questioned in a timid voice as she glanced upward when Naoki wordlessly stood up above her.

Only to find herself shivering once again when the supersoldier turned to glance back down at her with an utterly frozen stare.

"I am going to kill her, her family and everyone else that she cares about. Even her little daughter. And that man Strados as well." The scarlet-haired girl declared in a monstrous voice as she grasped onto the railing with her right fist.

While the younger girl sat in a speechless quiet with her amber eyes gazing up in a combination sympathy and horror.

Just before she jumped in fright when the redhead abruptly began to crush the wooden railing beneath her powerful fist.

While the prodigy's brown eyes stared ahead with an unnaturally merciless gleam permeating her gaze.

"How dare she…how dare he…how dare they impinge upon me." Naoki remarked with her eerie smile almost wavering from her emotionless lips while her childhood friend sat in a taken aback silence.

"Naoki…" The blonde-haired girl whispered in an emotional voice just as she flinched when the railing crumbled into splinters beneath the supersoldier's clenched fist.

"I am going to kill them all. Every single last one of them. I won't stop until every last nation involved is rendered into a pile of ruins." The scarlet-haired girl announced as her fist fell back to her hip while her friend's eyes were now agape in shock.

And then she turned to gaze back down into her companion's speechless amber eyes.

While Elle audibly gulped once more while she gazed in a horrified silence up into the older girl's heartless eyes.

"And then Elle…then the world will know the power of my will." Naoki concluded with her hair swaying lightly in the winds behind her.

While she gazed down into the younger girl's perturbed amber eyes.

And then she turned away without so much as saying another word.

All the while as Elle now slumped against the railing with her haunted amber eyes now gazing in disbelief at the wall in front of her.

It was in that moment that she truly understood that the redhead was travelling down a road that was not for her.

And that it was time for to flow on her own once more.

Back in the present in the Forgetful Valley.

The four highborn women were making their way into the forest while the princess once more gazed down at their young friend's back with an irate golden stare.

"We need to hurry and find Naoki before she does something horrible!" Elle exclaimed in a lovable voice as she hurried down the pathway while Azula rolled her haughty eyes behind her.

While Ty Lee offered her usual smile as she walked beside the sighing Mai.

All the while as Zoe silently made her way down the path with her hazel eyes coldly keeping watch in the event of an ambush.

"Please! The more soldiers that girl kills the less work there is for us to do." Azula snorted in a pompous voice with her arms crossed over her breasts while her cold eyes never left her pet's back.

"I'm not talking about the soldiers Azula-sama. The soldiers…I can understand. Even though I can't stand the thought of anyone dying. And I get…why she is after the architects behind the facility…it's the other stuff that she has planned that truly horrifies me." The blonde-haired girl commented in a softer voice while her highborn friends turned to her with taken aback looks in their eyes.

"What…is she going to do?" Mai asked in a hesitant voice with her tawny eyes gazing at the younger girl's back while Azula let out an annoyed grunt as she stomped ahead of her.

"I…I don't know the full details. But I do know that she has p-plans to indiscriminately wipe every country involved in her enslavement off the map." Elle admitted in a shaken voice while her four companions nearly tripped over a tree root in surprise.

"And…. you gave her water?" The princess inquired with another snort while her callous golden eyes stared down at her young girlfriend's reddening face.

Although she wouldn't say it aloud.

The girl's plans were proving to be far more involved than she would think a former slave would be capable of.

"W-well I realize that it may sound strange. But she…. she saved my life twice. And I thought that maybe…if someone showed her some kindness then maybe…she might see that there was another way." The blonde-haired girl admitted in a sheepish voice as she grasped at the straps of her backpack while her friends listened in a taken aback silence.

"Your heart was in the right place Elle." Ty Lee stated in a sisterly voice as she frowned as she walked behind her little sister while Azula rolled her eyes once more.

She wasn't certain if the small act of kindness would actually amount to anything. Most likely not.

But it wasn't like the girl was going to die if Elle hasn't given her water.

She could see the merit in Elle's point of view.

In that it didn't hurt to extend a helping hand to someone in need.

"I…can't just be silent while someone does something so barbaric to so many innocent people. I could never. It's…. wrong." Elle muttered in a distressed voice as she chewed on her lip while her highborn friends nearly froze in their tracks once more.

The three noblewomen stood in a speechless silence before they turned to gaze at the princess's unusually rattled countenance.

Azula could only gaze on with her cold golden eyes widening in a barely recognizable startled expression.

While the words that she spoke in the war meeting with her father just over a week before meeting the girl began to play out in her mind.

I think you should take their precious hope and the rest of their land and burn it all to the ground.

Her ruthless golden eyes gazed down at the shorter girl with her crimson lips parting into a rare look of startlement.

Only to recover not even seconds later as she pursed her regal lips into a beautiful scowl.

'She is just a peasant…no matter how fond I may become of her that is what she will always be.' The princess thought with her lips in a thin line as she let out a prideful snort of azure fire from her nostrils.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

That isn't to say that she didn't like Elle. The girl had more than earned her place by her side.

But there was only so much that you could expect a peasant to understand of the complexities of living as royalty.

But despite her best efforts to tell herself that the girl was lesser.

She couldn't help but find her lips creasing together in an even deeper frown as she gazed down at back of her serving girl's lovely blonde head.

And yet all the same.

She still found herself worrying what the girl would think of her if she were to hear of their war plans on Sozin's Comet.

Not to mention if Elle were to discover the existence of slavery in the Fire Nation.

Her teeth clenched in a displeased manner as she stomped behind her handmaid while she turned to scowl off at the nearest tree.

Only to find herself torn from her reverie by the sound of her love interest's gentle voice once more.

"And….and that's why I have to try. Even if I can only offer words. It's…. what my mother would do. And so, I will do the same." The blonde-haired girl spoke in a passionate voice with a smile returning to her lips while she turned to gaze up at her taken aback highborn friends.

"Ugh. Foolish peasant." Azula scoffed with another egotistical roll of her eyes while Mai gazed at her in annoyance.

"That's so Azula-sama. That's just the way that I flow." Elle stated in a bashful voice as she padded ahead of the older girl while Azula gazed back at her with cold golden eyes.

"Aww. Don't be like that Azula. I think it's very sweet of Elle. Her aura is very pink." The brown-haired woman remarked in a supportive voice with wide smile while she patted smiling little sister's shoulder while the princess let out another snide snort.

"Honestly! Poor people and their peasant trifles." The princess huffed with a haughty smirk on her lips as she planted her fists on her womanly hips while her childhood friends gazed on in exasperation.

"You are such a self-absorbed ass Azula." Mai commented in her usual gloomy voice while Azula turned to cast a foul glare her way.

"A wise proverb once said that true wealth is not measured by how much money you have. But rather by the wealth of your heart. And my heart holds all the wealth that I need." The blonde-haired girl quipped in a lovable voice while her princess rolled her beautiful golden eyes once more.

And the other three women listened with fondness in their eyes.

"Well then. If that is the case then I will just stop paying you since you are already 'rich' at heart." Azula commented in a conceited voice with a smirk pulling upon her crimson lips while her young girlfriend pouted alongside her.

While she allowed her servant to walk closely beside her as they made their way through the thick trees.

And the two noblewomen gazed at the two in amusement while they resumed walking down the valley path.

Before the captain came to a stop with her hand bracing upon a tree trunk while the others paused behind her as they listened carefully for any indication of the enemy.

All the while as they heard the sounds of distant wildlife calls from the vast forest all around them.

While the four highborn women exchanged a careful look with one another.

Only for Elle's amber eyes to grow wide as she listened attentively with her lips ajar in alarm just before she rounded about to gaze urgently back into her friend's confused eyes.

"Everyone get down!" Elle called out in a panic as she leaped upon Azula's surprised armored back while she tackled the taller woman to the ground.

And without even giving it any though the group crouched down in alarm.

And not a second afterward the bark on the large tree that they were hiding behind exploded with splinters of wood soaring into the air.

Just as the captain swiftly dropped even lower with her hazel eyes now gazing over her shoulder in astonishment.

While the other three highborn women gazed on with widened eyes after seeing the noblewoman nearly get shot in the head.

"What…. was that Elle?" Zoe questioned in a taken aback voice as she knelt with her hazel eyes gazing back at the girl's alarmed face.

"I-I think that was a sniper rifle." The blonde-haired girl stammered in a shaken voice as she sat beside her much taller girlfriend while the princess gazed over her shoulder in unmistakable intrigue.

Azula's brilliant golden eyes now gleamed with recognition as she recalled witnessing that man Strados and the girl's brother use similar weapons earlier in her servant's memory world.

Before she shared a momentary look with her captain while the other woman stoically nodded as they turned back to their young friend's easily frightened face.

"A sniper rifle? Tell me all that you know about these machines servant." The princess commanded in a cold voice as she sat with her back against the trunk while her timid girlfriend quivered adorably below her.

While the unnerved Mai and Ty Lee squatted beside them while their eyes remained widened over the lethality of foreign weaponry.

"I…I don't know much Azula-sama. To make up for the lack of bending many hundreds of years ago people invented gunpowder which led to the invention of guns. Which fire high velocity projectiles faster than the typical human can react." Elle explained in a pant while her friends gazed back at her in an amazed silence.

"Gunpowder…" The markswoman trailed off in a curious voice with her tawny eyes gazing at her little sister's skittish face.

While Azula still sat with her golden eyes agape in interest as her gaze flashed with a power-hungry gleam once more.

"T-that's right oneesan. And we need to be very careful. Because a sniper rifle can fire from the other side of the forest." The blonde-haired girl spoke in a frantic undertone while she gazed fretfully back at her highborn friends stunned faces.

"From…. the other side of the forest Elle?" Ty Lee inquired in a startled voice with her brown-gray eyes agape in shock.

"Y-yeah. I mean I'm no expert but one wrong move and even the strongest bender will be bleeding from a hole in the skull." Elle informed in a worried voice while Azula's golden eyes flashed in callous fascination.

"What a fascinating machine. But I presume that they are defenseless once we close the distance?" Azula purred with her possessive eyes peering down at her pet's lovely face while held a contemplative finger under her chin.

"It doesn't seem that is going to be a simple matter." The captain commented in a stoic voice while she ducked down when another bullet tore through the tree trunk.

While the team gazed over their shoulders with cautious eyes as they listened attentively to the faint sound of rustling bushes in the far distance.

"I…didn't want to tell you all this Azula-sama because I know that you are so proud of your nation. And….and you have every right to be. But the war machines of my world…and the technology back home is…more advanced than that of the Fire Nation." The blonde-haired girl announced in a quietly hesitant voice while the four highborn women gazed back at her in a floored silence.

And then a moment of unsettling silence passed over them while the princess's imposing eyes lost their amused gleam.

And now in its place was a sense of boiling anger as she now glared down at her quivering serving girl's intimidated face.

"More advanced you say?" The princess nearly snarled out with the flames of war kindling in her terrifying eyes while her admirer shook under her glare.

"T-the majority of the world stopped using swords and spears with the advent of guns. Naoki is an exception…but that's only because she's a supersoldier much like you and Zoe both. I am sorry Azula-sama but it's the t-truth." Elle stammered in a gulp while Azula stared down at her with dominant golden eyes that made sweat drip down her cheek.

"Are you calling my army primitive Elle?" Azula demanded with the back of her head against the tree while she ground her teeth together.

All the while as another bullet pierced the tree above as the others listened with taken aback eyes.

"N-no I'm not. I am just trying to tell you that you are at a severe disadvantage at long range. And I just don't want anyone to get hurt." The blonde-haired girl assured in a mousy voice while her princess scowled from where she knelt over her.

"You shouldn't get mad at Elle for answering your questions Azula. You're the one who asked." Mai stated in her deadpan voice while Azula regarded her with a cold glare through the corner of her eye.

"We'll see who is at a disadvantage servant. And then you will learn what happens to those who doubt my strength!" The princess snapped as she jabbed a domineering finger in her trembling girlfriend's face while the noblewomen sighed heavily.

"I-I don't doubt your strength Azula-sama." Elle whimpered as her master's tall body sat above her while Azula's strict eyes sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

"You better not peasant. Because I won't hesitate to punish you if you do." Azula growled out in a forceful voice with her armored form looming over her dainty girlfriend while Elle trembled against her side.

"I…am just saying that there are advantages to your soldiers not being able to bend." The blonde-haired girl replied as she fearfully kept her head low while her highborn friends rose their brows in curiosity.

"Really? And how is that?" The princess taunted with mocking laughter lacing her derisive voice while her golden eyes glared into the tree canopy above.

"W-well strong bending is based on genetics, right?" Elle asked in turn in a hushed voice while Azula rose an elegant brow from where she sat above her.

"Obviously Elle." Azula stated in a pompous voice yet she found herself gazing down at her serving girl in grudging curiosity all the same.

"Just think about it. They don't have to spend their time searching for people with a unique genetic ability. Instead they can simply find thousands of people like Mai that have keen eyesight…put a rifle in their hands and you have a deadly nonbender army." The blonde-haired girl remarked in a hastened voice while her friends gazed at her with understanding flashing in their eyes.

Mai gazed on with amazed tawny eyes while she mulled over the younger girl's words.

While the princess stared on with her ice-cold golden eyes once more taking on a fascinated look.

Before she turned gaze back at Zoe's composed face while the other woman stonily nodded her head.

"I see. So, your people have quite the efficient nonbending war machine." The princess commented in a callous voice with her glacial eyes already spying a strip of cover.

"If you can get closer, I am sure that you will have the advantage in close combat…but at a distance a gunman will always have the upper hand." Elle concluded in a timid voice while her highborn friends nodded their heads.

"We should listen to Elle. And proceed with caution." Zoe declared in a contemplative voice as she held one hand on the tree base while Azula's cold eyes gazed her way.

"P-please just be careful friends. I can't bear the thought of losing any of you." The blonde-haired girl mumbled in an apprehensive voice while the four older girls gazed at her with a flash of moved emotion in their eyes.

"Your council has been heard servant." Azula replied in a smooth voice with her cold eyes gazing down into her serving girl's brightening amber eyes.

Before any of them could say anything further another silenced bullet fired over their crouched heads.

Just as the two firebenders each launched a blast of flame over their shoulders in an effort to create a layer of cover.

And then Team Azula expertly sprang out from behind the trunk.

While Elle squeaked in surprise when Azula firmly seized her by the wrist before the woman unceremoniously threw her onto her armored back.

All the while as she let out a soft gasp while the mighty princess bolted out from behind her cover and quickly sprinted to new cover.

And despite their circumstances the acrobat found herself unable to resist smiling as she watched the princess sprint with the petite girl on her back.

While wood continued to splinter all around them as the highborn women rolled to a crouch behind a large boulder with their alert eyes rapidly scanning their surrounding area.

"A-Azula-sama." Elle stammered in a voice of limitless hero worship as she gratefully held onto her master's neck.

As she shivered pleasantly when she heard the woman release a low growl.

"These weapons…I want them. You will assist me in obtaining them." The princess spoke in a ruthless voice with her girlfriend's delicate hands wrapped around her neck.

While her two lifelong friends soon found themselves shuddering after they caught the gluttonous gleam in the princess's power-hungry eyes.

"I…I don't know how to do that. Naoki would know more about that than me." The blonde-haired girl answered in a loyal voice with her arms holding on tightly while her princess gracefully darted out once more.

All the while as she gulped as her master hurled balls of blue fire over her shoulders to create another burning layer of cover.

"Then you will obtain me Naoki. Is that understood servant?" Azula commanded in a controlling voice with her cold eyes gazing imperiously ahead while her handmaiden clung to her back.

"Yes Azula-sama. As you say." Elle agreed in a sweet voice as she hung onto her girlfriend's tall back while Azula's beautiful lips twitched into the barest hint of a pleased smile.

"The enemy fire seems to be coming from that way princess." The captain stated as she dropped down alongside her leader while the princess turned to follow her line of sight.

While they both gazed on with narrowed eyes into the far end of the dense forest in the direction of several cliffs.

Only for all of them to find themselves spinning their heads to the right when scream rang out into the valley air.

All the while as the ominous light continued to glow through the distant tree line.

Which was followed closely by the sound of a human body falling to the forest floor.

"I-it looks like Naoki is at it again." The blonde-haired girl muttered from her position on her master's back while the princess rose an elegant brow.

While the sounds of more gunfire went off in the deep forest as the team listened attentively.

"Then again. It would seem as if our young friend is already taking care of it." Zoe remarked in a nonchalant voice as she turned to face her monarch while Azula smirked in approval.

"How convenient. She's already serving me. She just doesn't know it yet." The princess purred in a haughty voice with her crimson lips now adorning a gratified smirk.

"Or she's more than likely just fulfilling her own vendetta." The markswoman said in a dry undertone while the princess turned to cast her a lazy glare.

"I suppose we should just follow her then? Right Azula?" The brown-haired woman pondered as she turned to her leader while the princess nodded her head.

"I should think that is obvious Ty Lee." Azula remarked in her usual pompous fashion as she bent over to allow her girlfriend to slide off her back.

And then the teenager slid off onto the ground.

Before the serving girl found herself smiling shyly when her master turned to stare down at her with her stern golden eyes.

"You stay behind me. Understand servant?" The princess commanded in a highly assertive voice with her regal lips pursed into a tight scowl while her servant rapidly nodded her little head.

Only for her pleased smile to nearly return when the girl speedily bowed at the hip.

"As my princess commands!" Elle chirped as she bounced from her bow while Azula graced her with a beautiful smile.

Just as she found herself yelping adorably when an annoyed hand pulled her up by the back of her shirt.

"Shorty. You can grovel to Azula when we aren't under enemy fire." Mai commented in monotone with a sigh escaping her lips while Elle turned around to smile up at her.

While Ty Lee giggled as she walked alongside them.

And the captain wordlessly pushed forward while she scanned the trees for further snipers.

"The last thing I need is for someone to put another hole in your feeble body." Azula snorted in a hubristic voice as she stomped ahead while her serving girl followed after her footfalls like a lost puppy.

While both of her childhood cast her exasperated stares.

"T-that's my princess right. She's a dream come true." The blonde-haired girl swooned with a hand on her fair cheek while big sister's sighed as they followed after her.

And her princess almost seemed to swell in height with a gratified smirk adorning her full lips.

"Of course, I am. I am a goddess after all." The princess huffed as she arrogantly studied her fingernails on her clenched fist while her young girlfriend's amber eyes sparkled in adoration.

While her two noble friends rolled their eyes outside of her line of vision.

"It seems as if the enemy fire has gone oddly quiet. Did she really get them all?" Ty Lee pondered in a confused voice as she glanced around her.

While the princess held a contemplative fingernail underneath her chin.

'I have to find a way to recruit this girl into my service. But how?' Azula thought with her callous eyes gazing ahead while she mulled over the matter.

"It doesn't surprise me. I mean…this is pretty much what they intended for her to do. They wanted a supersoldier capable of devasting a foreign war front." Elle stated in a soft voice as she held onto the straps of her bag while her highborn friends listened in rising fascination.

"And now that she is free. It doesn't seem like they are able to reign her in." The markswoman muttered in a piqued voice as she made her way behind her adopted sister.

"Well…and unlike us. She is trained in dispatching gunmen. And…I suspect that she took them down while their attention was focused on us." The blonde-haired girl concluded in a quiet voice while her companions gazed ahead in understanding.

"Please. I am more than capable of doing the same." The princess spoke in an arrogant voice as she strode through the vast trees with her cold eyes gazing ahead.

Only to find herself pausing in her tracks when she heard her captain call out to her from ahead.

"Princess! I found one of them!" The captain shouted from beyond a tree while the four rushed after her.

Just before the group emerged from the foliage with their widened eyes gazing down at the body of a slain female soldier.

The soldier lay slumped against the base of a rock while her lifeless eyes gazed back at them from underneath her broken helmet.

While Elle stood behind her friends as she gazed down at the woman's deceased face with saddened amber eyes.

"She's…. definitely dead." The brown-haired woman commented in an uncomfortable voice as she grimaced while gazing down at the lifeless soldier.

"How disappointing. I was hoping to catch one living." Azula remarked in a cruel voice with her arms folded over her armored bosom.

While she glared mercilessly down at the bloodied soldier with pitiless golden eyes.

All the while as the captain squatted over the fallen soldier with her hazel eyes gazing down at the woman's weapons in fascination.

"Such intriguing weaponry." Zoe stated as she took hold of the discarded rifle while she studied it from all angles.

While the princess bent over to scrutinize the gun with her callous golden eyes peering down over her captain's shoulder in grudging interest.

And even the markswoman and the acrobat found themselves unable to resist leaning down to inspect the weapon.

Only for their combined attention to be regained by their young friend's sensitive voice.

"It…doesn't matter what technology we develop. We'll always be a barbaric species…waging war and killing each other over trivial differences. What a waste of life." Elle mumbled in a somber voice with her sorrowful eyes staring downward while her four friends froze up in a taken aback silence.

And then she turned away with her hair shadowing her eyes.

While Azula gazed on through the corner of her cold eye with her crimson lips in a momentary expression of uncharacteristic emotion.

"Come on kid. You shouldn't be looking at something like this. You have already got enough on your mind." Mai declared in a thawed voice as she placed a sympathetic hand on the younger girl's shoulder while Ty Lee nodded in solemn agreement.

'Sentimental peasant.' The princess thought with her cold eyes glaring down at the slain woman.

Just before she let out an irate sigh as she shook her head.

But even so…

No other lover would do for her.

Only this little peasant was worthy of lying beside her in her royal chamber.

"Princess…check this out." The captain stated in a bewildered voice while the royal woman turned back to gaze down at her with curious golden eyes.

While the princess's golden eyes grew wider in returning wrath when she found herself staring down at a photograph of her servant.

All the while as Zoe stared down with her hazel eyes agape in wonderment as she studied the photo in poorly concealed awe.

It was a photo of Elle confined to a holding cell with a foreign classification that stated as follows.

Subject Number 101.

"What…what is this? It's so…lifelike." Zoe breathed in an absorbed voice with her fingers grasping at the photograph while Azula pursed her lips into a protective snarl.

"Elle says that it is a photograph. It is a peasant invention from her homeland that captures an image of a moment frozen in time." Azula answered in a cold voice as she stood back up with her golden eyes staring frigidly down at the woman once more.

And just like that.

Any small shred of pity that her serving girl's words could have invoked in her was swiftly squashed.

"A photograph...of Elle." The captain trailed in an unusually fixated voice as her monarch seized the item out from between her fingers.

Before her hazel eyes took careful note of a second photo protruding from the fallen soldier's breast pocket.

Just before she reached forward to grasp it to hold it up before her astonished face.

It was an image of the scarlet-haired girl in detainment.

And once more its label was in a foreign language.

Subject Number Three.

The princess gazed down with her golden eyes flashing in growing interest in the redhead while she exchanged a look with the older firebender.

Before the two turned their heads when they heard their young friend hesitantly stepping back around to face them.

"A photograph of me?" The blonde-haired girl inquired in an uncertain voice with the two noblewomen following her line of sight.

That was when her amber eyes caught sight of the photograph clutched in her princess's fist.

Before her widened eyes turned to the photograph of the redhead in the warrior's palm.

While Mai and Ty Lee's eyes also grew wider after taking notice of the photographs of the two girls.

And not a second later the photograph of Elle in custody went up in azure flames while the princess turned her rigid eyes back to her shaken serving girl.

"It's nothing for you to worry your little mind over." The princess spoke in a possessive voice as she marched back to her shaking girlfriend's side.

"We should keep moving." Zoe remarked after regaining her composure as she stood up with the rifle still in hand while her comrades nodded their heads.

Only for all four of them to turn to their young friend in concern when they noticed the way that the girl's eyes had wide in alarm.

"I-it's me and Naoki that they are after…but not only that..." Elle stated in a distraught voice as she swallowed the lump that was in her throat while she gazed at the dead soldier with widened amber eyes.

Just before she spun around to gaze back into her princess's perceptive golden eyes while the older girl met her stare.

"This is a military operation to capture resources from an untapped new land!" The blonde-haired girl exclaimed in a fretful voice as she stepped up to gaze up into her master's seething golden eyes.

While the four highborn women gazed at one another with a newfound alertness in their widened eyes.

"Capture resources…from my kingdom." Azula hissed with her teeth ground together in her boiling fury while her burning fists balled up at her womanly hips.

'They have some nerve to try to take what belongs to the Princess of the Fire Nation!' The princess thought with blue fire snorting forth from her angry nostrils.

Before she turned her possessive eyes back to her pet's lovely face while she spewed fire from her pursed lips.

This transgression will not go unpunished.

And that was a promise made in fire and blood.

The five girls gazed back into each other's eyes while they dwelled over the intentions of the invading military force.

But before any of them could get a chance to speak another word.

They were torn from their reverie when they all felt an instantaneous change in the air.

Just as they spun around to find their eyes growing even wider when the forest started to grow dark all around them.

"A-Azula…what's…happening?" Ty Lee called out in a frightened voice as she backed up beside her scowling friend while Azula glared about with cold golden eyes.

"The rock…look at it…it's a face." Mai informed in a stunned voice as she gazed at the rock that the dead soldier sat against with widened tawny eyes.

The others followed her gaze until their eyes grew wider when they saw the face marking that now adorned the previously unmarked stone surface.

"It's…just like we saw when we entered the forest." The captain commented in a taken aback voice as she gazed on with marveled hazel eyes.

Just before she turned around with her eyes widening marginally when she noticed ominous facial markings appearing on the trees that surrounded them.

"Is…this a spirit of some kind?" Azula demanded in an unintimidated voice with her cold eyes glaring about while her young girlfriend scurried to her side.

"T-the animals Azula-sama." Elle stammered as she pointed upward while Azula followed her finger.

Only for the princess's eyes to flicker in surprise when she saw that many wildlife creatures were now glaring down at them with glowing eyes.

And upon all of their backs were facial markings as well!

"It seems so. And if I had to guess I would say that our presence angers it." Zoe spoke in a stoic voice with her hand falling to the hilt of her sword.

"Show yourself! If you think this little show is enough to frighten the likes of Princess Azula then you can think again!" The princess bellowed with her clenched fists still burning in blue fire while her timid girlfriend backed up against her.

While her two childhood friends visibly flinched as they gazed at her in reproach.

Only for a disembodied voice to call out at them from every direction while the team gazed up in alarm.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" The ghostly voice commanded from every direction while the five girls listened in bewilderment.

All the while as the incorporeal voice continued to repeat the order with even more anger than the time it was spoken before.

"P-Princess." The blonde-haired girl stuttered just as she was yanked forward by the princess's possessive hand.

"Do not deviate from my side peasant!" Azula ordered in a voice of absolute authority while her servant girl fearfully nodded her head.

"Y-yes Azula-sama." Elle agreed in a shaken voice as she hid beside the older woman's much taller frame.

While Azula glared up with unyielding golden eyes as her fists lit up with azure flames.

All while the voice continued to grow louder and louder.

While the four wary highborn women and their frightened handmaid backed up into a defensive circle.

"I said get out!" The phantom voice roared from all around the speechless females.

There was a moment of silence before the princess broke it with an arrogant scoff.

"No." The princess sneered in a voice of limitless arrogance while a defiant smirk found its way to her beautiful lips.

What followed after that was another unsettling moment of quiet with a tension so thick that you could cut it with a sword.

And then not a moment after that.

All of the spirit creatures sprang from their perches with their teeth bared and their eyes aglow.

While the team sunk into their respective combat stances.

And then not even seconds later the spirit animals besieged the cornered group from all sides.

And soon enough the shouts of Team Azula rang out into the eerie forest as they fended off the possessed animals one by one.

"There's so many of them!" Mai shouted in an irate voice as Azula clenched her jaw line with her burning fists poised to ruthlessly strike down a forest creature.

Only for the princess's cold eyes to twitch in aggravation when delicate arms pulled on her bicep in protest.

"N-no! Please don't hurt the forest creatures Azula-sama!" Elle cried out in a gentle voice as she pulled on the older girl's sleeve while Azula's imposing eyes now glared down at her.

"Oh, I'll do more than hurt them. I'll barbecue the little dears for dinner." Azula snapped with her lips forming a beautiful glower while she yanked back on her sleeve.

While her golden eyes glanced down in annoyance into emotional amber eyes.

"B-but the forest animals princess." The blonde-haired girl pleaded in a distraught voice while the acrobat smiled from over her shoulder.

"Ugh! This is really pathetic Elle! I hope you know that." The princess snarled with unbridled aggravation in her callous eyes.

"S-sumimasen." Elle stuttered with a twinge of pink to her cheeks while Azula let out a pompous scoff over her.

And then not a moment later the flame in the princess's fist burned out while the monarch's lips pursed into an angered scowl.

Before she swatted away a winged animal with her fist.

While the serving girl smiled in gratitude at her master's tall armored back.

And both the captain and the markswoman sighed quietly before they struck at the possessed animals with restrained force.

"She's such a little sweetie Azula." Ty Lee commented with a grin as she swiftly chi blocked the wild animals while Azula rolled her eyes over her shoulder.

"I said leave!" The ghostly voice yelled out with great anger while the team gazed about the darkening forest with taken aback eyes.

Only for the mighty princess to release another conceited scoff while she rolled her golden eyes.

"And I said no. I have business here spirit. Now I suggest you get out of my way. I have more important matters to attend to than dealing with…whatever it is that you are." Azula spoke in an unbelievably smug voice with a smirk on her lips while her childhood friends sighed heavily behind her.

"What Azula-sama means to say is that we mean no harm and we come in peace!" The blonde-haired girl chirped from beside the much taller princess while the older girl rolled her eyes once again.

"What she said!" The brown-haired woman exclaimed in a cheery voice while the teenager beamed up at her.

While the spirit creatures continued to drop down with their eyes aglow as the four highborn women dispatched them one after another.

A plethora of unconscious animals now lay on the ground before them.

All the while as the princess turned to glare down at her servant in annoyance while the younger girl smiled gratefully up at her.

"A-arigatou gozaimasu Azula-sama." Elle stammered in a lovable voice as she touched her hand to the older girl's robed arm while Azula scoffed over her.

Before Azula turned her cold eyes away to glare at the nearest tree.

While she tried to squash the tiny blush that was growing on her cheeks when the teenager shyly took hold of her arm.

Only to find herself torn from her thoughts when she heard something large step onto the ground behind her.

And then the entire team turned around to face what was behind them only for their eyes to grow wide in surprise to find themselves standing in a tall shadow.

Standing over them was an enormous blue wolf with the same bizarre markings upon its white fur covered chest!

The beast snarled with its imposing fangs bared while the taken aback group took a cautious step backwards.

"That's…a big wolf." The markswoman said in a wary voice as her boot slid backward while the acrobat wisely did the same.

"It…must be some kind of spirit wolf." Zoe stated with her hazel eyes gazing up in amazement while she held out her katana in a defensive stance.

"I don't care what it is. I'll destroy it!" The princess spoke with her frigid golden eyes glaring up at the growling spirit while her fists lit up in blue fire.

"Hello! My name is Elle! What's your name!" The blonde-haired girl greeted in a sweet voice as she took a step towards the giant wolf while her four companions gazed on in unease.

"Elle! Stay away from that filthy beast!" Azula barked in an overbearing voice as she stomped forward to pull her girlfriend back.

"Elle…it might be best if you listen to Azula. That wolf looks really dangerous." Ty Lee remarked in a worried voice while gazed up at the large wolf with wary brown-gray eyes.

"Aren't you a beautiful wolf! Eeep!" Elle squeaked as she cried out in surprise when a giant paw swiped over her head.

Before the young girl tumbled to the ground on her backside while she gulped as she gazed up at the massive wolf's saliva coated fangs.

And that was all it took for her four friends to spring to her defense.

Within seconds the princess and the captain were already standing over the downed handmaid.

While the spirit wolf's paw slammed into the ground with rocks exploding in all directions.

All the while as the markswoman and the acrobat quickly jumped backwards to avoid the animal's swing.

"Foolish peasant. I told you to stay back." The princess snorted in a cold voice as she glared over her shoulder at her serving girl's reddened face.

And then the wolf spirit lunged towards them with its red eyes narrowing in anger.

Only for a vast wall of blue fire to arise forth from the earth while the others covered their faces from the intensity of the heat.

While the powerful princess stood behind her veil of flames with her imposing golden eyes staring hard up at the wolf's snarling teeth.

Just before the large wolf took all of them by surprise when it opened its mouth wide as it began to inhale the blue flames!

While the princess's golden eyes grew wide in disbelief as she watched the wolf spirit swallow her flames whole.

All the while as the team stared on in shock as the wolf gulped down the flames that was followed up shortly by an unceremonious burp of smoke.

"It…ate your flames princess." The captain stated in a stunned voice with her hazel eyes blinking in curiosity while her ruler scowled beside her.

"I can see that Zoe!" Azula snapped with her callous eyes narrowing up at the wolf spirit as it forced its way through her eroding wall of fire.

And then the entire team tensed up as the wolf spirit lunged through the blue fire with its fangs bared as it glared down at the serving girl's intimidated face.

Before it finally sprung at the teenager with its clawed paw poised to attack.

While the two firebenders hardened their eyes into a cold stare as they stood protectively over their young friend.

And then just before the wolf spirit could even complete its strike.

The four highborn women spun around with their eyes agape in surprise when a faint light flashed outside of the corridor of their vision.

And then the wolf spirit immediately froze in its tracks.

All the while as they now turned to gaze back at the young girl in astonishment.

Only for their eyes to widen when they saw that their friend was laying on the ground with her aura dimly aglow once more.

"I-it…activated again…" The blonde-haired girl stammered in a perplexed voice as she gazed down at her palms with awestruck amber eyes.

While her four friends stood around her with their jaws ajar in surprise.

Before they turned back to the spirit wolf only for their amazement to grow even greater when they saw that the animal seemed hesitant to resume its attack.

"Just…like back in Yoko's dungeon." Mai muttered in a stunned voice as she stood behind her little sister with her tawny eyes gazing down at the girl in fascination.

Just as the creature took one step back while the group gazed on between the young girl and the spirit in marvelment.

"Incredible…it seems that the spirit is afraid to approach Elle now that her power is in activation." Zoe commented in a taken aback voice while her sword fell back to her hip.

While Azula gazed down with uncharacteristic surprise in her cold golden eyes at her serving girl's confused face.

All the while as the old sage's words replayed in her mind once more.

The spirits have become alarmed ever since you tapped into your dormant chi. Your power frightens them.

"The spirits are afraid…of my tiger monkey." The princess spoke with her beautiful lips already curving back into another pleased smile.

"Way to go little sister! You're learning how to use it!" The brown-haired woman cheered as she bent down to pat the seated girl's shoulder while the teenager flushed in embarrassment.

"But…how do I turn it off…" Elle trailed off in a confused voice as she chewed on her lip while she glanced up at the wolf as it backed away.

Just as the sound of Azula laughing roaringly broke into the air as they turned to gaze in puzzlement at the royal woman's amused countenance.

While the princess stood with her hands over her armored stomach as she ruptured into belly shaking laughter.

"Splendid! You should fear us! Because together she and I are going to conquer this planet!" Azula called out in a sadistic voice with a cruel smile pulling at her crimson lips while her childhood friends shivered behind her.

While the handmaiden sat peering up at her master's tall back with adorably infatuated amber eyes.

And then not even seconds after the smiling princess swiftly sprang forward as she directed a vast stream of blue flames at the wolf spirit's startled face.

Just as the animal opened its mouth to consume them once more while the monarch continued her calculated assault.

Only for a hint of white embers to appear in the midst of the burning azure fire while the group gazed on in awe.

Before the wolf spirit's eyes widened in surprise as began to lap at its lips in alarm when the heat began to get too intense for its liking.

All the while as Azula's red lips twitched into a pleased smirk.

And then the wolf jumped back in startlement while the team stared at their leader in amazement.

"As I suspected…so there is a limit to how much of my fire you can eat in one sitting." The princess purred with a haughty smile upon her lips while she slid one boot back along the ground.

And then she swiftly began to generate her lightning with two fingers from both palms held together.

While the noblewomen and the handmaiden gazed on from behind her in wonderment.

"Well then…how about this for dessert!" Azula shouted in a prideful voice with a ball of lightning churning in between fingertips.

Just before she pursed her lips into a regal snarl as she threw the ball of lightning at the startled wolf spirit.

Only for the creature to abruptly turn tail and run away!

All the while as the princess stood proudly smirking with her smoking hands lowering to her womanly hips.

While her companions gazed on speechless beside her.

"T-that was amazing Azula-sama! You chased it off!" The blonde-haired girl cried out in admiration while she gazed on with hearts in her eyes at her master's smugly smirking face.

"Humph. Of course, I did." Azula huffed as she arrogantly flicked her bangs as she posed with her left hand on her shapely hip.

"Yes. Well done princess. Your power is truly something to behold." The captain stated as she sheathed her blade.

While she glanced around with observant hazel eyes to note that the darkness was now vanishing from the forest.

All the while as light shined through the dense trees once more as the taken aback group watched the glowing eyed spirit creatures retreat into the tree canopy above.

Just as the disembodied voice floated through the breeze and into their ears for a final time.

"Leave this forest…. spirit slayer." The phantom voice ordered as it faded away while the teenager girl swallowed as she gazed on with a twinge of hurt in her innocent eyes.

While the four highborn women turned to gaze back at their young servant in fascination once more.

"S-spirit slayer? I-I'm a spirit killer?" Elle questioned with sadness in her sensitive voice while her shaken hands grasped at the grass below her.

It was a stunning question that the entire team was pondering.

"It's okay Elle. Everyone here knows that you're not a killer." Ty Lee assured in a gentle voice as she knelt behind her upset little sister.

While the young girl gazed off into the distance with uncertainty in her amber eyes.

"I…hope not oneesan. I really do." The blonde-haired girl mumbled in a bothered voice while the acrobat held a supportive hand to her shoulder.

Only for the sound of the princess's delighted laughter to flow into the air once more while they all turned to gaze at Azula's violently smiling face.

"This is just as it was meant to be! Fear me! And fear my servant! For together we are the strongest couple in this entire world! And soon I shall take my rightful place as the goddess of all life! And then I will dominate this Earth!" The princess announced in a maddened voice with a deranged smile adorning her lips while she held out her fists at her hips.

And then the entire forest momentarily turned so quiet they you could almost hear the sound of crickets chirping in the background.

While the three noblewomen sweatdropped as they gazed back at one another.

All the while as their leader stood proudly with a maniacal grin adorning her beautiful lips.

"H-Her Highness just said that w-we're a couple." Elle stuttered with a hand on her dainty cheek while she once more found herself lost in Azula's overpowering golden eyes.

"So, I did peasant." Azula spoke in a refined voice with a regal smile upon her crimson lips while she observed her serving girl swoon adorably under her gaze.

"O-ooh my beautiful princess charming." The blonde-haired girl gushed in a lovesick voice as she stood up with a blush on her lovely cheeks while her princess smirked back at her.

"There is nothing that can stop us now Elle. Our victory is imminent!" The princess boasted in a smug voice with her fist clenched before her smirking face while her young girlfriend smiled up at her.

While the two noblewomen stood up as they shook their heads in exasperation.

All the while as the captain stood unfazed with a flicker of amusement in her hazel eyes.

"It is probably best for us to continue our survey on the enemy princess. You can always boast your heart out to Elle another day." Zoe commented wryly as she resumed her walk while Azula rounded to cast her a moody glare.

"Watch your tongue Zoe. Only I may give the orders in this expedition." Azula scoffed in a snobbish voice with a hand on her hip while her noble friends just sighed as they followed after her.

While her serving girl trotted beside her with her amber eyes once more gazing up at her in adoration.

Still…the encounter with that wolf spirit was curious to say the least.

It was almost as if the spirit had come for the sole purpose of testing Elle's ability.

Only to flee when it did not like what it found.

'And now that something belongs to me and me alone.' The princess thought with her lovely lips entrenched into a graceful smirk while she gazed down at her pretty pet with possessive golden eyes.

'Is my power…really meant to kill spirits?' Elle thought with a frown on her lips while her amber eyes gazed away in contemplation.

If so. Then that would be wrong…wouldn't it?

No living being has the right to take the life of another.

Her hands grasped at the straps of her backpack while she tried to avoid letting her discomfort show.

She could tell that her princess was greatly pleased with this new development.

And the last thing she wanted was to disappoint her master.

And not even a second later she was torn from her reverie by the sound of a guttural shout while she gazed up with a distressed look in her eyes.

While her highborn friends glanced in the direction of the distant portal light with alert eyes.

"I guess we're going that way." Mai stated in a deadpan voice with a grimace adorning her features while Ty Lee suppressed a shudder beside her.

"Indeed. And it would seem that we are not the only ones who have drawn the ire of the spirits." The captain spoke as her hazel eyes gazed through the tree canopy while another eerie breeze blew through the air.

"Whatever. Let's just track down that girl already. Elle, come." Azula commanded in a spoiled voice with a snap of her fingers while her childhood friends stared at her in disapproval.

Only for her lips to curve into a smug smirk when she heard the sound of the young girl eagerly rushing after her heels.

"Yes Azula-sama!" The blonde-haired girl cried out in a devoted voice while the older girl sauntered ahead of her with a confident smirk on her lips.

While she once more found her eyes drawn to the princess's swaying hips as she audibly swallowed down her apprehension.

A detail that hadn't escaped Azula's notice.

All the while as the three noblewomen watched wordlessly as the peasant girl scampered after the princess.

Before the two vanished into the brush while Mai let out another annoyed sigh.

And then they soon found themselves following all the same.

#Azula #Avatar The Last Airbender #yuri #ty lee avatar #mai avatar

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